F1 2021 Season

Leaving free-to-air TV has definitely done that.

And I'm amazed that it's continued on satellite TV as long as it has. The viewership is paltry.
And that’s just TV, each year I take my child to Silverstone and it’s £500+ for the two of us just for tickets, never mind accommodation, its a dream one day to go to a foreign weekend, it’s a ridiculously expensive sport to follow for the average fan. And days like today just make it even more sour that they’re playing up to the one day quick drama fan.
 
Imagine a marathon runner 5 minutes ahead gets told to stop with 200 meters to go and it's a sprint finish to decide the winner.
And the person they are running against was allowed to eat some glucose sachets just before the sprint.
 
That's what I'm saying though, events like this put it more in the public consciousness. Right or wrong decision, Twitter is popping off, Reddit going mad, here going crazy...it'll monopolize the papers for a while.

That's true, but that kind of lift will never compare to the sheer reach of free to air TV. Even people who weren't really interested in the sport used to have an idea of who the champion was etc. But now?...nope.

Its a long road back to the halcyon days of Eddie Irvine and Ralf Schumacher but events like these are how you get there.

I was thinking more of Ralf's older brother and Hakkinen....:lol:
 
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.
The exact reason why I lost interest too. Specifically the 2009 season, when in reality Ross Brawn won the title, rather than Jenson Button. Button won 6 of the first seven races and then didn't win another race in the next 10, with only two podiums in the final 10 races.
 
I thought Masi’s answer at the end was pretty embarrassing tbh. A race director should be saying stuff like well I used this rule or this was the reason I did it . To say well it’s motor racing is just for the cameras & in poor taste
 
Yeah, but that would've been a bit artificial also I think. It was exactly the kind of incident that usually is a full Safety Car but no more. Car crashed not too hard but is stranded on the racing line + debris strewn around. If it had happened 2-3 laps earlier we'd just have to accept that RB gets massively lucky, but what was messed up was the FIA not following prescribed procedure to end the SC.
Which they did because they didn’t want to finish under a safety car. Which I get. But if they want to artificially go racing in that scenario then it would have been less egregious to red flag. Then at least it’s a fair fight. Whatever the rules, fundamentally Lewis’ brilliant race to that point was completely wiped out. On a macro level, that’s what is just wrong. Max wouldn’t have even been close without the safety car. So to end up in that scenario, with a huge advantage (insurmountable really), is just incorrect.
 
How far back were the other unlapped cars? I saw some were in the pit and almost a minute behind. I’d have hated to see it finish under a safety car. A red flag was probably the best option.
Yup...the worst option though wS allowing the unlapped cars only between max and Lewis to overtake and setting up a turkey shoot into the last few corners

Not racing and merc should just withdraw from f1 as a responce

Work with formula e audi and Renault to make some new series with competent people in charge... ferrari would be welcome if the expected to be treated equally
 
I thought Masi’s answer at the end was pretty embarrassing tbh. A race director should be saying stuff like well I used this rule or this was the reason I did it . To say well it’s motor racing is just for the cameras & in poor taste
Hes been embarrassing all season for me.
 
stewards will give max a 2.1s penalty and call it a day.
 
When Drogba scored an offside goal at Old Trafford that won the title for Chelsea, it wasn't his fault that the linesman didn't apply the rules correctly. At the end of the day, he scored a goal that was given as legal.

Max has driven brilliantly when he was in the faster car, Lewis has done the same. The idea of "whoever wins this race deserves the title" only works if this race wasn't a robbery.
That line basically states; forget the last 20+ races, this is the only race that matters. As a Hamilton fan, I'm utterly disgusted by the decision, but at least I can accept Verstappen has beenstanding this season. He and Hamilton have both been 20+ seconds ahead of the rest in so many races this season. He deserves the championship, as would Lewis if he won. I can't remember that decision for Chelsea unfortunately, but they were probably DESERVING of the title that season, whether they SHOULD have won it is another question.
 
Look, the title isn’t won in one race. So over a season, Max has done amazingly well and is deserving of his title just as Lewis would have been. Let’s get that straight as I think it’s fair.

But, the way this race has ended is just not right. If they wanted to reset and let them race they should have red flagged it. The way it was done wiped out a lead Lewis had worked on for the whole race to build. And it isn’t a strategy call because Lewis couldn’t have pitted. If he had, Max might not have and then what happens if they don’t start racing again? He loses. Turned out to work against them, but as I said all along I just wanted this race to be won on merit. In the end all of Hamilton’s work was undone because of dubious decisions and bad luck.
Well stated.
 
If we forget championship context and its just another race, another guy who would have an argument about the race end is Sainz. Because he was in 3rd but race direction let Ricciardo and Bottas be in between him and Verstappen in 2nd. You could argue that from 3rd your chance to win it was denied the way procedure went.
 
Delighted for Max, Hamilton is a great driver but a total baby when it comes to sportsmanship.
 
I don’t know if they’ll overturn this, but the bottom line is, not just because of today, and not because who was favoured, so maybe decisions have been wrong throughout the year. The leaving Hamilton ahead today. The no call in Brazil. The safety car today. The safety car race in spa. Just a tiny handful of inconsistency and making stuff up as they go along. That must be addressed for next year. Masi should be out.
 
Again, not Max's fault. He's not the one making that decision. He deserves the championship there's no arguing that. Whether they should have won is a different question, take away these results and sure, Lewis should be winning.

My argument here is both Max and Lewis have deserved this championship as my original post states.

I'll make myself clear, I absolutely cannot stand Max and my post history in this thread show that. But he's fully deserving of being a champion this year.
I'm not saying it is Max's fault. I'm saying the finish has been a farce and an unjust one. Especially today which takes away the integrity of the sport.

How can a championship be deserved when it is handed to you on a plate in the last last by the FIA not following the rules?

It was a gift from the FIA who also let Max get away with brake checking in the last race with no serious penalty. The brake checking was Maxs fault, as has been his dangerous driving too.
 
As a Hamilton supporter this is a tough one to swallow.

2007 he was very young, inexperienced, and had that error in China, ok, it happens.

2016 there were some failures on his Mercedes that didn't happen in Rosberg's car but alright

But this one ? He was the superior driver the entire race, and a crazy unforeseen situation at the very end cost him. You could say ''Yeah like it cost Felipe Massa'' but I don't know man, this one doesn't seem quite right.
 
I don't believe after 70 years of F1 the organisation has suddenly become this incompetent. That wasn't luck.

And for the same reason it will stand.
 
And that’s just TV, each year I take my child to Silverstone and it’s £500+ for the two of us just for tickets, never mind accommodation, its a dream one day to go to a foreign weekend, it’s a ridiculously expensive sport to follow for the average fan. And days like today just make it even more sour that they’re playing up to the one day quick drama fan.

They are playing to the casuals, people like me these days (I used to watch ot all the time, but went off it). And it worked today as I enjoyed that.

Not sure how people can defend that's what they do though, it is clearly what they do and what happened there. They want us to watch more and they care about that over any kind of "sport" as it's what lines those pockets.

The 10second penalty last race set this showdown up, the Horner calls for a 1-lap shootout and they give it to him. It's all for the drama, all for the moneymen.

And for the record I don't think they even care who won, it wasn't fixed in favour of a particular team, it was fixed in favour of the people who pay the money.


Coultard just touched on that about the appeal. They just mentioned about what's good for TV vs what's good for the sport.
 
I'm not saying it is Max's fault. I'm saying the finish has been a farce and an unjust one. Especially today which takes away the integrity of the sport.

How can a championship be deserved when it is handed to you on a plate in the last last by the FIA not following the rules?

It was a gift from the FIA who also let Max get away with brake checking in the last race with no serious penalty. The brake checking was Maxs fault, as has been his dangerous driving too.
So you're saying, after watching the entire season, Max doesn't deserve it? Come on man get a grip, both he and Lewis have been far and above everyone else this season.

I'm literally agreeing with you it is an absolute farce, but one decision that Max has no involvement with, shouldn't change whether or not he deserves it.
 
I was a big Hamilton fan when he was against Alonso and Rosberg and Vettel but I think if I'd read this thread during those eras I wouldn't have been.
Toys out the pram then.

Maybe Merc should make a championship with only Merc cars Merc engines and Merc sponsored drivers. Then they can never lose.

You are a typical fan who supports people not for what they do on the track but for the twitter drama. Also, your reading comprehension is absolutely dire.
 
If we forget championship context and its just another race, another guy who would have an argument about the race end is Sainz. Because he was in 3rd but race direction let Ricciardo and Bottas be in between him and Verstappen in 2nd. You could argue that from 3rd your chance to win it was denied the way procedure went.

Excellent point!
 
That line basically states; forget the last 20+ races, this is the only race that matters. As a Hamilton fan, I'm utterly disgusted by the decision, but at least I can accept Verstappen has beenstanding this season. He and Hamilton have both been 20+ seconds ahead of the rest in so many races this season. He deserves the championship, as would Lewis if he won. I can't remember that decision for Chelsea unfortunately, but they were probably DESERVING of the title that season, whether they SHOULD have won it is another question.

Deserving is relative though right? Norris has driven brilliantly this season, he's deserving of the title given how well he's done in an inferior car. This season Max deserves it less than Lewis, who managed to stay within touching distance when Max had the faster car, and reeled him in when Mercedes caught up and eventually overtook.

I've said earlier, it's felt all season that this was Max's year, the F1 winds just seemed to be blowing in his favour, but literally making up rules to give him a free overtake that he didn't earn is terrible for the sport.