The F1 thread

[Drarok]

Tell you what, you folks are waaaaaay more balanced than any other discussions I've seen.

People are pointing to how HAM wasn't on the apex so therefore he should have left more room for VER, and I look at the pictures and videos, it looks like HAM only had 1-2 feet to his right when VER veered across the track and made contact. Where were they expecting him to go?

Horner's comments are just factually wrong too, he said something like "everyone knows you don't stick a wheel in [at that corner]", but several people demonstrated that you can absolutely do that, and I think HAM made it stick twice later in the race at that very same corner! I'm all for them pushing for action from the stewards, but with facts and rules, not bullshit. I don't want F1 drivers whinging like footballers writhe around on the floor in "agony".

As for HAM celebrating the win, doesn't everyone do that? So far as we know, he had no idea VER had been taken to hospital and even if he did, they always take them to hospital after a huge crash don't they, so he might not have thought much of it. Eugh, people are bastards, and they ruin everything.

Also, the amount of litter at the track afterwards is disgusting. People are, yet again, bastards.

[eny]

I love how people seem to be referencing Schumacher when debating how worthy Hamilton is, on social media, when they weren't even born when he was racing....like the way he "won" the championship in Australia '94....by ruining his car, and that of Hill 1 point behind him, by steering into him to take him out....

[Wrathbone]

Not to mention how dumb Hamilton would have to be to intentionally try and cause a DNF for Verstappen without compromising his own race. The fact that Hamilton came out mostly unscathed was sheer luck.

[Raid]

I don't believe most drivers have it in them to deliberately crash into their opponents to take them out of the race. It just doesn't make sense when their own car is so fragile (front wings break off, the endplates cause punctures, the gearbox is knackered by a lateral impact along the driveshaft and so on). Besides that, these people are born racers, they want to beat their opponents by being better than they are. Senna and Prost clashed repeatedly because they were both so stubborn that neither wanted to give up the corner, and that's how I see the Hamilton / Verstappen rivalry. Schumacher is the only winner in the era where I've paid attention that seemed to clash deliberately, and even then it was only when he'd win the championship if both cars were to not finish the race from what I recall.

[Raid]

The more I see of the incident, the more I'm thinking it was probably Max's fault more than Lewis'. The racing line at Copse moves from the outside of the track to the apex, then back to the outside at the exit. Max was on that racing line, however Lewis was very clearly alongside him, and Max has stuck to that line despite it being a bad idea. Perhaps he was expecting Lewis to yield and Lewis didn't, or maybe he just didn't realise quite how close he was. The sad thing is that Max was the one leading the championship by more than a race victory's worth of points, he just did not need to defend that aggressively as he had the most to lose from crashing out.

I'm happy to call it a racing incident still, but I think it's pretty clear that blaming Lewis is not the right stance for Max and Red Bull to take.

[Drarok]

You. I like you.

[DjchunKfunK]

As Toto Wolf pointed out the rules state that if you are more than half a cars length alongside your opponent then you are entitled to make the move according to the rule. I think the stewards got it wrong and allowed themselves to be influenced by the manner of the crash.

As for my distaste for Red Bull it's always been there since they came into the sport, they are a terrible company run by a pretty horrid guy. Horner was all right when he was winning but since they fell out of championship contention he has got a lot worse. He is candid but he is also a bit of an arse.

EDIT: I've just seen that he has been spouting off today about how much it is going to cost to repair the car. This is not something I have ever seen highlighted in the past so I'm not sure what relevance it has now other than another thing for the team to whinge about.

[Raid]

In fairness, there hasn't been a budget cap before. It doesn't excuse the behaviour of course, the guy just needs to shut up and do his talking on the track.

[eny]

[Rossell]

That race was fucking mental.

[eny]

Yep, it was something else alright!

[Raid]

Yeah, astounding stuff. Lots of cursing at the start, jubilation at the real return of a former champion, and a great podium too.

Spoiler

Fucking hell; Bottas may have just won the championship for Hamilton. It was a really clumsy mistake, but we've seen similar from other drivers over the last few years so I'm not going to be leaping towards conspiracy theories.

If I'm honest, Ocon was not near the top of my list of people I want to see get their first victory. It's not that I particularly dislike him, I just don't really rate him. Still, it was amazing to see Alonso, the guy that allowed that victory to happen, hoisting him up at the end of the race. I don't think I've ever seen a more effective defence in a significantly slower car. I have absolutely no doubt that Lewis would have taken the victory had he got past the second Alpine quickly - he took something like five seconds out of Ocon and Vettel in the last two laps alone.

I did notice with some dismay as to just how much Lewis was struggling to catch his breath while speaking to Herbert in the post-race interview. This would have been a good 5-10 minutes after he crossed the finishing line. He has since come out and said he's likely suffering from long-Covid,, which must just be such a cruel circumstance for a sportsman of his calibre.

And bloody finally, Russell gets his first points for Williams, and it's a double points finish for the team. Brilliant stuff.

Apparently there's a good possibility that Vettel is going to lose his second place as his car did not have sufficient fuel in it at the end for the FIA to take their sample.

Edit: Yup.

Spoiler

Vettel is disqualified. That's pretty frustrating, but the rules are the rules, and it's a technical infringement for which the only penalty is disqualification. It's happened to Lewis in the past too.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/08/01/off ... to-second/

[Drarok]

I watched the highlights (busy weekend), and somehow missed the podium?! Not sure if it wasn't in there at all, or if I just missed it. Weird.

Sucks for the disqualification, but dems da roolz.

[eny]

Hamilton could barely stand on the podium, or hold the champagne for the spray off. He was definitely exhausted.

[Snowy]

I watched this last night - getting TV time is easier when the wife is working and I managed to avoid seeing any news.

What a race, I was cheering Alonso like I have not done since he was in red, absolutely phenomenal racecraft. Lewis annoyed me again though, simply because he is incapable of not whining. His bleating about how Fernando was shutting him down when he would have known he wasn't going to get any help from that quarter, saying how dangerous Alonso's moves were when he was at least 50% of a high speed shunt the week before - he can't help himself. Belt up and get on with it, stop your incessant wheedling and whinging man!

Delighted for Ocon too, always nice to see an outsider pick up a surprise podium or win.