2023 Formula 1 Season thread

[The-Real-Deal82]

Always someone else but never Lewis, eh? Nah. That was very much Hamilton-esque. Driving into other people has been a characteristic of his, for his entire career. He expects them to get out of the way, but is surprised when they don't. All part of his arrogance. And now he's being shown up as not actually as good as he believes he is, he's getting frustrated. The toys do get thrown out of the pram a lot with Lewis. But he was told to apologise, and has done so. Sadly, it ruined Russel's chances, although what a drive to get 4th place. It does spice things up between the two though; they'll have to be happy and smiley publicly, but he'll be yet another of Lewis' team mates who isnt in his fan club. See also Alonso, Rosberg and Button. I fully expect Russel to outperform Hamilton next season, and then perhaps Lewis will retire. Will save Mercedes on new parts for the car, anyway.

Piastri was excellent; Norris has been a bit arrogant himself recently, but has been humbled somewhat by his rookie team-mate outperforming him lately. Both very good drivers though, so exciting potential there.

And Max is Max. Superb as always. I'm not actually sure the Red Bull still is the best car right now; Perez is really struggling with it. But Max is the difference. I'd quite like to see what he can do with a Haas or a Williams. I reckon he could quite possibly podium with those cars, he's that good.

Nice attempt but no, not worth my time and effort, that’s not why I’m here.

 

[ericwn]

I'm not sure what Lewis has done wrong in response this time tbh. His first interview he said that he didn't want to blame anyone until he'd seen a replay. Once he saw the replay he said it was 100% his fault. Is that not what we want?

That’s probably what most want, but reading the usual comments of posters laughing in the face of others’ misfortunes, I guess sportsmanship has different meanings these days, and to some it’s just the current preference for their tribalism.

 

[Abdichoudxyz]

I'm not sure what Lewis has done wrong in response this time tbh. His first interview he said that he didn't want to blame anyone until he'd seen a replay. Once he saw the replay he said it was 100% his fault. Is that not what we want?

His initial response was to blame his team-mate. Who he turned into. Where did he think Russell was? Time and again, Lewis has crashed into people attempting moves, and sure, you've got to try and race, but you've also got to consider the safety of others. This was a stupid move; he had way too much speed and would not have been able to slow down sufficiently to make the corner anyway. The first rule is; don't crash into your team-mate. He knew he'd pulled a dick move, and tried to style it out. I think it highly likely that the team told him to own up to his error, which ultimately possibly cost Russell a win or at least a podium. Given Hamilton's form of blaming others I very much doubt he'd have apologised if he hadn't been told to. In spite of it being obvious to the rest of the world whose fault it actually was.

It does set it up very nicely for the spectators though; we love to see some fireworks and a Hamilton/Russell battle would be great to watch. The times we wished for Bottas to have a go and not be so subservient. Now looks like Hamilton has a team mate who can match him on the track, and is just as passionate and committed. That's what want to see.

 

[Akrapovic]

His initial response was to blame his team-mate. Who he turned into. Where did he think Russell was? Time and again, Lewis has crashed into people attempting moves, and sure, you've got to try and race, but you've also got to consider the safety of others. This was a stupid move; he had way too much speed and would not have been able to slow down sufficiently to make the corner anyway. The first rule is; don't crash into your team-mate. He knew he'd pulled a dick move, and tried to style it out. I think it highly likely that the team told him to own up to his error, which ultimately possibly cost Russell a win or at least a podium. Given Hamilton's form of blaming others I very much doubt he'd have apologised if he hadn't been told to.

It does set it up very nicely for the spectators though; we love to see some fireworks and a Hamilton/Russell battle would be great to watch. The times we wished for Bottas to have a go and not be so subservient. Now looks like Hamilton has a team mate who can match him on the track, and is just as passionate and committed. That's what weant to see.

Honestly, I feel this is unfair. Every single driver on the grid blames everybody else on team radio. This is just heat of the moment. The fact is when he'd calmed down from a high speed off, he took the blame and never once suggested it was George fault. Your statement of the facts is not wrong, but I don't think comments on the radio a split second after a high speed off should override the interviews a driver does once his heart rate is back at resting.

I subscribe to Vettels opinion here. We hold F1 drivers to an impossibly high standard.

I do disagree with "Lewis wouldn't have apologised if he hadn't been told to". This is criticising a driver for something that didn't happen, in a fantasy, using something there's no proof of.

I don't even like Lewis, but lets be fair here.

 

[Abdichoudxyz]

Honestly, I feel this is unfair. Every single driver on the grid blames everybody else on team radio. This is just heat of the moment. The fact is when he'd calmed down from a high speed off, he took the blame and never once suggested it was George fault. Your statement of the facts is not wrong, but I don't think comments on the radio a split second after a high speed off should override the interviews a driver does once his heart rate is back at resting.

I subscribe to Vettels opinion here. We hold F1 drivers to an impossibly high standard.

I do disagree with "Lewis wouldn't have apologised if he hadn't been told to". This is criticising a driver for something that didn't happen, in a fantasy, using something there's no proof of.

I don't even like Lewis, but lets be fair here.

I'm more sceptical. I think once he'd been shown the replay, he knew he had no defence. but he has so much experience at F1, why is he still making rookie mistakes? It was the way he immediately blamed his team-mate, that's what makes me doubt his sincerity in his apology. It doesn't look like he and George are getting on well these days, and that's a familiar pattern with Hamilton. But I am hoping it will lead to some intense battles between the two, a la Senna V Prost. Becasue F1 does need livening up a bit, let's be honest.

 

[Don Quixote]

I'm not actually sure the Red Bull still is the best car right now...

Then you aren't paying close enough attention. It's still head a shoulders better than the rest. Singapore was a fluke. A delightful and much needed one, but still a fluke.

 

[Pezimak]

That’s probably what most want, but reading the usual comments of posters laughing in the face of others’ misfortunes, I guess sportsmanship has different meanings these days, and to some it’s just the current preference for their tribalism.

Yeap, these days a rare mistake by him and he owned up to it fully. Once he saw the video he knew it was his fault really. even after the crash whilst in the car he apologised to the team.

 

[Abdichoudxyz]

Then you aren't paying close enough attention. It's still head a shoulders better than the rest.

No I am. The rest have caught up. Perez is struggling to get anywhere near the performance out of the car than Max can. Earlier in the season, the RB was clearly the fastest car. But now, the gap is a lot closer. The reality is that Max is head and shoulders above the rest. Many, particularly Lewis Hamilton fans, don't want to admit this. But deep down we all know it's true.

Once he saw the video he knew it was his fault really. even after the crash whilst in the car he apologised to the team.

He knew it was his fault the moment the cars collided. It was a kamikaze lunge on the outside, and he gambled on Russell giving way. That didn't happen. To me, that was a deliberate move to try to assert his authority over his team-mate, as he has done in the past (and have other drivers, Senna, Vettel, Schumacher). It didn't work. Because Russell isn't Bottas. And this is great for racing, because it means should Mercedes produce a competitive car next year, then we can expect some proper inter-team battles, and not one driver meekly conceding to the other. Hopefully, we will also see that with Ferrari and McLaren too. We won't see it at Red Bull, cos there's nobody currently who can really compete with Max. I doubt Ricciardo will get the seat; he's no better than Perez really. Or maybe he will, if RB just want another Number Two in that seat. Mark Webber was very good in that role once he realised Vettel was better than him. It must be hard for any driver to know that their team-mate is the better driver though. So perhaps a journeyman like Bottas would be a good choice; get the job done, be an effective rear-gunner, and not rock the boat. Help the Number One driver to win.

 

[CWallace]

For being the pinnacle of motorsport, this was not a great example, I just hope the drivers organization has some power to make changes, there was the on-board of Sargent, when he called his retirement, and he slowed down, a brief yellow, then a couple of cars shot passed, just imagine if he had wandered a couple of meters right, you would need a couple of skips to cart away shards of 2 cars.

My interpretation of that was Logan was slowing down and getting well off the racing line to ensure he was not a hazard to cars closing much faster behind him. I do not believe it was a case of him being so exhausted he could not physically drive the car at anything other than a crawl.

Qatar GP was not the best example of how to run an event... After the sprint..Who's car was on the flashy podium... Not Piastri.. He won the race, but no no, it was Max.. he did not win the race.. But the photograph shows he did... Why was his car on the podium and not Piastri????

The "flashy podium" was for Max winning the WDC. Hence all the flashy graphics congratulating him for being WDC.

How long until the smiles at McLaren are a thing of the past? If they do have a competitive car, both drivers will be trying to establish themselves as number 1. Which of course plays into RB hands where they only have one driver who can win.

Just need a strong team principle to enforce Team Orders.

Track limits is easy to sort. A bit of grass or gravel the other side of the curb.
You want to trash your tyres and risk a crash exceeding track limits? Be my guest.

Just install walls and treat it like a street race.

Change the tracks with their ridiculous tarmac run off areas. Nobody gets penalties for exceeding track limits on the older tracks with walls and gravel traps.

The tarmac run off areas were specifically installed because with the flat bottoms / skid plates and slick tires the cars tend to just "skate" across the top of the gravel and lose almost no momentum and continue on at speed until they slam into the wall. With the tarmac, the tires and brakes shed the momentum so impacts are either avoided or are at a much lower speed with much lower forces.

 

[Don Quixote]

My interpretation of that was Logan was slowing down and getting well off the racing line to ensure he was not a hazard to cars closing much faster behind him. I do not believe it was a case of him being so exhausted he could not physically drive the car at anything other than a crawl.

That's exactly what it was!

He wasn't physically able to continue at full speed and wisely chose to get off the racing line.

He even was struggling to get out of the car once he got in the pits.

I don't know how that could be interpreted any other way.

 

[JustinePaula]

I said "just imagine if he had wandered a couple of meters right, you would need a couple of skips to cart away shards of 2 cars.." not that it happened, but the potential was there, after he had already mentioned issues, he continued to drive..Even allowed a pit stop, it should be been a red light, all over red rover... Better to have a pissed off driver at the Monday 9am debrief than a Sunday night visit to the hospital..Adults should run the sport...

The point was, this was not the first race of the season, it was towards the end.. did the contract only get signed 2 weeks ago??? There was more than enough time to haul a couple of 21 cars and a couple of bored test drivers out of storage, hell even paid "the stig" to do a lap or 60 of the track, more than enough time to resurface, 2 years and nothing was done until the day of the race... Really had no one checked in 24 months??


As Karun pointed out, they only had 1 session, then qualifying for sunday, sprint shootout-sprint, GP... 1x 1 hour test.. A massive goof, on a new track, and sorry we goofed, here we will have a 10 min session, good luck, and sorry we really goofed this time, 3 pitstops, and certain tyres no more than 20 laps, some 18 laps... But the man from the tyres said it was not that bad.. look we all remember Lewis and 2 wheels on his wagon, being hunted by Max at Silverstone.. 1 more lap and Max would have won... Did the FIA go just a bit too conservative? Maybe done 2 pitstops, or no more than 30 laps??

Gun shy is what the FIA is now, making a lot of mistakes, I truly think the most serious is that of track limits, at some point this is going to become a factor, like the slowing down too allow a bigger gap to the car in front for fast laps in Q1/2/3.. We have seen the clownfest of 6 7 8 cars not making the last laps, as they slowed down too much. So FIA says, you must not be slower than y time between SC1 and SC2 lines.. but 1/2 the field were slower, and nada, so many reasons as to why no one copped a penalty..

As I sit here and wonder maybe the issue is that the cars basically through sheer physics cannot adhere to track limits if the wind and track conditions are suspect, the tyres need to "grip" to provide control, the lack of support racing, in a wealthy country like Qatar seems misplaced, F2 is scheduled to race at Yas Island in Dubai, So instead of almost 2 months idle, move the Dubai event to the "new" track in Qatar, finished the season there instead if Mid November...

But I am just trolling... I thought I made a lot of sense..

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Qatar GP was not the best example of how to run an event... After the sprint..Who's car was on the flashy podium... Not Piastri.. He won the race, but no no, it was Max.. he did not win the race.. But the photograph shows he did... Why was his car on the podium and not Piastri???? Then the toy trinkets for the Sprint podiums?? Shopping at Walmart for something tat??? Bizarre..

I guess you missed the big banners behind the car on that podium announcing the world champion? LOL, That is a bigger deal than a sprint race… Of course, super Max's car should be on that podium.

 

[JustinePaula]

I guess you missed the big banners behind the car on that podium announcing the world champion? LOL, That is a bigger deal than a sprint race… Of course, super Max's car should be on that podium.

Really? This is what happens when there are irrational people ruining a sport.. That was not the point, emotion over common sense, which is odd, as common sense was very rare in Qatar that weekend..

 

[cyb3rdud3]

That’s probably what most want, but reading the usual comments of posters laughing in the face of others’ misfortunes, I guess sportsmanship has different meanings these days, and to some it’s just the current preference for their tribalism.

Of course, it is what we want. Lewis and George have form though moaning about others, and torpedoing into them. My comment was made when it happened, they were both fine and didn't take anyone else with them. Yes, definitely funny to me when they do that. But yes, Lewis owned up to it, much later after I commented. Always great with hindsight, isn't it.

And ahem, the tribalism works both ways. The funny thing is that that clique just ignores everyone who they don't agree with. You can literally see, before the race even begins, some on here making the remarks to hope that Max doesn't finish. Don't see you then making jumping in on it.

I appreciate all drivers, sure when it comes to it, I support Max, but thoroughly enjoy watching other drivers making great effort. What Oscar and Lando are doing is just wonderful. Massive respect for Alonso as well. I have to love little Yuki, although he is missing a bit this season. Carlos and Charles are great as well, just feel for Charles he seems incredibly unlucky. And I always have time to cheer for Albon when he pulls it out of the bag.

I just don't like entitled moaners, snitches, and whingers, and that is what Mercedes have turned into, and they aren't even doing badly.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Really? This is what happens when there are irrational people ruining a sport.. That was not the point, emotion over common sense, which is odd, as common sense was very rare in Qatar that weekend..

LOL, I'm curious now about your CV considering you think they are all irrational people lacking common sense.. What sports league have you set up or are you running that is as profitable as Formula 1?

 

[headlessmike]

LOL, I'm curious now about your CV considering you think they are all irrational people lacking common sense.. What sports league have you set up or are you running that is as profitable as Formula 1?

This is the same people that thought it was a great idea to have Will Smith yell at Lewis on air right after he won his fifth title. I found the WDC podium thing to be really tacky, especially when the season isn't even over yet.

 

[laptech]

I agree with @Abdichoudxyz on his assessment of the Lewis/George incident because Lewis would have known the move he was making was a calculated risk but for the risk to pull off it would have required George to behave in a very specific way. Lewis would have known his move would caused the cars to collide if George did not respond in the way Lewis was expecting him too which was for him to move out the way rather than risk the coming together of the two cars. This shows arrogance on Lewis part because basically it is Lewis saying 'If I do this maneuver George will be forced to move out the way'. The problem was George did not behave in the way Lewis was expecting and thus both cars coming together causing damage to one and the retirement of the other. Then Lewis has the audacity to go over the radio and say it was George's fault.

This was no heat of the moment voice error by Lewis, it was Lewis voicing anger because he did not get his own way. Lewis is far to experienced to know what he did was wrong but he tries to defuse the situation by trying to play the good guy by apologizing saying he is 100% responsible to the incident. He made an extremely risky move that he knew he should not have try to make, initially blames his team mate and then goes on a PR exercise to make him look like the good guy.

 

[JustinePaula]

Lewis was livid, would have taken a tire iron to Jenson in 2011, no question, Lewis was fuming that day, in the rain, blamed Jenson, when it was a 100% Lewis fault, here again, Lewis took a gap that was not there, was greedy, and came off 2nd best, again, with Rosberg, again a Lewis accident, the common name, Lewis..3 times at least.. To say he is GOAT is not right, he has titles, many, won in an era of 1 car/1 driver championships, same as Max, Max only 1 of the 3 was there any competition, 2021, and that was won due to Lewis forgetting about what button does what, and that the track turns left turn one... Lewis is not all that good at close combat... Tends to crash... He has done this crashing a lot..

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I agree with @Abdichoudxyz on his assessment of the Lewis/George incident because Lewis would have known the move he was making was a calculated risk but for the risk to pull off it would have required George to behave in a very specific way. Lewis would have known his move would caused the cars to collide if George did not respond in the way Lewis was expecting him too which was for him to move out the way rather than risk the coming together of the two cars. This shows arrogance on Lewis part because basically it is Lewis saying 'If I do this maneuver George will be forced to move out the way'. The problem was George did not behave in the way Lewis was expecting and thus both cars coming together causing damage to one and the retirement of the other. Then Lewis has the audacity to go over the radio and say it was George's fault.

This was no heat of the moment voice error by Lewis, it was Lewis voicing anger because he did not get his own way. Lewis is far to experienced to know what he did was wrong but he tries to defuse the situation by trying to play the good guy by apologizing saying he is 100% responsible to the incident. He made an extremely risky move that he knew he should not have try to make, initially blames his team mate and then goes on a PR exercise to make him look like the good guy.

It was a very silly error on Hamilton's part and not one I would expect from a driver who has contested nearly 17 season's in Formula One. I do think all drivers perform dominant moves on their teammates like this though and more often than not will get away with it. Just before the squeeze by Hamilton, Russell performed a nudge to push Lewis wider so he could get alongside Verstappen so I think both of them are trying to demonstrate to the team that they are each more dominant than the other. This was totally Hamilton's fault and an incident that he came off worse from. Lewis knows all too well from the opposite side of an incident where a driver tries a squeeze on him and comes off worse because he doesn't yield.

Is he arrogant? Of course he is, he's an F1 driver and it is a requirement that comes with the territory. Some drivers are applauded for it as a trait for their desire to win and some are judged on it along with what people perceive as their true personality.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

This is the same people that thought it was a great idea to have Will Smith yell at Lewis on air right after he won his fifth title. I found the WDC podium thing to be really tacky, especially when the season isn't even over yet.

The season isn't over, but the championship run is thanks to some outstanding team work and consistent driving like we rarely see. Hence, the podium, what wouldn't make sense is to wait until the end.

 

[Abdichoudxyz]

But I am just trolling... I thought I made a lot of sense..

I don't think you're trolling at all, just voicing an opinion. Same as others, who can't handle differences of opinions, so they label other people as 'trolls'. Pretty pathetic really. I'd just ignore them.

I agree with @Abdichoudxyz on his assessment of the Lewis/George incident because Lewis would have known the move he was making was a calculated risk but for the risk to pull off it would have required George to behave in a very specific way. Lewis would have known his move would caused the cars to collide if George did not respond in the way Lewis was expecting him too which was for him to move out the way rather than risk the coming together of the two cars. This shows arrogance on Lewis part because basically it is Lewis saying 'If I do this maneuver George will be forced to move out the way'. The problem was George did not behave in the way Lewis was expecting and thus both cars coming together causing damage to one and the retirement of the other. Then Lewis has the audacity to go over the radio and say it was George's fault.

This was no heat of the moment voice error by Lewis, it was Lewis voicing anger because he did not get his own way. Lewis is far to experienced to know what he did was wrong but he tries to defuse the situation by trying to play the good guy by apologizing saying he is 100% responsible to the incident. He made an extremely risky move that he knew he should not have try to make, initially blames his team mate and then goes on a PR exercise to make him look like the good guy.

Exactly. Lewis has loads of past history of causing collisions, and blaming others. The partisan UK media like to go along with that, which enhances the false narrative. I wonder which side they'll pick when the Hamilton/Russell battle really kicks off?

Is he arrogant? Of course he is, he's an F1 driver and it is a requirement that comes with the territory. Some drivers are applauded for it as a trait for their desire to win and some are judged on it along with what people perceive as their true personality.

In the UK media at least, Hamilton has had the easiest ride, whereas other drivers, such as Alonso, Vettel, Schumacher, Senna and now Verstappen, get labelled as 'dirty' or 'cheats'. Let's not forget that Lewis was complicit in spygate, which was a whole team cheating, and why McLaren were stripped of all points that season and fined massively. As toLewis' character, I think it says quite a lot that most of the other drivers get along very well, there are definite real friendships up and down the grid. They don't need to buy everyone dinner to get people to like them. Lewis' best friend is a fat old dog...

 

[ericwn]

Of course, it is what we want. Lewis and George have form though moaning about others, and torpedoing into them. My comment was made when it happened, they were both fine and didn't take anyone else with them. Yes, definitely funny to me when they do that. But yes, Lewis owned up to it, much later after I commented. Always great with hindsight, isn't it.

And ahem, the tribalism works both ways. The funny thing is that that clique just ignores everyone who they don't agree with. You can literally see, before the race even begins, some on here making the remarks to hope that Max doesn't finish. Don't see you then making jumping in on it.

I appreciate all drivers, sure when it comes to it, I support Max, but thoroughly enjoy watching other drivers making great effort. What Oscar and Lando are doing is just wonderful. Massive respect for Alonso as well. I have to love little Yuki, although he is missing a bit this season. Carlos and Charles are great as well, just feel for Charles he seems incredibly unlucky. And I always have time to cheer for Albon when he pulls it out of the bag.

I just don't like entitled moaners, snitches, and whingers, and that is what Mercedes have turned into, and they aren't even doing badly.

Jup, it’s always the others. Especially when pointed out.

 

[headlessmike]

The season isn't over, but the championship run is thanks to some outstanding team work and consistent driving like we rarely see. Hence, the podium, what wouldn't make sense is to wait until the end.

He could still get disqualified from the WDC due to actions on the track (it’s happened before). It ain’t over til the last race is finished. The WDC podium ceremony is in December as usual.

 

[Akrapovic]

He could still get disqualified from the WDC due to actions on the track (it’s happened before). It ain’t over til the last race is finished. The WDC podium ceremony is in December as usual.

I believe this has only happened once, and it occured after the championship was already decided against the driver who was being banned. In reality, it changed nothing.

 

[JustinePaula]

As far as I remember the only driver disqualified from the overall season result, kept his race wins that season was Micheal Schumacher, I think as a result of 2 really bad moves, crashing into Damon Hill, then crashing into J Villuenuve, to reach the level of what happened then, dire dire, has anyone driving that poorly? One might have said Vettel maybe, Baku 2018, the way he drove into Hamilton in Baku, when Vettel was driving for Ferrari, not once but a multiple of times, and still no season ending time out, or disqualification.. if you watch what Vettel did in that incident, Vettel was clearly road raging.. But not enough to warrant disqualification... Vettel maybe should have been disqualified from the championship at the end of the season for his road rage in Baku, no worse than what Schumacher did.. Worse maybe than Schumacher..