Formula 1 talk.

[HoosierDaddy]

Love it! One of the top racing web sites did a poll on best driver in the race.

Guess who got more votes than any of the following:

1. Valtteri Bottas
2. Lando Norris
3. Daniel Ricciardo
4. Lance Stroll
5. Sebastian Vettel
6. Esteban Ocon
7. Fernando Alonso
8. Charles Leclerc
9. Pierre Gasly
10. Antonio Giovinazzi
11. Mick Schumacher
12. Nikita Mazepin (he didn't race but was an option for the vote)
13. George Russell

Answer: Latifi.

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[HoosierDaddy]

Well as typical of the season, a cluster.

I was shocked the race did not end under safety car actually...and even more shocked the rules were broken to allow a final lap of a select few cars.

Max had the better tires and made the lunge he always does. Lewis had to either wreck or give the place. I bet he wishes he had chanced the wreck at this point.

Hate to see it go down in this manner.

I can see hating results, but for someone watching ANY race its nuts to prefer a safety car parade over racing.

FWIW, officials decided that no rule was violated because the rules say the Race Director has discretion. But that's what appeals are for.

Maybe the only decent thing would be to declare the race void since it can't be done over. No way to know 100.00000% what would have happened if the race wasn't resumed. Drivers have crashed on formation laps. Or driven over something sharp or picked up a sandwich bag in the radiator, etc., etc.. Maybe a seagull after the race flew right where Lewis' head would have been behind the safety car. Whether the race director was right or wrong, there is no way to return the universe to the state it would be in if it didn't happen, just change who and how many aren't happy.

 

[Bikeman315]

I can see hating results, but for someone watching ANY race its nuts to prefer a safety car parade over racing.

Bingo! That why Nascar has overtime. But in Nascar teams can pit their cars to change tires. Masi didn't do that.

He knew that if all lapped cars were allowed to pass the race would end under yellow. By obfuscating the rules by just allowing the cars between Lewis and Max to go by he was able to get his one green lap thereby making the fans happy. But he knew that doing that would most likely hand the title to Max.

Listen what's done is done. Max is the champion and congrats to him. He and his team had nothing to do with this last lap fiasco. But Masi......hope to see you in court mister. I hope his days in F1 are over. We do not need him.

 

[sk47]

Bingo! That why Nascar has overtime. But in Nascar teams can pit their cars to change tires. Masi didn't do that.

He knew that if all lapped cars were allowed to pass the race would end under yellow. By obfuscating the rules by just allowing the cars between Lewis and Max to go by he was able to get his one green lap thereby making the fans happy. But he knew that doing that would most likely hand the title to Max.

Listen what's done is done. Max is the champion and congrats to him. He and his team had nothing to do with this last lap fiasco. But Masi......hope to see you in court mister. I hope his days in F1 are over. We do not need him.

Hello; as in any televised sport the object is to make the fans happy. For years I watched every minute of the F1 circus I could. All the practice sessions, qualifying and the race. The last few years I am down to the race itself. The circus was losing appeal for a number of reasons for years. In the past it has been the dominance of one team. Sometimes Ferrari, Sometimes RB and so on. Currently it has been MB.
At least this year we have not had to look to 2nd place and down to see actual racing. However, the stewards and other officials have put thumbs, elbows and other imaginary body parts on the scale too many times.

A few races ago Lewis crowded Max off the track resulting in a wreck with max getting a big penalty the next race. Yesterday max got the nose of his car in front of Lewis and Lewis ran way off track, but not only did Lewis not get a penalty, he was allowed to keep the lead. Too many times the rule keepers have favored Lewis. Bet you do not see it that way, but I and likely others do.

This hybrid engine thing in a race car is another losing idea. They have an all-electric racing series now, let F1 be what it is supposed to be and let the electric fans watch that series. There was one year recently when the MB pace/safety car was the only good sound heard during a race. That throaty V8 sound was good. The F1 cars sound was awful.

For me I want to watch the driver work the car around a track. I agree with the decision to take out antilock brakes and traction control some years back. Now put true manual transmissions back in the cars so some computer program is not driving the car. Make the tires less wide or take away some of the wings or some such so the driver with better skills has a margin of power or traction to make a pass without some gimmick like DRS.

Max had best keep his championship if they want to keep me as a fan.

 

[ihc95]

An incredible season overall. I'm happy for Max but absolutely devastated for Lewis who clearly deserved the win yesterday. He was all class at the end of that race as well. Those last 4 races of the season truly showed why he is a one of, if not the greatest driver of all time.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Even if we all agreed Masi made a bad call, a Championship isn't won or lost in the last race. The amount of angst over this one incident is way overblown.

The amount of outrage is in direct proportion with how much someone likes a driver.

Imagine if this exact race happened earlier in the year and didn't change who was ahead in points when it happened. If you are outraged now, is it more than if it happened then?

Now imagine the last race was Hungary with Max having a comfortable points lead and it went exactly like it did earlier with Botas plowing into other cars at the first turn putting one Red Bull out of the race, crippling Max and handing the championship to Lewis. Would your outrage be the same?

Lewis didn't lose the championship because of this call any more than he would have won it because his teammate wiped out the competition.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

An incredible season overall. I'm happy for Max but absolutely devastated for Lewis who clearly deserved the win yesterday. He was all class at the end of that race as well. Those last 4 races of the season truly showed why he is a one of, if not the greatest driver of all time.

I'm not happy he lost the race but many races were won or lost for the wrong reasons in a season. Not bothered a bit he didn't win the championship any more than I would have been if Max had lost it over even bigger mistakes by others earlier in the season. Its racing. Teams and drivers accept that will happen and can go either way.

 

[fiveoboy01]

You don’t get to have it both ways. When all the calls favored Hamilton, and he benefited that was ok and no criticism of Masi. Now you don’t agree, and you criticize Masi. Hamilton got a pass at the beginning of this race as well. It is what it is. They were going to finish this race under green no matter what. Mercedes did not pit, not on the virtual nor the safety car, that’s on them. They knew Redbull was going to pit. They’ve always moved the lapped cars out of the way for the leaders to race, the exception being in the rain. The FIA and Masi have done a complete crap job with this season for the record.

This nails it.

Both teams have gotten calls in their favor. That Lewis lost on the last lap was the team's fault, not the RDs.

You can also argue that "any" lapped cars does not necessarily mean "ALL" must pass. The rule does leave some room for interpretation. They should revise it.

All that said, FIA does suck and the stewards are entirely inconsistent.

 

[Bikeman315]

I'm not happy he lost the race but many races were won or lost for the wrong reasons in a season. Not bothered a bit he didn't win the championship any more than I would have been if Max had lost it over even bigger mistakes by others earlier in the season. Its racing. Teams and drivers accept that will happen and can go either way.

But that's exactly the point HD, it wasn't racing. Masi changed the rules on the last lap of the last race and it possible changed the outcome of a yearlong champship battle. This isn't about Max or Lewis. They both did their best and it was an incredible exciting year. This is solely about one person deciding to bend/break the rules at the literal last second to change the outcome of a race. For that he should be fired.

 

[Bikeman315]

That Lewis lost on the last lap was the team's fault, not the RDs.

I beg to differ. It was not the teams fault. They had a strategy and it was working. Right up to when Masi changed his mind at the last second that changed the outcome of the race.

You can also argue that "any" lapped cars does not necessarily mean "ALL" must pass. The rule does leave some room for interpretation. They should revise it.

There is no argument. In all the years this rule has been in effect it has always meant "all" cars. It was never questioned. Right up until Sunday when Masi wanted one more lap. He selectively decided to move only the cars between Lewis and Max. He knew what tires they were on and he knew what the outcome would be.

 

[fiveoboy01]

The outcome changed when Verstappend passed Lewis.

That Lewis wasn't on equal tires was the team's fault.

I'm not saying that the FIA is good and consistent, I'm saying that any one of their retarded decisions throughout the season could have changed the outcome of a race or championship. You definitely don't sound like an "unbiased" Lewis fan.

 

[Bikeman315]

The outcome changed when Verstappend passed Lewis.

That Lewis wasn't on equal tires was the team's fault.

I'm not saying that the FIA is good and consistent, I'm saying that any one of their retarded decisions throughout the season could have changed the outcome of a race or championship. You definitely don't sound like an "unbiased" Lewis fan.

I am a motorsports fan. Have been for over 60 years. Yes, I am a Lewis fan. But as noted in my previous posts this is not about Lewis, Max, or their respective teams. This is about a sport that put its popularity before its own rules. Yes there were many things that could have changed the outcome during the previous races but that really doesn't matter. What matters is that the rules were discarded for an exciting ending. And that decision most likely changed the outcome of the championship. I think I may just stick with Indycar next year.

 

[BrianH87]

I know it may sound ridiculous, but they should have just red flagged the race. I don't think anyone would have been opposed to having a few laps of Max vs Lewis on equal rubber. It sure wouldn't have turned into the circus it did.

 

[Bikeman315]

I know it may sound ridiculous, but they should have just red flagged the race. I don't think anyone would have been opposed to having a few laps of Max vs Lewis on equal rubber. It sure wouldn't have turned into the circus it did.

No, not ridiculous at all but you realize the anti Lewis camp would have gone nuts thinking the stewards were giving Mercedes an advantage.

 

[XeninWorX]

Even though I’m a Lewis fan, I’m not pissed that he came second and Max won, it just didn’t play out to be fair for both drivers.

They should have kept the lapped cars in their place and resumed the race on the last lap. Then Max would have had to get through those cars, which obviously have to get out of the way, then Lewis and Max can duke it out in the last remaining turns. Rather than Max being right beside Lewis during the restart.

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