No, I haven't lost all sense of time or gone completely mad (still just part way there), but from 2021 the historic & immeasurably evocative name of Racing Point will disappear from F1 to be replaced with Aston Martin: https://www.racefans.net/2020/01/31/racing-point-aston-martin-f1-team-2021-stroll/
Oh no. Racing Point, the greatest team name to grace F1, is down for the count.
I wonder why not for 2020? Perhaps the other teams refused to agree to a name change.
They want to use up their stock of pink paint. Also, Aston's sponsorship deal with Red Bull doesn't finish until the end of this year.
Ah yes. The bulls.
Mercedes signs long-term partnership with something called INEOS, rumoured to be about the same size as their Petronas deal. This implies that Mercedes is indeed staying in F1 past 2020:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-ineos-partnership-announced/4682646/
INEOS is Jim Ratcliffe's rather large chemicals business (turnover estimated at $80 billion) and personal plaything; he's taken it down various other avenues, one of which is the upcoming INEOS Grenadier off-roader, described by Ratcliffe as the spiritual successor to Land Rover's original Defender.
As you say, Merc. signing this deal doesn't exactly scream that they're planning to leave F1 at the end of the year.
Unless of course we will see INEOS F1 Team in 2021.[/conspiracy]
The thought did flick through my mind. He's already got a professional cycling team and a sailing outfit under the INEOS banner, a bit of motorsport action would fit in quite nicely.
Toto hoping that higher sponsorship revenues and next year's budget cap will eliminate cost as a factor in Merc's decision on remaining an F1 constructor: https://www.racefans.net/2020/02/10/wolff-wants-to-make-a-no-brainer-for-mercedes-to-stay-in-f1/
https://www.racefans.net/2020/10/27/draft-2021-f1-calendar-presented-to-teams-with-23-races/
An incredibly messy 23-race calendar is on the cards for next season. Is that too many? Yeah, I think so. 20ish feels well balanced, I think we all suffer F1 fatigue near the latter stages of the seasons anyway.
This would include two triple-headers, one of which goes Singapore-Russia-Japan which isn't logistically awesome.
Also, Brazil to remain (but move to Rio), and Saudi Arabia to join. Other than that, it's basically the original 2020 calendar with some reshuffling of the order. In other words, all the new circuits found this season are out again. Portimao especially, I would like to see return. Mugello was cool, as was Nurburgring, and Imola and Turkey will probably be too.
Portimao was ruined by the DRS zone. Sure there were some bits of wheel-to-wheel action at other parts of the track, but most of the overtakes had zero excitement. Could've had a good fight for the lead but no... Hamilton did the better job on tyre management, closed up on Bottas and then power DRS'd his way past.
Any DRS pass is bad enough, but these ones were a joke and killed it for me: I was watching C4's highlights (about one hour of the 'action') and I was so fed up with it that I started jumping through bits at the end. It's supposed to be racing, but how is it racing when drivers have no hope of defending their position? Might as well give each car a small jet engine and let them fire it up instead of DRS. Same result but at least it would sound cool.
It wasn't that bad. We had at least two battles that begun with DRS, and didn't end until a lap later. Kimi and Sergio Perez, I think it was, battled side by side for 6-7 corners after DRS.
This would definitely have benefitted from a shorter DRS zone, but I really found Portimao to be a good race.
I just said on the 'rate the drivers' thread that I'm done with any races which have these massively over-powered DRS zones, simply no interest in watching them any more.
What it needed was no DRS zone. Long straight, quite high downforce levels, let's see if the old-fashioned slipstreaming approach could work.
McLaren's transition back to Merc engines going well so far: https://www.racefans.net/2020/11/03/no-nasty-surprises-designing-mercedes-installation-for-mclaren-mcl35m-key/
As Key mentions, for this first year they'll miss out on some of the advantages of having Mercedes power - principally that they won't be able to shrink bodywork tightly around the engine - but doesn't sound like they need to make any unwelcome alterations to their car. Plus, they get Mercedes power and reliability... so that should help.
https://www.racefans.net/2020/11/09/interlagos-and-catalunya-expected-to-return-on-2021-f1-calendar-vietnam/
No Vietnam in 2021, political bla bla reasons. But Interlagos gets a one-year extension since they need to figure out the environment bla bla in the new Rio location.
Oh, and mediocre Catalunya is still there instead of any of our lovely "new" European rounds from 2020.
And here we go:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/2021-formula-1-calendar-released/4906883/
Australian GP - March 21
Bahrain GP - March 28
Chinese GP - April 11
TBC - April 25
Spanish GP - May 9
Monaco GP - May 23
Azerbaijan GP - June 6
Canadian GP - June 13
French GP - June 27
Austrian GP - July 4
British GP - July 18
Hungarian GP - August 1
Belgian GP - August 29
Dutch GP - September 5
Italian GP - September 12
Russian GP - September 26
Singapore GP - October 3
Japanese GP - October 10
United States GP - October 24
Mexican GP - October 31
Brazilian GP - November 14
Saudi Arabia GP - November 28
Abu Dhabi GP - December 5
I guess the "TBC" will be held at Portimao, Nurburgring, Hockenheim, Mugello, or Imola.
Yes, they need to chop down a lot of trees for the new Rio track. Strangely enough, some people aren't best pleased about it....
Please let the TBC one be at Mugello. Pretty please.
The TBC coincides with my 30th birthday. That's quite something!
Cool. I hope you get a good race for it. They should let you choose the circuit.
As it happens, my birthday falls on race day in Bahrain, but it's not a landmark year and it's not a track I care for.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderstorp_Raceway
Cheers, Penfold.
I Tilkefied it a bit:
(https://i.imgur.com/00kcL1W.png)
Obviously, the "Start corner" needs to be more... sharp. So a quick right hander close to the start, then a hard braking point before a left-right combination leading into the equally sharp Opel corner. Following this is the ICONIC section of Hansen, the Carousel, Gislaved, and Södra (South) corner. This leads out onto the greatly extended flight straight (so named for the, well, air strip it uses). Perfect place for DRS, do you not think?
The flight straight is not straight, it turns slightly at the Norra (North) corner before heading down into the VERY interesting Ronnie Esses, quickly followed by the sweeping Volvo corner and the two kinks on the start/Finish straight. DRS here too, of course, through the second Läktar kink.
Remove DRS from Flight Straight and you can have this one. I'll drop the FIA a line and get things rolling.
Doubts over Oz GP: https://www.racefans.net/2021/01/02/start-of-2021-f1-season-likely-to-be-delayed-amid-doubt-over-australian-gp/
I mean, who saw that coming... :D
Going to be a tricky one to squeeze back into F1's mammoth '21 calendar.
I hope you guys had a good Christmas (albeit possibly a weird one due to Covid). Also, Happy New Year to you.
Happy new year!
I've been sick over Christmas and New Years, although probably not covid related since symptoms don't match. Feeling better now!
The calendar is so hectic, but maybe Australia can take the slot otherwise unoccupied. However, Australia is a country that's managed covid better than US or Europe, so assuming all teams remain in Bahrain before going to Australia F1 should be able to set up an Abu Dhabi-esque isolation zone around the circuit and host a safe Australian GP.
2021 will likely see calendar reshuffles due to the virus, albeit not as badly as the 2020 season.
Even with a vaccine in our bodies, we don't really know how contagious we are. Does the vaccine stop the spread? Not necessarily.
Sorry to hear about your lack of Christmas & New Year cheer. Glad you're back to full health now... and in time to return to work!
Don't know about Australia, takes them a good six weeks to build the temporary circuit so need a quick decision for the race to happen in March or early April.
This almost passed me by: Friday's practice sessions have been shortened to 60 minutes each - https://www.racefans.net/2020/12/30/f1-practice-cut-by-one-hour-for-2021-season/
Teams usually don't drive for 90 of the 90 minutes anyway, so two 60-minute sessions frees up time in the calendar. Not necessarily a bad thing, although I would have preferred removing FP2 altogether and go 60 minutes on Friday plus 60 minutes on Saturday only.
Question mark over the Chinese race as well, Imola and Algarve being touted as potential fillers for these fast-appearing calendar holes
Oh yeah, also a suggestion that the Oz GP could be shunted to late November
I have a suggestion. DON'T RUN 23 RACES. Let's have 23 slots and keep the potential gaps as just that. Gaps.
If only. Frankly I find 20 races too much, but of course Liberty has to squeeze every last penny out of their investment.
If we host them from March to November, 20 is fine. Squeezing 17 in with the first in July was a bit too much.
As a Liberty stockholder, I believe they should run 50 races a year.
Which two weekends do we skip?
Whichever countries pay the most to have their holidays recognized.
So we will then not be in the Middle East over Ramadan, but we can just race in Europe then. I think it's Mid-April to Mid-May this year.
Calendar changes indeed.
Australia postponed to 19-21 November, which moves several races one weekend earlier or later. The calendar is now set to wrap in Abu Dhabi on 12 December.
China removed from the calendar with no clear paths to reinstatement, so we could potentially miss that venue two years in a row (oh no. Anyway).
Bahrain becomes the season opener, on March 28th
Imola slotted in as the 2nd round, three weeks after the Bahrain GP
One open slot after Imola, 2 May, likely to go to Portimao
(https://scontent-arn2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s640x640/138411613_1996445637179075_4339629075731016985_o.png?_nc_cat=1&ccb=2&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=DZ8rCmicUE0AX_VOCMP&_nc_ht=scontent-arn2-2.xx&_nc_tp=30&oh=f01bd9cc02ccbc6916d55831fcb81c37&oe=60239DEB)
This means Bahrain will have hosted three of the four most recent Grands Prix. Huh.
They have to keep adding races to compensate for the fee reductions and/or lower annual increases agreed with various circuit owners. Bernie's inflation-busting 'escalator' deals were always completely unsustainable.
In other news... I see Abiteboul has left Renault/Alpine.
https://www.racefans.net/2021/02/03/f1-may-hold-two-races-in-bahrain-if-portuguese-gp-cannot-go-ahead/
Bahrain could once more host a double-header, probably using the "roval" configuration once, if Portugal fails to contain their current Covid spike.
That would mean Bahrain will have hosted 80% of the last five races.
Portugal will hold a race in 2021 also:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/portugal-vacant-slot-2021-f1-calendar/5373891/
That puts an end to speculation of a 2021 double-header in Bahrain. Season will open with Bahrain followed by Imola and Portugal. That is a short flyaway season opener indeed.
I've got my fingers crossed for a shortened DRS zone at the otherwise fantastic Portimao, probably won't get one though. Oh well, live in hope, die in despair as they say....
Seems we'll have 3 sprint race qualifiers in 2021, and a 2022 engine freeze. Hmm.
If the sprint race format is popular with fans when trialled, sure go for it.
If it is impopular, and they leave it after these 3 races, fair enough for trying.
If it is impopular but remains despite fan disapproval (which I suppose is the likely outcome), then boo.
Then again, we're racing in Saudi Arabia which few people support. We're doing 23 races which few teams support.
Sprint race qualifiers, what a waste of time. Apart from the "excitement" of having a top guy start from the back on Sunday if they DNF in one of these sprints, what exactly are they meant to achieve... I mean, besides somehow trying to generate more revenue for Liberty?
Quote from: Penfold on February 16, 2021, 02:59:40 AM
I mean, besides somehow trying to generate more revenue for Liberty?
That's exactly it, though.
If Liberty wants to squeeze 36 races into a season, but they do so over 18 weekends, I'd be OK with it.
Let's see what happens this season, if it's good fun then by all means go for it. If it ruins the show in any way, then please abandon it after testing.
It's one thing if they were proposing sprint races, complete with their own qualifying and for Championship points; relegating single-lap qualifying to deciding who starts where for a race which will itself determine Sunday's grid, that's just pissing me off. It's not going to add anything positive to proceedings, but they didn't get their way on reverse-grid qualifying races so now moving on to Plan B - and presumably try to get people used to this and then revisit Plan A in the future.
Fine, whatever, almost had it with F1 anyway, won't be watching whichever races they push this on. I've only kept going this long because I'm interested in whether 2022's rejigged cars will allow non-DRS racing.
Alpine has employed Kvyat for reserve driver duties this year: https://www.racefans.net/2021/03/02/kvyat-joins-alpine-as-reserve-driver-for-2021-f1-season/
Not a bad choice.
Definitely a stronger reserve driver than most other teams can field, and we saw them used several times last season. Not impossible he'll have to step in sometime this season.
We're two thirds through the pre-season testing, and it's about time I rank the teams.
1. Mercedes (they struggle a lot more with reliability, and if this season is close that could end up being a deciding factor. I'll still put them here though
2. Red Bull
3. Ferrari (Their long runs are not great but their one lap pace seems acceptable)
4. McLaren
5. Aston Martin
6. Alpine
7. AlphaTauri
8. Alfa Romeo
9. Haas
10. Williams
Judging from absurdly limited running, all three of the backmarkers from 2020 are joining the midfield fight. Haas and Alfa seem to do so courtesy of a reasonably acceptable engine, whilst Williams seem to have a fairly grippy car in slower sections.
The McLaren-Mercedes team are running fast, and with little to no reliability issues popping up so far. Could definitely pip 3rd from Ferrari, but probably not battle it out with the top two.
(https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/160545006_2050511645105807_5318199047109488965_o.jpg?_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=cyMqiGb4aqoAX_d5tZG&_nc_ht=scontent-arn2-1.xx&oh=16ba8c4e1f6f068f537383a28e0d2025&oe=6072FBAF)
This does not tell us much at all. 1:28.960 is admittedly only 1.3 seconds slower than his Q3 lap from last year, but Verstappen ran the softest of tyres in this test.
Aston Martin did not bother with qualifying simulations, it seems. Or they are hopelessly distanced, over 3 seconds behind Haas who seem to be this years actual backmarkers. Williams and Alfa Romeo definitely appear to have moved up a bit and perhaps are joining the midfield for this year.
Are AlphaTauri the surprise of 2021? Can Ferrari score a victory this season? Will Kimi remain for yet another season? All this and more on the next season of Formula One!
Possibly. Think they'll need some good fortune. Of course he will!
Now on to my wild stab at ranking the teams:
1. Red Bull - Car looks fast and stable, Honda pumping out the horses
2. Mercedes - I'd put them equal first if I could because, you know, it's Mercedes... but Max could really bring the fight to Ham this year
3. McLaren - The competition behind the top two is bound to be insanely tight, but I'm giving the papaya orange car the nod over the rest
4. Ferrari
5. Alpine - Put ahead of the next team partly due to drivers
6. Aston Martin
7. Alpha Tory - Sorely tempted to place them ahead of Aston...
8. Alfauber - Basically, positions 3 to 8 are likely to jump around depending on track characteristics, and how well they get tyres to work in various conditions
9. Haas
10. Williams
By all accounts, the Alfa was impressive on its long runs, which makes me feel kind of mean putting them in 8th... but I just don't know who to drop down instead!
I'm keen to put Red Bull first too, and move Ferrari to 4th. My 3rd is Alpha Tauri for now though, Tsunoda especially drove that car with low effort. It simply looked planted.
P4 Ferrari, P5 McLaren, P6 Alpine. P7 Aston, P8 Alfa, P9 Williams, P10 Haas.
Haven't been here in a while. How is everyone? Been watching the Netflix series as I did not do a very good job watching the 2020 season.
Hello stranger! Really has been quite a while. Hope you're doing well during these interesting times...
Can't say you missed that much last season, but hoping for a fight up front this time. Bound to happen eventually, right?
Nice to hear from you Cabanacat!
Penfold is getting more disillusioned with F1 every day, I think last season was good! I'm half expecting Mercedes to struggle in 2021 but we'll see. The Ferrari engine is better than 2020, but we'll see how much that helps Ferrari fight for podiums and Alfa Romeo for points.
AlphaTauri looked impressive too!
I am hoping to enjoy this season more, the last one really wasn't helped by not having the old man around to watch races with. I'm sure that coloured my perception somewhat, but there was also the tedium of Hamilton going unchallenged and the continued nightmare of DRS.
I'm sorry to hear that, mate! Company definitely helps the show.
I've finally got my wife hooked on Drive to Survive, and she's excited about the season premiere. Only took me 9 years!
2022 is where it's at for me, the new regulations.
Must've watched 500+ races with my dad, so can't help but think of him when I sit down to watch one now. Oh well, fond memories at least.
Drive to Survive... you using it as a gateway drug into F1 for your wife? How sneaky lol
With you on '22, waited a long, long, time for F1 to tackle the dirty air issue. Please don't let them ruin it by keeping DRS next year....
Quote from: Penfold on March 22, 2021, 05:35:11 AMDrive to Survive... you using it as a gateway drug into F1 for your wife? How sneaky lol
She's a fan of Ricciardo, Norris, and Leclerc. So I think the show has done wonders, I like those boys too!
She used to be a fan of the very handsome Nico Rosberg, courtesy of his looks. Also of Pastor Maldonado, but you may be surprised to hear that had nothing to do with his looks. Rather, his name was funny.
I'm sure Penfold is anxiously awaiting the first Super Formula race this weekend.
People on Reddit seem to love The Race's coverage, which I don't get at all. I thought it was quite bad, the announcers rarely seemed to know what was going on and seemed to rely on cliches like "Kobayashi is so aggressive" even when he was just driving around.
Watched it on Red Bull TV, commentary far superior to that provided by those 'The Race' muppets.... more professional broadcast all round in fact. Racing still on the underwhelming side though, I really want to like Super Formula but just struggling to get into it. I shall stick with it for this season in the hope that the action picks up.
I kind of agree. There was some good racing, but it doesn't feel like much more happens than in the typical F1 race. If the announcers were able to keep up with strategies, that might help, but they're not on-site and they don't have the production value to do it. Actually seeing prerace segments with drivers, and having interview translation, helps a lot though. You get some feel for who you're watching. For example, Nojiri immediately complaining about blue flags in his postrace interview. Come on man.
They're short races and they come on around midnight here though, so I'll keep watching them.
I don't see many teams developing the 2021 cars all too heavily this season, with new 2022 regs upcoming. So, these news about AlphaTauri pushing a big step for Spain could promote them to 3rd fastest. Or maybe they already are there or thereabouts, Gasly qualified P5 in Bahrain after all.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alphatauri-should-have-nice-step-forward-by-spain/5987719/
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alpine-wont-let-alonso-ocon-rivalry-get-out-of-hand/6148094/
You need two (almost) equally strong drivers for that to happen. Don't worry, Alain, Alonso ran circles around Ocon in his very first race back and is likely to get better as the season progresses and he warms to the car.
Honestly, what was Prosty thinking....
https://www.autoweek.com/racing/formula-1/a36094972/f1-canadian-gp-jeopardy-turkey-in-the-wings/
We might lose Canada again, due to COVID. Turkey lined up as replacement.
With the farcical conditions in Turkey last year, I'd much prefer a return to Mugello. Not to mention Germany (Hock and Nürb would both do). There's also Buddh in India, as well as Sepang Malaysia.
If we look at the tracks currently able to host F1 but not scheduled to, in Europe alone we find:
Iberia:
Estoril, Portugal
Jerez, Spain
Ricardo Tomo (Valencia), Spain
MotorLand Aragon, Spain
Central and Southern Europe:
Mugello, Italy
Magny-Cours, France (yup, it maintains FIA's top grade which is required for F1)
Hockenheim, Germany
Nürburgring, Germany
Northern and Eastern Europe:
Kymi Ring, Finland
Igora Drive, Russia
Moscow Raceway, Russia
Why not go pay Kymi Ring a visit? Finland will not have F1 drivers for much longer, and it would be nice for Kimi and Valtteri to get a one-off home Grand Prix:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Kymi_Ring_layout.png)
That Kimi track would be great to see, or another visit to Mugello... think India is unlikely given the surge in Covid right now.
The Kymi Ring is clearly 2-wheel friendly, would perhaps not produce a great spectacle as such but as a one-off it would be neat.
I do hope F1 learns from these last two seasons, and start rotating their schedules more. I'm definitely not opposed to circuits signing group deals where they rotate between 4-5 different circuits every year.
For example, let's have a race rotating between Mugello, Imola, Portimao, and maybe Estoril and Jerez. So these circuits would feature once every 4-5 years.
Well, that was entertaining. Hope Lewis thanks Russell for bringing out the red flags, and also Bottas for being so far down the field that he was fighting a Williams.
Before the race even started, we had:
Alonso in the wall
Stroll on fire
Vettel in the pits
And then the race itself kept that up. Mixed weather racing is good.
Time for Liberty to press on with Bernie's sprinkler idea!
Hot take on this season:
If Mercedes and Red Bull are this close at both Bahrain and Imola, two fairly different tracks, we can expect there to be a closely fought championship battle. So much so that the winner may be the one most willing to sacrifice the 2022 project.
In other words:
Could a Red Bull-Mercedes battle in 2021 pave the way for a new championship contender such as McLaren, Ferrari, etc. in 2022?
Depends what development is like. Mercedes and Ferrari were basically even for the first half of... 2018? Whatever season that was. Then Mercedes just dominated after summer break.
It's hard to predict what teams will do about development this season. With Hamilton's future unknown, I don't see Mercedes wasting this year. But with how unexpected this season is, I can't see Red Bull wasting it either. But they both have so many resources, I think they can work on both 2021 and 2022 cars effectively.
This is true, but the aerodynamic restrictions have been introduced where the leading teams have less time than the others. Mercedes and Red Bull may have the resources, but they don't have the time to develop two cars simultaneously.
Ilott joins Alfa Romeo as their official reserve driver:
https://www.racefans.net/2021/04/27/alfa-romeos-new-reserve-driver-ilott-to-run-in-friday-practice/
He will stand in when Kubica misses races due to the Pole racing in the European Le Mans series. Ilott will take part in FP1 for Alfa Romeo in Portugal, taking over the car driven by Giovinazzi.
I guess the Italian will have to step up, or risk losing his 2022 seat. Unless this means Kimi has decided to retire, in which case a Giovinazzi-Ilott pairing for 2022 is possible.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/canadian-gp-cancelled-turkish-gp/6494667/
Turkey replaces Canada again, taking up the same slot.
I see most fans are thrilled. I for one am not. I like the Canadian GP very much, and the 2020 Turkish GP was an absolute disgrace. Hoping for a better showing this year from the Turks.
Canada hasn't been very good with the current car and regulations though.
'tis a fair point, though I have a nostalgia-driven love of the race.
Second DRS zone for Portugal, and the original one has been trimmed by 120 metres. Admittedly not very new news, but just in case anoyone missed it. Linky thing: https://www.racefans.net/2021/04/28/portimao-adds-second-drs-zone-on-back-straight/
Such a long main straight, couldn't they've just tried it without DRS....
https://www.racefans.net/2021/05/03/i-hope-we-dont-come-back-to-algarve-circuit-verstappen/
Hamilton, when facing a challenge from a rival team, steps up and delivers. He made a rare mistake in Imola but recovered, he fought brilliantly in both Bahrain and Portugal to sit atop the standings. Verstappen, however, seems to have some maturing to do. If the cars are this close, I think Hamilton has the upper hand in terms of mentality and that could be what decides the whole championship in his favour. I was adamant Verstappen would absolutely dominate this season, and the car kind of seems up for it at least on some circuits, but he lacks that final piece for now.
I think Hamilton made a rare mistake in getting caught out by Bottas at the SC restart, resulting in Max getting the jump on him.
However Max returned the favour with a mistake allowing Hamilton to get the DRS run on him.
I think the season will come down to who makes the fewest mistakes, and you've probably got to put your money on Hamilton and Mercedes (reliability) to keep themselves clean. A race retirement could really flip it one way or the other!
So far, both Red Bull and Mercedes have completed every lap except for crashes. No mechanical issues (well, the sensor for Bottas).
Hamilton last retired three years ago, I think. that's absurdly reliable. Before that, it was 2016 with the engine boom in Malaysia and the Rosberg cuddle in Spain.
I see the "Horner says Perez has to be closer to the front" stories have already begun. Thankfully they'll fire him at the end of the year so they can insert a different name into the same story next season.
The fact is, the only reason Verstappen even had a chance to win this week was because he beat Hamilton into turn one on the start. The reason Hamilton couldn't easily pass him (Barcelona) is the same reason Perez couldn't easily pass Ricciardo (Barcelona). If Hamilton had held the lead at the start, it wouldn't have even been close. So people can focus on the strategy and everything, but the reality is that the Mercedes was just way faster but they happened to be on a track where you wouldn't be able to pass even if your entire rear wing fell off down the front straight.
Perez has gotten it right once on the Saturday though, his P2 in quali in Imola. Just messed the race up then.
I do expect Perez to find his footing sooner rather than later, maybe by Baku. Monaco, perhaps not, it's just a very difficult track to find that final percentage.
Still don't see who Red Bull could bring in. Bottas? Russell? Gasly won't get the nod again, and Tsunoda... well, he'll be another Albon. Half the grid are ex-Red Bulls with Vettel, Ricciardo, Sainz, and Gasly driving for teams after racing for Red Bull.
He was also fourth in qualifying in Portugal, only 0.15 down on Max.
Ah yes, he was that. Horner applying unnecessary pressure on the Mexican then, especially since Perez was apparently nursing a rather painful shoulder injury this Saturday:
https://www.racefans.net/2021/05/08/perez-has-toughest-qualifying-for-red-bull-after-shoulder-pain-and-spin/
Horner's reaction post-race:
https://www.racefans.net/2021/05/10/red-bull-desperately-need-perez-to-put-pressure-on-mercedes-horner/
There seems to have been a bit of walking it back today, with Red Bull saying they're happy with his performance so far. I think both can be true anyway.
I think Perez has shown that he can be closer to Max than anyone since Ricciardo has been, while also backing up that the Red Bull car has unique driving characteristics that aren't immediately obvious. But with a brand new coming next year (as we've discussed elsewhere), I hope he does well enough to get a chance in that. Unless a driver massively underperforms or is terrible at car feedback, I don't think teams will be in a rush to make changes this offseason.
The 2021 Turkish GP did not last long. It has been cancelled, and the Styrian GP will return:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/austria-to-host-f1-double-header-after-turkish-gp-cancellation/6508479/
I wish they hadn't bothered replacing it. More than enough races on the calendar and I don't see what a second run round Austria adds to the show.
McLaren running a special Gulf livery for Monaco:
(https://i.postimg.cc/G3BRW74x/racefansdotnet-21-05-16-17-15-36-4.jpg)
Blue is kind of washed out in that image, this should be a more accurate representation:
(https://i.postimg.cc/bNsKDsx0/racefansdotnet-21-05-16-17-18-54-3.jpg)
I mean it's a really neat livery, but Ferrari at Mugello and Mercedes at Hockenheim... Retro liveries in F1 are bad for business, we can't pull it off like NASCAR.
Hopefully third time's the charm!
Been pondering who might have a good run at Monaco - besides Merc & Red Bull! Ocon's optimistic for Alpine to have a decent weekend, good in the twisty bit of Barcelona and been stronger on one-lap pace than in the races.
Leclerc has DNFed in his last four outings in Monaco, including F2. So this is not a track for him. By that logic, I expect a P3 for him.
Alpine does have reason to be optimistic, they were OK in Spain's S3 last time around as was Ferrari. Alonso's experience could work in his favour and see him elevated slightly.
I'll go with 'It is I' clipping a barrier on lap 52....
Ferrari 1-2 on Thursday in Monaco. Leclerc was P1. Should I go for him as my weekly? I mean... his track record is poor. 4 DNFs including 2 in F1 and 2 in F2. And he had a gearbox failure in FP1 too. ;D
Yes, please pick him... will be hilarious when he smacks it into the wall :P
I have to go Ferrari. Especially as my preliminary pick is nowhere.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/bottas-wheel-nut-still-stuck-mercedes/6514622/
So that's a 21 hour pit stop and counting...
So I was wrong about 'It is I' clipping a barrier on lap 52....
Not bad for a Monaco race, though a shame about Bottas (doesn't he just get all the luck at Mercedes!) and that the cretinous director cut away from Vettel on Gasly.
Quote from: Penfold on May 26, 2021, 03:32:36 AMand that the cretinous director cut away from Vettel on Gasly.
I'm one of them cool kids, so I use the app TikTok. I currently see one of two things:
* People getting horny over the Eurovision Song Contest winners
* Videos where something is about to happen, but just as it's about to they cut to a replay of Lance Stroll running wide by the Swimming Pool
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/how-bottas-pitstop-ended-up-being-43-hours-long/6516768/
That's a 43 hour pit stop for Bottas, who will not be winning the Monaco GP.
... and that's only for removing the wheel
Singapore is gone: https://www.racefans.net/2021/06/04/singapore-grand-prix-cancelled-three-replacement-races-under-consideration/
They seem determined to find a replacement, with Shanghai, Istanbul, and a second trip to CotA all mentioned.
Quote from: Penfold on May 21, 2021, 05:38:11 AM
Yes, please pick him... will be hilarious when he smacks it into the wall :P
Oh damn, you're a fortune teller!
Watching F2 sprint race one and it really irritates me that its taken 3 laps to remove 2 cars that went off at turn 2 on lap 1.
One resting against the barrier with a damaged wing, but not something that can't be rolled away. The other parked down the escape road. 2 cars that would be gone within 40s at Monaco. And at worst dealt with under a VSC.
Doesn't bode well for F1 tomorrow.
This has become a theme of late. They've gone so far with the draconian rules about marshals not entering the track without permission, that even on a track with a lap of almost 2 mins, they can't remove the car in a 2 min gap in traffic, they have to wait 90s until a safety car is called, then wait for the pack to pass the first time.
The start of the race is always known as the most exciting part, hence why they were so desperate to have the red flag grid restarts and in my opinion, its the whole reason for the "sprint qualifying" race idea. Yet they will throw a safety car for a crash at T1 when they are racing out of T3 rather than letting them actually race the majority of the 1st lap before slowing before the scene of the incident. Kills all the drama and excitement of the 1st lap.
Sorry if I sound over dramatic. In the BTCC, unless the crash is on the grid, when a safety car is called, you still race to the line, then slow down, so you still get that 1st lap action and drama.
Anyhow, hopefully we'll get a great F1 race tomorrow. Personally hoping for a Red Bull 1-2. For the benefit of the championship fight, they need to take full advantage of any Mercedes issues, cos we know Mercedes are the best at regrouping and fighting back.
They held the SC until cars came back around. There were FOUR cars to remove. It took 2 laps. I think F2 handled it really nicely.
Not even a genuine battle for the lead, all race long, was enough to generate excitement for Paul Ricard. The DRS was, as usual, much too powerful and Verstappen sailed past Hamilton. The circuit robbed us of a classic race.
I do feel like Mercedes have really slipped lately, and I'm concerned about their ability to keep this championship alive. Could the pendulum already have swung to Red Bull? What will it mean for 2022 if Mercedes and Red Bull both have to keep dedicating resources to 2021 at the same time? Teams like Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, etc. will have turned resources to 2022 a long time ago.
I'm sure Toto said recently that the ongoing development of next year's motor is already budgeted for and won't be curtailed to throw more cash at the current car - not sure I believe they'll hold that line in a title fight! Of course, he also said that money is tight to the point that Russell destroying Valerie's car in Imola could impact upgrades for '21 and/or work on their next car, so it does feel like the door is opening for guys like McLaren and Alpine. I suppose Ferrari as well, but I remain to be convinced that they can beat teams except through out-spending them or cheating....
Paul Ricard, always such a treat for the eyes! Great bit of tyre preservation by Lewis, and then yes of course DRS deprives us of any battle.... but that's F1 for the past 10 years. On the plus side, I always enjoy Ferrari struggling so that performance put a smile on my face :)
Yeah, I've seen a lot of people talk about an amazing race on Sunday... it was fine. It was good for what F1 can offer these days. A late race pass for the lead is better than no pass for the lead, but it's a DRS pass.
I'll take any one of Grosjean's passes in the IndyCar race over an entire race of DRS passes.
I quite enjoyed the French GP, however I only watched the highlights (for reasons), so that probably presented it a bit better to me. But yeah, would have been better still without DRS.
Road America was great from start to finish. Really gutted Magnussen's car cried enough, would have been interesting to see where he could have finished on the alt strategy.
I enjoyed the action into turn 5. I actually don't mind the way they use the limited run off there compared to the endless track limit complaints in F1.
Max Chilton's first top 10 from 3 years in Indy Car... I don't really see how Carlin can keep that entry going.
Back to Istanbul again: https://www.racefans.net/2021/06/25/f1-confirms-return-to-istanbul-in-place-of-cancelled-singapore-gp/
Wouldn't be a surprise if we lose a few others though, entry restrictions in Japan look problematic... perhaps Australia also. Then there's Covid hotspot Brazil....
A second race at COTA seems likely. Unfortunately, it seems like it's going to be the week before the existing weekend, which conflicts with NASCAR being in Texas as well.
The donkey clown turds at Red Bull are lodging an official protest against Hamilton:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-lodges-fia-request-to-review-silverstone-f1-clash/6637565/
Or rather, the penalty he got. It seems they are hell bent on winning this off-track rather than on-track.
I took the liberty to gather the opinion of some within F1 who are neutral (because obviously Mercedes support Hamilton and Red Bull support Verstappen).
-------
I'll highlight 2021 season drivers in bold, and use italics for those who have stronger ties to an involved party. Others have national identity, a lot of Brits view it as a racing incident, for example.
Those who believe Hamilton accidentally caused this, but is mostly or wholly to blame:
Max Verstappen (Red Bull, no word on intention however)
Daniel Ricciardo (arguably Red Bull connected)
Jenson Button
Marcus Ericsson
Kevin Magnussen
Jacques Villeneuve
Felipe Massa
Felix Rosenqvist
Timo Glock
Scott Mitchell (F1 journalist)
Mark Webber (Red Bull)
David Coulthard (Red Bull)
Those who believe Max accidentally caused this, but is mostly or wholly to blame:
Mika Salo
Lawrence Barretto (F1 journalist)
Those who believe it was a racing incident, and therefore implies that a penalty was either incorrect or at least too harsh:
Alex Albon (despite Red Bull bias)
Charles Leclerc
Fernando Alonso
Jolyon Palmer (arguably tilted to blaming Verstappen, but generally a racing incident)
Martin Brundle
Mika Hakkinen
Juan Pablo Montoya
Will Buxton
Damon Hill
Toto Wolff (Mercedes)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
James Allison (Mercedes)
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
Otmar Szafnauer (Mercedes through Aston Martin
Those who believe Hamilton willingly and actively caused this:
Christian Horner (Red Bull)
Helmut Marko (Red Bull)
---
Huh, quite a list. Overall, I'd say most people either think Lewis was accidentally to blame (so would suggest the penalty was fair, especially for a lap 1 incident) or neither driver is to blame. How could Red Bull possibly think they can achieve anything other than pushing neutrals into the Hamilton camp? Supermax fans will back the Dutchman, Hamiltonians will back the Brit. Generally anyway.
Still don't see how Lewis makes it round the corner on that line, at that speed. Move only works if the other driver veers off track...
He could definitely have made it, but indeed only if Verstappen wasn't there anymore. I think Hamilton expected Verstappen to back down when they were alongside, but Verstappen clearly opted to crash over running behind. It was clear to me Verstappen could have done what Leclerc and Norris both did, which is not take the corner once that inside line is occupied.
That's why I rated it 60/40 (with Hamilton more to blame) in the Ratings topic. Hamilton triggered it, Verstappen fulfilled it.
Yeah, he could only make that corner if Max hit the brakes or went off track... basically needs the Red Bull to disappear from that piece of tarmac! Max has the racing line and is ahead, it's bizarre to me that the onus should be on the driver ahead to go off track to avoid a collision. As for the comparison with the Leclerc incident, Max obviously didn't expect Hamilton's car to still be there, and if Lewis had been further to the right as he was when attacking Leclerc the crash could well have been avoided.
Lewis wasn't behind, he was fully alongside. Until he let go of of the accelerator earlier than Verstappen, at which point Max pulled back ahead. That's when the collision happened too. Which is why I pin the 40 on Max.
Still, I do look forward to what "new evidence" Red Bull brings to the table, evidence that should supposedly be enough to exclude Hamilton from the British GP (or the Hungarian?).
He was briefly alongside, but anyone can do that by putting their car down the inside. He still wasn't going to make the corner without full compliance from Max.
Actually, they both went in too fast, faster than on their qualifying laps I think I read... and both at less than ideal angles.
And Red Bull should let it go, surely just wasting their time with this one.
Red Bull had less than nothing, those donkeys. They got Albon to recreate Lewis's line on that first lap, and called that "significant new evidence".
Honestly, if anything Red Bull should be called in for bringing the sport into disrepute.
Well Hungary was a different beast. I had Bottas as my weekly, I was bound to lose out. The logic being Verstappen and Hamilton could have a situation into turn 1. I was half right.
Bottas here also, and as soon as I saw the wet stuff I regretted the choice
You guys though that choosing Bottas was bad...
I chose Vettel, so a great pick immediately rendered useless! ;D
Ugh! But you never know, he may yet be reinstated. Also, you do have 3 do-overs and Vettel is likely one of yours seeing how he could definitely bag a P6 on a good day.
So how should F1 act when rain prevents a race from taking place altogether?
- Award points based on qualifying by skipping the race altogether
- Award points after 2 SC laps, as done in Belgium
- Have a backup slot on Monday
- Cancel the race, not awarding points
- Another idea?
I'd go with a Monday race, but I think having Zandvoort next weekend made it impossible timewise. In which case, I'll have option no. 4 please... but of course then the fans can claim compensation!
I hear a few drivers mention an earlier starting time for the race, which would make the slot bigger in terms of finding some green flag racing during the Sunday. If Spa had started 3 hours earlier, maybe during that time we could have found some 20 or so laps of racing before the rain got too heavy.
Yes, that would be ideal for Spa... just need to get the TV companies on board. Better wet-weather tyres wouldn't go amiss either...
Yes, the actual surface wasn't the main issue but visibility was. Solving that would have enabled the race to go ahead, most likely.
Wonder what impact the new aero will have on spray, obviously mostly down to the tyres but it might make a difference at the margins.
In what direction though? Less intrinsic aero parts up above, but a massive vaccum cleaner underneath. Will this help or not in terms of spray?
Obviously the solution is night vision goggles. Should see right through the spray.
So did me forgetting to pick a driver for Spa cost me anything?
You got the lowest placed driver not yet picked as a pick, and you got total points for him but not weekly pick points. Ideal track to forget a pick since half points were awarded.
So Kimi's out of the race after a positive Covid test; chance for some guy called Robert Kubica to get his big break in F1
Damn these Sprint races making qualifying on a Friday, and me missing the deadline again!
Also, I really think that Bottas' engine penalty applying for the race and not the sprint is a bit dubious. He can still fight for points (albeit small ones) and can still be used tactically for Mercedes, in what is essentially the 1st 3rd of the race before the red flag is flown. If he impedes Verstappen in any controversial way, there's gonna be fireworks.
Well that was a race. When my 1st driver drops out, at least I can count on my 2nd driver, who is also my 3rd driver, to deliver a podium.
The Italian GP saw Hamilton retire from a race for the first time since Austria 2018, and saw him crash out of a race for the first time since Spain 2016 (also with a championship rival!).
It also saw McLaren record its first victory since 2012, and first 1-2 since 2010.
In fact, this is so far the only 1-2 recorded this season by any team.
Lando Norris finished P2 for his best ever finish in F1, previously he had finished 3rd at best.
This marked Daniel Ricciardo's first win since the 2018 Monaco GP, his longest dry spell since winning his first race back in 2014.
With both Verstappen and Hamilton retiring, this race marked the 2nd time this year neither of the two reached a podium.
Incredible race in Russia, victory snatched from Norris in the dying stages after he made the wrong call on tyres. I think it was weak of the team to let Norris make the wrong call, they had the radar and they knew they should pit. It must have been incredibly difficult to pit from the lead, but as soon as Hamilton pitted Norris must have known he had lost the race.
I cannot believe Bottas was this slow. He found P5 in the end, but points was not on the cards until the rain came and messed everything up. Classic end to a race, with severe rain and few laps remaining. It helped Verstappen finish 2nd, but almost a full minute behind Hamilton.
Alright, Brazil was a race. Let's walk through the stewards decisions that were somewhat controversial.
1. Hamilton's DSQ from quali - In my book the correct decision. If a car fails scrutineering, there can be no leeway, no room for interpretation. Incredibly harsh, but if they do not do it this way then teams will move into the grey areas on purpose
2. Verstappen's touching of the cars in parc ferme - Once again correct. They used Verstappen to stop the trend of Inspector Seb. Now, drivers will only look but not touch. He did not affect the Mercedes, but next time he won't touch it either
3. Red Bull repairing their rear wings in parc ferme after Lewis was DSQed - Also correct. The Red Bull passed scrutineering, but had damages. Those should be repaired to the same specification. Nothing wrong here.
4. Verstappen running wide when defending against Hamilton in the race - OK, now. This one I loathe. Max was not alongside Lewis, but he was defending and he was on the inside so he had the right to the line. Had he forced Lewis wide whilst staying on track, I would have been fine with this. Verstappen went super wide, and never had any intention of making the corner. In my case, this was a clear case of both "Forcing another driver off the track" and of "Leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage". Two times 5 seconds in my book, and probably 4 points to his license (2 times 2).
F1 is lucky Hamilton won, for two reasons. This will make quite the episide on Drive to Survive, and they avoid a massive fallout since the 4th point above is moot. Hamilton won anyway. Had Verstappen robbed Hamilton of victory because of that driving...
Of course, Hamilton coming from 25th (basically) to win is unheard of. I read that his recovery in the F1 Sprint was the greatest ever comeback in terms of "overtakes compared to distance covered" in the history of the sport. ;D
And no advantage for Max to do more than push Lewis off track whilst himself remaining on it, keeps Hamilton behind and avoids the risk of penalties. Mind you, I was half expecting Max to plough into Lewis at that corner, so glad it was kept relatively clean!
Max, Valtteri, and Carlos all pushed through yellows after Gasly's tyre went "meh" on that kerb. Could that move Gasly into P2 for tomorrow's race?
Quote from: Chrill on November 20, 2021, 02:57:33 PMCould that move Gasly into P2 for tomorrow's race?
It did, but it did not help him.
Lewis is quite literally unstoppable right now, and apparently they did not run the monstrous "Brazil engine" in Qatar. They will in Saudi Arabia though. If they once again finish Lewis 1st Max 2nd in Saudi, then whoever wins in Abu Dhabi will quite simply be the world champion. Very exciting.
Well the Saudi Arabian GP was different.
First of all, the track is not up to F1 standards. It's just not. So many crashes in F1 and F2 prove that. In addition, Fittipaldi is in hospital for an F2 crash which cannot be blamed on the track (assuming the warning system worked, they have not released any replays so it's hard to tell).
Verstappen was given a 10 second penalty for actively braking ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Considering the wording in the FIA document, I'm honestly surprised Verstappen was not disqualified. But I suppose it's better for the show to go into Abu Dhabi tied on points?
Saudi Arabia also highlighted things I think needs to be put into rule for 2022:
1. If encouraged to let a driver pass due to an earlier incident (gaining an advantage off the track, etc.), you are not able to overtake for a set period of time or set number of corners (10 seconds, 3 corners, whatever)
2. During red flag and parc ferme, you can only repair your car to an equal specification. This should mean drivers cannot change tyre compounds, only change to other tires of the same spec (hard to hard, medium to medium). This would enforce the mandatory pit stop outside a red flag
3. I don't know if this is already a rule, or just something Masi likes doing, but we should specify exactly what and when the race director can "offer" deals like they did to Verstappen. Was it essentially "Let him past" as they usually do? It probably was. This should be written into rules, something like "You have 1 lap to reverse the cars before the matter is picked up by stewards". No room for interpretation
4. Let's be honest, the Q2 tyre rule can go too. Max starting on mediums under one of those restarts made things interesting, so let them do that in every race.
First impressions of revamped Yas Marina? It's neat, definitely improved. Will overtaking be easier? Not necessarily, at least until 2022.
First impressions of who is faster? Well, Hamilton won the Friday. Red Bull struggled a lot with one lap pace. Could we see something similar to Saudi Arabia, where they go all in on qualifying ahead but suffer on Sunday? If so, Hamilton will have to pass Verstappen to win. That'd be something.
ESPN wasn't clear about where the practices were airing, so I didn't see any of them.
Quote from: Chrill on December 10, 2021, 03:46:33 PM
Could we see something similar to Saudi Arabia, where they go all in on qualifying ahead but suffer on Sunday? If so, Hamilton will have to pass Verstappen to win. That'd be something.
Well.
Hand obviously forced by Max flat-spotting the mediums in Q2, but Red Bull did race stints on the softs during practice and pace looked pretty good - be a heavier car at start of race of course, but then also more rubber down on track.... All set up for an intriguing battle
Well that was a race.
It really feels to me like this is what the FIA wanted all along. A spectacle is more important than fair racing. They broke their own Safety Car rules to ensure a green flag at the end, knowing all too well that they removed what was to that point a certain victory.
To me, Mercedes is definitely right in their protest and Verstappen's championship feels hollow to me. He was simply not the better driver when it mattered, but he was on softs after being put there by the FIA.
All season long, the incredibly inconsistent calls made by the FIA have been made to bring this championship to the wire.
I don't think Mercedes should be given the victory post-race, and I hope their appeal will be thrown out. It's just too much bad press if they rewrite the history books a few weeks after the season is over, you know? But I also do think that, had FIA followed their own rules regarding the Safety Car, Hamilton would be celebrating his 8th championship right now. That's just not a worthy end to this season.
At least in 2022, a car will be using the number 1 again as Verstappen already confirmed a few weeks ago he intends to use it. So that's something.
Also, in 2022 I will be at the Dutch Grand Prix. I will be in the Netherlands, as the Dutch driver races in front of his home crowd. That will be spectacular.
The last two weeks were races by some definition, I suppose.
Personally, I think Verstappen was the better driver all season, including at the end. Mercedes certainly brought something incredible beginning in Brazil, but I think some of Max's qualifying laps show that he was having to push the car way harder to keep up. They were both great. The biggest difference is that I still don't buy into this narrative that Silverstone was actually just an example of Max being too stupid to win a championship. I don't think any championship-caliber driver backs out of that corner, he was easily ahead and Hamilton wasn't close to making that apex. I hate this entire argument. Without just getting absolutely taken out there, and Hamilton's free car fix in Imola, it's not really that close. I've seen Hamilton fans complain about Spa too, but there's every chance Verstappen comes out of there with a bigger lead if the race does run to full points.
Ultimately, I think F1 has a lot of bad rules, which are also applied inconsistently on top of that, and both teams and drivers started driving to pressure the race director/stewards into making calls from Silverstone onward.
I think this season really demonstrated my issues with F1. The racing was not actually good. The championship math was good, that's a totally separate question. Max and Hamilton barely ever raced each other without hitting each other or running the other off the track, and the only reason anyone can get close enough to pass is DRS.
More directly: how often, on Monday after the race, was the conversation actually "wow what great racing" instead of "well that should have been a penalty/that team is cheating/etc." Almost never. COTA maybe? But like nothing actually happened that race. And that's not just on the stewards. The rules and tracks are set up in such a way that they're forced to make calls, and the losing side will complain forever.
The new car is the only hope for good racing, but I'm sure the teams will find a way to make it impossible to be close to anyone.
Quote from: Matt on December 12, 2021, 05:57:08 PM
More directly: how often, on Monday after the race, was the conversation actually "wow what great racing" instead of "well that should have been a penalty/that team is cheating/etc." Almost never.
Absolutely accurate, but this comes about because the FIA and Masi was more into keeping the battle tight than keeping it fair.
Mercedes fans feel robbed by the FIA now, but we know Red Bull fans feel like Verstappen won
despite the FIA interfering, not because of them interfering. When both sets of fans feel robbed, you've done something horribly wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right, you know?
I do hope Masi leaves, and I do hope we return back to some fairer racing. Maybe F1 is supposed to be a show like wrestling, maybe that sells, but it's not what I tune in for.
With Mercedes withdrawing their appeal, Max Verstappen is now fully and officially the world champion:
https://www.racefans.net/2021/12/16/mercedes-will-not-appeal-abu-dhabi-gp-result-verstappen-confirmed-as-champion/
It'll take a while before I can get around to accepting just how Max won it, but over the course of 2021 he proved worthy. His driving was not up to par at a couple events, Monza Brazil and Saudi Arabia come to mind, but he won 10 races this season. In all races he finished, he was 1st or 2nd (except for Hungary, where he was taken out by Bottas).
Hamilton lost out due to personal errors in Imola and Azerbaijan, but was only "removed" by external causes once (Monza). He also lost points to Verstappen in the farcical Belgian GP. Verstappen lost points due to no fault of his own in Azerbaijan, Hungary, and Silverstone. Of course, had Belgium been safe to race he would be in pole position and very able to race for a full 25 points.
Worthy champion, and he did nothing wrong in Abu Dhabi when the FIA opted to tweak their own rules for the benefit of getting a shoot-out done.
I saw someone commenting about what happened in football (soccer) terms:
Basically Hamilton led 3-0 when, in the 90th minute, the referee decided that "next goal wins" and awarded Verstappen a penalty. Sure, Verstappen still had to score it but the odds were clearly in his favour despite having been 3-0 down