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voted for Hamilton, Ricciardo and Perez.


I thought Lewis put on a show, tried hard and made the race at the front exciting, but if the other guy is not going to play fair there is nothing you can do.
Ricciardo completely destroyed the Hulk in the race after passing him on track and finished one spot off the podium. That was a great drive.
Perez came from the back to score some good points and held Verstappen behind for pretty much half the race. Thought that was an impressive feat considering Max is one of the best overtaker and had the much better car.
Leclerc's driving was too over the top for me to give him a vote. It was downright dirty racing and reminiscent of the old Verstappen. Not for me.

F1 MERCENARY wrote: ........and then Ricciardo and Hulkenberg did a fine job as well in what appeared to be a much improved Renault. The question with them for me is, was their improved performance due to some new development on the car, or the engine, or was it the track simply suiting their car more than any other thus far?

Pretty sure it'll be the engine, the track.

I think they've got a pretty good engine in the back of that car that suited the biggest power circuit on the calendar but even Abiteboul said he wasn't getting carried away because he knew what was in store for them for the remainder of the season.

If Renault can build a good car next year to match that engine then they just might cause a few surprises.

shoot999 wrote:

TheGiantHogweed wrote:Think I would just go for Leclerc and Ricciardo.

Don't understand the votes for Hamilton. Why should he be given votes for putting pressure on Leclerc - which led to not getting passed and making a mistake which let Bottas through? People implying Bottas's attempt was useless in comparison should consider that Leclerc had DRS every time Bottas had a chance. Earlier on when Hamilton was on younger tyres than Bottas at this stage, he failed to get by even when Leclerc had no tow. Both Hamilton and Bottas made mistakes, but Hamilton a bigger one. Yes he had more laps close to Leclerc, but he didn't seem to back off and try again closer to the end which is the smart move he often tries. Instead he wrecked them. The pressure he put on Leclerc seems to be what is triggering the votes when it is that that let to Bottas beating him. I don't think Bottas will have got by if Hamilton didn't do this. He even finished 34 seconds behind Bottas which is a fair bit more than the time it takes for a pit stop. Don't think the strategy game Bottas I know I am a Bottas fan and I'm not voting for him myself, but just don't understand why Hamilton has more votes when he put himself in trouble by following Leclerc closely for too long.

If Ham was that bad why vote for Leclerc? Leclerc had the fastest car on the straights and had to resort to some dodgy tactics to keep at bay someone you think doesn't deserve the votes he got.
I thought Leclerc did a great job in holding off Hamilton; but having seen what youve just wrote its clear Leclerc just made a pigs ear of the whole race and was lucky to scrape home in front of the mighty Bottas.

I don't think hamilton was bad, i just don't see him as ne of the drivers of the day based on how his race ended.

Jezza13 wrote:

F1 MERCENARY wrote: ........and then Ricciardo and Hulkenberg did a fine job as well in what appeared to be a much improved Renault. The question with them for me is, was their improved performance due to some new development on the car, or the engine, or was it the track simply suiting their car more than any other thus far?

Pretty sure it'll be the engine, the track.

I think they've got a pretty good engine in the back of that car that suited the biggest power circuit on the calendar but even Abiteboul said he wasn't getting carried away because he knew what was in store for them for the remainder of the season.

If Renault can build a good car next year to match that engine then they just might cause a few surprises.

Remember they were very strong in Canada as well, another power circuit. And Ricciardo was probably on for a good result in Spa as well if not for getting caught up in the first corner tangle. It's a bit unexpected that it's the chassis rather than the engine that's letting Renault down at the moment.

It's hard to pick a driver of the day, I don't think anyone really stood out. Leclerc drove well but I think some of the plaudits he's getting here are a little over the top. The Mercedes may have had the best race pace, but the car to be in on race day was still a Ferrari starting on pole position because their immense straight line speed made it so difficult to overtake, even with a car with a faster overall lap time. Leclerc's driving was just the wrong side of acceptable for me, though I think covering it with the black & white warning flag rather than dishing out penalties straight away was the right approach from the stewards and one that I hope they'll continue with.

I'd probably still give this one to Leclerc in the absence of any other real standout performances, I just don't think it was the legendary drive that some are suggesting.

Alienturnedhuman wrote:

TheGiantHogweed wrote:Think I would just go for Leclerc and Ricciardo.

Don't understand the votes for Hamilton. Why should he be given votes for putting pressure on Leclerc - which led to not getting passed and making a mistake which let Bottas through?People implying Bottas's attempt was useless in comparison should consider that Leclerc had DRS every time Bottas had a chance. Earlier on when Hamilton was on younger tyres than Bottas at this stage, he failed to get by even when Leclerc had no tow. Both Hamilton and Bottas made mistakes, but Hamilton a bigger one. Yes he had more laps close to Leclerc, but he didn't seem to back off and try again closer to the end which is the smart move he often tries. Instead he wrecked them. The pressure he put on Leclerc seems to be what is triggering the votes when it is that that let to Bottas beating him. I don't think Bottas will have got by if Hamilton didn't do this. He even finished 34 seconds behind Bottas which is a fair bit more than the time it takes for a pit stop.Don't think the strategy game Bottas I know I am a Bottas fan and I'm not voting for him myself, butjust don't understand why Hamilton has more votes when he put himself in trouble by following Leclerc closely for too long.

Your post is highly contradictory and betrays either an attempt to spin things to push forwards a particular narrative or a fundamental lack of understanding of the sport.

Firstly, Hamilton didn't make a mistake - his tyres had been past it for the last couple of laps prior to the lock up and Hamilton knew he had to either pass Leclerc or concede the position to Bottas. He'd been losing time to Leclerc on each lap so the only option was to take it closer to the limit to try and catch up - but it was a case of no longer having the tyre life to close him down. It was either lose time on Leclerc and concede second to Bottas, or push the limit further and maybe not concede the position. Clearly the maybe was the correct call.

Bottas would have passed Hamilton if Hamilton had not have locked up. Hamilton was out of tyres, and the Mercedes does not have the straight line advantage that Leclerc had that enabled him to stay ahead of both Mercs.

Why would Hamilton drive ultimate pace laps once he was a pitstop behind Bottas? He just needed to set the fastest lap - which is best served by driving slow laps to recharge the KERS (at Monza, being 80% full throttle means that the electrical systems do not fully charge on a lap as they do such minimal braking) and once he had the fastest lap he just needed to coast home - he was safe behind with zero chance of catching Leclerc or Bottas.

As for Hamilton sitting behind Leclerc for so long, I'm struggling to understand your logic here. The Mercedes needed to stay within a second in order to get the DRS and tow, something that is essential for laptime at Monza. Backing off and giving his tyres a breather is something you can do at other circuits but at Monza it's not an option. Did you not hear about what happened in qualifying where everyone missed their laps because they were trying to get the tow from someone, without giving someone else the tow?

Or maybe you just felt Hamilton should settle for second place? I mean, technically you are correct, he would have got two extra points if he had just sat 5 seconds behind Leclerc and conceded the win from the start - but I'd like to think most F1 fans would see that as a nonsense strategy. Maybe if he was in a McLaren or a Renault it would make sense to bank a second place - but he had the potential to win and was only denied it by Leclerc's robust - and arguably over the line defence.

Also - if people are lauding Leclerc for such a sensational win for managing to keep Hamilton behind him, that only has value if Hamilton's onslaught was impressive. The fact is that both drivers at the front put on an entertaining duel where you were never sure which driver was going to come out on top. Hamilton had a car where if he got in front it would be difficult for Leclerc to keep up unless he immediately repassed, whereas Leclerc had a car where it was impossible to overtake Charles unless he made a mistake.

Both are worthy contenders for Driver of the Day.

Maybe one of my points like the distance Hamilton was behind was irelevent as you mention. But I still don't think he was really worthy of a vote. Even when he had fresh quicker tyres than Leclerc, he couldn't get by despite Leclerc not having DRS from lapped drivers. Bottas was on older tyres when he got to Leclerc than Hamilton at this early stage and whenever he had DRS, Leclerc did too. I don't think Bottas had an easier job than Hamilton at getting it done. And although hamilton had to try to get by Leclerc, I think he tried for too long and should have kept backing off and trying again. I am sure he has done this in the past to try and save tyre life. In the end, I blame him for ending up having the tyres in the condition they were, which resulted in Bottas beating him. Maybe some of the other things I said were a bit much, but i hope this is a better way of explaining why i don't think he should have votes. i don't think either really had a realistic chance of getting by, but in my opinion, hamilton had a better chance than bottas did at the stage i mentioned. when bottas caught up to Leclerc, even chandhok mentioned that Leclerc could be getting the benefit near the end of being on the harder compound.

But regarding Leclerc, Maybe I should have thought better abut that. I havent voted yet for anyone. i did at first think of just voting ricciardo.

given i did think hamilton spent a bit too long putting pressure on Leclerc, maybe i shouldn't give Leclerc as much credit for handling this. I also did critisise his move earlier on but now i look back at it again on the channel 4 coverage, i think it was just about enough to get away with. He had pressure all the race pretty much ever single lap. That is why i wuld concider voting him. But Hamilton to me didn't do all that well because of the end result.

TheGiantHogweed wrote:

shoot999 wrote:

TheGiantHogweed wrote:Think I would just go for Leclerc and Ricciardo.

Don't understand the votes for Hamilton. Why should he be given votes for putting pressure on Leclerc - which led to not getting passed and making a mistake which let Bottas through? People implying Bottas's attempt was useless in comparison should consider that Leclerc had DRS every time Bottas had a chance. Earlier on when Hamilton was on younger tyres than Bottas at this stage, he failed to get by even when Leclerc had no tow. Both Hamilton and Bottas made mistakes, but Hamilton a bigger one. Yes he had more laps close to Leclerc, but he didn't seem to back off and try again closer to the end which is the smart move he often tries. Instead he wrecked them. The pressure he put on Leclerc seems to be what is triggering the votes when it is that that let to Bottas beating him. I don't think Bottas will have got by if Hamilton didn't do this. He even finished 34 seconds behind Bottas which is a fair bit more than the time it takes for a pit stop. Don't think the strategy game Bottas I know I am a Bottas fan and I'm not voting for him myself, but just don't understand why Hamilton has more votes when he put himself in trouble by following Leclerc closely for too long.

If Ham was that bad why vote for Leclerc? Leclerc had the fastest car on the straights and had to resort to some dodgy tactics to keep at bay someone you think doesn't deserve the votes he got.
I thought Leclerc did a great job in holding off Hamilton; but having seen what youve just wrote its clear Leclerc just made a pigs ear of the whole race and was lucky to scrape home in front of the mighty Bottas.

I don't think hamilton was bad, i just don't see him as ne of the drivers of the day based on how his race ended.

He went for broke. Either get past Leclerc or destroy his tyres trying. Hopefully, push Leclerc into wearing his tyres so that Bottas may have a chance. Nice effort but Leclerc did a great job in holding them off, making the most of his straight-line speed against what I thought was the better car to be in once the soft tyre phase was out of the way.

I gave Russell a vote, because he was driving a turd. Some effort.

The Ferrari and Mercedes had significant performance advantages - so to finish with arguably the 4th best team (with RBR potentially superior) and against others with clearly superior engines - Ricciardo and Hulkenburg clearly 1-2 - then argue the rest - LeClerk got the job done - but could have been penalised (and perhaps would have been outside Monza) and I'm not sure that any of the Ferrari/Merc did other than what they should - except Vettel who was again awful - perhaps time to retire? Multiple other drivers in that car - I won't mention names but at least 4 - would have won the last couple of years if in the Ferrari - and Vettel is demonstrating that his championships involved more than good driving (which was evident) but more a good deal of luck with a great car suiting his driving strengths - and team orders - rather than him being the best of the best

The reason I voted for Checo as well is because of his masterful defense against Verstappen for around 10 laps. He had DRS as well but Checo didn't buckle under any pressure. Here's some footage of his defense against Verstappen in the closing stages of the race.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... dpcYN948rc