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Post by René on Jul 3, 2021 15:58:04 GMT
Couldn't agree more Carl, JC and Mikael that F1 has to move away from all the gimmickry with tires and DRS and the space mission control rooms. I do have good hopes for next year (you know me, I'm an optimist) but the fact that they didn't deal with the horrible DRS right away is not a good sign. Just think about these two memorable races, would not have happened with DRS and fake tires. But they are being replayed and seen by fans all over the world as the summum of racing. Wake up F1.
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Post by René on Jul 3, 2021 16:13:43 GMT
LANDO NORRIS!Wow,what a qualy from the young Englishman. That was spectacular! Loved the interview where he said: "great to see all the fans in orange cheering for McLaren".Gotta love this guy, he is such a revelation. I hope he wins tomorrow.
Max solid again and will probably win if he has no technical issues. Pérez stronger and stronger and Mercedes really on the backfoot. They are definitely not the favorites tomorrow.
Gasly super again and Yuki really close, that was good. Vettel was also strong but he did mess up Alonso's run.
And George Russell... wow! He must be in the Merc next year. Another year at Williams is just unthinkable and unfair.
Ferrari messed up. What were they thinking? The first run on the mediums wasn't that convincing so why not going on the reds? A big mistake, also from the drivers I'm afraid.
Anyway, go Lando! 
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Post by René on Jul 4, 2021 10:47:05 GMT
Ferrari’s choice to run on the mediums in Q2 makes a bit more sense now to me. I was a bit annoyed yesterday when they got bumped out but they wanted to avoid starting on the reds at any cost. The SF21 doesn’t like the softest compound at all and they know they have a good race pace on the harder tires. So better start further down on the right tires then starting p6 or 7 on useless rubber. Well, let’s hope they can make up ground fast and with a bit of luck the Bulls and the Mercs have issues so we can have a nice result!  Enjoy the race!  |
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Post by charleselan on Jul 4, 2021 12:12:08 GMT
Unfortunately Carl a great deal of it tends to be orchestrated in some way or another these days, and all because there does not appear to anyone who can come up with a set of regulations that allow for "proper" racing.
Yes, it does seem like F1 has become convoluted into a myriad of problems and unfortunate remedies of these, which just have made things worse. At the same time, it seems that there is a clear consensus that MotoGP is working well, and is, actually, in a "golden period".
Perhaps F1 needs a far-reaching "reset", stipulated by a strong-minded and non-corruptible leader of the FIA. He/she should understand - and carry through - what would be good for the sport, and not what would be good for the large manufacturers.
I am not a great follower of MotoGP at present, I must admit, but it do seem that this is much closer to the origin of Grand Prix racing:
* It's much more rider versus rider than it's team versus team.
* There's no radio contact - the rider is very much "out there" on his own.
* Thus, there's no "space mission control centre" behind each rider.
There are so many things that could (and should) be removed from F1 - and all for the better - that would imply huge cost reductions.
But of course, the teams will wish to protect their huge investments; and the strategists et al. will wish to protect their own jobs. So the FIA would need a strong leader who would dare to say, "Yes, but we will need get rid of this. We will need to make it illegal. And that's how it will be. End of discussion!" Maybe a bit like Jean-Marie Balestre. A bit, at least ...
I think that you have just about nailed it there Mikael. Back in the day many thought that Balestre was a big problem, but I have read more recently that in many ways he was pretty good and tried to do the correct thing. Todt was never the right man to head the FIA, a great team manager particularly in his Peugeot Rallying days where he was outstanding, but in later years he appears to have been mired in politics and that is never good. |
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Post by charleselan on Jul 4, 2021 12:23:24 GMT
Max might not have been too happy with his lap but he was in another world with such a good car that really suits him. What can one say about young Lando, yet another fabulous performance and so very close to a major upset in getting pole position.
Not sure if he will have the race pace though but he isn't shy and will stick it to Max if he can. Such a shame that Carlos isn't in the second McLaren as he would have been up there as well. Ricciardo must be looking at the Fizzy cars and thinking that he should have stayed calm and kept his place there. He made his name with those demon late braking lunges and the RB car has always allowed that, just look at Max, sadly other cars do not have that dynamic and he is lost.
Mercedes Benz has had another slap and they are certainly on the back foot and there star driver who has just signed another two year extension wasn't at all happy with his lot. Hopefully this will be a sign of the times and easy championship wins will no longer be a given.
Good to see Checo looking solid in the second Fizzy car, but outstanding performances again from Gasly and Russell, what an amazing performance from George to finally get the Williams into the top ten. If he is prevented from getting the second Merc next year, for whatever reason the one can hope that the new structure and management at Williams can do what McLaren have done.
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Post by Carl on Jul 5, 2021 5:44:48 GMT
I'm pleased to have first chosen Lando Norris and then Valtteri Bottas to win, as I slowly approach a correct prediction. Max drove perfectly to a well-deserved win without serious challenge and Lando Norris was even more outstanding, drawing praise from everyone. Has McLaren, in small and large ways, tailored a set-up to perfectly suit his immense talents? Ever since his remarkable displays of recklessness and selfishness directed at young teammate Esteban Ocon in 2017, most dangerously at Spa, most selfishly at Île Notre-Dame, I've viewed Perez as fast when happy with his car, but childish and essentially dirty. His dubious complaint fooled the stewards when he ran wide contesting Turn 4 with Charles Leclerc, who was clearly ahead at the moment of contact. Ultimately, he was assessed two 5 second time penalties later in today's race, and both David Croft and I learned from Pauly Dee's explanation that 5 and 5 equals 10.  |
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Post by robmarsh on Jul 5, 2021 6:56:55 GMT
Excellent drives from Max, Lando, Valteri, George and the Ferrari drivers. Felt gutted for George and Fernando was very genuine in his respect for George and his dadness that he failed to get a point. Kudos to SLH for his praise of Lando during the race. An improvement from Riciardo but his reputation has taken big dent from Lando.
Carl, I have always thought Perez was far too aggressive in defence and borderline dangerous, way past "hard but fair". I think Lando was unfairly given a penalty and was surprised given that Dereck Warwick was the racing driver steward. I thought penalties were to stop drivers infringing the regulations, so I think if they do it more than once in the same race then the penalties should double up for each subsequent infringement. Perez and Tsunoda should have got ten second penalties for repeating the infringement.
I still have a problem with Tsunoda's behaviour. He seems to think normal rules don't apply to him. Maybe Alpha Tauri should drop him for a race to bring him into line, like Toleman did to Senna. Massivespins, on the other hand, should just be fired.
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Post by charleselan on Jul 5, 2021 11:10:05 GMT
Unfortunately the timings this weekend meant that the F1 qualifying and race clashed with the WSB races from Donington so I had the F1 on my laptop sat alongside my big screen on my iMac which had Eurosport UK and WSB.
Max was yet again very dominant and deservedly so a superb drive in a car that suits him completely and thus is too good even for the Mercs. I had to laugh at a comment Max made that he would do two more years and then retire, all said tongue in cheek no doubt to wind up Lewis and his new two year contract.
Lando Norris was simply outstanding and I think his race performance even surprised him as he wasn't expecting his car to be that competitive in race mode, brilliant young man and a future world champion without a shadow of a doubt. The penalty handed out to him was a disgrace as Hamilton has got away with doing that umpteen times in the past, and quite simply Perez should have backed out of the move. As it was this display of stupidly on his part cost him far more than one single place.
Checo's similar moves with regard to Charles were not quite the same as on the one occasion Charles was actually ahead of him and he just drove him off the track. Typically after the race Charles was quite sanguine about the whole thing even though his race was ruined by these moves, this lad is such class.
Another superb drive by Carlos Sainz and the simple team work between him and Charles was such a contrast to what has happened in the past with other drivers, it just illustrates how a good personal relationship between drivers in the same team is so beneficial.
I am no big fan of Fernando but I must say his comments after the race with regard to George were beautiful and he actually meant what he said about being sad to have taken the place. I believe that they get along very well personally and Fernando really rates George, some compliment indeed.
Also a good drive from Valterri and it was a surprise to see him being allowed to overtake Hamilton, however the threat from Lando was too great for Tonto to keep them in station. Interesting also to hear Lewis say after the race that he had no idea how his car became damaged; really! really! Champ! There is no doubt that Max has him really rattled right now and this is according to "Pauly Dee" the greatest driver the sport has ever seen.
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Post by chrisb on Jul 5, 2021 11:40:02 GMT
I am surprised mr di resta made that comment bearing in mind who is his cousin and I would doubt very much if Max at this stage of his career would be in Dario’s top 10 but who knows
For reasons elsewhere I didn’t follow the race on Sunday but watched the ever so brief highlights muting Mr Croft and his histrionics in the process and what a race it was, and where was the consistency of decision, lost on me, but great congratulations to Norris really impressive
Mikael I would wholeheartedly agree with your comments however there are some concerns around MotoGP and the increase in aerodynamic aids, in saying that what you say is spot on, F1 has lost its way on a number of occasions be they kneejerk reactions or just change, the problem is that we now have two separate interests and leads the question who makes the decisions? And in whose interests are they being made? I do wish they would remove some of the gimmicks as that alone would enhance their credibility
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Post by robmarsh on Jul 5, 2021 12:37:06 GMT
As an aside it is becoming exceedingly difficult to find a SLH fanboy on the Motor Sport site these days. In fact the number of comments have dried up to a mere trickle, only 10 on Mark Hughes column after the Styrian GP.
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Post by René on Jul 5, 2021 16:38:36 GMT
Yes guys, all is being said. Max is on a roll and both car and driver are in a perfect place right now. The car was 'unreal' as Max said himself and that gives a lot of confidence obviously. He is also experienced enough by now not to make any silly mistakes so he will be hard to beat this season. Mercedes will probably bounce back on some occasions but I think it's fair to say Max is the title favorite by now. It's good the Mercedes dominance is over even if I wished it was a red car doing the spanking... The penalty for Lando was ridiculous and as far as I can judge that is the general opinion on all the motorsport sites. A big mistake by the stewards. And Checo's driving in the battle with Charles was disappointing and even more silly because of what happened before with Lando.
There were some very good drives however. As mentioned Max of course and Lando who was fantastic this weekend. Valtteri drove strong, George was brilliant and the boys from Maranello were on it again. Not the end results yet that may be exepected from Ferrari but it will come. Great teammates, Charles and Carlos.
Fernando was also very good and a class act towards Russell. Silly mistake by the way from Kimi to have that crash with Seb. It's time Kimi...
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Post by René on Jul 5, 2021 16:40:16 GMT
As an aside it is becoming exceedingly difficult to find a SLH fanboy on the Motor Sport site these days. In fact the number of comments have dried up to a mere trickle, only 10 on Mark Hughes column after the Styrian GP. I have noticed that also Rob. Wonder where they've all gone... reading our comments? |
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Post by charleselan on Jul 5, 2021 19:45:23 GMT
As an aside it is becoming exceedingly difficult to find a SLH fanboy on the Motor Sport site these days. In fact the number of comments have dried up to a mere trickle, only 10 on Mark Hughes column after the Styrian GP. I have noticed that also Rob. Wonder where they've all gone... reading our comments? Sulking probably . |
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Post by charleselan on Jul 6, 2021 8:59:35 GMT
Re: My comment earlier about Paulie Dee saying “the greatest driver the sport has seen”; poorly expressed on my part as he was referring to (as Rob would call him) SLH not Max.
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