The Official 2021 F1 thread....

Well done to max!
Terrible final decision by the Massi though. Under the guise of giving the fans one lap of racing, he just set up Ham up like a lamb to the slaughter. It wasn't a race...just like Spa.
Hope Massi steps down.

Hopefully the 2022 season is as exciting but without the controversy.
 
Live by the stewards, die by the stewards. They give and they take and that's the only consistency I've seen in 21 years of watching.

Even so, congrats to Max, RB, and Honda on the championship. Fairytale ending. And what humility and sportsmanship showed by Hamilton in defeat. Hopefully, Max learns a thing or two in that regard.

The online melt down by Ham/MB fans is some of the best entertainment I've read in awhile. Loved Massi's response to Tutu's tantrum: "It's called a motor race. We went car racing."
 
Since race control just makes up the rules as they go why not just go full NASCAR with the Lucky Dog, green white checker, and the Chase.
 
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Hamilton was robbed. Plain and simple.
H-
 
I absolutely agree. The whole situation was contrived by race control. The rule states if lapped cars are to go around the safety car it is all lapped cars not just the cars between 1st and 2nd. Race control chose not to follow the rule because if they did the race would have ended under the safety car. Masi is far better suited to WWE than F1.
 
Also in agreement! Lewis was robbed especially when he dominated the race and built an amazing gap even with a tire handicap. He was consistantly lapping faster than Max even though Max was faster on the straights.
Ironically, it was one of the two boys who bought their seats with Dad's money who changed the course of the championship.....
 
Mercedes appeal was denied. FIA will seldom if ever vote against itself. I wonder why Mercedes didn't pit Lewis under the safely car? Worked for Red Bull.
 
Regarding pit stop during safety car:

Mercedes had the lead to lose if Lewis came out behind Max. RB had 0 to lose by stopping, they wouldn’t have kept up with Mercedes past with those tires. Both teams took the right approach, Cant say the same for the FIA.
 
I can't decide if broadcasting the Masi back/forth radio with Christian & Toto was a terrible idea that should be abolished; or if it's brilliant.. the transparency we need with these unelected tyrants!
 
I hope RED Bull sends queen Latifi a fruit cake and some proseco ......
 
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Regarding pit stop during safety car:

Mercedes had the lead to lose if Lewis came out behind Max. RB had 0 to lose by stopping, they wouldn’t have kept up with Mercedes past with those tires. Both teams took the right approach, Cant say the same for the FIA.

That was the Merc dilemma if they pitted. If NASCAR (err F1) doesn't resume the race, it would have been the right choice. F1 does need to look at a couple things (or more) in the off season. 1. Closing the pit lane until the safety car has gathered all the field... It would put an absolute premium on the pit crews, and because the team shares the pit crew the second driver of the team would totally get hosed. But it would take that random chance part out of the safety car. 2. The whole red flag rules, include allowing free tire changes, standing or rolling restarts, etc.

I would also like the sport to better clarify and enforce track limits (including when forcing a driver off track). I'm old school about protecting the inside line, and when F1 said the inside car has to allow room for the outside car, it opened the pandora's box. Verstappen has exploited this more, although Hamilton used it to his advantage at Silverstone and Monza (although a DNF).

On to 2022 in about 2 months! We shall see the new cars, the new 18' wheels, and hopefully different winners. Red Bull taking over the intellectual development of the Honda engine program. Can Ferrari win a race and end the long drought? How will Russel fit in at Merc, and will he be the future at Merc? Will Hamilton be as competitive as he drives for #8 ? Or will Father Time catch up to him?
 
Did anyone else catch Horatio Pagani wandering around on the sky feed?..I chuckled when darth Helmut pushed Martin out of the way on his grid walk...how bout Botox's GF who thought the last race included prom...
 
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I hope RED Bull sends Giovinazzi a fruit cake and some proseco ......

Doc you mean Latifi.

Guy's you can say what you want but Max has proove he is champion material. Mercedes was better car through the season(also from beginning of hybrid era)
and after Mexico it was clear RB has no chance to win race.But Max didn't give up and in the end it paid off.
 
Doc you mean Latifi.

Guy's you can say what you want but Max has proove he is champion material. Mercedes was better car through the season(also from beginning of hybrid era)
and after Mexico it was clear RB has no chance to win race.But Max didn't give up and in the end it paid off.

oh snap.....yes my bad...
 
The race director made a really bad call - he should have red-flagged the Latifi incident (as the car was on track and would require a lot of intervention by marshals on-track to clear the damaged car and debris) , allowing for a 5 lap sprint finish from a standing start.
As he didn't red-flag and chose the safety car option, he should have followed the rules fully - either let all the lapped cars though (if there was time), or if not, the safety car should have come in once the track was clear of debris and marshals, and the race itself restarts with a rolling start the lap after the safety car has returned to the pits, after communicating to all teams what was gong to happen.
Basically the race director cherry picked some bits of the rules, but didn't follow the established procedure. It was almost as if he was trying to achieve a particular outcome...
 
You are so correct with the actions of the Racing Director, however at the end of the day he made a series of bad calls and handed the WC to Mad Max....Lewis have 7 WC, so he'll have to wait for 8, 9, 10 before he retire.

I believe Merc will withdraw it's appeal to the FIA Courts, as they already have 8 Constructors Championships and Lewis have 7 WC...so let RB and Mad Max have this one curtesy of Michael Masi. Masi, needs to be replaced by the FIA....he is terrible.

Bram
 
how does everyone here feel about having the open mic from massi to the teams?
 
yep me too...
 
You are so correct with the actions of the Racing Director, however at the end of the day he made a series of bad calls and handed the WC to Mad Max....Lewis have 7 WC, so he'll have to wait for 8, 9, 10 before he retire.

I believe Merc will withdraw it's appeal to the FIA Courts, as they already have 8 Constructors Championships and Lewis have 7 WC...so let RB and Mad Max have this one curtesy of Michael Masi. Masi, needs to be replaced by the FIA....he is terrible.

Bram

I don’t know if he is terrible, he plays the cards he is dealt with during the race and to some degree what the stewards decide. Charlie Whiting was very skilled and seasoned. He tried to stay out of the spotlight, Masi seems happy to be in the center of attention.

I think about the Senna Documentary where we see the politics and personalities then as well. I remember Senna and Prost, both years, as well as Schumacher wrecking Hill, and getting away with it, and him wrecking Villenueve and being stripped of the season.

I want the sport to be fair and safe.
 
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