2016 European GP: Reject of the Race

[DemocalypseNow]

Usually you'd know the drill, but...things are slightly different this time.

To try and help collecting the results easier, I plan to use a form (see below) to collect the answers and collate them. Of course, you're welcome to (and encouraged to) still post your choices and reasoning in the thread, but the only votes that will be counted are the ones submitted in the form below.

Same rules apply - first choice gets 10pts, second choice gets 6pts. Get voting for ROTR!

[Samster]

1. DRS - Even more so than China, DRS passing was far too easy. It just lacks any tension when you can just breeze past before you are even into the corner.

2. Hulkenburg's Strategy - Why does he always get the duff strategies when Perez always gets the good ones?

[Miguel98]

1st - DRS. Needs tweaking. Made passes too easy, and made us have no crashes in a circuit that is more suited to crashing than Monaco.

2nd - Red Bull: More and more convinced they signed Williams' strategy chiefs from 2014.

Honourable Mentions:
GP2 Drivers - For making me all hyped up for this race.
Lewis Hamilton - Bitch. Moan. Complain. As always.
Toro Rosso - Yeah, that was bad.

[Aguaman]

10. David Croft and Martin Brundle - Why Brundle? Whining about radio ban when he whined about the radio not being banned. Crofty because it's Crofty.

6. Nico Hulkenerg - Out paced, out played by Perez. Just looked out of his depth this whole weekend in comparison.

Not nominating Lewis because Kimi did the same just not heard as frequently.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

Usually you'd know the drill, but...things are slightly different this time.

To try and help collecting the results easier, I plan to use a form (see below) to collect the answers and collate them.

What sorcery is this?

[pi314159]

1. Lewis Hamilton - erratic all weekend, outclassed by Rosberg.
2. The date and schedule - Same day as Le Mans, qualifying clashing with the start of Le Mans, and race start at the same moment as the Le Mans finish.

[mario]

Just to expand on my answers:
1. Toro Rosso - in a race where attrition proved to be far lower than expected, they were the only ones who suffered from a double retirement and blew a chance for a few points. They've said that they expect to only fall back further and further as the season goes on and therefore cannot afford to waste potential points scoring opportunities, but they seem to have done just that today.

2. Radio transmission restrictions - this might perhaps see me going against the crowd, but I really dislike the fact that the teams cannot tell the drivers about some of the issues with the cars. When we had Raikkonen and Hamilton begging for information, only to be told that the team couldn't tell them anything, who does that benefit?

It's not the drivers or the teams who benefit, since it just makes things more frustrating for them. It does not seem to benefit the fans either, since now we have had several instances of a driver effectively being taken out of potential competition because they could not reset something and then drive to the maximum performance of their car, making the races, if anything, less interesting for the fans.

It's something that I've not liked from the start - other racing series, such as the WEC, have no qualms with that sort of radio traffic from pit wall to car, and indeed some, such as Audi, champion it as their way of being at the cutting edge of racing. By contrast, here the sport is being yoked by reactionary fans that pine for a false nostalgia.

[DemocalypseNow]

A quick reminder that if the username submitted in the form doesn't match your forum handle, your votes will not be counted. There a couple of names in there so far that aren't forum members.

[dinizintheoven]

Sure'twasmoimoneyanywayFaaairther, justdidn'twantt'fillind'fairrrms. (Although I will.)

Ten points: Toro Rosso, in the absence of any better candidates. When 20 cars were left in the race, they were already packing up and going home to Faenza.

Six points: Eddie Jordan. I would just like to say if I may, Daniel Ricciardo will win this race, and... what was Pérez doing in the practice session, he's completely blown his chance of a posium there.

Dishonourable mention: The ACO for organising Le Mans on the same weekend as a Grand Prix, thus depriving Nico Hülkenberg a chance to defend his win...

Dishonourable mention 2: Sky's commentators - who I can't hear, but I suspect they were saying "No! It's not fair! Change the rules so the team can tell Saint Lewis what to change on his car because that *bleep* Pérez shouldn't be on the podium, it should be Lewis! Lewis! Lewis! Hallelujah, his name be praised!" Or, at least, that's what I imagine given all the complaints given about their commentary and presentation from those who send £500+ a year to Rupert Murdoch.

[andrew]

A quick reminder that if the username submitted in the form doesn't match your forum handle, your votes will not be counted. There a couple of names in there so far that aren't forum members.

My autocorrect was refusing to let my write andrew without the capital letter, will my submittion be fine?

[DemocalypseNow]

A quick reminder that if the username submitted in the form doesn't match your forum handle, your votes will not be counted. There a couple of names in there so far that aren't forum members.

My autocorrect was refusing to let my write andrew without the capital letter, will my submittion be fine?

Yes, I'm not a total jobsworth! I'm not expecting people to be completely precise where it isn't possible, I'm talking about instances where the username bears not even a passing resemblance to anything on the member list.

[tommykl]

I already submitted my picks, but might as well explain them to prevent any sort of bemusement at the official announcement.

1. Scuderia Toro Rosso - When a race has little attrition, a double-DNF is always a surefire way to get Reject of the Race when no one else does anything really stupid.

2. Stoffel Vandoorne's chair - On the RTBF commentary feed, co-commentator Stoffel Vandoorne had a reputation-threatening incident when his chair broke underneath him on live TV, prompting a solid 3 minutes of him and Gaëtan Vigneron frantically attempting to find a new one, including desperately throwing in an ad break.

"I've never seen this many screws on the floor..."
"We're back from the ad break, and we still don't have a new chair."
"Stoffel, why don't you take my chair, and I'll sit on this cardboard box?"

Dishonourable mentions:

Lewis Hamilton - Driving this car is your job. You really should know how it works.

The people in charge of setting the DRS zones - Far too long, and in need of a second detection zone before the second one.

[andrew]

The race itself, after all the action of gp2 we did expect a little more action and carnage

Torro rosso. Double retirement, not good I'm afraid

[Dj_bereta]

1 - Pirelli Tyres: Too hard for this track. What the result: a pretty average race.

2 - Toro Rosso: Double retirement. Kvyat lost a potential points finish.

[Spectoremg]

I won't pick Gangsta Hamilton for being a whiny tw@t so:
1. The 'win,win' nature of the DRS, it's there to help you pass a car and not subsequently disappear into the distance.
2. Radio comms/coded messages:
'Is it button A?'
'I can't say'
'Is it button B?'
'I can't say'
'Is it button C?'
'I'm not allowed to tell you that (wink, wink)'

[Peteroli34]

The Race itself expected it to be a little more action packed race then what we actually got. The drivers moaning about not being able to be helped surely they must already know the rules regarding radio transmissions.

[solarcold]

Biscione, from your profile pic I make a conclusion you're supporting the Icelandic football team this Euro? High five! We're gonna destroy Austria! (I'm personally a geek of Iceland and surrounding areas, though I equally support my own nation's team)

Now, Rejects of the race from me:

1. Jolyon Palmer - is he even relevant to Formula 1?

2. The track layout - I personally don't believe it can produce great races. Everything else was nice though

[lance_rambert]

I was hoping for more rejectful nonsense to happen today, especially after qualifying, but that sadly didn't happen. However, that's not to say there wasn't any. My first pick, hands down, goes to Scuderia Toro Rosso for the double retirement in a race with not that much attrition. The one weekend where Daniil Kvyat isn't totally hopeless just happens to be the one where he gets screwed over by something else likely out of his control. Then, Carlos Sainz winds up going out of the race for a very similar reason. Nice going, race engineers.

My second pick, for a lack of choices, goes to Lewis Hamilton. When Nico Rosberg had problems with the car, at least he didn't go full-on Austin [insert joke about Richard Childress gifting him a ride] Dillon at his crew, bitching and moaning the entire way. Nico just kept his head down and drove, calmly asking for advice when needed. Lewis on the other hand, while I do understand that the radio rules are a bit stupid, just unloads all the salt on the crew. While Lewis wasn't exactly at Dillon-levels of annoying, that was still pretty stupid of him to go off like that. I thought you knew your car better than that, Lewis.

Another one that deserved mention are Nico Hulkenberg, for getting totally outpaced by Perez, again. The Restricted Radio Rules also get a mention. Even though I gave Hamilton schtick for his radio antics, they aren't completely unjustified. The FIA/FOM/whoever made the damn rules should probably have a rethink on what should/shouldn't be allowed, because this current set of rules doesn't really benefit fans, drivers or crews for reasons stated by others.

[DemocalypseNow]

Biscione, from your profile pic I make a conclusion you're supporting the Icelandic football team this Euro? High five! We're gonna destroy Austria! (I'm personally a geek of Iceland and surrounding areas, though I equally support my own nation's team)

I myself are devoted to the political teachings of Gnarrism

Also, this;

[Enforcer]

1st: Red Bull. Ricciardo was on the front row. After lap 6 he was basically irrelevant to the race.

2nd: Pit radio restrictions: "Yeah, Lewis, change to H7. H7 Lewis."
"Oh that fixed it, great. Thanks guys."
"BAWWWWWWWWWW THE RACING IS RUINED!!!!"

Said no one ever.

I can understand maybe it was getting to technical by telling them every five seconds how much energy they did or didn't need to put into their tires, but if something's broken, and a switch on the steering wheel might fix it, let the team tell the driver.

Honourable mention to the race itself, it was garbage, but I don't want to be too salty the few times I drop by.

[Meatwad]

I voted for:
1. Toro Rosso (the only team to have a double-DNF)
2. Renault (the worst qualifying result in a long time for the established teams)

I wish I had given second place to Gutiérrez though. No one bathplugging hits Rio!

[Fetzie]

1st: Red Bull. Ricciardo was on the front row. After lap 6 he was basically irrelevant to the race.

2nd: Pit radio restrictions: "Yeah, Lewis, change to H7. H7 Lewis."
"Oh that fixed it, great. Thanks guys."
"BAWWWWWWWWWW THE RACING IS RUINED!!!!"

Said no one ever.

I can understand maybe it was getting to technical by telling them every five seconds how much energy they did or didn't need to put into their tires, but if something's broken, and a switch on the steering wheel might fix it, let the team tell the driver.

Honourable mention to the race itself, it was garbage, but I don't want to be too salty the few times I drop by.

Or the teams suddenly find out that the issue is a safety problem as if it isn't reset by the driver hitting X A B Up Left Circle Y Down then the batteries will catch fire, and get around the restriction that way.

10 pts Torro Rosso, for being the only really rejectful team this afternoon.

6 pts to Radio Restrictions, because they went too far. Not telling the driver how much time he needs to pick up before pitting or how their tyres are doing is fine; they should be able to know that because they are racing drivers. Not being able to tell the driver how to reset his ERS didn't make the race any more interesting as a viewer (indeed, if Hamilton had been able to be told how to fix his car right when it when wrong, we'd have had an interesting battle to the flag for 4th between Perez and Hamilton, or possibly even a three-way battle for the last spot on the podium between Raikönnen, Hamilton and Perez).

[tommykl]

2nd: Pit radio restrictions: "Yeah, Lewis, change to H7. H7 Lewis."
"Oh that fixed it, great. Thanks guys."
"BAWWWWWWWWWW THE RACING IS RUINED!!!!"

Said no everyone ever.

Fixed that for you.

Last year, there was a massive outcry at how the teams were driving the cars instead of the drivers, and that the drivers should be left to take care of themselves. This mostly came from one side of the fans after Rosberg was perceived to be getting a lot of assistance from Mercedes. Guess which side of the fans is now petitioning to unban these rules now that it's Hamilton who needed assistance?

[Fetzie]

2nd: Pit radio restrictions: "Yeah, Lewis, change to H7. H7 Lewis."
"Oh that fixed it, great. Thanks guys."
"BAWWWWWWWWWW THE RACING IS RUINED!!!!"

Said no everyone ever.

Fixed that for you.

Last year, there was a massive outcry at how the teams were driving the cars instead of the drivers, and that the drivers should be left to take care of themselves. This mostly came from one side of the fans after Rosberg was perceived to be getting a lot of assistance from Mercedes. Guess which side of the fans is now petitioning to unban these rules now that it's Hamilton who needed assistance?

I objected (and still object) to the transmissions that go along the lines of "x is running away from you at 0.1 seconds per lap; you need to speed up by three tenths per lap for the next 4 laps to make the undercut work". That is nowhere near messages like "press the big yellow button for 3 seconds to reset ERS".

[AustralianStig]

1. TV Director - Why did we not get to see Ricciardo's overtake around the outside again? I would've loved to see an external shot of that.

2. Jolyon Palmer - Finishing behind your teammate, who started from pitlane, is utterly rejectful.

[Londoner]

1. Esteban Gutierrez - The one time Haryanto looks set to have a great race, and you ruin it on the first lap. Please Gene, fire him already. He's barely made any progress since his Sauber stint.

2. Red Bull - Dreadful pace and dreadful strategies.

[UncreativeUsername37]

This system is much more exciting. You don't know who's going to win!

[DonTirri]

My votes:

1:Whinelton: For cryin out loud. STOP bathplug COMPLAINING!
2:Red Bull Tyre Woes: Robbed us of a proper fight between Vet and Ric.

[novitopoli]

1. The Red Bull teams: RBR for its tyre issues, STR for a double DNF in a race with little to no attrition.
2. Lewis Hamilton: If he isn't on P1, he whines the whole time. If he is, he whines over everyone else complaining.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

1:Whinelton: For cryin out loud. STOP bathplug COMPLAINING!

And Raikkonen gets a free pass because...

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

Toro Rosso - Double DNF, Threw away points.

Red Bull - Terrible strategy. I believe both drivers were put on the medium tires for the majority of the race.

Honorable Mention - Haas for falling back to earth so hard.

[Nessafox]

1) clashing with Le Mans
2) Stoffel Vandoorne's chair (i witnessed it too)

[Miguel98]

After a fair bit of googling about, I finally encountered it. The commetantor reaction to Vandoorne's chair craking is glorious

[Bleu]

1. Toro Rosso
2. Lewis Hamilton

[Ciaran]

1. Toro Rosso. Being the only double DNF on the grid is an easy way to get some RotR points.
2. Sky, for whining about something going wrong for their Golden Boy but showing none of that concern for Raikkonen. Their exclusive coverage from 2019 is going to be hell.

[RAK]

1) The FIA: For scheduling the race on the same weekend as Le Mans. When I have the first opportunity in my life to get to Le Mans in person, I'm not going to turn that down.

2) Azerbaijan: For agreeing to schedule the race on the same weekend as Le Mans.

Dishonourable mention: The ACO for organising Le Mans on the same weekend as a Grand Prix, thus depriving Nico Hülkenberg a chance to defend his win...

I really hope you're not serious here. Le Mans is the established event here and has taken place around the same weekend in June for as long as I can remember. The FIA is to blame here for trying to marginalise what turned out to be a much better race (unsurprisingly!).

[Bobby Doorknobs]

Dishonourable mention: The ACO for organising Le Mans on the same weekend as a Grand Prix, thus depriving Nico Hülkenberg a chance to defend his win...

I really hope you're not serious here. Le Mans is the established event here and has taken place around the same weekend in June for as long as I can remember. The FIA is to blame here for trying to marginalise what turned out to be a much better race (unsurprisingly!).

Actually, Le Mans has tended to vary between the second and third weekend of June for quite some time. Although Canada and Baku fell on those weekends it's not exactly a break from tradition for Le Mans to have been pencilled in for the 5th. It's been held within the first week of the month many times before, just not recently for whatever reason.