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

[ds.raikkonen]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

[saviour stivala]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

He sounded like he slipped (didn't thought about it before) which am sure he would have given-up that third spot if he did in exchange for skipping the awards ceremony.

[drunkf1fan]

I wouldn't say 'the worst ever' but the cars are so hard to pass in general, that a one stopper becomes so much more favourable (unless your tyres just can't hold and you need to, then you might as well try something different) as to make going around slowly to eke out every bit of grip from your tyres be the best strategy in general. And it seems that due to downforce and suspension set up, Red Bull has been (at least near the end, when they had understood their car, barring failures for Ricciardo) the only of the top three teams that was really on top of that, with the others sometimes there, sometimes not.

In addition, the extra step softer tyres in combination with higher downforce and more speed in general has meant that getting the tyre just right, not too hot at the end (ie. gone), and neither too cold for the start of the quali laps, has been a real difficult thing to get right, which I believe was one of the biggest factors in who was fastest on Saturday.

Definitely worst ever. We had loads of overtaking this year, but only when the tires were working. Like early in races tires cooler from the start worked, then as temps increase they become worse and overtaking stops. Likewise a key factor in performance is that new tires are faster over a whole stint, not just for a few laps till again they get too hot and you have to back off.

In previous years (2014-2016 and before then as well) you would have a situation where someone tries to stay on their stint for a lot longer and both slows down a little over the stint and eventually by a lot and someone else who stops is maybe 2 seconds faster a lap for as long as both keep going. Think Hungary in 2014. Rosberg couldn't pass vergne so pitted, Ham stayed out passed Vergne. Rosberg on fresh rubber started catching at maybe 1.5-2 seconds a lap, then Rosberg got a bit prissy and wanted Hamilton to not just not defend but actively drop a few seconds on Alonso to let him by easily which Ham wouldn't do. Either way Rosberg caught quickly, got stuck and decided to pit again. Once again Hamilton's tires were just getting slower, pitting for fresh rubber and Rosberg was again 2-3 seconds a lap faster, caught back up to Hamilton but with lacking laps and a little lacking race craft couldn't make the move.

Now yeah you could say it shows overtaking is difficult but that is really a Rosberg issue. RIcciardo caught and passed Ham and Alonso iirc, Ham passed Vergne when Rosberg couldn't, etc. The real difference here is that pitting meant significantly faster lap times over a full stint.


RIght now tires aren't degrading the same meaning the guys who stay out aren't losing the same pace they used to and new tires overheat so quickly that you only get a few laps before the heat is fully soaked up and cooling becomes a problem.

THe overtaking would be better and there would have been far more stops and more strategies if like the older tires they degraded more and the temps were better to control so you could really push harder. THis also ignores that at multiple races the tires simply weren't suitable. In Mexico the tires grained for everyone, horrendously for almost everyone but RBR and Ferrari even then Vettel's tires looked crap. Here again there was a degradation issue, 5 years ago the tires grain 1/10th as bad as they did in Mexico then you either get lucky and get through a graining phase and they come back or they get torn to shreds and you need to pit for new tires as your times drop off. Somehow in Mexico despite massively grained tires no one really lost pace and people were doing 30-40 laps on a set of tires, slow, but not really losing pace.

THese tires are the worst I've ever seen. refueling era tires that last the entire race were better. Deg was a huge issue but the different tires still worked excellently for different teams at different points of the race. Of course fuel mean they had to pit so switching tires when they wanted to wasn't a penalty, but the cars definitely work better on one compound and could push harder. Far better than this tiptoeing around bull they've been doing this year.

[drunkf1fan]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

the drivers hate wasting time going to the gala. Ham asked Verstappen in the press conference if he ended up 3rd (in the title) and he said he missed out by two points, but at least they didn't have to go to the gala and the team planned it. Verstappen laughs, Vettel smiles, Hamilton laughs quietly then works hard to stop smiling and laughing, you can see it's killing him trying not to laugh. Obviously as the champ he has to go and saying it's a chore won't go down well. Then Max said something along the lines of he wonders if going to the gala could count as his community service... cue more laughing.

I do get it, F1 is about sponsorship and media and I think the event gives them a chance to bring out their big name sponsors for a black tie event. But for the fans it sucks to not see a title podium/celebration at the final race of the season, it sucks for the drivers as well and they clearly hate the gala itself.

If they did a secondary podium after the first then Kimi gets a chance to receive his 3rd place in front of fans and in this case, in his last race for Ferrari and in his Ferrari gear. It's insane they haven't changed it. Hell keep the trophies off the podiums and present them at the gala if you must.

[WaikeCU]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

the drivers hate wasting time going to the gala. Ham asked Verstappen in the press conference if he ended up 3rd (in the title) and he said he missed out by two points, but at least they didn't have to go to the gala and the team planned it. Verstappen laughs, Vettel smiles, Hamilton laughs quietly then works hard to stop smiling and laughing, you can see it's killing him trying not to laugh. Obviously as the champ he has to go and saying it's a chore won't go down well. Then Max said something along the lines of he wonders if going to the gala could count as his community service... cue more laughing.

I do get it, F1 is about sponsorship and media and I think the event gives them a chance to bring out their big name sponsors for a black tie event. But for the fans it sucks to not see a title podium/celebration at the final race of the season, it sucks for the drivers as well and they clearly hate the gala itself.

If they did a secondary podium after the first then Kimi gets a chance to receive his 3rd place in front of fans and in this case, in his last race for Ferrari and in his Ferrari gear. It's insane they haven't changed it. Hell keep the trophies off the podiums and present them at the gala if you must.

Does Max need to go to the gala if he's nominated for other categories, such as best overtake of the season or so? I would nominate his overtake on Bottas yesterday. Who would have thought he could overtake there?

[ds.raikkonen]

If they did a secondary podium after the first then Kimi gets a chance to receive his 3rd place in front of fans and in this case, in his last race for Ferrari and in his Ferrari gear. It's insane they haven't changed it. Hell keep the trophies off the podiums and present them at the gala if you must.

True, it would have been a fitting farewell to the Kimi-Ferrari relationship. After all, he was their last WC. Time flies eh! Was gutted to see him retire in his last race for Ferrari, was hoping he would get a podium and some emotional radio messages from Arrivabene.

Still, look forward to see him in Alfa Romeo overalls next year!

[ds.raikkonen]

He sounded like he slipped (didn't thought about it before) which am sure he would have given-up that third spot if he did in exchange for skipping the awards ceremony.

Yeah, although he would not have given up a podium spot at his final race for Ferrari

If they did a secondary podium after the first then Kimi gets a chance to receive his 3rd place in front of fans and in this case, in his last race for Ferrari and in his Ferrari gear. It's insane they haven't changed it. Hell keep the trophies off the podiums and present them at the gala if you must.

True, it would have been a fitting farewell to the Kimi-Ferrari relationship. After all, he was their last WC. Time flies eh! Was gutted to see him retire in his last race for Ferrari, was hoping he would get a podium and some emotional radio messages from Arrivabene.

Still, look forward to see him in Alfa Romeo overalls next year!

[iotar__]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

He sounded like he slipped (didn't thought about it before) which am sure he would have given-up that third spot if he did in exchange for skipping the awards ceremony.

And how many of those points were related to retirements, penalties etc. of other drivers?

- Bottas was robbed of three wins: 2 x team orders and a puncture on top of playing moving chicane role numerous times. He had lowlights but also top highlights.

- Raikkonen was nowhere pace wise 90% of the season but the way F1 is designed driving in circles at 80% of top car's potential you can acumulate X amount of points.

- You've got to love Wolff's fake and very public worries about Bottas' mental state. You don't magically lose pace when tyre management is critical towards the end of the season because of that. Reasons are practical and related to running one driver team on every level: tyres, strategy etc.

Photo that expains Mercedes 2018 season, Wolff and Lauda are extatic with perfect team result, 1-2, arent they ?

[NYGIANTS]

surprised no one got a picture of all three during DC interview, because it was picture of, imagine if the mclaren was competitive.

like ive always said we had another golden era of drivers with button, rosberg, alonso, kimi, vettel and lewis. that we haven't seen since the 80s and early 90s, and this is from a fan since 92.

time will tell when they all retire if the current or future drivers will have as much of an impact on the sport as those 3. we all have the one or two we root for every Sunday, and I know for me it won't be the same but still have one driver to root for next year,... but that image of Lewis, Vettel and Alonso during DC interview was a picture of what could have been in their prime, and we were robbed of it.

[komninosm]

Tires were strange, how did Hamilton go faster than Bottas with a change from LAP 7 and how did Bottas need another extra change after he pitted so much later?

[Big Tea]

Tires were strange, how did Hamilton go faster than Bottas with a change from LAP 7 and how did Bottas need another extra change after he pitted so much later?

The radio call to Bottas was they thought the rear tyre was damaged after the collision.
The TV showed them examine it on removal, but no news of if it was or not

[foxmulder_ms]

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

He sounded like he slipped (didn't thought about it before) which am sure he would have given-up that third spot if he did in exchange for skipping the awards ceremony.

And how many of those points were related to retirements, penalties etc. of other drivers?

- Bottas was robbed of three wins: 2 x team orders and a puncture on top of playing moving chicane role numerous times. He had lowlights but also top highlights.

- Raikkonen was nowhere pace wise 90% of the season but the way F1 is designed driving in circles at 80% of top car's potential you can acumulate X amount of points.

- You've got to love Wolff's fake and very public worries about Bottas' mental state. You don't magically lose pace when tyre management is critical towards the end of the season because of that. Reasons are practical and related to running one driver team on every level: tyres, strategy etc.

Photo that expains Mercedes 2018 season, Wolff and Lauda are extatic with perfect team result, 1-2, arent they ?
https://i.imgur.com/wKR1KUI.jpg

wow, you really dislike Ham

[foxmulder_ms]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

Overall he was underwhelming but he has some good moments, too. I believe Ocon could have been the better 2nd driver next year.

[Big Tea]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

I was surprised by Bottas not being able to hang on to P3 and claim 3rd spot in the WDC.

As the Iceman put it in the pre race press conference, now he has to go to the awards ceremony!

Overall he was underwhelming but he has some good moments, too. I believe Ocon could have been the better 2nd driver next year.

Better driver, but would he be a better fit in the team?

I think Bottas has been almost perfect this year. Probably a bit more so if he had gathered enough points to finish second, but getting Mercedes top of the list in both championships was first priority. Objective achieved, no drama or internal conflict.

[Sieper]

Hamilton will be glad to retain Bottas.