Formula 1 - 2021 - Chasing down Lewis?

How does the final race of the season play out?

  • Max wins a close race

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Lewis crashes out Max (Max wins title)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Neither driver wins the race.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    11
  • Poll closed .

Nick Kaufman

protector of human kind from spoilers
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2003
13,410
A Lost Time

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Man Tsunoda dropped 3 spots moving Russell up into top 10 with his choice of tires. If Russell is going to get points in a Williams this weekend is setting up nicely.

Lando is absolutely killing it. And that cluster of Perez and Bottas behind him should be fun to watch.

Does Lewis try to fly through Max oh the inside of T1?

Gasly vs Leclerc should be fun as will Tsunoda, Alonso, Russell, Stroll and Sainz fighting for points.

Feel for Danny Ric hard to see why he would lose a second in qual compared to practice. Has to be gutted.
 

Nick Kaufman

protector of human kind from spoilers
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2003
13,410
A Lost Time
Where did Ferrari find the pace from Saturday to Sunday?

Pity for Russel.

What's going on with Ricciardo? What's going on with Ocon?

Feels as if the Red Bull-Mercedes has increased or it was disgused by the tire hijinks last time around.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Poor Russell dude cannot buy a break. Poor Gasly that was just a shitshow. Leclerc really should have been investigated. He was wild all day but a great rush from the back. Mercedes strats really make no sense they should have pit Hamilton earlier. They had a 24sec gap between him and Bottas. Maybe Max has to pit and has a problem or anything. They were just resigned to 2nd which was weird when it was obvious they didn't have the pace after like lap 35. Should have planned on 2 stop. Lando really is a good driver and even he ended up down a lap insanity.
 

Chainsaw318

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2006
1,902
Burned . . . Blacklisted
LeClerc is really an action man in that he can race beautifully and make great passes, or just carve into other cars at random times. So lucky he didn’t pop a tire when he passed Kimi toward the end.

would have been fun to see the McLarens more on the middle of it, as it seemed they would be early on. Whatever made RIC drop those 4 spots in one straight doomed that race. Lando had made his leap to legit top-tier racer, and of Mclaren gets good results from the changes next year, could be fun to have him in the championship mix.
 

saintnick912

GINO!
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 30, 2004
4,968
Somerville, MA
Are they doing anything different for the second race in Austria? I don't think there is another layout like Bahrain but it would be nice to throw some kind of wrench into the proceedings and see what happens.
 

cgori

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2004
4,007
SF, CA
Different tire selection!
Not sure if you knew (probably you did?) but they are actually doing that: https://www.planetf1.com/news/pirelli-alternating-compounds-styria-austria/
The double-header in Spielberg will see Formula 1’s tyre manufacturer switch up their selections for either weekend. For the Styrian Grand Prix first up, they will bring the tyres used in France – the C2, C3 and C4 compounds, which are the tyres in the middle of Pirelli’s range.
For the Austrian Grand Prix a week later, however, they will be going a step softer by using the C3, C4 and C5 compounds – their grippiest selection in their range.
I think the C5 in potentially very hot conditions will make for more interesting strategic decisions (or at least diversify the strategy approaches somewhat).
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Man Lando one little wobble on T10 from Pole. What a day for the young English drivers.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Crowd looks up for it! That was a cool intro. Cmon Lando have a good race I'm not a Lando fan necessarily but I just like anything that disrupts RB and Merc and makes them race differently. Ferrari starting the back doesn't seem like they can even impact Perez or Bottas.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
5 seconds for everyone but especially Tsunoda for not knowing what a pit line is and Perez for basically trying to send Norris to the shadow realm twice.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Has to be gutting for Russell and Williams tried so hard to hold off Alonso only to lose it at the death.
 

Chainsaw318

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2006
1,902
Burned . . . Blacklisted
I’m still not sure what Lando did to earn that penalty, and he was coming for 2nd late. Fun drive.

anazing the jump the RBs have made this year. They aren’t just competitive with the Mercs, they look way stronger than I ever would have thought.

I still wish Ferrari were a little slower though. I would warm the same place in my heart where my enjoyment of seeing the Yankees fail lives.

Silverstone will hopefully be fun. Lewis seems to love racing there and may be more on edge if he’s losing.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
I’m still not sure what Lando did to earn that penalty, and he was coming for 2nd late. Fun drive.
No idea I've heard the excuses used but basically it boils down to if I guy is close let him beat you. Seems...not ideal.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
I enjoyed the sprint. There was a sense of urgency from start to finish.

Alonso’s start, while impressive, ruined the battle at the top and saved Leclerc’s spot. I would have loved to see Lando battle Bottas. Alonso’s defending was bullshit.
 

Nick Kaufman

protector of human kind from spoilers
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2003
13,410
A Lost Time
Genuinely tough situation to judge, but as they analyze it, it becomes apparent Hamilton pushed on the edge a tad too far.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
10 second penalty, not a stop and go. So, the penalty for ending your rival’s race is literally nothing. Free 25 (26) points for Lewis.
 

Chainsaw318

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2006
1,902
Burned . . . Blacklisted
Just finished the race. The incident was a rough one, it hard not to have it colored by how gnarly the impact looked afterward.

I don’t know how I otherwise would have penalized that - it’s a first lap incident, one didn’t turn in on the other, and they were racing for an important spot.

Even maybe last year, I don’t know I don’t know that I would have done this done this, but I gave a clap and a cheer for Hamilton when he caught and passed LeClerc. Surprised myself a little.

It’s nice to have Alonso around, but I’m remembering how he seems to do a lot of little crappy things- the constant complaints when he was with Renault and Ferrari, the weaving on the straights, moving under braking - that make it less fun when he’s making fun passes or racing Vettel.
 

gibdied

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 6, 2007
575
A Tropical Isle
Hamilton was pretty wide of the apex when he made contact with Max, but seemed to keep it much tighter on subsequent moves to the inside on that corner.

I would have preferred if Leclerc had held on. It feels a bit lame to cause an incident that disposes of one's rival, then win anyways after receiving a meaningless penalty.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
It's amazing to see how bad Ferrari was on the hard tires, when it was mediums versus mediums he did a pretty good job of holding off Hamilton, then the hards came on and boom game over. Stinks he was having so many engine problems too, when was the last time an engine just lost its mapping in a race like that?

Hopefully Max is back and in good shape I know they said he was fine with no serious injuries but you have to be sore after something like that.

Poor Gasly cannot catch a break lately. Alpine closes the gap a little bit on AT and AM. That fifth place battle is getting pretty tight.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
Lewis and Max were effusive in their reciprocal praise for good, clean racing in the events leading up to this. I genuinely see the incident as a desperate, frustrated Hamilton resorting to shitty racecraft. He had a preview of the back of Max's car during the sprint and wanted to avoid the main event.

I rarely find myself agreeing with Horner, but I'm fully on board with his statements. Hamilton's move was amateurish, attempting to win the race on the first lap. He never had a shot in hell of making that corner cleanly. He clearly did not have the position, given the right rear/left front contact. He was understeering like mad because he was carrying too much speed. It was stupid, it was reckless, and it was avoidable. It also could have ended Lewis's race, as reports came out after that the repairs completed during the red flag allowed him to continue. If that had been the outcome, it would have been frustrating but something that everybody could live with. However, he could carry on, so...

The penalty... I don't know what you do here. The stewards put him at fault, gave him points on his license, and had to do something from a time standpoint. Can the stewards look at the result of the infraction and judge more harshly? They seem to avoid that when possible. Is the fact that the Mercedes had a clear path to victory by knocking out its rival something you can legislate out somehow? Clearly, the answer is no. You can't give a different penalty to a Mercedes and an Aston Martin for the same type of incident, though the resulting time loss could hurt one far worse than the other.

Lewis has benefitted from some unfortunate shit this year. I don't think he's at all earned his points. His celebrations, while at his home track, were over the top for somebody that did not in any way cleanly win. I'm hoping that Max gets back on track and can build another Lewis horseshoe lead.
 

saintnick912

GINO!
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 30, 2004
4,968
Somerville, MA
It's amazing to see how bad Ferrari was on the hard tires, when it was mediums versus mediums he did a pretty good job of holding off Hamilton, then the hards came on and boom game over.
Norris really suffered on the hards also. They were on the radio talking about catching Bottas after the Hamilton's stop/penalty and he was nowhere close by the race finish.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Norris really suffered on the hards also. They were on the radio talking about catching Bottas after the Hamilton's stop/penalty and he was nowhere close by the race finish.
Yeah that's so true by the end he was 17 seconds adrift of Bottas and that's with Bottas having those blistering problems.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Bienvenidos a Miami. Just got an email that tickets will be going on sale for F1 Miami Grand Prix 2022 this fall. Don't think I'll be able to convince the wifey to make that the family trip though lol
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Haha it will be interesting how Miami does in it's first race. COTA pulled about 270k in 2019.
 

Chainsaw318

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2006
1,902
Burned . . . Blacklisted
Lewis and Max were effusive in their reciprocal praise for good, clean racing in the events leading up to this. I genuinely see the incident as a desperate, frustrated Hamilton resorting to shitty racecraft. He had a preview of the back of Max's car during the sprint and wanted to avoid the main event.

I rarely find myself agreeing with Horner, but I'm fully on board with his statements. Hamilton's move was amateurish, attempting to win the race on the first lap. He never had a shot in hell of making that corner cleanly. He clearly did not have the position, given the right rear/left front contact. He was understeering like mad because he was carrying too much speed. It was stupid, it was reckless, and it was avoidable. It also could have ended Lewis's race, as reports came out after that the repairs completed during the red flag allowed him to continue. If that had been the outcome, it would have been frustrating but something that everybody could live with. However, he could carry on, so...

The penalty... I don't know what you do here. The stewards put him at fault, gave him points on his license, and had to do something from a time standpoint. Can the stewards look at the result of the infraction and judge more harshly? They seem to avoid that when possible. Is the fact that the Mercedes had a clear path to victory by knocking out its rival something you can legislate out somehow? Clearly, the answer is no. You can't give a different penalty to a Mercedes and an Aston Martin for the same type of incident, though the resulting time loss could hurt one far worse than the other.

Lewis has benefitted from some unfortunate shit this year. I don't think he's at all earned his points. His celebrations, while at his home track, were over the top for somebody that did not in any way cleanly win. I'm hoping that Max gets back on track and can build another Lewis horseshoe lead.
I disagree with this take.

Horner and Max can be understandably upset at how this turned out, but more and more I feel like this was a racing incident, and that the penalty was either appropriate or one step lower than that at worst. Suggesting no one passes at a high speed corner is just a fabrication - it happened multiple other times at that corner in this race.

Both drivers went into that turn giving the other the option to back out, or risk contact, and neither did. Glad Max wasn’t seriously hurt, but the onboards and history show nothing that indicates evidence of malice, as I see it.

The criticism of celebrating from Red Bull is absolute disingenuous nonsense. Red Bull did not skip the podium and celebrating of their 2 & 3 finish at Bahrain last year. They didn’t rend their clothes out of a sense of respect for Grosjean, after a terrible, fiery crash, and while he was actually being treated for burns in the hospital, so that’s just theater.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
And now they're our reports Marco is hiring lawyers like come on man, Netflix must be salivating.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
I didn't know it was possible, but apparently it is.

There's time wasting in F1.
Just caught qualifying. That was insane watching him crawl down that clock and kill Perez last lap. Medium on front row and soft on the second row will be interesting. Stinks for Sainz and Scuderia Ferrari for him to wipe out like that in Q2. Russell couldn't be Mr. Saturday today.
 

Nick Kaufman

protector of human kind from spoilers
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2003
13,410
A Lost Time
The thing is if Hamilton is up half a second on Verstappen with mediums vs softs, this means their car is much better this weekend in this track. Unless Hamilton really did stop Verstappen from doing an extra fast lap.

besides, all those softs will melt in the heat. And it's tough to overtake in Hungaroring.

We ll see.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Yep I think the only thing will be if Merc tries to extend it to a 1-stop and they die off towards the end. RB has to be planning on a Plan A of a two stopper. If Max gets the jump early and can at least split Ham/Bot there's a chance for a race, if Bottas can slow down the RB from P2 though and they end up melting a set of tires while being blocked it will be Hamilton's to lose. Turn 1 will be interesting.