The Official F1 Thread

[Ymx]

Looks like it’s all over now.

Probably wouldn’t have changed the result. But it might have been closer. Merc + Ham much faster even on mediums.

Unless Perez can play a major strategic part in slowing Hamilton. But think he’s on softs too?

[Lobby]

The view seems to be that, having been overly lenient with Max in Brazil, the Stewards have done the same for Lewis this time. There are still 50 laps to go, so plenty of time for the position to change.

[Ymx]

What’s the logic in Hamilton putting before Perez??

Oh well. Adds to the final

[TB63]

Down to tyres now..

[Ymx]

Down to track clearers now

[Ymx]

Come on !!!!

[TB63]

What a fucking joke decision!..

[JM2K6]

Absolute joke of a decision to at the very last second go "oh alright then, the lapped cars can overtake" in order to manufacture Verstappen v Hamilton on the last lap with Verstappen on fresh soft tyres. An absolute farce of a sport.

[Ymx]

Holy shit. What a crazy bloody race !

[Thor Sedan]

I knew Red Bull would win with strategy....Mercedes are just so far behind in that.

Super unhappy though - I don't like Max and I'm not happy that he gets to celebrate.

Oh well....Next season it is then.

[JM2K6]

I knew Red Bull would win with strategy....Mercedes are just so far behind in that.

Super unhappy though - I don't like Max and I'm not happy that he gets to celebrate.

Oh well....Next season it is then.

The strategy of... being behind and being able to benefit from yellow flags to a huge extent?

[Big D]

Good for Max, massively unlucky for Hamilton. Which ever one has the most points deserves the title and that's Max this time.

Red Bull used the strategy advantage they were given well and got the job done. Merc couldn't really do anything at the end there.

Unfortunately this'll rumble on because of the stewards who simply need to be more consistent going forward.

Both Red Bull and Merc pit walls need to.take a long hard look at their behaviour as the whining over the radio and in the media is pathetic.

[petej]

Max can thank Nicholas Latifi for that.

[Thor Sedan]

I knew Red Bull would win with strategy....Mercedes are just so far behind in that.

Super unhappy though - I don't like Max and I'm not happy that he gets to celebrate.

Oh well....Next season it is then.

The strategy of... being behind and being able to benefit from yellow flags to a huge extent?

Mercedes could had made the call as well. But lets not pretend that this wasn't just a typical rubbish bunch of decisions that ultimately chose the world champ.

Ridiculous

[JM2K6]

I knew Red Bull would win with strategy....Mercedes are just so far behind in that.

Super unhappy though - I don't like Max and I'm not happy that he gets to celebrate.

Oh well....Next season it is then.

The strategy of... being behind and being able to benefit from yellow flags to a huge extent?

Mercedes could had made the call as well. But lets not pretend that this wasn't just a typical rubbish bunch of decisions that ultimately chose the world champ.

Ridiculous

They couldn't, though, it's a very different scenario for the front runner. The risk is far great - it's a freebie for the others.

[Lobby]

I knew Red Bull would win with strategy....Mercedes are just so far behind in that.

Super unhappy though - I don't like Max and I'm not happy that he gets to celebrate.

Oh well....Next season it is then.

The strategy of... being behind and being able to benefit from yellow flags to a huge extent?

Not to forget the strategy of persuading the race director to move only the cars in front of Max out of the way to hand him victory.

[Big D]

They come in and Red Bull don't then they lose track position.

Nothing Merc could do on that last safety car.

It was a race director decision that was always going to decide at that point and whether or not they let the lapped cars through.

Not sure why only the lapped cars between the front two were let through but can't blame the race director for wanting it to finish under a race.

[JM2K6]

"Finally a bit of luck for me" says Verstappen. Yeah okay mate, didn't realise you'd been in a coma all season.

[Insane_Homer]

Holy fuck! I was just starting to doze off when Latiffi binned it.

Perfect end to a cluster fuck of poor decisions, weird and inconsistent rulings from the stewards, of course they'd decide the championship.

Lewis did everything right to win the race. lost through no fault of his own. a proper gut punch.

[Big D]

George Russell speaking out on behalf of his future team. As you'd expect.

Fair play to Lewis for that interview. Everyone involved in the leads of Merc and RBR have been little bitches at points. Would have been easy to moan in that interview and didn't.

[petej]

George Russell speaking out on behalf of his future team. As you'd expect.

Fair play to Lewis for that interview. Everyone involved in the leads of Merc and RBR have been little bitches at points. Would have been easy to moan in that interview and didn't.

He will be a lot more useful than Bottas.

[JM2K6]

Yeah, Bottas was just a waste of space. The best bit of actual racing today came from that superb Perez/Hamilton battle.

[Biffer]

Masi (race control) to Wolff on race radio

‘It’s called a motor race Toto. We went racing’

[Big D]

George Russell speaking out on behalf of his future team. As you'd expect.

Fair play to Lewis for that interview. Everyone involved in the leads of Merc and RBR have been little bitches at points. Would have been easy to moan in that interview and didn't.

He will be a lot more useful than Bottas.

Assuming the car is quick I'd expect him to noise the other big 2 up a bit. He showed last year he is quick.

[Big D]

I have a feeling this'll end up in court. I really hope Merc doesn't, but I expect they will.

[JM2K6]

Masi (race control) to Wolff on race radio

‘It’s called a motor race Toto. We went racing’

Ah yes, the fair race between (checks notes) a car that's been able to pit twice under yellows, is on brand new soft tyres, and doesn't have to worry about lapped cars because you changed your mind at the last second, vs the car that's been in front all race by a mile but cannot compete on old tyres

That's racing!

[Big D]

The FIA need clearer procedures, or for them to be applied properly. He won't care but it isn't fair on Max that this will have a cloud over this for a whole at least. It isn't his fault and he drove well all season.

[Biffer]

Over the season, the guys who won the most races won the championship.

I think one of the problems with F1 nowadays is that there’s an emphasis on reliability. When I were a lad, it was your best races that counted (e.g. 1985 best 11 of 16 races). Now that it’s every race, consistency matters more than winning. It’s a matter of choice which you prefer, but the different emphasis will lead to different decisions being taken in engineering trade offs.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Whichever way they called that at the end was going to hurt either Max or Lewis, there wasn't a fence sitting position to be had. And far from a farce of a sport it's just come down to the final laps of the final race of the season. A shame the British driver missed out, I can't say I admire some of Max's elbows out and bollocks to the rest of humanity approach, but it's been a hell of a season for the sport.

[JM2K6]

Whichever way they called that at the end was going to hurt either Max or Lewis, there wasn't a fence sitting position to be had. And far from a farce of a sport it's just come down to the final laps of the final race of the season. A shame the British driver missed out, I can't say I admire some of Max's elbows out and bollocks to the rest of humanity approach, but it's been a hell of a season for the sport.

It's only come down to the final laps because of the officials putting a heavy thumb on the scales. That's exactly the problem. Verstappen had already benefited massively from being able to pit and go onto fresh soft tyres. For the officials to then change their minds at the last second AND only let the ones in between Verstappen and Hamilton overtake, is a blatant attempt to drum up an exciting finish when Hamilton had already earned the complete opposite.

You're exactly the sort of person they did this for: someone who's easily impressed by the "drama", no matter how confected it might be.

[Biffer]

Most dramatic end to a season since Mansell’s tyre exploded in 86?

[Prembore]

Over the season, the guys who won the most races won the championship.

Bearing in mind one of them was the nonsense at Spa and the other a race where the officials have basically decided the finishing order, I'm not sure that's a huge point.

But Verstappen put himself and RBR in a position where they could win in the final race, and deserves a lot of credit for that.

[petej]

Masi (race control) to Wolff on race radio

‘It’s called a motor race Toto. We went racing’

Ah yes, the fair race between (checks notes) a car that's been able to pit twice under yellows, is on brand new soft tyres, and doesn't have to worry about lapped cars because you changed your mind at the last second, vs the car that's been in front all race by a mile but cannot compete on old tyres

That's racing!

TBF that sort of racing is perfect for the Abu Dhabi. Though less child slaves and doping.

[JM2K6]

Masi (race control) to Wolff on race radio

‘It’s called a motor race Toto. We went racing’

Ah yes, the fair race between (checks notes) a car that's been able to pit twice under yellows, is on brand new soft tyres, and doesn't have to worry about lapped cars because you changed your mind at the last second, vs the car that's been in front all race by a mile but cannot compete on old tyres

That's racing!

TBF that sort of racing is perfect for the Abu Dhabi. Though less child slaves and doping.

I definitely had an invective filled post aimed at what F1's become, but to be honest there's not even a point to it given that everyone knows the story, and the problems with cosying up to the horrendous middle eastern regimes deserve a more clear headed criticism than my general "fuck you".

[Lobby]

Whichever way they called that at the end was going to hurt either Max or Lewis, there wasn't a fence sitting position to be had. And far from a farce of a sport it's just come down to the final laps of the final race of the season. A shame the British driver missed out, I can't say I admire some of Max's elbows out and bollocks to the rest of humanity approach, but it's been a hell of a season for the sport.

It's only come down to the final laps because of the officials putting a heavy thumb on the scales. That's exactly the problem. Verstappen had already benefited massively from being able to pit and go onto fresh soft tyres. For the officials to then change their minds at the last second AND only let the ones in between Verstappen and Hamilton overtake, is a blatant attempt to drum up an exciting finish when Hamilton had already earned the complete opposite.

You're exactly the sort of person they did this for: someone who's easily impressed by the "drama", no matter how confected it might be.

Exactly, under usual safety car procedures, the choice was between moving the lapped cars out of the way and finishing behind the safety car, because there wasn’t really enough time to do so, or going racing with cars in their positions after pitting (and this was the risk Red Bull took by pitting for the third time).

Instead Masi acquiesced to Red Bull’s demands, and concocted an artificial race by only moving cars out of Max’s way and then immediately removing the safety car.

[petej]

Ah yes, the fair race between (checks notes) a car that's been able to pit twice under yellows, is on brand new soft tyres, and doesn't have to worry about lapped cars because you changed your mind at the last second, vs the car that's been in front all race by a mile but cannot compete on old tyres

That's racing!

TBF that sort of racing is perfect for the Abu Dhabi. Though less child slaves and doping.

I definitely had an invective filled post aimed at what F1's become, but to be honest there's not even a point to it given that everyone knows the story, and the problems with cosying up to the horrendous middle eastern regimes deserve a more clear headed criticism than my general "fuck you".

If there was ever an incentive to go green it was to be able to tell these arseholes to fuck off.

[Ymx]

It was a very strange change in terms of the lapped drivers suddenly being allowed through. As was the call to absolve Hamilton of the early infringement.

Changing tyres whilst flags are up during race is nothing to get knickers twisted about. It’s been a constant, and always an option, strategy.

Red Bull beat Mercedes by strategy - and luck. Mercedes pitting strategy was poor throughout.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Whichever way they called that at the end was going to hurt either Max or Lewis, there wasn't a fence sitting position to be had. And far from a farce of a sport it's just come down to the final laps of the final race of the season. A shame the British driver missed out, I can't say I admire some of Max's elbows out and bollocks to the rest of humanity approach, but it's been a hell of a season for the sport.

It's only come down to the final laps because of the officials putting a heavy thumb on the scales. That's exactly the problem. Verstappen had already benefited massively from being able to pit and go onto fresh soft tyres. For the officials to then change their minds at the last second AND only let the ones in between Verstappen and Hamilton overtake, is a blatant attempt to drum up an exciting finish when Hamilton had already earned the complete opposite.

You're exactly the sort of person they did this for: someone who's easily impressed by the "drama", no matter how confected it might be.

Any which way it suggests it was a close season, and there was a viable contest to the end which doesn't seem like the sort of thing one labels a total farce. And with the initial missed opportunity to pit Hamilton in case Max went another 20 odd laps without a 2nd stop Mercedes can rather blame themselves, they don't need to complain about the vagaries of fate.

Not sure they did it for me mind, I was pissed off by the result. But maybe they wanted people to stop watching and go make a cup of tea.

[JM2K6]

It was a very strange change in terms of the lapped drivers suddenly being allowed through. As was the call to absolve Hamilton of the early infringement.

Changing tyres whilst flags are up during race is nothing to get knickers twisted about. It’s been a constant.

Red Bull beat Mercedes by strategy - and luck. Mercedes pitting strategy was poor throughout.

Which bit of the strategy did Mercedes get wrong exactly? It worked - Hamilton saw off the challenge of the fresh tyres and was miles ahead with a few laps to go.

Agreed that Hamilton was lucky to have been considered to have given back his advantage when Max forced him off the track. Everything else went Max's way, from fair (Perez's superb work on Hamilton, being able to pit under yellow twice) to ridiculous (race director breaking the FIA's own laws in order to manufacture a position where Max could win it).

[JM2K6]

Whichever way they called that at the end was going to hurt either Max or Lewis, there wasn't a fence sitting position to be had. And far from a farce of a sport it's just come down to the final laps of the final race of the season. A shame the British driver missed out, I can't say I admire some of Max's elbows out and bollocks to the rest of humanity approach, but it's been a hell of a season for the sport.

It's only come down to the final laps because of the officials putting a heavy thumb on the scales. That's exactly the problem. Verstappen had already benefited massively from being able to pit and go onto fresh soft tyres. For the officials to then change their minds at the last second AND only let the ones in between Verstappen and Hamilton overtake, is a blatant attempt to drum up an exciting finish when Hamilton had already earned the complete opposite.

You're exactly the sort of person they did this for: someone who's easily impressed by the "drama", no matter how confected it might be.

Any which way it suggests it was a close season, and there was a viable contest to the end which doesn't seem like the sort of thing one labels a total farce. And with the initial missed opportunity to pit Hamilton in case Max went another 20 odd laps without a 2nd stop Mercedes can rather blame themselves, they don't need to complain about the vagaries of fate.

Not sure they did it for me mind, I was pissed off by the result. But maybe they wanted people to stop watching and go make a cup of tea.

You do understand that something can be a farce even if it's close, yes? The two aren't related - indeed, if the accusation is that they're making it up as they go along just to ensure it goes down to the wire, that's even more of a farce. Are you a big wrestling fan, perchance?

If Hamilton had pitted the first time, guess what would be different! Er, nothing. It just would've increased the chance of handing Verstappen a chance to overtake by the end. Again, Hamilton was miles ahead.