FIA Formula One 2019 |OT| Oil Mining vs. Energy Drinks vs. Big Tobacco, pick your poison

[TheRulingRing]

Sucks that Ricciardo lost so many positions, but he deserved a penalty.

I wish that the stewards would start using a "GIVE PLACE BACK" order rather than handing out 5 sec penalties. It would ensure the unfair advantage was mitigated while extending the battle, win-win.

Maybe they would have done it this time if not for it being the last lap, but I doubt it. It seems the stewards just work too slowly to give out such commands on the fly within a couple of minutes.

 

[chuckddd]

Seems like Lewis has had about enough of this shit, too.

"This is a constant cycle of Formula 1 for years and years and years, even before I got to Formula 1, and it's because the way Bernie (Ecclestone) had it set up and the decisions they were making back then; it's still the same. Until that management structure changes, it will continue to be the same, in my opinion. That's not my job to do that. My job's to come here and do the best I can as a driver."
...
"When you write the story and you say that… if you say that it's boring… if you do, I totally understand it and I remember growing up watching. Don't point the fingers at the drivers because we don't write the rules, we have nothing to do with the money shifting, all that kind of stuff… You should put the pressure on the people that are at the head, who should be doing the job.

"I think they are trying to but for many, many years they've made bad decisions."

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[Deleted member 16452]

I couldn't watch it live but I DVR'd it. After the first few laps I just decided to start skipping ahead a few laps at a time.

Looks like I didn't miss much :(

 

[Shaneus]

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Was that vid from today?
Edit: Context, I guess:



Edit: Also, <3


Wouldn't have a problem seeing Lando and Danny in the same team.

 

[Hey Please]

Been watching the FIA GT Sport championships recently and despite being digital, it is intense and fun.

A core aspect for their final races has been mandatory 2 stop strategy to enforce usage of all three racing compounds. During the Canadian race (IIRC), one of the hosts/commentators of SkySports F1 said that that ought to be the case for these F1 races as well and apparently, even Pirelli is on board with that idea. It is all up to the regulatory body to include it at this point.

 

[Shaneus]

New post for new perspective:

I still haven't seen the replay so I dunno. Still can't believe they didn't show it at all during the race, the directors are shit.

A core aspect for their final races has been mandatory 2 stop strategy to enforce usage of all three racing compounds.

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Interesting, but doesn't that mean everyone would likely be racing the same strategy just in a different order (if anything)? Also means they may have to rethink Q2 and who knows what else.

 

[Hey Please]

Yep, it would definitely make Q2 even more interesting.

Btw talking about Ricciardo:

 

[kharma45]

New post for new perspective:

I still haven't seen the replay so I dunno. Still can't believe they didn't show it at all during the race, the directors are shit.

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I saw it on the Channel 4 highlights. Here's some of it https://streamable.com/f9jqq

From Norris' POV https://streamable.com/3yvb5

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Ricciardo's penalties were fair, but at the same time, these last 2 races the only talking point after the race (besides how mindbogglingly boring the races were) are battles that ended with penalties undoing them basically. Those were the only truly meaningful and interesting battles in the races, too. Regardless of what you think of the penalties themselves, it's definitely not a good show that those are just about the only things people talk about. It's like those horrible matches in football/soccer with two teams only busy interrupting the opponent's play, ends on an ugly and boring 0-0 with a half a chance each, but then there's a handball the ref didn't see in the 93rd minute. Again we had a whopping one excitement in the race in the form of a great battle (that the director missed), and once again the discourse is about the fact the driver who got an advantage had a penalty that undid it all.

 

[Hamchan]

Fair enough penalties for Danny Ric but also can't disagree with him that he had to go for it.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Yep, it would definitely make Q2 even more interesting.

Btw talking about Ricciardo:

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I still don't really understand the first penalty though. I mean he did leave the track, slightly, but the overtake didn't depend on that, plus the later squeeze was definitely a racing incident to me. The second one is fair, he had no room to attack but he did so by leaving the track.

 

[Hey Please]

I still don't really understand the first penalty though. I mean he did leave the track, slightly, but the overtake didn't depend on that, plus the later squeeze was definitely a racing incident to me. The second one is fair, he had no room to attack but he did so by leaving the track.

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Him coming back on to the track after going off track resulting in Norris having to weave off of the racing line and off the track would have contributed to the penalty.

 

[Branson]

Yep, it would definitely make Q2 even more interesting.

Btw talking about Ricciardo:

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Coming from an american point of view this is just good racing. But of course there are rules against that for some reason to the FIA. Frustrating to say the least to me. Makes it hard to keep watching. All 3 series I watched today were kinda boring anyway so idk.

 

[Spiderz]

What an appalling season.

Hopefully 2021 is better but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[TheRulingRing]

I still don't really understand the first penalty though. I mean he did leave the track, slightly, but the overtake didn't depend on that, plus the later squeeze was definitely a racing incident to me. The second one is fair, he had no room to attack but he did so by leaving the track.

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Come on the overtake did depend on that - he wasn't able to make the overtake stick while staying within track limits. And to top it off he rejoined the track by obstructing someone else.

I really wish they'd just add a strip of slippery grass to deter drivers from doing this though.

 

[chuckddd]

Yeah. Danny would have been done if they weren't racing on a gigantic striped parking lot.

 

[endlessflood]

Yeah. Danny would have been done if they weren't racing on a gigantic striped parking lot.

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I think I remember in one of the safety briefings from last year that Vettel suggested a simple solution: for areas where leaving the track might be tempting, they just need to use the style of kerbs from the Nurburgring GP circuit, which are raised and flat on top. If you get an F1 car up on them you are dragging the board along it and losing too much time to make it worthwhile.

 

[unicornKnight]

Kimi moved across to the edge of the track to cover him off so Ric just drove off the track to overtake him so he clearly gained and advantage. He was also completely off the track at the chicane when he overtook Norris and then rejoined in a way that forced him off track. Both correct decisions for me.

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I meant to say speed advantage. Imo they should be allowed to do that on a straight line, overtaking is already hard as it is, it's not like in a corner where getting off the track allows you to throttle more.

 

[MrKlaw]

I still don't really understand the first penalty though. I mean he did leave the track, slightly, but the overtake didn't depend on that, plus the later squeeze was definitely a racing incident to me. The second one is fair, he had no room to attack but he did so by leaving the track.

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the penalty is 'leaving the track and gaining an advantage'

Leaving the track is clear. But gaining an advantage? If you look at what happened next, he clearly didn't gain an immediate advantage as Raikkonen passed him and he was slow through the chicane. But I assume the interpretation would be that he was too hot into the corner and without doing what he did, he'd have had to completely abort the chicane and slowed down more? So although he was slower, he was still faster than if he'd aborted the corner?

Him coming back on to the track after going off track resulting in Norris having to weave off of the racing line and off the track would have contributed to the penalty.

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But then that would have been in the penalty notice - unsafe return to track like Seb last time out?

 

[King Picollo]

The penalties are 100% because they have concrete everywhere. Any other surface, gravel or grass and he's not making those moves in the first place.

 

[SMD]

The penalties are 100% because they have concrete everywhere. Any other surface, gravel or grass and he's not making those moves in the first place.

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🤔

 

[unicornKnight]

Leaving the track is clear. But gaining an advantage?

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The advantage isn't about what happened after returning to the track. Him going out of track limits meant that he dived with more speed than what the corner allowed and that's the advantage the stewards probably meant. King Picollo is right, if there was grass there he wouldn't be able to pull that move.

 

[Dan]

The funny thing is that no word on the Perez penalty...

 

[Deleted member 2254]

The advantage isn't about what happened after returning to the track. Him going out of track limits meant that he dived with more speed than what the corner allowed and that's the advantage the stewards probably meant. King Picollo is right, if there was grass there he wouldn't be able to pull that move.

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The white lines delimiting what constitutes the track is one of the things FIA needs to decide: are they gonna enforce it at all times, or are they not gonna be bothered by it? If they want to enforce it hard, both of Ricciardo's penalties were 100% correct. But then one has to wonder why at Abu Dhabi they continously go out of the white line between turn 19 and 20 without any word on it from the FIA, or how turn 1 at Spa often had like half the grid leaving the track with no consequence - most notably Raikkonen in 2009, a race he may not have won without going full speed on the outside of turn 1 on lap 1.

Like with many things, they should just make up their minds. Maybe impose some sort of "penalty mode" which forces you to travel at 100kph for 2 seconds or something if you leave the track. Would discourage people from trying to gain advantage that way I guess.

 

[Deleted member 8136]

The white lines delimiting what constitutes the track is one of the things FIA needs to decide: are they gonna enforce it at all times, or are they not gonna be bothered by it?

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But that is exactly what they do in every drivers briefing? Every single race they announce in what corners they are going to enforce the rule at all times.

 

[Astandahl]

Coming from an american point of view this is just good racing. But of course there are rules against that for some reason to the FIA. Frustrating to say the least to me. Makes it hard to keep watching. All 3 series I watched today were kinda boring anyway so idk.

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Nah the rules are perfect. Ric is crazy and should have been black flagged immediatly. Next step is no overtakes in F1 in order to provide the greatest show in the world.


Meanwhile :

Oliver Brown (chief sports Daily Telegraph): 'French Grand Prix was the worst race I have ever seen - Formula 1 must change or the sport will die.'

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Todt and Brawn must be trhilled by the results of their amazing work.

 

[Tzarscream]

Oh well, I watch Formula 1 for the politics, I watch Formula E for enjoyable racing.

 

[Silvergun-Blue]

Been watching the FIA GT Sport championships recently and despite being digital, it is intense and fun.

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I watched the finals last year and not only was it really entertaining, the production was top-notch.

 

[ryodi]

Oliver Brown clearly doesn't have good a good memory because that race was nowhere near as bad as the first Sochi GP where Rosberg locked up on the first lap and then went to the end on one set of tyres and nothing else of note happened in the race. Magny Court was boring as well where Schumacher once stopped 4 times in a race he was winning comfortably.

 

[Astandahl]

Oliver Brown clearly doesn't have good a good memory because that race was nowhere near as bad as the first Sochi GP where Rosberg locked up on the first lap and then went to the end on one set of tyres and nothing else of note happened in the race. Magny Court was boring as well where Schumacher once stopped 4 times in a race he was winning comfortably.

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I think there were worse races in these last few years yes but Schumacher didn't win that race easily. He started behind Alonso and the 4 stops was an amazing idea by Brawn that allowed Schumi to overtake Fernando. He had to push like a mad man to win that race.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

But that is exactly what they do in every drivers briefing? Every single race they announce in what corners they are going to enforce the rule at all times.

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But that's still odd, isn't it? On tracks like these, in particular, there's asphalt everywhere, and potentially you could cut every corner to gain time. Why does it have to be specified every time? "This time we'll enforcing cut limits on turn 8 and 13, feel free to go off on the others". That seems kinda dumb when there's tracks where they systematically go beyond the white lines and nothing happens. I mean, they can go for this route too for all I care, I remember in F1 2011 (the game) how I'd lap various seconds faster in Korea by widening nearly every corner, most notably turn 3 where I'd drive all the way to the outside wall basically to be able to maintain a lot more momentum. I'd be fine with that, too, but it seems counterintuitive that some turns on some tracks are enforced but others aren't. Again, why is it that the actual racing line drivers use in Abu Dhabi sends them beyond the white lines?

 

[Dan Thunder]

God that was a tedious race. I switched off after around half distance as it was clear what the final order would be, barring an act of God. Absolutely crazy that after 8 rounds Vettel is already over 3 wins behind Hamilton.

It's interesting looking back at the secret aerodynamicists article from just before the beginning of the season. He basically looked at the difference between Ferrari and Mercedes front wing designs and concluded that the Ferrari one would give you an immediate advantage in driveability but they were possibly painting themselves into a corner with that approach. It's pretty much what's happened. Ferrari started off with a great car whilst Hamilton said he was struggling with the Mercedes. Now he's getting the hang of it and the developments are giving him confidence with it whereas Ferrari are dropping back.

Though Ricciardo's moves were ballsy both were clearly off the track so I don't see the penalties as an issue. Still not sure why he went off track for the second one when he could have gone down the left? Really though they do need to implement a pass back rule. The problem with a time penalty is it's not necessary consistent. If you're in a slower car and get past you can end up back where you were if you're not able to pull away. If you're in a much faster car the 5 seconds can be easily made up if you pull away sufficiently.

Also Bottas must wonder what he has to do! He's not dropped off compared to the start of the season but Hamilton's just found that next gear he can't reach. He's a decent driver but I just don't see him at Mercedes next year. He's a solid No 2 but there's plenty of them out there so if I were Mercedes I'd be looking at who they can get in there to lead the team once Hamilton leaves. I'd be surprised if Ocon's not in that seat for 2020 as I don't see him going to Williams as they're garbage (and as a lifelong Williams fan it's heartbreaking to say that) and I don't think he'll go back to what was Force India. I know there's rumours about Renault but, as with last year, would they want someone driving for them who they know could likely end up back at Mercedes.

 

[ryodi]

I think there were worse races in these last few years yes but Schumacher didn't win that race easily. He started behind Alonso and the 4 stops was an amazing idea by Brawn that allowed Schumi to overtake Fernando. He had to push like a mad man to win that race.

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Thanks I just have that race mixed up with another where it felt like Ferrari were playing with strategy just to keep themselves entertained. But F1 has always had boring races especially the Valencia race around the featureless docks. It's only commented on now because reliability and bottling issues for Ferrari cost them two races, it turns out Bottas is completely average after all and Red Bull May as well be a one car team at this point.

 

[Astandahl]

Thanks I just have that race mixed up with another where it felt like Ferrari were playing with strategy just to keep themselves entertained. But F1 has always had boring races especially the Valencia race around the featureless docks. It's only commented on now because reliability and bottling issues for Ferrari cost them two races, it turns out Bottas is completely average after all and Red Bull May as well be a one car team at this point.

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Problem is that no one will be able to challenge Mercedes this year or the next one because they still have a insane advantage in the PU area. This is why their car has so much more downforce than RB or Ferrari.

Last year they had a tyre issues ( overheating ) but this year with the 2019 tyres they don't have this problem and they are dominating. I don't see how this situation can change in the next years. Either the FIA changes the engine / tyres trying to "stop" them or they will win easily.

 

[Deleted member 8136]

But that's still odd, isn't it? On tracks like these, in particular, there's asphalt everywhere, and potentially you could cut every corner to gain time. Why does it have to be specified every time?

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Tracks get changed from year to year. New (different) kerbs, new asphalt etc - and tyre characteristics change from year to year too. So they decide before every race what corners are of 'most concern' - simply which ones would really give the biggest (unfair) advantage if they're cut. So they change from track to track and from year to year. And those get announced in no uncertain terms in the driver briefing. These guys know exactly where they have leeway, and where not.

 

[endlessflood]

Problem is that no one will be able to challenge Mercedes this year or the next one because they still have a insane advantage in the PU area.

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It makes you wonder why Racing Point and Williams are nowhere to be seen though. Why aren't the Merc customer teams lighting it up?

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Tracks get changed from year to year. New (different) kerbs, new asphalt etc - and tyre characteristics change from year to year too. So they decide before every race what corners are of 'most concern' - simply which ones would really give the biggest (unfair) advantage if they're cut. So they change from track to track and from year to year. And those get announced in no uncertain terms in the driver briefing. These guys know exactly where they have leeway, and where not.

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I'm aware of this, and drivers know fully well what they're allowed to do and what they can't possibly try. I'm looking at your average viewer, that knows just a couple rules: you can't speed in the pitlane, you can't jump the start, you need to do one pit stop and change your tyre compund, you can't go off the track and gain an advantage (cases like Spa 2008 definitely cemented that in a lot of people's minds). And yet, spectators see drivers leaving the track all the time on some tracks with no strings attached, while the only memorable battles from the last 2 races were "ruined" by penalties. They left the track and there were consequences, but no way these people don't remember all the other times people went off the track and absolutely got away with it.

 

[Astandahl]

It makes you wonder why Racing Point and Williams are nowhere to be seen though. Why aren't the Merc customer teams lighting it up?

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Because racing point built this year car with 20 dollars and Williams is a colossal shitshow.

If RB and Ferrari have enough power why they don't fix the aerodynamics "issues"?

 

[Deleted member 8136]

I'm aware of this, and drivers know fully well what they're allowed to do and what they can't possibly try. I'm looking at your average viewer, that knows just a couple rules: you can't speed in the pitlane, you can't jump the start, you need to do one pit stop and change your tyre compund, you can't go off the track and gain an advantage (cases like Spa 2008 definitely cemented that in a lot of people's minds). And yet, spectators see drivers leaving the track all the time on some tracks with no strings attached, while the only memorable battles from the last 2 races were "ruined" by penalties. They left the track and there were consequences, but no way these people don't remember all the other times people went off the track and absolutely got away with it.

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They are simply trying to find a balance. The only alternative would be, to enforce the rules on every corner of every track - which would probably ensure the need of a twenty member stewart team that is handing out penalties non stop all race long - which I would imagine wouldn't please anyone either.

Look, I understand the frustration of fans on some of the decisions. But I think they are doing a tremendous job. It is the prize we pay for all around safer racing. I mean, Le Castellet is the perfect example - back in the days the kerbs there were at an almost 45% angle. No one even dared to go over those, as you would have flown away with the wind.

 

[MrKlaw]

Problem is that no one will be able to challenge Mercedes this year or the next one because they still have a insane advantage in the PU area. This is why their car has so much more downforce than RB or Ferrari.

Last year they had a tyre issues ( overheating ) but this year with the 2019 tyres they don't have this problem and they are dominating. I don't see how this situation can change in the next years. Either the FIA changes the engine / tyres trying to "stop" them or they will win easily.

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so, barring reliability issues, Hamilton looks well placed to match Schumacher on 7 titles. Then the dice get rolled. He'll be 36 then, so will he have enough seasons left to get an 8th title?

 

[Astandahl]

so, barring reliability issues, Hamilton looks well placed to match Schumacher on 7 titles. Then the dice get rolled. He'll be 36 then, so will he have enough seasons left to get an 8th title?

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I don't know. Probably?

I don' t really care btw . I never liked Hamilton.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

They are simply trying to find a balance. The only alternative would be, to enforce the rules on every corner of every track - which would probably ensure the need of a twenty member stewart team that is handing out penalties non stop all race long - which I would imagine wouldn't please anyone either.

Look, I understand the frustration of fans on some of the decisions. But I think they are doing a tremendous job. It is the prize we pay for all around safer racing. I mean, Le Castellet is the perfect example - back in the days the kerbs there were at an almost 45% angle. No one even dared to go over those, as you would have flown away with the wind.

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I don't disagree with you, absolutely. I'm not a Ricciardo fan: I kinda like the guy, but he's not who I root for, and I don't really care whether finishes 7th or 11th. As with many things, I'd just like more consequentiality in the decisions, as they are all over the place even in the same race weekend, let alone between different tracks and different stewards. FIA came into this year pointing out they want to allow drivers to bang wheels a bit more often, go a bit over the limits here and there for a good fight, but the reality seems to be that they're penalizing everything again like they used to do in the previous decade. FIA needs to find the balance they want to have and stick to that, because they either punish every little thing (with drivers like Verstappen getting 25 penalites per season) or let 'em race as if it was touring cars, and the issue is that they go back and forth with the two philosophies.

 

[Tygre]

Lando: For a minute I thought you were driving a tiny car in that pic

Kimi: I thought the same thing about you yesterday

 

[massivekettle]

Problem is that no one will be able to challenge Mercedes this year or the next one because they still have a insane advantage in the PU area. This is why their car has so much more downforce than RB or Ferrari.

Last year they had a tyre issues ( overheating ) but this year with the 2019 tyres they don't have this problem and they are dominating. I don't see how this situation can change in the next years. Either the FIA changes the engine / tyres trying to "stop" them or they will win easily.

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Not sure where you are getting this, but Ferrari has had the strongest PU since the beginning of the 2018 season. Mercedes may have a marginally more fuel efficient PU in the race, though, but in terms of outright power, Ferrari is now king.

Merc's issues weren't simply overheating tyres, it was about uneven tyre temps between the front and rear axle. Reason why Merc is doing well with this year's tyres have to do with their suspension, and the fact that they have the most downforce (at the cost of drag, versus Ferrari/RB). McLaren is also doing very well on those tyres, despite having much less downforce, so it isn't all about downforce..

 

[Astandahl]

Not sure where you are getting this, but Ferrari has had the strongest PU since the beginning of the 2018 season. Mercedes may have a marginally more fuel efficient PU in the race, though, but in terms of outright power, Ferrari is now king.

Merc's issues weren't simply overheating tyres, it was about uneven tyre temps between the front and rear axle. Reason why Merc is doing well with this year's tyres have to do with their suspension, and the fact that they have the most downforce (at the cost of drag, versus Ferrari/RB). McLaren is also doing very well on those tyres, despite having much less downforce, so it isn't all about downforce..

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Mclaren did well but they are far away from the top. Ferrari is faster than Merc on the straigts because they have much less downforce ( low drag design ---> much less downforce ).

Why should you go for a low drag design if you have the best Power Unit? It doesn't make any sense. Either they are completely stupid or they have a deficit in the power area.

 

[massivekettle]

Mclaren did well but they are far away from the top. Ferrari is faster than Merc on the straigts because they have much less downforce ( low drag design ---> much less downforce ).

Why should you go for a low drag design if you have the best Power Unit? It doesn't make any sense. Either they are completely stupid or they have a deficit in the power area.

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The 2018 Ferrari had more power and less drag than the Mercedes and was a contender for both titles - in fact most pundits agree that it was just as fast as the Merc, or perhaps even marginally faster when accounting for Vettel's numerous mistakes. Reason why they tried to go for a more efficient car is because that's exactly what Merc did to win the titles in 2017.

In 2019, they probably thought they had the tyres figured out and kept the same concept. Issue is, downforce is likely very helpful in extracting the maximum out of the 2019 tyres, and that's where Merc's incremental downforce this year comes into play.

Bolting on too much downforce isn't necessarily going to make you faster everywhere - hence why Merc has always strived for the most efficient set-up possible in order to be competitive across the majority of tracks... until this year.

Ferrari is not only faster because they have a better PU (mostly on the ERS-H side of things), but also because their design is a lot more efficient. Hence why Ferrari did well in Canada, and is likely to be competitive in Austria, Spa and Monza.

 

[Jaded Photographer]

Why does the fanbase keep demanding Mercedes sack Bottas when Bottas is doing his job? He's finishing behind Hamilton consistently; that's his job.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Why does the fanbase keep demanding Mercedes sack Bottas when Bottas is doing his job? He's finishing behind Hamilton consistently; that's his job.

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To be honest, half the drivers in the current grid would manage to be 2nd in this car, especially with this amount of kilometres in the car. Bottas in his current form is just not enough to be a major danger to Hamilton's rivals if the day comes that a rival team's car is consistently faster (2017 and 2018 had bursts of this, but definitely not consistently, as even in the worst days they had the best car for like half the season). Lucky for them this is a non-issue, a "struggling" Bottas is more than enough for 2nd right now. If/when Ferrari/Red Bull/someone else cracks the code and manages to beat Mercedes in a year or three, Bottas may not be enough. Who knows, of course. Most dominating top teams are perfectly fine with having a weaker #2: Ferrari had Barrichello, Red Bull had Webber, Mercedes has Bottas. All 3 are definitely above average drivers, but they would never win a title unless their carmate's vehicle breaks down like 6 times or something.

 

[Jaded Photographer]

To be honest, half the drivers in the current grid would manage to be 2nd in this car, especially with this amount of kilometres in the car. Bottas in his current form is just not enough to be a major danger to Hamilton's rivals if the day comes that a rival team's car is consistently faster (2017 and 2018 had bursts of this, but definitely not consistently, as even in the worst days they had the best car for like half the season). Lucky for them this is a non-issue, a "struggling" Bottas is more than enough for 2nd right now. If/when Ferrari/Red Bull/someone else cracks the code and manages to beat Mercedes in a year or three, Bottas may not be enough. Who knows, of course. Most dominating top teams are perfectly fine with having a weaker #2: Ferrari had Barrichello, Red Bull had Webber, Mercedes has Bottas. All 3 are definitely above average drivers, but they would never win a title unless their carmate's vehicle breaks down like 6 times or something.

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Yeah Hamilton is their guy till he retires and they don't care what happens with Bottas as long as he helps to secure the WCC. Now when Bottas isn't enough is when they'll start lining up his replacement.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Yeah Hamilton is their guy till he retires and they don't care what happens with Bottas as long as he helps to secure the WCC. Now when Bottas isn't enough is when they'll start lining up his replacement.

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It does make me wonder who could be the next big champion coming up from the lower series. Verstappen and Leclerc are definitely two for the future titles, but right now I'm not seeing too many drivers that would be almost guaranteed successes in Formula 1. For comparison's sake, Leclerc was lapping like 2 seconds faster than anyone else in Formula 2 in Baku, coming back from the back of the grid and almost winning the race - this mere days after his dad died. Hamilton, at the time, would likewise murder the field like few others: his GP2 race in Turkey 2006 is one they should be teaching in professional driver schools all around the world. I watched those races and I already knew these were gonna be winning a lot in Formula 1. I don't really see who in F2, F3, etc. can currently do the same.