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At the time Schumacher was ruling FIA was nicknamed Ferrari International Assistance, with success comes suspicion, that's the rule. No chance of a red flag on this race, unless F1 parts from damaged cars all other the track, but indeed Hamilton is quite often lucky.


Had McLaren made the right call and summoned norris into pit we wouldn't have this discussion I guess, and that's great news for the show ! 3/4 way battles, finally !!!

Yep, the team really needed to make that call. As it was they deferred to Lando, who made the wrong call. Such a difficult moment and so hard to make that choice from the lead. Bottas came in first, and his sector times should have told the other teams what to do, McLaren included. Red Bull left Perez out too long and paid the price. But a number of teams made the same mistake. This was all clear afterwards, but in that moment it is not so, and sometimes you roll snake eyes.

Seeing the FIA's role in the Schumacher/Ferrari era mentioned, Ferrari also had special Pirellis if I remember correctly. They worked great on Schumi's car and everyone else struggled with lesser tires. I find it interesting that back in the days when Schumacher and Rosberg drove for Mercedes and were no where near competetive, in fact the car destroyed the tires, Mercedes had a tire test all for themselves, allegedly to help the tire manufacturers better understand car dynamics in general. A couple of years down the line and Mercedes start winning and have better tire performance and preservation than the competition. Well, I do see some parallels between then and now.

On to my comment regarding the race. At the time something struck me as odd about Alonso's progress between the start and the exit of the first turn. He started seventh I think, and was fourth after having failed to negotiate the corner. He used a trick he has previously asked the FIA to outlaw or out-engineer: Because the driver has no intention to negotiate the turn in the usual time honoured tradition of following the natural course of the road, before failing to make the turn he can overtake several competitors who have to slow down more for the turn than he has. This driver also runs less risk of being hindered or even shunted when the gaggle of cars try to sort themselves into more or less a siingle line of cars for the turn. He then rejoins the track as stated in the regulations by driving past the markers in the required and correct manner.

Perhaps this is nothing new to more astute observers than myself but since I wasn't aware of this trick until now, I thought I'd mention it.

I won't rule out any conspiracies, there's a lot at stake. I prefer to think the field is level. But it rarely is, is it?

Do any of you check formula1.com regularly?

After each race they post videos. Always interesting and entertaining. Here are a few from Sochi

Every overtake Max conducted in the race

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...ium-in-sochi.660BWikmYhSjXy3qCA0FQd.html

Comparison of Lando and Lewis in the final laps

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...nal-laps-that.EWMIkv4GY0bHEQeJrJF99.html

Top ten onboards

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...the-rain-the.6TRTFmdj5ltWV30PW2MtmL.html

Best of the team radio

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...ine-the-best.4oIW4sTychnOC0djliKOxN.html

The Turkish Grand Prix this weekend. Last year's race here was very exciting. Rain and a new track surface combined to make it very low grip, and there were spins galore. Quite a spectacle. You can see the highlights of that race here

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...ive-the-2020.62NQZNeV4xg2r1rk79ocpT.html

Red Bull are running a special livery in this race.

Rain is a possibility again this weekend, but they've also treated the track surface to get more grip. Come on Max!

Sainz got the new power plant like Leclerc got in Sochi, so will start from the back.

I have to think that Hamilton will also need to do this at some point over the next few races. I don't believe they'll go to the end (seven races) without a new ICE. That means he will need to start from the back at one of the races. Max has gotten his swap out of the way (and crucially recovered to second), so could prove a vital edge in the title battle. Seven races is a lot for one engine and maybe even Max will need another. This will be an interesting subplot for the business end of the season.

Weather is predicted to be seasonal, temps around 21C, with a 40% chance of precipitation. Come on Max!

Fernando Alonso says F1 has 'different rules for different people' when it comes to on-track behaviour
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/58832120

I will put my tin foil suit on.

I don't know, I think he has a point, but I won't say it is due to the driver's nationality. He's obviously suggesting English drivers get the breaks. But Lando did indeed cross the white line on pit entry in the rain at Sochi. That's a clear violation, yet he was only given a reprimand after meeting with the stewards. I wondered at the time how this was possible because the rule is black and white, and he clearly ran afoul of that regulation. I think it should have been a 5-second penalty, which would have promoted Kimi to 7th and dropped Lando to 8th. Why were they lenient on him, why was this decision handed down?

The ruling said that it was not "intentional or predictable" that he would fail to control his car in the wet conditions. Yeah 'so what?' is my reaction. I like Lando, but this should have been a clear penalty in my view.

If you want some conspiracy theory, there you are:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJmdkIL1BWk

Yep, because in a sport where the goal is to be fast, you cannot be too fast you know, especially if Mercedes are not quite as fast as the fastest.

Hamilton quickest in FP1. But as we speculated, he took a new ICE and has a 10-place grid penalty. Advantage Max.

Perez once again well off the pace. There was big talk out of his camp in the run up to this weekend. Now lets see him back that up. He has not been on the podium since France, and has scored the same number of points as Russell over the past five races. Tell me again why he retained his seat next year?

Hamilton, Leclerc and Bottas quickest in FP2. Perez actually fourth-fastest, but I suspect max is keeping his powder dry. With Hamilton needing to fight through some traffic in the race, Red Bull can focus more on race pace in practice. But they need to be careful they don't find themselves in traffic too after qualifying. But of course maybe they are just off the pace. If we've learned anything in F1, it's that white is the slowest color.

Gasly fastest in FP3. Track was soaked and everyone was spinning out. Red Bull in the top five, but you can't put too much stock in the result in a wet session (unless the race is also wet)

It looked like Perez was not going to make it out of Q1, but he just cracked a lap. Hamilton looking imperious in Istanbul. Good thing he starts farther back, but I think it will be hard to keep him from leading the race tomorrow. Let's see how the rest of qualifying shakes out.

Merc looking very strong here. Not sure that Red Bull will have the answer, outside of an incident catching Mercedes out. Hamilton will need to get to the front quickly, but he sure looks to have the car to do it.

So after Q3 it will be Bottas on pole and Hamilton starting 11th after provisional pole and subsequent grid penalty. He did just what he needed to do to give himself the best possible starting position. Perez managed to be outqualified by Leclerc, Gasly and Alonso. How many races in a row now has Gasly gone faster?

So Merc start 1st and 11th. Red Bull 2nd and 6th (after Hamilton's penatly). Finely balanced and this will be a pivotal race in the title hunt. Turkey's a great racing track, and overtaking is certainly on. Should be another cracking affair!

In danger of turning this in to an auto-convo. Where is everyone? This is the business end of the tightest battle we've seen in years. Get to postin'!

So I decided to check the qualifying results of every race so far to see how Perez has fared head to head with Gasly. Don't forget, the Alpha Tauri s a decidedly slower car than the Red Bull. Let's see where this leads....

Results shown as

Perez / Gasly

Bahrain 11 / 5
Imola 2 / 5
Portimao 4 / 9
Barcelona 8 / 12
Monaco 9 / 6
Baku 7 / 4
Paul Ricard 4 / 6
Austria 1 5 / 6
Austria 2 3 / 6
Silverstone 5 / 12 (Sprint)
Hungary 4 / 5
Spa 7 / 6
Zandvoort 16 / 4
Monza 9 / 6 (Sprint)
Sochi 9 / 12
Turkey 7 / 5

That's 16 races. Let's crunch the numbas

Perez's average grid position is is 6.87

Gasly's average grid position is 6.81

I used standard qualifying results for the sprint races. So what do these numbers say? It says that Gasly has performed better in qualifying. Average grid position is dead even, but Gasly is doing it in a slower car. I was wrong though to suggest that Gasly is on a streak of better results, that just isn't true, although it feels like it )

Grid position is not a race result. It means nothing in of itself. But it's a reliable indicator for pace and driver capability. Reading between the lines, it shows that Gasly is also extracting much more from his car than Perez is. If you compare these results to each of their teammates it shows how much better or worse they are compared to the other car, which presumably is identical or nearly so.

I wanted to see these two swap seats for next season, and frankly I was surprised when Horner made the announcement they were keeping Perez. I don't think he has earned it, while Gasly has. Red Bull are in with their best shot at a title in 8 years, and they are doing it with Perez well off Max's standard. I said early in the season Red Bull needed Perez to at least match Bottas, and he's failed to do so. Not everything has been his fault (poor stops, the Hungary first corner, etc). But Bottas has had his share too, like his stop at Monaco and the stuck wheel.

Formula 1 is a results business, and Perez has not given the team the results they deserve this season. I'm hoping that somehow that swap is still made before next season.

Perez has still done better than any other Red Bull co-driver. Who would they replace him with? I think the Red Bull is a bit of a b*tch to drive.

Also 'the results they deserve', hmm, perhaps 'the results they want'.

First time Mick Schumacher was presented with favourable conditions and was able to grab at the chance presented him. If the race day conditions are more normal, he’ll slide towards the back during the race.

I have no issue with tightening the rules regarding securing the wheel bolts are properly in place and tightened. Same rule for everyone and we do not run the risk of a pit stop going awry, hurting or killing someone in the pit lane.

Now, regarding the no. 2 driver in the major teams, it is my supposition that effectively Red Bull, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari run a one man team with a support driver employed. This is why we have seen internal team fights for supremacy within each team and why the dog beaten in the fight has fled to other teams. Hamilton/Alonso, Vettel/Weber, Vettel/Ricciardo, Ricciardo/Max, Vettel/Leclerc, Hamilton/Rosberg. The last example being the only exception, but then Rosberg retired on grounds that beating Hamilton, had made him (Rosberg) into someone he didn’t really care to be.

My point in this being; I don’t believe in that dictum that you have equal opportunity within these teams, the odds are stacked against the no. 2 driver being given an equal opportunity to win. Therefore, expecting the no. 2 driver to perform regularly and consistently close to the teamleader (no. 1 driver) is urealistic: The teamleader will do anything to undermine a no. 2 driver coming too close to challenging his supremacy.

Gasly?

I'm not expecting Perez to outscore Max, but to match Bottas. He has the car to do it. He's not done it. And that's the difference in the constructor's at the moment. And as I've talked about several times, just having the second car in the mix at the front opens strategy options for the other car, and limits those of the rival team (s). Perez is rarely in the mix, leaving Max on his own often against both Mercs. He can start to change that today.

OK, fair enough, I'll change deserve to expected. That was a poor choice of words.

Congrats to Bottas, a professional drive and he was never really under threat. Looked in control throughout. It was clear that Mercedes were faster across the weekend, and it would have taken something out of the ordinary for Red Bull to get past.

This was the drive I think we should expect out of Perez every week. Great result, exactly what they needed, and holding off Hamilton may have triggered the decision to pit. First podium for Perez since Paul Ricard, an unbelievable nine races. But this one is vital. More of this please.

About Hamilton.... What do you guys think? The question is would his pace have been low enough over the final 12 laps on his first set to see both Leclerc and Perez get by even if he didn't come in. I'm torn between what I saw, and what I was hearing. The announcers were saying Hamilton was losing a second a lap before he came in, and if that's true he had to come in, he would have been overtaken regardless. But I was also watching the interval, and it looked to be holding steady at 10 seconds. His result and troubles on his graining tires after his stop suggest Hamilton may have a point. But his team also called him in on lap 42 and he ignored it. Coming in then could have cleared the graining phase in time to attack near the end. By coming in so late he ran out of time.

And then there's the fact that Hamilton seemed to not know he'd lose any positions if he came in. If he had known, would he have ignored the call to pit? That was all very interesting, and I'm curious to hear what they have to say. That's a heck of a lot of laps to run a single set of inters, and taking them to the end could lead to a failure or spin perhaps? Glad I don't sit on a pit wall making these calls! Ocon got to the end, so there's that.

All in all this has to be considered a good weekend for Red Bull. Bottas got the win, but at a track where they were not at Merc's level they still got a result.

Should Gasly have been penalized for that lap one incident with Alonso? That seems harsh, and they almost always let these things stand on the first lap, and especially so in the wet. That surprised me.