But will Kimi have the drink? :lawl:

Anyways throwback to last year at Abu Dhabi when Alonso took a rip in a very nice museum piece on modern slicks

Aside from Max and Lewis battle, I just wanna see Mr. Saturday get into Q3

Don't worry, he'll get into Q3 more next year. 44 vs. 63 :eek5x:

I might be on my own with this opinion but as a purest I feel like this season has taken F1 to a near all-time low. It's dramatic because they've turned the series in to a soap opera. The actual racing has been trash for the last few years, now it's all about drivers and team managers whinging like children over every millimeter they can get from the rules. Drivers are the most immature and unsportsmanlike that I can remember with their brake-checking, dangerous blocking attempts, outright smashing in to each other, etc. The announcers during the Saudi race even said it themselves that some drivers aren't afraid of just crashing in to other cars. That stuff has always been there but I don't think I've ever seen it this bad. Hamilton's pit-maneuver on Verstappen this year was disgusting and very dangerous. If someone had taken me out like that back in my racing days they'd have best left their helmet on back in the pits.

I've been following the season loosely because MotoGP provides infinitely better racing and parity, but I heard the hype over the Saudi race so I watched it last night. I didn't see high-quality talent racing hard, I saw two immature team managers and drivers playing chess with the rules. That wasn't racing, it was crap.

The hybrid cars are soulless and boring, no fuel at the pit stops makes them almost a non-factor. I miss the "V10 era", and was fortunate to see them at the Australian GP in 2004 and walk the track after the race. Those cars were absolute beasts to drive and a pleasure to watch. I wish they'd bring those engine rules back with modern slicks and aero.

What exactly makes a purist?

Rich

Statistically speaking, years with non-refueling pit stops has had significantly more on-track overtaking than years with refuelling:

https://i.redd.it/zis57kraza7y.jpg

I don’t think any F1 fan would dispute missing the V10’s

All the videos I’ve watched regarding the changes for 2022 though make me optimistic as a fan returning to the sport

But that's what makes sports so GOOD. It IS a soap opera. Look at all sports, from NFL Films, to Canucks fans chanting Fire Benning. This is no different.

I've been watching F1 since the 90s. I love racing. But the best seasons are the ones that are soap operas.

Schumacher's antics, whether it's colliding into Jacques Villeneuve, or Ferrari team orders giving handing him the win.

The race where Michelin tires were defective and drivers refused to start.

Mark Webber vs Vettel. Or Hamilton vs Rosberg. And now we have Max vs Lewis. Heck even Toto vs Christian. It's SO good to watch.

Those were all good because they were DRAMATIC and the tension and soap opera built all season long.

Thanks to Netflix, they have brought the drama to the forefront and now millions more people care about F1 than before.

The only thing I agree with you on is the current specs of the cars makes hard racing less of a key element within the sport. But the governing bodies have acknowledged that and it will hopefully improve in 2022.

All valid points in your post, and driver and team rivalries are a big part of the sport. That being said they need to get back to doing the winning and losing in the cars on the track. There is far too much crying on the radio and through the media to mommy and daddy at Race Direction these days. It's gotten obnoxious. Too often when I'm watching races I find myself thinking 'Just STFU and race! Stop whining and be faster!' This past Saudi round was a prime example. I tuned in to watch the best drivers in the world go as fast as possible to try and win, not have the rule book read to me half the broadcast because someone is complaining. The constant petty games and groaning detract from the sport.

Great68 - makes sense. Cars on track more = more passing. The pit stops have gone from about eight seconds to two. I'd be in favour of them retaining the larger fuel capacities and shortening the race distance - make the races flag to flag. 50 mins to an hour flat out, then it would get really intense in the later stages when fuel loads lighten and tires go off. The two second pit stops feel awkward and unnecessary.

Here's hoping the changes next season make the racing better SeemsGood

With the current cars what you're suggesting would make the race even more processional. You'd see even more tire management and slow driving than you see now, not the flat out flag to flag that you think you would get (this is basically what the Sprint is supposed to be, and so far those have been underwhelming).

Teams have had enough time with these Pirellis to have figured out the optimal lap times for best results in the race (this isn't 2011-2012 where you'd see the pronounced "tire performance cliff").

But totally agree with everything else you said about the whining on the radio and all the penalties (especially the post race ones). It's just too much these days.

I dunno, I would say there ALWAYS whining and crying in the past. The only difference now is they broadcast it to the viewers. This is the first year they broadcast radio between the Race Director and the teams, and I love it. This stuff is nothing new, it's just that now we get to hear it.

I have the F1TV subscription purely for the on demand radio access for every driver at all times (and no annoying TSN commercials). It makes watching even a practice section that much more entertaining. Imagine if we could watch any sport with players mic'd up during the game and could hear them talking to their coaches.

For years F1 was managed by Ecclestone and he was against any kind of transparency beyond the 'official' interviews. Now we have things like Netflix and look how many more people are interested.

When I first met my wife she complained why am I watching cars going around in circles and since Netflix came out, she'll watch races with me and is happy when I told her Albon is coming back next year :spamarama:

Yeah Liberty Media has definately made those changes for the better. And the Netflix phenomenon is real.

It's kind of hilarious having several co-workers who pretty much had no interest, all of a sudden strike up a conversation with the F1 guy in the office (me), reciting all the things they just watched on drive to survive. I'm like "I know, I watched it all live... 3 years ago"
I try my hardest not to be too condescending though, more fans is a good thing, and some of them actually started watching races.

My wife seemed to always like F1, I think mostly for the glamour, prestige surrounding it. She really got into it after we went to Montreal and actually watched it live.

Mika is not happy with the shit that's going on with Max and Lewis. https://www.planetf1.com/news/mika-h...tle-dangerous/

Never heard Kimi talk so much in an interview, going to miss him in formula 1.

"I'm not here to please people" -Kimi

My friend just surprised me with an authentic 33 curved brim blue hat. So excited for this weekend!

The finale trailer, feels like watching a movie!

My TikTok gas recently entered the Formula 1 algorithm, so much gold content :lawl:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM87Eubbd/

Captain America as Max Verstappen

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM873dx8m/

Valtteri Bottas parody

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM87EQPE1/

Lance Stroll is Formula 1's version of Rick Roll's

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM87EbtUA/

Brazil Race featuring Simpsons

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM87EHkUq/

Mexican GP, comedy central on the radio with Vettel and Perez

Waiting for the qualifying highlights to come out on YouTube

It's going to be a crazy race on Sunday.

Should be good

Was a pretty entertaining qualifying too

I'm pumped. I'm gonna be sure to watch live.

I missed the first half hr or so, joined with perez holding up Ham and Ver catching up

Looks like I missed a lot!

Especially Ham getting away with cutting an entire turn!

Watching for the first time in years, this is pretty exciting! Safety car!

OK this is fucked up

FIA as corrupt as ever. Fucking bullshit man.

Woooooooooooooo that was fucking awesome!


Thought it was going to end with the fia screwing things up by not penalising Ham for getting an unfair advantage!

I wasn't even going to watch the end I went to do some tasks

Merc fans are going to be fuming!

Like Brundle was saying they don't have to let lapped cars lap around