Let Him By

[Bazile]

I'm aware there are a few F1 fans on here .

What on earth is all this fuss about ?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/45701725

F1 is a team sport - That is to say each team are competing against the other teams for the Driver's and constructor's titles .

Valtteri is not in the race for the title -Vettel and Hamilton, are
Valtteri , with the same machinery has not performed to the standard of Hamilton this season - so at this stage in the proceedings should accept that he will have to be the wing man to Hamilton .

//"You need to weigh it up. Do I want to be the baddie on Sunday evening for many of the right reasons or the idiot in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season? I would rather be the baddie today and not the idiot at the end of the year."//

Well said Toto

What are your opinions on this issue ?

I would appreciate it if ( as is often the case ) that if you are not interested , then don't spoil the question with silly comments about F1

[Milo2]

I agree with you. I also thought that Lewis Hamilton struck the right note in his interviews following the race.

[shoota]

I think it was the only sensible option.
Both championships are now more secure than they were.
Had Hamilton caught Bottas they may have taken each other out.
Toto is a team boss first, it is his job to ensure the success of the team at the expense of individual team members if necessary.
Had Bottas been in the championship lead the decision would have been the same.

[Old_Geezer]

Not a great watcher/follower of motor racing but, it occurs to me, when out driving the car on your own, or looking at drivers names in a table, how much if a team sport does it seem ? Yes of course the mechanics are vital to keep you going and all that, but you don't pass your car on to a teammate as if it were a football or a baton. It's you and the track out there. So I can see that emotionally it's a difficult thing to throw a race when told to.

[Bazile]

Yes OG
But you can use your car to frustrate the efforts/ plans of the other sides ; thereby .
That way your'e ' playing as part of the team '

[ToraToraTora]

Wolf is correct in what he did in the situation that he was presented with. I can understand Hamilton's embarrassment and Bottas's disappointment. This has happened before notably when Barrichello was ordered out of the way for Schumacher in a similar situation for Ferrari in 2002. Once the title was secured Schumacher gifted Barrichello the win in a later race that season. I suspect Hamilton will do the same in a similar position once Mercedes have secured the drivers title.

[rowanwitch]

Hard call to make as I don't think he is guaranteed a car next year and is pushing for his own points. The teams interests are paramount but I really feel the points loss for Hamilton would have been a reasonable risk. I can't see Seb catching him. I wonder if Mercedes are worrying about the car not being fully reliable at the end of the season and are insuring against potential DNF s

[ToraToraTora]

Good points RW, Bottas has done him employ ability no harm at all by demonstrating he'll obey the team even in the situation where it was really his race. One of the things wolf said was that he cannot guarantee there aren't DNFs etc to come so he took the points whilst they were there.

[Sqad]

Good post by TTT.
Luckily for Mercedes, Bottas and Hamilton have a good relationship and Toto Wolf dreaded telling Bottas to move over.
Hamilton was clearly embarrassed and yes F1 is a team sport.
The final sentence of TTT's post hadn't occurred to me.

[rowanwitch]

I like TW he was obviously embarrassed at making the call as he knew how it would affect the drivers. I hope Lewis can pay him back later in the season.

[Bazile]

//...I can't see Seb catching him...//

Anything can happen in a race rowanwitch as , we know .

It only takes a DNF , due to an a mechanical problem or a crash or a poor qualifying ; to change the situation around and Vettel chance of catching Hamilton would be greatly increased .

[rowanwitch]

I thought I heard them say in the post race coverage it now needs 2 DNF and Vettell to finish ahead of Hamilton in the remaining races to win. I haven't checked the maths so if I am wrong ..........

[Bazile]

Indeed Hamilton , if and when the title is secured , can always 'gift' Valtteri a win , if there is a race in which the mercedes are out in front .

However would Valtteri feel satisfied about being given a win if he was not in front, as he was yesterday ?

I would have thought he would prefer to win , by 'out performing' Hamilton on the track as he was doing yesterday .

[rowanwitch]

A mucked up pit stop would be more diplomatic, or a miscalculation ...

[Bazile]

^^^^
lol - yes

[Bazile]

On a slightly different note - i think that this engine and gear box penalties should be abolished

Does anyone agree ?

[rowanwitch]

Definitely, it seems to hurt the lesser teams more anyway. I'd probably look at some of the other penalties. Someone gets into clean air with an illegal move, puts their foot down builds a big gap say 12 seconds as a result then gets a 10 second penalty. No penalty at all if they can go to the end and it's added to their finish time.

[ToraToraTora]

Bazille, 16:10, yes I am sure he will prefer a race won rather than gifted and if there is a race to spare I am sure Lewis and the team will work for Bottas to give him that win from the outset rather than move over, if at all possible.

[ToraToraTora]

Baz: 16:21, yes I agree the idea was to help the lesser teams and was well meant but it hasn't really worked.
I'd like to see them get stricter on track limits especially when they run off and fail to lose a place that really they should have.

[Ellipsis]

A couple of points ...
* If team orders are that racers on their team aren't allowed to race each other (jostle for position), then team orders must be that one racer takes priority over the other when this situation arises ... otherwise, the second racer would become stuck behind the first one.
* The fact that team orders apply would/could impact the way that both racers handled the whole race, so the fact that Hamilton was allowed through is a bit artificial ... it wouldn't have been the same race if both racers hadn't known that would be the case.

[Spicerack]

Just to have a different point of view. I'm fairly certain that F1 banned such blatant race fixing one time. (obviously the rule has now been rescinded)
And know for a fact that a bet I once had on F1 was stymied by such cheating. Can you imagine an owner/trainer pulling such a stunt in a horse-race.