Turn one was the place to do it, or on the exit of Spoon into the final chicane.
It was a stupid move he didn’t need to do
Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand PrixFormula 1
- Thread starter Dennisch
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Turn one was the place to do it, or on the exit of Spoon into the final chicane.
It was a stupid move he didn’t need to do
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He left room, but that’s not a place to overtake. I mean Max could have pulled over to one side too... but he didn’t have too, Vettel came from too far back, too late and at the wrong corner.
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Max didn't leave enough room. And we have seen a lot of overtaking here at this race.
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I doubt I'll watch the remaining races, there's pretty much nothing to stop Lewis winning all of them, especially since at this point Vettel has probably given up. As always the fanboys are out en masse saying he's the worse driver ever when he has proved numerous times throughout his career that he is a capable racer, and as we saw 2010 and 2012 he can take the pressure of a tooth-and-nail championship fight right to the end. At the start of year it was Vettel running rings round everyone and Lewis looking like he just couldn't be bothered. There's just been an unfortunate mixture of his own errors, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and amateur strategy calls from his team. Of course it's not helped that the Mercedes is clearly faster despite everyone saying the contrary. Ferrari were faster...in Spa, but since then even when things have worked the Mercedes has still been faster.
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Great job from Lewis and Mercedes - the team didn't put a foot wrong all weekend and their dominance is now more obvious than ever. I hope, however, that Ferrari can salvage something from the remainder of the season, as although this race was quite good to watch, the season itself would be alot more entertaining if Lewis still had a serious challenger, while right now he doesn't.
I doubt Vettel could have put up much of a challenge today even if his race wasn't wrecked by his lunge at Verstappen - clearly it is possible to pass slower cars upon entering Spoon curve, but it must be said that it was an error of judgement from Vettel... though he was arguably in a position where he has to take these chances.
Verstappen's penalty, on the other hand, was a stonewaller and yet another example of Max's immaturity shining through - he was lucky it didn't cost him and the team a lot more than a 5 second penalty. Otherwise it was a good day for Red Bull.
edit: I laughed at the Stroll-Alonso penalties - very harsh on Alonso... he gets forced off the track and then penalised for gaining an advantage, but then the stewards hand Stroll the same penalty, thus.. giving Alonso an advantage?!
I doubt Vettel could have put up much of a challenge today even if his race wasn't wrecked by his lunge at Verstappen - clearly it is possible to pass slower cars upon entering Spoon curve, but it must be said that it was an error of judgement from Vettel... though he was arguably in a position where he has to take these chances.
Verstappen's penalty, on the other hand, was a stonewaller and yet another example of Max's immaturity shining through - he was lucky it didn't cost him and the team a lot more than a 5 second penalty. Otherwise it was a good day for Red Bull.
edit: I laughed at the Stroll-Alonso penalties - very harsh on Alonso... he gets forced off the track and then penalised for gaining an advantage, but then the stewards hand Stroll the same penalty, thus.. giving Alonso an advantage?!
Isn’t this kind of been the issue this year?
Vettel hasn’t been good enough to challenge Lewis since Austria. Even tracks he and his car excel at (Singapore, Monza), he totally and utterly failed.
Red Bull’s turn of pace though has been surprising, I feel worse and worse about not getting to see Danny in next years car, as with (one assumes) Vettel and Leclerc fighting for dominance at Ferrari.. a proper good battle could come between Merc and Red Bull
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Sorry, I should have specified that I meant social media in general, not just this thread.
Kimi not being told to slow down and let him pass in the last couple of laps would suggest the team have. He could theoretically win in Austin, with Lewis coming second most likely, which only extends the fight to Mexico. But I don't think Ferrari can bank on a sudden spade of mechanical failures for Lewis, or Red Bull fitting a Mercedes magnet to Max's car.
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I loved the fact that Alonso just said **** it and drove straight over the gravel. He’s ready to head out of F1 and it’s giving all of us some solid comedy to make up for F1’s lack of a title fight
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Pretty entertaining race. Ferrari seem to be doing their best to continue Ferrari’s legacy of being their own worst enemies.
I agree with the penalty for Max rejoining the track the way he did. However, just to give him some benefit of the doubt in regards to what he said after the race, when he said, “he could have waited for me,” I think he means something more along the lines of “he could have waited for me, and then cut underneither, instead of trying to go around the outside.
I agree that Max should have rejoined in a different manor, but I can understand from Max’s perspective that Kimi could have cut underneither him.
I agree with the penalty for Max rejoining the track the way he did. However, just to give him some benefit of the doubt in regards to what he said after the race, when he said, “he could have waited for me,” I think he means something more along the lines of “he could have waited for me, and then cut underneither, instead of trying to go around the outside.
I agree that Max should have rejoined in a different manor, but I can understand from Max’s perspective that Kimi could have cut underneither him.
Tired Tyres
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To be fair, I think the Merc wasn't inherently slower than the Ferrari last year, it was just harder to get into it's operating window, where as the Ferrari was far more versatile. So when the Ferrari suffered from all the mechanical issues and problems while the Merc was pretty solid, ended Ferrari's hopes.
This year that hasn't been the case, Spa being a good show of force of just how good that car and package is in race trim and Ferrari are yet to have a mechanical DNF.
I agree the season isn't over, but Vettel is going to have to operate on another level and Mercedes are going to have to run into some serious problems, if he is to close the gap.
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One less than he had last year
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One thing that seems clear to me is that Vettel does not do well when under intense pressure. He's a damned good driver, but when it comes to the crunch point he falls apart - at least he has this season.
It's not helping him that Ferrari as a whole appears to be a total and utter cluster**** in this latter half of the season. They are making woeful strategic decisions, and it's plain as day that they haven't been able to develop the car in the way that Mercedes have, although that seems almost a tradition in that Ferrari start very strong, but don't seem to keep the momentum going with development.
I feel for Vettel, I really do, even though I'm a bit of a Hamilton fan (I'm actually more of an Alonso fan, but whatever), and I would love to see this season go right down to the wire, but unless Hamilton has a couple of DNFs or a couple of no points finishes that's unfortunately not going to happen.
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andrea
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Couldn't have said it better myself.
There's probably a ton of pressure to make good at Ferrari but their rivals pegged them down a good notch too. Hamilton driving flawlessly into the horizon. Verstappen has become a road block for Ferrari. And their biggest enemy is of course themselves.
There's probably a ton of pressure to make good at Ferrari but their rivals pegged them down a good notch too. Hamilton driving flawlessly into the horizon. Verstappen has become a road block for Ferrari. And their biggest enemy is of course themselves.
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AshenGraey
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Vettel likes the kind of race where he starts on pole and lead the race from start to finish with a 30 secs gap to P2 and all the lapped car pulling over completely just to let him pass
I've been secretly rooting for Ricciardo to get the championship but alas...maybe next year (though I'm not holding my breath
). While I'm no Vettel fan, it pains me a bit to see him throwing it away like this mistakes after mistakes whether on his part or the teams. Looking at that last incident with Verstappen, I wouldn't call that a mistake considering the situation but it sure as hell wasn't a good call either. That was a move I'd expect from overzealous rookie GTS players who think a gap is a gap is a gap whether or not there's actual room to fit the car but still go for it anyway. Heck, he got spun around basically the same way at Monza too, you think he'd learned...With the pace he had at that stage, had he waited, I think he probably would have made the pass on the straight to 130R...Anyway, what's done is done but if it was me in his shoes...I know for a fact I'd be like this 
for days if not weeks comes Abu Dhabi or whichever race Lewis gets crowned world Champion a 5th time which could happen in Austin or Mexico at this point. As for Lewis, I know it's not over yet but I say job well done. He has been the better driver overall and rightfully deserve to hold on to that F1 crown. If he keeps going on like this, by the time his contract is over with the Merc, he might just match Schumacher's record for number of wins of all time.
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One of the better races this season, and I'm glad we had what, 15-17 races before things started sliding straight into Hamilton's favour.
On the plus side...if somehow Hamilton doesn't win this championship, we'll have the most memorable couple of races in F1 history. I'm getting hints of last year from Ferrari. Solid...and then absolutely fall apart.
On the plus side...if somehow Hamilton doesn't win this championship, we'll have the most memorable couple of races in F1 history. I'm getting hints of last year from Ferrari. Solid...and then absolutely fall apart.
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Vettel's mistakes would be easy to live with if it were just that. They weren't even that bad. The one in qualifying was understandable, given the conditions and the frustration at being on the wrong tire. The move on Max was borderline... definitely Seb's fault... but if things had worked out a little bit differently, it would have been genius.
Instead, it all but torpedo'd his chances of minimizing the gap.
Curiously, Vettel hasn't racked up that many penalty points this year. Just one point for the gaffe in qualifying in Austria, where he impeded Sainz (which could have been an honest mistake) and two for the collision with Bottas.
Since the introduction of penalty points in 2014, Hamilton has only gotten four in five seasons. Vettel has fifteen.
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Verstappen has nineteen points. Over just four seasons. And he's leading the penalty points race for the season, ahead of Grosjean and Sirotkin.
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Well, at least he's leading in something.
Instead, it all but torpedo'd his chances of minimizing the gap.
Curiously, Vettel hasn't racked up that many penalty points this year. Just one point for the gaffe in qualifying in Austria, where he impeded Sainz (which could have been an honest mistake) and two for the collision with Bottas.
Since the introduction of penalty points in 2014, Hamilton has only gotten four in five seasons. Vettel has fifteen.
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Verstappen has nineteen points. Over just four seasons. And he's leading the penalty points race for the season, ahead of Grosjean and Sirotkin.
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Well, at least he's leading in something.
