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Formula 1

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I think I would have done in the same if I were in Lando's shoes. His time will come.
The veteran whose won 99 races listened to his team while the kid who hasn't won any didn't.

Lando did not have the relevant information (i.e. weather radar in the car) and told his crew to "shut up". Everybody else pits for inters and he doesn't.

Hamilton admitted after the race that he didn't want to pit and in fact disregarded the initial orders to pit. He pitted just in time or else he would have finished 7th or 8th and Verstappen would have won (!)

Some blame goes to McLaren for not giving Norris direct and positive orders to box but it's a classic case of a young gun thinking he's smarter than everybody else. He'll learn form this and McLaren will get their team act together.

Rain vs Slicks is undefeated.
 
The veteran whose won 99 races listened to his team while the kid who hasn't won any didn't.

Lando did not have the relevant information (i.e. weather radar in the car) and told his crew to "shut up". Everybody else pits for inters and he doesn't.

Hamilton admitted after the race that he didn't want to pit and in fact disregarded the initial orders to pit. He pitted just in time or else he would have finished 7th or 8th and Verstappen would have won (!)

Some blame goes to McLaren for not giving Norris direct and positive orders to box but it's a classic case of a young gun thinking he's smarter than everybody else. He'll learn form this and McLaren will get their team act together.

Rain vs Slicks is undefeated.
Right, the blame needs to fall on McLaren's shoulders, not Lando's. If the team thought the radar looked as bad as it was they needed to convey that. Ron Dennis' era McLaren would have told him to come in.

However I can't fault them too much for taking a home run shot. I don't think he would have held off Hamilton if they both pitted for inters at the same time. They're not in the championship hunt, so take a swing.
 
Right, the blame needs to fall on McLaren's shoulders, not Lando's. If the team thought the radar looked as bad as it was they needed to convey that. Ron Dennis' era McLaren would have told him to come in.

However I can't fault them too much for taking a home run shot. I don't think he would have held off Hamilton if they both pitted for inters at the same time. They're not in the championship hunt, so take a swing.
Sad part was Lando was just about guaranteed 2P if he switched to inters. I agree that Hamilton would have likely won on inters just because of his experience in wet conditions.
 
Looking at the remaining schedule it seems like most of the remaining tracks would favor Red Bull. Brazil and maybe Cota could go Mercedes way, but who knows.
 
Formula 1 - Willy T Ribbs intro for USGP. Verstappen vs, Hamilton on the front row. Largest crowd in the USA for sports since the pandemic.
 
Max takes out Lewis next week on the first lap and the Championship is his based on most wins.
 
I’ve never been much of a Lewis fan, but Max has turned me into one. I can’t stand the way he carries himself.
 
I really have very little sympathy for Max or Lewis when it comes to the poor sportsmanship shown between the two. It's been there all season and has just been getting worse as the season has gone on. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of this style of racing. It's what every GOAT driver has had in common. Senna, Prost, Schumacher, etc, they all raced dirty when a championship was on the line.
But so far in the turbo-hybrid, there's been no unfettered championship battle. Sure, Hamilton did lose a close one to Rosberg, but it was an intra-team battle that was ruled under the iron fist of Toto Wolff. Surmised to say, all but one of Lewis Hamilton's championships have come with Mercedes and it's total domination of the competition. His car has never seriously been under threat from any other manufacturer's car since the era begun. He has comfortably won every Mercedes championship of his career, usually mathematically clinching the title (usually from his teammate) a number of races before the finale. The truth is, Hamilton has not faced a true title challenge since his first championship in 2008.
And as fans, previous to witnessing the domination of Mercedes, we were treated with 4 years of domination by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. And the story went just about the same. The sport hasn't seen a true title fight in 13 years. And much longer since the fight was between two historic drivers.
Now, 2021, enters Max Verstappen. The ultra-aggressive prodigy, trained by a borderline abusive ex-F1 father. He has all the attributes of a title fight driver; extreme talent and a win-at-all cost mentality. Now, in the first year he has a car that can truly compete. Max has consistently tested Lewis's desire to take it the edge. Dive-bombing corners, breaking incredibly late, 'im taking this corner or were both crashing'. Lewis yielded to him early on, because why not? His car and skill have always proven superior beyond challenge. Would he really want to risk a crash to some would-be early season hero?
Flash forward to Silverstone, Verstappen's lead is at its greatest point of the season. Hamilton is on his heels and Mercedes is acutely aware they are in the midst of an actual title fight. Hamilton can no longer afford to yield to am aggressive Verstappen. First lap, Hamilton gets the slipstream behind Verstappen going into the extremely high speed Copse. He sticks the nose of the car on the inside, breaks late, and understeers into Max Verstappen, sending him careening into the barriers at 150mph. With his main title rival out, and only a 10 second penalty to overcome, Hamilton goes on to win relatively unchallenged and in one fell swoop, erases 25 points of his deficit.
At that moment, Verstappen learned a lesson he has carried with him the rest of the season: track position first, rules later. He paid Hamilton back at Monza, sending his car fast into the inside of a sausage curb turn, taking Hamilton and himself out in the process. Between these tension building incidents, Red Bull and Mercedes launched competing investigations aimed at each other, their pit crews stopped clearing the way for one another, rules started being skirted; the title fight was in full swing.
Lately, things have not been going Red Bulls way however. Mercedes second driver, Bottas, carried too much speed into the first corner at the Hungarian grand prix and understeered into both Red Bulls, effectively ending Verstappen's race. Mercedes have also taken an advantage of a loophole in the engine rules, fitting a higher running engine that has given them a clear pace advantage at the end of the season. Verstappen, so dominant through most of the season, has now been cornered through no fault of his own. I see a desperate driver, who feels wronged for the races and points stolen from him by his rival team. He's a driver being pillaged by the British-dominated media of F1. If he's going to win the drivers title, it's going to from his ability to drive harder and more recklessly than Hamilton is willing to. He is not driving with an eye on the rules or sportsmanship. He would send both him and Hamilton into the wall if it meant walking away as the champion. Maybe F1 has changed, and he should rightly be ostracized for his dangerous driving style. But it shouldn't be forgotten that we praised previous champions and title fights for the exact kind of driving were seeing from Max Verstappen.
 
I really have very little sympathy for Max or Lewis when it comes to the poor sportsmanship shown between the two. It's been there all season and has just been getting worse as the season has gone on. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of this style of racing. It's what every GOAT driver has had in common. Senna, Prost, Schumacher, etc, they all raced dirty when a championship was on the line.
But so far in the turbo-hybrid, there's been no unfettered championship battle. Sure, Hamilton did lose a close one to Rosberg, but it was an intra-team battle that was ruled under the iron fist of Toto Wolff. Surmised to say, all but one of Lewis Hamilton's championships have come with Mercedes and it's total domination of the competition. His car has never seriously been under threat from any other manufacturer's car since the era begun. He has comfortably won every Mercedes championship of his career, usually mathematically clinching the title (usually from his teammate) a number of races before the finale. The truth is, Hamilton has not faced a true title challenge since his first championship in 2008.
And as fans, previous to witnessing the domination of Mercedes, we were treated with 4 years of domination by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. And the story went just about the same. The sport hasn't seen a true title fight in 13 years. And much longer since the fight was between two historic drivers.
Now, 2021, enters Max Verstappen. The ultra-aggressive prodigy, trained by a borderline abusive ex-F1 father. He has all the attributes of a title fight driver; extreme talent and a win-at-all cost mentality. Now, in the first year he has a car that can truly compete. Max has consistently tested Lewis's desire to take it the edge. Dive-bombing corners, breaking incredibly late, 'im taking this corner or were both crashing'. Lewis yielded to him early on, because why not? His car and skill have always proven superior beyond challenge. Would he really want to risk a crash to some would-be early season hero?
Flash forward to Silverstone, Verstappen's lead is at its greatest point of the season. Hamilton is on his heels and Mercedes is acutely aware they are in the midst of an actual title fight. Hamilton can no longer afford to yield to am aggressive Verstappen. First lap, Hamilton gets the slipstream behind Verstappen going into the extremely high speed Copse. He sticks the nose of the car on the inside, breaks late, and understeers into Max Verstappen, sending him careening into the barriers at 150mph. With his main title rival out, and only a 10 second penalty to overcome, Hamilton goes on to win relatively unchallenged and in one fell swoop, erases 25 points of his deficit.
At that moment, Verstappen learned a lesson he has carried with him the rest of the season: track position first, rules later. He paid Hamilton back at Monza, sending his car fast into the inside of a sausage curb turn, taking Hamilton and himself out in the process. Between these tension building incidents, Red Bull and Mercedes launched competing investigations aimed at each other, their pit crews stopped clearing the way for one another, rules started being skirted; the title fight was in full swing.
Lately, things have not been going Red Bulls way however. Mercedes second driver, Bottas, carried too much speed into the first corner at the Hungarian grand prix and understeered into both Red Bulls, effectively ending Verstappen's race. Mercedes have also taken an advantage of a loophole in the engine rules, fitting a higher running engine that has given them a clear pace advantage at the end of the season. Verstappen, so dominant through most of the season, has now been cornered through no fault of his own. I see a desperate driver, who feels wronged for the races and points stolen from him by his rival team. He's a driver being pillaged by the British-dominated media of F1. If he's going to win the drivers title, it's going to from his ability to drive harder and more recklessly than Hamilton is willing to. He is not driving with an eye on the rules or sportsmanship. He would send both him and Hamilton into the wall if it meant walking away as the champion. Maybe F1 has changed, and he should rightly be ostracized for his dangerous driving style. But it shouldn't be forgotten that we praised previous champions and title fights for the exact kind of driving were seeing from Max Verstappen.
I don't know if I would say that past champions were praised for taking things to the edge. Senna was rightfully criticized for Suzuka 1990 (he pulled similar stunts in his junior career against Martin Brundle as well) and Schumacher's legacy is seriously clouded by Adelaide 1994, Jerez in 1997 and to a lesser degree, qualifying at Monaco in 2006 and running Rubens extremely close to the pit wall at Hungary during his Mercedes stint. Two great drivers and ruthless competitors, but I think their repeated willingness to step over the line are black marks on otherwise great careers.

I think Max is still a bit immature and has failed to see the big picture at several points this season. Silverstone was primarily Lewis' fault, but if Max had opened his hands a bit and lived to fight another corner, he probably would have wrapped the championship up by now. There are several rules I would like to see the FIA adjust though.

I'm glad that the battle has been so close and exciting though. I'd much rather have this than a runaway. I'm not a huge fan of how Max races, but I'm not going to wring my hands too much about it. Sports are fun when they make you feel some emotion.
 
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I hate crashes. I want to see racing, back and forth passes, pit stops making a difference....sure push the limit, but stupid aggressiveness which puts others in danger....not a fan. Drivers die. Not a fan of that. Sometimes it is equipment failure or a fault in the track, but because of stupid driving....not a fan.

If Max is the best, then win pole, hold the lead, and take the trophy. Don't win it because you are afraid to lose so you take out the other driver.
 
I know the wrong motorsport, but Al Unser Sr died today at the age of 82.

4 time Indy 500 champ, one of the all time great race car drivers of any league.
 
Excellent article on Max - bbc.com.
"Like [with] overtaking," Verstappen said. "If I have to touch, I'll touch. It's not like it always needs to be in the cleanest way. Let's say it like this - after my career, if I would have won five championships but I'm maybe not the most liked person, for me that doesn't matter, because at the end of the day, it's all about winning.

"And that maybe sounds arrogant, but I don't want to sound like that. I would do anything - or everything - to win. If it's a little bit, not dirty, but in a hard way, I will do it. I am not here to be the most-liked person."
 
Hopefully Max won’t just deliberately take out himself and Hamilton to win the Championship.

One of the differences between fifty years ago and today is that back then safety measures were nowhere near what they are today so drivers had to be more careful. There’s still danger out there but someone like Verstappen runs more risks and that could result in a serious problem.
 

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