re: Formula 1 2021 Season Thread

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These terrible analogies need to stop. You can't compare racing to conventional sports. There were people online who acted like they had no idea how a yellow flag even works showing screen shots of the gap lewis had before the wreck. Thats racing folks, sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't.

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Fighting tigers seems to be one of the new fans that came in after watching Netflix.

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Should have just said, it's racing as the reasoning.

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Just say, "It's a motor race." Case closed.

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Their interpretation is basically the rules don't matter, Masi can do whatever

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Yep

15.3 says the race dictator has ultimate control of the safety car... that gives Massolini the ability to break any sporting regulation involving an accident... including the regulation that says the safety car will retire the following lap after any(all?) lapped cars have unlapped themselves (as we know, this would have given Ham the win)

He was given ultimate dictatorial power to set up any race how he wants after a wreck and that needs to be changed and he needs to be fired immediately... there is ZERO consistency with this cat and its caused way too much uncertainty for teams

frick those are smooooth

Yea. Not a fan of the wheel covers... I think they look like crap

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Someone rolls up next year "it says 'no' fuel flow can be above 2L per minutes. It doesn't say 'all' fuel flow can't be above 2L per minute.

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fightin tigers

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You really have dug yourself quite an intelligence gap to overcome here.

It was said in jest

I think the mule cars were 2018 or so. So that could also contribute to the pace difference.

Any sports analogy where the ref steps in to alter the ending would work.

A better sports analogy would be Tiger Woods, with a one shot lead, and using the same ball for the last five holes, is standing on the tee at the 18th of Augusta. Phil Mickelson is a hole behind, and 1 stroke behind Tiger, playing with Bubba Watson, who is four strokes behind Woods. Phil is playing with a new ball.

Justin Rose, who is also four behind Tiger is on the tee with Tiger. The course marshall holds up their group and waits until Phil and Bubba finishes 17 and arrives at the 18th tee box.

The Marshall sends Justin and Bubba on to play together on 18 and then Tiger and Phil play together because the Marshall decided that it makes "great television". Tiger has to play the beat up, scuffed up ball that he has been using and isn't allowed (by an interpretation of the rules by the course marshall) to make a change to a new ball. In the meantime, Phil had already made a change to a fresh ball before he stepped up to the tee box.

Tiger complains, but the response from the PGA director is, "Tiger. It's called a golf game. We're playing golf."

2021's Dramatic Finale | Jolyon Palmer's F1 TV Analysis | 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

After reading tons of articles and lots of videos on YouTube, especially this one from Jolyon Palmer, I am at peace with what happened at the Abu Dhabi race, despite being a self proclaimed Lewis Hamilton fan. I'd highly encourage everyone to see the above video.

Here are some takeaways in no particular order:

- Masi messed up by sending that initial message that lapped cars will not be allowed to overtake, and then changing his mind.....but 48 hours later I feel that he did the right thing. His only mistake was sending that initial message. He'd have avoided all the controversy if he had started the unlapping process a lap early and instructed the cars to go slowly through the scene of the crash where the marshalls were clearing the debris (not sure if going slow while unlapping themselves is an option or not, someone correct me if I am wrong) as Latifi's car was already gone by the end of lap 55.

- Mercedes could have pitted on lap 55 and gotten fresh tires and emerged behind Max who had stopped the previous lap to get his softs. Again if Masi was decisive and had told everyone early that there will be one racing lap and that all lapped cars would be allowed to unlap themselves, Mercedes would probably have made that call. But a safety car most often hurts the leader as they don't want to lose position and the cars following always will have a strategic advantage and more options. You really can't fault Mercedes here as Red Bull would have made the exact same choice if Max was leading the race.

- Lewis was really average in his defense on the last lap, maybe even borderline bad? Just watch that video and see the lines he takes vs. the lines Max takes when he defends later on coming down the straights. Lewis left so much room on the inside for Max to take advantage of without forcing Max to go around on the outside and pass him the hard way. And anyone, let alone a dive bomb extraordinaire like Max, will take that opportunity all day long, especially if it means a winning a championship. Maybe he was shell shocked by what had happened and not fully there mentally, but the Lewis of old, that dove down the inside at the end of straights from 5-6 car lengths back and took drivers by surprise (his legendary dives into the first corner at Monza come to mind) was quite conspicuously absent on that last lap.

Max did everything right to win that race and championship and even though I don't like his personality, you have to respect his race craft. I don't think anyone else on the grid could have taken the fight to Lewis and Mercedes like he did this year even with the amazing Red Bull car he had, except maybe Alonso.