2019 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka, Oct 11 - 13

[Scorpaguy]

...er, Max, in the past you punted so many people off the track that the Dallas Cowboys were looking to sign you for their special teams. Karma is a bitch. Not a fan of Lec...but when Max punted him off in Austria he did not whine...just stated how he would race in the future (and that is what he has done).

...Stewarding, more lenient now. Might want to google some of the classic track battles (Kub vs Massa, Japan 2007 comes to mind). If that battle would have happened today, both drivers would have been arrested, jailed, and flogged. Today's stewarding seems positively draconian compared to other eras.

[digitalrurouni]

Agreed Lewis got shafted a bit but come on sometimes Bottas should be allowed a win. Keeps his morale high.

I agree. Bottas deserved to win the race. I'm not saying Lewis didn't, but Bottas was the reason why Mercedes even had a chance for the win with his start and the way he drove his stints.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EGwjqv2WoAE ... name=large

Agreed. Well done Mercedes. Congratulations on a 6th WCC. It boggles my mind actually. I wish Ferrari had sorted out their car earlier in the year then it would have been a nail biter of a season.

[dans79]

I agree. Bottas deserved to win the race. I'm not saying Lewis didn't, but Bottas was the reason why Mercedes even had a chance for the win with his start and the way he drove his stints.

What Bottas had, what's the extreme luck of being behind the P1 driver with probably the worst start we have seen in almost a decade. if it had been a track with a longer run to turn one Vettel probably would have finished the first lap in 7th or 8th.

any of the drivers in the top three teams would have accomplished the same thing as Bottas.

[maxxer]

what A absolute disaster from the fia , why do they even show up anymore ?
Vettel jumpstarting
Leclerc pushing a car into the gravel
Albon dive bombing

Sorry but this was the worst race ever and to remember Bianchi died because of this track you would expect the fia to be a bit better
But no they are just total ---

[djos]

what A absolute disaster from the fia , why do they even show up anymore ?
Vettel jumpstarting
Leclerc pushing a car into the gravel
Albon dive bombing

Sorry but this was the worst race ever and to remember Bianchi died because of this track you would expect the fia to be a bit better
But no they are just total ---

Really, for years everyone has been complaining that Charlie (RIP) was heavy-handed, now Michael has loosened the reins and said "have at it" there are a bunch of you having a sook!

Frankly, I'm pleased the nanny state rules have been revoked as the racing this year has been the best it has been in many decades!

[miguelalvesreis]

Nevertheless, with such a setup and pace advantage Mercs had, only 13s on the end?
In almost 40 years of watching F1 I've never seen a team making such strides towards qualifying and still be able to have good pace on race day.

Seems, at least to me, that there's a real unlocking or improvement of performance from Ferrari, even if not enough on race day. But they are surely closer.

The new front wing, as well as some of the previous updates has given them enough downforce at the front, that they can now more easily get the tires into the proper window.

What shows that they are skewing there set up towards qualifying, is the large amount of tire deg they still have. Even post race vettel himself mentioned it.

The 13 seconds, is protecting the engine, every team now does this once they've consolidated their finishing position.

I don't think that we can assume that with such certainty. They have had high tire deg all year long. Would need to check some more clean data but, from the difference on race ends in relation to both Mercs and RB it seems that, although superior to the Mercs' one, it's way better then used to be.

Do you have some data that shows the tire dog getting worse on those races the hot the PP? The last 5?

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[miguelalvesreis]

Nevertheless, with such a setup and pace advantage Mercs had, only 13s on the end?
In almost 40 years of watching F1 I've never seen a team making such strides towards qualifying and still be able to have good pace on race day.

Seems, at least to me, that there's a real unlocking or improvement of performance from Ferrari, even if not enough on race day. But they are surely closer.

The new front wing, as well as some of the previous updates has given them enough downforce at the front, that they can now more easily get the tires into the proper window.

What shows that they are skewing there set up towards qualifying, is the large amount of tire deg they still have. Even post race vettel himself mentioned it.

The 13 seconds, is protecting the engine, every team now does this once they've consolidated their finishing position.

I don't think they were protecting the engine that much, Vet was with Ham all over him and on lap 47 or 48 he was told to crank it up

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[miguelalvesreis]

Racing Point filed a complaint towards Renault for using some sorts of programmed brake balance. I wonder how far it goes, whether it's just a pre-programmed brake balance per corner like ECU's are programmed or if it also calculates in wind directions, tyre wear, fuel loads etc ..

Yes, seems to be an interesting system! How do they keep it in sync with the position on track. Different racing line, some run offs, pitting, all this change the running distance

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[maxxer]

what A absolute disaster from the fia , why do they even show up anymore ?
Vettel jumpstarting
Leclerc pushing a car into the gravel
Albon dive bombing

Sorry but this was the worst race ever and to remember Bianchi died because of this track you would expect the fia to be a bit better
But no they are just total ---

Really, for years everyone has been complaining that Charlie (RIP) was heavy-handed, now Michael has loosened the reins and said "have at it" there are a bunch of you having a sook!

Frankly, I'm pleased the nanny state rules have been revoked as the racing this year has been the best it has been in many decades!

nonsense there where multiple clear break of rules , whats next oh you can put on the tires you want ?
Why did raikonnen get a penalty for a false start and vettel not? back in the day there was no sensor you move its a jump start now it is vettel and suddenly it depends on the sensor
Leclerc had a red mist moment after the start and pushed verstappen off the track by running into him.
Sorry but this is not hard racing but its cheating

[Kaneda]

1:10 Start
Yes, Vettle jump start
Bottas Perfect start

[RZS10]

This video nicely shows how far he moved and also that he was still moving when the lights turned off, he did not stop the car on time.



He starts moving ~0.3s before the lights turn off, moves roughly 1/2 of the tyre diameter.

According to AMuS Ferrari even claimed that Vettel absolutely did not move before the lights turned off and that he started moving three tenths AFTERWARDS and that was why the sensors did not trigger - which is obviously a barefaced lie.

[LM10]

What I've learned from FIA's jump start decisions is that they seem to completely rely on what the sensor tells.

FIA's explanation is that Vettel's start, besides visible movement, was within acceptable tolerance of the jump start system. This means that the sensors won't detect any movement, if the car moves within the tolerance, right? So, what's the tolerance?

I need to add, that, as far as I know, the regulations don't specify that the movement needs to be sensor-detected. But I'm not sure right now.

[djos]

Really, for years everyone has been complaining that Charlie (RIP) was heavy-handed, now Michael has loosened the reins and said "have at it" there are a bunch of you having a sook!

Frankly, I'm pleased the nanny state rules have been revoked as the racing this year has been the best it has been in many decades!

nonsense there where multiple clear break of rules , whats next oh you can put on the tires you want ?
Why did raikonnen get a penalty for a false start and vettel not? back in the day there was no sensor you move its a jump start now it is vettel and suddenly it depends on the sensor
Leclerc had a red mist moment after the start and pushed verstappen off the track by running into him.
Sorry but this is not hard racing but its cheating

Charles had a moment, he didn't push Max off-track intentionally and I think the stewards calling it a racing incident was entirely fair. It sucks that Max had his race ruined, but the first few corners are always the most likely to result in an incident and unless something really dumb is attempted (eg a Ro-Gro style move), they shouldn't be penalized.

FWIW, I'm a Danny Ric fanboi, but I really enjoy watching both Max and Charles race, they are both quality drivers ... especially since Max has matured.

[djos]

What I've learned from FIA's jump start decisions is that they seem to completely rely on what the sensor tells.

FIA's explanation is that Vettel's start, besides visible movement, was within acceptable tolerance of the jump start system. This means that the sensors won't detect any movement, if the car moves within the tolerance, right? So, what's the tolerance?

I need to add, that, as far as I know, the regulations don't specify that the movement needs to be sensor-detected. But I'm not sure right now.

All systems have a margin for error - Vettel was within that FIA specified error budget and as he didn't benefit from his move (quite the opposite), I think the Stewards call was reasonable.

PS, IIRC the regs specify the sensor is "the judge of fact" - it used to be a marshal thing but that was frequently problematic.

[El Scorchio]

I’m glad Bottas took a victory today, and he got the vote for DOTD, so good for him.

This weekend confirmed my suspicions that the “super talents” are only human and entirely beatable when things don’t go their way. Albon was just as quick as Verstappen qualifying, and Leclerc had no answer to Vettel’s devastatingly quick pole lap.

Too bad both Ferraris had poor starts, but it did look like Mercedes was quicker on race pace, so I doubt they’d have been able to secure victory even if the starts had been perfect. I did love how Vettel defended against Hamilton.

Bottas beat Hamilton, Vettel beat Leclerc, and Albon beat Verstappen. This was an interesting day.

Oh, and can somebody give Sainz a quicker car? That dude is impressively consistent.

Well. I have to point out that Bottas only beat Hamilton because of the team making Hamilton do an unnecessarily pit stop from the lead. If they hadn’t altered Hamilton’s strategy then that’s a win for him.