2019 Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai, April 12-14

[GrandAxe]

Not true. Their crap shoot in China has already gifted Verstappen 2 extra points.

Its even more than 2 points, its 5. Just look at the points awarded for each place:

3rd place 15 points
4th place 12 points
5th place 10 points

If not for team orders, Leclerc and Vettel would have finished 3rd and 4th ahead of Max in 5th.

The current WDC for the three drivers is:

3 Max 39
4 Vettel 37
5 Lecerc 36

If Vettel had finished 3rd and Leclerc 4th, it would have been:

3 Vettel 40
4 Leclerc 38
5 Max 34

If instead, Leclerc had finished 3rd and Vettel 4th, it would have been:

3 Leclerc 41
4 Vettel 37
5 Max 34

Verstappen finished 4th(12) though. He should have finished 5th(10).

That's right indeed.

[GrandAxe]

In this way, any one who runs off after a championship has deeply wronged that sport; further, it only gives the distinct impression that deep in their minds they do not feel they earned it, but were simply lucky.

A person who doesn't feel up to the task has no right whatsoever to comment on those who who can, especially drivers who are single or multiple WDC's (Kimi, Alonso, Vettel and Lewis). It doesn't speak of character.

I'm going to take it that you have never been a very competitive athlete of any form? As someone who has, I find both of these statements utterly ludicrous.

I take it you weren't a great if you ran away as an athlete?

[Mach]

Mercs are just too strong....once again

Didn't see you at Bahrain

Well, this race was boring.
Mercedes should run away with it once again

[langedweil]

You've just listed many of the reasons many don't like to see Nico commenting around the paddock. He won a championship and failed to defend it, which is the minimum expected of a champion to keep any sport going or interesting.

Imagine if Schumacher have retired after his first WDC, or Usain Bolt after his first medal, or Muhammed Ali after his first knock out etc.

There is something wrong about someone who ran off, only to come back and talk so much about the abilities of others who have stuck in the heat for the benefit of the sport.
It is disrespectful, especially to the other WDC's on the grid (Lewis - 5 time, Seb - 4 time, Kimi 1 time and last year, Alonso - 2 time).

Sky most likely brought him back for the controversy, in this brand new world of click marketing and zero values.

Your hate for Nico make you say some very weird things. As any other driver he has the right to comment the races. In which dimension is this to be disrespectful? You can criticize that he lef the sport without defending the title but he had the right to do and this has nothing to do with his role as a commentator.

"Hate"? Use of such strong words hint at a personal attack, which is the ultimate giveaway of a person who is empty off any valid counter-argument.

Sports revolves around champions proving their pedigree and awing the spectators - at the heart of sport is the very fundamental ethos of competition. Any sport will soon wither and die without worthy champions.
In this way, any one who runs off after a championship has deeply wronged that sport; further, it only gives the distinct impression that deep in their minds they do not feel they earned it, but were simply lucky.

Would there be any great drivers today if they all docked the challenge? Fangio, Lauda, Schumacher, Alonso, Vettel, Lewis etc?

A person who doesn't feel up to the task has no right whatsoever to comment on those who who can, especially drivers who are single or multiple WDC's (Kimi, Alonso, Vettel and Lewis). It doesn't speak of character. This is especially worse when most of the time what is said turns out to be either inadequate or remarkably flippant, a breach of trust or even insulting e.g. Ferrari staff telling him they got their aero wrong.

Amen .. really nothing to add here.

[Schuttelberg]

I love how some pundits are now already saying the championships are over for Ferrari, just like it was over for Mercedes after testing.

[Just_a_fan]

If you're a pundit you have to be heard saying something. It doesn't really matter what you say, sadly. Silence is death to a pundit.

[e30ernest]

Speaking of pundits, here's Marc's analysis of the race:

[sAx]

I don't want to paint Ferrari as "the bad guys" like that either. They have their own rational reasons and the switch at the time was logical. Vettel was faster at that point in time. But they should switched back when it was clear Vettel was not making inroads. It is too early in the season to put such burdens on the team. Good thing is: Leclerc is a good, humble and patient person. He will be able to put the decisions in context, but he will also defy team orders when the occasion is right, like in Bahrain. Ferrari has to respect he is not a walkover, and that Leclerc's patience should also be rewarded.

Team dynamics, people.

In the history of F1 we had this scenario a few times, a young fast contender pairing up with a multiple world champion. All of these gave us, the viewers, epic seasons that we are still talking about to date. 1986/87 where young Nigel was challenging Piquet.....

A 33/34yo Mansell was not that young by the contemporary standards of the day.

[Jolle]

I don't want to paint Ferrari as "the bad guys" like that either. They have their own rational reasons and the switch at the time was logical. Vettel was faster at that point in time. But they should switched back when it was clear Vettel was not making inroads. It is too early in the season to put such burdens on the team. Good thing is: Leclerc is a good, humble and patient person. He will be able to put the decisions in context, but he will also defy team orders when the occasion is right, like in Bahrain. Ferrari has to respect he is not a walkover, and that Leclerc's patience should also be rewarded.

Team dynamics, people.

In the history of F1 we had this scenario a few times, a young fast contender pairing up with a multiple world champion. All of these gave us, the viewers, epic seasons that we are still talking about to date. 1986/87 where young Nigel was challenging Piquet.....

A 33/34yo Mansell was not that young by the contemporary standards of the day.

He was a bit older indeed, but ticks all the other boxes. He’s a late bloomer. Young in F1 years when he was teamed up with Piquet, Nelson was already a 2 time world champion with seven seasons under his belt. Mansell, had, like Senna later, three and a bit years of Lotus.

[Just_a_fan]

Mansell also did it himself. He self-funded his early career including remortgaging his house at one point. That's a level of commitment the youngsters don't understand.

He was probably the last of the old school racing drivers. A real racer, that's for sure.

[turbof1]

Mansell also did it himself. He self-funded his early career including remortgaging his house at one point. That's a level of commitment the youngsters don't understand.

He was probably the last of the old school racing drivers. A real racer, that's for sure.

I think very few youngsters in his day would have gone to that extreme too . But yeah, he was extremely committed.

[NL_Fer]

Boah, Alex Albon was dumped by the Redbull program. Fought his way back to a F2 drive. Didn’t get much attention for whole season until hey finished 3rd in the championship.

Look what he is doing now.

[siskue2005]

Mercs are just too strong....once again

Didn't see you at Bahrain

Well, this race was boring.
Mercedes should run away with it once again

Because of the incompetence from their rival....cant blame them for doing their job

But my question still stands...didnt see you at Bahrain with the same quote ("Ferrari are too strong")? as from the above quote it is evident that you posted it after China qualifying.

Instead, you should post, Ferrari and RBR et al are too incompetent again from here on

[hollus]

Regarding a possible disadvantage by starting in the "clean side". It is possible that it is not the clean side as much as the pole position itself that is a disadvantage. In all three races the pole sitter got mugged after the start, but for example in China Vettel had a superb start from 3rd.
Bottas complained that the start-finish line itself compromised his start, as he was still so slow when the his tires go over it while the others were already faster. He literally said that it started the wheelspin. He also said that next time he might do a burnout in the warm-up lap just to have black rubber on the white line. Against that theory, though, he also said that only in China the line was so thick.
It is hard to see it in the rears in this video, but the front wobbles a bit right as his rears pass the line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKfmiAYiC-M
In Australia it isn't so clear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdD8gEGj0to
But in Bahrain one can see Leclerc's car losing the rear just after the start line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VjWY--QdMA.

[dans79]

The Italian press are already taking bites out of Ferrari 3 races into the season.

http://www.grandprix.com/news/nothing-f ... ettel.html

Corriere della Sera said Ferrari appeared "slow, confused and chaotic" in Shanghai.

"All of Ferrari's problems came to light on a complex track like China, and internal problems between the drivers threaten to break out completely."

La Gazzetta dello Sport says Ferrari's winter test promise "has disappeared, sunk by controversial decisions such as the one giving preference to Vettel".