F-1

[lesliepaul]

Not at all excited about this race..............ALL of the night races on the calendar just lack excitement. You do not see the crowd, just the wall surrounding the track and lights. The slightest mistake on this track (such as Colapinto) will result in big damage. Don't remember much from last years race here but not much passing and the only one I remember was Leclerc getting by Perez at the end of the race.

............and they are going to introduce the drivers one by one tonight before the race.............what an embarrassment that is being a driver. Verstappen should come out and yell "this is ed" and do some community service in Vegas. They should actually introduce the "stewards" as "these are the people that will up this race like so many others".

............anyway, hope it's a decent race and hoping Colapinto can score some points............he is going to be the talk of the 2025 season if he gets a seat.

[kiabird]

Sure was cold for Q. 12F (minus 11C).
I neither like city tracks nor night races, but gotta admit that "sphere" is spectacular.
Can't begin to imagine the technology that goes into that. Wowsers.

Introducing drivers before the race? Dumbest idea ever.
Maybe they're checking to see if anyone slides in late after spending a few bucks in Lost Wages.
It'd be fun to guess WHO is a gambler.

Agree that Stewards should come forward to be intro'd...haha, wonder how far that first row can throw eggs.
And Mohammed bin-what's his name...deserves a dozen.

But it does appear they've nailed/welded/taped/glued that utility cover really well.
Poor Williams mechanics and team members ... they haven't slept for 2 days.
Probably never before had to reassemble broken cars to this degree.

[kiabird]

Fabulous race!!!!
Petulant Max got his 4th World title, 5th place finish in Vegas.
Russell won.
And my fav--Lewis--despite a P10 start got past all the rabble and ended up 2nd with fastest laps through most of race. That car loves the cold apparently.
He actually passed everyone twice.
LeClerc 4th, Norris finished 6th.

Clean race, with edge of seat moments but no crashes. Heart-stopping action with 3 abreast going into a turn. As usual, tyre management did the trick. Sainz was desperate to pit, but pit wall didn't agree, and he was angry throughout. When he did pit, crew "wasn't ready for him". He was angry throughout, and denied LeClerc a third place finish.

Too much "fluff" at end with 3 Rolls Royce cars (one with Max, a second with Sainz, Russell and Hamilton) driving to Bellagio patio interview before heading to typical podium presentations. You could cut the air with a knife in that second car, Sainz and Hamilton were obviously uncomfortable, immature Sainz even asked Lewis to raise his window for the 500 yard slow drive! I think Sainz is even off LeClerc's Christmas card list.

Impetuous Tsunoda, while leaving the pits, ran over the speed sign.

Qatar next week, then Abu Dhabi, after which Lewis closes his Mercedes career.

[lesliepaul]

Glad this one is over! Those Americans sure have to be entertained with lots of fluff and garbage..............why take the top 3 drivers in a Rolls to be interviewed?.............then back for trophy presentations? Apparently the ticket costs and everything associated with this race remain astronomical.............Martins "Grid Walk" sure was a waste of time..........PACKED with people who couldn't spell F1 but had the $10,000 to $20,000 to be there. Time to cull that herd! Brundle mentioned there were supposedly 90 VIP's for the grid area and he found 3 or 4?

Max finally EARNED the "Drivers Championship"............... and has certainly matured when interviewed. My F1 friend who is in the know (and likes Verstappen) summed him up and his career so far............."he's had a Get Out Of Jail Free Card" from day one along with Red Bull's FIA help to stop Mercedes.............this could very well be the last year for Red Bull dominance with a slim chance of a Constructors Championship with 2 races left.

I like where Brundle mentioned Ocon before the qualifying Friday night............."would love to see what he would do with a top team".............exactly what I have said about him.

Next year???????............will McLaren get better or fall back like Aston Martin did this year? Norris needs to get a "killer" instinct to win everything. I like what he said though............."they were not ready to be this competitive in such a short period of time"..........dead on ..............hopefully they are in the mix next year.

Not sure if Adrian Newey will have success with Aston Martin next year................maybe if old man Stroll dumped his son and maybe even Alonso.

.............more to come in the next couple of weeks.

[kiabird]

Yup, wayyyyy too much pomp and circumstance...wonder who was in the third Rolls.

PACKED with people who couldn't spell F1

Hilarious! Surely you don't mean Sly
He's had so many facelifts, it's his knees that are smiling.

Wonder if part of Red Bull's slipping dominance continues as a result of their HR exits...after Adrian Newley bailed. Maybe Horner should go...was his delicate "issue" ever resolved? Perhaps not, despite his Spice girl occasionally holding his elbow.

Interesting comments on RB and Max...glad he's used up his free jail card.
Hope F1 doesn't issue another.

I like McLaren, they'll do well next year. One day, Norris' killer instinct will kick in.
Aston Martin? Yup, even with Adrian helping, sonny-boy has to go. That kid would instructions on a toaster.

One thing's for sure.
Lewis' car won't like the hot track temps of the next two races, dammit.

[seewood]

I enjoyed the race, no flags, pace cars etc...

Good on George getting pole and then holding on to finish first, same with lewis starting 10th and ending up 2nd. It was cool/cold there at 1 in the morning but as ^^^ mentioned, the arab countries, not so much.

Happy to see Max get his 3rd consecutive F1 championship.

[lesliepaul]

I enjoyed the race, no flags, pace cars etc...

Good on George getting pole and then holding on to finish first, same with lewis starting 10th and ending up 2nd. It was cool/cold there at 1 in the morning but as ^^^ mentioned, the arab countries, not so much.

Happy to see Max get his 3rd consecutive F1 championship.

I would have had a COMPLETELY different take on current Red Bull and Verstappen if 2021 did not end with ONE MAN"S decision on the final lap of the last race that gave Verstappen his first unearned Championship.

To this day........... Mikey Masi!

[kiabird]

Glad I held off "correcting" seewood on the oops (3rd vs 4th) thingy.
I wasn't an F1 fan in 2021, so took some time to look it up.
Holy Batman! I get it.

With the entirely useless pomp and circumstance that followed Vegas race, F1 looked as though the entertainment aspect was again rising.
And unless they're bringing in camels to deliver lemonade, it'll be gone with Qatar.

After Abu Dhabi, it's 3 months silence till Melbourne AU mid-March '25 when my fav--Lewis--will wear red.

[kiabird]

Oh dear, re the Max 3rd or 4th...
Then I read this:

The debate surrounding the validity of Max Verstappen’s 2021 title is often fueled by the claim that certain FIA decisions during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were controversial. British fans who argue that Verstappen’s title is invalid typically refer to the final safety car period and how the rules were applied.
However, this reasoning can also be applied to Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 title. That season, the “Massa incident” played a crucial role: Felipe Massa lost the championship to Hamilton partly due to a manipulated outcome in the Singapore Grand Prix. Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed to benefit his teammate Fernando Alonso, triggering a safety car that disadvantaged Massa. Despite this proven manipulation, the race result was never nullified, and Hamilton retained his title.
If Verstappen’s title is deemed invalid due to controversial FIA decisions, then the same logic should apply to Hamilton’s title. The inconsistency in his same fans their arguments reveals a certain hypocrisy: they are quick to challenge Verstappen’s championship while defending Hamilton’s, even in the face of clear evidence of race manipulation.

I give up

[lesliepaul]

Oh dear, re the Max 3rd or 4th...
Then I read this:

The debate surrounding the validity of Max Verstappen’s 2021 title is often fueled by the claim that certain FIA decisions during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were controversial. British fans who argue that Verstappen’s title is invalid typically refer to the final safety car period and how the rules were applied.
However, this reasoning can also be applied to Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 title. That season, the “Massa incident” played a crucial role: Felipe Massa lost the championship to Hamilton partly due to a manipulated outcome in the Singapore Grand Prix. Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed to benefit his teammate Fernando Alonso, triggering a safety car that disadvantaged Massa. Despite this proven manipulation, the race result was never nullified, and Hamilton retained his title.
If Verstappen’s title is deemed invalid due to controversial FIA decisions, then the same logic should apply to Hamilton’s title. The inconsistency in his same fans their arguments reveals a certain hypocrisy: they are quick to challenge Verstappen’s championship while defending Hamilton’s, even in the face of clear evidence of race manipulation.

I give up

2021result was SOLELY one persons decision. Late crash by Lattifi brought out the yellow flag where many if not most drivers pitted for new tires, not Hamilton. TWO options were available.............allow ALL lapped cars to unlap themselves or do not allow ANY unlapping at this stage of the race and allow for ONE FINAL LAP TO RACE under a GREEN FLAG with the drivers in the position they were in.............Hamilton was 1st on old tires, 5 cars behind him but not sure how many of them were on new tires, then Verstappen in 7th. Masi decided to unlap the 5 (FIVE) behind Hamilton which then put Verstappen right behind Hamilton for the last lap. If you are going to allow cars to unlap, you unlap EVERYONE which in this case would have had the race end under a yellow flag because they would have needed the last lap to do this. It would have been FAIR to both Hamilton and Verstappen to race the last lap in their original positions. Could Verstappen catch and pass 5 cars plus Hamilton in ONE LAP...............we'll never know but I think it would have been close. Those 5 cars ahead of Verstappen were not going to "play dead" to let Verstappen catch Hamilton without a fight.

[kiabird]

Thanks for the perpective. Appreciate the concise details.

Gonna look at every race with "new eyes", especially safety car deployment (and who's involved) to guess if "improprieties" are (still?) occurring.

Seems top level sports can get iffy.
Big money and big people...
Bet FIFA and Olympics judging are grateful to F1 for sharing the heat now and then...

[seewood]

Not too long ago a race was finished under a yellow flag.
Can't remember which though.

Maybe it was a safety car finish, getting mixed up

[lesliepaul]

Not too long ago a race was finished under a yellow flag.
Can't remember which though.

Seen many races end under a yellow flag over the last 30 years............it certainly isn't how I or most want a race to end but when common sense is thrown out the window with probably the BIGGEST race if F1 history, you do not want to have it decided by one man who was clearly out of his league with making this decision.

Definitely the worst decision or ruling in all of pro sports with the most at stake..............PERIOD!

EVERYONE with the FIA and F1 should have been dragged across the coals with what happened BUT they all decided to protect themselves first with little or no discussion of what happened. A house cleaning from top to bottom should have occurred, not just Masi.

[lesliepaul]

If anyone is interested.............a six episode series is coming to Netflix this Friday, November 29th about Ayrton Senna.

[youtube]https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/ ... lease-date[/youtube]





The documentary about Senna several years ago was excellent..............hopefully this has some accuracy to it.

[kiabird]

six episode series is coming to Netflix

Thanks! Gonna have a look early next week...
Netflix is the best thing to come along since Gutenberg's printing press.

Watched the Qatar Sprints this morning.
Holy Hannah, is that a F A S T track.
Will need a bag beside me when they show onboard cameras during Quali tomorrow.