Very interesting and well balanced report by Andrew Benson on the BBC website today.
F1 rules are over complicated and open to different interpretations. In this case to very ironic effect. Red Bull complained that Mercedes were exceeding track limits at turn 4 causing a confirmation that further infringements would be penalised. Then Max overtakes Lewis for the lead at turn 4 while exceeding track limits. Couldn’t make it up.
The rules need to be simplified. As Toto Wolff said “We need to be consistent in the messages. They need to be clear and simple and not a Shakespeare novel that leaves interpretation.”
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I believe the saying “They sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind” fits the situation perfectly! 
Not too hard to imagine Toto squinting sideways at George if VB does not get his finger out more.
Not enough to label him as just a wingman-come-Constructors’ points accumulator.
He (VB) will not need telling the story of the shaky peg. I like him a lot, but…it’s a shark infested business.
Think he (VB) just proved that he doesn’t have the fight in him to take it to Max and Lewis. He had a couple of chances and slid slowly backwards.
George would be more of a challenger in that seat, perhaps when Max and Sergio start ganging up on Lewis, Toto will be forced to do something.
I feel sorry for Gunther though - just gets rid of the 2 back runners and picks up 2 more that fail to set the world alight, Mazespin looks like a liability and is going to cost the team big in repair bills and lost track time
That’s a bit harsh re Bottas, at least as far as that one event goes.
He finished 38s down after having an extra stop for tyres just to get fastest lap, costing 24s, and his second stop was over 11s i.e. 8 - 9s too longbecause the right front was tuck jack man dropped the car too early. Without those two delays he would have been within 5s of Hamilton.
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You don’t think Toto is making any (in principal) contingency plans if VB continues this year his “mean average” stats as he has done for the rest?.
We all saw Toto refer live to VB as the best wingman a few days back. Naturally VB was not terribly chuffed. If that’s all Toto needs, fine.
Just my opinion on my thread.
I’ll leave it there, not inclined to escalate stuff tbh.
Me neither, just a comment. It must be fair to say VB is not nearly as good at winning races as Hamilton. Quite why is a complex question - on his day, he is as fast. It’s as if he just can’t sustain it for 200 miles, or maybe he’d just be better in time trials. And as Russell is already on Mercedes’s books, I expect he’ll replace one of them. Whether Hamilton will stick around another year after this is anybody’s guess. But will he win the championship? By no means a certainty, but surely there can only be two contenders?
Of “the rest” apart from Hamilton and Verstappen, I rate Perez highly. He’s quite Hamilton-like in his tenacity and has a more open personality which makes him more easily likeable. Hamilton’s inscrutability seems to put some people off.
His daddy is a Russian chemical company chair and majority shareholder. Latest estimate (2015) worth 1.3 billion dollars. That will buy quite a few front and rear wings for a Haas. Pretty sure the seat is being paid for rather than him getting any wages. If Haas could afford to pay for a driver there are plenty actually worth paying for.
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I’m old enough to remember Andrea de Crasharis. 
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Not suggesting he is being paid, not many (if any) are at the back of the pack.
What will be sad is if they don’t perform and Gene calls it a day at the end of the season.
Not just one event though, most of last season as well. Even Russell came in and out performed him.
Will be really interesting to see what happens when Perez starts out performing Max. Sergio is a stronger driver than Bottas imho
Stuck a side bet on Perez for the championship at 20/1 before the race. Down to 16/1 now.
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Like me then with Ricciardo… sigh.
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