The F1 thread

[Raid]

I didn't have a massive amount of respect for Seb when he was winning championships, but I'm loving that he (along with Hamilton) is making good use of his platform. He's just appeared on the front cover of a gay lifestyle magazine, and because he's in his full Aston Martin uniform, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company is emblazoned right across the centre of it.



It comes just a day or two after the new FIA president Ben Sulyamen said that drivers shouldn't be talking about gay rights, human rights, or mental health.

“Niki Lauda and Alain Prost only cared about driving. Now, Vettel drives a rainbow bicycle, Lewis is passionate about human rights and Norris addresses mental health. Everybody has the right to think. To me, it is about deciding whether we should impose our beliefs in something over the sport all the time.

“I am from an Arabian culture. I am international and Muslim. I do not impose my beliefs on other people? No way! Never. If you look at my operation in the UAE: 16 nationalities! Name me one federation that has that many nationalities."

[Wrathbone]

I like how Sulyamen is totally against promoting ideas and beliefs about things like basic human rights, but is otherwise perfectly fine with the extreme levels of promotion and advertising throughout the sport that generate untold piles of cash.

Good on Hamilton and Vettel for taking stances on important matters.

[Raid]

I don't really know a lot about Sulyamen, only that he's an FIA president from a country with a dreadful human rights record, saying he'd prefer to sweep peoples' issues under the rug with the presumed benefit of making more money. I really do try not to judge people on so little, but I can't help but think he's not the man I'd like in the role.

Remember when Jean Todt was elected and the worst people were worried about is that he'd give Ferrari preferential treatment? Happier times.

[Raid]

And just to continue the minimally disguised "fuck you"s, Seb did actually turn up on a rainbow bicycle today.

[Snowy]

Oof. That wasn't an enjoyable watch. Unhappy tifoso here

[eny]

Gutted, 3 failures, such bad luck. Pleased for Mister Consistency though, hoping he rises through the board by the end of the season. At this point, I am happy for anyone who isn't "the great white hope" to do well.

[Raid]

Sigh.

Hamilton struggled to get out of his car after the race because of the pain in his spine from porpoising. Mercedes are now talking about having a reserve driver available for Canada. Fix your damned car, Mercedes.

[eny]

It isn't something he will fully recover from either. Every repeat of the event causing it will degrade his ability to withstand it. Once you start getting a certain back problem from an activity, it is only a matter of time. Being semi-reclined means you have limited bodily protection via core strength and posture too.

[Raid]

Yeah, I'm genuinely concerned for the drivers' health this year. Hamilton seems to be feeling it the most, but some of the other cars have pretty dramatic porpoising too. I'd be concerned about micro-concussions as well as spine damage.

[eny]

I made my tractor analogy a few pages back, but it is alarmingly similar. I had to give them up completely many years back because I couldn't drive them for more than an hour, hardly at all at any speed on the road. Within half an hour, the compression from bouncing in the seat, and having it slap you out of phase, would squeeze my disc and the pain would be unbearable. There are other problems too, such as the eye-strain from maintaining stable vision, and constant muscular tension trying to keep the oscillation from affecting your fine control. It all adds up to a large fatigue load.

[Wrathbone]

Odd how Russell didn't seem to have any problems getting out of the car. Obviously he's a lot younger than Hamilton, but I can't imagine the effects would be fun at any age.

Part of me wonders if Hamilton is deploying a bit of theatrics with it. I don't doubt that he was in substantial pain or that it could have lasting effects, but Mercedes are trying to force a rule change on the basis of safety so it wouldn't be beyond reason to suggest Hamilton may be amplifying how badly he's suffering from it.

Also, did I hear correctly on the C4 coverage that Mercedes could mitigate the porpoising somewhat just by changing the setup of the car at a performance cost? Because that begs the question of whether other teams have had to make that choice, or whether its something unique to the Merc. It could also mean that if they go to the FIA crying safety, the FIA may just order them to make that setup change so their drivers are safe.

[Snowy]

Indeed, back pain is no joke, speaking from experience of a prolapsed disc myself. The worst thing for back pain among us mortals is sitting - sitting and being repeatedly hammered at a high level of repetition must be horrendous.

[Raid]

Part of me wonders if Hamilton is deploying a bit of theatrics with it. I don't doubt that he was in substantial pain or that it could have lasting effects, but Mercedes are trying to force a rule change on the basis of safety so it wouldn't be beyond reason to suggest Hamilton may be amplifying how badly he's suffering from it.

I've considered that, but they're not faking the movement of the driver's head in the on-boards during races, and it's not difficult to imagine that causing problems. Why it appears to be affecting Hamilton more than other drivers, I don't know.

But I am placing the blame for this more at Mercedes' feet than the FIA. Red Bull seem to have gotten this right, and I do get the feeling that Mercedes aren't fixing it on performance grounds.

[Wrathbone]

Maybe it is just Hamilton's age catching up with him. I'm the same age as him (37), and while making physical comparison between my flabby mess of a body and a world-class athlete would be laughable, I do find that my body has become less tolerable of any kind of nonsense over the last few years. Furniture leaves its mark on me now. I threw my back out for a couple of days last year simply by sitting down too fast. For all his physical training, perhaps Hamilton at 37 just isn't capable of enduring sustained stress without lasting effects anymore.

[Raid]

I'm 36 and, yeah, I'm beginning to notice the effects of age (and yes, yes, I'm sure anyone older than we are is thinking "aww, that's adorable, just you wait" right now), and I'm not a world-class athlete having competed in what can be a very physically demanding job for 15+ years.

We already know that Hamilton has had doubts over continuing in the sport (Toto has said as much), it'd be a real shame for him to leave because his team consider his physical safety less important than their car's performance. It's not as if the porpoising is an unimportant side effect anyway; scraping along the ground constantly has to have a knock-on effect on top speed, surely. Even if it's just a cost thing, that they can't make the changes needed because they can't afford to under the budget cap, they're affecting their most expensive asset.