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Formula One - 2018


BOF

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Well if first & second practice are anything to go by (which they probably aren't ...) then Force India's poor winter pace has continued and they do indeed look to be in a bit of trouble early on.  Williams look to have slipped back too.  Sauber still propping up the grid but they're at least in touch.  Toro Rosso have started slowly, but perhaps not as slowly as they might have feared given that they're the sole Honda runner.

At the other end the big 3 are still the big 3.  Lewis leads the way in both sessions although P2 was much closer.  Renault and McLaren; as expected; have made gains.  The surprise for me is the pace of the Haas.  A 7th and a 6th for Grosjean so far.  There was less than 3/10ths between Merc, Red Bull & Ferrari in the second session so that at least bodes well.

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I'm glad that at least it looks like Mclaren and Alonso should be good enough to start getting points from the first race, even if it's just a few for now. 

But yeah,  more competitive times in practice, whilst all the predicted rain for the race should make it all the more unpredictable to start off. 

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19 minutes ago, Rodders said:

I'm glad that at least it looks like Mclaren and Alonso should be good enough to start getting points from the first race, even if it's just a few for now. 

But yeah,  more competitive times in practice, whilst all the predicted rain for the race should make it all the more unpredictable to start off. 

Isn't he on something like $40m a season still? I always find it funny how he seems to avoid being dragged into the wages debate when people like Messi, Neymar & Hamilton etc get new mega deals. Alonso is nowhere near the top of his sport (for obvious reasons) yet is picking up close to a million dollars a week.

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The pack was always going to close up on Mercedes sooner or later, that jump they got on the hybrid engines wasn't going to last forever and it looks from last year that Red Bull and Ferrari have got just as good of an aero package.

Have a feeling this could be a good year, its certainly overdue.

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1 minute ago, Genie said:

Isn't he on something like $40m a season still? I always find it funny how he seems to avoid being dragged into the wages debate when people like Messi, Neymar & Hamilton etc get new mega deals. Alonso is nowhere near the top of his sport (for obvious reasons) yet is picking up close to a million dollars a week.

F1 isn't a working mans sport though. I would say that's the difference.

When people see the likes of Wayne Rooney on 200k a week for doing something they could do its harder to make the separation. Also Alonso seems like a nice guy to be fair.

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3 minutes ago, AVFCDAN said:

F1 isn't a working mans sport though. I would say that's the difference.

When people see the likes of Wayne Rooney on 200k a week for doing something they could do its harder to make the separation. Also Alonso seems like a nice guy to be fair.

I have seen a fair bit of debate over Hamilton's and Schumacher's deals over the years but then Alonso seems to get a free ride. Maybe it is because he is a likeable guy.

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3 minutes ago, Genie said:

I have seen a fair bit of debate over Hamilton's and Schumacher's deals over the years but then Alonso seems to get a free ride. Maybe it is because he is a likeable guy.

Well people just don't seem to like them full stop so that's just another bullet maybe?

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Haas running so well in what's almost a b-spec Ferrari will raise a lot of ire as they start racking up points. A real pity Ric got the place deduction. Hopefully the rain enables Verstappen to take Hamilton out. We need the mercs to be put on the back foot.

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Must admit I've never really seen any major grievances towards F1 drivers' wages.  I think it's pretty much accepted that when there's only 20 of you on the planet doing that job, some of the wages are going to reflect that.

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1 minute ago, villakram said:

Haas running so well in what's almost a b-spec Ferrari will raise a lot of ire as they start racking up points. A real pity Ric got the place deduction. Hopefully the rain enables Verstappen to take Hamilton out. We need the mercs to be put on the back foot.

Yeah I was reading the paddock reactions to Haas.  No-one surprised as Haas are benefitting from having effectively a "Ferrari replica".

Quote

Haas takes maximum advantage of the opportunity offered under F1’s rules to use ‘non-listed parts’ designed by Ferrari, something Fernando Alonso alluded to.

“We knew Haas was the biggest surprise,” he said. “They have obviously a Ferrari replica of last year. They were winning here the Ferrari [last year].”

“I think [Haas] will be very strong in this first part of the season. Hopefully we can be close to them.”

Quote

While Haas has tended to start its campaigns strongly, notably in its debut 2016 season when it scored fifth and sixth places in the first two races, it hasn’t fared as well as its rivals on car development. Esteban Ocon is counting on that being the case again.

“They are always quick in the beginning of the season,” he said. “They were last year, very fast, then we caught up in during the season last year. So today they are quick, let’s see tomorrow, that’s when it counts. But at the moment they are very quick.”

 

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1 hour ago, BOF said:

Must admit I've never really seen any major grievances towards F1 drivers' wages.  I think it's pretty much accepted that when there's only 20 of you on the planet doing that job, some of the wages are going to reflect that.

There’s hundreds / thousands of professional race drivers on the planet?

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54 minutes ago, Genie said:

There’s hundreds / thousands of professional race drivers on the planet?

We were talking specifically about people giving out about certain Formula One drivers' wages. There are 20 of them. 

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1 hour ago, BOF said:

We were talking specifically about people giving out about certain Formula One drivers' wages. There are 20 of them. 

Yet still some of them drive for free or get paid less than 0.5% of what the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso get.

I don’t have an enormous problem with elite sportsman getting the big bucks, it’s slightly tainted with F1 as really you’re only as good as your car (give or take a small amount). 

Alonso hasn’t been competitive for a number of years but is one of the highest paid sportsman in the world. It’s just unusual there doesn’t really seem to be any eyebrows raised about it. Fair play to Fernando.

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1 hour ago, Genie said:

Alonso hasn’t been competitive for a number of years but is one of the highest paid sportsman in the world. It’s just unusual there doesn’t really seem to be any eyebrows raised about it. Fair play to Fernando.

Alonso is one of the very best drivers on the grid. That's why he gets that salary. You just said it yourself that you're only as good as your car. You can't say that and then wonder why the driver isn't being penalised for it. Alonso is top drawer. Hopefully he'll have a car he can do something with this season. 

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