2021 Formula 1 Season Thread

[The-Real-Deal82]

IMO Senna was the all time great, and his style was much the same as Max, but I gotta say that new track looks like it'll favour Mercedes'.
If Lewis wins, again, then more fans will turn off from the sport, they have already nailed the constructors which means next year they'll have more money then any other team. If the new rules next year don't balance this sport out a hell of a lot, then F1 is IMO finished.
But we shall see what this final throws at us.
Alonso and Seb have given us some of the best racing all year long, be great to see those two fighting at the front.

We could certainly do with a cull of all the plastic fans all over social media who haven’t seen beyond this season to be honest. If Lewis wins then he’ll gain many fans and Mercedes will feel the positive effects through their marketing. He’s a very marketable driver and appeals to many demographics. If Max wins then he will gain many fans too and Red Bull will enjoy the marketing it brings.

If you think a Lewis title will finish the sport, then you haven’t been around very long at all. No team wins forever and every era has an element of one team or driver dominance. The sport has always survived as it did through the Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren, Williams, Red Bull dominant eras of the past. This season has been exciting for fans and it’s far from being dead as a result. Let’s be realistic.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Yes, Schumacher was disqualified from the WDC in 1997 after his collision with Jacques Villeneuve at the European Grand Prix at Jerez was deemed an intentional act intended to secure him the WDC (as he led by 1 point at the time).

However, all of his race results (including points, wins and poles) for the season remained on his official statistics.

After 1994 where it was obvious he’d cheated but the FIA were reluctant to act, I think 1997 was too close to leave for a second time. Michael even convinced himself he’d not done anything wrong until Ross Brawn showed him the footage and he realised his hesitation before the contact was difficult to deny. A great guy off the track but a flawed genius on it.

Max reminds me of Mansell with his speed and Schumacher with his ruthlessness in split second decisions. I don’t believe he is absent minded like many try to make out, he’s too good for that.

 

[Apple fanboy]

If it becomes more of a train then the sport is finished. That's a fact, if it gets more boring and more predictable and less exciting, less people will watch which will lead to less sponsorships.
I think the opposite will happen and we will get more wheel to wheel racing and more excitement. We'll find out whenever the new season kicks off.

Hope it brings more wheel to wheel racing. But if that involves Max, I’m pretty sure I know the net outcome.
For the sport to attract more fans and sponsors it needs to get back to main free to air TV or streaming.

 

[2REPOU]

At least since 2007, the FIA does have the power to penalize a driver WDC points - they considered doing it to Lewis for his alleged brake-checking at Fuji 2007 that caused the two RBRs to collide behind him.

So if Max did egregiously run Lewis off the road ala Senna-Prost, they could penalize Max the necessary driver points to give Lewis the WDC.

I really wish they did for this past race. Would keep him honest for the final race. I don't want to see it decided on a penalty. I want to see them race clean and winner take all

 

[2REPOU]

The

Yes, Schumacher was disqualified from the WDC in 1997 after his collision with Jacques Villeneuve at the European Grand Prix at Jerez was deemed an intentional act intended to secure him the WDC (as he led by 1 point at the time).

However, all of his race results (including points, wins and poles) for the season remained on his official statistics.

funny thing with MS is that all his records for wins, poles etc should have an *. His win count should be decreased by 5 and poles by 3 from the 1997 season. Makes Hamilton's numbers even more impressive by the lack of controversy. A true sportsman. I had issues with Senna for the same thing. Both were absolutely amazing behind the wheel, but flawed between the ears

 

[Apple fanboy]

What they need to say at the drivers briefing is that if any driver is deemed to have run a competitor off the track they will be disqualified and have a 5 point deduction. State it as fact and they will race fairly. Debate it after the event and one team will say they are favouring the other.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Helmut Marko retracted his comments about Hamilton in regards to him crashing into the back of Max.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Helmut Marko retracted his comments about Hamilton in regards to him crashing into the back of Max.

Well at least he owned up.

 

[pachyderm]

Did the audio cut for anyone else during max's post race interview?

The interview he did before they went on the podium? He was asked about the wreck and when went to answer it the sound went out on our broadcast. Then it came back on when he was done answering that question.

 

[Pezimak]

Did the audio cut for anyone else during max's post race interview?

The interview he did before they went on the podium? He was asked about the wreck and when went to answer it the sound went out on our broadcast. Then it came back on when he was done answering that question.

If it was on Sky then yes, I rewound it a couple of times and it still cut out.

 

[Pezimak]

Hope it brings more wheel to wheel racing. But if that involves Max, I’m pretty sure I know the net outcome.
For the sport to attract more fans and sponsors it needs to get back to main free to air TV or streaming.

Yeap but that won't happen for years, Sky will spend endless billions in sport licenses, they think nothing of throwing 5 or 6 billion sterling for a football league. However as I said I hope Amazon who have much deeper pockets will come along and take it from them, may not be free but 70 quid a year is a hell of a lot better! Or Pay monthly with no contract.
And Max can do wheel to wheel as well as Lewis.. Alonso and Seb can school BOTH of them in how to do it.

 

[Pezimak]

We could certainly do with a cull of all the plastic fans all over social media who haven’t seen beyond this season to be honest. If Lewis wins then he’ll gain many fans and Mercedes will feel the positive effects through their marketing. He’s a very marketable driver and appeals to many demographics. If Max wins then he will gain many fans too and Red Bull will enjoy the marketing it brings.

If you think a Lewis title will finish the sport, then you haven’t been around very long at all. No team wins forever and every era has an element of one team or driver dominance. The sport has always survived as it did through the Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren, Williams, Red Bull dominant eras of the past. This season has been exciting for fans and it’s far from being dead as a result. Let’s be realistic.

I have been around for a long long time and F1 has been in trouble before, if they lose viewership they lose sponsors and the cash dry's up. That's my view, many turned off because of Schumacher and some stopped watching cause of Lewis and who can blame them? What's the point in watching a sport you know the winner off at the start of the season, the one who is constantly in the lead by 30 seconds plus and laps 4th or 5th place by the end.
Very grateful they culled it this year a bit.
Linking to the above post they lost 8.6 million viewers when it moved to Sky:

F1 TV audience crashes by 8.6m viewers following switch to Sky Sports

Exclusive: Move to show all but one race live on pay-for TV channel Sky Sports F1 has triggered a huge drop in audience numbers in the UK

www.independent.co.uk

Very keen to see what next years rules and new cars do for it.

 

[CWallace]

F1 has been on "pay TV" here in the US since the late 1980s in that it was exclusively carried by cable networks like ESPN, Speed(vision), NBCSports and the various FOX cable sports channels so...


* - And yes, I know ABC and NBC on occasion would show a race instead of having it on NBCSports/ESPN, but that was only a handful per season so I don't really count it.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I have been around for a long long time and F1 has been in trouble before, if they lose viewership they lose sponsors and the cash dry's up. That's my view, many turned off because of Schumacher and some stopped watching cause of Lewis and who can blame them? What's the point in watching a sport you know the winner off at the start of the season, the one who is constantly in the lead by 30 seconds plus and laps 4th or 5th place by the end.
Very grateful they culled it this year a bit.
Linking to the above post they lost 8.6 million viewers when it moved to Sky:

F1 TV audience crashes by 8.6m viewers following switch to Sky Sports

Exclusive: Move to show all but one race live on pay-for TV channel Sky Sports F1 has triggered a huge drop in audience numbers in the UK

www.independent.co.uk

Very keen to see what next years rules and new cars do for it.

The sport made it very clear fans were less important than TV money when they switched to satellite PPV across Europe a decade ago. I know lots of people in just my circles who no longer follow F1 but the sport has evolved. It lost sponsors like Vodafone and Santander because less audience didn’t suit their marketing plans. Instead we have oil companies that don’t need a consumer audience and Rolex who only attract a niche market anyway. It’s crap for proper fans who have lost access, but we just focus time on other things and watch small snippets. I don’t watch races live anymore and haven’t done for years now but I still follow the sport closely and read what I can. Liberty Media claimed to be working to bring the sport back to FTA in the major European markets but have to wait until current contracts expire. I will believe it when I see it though.

In regards to fans not wanting to see the same team and drivers winning every year, well, there’s not much that can be done about that. It’s supposedly the pinnacle of motorsport, an R&D category and a sport built on engineering edge. If you don’t want teams developing their cars ‘too well’, then the only option is a standardised series like IndyCar or Formula E. I tend to think fans who don’t understand this aren’t really investing in their knowledge enough and perhaps aren’t aware of the purpose of the sport overall. F1 has spend the last 30 years altering regulations to stop teams dominating for too long, but then there are budget caps which don’t really work if development is changing direction too often.

Trying to keep the best cars out of the best drivers hands always has been a tricky prospect. It’s always easier to handle if the driver at the top is someone you like. Those people who complain often support domination when their driver then is lucky enough to have the right package. That’s F1.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yeap but that won't happen for years, Sky will spend endless billions in sport licenses, they think nothing of throwing 5 or 6 billion sterling for a football league. However as I said I hope Amazon who have much deeper pockets will come along and take it from them, may not be free but 70 quid a year is a hell of a lot better! Or Pay monthly with no contract.
And Max can do wheel to wheel as well as Lewis.. Alonso and Seb can school BOTH of them in how to do it.

I’d agree on Alonso. He’s lost his edge a bit, but one of the best drivers around in his day. Just never seemed to be in the right car at the right time.
Sen had the best car by mikes when he was winning his titles. I think a few would have given him a run for his money in the same machines.
Can’t agree on Amazon though. Horrid company. I’ll never pay them £70 a year on principle. Even if they had F1.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I have been around for a long long time and F1 has been in trouble before, if they lose viewership they lose sponsors and the cash dry's up. That's my view, many turned off because of Schumacher and some stopped watching cause of Lewis and who can blame them? What's the point in watching a sport you know the winner off at the start of the season, the one who is constantly in the lead by 30 seconds plus and laps 4th or 5th place by the end.
Very grateful they culled it this year a bit.
Linking to the above post they lost 8.6 million viewers when it moved to Sky:

F1 TV audience crashes by 8.6m viewers following switch to Sky Sports

Exclusive: Move to show all but one race live on pay-for TV channel Sky Sports F1 has triggered a huge drop in audience numbers in the UK

www.independent.co.uk

Very keen to see what next years rules and new cars do for it.

I’m not surprised it’s that many. 2 hour highlight show is fine for me. Some races that’s long enough!

 

[Apple fanboy]

The sport made it very clear fans were less important than TV money when they switched to satellite PPV across Europe a decade ago. I know lots of people in just my circles who no longer follow F1 but the sport has evolved. It lost sponsors like Vodafone and Santander because less audience didn’t suit their marketing plans. Instead we have oil companies that don’t need a consumer audience and Rolex who only attract a niche market anyway. It’s crap for proper fans who have lost access, but we just focus time on other things and watch small snippets. I don’t watch races live anymore and haven’t done for years now but I still follow the sport closely and read what I can. Liberty Media claimed to be working to bring the sport back to FTA in the major European markets but have to wait until current contracts expire. I will believe it when I see it though.

In regards to fans not wanting to see the same team and drivers winning every year, well, there’s not much that can be done about that. It’s supposedly the pinnacle of motorsport, an R&D category and a sport built on engineering edge. If you don’t want teams developing their cars ‘too well’, then the only option is a standardised series like IndyCar or Formula E. I tend to think fans who don’t understand this aren’t really investing in their knowledge enough and perhaps aren’t aware of the purpose of the sport overall. F1 has spend the last 30 years altering regulations to stop teams dominating for too long, but then there are budget caps which don’t really work if development is changing direction too often.

Trying to keep the best cars out of the best drivers hands always has been a tricky prospect. It’s always easier to handle if the driver at the top is someone you like. Those people who complain often support domination when their driver then is lucky enough to have the right package. That’s F1.

I’m more supporting of Lewis than I was of Michael probably because he’s British and the car is manufactured here. But am much preferring the closeness of this year’s title compared to the more dominant years.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

And Max can do wheel to wheel as well as Lewis.. Alonso and Seb can school BOTH of them in how to do it.

Not sure how you keep a straight face with that comment. Have you not seen some of Hamilton’s wheel to wheel battles with these two over the years? Hamilton has schooled Seb on quite a few occasions as we all know. Some of which pre F1. One for your YouTube is Lausitz 2005 where they battle for lap after lap with Lewis coming out on top. Check out Hamilton in GP2 at Silverstone and Turkey 2006 if you think he is less of a wheel to wheel racer than either Alonso or Vettel. I seem to remember him and Alonso going wheel to wheel plenty of times during 2007 too. Im sure you were joking though, although I do wonder.

 

[Pezimak]

Not sure how you keep a straight face with that comment. Have you not seen some of Hamilton’s wheel to wheel battles with these two over the years? Hamilton has schooled Seb on quite a few occasions as we all know. Some of which pre F1. One for your YouTube is Lausitz 2005 where they battle for lap after lap with Lewis coming out on top. Check out Hamilton in GP2 at Silverstone and Turkey 2006 if you think he is less of a wheel to wheel racer than either Alonso or Vettel. I seem to remember him and Alonso going wheel to wheel plenty of times during 2007 too. Im sure you were joking though, although I do wonder.

I wasn't joking in the slightest, sorry but Lewis really hasn't been a wheel to wheel racer for years IMO, more a case of 20 seconds plus in front of second place driver. Alonso and Seb have definitely shown how to do it, instead of Lewis and Max driving each other off the track.

 

[Pezimak]

The sport made it very clear fans were less important than TV money when they switched to satellite PPV across Europe a decade ago. I know lots of people in just my circles who no longer follow F1 but the sport has evolved. It lost sponsors like Vodafone and Santander because less audience didn’t suit their marketing plans. Instead we have oil companies that don’t need a consumer audience and Rolex who only attract a niche market anyway. It’s crap for proper fans who have lost access, but we just focus time on other things and watch small snippets. I don’t watch races live anymore and haven’t done for years now but I still follow the sport closely and read what I can. Liberty Media claimed to be working to bring the sport back to FTA in the major European markets but have to wait until current contracts expire. I will believe it when I see it though.

In regards to fans not wanting to see the same team and drivers winning every year, well, there’s not much that can be done about that. It’s supposedly the pinnacle of motorsport, an R&D category and a sport built on engineering edge. If you don’t want teams developing their cars ‘too well’, then the only option is a standardised series like IndyCar or Formula E. I tend to think fans who don’t understand this aren’t really investing in their knowledge enough and perhaps aren’t aware of the purpose of the sport overall. F1 has spend the last 30 years altering regulations to stop teams dominating for too long, but then there are budget caps which don’t really work if development is changing direction too often.

Trying to keep the best cars out of the best drivers hands always has been a tricky prospect. It’s always easier to handle if the driver at the top is someone you like. Those people who complain often support domination when their driver then is lucky enough to have the right package. That’s F1.

We will see if it returns to FTA, but it's why I say I hope Amazon will take it in and out bid Sky, they may allow more if it in free to air, personally I have no problem with Amazon Prime. But as I said Sky thinks nothing of paying billions for a single sports rights.
As for the sport itself, well I'm fairly sure fans do understand how it works, and they don't follow it to see one driver so far ahead they lap 6th or 5th places. Hardly a sport in anyones book regardless if you support the driver or team winning.
Next years rule changes should level the field a lot hopefully, I'm expecting to see more overtaking. And they are introducing a level of standardisation by the looks of it too on some parts.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I wasn't joking in the slightest, sorry but Lewis really hasn't been a wheel to wheel racer for years IMO, more a case of 20 seconds plus in front of second place driver. Alonso and Seb have definitely shown how to do it, instead of Lewis and Max driving each other off the track.

You mean Max driving Lewis off the track. Not each other.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Not sure how you keep a straight face with that comment. Have you not seen some of Hamilton’s wheel to wheel battles with these two over the years? Hamilton has schooled Seb on quite a few occasions as we all know. Some of which pre F1. One for your YouTube is Lausitz 2005 where they battle for lap after lap with Lewis coming out on top. Check out Hamilton in GP2 at Silverstone and Turkey 2006 if you think he is less of a wheel to wheel racer than either Alonso or Vettel. I seem to remember him and Alonso going wheel to wheel plenty of times during 2007 too. Im sure you were joking though, although I do wonder.

Channel 4 are showing the race live now I hear….

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Channel 4 are showing the race live now I hear….

I think this is a race I will watch. I hope you are right about C4 having the coverage. I was going to go over my in-laws to watch it on Sky but I’d much rather watch it without the nauseating Sky presenting team.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I think this is a race I will watch. I hope you are right about C4 having the coverage. I was going to go over my in-laws to watch it on Sky but I’d much rather watch it without the nauseating Sky presenting team.

Then watch it without them!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Then watch it without them! https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...ts-lewis-hamilton-max-verstappen-b970869.html

F1 might actually get more than 800k viewers for a change this time around