2017 Malaysia Grand Prix - Sepang, 29 September-01 October

[ChrisDanger]

Every single time in these race threads it´s just one big ----slinging fest and it´s getting pretty annoying with locked thread after locked thread.

After the flag fell I thought it would at least be quiet around here because there were no controversial incidents. Then Vettel and Stroll happened.

Why people feel the need to apportion blame is beyond me. Nobody wins the blame game.

[TAG]

Why people feel the need to apportion blame is beyond me. Nobody wins the blame game.

I think people often take their queues from their drivers or even teams, some of which are generally the first to apportion blame and it's never themselves. But that's just part of the sport.

[Jolle]

You haven't been to a race. Have u?
The cars which are stopped are kept in a separate place with Marshalls surrounding it and also a track stewards protecting it. Nobody can steal anything. Not even small parts of carbon fibre. They would confiscate it when u get out of the track

I don't think that is the reason he took it. It was most probably due to some secret clutch panel they were developing

And also it is against the rule to take the wheel with u. Which is actually a safety rule. AND why did he again escape penalty for it? Really biased stewards.

during the race yes, after the race it is mayhem. people climbing over fences, nearly get run over by tractors, buses Vip shuttles. etc. taking DRS signs, Rolex signs, everyhing what can be taken will be gone... also wasn't once a steering whell stolen (from the pits) once...

so he probably took it because of the reason Jolle pointed out.

look what they take while at it:
https://blackflag.jalopnik.com/winner-t ... 1818481739

He's just ripped a driveshaft out of the gearbox and broken the suspension, and you think he was worried the steering wheel might get pinched?

Uhm... yes... it’s the only part not screwed down, in perfect functioning order and very very expensive. Plus it just might be his favorite.

[ringo]

Looks like Vandorne may just beat Alonso at the end of the year.
Alonso needs to sign his big contract quick before vandorne reduces his stock by making him look very beatable.
Two 7th place finishes in a row now for Stoffel.
I would bet on him beating Alonso again in Suzuka.

[TwanV]

What a nonsense discussion. Bottom line : both stroll and vettel drove their heart out on the toughest circuit in terms of Gs and temperature. Both drivers tired, something dumb happens, why all the stress? That gearbox will be fine. Ferrari fans should keep to what verstappen does when he's down : be happy with the pace and keep your head up.. Their package is the best at the moment and the season is far from over.

Speaking of pace, does anyone know why Hamilton was derated in the first couple of laps? The only parallel I can find with Mercedes being off the bat is temperature (both of last races where very hot and humid). The spin is tyres, but I have a feeling they have a cooling problem. Anyone with any intel on that one?

EDIT: one other note, I will miss this track. From my experience Malaysians are excellent negotiators, let's hope this is all a show so that we have it back on the calendar in 2019

[Steven]

Why people feel the need to apportion blame is beyond me. Nobody wins the blame game.

I think people often take their queues from their drivers or even teams, some of which are generally the first to apportion blame and it's never themselves. But that's just part of the sport.

Exactly. Each driver blames the other, in not so mild wording, then the discussion here starts with a quote, and we're off into abyss. Still, I think it's reasonable today, apart from a few people calling each other names for disagreeing.

Anyway, back on topic:
- Congrats to my fellow countryman VAN for his performance!
- Thanks ALO for another funny radio message
- Well done to VER as well

[dans79]

I think Bottas let slip what Merc's problem was.

missing pace and sliding around the more the quicker I try to go the more I overheat the tires and the more I slide and that's the more I struggle

Merc has had an issue in high temperatures all year, and when they switched to the softs (less thermally sensitive), the gap between Max and Lewis stabilized. Personally I don't think they have fully recovered from the suspension rule changes during testing.

[ChrisDanger]

EDIT: one other note, I will miss this track. From my experience Malaysians are excellent negotiators, let's hope this is all a show so that we have it back on the calendar in 2019

Ted Kravitz said on his Qualifying Notebook that the current prime minister is not in favour of the race, but if another prime minister is elected there is hope of a return.

[NL_Fer]

What a nonsense discussion. Bottom line : both stroll and vettel drove their heart out on the toughest circuit in terms of Gs and temperature. Both drivers tired, something dumb happens, why all the stress? That gearbox will be fine. Ferrari fans should keep to what verstappen does when he's down : be happy with the pace and keep your head up.. Their package is the best at the moment and the season is far from over.

Speaking of pace, does anyone know why Hamilton was derated in the first couple of laps? The only parallel I can find with Mercedes being off the bat is temperature (both of last races where very hot and humid). The spin is tyres, but I have a feeling they have a cooling problem. Anyone with any intel on that one?

EDIT: one other note, I will miss this track. From my experience Malaysians are excellent negotiators, let's hope this is all a show so that we have it back on the calendar in 2019

Ted said in his Notebook, that Mercedes uses a mode to start the race, where the ERS fully deploys from the launch and the first lap. After that the system has to recover the energy levels in the next laps, which causes derates.

[TwanV]

Thumbs up, thanks for the info for the guys without Sky coverage:)

[Edax]

EDIT: one other note, I will miss this track. From my experience Malaysians are excellent negotiators, let's hope this is all a show so that we have it back on the calendar in 2019

Ted Kravitz said on his Qualifying Notebook that the current prime minister is not in favour of the race, but if another prime minister is elected there is hope of a return.

I hope so Malaysians are amongst the biggest F1 fans I know. I once was stuck in a hotel in KUL without a channel showing F1. I went to the street to look for a sportsbar. It wasn't long before some guys took me to a shopping mall where hundreds of people had gathered to watch the race on a big screen in the central plaza, in the middle of the night. I have not seen so much devotion to the sport even not in countries like Italy and Spain.

I am not a fan of some of the outside races, but Malaysia, with the fan base and the exposure of Petronas and Heineken amongst others, makes perfect sense.

[Vanja #66]

So, is this normal line once the race is over and there is a driver on your right going faster?

[sosic2121]

Very true. Just with the leniency shown towards Ferrari and Vettel this year, it doesn't help the whole Ferrari International Assistance thing

Are we going to have those stupid comments again?

If if transpires that Vet needs a gearbox and gets it for free (which is what we are talking about) then those 'stupid comments' would be totally justified. Otherwise it's just hypothetical anyway.

And why shouldn't he get free gearbox?
If he's guilty for crash, he should be punished for that. But, if he had a crash, why shouldn't he get new box.

Leniency towards Ferrari? Have to wonder when that happened...

[Restomaniac]

Are we going to have those stupid comments again?

If if transpires that Vet needs a gearbox and gets it for free (which is what we are talking about) then those 'stupid comments' would be totally justified. Otherwise it's just hypothetical anyway.

And why shouldn't he get free gearbox?
If he's guilty for crash, he should be punished for that. But, if he had a crash, why shouldn't he get new box.

Leniency towards Ferrari? Have to wonder when that happened...

So everytime someone has had a crash which nobody was to blame and suffered a gearbox failure out of sequence they have been given a free one?.........Oh wait that hasn't happened but let's make an exception here.

I'm not saying they will or that it will be needed anyway. I AM damn well saying that they shouldn't because it would show a bending of the rules.

[TAG]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fBcnCB_HpI

So, is this normal line once the race is over and there is a driver on your right going faster?

Wow. Like Webber says; sometimes Vettel forgets that his car doesn't end at the back of his helmet. The blaming everyone has to stop thought, it's just embarrassing at this point.

On the race itself:

Verstappen drove a fantastic race, very controlled and he had load of pace, no one was going to touch him. Lewis ran a race for the percentages. He could have challenged for the lead but it simply wasn't worth the risk. In the end the car just wasn't there, the super softs just did not work on their car and he'd have had to push it beyond anything worth while. Saving the engine and consolidating and additional six points was the smart thing. IMO Lewis was lucky to get second. Had Kimi run, he'd have been third for sure.

Ricciardo, defended from Vettel is a sublime way. He knew it was coming, he knew he had to save his tires for when the attack came and defend he did. I love that kind of racing don't know if he had the pace for overtaking Lewis, he tried but simply wasn't ever able to mount any kind of challenge in front, but man was he able to hold off the challenge, just sorry it didn't go on for a few more laps.

Vettel drove a great race, surprised they brought him in when they did, effectively negating any advantage he had from starting on the soft tires and in the end having to run so long on the super softs just wore through prevented him from a prolonged attack on Ricciardo for the podium. He had one shot at Ricciardo and was not able to get a second, simply dropped off after that, fuel or something else? Probably saving both car and engine and in the end all of the risk to gain three points simply wasn't worth it we'll find out more about it for sure.

Inexplicable what happened at the end, at first I thought both drivers might have been caught picking their noses but man that clip is a clear cut case of WTF Vettel, again.

Oh, Bottas... it was painful watching him. Show how much more Hamilton was wringing out of that car, he had nothing for nobody. Mercedes really got it wrong this weekend and were phenomenally lucky to leave here extending both their championship leads.

Something really really notable happened at McLaren today, not only was it not Alonso's day but on this track in the heat and Vandoorne putting that car in 7th, it was probably the performance of the season. Who knows if Honda has turned a corner but today seemed like a cornerstone day for their building whatever comes next. Goo on Stoffel.