Formula 1 2021

[Brainy]

19 minutes ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

You can guarantee if Hamilton gained from it, it wouldn't be in this thread tbh, really was a strange comment. Like Sampson pointed out the likelihood of it going to 5 points is very unlikely anyway and he's pretty much got it in the bag now 

Can guarantee you'd mention it as your opinion would no doubt be different 

[The Horse's Mouth]

5 minutes ago, Walkers said:

Can guarantee you'd mention it as your opinion would no doubt be different 

Not really, I'd have felt that putting Max in the hospital and the pirelli tyre fault more pertinent tbh, not my style though, don't want him to win but I accept the results. Don't do the whole German driver conspiracies

Edited 24 November 2021 by The Horse's Mouth

[Sampson]

1 hour ago, Walkers said:

You can go back through every championship and say "if this hadn't happened the result would have been different". Can you go back through any championship (in recent years atleast) and say "if he wasn't awarded points for 2 laps behind the safety car" the results would be different? It's not the same at all and would be farcical if it was won that way, even if it was Hamilton that benefitted from it.

But what does this even mean? Can you go through any recent Championship and say "if a race wasn't rained off" or "if someone's tyres hadn't exploded" or "if sprint races weren't given out points" then the results would be different? Verstappen would almost certainly have won Spa barring mechanical failure given the times he was putting in and that it was a Red Bull track and got at least 7pts over Hamilton from it had the weather not meant they couldn't race properly.

Whether you agree with it or not or whether you think it was a farce, you're deliberately moaning one very particular incident to make out Hamilton has been hard done by when in reality Hamilton has had more of the luck throughout the season than Verstappen and Verstappen has been the better driver over the majority of the season - including the weather at Spa which likely went in Hamilton's favour.

In racing terms, it's a one-off incident that none of the drivers had any control over in exactly the same way the race was, or a tyre explosion is or Bottas wiping out half the track is, or the decision to award for fastest lap is, or the decision to give 25pts for a win and 18pts for 2nd place is (many have for years said it's farcical how the creep to award more and more points for 1st and the racers near the top than the midfield is unfair and farcical for example). If you'd have told people 20 years ago about a point for fastest lap or 7pts difference between 1st and 2nd they would've said they were farcical and unfair too. Many people have thought the sprint races are farcical too. There was one year where double points were awarded on the final race which many considered farcical and unfair too.

It's 100% moaning about one individual decision and incidents out of the drivers' control above all the other individual decisions and incidents out of the drivers' control because you perceive it to go against Hamilton and you're giving that precedent over all the stuff that has gone against Verstappen because it suits the result you want and it suits the narrative you want to portray about Hamilton being hard done by, when in reality it's more likely that Hamilton has been the 2nd best driver over the season and is very lucky to even still be in with a chance of this Championship.

If winning the Championship was really about "racing" then the winner every year would never come down to mechanical incidents, different scoring systems, new formats of sprint races, being taken out by other drivers (deliberately or accidentally) and if everyone was completely honest then if this Championships was about being the best racer than Verstappen would've won it weeks ago as he has simply been the best driver for well over 50% of the season.

Edited 24 November 2021 by Sampson

[JR99]

I honestly think people are viewing what I said with too much of a tribalistic view. I'm a student studying the final year of a masters degree in automotive engineering, I aspire to work in F1, the sport is the pinnacle for me, no one team or one driver. I'm personally a big admirer of Seb, think he's a pretty down to earth guy who keeps himself generally out the limelight, as much as is expected of a 'celebrity'. My comments were purely to do with the sport, if the title is less than a 5 point swing people will talk about that event, and it'll be a great shame that the most exciting season we've had at the front in a while can even be related to something I think was entirely avoidable and completely against the principles of the sport. Respect everyone's opinion on it, but I can't see any circumstance where those 2 laps were the right thing to do, for fans, for teams and drivers with vested interest, or for the image of the sport in general.

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

As someone who has grown to like Verstappen and Hamilton equally, in no so much as not one bit, I totally agree that what happened at Spa was a complete farce and never should have happened, it should have been rained off and no points awarded. Whether verstappen would have walked it and got more points or he'd have crashed or there'd have been a surprise result and it swung the other way is irrelevant to the fact it never should have happened. 

[grobyfox1990]

On 25/11/2021 at 09:43, Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot said:

As someone who has grown to like Verstappen and Hamilton equally, in no so much as not one bit, I totally agree that what happened at Spa was a complete farce and never should have happened, it should have been rained off and no points awarded. Whether verstappen would have walked it and got more points or he'd have crashed or there'd have been a surprise result and it swung the other way is irrelevant to the fact it never should have happened. 

Completely agree. Spa was a farce. Personally did like Verstappen before this season, but his style is starting to rub me up the wrong way, and he never sees himself doing anything wrong. Likewise, Horner just annoys me now, i respect the attitude of doing anything to win at all costs, but he just comes across as a whining child now. Really don't want Max to win it and Horner smugly grinning away in Abu Dhabi.

[Super_horns]

Sir Frank Williams has sadly died aged 79.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/59453378

 

RIP 

[The Horse's Mouth]

[Fox in the North]

The word legend is used a bit easily these days but RIP to a true sporting legend.

[LiberalFox]

Sad news. 

[kingkisnorbo]

Sir Frank. A true legend of the sport. 
 

Rest in peace. 

[isaidno]

RIP Frank . I was lucky enough to win a competition to watch the Monaco Gp with the Williams team in 2010. Proper family run team , until recently. 

 

[Raj]

An icon of f1.

RIP Mr. Williams 

[Zear0]

Bit late on the news, but was gutted reading about Sir Frank passing.  The man literally lived in the factory when he was actively involved in the team and was a complete obsessive with the sport. 

 

The Max/Lewis debate this year reinforces my entrenched view that there is only one team any self respecting British motorsport fan should support and it's certainty not Red Bull or Mercedes...

 

RIP Sir

[Jimmy]

RIP Sir Frank a true icon of the sport gave so many greats their start in F1

[jammie82uk]

Watching the first 10 mins of FP1 and I don’t see any overtaking happening, the track is so narrow and the DRS zone is between a series of small turns

Edited 3 December 2021 by jammie82uk

[Legend_in_blue]

43 minutes ago, jammie82uk said:

Watching the first 10 mins of FP1 and I don’t see any overtaking happening, the track is so narrow and the DRS zone is between a series of small turns

I'm sure Max will find a way to run Lewis off the road somewhere when required to do so.

[snoopy87]

Yeah I'm not expecting much in terms of racing from this one. First corner will be important then after that a precession 

[jammie82uk]

That’s quite an impact for Leclerc there hopefully it won’t become a trend for the weekend 

[kingkisnorbo]

Going to be won or lost in Qualifying I’d imagine (yawn). 

[Zear0]

Not even much distance to the first corner either so you can almost get away with a mediocre start.

[The Quick Brown Fox]

There will be accidents in this race, as others have said overtaking will be almost impossible. Won in qually and in the pits. 

[kingkisnorbo]

1 minute ago, browniefox said:

There will be accidents in this race, as others have said overtaking will be almost impossible. Won in qually and in the pits. 

I’d imagine the FIA might be more inclined to lean towards racing incident if there are clashes etc because of the track layout. 

[Brainy]

OK I'll say it then - I don't think this track will be as difficult to overtake as you're all saying. F2 just delivered some great racing with overtaking in 4 or 5 different places. I know it's easier to follow in F2 but still

[The Horse's Mouth]

Can't believe Merc have got into bed with the company responsible for Grenfell, proper vile