[Race] 2017 FORMULA 1 VTB RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX - Grand Prix Weekend Thread

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

??? Vandoorne's in P12 at the halfway point.

I saw him get out of the car before the start of the race.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I saw him get out of the car before the start of the race.

That was Alonso.
Vandoorne's still running in P14.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

That was Alonso.
Vandoorne's still running in P14.

That clears that up.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Congrats to Valteri Bottas on his first GP victory.

[ASCII Man]

Massa did his job well for Mercedes.

[Richard C]

Congratulations to Bottas. I suspect Alonso's mind has already been made up for next year regardless of how well Honda may or may not recover later in the year.

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Congratulations to Bottas. I suspect Alonso's mind has already been made up for next year regardless of how well Honda may or may not recover later in the year.

Richard

He's going to IndyCar?

[S griffin]

Caught the race halfway after knocking out stock at my local boot sale. Impressed to see Bottas in the lead and did well to hold on to the end against Vettel. He seems to have raised his game this weekend. Let's hope this is not a one off

Also both Force Indias in the points for the fourth race out of four, both are doing well, as is Hulkenberg and Massa, and glad to see Stroll finally getting a finsih, just outside the points

Also Kimi was impressive today

Just a shame the race was hardly a classic, with hardly any proper close battling going on

[Neppatsrev Xam]

after lap 1 there where exactly 0(yes, zero) overtakes, not even in midfield.

these new aero regs don't seem to be working.

[Adam43]

Yes, there was a period when there was about 4s gap between the top 4 positions. No one could overtake.

Even Max couldn't get past and we know he is so good at overtaking. He was only 10s behind the guy ahead at one point.

You have a point, but the main reason there was no overtaking was that no one was close to anyone ahead.

[Lancsbreaker]

After the good move by Bottas on the first two corners, there was remarkably little of what one could call racing until the last few laps when Vettel woke up to the possibility of a victory..........Putin may have commented on the increasing numbers of spectators, but sadly I can't see this doing anything to continue that trend........


And who thinks Eddie Jordan is any use as a podium interviewer?

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Yes, there was a period when there was about 4s gap between the top 4 positions. No one could overtake.

Even Max couldn't get past and we know he is so good at overtaking. He was only 10s behind the guy ahead at one point.

You have a point, but the main reason there was no overtaking was that no one was close to anyone ahead.

What about the last few laps, with Vettel vs Bottas and Massa vs Hulk vs Ocon

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Yes, there was a period when there was about 4s gap between the top 4 positions. No one could overtake.

Even Max couldn't get past and we know he is so good at overtaking. He was only 10s behind the guy ahead at one point.

You have a point, but the main reason there was no overtaking was that no one was close to anyone ahead.

Whenever they get within a couple of seconds they lose (even more) aero grip and start destroying the tyres. Now, if you can't get passed straight away, you're better off falling back and waiting it out.

[steve_r]

These regs were always going to produce quite a few awful races like this. Ironically some of the modern tilkedromes that lots of people dislike will probably give us the best races this year.

[Razzzor]

Ferrari really didn't want to win this race did they?

I found it really boring, since there was no way Vettel was going to be able to pass Bottas. The commentators really putting their all into it though, as if he had some chance.

Ferrari should have done the undercut, Vettel might have had a chance then.

Of course, does ANYONE want to see Vettel win another race vs Bottas get his well-deserved maiden win? I think not.

A boring ass Indycar race, boring F1, poor Evans loses his maiden WRC win in the last stage. Let's move on to the next rounds.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Ferrari really didn't want to win this race did they?

I found it really boring, since there was no way Vettel was going to be able to pass Bottas. The commentators really putting their all into it though, as if he had some chance.

Ferrari should have done the undercut, Vettel might have had a chance then.

Of course, does ANYONE want to see Vettel win another race vs Bottas get his well-deserved maiden win? I think not.

A boring ass Indycar race, boring F1, poor Evans loses his maiden WRC win in the last stage. Let's move on to the next rounds.

I thought Ferrari should have gone with the undercut.

Phoenix was bad. Too much aero, just like F1, at least those aero-kits are gone next year. Come on F1.

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

And who thinks Eddie Jordan is any use as a podium interviewer?

I didn't just cringe. My head folded up, rolled up and squeezed down my neck to hide until it was over.

[mikuni]

I don't blame the aero regs for the lack of overtaking, I blame the track. It really needs a rethink. Some decent switchbacks, a big braking zone (while braking in a straight line) and less 90 degree corners. Has a successful pass ever been made on a 90 degree corner? They're terrible.

[fieldodreams79]

I'm still watching the race, but why would Alonso be classified ahead of Palmer and Monsieur Crashy if he didn't even start the race? Not that it really matters...

[Neppatsrev Xam]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Yes, there was a period when there was about 4s gap between the top 4 positions. No one could overtake.

Even Max couldn't get past and we know he is so good at overtaking. He was only 10s behind the guy ahead at one point.

You have a point, but the main reason there was no overtaking was that no one was close to anyone ahead.

that's exactly what's wrong: you can't get close enough to overtake.

[Sodemo]

How come Williams ran without Martini logos but there was Heineken logos littered around the trackside?

[mikuni]

Originally Posted by Neppatsrev Xam

that's exactly what's wrong: you can't get close enough to overtake.

There wasn't really a situation where a faster car was behind someone in a slower car to create a situation where a pass could be made.

Hopefully that speaks for itself, but I'll give a couple of examples. Hamilton had pace at certain times, but was never consistently faster than Kimi.
Max is the go to guy for passing, but he only had "the fast four" in front of him, so a passing opportunity never presented itself.
There were perhaps a couple of examples further back, but really with Massa, Perez, Ocon and Hulkenberg in that order I can't see who was going to go for the pass. Massa's tyre woes created an opportunity, but realistically put him too far behind too late in the race to make any real go at it.
The Saubers and McLaren were at the back, so no easy picking for the field either.

[S griffin]

At least we're seeing an end to T-wings and shark fins next seasons. Quite frankly winglets have no place on an F1 car

[F1Guy]

2017 Russian Grand Prix report by Mark Hughes.

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/re...nd-prix-report

[Neppatsrev Xam]

Originally Posted by mikuni

There wasn't really a situation where a faster car was behind someone in a slower car to create a situation where a pass could be made.

Hopefully that speaks for itself, but I'll give a couple of examples. Hamilton had pace at certain times, but was never consistently faster than Kimi.
Max is the go to guy for passing, but he only had "the fast four" in front of him, so a passing opportunity never presented itself.
There were perhaps a couple of examples further back, but really with Massa, Perez, Ocon and Hulkenberg in that order I can't see who was going to go for the pass. Massa's tyre woes created an opportunity, but realistically put him too far behind too late in the race to make any real go at it.
The Saubers and McLaren were at the back, so no easy picking for the field either.

cars lose downforce at a larger distance than before, that's why cars behind don't seem to be consistent , when they get closer they start losing downforce.