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History made today: Covid Lewis wins his 7th World Championship!

I think Toto's wide runs a Formula E team. So it must be putting a strain on the relationship or the kids.

She does. She was a legit driver, and retired from driving just a few years ago. She had made it to a development driver for Williams F1 and had participated in a few F1 open P1 sessions. Close, but never landed the F1 drive.

Did you catch todays qualifying? Insane in the rain. Stroll on the pole.

Here's the obligatory Suzie Wolff cheese shot.

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She does. She was a legit driver, and retired from driving just a few years ago. She had made it to a development driver for Williams F1 and had participated in a few F1 open P1 sessions. Close, but never landed the F1 drive.

Did you catch todays qualifying? Insane in the rain. Stroll on the pole.

Here's the obligatory Suzie Wolff cheese shot.

140401183045-susie-williams-elbow-helmet-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg
Newly re-surfaced track plus rain. Not a good combo. Surprised Lewis didn't do better considering that he is one of the best rain drivers out there. I am guessing the modification they did to the wheel to keep the tires cool after last season is working against them in Turkey. Thus the struggle to get the tires warm.
Would be nice to get a rain race though.
 
I hope they can stay on the track tomorrow....

I like the way things shook out in quals, and the new folks a bit higher up in the starting positions, and am looking forward to a good race. It'll be interesting to see how Stroll and Verstappen do in their starts - Max is usually pretty darned good. I confess to not having paid too much attention to how Stroll does in those first few seconds after the lights go out.
 
I hope they can stay on the track tomorrow....

I like the way things shook out in quals, and the new folks a bit higher up in the starting positions, and am looking forward to a good race. It'll be interesting to see how Stroll and Verstappen do in their starts - Max is usually pretty darned good. I confess to not having paid too much attention to how Stroll does in those first few seconds after the lights go out.

Lewis versus Verstapphan in the rain would be epic. Best two rain drivers.

Stroll's too inconsistent and doesn't come across as the fastest learner. Maybe the pressure of having to live up to Daddy's expectations and investments weighs him down a lot -- forces him to try too hard and then make mistakes. But he has the odd podium every season or so.

To kick out Perez for next season and keep Stroll is criminal.

Blood blinds brains.
 
Turkey F1 -- going to rain at the start! Will be an unpredictable race then.

1600lb cars with 1000hp underneath on a very slick track... what could go wrong.
 
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What a drive by Lewis!
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He wore down his Inters into slicks and came in to win the race.

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Equals Michael Schumacher's record. I personally think Lewis is a better overall driver technically than Michael. Schumacher is a lot more aggressive and would elbow his way around.
Lewis has improved tremendously over the years, tire management and just being smart in how he manages a race.
Michael won his 7 championships over a 10 year period. Lewis over 12 years, a bit of endurance and consistency.
 
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The younger generation of kids all seem to be very honest and willing to own up to their mistakes. Last race, Russell, this time LeClerc.


Nice to hear multi-millionaire drivers being so self-critical.
 
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That radio message from Charles was hilarious. (Someone on reddit had the full translation.) I like Leclerc. Of course, I've always been a Ferrari fan. But Leclerc is turning into my favorite current driver, the way he seems to drag that lousy car around. I can't wait until Ferrari gives him a good car in a couple of years...or I hope they do.

I was upset to see him lose the podium spot, but on the other hand it seems appropriate that Vettel should be up there with Hamilton for this one.
 
Not just lived, but walked away with minor injuries. I mean, the impact and fire in that crash rivals any fatal 70's crash and he just walked away. The safety of these cars compared to the 70's/80's is amazing.
What a race!! One car breaks apart in a ball of fire. Another goes turtle.
The halo doesn't look such an ugly addition anymore. Saved two necks tonight.
 
Perfect race to evaluate Albon and Perez. Seriously don’t understand it if SP doesn’t get that ride. Sergio has comfortably held him off all day in a slower car.

Ricciardo and Norris will give Albon fits in a Red Bull next year. Sergio probably not so much.
 
Not just lived, but walked away with minor injuries. I mean, the impact and fire in that crash rivals any fatal 70's crash and he just walked away. The safety of these cars compared to the 70's/80's is amazing.

The halo 100% saved him from a blunt force trauma death. His head would’ve literally been squashed without it. The fact he escaped that fire was 100% luck. If he’s somehow trapped in that barrier he’s probably burnt to death or very severely burnt.
 
If he’s somehow trapped in that barrier he’s probably burnt to death or very severely burnt.

I don't know how long those suits allow them to survive but check this footage...he's literally inside this fire and you see him come out at the 24 second mark.



 
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He was lucky the car pierced a hole in the armco and he could climb out the other side. Be interesting to see what the G load was.
 
Apparently, his visor melted off.

I am surprised they have those metal barriers still. Thought they got rid of them years ago and replaced them with walls of tires or stuff that absorbs the impact.
Its unbelievable that the front part of the car is on one side of the barrier and the other half on the trackside.

Explanation:

 
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Lewis Hamilton: Formula One champion tests positive for coronavirus
Lewis Hamilton will miss this weekend's Sakhir Grand Prix; His replacement driver is yet to be announced; The Mercedes driver is self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 following Bahrain Grand Prix
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Verstappen and Botas must be thinking that this guy must be born under some helluva lucky star!
 
Who do you think should be his replacement?

Would love to see George.
Hulk seems likely because he’s raced essentially last years car twice. Vandoorne is a strong possibility too, especially since the title is already wrapped up.
 
Would love to see George.
Hulk seems likely because he’s raced essentially last years car twice. Vandoorne is a strong possibility too, especially since the title is already wrapped up.

I imagine that George would still stay at Williams. But can you imagine George in the Merc and then beats Bottas? 🤣

 
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On another pic the halo is intact. It's clear that the air intake and halo punched through the barrier and saved his neck.
They need the halo in one of the Mad Max cars!

Fyi. I just saw on Sky Sports that Grosjean is leaving the hospital today! Amazing.
 
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I don't think Russell would be mentally ready for that seat under these circumstances. If he got that ride and it went anywhere but great, it would be damaging for him. It might be the best car on the grid, but without the seat time in it you're not going to drive it like Hamilton, or even Bottas. If I was Russell I'd want my shot one day, but not like this.
 
If I were Russell I would look anywhere but Merc for the future. They’ve held him down basically to keep Hamilton up. They’ll never pair him with Hamilton because he’ll push him. They don’t want a Ferrari situation. If Hamilton signs another 2 year deal he’s stuck in Williams purgatory until ‘23.
 
If I were Russell I would look anywhere but Merc for the future. They’ve held him down basically to keep Hamilton up. They’ll never pair him with Hamilton because he’ll push him. They don’t want a Ferrari situation. If Hamilton signs another 2 year deal he’s stuck in Williams purgatory until ‘23.

I disagree. Russell would already be at Mercedes had Claire Williams not blocked the move before this season. Remember that Russell is at Williams as part of a Mercedes engine deal, and he's Toto's driver. I don't think Mercedes, or Hamilton, are afraid of a Russell/Hamilton pairing.

Besides, as we've seen with Bottas, there are plenty of was to insure that Hamilton gets his wins. "Valteri, it's James." How many time have we seen Bottas on the bad end of a tire strategy designed to make sure Lewis gets an extra 5 seconds on Max? And George is still pretty green. I don't think Lewis has a lot to worry about just yet from George.

There seems to be a lot of chatter about Russell getting the seat this weekend. Could be a real shot for him. But if he cocks it up and doesn't put it on the podium, well that won't be a strong statement.
 
If George gets the ride obviously I’ll take back all I said. We’ll see.
I have no doubts George can be at least P2 if he gets the ride. This circuit layout will favor Mercedes tremendously and it’s not Red Bull friendly.
 
If George gets the ride obviously I’ll take back all I said. We’ll see.
I have no doubts George can be at least P2 if he gets the ride. This circuit layout will favor Mercedes tremendously and it’s not Red Bull friendly.

I'm not convinced he'll do that well, I hope he does. But honestly he's used to tooling around in the rear. We'll see how he fares up front. I think he'll qualify well but I could see him get overwhelmed at the start and lose a few spots. I'm not convinced a podium is a given. On the other hand, it'd be awesome to see him win.

 
I'm not convinced he'll do that well, I hope he does. But honestly he's used to tooling around in the rear. We'll see how he fares up front. I think he'll qualify well but I could see him get overwhelmed at the start and lose a few spots. I'm not convinced a podium is a given. On the other hand, it'd be awesome to see him win.


Ballsy on George's part.
 
Ballsy on George's part.

Yeah, but I guess if you're driving at that level you're expected to be a ballsy sort. Hard to know what the expectation might be on the part of Mercedes. Obviously the fan expectation seems to be a potential win or podium. That would be awesome but I'm not so sure that's fair. More relevant would be what he needs to do to please Mercedes. That we don't know.

Of course in addition to the pressure on Russell, let's not forget the pressure suddenly on Bottas. Can you imagine if Russell comes in and out-qualifies Bottas on Saturday, or even beats Bottas on Sunday? Ouch.

I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend.
 
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Yeah, but I guess if you're driving at that level you're expected to be a ballsy sort. Hard to know what the expectation might be on the part of Mercedes. Obviously the fan expectation seems to be a potential win or podium. That would be awesome but I'm not so sure that's fair. More relevant would be what he needs to do to please Mercedes. That we don't know.

Of course in addition to the pressure on Russell, let's not forget the pressure suddenly on Bottas. Can you imagine if Russell comes in and out-qualifies Bottas on Saturday, or even beats Bottas on Sunday? Ouch.

I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend.

 
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Bottas does exactly what Merc needs. He qualifies 2nd or 3rd and finishes 2nd or 3rd.
I kinda expect Russell to put pressure on him. I view Russell in the same light as Leclerc and Max. He should just step in and be fast. He tested the Merc preseason, right? He’s had seat time.

upon further examination, George drove the 2019 car in postseason testing exactly a year ago, leading the timing chart.
 
Bottas is often quicker than Lewis in FP1 1 and FP2 and occasionally outqualifies Lewis. He rarely beats Lewis on Sunday for two reasons. First, Lewis is simply better at race management, and by that I mean tire management. The guy simply knows how to finesse those tires to get the maximum out of them. And second...and let's not kid ourselves...he gets the better Merc strategy. How often have we seen Bottas used as an old tampon in order to get Lewis into be better position vs a competitor? Happens all the time. Nope Valtteri...stay out there on those crappy mediums for a bit longer in front of Max. By the time Bottas is allowed to box...hey, Lewis is 8 seconds clear! Thanks Valtteri!

Now, don't get me wrong. Lewis is the superior driver and deserves all he has. And Lewis simply does not make mistakes. But Bottas isn't exactly given a level field to play often enough on race day. It will be interesting to see how they play these two on Sunday. Who gets to be Lewis?
 
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