Sergey Sirotkin, Williams, Hungaroring, 2018

Sirotkin unsure if Williams will suit his home track

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In the round-up: Sergey Sirotkin says he’s unsure how competitive his Williams will be when he starts his first home race this weekend.

What they say

After two races of very different fortunes for Williams at Monza and Singapore, Sirotkin says he doesn’t know if the FW41 will suit the Sochi track.

It’s that type of track, the combination where it could be a surprise in both ways, really. So I don’t want to kind of give too much hope, obviously.

What I can say is that I will fight myself for every hundredth in quali, every millimetre in the race, making sure that whatever I have I do the best possible for me. How far in the standings it’s going to be that’s a question I’m not able to answer now. From my perspective I just want to do the job as good as I physically can.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

Would a tyre war improve F1? @ForzaMaldonado isn’t convinced:

Assuming both Pirelli and Hankook made tires for F1 in 2020, one of them would supply Ferrari, and the other Mercedes. They would pour all their resources into developing a tire that suited that particular car, and the other teams would be left to secure customer details and figure it out from there.

Why do people think that’s such a great idea?
@ForzaMaldonado

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Keith Collantine
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35 comments on “Sirotkin unsure if Williams will suit his home track”

  1. I have to say I’ve always put Hamilton and Vettel on similar levels, mayeb Lewis a little higher because driving cars that are not favourites and winning with them always looks better than winning from pole.

    But after this year I think he’s just head and shoulders above the rest. Definitely better than Vettel. I like Seb to an extent but I feel like Lewis or Fernando would be in a much better position given his car.

    1. @fer-no65 This is probably the most representative season-long fight between the two of them we’ve had, and Hamilton’s on a great run at the moment. If Vettel pulls it back from here that will be really something.

      1. I honestly get the impression from your comments here and on twitter, you would rather see anyone but Hamilton winning.

        1. That’s very odd. I don’t get that impression at all.

    2. @fer-no65
      Hamilton looks very good this season, far better than Vettel.

      But I’m not assuming it is as clear as it seems. A few key moments have had massive impact. Bottas flat in Baku, Vettel’s crash in Germany, and the spin in Italy. Together they give Hamilton a comfortable lead. Each is just as likely to have not happened. Italy in particular could have ended with a DNF for either or both drivers.

      But as it happened Hamilton has a comfortable lead and is in the zone. Vettel and Ferrari are forced into marginal calls, like pitting too early in Singapore. Things seem likely to continue this way.

      I guess the point is that there is a fine line between winning and losing. We shouldn’t forget Vettel’s 4 titles, or Hamilton’s loss to Rosberg. These guys are all very special, even if Hamilton has the edge so far this season.

      1. I understand, and to a certain extent agree with, the evaluation that Lewis has been better than Seb this season.
        But I do think we might be forgetting the whole first half of the season, when Mercedes and Ferrari were very close (I would suggest a slight Merc advantage), Bottas seemed quicker than Lewis, and Seb was getting the points wherever he could. The championship lead would switch almost after every race.
        Just saying: we have a tendency to remember the last 3, 4 races with more emphasis, which is normal. Overall, there is a Lewis advantage, but not as big as some people feel, I would say.
        The Monza incident for me is still not clearly a Vettel error. This is seconed by quite a few drivers and the stewarts.

        1. I agree. There has been a few things that have not gone Vettels way and to a degree luck (in the form of rain) also impacted a couple of qualy sessions and races when Hamilton was, until the rain, clearly on the back foot.

          To suggest that Vettel is nowhere near as good as Hamilton, Alonso and Kubica is just fanciful. People seem to forget that his 4 WDC’s were all won when there was pretty fierce competition at the front. If I recall one year he won something like 9 in a row to rescue one of those titles.

          Keith has it right – he could still come back this year, and even if he doesn’t quite make it, it would be a pretty fine effort. I truly don’t believe that his car is any better, or better by anything other than a very fine margin, than the Mercedes.

          1. @dbradock, with regards to your comment “one year he won something like 9 in a row to rescue one of those titles”, that is incorrect.

            Yes, he did win nine races in a row during the latter half of the 2013 season – however, he already had a 38 point lead in the WDC after the first 10 races. Furthermore, given that most teams abandoned the 2013 title very early on in order to prepare for the rule changes for 2014, whereas Red Bull kept on developing their 2013 car for much longer than their rivals – something they later admitted was a major mistake – they were not really trying that had to catch Vettel either that year.

            Rather than “rescuing” a season with that run of victories, Vettel was already in a pretty dominant lead of the WDC and was instead extending that dominance for the rest of the season.

    3. If Vettel’s form doesn’t pick up for the final leg of this season and he finishes even further behind Lewis, next year will be make or break for him.

      His season up against Ricciardo dented his reputation, if Leclerc does come straight in and equal him on performance (i’m not convinced he will, but it’s an “if” we have to consider), that will smash it to pieces…

    4. What often happens @fer-no65 is that we try to “rate” drivers based on past seasons. I’d say that over the last 4 years Hamilton has changed, improved, a lot. Vettel had a high point with his 4th championship. And then his 2016 was really good too I’d say.
      But currently Hamilton is driving on top of his game while Vettel seems to be feeling the Ferrari pitfalls and pressure mount and makes mistakes based on that.

      I disagree with Marciello however over rating of drivers as an absolute and thinking Vettel will be beaten by Leclerc right away. First of all Charles will have to learn the beats of the team and if he does well from the start, the pressure will be on him (like Hamilton in his first McLaren year?) while Vettel will also change depending on how this year turns out, and will change according to new circumstances too. So the Vettel we have now, is not the same Vettel of the end of this year nor the same Vettel we get at the start of next year.
      We will have to see how Vettel deals with this challenge. Who knows, we might learn that he is best prepared and it stimulates him to reach greater hights too.

    5. What a shame we will never see Fernando in a top car in F1 again. I still think he is as good as Hamilton. He used to be better but Hamilton really has become awesome since controlling his personal issues better.

  2. While I agree that Vettel is not on Lewis or Fernando’s level he is better Kubica.
    Although I like Robert Kubica he is vastly overrated, he was barely better than Nick Heidfeld at BMW. He had his moments (Monaco 2010, Canada 2008) but he was not on their level by any means.

    1. Spot on!

    2. @db01 I’m not sure he was even better than Heidfeld, was outscored in 2 of their 3 seasons together.

  3. “I’ve never reputed Vettel at the same level of Hamilton, Alonso or even Kubica. I believe that, when Charles will arrive at Ferrari, he will be able to beat Sebastian right away.”

    Does Marciello post here by any chance? This kind of comment wouldn’t look out of place on this forum or autosport.

    1. Wouldn’t really look out of place anywhere other than an Italian or German publication.

      1. @todfod
        I have read articles on Hamilton in Italian written by respected journalists, especially Sabbatini, better than I have ever read in English. Hope you understand Italian though to enjoy the reading because the translator will probably ruin the metaphor used to describe Hamilton’s driving abilities :

        http://autosprint.corrieredellosport.it/news/formula1/nel-mirino/2017/10/22-1122580/formula_1_usa_lewis_e_il_serpente/
        http://autosprint.corrieredellosport.it/news/sterzi-a-parte/2018/07/31-1632338/hamilton_luniverso_marvel/
        http://autosprint.corrieredellosport.it/news/sterzi-a-parte/2018/07/24-1619326/ora_hamilton_vs_ferrari_/

  4. I agree that Vettel is not in the level of Hamilton and Alonso right now. The pressure is on him. Hamilton is in another level right now and when you hear his radio comments, he’s very calm.

  5. How the hell did he put Kubica in there?Bloody hell,Sirotkin is faster than him,nevermind Vettel

    1. @szakfer97 Clearly he means before Kubica’s accident when he was very highly rated

      1. @montreal95
        Kubica was not even any better than Heidfeld, let alone Vettel.

        1. @kingshark In your opinion. Impossible to prove either way so let’s just leave it at that. And in any case, that’s not relevant to the post I was replying to. I merely mentioned that Marciello clearly referred to the pre-accident Kubica not the version whose arm was nearly severed off and was competing vs Sirotkin

          1. @montreal95
            Pre-accident Kubica was teammates with Heidfeld for 3.5 years, and they were equal by every objective measure. pointswise, qualifyingwise, racewise.

  6. Getting away from who’s great and who’s merely good. The COTD makes a point that may be a good one if nothing had been learned from the last “Tyre War”, but everyone making comments like the COTD have seen the error made by FIA/FOM so it is not unreasonable to expect that FIA/LIB are also aware and further may make rules to allow a more equitable “Tyre Competition”, simply insisting that any team could have the same tyres as any other team at a fixed price would prevent the kind of fiasco seen last time. “But the relationship between top teams and their tyre manufacturer would give them an advantage” I hear you say, not really, currently the teams have to continually adjust to the tyres they are given, sometimes they get it right sometimes they get it wrong, sometimes they get lucky like Maldonado winning a race in a Williams, remember that !?

  7. headline typo made me laugh — ‘Bernie’ winning FIA karting championship … :)

  8. Hamilton is the complete driver now not just fast, but he has the time to think things through on the track and dynamically change his strategy to suit the ever changing circumstances during the race. He has become the best, better than Alonso and Vettel, the driver of his generation. It would take a lot of bad luck on his side and good luck on Vittel’s to steal the 2018 WDC from him. With a 40 point lead at least two more races where he has been dominant coming up, he should seal it.

  9. Fikri Harish (@)
    24th September 2018, 10:26

    That Marciello interview is so full of hot takes.
    I love that he’s honest that being with Prema is a major factor behind his F3 title though.

    Let me say this though, Vettel’s career is nowhere near as consistent as Alonso’s.
    I do think he’s capable of the same highs as Hamilton and Alonso, perhaps even higher, but his lows are also much lower.
    In terms of number, Vettel’s performance swings between a 10 and a 7, while Alonso’s regularly swing between 9.75 and a 9.5 and Hamilton is somewhere in between although if Hamilton can maintain his level of performance of the last two years, he’ll at least match Alonso’s.

    And lest anybody forget, Kubica was doing some pretty wonderful things in the R30 back in 2010 so Marciello’s claim is not without merit.

    1. @marinatedmonolith he didn’t really do anything that extraordinary… good car + poor teammate can led to misleading impressions.

      1. @tflb Yes, he did do great stuff with that car. It wasn’t nearly as great as you make it to be and having a poor team-mate has nothing to do with it

  10. “I’ve never reputed Vettel at the same level of Hamilton, Alonso or even Kubica. I believe that, when Charles will arrive at Ferrari, he will be able to beat Sebastian right away.”
    – That’s a bold comment/claim. I can agree with him to a certain extent when it comes to comparing him to Hamilton and Alonso, but Kubica not so much. Furthermore, it’s far too early to jump to definite conclusions on whether Leclerc would be able to beat him straightaway or not in equal machinery.

    – I like how Sirotkin’s always so analytical in interviews. The most analytical driver on the grid, which I assume is down to the fact he’s got a degree in engineering.

    – I entirely agree with the COTD.

  11. People who are against a tyre war, people who make comments along the lines of cotd are people who have either forgotten or simply don’t know what f1 is supposed to be.

    F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of the sport, It’s supposed to be about pushing technology, Pushing performance & above all it’s supposed to be about competition; Competition between teams, drivers, engines, brakes & yes tyres. A competition where everyone involved is constantly pushing to develop & improve there product to beat the other’s involved.

    The fact there is so much ‘spec’ parts in F1 now & more going forward is proof that F1 has forgot this itself & goes a long way to explain why F1 has declined in popularity over the past decade. Those that remember what F1 is supposed to be, What it was are turning off as they dislike what it’s becoming while the casual’s F1 tried to cater to aren’t sticking around & those that are don’t get F1 so are pushing it further towards something it isn’t & shouldn’t be.

    What we see now, What is been discussed for the future is not F1.. It’s GP1 & for as long as it’s GP1 it will never return to it’s past glory.

    1. I respect your viewpoint but I disagree. There were always spec parts in F1, and even fully customer cars at one time. Most of the cars ran the DFV engine for nesrly 15 years did they not? There was a brief time when F1 was nearly as you describe, an all out tech competition mostly fueled by tabac money. The racing was awful and the costs of competing exorbitant, and that’s when the grid size shrank to its current dangerously low level. You cannot justify putting technological competition above the on-track competition. That’s what endurance “racing” is for and that’s why I’ll never watch it. Also most of the grid is barely surviving as it is. All out tech war is something no one has the money to pay for nowadays. You can still have the tech competition in F1. But not before we put up the budget cap. So that your excellence decides if you win, not the size of your purse. For me Force India was the WCC champion the past 2 years not Merc. Because they did fantastically well on a small budget. And being a test ground for tire testing(how boring is that?) is not F1’s business. F1 should be the pinnacle of racing not the pinnacle of testing

      Finally, if anything it’s that period that you look back to with rose tinted glasses that was living on past glories of the 70’s when everyone had a DFV and huge crude tires and Peterson and Villeneuve sliding everywhere. That period was living on past glories and simple inertia. And it’s that same period fueled by the poison dwarf’s insatiable greed that brought F1 to the sorry state that it’s in today, including the huge gap between the top teams and the rest, preferential treatment like money for teams irrespective of how they are doing in the WCC etc. etc.

  12. I dunno about Robert… he was hyped, but never really got to show the full extent of performance he was reputed to have. Lewis vs Alonso 2007 answers pretty much any question you need to know about those two if you can manage to look it over objectively: definitely top of the pile, no matter which side you’re leaning towards. The truth is that season is pretty representative as to how close they actually are. Me personally, I give Hamilton the edge on outright speed & Alonso the edge on adaptability. On racecraft it’s neck & neck, and although they both rarely make mistakes, I can’t seem to remember any of Alonso’s right now so I right now I say he makes less. That might change in a few minutes if I remember one… Alonso’s attitude sucks more often than not, though (swap Lewis’ name for Alonso’s in the last case if you aren’t a fan & I’m sure it’ll make my comment more to your liking… LOL)
    Vettel though has always been a little tricky for me to rank. He’s definitely as quick (Lewis is a few ticks faster than all of them… pretty much a fact, IMO), but he definitely makes more mistakes. His racecraft is pretty solid, but again, if you’re gonna bet on someone banging wheels, he’s the safer bet. The biggest blemish on his resume though has to be the way he crumbles under pressure: and to be honest, it’s not nearly as bad as I make it sound, but the fact is he makes mistakes that the two guys he’s most compared to directly do not make. That & he’s prone to losing his temper & doing (and saying) things that are completely out of pocket! Ricciardo having the better of him would be a bigger mark against him if Daniel wasn’t currently being shown the way by Max, who’s definitely arrived on the scene with a boatload of speed in tow, but he doesn’t always pack the entirety of his senses & is currently more prone to banging wheels than anyone mentioned (except maybe Vettel lately). Verstappen’s speed & skill aren’t in question though.

  13. I believe Lewis and Seb are very close, but that right now, Lewis is winning the “head” war, one that he has not always won. It is so close, however, that a bit of luck (good/bad) could make the difference. Lewis has a huge advantage right now, but the next races will be very interesting.

  14. So, who do we want to replace Vettel?

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