Formula 1 Discussion - And favourite driver?

[New Fag]

I find it somewhat ironic that they would choose rename the pit straight at Silverstone 'The Hamilton Straight', given the persistent rumours regrading the incumbent World Champion's sexuality. It almost feels like a cruel in-joke at his expense.

He should really come out. Or would that be a step too far for those nations and sponsors whose dubious human rights records he seems prepared to ignore, despite his recent social justice chest-beating?

I'm just glad they didn't rename any of the historic stuff. Would this make it the first part of a track to be named after a driver while they are still driving?

Also what's this in a closet stuff about I've never heard it before?

 

[Full Race Replay]

When I heard of the Hamilton straight, and I thought of other drivers who have had chicanes or “Esses” named after them I had a funny thought that it could be a jab at how easy Hamilton’s career has been due to the dominance of the car.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

When I heard of the Hamilton straight, and I thought of other drivers who have had chicanes or “Esses” named after them I had a funny thought that it could be a jab at how easy Hamilton’s career has been due to the dominance of the car.

Even if that's not what they meant, it's certainly how I will interpret it... and just to add on top of that:
The pit straight is where all the teams and engineers are, so there's that.

 

[Weeb Slinger]

I'm just glad they didn't rename any of the historic stuff. Would this make it the first part of a track to be named after a driver while they are still driving?

Also what's this in a closet stuff about I've never heard it before?

My source is AGC which aggregates scurrilous celebrity gossip from around the internet, some of which is so far-fetched that you hope it isn't true; some of which has been proven true with the passing of time; and some that has a ring of truth to it. The rumours surrounding Hamilton's sexuality fall into this latter category.

The relationship with Nicole Sherzinger, which had all the fizz of flat champagne abandoned on the winners podium, had the air of a union that was both arranged and blessed by publicists, and that existed for the mutual convenience of both parties. The women that Hamilton has been "romantically linked" to, since then, all feel like beards. There is no body to any of these relationships. It's all surface level.

Another thing that gave me pause for thought, was an incident that occurred during Hamilton's childhood, when he was briefly expelled from school after gang of boys broke the fingers of another pupil in the toilets. Hamilton was later reinstated and his involvement was passed off as a case of mistaken identity. However his career was taking off at this point and, reading between the lines, it seems like some pressure was brought to bear on the school. The stoic response of the father of the injured boy, who told the papers that his son was getting on with his life, seethes with underlying resentment.

When I first heard about this incident, it reminded me of a couple of boys who I went to school with, both of whom were intelligent and well-liked by staff, but who were also capable of acts of sadism expressed against weaker boys, which they were bright enough to get away with. Both later came out as gay. I can see something of their personalities in Hamilton. It would not surprise me at all if he was gay or bi.

So no hard proof. Just the steady drip-drip of rumours, and a notion on my part. I have never witnessed the seven-times F1 World Champion locked in passionate coitus with Will Smith, but the last time I got such strong closeted vibes from a celebrity it was 1983, and Elton John was enjoying a top 20 hit with the song Kiss the Bride.

 

[Pee Cola]

So no hard proof. Just the steady drip-drip of rumours, and a notion on my part. I have never witnessed the seven-times F1 World Champion locked in passionate coitus with Will Smith, but the last time I got such strong closeted vibes from a celebrity it was 1983, and Elton John was enjoying a top 20 hit with the song Kiss the Bride.

Maybe Hambone is doing a good deed for once, and saving some oppression points for George? Assuming that Mazepin's tweet wrt George's orientation is accurate, it'd really help M-B maintain its woke momentum if they can replace one type of oppressed driver with another one.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Maybe Hambone is doing a good deed for once, and saving some oppression points for George? Assuming that Mazepin's tweet wrt George's orientation is accurate, it'd really help M-B maintain its woke momentum if they can replace one type of oppressed driver with another one.

Hamilton, leaving anything for anyone out of the goodness of his heart? Nah.

If that dude liked to play the meat flute, he'd have come out a long time ago and he'd insiste that the livery on his car be covered in rainbows, unicorns and depictions of peaches.

 

[Coccxys]

So let's all play wild speculation with some new talking point. Perez says he's basically secured a seat for 2022 but not where so here I go with speculation.

Extremely unlikely

Mercedes
Not with Russell ready to jump in should either of the current drivers retire/leave. Plus I doubt if they already planned to shove Bottas out for Perez they wouldn't have just done it, contract be damned.

Red Bull/Alpha Tauri
Both have vacant seats, why wait to 2022?

Aston Martin
They have a multi year deal with Vettel, Stoll is safe and also just why would they do that?

Possible but unlikely

Ferrari
Seinz has a 2 year deal and Leclerc is under contract till 2024. They're not above shoving drivers out just because they feel like it but I doubt they're already planning to.

Haas
Both drivers are on multi-year deals and Mazepin brings so much money he would have to do a lot before they boot him. That perez money is significant and a Mexican driver would play well in the states.

Mclaren
Ricciardo signed a multi-year deal but Norris is out if contract. I really doubt they would be looking to shift Norris out based on his performance against Seinz unless it was a grab for Perez's sponsorship money.

Maybe

Alpine
Ocon's contract is up and they could see the switch to Perez alongside Alonso as the great lineup it is.

Alfa Romeo
Kimi and Giovinazzi are out of contract, Perez had a great time at Sauber so they could want him back and there is no guarantee the Alfa branding deal will be renewed.

Williams
Russell is out of contract and Mercedes will probably want to place him somewhere better. The new owners will be looking for money and Perez bring a lot of that. It would also explain the Russell rumous following the takeover with merc possibly putting the squeeze on to prevent them ousting Russell and bringing in Perez.

Conclusion

I think Williams are most likely, they are owned by an investment firm so Perez's sponsorship alongside Latifi will be super attractive and I can see them planning for Russell to move on at the end of his contract. The shakey answers they gave to being asked to confirm Russell will still be driving for them makes it seem like they were already considering it but they need Mercedes for the engines and didn't want to burn that bridge.

 

[The quiet boi]

Would this make it the first part of a track to be named after a driver while they are still driving?

Don't think so, IIRC Senna and Schumi both had the same happen. Although the turn at Nurburgring was renamed after MSC retired for the first time and drove it on his short Mercedes return.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

What is going on with Leclerc, did he miss pit-entry or was some genius at Ferrari thinking not changing from mediums to hard during safety car would pay off somehow?
Total brainlet move that cost Leclerc his race.

The strategists at Ferrari are quite something else.

Edit: Boring last race, despite some overtaking in the midfield. At least my earlier comment stands corrected, Verstappen won and Mercs were uncharateristically slow (ie: only coming in 2nd and 3rd).

 

[Coccxys]

Boring last race

Abu Dhabi being Abu Dhabi. The race so boring they invented an entirely new system (DRS) to try and make it interesting after it cost a ferrari driver the championship and still failed. No matter how much people go "on paper it should be great for overtaking" it never has been and never will be, it also proves these "designed" circuits are no match for the organic circuits of old as the theory clearly hasn't worked out. Its only there because they handed over some stupid money to be the last grand prix of the season hoping to be the thrilling conclusion rather than a lame duck after the season has been decided every year.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Abu Dhabi being Abu Dhabi. The race so boring they invented an entirely new system (DRS) to try and make it interesting after it cost a ferrari driver the championship and still failed. No matter how much people go "on paper it should be great for overtaking" it never has been and never will be, it also proves these "designed" circuits are no match for the organic circuits of old as the theory clearly hasn't worked out. Its only there because they handed over some stupid money to be the last grand prix of the season hoping to be the thrilling conclusion rather than a lame duck after the season has been decided every year.

Without even looking it up, I can tell it's a Tilke course, it has all the hallmarks. The main focus seems to be to create a few nice looking angles for the cameras and grandstands, but overall, the track just lacks a certain something... the layout just lacks spice, it reeks of "The drivers will come down this corner with that speed towards this camera, go between these two grandstands to accelerate to this speed before they brake for that chicane in this exact manner..." it's sterile.
Every old racetrack that's just slammed down on a random forested hill ends up creating a better layout by following the natural lines and all the ups and downs. Bahrain, for instance, has a height difference of 15m between the lowest and highest point, how lame is that?

 

[New Fag]

Supposedly Russell had an outburst today, I was at work, could anyone fill me in?

I can't find anything and I don't trust the guy who said it.

Edit: nevermind some dofus fell for a photoshop.

 

[WhiskeyZuluLima]

Abu Dhabi being Abu Dhabi. The race so boring they invented an entirely new system (DRS) to try and make it interesting after it cost a ferrari driver the championship and still failed. No matter how much people go "on paper it should be great for overtaking" it never has been and never will be, it also proves these "designed" circuits are no match for the organic circuits of old as the theory clearly hasn't worked out. Its only there because they handed over some stupid money to be the last grand prix of the season hoping to be the thrilling conclusion rather than a lame duck after the season has been decided every year.

Without even looking it up, I can tell it's a Tilke course, it has all the hallmarks. The main focus seems to be to create a few nice looking angles for the cameras and grandstands, but overall, the track just lacks a certain something... the layout just lacks spice, it reeks of "The drivers will come down this corner with that speed towards this camera, go between these two grandstands to accelerate to this speed before they brake for that chicane in this exact manner..." it's sterile.
Every old racetrack that's just slammed down on a random forested hill ends up creating a better layout by following the natural lines and all the ups and downs. Bahrain, for instance, has a height difference of 15m between the lowest and highest point, how lame is that?

To add my bit to the Yas Marina topic. The circuit is unique of those which Tilke had a hand in designing, entirely so. When he builds facilities like Sepang or Shanghai, he has practically unlimited space, and when he plans out street circuits like Baku or Vietnam, he has a very restricted amount of wriggle room. With Yas Marina, he is completely limited in terms of the space he has to work with, because of the hotels and car parks around the track which are not being moved, and so goes into it trying to design one thing only for the design to fail FIA grading so having to create endless numbers of possible variations. The reason there's the 90 degrees chicanes ahead of the hairpin at the bottom the sector 1 is because the run-off area around the hairpin is too little for the speeds the F1 cars would be doing, thereby it fails for Grade 1. The circuit is crap because it was necessitated to be, not so much because Tilke makes the same tracks. Whilst yes, you can always tell which tracks he designed, and which tracks are more 'natural' in the way they come about, he doesn't design bad racing facilities necessarily - the facilities he builds are just incompatible with F1, despite being built so that F1 can race there.
In the case of Bahrain, and Losail (Qatar), sure the tracks were bad, India had poor surface quality and no spectators ever able to afford to attend, Korea had political issues which buggered the race out of existence. But then he also designed Circuit of the Americas, where being America they gave him a free hand to build any terrain he wanted to create an interesting circuit - how are you going to do that in Bahrain when the surface is all sand and therefore inevitably going to slowly sink into the abyss.

 

[The quiet boi]

Vettel and Leclerc swapped helmets and this is the message that Seb wrote for Charles.

"To Charles, you are the most talented driver I came across in 15 years of F1. Don't waste it." "Whatever you do to be happy and smile. Thanks for everything!" -Seb

Spoiler: Picture

 

[The Grognard]

The most likely team to grab Perez in 2022 is Alfa Romeo, simply because once Kimi leaves they are missing a reliable moneymaker for their team while Williams is gonna try to be the junior team for Merc. Haas is the second most likely, in case the Mazepin's contract is a one-year only one or Callum Ilott for some reason fails to make it after next year. However, there's also the outside chance of a new team in 2022 thanks to the budget cap coming to the sport. Though, entering F1 is more expensive now than ever thanks to the mandatory 200 million entry fee and most uber-rich people wanting a sportsteam focusing on balls of hand or foot kind. The way I see this new team deals happen, the real future of F1 is in the hands of rich chinese and russian oligarchs because american oligarchs don't care about F1 unless you're Chase Carey.

 

[The quiet boi]

The most likely team to grab Perez in 2022 is Alfa Romeo, simply because once Kimi leaves they are missing a reliable moneymaker for their team while Williams is gonna try to be the junior team for Merc.

Will Perez be relevant by then? I think it depends on what he will do, two years is an eternity in the world of F1 and I doubt that many teams will remember him as an option because I doubt that Perez will just do nothing outside of the F1 circus (Other racing series and other celebrity stuff). Even when Kvyat missed a year he was a sim-driver for Ferrari.

Though, entering F1 is more expensive now than ever thanks to the mandatory 200 million entry fee and most uber-rich people wanting a sportsteam focusing on balls of hand or foot kind.

Doubt that the cost changes that much, IIRC before this you basically didn't get any prize money for the first 2 years of competition and I doubt that it was much cheaper.

 

[Full Race Replay]

in my honest opinion the new grade 1 circuit requirements should be held more responsible by fans for creating safety conscious circuits with huge amount of low-speed sharp turns. In the last 20 years how many [good] new tracks have been made, not only by Tilke but any other designer, that have a grade 1 license?

 

[The quiet boi]

in my honest opinion the new grade 1 circuit requirements should be held more responsible by fans for creating safety conscious circuits with huge amount of low-speed sharp turns. In the last 20 years how many [good] new tracks have been made, not only by Tilke but any other designer, that have a grade 1 license?

I think that the problem with the new tracks being quite boring is due to the organizers themselves. Grade 1 requirements are quite flexible and can have good tracks that meet them, but most of the tracks end up quite generic because of Tilke. Where do organizers come into this? Well, most of the new organizers have basically no motorsport history or knowledge, they just have a location where they want the track, and who has been doing the job for basically 2 decades? Tilke. The organizers don't want to risk their circuit not meeting grade 1 requirements, so they just hire Tilke and his company to guarantee that the track meets grade 1 and F1 can race there.

 

[The Grognard]

Will Perez be relevant by then? I think it depends on what he will do, two years is an eternity in the world of F1 and I doubt that many teams will remember him as an option because I doubt that Perez will just do nothing outside of the F1 circus (Other racing series and other celebrity stuff). Even when Kvyat missed a year he was a sim-driver for Ferrari.

Perez will be as relevent as Carlos Slim will want him to be. He is a solid journeyman driver with consistently good performance and real money behind him, enough to bail out ailing teams. He will be relevant to any team who needs money.

 

[WhiskeyZuluLima]

Perez will be as relevent as Carlos Slim will want him to be. He is a solid journeyman driver with consistently good performance and real money behind him, enough to bail out ailing teams. He will be relevant to any team who needs money.

Or, if you believe the sort of dribbling crap which David Croft is prone to spewing out, Perez is no longer relevant and is retired from racing forever because he does not have a drive in Formula 1 next season therefore career over.
Although, given Perez has made statements that he's only interested in being in F1, that's not completely retarded until he gets desperate for attention I suppose.