2019 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka, Oct 11 - 13

[Wass85]

The thing that puzzles me is whenever Bottas is in trouble they always stop him first even if that means drastically eating in to Hamilton's lead, why wasn't the same done for Lewis?

[NathanOlder]

by zeph obviously

[marvin78]

The question is: Would Bottas have needed to pit twice, if he knew otherwise from the beginning? Hamilton said in the PK that he himself would not, if he knew, he had to make just one stop. In my opinion, this is more complicated that some people see it.

[Wass85]

The question is: Would Bottas have needed to pit twice, if he knew otherwise from the beginning? Hamilton said in the PK that he himself would not, if he knew, he had to make just one stop. In my opinion, this is more complicated that some people see it.

I think he would have been OK tbh, I think his tyres were only around 4 laps older than Hamilton's. Lewis is better at tyre management though but Bottas had the luxury of a good gap and clean air.

[zeph]

Well. I have to point out that Bottas only beat Hamilton because of the team making Hamilton do an unnecessarily pit stop from the lead. If they hadn’t altered Hamilton’s strategy then that’s a win for him.

That theory has already been debunked.

By who?

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opin ... ampionship

[SiLo]

Maybe I missed it, but if you watch the on-board start from Bottas. He doesn't react to the lights, he reacts to Vettel. In athletics this would have been a jump start and a penalty.

I'd really like to see the same rule implemented in F1. You should be looking at the lights, not other competitors, otherwise it can mess up starts for everyone and potentially cause accidents.

https://youtu.be/0mhzK786Qpk?t=39

Watch how quick he reacts to the lights going out. Someone else slowed it down even more and went frame by frame from the broadcast, his reaction time was around 20-30ms. Essentially inhuman reactions and it's very likely what won him the race.

[marvin78]

You can't transfer the rules from athletics. There you have a plane surface and the start is repeated if someone fails. You can't compare and even totally different sports.

[henry]

My recollection is that a tolerance was allowed/introduced because some cars were moving slightly when moving from neutral to first gear. Somehow the origins of rules get lost over time and make things much harder to police.

[SiLo]

I'm not asking them to restart races, just to punish movement. I know it's there for clutch purposes but when was the last time we saw a car move because of clutch engagement that wasn't someone jumping the gun?

[Restomaniac]

That theory has already been debunked.

By who?

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opin ... ampionship

So that’s classed as debunking now

Maybe I’ll get a job as a ‘reporter’ then I can post any old crap and it instantly becomes true!

[Just_a_fan]

Isn’t it a bad thing to keep applying the brakes- when they are hot, while stationary?

It can be with iron brakes as fitted to road cars. You can get pad material transfer (the surface of the pad "glues" itself to the disc and leaves a deposit) that can give a shimmy through the wheel until it's worn off. Also, it can lead to differential cooling and disc warping in extreme cases.

Not sure any of that applies to the carbon brakes used in F1, however, partly because on the grid the brakes aren't "hot", they're actually at the low end of their temperature range.

[Jester Maroc]

I also feel the apparent tolerances are way too high. Either the tolerances should be reduced or the sensors should act as supplementary tools for the stewards to catch false starts. Exclusively using sensors with such a wide margin will confuse a lot of fans and further undermine the FIA's reputation.

Secondly, I am against any form of limitation placed on the drivers as athletes. How can the FIA regulate what is humanly possible? If Bottas had an amazing start due to extra-ordinary reflexes, don't penalize him for it. If the FIA start handing out penalties for starts due to the fact that the driver reacted faster than is humanly possible, where will the line be drawn? 100ms reactions? 80ms, 60ms? Some people are faster than others. Its a slippery slope that will introduce another gray area, best keep things black and white. X driver started rolling 1ms before the lights went out = penalty.

[El Scorchio]

By who?

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opin ... ampionship

So that’s classed as debunking now

Maybe I’ll get a job as a ‘reporter’ then I can post any old crap and it instantly becomes true!

That hasn't debunked anything, and it's just the opinion of a journalist. Mercedes are never going to say they switched Hamilton's strategy at the expense of second place to give Bottas a win. When Bottas came out of the pits, I believe they told him he'd have to pass Hamilton on track. It was clearly a change of plan/strategy to bring Hamilton in a second time- or why was his first stint so long? If they are running the same, then you bring them in on consecutive laps. If you look at the race plan, it doesn't make any sense as the fastest way to get to the line. You also don't just take away his shot at second place for no reason.

He probably could have stayed ahead of Vettel without coming in. He might have stayed ahead of Bottas, which is what they probably won't admit they were worried about. After all, Hamilton cruised up to the back of Vettel on fresh tyres but couldn't pass him. Same old same old.

I expect we will have to agree to disagree on this point. Seems clear as day to me, but everyone has a different opinion.

[iotar__]

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opin ... ampionship

"An error-strewn start by Ferrari that handed Valtteri Bottas victory"

That's F1 "journalism" for ya . Alternative:
- brilliant start by reporter's favourite driver gave Ferrari no chance and a lead against the odds.
- then he kept quicker cars behind through out of this world pace (add quote by Wolff to match the narration)
- and left his team mate who struggled for pace whatever seconds behind on a track he apparently excels at .

[Mandrake]

Poor Paul di Resta is the happiest man today!

As long as Hamilton does not win, then PDR is in heaven.

I'm actually surprised somebody at Sky has not pulled him up on this as most viewers are starting to find it cringeworthy.

Well, PDR is well compensated by the rest of the team sitting head and shoulders up Hamilton's arse. Despite PDR the bias is still so much pro Hamilton