Confirmed with Link: Hamilton going to a red team (The F1 Thread)

[Bub]

Oh, I agree with all that. Tsunoda's flub/exit became irrelevant with Bottas stopping where he did, which would have brought out the safety car regardless.

But I loved seeing Toto Wolff's response in a post-race interview just now, whatever you think of him or his team: "Tsunoda stops, then keeps going, then stops again half a lap later. I mean...pfft ..." [shakes head] ..."pfft ..." [smiles and has no more words].

F1 is peak racing AND peak entertainment.

 

[Novacane]

American in F1?

 

[sheriff bart]

Leaving Hamilton out and putting Russel made Hamilton a sitting duck with the faster car on new tires after a safety car. Russel had the right call for him, but not for team strategy.

 

[Canes]

It's so weird. F1 is finally popular in the US and I just find myself bored whenever I tune in. It's not even the domination from certain drivers like Vettel -> Hamilton -> Verstappen. I mean I loved it when it was Michael Schumacher doing the dominating. I guess I do miss the screaming V12/V10 engines over the highly advanced lawn mowers we've had lately. I just wish it was still more of a sport than a reality TV spectacle I guess.

 

[DaveG]

At this point, you almost feel like Ferrari are just trolling everyone, especially their drivers.

And...tinfoil hat time: Would Red Bull have caught Mercedes if Tsunoda (driving for Red Bull B Team, essentially) hadn't had his "issues" at that time? What an odd series of events, yes? Although, tbf, it did look like the front left tire man didn't finish his job, and maybe Tsunoda--who appears to be a bit of a dimwit--started to undo his belts early.

Never change, F1. Never change.

Shy of Russell going full Checo in last years finale, yes, I think he would have with probably about 4-5 laps to go

 

[Bub]

Shy of Russell going full Checo in last years finale, yes, I think he would have with probably about 4-5 laps to go

I tend to think so too, but it's juuuuust questionable enough for everyone to start wondering...

 

[sheriff bart]

A car stops with 5 laps to go, and they can't finish under green. Unbelievable.

 

[Bub]

A car stops with 5 laps to go, and they can't finish under green. Unbelievable.

Or rather, "It's F1: totally believable."

Seriously though, I guess since Ferrari didn't Keystone-Kop their drivers this race, the FIA felt it was their turn.

 

[Svechhammer]

A car stops with 5 laps to go, and they can't finish under green. Unbelievable.

I mean it took 2 laps just for them to get the crane on the scene.

Of course I've been enjoying all the hot takes today regarding Max winning under a safety car. Sky could barely hold back the outrage during the broadcast

 

[sheriff bart]

They basically pissed away the last 10% of the race. The car was close to a track access point. Why so long to get a hoist there? Seems like after Abu Dhabi last year they would have a standing rule to red flag any incident with 5 laps or less to go so they can have time to make the right decision and allow a shot at a green flag finish

 

[Novacane]

They basically pissed away the last 10% of the race. The car was close to a track access point. Why so long to get a hoist there? Seems like after Abu Dhabi last year they would have a standing rule to red flag any incident with 5 laps or less to go so they can have time to make the right decision and allow a shot at a green flag finish

The problem I have with late race red flags leading into standing starts is that it penalizes otherwise sound race strategies for the leader. It’s like a safety car on steroids.

If the rules were so that drivers couldn’t change their tires for free or they couldn’t use completely new tires, I would be more on board (although this has its own drawbacks regarding safety a la Baku 2021). But it seems incredibly harsh to the leader if they themselves don’t have a spare set of new tires at their disposal and the drivers behind them all have that option (in this scenario I’m describing). If there was a “red flag free tire”, I think I could be swayed to be more liberal with red flags towards the end of a race.

 

[sheriff bart]

The problem I have with late race red flags leading into standing starts is that it penalizes otherwise sound race strategies for the leader. It’s like a safety car on steroids.

If the rules were so that drivers couldn’t change their tires for free or they couldn’t use completely new tires, I would be more on board (although this has its own drawbacks regarding safety a la Baku 2021). But it seems incredibly harsh to the leader if they themselves don’t have a spare set of new tires at their disposal and the drivers behind them all have that option (in this scenario I’m describing). If there was a “red flag free tire”, I think I could be swayed to be more liberal with red flags towards the end of a race.

I don't like them being able to touch the car under a red flag. I agree about the strategy thing.

 

[Novacane]

Max officially the 2022 World Champion in the most anticlimactic race + celebration ever

 

[Lucky Lindy]

Good, now I can take a break from Ferrari until March.

 

[Svechhammer]

HAAS.... huge Caniacs (wheel design)

 

[denominator]

As a Canes *and* Flames fan, I have been actively avoiding this thread for years now because Hamilton has hurt me too much. Turns out I'm an idiot because I'm also a big F1 fan and I've been missing out.

At least Haas dropped a new livery... RB and Williams followed it up with the biggest womps of all time. The new Alfa looks sharp too, and also kinda Canes-ey.

I've only followed F1 fully for 2 seasons now. 2021 I was "neutral" but Carlos Sainz quickly became my favourite driver, so 2022 I ended up being a Ferrari fan. I've now learned that the off season is the best time to be a Ferrari fan. I'm cautiously optimistic that Vasseur fixes the team, particularly the strategy (it was very clear last year that Ferrari viewed Leclerc as #1 and Sainz as #2 when they were more of 1a/1b or even equal with different skillsets). But I also expect Mercedes to be better this year, and I do not like how good the new Verstappen is. 2021 Verstappen was still very much the hothead underdog but 2022 Verstappen is much more patient champion. Barring internal issues (unlikely), reliability concerns (iffy), or a big step forward from Mercedes or Ferrari, I expect Verstappen to win 2023.

 

[Svechhammer]

As a Canes *and* Flames fan, I have been actively avoiding this thread for years now because Hamilton has hurt me too much. Turns out I'm an idiot because I'm also a big F1 fan and I've been missing out.

At least Haas dropped a new livery... RB and Williams followed it up with the biggest womps of all time. The new Alfa looks sharp too, and also kinda Canes-ey.

I've only followed F1 fully for 2 seasons now. 2021 I was "neutral" but Carlos Sainz quickly became my favourite driver, so 2022 I ended up being a Ferrari fan. I've now learned that the off season is the best time to be a Ferrari fan. I'm cautiously optimistic that Vasseur fixes the team, particularly the strategy (it was very clear last year that Ferrari viewed Leclerc as #1 and Sainz as #2 when they were more of 1a/1b or even equal with different skillsets). But I also expect Mercedes to be better this year, and I do not like how good the new Verstappen is. 2021 Verstappen was still very much the hothead underdog but 2022 Verstappen is much more patient champion. Barring internal issues (unlikely), reliability concerns (iffy), or a big step forward from Mercedes or Ferrari, I expect Verstappen to win 2023.

I'm annoyed Ferrari botched it as bad as they did last year, because they looked very competitive in the early races only to completely implode under reliability issues. Hopefully that works itself out this year.

As much as I would like to have Merc challenging again, for the sake of the Sky broadcasts, I hope they completely implode. I cannot stand how much they focus on Hamilton and Russell over the course of the race, most of the time at the expense of actual battles that are actively going on at other places on the track.

 

[Bub]

I've only followed F1 fully for 2 seasons now. 2021 I was "neutral" but Carlos Sainz quickly became my favourite driver, so 2022 I ended up being a Ferrari fan. I've now learned that the off season is the best time to be a Ferrari fan. I'm cautiously optimistic that Vasseur fixes the team, particularly the strategy (it was very clear last year that Ferrari viewed Leclerc as #1 and Sainz as #2 when they were more of 1a/1b or even equal with different skillsets). But I also expect Mercedes to be better this year, and I do not like how good the new Verstappen is. 2021 Verstappen was still very much the hothead underdog but 2022 Verstappen is much more patient champion. Barring internal issues (unlikely), reliability concerns (iffy), or a big step forward from Mercedes or Ferrari, I expect Verstappen to win 2023.

"'Twas ever thus." (Minus the Schumacher years.)

 

[denominator]

As much as I would like to have Merc challenging again, for the sake of the Sky broadcasts, I hope they completely implode. I cannot stand how much they focus on Hamilton and Russell over the course of the race, most of the time at the expense of actual battles that are actively going on at other places on the track.

For 2021, I watched the Sky Sports feed and completely agree. They hype Norris really hard too; so much of Italian Grand Prix was covering Norris in 2nd because he's British even though it was clear he was never going to pass Ricciardo.

Last season with the F1TV alternate feed was much, much better. They're still largely stuck with the global broadcast footage, which focuses on Hamilton/Russell more than it should, but alternate commentators and picture-in-picture was far superior to the Crofty bias.

 

[Canes]

It's so weird to me seeing the popularity of F1 increasing in the USA/North America. I remember back when they still had V10s with the most visceral race car sounds and f***ing Michael Schumacher and no one over here was watching. You'd go to high school and college trying to talk about it and people would look at you like you were talking about figure skating. Now they have lawn mower engines with admittedly very advanced and interesting technology, and a Netflix series that somehow makes people think these bland drivers have a personality, but I still find it hard to watch these days. It's not even the dominance of 3 teams that kills me, it's that there's no real personalities like say a Kimi Raikkonen these days.

 

[denominator]

It's so weird to me seeing the popularity of F1 increasing in the USA/North America. I remember back when they still had V10s with the most visceral race car sounds and f***ing Michael Schumacher and no one over here was watching. You'd go to high school and college trying to talk about it and people would look at you like you were talking about figure skating. Now they have lawn mower engines with admittedly very advanced and interesting technology, and a Netflix series that somehow makes people think these bland drivers have a personality, but I still find it hard to watch these days. It's not even the dominance of 3 teams that kills me, it's that there's no real personalities like say a Kimi Raikkonen these days.

It's all in the marketing. I am ashamed to admit that in the late 90s and through the 00s I followed NASCAR, because it was promoted all the time and my grandfather collected die cast replicas. Any time I engaged with NASCAR circles, the fans and media would shit all over Formula 1 and IndyCar, even Schumacher. It's been a great disappointment now that I follow the sport that the greatest driver ever was in his prime and I actively thought he was shit. But at least I have changed my mind and even though it's not comparable to what it was, Formula 1 is a great sport to fllow.

The Netflix series has been key to getting people interested, and the sport caters to that audience now. Think what you will about the end of the 2021 season, but decisions made in that race were entirely to provide the drama and spectacle for this new audience. As a sports enthusiast, I hate how that season ended, but as a viewer, it was incredible to watch unfold.

I hear what you're saying about it being difficult to watch compared to the old races. I spend the offseason watching classics (one per Sunday) and I can appreciate that longtime fans dislike the modern sport. But without that context, it's GREAT to follow. Coming from a hockey background, I love that if the race starts at 15:00, they literally show a clock ticking over and off they go. Races end within a reasonable amount of time, and assuming you're watching it live, the on-track racing coupled with ever evolving strategy is a treat to watch. Honestly, as much as I love hockey, I probably enjoy F1 more these days.

 

[DaveG]

Yeah I can't disagree with that at all. The series definitely got me interested when growing up most of my exposure to F1 was on Memorial Day weekend where I could watch Monaco, Indy, and whichever NASCAR race all in the same day basically uninterrupted. Of course, with how F1 was covered back in the day that was basically my exposure to it and after having really gotten in to it starting in 2019 that would be the last f***ing race I would show anyone that wants to get into F1 (now showing them quali is another matter entirely).

Fwiw I didn't care about NASCAR at the time either, was probably my least favorite of the 3 and I just didn't watch. I was always much more interested in the entrance races like Le Mans. It wasn't until I was hanging out with an IMSA driver I know and he had I want to say the Belgian GP on that season that it just clicked for me and I went "holy shit, this is awesome... It's Monaco that sucks" lol.

 

[Bub]

Yeah I can't disagree with that at all. The series definitely got me interested when growing up most of my exposure to F1 was on Memorial Day weekend where I could watch Monaco, Indy, and whichever NASCAR race all in the same day basically uninterrupted. Of course, with how F1 was covered back in the day that was basically my exposure to it and after having really gotten in to it starting in 2019 that would be the last f***ing race I would show anyone that wants to get into F1 (now showing them quali is another matter entirely).

Fwiw I didn't care about NASCAR at the time either, was probably my least favorite of the 3 and I just didn't watch. I was always much more interested in the entrance races like Le Mans. It wasn't until I was hanging out with an IMSA driver I know and he had I want to say the Belgian GP on that season that it just clicked for me and I went "holy shit, this is awesome... It's Monaco that sucks" lol.

Definitely the best part about Monaco is qualifying, especially in-car shots. (I'm sure you've seen the old Senna-at-Monaco vids on Youtube. Great stuff.) Monaco is like that pretty but dull girl in high school you were enamored with until you talked to her. Spa is the girl you actually like going out with.

Anyway... All racing "back in the day" (late 80s/early 90s for me) seemed better than what we have now, but I'm sure fans older than us would say "Your era sucked too." Plus ça change. Nowadays I just like watching things go fast; I know I'm being sold a product and races are often engineered to have close results (cough*NASCAR*cough), but the pure thrill is still there.

 

[Svechhammer]

Definitely the best part about Monaco is qualifying, especially in-car shots. (I'm sure you've seen the old Senna-at-Monaco vids on Youtube. Great stuff.) Monaco is like that pretty but dull girl in high school you were enamored with until you talked to her. Spa is the girl you actually like going out with.

Anyway... All racing "back in the day" (late 80s/early 90s for me) seemed better than what we have now, but I'm sure fans older than us would say "Your era sucked too." Plus ça change. Nowadays I just like watching things go fast; I know I'm being sold a product and races are often engineered to have close results (cough*NASCAR*cough), but the pure thrill is still there.

The current cars are too damn big for Monaco. They really need to drastically cut down on how big the cars have become, because its really out of control, and its making so many tracks a parade because the cars are too big to allow legitimate passing.

You can have all the current aero packages and safety setups in a early 2000s era size package. Nothing that F1 is trying to do to improve the quality of racing will help more than scaling the cars back to where they were 20 years ago, and its long past time for them to make this happen.

 

[Lempo]

Bring back the tobacco ads.