66 replies to this topic

[Dan333SP]

The best surprise was how well Dan did relative to Seb. After the first couple of races, I assumed things would return to "normal" and Seb would get a hang of the new car, but he never did and it really wasn't close.

 

The worst surprise was Bianchi's accident. I was looking forward to seeing him in a Ferrari, and now we don't know if he'll ever speak again, much less drive a racing car. Shocking and heartbreaking.

 

The other surpise of the year for me was how much I'd miss the sound of the normally aspirated cars. I knew the scream of the old engines was a highlight of every time I'd seen them live, but I can't express the deep disappointment I felt when I saw these cars live in Montreal this year. The impact was gone. I used to get goosebumps walking across the pedestrian bridge over the seaway approaching the track, because you could hear the engines echoing across the water from the far end of the track. Now, you don't hear them until they're in sight and the quality of the sound is nowhere near what it was before. Nothing musical or exciting about it. No sense in complaining because the rules are what they are, but it does remove one of the main incentives of paying to see these things in the flesh rather than watching on TV.

Edited by Dan333SP, 24 November 2014 - 00:54.

[teejay]

Vettel bailing RBR

 

How woefully bad the Lotus was

 

How woefully bad Kimi was

 

How stunningly fast the Merc was. Bahrain was just amazing.

 

How Ric doesn't hurt his face from smiling 24/7

[Schuttelberg]

I think in general, it was a boring year, like 2013 and 2011. I expected more fight after a reboot of the regulation changes. 

 

Surprises?

 

Ricciardo beating Vettel, with the ease he did. No question, the emergence of a star. Sebastian, needs to work his backside off like he did to win those four titles, to get the sheen back on his stock. I still think, he's one of the best drivers on the grid and he can learn from this little blip. 

 

Red Bull promoting Kvyat ahead of JEV. I really do believe JEV has arrived and it's pretty pathetic not to see him promoted.

 

Alonso, still behaving like a child and not learning anything through out his career. His outburst towards MM leaves a sour taste to his Ferrari years and it's very evident that he didn't enjoy his time there. WDC requires patience, luck and timing and once again the self proclaimed racing god has found grass greener on another side.

 

Hamilton. I've disliked him forever, still do, but his attitude and grit post Spa made me warm up a little bit. I think, finally, a young man with all the talent and racing pedigree finally grew up in 2014. If he keeps his head down and is humble like he was in the last half of this year, he will become a legend in this sport. Really, Really, impressive! 

[lustigson]

Ferrari not winning a Grand Prix. That's the first time since 1993!

[bourbon]

Vettel leaving RBR before 2015.

Alonso returning to Macca.

Kimi's season being so tough.

Bottas, Kvyat, Ricciardo's performances.

Nico keeping up with Hamilton.

Descrepancy between Merc and its customer cars.

Ferrari and Macca with the merc engine winning no races.

Renault's engine being so terrible.

Brawn, LdM and Dom sackings at the start and during the season.

Edited by bourbon, 24 November 2014 - 13:42.

[RSNS]

Without reading the previous posts (so that I am not influenced)

Ricciardo (very positive surprise)
Vettel (I still do not get it)
Mercedes (I didn't expect such a dominance)
Alonso-Raikkonen (I expected Alonso to dominate but not by such a margin)
Massa (still very fast)
Williams (back to form)

[Collective]

Ricciardo

 

Williams

 

Massa (fantastic second half)

 

Sauber being so crappy

 

Mercedes being so superior. Whenever they felt like pushing, it was just embarrassing for the rest.

[Button4life]

Surprises: Kvyat, Williams,Mercedes and Ricciardo

Disappointments: Vettel, Rosberg(expected a bit more) and McLaren(absolute **** car and behaviour this season), Kimi(was pretty ****)

Edited by Button4life, 24 November 2014 - 16:00.

[metz]

- Bernie not going to jail

- Given the largest fine ever

Judge: "Do you need time to pay?"

Bernie: "No."

[Brazzers]

Vettel getting smashed in his own game

Alonso smashing Raikkonen and exposing him further

Rosberg's qualifying speed relative to Hamilton

The extent to which Mercedes were ahead of the rest this year

Red Bull turning around pre-season tests

Ferrari keeping Raikkonen

Ferrari sacking left, right and centre

LDM being sacked

MM being sacked

McLaren with no title sponsor

Ricciardo raise to the top

McLaren's driver situation nonsense

Massa looking good again after the domination previous years

Bottas 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mercedes reliability not affecting Hamilton in the final race instead of Rosberg (biggest surprise) after the qualifying nonsense in Germany, Hungary, and Australia. 

[solochamp07]

1) The horror of first having heard these V6T motors in "anger" and the grim realization that the lawnmower engines are here to stay. RIP then to the audible ecstasy of the past. My heart rate not once this year reached the pace it used to regularly during Grands Prix and I have little doubt the soundtrack is to blame.

 

2) Ricciardo's pace, racecraft and bravery were a huge surprise as well. Not just his form compared to Seb but all those epic battles with any and all competitors, where so often he came out ahead without ever making a mistake or resorting to naughtiness. Never noticed Dan much in the STR, I have to say, thought RBR hired him to be Seb's tail gunner (and kudos to RBR for letting him fight) but this season Ricciardo has demonstrated mega talent, commitment, consistency and class. I have become a huge fan this year, can't wait to see more.

 

3) Vettel choosing to leave the warm, fuzzy nest he enjoyed at RBR, for the bumbling performance and cold, ruthless politics of the prancing horse. Still not convinced that this is all about "new personal challenges" rather than the realization that Dan's got his number. Good luck to him, F1 can only benefit from a competitive SV on the grid however I fear the biggest surprise will be Seb's once he gets his first taste of the red tractor on circuit. I think few people appreciate the extent to which Fernando has overperformed in the red cars these past few years (especially this year!) and, like Kimi, I think Seb is in for a very rude awakening indeed.

 

4) Utter shock and disgust at the sequence of events leading to Jules Bianchi's senseless crash. It seems that logic and common sense never made it to Japan that weekend. From the rigidness of scheduling prioritized around the convenience of GMT denizens, to the decisions that ensued in a recovery vehicle being on the wrong side of the armco of a hot track (in a rainstorm, no less!), this one was a fiasco from top to bottom. What a tragic and pointless loss of (at worst, I pray) a very promising career of a very amicable young man. Godspeed to Jules.

[DutchQuicksilver]

1. Ricciardo's speed. Never expected him to take three wins and beat his four time world champion teammate.

2. Raikkonen's lack of speed. Never expected Alonso to trounce him like that, after two very good seasons at Lotus. Hopefully he has more influence on next year's car, then he should be able to beat Vettel.

3. Pace of Williams. Their pre season testing was good, but didn't really expect them to keep up with the development rate of the big boys.

4. Mercedes domination. I knew they had a gap, but at some tracks the gap was just shocking. I also believe they never really pushed this season, so that doesn't look good for next year.

[BillBald]

I'd still hit it. Hard.

 

The Spice, not Christian Horny. 

 

I would sometimes like to hit Christian Horner.

 

But in a different way.

[Coral]

1. Lewis winning the WDC. I honestly thought he would never win another one. After the DNF in Australia, I thought I knew who would be WDC. I have never been more glad to be wrong!

 

2. Ricciardo. I thought he would be Vettel's whipping-boy, but not a bit of it. If everything goes right for him, then Ricciardo should be WDC in the near future.

 

3. Vettel not winning a race. I never would have predicted that!

 

4. Alonso vs. Raikkonen. What a damp squib that turned out to be.

 

5. Williams' excellent performance after a woeful 2013. Both drivers have been excellent and it's good to see Massa looking so happy after his troubles at Ferrari.

 

6. Jules Bianchi's terrible accident.

 

7. Vettel leaving Red Bull. Totally did not see that one coming.

 

8. McLaren. Disappointing season all round.

 

9. Ferrari. What a disaster. Come back Ross Brawn!

 

10. Sauber. No points? What's going on?!

[DILLIGAF]

1. Vettel getting smashed by Ricciardo.
2. Rosberg out qualifying Hamilton.
3. Marrussia scoring WCC points.
4. The Renault engine's reliability considering pre-season testing.

[krod]

Big surprise - Bernie still walking the streets a free man.

[Henri Greuter]

For me:

 

- the tremendous reliability of the Power Units all season song right from the start, against all expectations.

- Daniel Ricciardo humiliating Vettel and Alonso making Raikkonen look like being out of place (other than cashing in big numbers of $$$ again for his own and his management) in F1 if it comes to team duels.

- The sound of the new engines not living up to what I hoped they would be, remembering the turbo V6'es of the mid eigthties. (Sound only, the noise level was OK for me)

 

The other surprises for me this season are all related with the supremacy of the Mercedes PU over the Ferrari and Renault PU's

- Williams back at the front after last year's disastrous season.

- Ferrari, Sauber and Lotus barely able to live with the Mercedes customer teams.

but also:

- Mclaren unable to do more with the best engine on the grid, or did they got the worst of the Merc's because of their departure to Honda next year som mercedes kept that into consideration when allotting the engines to their customers?

 

henri