Well that was an interesting race. All this marshal policing is getting a bit tiring.
Still not sure how I feel about what happened. Hamilton's post race celebration seemed excessive though (or a bit tone deaf), especially considering what happened on lap 1
Ryan
I think, coming from 5th on the track (realistically 3rd in race position), 15s behind the leader with 24 laps to go at the home race on the circuit with a portion named for him... in a vacuum it would be hailed as one of the greatest drives in modern F1. The way he was pounding fastest laps for like 8 laps in a row on hard tires was remarkable. I can understand feeling it in that moment, even if it felt a little off as a spectator.
As for the incident... it felt like it was a long time coming. And I immediately thought of Brundle talking about Senna. (starts at 6:00 since I can't seem to get time embedding to work here)
Yeah, Sorry for Max, but that's racing. Both guys going for it, that's the job.
Hammy can absolutely drive, I enjoy seeing him chase to the front, vs simply leading from the start. I'm not a Lewis fanboy, but man, I respect his skill.
Horner was/is protesting loudly, I'm sure Toto would be doing exactly the same if the outcome was reversed.
What always gets me his just how fragile modern F1 cars are. The slightest hit and carbon fiber yard sale. yes, I realize they are designed to do this, but in the past cars seemed to be able to duke it out without instant dnfs.
This season is not boring at all!.
What do you guys think of the sprint racing? I don't like it. Qualifying is the fastest lap on the track in my book. Do the teams really want to risk accidents racing before the "real" race?
I found the sprint race wildly entertaining and the racing was superb… but it kind of just doesn’t feel like F1, you know? Like, F2 and Moto3 are often more “entertaining” than the top rung, and that’s ok. The top class was always about near perfection and the slow burn to me, and I’d prefer the classic format, but maybe just because I’m old and in the way.
Or maybe Verstappen needs some of these for Hamilton:
Screen Shot 2021-07-21 at 11.25.51 PM.jpg
Well, finally saw the finale.
This is the first season since 2013 I’ve closely followed. And unless things are dramatically different, I suppose I’ll take another long pause. Manufactured drama is more fun when it’s honest about what it is.
I don't see it so much as manufactured drama, more as the Race Director screwing the pooch. He's go a hot turd on his plate for a long time. I wonder if we'll see him replaced anytime soon.
I watched the replay about 4 hrs post race (Australian time)
Being neither a Max fan nor a Lewis fan I found it very easy to see what was going to unfold minutes before it all happened - it was so obvious the drama dial was going to be turned up to 11.
The power of TV and making pretty pictures..............
I'm an F1 traditionalist and would rather see Lewis win with a 12-15 second advantage even if it made the TV broadcast of the last 20 mins boring.
However, having said that - the formula is so out of balance with Merc and RB domination at the end of this particular era of turbo hybrids that the racing was largely dull apart from a few occasions when Max and Sergio had brief dog fights with Lewis on track and even those moments were unsustained being only for a few corners each occasion.
I'm not the least bit surprised the rules were somewhat bent and bent on the run to make a last lap finale for TV otherwise it would have been all Lewis and Mercedes..........yet again.
I feel sorry for Lewis as he was clearly the better driver in the better car until the final lap and I feel equally sorry for Max as he did what he had to do and slammed the car down the inside to take the corner and the subsequent win and championship - that's his job.
As for Michael Masi, he was also doing his job but may well find himself the scapegoat of all this furore despite 'any publicity being good publicity'.
F1 has more than just the engineering formula to sort out in the future.
manufactured drama is certainly out there. seems like there has been an incredible amount of inconsistency this year. whatever the rules, it would be nice to see them function the same every time. an example, track limits. why bother having the painted lines when its ok to go outside them ... sometimes. instead of lines, how about they have rubber bits or spikes that puncture tires or small walls all around the circuit. then drivers will surely stay on the track. another option, never have a safety car. if there is an accident and car parts to clean up, pit the cars every time and restart. like it, dislike, whatever. its the same for every driver / team. in this case, all the drivers would have gone to the pits. they all would have fresh rubber or not depending on the rules and they all would have 1-2 laps of wild racing.
in the end, drive to survive surely has some interesting content for next year. maybe they will do more than 12 episodes.
Well done to my fellow F1 fantasy salonistas. A tip of the hat to William N for growing your budget and building an unbeatable super team by the end of the season. Next year I resolve to manage my team after a short cool down period. Immediately after the checkered flag, in a blind rage, is not the best time to make driver changes!
-Brian R
I wish Netflix had extended their series on F1 because it gave decent coverage to this crazy sport, and I did not have to follow it otherwise.
Jay Dwight
This past season was fun to watch, but enough covering the team managers as much as the drivers. Toto's "Sprockets imitation"- from SNL-in his aftermath video was a bit much. Merc still won the title for Gods, sake. The "Lewis has to ponder his return to F!" crap is more Sir Hamilton drama- which IMO takes away from his pure racing talent. Does anyone believe he'll not return? Toto & Lewis blowing off the MANDATORY awards event was poor sportsmanship. Wonder what the penalty for that will be.
Did Hammy get screwed by the call? For sure. But calls like that have been the norm this year. And I believe all managers told Masi beforehand they wanted to see a RACE, so yeah, Masi provided one- for 1 lap.
Looking forward to the new cars, the hope is to even the score across the teams. The current best teams will still be at the top-Hope Ferrari wakes the hell up.
Gotta enjoy F! while we can, before it all becomes Formula E.
In closing: I'll miss Kimi.
Fun season! I never completely followed a F1 season before so the fantasy game certainly kept things entertaining.
Red Bull definitely made all the right calls in that last race despite having the inferior car. Smart split second decisions, and of course a little opportunity from Masi to make it happen.
Reading a few LH quotes from before or mid season about not having the motivation of years past and this season feeling different, it seems like his plan was to win the championship, beat the record, and retire on top. Not only was the championship loss a cluster f, the dream wasn't realized. Very curious to see if the hunger for 8 outweighs retirement dreams.
Bookmarks