2017 Spanish Grand Prix - Catalunya, 12-14 May

[Just_a_fan]

This was mentioned in commentary, apparently he waited until the green which is just off screen to the left.

[NathanOlder]

Overtake under yellow? how come?
https://twitter.com/DanielB_CANADA/stat ... 3903382529

He waited till he passed the yellow flag.
He passed him after the yellow flag.
And moreover there is another rule which states that u can pass someone under yellows safety car or VSC etc if the car u r passin going unreasonably slow. Here the back marker was clearly moving for him, still he waited till he passed the yellow

Yeah totally agree. He waited until he passed the yellow flag and also the Haas was going slower than normal to let the leaders through.

[Unc1eM0nty]

Regarding strategy, I get the feeling that Hamilton just had a little extra speed compared to Vettel. He could have won the race at the start (didn't), he could have won with an undercut in the first pit (didn't, foiled), he could have won by then having a different strategy (didn't but created the conditions for the first quasi-pass), and then won on much better tires. Too many ways to win, one or the other was bound to work and kudos to the team for keeping them all alive.
That he could latch to Vettel at first, kind of hang-on with mediums and then stretch his last softs for almost 30 laps tells the story. Virtually no defence against that without Kimi.

Well said that man, I couldn't agree more.

Mercedes didn't panic when the lost the lead, Lewis didn't waste his tires, he dropped back into clean air @ 2.5 sec and stayed there until it was time to make their move.

Mercedes looked quicker, my guess is that if he'd have got into the first corner first he would have pulled away and led every lap.

I think Ferrari knew that, that's why they blinked first.

Great race though, and on a track where most of us expected very little.

[SameSame]

Hamilton could also have been penalised for not rejoining the track correctly. I think the stewards decided to not give either of them a penalty and let them race fair and square to the flag.

I think the ruling was that you had to go round the bollard if you touched or went through the humps. As he didn't, the rule didn't apply.

I also think that Liberty want more wheel to wheel racing and less of teams calling foul and shouting for penalties, a la football. Personally, I'm happy for that, I want to see them scrap, I want to see some drivers make others less inclined to battle like Senna did, I want to see dramatic wheel to wheel action and to see the drivers suffer the consequences if their own hubris pushes them too far.

Ah yes you are correct I remember the commentators mentioning that now. It's amazing to see the impact Liberty has had even on the stewards decisions. They can finally go racing again.

Great race from Force India and Sauber as mentioned above. Pascal mentioned Sauber committed to a one stop on Saturday already and the VSC played into their hands perfectly.

Now if only the aero rules could be simplified so that third place isn't a minute behind...

[AnotherAlex]

The one trick Ferrari missed, which only occurred to me long after the race had finished, is that they should have pitted Vettel for mediums as soon as the VSC was called, then brought him in again on the next lap for softs.

People were saying before the race that you'd want to be on the medium tyres for as short a stint as possible and it's fair to say they were right.

Otherwise, the loss of Raikkonen following the collision with Bottas gave Mercedes a significant tactical advantage that Ferrari weren't able to counter.

[Schuttelberg]

I have to say, DRS really ruins some races!

[Edax]

Thought the race was good, and makes the championship a very interesting one for sure. As for the incident in to T1 as Vettel came out of the pits, I thought it was a bit lucky to not get a penalty as he had a car fully up the side and he ran the other car completely off the track including a push (contact) so I was a little to surprised to see nothing come of it. It was nothing like the Bottas incident on lap 1 as kimi closed in on him and gave him nowhere to go, Seb used the whole track from apex on the right to white line on the left with Hamilton completely on his side the whole time. In the drivers conference Seb smiled and said he left Lewis room which Lewis laughed and disagreed with.
Anyway it wouldn't have effected the result, it would have just been nice to see the stewards not allowing someone to run someone completely off the race track.

I think the stewards might have given a penalty if Hamilton would not been able to pass on his own or if he would have picked some damage. They only cleared him after Hamilton made his pass. There would be justice in that as Ham was ahead and on the driving line.

An other thing might be that you don't want a car fresh out of the pits to go so deep in the first corner. Hot brakes and new tires. I think any lesser driver than Vettel would have caused a crash.

But he didn't. So maybe the move was over the limit, but not giving a penalty gave us two good passes, and two drivers really going at it. Surely there is more value in that.

(And of course it saved us from having to listen to Vettel crying about the unfairness of it all over the radio)

[Sieper]

I have to say, DRS really ruins some races!

Yes the ones that Vettel gets overtaken using it. When he passes another with a much less powerfull engine aboard even, say in China or so, using it I didn't hear you

[Unc1eM0nty]

The one trick Ferrari missed, which only occurred to me long after the race had finished, is that they should have pitted Vettel for mediums as soon as the VSC was called, then brought him in again on the next lap for softs

I don't think he had another set did he ?

And even if he had he still looses another 20 seconds

[Schuttelberg]

I have to say, DRS really ruins some races!

Yes the ones that Vettel gets overtaken using it. When he passes another with a much less powerfull engine aboard even, say in China or so, using it I didn't hear you

Sorry to disappoint you my friend, but I'm not the kinds to sod when my favourites get beat. I'm more for the racing quality. I don't think all these guys need some sort of button to pass and I say with a great deal of pride that Formula 1 isn't a series where you get to see a great deal of passing. It's a series where passing is rare but when they happen, you always remember it. I think LH would have still beat SV today, DRS or no DRS and I'm sulking about the fact that I couldn't see the two bang heads in a more organic manner. Once LH got the exit out of the final turn which has been Merc's strength and Ferrari's weakness, the writing was on the wall. It wasn't even side by side as LH could drive around him. Just my two cents my friend.

BTW, all of SV's passes were non DRS passes in China. I only remember the one on DR and KR and they were both non DRS assisted. If he made other DRS passes, I can't care about them.

[AnotherAlex]

I don't think he had another set did he ?

And even if he had he still looses another 20 seconds

His remaining sets were used, so I guess they would have had concerns over them lasting the distance, and both stops would have had to be under the virtual safety car for the approach to stand a fighting chance.

[Schuttelberg]

I think this 'bromance' and overtly show of 'respect' between LH and SV will start to go south once the battle intensifies!

[Restomaniac]

After watching the race a second time. I can never remember so many drivers saying 'leave me alone' or words to that effect whilst sounding out of breath in a race before.

[Manoah2u]

As for the 'bromance' = Nah man, this is Lewis showing Ferrari he'll get along fine with Seb even under pressure so he'll walk in without problems next year when he'll wear Ferrari Red instead of the grey.

Mercedes' biggest asset right now is Lewis. Bottas is doing great, but it's Lewis that does the job. Take away that asset and have that asset for yourself is a guaranteed destabilisation for the competition and a stabilisation for yourself. The only 2 drivers potentially being able to step into Lewis' footsteps in Mercedes is 1) Alonso, but he'll be new there anyway so it'll be different either way, and 2) Verstappen, but it's a big question mark whether Max is contractually able to move. Would be interesting to see though.

[Sieper]

The one on MV, he tried to outbreak SV but the difference in speed was so big he shouldn't even have attempted to do so.

Without DRS there would have been close to zero overtakes today. LH would certainly not have been able to pass SV.


This is my take on DRS.
When your man is in a car that has a great engine DRS is a big bonus. Should for Some reason they ever end up behind a slower (less powerfull engine, or overall worser package) contestant DRS will make sure that will get sorted. In reversed roles (f.e. With much fresher tires for the slower man) the superior engine power might just resque your favourite.

Still I do like DRS somewhat, at least we do have overtakes on a day like today. Better then not.