Formula One ( F1 )

i think with the new aero package DRS should be 'x' amount of usage by the driver, at any point in the DRS zone rather than the 1 second behind rule - it might make things more interesting when bridging gaps / attacking and defending.

Season wide - with Russell getting such a good start, he needs to make sure on the days Hamilton is on form and setting a blistering pace, just be a place behind him as much as possible and not try and go beyond the limits and crash / dnf's... with the ferrari and red bull in such good form, points might be hard to come by, and if it gets towards the end of the season - mercedes might have to pick a #1 driver to ensure someone stays in the fight.

[Ricciardo] I really like the guy but he struggled for most of his time at Renault and now it's the same at McLaren. Maybe there are better drivers out there...

I don't really get it. He was a very good driver at Red Bull and it was gutting to lose him. In the Renault I can understand, what with it not being a particularly quick car. A Mercedes-powered McLaren with Ricciardo behind the wheel, however, should have been a thing to fear. But he's consistently not been able to get the hang of the thing.

It's odd. He can sometimes be massively quick and he's got a solid ability to overtake but he's consistently outshone by Norris.

Yeah same, only singling him out as i have a lot invested in his big return but honestly can't see it happening anymore

Ready to give up and call it a day

When was the last time he did this? He came from the back of the grid several times last year without complaint but 6 shit races in a row this year and loosing grip on fighting for the title would take it's toll on any driver. It wasn't a good look but neither are all the other driver outbursts that get little mention.

Hamilton’s comments are amusingly pouty / salty tho

Verstappen’s bleep fests make me laugh too

Haha yeah point taken. I did cringe when he did it but am puzzled by the amount of "he's a whiney prick" comments when all the other drivers like to have a moan. I guess it's down to tone and delivery when Alonso can complain about the clouds and everyone loves him for it (including me).

Alonso and Verstappen both have quite a lot of energy (same goes for Raikkonen and Vettel too) and/or anger behind their outbursts though, Hamilton's come across as a bit more mopey IMO

I loved how big a diva he was being on the radio over his broken DRS

Maybe the Red Bull back then massively flattered drivers and made us think they were a lot more talented than they have subsequently turned out to be?
Ricciardo thinks he is faster and better than the actual evidence suggests.
Vettel has also been depressingly average since he left the team.

Maybe the Red Bull back then massively flattered drivers and made us think they were a lot more talented than they have subsequently turned out to be?

I'd say the Red Bull link is more coincidence than anything. During the EBD era, Vettel was definitely much better at handling that driving style than Webber was. Vettel then struggled with their hybrid-era cars, while Ricciardo seemed to manage much better.

Wouldn't say the RB did a good job of flattering Webber or Kyvat. Vettel, Ricciardo & Verstappen have all shown pretty great performances (though not in perpetuity) with the team.

Ricciardo thinks he is faster and better than the actual evidence suggests.

Pretty likely, but I'd say that's pretty likely for most high-level competitors in any sport.

Vettel has also been depressingly average since he left the team.

Some decent drives at Ferrari, but yeah, seems like time to bow out at this point.

Yeah agreed, that was my point about tone and delivery. If you say "fuck this shit" with conviction i think you can get people on your side but when you sound like Zoolander having a bad hair day it's less appealing. Still though, it was a great drive that's been heavily marred by one silly comment.

Really hope Sainz can start to get his shit together soon, this has been a dreadful season so far

Shouldn't be laughing as I'm sure Leclerc (and Sainz presumably) will crash out also, but top lolz for the Canadian pay driver pair crashing under the safety car laps.

Honestly, Ferrari just need someone who will disagree with every strategy call they want to make.

This is looking like an awesome* race though!

* for Monaco

Ferrari looking a bit Spursy

Well done Checo, great drive. Will be interesting to see if he can put some pressure on Max, those lost points last week may end up being more contentious further down the road (but i suspect not). Gutted for Charles, i'm a fan of Binotto but something always seems to go wrong at Ferrari.

I think the ability to follow closely made the race look more exciting than it was. Once the track had dried there was no overtaking to be had.

nice work Russell - clean race - ahead of teammate - gathered lots of points - and mercedes still not battling the top 2 teams yet - i'm hoping he continues this run for a few more races yet...

Sainz is a very underrated driver and somewhat eclipsed by Leclerc - but he could also yet stir things up towards the end of the season if his points tally is close to leclerc's and the championship is still open.

i hope these "#2" drivers (Perez and Sainz) keep things interesting throughout the season....

Crazy to think that if Checo had been able to hang on to P1 last week he would be ahead of Charles now and within 1 point of Max.

Russell being ahead of Sainz is really impressive, can't see anyone beating RB for constructors this season but i think second place could be achievable if Merc/Lewis sort themselves out.

its going to be a tough time here for Merc as we drop into the European season - they clearly need to develop the car, but if the driving style of Russell and Lewis are different, can they afford to try and appease both of them to get their car working and challenging the top 2?

Checo accidentally dropping the contract extension:

https://twitter.com/formulademi/status/1530946282033913857

Also looks like Albon held up Leclerc for around a lap or so while getting blue flags. Not sure why Ferrari/Leclerc haven't made a fuss over that one:

https://streamja.com/n3pqd
https://streamja.com/6K9mN

can they afford to try and appease both of them to get their car working and challenging the top 2?

Good point. Russell hasn't put a foot wrong and has been much better so far but in fairness Lewis said he was much happier with the car last week and looked very comfortable of fresh inters yesterday. Wishful thinking is that as the car improves so will both there performances.

Was Alonso holding up Hamilton for shits and giggles?

Think it was more just preserving the tyres as he knew he wasn't going to be gaining any places. Don't think it was some sort of 15yr old vendetta for Hungary 07!