They changed Max's engine between qualifying and the race. They found a crack and had to put engine #3 in. There was no penalty because it was a same spec engine.
Today was a huge win for Mercedes in both the constructors and drivers title race.
Definitely agree that Lewis had far more luck this year. Not only he, but the team also made some pretty big mistakes. It's pretty ridiculous that he's ahead right now going into the break.
For once someone challenges Mercedes and just keeps getting completely fucked though no fault of his own. It's pretty depressing to watch.
hm, sounds like retribution because of T shirt violation to me.
I don’t like the idea of seb losing his place due to the fuel issue. I understand the rules, but they were able to get a sample. Just not a large enough sample. I think he gets off here.
I dunno, it's a pretty clear cut rule. I'd be surprised if he gets off here. Their team principle did say they can prove they have 1.7 litres in the car though, so I guess we'll see how that plays out.
Yeah. I agree the rule is pretty clear. Everyone would put in less fuel if they could get away with breaking the rule.They explained the rule pretty clearly. They have to be able to extract a liter of fuel for testing at any time. They even gave them extra time to try to get more out.
Exactly my point. The suspension and restart of the race was so unusual and unorthodox that fuel protocols would have been irrelevant to the point of allowed minuscule variance.F1 isn't NASCAR, rules are rules.
Was also pretty obvious that this would happen given Seb didn't make it back around.
They deliberately run the cars light on fuel but then manage it through the race, I'm thinking that went out the window when they were that close to the win. They would have been hoping Seb could make the move, build a gap and then save fuel in the lead. They're not the first to be bitten by this and won't be the last either.
Apparently the crack developed around a motor mount that only became apparent after qualifying. Also they can only break down the engine so far. There are parts/seals that if they break they can no longer use it or they are forced to use a new one (so I read.) I also read there is a chance that the crack may just be a mount that can be repaired, hopefully that's true. Knowing the bad luck they are having and the #blessed luck, they will repair it and then it will pop when max has a 15 second lead in a race.I hadn't heard that they changed Max's engine. I didn't watch the pre race show. How did they not find the crack in the last two weeks? They certainly must have torn it down to it's component pieces and magnafluxed it to check for cracks after the crash.
I just saw that they couldn't supply the required one liter of fuel from Vettel's car so he loses his second place finish and everybody moves up. Hamilton gains 3 points and Max one. Aston Martin will appeal but the rule isn't open for interpretation. If they were that close on fuel they might not have finished without the safety car.
Bottas was kind of caught there when Lando went by on the inside and pulled in in front of him so there wasn't any room to stop even though Bottas locked up his brakes. Another poor start from a Mercedes put him in a bad position. Everybody was pushing too hard on a wet track. Bottas probably should have backed out and dropped to the back but he might have been hit from behind as they were passing him on both sides.
Exactly my point. The suspension and restart of the race was so unusual and unorthodox that fuel protocols would have been irrelevant to the point of allowed minuscule variance.
He'll get reinstated IMO.
What was unusual or unorthodox about it? Was standard red flag procedures. Fuel has been an issue for teams in scenarios such as this before - if they choose to underfuel the cars to such a fine tolerance, then they're accepting the risk that goes along with it.
As you said there is a change that he'll be reinstated, however this will have nothing to do with the red flag and will only come down to the wording and interpretation of the rule: Is the requirement for the FIA to be able to extract 1L from the car using a set method, or is the requirement to have 1L of fuel in the car at the end of the race?
The problem for the team is that the rules state clearly that a litre of fuel has to be physically retrieved from the car, Szafnauer noted: “It is an old rule that goes back to the days before we had all this metering and all the measurements.”
Yes, that still stings.Think of how far ahead Lewis could have been if he didn't hit that switch and run off the track. He should easily have 25 more points.
He also managed to get the 4th fastest lap with all that damage. Pretty impressive stuff.This image really shows how fucked Max's car was. Pretty incredible that he was able to put that car into the points. I remember back at Australia 2019 (I think) when Lewis had a tiny bit of his floor missing or some sort of winglet on his bargeboard and the commentators talked about it non stop, how it was incredible he was able to drive to P2 or P3, whatever it was.
Lol. The damage on Lewis’s car in that race was literally a two inch bit. He still couldn’t compete with valteri. Looking at that. I’m shocked the fia allowed max to continue. But I guess there was nothing hanging off. Still getting 9th was a good drive considering he could have said fuck it, retire and save the engine.This image really shows how fucked Max's car was. Pretty incredible that he was able to put that car into the points. I remember back at Australia 2019 (I think) when Lewis had a tiny bit of his floor missing or some sort of winglet on his bargeboard and the commentators talked about it non stop, how it was incredible he was able to drive to P2 or P3, whatever it was.