Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Dec 12, 2021 14:47:26 GMT
Blimey, what an ending!
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Post by Gene Hunt on Dec 12, 2021 16:23:37 GMT
In my opinion it was farcical. Ludicrous application of rules, changing minds and doing u-turns which so heavily influenced the outcome. Regardless of who anyone supports, there has been woeful imbalance from the race director throughout the year. Gene.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Dec 12, 2021 20:09:44 GMT
In my opinion it was farcical. Ludicrous application of rules, changing minds and doing u-turns which so heavily influenced the outcome. Gene. The sames applies to Boris Johnson!
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Post by Dirty Epic on Dec 13, 2021 10:35:40 GMT
In my opinion it was farcical. Ludicrous application of rules, changing minds and doing u-turns which so heavily influenced the outcome. Regardless of who anyone supports, there has been woeful imbalance from the race director throughout the year. Gene. Couldn't agree more Gene one way or another there'd have been consistent decision making here with Charlie Whiting IMHO.
Sadly regardless of how good Max Verstappen has been this season (and for much of the season he has been) this will follow him around much like it did with Michael Schumacher's first WDC and the 1997 decider in Jerez, kind of unfair on Max but it will inevitably draw those comparisons. We could also see appeal and counter appeal from Mercedes and Red Bull about this too which could drag on and no one really wants it to be decided that way.
Personally some of the media hype between Max and Lewis/Red Bull and Mercedes hasn't really helped either but I suppose in the end a controversial season with incidents and a last gasp decider makes great entertainment!
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Post by Sam Tyler on Dec 13, 2021 11:13:37 GMT
In my opinion it was farcical. Ludicrous application of rules, changing minds and doing u-turns which so heavily influenced the outcome. Regardless of who anyone supports, there has been woeful imbalance from the race director throughout the year. Gene. I thought that the Saudi race was messy with the way race control was impacting the race but this one took the biscuit. Yes race control has a function but to chop and change with rules and decisions as they see fit is ludicrous. I just walked away after watching it and thinking "What the bloody hell was that all about?" Sam.
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Dec 15, 2021 10:31:30 GMT
I think I'm still in shock ! I wanted Max to win but Lewis was 11 seconds ahead of him. Does Michael Massey have discretion on his application of the rules? I totally get the desire to not finish behind the safety car. If it had been a safety car finish with all dutifully filing behind I probably would have thrown a shoe at the tv but I don't want any doubt over Max's win.
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Post by Gene Hunt on Dec 16, 2021 15:16:55 GMT
Mercedes have dropped the appeal so it's all over. Verstappen is WDC. For the record, I don't think Verstappen derserved the title this year. Up until this year I was a fan of Max. For the most part he kept himself to himself throughout past seasons, except for his childish attack on Esteban Ocon which saw him actually hit Ocon after the race at Brazil in 2018. I thought maybe this was an isolated case, but his petulance has shone through on a number of occasions this year. Going back to Silverstone this year, a race that I attended in person and witnessed the coming together between Verstapped and Hamilton that led to Verstappen crashing out and Lewis being penalised (unfairly so in my opinion as I believe it was a racing incident where Verstappen didn't leave enough room and Hamilton understeered due to the speed carried into the corner). Hamilton went on to overcome the 10 second penalty and win that race. As Martin Brundle said last weekend, it may have been prudent of Verstappen to have shown a little more caution and he would have taken 18 points that day rather than none. Then onto Monza. With Hamilton leading after exiting the pits, Verstappen overstepped the mark again and took both cars out at the first chicane. A crash that saw Verstappens car drive over the top of Hamiltons with Verstappens rear wheel actually rolling over the top of Hamiltons head. Had it not been for the Halo, we could have seen a fatality or at best a broken neck that day. Verstappens response? He got out of the car and walked away without any consideration for Hamilton who was still sat in his car. Fast forward then to Brazil. More bizzare driving from Verstappen as Hamilton, who starting from 10th on the grid, closed down Verstappen and attempted to overtake him at turn 4 only for an erratic Verstappen to force Hamilton off the track. Verstappen received no penalty for this. Then there was the Saudi GP. Another show of erratic driving from Verstappen, this time seeing him told to give back the place to Hamilton. Only he couldn't even do that without causing a collision when brake testing Lewis in doing so. The penalty for such dangerous antics was a time penalty - which had no impact do to the gap behind him, meaning he got away with it. Then the infamous decider in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton made a much better start from 2nd on the grid but Verstappen once again tried it on during lap one as he made a very late lunge for the lead, effectively blocking the track and forcing Hamilton to go off track. Despite pleas from Red Bull that Hamilton had gained an advantage by running off track, the stewards took no action as it was obvious that Hamilton had been left no where to go when Verstappen effectively blocked the corner. From that point on, Lewis was in total control. Easing away from Verstappen and building a gap. This gap was only negated after Verstappens team mate Perez played the team game (very well indeed) and held Lewis up. Something that Lewis has been unable to rely on from his team mate throughout the season. Then came the safety car debacle. No one wants to see a race end behind a safety car but the way in which the situation was handled has done so much damage to Formula 1. The blame for this rests squarely on the shoulders of Michael Masi. He had absolutely no right to change his mind the way he did (no lapped cars allowed to unlap themselves, then suddenly 'some of them' can. The timing was impeccable. As soon as Horner got on the radio, Masi caved and knowing that Verstappen had brand new soft tyres on, everyone knew it was game over for Lewis. a 12 second comfortable lead wiped out just like that. Even during the safety car period, Verstappen couldn't help breaking the rules by nosing ahead of Lewis before the restart. Horner had asked for a miracle mid race. Masi provided one.
In my opinion, the race should have been red flagged with Latifi's stricken Williams across the track. That would have allowed the leaders to have ALL changed tyres and given both an equal chance with a rolling restart or even a standing restart. Reading the many reports I know I'm not alone in believing that the FIA really handed the title to Verstappen on a plate.
The latest news is that Toto has stated today that there is a possibility that Lewis, even though he has signed for 2 more years at Mercedes, may not continue in the sport next year due to how things were handled. Mercedes decision not to continue with the appeal must be music to Red Bull ears given that as I understand it, Mercedes lawyers believe they had a very strong case for winning the appeal. Hats off to Merc and Lewis for declining to continue the appeal due to not wanting to win the title that way.
Gene.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Dec 18, 2021 20:13:44 GMT
To be honest I think Hamilton should have gone to the awards ceremony, although I agree that he was treated unfairly. It didn't look good when Verstappen stamped off the podium in the previous race, so don't copy anything like that behaviour.
Go to the ceremony and just be classy, unlike Verstappen. Mercedes should have kept going with the court case though even if it isn't ideal to win the championship in the courts.
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Dec 19, 2021 14:09:36 GMT
To be honest I think Hamilton should have gone to the awards ceremony, although I agree that he was treated unfairly. It didn't look good when Verstappen stamped off the podium in the previous race, so don't copy anything like that behaviour. Go to the ceremony and just be classy, unlike Verstappen. Mercedes should have kept going with the court case though even if it isn't ideal to win the championship in the courts. I didn't know they televised an awards ceremony. Thanks for mentioning. I will check it out.
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Dec 19, 2021 14:32:38 GMT
I enjoyed reading Gene Hunt's summation of the battles throughout the year.
Yes, if only the final incident had been red flagged, we would have avoided the controversial end. I wish Massey had done that. Sergio Perez has proved his worth to Red Bull consistently across the year but Christian Horner is probably still planning who he wants to next replace him. I know F1 is a brutal sport but Christian (in my opinion) seems more cutthroat than most.
Max V has acted like a petulant teenager many times this year but the real lack of decency (in my view) was when he didn't even go and check on Lewis after his car had driven over Lewis' at the Italian GP. That was shocking. I think the season was an epic one to watch and I loved that it wasn't decided 3-4 races before the end (as has been the case in previous years). Despite Max's behaviours I did want him or someone apart from Lewis to win the year. The sport needed competition. Next year should be even more competitive. Ferrari may be back bigger and better, particularly with their 3rd place in the constructor's championship.
I am typing this on my phone so apologies for any spelling/typing errors. The Proboards log in issue is only when I use a laptop.
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