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2021 Formula 1 Season Thread

Congratulations to Lando on a super drive. Should have been P2. Great drive by George as well. Really was hoping he could keep Fernando behind him. FIA penalties today were questionable at best. Nice job by Lando calling them out at the end for his 5 second.

Really nice to see Tanabe on the the podium with Max. Nice call by RBR.

Congratulations to Max and the RB16/RA621H.

Wash, rinse, repeat. ;)
 
I don't see Vettel having blocked Alonso on purpose because he was not at risk of being knocked out of Q3 by Alonso being higher and he knew he'd get a grid penalty that would knock him out of the Top 10, anyway. So I presume Seb's team did not tell him Alonso was storming on him and his focus was on making the corner.

Brilliant drive by Lando. I felt he was robbed by the stewards, but then they subsequently robbed Perez, as well, so...

Bottas was clearly the luckiest driver of the day, benefitting from Lando's penalty and Lewis' problem to make the podium.

And Tsunoda is quickly becoming my pick for "Most Disappointing Driver" for the season. He looked so good at Round One, and every race since he has been worse and worse. He'll be lucky to keep his seat in 2022 unless Honda is still providing a lot of support to RBR and AT.
 
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Good result for Lando. Really come on a lot this year. Max drove off and I don’t think we saw him again until the end.
Penalties seemed over the top for me. You’d think with all the technology in F1, they’d have a way to take the human element out of the decision making.
Mercedes had another nightmare. You could argue they aren’t even the second best car on the grid right now.
I think the WC and drivers WC are done.
 
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I feel the WCC is still very much in play as Perez is not as a consistently reliable finisher as Bottas so a bunch of double-podiums for MB and single podiums for RBR could swing it back.

WDC is also still in play, IMO. Max will have momentum going into Silverstone, but it's Silverstone and the crowd will be boosting Lewis as much as Austria's two races boosted Max. No idea what tire compounds they will be using, but if they are C3-C5, that will help Mercedes as the AMG seems to like harder compounds.

Hungary will probably go to Max due to the heat. Belgium? Weather can decide who wins that one. Max will have the crowd at Zandervoot, but it's a new track for most everyone. As to the rest, we've seen Max and Lewis do well.
 
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The-Real-Deal82 said:
I’d like to think Mercedes will make some ground for Silverstone. They need to as it’s a power track and very suited to Red Bull right now.
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The issue for Mercedes at Silverstone will be the same as all season. They will need to reduce downforce on the rear of the chassis to have a chance on the straights. Of course this will make the W12 loose on exit as it has been all season on these new Pirelli tires.

If they want to be able to put down power on exit they will need to rum more downforce. They really are in a Catch 22. They have abandoned the W12 despite Lewis' anger and demands. Lewis has a right to be angry about it.

People love to say all we need is rain every race and Lewis will win. Well, the grid has drivers these days that are just as competent in wet conditions, and IMO the W12 itself is not better suited to run more downforce in the rain than the RB16.

The quick 2 year contract with Lewis only reinforces that Mercedes has written off 2021 and are banking everything on getting Lewis #8 in 2022 or 2023. Time will tell. All teams will struggle a bit in 2022 IMO. 2023 will be the first real season of the new chassis.
 
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Glideslope said:
The issue for Mercedes at Silverstone will be the same as all season. They will need to reduce downforce on the rear of the chassis to have a chance on the straights. Of course this will make the W12 loose on exit as it has been all season on these new Pirelli tires.

If they want to be able to put down power on exit they will need to rum more downforce. They really are in a Catch 22. They have abandoned the W12 despite Lewis' anger and demands. Lewis has a right to be angry about it.

People love to say all we need is rain every race and Lewis will win. Well, the grid has drivers these days that are just as competent in wet conditions, and IMO the W12 itself is not better suited to run more downforce in the rain than the RB16.

The quick 2 year contract with Lewis only reinforces that Mercedes has written off 2021 and are banking everything on getting Lewis #8 in 2022 or 2023. Time will tell. All teams will struggle a bit in 2022 IMO. 2023 will be the first real season of the new chassis.
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Yeah I think Merc thought they had enough to carry the momentum but it’s backfired. Lewis is right to be frustrated and that’s a great sign as the hunger is still there. It’s nice to have a break from the same driver winning each year though and I’d like to see Lando getting more podiums. Mercedes are still qualifying high though so I doubt we’ve seen the last victory of 2021 from them. It’s a team game and that’s where it often lets the driver down.
 
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The-Real-Deal82 said:
Yeah I think Merc thought they had enough to carry the momentum but it’s backfired. Lewis is right to be frustrated and that’s a great sign as the hunger is still there. It’s nice to have a break from the same driver winning each year though and I’d like to see Lando getting more podiums. Mercedes are still qualifying high though so I doubt we’ve seen the last victory of 2021 from them. It’s a team game and that’s where it often lets the driver down.
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Yea, I’d love to see Lando stay with McLaren and be successful as McLaren grows. I just think we will see him signed by the Alpha Teams soon. The same applies to George Russell and Williams.

I find it very intriguing to watch McLaren and Lando with the Mercedes power unit since they went to the 2nd engine of the season. IMO, as of yesterday the MCL35M has the same power as the W12.
 
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I think the Mercedes engine has covered over the weaknesses in their chassis for a number of seasons. RBR have the better one, just up until this year, Honda wasn't giving them enough speed. Add to that this years rule changes have hurt Mercedes more because of their set up, it was bound to be a harder year. Hopefully next year we will see teams close together. But as any seasoned F1 fan will know, major rule changes usually make the pack further apart. One team will get it right more than the rest, whilst they all play catch up.
 
Apple fanboy said:
I think the Mercedes engine has covered over the weaknesses in their chassis for a number of seasons. RBR have the better one, just up until this year, Honda wasn't giving them enough speed. Add to that this years rule changes have hurt Mercedes more because of their set up, it was bound to be a harder year. Hopefully next year we will see teams close together. But as any seasoned F1 fan will know, major rule changes usually make the pack further apart. One team will get it right more than the rest, whilst they all play catch up.
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I guess the point I was "implying" was given the constructers battle between McLaren and Ferrari, IMO, the AMG unit in that McLaren yesterday had the same output as Lewis and Valtteri. McLaren now has a 21 point edge over Ferrari. Not the end, but not insignificant either,
 
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Glideslope said:
Yea, I’d love to see Lando stay with McLaren and be successful as McLaren grows. I just think we will see him signed by the Alpha Teams soon. The same applies to George Russell and Williams.

I find it very intriguing to watch McLaren and Lando with the Mercedes power unit since they went to the 2nd engine of the season. IMO, as of yesterday the MCL35M has the same power as the W12.
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I think if McLaren develop a race winning car then he will stay long term. It’s one of the biggest teams in the sport even though they aren’t winning right now IMO. Then again if the other British teams like Mercedes or RedBull come knocking with a higher salary and a good package, I wouldn’t blame him for going. I just want to see him fighting for a championship while he is still young and eager.
 
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Mercedes winding Ferrari up
6ad44b3e0d1ed70fdeaaec7900dc72d8.jpg
 
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Glideslope said:
The issue for Mercedes at Silverstone will be the same as all season. They will need to reduce downforce on the rear of the chassis to have a chance on the straights. Of course this will make the W12 loose on exit as it has been all season on these new Pirelli tires.

If they want to be able to put down power on exit they will need to rum more downforce. They really are in a Catch 22. They have abandoned the W12 despite Lewis' anger and demands. Lewis has a right to be angry about it.

People love to say all we need is rain every race and Lewis will win. Well, the grid has drivers these days that are just as competent in wet conditions, and IMO the W12 itself is not better suited to run more downforce in the rain than the RB16.

The quick 2 year contract with Lewis only reinforces that Mercedes has written off 2021 and are banking everything on getting Lewis #8 in 2022 or 2023. Time will tell. All teams will struggle a bit in 2022 IMO. 2023 will be the first real season of the new chassis.
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Silverstone will be the yardstick as to whether MB is just a bit behind, or simply a tuning session for 2022.

James Alison spoke to the F1 Nation podcast and there are upgrades coming. I am not prepared to write off MB yet but it does not look promising.

For everyone that says, modern F1 is all about the cars. They're right. HAM is just another driver without a ringer of a car.
 
ipsedixit said:
Silverstone will be the yardstick as to whether MB is just a bit behind, or simply a tuning session for 2022.

James Alison spoke to the F1 Nation podcast and there are upgrades coming. I am not prepared to write off MB yet but it does not look promising.

For everyone that says, modern F1 is all about the cars. They're right. HAM is just another driver without a ringer of a car.
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I mean.. he's miles better than Bottas 😂 .. but agreed F1's been all about the car for a good while now. Major difference is which driver can get the garage to turn the development toward their preferences instead of the teammate. Something Ham says he learned from Button, and what Button says is the main reason he was able to outscore Ham during their time together.
 
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BenTrovato said:
I mean.. he's miles better than Bottas 😂 .. but agreed F1's been all about the car for a good while now. Major difference is which driver can get the garage to turn the development toward their preferences instead of the teammate. Something Ham says he learned from Button, and what Button says is the main reason he was able to outscore Ham during their time together.
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I think BOT is just cursed with bad luck (can you be cursed with anything else but "bad luck"?).

It seems like BOT has as many poles, if not more than, HAM. It just when it comes to Sunday, something bad always happens to him. Like that botched pitstop with the stuck CL. Can't make crap like that up.
 
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ipsedixit said:
I think BOT is just cursed with bad luck (can you be cursed with anything else but "bad luck"?).

It seems like BOT has as many poles, if not more than, HAM. It just when it comes to Sunday, something bad always happens to him. Like that botched pitstop with the stuck CL. Can't make crap like that up.
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Bottas 17
Hamilton 100 ...?

Or did you mean this season?
 
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