The F1 thread

[Raid]

Spoiler

Hamilton absolutely could not be beat this week, he was just mighty. There wasn't a chance in hell Verstappen was going to keep him behind for the 30 laps following their second stops. I don't know if it was that new power unit, the incredibly powerful DRS (it was too strong here), or if the Mercedes was just a better car this week. I think Max knew this, and tried every trick in the book to deny Lewis on his limited number of chances (the way I see it the tyres only give you so many opportunities), but they were never going to work. Yes, I do think running Lewis completely off the track when that overtake was largely done was dirty, but at the same time I'm glad the stewards didn't take it any further, because frankly I think both drivers are capable of that sort of a move.

[Maturin]

It was a slam-dunk penalty. FIA/stewards really don't do themselves any favours sometimes.

Not to mention the overzealous nature of throwing the book at Hamilton for one side of his rear wing clearly developing a fault to be 0.2mm off compared to the middle and other side. (Especially when you consider Red Bull were given several races to fix their own rear wing irregularities earlier in the season).

It's almost impossible not to feel extremely cynical about FIA/steward impartiality. But thankfully justice was done in the end. I don't dislike Verstappen - I've never had a problem with extreme driver personalities - but I do think he needs to re-assess how he drives on the track, and I fear for his reputation in the sport longterm. He doesn't want to end up being reviled for dodgy driving tendencies.

[Raid]

I don't think Max has much to worry about, reputation-wise. He's taking things to the brink of acceptability, on occasions he's stepping over that line, as I think he did yesterday, but frankly he's in good company. Senna crashed into Prost on purpose, Schumacher did the same with Hill, Hamilton bullied Rosberg off the track on numerous occasions. Alonso's dirty as hell these days as he's fed up with inconsistent policing, so he'll try anything he thinks he can get away with. I think it's made him more popular, not less.

The lack of consistency in the stewards' office is driving a lot of this sort of bad behaviour. Teams and drivers are trying to get away with things because they've been on the other side of those decisions in the past and are still bitter about them. At the same time though, I don't want this brilliant championship decided in the stewards' office.

[Snowy]

Personally I like to see the drivers having a bit of chutzpah, not being afraid to speak their minds and stick their elbows out. It is one of the best aspects of the Drive To Survive Netflix series, the bland corporate veneer is dropped and you see some of the real characters behind the helmets.

As Chris says, the best of the best have always had sharp elbows and pushed the rules. Hell Schuey used to force drivers into mistakes just by appearing in their mirrors.

[arqueturus]

Personally I like to see the drivers having a bit of chutzpah, not being afraid to speak their minds and stick their elbows out. It is one of the best aspects of the Drive To Survive Netflix series, the bland corporate veneer is dropped and you see some of the real characters behind the helmets.

As Chris says, the best of the best have always had sharp elbows and pushed the rules. Hell Schuey used to force drivers into mistakes just by appearing in their mirrors.

Ironically Verstappen is no longer taking part in the next one as he's deemed it fake?

[Raid]

The FIA have summoned Mercedes and Red Bull in regards to the Brazil incident:

https://www.racefans.net/2021/11/17/fia ... -tomorrow/

I'm interested to see how this plays out.

[Snowy]

Personally I like to see the drivers having a bit of chutzpah, not being afraid to speak their minds and stick their elbows out. It is one of the best aspects of the Drive To Survive Netflix series, the bland corporate veneer is dropped and you see some of the real characters behind the helmets.

As Chris says, the best of the best have always had sharp elbows and pushed the rules. Hell Schuey used to force drivers into mistakes just by appearing in their mirrors.

Ironically Verstappen is no longer taking part in the next one as he's deemed it fake?

I know that it pushes a narrative in each episode that can be a bit manufactured, but sitting on the fence can see why that makes sense from a TV show production standpoint. My wife who has zero interest in F1 has watched several of them with me and been kept interested by the 'story'.

For me though it is just nice to see behind the scenes. F1 has been so sterile for so long thanks to corporate interests not wanting anything that could be perceived to damage their brands (like anyone cares a fuck who sponsors the teams - most of the brands I don't even know these days and the ones that I do are often IT firms that few outside of the IT world will know). Seeing real responses from people rather than the endless bland platitudes that form 95% of the interviews shown on the TV coverage is great, even a year after the fact, and makes the people involved much more rounded. I like it but can see Verstappen's perspective too, although wonder if he has just got his pants on about being portrayed as a bit of a dick when he has been a bit of a dick...

[Raid]

I agree that it's good to see the actual personalities of people in this sport, but the problem with DTS is that some of it is not magnified for the sake of the show, it's just pure fiction. They invent rivalries between drivers, supported with clips or soundbites that are used out of context. It's arguably dishonest, and while I'd have loved to see Verstappen's personal views on this year's championship, I think he understands that with his occasionally flippant and acerbic attitude, he'd potentially be positioned as the antagonist of that story which could potentially harm his reputation.

DTS has seemingly been a pretty big success in bringing new fans to the sport. The F1 subreddit occasionally shows graphs of their page view counts, and there are massive upticks whenever a new season of the show starts. It's just unfortunate that those of us who have been fans for a relatively long time don't get that same experience because a lot of it doesn't match how we remember a season.

[Rossell]

I think the biggest offender was the Norris/Sainz episode from last year when actually they're the best of mates, and that seems quite genuine on camera.

[Raid]

I couldn't remember which driver pairing it was in the latest season that offended. If it was Sainz / Norris, then that absolutely illustrates the point as they were probably the friendliest teammates on the grid (and just look at the way they interact with each other now, they're clearly still friends despite being in separate teams, so it wasn't just for the cameras). I think DTS sometimes equates competitiveness and adrenaline to drama - they'll absolutely fight on the track, maybe they'll call each other on their driving while they're in the car, but that doesn't indicate a strained relationship. I think they do the same thing every year with Ricciardo and someone else, when he's about the most amiable F1 driver imaginable.

[Raid]

Lewis is sporting a new helmet design.



...in a country where homosexuality is still, in 2021, somehow illegal. Good man.

[Drarok]

It is one of the best aspects of the Drive To Survive Netflix series, the bland corporate veneer is dropped and you see some of the made-up characters Netflix came up with this season.

[Drarok]

What're the chances HAM is himself LGBT, rather than just being a general good egg? Can you imagine the scenes if he comes out? "I always knew 'e was a wrong'un!" (house filled with HAM merch), haha.

[Raid]

I'd like to think we were past the point where someone supporting LGBTQ+ people is thought to be closeted themselves. The man is just using his platform to support people in general, and I think most of his support has gone towards fighting racism.

[Wrathbone]

I’d like to think we’re past the point where anyone’s sexuality is newsworthy.