F1 2021

[gav525]

What a day I picked to be there! Only just getting round to posting up now as was in bed all of yesterday recovering from a drunken night.

Atmosphere from the Dutch fans was the best I've ever experienced right from the beginning. Admittedly they were a bit quiet when Lewis was leading, but on the last lap it was just crazy! There was one Lewis fan sat next to me in the stand, the rest were Max fans. He actually left before Max crossed the line and said he couldn't bear to watch it

Plenty debates going on, Max got very lucky yes, but at the end of the day the best driver won

Trying to get up to watch some testing but not sure how close I'll be able to get.

Managed to take a total of 4 photos lol, was caught up taking Insta and WhatsApp videos for the ones back home

 

[Captain Starlet]

What a day I picked to be there! Only just getting round to posting up now as was in bed all of yesterday recovering from a drunken night.

Atmosphere from the Dutch fans was the best I've ever experienced right from the beginning. Admittedly they were a bit quiet when Lewis was leading, but on the last lap it was just crazy! There was one Lewis fan sat next to me in the stand, the rest were Max fans. He actually left before Max crossed the line and said he couldn't bear to watch it

Plenty debates going on, Max got very lucky yes, but at the end of the day the best driver won

Trying to get up to watch some testing but not sure how close I'll be able to get.

Managed to take a total of 4 photos lol, was caught up taking Insta and WhatsApp videos for the ones back home

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Not jealous at all. What corner were you at?

 

[gav525]

Not jealous at all. What corner were you at?

Lol was just lucky that I was here for it, not often work ends up working out in my favour. On the flip side I'll be stuck on an island for Xmas and new year so not all good!

Was sat at the new T9 which is the banked hairpin. Had a great view of them coming down through the DRS zone, round T9 then on through the marina and hotel corners. Would definitely sit there again, having done Marina and West grandstands before that is definitely my new favourite!

 

[Jbridges522]

Lol was just lucky that I was here for it, not often work ends up working out in my favour. On the flip side I'll be stuck on an island for Xmas and new year so not all good!

Was sat at the new T9 which is the banked hairpin. Had a great view of them coming down through the DRS zone, round T9 then on through the marina and hotel corners. Would definitely sit there again, having done Marina and West grandstands before that is definitely my new favourite!

The Perez / Hamilton battle must have looked unreal in real life.

 

[gav525]

The Perez / Hamilton battle must have looked unreal in real life.

That was definitely one of the highlights! Was sat in the perfect position as Hamilton passed him but then he edged back in front on the blue surface on the run up to T9 there. Sparks flying and the noise and then the smell of the hot brakes was just unreal.

Was out of my seat for that, much to the Lewis fan next to me disgust

Another was the Latifi/Mick battle as they were side by side going by and round the corner, i even said to the guy next to me that's not going to end well through the hotel complex

 

[stevyg]

If they really wanted a thriller then red flagging the race when Latifi crashed at least would have given us a fair fight. Lewis and max on softs for a couple of laps would have been mint.

That's what should've happened. Or if they kept the lapped cars in-between at the rolling restart, they would have gotten out of the way on the first straight and Verstappen would have caught Hamilton towards the end of the lap, last few corners would have been wheel to wheel I think with a photo finish.

 

[stevyg]

Sign the Petition

Remove Michael Masi from his role as Race Director

chng.it

Should he resign? Absolutely. Only the weathermen can get it wrong so many times and keep their jobs. Will he resign? I don't think the FIA would let him even if he wanted to. Getting rid of Masi will cement the fact that he made the wrong decision and damage the sport even more than it already is. He needs to go but I just don't think they will let him to try and save some face.

 

[svensktoppen]

That's what should've happened. Or if they kept the lapped cars in-between at the rolling restart, they would have gotten out of the way on the first straight and Verstappen would have caught Hamilton towards the end of the lap, last few corners would have been wheel to wheel I think with a photo finish.

See I don't understand that argument at all. Nor the whole "red flag and restart" business.

RB was never in contention for the entre race. Well, apart perhaps from the first corner immediately after the start

Why should all the preceding 57 laps just be thrown out the window and completely ignored just to manufacture a last lap "showdown"? That makes no sense at all. Might as well not bother with any of it then and just call it a day after the qualifying shoot-out.

What should have happened was the rules should have been applied. Which in this particular case would have meant finishing behind the safety car.

Safety cars can make for random results, for sure. But in this particular case it wouldn't. And shouldn't.

 

[Gibbo]

A red flag to create a showdown would also have been against regulations as the required race distance would have been completed and the race would have been over.

 

[impact]

Why should all the preceding 57 laps just be thrown out the window and completely ignored just to manufacture a last lap "showdown"? That makes no sense at all. Might as well not bother with any of it then and just call it a day after the qualifying shoot-out.

That's what will happen at any time with any full SC or red flag though. It's unlucky for who ever is in front that a full reset happens but that's racing.

Whats not normal is to ignore the rules and do a half assed reset where only the 2nd position car gets to fall behind 1st but 3rd place guy has to have back markers between him and 2nd. How's any team meant to strategize what they are going to do in an event if rules are changeable on the spot. The commentators all thought it would be a SC if back markers reset, I'd imagine MB thought the same and played a role in their decision making. Would it have made a difference who knows now.

 

[stevyg]

See I don't understand that argument at all. Nor the whole "red flag and restart" business.

RB was never in contention for the entre race. Well, apart perhaps from the first corner immediately after the start

Why should all the preceding 57 laps just be thrown out the window and completely ignored just to manufacture a last lap "showdown"? That makes no sense at all. Might as well not bother with any of it then and just call it a day after the qualifying shoot-out.

What should have happened was the rules should have been applied. Which in this particular case would have meant finishing behind the safety car.

Safety cars can make for random results, for sure. But in this particular case it wouldn't. And shouldn't.

Rules should have been and should always be applied yes, if the rules don't make sense then they need changed. If the rules were followed a red flag would have been a good option, not the best but better than a manufactured result. It was only going to end one way on the last lap. The best option would have been to keep the cars in-between and let him try to catch Lewis. Max didn't deserve to win that race so finishing under a SC would have been fine too, everyone gets what they deserved, there would be no finger pointing. Forget the leaders for a second, it wasn't fair on the other 3 cars either. You are racing trying to catch someone in the closing stages of a race then the race director says you stay behind the SC but the guys you are chasing get to uplap do a free lap and come back up behind you....with 1 lap left! Like WTF? The race should be reinstated to the previous laps result like it would if they finished under a SC. If there's someone in power who can read the rules with honesty, decency, integrity and a backbone but to save themselves the shame we all know that will never happen.

RB weren't even close, Verstappen's car was 0.3s per lap quicker in Quali but couldn't hang on to Hamilton during the race. I always thought if you won because of SC luck it was a bit hollow. Sometimes it works out sometimes it doesn't, just luck. But I do love the VSC, makes me think why they need a SC at all now. Either keep them running under a VSC if the track can be cleaned up, if not then red flag it and resume under a rolling restart using P1 as the safety car. I get that a red flag, standing restarts & bunching everyone up under the SC creates entertainment but it's not the job of F1 to create entertainment. They are to provide a safe & fair sporting competition, that's it. Just like the 'fan boost' on Formula E, such a comical idea for entertainment purposes it's actually embarrassing.

 

[pablo]

SC bunches up the pack so gives the Marshalls a chunk of clear track on each lap. VSC where possible though for sure.

SC lottery is fine but was abused in this instance to manufacture the desired result. It was only going to end one way. Well maybe 2 where max took them both out but same result.

 

[stevyg]

“There’s a requirement in the sporting regulations to wave all the lapped cars past”

-Michael Masi after the SC period at the Eifel GP 2020

 

[Captain Starlet]

Max will be number 1 in 2022 as well .

 

[cauld1]

Max will be number 1 in 2022 as well .

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Savvy move, can get more merch sold too! Before anyone starts, I don't for a minute think that's why he is taking No 1 next year, I'd do the same!

 

[lackingBHP]

Taking number one cause he feckin earned it

 

[Captain Starlet]

Taking number one cause he feckin earned it

Build him up and let him hold it for a year before Lewis retires it again next year .

Savvy move, can get more merch sold too! Before anyone starts, I don't for a minute think that's why he is taking No 1 next year, I'd do the same!

Silver lining being the fans have to buy a new uniform for next year.

 

[lackingBHP]

Build him up and let him hold it for a year before Lewis retires it again next year .

Let's hope he retires!

 

[KevM]

Taking no.1 as it's the only chance he'll get

 

[pablo]

Bit childish imo. There is a reason no one else took it

 

[svensktoppen]

I'm not surprised, lol, perfectly in character

Fair play, he won and earned it, and has every right to use it.

Lewis always says he always runs as #44 because it has to be earned every year and every season everyone starts from zero

 

[Crow555]

Bit childish imo. There is a reason no one else took it

Didn't Vettel use number 1 or did I imagine that?

 

[gpaevo]

Didn't Vettel use number 1 or did I imagine that?

Vettel did indeed

 

[MarkM]

Vettel did indeed

Was that in the days of numbers being allocated by finish position or his choice?

 

[carmad.]

f1 testing on 18” wheels

why have they all covers / and what looks like brawn wheel covers for ers??