Pick the Podium - F-1 - BWT Grosser Preis Von Osterreich, Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Ring, Spielburg, Austria, July 2021

[Retroram52]

Well, Red Bull's Verstappen is on a roll and he is putting distance between himself and the Mercs with Hamilton. Bottas did quite well blowing by Perez and he may continue to drive with a pissed attitude. The fight continues with another round at the Spielburg, Austrian circuit this coming July 4th weekend. Should be fun to see if Hamilton can come back and gain on Verstappen who now leads the championship points race with a nice margin.

 

[Retroram52]

Hamilton has already begun talks with the Mercs and Petronas but Bottas may be shown the door.

 

[ckhokie]

I’d be shocked if Merc resigns Bottas for any length of time. It’s too convenient for Toto that Russell’s contract with Williams is up also, that even if they push for someone else, Russell becomes an easy fallback option.
Only wrench is Hamilton, and how much $$ he commands. If Lewis wants one more year, maybe they kick the can one year with all three guys in 1 year contracts. I think Merc has to be thinking about car development dollars vs driver salaries in a way they’ve clearly not been forced to in the past. Part of me wonders if Lewis wants to kick off a new contract and 1 more year in a brand new car, too. Pending the season outcome, it wouldn’t be crazy to see him hang it up

 

[Retroram52]

Hamilton is clearly dissatisfied with the W-12 car and wants more development out of Mercedes because it is very clear that Red Bull has passed them by to the tune of Verstappen being consistently faster in just about every aspect of the races these days. Perhaps this is the motivation to get things going for say two more years to get one more shot at an eighth championship.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Yet today.....

 

[forty_three]

VER
HAM
PER
BOT

Great run to the front row for Norris, but last week proved they aren't interested in fighting the top two. He'll move aside.

 

[ckhokie]

VER
HAM
PER
NOR

I think 43’s correct but gotta play to win

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Verstappen
Perez
Hamilton
Norris

 

[Retroram52]

I'll go with Verstappen, Hamilton, Perez, Norris

 

[Schmoopy1000]

Verstappen
Hamilton
Norris
Perez

 

[forty_three]

Alonso apologizing for yanking the point out of George's hands.


Hamilton had to have damage to the car. No way they let Bottas by otherwise. Great run from Lando. Danny Ric was strong too. Hope he figures out quali soon. He always goes forward on race day.

 

[ckhokie]

Took Ric a while to get going in the Renault, too. Hope he’s finding his footing.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

Motor racing-Mazepin and Latifi handed penalty points for ignoring flags

www.msn.com

LOL at Mazepin who has 5 penalty points this year. Just found out if they get to 12 they get suspended. I have faith in him. I think he could do it.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Took Ric a while to get going in the Renault, too. Hope he’s finding his footing.

He's likely the paddock favourite to succeed too.

A genuinely likeable bloke.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

I went out for a White Ribbon Participatory cruise in Panzerwagon...

Just too fucking nice not to cruise aimlessly for a spell.

 

[Retroram52]

Verstappen takes the win, followed by Bottas, Norris, and Hamilton comes in at fourth.

 

[Retroram52]

Here's How We Did:

ckhokie: 6 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win
forty_three: 6 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win
Hank Kingsley: 6 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win
Retroram52: 6 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win
Schmoopy1000: 8 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win; Correctly selected Norris for Third Place

2021 Season totals:

ckhokie: 56 points
forty_three: 45 points
Hank Kingsley: 47 points
Retroram52: 65 points
Schmoopy1000: 36 points

Next Race: Great Britain Grand Prix, July 16-18, 2021

 

[Retroram52]

Verstappen and Red Bull have solidly replaced Hamilton at the front and there is a nice article on the Formula 1 homepage that explains the changes Red Bull made to accomplish that feat this year.

Now we will all have to wait and see how the Mercs respond to assist Hamilton to close the 32-point gap he now faces as Verstappen continues to march away because even Bottas is running better than Hamilton on an almost consistent basis.

Nice recovery from last week by Schmoopy to lead the individual race points total as he continues to inch forward!

See everyone in two weeks.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Hamilton had a issue and had he not had one he'd have been P2.

Without a doubt. He was faster than Norris and until his issue, Bottas.

The only problem with that is that P2 isn't good enough.

It would have been had he not hit the magic button.

And of course, he didn't get P2 but it had nothing to do with his driving.

 

[Retroram52]

Yea, the fact that Hamilton's driving remains pretty much consistent Hank, puts the problem-solving squarely on Mercedes. Red Bull Honda has discovered something in their suspension system that Mercedes has not ID'ed in theirs and that is primarily the difference.

Now that Verstappen is a consistent winner, he has virtually stopped his stupid shit that he was well known for earlier in his career. Every once in awhile, it still shows up but overall, he has become a better driver more than ever in his career.