In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton said his car’s ride was extremely bumpy during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
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In brief
Hamilton laments rough ride
Hamilton laboured to 10th place in Brazil, after which he said his Mercedes had “the bumpiest ride ever.”
“I’m sure we had worse bouncing in 2022,” he added, “but I think the car was better in 2022.”
The team has won three times this year, twice more than in 2022. However they appear to have lost their way with the car’s set-up since introducing a floor upgrade after the summer break.
Hamilton is unsure how much better his car’s ride will be in the coming races. “Qatar should be better in the sense it’s smooth,” he told the official F1 channel. “I don’t know about Vegas. Hopefully, Vegas won’t be as bad as here.”
Disqualification was unavoidable – Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg said there was nothing he could do about the circumstances which led to his disqualification from the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Haas driver was shown the black flag after marshals pushed his car off a bump it became stuck on after he spun.“I was beached, which was very unfortunate, after a low speed spin, which was my mistake,” he explained. “But then it’s quite unlucky to be beached like that. Normally you spin and you continue. So a small mistake with a huge consequence.”
Stroll suspects brake problem
Lance Stroll suspects a braking problem led to his spin on the formation lap during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
“It’s really strange,” said the Aston Martin driver. “As soon as I touched the brakes, I just had a huge rear lock and then I was a passenger from there.
“I’ve never felt that in a car so maybe there was a brake failure problem. We have to look into it.”
After his spin at Subida do Lago, Stroll reversed away from the barrier, then drove forwards and turned left onto the gravel trap, where his car became stuck.
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Links
Senna's niece hails Hamilton gesture at Brazil GP and opens up on F1 legend (The Mirror)
'He was able to connect with people through his message of never giving up, of following your dreams no matter what. I think that is why people are still connected to him. Everybody needs to have a dream and to never give up, I think that is why (his legacy) is so everlasting.'
Charge to Bahrain win 'like a dream' for Buemi (Sportscar365)
'I felt like it was a bit like a dream, because you realise you can win and everything goes your way. Which it didn’t really go like that the whole season, but today it did.'
Newgarden wants number two team to unlock true potential in 2025 (IndyCar)
'Personally, for the two car from a championship perspective, it’s been a really disastrous year. I don’t know how to put it other than disastrous. I guess what I would say is sometimes it’s not your year or sometimes it’s not your day, those both have been true multiple times this season, and that’s the way it goes.'
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Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
|@Max33Verstappen claimed some members of the media were ignoring him in the wake of his Brazilian Grand Prix triumph. #F1 #BrazilianGP #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/gGGPNq4kPw
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) November 3, 2024
Stefano Domenicali Statement:
I want to thank all our fans and everyone working across the sport for their patience and dedication this weekend. I believe it was the right thing to do to move qualifying and the race to earlier on Sunday to maximise the opportunity for racing to…
— F1 Media (@F1Media) November 3, 2024
Gasly and Verstappen went out in Q2 partly because Ocon threw it up the inside of them as they prepared to begin flying laps and they both had to back off. Then the three of them end up on the podium!https://t.co/yHcDDSDJ9v#F1 #BrazilianGP #RaceFans
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) November 3, 2024
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Comment of the day
Many of our readers raved about Max Verstappen’s performance in yesterday’s race:
For me the real Verstappen: take away all the often unnecessary on-track ‘agro’ and rule pushing and you have the fastest driver capable of slicing through the field unperturbed and without incident, and taking a little luck (and a failure of nerve from Norris/McLaren and Russell/Mercedes) to grab the win and close down any idea of a championship race.
Added to that: one of the few to spot that it was aborted race start. If Norris and others get a penalty, only themselves to blame. Here Verstappen showed he is still at another level. Up there with other great wet race drives from Formula 1 history.
@David-br
Happy birthday!
No RaceFans birthdays today
Applebook
4th November 2024, 2:19
The car is perfectly fine. Russell put it on the front row and nearly got a podium.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
4th November 2024, 11:57
Mediocrity-Bends will hope for podiums.
Alberto
4th November 2024, 17:31
Ah yeah! He is here guys! The Mercedes technical officer who inspected and set both the cars up before the race. If you have any questions to him don’t miss out on the opportunity.
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
4th November 2024, 18:27
When the pitlane opened prior to the race Hamilton was rolling near the pit exit and his car was bouncing. Given the conditions, I’m surprised he was able to race and finish.
Leeroy
5th November 2024, 8:15
Correct, Hamilton’s form this year is quite poor. Not just brazil. Ferrarri have made a big error. Sainz is the perfect wingman for Leclerc. The cliff comes with age and I think Hamilton has hit the cliff.
Oleg
5th November 2024, 21:29
2 Applebook
Did you notice that Russell was driving his car and Hamilton was driving his own?
And these cars are serviced in different garages.
And this is if you do not take into account that over the past month Russell
crashed his car a couple of times and everything was changed for him by and large…
In general, keep the nonsense about the “fine car” to yourself and don’t funny peoples
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th November 2024, 5:48
It’s funny Stroll doesn’t mention probably one of the most ridiculous ways (to put it politely) to abandon a race I’ve ever, ever seen. Anyone can spin like that, but to then go straight into the gravel, very wet gravel no less, and beach the car like that, takes it to a different level. He’s a professional driver, for god’s sake…
Jere (@jerejj)
4th November 2024, 6:47
He did mention that in some interviews.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th November 2024, 7:16
What did he say? What were his reasons to driving an F1 car into a gravel trap on purpose? What was he expecting?
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
4th November 2024, 6:56
The gusto with which he approached that gravel trap was admirable, almost fearless. He sent it right in there, it didn’t pay off this time admittedly, but it was very brave.
Considering Hulkenberg got beached on a bump, and Lance had other options available to him, I’m not sure what he was thinking, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone drive straight into a gravel trap like that.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
4th November 2024, 8:25
I think he was inspired by the Mosley oops I mean Senna quote:
“I am a racer. I saw a wide run off area and I went for it “
Benhur
4th November 2024, 22:12
Did you miss Shanghai 2007?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th November 2024, 0:16
True, that was with more at stake too, cost him the championship in the end and it’d have been a great achievement, the only rookie to win the title, since farina doesn’t count, as everyone was a rookie in 1950.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
4th November 2024, 9:22
Yea I felt that his crew must have been cringing when watching that. I however agree with Stroll tha the initial problem certainly looked like a brake issue.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th November 2024, 6:47
In hindsight, Hulkenberg should’ve just retired on the spot, given he’d already lost all chances.
I still like the sarcasm concerning the British press.
Bringing the race start time forward was indeed a good move & something that should’ve already been done in the past under similar weather circumstances, but better later than never.
Some coincidence regarding the eventual podium trio.
COTD: I couldn’t agree more. What a drive, especially after taking the race lead, setting fastest lap after fastest lap on nearly every remaining lap.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
4th November 2024, 7:09
I guess Hulkenberg was doing the responsible thing by not leaving his car in a dangerous spot and causing further disruption to the race (not to mention putting marshals at additional risk), but he should have recognised his race was over and returned to the garage rather than trying to continue.
He must have wished the marshals had used a crane.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th November 2024, 7:57
Valid point
tielemst
4th November 2024, 8:42
Compare that to the recovery of Sainz’s car. He tried to drive away with the marshals already in the process of recovering. He got a reprimand.
Re Stroll: Come on Lance, we all know what the real problem is.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
4th November 2024, 9:20
Hamilton has been awful lately. Russell was leading the race in the same car and was let down by his team pitting him early.
I don’t think the car as bad as 2022, Hamilton is just not as good as he was.
David West
4th November 2024, 10:49
He’s leaving.
See British GP for how good Hamilton is.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
4th November 2024, 10:51
Yawn. You didn’t see last race when he was almost a second a lap faster and couldn’t pass russell down the straight.
That is pretty much Merc in a nutshell, Russell is gapping Lewis on to the straights everytime, for over a year now. How you might ask ? well there are many ways to cause excessive locking, one is to put heavier diff gear oil, another could be in the manufacturing tolerances of the diff, Bono has been told to do exactly what the team wants, in order to get his coveted desk job, so hes not in front of the cameras any more and he can do flubber all.
There are so many reasons why Merc are not interested in seeing HAM succeed, yet, despite this, he still does, inspite of his own team. And even still, hes a flubbing saint, gives his crew credit and never throws them under the 500 pound Toto-Wolff that every one with open eyes can see. HAM is getting the discard, hes been getting it since 2022, when the team ludicrously proposed redefining what an F1 car was, after a major rule overhaul, after having one of the best cars in the business. Only flubbing giddyots will believe that Mercedes have been trying. Toto doesn’t care if Mercedes suffer, hes a stakeholder in F1 itself, his team is a vehicle to promote certain narratives and drama, to the spectacle, not what is in fact true. RBR, on the other hand, actually care about winning, thats why they are so much better at it than the politically correct outfit from Brackley.
David (@davidjwest)
4th November 2024, 11:21
But he did pass Russell and he easily beat him in 2023 before the Ferrari move was done.
“Russell is gapping Lewis on to the straights everytime, for over a year now.”
Excuse me, are you watching the races?
Hamilton is leaving and Mercedes won’t be sharing all the data with him which is why his setup was garbage yesterday.
David BR (@david-br)
4th November 2024, 12:08
Garbage and painful.
Applebook
4th November 2024, 20:49
Yeah we saw the same race. Russell was literally driving an older spec car (through his own fault for crashing in practice) and had a malfunctioning front wing, yet still managed to hold off his teammate for so many laps. Before he had a front wing issue, he easily passed Lewis in the first stint. I wouldn’t use Mexico as evidence of anything in favor of Hamilton. The guy is finished. He had an enormous tire life advantage to Russell at Spa and never really threatened to pass him legitimately on the track. It was a stunning performance by George and a really pathetic final stint by Lewis.
David BR (@david-br)
4th November 2024, 12:07
@thegianthogweed Well, it’s one possible conclusion. Another is as David West says, he’s leaving and been frozen out in various ways. Nothing surprising. Button predicted it would happen back in February/March.
There is a genuine issue about how compatible Hamilton’s driving style is with the ground effects emphasis. But it may be a question of how (relatively) bad the Mercedes has been and how car issues have hampered his skills. Along with any possible ‘nerfing’ of his car to give Russell the edge (which seems unlikely but not entirely impossible). He’ll have to adapt a lot at Ferrari with the new car and engine, and Leclerc as a team mate, so that will be the real test, I think, of where Hamilton is now. But various performances this year show he can still perform at the highest level – and the inconsistency may not be really of his own making. We’ll see.
Oleg
5th November 2024, 21:24
2 David BR
Thank you for your adequate comment.
This is especially valuable against the background of the negativity from those who are in a hurry to write off Hamilton
Mayrton
4th November 2024, 9:44
Disqualify Hulk for solving a problem but stay away from penalising Lando after creating a very dangerous situation for drivers and Marshalls on track after a start procedure infringement. FIA at it’s best…
Jonathan Parkin
4th November 2024, 10:00
The marshal’s could have moved him round so he could bump start it down the hill like they did with Eddie Irvine in Monaco in 1996
David (@davidjwest)
4th November 2024, 11:24
Still outside assistance. This rule should be looked at again I think.
Jonathan Parkin
4th November 2024, 13:46
In that instance the Monaco marshals were adjudged ‘to be moving him from a position of danger’ in the words of the sporting regs of the time – he was at the Loews hairpin.
He then subsequently managed to bump start the car on the way down to Portier and continued until his race ending crash with Hakkinen and Salo on Lap 70
The real question is why the marshals aren’t aware they can’t push start a driver
someone or something
4th November 2024, 14:31
Oh, but they can. The assisted driver you can’t continue the race after that anymore.
The marshals have done nothing wrong.
Kata
5th November 2024, 0:12
Could be wrong but i think the F1 cars of today cannot be bump started anymore.
Edvaldo
4th November 2024, 12:48
He hates the car and looks disinterested, but if Hamilton drives like this at Ferrari, he should retire after one season.
He’ll be 40, it’ll be completely acceptable. At the moment he’s looking washed. Probably the worst sequence of performances of his F1 career.
Canderous (@yoshif8tures)
4th November 2024, 13:49
With regards to the quote from Verstappen, you should have included the video itself in the press conference where both Alpine drivers agree and laugh with him about it, not to mention the foreign press also laughs at the joke too.
Watching Skysports it’s abundantly clear that they’re biased in favour of British teams, which in itself wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that they’re also the voices of all other English speaking countries too.
The sheer amount of nonsense Crofty, Karun and Ted spouted throughout the entire race would have made me switch off the TV if it were a boring race.
Johns
4th November 2024, 14:39
Hamilton said the car hurt is back. I bet he leaves Mer early to save his back.
george.be
4th November 2024, 15:23
Of course his back hurts, not because of the car, but he got his ass kicked quite badly by Mr Russel.
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
4th November 2024, 17:36
Hmm, checks standings-
Russell- 192pts, 1 Win, 3 Podiums
Hamilton- 190pts, 2 Wins 4 Podiums all the while being given a lemon of a car with no info regarding the car so as not to take any info to Ferrari, throw in added shoddy strategies (Should of started from pit lane in USA so as to work on set up)
Yeah, he’s getting his ass kicked :)
Edvaldo
4th November 2024, 19:03
Yep, again he doesn’t make to Q2 because the setup is horrible, asks for a pitlane start and is denied that.
Both Mercedes and their drivers aren’t racing for anything, they can’t catch the next team up the ladder, nor the next driver. They may as well sit out of the final races, it wouldn’t change a thing, so it’s not like they’re willing to start from the pits for him to finish 7th or something and bring some points, they don’t care anymore, this year is done.
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
4th November 2024, 22:26
Iam starting to wonder if he’s being denied set up data that could become useful in days to come at Ferrari… All the way down to what monkey wrench they use on what part…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th November 2024, 0:33
I seem to recall hamilton inheriting a win from russell because of a technical dsq that didn’t actually give him enough advantage to make him win the race, this explains the number of wins (russell 2-1) and the points, which would be a bit higher for russell.
N
5th November 2024, 11:35
I seem to recall Russell pulling a Jensen Button and trying an alternate strategy because he had nothing to lose as he saw his teammate sailing off into the sunset, only to find said strategy pay off, all the while not meeting the technical regulations.
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
4th November 2024, 19:10
Typical Hülkenberg luck to end up disqualified from a spin when the car was undamaged and he could resume the race, just because he got stuck on a tarmac runoff.
Gianni Dongo
4th November 2024, 22:35
Super Max.
He does not need to rub it in. He is clearly a steo ahead of Norris
Peat Smoke
5th November 2024, 8:17
These last three seasons have exposed a weakness that puts in questions Hamilton’s status as one of the GOATs: he can only deliver when the car is competitive, and his performance drops proportionally to the performance of his machinery. Russell’s form on the other hand has been more or less stable regardless of the car. Yes, Russell who’s at best Rosberg 2.0, certainly not a generational talent.
Oleg
5th November 2024, 21:35
It is unlikely that people representing the kitchen of Formula 1 and just human relations assumed that Hamilton
would be allowed to leave Mercedes in triumph, and even when switching to Ferrari.
The fact that he will have problems both in qualifying and in racing is predictable.
And here it is certainly pointless to compare the successes of teammates on the “same” garage
and on the “same” car…
Well, unless you can compare the number of broken cars….