F1 - 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix

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F1 - 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix

US TV Times:
Practice 1 - Friday, August 2, 4:55 AM - ESPN2
Practice 2 - Friday, August 2, 8:55 AM - ESPNU
Practice 3 - Saturday, August 3, 5:55 AM - ESPN2
Qualifying - Saturday, August 3, 8:55 AM - ESPN2
Pit Lane Live - Sunday, August 4, 7:30 AM - ESPN3
On The Grid - Sunday, August 4, 8:30 AM - ESPN2
Race - Sunday, August 4, 9:05 AM - ESPN2
Race (re-air) - Sunday, August 4, 7:00 PM - ESPNEWS
Race (re-air) - Sunday, August 4, 11:00 PM - ESPN2

Current Standings:
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 225
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 184
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 162
4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 141
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 120
6. Pierre Gasly, Red Bull, 55
7. Carlos Sainz, McLaren, 48
8. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 27
9. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo Racing, 25
10. Lando Norris, McLaren, 22
Constructors
1. Mercedes, 409
2. Ferrari, 261
3. Red Bull, 217
4. McLaren, 70
5. Toro Rosso, 42
6. Renault, 39
7. Racing Point, 31
8. Haas, 26
9. Alfa Romeo Racing, 26
10. Williams, 1

For more, including track data, analysis, and video please check out my full post on TOV Motorsports.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by CharlieBauer
Back to flawless Lewis!


This was probably the first time ever I actually wanted Lewis to win. That was a masterstroke strategy call.

Bottas can't seem to catch a break, although he started this one all by himself by locking the front.
 
What's with the recent talk about Bottas losing his place on the MB team ? I guess they'd only be satisfied if he and Lewis trade wins back and forth.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
What's with the recent talk about Bottas losing his place on the MB team ? I guess they'd only be satisfied if he and Lewis trade wins back and forth.


Last week in Germany, Bottas crashed while trying to close on Lance Stroll.
He hasn't been able to challenge Lewis as much as Nico Rosberg did.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
What's with the recent talk about Bottas losing his place on the MB team ? I guess they'd only be satisfied if he and Lewis trade wins back and forth.

They're not having a meltdown against each other like Rosberg did. MB should be happy. Bottas is bringing in enough points to ensure the constructor's championship and he's not making waves. He is capable of a championship assuming that his luck turns. I think Wolff is just bored and floating rumours. They keep talking Verstappen, and even Vettel. Neither is going to happen. Either would be a recipe for disaster. Trading Bottas out for anyone else, with the possible exception of wanting to promote and develop Ocon (or even Wehrlein) would be more trouble than it's worth.

Verstappen noted, and rightly, I might add, the other day that there are at least four or five guys on the grid right now that could have Lewis's total of championships or more had they been in Lewis's place.
whistle.gif


Lewis did a good job this weekend and Mercedes tends not to screw up strategy (I'm looking at you, Ferrari). They've had a few hiccups here and there, but not like some others.
 
Originally Posted by Garak
They're not having a meltdown against each other like Rosberg did. MB should be happy. Bottas is bringing in enough points to ensure the constructor's championship and he's not making waves. He is capable of a championship assuming that his luck turns. I think Wolff is just bored and floating rumours. They keep talking Verstappen, and even Vettel. Neither is going to happen. Either would be a recipe for disaster. Trading Bottas out for anyone else, with the possible exception of wanting to promote and develop Ocon (or even Wehrlein) would be more trouble than it's worth.

Verstappen noted, and rightly, I might add, the other day that there are at least four or five guys on the grid right now that could have Lewis's total of championships or more had they been in Lewis's place.
whistle.gif



I agree completely re: Bottas. Quick enough to fight for pole and keep contenders down the grid. Can't quite compete with Lewis on raceday but knows his place and doesn't make waves. Seems like an ideal team setup rather that the drama that having two true title contenders might bring.

Disagree on the point about Lewis. Well, maybe not disagree but the statement discounts his true talent, which is immense. Verstappen is right there though, and will have his day.
 
Originally Posted by Garak
Verstappen noted, and rightly, I might add, the other day that there are at least four or five guys on the grid right now that could have Lewis's total of championships or more had they been in Lewis's place.
whistle.gif



Verstappen still has the folly of youth and perhaps the pot of Amsterdam in his system. Many would consider him a better driver than Ricciardo, yet their head to head record in the same car are about equal with Ricciardo coming out on top 2 years out of 3.

Hamilton almost won the championship in his first F1 season and won it in his second season. In his first F1 season he beat the more experienced Alonso. And in his second season he won it without his team winning the constructor championship with Ferrari drivers coming 2nd and 3rd and his teammate coming 7th.

Against Rosberg with the same car, he has far more wins and points despite having similar pole positions.

It's one thing to think one has talent or that others could have done something "if only". It's another to get it done race by race, season by season. Verstappen needs to concentrate on letting his results speak for themselves rather than insulting the second most successful driver in F1 history. He had pole and fastest lap but still came second. He has all that talent but still got outscored by Ricciardo who is not an Alonso.
 
Originally Posted by CharlieBauer
Originally Posted by Garak
Verstappen noted, and rightly, I might add, the other day that there are at least four or five guys on the grid right now that could have Lewis's total of championships or more had they been in Lewis's place.
whistle.gif



Verstappen still has the folly of youth and perhaps the pot of Amsterdam in his system. Many would consider him a better driver than Ricciardo, yet their head to head record in the same car are about equal with Ricciardo coming out on top 2 years out of 3.

Hamilton almost won the championship in his first F1 season and won it in his second season. In his first F1 season he beat the more experienced Alonso. And in his second season he won it without his team winning the constructor championship with Ferrari drivers coming 2nd and 3rd and his teammate coming 7th.

Against Rosberg with the same car, he has far more wins and points despite having similar pole positions.

It's one thing to think one has talent or that others could have done something "if only". It's another to get it done race by race, season by season.


I couldn't have put it any better. There will always be those who live in the "what if" world.
 
I still agree with Verstappen on his point. Think about it for a moment. He's not taking a knock at Lewis; he's making a point about the sport in general. What he says holds true even if Lewis were the greatest driver in F1 history.

You have Lewis run in a Racing Point and dump Stroll in Lewis's spot, Stroll will almost certainly wind up with more points than Lewis over the season. I imagine Bottas would clean his clock, though, throughout the year. Lewis won't turn a back marker into a championship car. Look how it demoralised Alonso.

Verstappen is simply pointing out that there are others on the grid that could do roughly what Lewis has done if they had been in the same position, with a dominant car and a weaker team mate. I'm sure among those four or five of which he's thinking, Max almost certainly means himself, and I bet he includes Ricciardo there, and Vettel would be on that list.

Lewis has chosen teams well over the years and that has been to his credit. He jumped out of McLaren and into Mercedes at virtually the perfect time. Had that been a move to Ferrari or Red Bull or even remaining at McLaren, still a top team then, it wouldn't have turned out so well. Look at Alonso. I don't think he could have had much worse luck.

It's not a great stretch to imagine that Lewis's championship tally wouldn't be where it is now had he remained at McLaren. That's not a criticism of Lewis. You want to win championships, you have to be in a contending car, and the McLaren hasn't been one for a while. It was going downhill even while he was there and Niki did an effective and honest sales job.
 
Originally Posted by Garak
He jumped out of McLaren and into Mercedes at virtually the perfect time.

Easy to say in hindsight, but at the time people thought he was taking a big risk, leaving a championship-contending McLaren for a mid-pack Mercedes with mediocre results at that time:

Mercedes
2010: 3 podiums, 0 wins, 4th overall
2011: 0 podiums, 0 wins, 4th overall
2012: 3 podiums, 1 win, 5th overall
[LEWIS JOINS]
2013: 9 podiums, 3 wins, 2nd overall
2014: 31 podiums, 16 wins, 1st overall
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 - championship winners

People are always quick to point at "the best car/team" as a factor for a driver's success but seem to overlook one reason for the car/team being the best is down to talented drivers. Nico was with Mercedes in 2010-2012 and didn't do much until Lewis showed up. Then look at Schumacher - he dominated at Benetton then left to join a comically under-performing Ferrari team who then kept on winning - meanwhile the previously dominant Benetton reversed down the grid in the hands of Berger and Alesi.
 
Originally Posted by weasley
.......Then look at Schumacher - he dominated at Benetton then left to join a comically under-performing Ferrari team who then kept on winning......

You have to remember, Schumacher helped assemble that winning Ferrari team, along with Ross Brawn. His personnel and technical input, along with his driving skill helped Ferrari become the unstoppable team they became through the new millennium. Much like Buddy Ryan did with the Super Bowl winning 1985 Chicago Bears. (They were consistently one of the worst teams in the NFL before he came along). These guys basically hand picked who they wanted, and management with their fat checkbook in tow, went out and got them on their advice. Hamilton simply fell into the right team, at the right time. Pure luck.

That isn't a slam against his talent as a driver. But that is basically what the "sport" of Formula 1 has descended to today. If a driver becomes flat out lucky, (Hamilton with MB, and Vettel with Red Bull), they'll win a slew of championships. If they're not they will underperform regardless of their skill level. Simply because they end up with a dog of a car that in no way compliments their driving abilities, (Alonso).
 
Yes, hindsight is always 20/20. McLaren wasn't much of a threat to Red Bull in Lewis's last days there, though, despite Mercedes not being a threat, either. Niki, I'm sure, had done a great and convincing, not to mention truthful, sales pitch to Lewis. Of course, a good car needs talented drivers. You can't put Lewis in a Williams right now and have him be a threat, and you can't have Stroll take over Lewis's position and threaten Lewis's records, either. Ricciardo hasn't strong armed Renault into success any further than Alonso did with McLaren.
 
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