British Grand Prix 2015, Silverstone - Race 9/19

Skeeter said:
As much as we love to rib you for your love of Button, it really really sucked to see him taken out, and even more so by Alonso (although clearly by accident). :(.

The fact that the "this may well be Buttons last British GP" line was mentioned more than once by the TV crew makes it all the more painful :(
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I understand. I just feel sorry for Jenson. I wished he had gone to Merc now. Alonso and Button with their talent is just painful to see being wasted at the moment. McLaren need to sort it out quickly.

Something today just clicked with me watching Lewis drive. Just a brilliant brilliant drive.
 
I hope JB is driving next season. Still a top tier driver well capable of winning races. Would it be such a bad idea to see JB in red overalls?

On the race itself, first race I have enjoyed since Bahrain. Top drive from Lewis and a great recovery from Seb to be on the podium. Those Williams were mega of the start but need to sort out their wet weather pace.
 
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IPBA said:
On the race itself, first race I have enjoyed since Bahrain. Top drive from Lewis and a great recovery from Seb to be on the podium. Those Williams were mega of the start but need to sort out their wet weather pace.
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Don't really think they can. The low-downforce/slippery car philosophy means they will never have enough downforce to beat the Mercedes in wet conditions. The Mercedes were being pushed that much harder into the track, they could get more grip/power down in the wet, and the Williams just can't do that.
 
Yeah, what makes them slow in the wet is directly linked to what makes them quick in the dry it would seem.

Good race, I always enjoy a Lewis win but this race had it all going on from the start :)

Imo the Mercs would have still got Willams had they swapped Bottas at start, but could he have come out infront of Vettle and on the podium? That's a different story.

McLaren have got to be thinking wtf with this engine by now? At the very least they have got to be building up a little more respect for those back runners doing the same job on a fraction of the budget. I don't get it now, I'd expect them to be knocking on the mid field door by now and they really aren't.
 
I think the general consensus is that, as good as it was for the sport having Williams 1/2, it wasn't going to end that way regardless of what happened at the front (re swapping Mas and Bot).

Its been mentioned a couple of times though... Williams have done something to nail it off the line like that. That's some fine bit of coding in the launch control that's for sure!!! Will be interesting to see if they get a great start at the next track as well, though maybe not given its dusty as hell at Hungary.
 
I enjoyed it. I don't understand all the people who say it was boring because Mercedes still did a 1-2. I don't watch races just to see who crosses the line first, I watch to see that battles, the screw-ups, the starts, the overtakes, the pit stops, ie all the things it takes to get to the end of the race. That's where the excitement is.

Hamilton was pretty good value for money yesterday, every few minutes he was causing excitement and despair in equal quantities. If it has stayed dry we might have been able to see Rosberg getting really upset coming in fourth, but the rain added more into the mix and unfortunately took the Williams out of the running for podium spots.
 
Yep. People who blindly dismiss a race because of the result of the top 2 places are, being blunt, the type of fans F1 really doesn't need right now.

I'd rather a smaller but more positive fan base than a large one predominantly filled with idiots finding every excuse they can to put F1 down. Positive PR is more valuable than pure numbers.
 
Anyone that thinks that race was boring is not an F1 fan. It had everything, shock of Williams taking 1-2 at the start leaving the Mercs fighting for position, then a slow change of conditions to show just how skilled these drivers are and to top it all off - Hamilton making the perfect call to pit when he did which won him the race!

Best grand prix for quite a while that one me thinks :)

Steampunk said:
If it has stayed dry we might have been able to see Rosberg getting really upset coming in fourth, but the rain added more into the mix and unfortunately took the Williams out of the running for podium spots.
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With the rate that Rosberg was catching Hamilton he could have challenged for P1 if it stayed dry, I know Hamilton was slowing down due to him coming in that lap but you never know
 
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RyanF said:
With the rate that Rosberg was catching Hamilton he could have challenged for P1 if it stayed dry, I know Hamilton was slowing down due to him coming in that lap but you never know
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I dunno. Did you see that radio message when Hamilton got out of the pits into first, pulled out a five second lead and then radioed "I think that's enough of a gap now". ? Then the gap he pulled just before his pit in-lap and again just before the rain came down and he switched to inters.

I just don't think Rosberg would have been able to cross that gap even if he'd been able to make that jump over the Williams cars, not with Hamilton speeding up to fight him off. A second pitstop would have left Rosberg futher back and having to do the overtakes again at the end, and both Williams and Hamilton could have covered those stops for fresh tyres themselves.

I think Rosberg's again talking himself up claiming he would have made a charge and won the race from fourth if only it hadn't rained. It's worth noting that rain started (IIRC) about eleven laps from the end, so when was Rosberg going to make his magic second pitstop and cruise to victory? Mercedes only switched to the supposed two-stop plan B after Rosberg failed to jump the Williams at the first pitstop (as Hamilton did) and got himself stuck behind three cars he couldn't overtake in the dry. It's lot of "what ifs" and speculation, but it's just as valid as Rosberg doing his "I wuz robbed, I would have wun it guv" shtick.
 
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RyanF said:
Anyone that thinks that race was boring is not an F1 fan. It had everything, shock of Williams taking 1-2 at the start leaving the Mercs fighting for position, then a slow change of conditions to show just how skilled these drivers are and to top it all off - Hamilton making the perfect call to pit when he did which won him the race!

Best grand prix for quite a while that one me thinks :)

With the rate that Rosberg was catching Hamilton he could have challenged for P1 if it stayed dry, I know Hamilton was slowing down due to him coming in that lap but you never know
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While it was the best GP in a while it certainly did not have everything. It had literally no interesting overtaking at all. Hamilton passed in the pits, Bottas and Massa were only passed once it rained and their cars went to ****. Hamilton went in the pits at the right time and as such he and Rosberg didn't actually fight out on track.

Up and down the grid there was almost no overtaking and one of the few over takes there was(outside of the start and the first 4-5 corners) was Vettel getting Perez back... and they didn't show it.

There were a few other moves but mostly old vs new tires, fast vs slow car and out of position out of the pits. Without the rain we would have had 45 laps or so of absolutely zero action in the dry. With the rain two of the front four became useless.

It was exciting because rain always means anyone can go off, but the wheel to wheel action was non existent in this race, the outcome was fairly obvious after a while. In 18 months every single time Mercs end up behind Williams they fail to pass during the stint on track but get them when they hit clear air, be it pitting first or Williams pitting first and getting out of the way. They have no where near the pace over a lap, only down the straights. Clear air by any method means Mercs leapfrog Williams. This will continue to be the case.

It was a more exciting race but considering 99% of it was down to poor grip on specific grid slots and then rain, and almost none of it was down to genuine wheel to wheel action it wasn't a 'great' race by any stretch of the imagination.


Still find it quite funny that Grosjean made contact FOUR FREAKING TIMES in 2.5 corners.
 
The atmosphere at Silverstone is the best bit.

I've been to Spa and Barcelona too, and while you get that same collective excitement, its more of a mix and more subdued than the pure passion that you get at Silverstone. Being at a British GP when a British driver is doing well is simply amazing. I imagine the only other place like it would be Monza when a Ferrari wins.

The standing ovation Hamilton got for the GP2 Sprint Race in 2006. The way the place erupted in 2007 on Saturday when Hamilton bagged pole. The unwavering support for Button and Davidson and Coulthard every year, even if they turned up in a turd of a car and came last. And the epic weekend I had last year with Hamilton winning. Best memories of F1 I have.

My massive regret is that I gave up my 2008 ticket and missed watching probably the best wet weather drive of anyone in F1 ever.

Silverstone is amazing. I really wished I was there this year rather than watching on TV :(.
 
Skeeter said:
My massive regret is that I gave up my 2008 ticket and missed watching probably the best wet weather drive of anyone in F1 ever.
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I hate silverstone, I think the place is turd but each to their own. I'm not even fond of the track anymore.

As for 2008 I'm pretty damn sure you didn't get anywhere near missing the best wet weather drive of anyone ever in f1. He did drive a great race, while all those around made mistakes and some horrendous strategy calls.
 
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