[Official] Russian GP Race Weekend Thread

[bjohnsonsmith]

That's a nice shot of Bernie and Putin.

[canamman]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Rosberg's got himself up to 2nd.

And there's my driver of the race.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Congrats to Lewis on winning the 1st Russian GP and 31 GP wins. Congrats to Mercedes on their first Constructor's Championship.

[Nikki Katz]

*yawn*

Weird race from Caterham. I'm guessing that's the last that we'll see of Kobayashi, not sure about the team as a whole.

Poor race for the race director. I realise that the track promotes cars spacing out, but there were some battles on the track, they just largely weren't broadcast. Mercedes will probably be pleased with the coverage though.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Lap 1 and JEV around T3 were the only highlights of this race.

I like the track, and I desperately wanted a good race, but it was not to be. The tyres definitely didn't help. Very much felt like a 'dark days' race.

So, apparently Kobayashi told people he was told to pull over for 'no reason', according to Will Buxton. I suspect that's the last we'll see of him, and maybe the team.

Selby

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

That's a nice shot of Bernie and Putin.

Mad Vlad isn't camera shy, that's for sure.

I enjoyed the race enough. There was some engagements at various points. An overall drama failed to materialise however. Sometimes that's the way it goes.

Good comeback from Rosberg from the back but he definitely doesn't have momentum on his side. Difficult to see past Hamilton for the WC. Still a few races left I suppose particularly Abu Dhabi.

[Knowlesy]

Rosberg is going to spawn this championship.

He has made mistake after mistake this season in the races. How is he even in contention?

Lewis could win the next two races and still lose the title with a retirement in Abu Dhabi and a second place for Nico. Madness.

Anyways, what a boring track and the first race all year I haven't enjoyed. Do we have to go back next year?

The minutes silence for Jules was odd as well. They do realise he is still fighting for his life in Japan and not, in fact, dead? Mawkish pish.

[Paradise City]

I don't want to over stress the point as their motives are sound. But they are behaving as if he died with all these tributes. A more reserved attitude is called for in my view.

[bella]

they've been doing it everywhere, it's a bit weird because yeah, the collective displays of support are nice and probably quite constructive for a driver, but nobody knows what face they're supposed to bring, what they're supposed to say or do... it was the same with some of the kubica ones when he had his shunt a few years ago. very strange to watch.

[paddy]

Minutes silence is the scourge of modern sport. We had so many at my local rugby club one season I was expecting one if the Groundsman's nephew's hamster died. Support for Bianchi is right, but people have to get on with their lives as well.
I really worry now that LH will win next two with a second place and retirement for Ros and then Hamilton will DNF in Abu Dhabi and lose the title by a point. Bernie would love it but it's bad for the sport if double points distort the championship like that.

[bella]

sometimes we have to remember that these things are for the competitors, not the benefit of the viewing public.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by bella

sometimes we have to remember that these things are for the competitors, not the benefit of the viewing public.

What things?

[Paradise City]

Well, in my view, a minute's silence is when the battle is over and you reflect on the fallen. Bianchi's battle isn't over; he's in the midst of his battle.

The gesture of etching a note of solidarity on these cars is good. The script on the front straight was a bit 'loud' perhaps but maybe loud and positive is what is needed here.

The minute's silence though when the battle is still on just puts everyone in the wrong frame of mind and worsens a bad atmosphere. Again, I don't want to overstress this, as this is an intense situation and getting the tone a little wrong is sometimes what happens.

[Starfish Primer]

The best sign of support to Bianchi aren´t stickers, silence minutes or #Forzajules stuff. The best sign would be to fund medical R+D on brain recovery and enforce new safety measures in motorsport. The first things are very easy to do, they just take 1 minute and people don´t need to commit anything. For the second one, you have to send money and step some feet and current F1 establishment (FIA, FOM, drivers, teams) aren´t brave enough to do them .

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Rosberg is going to spawn this championship.

He has made mistake after mistake this season in the races. How is he even in contention?

Lewis could win the next two races and still lose the title with a retirement in Abu Dhabi and a second place for Nico. Madness.

Entirely agree. LH has pretty much owned NR when it's come to on track battles, has won many more races, and could still lost the championship through one bit of bad luck in the last race.

Good drive from NR this time, barring a MASSIVE mistake that lost him the race in the first lap. LH didn't put a foot wrong, and that is where the difference is.

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by Starfish Primer

The best sign of support to Bianchi aren´t stickers, silence minutes or #Forzajules stuff. The best sign would be to fund medical R+D on brain recovery and enforce new safety measures in motorsport. The first things are very easy to do, they just take 1 minute and people don´t need to commit anything. For the second one, you have to send money and step some feet and current F1 establishment (FIA, FOM, drivers, teams) aren´t brave enough to do them .

The funding is a strawman argument - brain injury research is massively funded, and nothing to do with a bunch of people showing their respect to an injured colleague.

As for new safety measures in motorsport, I'm still not convinced that safety measures are where things need to change. As someone who was T boned at Silverstone by cars running at full speed three abreast round Maggots under waved yellows, I think its the driver behaviour under yellows that need work. That's not a new safety measure, that's just ensuring the existing ones work correctly.

[Sodemo]

I have been having trouble sleeping recently, not sure if its stress or the noise outside, so it was a good thing I watched the Russian GP. A miracle cure for insomnia.

WARNING: DO NOT OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY WHILST WATCHING THE RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX

[Purist]

I know. Those side-effects can be a real "beach"!

[TrapezeArtist]

It looks like Toro Rosso went overboard on optimising Kyviat's qually set-up at the expense of race pace. Nothing to do with him being a Russian driver at the Russian GP of course.

Nico really cooked it all up at the first corner. He looked pretty comfortable for grabbing the lead, .....and then threw it away! A good recovery drive and an interesting "one set of tyres" strategy were not enough to make up for a monumental error.

The durable tyres made for an interesting contrast, if not a very interesting race. All those people on here who have moaned interminably about chewing-gum tyres now seem to have gone quiet. Personally I would like to see all compounds available at every race, and let the drivers choose whichever they want (with an overall limit on numbers of sets).

[Knowlesy]

Nobody wants stupidly hard tyres as much as they don't want stupidly soft tyres. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

1999 and 2000 were terrible, when Bridgestone supplied rock hard tyres thanks to no competition. Then Michelin came in and life was great again. Competition is the key!

By far the worst aspect of the weekend was the track. Just a pile of nonsense, why make another Valencia? Weird decision making process.

[Nicholosophy]

I've seen a few times now a minute's silence replaced with a minute's applause. It's stops the idiots from making noises during the silence.

[davyboy]

What a bore. Fortunately I had recorded the BTCC telecast which included a humdinger of a scrap for the 14-16 year old Ginetta Juniors. It restored my faith in the fact that it is possible for cars to race.

In the past I used to really get excited about a race weekend and look forward to it. The reason I'm watching F1 now is 'in case I miss something'. I don't think I'm all that far away from transitioning to what the sports part of the evening news serves up.

[Aysedasi]

An utterly tedious non-spectacle. Very disappointing. I watched it a little later having been to hockey with my lad in the morning. I actually had to stop watching and go and make a cup of tea as I was annoying my missus because I was snoring so loudly......

[steve_r]

The track is much better than Valencia. This years race was all down to Pirelli's over conservative tyre choice. I think next season will see a much better race.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by steve_r

The track is much better than Valencia. This years race was all down to Pirelli's over conservative tyre choice. I think next season will see a much better race.

Pirelli says the tyre choice would have made no difference.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/116339