I think Russell was appropriately aggressive. He had a good run on Bottas, with DRS and all. Bottas moved a little to the right and in the end gave Russell enough room. But Russell was afraid Bottas would come over too far and juked to the right, thereby putting his right-side tires on the wet grass. Then disaster.

To be clear I wasn't implying it was either drivers fault , it was basically a racing incident . It sure scattered a lot of debris on the track . Glad both drivers are ok .

Wow, and now even Kimi and Max with half-spins under the yellow.

Toto says that Russell shouldn't have tried the pass because it was a Mercedes he was passing. In the Sky interview the guys got him to admit that if it were another driver Bottas wouldn't have defended so hard.

The problem here is that even though they are on different teams one guy and one manufacturer controls both drivers. Rather takes away from the racing if a driver can be told what to do by someone other than his team principal.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/wolff-russell-has-lots-to-learn-after-f1-crash-with-bottas-at-imola/6332943/

F1 2021 thread
 

So Hamilton make a rare error of his own, goes a fill lap down.

Then what turned out to suck for his teammate, and typical Hamilton luck, he gets the lap back, and get to 2nd place.

He did have to drive right to make the passes near the end.

Congrats Max.

And Massaspin spins again.

Really nice to see McLaren looking like a top team and not like a HAAS.

In unrelated news Romain Grosjean finished 10th today in his first Indy car race . He started 7th and drove a solid race .

I think post race penalties are silly .

Points change after penalties for Stroll, Raikkonen

Arguably the Stroll/Gasly swap of places was justified, because Stroll gained an unfair advantage on Gasly. But the Raikonnen penalty was/is ridiculous. Kimi got in trouble because he *didn't* overtake under yellow? He spun while behind the safety car, lost a couple spots in line, then didn't try to retake them while still under yellow, and that's what led to the penalty? Had he retaken his place in line (prior to the spin) he would have been OK? Seems like losing a couple spots would be penalty enough, no? What was he supposed to do (other than not spin)?

And did anything happen with the Bottas/Russell shunt? Or was that deemed to be just a racing incident?

Darn my PVR messed up and I missed it.

I have no issues with penalties if they are valid but they should be called/determined/executed during the race . There is a team of stewards monitoring the race and every bit of minutia , can't they put down their tea or sparkling water for 5 minutes and make a decision ???

The only exception should be if something happens on the last lap or new data is presented after the race . This is the pinnacle of racing and should have a better referee system . Just my humble opinion 😁

He did. Not one misstep and he somehow didn't get clipped in the first lap melee. i expected that of him as he was always excellent in any car but F1. Many time winner and champion in lower series.

I believe he was right beside Josef when he lost it!😳

Impressive run by CGR youngster.

Another parking lot winner. Remember the Cesar's Palace GP in the '80s? Horrible.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/56792549

The Barber track in Alabama looks spectacular and the facility looked top notch - well maybe not to f1 standards. I’d be curious to hear what Roman has to say after the first few weeks.

I went to the Las Vegas Parking Lot GP. What a yawner of a course.

https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th/id/OIP.4...id=ImgDet&rs=1

This Miami course is far less horrible than Vegas. The length is surprisingly long for a street circuit.

+1 to all your comments... Even when he makes a mistake he lucks into a red flag deal, unbelievable. They say champions make their own luck, I am not a fan of HAM but he truly is lucky... Same last year when he finishes a race on the cord and goes flat past the finish line...

Funny thing to me, Mazespin. Joe Saward (a pretty good F1 journo but who thinks very highly of himself) said MAzepin would be faster than Schumacher. Muhaha...

And flat as a board I'm guessing.

At nering 300 KPH, or 186 MPH things happen in super speed. George saw movement towards him from Boats, and did not know how far he was going to move over. He moved to the right just a little too far and zing, tire in the grass. It was all over in that instant. Both drivers made a mistake, but Botas caused George to make his error.


Nope, it goes up Mt. Miami, lots of elevation change all through Florida.

So now Russell is back tracking what he said about Bottas causing the incident . That tells me a rather unpleasant and one sided conversation with Toto took place . I imagine a lot of " yes sir " was spoken by Russell 😁

Called on the carpet by the man in charge. It tends to make most drivers (or any employee) toe the corporate line. Little doubt Toto can fire him and black ball him so no Mercedes clients would touch him. It is good to be the boss.

Full statement from George Russell most likely after a debriefing by Toto...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1618853036.jpg

Yeah. In a way good for him, shows class... But I almost hate that he did, I don't think he was wrong to try the move and Bottas did squeeze him a bit. Toto at work here for sure... Russell will be in the Mercedes next year...

As if on schedule, Hammy inserts himself into the GR and Bottas shunt.

This is becoming routine for himhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1618869186.jpg

*ugh*

Just like Senna and Prost would have done. I think I barfed a bit.

Interesting how no one from Williams had anything to say.

I have lost a little bit of respect for Mercedes. For certain they have run the table for the last, what 7 or 8 years running. But giving team orders to prohibit Russell (in a Williams) from passing a Mercedes is unsporting.

Yep. Agree. IMHO, Toto seems to act too much like a corporate suit. F1 should have rules against exerting influence over other teams including loaning a contracted backup driver to another team.

" Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said neither driver was wholly to blame but that Russell, who is on a management contract with the company, should have taken into account who he was racing." (BBC News).

If Toto wasn't "kidding", then he'd have to resign.

Too many boys, not enough men. Seems like.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1618958753.jpg

I liked him, but I think he's feeling immense pressure...hence the Russell squeeze. Russell embarassed him last year when he replaced Hamilton, I don't think for a second he did not know who was coming to pass him. He's done.

With Redbull a lot closer to mercedes (or even ahead), we're gonna see how much better HAM is than him...

I don't think there is any doubt Bottas is feeling the pressure . Between his teammate being superior year after year , a poor start this year and Russell breathing down his neck no wonder he has some confidence issues . If he doesn't turn it around soon he will be let go at the end of the year .

Oh Dear, stop playing with the jewelry!!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1619466205.jpg

So yesterday's St. Pete GP IndyCar pole sitter and winner was Colton Herta. The kid is 21 y.o. Any chance he will be given a F1 tryout?

The kid is 21 and if not F1 where does he go?
Stay in IndyCar forever?

I'd say Scott Dixon has had a pretty good career sticking to IndyCar.

Scott's probably the best driver to never go to F1. He's a real class act IMO and most likely could have been a real winner.

Not talking about Scott. Asking about Colton. Does he have it to go to F1?

Mario Andretti is supposedly pulling hard to get Herta an F1 ride . But first he has to get his super license . Then probably find some $$$ sponsorship and maybe he has a shot . If not have a career like Dixon and life is still good .

No, he doesn't have to go to F1.
He can have a stellar career in IndyCar winning Indy 500's and championships and piling up race wins.
Scott Dixon has shown that this is possible.
Should Herta decide to stick with IndyCar, he could potentially be as well regarded as Rick Mears or Jimmy Vasser when he finally finishes his career as a successful American open wheel driver.

He doesn't have to but he may want to got to F1. Every driver with talent should be wanting to go for the top series.