2018 Singapore Grand Prix - Marina Bay, 14-16 September

[Big Tea]

If a driver does not realise someone is almost interlocked wheels with them, well, maybe they are not cut out for racing.
I can not see it any other way than deliberate. When taken in account of the other one, something has fazed Chico.

[GrandAxe]

wish Martin Bundle could be replaced! Tired of him saying "for good measure". It's so annoying that anyone I hear say it just sounds like a fool with no vocabulary. If you've got nothing to say don't say anything. His commentating is so stale and irrelevant, I'd rather just listen to pit and driver radio.

Just try to avoid Sky F1 analysis as much as possible. It tends to be packed to the rafters with click bait booby traps and click bait attracting characters.

[drunkf1fan]

People get so silly over steering wheel angles. As someone said first off the rear wheels bump which would have caused the rear end to feel like it was sliding out which would make you want to steer into it. Second, the normal line involves opening up the steering wheel at that point because you know.... he's exiting the corner onto a straight. Most drivers don't just keep turning all the way out of a corner exit and just smash into the wall on the left. If he's not aware Ocon is there, he's supposed to open up the steering wheel at that point.

Also not really mentioned by many but he didn't put Ocon into the wall right then, there was actually room on Ocon's right. Now what happens if that specific contact doesn't happen, if Ocon is a foot further to his right does Perez put him in the wall or leave space, I don't know.

Ocon has a habit of putting himself into closing gaps imo, places that everyone else knows is a closing space. Does that mean I think he deserved to be hit or was wrong, of course not. But I don't think Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo or even Verstappen would ever decide to come in ultra late on the very outside of a sharp corner and both expect space and expect a guy who went into the corner far earlier than you with you fully behind and into a sharp turn and expect they will definitely see you.

Perez took the turn very tight to cut off Grosjean giving Ocon the chance to take it wider, get the turn done, straighten up and get the pedal down and get a monstrous slipstream all the way down the straight and instead put himself in a very dangerous situation instead trying to get the move done earlier.

[dans79]

Your IMO about Perez's place in F1 does not include reality of Q and race pace in Singapore, brilliant Baku podium ahead of Ferrari, other podiums and overall results against Hulkenberg and many other things placed in objective world. The usual here .

Yet he is still only 1 point in front of his much more junior teammate, even though Ocon has 4 dnfs to Perez's 1.

I stand by my opinion that he doesn't belong in f1, and is only here because he is a pay driver!

[dans79]

When taken in account of the other one, something has fazed Chico.

It's called being teamed with a driver who is younger and better!

[Big Tea]

When taken in account of the other one, something has fazed Chico.

It's called being teamed with a driver who is younger and better!

But that does not make you crash into other drivers. OK, his team mate could be 'personal' but to swipe against another competitor just because you cannot get past within the rules is stupid. Other teams all take note of things like this ready for next year and the year after. No way to wipe that off now.

[GrandAxe]

Man, for me, when Arrivabene rebuked Vettel during quali ... that set off alarm bells in my head. A driver's focus goes to hell if your team boss says something so cold on live TV. Compare that to the relationship between Toto and Lewis, even during the 2016 season. I think the strongest word from Toto was when Nico and Hamilton came together - "mindless".

Really! I missed that, what did Arrivabene say?

He was asked about how Vettel said he prefers Kimi because he's worked with him for a long time and whether that makes a difference to the choice regarding Charles. Arrivabene said no Sebastian is a driver and not the team principal. Now if you just read it, seems all fine and dandy. But the way he said it, his facial expression, the delivery, the tone of voice and, if I remember correctly, a slight scoff of disbelief, it was a really soul crushing thing to hear, as if he had zero respect for Vettel. Maybe I'm exaggerating but when I heard it live I was like Holy ... that hurts.

Thanks. I guess Ferrari surprisingly stating that Leclerc is a long term investment while Vettel is still in his prime sort of shows their hand. Their recent practice of allowing Kimi race freely and not wrecking his races to suit Vettel would also hint strongly at the same suspicions.

In a strong hint to his contract terms, Leclerc has also stated that he will be allowed to race on equal terms ... Even as he is vastly inexperienced in comparison to the four time WDC.

Spa and Monza seemed to have focused minds at Ferrari and now the poor performance (particularly on the ultra's) in Singapore would surely have sealed their direction.

[Phil]

Watch again. He just changes direction he is not trying to correct an oversteer or anything. The onboards show it clearly. There was malicious intent.

I think you're overanalyzing. You could probably look at every other on-board from drivers driving through that corner and see that there will be moments when the drivers are straightening their steering momentarily either to follow the natural progression of the track/corner and as a result of balancing the car while on full-throttle and accelerating out of the corner. At full tilt, you want the car balanced for maximum traction, not steering/cornering.

Same applies to when braking. When braking, you tend to have your steering straight, not while cornering.

Also to counter your argument; What in gods name would Perez have to gain by steering right into the car next to him? At that point, he was completely alongside. The chance of getting damage is IMO too high. Same applies to Perez's steering into Sirotkin. It was worthy of a penalty, yes, but he completely missed he was there. He wanted to block him and thought he was sufficiently ahead to do so.

Even watching that video, I am totally staying on my view point that Perez did not see/realize Ocon.

[LM10]

I didn’t watch any minute of the Singapore weekend, neither practice, nor qualifying or race. Just from looking at the times from practice I think it was not just me who thought that Ferrari was in a kind of a favorite role, especially after FP3.
I don’t know if Ferrari had the potential to get pole at the end (I think that’s what they told?), but nonetheless my huge respect goes to Hamilton. He absolutely nailed it and just deserved winning. Most constant driver (at highest level) throughout whole season and even keeps on increasing his performance.

I don’t think that Vettel has got a realistically huge chance of winning the WDC anymore. Ferrari will not really be defeated by Mercedes which has been the case in recent years, but by the combination Hamilton-Mercedes. Unless Hamilton is on such a constant level, you can’t afford doing so many mistakes like Ferrari as a team and Vettel have done. Needs to be said, sadly.

As a fan, I’m gonna hope for a better next season.

[simieski]

Controversially... did Perez save Vettel from himself and with damage limitation? Without being held up by Perez Vettel would of stayed ahead of Verstappen, had to push on his tyres possibly resulting in having to stop again and finishing 5th or 6th.

[GrandAxe]

Perez put on a truly horrible performance in Singapore.

His action against Occon was unacceptable and dangerous; even worse was slamming into Sirotkin in a red mist, anything could have happened as a result. The FIA is the only authority in F1, drivers are not allowed to dish out "punishment" to their mates, yet Perez got the lightest of light slaps on the wrist for it.

Pay drivers bring the worst to the F1 table. Unfortunately, the help they bring F1 (through funding smaller teams) makes them untouchable. Whether Perez or Maldonado, they attract the least punishment.

[nevill3]

I didn’t watch any minute of the Singapore weekend, neither practice, nor qualifying or race. Just from looking at the times from practice I think it was not just me who thought that Ferrari was in a kind of a favorite role, especially after FP3.
I don’t know if Ferrari had the potential to get pole at the end (I think that’s what they told?), but nonetheless my huge respect goes to Hamilton. He absolutely nailed it and just deserved winning. Most constant driver (at highest level) throughout whole season and even keeps on increasing his performance.

I don’t think that Vettel has got a realistically huge chance of winning the WDC anymore. Ferrari will not really be defeated by Mercedes which has been the case in recent years, but by the combination Hamilton-Mercedes. Unless Hamilton is on such a constant level, you can’t afford doing so many mistakes like Ferrari as a team and Vettel have done. Needs to be said, sadly.

As a fan, I’m gonna hope for a better next season.

After reading your post I was reminded of a quote by Nico Rosberg earlier this year, he basically stated that you have to not only be quick but also consistent and error free to beat Hamilton over a whole season. He would know best of all just how hard it was to finish ahead of him and but for a little fortune even his best efforts would not have been enough. Anybody trying to win the WDC whilst Hamilton is in one of the top three cars would struggle to match his season long commitment.

[TAG]

I remember the incident in Baku when Vettel drove along side of Hamilton and hit him, the sane folks said it was clearly intentional and the not so much folks made 101 excuses as to how it was accidental. This when I first saw it in the race felt very intentional. After seeing this, I'm more convinced. That's not to say that my initial feelings aren't are accurate.

So for what it's worth, I thought the Rosberg Hamilton incident at turn one in Monza where Rosberg's wing clipped Lewis' tire was intentional, and after soaking and watching again, it clearly was just a racing incident.

In this case the video confirms my suspicion and that's good enough for me. In the end, it doesn't matter and only Checo knows. He'll be out of the sport soon enough, there are far better drivers on the grid and waiting in the wings.

[Phil]

In Vettels baku incident, there was cause and effect. Vettel thought Hamilton brake-tested him and retaliated.

Perez - Ocon - no cause, just effect. The two arent even remotely comparable. To speak of red mist, is silly. It wasnt. As i said, there was zero reason to hit Ocon on purpose. He was already alongside, anyway. Perez simply wasnt looking. They touched by the smallest of margins.

Ocon put his car in an unexpected spot. A vulnerable position. Perez wasnt looking there, his head was looking left, in the direction he was aiming.

I am not a Perez fan, i could care less either way, but the way some of you are bashing him is comical. He has been a very consistent performer, very reasonable too. After he realized what had happened, he came on the radio in an apologetic manner. This doesnt sound like a driver who slammed into his team mate on purpose.

[atanatizante]

I didn’t watch any minute of the Singapore weekend, neither practice, nor qualifying or race. Just from looking at the times from practice I think it was not just me who thought that Ferrari was in a kind of a favorite role, especially after FP3.
I don’t know if Ferrari had the potential to get pole at the end (I think that’s what they told?), but nonetheless, my huge respect goes to Hamilton. He absolutely nailed it and just deserved winning. Most constant driver (at highest level) throughout whole season and even keeps on increasing his performance.

I don’t think that Vettel has got a realistically huge chance of winning the WDC anymore. Ferrari will not really be defeated by Mercedes which has been the case in recent years, but by the combination Hamilton-Mercedes. Unless Hamilton is on such a constant level, you can’t afford doing so many mistakes like Ferrari as a team and Vettel have done. Needs to be said, sadly.

As a fan, I’m gonna hope for a better next season.

The mouth speaking of the true sinner. Amen!