planetf1.com

Fountoukos13 wrote:

Remmirath wrote:In an attempt to make up for my very poor position with bold strategy, and hopefully continue not being dead last, I'd like to use my group two joker on Valtteri Bottas for Canada. (Now watch him bin it in the wall on the opening lap... )

Fountoukos13 wrote:Just a thought. Raikkonen might win a race this year while for Bottas even a podium looks hard why not go that route?

Just another thought: I'm absolutely rubbish...

Good for you that you didn't actually listen to me

The joke's really on all of us who haven't used a group #2 joker yet, since Kimi's been 2nd on the podium twice and the only way he could do better is a win. There's a good chance everybody lost points by not picking him for Bahrain, where there was a reasonable expectation of Kimi doing well!

Exediron wrote:

Fountoukos13 wrote:

Remmirath wrote:In an attempt to make up for my very poor position with bold strategy, and hopefully continue not being dead last, I'd like to use my group two joker on Valtteri Bottas for Canada. (Now watch him bin it in the wall on the opening lap... )

Fountoukos13 wrote:Just a thought. Raikkonen might win a race this year while for Bottas even a podium looks hard why not go that route?

Just another thought: I'm absolutely rubbish...

Good for you that you didn't actually listen to me

The joke's really on all of us who haven't used a group #2 joker yet, since Kimi's been 2nd on the podium twice and the only way he could do better is a win. There's a good chance everybody lost points by not picking him for Bahrain, where there was a reasonable expectation of Kimi doing well!

As long as nobody picks a joker than you don't lose points. With two guys getting 15 points from Bottas, the rest of us will lose points, if the driver we pick doesn't get a top 3 finish.

In theory we all lost point in DG 3 and 4 because we didn't pick Verstappen at Spain and Perez in Monaco.

Fountoukos13 wrote:

Exediron wrote:

Fountoukos13 wrote:

Remmirath wrote:In an attempt to make up for my very poor position with bold strategy, and hopefully continue not being dead last, I'd like to use my group two joker on Valtteri Bottas for Canada. (Now watch him bin it in the wall on the opening lap... )

Fountoukos13 wrote:Just a thought. Raikkonen might win a race this year while for Bottas even a podium looks hard why not go that route?

Just another thought: I'm absolutely rubbish...

Good for you that you didn't actually listen to me

The joke's really on all of us who haven't used a group #2 joker yet, since Kimi's been 2nd on the podium twice and the only way he could do better is a win. There's a good chance everybody lost points by not picking him for Bahrain, where there was a reasonable expectation of Kimi doing well!

As long as nobody picks a joker than you don't lose points. With two guys getting 15 points from Bottas, the rest of us will lose points, if the driver we pick doesn't get a top 3 finish.

In theory we all lost point in DG 3 and 4 because we didn't pick Verstappen at Spain and Perez in Monaco.

The thing is you just never know. Until a driver has won a race in a particular driver group, it is impossible to say those who didn't use a joker on that driver at that race have missed their chance. If Ferrari are as close to Mercedes as Canada suggested they might be, Kimi could finish second again. Red Bull will have other chances to win a race this year. I think DG4, 5 and 6 are the ones we might've missed a step on, though. Will we see another FI podium this year? It doesn't seem all that likely. And are any of the drivers in DG6 going to equal Grosjean's top-5? That seems even less likely!

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

Fountoukos13 wrote:

Exediron wrote:

Fountoukos13 wrote:

Remmirath wrote:In an attempt to make up for my very poor position with bold strategy, and hopefully continue not being dead last, I'd like to use my group two joker on Valtteri Bottas for Canada. (Now watch him bin it in the wall on the opening lap... )

Fountoukos13 wrote:Just a thought. Raikkonen might win a race this year while for Bottas even a podium looks hard why not go that route?

Just another thought: I'm absolutely rubbish...

Good for you that you didn't actually listen to me

The joke's really on all of us who haven't used a group #2 joker yet, since Kimi's been 2nd on the podium twice and the only way he could do better is a win. There's a good chance everybody lost points by not picking him for Bahrain, where there was a reasonable expectation of Kimi doing well!

As long as nobody picks a joker than you don't lose points. With two guys getting 15 points from Bottas, the rest of us will lose points, if the driver we pick doesn't get a top 3 finish.

In theory we all lost point in DG 3 and 4 because we didn't pick Verstappen at Spain and Perez in Monaco.

The thing is you just never know. Until a driver has won a race in a particular driver group, it is impossible to say those who didn't use a joker on that driver at that race have missed their chance. If Ferrari are as close to Mercedes as Canada suggested they might be, Kimi could finish second again. Red Bull will have other chances to win a race this year. I think DG4, 5 and 6 are the ones we might've missed a step on, though. Will we see another FI podium this year? It doesn't seem all that likely. And are any of the drivers in DG6 going to equal Grosjean's top-5? That seems even less likely!

What i'm trying to say is that it's not about the best result a driver has from a particular group but the best joker actually used.

For example: Anyone who doesn't get 25 bonus points from the group 1 will lose points to me and a couple others that have actually got this one.
On the other hand, anyone who scores even 1 point in group 6 will gain points on me because i used it and got 0.

Canadian Grand Prix update

Ah, the Canadian grand prix. As a Leafs fan, it's a race that represents probably the closest I get to liking Montreal, aside of course from when there are hot taeks flying around that they should trade Subban or Price! It was a result that you could argue mostly followed the form book; the top seven in the driver's standings all filled out the top seven places in the race, whilst the leading constructor (Mercedes) picked up the most points, followed by Ferrari (2nd in the WCC), Red Bull (3rd), Williams (4th), Force India (5th) and Toro Rosso (6th). With our last two winners being aided by the deployment of jokers (and, indeed, three of the last five) will they again play a pivotal part in determining the winner for the round? And will we finally have our first repeat winner or will the remarkable streak of a new winner every round be extended once more? Well, we can answer that last question pretty quickly:


The champagne moment

Cutting right to the chase, for the first time this season, we have a repeat winner! After victories for Jezza13, TypingChicane, Jenson's Understeer, Schumacher forever#1, Remmirath and Herb, one of those six returns to the top step. In a nice twist, it was the very person who started the sequence of new winners who ended it as Jezza13 picked up their second victory of the season. 123 points - including a vital 25 from using their Driver Group 1 joker on race winner Lewis Hamilton - helped ensure a new season high score for Jezza13, very narrowly eclipsing a previous personal best of 122. In that instance it was only good enough for third on the podium, whilst victory in Australia was claimed with 115 points. In fact, it's the second time 123 points has been the winning score for the round as Remmirath posted that same amount to take victory in Spain. Second on the podium and finally taking their first podium of the season is theferret, who follows on from a season best of 122 with a solid 113 point haul. One of two to select Valtteri Bottas as their Driver Group 2 joker, you could say that theferret owes the Finn a very Canadian stick tap for steering his Williams onto the podium. Rounding out the podium - and also making their first appearance on it - is Coulthard's Chin. Another to play a joker for the round, the extra four points gained by Nico Hulkenberg helped ensure sole possession of third place for the round, breaking the century barrier for just the third time with 106 points. Having gone into Canada at the very bottom of the standings it marks a welcome upturn in fortunes; a sign of things to come for the rest of the year? So there you have it, our first repeat winner joined by two podium debutants. Who would have predicted that?!

Jezza13 - 123
theferret - 113
Coulthard's Chin - 106

Jezza13's winning team: Hamilton (25); Raikkonen (8); Ricciardo (6); Hulkenberg (4); Alonso (0); Magnussen (0); Grosjean (0); Mercedes (35); Williams (15); Force India (5); Haas (0): Hamilton joker (25)


Because we can't all be winners

Despite the apparent predictability of the result, it was actually a pretty average scoring round. Between us we averaged 91.47 points, just slightly above the season's average of 88.36. That was something borne out in the lack of season best scores; only race winner Jezza13 set a personal best. It was also reflected in the spread of points across the round with just 43 points separating first from last, the lowest such total so far. Heading up the rest of the field were Mayhem (102) and Hamilton_Jar (101), both posting their second consecutive 100+ score. The rest of us had to be content with high double-digit scores. That included overall leader Herb, who finished alongside Fountoukos13 on 98 points, former leader TypingChicane (94) as well as the other member of our leading quintet, Schumacher forever#1 (95).

Mayhem - 102
Hamilton_Jar - 101
Fountoukos13 and Herb - 98
Schumacher forever#1 - 95
TypingChicane - 94
Remmirath - 92
Exediron and Jenson's Understeer - 91
Black_Flag_11 - 88
Icemanjee - 80


Jokers update

After some early-season jokers fell apart quicker than the Habs without Carey Price (yes, I'm fully aware the Leafs sucked all year, but at least we'll get Auston Matthews to show for it ) it seems like we're finally getting the hang of when and where to use them. Four were in play in Montreal and we had three big winners: Jezza13, who used their Driver Group 1 joker on Lewis Hamilton, and Remmirath/theferret, who both used their Group 2 joker on Valtteri Bottas. It helped both Jezza13 and theferret secure places on the podium, while Remmirath was saved from finishing the round in last place courtesy of the 15 extra points gained by Bottas. Even Coulthard's Chin benefitted from their joker, the four extra points moving them into sole possession of third place for the round. It means jokers have been directly responsible for each of the last three round winners taking victory.

Jenson's Understeer - G1 joker on Rosberg in China - 25 points
Jezza13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Canada - 25 points
Fountoukos13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Monaco; G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Spain; G6 joker on Nasr in Australia - 25 points
Exediron - G1 joker on Vettel in China; G4 joker on Sainz in Monaco - 22 points
theferret - G1 joker on Rosberg in Monaco; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 21 points
Herb - G3 joker on Ricciardo in Monaco - 18 points
Remmirath - G1 joker on Rosberg in Spain; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 15 points
Schumacher forever#1 - G5 joker on Alonso in Monaco - 10 points
Coulthard's Chin - G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Canada; G5 joker on Alonso in Spain - 4 points

Everybody who has used a joker has scored at least 4 extra points. Fountoukos13 has used 3 of the 6 available jokers whilst both theferret and Remmirath have used their G1 and G2 jokers. Anybody not listed above has yet to use a joker.


Spare a thought for...

Black_Flag_11. Courtesy of podium finishes for both theferret and Coulthard's Chin, it means Black_Flag_11 is now the only entrant without at least one top three finish. Couple that with a second-from-last finish in Canada and it's hard to put anybody else here this round.

Overall standings after Canada

Herb - 716 (-)
TypingChicane - 710 (-)
Jezza13 - 706 (+2)
Hamilton_Jar - 692 (-1)
Schumacher forever#1 - 681 (-1)
Fountoukos13 - 668 (-)
theferret - 664 (+3)
Jenson’s Understeer - 654 (-)
Exediron - 651 (-)
Mayhem - 646 (+1)
Icemanjee1 - 644 (-4)
Black_Flag_11 - 620 (-)
Coulthard’s Chin - 614 (+1)
Remmirath - 612 (-1)

Herb retains the overall lead, extending the gap to TypingChicane from two points to six. Jezza13 climbs two places after securing their second victory of the season and at just ten points back from the top, is certainly close enough to mean any of the top three could be leading this time next week. Hamilton_Jar and Schumacher forever#1 both drop a place courtesy of Jezza13's improvement, but a strong score in Baku coupled will move them into contention in a hurry. theferret's first podium helps them climb three places but it's a second successive rough round for Icemanjee1 who, after losing four places last time out, repeats that trick. It means Icemanjee1 has fallen from third all the way down to eleventh in the space of two rounds! At the bottom, another debutant on the podium benefits in the standings as Coulthard's Chin clambers out of the basement at Remmirath's expense. However, just eight points separate those three so it could all change very quickly.

Up next is the inaugural race around the streets of Baku. With jokers having directly influenced the outcome in the last three races, will anybody be brave enough to deploy in Azerbaijan? Or will the fact that it's a brand new track scare everyone into holding them back for another day?

Well done Jezza!

So nearly played my Bottas joker. Ah well!

The Bottas joker played by Remmirath and theferret was perhaps the bravest of the season yet. Even after the start I wouldn't have put money on Bottas to finish top three (my last in-play F1 bet was Verstappen to win in Spain after the first lap, so I'd like to think I've got some form there!) but they both took a big risk and it paid off. I quite like to see that, if I'm honest.

Of course, if Ferrari really are that close to Mercedes now then there are likely to be opportunities to pick up more than 15 points using it on Kimi so it may yet not have been the ideal deployment...

Black_Flag_11. Courtesy of podium finishes for both theferret and Coulthard's Chin, it means Black_Flag_11 is now the only entrant without at least one top three finish. Couple that with a second-from-last finish in Canada and it's hard to put anybody else here this round.

Well.. It's something I guess.

Herb wrote:Well done Jezza!

So nearly played my Bottas joker. Ah well!

Why thank you Herb.

To firstly win my home GP and then at a great circuit like Canada, I gotta tell ya, it's a real nice feelin.

Just a pity my contract doesn't allow me to keep my trophies. I'll be asking Lewis for advice on how to negotiate that little hurdle at renewal time. And I wanna speak to Bernie about that medal idea again. At the moment I think it has some real merit.

Shame you didn't follow through with Bottas joker . My heart goes out to you.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... icture.gif

In all seriousness Herb, thanks, appreciate the comment

Now what we need now is TypingChicane to dive into the joker pool to give us an idea of where we all stand.

C'mon TC, take the plunge.

Huzzah! The sweet taste of champagne! Boy am I glad to get that podium ticked off. Nice to see I've risen 3 spots too!

To be honest, I didn't think it was a huge risk to put faith in Bottas. He's always been good around Canada, the Williams has run close-ish to the front in comparison to other circuits, and Kimi has screwed up 2 years running. Admit that I thought he'd finish 4th though behind the Mercs and Vettel, so those extra 3 points were warmly received.

Jezza13 - worth pointing out, had I played the joker you'd still have won this round!

Jenson's Understeer, I assume that Kvyat and Verstappen have now swapped groups? If so, I'll play a joker for Perez please!

Herb

Jezza13 wrote:Now what we need now is TypingChicane to dive into the joker pool to give us an idea of where we all stand.

C'mon TC, take the plunge.

I'm saving the jokers to use them all at once in Abu Dhabi , although I reckon that's not going to be the most effective.
Come Hungary or Monza I may change that plan. But Baku? Not really tempted.

TypingChicane wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:Now what we need now is TypingChicane to dive into the joker pool to give us an idea of where we all stand.

C'mon TC, take the plunge.

I'm saving the jokers to use them all at once in Abu Dhabi , although I reckon that's not going to be the most effective.
Come Hungary or Monza I may change that plan. But Baku? Not really tempted.

Ditto. I very much have certain races in mind for the rest of my jokers, with the exception of DG6, which I have half an idea for but it'll depend massively on development.

Herb wrote:Jezza13 - worth pointing out, had I played the joker you'd still have won this round!

Jenson's Understeer, I assume that Kvyat and Verstappen have now swapped groups? If so, I'll play a joker for Perez please!

Herb

For anyone else who wants to follow Herb's lead and use a joker this weekend, you've got just under 90 minutes to do so.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix update

It's the better-late-than-never Baku update! Due to a week that was a lot more hectic than the race itself, then a long weekend away including a visit to Goodwood, I've made you all wait a little while longer than I intended for this particular update. So let's get on with it!


The champagne moment

After Jezza13 took the honours as our first repeat winner in Canada, we have ourselves another repeat winner. This time it's none other than our Championship leader, Herb, who takes the victory, in the process guaranteeing that they head into the Austrian grand prix with their Championship lead intact. But it was the smallest winning margin of the season so far, and almost the smallest winning margin we could have as Herb's score of 120 just edges out Icemanjee1, preventing a debut victory in the process. A well-played Sergio Perez joker made all the difference, although such were the rest of the scores Herb would still have finished on the podium without it. Coming home in third, just days after being ridiculed as our only non-podium finisher so far, Black_Flag_11 breaks their duck, taking third place with a season high score of 112 points.

Herb - 120
Icemanjee1 - 119
Black_Flag_11 - 112

Herb's winning team: Hamilton (10); Raikkonen (12); Ricciardo (6); Perez (15); Alonso (0); Magnussen (0); Palmer (0); Mercedes (35); Red Bull (10); Force India (17); Renault (0); Perez joker (15)


Because we can't all be winners

Another round where the scores weren't all that spectacular - the third lowest average score amongst all competitors - saw more than half the field again fail to reach triple digits. Schumacher forever#1 just missed out on a fourth podium appearance for the season, having to settle for a fourth place finished courtesy of their 104 point score. Mayhem and Coulthard's Chin also scored a ton, followed by Hamilton_Jar (92 points) and then a cluster of entrants scoring 91 points (Jezza13, Fountoukos13, theferret and Remmirath). Former Championship leader TypingChicane posted their worst score of the campaign with a lowly 73, although it was still one better than both Exediron and Jenson's Understeer managed.

Schumacher forever#1 - 104
Coulthard's Chin and Mayhem - 100
Hamilton_Jar - 92
Fountoukos13, Jezza13, Remmirath and theferret - 91
TypingChicane - 73
Exediron and Jenson's Understeer - 72


Jokers update

With the F1 circus heading to the only new track of the year, it was perhaps expected that joker deployment would be somewhat reserved. And so it was with only Herb feeling brave enough to take the plunge. But what a plunge it was! Sergio Perez's second podium of the season was masterfully predicted by our Championship leader, allowing them to squeeze past Icemanjee1 and secure victory. It was the third race in a row in which the winner was propelled to victory by using a joker; it was also the second time Herb had topped a round thanks to the extra points. It means Herb has amassed an extra 33 points in the process, something made all the more impressive by the fact that they've used neither their Driver Group 1 nor their Driver Group 2 jokers yet!

Herb - G3 joker on Ricciardo in Monaco; G4 joker on Perez in Azerbaijan - 33 points
Jenson's Understeer - G1 joker on Rosberg in China - 25 points
Jezza13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Canada - 25 points
Fountoukos13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Monaco; G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Spain; G6 joker on Nasr in Australia - 25 points
Exediron - G1 joker on Vettel in China; G4 joker on Sainz in Monaco - 22 points
theferret - G1 joker on Rosberg in Monaco; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 21 points
Remmirath - G1 joker on Rosberg in Spain; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 15 points
Schumacher forever#1 - G5 joker on Alonso in Monaco - 10 points
Coulthard's Chin - G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Canada; G5 joker on Alonso in Spain - 4 points

Anybody not listed above has yet to use a joker.


Spare a thought for...

Exediron and Jenson's Understeer. Having both started so brightly, collecting two podiums in the opening three rounds, the scores seem to have dried up since. Both have now gone five rounds without a podium which represents the worst active streak; they've both gradually slipped down the overall standings; and now they've both finished bottom of the round. Their team selections of Williams and Toro Rosso haven't paid off as both have been heavily outscored by other options (namely Red Bull and Force India) whilst Max Verstappen's promotion to Red Bull has left them with a Daniil Kvyat selection that seems unlikely to yield the big points Verstappen might've grabbed them. With no opportunity to change selections, it would appear their best hope of remaining competitive is going to be canny joker deployment.

Overall standings after Azerbaijan

Herb - 836 (-)
Jezza13 - 797 (+1)
Schumacher forever#1 - 785 (+2)
Hamilton_Jar - 784 (-)
TypingChicane - 783 (-3)
Icemanjee1 - 763 (+5)
Fountoukos13 - 759 (-1)
theferret - 755 (-1)
Mayhem - 746 (+1)
Black_Flag_11 - 732 (+2)
Jenson’s Understeer - 726 (-3)
Exediron - 723 (-3)
Coulthard’s Chin - 714 (-)
Remmirath - 703 (-)

Herb's victory helps stretch their lead to nearly 40 points. With the most emphatic winning margin so far being Remmirath's 44 points in Spain, it seems like a pretty safe better to assume that Herb will still be leading after Austria. The question will be whether the chasing pack can close in, now lead by Jezza13. Behind Jezza there is an almighty scrap for third with Schumacher forever#1, Hamilton_Jar and TypingChicane separated by just two points. Icemanjee1 might've just missed out on victory for the round but their strong score enables them to climb five places to sixth while both Jenson's Understeer and Exediron continue their plummet, dropping a further three places. Both will now surely be looking nervously over their shoulders and wondering if they might find themselves propping up the rest before too long!

Austria is our next race, just five days from now in fact. Any jokers would need to be declared by just under 72 hours from now (70 hours and 19 minutes, to be precise!)

Another insightful analysis JU and Kudos to you Herb. Well played. That bold Perez joker move payed off nicely.

Picking RB over Williams is working well for you and it looks like it's going to continue to play into your hands. I think most of the other leaders, me included, stumped for Williams. So far we've sent 50 points down the poo pipe with that choice with undoubtedly more to come.

That could be the move that gets you the chocolates at seasons end.

Jezza13 wrote:Another insightful analysis JU and Kudos to you Herb. Well played. That bold Perez joker move payed off nicely.

Picking RB over Williams is working well for you and it looks like it's going to continue to play into your hands. I think most of the other leaders, me included, stumped for Williams. So far we've sent 50 points down the poo pipe with that choice with undoubtedly more to come.

That could be the move that gets you the chocolates at seasons end.

Thanks - I didn't think Red Bull would go two seasons running without challenging for at least some wins, and didn't trust Williams to take the chances they got - time will tell I guess!

I pretty much expected Red Bull to be faster than Williams come the end of the season, but was banking on the latter doing enough early on in the year to still finish ahead. The first part of that prediction looks pretty likely to be true; unfortunately it has all happened much too soon in the year! Verstappen's promotion hasn't done me any favours, nor has Sergio Perez's continued rebuilding of his reputation!

Austrian Grand Prix update

The races are coming thick and fast at the moment; it feels like only yesterday I was writing the Baku update, and only tomorrow I'll be dissecting the scores for Silverstone. By now I think we all know that Austria was controversial, but what impact did the last lap collision between the two Mercedes drivers have on the results in the Group Pick'em? Let's find out!


The champagne moment

After a run of six different winners in the six races, it seems we are now focusing on repeat winners rather than crowning new victors. Jezza13 started the ball rolling in Canada, Herb followed it up in Baku and now early pacesetter TypingChicane returns to the top of the podium for the first time since Bahrain! 131 points - our third highest winning score of the season, and TypingChicane's highest score since recording 140 points in Bahrain - ensured a pretty comfortable winning margin of 16 points. It's TypingChicane's fourth 100+ score of the year and nudges their average for the season above 100 points. Impressive stuff! Following them home in a joint-second place were Herb and Hamilton_Jar, both of whom netted 115 points. For Hamilton_Jar it represented a season-best second place finish, something that seems almost unbelievable given they entered this race fourth overall in the standings. For Herb it was an impressive fourth top-two finish in the last five rounds, leaving no doubts as to who our most in-form competitor is at the moment. The final spot on the podium - and tying TypingChicane in spraying the post-race champagne for the fifth time this year - is Jezza13, who was the only other competitor to score over a century with a 101 point result.

TypingChicane - 131
Hamilton_Jar and Herb - 115
Jezza13 - 101

TypingChicane's winning team: Hamilton (25); Raikkonen (15); Ricciardo (10); Kvyat* (0); Alonso (0); Nasr (0); Grosjean (6); Mercedes (37); Red Bull (28); Toro Rosso (4); Haas (6)
* - originally selected Max Verstappen


Because we can't all be winners

We seem to be in a bit of a doldrum at the moment, posting pretty average scores as a whole. Whilst those on the podiums broke into triple figures nobody else followed suit. With four of the top five on the podium it could've been a disaster for Schumacher forever#1, who had risen up to third overall after Baku. However, they claimed the crown of 'best of the rest' in Austria, finishing six points adrift of Jezza13 to limit the damage. Talking of limiting the damage, both Jenson's Understeer and Exediron will be relieved to see their names a little higher up the result, halting an alarming slide in the process. With the exception of Black_Flag_11, the rest of the field scored within 10 points of their average on the season, suggesting this round won't see too much of a change in the overall standings.

Schumacher forever#1 - 95
Exediron and Jenson's Understeer - 93
Fountoukos13 and theferret - 89
Coulthard's Chin and Icemanjee1 - 84
Mayhem and Remmirath - 82
Black_Flag_11 - 64


Jokers update

For only the third time this season (it also happened in Bahrain and Russia) the race passed by without a single joker being used. And with barely 24 hours to go before FP1 at Silverstone, could we be about to see our first run of joker-free races?

Herb - G3 joker on Ricciardo in Monaco; G4 joker on Perez in Azerbaijan - 33 points
Jenson's Understeer - G1 joker on Rosberg in China - 25 points
Jezza13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Canada - 25 points
Fountoukos13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Monaco; G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Spain; G6 joker on Nasr in Australia - 25 points
Exediron - G1 joker on Vettel in China; G4 joker on Sainz in Monaco - 22 points
theferret - G1 joker on Rosberg in Monaco; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 21 points
Remmirath - G1 joker on Rosberg in Spain; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 15 points
Schumacher forever#1 - G5 joker on Alonso in Monaco - 10 points
Coulthard's Chin - G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Canada; G5 joker on Alonso in Spain - 4 points

Anybody not listed above has yet to use a joker.


Spare a thought for...

Whilst most of us scored pretty close to our average on the year, Black_Flag_11 posted their worst score of the season with a lowly 64. In case you're wondering - and I'm sure you are! - where that ranks on the worst scores of the season, the bottom ten are as follows:

Mayhem - 48 (Spain)
Coulthard's Chin, Fountoukos13, Jezza13 and theferret - 50 (Spain)
Exediron and Jenson's Understeer - 54 (Spain)
Schumacher forever#1 - 56 (Spain)
Icemanjee1 - 58 (Spain)
Coulthard's Chin and Mayhem - 59 (China)
Remmirath - 62 (Australia)
Black_Flag_11 - 64 (Austria)
Remmirath - 65 (Russia)
Fountoukos13, Jezza13, Schumacher forever#1 and theferret - 68 (China)

Overall standings after Austria

Herb - 951 (-)
TypingChicane - 914 (+3)
Hamilton_Jar - 899 (+1)
Jezza13 - 898 (-2)
Schumacher forever#1 - 880 (-2)
Fountoukos13 - 848 (+1)
Icemanjee1 - 847 (-1)
theferret - 844 (-)
Mayhem - 828 (-)
Jenson’s Understeer - 819 (+1)
Exediron - 816 (+1)
Coulthard’s Chin - 798 (+1)
Black_Flag_11 - 796 (-3)
Remmirath - 785 (-)

A fourth podium in five races ensures Herb remains the person to catch. TypingChicane's victory recovers the three places they lost in Baku but the shuffle in the order helps Herb maintain a healthy advantage. Hamilton_Jar climbs one place to third, whilst Jezza13 falls two places to fourth, albeit only a single point behind Hamilton_Jar. Schumacher forever#1, the only one of the top five not to finish on the podium in Austria, drops two places to fifth and sees the gap to second increase from 12 points to 34 points. Also separated by a single point are Fountoukos13 and Icemanjee1, with theferret in close proximity just three points back. Jenson's Understeer and Exediron both halt their recent slides and climb a place in the process, while Coulthard's Chin also moves up a place as Black_Flag_11's woeful round costs them three spots. Remmirath remains both bottom and eleven points adrift of changing that.

We go to Silverstone next. In fact, the green flag falls on FP1 in just over 23 hours, so if you were considering a joker now is the time to stop considering and start declaring!

Pardon my ignorance (or stupidity) but what group is Verstappen in now?

Jezza13 wrote:Pardon my ignorance (or stupidity) but what group is Verstappen in now?

He has taken Kvyat's place in Driver Group 3, while Kvyat took Verstappen's spot in Driver Group 4.

British Grand Prix update

The British Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton take victory with teammate Nico Rosberg following him home on the track, only to be demoted to third thanks to the now infamous 'shift through seventh gear' radio message. Thankfully we have no such moronic rules in this game, partly because we don't have radio messages, but mostly because even if we did we wouldn't be silly enough to prevent the drivers from being told how to prevent a technical failure!


The champagne moment

In what was our third highest scoring round of the season so far, with an average score of just under 100, we have our first three-time winner. Recent pacesetter Herb takes a third victory in five races, and indeed a fifth podium since Spain. The 139 point win represented the biggest score since Herb themselves set the high score for the season in Monaco and represents the fourth highest score of the season (the top three are as follows: Herb - 158 in Monaco; Fountoukos13 - 141 in Monaco; TypingChicane - 140 in Bahrain). It was a hard-fought win, however: second place in the round went to Hamilton_Jar, whose 137 point performance was their best of the year and would've been enough to win all but two other rounds, not to mention being the fifth highest score we've seen so far. Third place went to TypingChicane whose 123 points helped them claim a remarkable sixth podium of the year. The top three all selected Red Bull over Williams at the start of the year, a move which has taken a little while to bear fruit but is now repaying their faith in a big way.

Herb - 139
Hamilton_Jar - 137
TypingChicane - 123

Herb's winning team: Hamilton (25); Raikkonen (10); Ricciardo (12); Perez (8); Alonso (0); Magnussen (0); Palmer (0); Mercedes (40); Red Bull (30); Force India (14); Renault (0)


Because we can't all be winners

With Herb, TypingChicane and Hamilton_Jar threatening to run away with things, it has been left to the rest of us to fight amongst ourselves. Once more it was Schumacher forever#1 who took the honour as 'best of the rest', posting 109 points to follow-up on 95 last time out. As has been the case on more than one occasion, Fountoukos13, Jezza and theferret all ended the round with the same points, each scoring a very respectable 107 in the process. We had another three-way tie next as Coulthard's Chin, Mayhem and Icemanjee1 all agonisingly missed out on reaching triple figures, each netting 99 points. It was more misery, however, for Jenson's Understeer, Exediron, Black_Flag_11 and Remmirath as they filled out the bottom four for the round, losing further ground on those above them. All four plumped for Williams over Red Bull and have lost over 100 points to the leaders as a consequence, something compounded by a significantly bad driver choice. In the case of Black_Flag_11 and Remmirath, that was picking Vettel rather than Hamilton (which has cost each a not-at-all nice 69 points) whilst Jenson's Understeer and Exediron took a gamble on Max Verstappen repeating his 2015 form. Unfortunately for them, he did exactly that, earning a chance to swap seats with Daniil Kvyat and leaving them with an underperforming Russian.

Schumacher forever#1 - 109
Fountoukos13, Jezza and theferret - 107
Coulthard's Chin, Icemanjee1 and Mayhem - 99
Exediron and Jenson's Understeer - 93
Black_Flag_11 - 86
Remmirath - 74


Jokers update

A second race in a row without any jokers, so there isn't too much to say here!

Herb - G3 joker on Ricciardo in Monaco; G4 joker on Perez in Azerbaijan - 33 points
Jenson's Understeer - G1 joker on Rosberg in China - 25 points
Jezza13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Canada - 25 points
Fountoukos13 - G1 joker on Hamilton in Monaco; G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Spain; G6 joker on Nasr in Australia - 25 points
Exediron - G1 joker on Vettel in China; G4 joker on Sainz in Monaco - 22 points
theferret - G1 joker on Rosberg in Monaco; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 21 points
Remmirath - G1 joker on Rosberg in Spain; G2 joker on Bottas in Canada - 15 points
Schumacher forever#1 - G5 joker on Alonso in Monaco - 10 points
Coulthard's Chin - G4 joker on Hulkenberg in Canada; G5 joker on Alonso in Spain - 4 points

Anybody not listed above has yet to use a joker.


Spare a thought for...

As nobody originally selected Daniil Kvyat, and therefore nobody inherited Max Verstappen, his elevation to the second step of the podium didn't result in anyone gaining three points. However, it resulted in Icemanjee1 - as the sole participant to pick Rosberg - dropping three points, resulting in a score just under 100 points rather than just over it. Of course, as everybody except Remmirath selected Mercedes, it could be argued we all lost three points, but that did at least prevent Icemanjee1 from finishing ahead of Mayhem and Coulthard's Chin. Really though, the people we should spare a thought for are all of us poor souls who opted to pick Williams rather than Red Bull. It's a move which has resulted in a loss of 106 points, a total which is surely only going to go up as the season progresses. Although if you want to really spare a thought for someone, it may have to be Remmirath. The only other entrant to select Red Bull, it was a wonderful pick undone by also choosing Vettel over Hamilton/Rosberg and, crucially, Ferrari over Mercedes. What might have been...

Overall standings after Austria

Herb - 1090 (-)
TypingChicane - 1037 (-)
Hamilton_Jar - 1036 (-)
Jezza13 - 1005 (-)
Schumacher forever#1 - 989 (-)
Fountoukos13 - 955 (-)
theferret - 951 (+1)
Icemanjee1 - 946 (-1)
Mayhem - 927 (-)
Jenson’s Understeer - 912 (-)
Exediron - 909 (-)
Coulthard’s Chin - 897 (-)
Black_Flag_11 - 882 (-)
Remmirath - 859 (-)

For the most part, the positions for the race itself largely mirrored the standings and so there is very little in the way of movement. In fact, the only change is that theferret moves above Icemanjee1, who drops a single place for the second straight race. At the top, Herb's victory inevitable sees the gap back to TypingChicane extended to a mighty 53 points. Hamilton_Jar's second consecutive second place allows them to close right in on TypingChicane with a single point separating second and third. Jezza13 loses ground on the top three and sees Schumacher forever#1 get a little closer. At the bottom, Remmirath's poor round leaves them cut adrift, 23 points behind Black_Flag_11.

Hungary next. Can anyone stop the juggernaut that is Herb from recording a fourth win in six races, and becoming our first back-to-back winner of the season?

In a bid to stay in contention for the title, I'm using two jokers in Hungary: Verstappen (group 3) and Alonso (group 5).

TypingChicane wrote:In a bid to stay in contention for the title, I'm using two jokers in Hungary: Verstappen (group 3) and Alonso (group 5).

I'm still debating whether to do the same. I'd long intended to use those two either here or at another track (which shouldn't be too hard to guess!) so my decision might be influenced on who else is using what.

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

TypingChicane wrote:In a bid to stay in contention for the title, I'm using two jokers in Hungary: Verstappen (group 3) and Alonso (group 5).

I'm still debating whether to do the same. I'd long intended to use those two either here or at another track (which shouldn't be too hard to guess!) so my decision might be influenced on who else is using what.

I was also considering my group 5 one here.

Tough choice. Macca will switch to '17 development soon, if they haven't already, so points later on could become less frequent.

Herb wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

TypingChicane wrote:In a bid to stay in contention for the title, I'm using two jokers in Hungary: Verstappen (group 3) and Alonso (group 5).

I'm still debating whether to do the same. I'd long intended to use those two either here or at another track (which shouldn't be too hard to guess!) so my decision might be influenced on who else is using what.

I was also considering my group 5 one here.

Tough choice. Macca will switch to '17 development soon, if they haven't already, so points later on could become less frequent.

On the other hand, Honda has the most room for improvement of all engine constructors. But who knows how much closer they will actually be at the end of the season?

TypingChicane wrote:

Herb wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

TypingChicane wrote:In a bid to stay in contention for the title, I'm using two jokers in Hungary: Verstappen (group 3) and Alonso (group 5).

I'm still debating whether to do the same. I'd long intended to use those two either here or at another track (which shouldn't be too hard to guess!) so my decision might be influenced on who else is using what.

I was also considering my group 5 one here.

Tough choice. Macca will switch to '17 development soon, if they haven't already, so points later on could become less frequent.

On the other hand, Honda has the most room for improvement of all engine constructors. But who knows how much closer they will actually be at the end of the season?

Indeed. And then you have Renault, who are supposedly introducing their next big upgrade in Japan. Is it worth waiting until then or striking while they seem close to Merc, and at a track that could very well negate the Mercedes advantage?

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

TypingChicane wrote:

Herb wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

TypingChicane wrote:In a bid to stay in contention for the title, I'm using two jokers in Hungary: Verstappen (group 3) and Alonso (group 5).

I'm still debating whether to do the same. I'd long intended to use those two either here or at another track (which shouldn't be too hard to guess!) so my decision might be influenced on who else is using what.

I was also considering my group 5 one here.

Tough choice. Macca will switch to '17 development soon, if they haven't already, so points later on could become less frequent.

On the other hand, Honda has the most room for improvement of all engine constructors. But who knows how much closer they will actually be at the end of the season?

Indeed. And then you have Renault, who are supposedly introducing their next big upgrade in Japan. Is it worth waiting until then or striking while they seem close to Merc, and at a track that could very well negate the Mercedes advantage?

At least I don't have that choice to make - having used my Group 3 at Monaco (not really expecting much from the Renault team themselves...)

As an aside, next season we'll definitely have a system whereby everybody is allowed a certain amount of selection changes over the season. I was against it before we began because I didn't want to see the people who made the smartest picks penalised by allowing those who didn't to change their mind, but having done half a season I can see I was wrong. Red Bull's resurgence, for instance, means we're probably going to see the same three people filling the podium in any weekend where Red Bull don't have a nightmare. We also all picked Ricciardo against Kvyat, but Verstappen's elevation might mean we'd get people switching from Daniel to Max, giving us more variation in the results. The jokers have helped but there is still a limitation there, and compared to the other games we have on here, I feel like this one doesn't require (nor receive) the participation those do. It would still be limited, although I've not really thought about how much so. Whether it would be x number of changes over the course of season, transfer 'windows' between certain races (which might be the best solution as it would ensure any advantage people have is maintained over a few races, but not over a whole season), or perhaps even another system entirely. Or it might be that I try and tie it into the jokers, something along the lines of we all have x jokers and y transfers, but the more transfers you use, the less jokers you get (and vice versa).

Jenson's Understeer wrote:As an aside, next season we'll definitely have a system whereby everybody is allowed a certain amount of selection changes over the season. I was against it before we began because I didn't want to see the people who made the smartest picks penalised by allowing those who didn't to change their mind, but having done half a season I can see I was wrong. Red Bull's resurgence, for instance, means we're probably going to see the same three people filling the podium in any weekend where Red Bull don't have a nightmare. We also all picked Ricciardo against Kvyat, but Verstappen's elevation might mean we'd get people switching from Daniel to Max, giving us more variation in the results. The jokers have helped but there is still a limitation there, and compared to the other games we have on here, I feel like this one doesn't require (nor receive) the participation those do. It would still be limited, although I've not really thought about how much so. Whether it would be x number of changes over the course of season, transfer 'windows' between certain races (which might be the best solution as it would ensure any advantage people have is maintained over a few races, but not over a whole season), or perhaps even another system entirely. Or it might be that I try and tie it into the jokers, something along the lines of we all have x jokers and y transfers, but the more transfers you use, the less jokers you get (and vice versa).

I was thinking the same after I read this round's results.

I like the transfer window idea, and with a possible shake-up next year, it might be important!

Herb wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:As an aside, next season we'll definitely have a system whereby everybody is allowed a certain amount of selection changes over the season. I was against it before we began because I didn't want to see the people who made the smartest picks penalised by allowing those who didn't to change their mind, but having done half a season I can see I was wrong. Red Bull's resurgence, for instance, means we're probably going to see the same three people filling the podium in any weekend where Red Bull don't have a nightmare. We also all picked Ricciardo against Kvyat, but Verstappen's elevation might mean we'd get people switching from Daniel to Max, giving us more variation in the results. The jokers have helped but there is still a limitation there, and compared to the other games we have on here, I feel like this one doesn't require (nor receive) the participation those do. It would still be limited, although I've not really thought about how much so. Whether it would be x number of changes over the course of season, transfer 'windows' between certain races (which might be the best solution as it would ensure any advantage people have is maintained over a few races, but not over a whole season), or perhaps even another system entirely. Or it might be that I try and tie it into the jokers, something along the lines of we all have x jokers and y transfers, but the more transfers you use, the less jokers you get (and vice versa).

I was thinking the same after I read this round's results.

I like the transfer window idea, and with a possible shake-up next year, it might be important!

Loving the suggestion - completely on board with a pool of transfers and jokers together.

And with jokers in mind, I want one on Alonso for Hungary!

I would also like to invoke two jokers. One on Button and the other on Raikkonen.

Jokers thus far:

TypingChicane: Verstappen and Alonso
theferret: Alonso
Fountoukos13: Raikkonen and Button

Versatappen joker please!

I'll use my group three joker on Verstappen this race, I think. I doubt anything can save my season at this point, but I may as well try!

You all think you're so clever, with your McLaren jokers, and your Red Bull jokers... but what if I do... THIS?!

Tier 6 joker on Romain Grosjean, please.

Having deliberated, I'm going to use one of my jokers on Alonso.

Updated list of jokers for Hungary is as follows:

TypingChicane: Verstappen and Alonso
theferret: Alonso
Fountoukos13: Raikkonen and Button
Schumacher forever#1: Verstappen
Remmirath: Verstappen
Exediron: Grosjean
Jenson's Understeer: Alonso

Looks like we could have a high-scoring round!

Jenson's Understeer wrote:Having deliberated, I'm going to use one of my jokers on Alonso.

Updated list of jokers for Hungary is as follows:

TypingChicane: Verstappen and Alonso
theferret: Alonso
Fountoukos13: Raikkonen and Button
Schumacher forever#1: Verstappen
Remmirath: Verstappen
Exediron: Grosjean
Jenson's Understeer: Alonso

Looks like we could have a high-scoring round!

Or potentially all fail miserably...

Fountoukos13 wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:Having deliberated, I'm going to use one of my jokers on Alonso.

Updated list of jokers for Hungary is as follows:

TypingChicane: Verstappen and Alonso
theferret: Alonso
Fountoukos13: Raikkonen and Button
Schumacher forever#1: Verstappen
Remmirath: Verstappen
Exediron: Grosjean
Jenson's Understeer: Alonso

Looks like we could have a high-scoring round!

Or potentially all fail miserably...

At least they can't all DNF or have one of their worst performances of the season, right? ... Right?

"Two separate incidents at the first corner resulted in five cars not completing the opening lap, triggered by an overly-ambitious move from Kimi Raikkonen. The 2007 World Champion, attempting to recover from a poor qualifying result, broke too late and couldn't avoid a collision with Max Verstappen, eliminating both in the process. The accident had a knock-on effect further down the field as Romain Grosjean collected Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button was also caught up in the chaos."

Sound plausible?