Formula One
Comments
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I think it is perfectly clear that Red Bull took every opportunity to make sure Max was in a position to attack should the opportunity arise. Mercedes decided not to take the same opportunities because they were concerned that they would give up track position which is fair enough but on this occasion it didn't work out to their advantage. There have been a few occasions this year where Mercedes have got the Strategy wrong. I think Mercedes gambled on the thought that the race would end under the safety car. Clearly the Race Director had a different view. I don't think many of us would have wanted to be in Michael Masi's shoes yesterday? No doubt we will be talking about this for a long time to come.
Looking forward the next year the cars will be significantly different so it will be interesting to see if that provides amore level playing field or whether another team will emerge as the leaders.
David
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This makes interesting reading
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Yes I've read that. Seem that Michael Masi panicked and is clearly not up to the job. I wonder what Charlie Whiting would have made of it all?
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I for one hope that their strategy of abandoning work on this years car half way through the season in favour of developing next years car, something Red Bull chose not to do, will pay dividends for next years championship and put Red Bull firmly back in their box.
Hopefully not. The last thing the sport needs is one team that is overly dominant. It makes for very boring racing. One thing this year hasn’t been is boring.
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Fair point.
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At least Michael Masi will be remembered as being the race director who decided who won the 2021 title.
JK
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Chopping and changing the decision at such a late and critical stage served no-one. The rules need to be applied clearly. Maybe there needs to be an amendment that "under SC, no car may close an existing gap to closer than , say 5 seconds." That at least would go some way to mitigating penalisation of any leading driver.
Turning to the actual race, I was surprised that, when MV came in for his first tyre change, LH didn't push hard on his existing tyres which would have extended his lead and given fresher tyres for later in the race. Strange strategic decision IMHO.
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I don't believe the best driver won, I believe he was just lucky. If the crash hadn't have happen there was no way he could have caught Lewis even with his fresh new tyres on.
Am I the only one who heard the race director ask Christian Horner what he wanted, I clearly heard him say what do you want, to finish the race under the safety car or let them unlap, then he bent the rules and only allowed the cars between the two to unlap. At this point Toto screamed No Micheal No.
If that's not giving it to Verstappen on a plate then I'm a China man
Lewis behaved like a true sportsman after the race unlike the spoiled brat Verstappen when things don't go his way.
I know in my eyes who the better driver and sportsman is.
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Although I do not believe a safety car should determine the result of the race or the title, over the season most decisions have gone the way of Lewis.
As I said before no punishment for punting Max off at Silverstone, which Lewis gained 25 points and Max nil.
But if we take like for like The Turkish GP as I mentioned earlier in the thread was the most obvious comparison where Lewis was the one that gained under the safety car then red flag. New tyres and unlapping in a race he would have scored no points, he managed to be in a very advantageous position and scored 10 points.
So if we reversed yesterdays result and give Lewis the 25 points and Max 18 and then take away the 10 points Lewis gained in a similar situation
Max would still be champion scoring 387.5 against 384.5. So the stewards would have handed the title to Lewis using the logic applied by JK.
Now if I may offer a change from the Max and Lewis debate, I would like to share a few pics from the past that I had the greatest pleasure taking at Silverstone and a pic of Senna at Donnington in the worst weather possible where he was outstanding.
Schumacher in the pits preparing for Qualification (old style)
David Coulthard at full chat and Nigel Mansell on the run down to Bridge, just before Jos Verstappen demolished his car against the barrier I was stood behind scattering parts all around me, much to the amusement of the spectators after the dust had settled. The comments were pretty explicit.
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There was one photo taken at Silverstone which I have always wondered what was said. The amazing Frank Williams before he was knighted seemed to be revered by someone.
Damon Hill giving vent to his frustration when leading the race before engine blow up and leading the Ferraris through the old Abbey
David Coulthard on the grid waiting for the start
It has been one of the highlights of my life to have the access to this amazing event, which has produced probably the best year I have ever seen, thanks to Max and Lewis and both teams.
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I heard one report thatHamilton told Wolfe not to appeal the result of the race. If that’s true he has gone up in my estimation.
in the last 2 races there have been 4 incidents that Hamilton could have been penalised for and the FIA/Stewards let them go and not investigate.
Congratulations to Max and RBR. Perhaps next year we will see many different drivers on the podium
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Could be wrong but i thought Kimi Räikkönen was voted driver of the day yesterday
Edit
Taken from F1 web site for yesterdays race
Kimi Raikkonen - 42.8%
Sergio Perez - 21.5%
Lewis Hamilton - 10.9%
Max Verstappen - 7.6%
Valtteri Bottas - 4.9%0 -
Another +1 from me 100%
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I watch Motor racing but I do not follow Motor racing,and because of the significance of the race watched it.
I think there is a feeling that this race with all the final 10 minutes has just shot themselves in the foot with the way it was decided.
No blame to MV whatsever,but to decide an uneven race off for one lap,when LH had what a 12 second lead with 10 laps left,removing the cars in between the two which LH had passed, under the safety car, just gives the impression Michael Masi,lust had to make a quick decision,and got it wrong.
I think the FIA and the manufacturers will hope it will be quickly forgotten and move on to next season,because I think this has damaged motor racing image big time.
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Christian Horner has 'whinged' ever since the last of Vettel's 4 on the bounce.....
It was OK when RB were dominant but not when Mercedes took over the reigns so to speak.
If the safety car was called with just 3 laps to go & not 5 what would he have done request to extend the race?
If the 'Article 48 Rules' had been followed he wouldn't have had an argument would he!
I'm looking forward to George Russell joining Mercedes as he proved last year in a one-off race & an 'ill fitting' car what he was capable of.....
Fingers crossed Lando Norris continues to progress with Maclaren too.... 3 x Brits
FIA elections soon, let's hope they appoint a new knowledgeable Race Director.
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One does wonder if it have been two non British drivers involved in the exact same scenario whether we would have all the fuss and bother we have had over the last 24 hours from the British press? Whilst neither Mercedes or Red Bull are British owned they do between them employ about 2000 British people in highly skilled and highly paid jobs so regardless of outcome its a win win situation for this Country. With Channel Four (paying I assume) for the live broadcast the normal F1 audience doubled to 7.4 million viewers. The race provided everything, excited expectation, jeopardy and a twist at the end, what more could people want
David
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Incidents always happen in any sport, its all part of the attraction, but to engineer a one lap race, by only letting some lapped cars to un-lap themselves contra to the regulations, which of course meant that Max was directly behind Lewis, and then not run another lap behind the safety car as the rules state, clearly shows that someone wanted a new champion.
So if the race had been 59 laps and the rules had been followed,i.e. the 58th lap had been behind the safety car what would have been the outcome?
They both deserved the championship, the luck happened to be on Vestappen's side this time around.
peedee
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100 percent agree. It was disappointing to witness Max's conduct after the Saudi result. I. cannot imagine it enhanced his reputation. All drivers do things in the heat of the moment which they no doubt live to regret. Hamilton has an older head and experience to rely on
peedee
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think the FIA and the manufacturers will hope it will be quickly forgotten and move on to next season,because I think this has damaged motor racing image big time.
We Brits aren’t the only people that follow/support F1 so although Hamilton fans in the U.K. will feel aggrieved I suspect many millions in other countries will probably be delighted so I don’t think F1’s image will be damaged
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The race provided everything, excited expectation, jeopardy and a twist at the end, what more could people want.
Just the rules applied correctly and fairly. Is that too much to ask.
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But, it was not the application or interpretation of the rules that saw LH beaten in the final lap it was the strategic error made by Mercedes for not changing his tyres. Had he had better tyres Max wouldn't have been able to overtake him so easily. So in my view Mercedes have to own up to making a major mistake. Even Damon Hill agrees with me!!! If the race had ended under the safety car, as it would have done if all lapped cars were allowed to pass you cans see the headlines, Another Boring Race, is F1 really worth bothering with? No good for anyone including Mercedes. Michael Masi made a pragmatic decision to get rid of the cars between LH and Max so that we could at least have a race on the final lap. F1 always loses its appeal when you get a dominant team and the Race Directors intervention may have just saved F1.
David
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Both Mercedes and Red Bull were trying to influence the race director and to my mind they should not be able to talk to them during a race.
In my opinion the Mercedes is the better and faster car while Max Verstappen is the better driver and that is balancing things off a bit. Mercedes have made several strategic mistakes this season which have cost Lewis points and can't understand why they didn't change Lewis's tyres under the safety car on Sunday which I'm sure would have guaranteed Lewis the title.
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