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Formula One

Williams have got some serious thinking to do. Will they take the Latifi money upfront or the De Vries money at the end of the season?

Even without the need for a red flag, that race could have been run with one/two laps left. No idea why the safety car was kept out for so long.
 
WillPS said:
What is the aversion to red flags, honestly?!
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There is no good or fair solution to this, its just what it is. Any race with a safety car/red flag in the last 10% of the race is going to ruin it, and make someone lose out if it goes green again.

If there had been no safety car, it would of been a bit of an anti-climax as Charles was not catching quickly enough, some of the midfield battles would of been interesting though. Sadly after the promise of the first few races, RedBull and Max have just being the fastest. Hopefully next season Ferrari and Mercedes can close the gap, and we get more races like the start of the season.

The worst part of the race for me was not getting the chance to see Charles and Max go wheel to wheel due to Ferrari doing something different with the strategy.

Apart from the end, I thought it was quite an interesting race. Lewis looked like he did not have much time to watch GoT as he made some good progress through the field. The pass on Gasly and Lando was very nice. McLaren has a much improved weekend, and until Ricardo has his issue was driving the best this season. The slow pitstop really hurt Lando, and we missed out on seeing Lewis and Lando going wheel to wheel.

Nyck De Vries has driven really well, and I wonder if Toto will try and keep him in the Mercedes camp next season.
 
IanB said:
There is no good or fair solution to this, its just what it is. Any race with a safety car/red flag in the last 10% of the race is going to ruin it, and make someone lose out if it goes green again.
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While that will always be true to an extent at any time in a race but especially towards the end, the issue for me isn't that the use of a SC/VSC/RED interferes but that in this case and repeatedly in the last couple of years they are applied so poorly that the race is interfered with in a way that is inconsistent and unnecessary. The likelihood of incidents and safety cars is part of the strategy considerations of teams and if consistent over a period of time will be fair for all.

Yesterday there was clearly plenty of time for the SC to be deployed, the stricken car cleared, and racing to be resumed before the end of the race, but dithering, incompetence, and an apparent comms issue stopped that. The results then are interfered with to a far greater extent than finishing under racing conditions. At what is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor sport it isn't close to good enough.
 
Safety car deployed over the end of the race if it suits the FIA's Golden Boy, but if god forbid Lewis might be in with the chance of a race win - they're sure as heck bringing it in for a one lap sprint!
 
Alastair said:
Safety car deployed over the end of the race if it suits the FIA's Golden Boy, but if god forbid Lewis might be in with the chance of a race win - they're sure as heck bringing it in for a one lap sprint!
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Max (along with the rest of the grid) had a free pit stop and was on fresh rubber. He didn't need to finish the race behind a safety car to win. Even if he didn't win, it'd mean diddy in terms of the championship.

Prioritising racing above all would simply have been way more fun to watch. Like Abu Dhabi was...

IanB said:
There is no good or fair solution to this, its just what it is. Any race with a safety car/red flag in the last 10% of the race is going to ruin it, and make someone lose out if it goes green again.
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Sometimes it comes down to the rub of the green. "That's motor racing".

This is what keeps me interested, frankly.

pluk said:
While that will always be true to an extent at any time in a race but especially towards the end, the issue for me isn't that the use of a SC/VSC/RED interferes but that in this case and repeatedly in the last couple of years they are applied so poorly that the race is interfered with in a way that is inconsistent and unnecessary. The likelihood of incidents and safety cars is part of the strategy considerations of teams and if consistent over a period of time will be fair for all.

Yesterday there was clearly plenty of time for the SC to be deployed, the stricken car cleared, and racing to be resumed before the end of the race, but dithering, incompetence, and an apparent comms issue stopped that. The results then are interfered with to a far greater extent than finishing under racing conditions. At what is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor sport it isn't close to good enough.
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I agree but on-the-spot guesstimations are a poor way of judging things, IMHO. It needs to be a fixed number of laps to go where the SC option just disappears. If it turns out to be something which a 2 lap safety car could have sorted then so be it.
 
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WillPS said:
I agree but on-the-spot guesstimations are a poor way of judging things, IMHO. It needs to be a fixed number of laps to go where the SC option just disappears. If it turns out to be something which a 2 lap safety car could have sorted then so be it.
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Hmm, each event is unique though. A VSX for a lap or 2 can be plenty to deal with some issues and arbitrarily red flagging within x number of laps would feel like overkill. I'm not adverse to some races ending under SC/VSC if that's what the circumstances dictate within a few laps from the end. But this was dithering to call a blindingly obvious SC, the SC picking up the wrong lead car, all but 2 back markers being released prior to the commencement of the final lap when racing could have otherwise commenced. It wouldn't have been a fine margin to restart the race if things had been done even vaguely efficiently, it was embarrassing for the sport and a let down for spectators and competitors.
 
Alastair said:
Safety car deployed over the end of the race if it suits the FIA's Golden Boy, but if god forbid Lewis might be in with the chance of a race win - they're sure as heck bringing it in for a one lap sprint!
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The safety car being deployed and the race not going green again probably benefits Lewis more than anyone else this weekend. George got a free pitstop, but Lewis did not, and his tyres were 10ish laps older than Perez who was also on Soft, so if they had managed to get the track clear I think Perez would of probably got past Lewis.

As much as everyone likes to accuses the FIA of been biased, they are not, they are just trying to do the best they can. We have two new race directors this year, who have no experience of F1, and it probably takes them longer to make decisions to ensure they are not doing anything wrong. I will be honest, I have missed the insight in what the teams are saying to the FIA, it would be nice to know what the teams are saying or suggesting to race control.

If anyone lost out from it not going Green, it was Lando who had fresh tyres, and would of been right behind Lewis and Perez.

Its a shame Ricardo's car did not break 2 or 3 laps earlier, it would of been really fun to watch the last lap chaos un-fold.

In the last ten years, six races have finished behind the safety car, so its not something which happens often.
 
Albons appendicitis turned much more serious, with post operation respiratory failure. Looks like he has recovered well since and the team are talking of a return for the next GP, but I wouldnt be at all surprised to see a slightly longer recovery than that before he's cleared to race again.

www.bbc.co.uk

Williams driver Albon suffered respiratory failure

Alex Albon was put on a ventilator after suffering complications following appendix surgery, say Williams.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
 
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Alastair said:
Safety car deployed over the end of the race if it suits the FIA's Golden Boy, but if god forbid Lewis might be in with the chance of a race win - they're sure as heck bringing it in for a one lap sprint!
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Its so true. And yet Max and Horner are convinced they get the rough deal.

De Vries to Williams next year is looking an option. Zhou will likely stay at Alfa so Danny Ric really only has Haas. Its clear the American guy will replace Gasly if he moves on.

Also get well soon Albon.
 
pluk said:
Albons appendicitis turned much more serious, with post operation respiratory failure. Looks like he's has recovered well since and the team are talking of a return for the next GP, but I wouldnt be at all surprised to see a slightly longer recovery than that before he's cleared to race again.

www.bbc.co.uk

Williams driver Albon suffered respiratory failure

Alex Albon was put on a ventilator after suffering complications following appendix surgery, say Williams.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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That's rough, hope he's ok. He doesn't need to rush back tbh, I don't think his seat is at risk! Latifi on the other hand...
 
Williams did say they are no longer in need of pay drivers. I assume if De Vries was to join Williams, Mercedes might put some more money into claim the seat (Not sure how it works). Hard to believe he is 27!

McLaren are showing some signs of promise at last, but they are still FAR behind the front 3 and id say Alpine are still a bit better too. As a life long McLaren fan it is horrible to see and here's hoping the investment being put in for the new wind tunnel etc will turn the results they are hoping and expecting
 
Wishing Albon a quick recovery, sounds like he is back on the road to recovery now. Albon already has a contract for next season, so his seat is safe. His post before his operation made me smile. F1 needs to get an extra two teams on the grid, four extra seats would give younger drivers more chance of getting a seat, and experience.

Tickets for Silverstone go on sale today for those with Silverstone Membership, and on Thursday for those who don't. Prices are already higher than last years, and quickly go up as they sell them. Still excellent value for money, and if its something you have never done before, its well worth doing it at least once. Prices can be found here with cheapest being General Admission for £219, and cheapest Grandstand being £289. Will be interesting to see what these prices are in two weeks time.

I am looking forward to taking Annabelle to her first race, going to be very different to previous visits.
 
IanB said:
Wishing Albon a quick recovery, sounds like he is back on the road to recovery now. Albon already has a contract for next season, so his seat is safe. His post before his operation made me smile. F1 needs to get an extra two teams on the grid, four extra seats would give younger drivers more chance of getting a seat, and experience.
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Issue is the teams don't want extra - Andretti said they have everything ready to enter a team but half the team bosses won't sign off on it (looking at Horner and Toto), Stefano Domenicali has also suggested an eleventh team isn't needed
 
NickB said:
Apparently Alpine are after Nyck now too.
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tl;dr - Alpine's want Gasly most but RBR will only given them up if they can have Herta, which it might take until February to definitively determine. Their second choice is De Vries. Williams' first choice is De Vries.

Tibble said:
Issue is the teams don't want extra - Andretti said they have everything ready to enter a team but half the team bosses won't sign off on it (looking at Horner and Toto), Stefano Domenicali has also suggested an eleventh team isn't needed
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AIUI the issue is that the teams aren't willing to see their shares of prize revenue eroded and FOM aren't willing to put enough money in the pot to diffray it. It's a shame because in an era where pay drivers are seemingly less of a thing and there is at least 2 major names (Andretti and Porche) but possibly 3 or 4 big names wanting a part you can't help but feel like a big opportunity is being missed.
 
Looking at the BGP - trying to get somebody to have the kids Thurs-Sunday is the challenge.
 
NickB said:
Looking at the BGP - trying to get somebody to have the kids Thurs-Sunday is the challenge.
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How old are they? Could you take them with you? Noise cancelling headphones might be a good solution for sensitive young ears if you're concerned about noise
 
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