Quote:
Originally Posted by OG Shark
Ah ok - tell him to hurry up and get some more time on them 
Yeah looks like a rollercoaster, pretty fun to watch. Very interesting how the tire compounds played out as well. Looks like Merc is going to have a pretty strong advantage over Verstappen if the mediums turn out to be the faster tire again like they were in qualy today. Surprised RBR didn’t at least try to get through Q2 on mediums with Ver. Unfortunately think that is going be big in the race tomorrow.
Think with Vettel it is a combo of him not pushing quite as hard as normal with nothing really to gain right now, Leclerc being faster then him anyways, and yes Ferrari not giving him quite all they are giving Leclerc. Would not benefit Ferrari at all at this point to have Vettel beating their future.
Also think Racing Point is making a mistake going with Vettel over Perez. Only reason I can think of them doing that is to try to boost juniors confidence by beating his former world champ temmate - even if he is uncompetitive at this point |
I feel like I could see the leadup to this point for Vettel for a while. People said that Kimi wasn't a championship driver when they were teammates, but if you looked at the stats, Kimi was incredibly consistent at scoring high points + making podium, moreso than Vettel. Vettel was either winning or spinning out & getting DNFs, and the disincentivizing that Ferrari has given him was just enough to push him over the edge.
The sport is just a mess right now, it seems. They keep talking about "road relevance", when the V6 is about the most irrelevant engine around. V8 would not only sound better, but it would also help development of the I4 which seems to be the future of the ICE, especially with the new C63s becoming a hybrid I4. Many companies like Merc are abandoning the V6 in favor of the I6 for its simplicity. Ferrari, while they have the only right of veto, could easily get behind this too.
Honda leaving RBR without a new engine, Vettel at Racing Point, Sainz with a good season unfortunately going to Ferrari, Haas with a new lineup, etc. I could go on.
At the very least, the midfield is the most competitive it's ever been in this era.