2018 United Arab Emirates Grand Prix - Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, 23-26 November

[foxmulder_ms]

A driver's first job is to outqualify their teammate. 2018 teammate qualy comparison over 21 races-

Mercedes-
Hamilton 15/6 Bottas
I don't buy talk about Bottas being as good as Rosberg.

Ferrari-
Vettel 17/4 Raikkonen
Hopefully Leclerc will challenge Vettel more by end of 2019.

Red Bull-
Verstappen 14/7 Ricciardo
Verstappen proved himself quicker, but Ricciardo out qualified him fully 1/3 of the time. I think Gasly and other future teammates will not approach the 1/3 ratio. Only obvious speed challenger is Hamilton but Verstappen didn't want that second Merc seat, go figure.

Renault-
Hulkenberg 13/6 Sainz
Would Hulk realistically be better at Merc than Bottas? Looking forward to Hulk vs. Ric in 2019.

Haas-
Grosjean 11/8 Magnussen
Both did OK. My guess is that Haas lost 4th in Constructor's due to their drivers being a little short of Renault's pair. This gap to Renault will increase next year.

McLaren-
Alonso 21/0 Vandoorne
Alonso obviously handed Vandoorne his ass, but I have impression Alonso could have been a better mentor/teacher for Vandoorne and thus a better asset to the team. But if you are consistently quicker then you get to decide if you are a mentor or an ass-kicker.

Force India-
Ocon 16/5 Perez
Ocon beat Perez in qualy but generally not in races. Overall Ocon did not justify a seat with one of the top-3 teams, thus is stranded in the midfield no-man's land without funding. Ocon was good but not good enough, tough situation.

Sauber-
Leclerc 17/4 Ericsson
Leclerc obviously quicker. Ericsson was set up to be cannon fodder, but he was actually OK. If Leclerc successfully challenges Vettel in 2019 then Ericsson vindicated.

Toro Rosso-
Gasly 11/6 Hartley
Not as different as I would have guessed, but that performance won't get Hartley any seat next year. In most years the Gasly performance would only be enough to retain his Toro Rosso seat.

Williams-
Sirotkin 12/9 Stroll
(Last 10 races: Sirotkin 7/3 Stroll). Sirotkin did his job and even earned a championship point in a terrible car. He's not happy now but maybe in 20 years he can take pride in his F1 accomplishment. He did pretty good. Stroll will continue on next year, don't get me started there.

Overall, I agree with some exceptions.

1) Ocon. I think he is really good but, from the interviews (obviously can mean little), he is too timid. In a world where Gasly and Leclerc takes the best seats I think he deserves a place in F1.

2) Magnussen. He is overrated. Groj is a good driver but had a meltdown in the middle of the season and still managed to beat Mag. So yeah, Mag is at most a meah..

3) I would like to see the second seat of Merc went to Hulkenberg or Daniel but didn't happen.

[komninosm]

Your avg. F2 race start
https://twitter.com/i/status/1066342628461932545

Was that red flagged or yellow and SC through the pits?
That pink car (Fukuzima) almost crashed too, he seems to have made minor contact on the other side, I saw shredded parts of wing flying.
Here's a better vid :
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... IGYCo.html

[dans79]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think everyone except for Hamilton was pushing to hard in the first two sectors?

[Roxi]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think everyone except for Hamilton was pushing to hard in the first two sectors?

I've always thought the Mercedes car looked seamless going around the track (almost like the driver wasnt even working) vs. RBR/Haas/Toro where it seems like the driver is more or so fighting the car.

But after watching the replays, it seems like you're right in a sense.

[Juzh]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think everyone except for Hamilton was pushing to hard in the first two sectors?

Yes, everyone BUT hamilton is a total idiot at the wheel and is obviously pushing too hard only do destroy their laps towards the end . Except for a few small problems:
Just because he's not setting purples does not mean he wasn't pushing. he locked front right tire in T8 in the first Q3 run, then got a small snap in his second run again in T8. He also goes too deep into T5 on his pole lap.

Riccciardo got the best final sector, I guess those miserable first and second sectors red bull were stuck with for the entire weekend was just them not pushing trough there, silly me I thought it got something to do with the engine being crap

[Juzh]

Vettel vs hamilton q3 lap

[dans79]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think everyone except for Hamilton was pushing to hard in the first two sectors?

Yes, everyone BUT hamilton is a total idiot at the wheel and is obviously pushing too hard only do destroy their laps towards the end .

And I'm sure your response surprises no one!

[NathanOlder]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think everyone except for Hamilton was pushing to hard in the first two sectors?

Yes, everyone BUT hamilton is a total idiot at the wheel and is obviously pushing too hard only do destroy their laps towards the end .

And I'm sure your response surprises no one!

[NathanOlder]

Riccciardo got the best final sector, I guess those miserable first and second sectors red bull were stuck with for the entire weekend was just them not pushing trough there, silly me I thought it got something to do with the engine being crap

Renault Power looked better than Honda power here today. That Toro Rosso must be a dog of a chassis

[LM10]

so anyone expecting Bottas to be gifted the win, if he is 2nd after the final pitstops?

Do you really think Bottas would accept such a gifted victory? How awkward would that even be?

[Juzh]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think everyone except for Hamilton was pushing to hard in the first two sectors?

Yes, everyone BUT hamilton is a total idiot at the wheel and is obviously pushing too hard only do destroy their laps towards the end .

And I'm sure your response surprises no one!

Your totally obvious snide suggestion warranted equally snide response.
Not to mention how you convinently left out my subsequent argumentation

[dans79]

Yes, everyone BUT hamilton is a total idiot at the wheel and is obviously pushing too hard only do destroy their laps towards the end .

And I'm sure your response surprises no one!

Your totally obvious snide suggestion warranted equally snide response.
Not to mention how you convinently left out my subsequent argumentation

Last time I checked, comments don't end with a question mark!

[PlatinumZealot]

[

Overall, I agree with some exceptions.

1) Ocon. I think he is really good but, from the interviews (obviously can mean little), he is too timid. In a world where Gasly and Leclerc takes the best seats I think he deserves a place in F1.

2) Magnussen. He is overrated. Groj is a good driver but had a meltdown in the middle of the season and still managed to beat Mag. So yeah, Mag is at most a meah..

3) I would like to see the second seat of Merc went to Hulkenberg or Daniel but didn't happen.

Daniel has already been beaten. LH44 fans want Max in the other Mercedes seat.

[Shrieker]

Vettel vs hamilton q3 lap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqY6CGR9b5c

Nice job.

Up until T11 - the end of the back straight - Vettel looks to be a tad ahead. Hamilton briefly nudges ahead thru 12-13-14, but Vettel reels him in at the exit. Hamilton is back ahead in the last sector and slowly pulls clear, but it doesn't look like much. Not certainly like 3+ tenths (or maybe that's exactly what 3 tenths look like) .

[ringo]

The ferrari seems to have more top speed and more understeer on the front axle.
It wasn't pointing into the corner as seamlessly as the mercedes. Both cars are pretty close everywhere else, but the mercedes is just that slightly less hesitant to turn in. That's the main difference i see from that video. Could it be all down t more wing?