Russian GP 2017 - Race Thread

[Nick Singer]

Track was easy on the tyres though.

Exactly! On high tyre-degradation circuits we may still have an advantage. I also don't think BOT is even close to VET on ability or 'character'.. Great start from him and led all the way in clear air and got to backmarkers first. Overall, pretty pleased. Congrats to BOT, seems a decent guy. HAM is still - I think - the real competition for us.

[mizf1]

Spa, Monza, Singapore, Silverstone should suit us too

Monaco, Hungary

[zike]

Monaco, Hungary

What is the tiers allocation for Barca?

[Ferrarichamp]

I think RBR will come into play sooner or later, I can't see them going the whole season without a race win.

[nani_s23]

So next race Barcelona , hope we do well & get a race win on that circuit

[Noquarter]

RB are too far away from MB and us to come back.

[stefa]

Monaco, Hungary

I really do hope Hungaroring suits us great, as again as for past 22 years I am going there

[stefa]

I think RBR will come into play sooner or later, I can't see them going the whole season without a race win.

Why not?! We did that in last 3 season twice!

[Ferrarichamp]

Why not?! We did that in last 3 season twice!

we shall see

[racingbradley]

It was damage limitation for us to-day. I'm pretty happy with the result though would have preferred a win but Hey Ho 33 points on the board is a pretty good day at the office.

[wisepie]

Satisfied with P2/3 but disappointed not to get the win, a year ago we'd have been grateful for a podium, now we get two and some of us are still complaining! Seb was brilliant on the SS to wards the end, Kimi was pretty fiery too, just a shame that Seb couldn't quite manage to pass BOT, but not a bad day at the office by anyone's standards. BOT drove a good race, pleased for him, and I won't hold it against Felipe for being in the wrong place on the last lap!! Well done, guys.

[bondilad]

I really do hope Hungaroring suits us great, as again as for past 22 years I am going there

I also really hope we win in Barcelona. I'm going for the Spanish grand prix. First time watching a European race live . So hope we win !

[stefa]

I also really hope we win in Barcelona. I'm going for the Spanish grand prix. First time watching a European race live . So hope we win !

Same here

[Greig]

Seb gave Massa the finger when he passed him....

[FerrariF60]

Seb gave Massa the finger when he passed him....

or he just friendly showed him that he's number one....with the wrong finger...lol

[stefa]

or he just friendly showed him that he's number one....with the wrong finger...lol

[WS6TransAm01]

The win was important to Ferrari today. Seb and Kimi will face grip penalties before the Merc duo. They needed to capitalize early before those grid drops cause Ferrari to play the damage limitation game.

[djmorin27]

Why do u keep saying there's penalties coming they can still use the previous tc.they have said them selves there are no problems .even vet destroyed the Italian media for this issue yesterday

[Rob]

Maurizio Arrivabene: “A shame, because today’s result could have been better. We didn’t get a great start and that penalised us for the rest of the race, on a track where overtaking is difficult. Our race pace was very good, as indeed was our strategy. Once again, both Seb and Kimi proved their worth, driving great races. Now it’s already time for us to look ahead to the next Grand Prix in Spain.”

Sebastian Vettel: “I think my getaway was ok. Maybe I could have been a bit more aggressive. There was a delay in turning the lights off, so that I didn’t get a proper reading of how the grid was. Still, I had a good start but we had a strong head wind all day and Bottas could get a massive tow, so there was nothing I could do. Valtteri had a great race. He drove better than the rest of us so he deserved to win. Towards the end I was flat out, I had a feeling that I could get into DRS distance, maybe on the back straight, put some pressure on him and, who knows, lead him into a mistake, but he made none. What happened swith Massa was just a bit of a misunderstanding, I wasn’t sure where he was going, but I did not lose the race at that point. Now we look ahead to Spain. We had a good answer about our car in Barcelona during testing days and I don’t need to think about the championship. We had a very good start. We are here to win, to do our best, but we can still learn and improve. The speed was there today, but we could have done better. Yet, we have a strong car and a strong team and there is a lot of positive aspects.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Overall, it has been a more positive weekend compared to the first three races. I was happier with the car and when I needed to push I could get the lap time out. The race was decided at the start and I had a pretty bad one. I thought I was losing a lot, but I managed to get the position back and stay there. My car was good all the way through the race, but after that, not a lot happened. We tried our best but there was not much to do, I was just holding my position. So, obviously, I’m happy for the podium, but I’m disappointed to lose a place at the start instead of gaining one. Now we need to keep working; small details can make a big difference in the end. I’m very happy for Valtteri who won his first race, I’m sure he will have a bright future.”

[Liscia]

I feel as Nick Singer and wisepie - vamos a ver ern Espana. This is getting GOOD and every single point is needed so our guys can't afford to slip up. FORZA FERRARI!!!

[nani_s23]

Ferrari need to focus on race starts.
New starting procedures might be hurting us this year.
In 4 races i didn't see any excellent starts except last race splitting mercs. At the same time kimi lost alot in these start procedures.
Max was doing excellent starts off late, i saw onboard footages for couple of races his starts were excellent. Today too he almost nailed 3rd position.

It's important in coming testing Ferrari need to focus on this area.
Tracks like Monaco, singapore etc starts are very important.

[nani_s23]

Race strategy calls were excellent in all 4 races this year... Apart from kimi strategy in China.
Today too it was excellent , at one point i thought wts the use in staying out more. But vet was showing awesome pace even on 28th 29th 30th laps. If pit crew have been more efficient we wouldn't have lost .9ths (3.4sec pit stop) compared to bottas (2.5).
Which proved to be vital in the end.
End result margin was .6ths.

[From Treviso]

Vettel is driving like a champion, as he's finishing 2nd when he doesn't win. He hasn't made any errors at any race so far this year, and has put his opponents under great pressure at the same time. Our car looked amazing in the 2nd stint with the red ss tyres, and you know it's something special when Kimi becomes the fastest in the race lap after lap. But this is Valtieri's track, where he's been special even in the Wliiams, and Vettel was just unfortunate with the start. I was in kind of in disbelief with the first stint watching Valtieri pull away, whilst also seeing Hamilton struggling like we've never seen him in 3 years of racing. Mercedes have a competitor that's their equal that has dragged them out of their comfort zone and into the fire of pushing themselves beyond their limits - Hamilton pushing his car harder than it wanted to go meant that he had to back off; how many times have we've seen that? Mercedes having to make irrational pit calls to counter the speed of the Ferraris - how many times have we seen that? I believe the Ferrari has improved even further into the season, being it by far the best race car under all conditions, which is backed up by their amazingly long stint on the ultra-soft tyres. On the other hand, the Mercedes has a rawness about it where it can pull out scintillating speed when it's least expected, making me feel that these 2 cars are at opposite ends of design philosophies that will keep us guessing about who will have the upper hand until the season's end.

[steelstallions]

Though wondering if a more aggressive defense at the start of the race would have kept Bottas at bay legally, cannot grumble with the result. Its a lousy non overtaking circuit so knowing we have a car with that pace and seeing that Lewis could be a busted flush with yet another underdog team mate beating him means i still have good feelings about this season.

[da_one]

Too bad we didn't win today but quite a good result for the red boys just the same. I'm not sure if the slight error during Seb's stop gave Bottas the win or when we didn't pit earlier when the lead of Bot was just 2.6 secs, (ballooned to 4.7s after Vettel's pitstop). In the end Bottas deserved the victory since he drove superbly since the first lap. Hopefully, he would be fired up after this race and steal point from Lewis for the duration of the season!

[zike]

Though wondering if a more aggressive defense at the start of the race would have kept Bottas at bay legally, cannot grumble with the result. Its a lousy non overtaking circuit so knowing we have a car with that pace and seeing that Lewis could be a busted flush with yet another underdog team mate beating him means i still have good feelings about this season.

So we all se Ham as our main challenger

[Ferrarichamp]

bookies now have Seb as favourite to win WDC, but Merc to win WCC, even though they are only 1 point ahead.

[Red is Best]

Seb gave Massa the finger when he passed him....

I don't blame him.

[Rosso Corsa]

Great to come away with big chunky points again! Not quite the dream podium but was at least the next best. Super job all weekend yet again from the whole team. Well done Ferrari!

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[jragona]

bookies now have Seb as favourite to win WDC, but Merc to win WCC, even though they are only 1 point ahead.

I can see that, its mainly because of low confidence in kimi - especially if bottas becomes a regular race contender. If Kimi's form stays strong the WCC is possible.