Spoilers below (if you haven't seen quali). . . . . . . . . . . Di Resta on the grid? I didn't know he was Williams' reserve driver so it was a shock to see that name in F1 in 2017. McLarens qualified 8th and 9th? How did that happen? And how 'bout that all red front row?
Di Resta has done a grand total of 5 laps this weekend ... not sure whether he'd even driven a 2017 car prior ... and though he qualified 19th, splitting the Saubers and just a bit over 7 tenths behind his teammate (17th), I'd say he did pretty well given the steep learning curve. His progress through those 5 laps says he might be fun to watch tomorrow. L1. 1:22.289s L2. 1:21.218s L3. 1:21.075s L4. 1:20.390s L5. 1:19.868s
I don't think Di Resta is their test driver. My take is he was just a guy with a super license that they could press into service. I hope he does well & I hope Massa is not seriously Ill. I think we are in for an interesting race. Turn one could be something.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmHGYcQOvLs"]2017 Hungarian Grand Prix | Qualifying Highlights - YouTube[/ame]
He was a front runner and champ in the DTM which is pretty close to f1 in technology except for the fancy batteries.
Seems that Paul is a reserve driver for Williams. I missed that yesterday. Interesting race, no spoilers from me.
Bottas let Hamilton by to have a shot at Kimi. The deal was if he couldn't pass Kimi he'd give the place back. That had to be a hard thing to do, but good on him for keeping his word.
I feel sorry for Raikonnen. If he didn't have to play the good team player he could have had his first win in years.
I read something yesterday (can't remember the source) attempting to explain the main philosophical difference between Merc and Ferrari re the championship(s) and as demonstrated by team tactics in yesterday's race. His claim is that Merc are more interested in the Constructors' Championship than the Drivers' Championship while it's just the opposite at Ferrari. Don't take that the wrong way, Ferrari are so interested in the Constructors' they bluster louder than anyone else about failure if they don't win it and fire people wholesale but their version of team-centric tactics during races seems to favor whichever driver is leading in the championship at the time or who they feel has the greatest chance of leading by the end of the season. And nearly every in-race strategic decision made by the gang at Merc seems to be based on their team-centric intent to max out points for the Constructors' Championship; they'll pull strings meant to secure an individual race win for whoever seems to have the best chance but will fall back to a dynamic that garners max team points without missing an opportunity to remind their drivers who signs their paychecks. Of course, and as the author failed to mention, philosophies like these only seem clear(ish) for the first half or maybe two thirds (or so) of a season, after which everyone adjusts based on whatever seems their most likely route to success.
That was an interesting race to watch. The tactics and issues keep me tuned in the entire race. As to Massa's health, according to Sky Sports, there is talk of some bug going through the paddock. Martin Brundle has been felled by it too.
My thoughts on qualifying, was Kimi benefitted to getting P2 in qualifying by following Seb around on his final attempt to improve. I believe he(Kimi) was sixth before that final attempt. He benefitted by picking up a tow behind Vettel in which Vettel failed to improve on his (already P1) qualifying time, possibly dragged by the tow of Kimi's car. In the race, had Kimi swapped places with Vettel anytime before the last lap, the possibility of Vettel being passed by Hamilton was huge. I suspect Vettel could have given the place to Kimi at the last corner on the final lap as Hamilton did for Bottas, but I would also wondering if Hamilton would have done that if both Mercedes had gotten past the Ferraris. Verstappen's penalty seemed harsh, to some, for running into his teammate, but I think he was getting some payback from the FIA for previous first lap incidences that were deemed "racing incidents" so he was not penalized. I think the FIA finally decided they needed to calm down his aggressive starts a bit. Other than Alonso's passes, I think the race was pretty boring to watch.
He has plenty of time to recover given they're now in the summer break and the next race, Spa, isn't until late Aug.
It looked to me that Ferrari showed Kimi that he is the number 2 driver. I feel bad for Kimi it was his race had the team played fair. If Hamilton could have battled with Kimi it would have been some great hard racing.
Raikonnen figures he would have won the race if he'd beaten Vettel during qualifying. Makes sense. If he'd been able to get ahead at the start he probably could have driven away from the field.
Not sure I like the sound of this... Sergio Marchionne says that Sauber engine deal will create Ferrari F1 “junior team†(jamesallenonf1.com) More here: https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2017/07/sergio-marchionne-says-that-sauber-engine-deal-will-create-ferrari-f1-junior-team/