Fantastic start, and some of the best racing of the season up until Lap 41. Afterward, not so much...
I thought it was a great race. Yes Lewis won again. He should send a thank you note to Williams they could have won, but chose not to.
I thought the same thing right after the race, but now I'm not sure with how much they fell off in the later stages (even though the pit lane drag race between Massa and Nico was kind of amusing to watch).
I was pretty surprised Massa did not get a penalty for his on the pit lane limiter drag race. As far as strategy goes I'm only a spectator with none of the teams inside info. Heck when Lewis pitted for inters I thought he'd just thrown his race away. How wrong I was.
Missed by the official cameras? [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CowtAuigNz8"]Kimi Raikkonen spins at Silverstone Ferrari F1 2015 - YouTube[/ame]
Yeah, Kimi is not doing his Ferrari career any favors, especially when filtered thru the lens of Vettel's results.....I think Kimi is headed for retirement.... The big question remains - Bottas or the Hulk to take his seat? I'm not sure they'd want two German drivers.......
I like Kimi but I think you're right, his days at the top are numbered. We talk about Alonso and a few others who can take any car, no matter how cantankerous, and wring the most out of it, but I think Raikkonen needs a car to be set up exactly his way (whatever that is) or he isn't comfortable in it. My guess is Ferrari are erring on the side of Vettel's comfort level, and Alonso before him. Whether that's true or not, there's probably a replacement in the works behind the scenes and, assuming Kimi is out, I'll be surprised if it isn't Vettel and Bottas next year.
I've seen a lot of rumors about Aston Martin getting ready to collaborate with Red Bull in F1. No one has confirmed any of that but there is a confirmed (?) connection between the two with Red Bull (via Adrian Newey) helping A-M to develop a hypercar. Adrian Newey working on Red Bull road car with Aston Martin (autocar.co.uk)
Williams run a low downforce setup which gives them great speed on the straights - their chassis is good enough to get them round the corners in the dry without as much downforce as others. But in the wet that low downforce becomes a problem as they can't keep as much heat in their tyres, so have cornering problems. This isn't my knowledge - I'm just parroting the BBC commentary.
Given mighty Honda's teething problems getting up to speed in this Formula, I cannot imagine any other mfr deciding this would be a good spot to start their F1 dance..... I'll be surprised if Renault stays truthfully......I could easily see it being all Mercedes and Ferrari engines in another season.
Alonso posted some 'onboard' video of him, presumably, using the simulator. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmzSdtfIu-E"]Simulador Alo. - YouTube[/ame] Anyone recognize the track?
The crossover bridge said Silverstone.....when did they start running 8 speed gearboxes? Last I heard was 7.....seems unnecessary with engines that make a lot of torque like these......
The Prost raced during the X-wing time in '98. Ferrari, Jordan, Tyrell and some other teams also ran X-wings for a few races until they were banned. I think the cockpit/nose wings were banned after it's debut in practice at Monaco 2001, and never raced like that. The Arrows had a high wing at the tip of the nose above the front wing at the same race.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Y4iUX1VpM"]The Fastest Lap In F1 - Keke Rosberg's Silverstone Flier - YouTube[/ame]
Interesting tech note from Red Bull. In previous years they ran a high rake on the car and ran very close to the road. To keep the plank from waring away they used a dense metal block ahead of it on the same plane. Other teams switched to doing the same thing. Now that block has been switched to the titanium ones used for the sparks. Since they ware faster RB can't run as close to the road hurting the down force. Small things can make a big difference.
