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Fantastic lap by bottas and verstappen is really strong up so far this year, maybe he has finally matured???

Hamilton saying what seems to be his programmed message about Bottas. "Bottas did a fantastic job, he's been quick all weekend" He's said this plenty of times with pretty much exactly the same words when Bottas has been well behind. But the thing is, at first when Bottas beat Hamilton the odd time in 2017, Hamilton looked really happy for him. Now he just is very brief about this.

I am pretty sure Bottas is a changed man this season. And I think all that hype about Leclerc comfortably being on par or beating Vettel is not really true.

The top 3 drivers in the better teams this season to me are Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen. Many people certainly seemed to expect Bottas to be pretty much the weakest driver out of the top 3 teams. So far, I think he has matched Hamilton and looked better than Leclerc and Vettel. Gasly is easily the worst in this group. It is very hard to judge Verstappen. But he isn't making mistakes and looks very strong.

FormulaFun wrote:Fantastic lap by bottas and verstappen is really strong up so far this year, maybe he has finally matured???

We might find out whether he's finally matured when go to Monaco

Rockie wrote:The quicker Pirelli get out of F1 the better, just a 2 degree temperature drop.

While I agree with the sentiment we're stuck with them for several years yet

Rockie wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Verstappen is an animal of a driver. The driver of 2019 so far and the fastest out there right now IMO.

In other news is Leclerc being a bit overblown? All the hype but he's only really beaten Vettel once so far. He's good but certainly no Ricciardo.

This is due to Gasly and nothing else, if Ricciardo was still in the other car it wont look abnormal the Redbull car is exactly where it is supposed to be!

Where would you put Bottas then?

I think Gasly is showing the difference a top driver on top form makes compared to an average driver.

Bottas has done very well to but Verstappen has gotten 100% of the points available to him this season I think. Bottas hasn't.

Qualy done:


Source - https://scontent.fbom16-1.fna.fbcdn.net ... e=5D738200

Zoue wrote:

Rockie wrote:The quicker Pirelli get out of F1 the better, just a 2 degree temperature drop.

While I agree with the sentiment we're stuck with them for several years yet

It's infuriating, same as Baku after the VSC, asides Mercedes no other team could get the tyres back to temperature!

mikeyg123 wrote:

Rockie wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Verstappen is an animal of a driver. The driver of 2019 so far and the fastest out there right now IMO.

In other news is Leclerc being a bit overblown? All the hype but he's only really beaten Vettel once so far. He's good but certainly no Ricciardo.

This is due to Gasly and nothing else, if Ricciardo was still in the other car it wont look abnormal the Redbull car is exactly where it is supposed to be!

Where would you put Bottas then?

I think Gasly is showing the difference a top driver on top form makes compared to an average driver.

Bottas has done very well to but Verstappen has gotten 100% of the points available to him this season I think. Bottas hasn't.

Bottas is beating a 5* WDC someone you refer to as the best and you are really going to compare him to Max driving on his own really?????

You would be salivating and going bananas had Lerclerc just done what Bottas did to Hamilton to Vettel.

Wow Ferrari are not even close. This could be a boring race and another Mercedes 1-2

Ferrari needs to improve fast. Engine power will help them on some tracks but I think on current form in Monaco Mercedes and RBR will be the top two teams. Max only 0.1sec behind and I think the engine is just helping Ferrari to stay ahead in qualifying. In race probably Max will be faster than them. Haas looks 4th best easily. I wonder if they have sorted the tyre issue during the race. RP and AR updates looks bad Ricciardo did a good job in the end. In Q1 they Renault were 15 and 16.

mikeyg123 wrote:Verstappen is an animal of a driver. The driver of 2019 so far and the fastest out there right now IMO.

In other news is Leclerc being a bit overblown? All the hype but he's only really beaten Vettel once so far. He's good but certainly no Ricciardo.

Maybe we are beginning to see the wisdom of Ferrari placing their early season eggs in the Vettel basket?

Zoue wrote:

pokerman wrote:Hamilton beaten easily by Bottas

he didn't manage to string a lap together, to be fair. I don't think it's reflective of ultimate pace.

It's rare for Hamilton to mess up in qualifying. I think he's allowed one poor Saturday!

I was looking at the second runs as well, disappointing.

Rockie wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

Rockie wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Verstappen is an animal of a driver. The driver of 2019 so far and the fastest out there right now IMO.

In other news is Leclerc being a bit overblown? All the hype but he's only really beaten Vettel once so far. He's good but certainly no Ricciardo.

This is due to Gasly and nothing else, if Ricciardo was still in the other car it wont look abnormal the Redbull car is exactly where it is supposed to be!

Where would you put Bottas then?

I think Gasly is showing the difference a top driver on top form makes compared to an average driver.

Bottas has done very well to but Verstappen has gotten 100% of the points available to him this season I think. Bottas hasn't.

Bottas is beating a 5* WDC someone you refer to as the best and you are really going to compare him to Max driving on his own really?????

You would be salivating and going bananas had Lerclerc just done what Bottas did to Hamilton to Vettel.

I'm baffled. Am I supposed to think Hamilton is the best or Vettel? Surely if I think Hamilton's the best then I would find Bottas beating him by 6 tenths more impressive than Leclerc beating Vettel by 6 tenths?

I think Bottas is driving a great season. I just think Verstappen is driving slightly better, As I said Bottas has left points on the table. Verstappen has not.

mikeyg123 wrote:


I'm baffled. Am I supposed to think Hamilton is the best or Vettel? Surely if I think Hamilton's the best then I would find Bottas beating him by 6 tenths more impressive than Leclerc beating Vettel by 6 tenths?

I think Bottas is driving a great season. I just think Verstappen is driving slightly better, As I said Bottas has left points on the table. Verstappen has not.

Verstappen driving better in what way exactly?

He is driving on his own, we know when in close quarters or under pressure he does something silly, Bottas is driving against statistically the best qualifier in F1 history, there is no way in any form you can argue Verstappen is driving better than Bottas!

mikeyg123 wrote:

Rockie wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

Rockie wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Verstappen is an animal of a driver. The driver of 2019 so far and the fastest out there right now IMO.

In other news is Leclerc being a bit overblown? All the hype but he's only really beaten Vettel once so far. He's good but certainly no Ricciardo.

This is due to Gasly and nothing else, if Ricciardo was still in the other car it wont look abnormal the Redbull car is exactly where it is supposed to be!

Where would you put Bottas then?

I think Gasly is showing the difference a top driver on top form makes compared to an average driver.

Bottas has done very well to but Verstappen has gotten 100% of the points available to him this season I think. Bottas hasn't.

Bottas is beating a 5* WDC someone you refer to as the best and you are really going to compare him to Max driving on his own really?????

You would be salivating and going bananas had Lerclerc just done what Bottas did to Hamilton to Vettel.

I'm baffled. Am I supposed to think Hamilton is the best or Vettel? Surely if I think Hamilton's the best then I would find Bottas beating him by 6 tenths more impressive than Leclerc beating Vettel by 6 tenths?

I think Bottas is driving a great season. I just think Verstappen is driving slightly better, As I said Bottas has left points on the table. Verstappen has not.

Maybe Bottas has left points on the table because Hamilton is his teammate, whereas Verstappen hasn't been challenged by Gasly so far. If Verstappen had a better teammate then maybe he'd have left some points in the table.

I agree that Verstappen has been the best driver so far this season but plauing devil's advocate.

JN23 wrote:
Maybe Bottas has left points on the table because Hamilton is his teammate, whereas Verstappen hasn't been challenged by Gasly so far. If Verstappen had a better teammate then maybe he'd have left some points in the table.

I agree that Verstappen has been the best driver so far this season but plauing devil's advocate.

I was mainly thinking of Bahrain tbh where he wasn't really on it at all and was fortunate to finish 2nd after the Ferrari implosion. Verstappen hasn't had a race like that yet this season.

mikeyg123 wrote:

JN23 wrote:
Maybe Bottas has left points on the table because Hamilton is his teammate, whereas Verstappen hasn't been challenged by Gasly so far. If Verstappen had a better teammate then maybe he'd have left some points in the table.

I agree that Verstappen has been the best driver so far this season but plauing devil's advocate.

I was mainly thinking of Bahrain tbh where he wasn't really on it at all and was fortunate to finish 2nd after the Ferrari implosion. Verstappen hasn't had a race like that yet this season.

Yeah that's a fair point.

Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker! Very impressive. If he can execute the victory in the race tomorrow, he will have solidified his championship contending status this year. I'm quite surprised by Valteri's form here to be honest. This is Barcelona; a track where Lewis has been way ahead of Valteri during their time as teammates. I think Bottas has, indeed, raised his game. He has certainly been brilliant in qualifying this year and Barcelona is yet another difficult track to overtake on. He is in really good shape for tomorrow and I think Lewis will need to re-calibrate his mind to acknowledge the unexpected challenge from within the team. From the looks of it, that will, indeed, be his main challenger for this year's title.

sandman1347 wrote:Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker! Very impressive. If he can execute the victory in the race tomorrow, he will have solidified his championship contending status this year. I'm quite surprised by Valteri's form here to be honest. This is Barcelona; a track where Lewis has been way ahead of Valteri during their time as teammates. I think Bottas has, indeed, raised his game. He has certainly been brilliant in qualifying this year and Barcelona is yet another difficult track to overtake on. He is in really good shape for tomorrow and I think Lewis will need to re-calibrate his mind to acknowledge the unexpected challenge from within the team. From the looks of it, that will, indeed, be his main challenger for this year's title.

Well I'm hoping that Bottas will be able to continue like this. But even if he does dip a bit mid season, being extremely good then not so good isn't exactly worse than being just reasonable all year. I think too many were put off Bottas being good enough for this seat basing it on the 2nd half of the seasons. It did seem to be in chunks, but overall, I'd say both season had a strong start and because of that, was at least decent considering he's up against Hamilton. If Bottas is better this year, and it certainly looks the case so far, i just can't see any reason for changing Bottas for another driver.

Best sector times during qualy:


Source - www.imgur.com

Highest speed in all sectors:


Source - www.imgur.com

Bottas was quick but there were some additional factors here, the race could be different. Clearly Hamilton isn't happy with the way the car is set up but how many times have we seen Hamilton perform on race day.
I just wonder if Leclerc was holding back a bit having pranged it last time out. I think he will be more aggressive in the race, if he is allowed that is.

TheGiantHogweed wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker! Very impressive. If he can execute the victory in the race tomorrow, he will have solidified his championship contending status this year. I'm quite surprised by Valteri's form here to be honest. This is Barcelona; a track where Lewis has been way ahead of Valteri during their time as teammates. I think Bottas has, indeed, raised his game. He has certainly been brilliant in qualifying this year and Barcelona is yet another difficult track to overtake on. He is in really good shape for tomorrow and I think Lewis will need to re-calibrate his mind to acknowledge the unexpected challenge from within the team. From the looks of it, that will, indeed, be his main challenger for this year's title.

Well I'm hoping that Bottas will be able to continue like this. But even if he does dip a bit mid season, being extremely good then not so good isn't exactly worse than being just reasonable all year. I think too many were put off Bottas being good enough for this seat basing it on the 2nd half of the seasons. It did seem to be in chunks, but overall, I'd say both season had a strong start and because of that, was at least decent considering he's up against Hamilton. If Bottas is better this year, and it certainly looks the case so far, i just can't see any reason for changing Bottas for another driver.

The idea that Bottas will be replaced has now become absurd. As promising as Ocon is as a young driver; he has not proven himself to be Valteri's equal and with Mercedes sweeping 1-2s ever race weekend, how do you replace anyone!?

Option or Prime wrote:Bottas was quick but there were some additional factors here, the race could be different. Clearly Hamilton isn't happy with the way the car is set up but how many times have we seen Hamilton perform on race day.
I just wonder if Leclerc was holding back a bit having pranged it last time out. I think he will be more aggressive in the race, if he is allowed that is.

yes, that is true. But Bottas happened to be quicker in 2 out of 3 practice sessions as well as looking very comfortable in all of the 3 qualifying sessions, despite a messed up 3rd practice. Hamilton could turn around, But I think Bottas could well have a win again tomorrow. If Bottas gets a perfect start, it is almost certain unless Hamilton is significantly faster, which for a change at this track, i don't see being the case this time.

Option or Prime wrote:Bottas was quick but there were some additional factors here, the race could be different. Clearly Hamilton isn't happy with the way the car is set up but how many times have we seen Hamilton perform on race day.
I just wonder if Leclerc was holding back a bit having pranged it last time out. I think he will be more aggressive in the race, if he is allowed that is.

I suspect Leclerc was getting a banker in and not going all out.

Zoue wrote:

Option or Prime wrote:Bottas was quick but there were some additional factors here, the race could be different. Clearly Hamilton isn't happy with the way the car is set up but how many times have we seen Hamilton perform on race day.
I just wonder if Leclerc was holding back a bit having pranged it last time out. I think he will be more aggressive in the race, if he is allowed that is.

I suspect Leclerc was getting a banker in and not going all out.

Apparently he damaged his car in Q2 when he went off the track.

Zoue wrote:

pokerman wrote:Hamilton beaten easily by Bottas

he didn't manage to string a lap together, to be fair. I don't think it's reflective of ultimate pace.

It's rare for Hamilton to mess up in qualifying. I think he's allowed one poor Saturday!

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433 ... milton-gap

sandman1347 wrote:Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker!

I was wondering whether it was really a banker. Perhaps the teams already knew track conditions were deteriorating and putting a banker lap in wasn't really possible. Perhaps this explains Hamilton's error?

Fiki wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker!

I was wondering whether it was really a banker. Perhaps the teams already knew track conditions were deteriorating and putting a banker lap in wasn't really possible. Perhaps this explains Hamilton's error?

It also wasn't the first time this season the fastest Q3 laps have been early in the session.

OTOH, both of Valtteri's Q3 laps were faster than Hamilton's best IIRC.

pokerman wrote:

Zoue wrote:

Option or Prime wrote:Bottas was quick but there were some additional factors here, the race could be different. Clearly Hamilton isn't happy with the way the car is set up but how many times have we seen Hamilton perform on race day.
I just wonder if Leclerc was holding back a bit having pranged it last time out. I think he will be more aggressive in the race, if he is allowed that is.

I suspect Leclerc was getting a banker in and not going all out.

Apparently he damaged his car in Q2 when he went off the track.

He did, there's the slow-mo video showing things flying from his car

Covalent wrote:

Fiki wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker!

I was wondering whether it was really a banker. Perhaps the teams already knew track conditions were deteriorating and putting a banker lap in wasn't really possible. Perhaps this explains Hamilton's error?

It also wasn't the first time this season the fastest Q3 laps have been early in the session.

OTOH, both of Valtteri's Q3 laps were faster than Hamilton's best IIRC.

I think Bottas' second lap was about 0.3s faster than Hamilton's second lap from memory.

Siao7 wrote:

pokerman wrote:

Zoue wrote:

Option or Prime wrote:Bottas was quick but there were some additional factors here, the race could be different. Clearly Hamilton isn't happy with the way the car is set up but how many times have we seen Hamilton perform on race day.
I just wonder if Leclerc was holding back a bit having pranged it last time out. I think he will be more aggressive in the race, if he is allowed that is.

I suspect Leclerc was getting a banker in and not going all out.

Apparently he damaged his car in Q2 when he went off the track.

He did, there's the slow-mo video showing things flying from his car

yeah he only went over the kerb. Seems like a lot of damage for that

Zoue wrote:

Siao7 wrote:

pokerman wrote:

Zoue wrote:

Option or Prime wrote:Bottas was quick but there were some additional factors here, the race could be different. Clearly Hamilton isn't happy with the way the car is set up but how many times have we seen Hamilton perform on race day.
I just wonder if Leclerc was holding back a bit having pranged it last time out. I think he will be more aggressive in the race, if he is allowed that is.

I suspect Leclerc was getting a banker in and not going all out.

Apparently he damaged his car in Q2 when he went off the track.

He did, there's the slow-mo video showing things flying from his car

yeah he only went over the kerb. Seems like a lot of damage for that

High kerbs or low pressure in the tyres? I'm not sure, but it looked fairly violent on camera for just going over a kerb

JN23 wrote:

Covalent wrote:

Fiki wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker!

I was wondering whether it was really a banker. Perhaps the teams already knew track conditions were deteriorating and putting a banker lap in wasn't really possible. Perhaps this explains Hamilton's error?

It also wasn't the first time this season the fastest Q3 laps have been early in the session.

OTOH, both of Valtteri's Q3 laps were faster than Hamilton's best IIRC.

I think Bottas' second lap was about 0.3s faster than Hamilton's second lap from memory.

Yes and it was also faster than Hamilton's first lap.

JN23 wrote:

Covalent wrote:

Fiki wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:Great lap from Bottas for that Q3 banker!

I was wondering whether it was really a banker. Perhaps the teams already knew track conditions were deteriorating and putting a banker lap in wasn't really possible. Perhaps this explains Hamilton's error?

It also wasn't the first time this season the fastest Q3 laps have been early in the session.

OTOH, both of Valtteri's Q3 laps were faster than Hamilton's best IIRC.

I think Bottas' second lap was about 0.3s faster than Hamilton's second lap from memory.

Yep

Siao7 wrote:

Zoue wrote:

Siao7 wrote:

pokerman wrote:

Zoue wrote: I suspect Leclerc was getting a banker in and not going all out.

Apparently he damaged his car in Q2 when he went off the track.

He did, there's the slow-mo video showing things flying from his car

yeah he only went over the kerb. Seems like a lot of damage for that

High kerbs or low pressure in the tyres? I'm not sure, but it looked fairly violent on camera for just going over a kerb

Yeah he said the car didn't feel right afterwards, still his own fault though.

pokerman wrote:

Siao7 wrote:

Zoue wrote:

Siao7 wrote:

pokerman wrote: Apparently he damaged his car in Q2 when he went off the track.

He did, there's the slow-mo video showing things flying from his car

yeah he only went over the kerb. Seems like a lot of damage for that

High kerbs or low pressure in the tyres? I'm not sure, but it looked fairly violent on camera for just going over a kerb

Yeah he said the car didn't feel right afterwards, still his own fault though.

Well, no one said the opposite