F1 Racing

[Hal...]

p.s. My immediate thought upon seeing the explosion was, "that doesn't happen in F1 anymore", which almost left me in shock.

And the really interesting thing to me was that the thought was immediate, in that I didn't speak those words to myself in my head. The thought was just suddenly there. I can't recall ever having a similar experience. I was in a really bad car accident once and noticed how time slowed way down but nothing was ever immediate like that thought. That's how much of an impact that accident had.

[NogbadTheBad]

Amazing safety setup.

[Duncan Glenday]

Scenes from a previous age of motor sport today, and unbelievably and thankfully he walked away. What a testament to the safety measures introduced over the years.

Agree

Most definitely. I suspect that without the halo, Grosjean would have been decapitated.

No question about it, IMO!




I didn't see the whole race. I always extend the recording by an hour, but with all the stoppages that wasn't enough. A few highlights on Youtube was about the best I got for the last 20-or-so laps.

Terrible luck for Perez - I was really looking forward to seeing him on the podium.

On what f***ing planet was the Stroll / Kvyyat accident Kvyyat's fault? That was 100% Stroll's fault! That 10 second penalty was BS, IMO.

Driver of the day? Either Grosjean or Alan van der Merwe!

It's great to see McLaren doing really well (4th and 5th) - after their dismal seasons a few years ago, I'm glad they did well in their "home race".

[Duncan Glenday]

Here's an interesting read. Drivers salaries in 2020:

Lewis Hamilton, $47 million
Sebastian Vettel, $35 million
Daniel Ricciardo, $20 million
Max Verstappen, $16 million
Valtteri Bottas, $9 million
Charles Leclerc, $9 million
Kimi Raikkonen, $6 million
Carlos Sainz, $4.5 million
Sergio Perez, $4 million
Esteban Ocon, $4 million
Romain Grosjean, $2 million
Kevin Magnussen, $2 million
Alex Albon, $2 million
Lando Norris, $1.5 million
Lance Stroll, $1.5 million
Pierre Gasly, $1 million
Daniil Kvyat, $750,000
George Russell, $750,000
Nicholas Latifi, $750,000
Antonio Giovinazzi, $500,000

My comments:

Sainz 4.5, Norris 1.5? They've essentially been level pegging in qualifying, finishing positions, and points - so WTF justifies Sainz getting 3 x as much? I guess you don't get what you're worth - you get what you negotiate.

Fascinating to see Stroll getting so much less than Perez, even though he's in Daddy's team

Raikkonen no longer deserves 12 x as much as Giovinazzi. The last few races have seen Giovinazzi beating Raikkonen many times.

Sad that the Williams drivers are so poorly paid. Latifi doesn't deserve much, IMO, but Russell does.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

p.s. My immediate thought upon seeing the explosion was, "that doesn't happen in F1 anymore", which almost left me in shock.

Exactly my thought (after jesus christ wtf). Straight out of the past, with luckily a different conclusion then it would have been in 1970s.

Truly amazing how he pierced and transposed through the barrier. And to pull himself out of the fire immediately is a true miracle. God bless the halo. (And I agree with your previous message about the onboard footage)

[hFx]

p.s. My immediate thought upon seeing the explosion was, "that doesn't happen in F1 anymore", which almost left me in shock.

I had the same reaction! WHAT?? Freak accident with such luck for the driver! The hit alone would have made anyone pass out but he kept consciousness and was quick enough to release himself and crawl out of the seat - I was anticipating at least Lauda-level injuries. I watched live on TV both Lauda's and local hero Ronnie Peterson's accidents, the latter fatal but for others reasons than the resulting fire.

BTW, he was mostly okay so why TF didn't they show the in-car replay to its conclusion?

Maybe the onboard cam has some kind of internal buffer and consequently some latency to keep the wireless transmission smooth? It must anyway have been completely destroyed at the impact. Time will tell if anything surfaces.

[Duncan Glenday]

I had the same reaction! WHAT?? Freak accident with such luck for the driver! The hit alone would have made anyone pass out but he kept consciousness and was quick enough to release himself and crawl out of the seat - I was anticipating at least Lauda-level injuries. I watched live on TV both Lauda's and local hero Ronnie Peterson's accidents, the latter fatal but for others reasons than the resulting fire.
..

That was my wife's reaction as well ... "I thought we were having another Lauda moment"

[Duncan Glenday]

I used to dislike Verstappen - he came across as a spoiled brat.

Then he matured a lot, and his driving improved, and I started to like him.

But his comments in the past few weeks are turning me sour.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this weekend's race. It might turn into a procession - but I'm hoping for some high speed driving with (hopefully) 3 DRS zones for a ton of overatking activity.

And - Russell driving Hamilton's car? I really hope it works for the kid - but sadly, I'm preparing to be disappointed..

[Sunlight Caller]

It will certainly be interesting to see someone else in Hamilton’s car, but will it make the difference that some would anticipate? I think it will just serve to vindicate Lewis as a rung or tow further up the ladder than the rest. The difference between him and Bottas rather makes that point most weeks.

I agree about Verstappen, he has ability but needs to work on his personality and diplomacy if he wants to win friends along the way.

[Hal...]

What are you guys talking about? (Russell in Lewis' car)

[NogbadTheBad]

What are you guys talking about? (Russell in Lewis' car)

Hamilton tested positive for Covid so he's not available, Russell has been a Mercedes driver for years so they moved him over from Williams for this drive.

[Sunlight Caller]

... and he was fastest in first practice!

[Hal...]

On what f***ing planet was the Stroll / Kvyyat accident Kvyyat's fault? That was 100% Stroll's fault! That 10 second penalty was BS, IMO.

If you watch the replay from Vettel's car, you will see:
1. When Stroll begins turning in, DK's front wing isn't even level with Stroll's right rear.
2. Stroll is on the left side of the track. DK is clear over on the right so DK wouldn't be in Stroll's mirrors. Indeed, Stroll even said he had no idea DK was there.
3. Stroll took a normal line through the corner while DK didn't brake as hard and rode up beside him. When Stroll got to the apex, DK's left front tire was barely ahead of Stroll's right rear.
4. DK's line into the corner was such that he would have run quite wide on the exit, giving Vettel an excellent opportunity to pass him, which tells me DK made a bone-headed move.
5. Point #3 means it was clearly Stroll's corner so it wasn't a "racing incident".

I complete agree with the stewards, the FIA, and Martin Brundle.

Hamilton tested positive for Covid so he's not available, Russell has been a Mercedes driver for years so they moved him over from Williams for this drive.

Ohhhhhhhh. Lucky for Lewis he clinched the title when he did.

... and he was fastest in first practice!

Wow. Wouldn't that be funny if he smoked Valteri the way Lewis does most of the time?

Fuck it. I hope he wins.

--------------------

Neglected to post the latest championship standings after the last race which, btw, was a real bummer that Perez got a DNF.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Valtteri Bottas Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo Sergio Perez Charles Leclerc Lando Norris Carlos Sainz Alex Albon Pierre Gasly Lance Stroll Esteban Ocon

201 189 102 100 98 86 85 85 71 59 42

So, as you can see, there are three clear battles.

Botas/Verstappen will be very interesting because Botas should be winning; a 12 pt lead isn't much, tho.

If things continue the way they have been for the season, Danny Ric and Perez should finish ahead of Leclerc.

Norris, Sainz, and Albon is way too close to call.


As for the constructors, here's how the midfield stacks up (3rd-6th):

McLaren Racing Point Renault Ferrari

171 154 144 131

It's good to see McLaren doing as well as they are but I'm hoping Racing Point can make it close. Perez should continue to do well but Stroll is going to need to overturn his run of bad luck. Still, McLaren has been a little up & down this season so we'll see how they finish.

And does anyone else see Renault or Ferrari finishing higher than they are now?

[Duncan Glenday]

...
Ohhhhhhhh. Lucky for Lewis he clinched the title when he did.

Wow. Wouldn't that be funny if he smoked Valteri the way Lewis does most of the time?

Fuck it. I hope he wins.
...

I sort of agree. I certainly hope he does well, and beats Bottas. But a win would only "prove" to the Hamilton-haters that it's not the driver, it's the car.

I like Russell, and hope whatever happens helps him climb the rungs of the Mercedes ladder.

[Hal...]

[Hal...]

CHECO!!!

What more needs to be said?

[Hal...]

Driver's Championship:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Bottas Verstappen Perez Ricciardo Leclerc Sainz Albon Norris Stroll Gasly Ocon

205 189 125 112 98 97 93 87 74 71 60

Constructor's Championship:

3 4 5 6

Racing Point McLaren Renault Ferrari

194 184 172 131

[Sunlight Caller]

Quite a race, and amazing to see Mercedes mess up so completely. Tough luck for Russell with the puncture, he drove very well and must have impressed. Great to see Perez get his reward at last though.

[NogbadTheBad]

My goodness what a mess by Mercedes, good for Perez.

[Duncan Glenday]

We just watched Sakhir.

What

A

Race!

Holy ****

My wife was in tears when I showed her the Grosjean video that Hal posted (scroll up), and again when Russell was screwed-over by Mercedes's cluster***, and again when Perez won. I'll confess to having a lump in the throat as well.

So Perez wins. Let's kick him to the curb and replace him with Vettel I always thought of Perez as an average mid-field driver, but my respect has grown in the last 2 years - and particularly in the latter half of this season. I like Albon, but Perez deserves that seat - and I hope Marko / Horner make the right call.

And Russell? Thrilled for the kid! Sorry, Bottas, but the writing is on the wall - in bold italics.

[Duncan Glenday]

Had to laugh at Sainz - on his first lap in FP1, when going around the modified circuit:

"So I turn left here, no?" Like he's calling in for directions.

Race engineer, not sure if this was a joke "Yes, left, and then go down this wiggly bit..."

[Duncan Glenday]

So Alpha Tauri is dropping Kvyyat, and replacing him with ... no, not Perez, but an F2 driver

[NogbadTheBad]

Perez has been signed by Red Bull for next year with Albon moved to reserve. Excellent move for both Perez and Red Bull, should make for some great racing next season.

[Duncan Glenday]

Quite agree, Ian. I really Hope Perez doesn't fall victim the the Red Bull #2 driver curse (Kvyyat, Albon, Gasly...) and that he starts showing Verstappen some real competition.

I'm thrilled for Perez.

[Hal...]

Perez has been signed by Red Bull for next year with Albon moved to reserve. Excellent move for both Perez and Red Bull, should make for some great racing next season.

YES!

I don't know why but I had a feeling this would happen, regardless of what Horner said. Maybe because Albon's showing in the last few races has not been that impressive. And maybe because Perez finished 4th in an inferior car while Albon finished 7th in the drivers' standing. And I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Perez brings in a lot of sponsorship $$ from Mexico.

But whatever. I'm so happy for Perez.