2021 Formula 1 Season!!!

[Wall_Hanger]

2021 Formula 1 Season!!!

What?....[emoji848]...you guys obviously don't know he came from nothing. Also nothing carts as a kid. Also nothing cars as a teenager. Also Mercedes was far from dominant when he parted with McClaren. Oddly the pundits say exactly what yall said......but he crushed all of them. [emoji15] 2022 will be a new car for all F1 drivers. Just another chance for the [emoji238] to shut down the pundits. The statistics speak for themselves but I guess Tom Brady is only the goat because of the Brady rule.[emoji849]

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He came from nothing but that doesn’t make him the best today. Russel came from humble beginnings too and I hope to see him do well at Merc next year too.

Not quite true on pure GOAT status, he won with McLaren in ‘08 and then not again until the turbo hybrid era in ‘14. Button won in ‘09. At that point in ‘14, Mercedes was absolutely the most dominant power unit in the field out of the gate and maintained that until this year where they still had edge just not to the degree they had before. In ‘16 Rosberg won as his driving partner at Merc and it was neck and neck the whole year, much like this year with Red Bull. He has also for 5 years had as he described in a bit of a press blunder “the best #2 driver on the grid” in Bottas who is a steady points machine, quali partner and has played great defense when needed. All of that combined has led to outstanding results and great fortune. Had he been driving for Red Bull or mid field team with a lesser performing power unit, was less well capitalized and not led by someone the likes of Toto (he’s a machine) he would not have the legacy he has today.

The beyond the grid podcast actually interviewed the Brackley Bunch technical manager (original Merc team owners) and he went in to great detail about just how devastatingly dominant their car was relative to the pack when F1 shifted to the turbo hybrid.

So the truth as I see it, Lewis is a great driver that had the eye and the good fortune to be in the right seat in ‘14 and then HE capitalized on that opportunity to become a legend in the sport. He also is very aware of his public image and curates that (even during races) to his benefit. He’s had some great coaching. I’ll paraphrase a statement about Lewis which was something along the line of “..he always leaves enough doubt in his racing to appear to never intentionally cross the line but he did in fact cross in intentionally all the time, he just knows to not get caught like Rosberg”.

[LlanoHunter10]

The best of the rest!!!

[Landrover]

He came from nothing but that doesn’t make him the best today. Russel came from humble beginnings too and I hope to see him do well at Merc next year too.

Not quite true on pure GOAT status, he won with McLaren in ‘08 and then not again until the turbo hybrid era in ‘14. Button won in ‘09. At that point in ‘14, Mercedes was absolutely the most dominant power unit in the field out of the gate and maintained that until this year where they still had edge just not to the degree they had before. In ‘16 Rosberg won as his driving partner at Merc and it was neck and neck the whole year, much like this year with Red Bull. He has also for 5 years had as he described in a bit of a press blunder “the best #2 driver on the grid” in Bottas who is a steady points machine, quali partner and has played great defense when needed. All of that combined has led to outstanding results and great fortune. Had he been driving for Red Bull or mid field team with a lesser performing power unit, was less well capitalized and not led by someone the likes of Toto (he’s a machine) he would not have the legacy he has today.

The beyond the grid podcast actually interviewed the Brackley Bunch technical manager (original Merc team owners) and he went in to great detail about just how devastatingly dominant their car was relative to the pack when F1 shifted to the turbo hybrid.

So the truth as I see it, Lewis is a great driver that had the eye and the good fortune to be in the right seat in ‘14 and then HE capitalized on that opportunity to become a legend in the sport. He also is very aware of his public image and curates that (even during races) to his benefit. He’s had some great coaching. I’ll paraphrase a statement about Lewis which was something along the line of “..he always leaves enough doubt in his racing to appear to never intentionally cross the line but he did in fact cross in intentionally all the time, he just knows to not get caught like Rosberg”.

So, being well trained/coached since carts is his fault? Thx God he was as they had zero help. Since his rise and dominance has been treated like a business it is his fault? Pretty dang smart on his dad's and sponsors part! Taking advantage of the technology is a negative? Never....the sport is about tech. Having a teamate of value is part of the sport, not his decision. Business people make tweaks EVERYDAY to stay relevant as technology and KEY partnerships matter.
Heck, u or I can drive the car if it's that simple. We can "what if" and "how about" on everyone......but they are not even close wins, poles, DNF's, fastest laps, even starts. The same exact criticisms were applied to Tiger Woods.....even "Tiger proofed" golf courses to help lessor players..[emoji2962]...he still won. That's what winners do, exceed expectations no matter what,..... Ham will do the same. FIA blew the race and made rules along the way. Masi has proven he is not in the correct role and I suspect changes are coming. 2022 can't get here fast enough. We will be in Miami for the inaugural race in May and expect it to be [emoji91]. The debate won't stop about 2021 for decades, but I absolutely know how that last lap materialized was pure horse crap.

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[Wall_Hanger]

Well, Albon to Williams just got a little more interesting.

[Wall_Hanger]

So, being well trained/coached since carts is his fault? Thx God he was as they had zero help. Since his rise and dominance has been treated like a business it is his fault? Pretty dang smart on his dad's and sponsors part! Taking advantage of the technology is a negative? Never....the sport is about tech. Having a teamate of value is part of the sport, not his decision. Business people make tweaks EVERYDAY to stay relevant as technology and KEY partnerships matter.
Heck, u or I can drive the car if it's that simple. We can "what if" and "how about" on everyone......but they are not even close wins, poles, DNF's, fastest laps, even starts. The same exact criticisms were applied to Tiger Woods.....even "Tiger proofed" golf courses to help lessor players..[emoji2962]...he still won. That's what winners do, exceed expectations no matter what,..... Ham will do the same. FIA blew the race and made rules along the way. Masi has proven he is not in the correct role and I suspect changes are coming. 2022 can't get here fast enough. We will be in Miami for the inaugural race in May and expect it to be [emoji91]. The debate won't stop about 2021 for decades, but I absolutely know how that last lap materialized was pure horse crap.

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You misread, or I didn’t explain very well, my point. That or your Hamilton fanboy butt hurt got in the way (kidding). I didn’t say anything about him being well coached in karts as a pejorative or for that matter his upbringing period.

Lewis won in ‘08 and then struggled the following seasons finishing 4 or 5 up through ‘12 when he joined Mercedes and left McLaren. From ‘07 - ‘12 Lewis had all kinds of on track issues and run-ins with the stewards over his driving and at one point I think got called in 5 races in a row (2009 I think) for infractions. He was not near the polished driver he is now. That’s a fact.

Merc at that point in 13’ had a completely different team and offering than it did in ‘08. Toto had joined and quickly convinced corporate to reinvest hundreds of millions into the team and Niki Lauda had joined as team coach. The investment Toto negotiated was chiefly to create the new v6 turbo hybrid power unit. When Lewis interviewed with Mercedes these were all things that would have gone into his calculus to improve his lot on the grid ie what seat gives me the best edge. This isn’t “what about”….it’s fact. To their credit, Mercedes saw in him what he could eventually be which was an F1 legend and not for what he was, a one time champion with a little baggage. Toto seems to have a knack for picking winners whether it is on the track on in the market.

When Mercedes debuted their new power unit in prerace testing they were leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. I’ve read and listened to Paddy Lowe and others describe how far ahead they were but here’s a taste, they freaking ran the motors tuned down for all of ‘14 in qualifying so no one knew how good they were because they feared FIA would regulate them. Copied a link below to a racefans article describing this. The point is that Lewis was a good driver that was fortunate to get into the right seat where he was able to become that dominating force. He wasn’t that force ‘09-‘12. Mercedes was dominant enough that they went for 8 constructors cups…that’s insane and a testimony to the package they have and good drivers they attract and develop. But a good driver in a crap car still won’t have the race pace to compete for a championship. Look at Alonso this year or Schumacher when he went to Ferrari in his first and second years there. The best car makes a good driver with great instincts into the best driver they can be.

Tiger analogy doesn’t fit. There is no engineering in golf. F1 at its core is an engineering contest. Everyone has access to the exact same clubs….golf comes down to abilities and training and perhaps you can argue there is some nuance in training that builds edge but that’s marginal. Tiger is a golf anomaly. But it’s nothing like F1. Put Nikita Mazapin in a Mercedes and he’ll beat George Russel’s Williams every weekend and Russel is far and away a better driver. Put Hamilton today in an Alpine and watch Verstappen mop the track every single weekend. Lewis is great because he worked so well with the team at Mercedes and the two of them got every ounce of performance they could out of those cars….that were already better than the rest of the grid haha. If Mercedes hadn’t been so overly dominate, there is no doubt that Lewis would still have been good but he would not of had the same level success.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/04/28/fear-of-rules-change-led-mercedes-to-run-dominant-2014-engine-in-idle-mode/

[Wall_Hanger]

Pretty crazy stats. Regardless of the opinion of him as a driver, Verstappen worked his butt off this year to be in contention with Merc who had arguably better cars and great drivers.

[bossbowman]

Well, Albon to Williams just got a little more interesting.

So are they just calling it a Redbull engine since Honda is leaving???

[F1addict]

Pretty crazy stats. Regardless of the opinion of him as a driver, Verstappen worked his butt off this year to be in contention with Merc who had arguably better cars and great drivers.

That’s a crazy stat!!


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[DaveC]

So are they just calling it a Redbull engine since Honda is leaving???

Haha, good question.
I bet they have an engine assembly line right next to their soda pop making machine.


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[Wall_Hanger]

So are they just calling it a Redbull engine since Honda is leaving???

It’s been kinda crazy the past several months seeing this play out but Red Bull is actually taking over Honda’s F1 power division. They did this for a few reasons but firstly it will allow them to continue with the same power unit they have had for the past several years and secondly, they will have this held as a separate division of red Bull so they will be able to do it and stay under the spending cap for 2022. The biggest issue Red Bull has had historically is that they are not a true motor company ie Mercedes/Aston Martin/Ferrari but they want to compete with them. By doing this, they will now have their own branded power unit division that in concept will make its way into all of the other Red Bull ventures. If it works it will be quite the game changer and will make them a true “constructor”. Williams has, and this is mostly water cooler talk, been frustrated with Mercedes giving them “N-2” technology ie two version old technology, and thus darrelton made the decision to go with the Honda/red Bull power unit and move away from the Mercedes. This could have huge implications should they become a true mid pack team next year and be competing with Alpha Tauri and/or McLaren or Ferrari.

[WItoTX]

So I know it isn't F1, but I have been itching for more racing since Abu Dhabi. Anyone here going to watch the 24 hours of Daytona this weekend? My suspension tuner is the lead suspension tuner for the #52 Wynn's LMP2. Looking forward to seeing some racing again and finally have a team to get behind!

[bossbowman]

So I know it isn't F1, but I have been itching for more racing since Abu Dhabi. Anyone here going to watch the 24 hours of Daytona this weekend? My suspension tuner is the lead suspension tuner for the #52 Wynn's LMP2. Looking forward to seeing some racing again and finally have a team to get behind!

24hrs daytona to be the first race I would watch to kick off the racing season, but now that first race is the chili bowl.

[Wall_Hanger]

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/motorsport/nows-your-chance-buy-actual-fernando-alonso-f1-car?fbclid=IwAR0Lx9byBl3aEhHt0dXOCSEkys0-oKzUkADqkb18tpZwdBSNqUywVc7RITE

Here you go guys. Our chance to really own a fun toy!

[F1addict]

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/mot...BSNqUywVc7RITE

Here you go guys. Our chance to really own a fun toy!

I couldn’t even imagine driving that car! Maybe if we all go in together…


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[Landrover]

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/mot...BSNqUywVc7RITE

Here you go guys. Our chance to really own a fun toy!

I wonder what it will go for at the auction?[emoji848] Seems rather low starting price based on what they cost and who the driver was. There is definitely a market for it.

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