F1 2021 Season

F1 stakeholders are set to review the events of the Belgian GP and address what could be changed with the rules in future.
Sunday's action at Spa-Francorchamps was effectively washed out and there were no competitive racing laps, but a result was still able to be called and half-points awarded after two full laps were completed behind the Safety Car following long rain delays.
It meant the finishing order of qualifying settled the race result with pole-sitter Max Verstappen taking the win, Williams' George Russell second and Lewis Hamilton third.

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/1...dsr6wfDTcOkmfzCVyCtmlfmkwjD87F8ikmBgxklDPpMW4
 
Leg-End said:
Let’s be honest if Hamilton won that “race” a good percentage of the fan base would be frothing at the mouth in outrage.

The decision will stand because it’s their own rules, they will obviously have to look at changing the rules to avoid this again.
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This. Max fans will spew forth all manner of bile the next time something befalls him but forget he was literally awarded a race win here.

My best mate works at RBR and internally they know this was total b.s.
 
Adam-Utd said:
I can’t blame Russell, it’s his first podium and he’s bound to be excited, it’s also a huge deal for Williams essentially cementing themselves ahead of Haas in the constructors which clearly means a lot to him.

I do feel the fact they decided to call this a race and have a result though is stupid. It should have been cancelled.
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Agree with all of this.
I do accept that there has to be some rules. But what logical reasoning can there be for just 2 laps behind the safety car to count as a race.
Anyway. It is being looked into so we need to move on.
 
Buster15 said:
Agree with all of this.
I do accept that there has to be some rules. But what logical reasoning can there be for just 2 laps behind the safety car to count as a race.
Anyway. It is being looked into so we need to move on.
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Yep, it is what it is.

We were all left disappointed and it sucks but there's not much we can do. With the weather getting more extreme I think they definitely need a structured plan B in place, as this is going to happen more often.
 
I'm not moving on from that farce. Feck sitting through another sunday for them to make up shit as they go and call two safety car laps an event. It's like players leaving after warm up and calling it a 0-0. Feck them.
 
The obvious solution is to force Pirelli or whoever to make better fecking tyres. Usual issue with formula 1.

The wet tyres are a joke not fit for any purpose. They should probably have considered it a part of the design brief for 2022 looking at the obsession with downforce and having to compensate with tyres that are too hard to do anything but aquaplane, but I have no idea if they did or not.
 
hobbers said:
The obvious solution is to force Pirelli or whoever to make better fecking tyres. Usual issue with formula 1.

The wet tyres are a joke not fit for any purpose. They should probably have considered it a part of the design brief for 2022 looking at the obsession with downforce and having to compensate with tyres that are too hard to do anything but aquaplane, but I have no idea if they did or not.
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Super wets :drool:
 
hobbers said:
The obvious solution is to force Pirelli or whoever to make better fecking tyres. Usual issue with formula 1.

The wet tyres are a joke not fit for any purpose. They should probably have considered it a part of the design brief for 2022 looking at the obsession with downforce and having to compensate with tyres that are too hard to do anything but aquaplane, but I have no idea if they did or not.
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visibility was the main issue yesterday. Drivers (all except Verstappen who was following a car with wheel arches) complained that they couldnt see even the rain lights of the other cars. You cant race like that imo, no matter the tyres.
 
ChaddyP said:
visibility was the main issue yesterday. Drivers (all except Verstappen who was following a car with wheel arches) complained that they couldnt see even the rain lights of the other cars. You cant race like that imo, no matter the tyres.
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Not sure if feasible, but what about a virtual safety car so the cars can go quicker to shift some of the surface water. No overtaking allowed, the pack all spread out to a distance between each other where the spray isn't an issue. If Aquaplaning occurs then red flag.
 
elmo said:
Logistics of rescheduling a race is too difficult and costly for the teams to put it at a different weekend and you can't postpone it to tomorrow because the Marshalls aren't available as they need to go back to work.
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They couldn't move it between Italy and Russia?
 
The Firestarter said:
Are people suggesting race on Monday actually thinking? Surely the stewards are the least problem. All the networks have paid and scheduled a particular timeslot, it cannot be just reshuffled - maybe for some sports only networks it is not that much a hassle - but in general it is a problem. Also, all the people in the crowd that actually have day jobs/school, and can't be excused for a F1 race attendance.
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Happens all the time here in the states.
 
Pscholes18 said:
Happens all the time here in the states.
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was listening to a couple experts its probably something that should be looked into for the future as a contingency but there was no avenue for it to be held monday. They would if they could that I don't doubt. The Martial issue would have been a huge issue. I dont know how Nascar and indy car do it but the f1 martials are always volunteers that have prior arrangements for Monday, bbc, sky channel 4 would all take a big hit with their scheduling and fans especially the Dutch fans would take a huge hit with travel or hotel expenses that they didnt plan for.
 
Gringo said:
Not sure if feasible, but what about a virtual safety car so the cars can go quicker to shift some of the surface water. No overtaking allowed, the pack all spread out to a distance between each other where the spray isn't an issue. If Aquaplaning occurs then red flag.
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yeh but the rain wasnt stopping it was only coming down harder
 
Judge has just ruled that the Dutch GP can go ahead. Bunch of lefty environmentalists were trying to stop it going ahead because of a permit technicality.
 
hobbers said:
The obvious solution is to force Pirelli or whoever to make better fecking tyres. Usual issue with formula 1.

The wet tyres are a joke not fit for any purpose. They should probably have considered it a part of the design brief for 2022 looking at the obsession with downforce and having to compensate with tyres that are too hard to do anything but aquaplane, but I have no idea if they did or not.
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the heavy falling rain was the problem , 20 cars on the track would be each shifting a lot of water, the long track did not help, by the time they got back round the rain was making it just as wet, also visibility was a huge problem, I dont agree that the wets were the problem.
 
So it seems like Russell is getting the Mercedes seat.

Bottas and Nick De Vries to Alfa Romeo, Albon to Williams.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
I dont agree that the wets were the problem.
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The wets are more of a universal problem. There were separate issues at Spa like visibility, speed and length of the track of course.

But the wets as tyres are a hulking pile of shit and everyone on the grid knows it. They make aquaplaning an inevitability.
 
Adam-Utd said:
So it seems like Russell is getting the Mercedes seat.

Bottas and Nick De Vries to Alfa Romeo, Albon to Williams.
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Those driver changes have been the rumours for a while and probably why the announcements have been taking longer.

Horner was looking for a seat for Albon and they recently confirmed Perez. What's surprising is you'll have an ex Merc and current Merc driver in a Ferrari powered Alfa (no young Ferrari driver), whilst an ex/current Red Bull driver is in a Williams Merc, and Ocon (Merc) is in a Renault.

I wondered if McLaren would've got rid of RIC a year early and maybe he could've gone back to Red Bull replacing Perez opening a slot for Russell.

Anyway, Merc will have the best driver line up so the front of the grid should be pretty exciting next year even if they develop the best car.
 
For those that can read French (or are handy with online translators), I was reading an article just now that goes into Spa, and the Eau Rouge/Raidillon section specifically:

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/sports/...eau-rouge-raidillon-sebastian-vettel-w-series

They describe the section in detail and discuss its history, and go into some of the peculiarities of Spa (like its microclimate). I found it very interesting. It also shows Vettel again as the nice guy through his concerns about the track and racer safety after Norris's crash.

They also mention this bump that came up in this thread ahead of the race. It is likely to have been caused by damage done by big rains that happened in early June. Big like this (tweet from June 4):
 
ZIDANE said:
Those driver changes have been the rumours for a while and probably why the announcements have been taking longer.

Horner was looking for a seat for Albon and they recently confirmed Perez. What's surprising is you'll have an ex Merc and current Merc driver in a Ferrari powered Alfa (no young Ferrari driver), whilst an ex/current Red Bull driver is in a Williams Merc, and Ocon (Merc) is in a Renault.

I wondered if McLaren would've got rid of RIC a year early and maybe he could've gone back to Red Bull replacing Perez opening a slot for Russell.

Anyway, Merc will have the best driver line up so the front of the grid should be pretty exciting next year even if they develop the best car.
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I believe that deal ends this season
 
The Firestarter said:
Are people suggesting race on Monday actually thinking? Surely the stewards are the least problem. All the networks have paid and scheduled a particular timeslot, it cannot be just reshuffled - maybe for some sports only networks it is not that much a hassle - but in general it is a problem. Also, all the people in the crowd that actually have day jobs/school, and can't be excused for a F1 race attendance.
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Tv time slots are an easy fix. The crowd also, if they can make it great, if not they should get a refund.

I believe the challenge was logistics. Getting all the stuff to Netherlands in time. I assume transport etc. was booked.
 
Cheimoon said:
For those that can read French (or are handy with online translators), I was reading an article just now that goes into Spa, and the Eau Rouge/Raidillon section specifically:

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/sports/...eau-rouge-raidillon-sebastian-vettel-w-series

They describe the section in detail and discuss its history, and go into some of the peculiarities of Spa (like its microclimate). I found it very interesting. It also shows Vettel again as the nice guy through his concerns about the track and racer safety after Norris's crash.

They also mention this bump that came up in this thread ahead of the race. It is likely to have been caused by damage done by big rains that happened in early June. Big like this (tweet from June 4):
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They should've raced that.

Health and safety gone mad.

Schumacher raced wetter tracks than that.
 
Fluctuation0161 said:
They should've raced that.

Health and safety gone mad.

Schumacher raced wetter tracks than that.
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The video's from June though, not what they were trying to plough through last weekend. ;)
 
As Brundle has often said one of the best ways to dry out a track is to let 22 cars go racing. They shift so much water that after a few cautious laps the tyres would be up to temp and there would be a racing line to follow.

The spray would have been an issue but they have raced in worse previously. If it had been this wet and it was at Monaco, the race definitely would have gone ahead, because f1 would need to run it because all the major sponsors would be present.

The whole thing was a farce as was the points award regardless of whom you are a fan of.
 
ChaddyP said:
was listening to a couple experts its probably something that should be looked into for the future as a contingency but there was no avenue for it to be held monday. They would if they could that I don't doubt. The Martial issue would have been a huge issue. I dont know how Nascar and indy car do it but the f1 martials are always volunteers that have prior arrangements for Monday, bbc, sky channel 4 would all take a big hit with their scheduling and fans especially the Dutch fans would take a huge hit with travel or hotel expenses that they didnt plan for.
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All solvable problems. People saying “but the crowds won’t be able to make it”. Well guess what, the crowd didn’t see a race on Sunday so how is it worse?
 
dinostar77 said:
As Brundle has often said one of the best ways to dry out a track is to let 22 cars go racing. They shift so much water that after a few cautious laps the tyres would be up to temp and there would be a racing line to follow.

The spray would have been an issue but they have raced in worse previously. If it had been this wet and it was at Monaco, the race definitely would have gone ahead, because f1 would need to run it because all the major sponsors would be present.

The whole thing was a farce as was the points award regardless of whom you are a fan of.
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Haven't people been saying that the continuous rain meant that the water wouldn;'t actually hav gotten cleared off the track through racing?

Also, everybody wants to race; there isn't anybody there trying to pull out of the actual event. So surely they must have had pretty good reasons to pull out...? All these reasons for why the race could have happened seem to suggest (to me at least) the racers or organizations weren't sufficiently interesting in doing everything possible to go and race, and I just don't get that at all.
 
Kimi has officially retired....again.

Also a rumour from Sport1 in Germany, Mercedes could become Alfa Romeo engine supplier. Which would explain Gio is out and rumours of De Vries and Bottas to Alfa.
 
Rooney1987 said:
Kimi has officially retired....again.

Also a rumour from Sport1 in Germany, Mercedes could become Alfa Romeo engine supplier. Which would explain Gio is out and rumours of De Vries and Bottas to Alfa.
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Expect to see George Russel announced at Merc & Bottas to Alfa announced in Italy next weekend.
 
Cheimoon said:
Haven't people been saying that the continuous rain meant that the water wouldn;'t actually hav gotten cleared off the track through racing?

Also, everybody wants to race; there isn't anybody there trying to pull out of the actual event. So surely they must have had pretty good reasons to pull out...? All these reasons for why the race could have happened seem to suggest (to me at least) the racers or organizations weren't sufficiently interesting in doing everything possible to go and race, and I just don't get that at all.
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A f1 car clears 60 litres of water per second at high speed. As brundle said in his sky column they could have gone out under VSC and at faster speeds than a full saftey car cleared up alot of the standing water on the track.
 
dinostar77 said:
A f1 car clears 60 litres of water per second at high speed. As brundle said in his sky column they could have gone out under VSC and at faster speeds than a full saftey car cleared up alot of the standing water on the track.
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At a normal track I would agee, the problem was this track is 4 miles, the longest I am sure Brundle said on Sunday that by the time they got back round the track it would be just as wet.
 
Wilt said:
Apparently gone down like a lead balloon with Hamilton :lol: :lol: :lol:
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You got a quote or a article or you just trolling? Kinda obvious that lewis would know before hand what Mercedes were doing for the 2nd seat. He alluded to as much in an interview last friday when he said he understood Mercedes needed to look at the long term for the team as well as the short term.

Max is mistaken if he thinks as quoted that russell will make life difficult for lewis. Lewis will step up his game and Max will have to contend against two very fast Mercedes drivers.
 
dinostar77 said:
You got a quote or a article or you just trolling? Kinda obvious that lewis would know before hand what Mercedes were doing for the 2nd seat. He alluded to as much in an interview last friday when he said he understood Mercedes needed to look at the long term for the team as well as the short term.

Max is mistaken if he thinks as quoted that russell will make life difficult for lewis. Lewis will step up his game and Max will have to contend against two very fast Mercedes drivers.
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Just looked it up, the story originated from the daily mail... Do I need to say more?

Here's an article that contains the claim and link to the original: https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-hamilton-not-happy-george-russell/
 
Jonathan McEvoy, well known Hamilton shit stirrer. Give me strength.
 
dinostar77 said:
You got a quote or a article or you just trolling? Kinda obvious that lewis would know before hand what Mercedes were doing for the 2nd seat. He alluded to as much in an interview last friday when he said he understood Mercedes needed to look at the long term for the team as well as the short term.

Max is mistaken if he thinks as quoted that russell will make life difficult for lewis. Lewis will step up his game and Max will have to contend against two very fast Mercedes drivers.
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NAIL ON THE HEAD
 
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