I missed the end since I went thru to meet up with the 2 forumites 
I left because it was so boring. That gap between the mercs alone was stupid
Who got fastest lap or is that also lewis
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Pretty sure Seb took fastest lap right at the end.
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I had it on in the back ground.
Wasnt exciting at all
I enjoyed the race. Probably because Iâm a Renault fan and the McLarens and Renault did well.
Itâs a shame about the penalties for Ricciardo but itâs fair.
How poor was Gasly? I donât think he will be with Red Bull long.
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Well this French GP was definitely not a classic at all. I was glad though that the broadcast focused on the midfield and not the front runners this time around, and the Mercs are just in a class of their own and there is no way anyone will be able to beat them.
I was super happy for McLaren though. It is a damn shame about Norris losing hydraulics in the car, but well done to him in finishing the race with that kind of issue. Riciardo did what he shouldâve. It didnât work and Iâm pretty sure he compromised Norris on forcing him off the road, but he wouldâve been a lesser driver if he didnât go for it.
Gasly is so useless. I canât believe that in the same car as what Verstappen is using to race against the Ferraris, he canât even get himself into the points. If it wasnât for Riciardoâs penalty he would not have scored points. He should be ashamed of his performance. I give him until Monza, after that donât be surprised if you see Kvyat or Albon in the car, both of them driving really well for the car theyâve got.
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Wouldnât actually surprise me if the Honey Badger pulls the performance clause in his contract and makes himself available for a new (or former) team.
I highly doubt it. I follow him on his social media accounts and I follow the Renault Sport media accounts and to me it looks like he is having a good time at Renault.
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Yeah, heâs having a blast. He is not on the podiums though and that is what Renault loosely promised him.
Where did they promise him that? From what Iâve seen he joined Renault for the challenge and he found that exciting.
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My personal opinions on Gasly and Danny Ric.
Gasly
When Danny left RedBull and shocked the whole of motorsport, RedBullâs usual deep pool of talent was at a shallow point. Having kicked the Torpedo the year before and complained bitterly about Hartley the whole season (more on that later) they didnât actually have a driver to go to the main team. Gasly was their only choice.
Gasly is not a terrible driver, but needed more time in the STR team before being promoted. RBR had to go into crisis mode. RBR promotes from within and GAsly was the obvious choice. On paper with him having raced using the Honda engine and having a good understanding of the Red Bull âfamilyâ he was their best choice.
In a real world example my boet races enduro mtb - he has won multiple provincial championships, but hasnât done well in the last two years as he now has to work a 9-5 to keep the lights on etc. This weekend he placed 2nd overall. Not due to fitness, but it was a demanding course and he had the experience and maturity to know where and when to push and also when to go cautiously. Now in this example, Gasly has the âfitnessâ, but not the experience. In F1 where racers are separated by 1s you can have the best car, but if you lack experience it shows like a crack in the wall.
My opinion is Marko has caused this, he is toxic about non performers and instead of encouraging or mentoring he throws public threats.
Hartley is an example. His role at STR was second driver and he did a lot of the testing and feedback. He did the dogs work for STR and RBR and still had Marko threatening him from above. You canât expect somebody to perform and do all the testing.
In a nut shell - RBR should really nurture Gasly as Max will move on once his contract has expired (assuming RBR doesnât provide a championship winning car).
If Max leaves they still have the Torpedo, but the talent pool is drying up!
Danny Ric
Back to Marko, he treated Danny like a second driver, in an equal car he is a better driver than Max, but Marko likes his stars. His move to Renault was a calculated one in my opinion.
In Redbull to win a championship he didnât only have to fight the other teams, but his team as well - on a lower salary. Danny has what it takes to be a champion.
Reanult was up front with him, told him they are developing a race winning car and told him it wonât be 2019, he knew full well what he was getting into.
Best case scenario - he wins in 2020 or 2021
Worst case scenario - his retirement is sorted due to a pay increase or pulls the performance clause.
Going forward
RBR at worst should move the torpedo into the RBR stable and GAS back to STR.
Develop GAS and Albon (who I really like as a driver). Work on the legendary talent pool which once existed.
Put a leash on Marko
Danny Ric is forever the optimist. Donât go back to RBR. Sit at Renault for another year at least.
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Fixed that for you.
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Hear hear. They impressed all weekend. Race pace was a bit more sluggish than I had hoped, but as is the norm these days, if you have no hope of catching the cars in front of you, you just manage fuel and tyres for the race. It makes for super boring races but safe points finishes. If they can manage to coax more speed out of that car over the course of the season, Red Bull might start looking over their shoulder come race day, especially Gasly.
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Somewhat ironic news quote from 2013. Not Lewisâ fault in any way at all of course - he is undoubtedly the best in the business at the moment. Just interesting that the things weâre starting to say about the sport were said then too. And during the Ferrari/Schumacher era before that.
The FIA and FOM/Liberty and the teams need to make every effort to find ways to make the sport competitive, interesting and exciting again. If there arenât fundamental changes coming in the 2020 Concord Agreement, I worry for F1âs future.
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I honestly watch the b team races more than the front of the pack. It is much more interesting
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That would be great, assuming the TV coverage actually follows the midfield racing. They like to focus on the leaders though.
âThere is continued talk that Toto Wolff, the team principal, could soon take over as chief executive of F1 from Chase CareyâŚâ
Now there is an interesting bit of news. Lewis is right though; it may be difficult for Toto to walk into a job like that and be totally objective from the get-go. No doubt however that he is an outstanding leader; I think the sport could use his skills at the top.
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Iâm still of the opinion that introducing more variables into the equation will benefit the overall spectacle.
for example :
- Refueling or alternative fuel suppliers/sources
- Bring back a 2nd or 3rd tyre supplier
- Simplify front and rear wing design standards. This should aim to reduce downforce and the dirty air behind vehicles.
- Award points to any driver/team that completes the race. Point for fastest lap and a point for qualifying P1
- Stop using virtual safety cars
- Drop these silly 5sec penalties and go for drive through penalties like they used to do; Or find a way to gimp the car appropriately for a short period of time
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