F1 2021 – spoilers here

I was slightly surprised that Hamilton wasn’t black flagged due to the obvious damage to the wing.

The real hero of this race was whoever designed the Merc front wing. Two big whacks and still setting fastest laps.

Well, 11 out of 10 for structural engineering, maybe a question mark over the aero 😄

But yeah, I thought the same, both times I was expecting a new nose to be needed. Clearly they’ve been building cars with Max as a design parameter 😉

The Merc wings just flex out of the way don’t they, or so I heard.

I was slightly surprised that Hamilton wasn’t black flagged due to the obvious damage to the wing

You would only be black flagged if Race Control were worried that the car was damaged in such a way that it was either dangerous to drive or had the potential of shedding bodywork so as to be a a danger to others.

A bit of damage to a front wing endplate is not dangerous and the main elements of the wing were structurally sound and it did not look like it was going to fail and spew bits of carbon fibre all over the place.

I was slightly surprised that Hamilton wasn’t black flagged due to the obvious damage to the wing.

Why would they do that? I don’t ever recall a car being black flagged in similar circumstances.

. Verstappen is clearly very talented but his behaviour is often childish and petulant

I think he just “reacts” too instinctively, even after what? 6 years, he’s still treating every challenge as if he’ll never get a chance to defend or attack again the next lap or next corner. Every move seems to be life or death for him, and there doesn’t seem to be a appreciation that the race may still have 20-30 laps to go.

The other heroes were the marshalls who had to scamper onto to the track to pick up all the bits and bobs that had fallen off the cars.

Surely, some kind of hoover crane would be safer/quicker?

 if Hamilton has the race pace and qualifies first then he will likely play the long game and let Verstappen past in any kamikaze manoeuvres then look to get past during pit stops.

No chance, Merc won’t want to be anywhere near Max, if they have a choice.

Well, 11 out of 10 for structural engineering, maybe a question mark over the aero 😄

Shows that the end plates are only there because the rules mandate them, down to the square millimetre!

But yes, they were both lucky to have drivable cars after collision

And this is the root cause of the problem. Max needed some grown-ups to learn him some manners when he was a young-un.

Always got your back @Max33Verstappen ? pic.twitter.com/zUXBahSqEY

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) December 6, 2021

How the hell is Max shortlisted for world sports personality of the year?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sports-personality/59505132

Made the mistake of watching the C4 highlights: DC’s commentary is unbearable.

I’ll not do that again.

@WCA

Was L15 not the one where Hamilton bumped Verstappen off the track at the restart? (Followed by Verstappen rejoining where he saw fit)

And L16 the one where Hamilton “leant” on Ocon at the restart?

when all I am doing is trying to look at it neutrally

Oh TJ, you did actually make LOL with that. Mrs Boblo thought I was having a fit… 😝

I don’t really give a shiny sh1t which of the playboys wins but do think some of the antics look to undermine the old spirit of fair play. However, I recognise that I’m not sitting in said motah and don’t really know enough about fair play in this context to recognise it when I see it.

Ooo, self awareness… 🙃

It did, although Senna in 1990 did it as revenge for 1989, as much for Balestre screwing him over as Prost’s manoeuvre. So while it was absolutely a deliberate crash to win the title, it was to put right a previous injustice (at least in Senna and many other peoples mind

That’s exactly correct. You have an excellent memory sir!

Two wrongs don’t necessarily make a right though…..

Halfway though lap 50, Ocon was only 13 sec behind Max.

If Bottas hadn’t battled with Ocon, Max would have ended up third. It’s bonkers. 😜

They didn’t know at the time, but that would have changed next week a massive amount.

They didn’t know at the time, but that would have changed next week a massive amount.

You could well be right but I can’t help feeling the 10 second penalty was the maximum they could give whilst still been immaterial.

Two wrongs don’t necessarily make a right though…..

You’re right. I was kind of ok with that one though 😀

@WCA

Was L15 not the one where Hamilton bumped Verstappen off the track at the restart? (Followed by Verstappen rejoining where he saw fit)

And L16 the one where Hamilton “leant” on Ocon at the restart?

Possibly my subconscious bias.

On L15 I saw it as Hamilton clearly ahead and driving around the corner when Max didn’t try to make the corner but did try to block Lewis.

L16 It was a really good start for Verstappen, no dispute. I will have to re-watch to see the Hamilton perspective on the squeeze on Ocon. You may well be right.

I will have to re-watch to see the Hamilton perspective on the squeeze on Ocon.

I’d have to rewatch it too, I think, but my recollection is that Hamilton was the jam in a sandwich and pretty much had nowhere to go. Too many incidents to accurately recall, though 😂

<blockquoteHalfway though lap 50, Ocon was only 13 sec behind Max.

The post-race interview with Ocon was one of my highlights of the race. Clearly he had a fabulous day and I’m a big fan (of him and Renault).

I’d have penalised Max at least one point to clean up next week’s final race.

Halfway though lap 50, Ocon was only 13 sec behind Max.
If Bottas hadn’t battled with Ocon, Max would have ended up third. It’s bonkers. 😜
They didn’t know at the time, but that would have changed next week a massive amount.

It would have been quite a scene if the penalty had dropped Verstappen back behind either / both Bottas and Ocon!
As it was it was very much a “yeah whatever” type of penalty in that it didn’t affect anything in the slightest.

I’d have penalised Max at least one point to clean up next week’s final race.

Not a bad shout. Assuming they’ll be fighting for the higher placings, then with at least 2 points per position difference that point would be overturned. Although fastest lap could then re-equalise as well.

It also assumes LH wouldn’t punt MV off to win by a point.

Wonder what team orders will be for the second drivers, and the junior teams as well……might need to treble the number of stewards to deal with the demolition derby potential.

I’d have penalised Max at least one point to clean up next week’s final race.

Would have been my preferred position – winner takes all and the one more likely to cause a crash can’t risk DNF.

Interesting article on the BBC about the possibilities for next weekend:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/59542219

I really wanted Lewis to be one point ahead going into the last race. That would mean both him and MV would have to play very fair in order to get ahead to win the WDC as a crash for either of them would be curtains.
As it is MV has nothing to lose, he can pile straight into LH and win the WDC.

As it is MV has nothing to lose, he can pile straight into LH and win the WDC.

I don’t really believe he would do that (I know, I know) – if he did he would forever be remembered for cheating his way to winning it and I don’t honestly believe he wants that to happen.

Yeah, I don’t think Max would do it intentionally. But being level on points does mean that he can aggressively/dangerously (delete as appropriate for your viewpoint) barrel into corners, safe in the knowledge that if they both crash out, he’ll have the championship. That does play into his hands somewhat, given his actions in Brazil and Jeddah.

It also seems that HAM is the guy in form with the faster car, so:

I can’t see VER winning without some in-race controversy next week.

In a clean race next weekend, the championship is HAM’s, IMvHO.

I also thought a 1pt penalty would sort that out. Otherwise there is a very real chance that the championship is going to be decided by the stewards next week, which I’m sure the FIA do not want.

Yeah I doubt he would do it in a calculated manner but when he’s doing his usual ‘who’s going to brake first, not me’ stuff it’s likely to be in the back of his mind, especially as he’s largely got away with it so far. And I think it’s fair to say impulse control is not a strength of his.

They’ll both have to keep it clean – there’s an even chance Max could come off worse in a crash situation and Lewis then limps his car home and rolls in 10th!

It also seems that HAM is the guy in form with the faster car

In form, and cooler under pressure, but not necessarily in the faster car. Remember Max was around half a second up in Q3 until the wall intervened.

Mercedes will presumably be putting all their energy into trying to secure a lights-to-flag victory with the fallback option being an undercut—they must know they need to keep Lewis away from Max if at all possible.

Thing is, I’ve never found Abu Dhabi interesting enough to have bothered comprehending the strategic options, so I don’t know what the practical options really look like 🙂

They’ll both have to keep it clean – there’s an even chance Max could come off worse in a crash situation and Lewis then limps his car home and rolls in 10th!

To be fair, if they come together then the chances of Max having a DNF while Lewis finishes in the points are—while not negligible—way less than evens.

I don’t think he’s a probabilities kind of guy, though. Schumacher would have calculated all that; I think Max is just wired no-holds-barred permanently, and the next race will only galvanise that instinct. He won’t give an inch, and he’ll take it to full contact if needed.

I’d have to rewatch it too, I think, but my recollection is that Hamilton was the jam in a sandwich and pretty much had nowhere to go. Too many incidents to accurately recall, though 😂

That’s very much how I recall it. Ham didn’t have anywhere to go as MV “stuck it up the inside” and Occon was trying to go round the outside so he was the jam in an uncomfortable sandwich. I personally felt that MV’s move on that restart was reckless and would require the other drivers to take evasive action to prevent a collision – a favoured tactic of Max. Which Horner seems perfectly happy with when it’s Max doing it and getting away with it but is decidedly unhappy when other drivers do it to Max and he comes off worse.
I also agree that Max should have had the title all sealed and delivered by now. However, he does seem to not grasp the concept of playing the long game. Over the course of the season he has driven superbly well for a lot of the time however, when the action gets tight and tense he tends to be quite aggressive and, for me, has frequently over-stepped the mark between hard racing and dangerous / reckless driving. It’s races like yesterday and Brazil that make me hope Ham wins it next week. On balance, if Max wins the race he will have deserved to win the championship – but there is still a sour taste to it. If Ham wins the race it will also be both an incredible achievement in the context of the sport (8 times WDC) as well as the season for him and Merc.

With the class and composure that Lewis Hamilton has shown this season he is in danger of dragging the sport into repute.

I personally felt that MV’s move on that restart was reckless and would require the other drivers to take evasive action to prevent a collision

Conversely, I thought it was extremely well-judged. Hamilton had to move right to prevent Ocon holding the outside line; Max saw this coming and took advantage of the resulting gap, then it was basically up to Hamilton and Ocon to sort it out. Absolutely the right thing for Max to have done.

Thing is, I’ve never found Abu Dhabi interesting

Don’t forget they have made some fairly significant changes to the track this year. It will definitely be much faster but whether overtaking opportunities have been improved I don’t know.

With the class and composure that Lewis Hamilton has shown this season he is in danger of dragging the sport into repute.

Good point.  He has left the brattish image well behind him now and I respect him far more than I did a few years ago.  He has done well to grow into a well rounded human being considering the highly unusual and high pressured upbringing he has had.

MV has now, in 6 years of racing, managed to accumulate more penalty points on his super license than any other driver including Grosjean. Max has a total of 28pts. The next nearest is Grosjean with 21. LH who has been racing longer is at 10. The system was introduced in 2014 and MV didn’t start until 2015.

This year the Redbull team drivers have the highest pts (7 each) of anyone except Yuki Tsunoda, who runs a real risk of being a Japanese stereotype. By comparison, LH has 2.

“Conversely, I thought it was extremely well-judged. Hamilton had to move right to prevent Ocon holding the outside line; ”

Or counter conversely, Leiws was trying to stay as far away from Max as possible? Which was his strategy for the whole race I think!

Plus, knowing Max was on mediums, perhaps Lewis was prepared to let him go and catch him later in the race when the tyres deteriorated?

I’d have penalised Max at least one point to clean up next week’s final race.

Is that even an option under the rules and penalties as they are?
We’ve ended up in this position because the rules have been badly / unfairly / inconsistently applied at other races this year (notably Brazil as mentioned by others) and it’s in a grey area where (some) drivers are doing as much as they think they can get away with and then relying on the team to sort it out over the radio with Massi while howling in disbelief that they can’t get away with it.

If you knew you were going to get a 10″ penalty that, in the grand scale of things, meant absolutely nothing to the end result, would it affect what you did? Compared to if you knew you were going to lose 1 WC point.

It’s a similar argument to the restricted number of gearboxes / engines etc. Yes you can take more but it means a grid penalty – however if you choose your circuit wisely and play to the strengths of your car and driver, you can negate that which swings the ball firmly back into your court and means that the rich teams can use more parts. If using extra engines meant points off the Constructors Championships, I’m willing to bet that reliability would suddenly be far higher!