In all the excitement, I forgot to ask. What should have happened?
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In all the excitement, I forgot to ask. What should have happened?
The Canadian shouldn't have written his Williams off in the wall like an idiot.
Two things: You either let all the lapped cars through (and normally let them catch back up a bit) or you restart with them in place. Also, the safety car should come in the lap after the lights go out which would normally have been on the last lap of the race.
Two options: One, take a lap to let the lapped cars through. Race end in yellow. The other is to not let the lapped cars. Restart with one lap to go, with the lapped cars in between Hamilton and Verstappen.
All lapped cars should've been let past rather than just the ones between Lewis and Max. That would've required another lap so everyone could form up behind the safety car. Like every other safety car restart.
Pepe's covered it.
Any of:
1. Red flag the race and restart with 4 laps to go
2. Restart under safety car without letting any lapped cars past
3. Let all lapped cars past the safety car, which in practical terms would have resulted in finishing under the safety car.
Somehow they managed to pick a 4th option that sits outwith the written rules.
Nah, it's a grid restart. Everyone has the option to put a new set of tyres on so it becomes a 4 lap sprint.
No, red flag is a grid/standing restart, otherwise the lead car becomes the pace car and racing resumes once they cross the line/rolling start.
So there were actually two options well within the rules that would have "let them race"?
I don't have any answers but it seems grossly unfair that a crash that had nothing to do with the leader of the race who was miles ahead at the time penalises them so much. There must be a better system, surely?
It would have been fine for him had they followed their own rules properly.
This is obviously an extreme case of it, but it's quite common for the safety car to fuck drivers over by grouping all the cars back up. It's just one of those things.
Seems the worst type of 'one of those things' I've ever come across in any sport.
Geri Halliwell is getting railed with coke and Viagra tonight.
Yeah the safety car coming out by default punishes the leader really. And a grid start doesn't make things any worse.
I feel like the four-lap shootout would have been better for the SPECTACLE of it all, anyways, wouldn’t it?
That's it, they chucked the other protest out now too.
Hopefully this sees the end of the lapped cars can unlap themselves rule/idea. What a load of shit that is anyway, has it always been the case?
The safety car itself is just shit happens. Incorrect application of the safety car regulations - and announcing one thing, then doing another - are not shit happens.
I expect this will go on to a court proceeding of some sort.
What a shame a great title race has come to this.
Not always. I think they introduced it during the hybrid era because the cars are much closer together.
They were moaning the other week about being able to change tyres under a red flag and talking about getting rid of that why not do the same for safety cars as well?
Done and dusted. Won on the track.
The way the season has been it was always going to become a crying session regardless of who won so the best thing was to entertain none of it.
:D
Hamilton shouldn't have given him the inside to go for, although presumably he'd have been ballbagged at the end of the next straight anyway.
Yeah I don't think there was any way for him to defend his position in that last lap.
Also, interesting at the end with Hamilton saying/suggesting he wants to go on for a good few years. I wonder how much the bitterness of this will encourage him to keep going if they have a winning package next season, in a spiteful sort of way.
Hamilton's only 36. Could get to 9 with luck. 10 probably a stretch.
Depends when the fear kicks in, though it definitely hasn’t yet.
Also I don't think Merc have a leg to stand on in the courts.
That clause/rule, number 15 according to some journalists, basically gives the race director full control over safety car usage. I think that's the FIA's way of easily justifying what happened today.
And I can't see the FIA rulebook being legally binding in any way. It still really, really grinds my gears that Hamilton did everything right in that race and was knackered by an audible.
Regardless of today, Hamilton has been the better driver this year, and by a good bit, but that not how sport and championships work.
Has to be said the Americans solved this issue decades ago with the green, white, checkered system.
Aye, it turns on things like the magic button in Baku, the 50/50 in Silverstone, Spa's washout and so on.
He’ll know how good that 2022 car could be and see how he feels this time next year I reckon.
The talk in the paddock is that they expect a Mercedes dominated year next year. They’ve put a lot of resources into that car. They barely touched this years one at all.
It's interesting because I was thinking to myself that the titles are the wrong way round. Red Bull have been so much better as a team this year, maximising strategy, pit work etc [whereas Merc have been far to cautious and have thrown a lot of good situations away - they started off being aggressive and it working but switched to defensive mode for some reason maybe around the Paul Ricard GP?] whereas it feels like Hamilton has really grafted for his points this year.
Some of the last 5 lap turnarounds for Verstappen have been mad - just thinking back to Russia and now this one.
I honestly thought the guard was changing this season. Max was just so far ahead at Silverstone. The three DNF's he had ultimately kept it close. Lewis' only DNF was Monza, although Baku might as well have been.
He needs to hang around to put “George” in his box.
I actually think George will be the end of him. That boy is mega, just hasn't had the machinery to prove it. Aside from that one race were every possible thing went wrong.
He has everything but I’d still worry about the mentality. He’ll need some success in the first couple of years not to become a poison in the team.
He beat all the current young stars in junior Formula, minus Max who got shoved in a Toro Rosso at 17.
First year he is bound to get smacked around.
How old was Michael Schumacher in his last two seasons pulling that shitbox around? 'Lewis' could race into his forties on the Ronaldo/Tom Brady/tennis player diet and rub that gay lad's face in it.
I look forward to Verstappen wanting to move to Ferrari the second the Red Bull turns a bit slow after his whole I want to be here forever thing today.
He was saying only yesterday that if he had a Mercedes he'd have won easily.