The F1 GP from Hungary was not a classic. Qualifying was made more interesting than the race thanks to the weather, but even drivers like Nasr, who drove brilliantly, lost out solely due to timing. That Mercedes continue to dominate as they do is not good for the sport, but that is their job. Rule changes are mooted just as Red Bull start to catch Mercedes up and big money teams like Mercedes are likely to cope better with changes than smaller teams.
That said, IF they could increase mechanical grip and decrease dependence on aerodynamic grip, or down force, so that we could see cars slip streaming and not wrecking their tyres then for me that would be an improvement. I also understand that Pirelli were briefed to produce tyres that wouldn't last too long in order to mix things up a bit, but wouldn't it be nice to see drivers wring the car's neck without having to worry so much about destroying tyres?
Just the thoughts of a fan.
Malcolm Snook is published on Nook , Kobo and Amazon
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Monday, 4 July 2016
Sportsmanship Anyone?
There's been a lot of motorsport on the TV lately, Goodwood Festival of Speed was joyous and varied as always. ITV's coverage of Formula E was repetitive, amateurish and pretty poor all round really. Channel 4 are doing a relatively good job with Formula 1 at least even if their presenter doesn't really do it for me. Coulthard and Chandhok are good value at any rate.
So what of the racing? Goodwood was good natured which is more than you can say about Mercedes in F1, Niko had the inside line but he didn't lock up or make any attempt to take the apex, he was simply trying to run Lewis off the track, as has been done to him before it has to be said. Unsporting and it cost him dear, but it was nothing compared with the disgraceful behaviour in Formula E.
I had wanted Lucas Di Grassi to clinch the championship because I felt Buemi had the better car and therefore an advantage. Had I thought about it more I might have wanted Buemi because what happened to him and to Toyota at Le Mans was so incredibly hard.
Anyhow Buemi took pole for the last race and looked set fair until Di Grassi took him out at the first corner. Di Grassi says Buemi braked early, maybe he did, maybe he didn't but Di Grassi sure didn't lock up! Had Buemi been unable to make it back to the pits and use his second car to set fastest lap then Di Grassi would have been champion on count back, second and third place finishes. Even when Buemi went out to try and get the two points for fastest lap Di Grassi tried to block him. Blatant cheating.
In the end the right man won and the only loser was sportsmanship.
Malcolm Snook is published on Nook, Kobo and Amazon
So what of the racing? Goodwood was good natured which is more than you can say about Mercedes in F1, Niko had the inside line but he didn't lock up or make any attempt to take the apex, he was simply trying to run Lewis off the track, as has been done to him before it has to be said. Unsporting and it cost him dear, but it was nothing compared with the disgraceful behaviour in Formula E.
I had wanted Lucas Di Grassi to clinch the championship because I felt Buemi had the better car and therefore an advantage. Had I thought about it more I might have wanted Buemi because what happened to him and to Toyota at Le Mans was so incredibly hard.
Anyhow Buemi took pole for the last race and looked set fair until Di Grassi took him out at the first corner. Di Grassi says Buemi braked early, maybe he did, maybe he didn't but Di Grassi sure didn't lock up! Had Buemi been unable to make it back to the pits and use his second car to set fastest lap then Di Grassi would have been champion on count back, second and third place finishes. Even when Buemi went out to try and get the two points for fastest lap Di Grassi tried to block him. Blatant cheating.
In the end the right man won and the only loser was sportsmanship.
Malcolm Snook is published on Nook, Kobo and Amazon
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