Topic: The 2021 Formula 1 “Gives you whinge…”

[paulrazor]

think Rosberg was leading but his car just went to pieces

soldiered on so slow he didnt even get a point

even if he won hamilton only had to finish 10th

think hamilton was 49 ahead going into race

[50 Pence]

Tight & twisty looking track

LewIs will need to qualify and stay in front of Max if he's going to win this one I feel.... Can't see a good outcome if he has to try & overtake him on track as one of both will end up in the wall

[voodoo ray]

fuck knows where there's going to be any overtaking. maybe the first and last corners.

[Linudden]

It's Saudi Arabia so I'll presumably give it a miss.

Think Hamilton's basically won the title already anyway, that car is a missile when flat out and both tracks have long straights.

[Lusty]

That track looks absolutely lethal, the entire second half is pretty much flat out but with no visibility. Looks like the Mercedes power advantage should make it easy for them but there's going to be all sorts of variables with safety cars etc.

[paulrazor]

It's Saudi Arabia so I'll presumably give it a miss.

Think Hamilton's basically won the title already anyway, that car is a missile when flat out and both tracks have long straights.

how has won the title already when with two races to go he isnt even leading it

[Linudden]

That car never breaks, it's dry weather and long straightaways. I can't see Max winning either race.

[Wild Romany Boy]

That car never breaks, it's dry weather and long straightaways. I can't see Max winning either race.

If Max stops Lewis getting fastest lap and then comes second this weekend, he has the lead going in to the final race.

And who knows what can happen in the final race.

I'm not sure that points on the board is ever a disadvantage.

[CowboyKangaroo]

It's Saudi Arabia so I'll presumably give it a miss.

Think Hamilton's basically won the title already anyway, that car is a missile when flat out and both tracks have long straights.

Bookies agree with your assessment that Hamilton is more likely, but the odds are close enough that there's still good money to be had if you are that certain!

[voodoo ray]

despite all that, verstappen can win the championship on sunday.

[Persephone]

That track looks absolutely lethal, the entire second half is pretty much flat out but with no visibility. Looks like the Mercedes power advantage should make it easy for them but there's going to be all sorts of variables with safety cars etc.

Not sure who thought building a street track that is apparently 75% at full throttle was a good idea. I'm honestly a bit worried about driver safety, it takes one small mistake and someone is into a barrier at full speed.

[cormorant]

Holy shit some actual F1 chat at last.

Can't see it happening for Max this weekend, but stranger things have happened this season!

Really hoping that it goes down to the last race, just for the spectacle. Would be a shame if it didn't if only for how much the Max v Lewis thing has rumbled on all season.

[iamnant]

Big shunt for Charles that. Certainly looks like a track that could cause accidents and safety car deployments on Sunday.

[Linudden]

Looks way too dangerous for modern F1 cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLRIO6gF_wk

(can't embed it due to it being blocked so need to watch original link)

I have a bad feeling there could be a ricochet similar to Hubert's fatal crash in particular in the case of a puncture. Another bad piece of sportswashing gone really wrong. While continuously driving for more than an hour, it could also cause nausea for the drivers due to the insane g-forces with little time to rest like Texas Motor Speedway with CART in 2001, further risking serious accidents if someone's vision gets blurry.

We'll see if the drivers make a fuss because they really ought to. The FIA really gave this circuit a sham license.

[naYoRHa2b]

Overtaking looks really difficult and likely to cause accidents. So either no over taking or risking it and endangering drivers and bringing out safety cars the whole race..either way looks like a poor race. Even qualifying could catch so many out because there are so many blind corners if your on a slow lap your going to interfere

[jillcwhomever]

Overtaking looks really difficult and likely to cause accidents. So either no over taking or risking it and endangering drivers and bringing out safety cars the whole race..either way looks like a poor race. Even qualifying could catch so many out because there are so many blind corners if your on a slow lap your going to interfere

Why in god's name would you use a circuit with little overtaking in the second last race of the season? Max had better be sitting on pole then. 

[Lusty]

Not sure who thought building a street track that is apparently 75% at full throttle was a good idea. I'm honestly a bit worried about driver safety, it takes one small mistake and someone is into a barrier at full speed.

And if someone goes into the barrier, the guy behind them who's also going full speed is not going to see them until it's too late. Real potential for something nasty to happen.

[west_london_red]

I’m only going with what I have read as I didn’t watch the practice sessions but if it’s that hard to overtake why fucking go there (it’s a rhetorical question, we all know exactly why they are there)? We’re stuck with Monaco and Hungry because they have been on the calendar for so long but we don’t need to add more to these. On the one hand they change the regulations to try and allow cars to race closer together but there’s no point if the circuits are making it harder.

[RedSince86]

Petro dollars, no one is immune to them, FIA taking that money over safety is no surprise.

[west_london_red]

Why in god's name would you use a circuit with little overtaking in the second last race of the season? Max had better be sitting on pole then. 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

That’s why.

[Funky_Gibbons]

There’s three DRS zones so overtaking should be possible (although I’m glad it’s not me)

This looks amazing to drive in qualifying and practice, going flat out racing to a time delta. But in the race going side by side through some of those corners looks a death trap.

[Nobby Reserve]

Right so if I'm paying more in the country I live in are you gonna give me money back?

No, why would they? But you'd not owe a penny to the UK. The idea is to remove the attraction of tax havens.

[markthescouser]

No, why would they? But you'd not owe a penny to the UK. The idea is to remove the attraction of tax havens.

The trouble is you pay tax in different ways in different countries. I don’t know about Monaco, but Dubai for example is 0 income tax, which sounds great.

However you have to pay for medical insurance and schooling, there is some form of council tax and it’s just under £1k a year for a visa. Everything you do- ID cards, driving license, car registration etc there are inflated government fees to pay. There’s a low VAT of 5%, but eat out and you pay an extra 10% service and 7% municipality fee, and that’s on top of import tax of between 5 and 50%- and almost everything is imported. Boat loads on sun tan lotion too! It does work out better here, and more advantageous the more you’re earning, so especially in the context of f1 drivers, but it’s not just 0 tax.

I also don’t use any services in the UK and don’t particularly plan on ever moving back. The idea that I’d financially tied for the whole of my life to a country that I don’t have much to do with seems mad to me.

[Darren G]

Petro dollars, no one is immune to them, FIA taking that money over safety is no surprise.

Exactly. A sporting organisation selling out to a scumbag, despot state. Hmm, where have we seen that before?  Good on Lewis for wearing the rainbow helmet again. That will stick in their throats.

[clinical]

This track is so dangerous.

[Graeme]

Think the safety car will need a couple of fresh sets of tyres during the race.

[west_london_red]

This track is so dangerous.

As I said earlier I didn’t see the practice sessions yesterday but I saw one of Verstappens laps on the F1 Twitter feed and it does look incredibly dangerous, there a successions of flat out corners with little or no run off and what looked like solid concrete walls everywhere. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

[jillcwhomever]

As I said earlier I didn’t see the practice sessions yesterday but I saw one of Verstappens laps on the F1 Twitter feed and it does look incredibly dangerous, there a successions of flat out corners with little or no run off and what looked like solid concrete walls everywhere. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

I looked at a video of the track yesterday and was shocked to see the lack of run off areas in certain places, it's a recipe for disaster. It just looks utterly dangerous to me and for the life of me I cannot see the attraction of it.

[TepidT2O]

Needless to say, the drivers love it.

[voodoo ray]

it does look like fun to drive.

[west_london_red]

Needless to say, the drivers love it.

I doubt their insurance companies do!

[CraigDS]

Looks like your typical narrow, close walled, street circuit. I can see why the drivers love it.

[Dave McCoy]

This track looks fast as fuck.

[Persephone]

Watching them is terrifying. A bit silly from Lewis driving so slowly around this track, lucky Mazepin took evasive action.

[gazzalfc]

The Alpha Tauris are up there.

Aston Martins are way down there

[jillcwhomever]

Gasly had been incredibly consistent in the latter half of the season.

[gazzalfc]

Watching them is terrifying. A bit silly from Lewis driving so slowly around this track, lucky Mazepin took evasive action.

No flags on the screen in that sector. Mix of Lewis being silly and the FIA not having the flags flashing

[voodoo ray]

Gasly had been incredibly consistent in the latter half of the season.

he's had a very good year. unfortunately he's stuck.

[voodoo ray]

hamilton called to the stewards (twice!) so he's getting a penalty.

[CraigDS]

hamilton called to the stewards (twice!) so he's getting a penalty.

Be interesting if he does given there appeared to be a lack of flags.