Official 2014 United States Grand Prix Thread ***STAR-SPANGLED SPOILERS***

Was an ok race seemed a bit bland tbh I don't know just could not get into it.

Lewis had the pace on the harder tyres all weekend, Nico seems to have an advantage on the softer tyres like he has all year.

I thought the lewis move was good but risky, but he knows Nico will not turn in so worth a risk. Wolff said after the race now its just between them to maybe the chains can come totally off. Next two races between then will be fun as long as neither have car problems.

Nico was cocky all weekend saying he had set his car up for the race, saying he had time in the car etc then got beaten. Hes even now said he made a mistake and pressed the wrong switch to get a boost.

Just in the back of my mind I think there will be a nasty sting at the final race and Nico will take the title even though Lewis has won more that double the amount of races and beaten him on track.

Bernie will love the fact the double points has taken this to the last race as the chances are it would have been over at the next race. But had they used the medal system Bernie wanted then Lewis would have been champ already.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2014 11:51AM by marcl.

All the craziness in the midfield made for a good race (particularly in the later stages) I thought even if it did stretch out in the first few positions.

To be honest didn't really notice the lack of cars. It'd be great to be like 2009 and have every team being competitive, but when the 2 are so far back it's hard to notice them anyway. Hopefully at least one of them returns, probably 10 teams is an optimum number right now considering the financial structure anyway.

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X (@ed24f1)

On another note: Ted Kravitz made a really good point in his notebook last time around. This is why I love the guy - always has an interesting perspective about things.

In this case he said that since the ban of driver coaching rosberg has had zero wins. Hmmm.... if you combine that with rosberg's words after the US Gp "it took me too long to find the right way to drive the car", then the whole hypothesis really makes sense. It was the same old story in Suzuka, where rosberg apparantely could not find a way to drive the car as good as necessary.

What is your view on that?

Hamilton has beaten him in every race I think where neither had an obvious problem (except Monaco). OK, Rosberg was quicker in Bahrain and Spain, but still.

It might affect him more than Hamilton, I don't know, but as yet he's not dominated Hamilton in a race before or after the ban.

Nico had problems in the USA with under steer just like Lewis, only Lewis was able to sort this out at his stop and Nico said he had tools to get round the problem but did not use them. That to me indicates he was more reliant on using the team for help, he also said he used the wrong switch/button to get instant ERS power to defend.

The only race Nico had won where Lewis had zero problems was Monaco and well we all know what happened there. In Hungry he could not get passed Lewis even on newer tyres.

Also well done to Lotus for getting points in the race.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2014 04:53PM by marcl.

Well, this is we achieved today, we might have a Brazil 2014 thread.

i've been suspecting it for a while, but has this season finally proven that Vettel is the worst 4 time F1 champion of all time?

Ricciardo has made him seen so overrated... is it Blown Diffusers?, seriously Ricciardo has wiped the floor badly with him all year

Well there's only been four 4-time champions, so it's not like there's hundreds to be among.

He's just not adapted to the new regulations. If he doesn't win a title in this phase of regs it will stop him being classed an all-time great, but it doesn't make him average. He utterly owned the exhaust-blown diffuser era. There are plenty who think Schumacher was paired with second-rate drivers to help him win titles and some who feel Fangio was gifted championships by taking over team-mates cars, and Senna obviously wiped the smile off of Prost's face more a few times. I can't think of any single champion iwho would be totally immune to some level of criticism or questioning other than Clark.

Really we need to see how good Ricciardo is first - if he goes on to be classed as one of the best of all time it will reflect well on Vettel, but I just can't see it in him, which suggests to me that it has been an off season for Vettel more than him being totally humiliated.

I honestly just don't think Vettel's heart has been in it this season. Even in testing he was going home between days to be with his newborn child - the right thing to do, but it showed clearly he had priorities elsewhere from the start. That with Renault's issues (which I'm sure he knew all about well before testing) must have made it hard to get motivated about a season when there's little real chance of success to a man who's been universally used to success for the last half a decade. I'm sure it's been a wake-up call to him, so it will be interesting to see how he goes next year - though if he's paired with Raikkonen then it's going to be a hard one to judge, because Kimi will almost certainly be better than he has been this season... in the very slim chance he's paired with Alonso or some other top driver in a 3-car team, it will be very, very interesting.

gav Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- I
> can't think of any single champion iwho would be
> totally immune to some level of criticism or
> questioning other than Clark.

Jochem Rindt.. jk
>
> Really we need to see how good Ricciardo is first
> - if he goes on to be classed as one of the best
> of all time it will reflect well on Vettel, but I
> just can't see it in him, which suggests to me
> that it has been an off season for Vettel more
> than him being totally humiliated.
>
> I honestly just don't think Vettel's heart has
> been in it this season. Even in testing he was
> going home between days to be with his newborn
> child - the right thing to do, but it showed
> clearly he had priorities elsewhere from the
> start. That with Renault's issues (which I'm sure
> he knew all about well before testing) must have
> made it hard to get motivated about a season when
> there's little real chance of success to a man
> who's been universally used to success for the
> last half a decade. I'm sure it's been a wake-up
> call to him, so it will be interesting to see how
> he goes next year - though if he's paired with
> Raikkonen then it's going to be a hard one to
> judge, because Kimi will almost certainly be
> better than he has been this season... in the very
> slim chance he's paired with Alonso or some other
> top driver in a 3-car team, it will be very, very
> interesting.

yup, i understand completley that situation, i don't think Kimi's lost his speed, but he certainly has lost the ability to drive a bad car to the limir ie 2003 Mclaren's..

but yeah it would've been nice to see Alonso - Vettel battle

i thought the JEV pass on Grosjean was crazy too, good that he got a penalty for it. Can't believe he got praised on the Sky and BBC coverage. had that been Grosjean on another driver, he'd have been crucified.

same goes for Bianchi's move on the Caterham at Monaco, he bumped into him 2 or 3 times as he passed.

the live race was fairly dull IMO, i watched the BBC highlights the day after and it seemed a more enjoyable 30 minute cut.

also i feel we did not miss the 4 backmarker cars at all. yes it's a shame for the employees but the entertainment factor of F1 didn't suffer because of their absence.

i don't want 3-car teams, but if it means there are more faster cars, rather than 4 or 6 cars that are 4 seconds off the pace, then it can only be an improvement.

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RIP Jules, never to be forgotten. #KeepFightingMichael

I hear you Muks, but there's always been a few teams 3-5 seconds off the pace and they do have important role to play in the spectacle and story of F1. Someone has to finish last, and if it gets to the point where it is say 7 teams of three cars, what if Ferrari churn out a stinker of a chassis (highly possible!!) and are the runts of the field. Will they stick around?

I for one will miss Marussia and Caterham, not for their performance but for them having a crack. No, not the most exciting aspect of a race day, but really important to the tapestry of F1.

I'm with Gareth here. There is some romance in having an underdog taking it to a big team and on occasion giving them a spanking. Caterham threatened to do it a few times last year and obviously Bianchi did it in Monaco and in some style. It's not dissimilar to watching Panis hunting down Villeneuve at the start of 1997, or Perez taking it to Alonso at Sepang a couple of years back. Winkelhock taking a risk which led to him leading at the Nurburgring in 2007. It put a smile on your face while you simultaneously shouted "what the actual @#$%&?"

Neither Marussia nor Caterham were ever going to challenge for wins or better, but the joy of gaining a couple of points at Monaco is one of the best stories of recent times in a sport which can be horribly lacking in emotion and character.

Absolutely, ever so often when a small team gets a big result is one of the things which makes the sport so magical. We all rejoiced when Minardi scored a point, we all commiserated when Badoer broke down in tears at Nurburgring 99, his car having broken down whilst looking good for points.

Considering the sheer disproportionate distribution of revenue in F1.. I think Caterham and Marussia have done admirably to not only survive as long as they have but to field cars that only two to four seconds off the pace. In some eras that kind of performance would put them firmly on the third and fourth rows of the grid.

It's a fine achievement considering the budget and resource they've had available and actually embarrassing that Ferrari take as much from F1 as they do and STILL not be winning.

i agree with your viewpoints and i also remember those examples you gave. Webber scoring points for Minardi in Melbourne was another awesome achievement.

maybe it's because we're so wrapped up in the title battle currently that 4 cars less at the back didn't make much impression in Austin.

hopefully the redistribution of wealth will happen and we can see a grid of 22-24 strong cars.

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RIP Jules, never to be forgotten. #KeepFightingMichael