F1 - 2016 Season

More woe's for Hamilton,  he lost power at the end of Q2 & did not come out for Q3..   Mercedes unsure if the repairs will lead to a penalty.   (wishful thinking as if it is an engine change thats another start from the back )  Hamilton is also under investigation for a track infringement.

Vettel gets 2nd in Q3 but goes back 5 places because of a gearbox change. 

Front row - Rosberg - Bottas &  2nd row - Raikkonen - Massa

Reprimand for Lewis.

I'm just waiting for the conspiracies theories to begin...

Tony2011 posted:

I'm just waiting for the conspiracies theories to begin...

You mean the conspiracy of a German team needing (requiring) a German world champion ....... Paddy Lowe is already apologising on the media,  so it can't be a conspiracy  .............  can it ??  

Mike-B posted:

Tony2011 posted:

I'm just waiting for the conspiracies theories to begin...

You mean the conspiracy of a German team needing (requiring) a German world champion ....... Paddy Lowe is already apologising on the media,  so it can't be a conspiracy  .............  can it ??  

Mike, that would be preporsterous, woudn't it?  Surely this has never happened before in the 45 or so years I have  been following F1. Or, has it?

Mike-B posted:

You mean the conspiracy of a German team needing (requiring) a German world champion ....... 

PS  ...............   I should point out that the German F1 team Mercedes Petronas has its HQ in Brackley & the AMG engines are built in Bixworth;   both towns as we all know are in the county of Northamptonshire, a suburb of Stuttgart

Didn't I read somewhere that Lewis and Nico swapped mechanics this year?

Off topic and OK, not Formula 1 but this found me again earlier. Still bizarre...

https://vimeo.com/24998987

Max Verstappen has been promoted to Red Bull and Daniil Kvyat dropped to junior team Toro Rosso with immediate effect.

The message being don't fk about at your home Grand Prix while being watched by two of the biggest megalomaniacs on Earth. And Vladimir Putin

JamieWednesday posted:

Didn't I read somewhere that Lewis and Nico swapped mechanics this year?

Mercedes have published an open letter to assure fans they don't favour any driver over another  .............  seems the keyboard warriors on the twittersphere are hitting a raw spot.      

JamieWednesday posted:

Max Verstappen has been promoted to Red Bull and Daniil Kvyat dropped to junior team Toro Rosso with immediate effect.

The message being don't fk about at your home Grand Prix while being watched by two of the biggest megalomaniacs on Earth. And Vladimir Putin

I think the Verstappen move was always on the cards given his performances during 2015 & this year, I'm guessing it was only his youth/experience that kept him from signing up for RB from the start of this year.    But the demotion straight after his home GP fiasco must really hurt Kvyat.   ...............    I wonder if we will get a comment from SV ??  ............  maybe a wry smile  

Tough on Kvyat but that's F1. It's an obvious and logical swap. 

Well done, Max. Youngest winner ever. Well deserved!

Kvyat must now be bitterly regretting his immature moves in Russia.  He perhaps had a chance of getting his seat back but no chance if Verstappen kicks on from this win.

Hamilton's a mug for that risky move on the first lap.

Jota posted:

Hamilton's a mug for that risky move on the first lap.

Yes maybe better to be cautious on the first lap,  but NR car was showing a ERS drive problem with the flashing rear lights,  & why when the racing line was on the left,  why did he dive over to the right when he must have known LH was there & also he did not allow LH the required one car width.   I see the blame as NR 80/20 LH.    At best in favour of NR its 50/50.  

Wow first ever Dutch win.....

I'm glad I saw that. History in the making.

Hamilton simply got Hamiltoned by his team mate. No big. And a superb race off the back of it.. 

Harry posted:

I'm glad I saw that. History in the making.

Hamilton simply got Hamiltoned by his team mate. No big. And a superb race off the back of it.. 

Indeed. It was a joy to have the attention of the commentators focussed elsewhere. A triumph for Verstappen and good to see Christian Horner looking more confident again.

G

5 wins at one circuit, Lewis will be happy with that, but a fairly quiet race after the start really. Not sure Nico will be happy though

Another great race from Lewis. I was not thinking he could win that one, a certain 2nd, but like Monaco the correct tyre choice and SV and team cocked up again. Ferrari may have a good car but SV keeps over driving/making mistakes.

Great piece of TV with Lewis and Seb regarding the "Suicidal  Sea Gulls"

http://www.skysports.com/f1/ne...ulls-and-i-locked-up

An interesting coverage post Austrian GP regarding a new Mercedes model:-

http://sniffpetrol.com/2016/07...dition/#.V3oZUFZrjOF

Another excellent piece by Sniff Petrol.

BigH47 posted:

An interesting coverage post Austrian GP regarding a new Mercedes model:- 

That made me laugh. Very good.

I'm not a LH fan and I would like to see NR get a WDC gong. But honestly! That was just  silly.

Clearly he's less bothered now and just enters into denial mode but I guess he has no other choice at the moment as the intent was there for the world to see, even live and without the in cockpit footage.

I thought the whole thing was hilarious. Good on Mercedes to stick by their man publicly but I bet he's felt the touch of the red hot poker behind closed doors.

Still, blindingly brilliant publicity for Merc. They still won the race, they will win the Constructors and Drivers Championship and it's all thoroughly entertaining. I'm sure nothing will be changed.

Some F1 rules changes to be made immediately is announced by the F1 Strategy Group:  Radio communications will be freed up & track limit infringements will be stopped from this weekend in Hockenheim to stop the recent flood of unpopular penalties.  

Radio communications will be totally free, with the exception of the formation lap to ensure that drivers get no help with pre-race clutch settings.

Track limit penalties have been stopped (pending some confirmation)

Also announced is a return to standing starts in wet conditions.  Drivers will follow the safety car for a few laps, then when agreed by race director & others they go to the grid for a normal start on full wet tyres.