2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: June 23–25

mellowtiger83 said:I don't know, I'm guessing Hamilton probably didn't get penalized for two reasons. One, he wasn't actually in the wrong.
2. Or maybe they just decided to compensate by being way too soft on Sebastian Vettel.

If you'll indulge me—and honestly, you probably won't, but hey, worth a shot!

Don't bother.

I honestly cannot fathom how anyone could possibly argue that what Vettel did wasn't intentional..🙂
It is plain as day when you look at it through three sets of fan glasses 🙂
If I had my way, I would love to sit in on that post-race meeting and listen to the team bosses absolutely tear into Sebastian Vettel 🙂
By the way, I am not exactly a fan of Lewis Hamilton—he is actually quite unappealing to me (not quite as much as Fernando Alonso, but we are getting close)..I would love to see that incident officially documented in the race report...🙂

James Walker57 said:He braked right at the exit of the corner and then just coasted for a bit. You can't do that; it's dangerous and deserves a penalty.
But since Hamilton and Max are treated like they're untouchable, he gets away with it.

Then people go and blame NASCAR.
What happened with Hamilton is just a perfect example of what gets allowed every single time a Safety Car heads toward the pits.
NASCAR keeps talking about maintaining a constant speed, but honestly, what constant speed? Just wait until the next race—if there's another Safety Car, we'll see whoever is in the lead just slamming the brakes and then hitting the gas again.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Then they go and blame NASCAR.

The Hamilton incident is really just a perfect example of what gets permitted every single time a Safety Car heads toward the pits.

NASCAR keeps rambling on about maintaining a constant speed, but honestly, what constant speed? Just wait until the next race; if there’s another Safety Car, we’ll see whoever comes out first just slamming on the gas and then immediately hitting the brakes...

They're overheating the brakes...🙂
That was actually a much bigger issue today than the tire temperatures...

Richard Ross11 said:I honestly don't get how anyone can claim Sebastian Vettel didn't do that on purpose...🙂
You can see it clear as day from the plane—even through those triple-lens fan glasses 🙂

Tibi isn't even watching from the plane 😂

stormybadger8 said:http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkr...ver_shortfilms

Lewis Hamilton was also 😁
How could you forget they had those close calls right then 😍

And honestly, it’s baffling why Hamilton wasn't penalized for that first collision when he was clearly at fault, yet Maldonado gets hit with a five-place grid penalty for the second one...
It isn't even surprising, considering he obviously slammed into him on purpose 😁
Ali, it seems like the standard scheme here: "we won't punish Hamilton for his mess, so we'll just give Maldonado a light penalty because we didn't penalize Hamilton"...

That second incident was pure intention from Maldonado and the penalty was far too lenient, but I don't see where Hamilton is at fault in any of the footage; it's likely just a racing incident.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Then they go and blame NASCAR.
The Hamilton incident is just a perfect example of what happens every single time a Safety Car heads toward the pits.
NASCAR keeps harping on about maintaining a constant speed—constant speed, my foot. Honestly, if there's another Safety Car at the next race, you'll see whoever is leading just slamming the gas and the brakes, over and over...

That’s why we need to just adopt the rules they use in NASCAR or IndyCar—they don't deal with all these brake tests before the restart.

Richard Ross11 said:I don't get how anyone can claim Vettel didn't do that on purpose..🙂
It’s obvious if you look through three pairs of fan glasses 🙂
I’d love to sit in on the meeting where the bosses tear him a new one afterward...🙂
by the way, I'm not rooting for Lewis Hamilton, he's kind of an annoying guy (not quite as much as Alonso, but close enough)..let's hope this makes the official report...🙂

Look, I'm not totally convinced it was intentional...
He was clearly losing his mind, sure, but honestly? It feels more like he just completely lost focus and forgot how to drive rather than anything else...

though being honest, that’s not any better—it might actually be worse.😬

mellowtiger83 said:The second thing was clearly intentional on Maldonado's part, and the penalty is way too light. Besides, I don't see where Hamilton is at fault in any of the footage—maybe just a typical race incident.

I never doubted for a second that Hamilton wasn't to blame. 😁

But based on how they've handled obvious intentional moves before, there's zero doubt about what Maldonado was doing here. 😁
And yet, somehow, there's still no talk of a race ban or a black flag. What a joke. 🙂

neonfox65 said:That’s why they should just adopt the NASCAR or IndyCar rule where there aren't any brake tests before the restart.

The reason NASCAR doesn't have brakes is because they're practically useless, especially on an oval🤣 🤣.

If Hamilton were leading a NASCAR pack, the entire field would be in a wreck the moment he even thought about touching the brake pedal🙂 😁

stormybadger8 said:I'm not totally convinced it was intentional...
Look, it’s obvious he was rattled—no doubt about that—but honestly? It feels more like he just completely lost his focus and blanked on the steering wheel rather than anything else...

I seriously can't believe it, I really can't🙂🤦

Raymond Anderson4 said:Then they go crying to NASCAR.
The Hamilton incident is just a perfect example of what happens every single time a Safety Car heads toward the pits.
NASCAR keeps whining about maintaining constant speed, but constant speed my foot. Just wait until the next race, wherever the Safety Car pops up, we'll see whoever it is just slamming gas then brakes, gas then brakes....

Sure, if they were on a straight. But doing it mid-corner or right as you're exiting one instead of smooth throttle control? No thanks...
NASCAR’s big excuse for Hamilton is that he was acting "abnormally" during the first restart too...

I'd love to see if Sebastian Vettel gets a free pass to ram Hamilton in the next race because "well, he did it last time, so it's totally normal and expected now." 😁

mellowtiger83 said:Look, my friend, whoever caused it doesn't matter. Even if Hamilton took a penalty, hmm, what then? Telemetry showed he wasn't at fault.

If you can't see the red clearly under the "brake" section, we could just attribute that to Pil's "healthy eyes".

It is quite telling how you have framed this now.

Specifically, there were mentions of how today's drivers are all girls. If I recall correctly, at the start of the season, even Pascal Wehrlein was called a girl because of his injury. To which I added that drivers in today's cars endure over 8Gs. But no, you and DG are still pushing the narrative that it is all nothing.

And just today, Hamilton acted exactly like that much-desired girl. Just like a real teenage girl, looking on from the side with a spiteful, petty gaze after she intentionally enticed two guys to "fight" over "her."

To be blunt, the driver behind will be the one at fault regardless.

You asked for a girl; you got one. 🙂

mellowtiger83 said:Consequences are the issue!! It is normal for you to think it is fine for a driver to drift sideways into another car and intentionally slam into them—bravo, friend.

Where did I ever write that?

I absolutely support any penalty for Sebastian Vettel to cool his head. However, I also fully understand his reaction, which again, does not mean he is in the wrong.

And lo and behold, Vettel is not a girl.

But he fell for it—that moment when a fool brings you down to their level and beats you at your own game. Then again, sometimes even a fool messes up.

mellowtiger83 said:I know what the cause and consequence are. Many times last year, I stood by Vettel and defended him, but what he did here is a total lapse in judgment. If NASCAR pardoned him for some reason known only to them—because the penalty is a joke—I expect him to at least apologize, sit down, and have a talk with Hamilton.

Vettel has nothing to apologize for, because Hamilton will wake up tomorrow still thinking he did nothing wrong.

But I agree they should talk and (somewhat) bury the hatchet.

mellowtiger83 said:That’s why NASCAR doesn't really need brakes—they're basically useless, especially on the ovals 🤣. 🤣.
.

But once they head into the pits 😉.

neonfox65 said:I can't believe it, but I seriously🙂🤦

I bet you don't 😁

To telemetry data is total garbage. Lewis Hamilton was being a complete nightmare today. He wouldn't stop whining about the SC and then ended up causing a mess. Who on earth slams the brakes like that right in the middle of a corner? Of course Sebastian Vettel didn't brake—he didn't have time to react.

If Vettel hadn't managed to recover, Hamilton would've definitely walked away with a penalty.

stormybadger8 said:If he wanted to, he could have, but not on a straightaway—not while navigating a corner or slamming the brakes instead of hitting the gas on the exit...
The FIA’s primary excuse for Lewis Hamilton is that he exhibited similarly erratic behavior during the first restart...

I am genuinely curious if they will permit Sebastian Vettel to just ram Lewis Hamilton at the next race, using the logic that since he did it last time, it is now perfectly acceptable and presumably expected behavior.😁

😁

I actually agree that Lewis Hamilton should have faced a penalty, perhaps a drive-through or maybe a five-second time penalty, but honestly, my friend, Sebastian Vettel deserved to be held in the pits for about a full minute for what he did.

Richard Ross11 said:They're warming up the brakes.🙂
It felt like today was about much more than just getting those tires up to temperature.

Getting those tires up to temperature and warming the brakes works best while the safety car is still out on the track. That allows you to maintain a decent gap so you can actually afford to play it safe. What we're seeing from the leader right after the safety car pulls in isn't strategy—it's just a desperate jerk to try and pull away before the restart.

Sebastian Vettel got the penalty he deserved. If you ask me, the whole thing felt intentional. That black flag was totally overkill given how things were actually playing out..

On the flip side, Lewis Hamilton was acting like a total jerk, and he finally got what was coming to him...If I recall correctly, that contact triggered the second Safety Car, and then immediately after, we hit the third one followed by the red flag.
I’m telling you, that headrest probably would have held up fine until the end of the race if he hadn't hopped out of the car during the red flag, or if that red flag hadn't happened in the first place.
The way it is, his little tactics and slowing down just added more fuel to this entire mess of circumstances...

Look, I really don't think Sebastian Vettel hit Lewis Hamilton on purpose 🙏It’s entirely possible a sudden gust of wind just caught the car and pushed him right into Lewis's line...
I didn't get a chance to give Sauber and Wehrlein enough credit earlier, but honestly, I'm just glad to see them landing in the points, even if it was through the chaos of a race like this 👍
The absolute highlight for me, though, was hearing Fernando Alonso's take—basically saying it's such a shame they could have walked away with this win if Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel hadn't completely shut him out