statman, on 09 Sept 2019 - 09:39, said:
[Edited by me]
GPToday:
Bottas: 7
Hamilton: 6
Adam Newton with some "interesting marks".
and before you ask regarding Hamilton:
"A rather uncharacteristic mistake from Hamilton cost him the chance to claim a victory and it also lost him P2. Pitting for fresh tyres and setting the fastest lap limited the dent Bottas was able to make into his championship lead to just two points, so it wasn't a great day for Hamilton, but not a disastrous one either."
I think it is right that Bottas should be rated above Hamilton for this race. He played it canny and saved his tyres, ready to attack at the end. Hamilton couldn't make the pass, and used up his tyres.
But 7 and 6 looks harsh. The Merc was not the best car out there, and Charles kept Hamilton behind by one foul move that got a "yellow card" and by cutting a corner, which would normally have been penalised, especially after the first incident. 8 and 7 would seem more reasonable for getting both cars on the podium against a faster car whose driver overstepped the limits of legality; the 7 for Hamilton acknowledging how close he came to beating a faster car, but also his mistake.
And just for clarity, I think the black and white flag for the first incident was absolutely right. It's a good way to mark someone's card without spoiling the racing. But they then went and ruined it by not penalising him for the corner cut. That should have been worth a 5 second penalty. The black and white flag will only work if subsequent infringements ARE dealt with.