324 replies to this topic

[statman]

just saw the new layout, driven by a formula car. Looks like Mercedes heaven.

[Taxi]

I am sure Max can do it at the final overtake for the WDC in a smart way, that it looks like a racing incident...

 

Even when it is a racing incident it's overanalyzed by everyone. It's not like it's possible to do it without people noticing it. 

 

On the other hand though.... Lewis got away with it in Silverstone. Maybe you are right. 

[vorda22]

I think it'll be a copy of the SA race, but the RB16B will be slightly more competitive (maybe a tenth or two closer to the W12 in race pace).

 

Verstappen has a good chance for pole, but might already be overtaken at the start.

 

If that does not happen, Hamilton will get Verstappen after the first stop - the Merc is unstoppable on hard or medium tires.

 

Since RBR are a notch more competitive, Hamilton will find it harder to overtake Verstappen on track than in SA. Still, it'll be fairly easy (Verstappen will be a sitting duck).

 

Verstappen will again defend with all he's got. He'll position himself in a way that it's easy for Hamilton to touch him ("invitatio ad offerendum" situation). Hamilton won't bite. This will mean Hamilton will need two or three attempts at overtaking Verstappen, but eventually he'll pass him.

 

Afterwards, Hamilton will be almost a full second quicker than Verstappen. 50% of the forum will say this is all due to Hamilton's Godlike race pace (as the RB16B clearly remains the faster car). After Hamilton finishing first, 20 % of the forum will crown him GOAT of all GOATS (i.e. bigger than Messi and Ali), Lewis from Nazareth as well as Lewis Caesar. 10 % of the forum (coincidentally members from a small country south of the UK) will firmly believe it's actually Verstappen who won the championship, because they no longer wish to acknowledge the FIA as the legitimate organisation to host the WDC. A new organisation will be founded, with a certain J. Verstappen at its head.

 

Disclaimer: I'd be surprised if Verstappen goes full Schumacher, i.e. deliberately turn into Hamilton, but after SA, I can't rule it out. Let's say there's a 10 % chance.

 

Messi is not the GOAT

Edited by vorda22, 08 December 2021 - 11:55.

[Spillage]

The new layout definitely looks good for Mercedes. In the race in Saudi Hamilton was picking up something like 6 tenths on the straights alone. Looks like that'll be a huge advantage again this time.

[ConsiderAndGo]

Easy and dominant win for Hamilton.

[Neno]

Easy and dominant win for Hamilton.

Pretty much this. Redesign of track made if pure Mercedes track. 

[messy]

Honestly, after the controversy of Saudi Arabia, I don't see how Max can do anything at T1 except tuck in behind, watch the Mercedes pull a second up the road down every straight, and prepare his "we did our best, I'm proud of the team" speech for post-race. I think this is a depressing end to a great season really. Depressing because Max's desperation to not get beaten by Lewis has resulted in some really ugly on-track ethics that have taken the shine off his brilliant year. Depressing because Mercedes puled something out of the hat in terms of power unit that has made the Merc dominant again after such a close-run season. In equal measures. I don't think it's going to be the thriller we maybe expected which is a shame. 

 

And there's clearly still the chance that knowing that the fight is no longer really equal machinery, Max might think 'to hell with what anybody thinks of me' and wipe Lewis out at T1 anyway. In which case I'd fully expect the outcome to end up in the Courts which would be even worse. 

[TheMidnight]

• Max tests positive for Covid after contracting it from Jos and is barred from racing this weekend
• Horner ages 40 years on the spot due to stress and dies of old age
• Lewis limps home behind Bottas and Leclerc after some 'engine' concerns. Upon collecting his 8th title resigns over the radio on his cool down lap massively ****ing Toto off
• Di Resta's eyeballs roll back and he's stuck like that for the rest of his life
• DC is rendered speechless and is unable to congratulate Lewis, Webber and Alex awkwardly carry the show on
• Helmut continues being a ****

 

In reality......Red Bull win due to a dubious late race SC which Merc grab with both hands to ***k up their strategy with an ill timed pitstop. 

[YorkF1Fan]

Hmm well taking inspiration from the F1 game, Max is behind Lewis on the final lap, does a 180 on the start/finish straight, drives the wrong way around the track takes out 15 of the other 19 cars including Lewis. Meanwhile Redbull change their name to The Church of Max Racing and wear too much fake tan giving themselves the perfect orange tan in honour of their new god. 

But it's more likely it'll be a boring race and somehow all the changes they made to the track make overtaking more difficult and Di resta will either be wetting himself with excitement for a Max win or doing damage to the nearest wall headbutting it if Lewis wins haha

[statman]

[Afterburner]

Looking at the championship tables, I can’t help but notice that if Hamilton’s Merc blows up and RBR finish 1-2 with fastest lap and Bottas in 3rd, they’ll also steal the constructor’s title by 1 point…

[BerniesDad]

You could have a situation in a football world cup final. where a player was certain to score to win the game in the last minute, but professionally fouled, that player red carded but the resultant penalty missed and the team that "cheated" goes on to win the cup. I don't think FIFA would subsequently award the world cup to the "wronged" team in that instance. This is the same for many sports, at some point you've just got to rely on the morals of the participants not to act in such a blatantly unsporting manner. There are plenty of professional players out there who just wouldn't do that. Couldn't live with the responsibility. But for those that do, well, they may win and I guess the punishment is the reputational damage, they perhaps don't care about. This is why I fully beleive this is something Verstappen would do. He's clearly not concerned by reputation and has an extremely competitive and myopic notion that he's always right - "F1 is all about rules and penalties, not racing" whilst racing OFF TRACK which is against the rules and subject to penalties. I'm fairly sure he would do what he believes he needs to do and he will think he's done nothing wrong. That is how his mind works. It would be impressive if it wasn't unsporting. 

OT, but - This exactly happened a few world cups ago. Uruguay v Ghana 2010. Against a relative 'minnow' team, with scores level in the dying minutes of extra-time, Luis Suarez did a blatant goalie-style save off the line to prevent a certain goal. It was a deliberate handball, he was sent off for the professional foul, but Ghana missed the resulting penalty, the match ended as a draw, and they lost the penalty shootout.

 

Ghana gained no tangible advantage other than a chance of a penalty to win ; Uruguay had no significant penance other than Suarez was banned from the next game.

(and the 'reputational damage' that he was labelled a cheat, about which he cared not at all)

 

You are correct, that the governing body administer only the punishment mandated by their statutes, and then whatever happens after that is out of their hands. 

[BerniesDad]

The length of this GIF is about how much of the race I expect to be watching on Sunday.

[Tony Mandara]

*One certain driver will take himself out of contention with an ill-judged blocking move.

*Particular fans of one certain driver will still try to claim a moral victory on the grounds that [Insert reason here..any reason] as they have convinced themselves that they personally share in any success.

*The forum will meltdown, regardless the outcome.

Edited by Tony Mandara, 09 December 2021 - 23:41.

[Bliman]

Looking at the championship tables, I can’t help but notice that if Hamilton’s Merc blows up and RBR finish 1-2 with fastest lap and Bottas in 3rd, they’ll also steal the constructor’s title by 1 point…

This seems like something of a prediction. It could very well happen. It is not unthinkable.

[ClubmanGT]

Can't help thinking that the only twist we're missing from this WDC battle is a mechanical (engine) failure during a competitive session, so that's my prediction. I hope not, though. 

 

Both of them suffering failures is not something I'd considered. 

[Casey]

I'm counting on Bottas and a Spain 2016 repeat !

[Timorous]

Max's gearbox could give up the ghost a bit early after the SA shunt. That would really suck.

[TheAviator]

Easy Merc win. They have 2-3 tenths over RB.

[Brackets]

[BOT] almost made the same mistake [of taking people out] on a restart this weekend.

. 

 

This keeps being brought up, and it would indeed have been bad if it happened (mostly for the forum servers, which would never recover), but what everyone is forgetting is that BOT was following VER's lead  and realized too late - hence the lockup - that his benchmark was in the process of not bothering with the corner at all.

 

 

Bottas and Max have been together on track multiple times this season and Bottas has raced incredibly cleanly.

 

To the point where we had - lame - threads wondering if he could perhaps keep VER at bay for at least a single corner, let alone an entire lap.

[Requiem84]

This keeps being brought up, and it would indeed have been bad if it happened (mostly for the forum servers, which would never recover), but what everyone is forgetting is that BOT was following VER's lead  and realized too late - hence the lockup - that his benchmark was in the process of not bothering with the corner at all.

 

It's quite worrisome if Bottas can't determine his own braking point. 

[Brackets]

It's quite worrisome to claim that braking points at the start should be determined without taking those around you into account.

Also, stop implying I am saying that BOT was not in the process of making a mistake.

Edited by Brackets, 10 December 2021 - 11:14.

[AnR]

Easy Merc win. They have 2-3 tenths over RB.

 

if they have that small margin expect a Max win, probably 6-7 tenths on Red Bull 

[Requiem84]

It's quite worrisome to claim that braking points at the start should be determined without taking those around you into account.

Also, stop implying I am saying that BOT was not in the process of making a mistake.

 

If you determine your braking point by looking at the car ahead, there's a big chance you'll brake too late (because for instance that car might be better at braking). So Bottas needs to ensure he uses his own braking point, that's pretty simple actually. 

 

With Bottas I don't feel there is malice at play, more so incompetence as he can be quite poor in these situations. Doesn't really change though that he almost decided the championship in those 3 seconds off the line there. 

[tempname11]

My prediction: no collisions or controversial moments between the championship contenders. Weird, I know.