There’s lots to discuss on #F1Chat this week after an exciting Malaysian Grand Prix, so here’s what we’ll be discussing…
First of all, what did you think of the race?
Daniel Ricciardo had a great start to the race, but it soon turned into a race to forget after an error by the Red Bull team in the third round of pitstops. The team let the Australian go before his left-front wheel was secured properly, for which he received a 10 second stop-go penalty, followed by a 10-place grid-drop for next week’s race in Bahrain. Ricciardo was forced to retire after suffering front wing damage on returning to the track when his wheel was finally secured. What did you think about the double penalty? Is it fair that the FIA are clamping down on unsafe releases in this way? Prior to the unsafe release, Ricciardo had been running a great race for Red Bull in fourth – what are your thoughts on his first two races at Red Bull, despite all the drama?
Team orders made an appearance in the closing laps of the race, much like 12 months ago, when Williams told Felipe Massa ‘Valtteri is faster than you – do not hold him up’. The Brazilian ignored two calls from the team telling him to let his teammate, on fresher tyres, pass him in the closing laps. He said after the race that he did the right thing to ignore the orders – what were your thoughts? Do you think Massa should have let Bottas through? What were your overall thoughts on the team’s race?
Bottas received a penalty and two points on his license after qualifying for impeding Ricciardo – thoughts on this new penalty points system alongside a grid-drop penalty?
Who was your driver of the day? Overtake of the race? Which team impressed you the most this time out in Malaysia?
Finally, Sebastian Vettel was upbeat after the race, claiming that Red Bull are making bigger steps than Mercedes in the development race. What are your thoughts on this? What did you think of Mercedes and Red Bull’s weekends? What about McLaren and Ferrari?
Join us tomorrow at the usual time of 4pm Eastern US, 9pm UK. Follow @F1Chat for the questions and use the #F1Chat hashtag in your responses. As always, we look forward to chatting tomorrow!
