The Grand Prix from Monza was interesting, wasn't it? I watched about 6 laps, concluded that it was going to be a procession and went out to do some gardening. Popped my head back in around the time I expected the pit stop window to be happening and ended up sitting watching the rest of the race with a pair of secateurs in my grubby hands. Chuffed for Gasly, but was hoping Sainz could have caught and passed him...
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I watched the highlights and although it was a great result it was also a glorious fluke - if Magnussen had got his car to the pit garage then there's no safety car, none of the incidents and Hamilton wins by 20 seconds. Still it made a pleasant change to see some different drivers at the front in the closing stages. Also I hope Bottas had something up with his car because if not then that performance was embarrassing.Comment
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Yeah, the Bottas thing is interesting. He's described some issues he has with his start procedure, and he says he thought the car was a bit dodgy on the first lap '...but then actually it kind of recovered and it was fine'. So that explains how he ended up in the pack. But he's still driving the best car in the race, Max retired, Lewis got a penalty, Ferrari have a shit car with wooden brake blocks, so how was he not storming through the field to win this?
As I think I mentioned, he has a deal with Mercedes for next year but I can't see them extending it any further. I get the whole 'team orders' thing suiting Hamilton, and Bottas does take the odd result away from Max, but it isn't a great look for the best team to have an also-ran in one of their seats.Comment
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Another day out at Oulton Park for me today, 4th visit since they let spectators back in from July. Bonus today was that they let people use the grandstands free as it was a smaller meeting (in prestige terms) than the last couple. Still cracking racing at a lovely venue though.
Nb - doing a panoramic shot when cars are speeding past leads to some odd visual effects.
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Invisible drivers of turbo Segways?Comment
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WRC rumbles back into action today in Sardinia, which had been made a non spectator event (good luck with enforcing that in such wild terrain). Dinas Mawddwy's Elfyn Evans holds a narrow lead in the shortened series but will run first on the road today and have to sweep the surface of loose gravel, losing time to the later runners as a result. He'll be hoping for rain to bind the surface together and level the conditions a bit. I think there's a fair chance this could be the final round of the championship given the upsurge in Covid cases across Europe.
In 2021 news, the prospects of a British round of the WRC look to be getting slimmer. Wales has a contract, but seemingly insufficient funding, and the retirement of the Welsh governments head of major events (who was pro-rallying) means the political will to come up with the required ?2m may no longer be there. Meanwhile Northern Ireland have the enthusiasm and expertise to step into the breach and run an event, but only if Ian Paisley Jr and fellow WRC supporters who can see the economic benefits to the region are able to drum up the funding required. That's if we have a championship at all, of course.Comment
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Well done, Lewis.Comment
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Decent race, in parts. Looked like a great track too, I love a venue with some undulations.Comment
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So as an American who more or less started watching on delay last year, what the hell happened to Ferrari? Did they completely screw up an engine development or something?Comment
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They have been a basket case (given their budget) for close to a decade nowComment
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Right about the time that a certain known cheater stopped racing for them.Comment
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Well that was quite a race.
Surely even Jackie Stewart can't argue that Hamilton is GOAT.Comment
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Very pleased for Hamilton. I was at Silverstone in I think 2006 when he won the GP2 support races and it was clear that he was a real talent. I know he polarises opinion, but as long as he doesn't drive into Damon Hill to win his next World championship in a car he knows is broken and about to have to be retired then I think that Stevenage's finest is the GOAT.
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Absolutely amazing from start to finish. I mean, how did Stroll end up 9th after getting new tires? How did Verstappen spin so many times? How did the Ferraris finally figure it out? How did Russell crash again for a dopey reason - this time in a warmup lap instead of a safety car?
I mean MAYBE there's a better driver than Hamilton, but not sure anyone could have done what he did today.
I got 4 other teachers hooked on F1, so we watch it over Zoom together. It felt special sharing this one.
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Yes, but I think we all have a pretty good idea as to why he polarises opinion.I know he polarises opinionComment
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Absolutely right. A lot of the people who claim not to like him because of his perceived flash lifestyle and the fact he hangs out with the rich and famous would be the same people who loved James Hunt for being a playboy and a bit of a rogue.Originally posted by hobbes View Post
Anyway, terrific race today, couldn't take your eyes off it. Another example of why all F1 races should have the sprinklers turned on the track before it starts.Comment
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I don't like the way Racing Point have carried on of late (copying Mercedes, trying to exploit loopholes in the Covid regulations) so thought it was hilarious they fucked up Stroll's strategy call and dropped him right down the field.Comment
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I happened to catch the final race of the British Formula 4 this afternoon. Going into the race Zak O'Sullivan was 16 points behind leader Luke Browning. Things looked good for O'Sullivan as he led and Browning struggled in tenth place, but it was decided to stop the race early due to the weather conditions. O'Sullivan parked his car and started celebrating the title, only to be told that the race had not quite reached the required number of laps to be counted as a full race, and so with only half points being awarded he was second.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, in the post-race interviews O'Sullivan felt that it would have been safe to continue for a few more laps whilst Browning agreed with the decision to end things early.Comment
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I have no idea how Grosjean walked away from that.
By golly he's a lucky man.Comment
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That's actually a safety failure because the barrier's not done its job properly - it should have absorbed the energy of the (routine) crash and the car should just have bounced back. As it is the car got stuck and split, the fuel lines have broken causing the fire, and the halo has saved Grosjean's life.
So now they've got to install a new barrier to replace the one that failed, which will take a while. Why not do it tomorrow, check it visually in full in daylight, and run the race tomorrow afternoon? There's no spectators at the venue and it's not like anyone is going anywhere because they're back racing at the same circuit next weekend.Comment
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Yeah, looks like the nose pierced the barrier between two horizontal plates and then cut in half on a vertical post.
Good to see the Halo do it's job as well as the med team behind.
I haven't seen a ball of flame like that on an F1 car for decades.Comment
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Only saw it on catch up, genuinely chilling. One of those moments (like Berger at Imola) where you'd fear the worst at first viewing.Comment
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My friend was 30 seconds ahead of me, and he said "there's a crash!"
:30 seconds later, that wasn't a crash. That was a bombing.
So much happened to go right. A great science class topic would be "how did Grosjean survive?"
The halo pushing the metal over the top of his helmet. The security of the inner protective shell which was white-charred but completely intact. The safety parts of the car keeping Grosjean conscious. Then the Nomex suit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwBt2Y64Smg. The doctors following in a car for the first lap.
Then the Stroll flip and Perez fire!
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The F1 world is a better place.Comment
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It is utterly nuts (in a good way, of course) that a driver nowadays can escape such a fireball with such minor injuries.Comment
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