Donkey of the Race

[veeten]

So many choices this week... but, at least, it's not McLaren-Honda (Thank God!!!)

Butt-head drivers & brain-fart managers are welcome... :p :laugh:

[rjbetty]

Williams.

Both Mercedes drivers fill out my podium for expertly chucking it away!

Honourable mention to Maldonado, but since it's usually expected, 3 penalties in one race makes less of an impact than for other drivers.

[gm99]

Maldonado - how many penalties did he earn today?

Both Mercedes drivers deserve a mention as well.

It was hard not to score any points today, but Williams have managed that, so hats off to them!

And special mention to Force India, inventors of the self-disintegrating race car.

[Ranger]

Rosberg and Hamilton both get honourable mentions.

But how can it be anyone other than Pastor Maldonado? Three penalties in a race has to take the cake.

[truefan72]

for once i acquiesce, clear donkey was maldonado

Hamilton gets one honorable mention for a poor start and crashing into riciardo, but redeems himself a bit with some good overtakes to salvage points

Rosberg gets a 3/4 donkey for crashing into riciardo and selecting the mediums instead of the softs for his final stint, which would have seen him pass vettel
...if he had even tried to attempt a pass instead of losing time. which in it of itself gets another 1/4 donkey. He was nowhere on pace today, falling back miserably to the ferrari's in the early part of the race and never came close to even matching them in speed and lap times. The guy is not a fighter. He was handed the potential race win aand WDC lead on a silver platter and failed miserably on all fronts, including a poor start as well

[EightGear]

Maldonado by a country mile. Both Rosberg and Hamilton get a honorable mention as well.

[A FONDO]

Force India. They stopped Nico from practice two just to check his car and returned her to him in a self-destroying state :D

[Tazio]

Boss, Nico, and Maldo.

[pino]

The one and only Maldonado... :laugh: :s

[longisland]

Maldonado hands down for completing a hat trick.
The Mercedes drivers especially Rosberg for opting for the prime tires. He would have had a chance winning the race & avoided the contact with Ricciardo had the option tires been chosen.
Force India & Williams. Force India were having issues the whole week; the Williams had a terrible race starting from top ten & managed only to be in front of the manors & Maldonado.

[Nitrodaze]

I have to say Maldonado. He needs a wise arm over his shoulders and some carefully chosen words whispered into his ears.

[AndyL]

It can only be Maldonado. Even by his standards, a hat-trick of penalties is exceptional.

[Nitrodaze]

It can only be Maldonado. Even by his standards, a hat-trick of penalties is exceptional.

His accident rate is worst than those of the new rookies combined.

[Robinho]

Maldonado, then Hamilton and an honourable mention for Rosberg

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[henners88]

Maldonado, Hamilton and Rosberg. A race to forget really.

[Nitrodaze]

Maldonado, then Hamilton and an honourable mention for Rosberg

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I think Hamilton crash into Ricciado was a genuine racing incident, the car lost grip and slide into the redbull. Admittedly, Ricciado gave him enough space and without that slide, chances were, there would have been no contact. In corner racing is to be encouraged.
Rosberg on Ricciado on the other hand was avoidable. He had made the pass, all he had to do was stay out of trouble coming out of the corner to seal the pass. But he decided to aggressively shut the door on Ricciado which cost him dearly in the end. This too was purely good racing.

Maldonado on the other hand did not give any room to avoid an accident, he quite simply was dangerous and could have created a fatal accident. This is what separates him from the rest. It was not good racing.

[The Black Knight]

I don't think anyone can look past Maldonado for donkey go the race (or century).

Hamilton, Ricciardo had donkey moments.

I think Ricciardo should have had a penalty. He's a lucky boy Charlie is so inconsistent and favors some drivers over others.

[N4D13]

I don't think anyone can look past Maldonado for donkey go the race (or century).

Hamilton, Ricciardo had donkey moments.

I think Ricciardo should have had a penalty. He's a lucky boy Charlie is so inconsistent and favors some drivers over others.
Why should he have a penalty? Hamilton drove into him in the first turn and so did Rosberg afterwards. Isn't having people drive into you enough of a penalty by itself?

[ShiftingGears]

Maldonado was the standout. To a lesser extent both Mercedes drivers.

[Rollo]

Rupert Murdoch. :angryfire:
If you are on free-to-air in Australia, 43 minutes of highlights will be shown more than 24 hours after the race actually started.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Why should he have a penalty? Hamilton drove into him in the first turn and so did Rosberg afterwards. Isn't having people drive into you enough of a penalty by itself?

The pass on Rosberg was Maldonado-esque. Rosberg drove the normal racing line, he shouldn't be required to back off, just because RIC decides to drive as if he mounted his helmet back to front. It was a racing incident, but in the end it was caused by RIC attempting a maneuver that was too risky. Verstappen learned that lesson too when he clattered into RoGro in Monaco.

Over the last few races he's proven quite comprehensively that his beating Vettel last year was more a case of Vettel not being at his best. He's hardly able to cope with a Russian teenager as a team mate and all those voices calling him the next best thing last year have been quite comprehensively silenced.

[Robinho]

Rosberg saw Riccardo coming and let him go up the inside, knowing he could repass on the corner exit. At that point Riccardo was hard against the kerb and Rosberg chose to pinch him, despite having the full width of the track at his disposal. He knew Daniel was there and it was his aggression that caused it.

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[anfield5]

Hamilton without a doubt. Bad start, fell off the track, then did his usual on the phone and blame Nico nonsense. Sorry it was your fault, man up and live with it.

Rosberg wasn't much better, playing dodgems with whoever was closest.

Can't forget Maldo, 3 penalties for stupid tings is a fair effort

(Edited by Moderator)

[henners88]

Is it suddenly acceptable to insert swear words into drivers surnames all of a sudden? Adds nothing but an antagonistic slant on the conversation surely?

[rjbetty]

Is it suddenly acceptable to insert swear words into drivers surnames all of a sudden? Adds nothing but an antagonistic slant on the conversation surely?

I'm totally with you Henners. While some of the things JR and DJ say occasionally appal me, they are still classy enough not to call him nasty names like that.

Bad show.

[pino]

Is it suddenly acceptable to insert swear words into drivers surnames all of a sudden? Adds nothing but an antagonistic slant on the conversation surely?

It's not ! :)

[Big Ben]

Hamilton's performance would have been enough in almost any race but somehow Maldonado managed to beat him.

Of the Ricciardo - Rosberg incident both came out as idiots therefore no penalty. I agree with the decision.

[The Black Knight]

Why should he have a penalty? Hamilton drove into him in the first turn and so did Rosberg afterwards. Isn't having people drive into you enough of a penalty by itself?

The incident with Hamilton and Ricciardo was Hamilton's fault, I'm not denying that.

The incident with Rosberg was 100% Ricciardo's fault, he could have backed out at any time and prevented his wing from hitting Rosberg's rear. Don't get me wrong, I think it's just Karma for Belgium last year but I still say Rosberg was innocent and Ricciardo should have gotten a penalty. At a certain point during that move, there was only one driver that could have prevented that and it was Ricciardo. He could have backed out and he's a very lucky boy he didn't get a penalty. The move he tried on Rosberg was just absurd and he was never going to pull it off so he should have backed out when Rosberg came back across as he had lost the racing line.

[N4D13]

The incident with Hamilton and Ricciardo was Hamilton's fault, I'm not denying that.

The incident with Rosberg was 100% Ricciardo's fault, he could have backed out at any time and prevented his wing from hitting Rosberg's rear. Don't get me wrong, I think it's just Karma for Belgium last year but I still say Rosberg was innocent and Ricciardo should have gotten a penalty. At a certain point during that move, there was only one driver that could have prevented that and it was Ricciardo. He could have backed out and he's a very lucky boy he didn't get a penalty. The move he tried on Rosberg was just absurd and he was never going to pull it off so he should have backed out when Rosberg came back across as he had lost the racing line.
Well, this one seems to be dividing people, so only for that I think it's fair to call it a racing incident. At any rate, Ricciardo was on the track and even if his overtaking attempt was silly, he was entitled to having his "one car width", that Rosberg didn't give him. Instead, Nico just chopped him and the result was fairly obvious for everyone to see.

[AndyL]

Well, this one seems to be dividing people, so only for that I think it's fair to call it a racing incident. At any rate, Ricciardo was on the track and even if his overtaking attempt was silly, he was entitled to having his "one car width", that Rosberg didn't give him. Instead, Nico just chopped him and the result was fairly obvious for everyone to see.

I agree with this. I saw it as a 50/50 incident that both drivers equally contributed to, and either could have avoided, so in that sense a racing incident.

[The Black Knight]

He wasn't entitled to his one car width at that point. He had that at the start of his maneuver and didn't make the most of it. Rosberg had the racing line and he took it. When your overtake fails and your front wing is level with the other guys rear wheel and the other guy also has the better exit, it is time to back out of the overtake, just like Rosberg should have done in Belgium last year and didn't do either, thus his fault then and Ricciardo's after. To be honest, I'm still quite astonished Ricciardo didn't get a penalty for it. I think it deserved a penalty a lot more than Maldonado's clumsiness shunt at the same corner or Hamilton's as well as it was completely avoidable by Ricciardo.

[Bagwan]

I agree with Mr Knight .

[Mifune]

The pass on Rosberg was Maldonado-esque. Rosberg drove the normal racing line, he shouldn't be required to back off, just because RIC decides to drive as if he mounted his helmet back to front. It was a racing incident, but in the end it was caused by RIC attempting a maneuver that was too risky. Verstappen learned that lesson too when he clattered into RoGro in Monaco.

Over the last few races he's proven quite comprehensively that his beating Vettel last year was more a case of Vettel not being at his best. He's hardly able to cope with a Russian teenager as a team mate and all those voices calling him the next best thing last year have been quite comprehensively silenced.

Tool.

[The Black Knight]

The pass on Rosberg was Maldonado-esque. Rosberg drove the normal racing line, he shouldn't be required to back off, just because RIC decides to drive as if he mounted his helmet back to front. It was a racing incident, but in the end it was caused by RIC attempting a maneuver that was too risky. Verstappen learned that lesson too when he clattered into RoGro in Monaco.

Over the last few races he's proven quite comprehensively that his beating Vettel last year was more a case of Vettel not being at his best. He's hardly able to cope with a Russian teenager as a team mate and all those voices calling him the next best thing last year have been quite comprehensively silenced.

Wow, man, you really are off in another planet. Simple fact is that your favorite 4XWDC got schooled by Ricciardo last season. Just because Ricciardo had a questionable race yesterday doesn't mean diddly squat. We all remember Vettel's very questionable Bahrain race this year.

If Kvyat's performances are showing that Ricciardo isn't a great driver, then it is showing Vettel to be very average indeed.

[Nitrodaze]

The incident with Rosberg was 100% Ricciardo's fault, he could have backed out at any time and prevented his wing from hitting Rosberg's rear.
It cuts both ways buddy, Rosberg should have taken precaution to ensure he got out of the corner in front and unscathed. Plenty of space available to outpace the slower, out of shape redbull out of the corner. He had more to lose than Ricciado had. That 3rd place would have put him 6 points way from lewis's lead.

Rosberg made much more costly mistakes than Lewis did. Firstly, a bad call on tyres on the last stint. He had the chance of a faster soft tyre which would have given him a chance to take the lead of the race from Vettel on hard tyres. Which l might add, would have seen him leading on points going into the 2nd half of the season. Secondly, the messy overtake of Ricciado which cost him a further loss of 4 points to Lewis, putting him 21 points behind.

This is racing afterall, Ricciado should not be slowing down as he expected clean racing from Rosberg.

[COD]

The Ham. Bad start, big mistakes throuhout. No competition there

[Mia 01]

Mercedes start system, or perhaps it was clumsy drivers.

[Big Ben]

He wasn't entitled to his one car width at that point. He had that at the start of his maneuver and didn't make the most of it. Rosberg had the racing line and he took it. When your overtake fails and your front wing is level with the other guys rear wheel and the other guy also has the better exit, it is time to back out of the overtake, just like Rosberg should have done in Belgium last year and didn't do either, thus his fault then and Ricciardo's after. To be honest, I'm still quite astonished Ricciardo didn't get a penalty for it. I think it deserved a penalty a lot more than Maldonado's clumsiness shunt at the same corner or Hamilton's as well as it was completely avoidable by Ricciardo.

You have a very interesting view on racing. F1 has a problem with overtaking yet some people, like yourself, come up with this weird idea of the ideal racing line entitlement. If one's squeezed out of his ideal racing line then he needs to come up with a less ideal one and think of the next corner. In this case the really stupid thing is Rosberg didn't even really need the ideal racing line to stay ahead.

[The Black Knight]

It cuts both ways buddy, Rosberg should have taken precaution to ensure he got out of the corner in front and unscathed. Plenty of space available to outpace the slower, out of shape redbull out of the corner. He had more to lose than Ricciado had. That 3rd place would have put him 6 points way from lewis's lead.

Rosberg made much more costly mistakes than Lewis did. Firstly, a bad call on tyres on the last stint. He had the chance of a faster soft tyre which would have given him a chance to take the lead of the race from Vettel on hard tyres. Which l might add, would have seen him leading on points going into the 2nd half of the season. Secondly, the messy overtake of Ricciado which cost him a further loss of 4 points to Lewis, putting him 21 points behind.

This is racing afterall, Ricciado should not be slowing down as he expected clean racing from Rosberg.


Perhaps Rosberg should have taken the caution to not cut across, yes, but he had no way of knowing that Ricciardo would dumbly keep the boot in and swipe his right rear tire. Should he have cautioned it and given him more room? Probably. Was he required to at that point? No, definitely not. The point really to me is that Ricciardo's overtake had failed at that point in time so he should have backed out.


You have a very interesting view on racing. F1 has a problem with overtaking yet some people, like yourself, come up with this weird idea of the ideal racing line entitlement. If one's squeezed out of his ideal racing line then he needs to come up with a less ideal one and think of the next corner. In this case the really stupid thing is Rosberg didn't even really need the ideal racing line to stay ahead.

I've no issue with Ricciardo's move, as I mentioned above, it was great to see him try the overtake but no point in him continuing on when had lost the racing line, which is the one Rosberg took. There comes a time in every overtake when a driver must realize it is futile to continue it and, at the point when Ricciardo hit Rosberg, that time had come and gone already but he still continued.

[Nitrodaze]

Perhaps Rosberg should have taken the caution to not cut across, yes, but he had no way of knowing that Ricciardo would dumbly keep the boot in and swipe his right rear tire. Should he have cautioned it and given him more room? Probably. Was he required to at that point? No, definitely not. The point really to me is that Ricciardo's overtake had failed at that point in time so he should have backed out.

I take your point, but precaution means to expect the worst from your opponent and taking additional steps to put one out their harmful reach.