Great start from Seb and Kimi, no doubt. Seb then did what Seb does with a first lap lead, he pulled out a substantial gap very quickly.

Felt bad for Kimi, he needs some luck to fall his way.

Ricciardo got impatient behind Rosberg, but that looked pretty careless of Nico coming back across. I guess the stewards decided that getting a flat tire was punishment enough for him.

Not a good race for Lewis, but he got lucky with Nico's puncture, and actually extended his championship lead when it looked like he'd be tied at best. He did some really good driving after serving his drive-through for hitting Ricciardo.

What the hell was Pastor's deal? It seemed like every other lap he was getting a penalty for something out there.

Oh, and Hulk's crash was nuts, the FRONT FELL OFF!!

Kimi's staying at Ferrari, at least one more year. Apparently Williams was asking 10m to release Bottas from his contract with them.

And Haas F1 is expecting to announce its driver lineup in the next few weeks. I'm going with Esteban Gutierrez and Alex Rossi as my prediction.

Watching them fly up Eau Rouge never gets old.

If you have a spare half hour, feast your eyes on this:

Eau Rouge is my favorite corner complex in the series.
I don't really get Kimi and Ferrari. Maybe it was the buyout as you pointed out. But come on, they're Ferrari. You'd think that would be pocket change for them. Don't really know but I'm glad he'll have a F1 seat.
I watched the Indy cars at Pocono today. For as bad a start as they had to this season there have been some pretty good races lately. This Justin Wilson injury looks bad though. A Shumi/Jules type head injury. Hope I'm wrong. A wife and two young daughters.

Pocono was a really fun race with a totally crappy ending. By all accounts, Wilson is one of the most liked guys on the grid. Praying for his recovery.

I bet Bottas wishes Maranello had offered him Kimi's ride after that completely unexplainable screw-up in the pits yesterday.

Justin Wilson.
Just awful news man. What a sad, sad loss.

Yes, terrible about Justin. I think closed cockpits are coming; Henry Surtees, Felipe Massa, Jules, and now Justin.

Robin Miller on JW

Rossi wins the feature race in Monza today. Two race wins in a row for him! (Sprint at Spa and Feature at Monza) Making a nice push for the second seat at Haas next year.

What happened on Kimi's launch? Was it mechanical/electrical or was he asleep. Just watched bits and pieces of the replay and heard them allude to it. Monza is a cool track, hope it stays on the calendar.

Something with the second clutch. Whether he botched it or something went wrong with the car, who knows. He did a heck of a job after that, though, to finish as high as he did. Then he was gifted another place when Nico's engine went kablooie.

Unless Hamilton just absolutely tanks, I don't see Nico catching him at this point.

I'm not a huge Monza fan for some reason, there's just not much to it. I read something the other day that I agree with. It said something like, "if Monza was in Asia or the Middle East, we'd be moaning about how boring the track is."

And it looks like even though Rossi has been looking good lately, he won't be getting a seat at Haas. They want one experienced drive, and one driver from the Ferrari program.

On a Ferrari note, looks like they'll be supplying RBR's engines next season. Maybe next year we can have three teams fighting for race wins (Mercs, Ferrari, RBR).

Rossi is getting his shot, Manor has signed him to replace Mehri for the rest of the season, minus the two GP2 races at Russia and Abu Dhabi. Hopefully he'll impress enough to get a seat next season.

Audi to buy red bull rumors heating up again.

Grosjean to Haas? Wasn't expecting that.

BTW, does it always rain in Suzuka?

Button confirmed staying with McLaren for 2016, and he's hinting at staying for 2017, too. Wonder what they're going to do with Stoffel Vandoorne, then, since he can't race GP2 again after he wins it this season. Guess he'll be a test/reserve driver for at least one season.

Merc to power Manor next year, and they're going to get some technical help from Williams. Maybe they can improve their car some, and stop being moving chicanes. I'm excited to see Rossi in F1 finally, but we're not really getting to see what he can do, except up against his teammate.

Speaking of Rossi, wonder if he'll get a full-time ride next year. Haas isn't an option, since it looks like they'll grab Gutierrez as their second driver. His best bet is probably stick with Manor for another year, and hope they show improvement with the car.

So, apparently they're looking for current/retired military for flag carriers for the USGP. The email I got says, "20 Soldiers/Airmen must be able to carry and walk with over-sized flags through Starting Grid Ceremonies. Ceremony will be Nationally televised."

I threw my name in there, why not. Any other current or retired military (all services, active or reserves welcome), let me know, and I'll forward you the email.

Did you get picked?

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Did you get picked?

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I had to drop out. I was supposed to have my drill weekend in Austin at a conference this coming weekend, but my battalion commander cancelled it on Friday, so I'm having to drill during race weekend now.

Very nice of F1 to schedule a race on Le Mans weekend next year.

Even in the years of Schumi/Ferrari (what was it? 5, 7 years?) I thought the sport was compelling and fun to watch. Good story lines and good racing mid-pack. I don't feel that now. Mercedes has such an advantage. The mid-pack races just don't seem to be as worthy and I just can't stand Louis. I think he's a winey little beech. Go ask the boys at McLaren what they think of him. Go do something in something you're not supposed to do anything in. Schumi/Benetton. Then we'll call you one of the best.
And now Bernie has started shooting at himself and the sport. LeMans?
Bring back the the normally aspirated V-8's. Get rid of some of the electronics, let the drivers drive. And for god's sake Dietrich, you won four straight titles and you're a billionaire. Quit acting like a little a little girl. Start punching back. We'd all be better for it.

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And for god's sake Dietrich, you won four straight titles and you're a billionaire. Quit acting like a little a little girl. Start punching back. We'd all be better for it.

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Oh, and is anyone braving the rain and going out to COTA this weekend?

I'll be there today!

Is it raining at the track?

This is a great race.

Fun race. Congrats to Louis.
Those late sc and vsc's killed the race for anyone not named Mercedes. Vettel drove a hell of a race. Great drive.

It rained until about 12, then a little mist that was done by 12:30. Wet, windy, and cold out there today! The cars were still kicking up water from the track near the end of the race.

That was a fun race and there was a lot of energy in the stands due to all of the action on the track. There was so much movement for the top four; the battles were fun. Vettel drove a great race and I was impressed he ended up on the podium after where he started.

Paddy Lowe's stare at the end was amazing!

Paddy's face, and Lewis' reaction, says it all - Nico acted like a baby and a sore loser. It's his own fault he didn't win the race and blocked himself out of the championship this year.

It's clear Lewis didn't mean it in a negative way. He tossed a hat to his teammate first, handed the second hat to Seb who was standing next to him, and then put on his own hat last.

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Nico acted like a baby and a sore loser. It's his own fault he didn't win the race and blocked himself out of the championship this year.

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There's no doubt about this. What did you expect? Reality slapped him in the face. Louis is faster. Period. Equal rides. Louis is faster. This one race and this one 1st corner afforded Nico the opportunity to punch back. Beat Loius to the apex and win the race. He didn't do it. Do not allow Louis to push you up the track. He didn't do it. Hold your ground, touch wheels, put both of the silver arrows out. Louis (or possibly you) would still have won the championship with three full races left. Make a statement. But he didn't and he won't ever.
I want to see Louis in a Williams or Ferrari or RBR. Does he have the chops to push the team forward? Help the team develop and become more competitive? I don't think he does. He left McLaren when they faltered. He's a front runner only. Immensely talented though, there's no doubt about that.

There's not a driver out there that doesn't want to drive for Mercedes right now. They all want the best car possible. When Lewis won with McLaren he may have had the best car, but it wasn't nearly the gap he has now. And he left for a less successful team at the time. People thought he had lost his mind for giving up a superior seat for an up and coming team.

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I want to see Louis in a Williams or Ferrari or RBR. Does he have the chops to push the team forward? Help the team develop and become more competitive? I don't think he does. He left McLaren when they faltered. He's a front runner only. Immensely talented though, there's no doubt about that.

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Huh? Sure McLaren wasn't great in 2012, but he still won 4 races, and retired from 5, 3 due to bad luck (1 puncture, 2 collisions, none his fault) while 2 were mechanical. Jenson won two of the races Lewis retired from, so the car was competitive, at least.

Meanwhile, Mercedes had won exactly 1 race in the three years previous to him moving over (Rosberg in 2012). Stating that he's a front runner for moving from a team with a really good track record to a newer team that hasn't had much success is disingenuous. In fact, I think part of his stated motives for making the move were to help build up a team that had been mid-pack. It's not like he knew the regulation changes in 2014 would vault Mercedes to the top by such a wide margin.

Oh, and if you're going to call Lewis a front runner, you must not think highly of Seb, either. After a single down year for RBR, he jumped ship and hopped over to Ferrari. And now, they're getting closer to Mercedes each race, and could be a serious challenger next season. Hell, the fact that Seb is actually ahead of Rosberg with 3 races to go shows the dent that Ferrari has put into the dominance of Mercedes as the season has gone on.

Whelp. Too early for 2016 predictions?

Doesn't TAG Heuer make watches? Good grief, more of the same in 2016.