F1 2021 Season

[GeorgieBoy]

The first F1 race I’ve watched for years - that wasn’t racing. Won’t be watching again

This point has stuck out to me.
I'm a big fan and watch all the races.
But Sky streamed this for free for the 'casual' viewer, and rightly so, but if this is their first taste of F1 then it doesn't look great.
Loads of my mates who know I'm into F1 messaging me saying last few laps were a load of bollocks.

Fundamental rules changes needed.

 

[edcunited1878]

I think the incident on lap 1 should have been investigated

And the season ending behind the SC would have been so anticlimatic it would have been pretty much a farce.

The decision to let only a few cars unlap themselves was the farce to end all farces though

Fair fecks to Max, he's as big a prodigy as he is a cnut, but this was lunacy from Masi. Fecking hell

Ending in a SC when Lewis totally dominated the race and had the right tire strategy? Races ending in a SC is racing. That is part of it and the integrity of F1.

Completely undoing the laws of the sport and rewriting it on the last lap of the season to determine a winner is not racing and there's zero integrity.

 

[gormless]

As someone who is new to F1 this season and still doesn’t quite understand a lot of what goes on and the terminology/strategy, one thing has stood out for me and that’s how much controversy there are in races with regards to the application of the rules. Is this something that is common in F1 seasons or has it been particularly bad this year?

particularly bad this year. The old race director Charlie Whiting, who was hugely respected and pretty much beyond reproach died the day before a race 2 years ago. Nobody has been able to touch Mercedes’ until this year so it hasn’t mattered, but his replacement Michael Masi has been incompetent and made very poor decisions in both directions all year

 

[Drawfull]

Watch kept telling me I was having a high heart rate in the last laps. Fecking farce nonetheless, class from Hamilton and dad.

 

[NM]

For someone who has only returned to watching F1 this year after a few years away, what are the new rules? Or is there a link that summarises them?

Here you go https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...l-new-2022-f1-car.4OLg8DrXyzHzdoGrbqp6ye.html

 

[Redlambs]

I think the incident on lap 1 should have been investigated

And the season ending behind the SC would have been so anticlimatic it would have been pretty much a farce.

The decision to let only a few cars unlap themselves was the farce to end all farces though

Fair fecks to Max, he's as big a prodigy as he is a cnut, but this was lunacy from Masi. Fecking hell

Pretty much.

Masi = Vince McMahon.


Fair fecks to Max, congrats to him. It's a shame the whole thing ended on a farce, but that doesn't take away from just how talented these guys have to be to drive these machines. Insane levels of ability, I'd argue right up there if not beyond the talent level of any other sport in terms of limits.

It's just such a shame it's more about TV/money than real competition. And even at that they still suck 99 times out of 100.

 

[Reapersoul20]

Great for the sport tbf.

Getting more traction online than ever before so the sport will certainly grow viewers from it.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

I dont think it will go any further. Max is Champion end of. I just think lessons need to be learned from this to make sure any race or championship isn't decided in a room again.

The only way lessons will be learned and/or implemented for the future is if this does go further.

 

[Abizzz]

There's never been anywhere near the level of controversy about on track decisions though. Technical stuff sure, but actual racecraft?

It takes fixing races to create this much controversy and F1 used to be able to hide any fixing that did go on a lot better than this shower of incompetency can.

 

[MTF]

They basically got to decide who would win the championship and ignored everything Hamilton had done for the previous 57 laps and had earned the win

This can happen in and of itself. If Latifi crashes 2 laps sooner and we get a SC, then it doesn't have to be controversial for them to let all cars unlap and finish with 1-2 laps racing with Max still at an advantage. It is the disregard of the rules (not letting all cars unlap and the SC ending that same lap instead of the next) that taints things.

 

[Drawfull]

particularly bad this year. The old race director Charlie Whiting, who was hugely respected and pretty much beyond reproach died the day before a race 2 years ago. Nobody has been able to touch Mercedes’ until this year so it hasn’t mattered, but his replacement Michael Masi has been incompetent and made very poor decisions in both directions all year

Doesn't help that this season we have heard the team director / FIA radio chats. Makes it even murkier.

 

[GeorgieBoy]

Great for the sport tbf.

New champion is great for the sport I agree; just not the way it was won.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Great for the sport tbf.

Disagree, sham for long standing fans and just pandering to new fans in it for a bit of quick drama

 

[Uniquim]

Genuinely pleased about this, even if Kimi probably won't care much about it.

 

[hobbers]

Merc should wait till a day before 2022 and pull out ... ferrari their engine contracts and set a new championship up with audi

Yeah, they've only won 15 of the last 16 driver and constructors championships over the last 8 seasons. Now they've lost one it's clearly rigged against them and they have to SuperLeague it.

 

[Hephaestus]

As someone who is new to F1 this season and still doesn’t quite understand a lot of what goes on and the terminology/strategy, one thing has stood out for me and that’s how much controversy there are in races with regards to the application of the rules. Is this something that is common in F1 seasons or has it been particularly bad this year?

It's not uncommon to have the odd controversy but this is absurd. Some of that is just because the title battle is so much closer, some just because since Masi took the job of race director after Charlie Whiting's death and he has repeatedly shown since that he is unfit for the job.

 

[elmo]

As someone who is new to F1 this season and still doesn’t quite understand a lot of what goes on and the terminology/strategy, one thing has stood out for me and that’s how much controversy there are in races with regards to the application of the rules. Is this something that is common in F1 seasons or has it been particularly bad this year?

Rules only apply in F1 if you get caught doing the wrong thing. If nobody is able to find any evidence of wrongdoing, anything goes.

 

[Buster15]

they were bullied by Red Bull on the radio.

Yes they were. But quite honestly, there is no excuse for what they did. In any organised sport, you have to have and play by the rules.
Not make the rules up as you go along just to suit the situation.
But hey ho. What is done is done.
Move on to next year.

 

[Redlambs]

Doesn't help that this season we have heard the team director / FIA radio chats. Makes it even murkier.

The fact they have open communication during the race is a complete joke.

 

[MTF]

Doesn't help that this season we have heard the team director / FIA radio chats. Makes it even murkier.

I think next season needs a new race director, and no more of the team chats with FIA.

 

[padzilla]

Watch kept telling me I was having a high heart rate in the last laps. Fecking farce nonetheless, class from Hamilton and dad.

Whoever interviewed Hamilton at the end is a disgrace to journalism, didn't even ask him for his reaction to what had happened.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

I think the CAFE F1 thread, should take this to CAS.

I think you overestimate the importance of this thread.

On a serious note though, how do they restore the integrity of the sport after this?

 

[Bubz27]

I'll repeat once again:

Deserving the championship, and deserving the race win are totally different things.

Unless the race decides the championship? It all came down to one race. If Max had won fair and square, he deserves it. Same for Lewis. Maybe that's what you mean? But if one of them won today because of a massively favourable decision, then that undermines it for me.

It was literally won today because of a crash and someone deciding they weren't going to follow the rules, which goes against everything sport should stand for.

 

[matherto]

I dont think it will go any further. Max is Champion end of. I just think lessons need to be learned from this to make sure any race or championship isn't decided in a room again.

They’ve learnt the lesson that they can contrive it completely for maximum spectacle.

They won’t change it to make things fairer.

Liberty will be laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[JJ12]

Motor sports are shite but I enjoyed the theatre of that.

Surprised how graceful Hamilton was. Nice to see.

 

[altodevil]

Yeah, they've only won 15 of the last 16 driver and constructors championships over the last 8 seasons. Now they've lost one it's clearly rigged against them and they have to SuperLeague it.

State of some of the folk here. I always fancied myself as a Hamilton fan until the last year or so of this thread. Bring back Santi.

 

[NM]

My take:
1. Hamilton should have had to give the place back on lap 1.
2. Safety car thing was a JOKE. Ever since Liberty have bought F1 they care more about theater than sport.

I wanted Max to win, but not like that.

Now Forza Ferrari next year!

 

[mu4c_20le]

Disagree, sham for long standing fans and just pandering to new fans in it for a bit of quick drama

New fans like this dude?

 

[Devil_forever]

This can happen in and of itself. If Latifi crashes 2 laps sooner and we get a SC, then it doesn't have to be controversial for them to let all cars unlap and finish with 1-2 laps racing with Max still at an advantage. It is the disregard of the rules (not letting all cars unlap and the SC ending that same lap instead of the next) that taints things.

Exactly. The salt from Mercedes fans is something else. Max is a worthy champions and Lewis has gotten away with his fair share of shitty things in title winning seasons. Get over it, these things even themselves out over time.

 

[fishfingers15]

Historic fix?

How can you not like the season though? Brilliant drama and two superbly talented and driven men going at it and decided by the last lap. What's not to like.

Both had their luck and rules go their way. If you dont see it that way, it's sad.

 

[hp88]

Great for the sport tbf.

Not really, it’s turned a sport into an entertainment show. It’s like ducking with the rules in injury time during the UCL Final.

 

[senorgregster]

It's like being 4-0 up and someone shouts next goal wins.

More like, in last minute the ball goes out for a throw in but to spice things up the ref gives a penalty

 

[RepardReece]

Unless the race decides the championship? It all came down to one race. If Max had won fair and square, he deserves it. Same for Lewis. Maybe that's what you mean? But if one of them won today because of a massively favourable decision, then that undermines it for me.

It was literally won today because of a crash and someone deciding they weren't going to follow the rules, which goes against everything sport should stand for.

I'm not denying that decision today, it was horrendous.

But a championship IS NOT one race is it.

I'll repeat again, I'm saying this as a Lewis fan. It is an absolute load of rubbish and the race really should have ended under the safety car, but the winner (Max/Lewis) fully deserves the championship.

 

[17Larsson]

Would have been a shame if that puncture in Azerbaijan was the difference in Max winning the title or not. He deserved it this year and he'll have many more in years to come I have no doubt

You still have to feel for Hamilton, he must have sick when he seen the safety car come out.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how Russell and Hamilton compare to each other next year

 

[Pexbo]

Great for the sport tbf.

Literally the opposite of great for the sport. It will turn off a lot of potential followers if they think a championship is decided by race directors like that.

 

[Ish]

Toto is MIA

 

[DavelinaJolie]

I used to watch F1 religiously as a child, Mansell, Senna, Prost, was great excitement. I lost interest over time as it became more of an engineering competition.

Seeing that, looks like it eventually morphed into Wrestling with storyline bollocks and Deus ex machina nonsense.

 

[Ish]

Literally the opposite of great for the sport. It will turn off a lot of potential followers if they think a championship is decided by race directors like that.

Versus one champ for like …8/9 years?

 

[altodevil]

Still laughing at Lewis calling out Perez for dangerous driving

 

[Berbaclass]

Literally the opposite of great for the sport. It will turn off a lot of potential followers if they think a championship is decided by race directors like that.

Yes. Comes across as a sham.