Motorsports Thread

[matticus]

Aha - thank you, i hadn't realised that was the problem.

But would he have ended up last? Would the situation unfold in reverse as they exited? Merc would get the jump on the car that pits in front (they have about 2.5 seconds to accelerate past and thus block that car in - I think that's enough?)
I'm just thinking out loud here, I assume someone somewhere in F1-fandomworld has worked this out already!

 

[figbat]

Lewis would have got to the pit, stopped for 2-3 seconds, then had to sit there as the whole field passed him. This extra time stationary would have given the other teams the time they needed to stop, change wheels, perhaps have to also wait a bit (but not as long), and get out again. Effectively each team had an incremental time added to their stop, with the time being proportional to their garage position in the pit. No doubt some would have squeezed out into a small gap in the traffic, and George did a cheeky move to try and gain places at the head of the queue, so maybe he wouldn't have been plumb last but it wouldn't have been much better.

 

[Reynard]

Aha - thank you, i hadn't realised that was the problem.

But would he have ended up last? Would the situation unfold in reverse as they exited? Merc would get the jump on the car that pits in front (they have about 2.5 seconds to accelerate past and thus block that car in - I think that's enough?)
I'm just thinking out loud here, I assume someone somewhere in F1-fandomworld has worked this out already!

Pretty well much.

You've got to bear in mind that a live pit lane is a crowded space and not a terribly safe place to be. You can't put the mechanics - or anyone else at risk, and it only takes one mistake. That's why there are all the rules and regs about unsafe releases, speed limits etc.

He would have had to be held until the whole field had filtered through, and then some of the later stoppers would definitely have had the chance to leave the pits quicker because they were further down the row of garages.

 

[matticus]

You've got to bear in mind that a live pit lane is a crowded space and not a terribly safe place to be. You can't put the mechanics - or anyone else at risk, and it only takes one mistake. That's why there are all the rules and regs about unsafe releases, speed limits etc.

Of course; but it's not all "After you Claud" - everyone gets out as fast as they can, but within the rules. Same as when any 2 cars come in together during a more typical race.

I still don't see him ending up last - or can you define "pretty well much" for me? I always see them getting the jump on the car pitting immediately in front - tell me why not, in your opinion.
Then we can look at the no-doubt chaotic situation further down the pit-lane. That's harder to predict, for sure ...

 

[Reynard]

Of course; but it's not all "After you Claud" - everyone gets out as fast as they can, but within the rules. Same as when any 2 cars come in together during a more typical race.

I still don't see him ending up last - or can you define "pretty well much" for me? I always see them getting the jump on the car pitting immediately in front - tell me why not, in your opinion.
Then we can look at the no-doubt chaotic situation further down the pit-lane. That's harder to predict, for sure ...

If he'd pitted, he'd have been at the front of the queue. And because everyone was running nose to tail on the warm-up lap and thence diving into the pits, he would have to be held in his box until everyone had gone past. As you go down the pit lane, the time the driver would have to be held would decrease, giving those at the far end a bigger advantage. And then you've also got the jeopardy of double stacking the cars, and the fact that garage order and grid order aren't the same.

When you're fighting for a championship, imho leaving him out was the best thing to do, as it takes out what is effectively a complete lottery. Fewer things to go wrong.

N.B. I've seen first hand what can go wrong in a pit lane when someone misjudges it. Fortunately no one was hurt that time, but it ain't pretty...

 

[matticus]

When you're fighting for a championship, imho leaving him out was the best thing to do, as it takes out what is effectively a complete lottery. Fewer things to go wrong.

I'm not disputing that
I'm disputing
- the assertion that he would definitely come out last*.
- and I'd dispute that it was a complete lottery! Given enough time, people, compooters etc, they could definitely model the most likely running order after everyone rejoined. Perhaps not practicable in the time available - which would justify the team's call.


*Actually I'm not sure either way - but I haven't been convinced that it is the case ...

 

[Reynard]

I'm not disputing that
I'm disputing
- the assertion that he would definitely come out last*.
- and I'd dispute that it was a complete lottery! Given enough time, people, compooters etc, they could definitely model the most likely running order after everyone rejoined. Perhaps not practicable in the time available - which would justify the team's call.


*Actually I'm not sure either way - but I haven't been convinced that it is the case ...

Well, maybe second to last, given that Bottas would've had to have waited behind him if they double stacked...

The way I see it (and this was also mentioned by several commentators / analysts, both at the time, and then in subsequent motorsport press) is that because he'd have had to sit in his pit box until everyone else bar his team mate had gone past, he and Valtteri would have had by far the longest pit stops of the whole field. It's not just the pit in and pit out - which is the same for everyone near enough - but also the time spent stationary. And when everyone dives into the pits at the same time...

And if there's one thing I learnt in a dozen years involved in motorsports, it was that if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. You can keep things clean, but there's no guarantee that everyone else will.

Besides, Raikkonen took Mazepin out during the pit lane chaos on that formation lap...

 

[Beebo]

Will Hamilton have the balls to let Russell be his wingman?

 

[classic33]

Will Hamilton have the balls to let Russell be his wingman?

No.

 

[FishFright]

Will Hamilton have the balls to let Russell be his wingman?

He's too late in his career to call the shots on this one , Mercedes need to be thinking of the future.

 

[Jody]

I reckon Russell is already signed as a Merc driver next year. You only have to watch the C4 interview with him to see its open news in the paddock. Same with the awkward ignoring each other and fist bump after quali. If Bottas was next years wing man GR would have had a bigger congratulations.

 

[Beebo]

I’m not sure anyone is happy about the Spa GP. The organisers were in a difficult position but doing 2 laps just to get a result seems wrong to me.
If that was the final race of the season with Max and Lewis on level points there is no way that anyone would accept that as a reasonable outcome.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Will Hamilton have the balls to let Russell be his wingman?

I don't think he'll have any choice.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I’m not sure anyone is happy about the Spa GP. The organisers were in a difficult position but doing 2 laps just to get a result seems wrong to me.
If that was the final race of the season with Max and Lewis on level points there is no way that anyone would accept that as a reasonable outcome.

That was ridicules, it should have been postponed and rerun later in the season, they've got enough gaps with races getting called of.

 

[icowden]

That was ridicules, it should have been postponed and rerun later in the season, they've got enough gaps with races getting called of.

I agree. Given that next weekends race is effectively "just down the road ", they could also have run the race today (Monday).