Formula One (2 Viewers)

[DJ1BigTymer]

So GM is entering F1??

2026

Statement on General Motors application to join FIA Formula One World Championship in 2026 | Formula 1®

Formula 1 announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with General Motors (GM) to support bringing GM/Cadillac as the 11th team to the Formula 1 grid in 2026.

www.formula1.com

 

[superchuck500]

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

The FIA needs to figure out what their main job is! Are they their to manipulate race results or are they there to ensure race safety??? They sure eff'd up this race!


Edit: Now they have penalized Norris +10 seconds for their own ineptitude. Dude went from P2 fighting for the lead, to 0 points.

 

[superchuck500]

The FIA needs to figure out what their main job is! Are they their to manipulate race results or are they there to ensure race safety??? They sure eff'd up this race!

So yeah, what - the - hell - was - that?

EVERYONE is sitting there going "okay, they have a car mirror sitting there in the track!" and everyone is waiting for the safety car . . . that never comes??

Like what was race control thinking, "maybe if we pretend it isn't there it will go away!"? You have to control the race, just because you don't like the timing of the yellow doesn't mean you can't just pretend there isn't an issue there.

And what the hell was the Lando penalty? I saw in multiple recaps that they haven't used that penalty in years. The announcers weren't even sure when the double-yellow came out, certainly under the circumstances it was more confusion that intentional unsafe driving.

It's stuff like this that reminds us that despite the money and the glam of F1, there's still some goofy sheet going down. Nascar would have flagged that within about 5 seconds.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

So yeah, what - the - hell - was - that?

EVERYONE is sitting there going "okay, they have a car mirror sitting there in the track!" and everyone is waiting for the safety car . . . that never comes??

Like what was race control thinking, "maybe if we pretend it isn't there it will go away!"? You have to control the race, just because you don't like the timing of the yellow doesn't mean you can't just pretend there isn't an issue there.

And what the hell was the Lando penalty? I saw in multiple recaps that they haven't used that penalty in years. The announcers weren't even sure when the double-yellow came out, certainly under the circumstances it was more confusion that intentional unsafe driving.

It's stuff like this that reminds us that despite the money and the glam of F1, there's still some goofy sheet going down. Nascar would have flagged that within about 5 seconds.

I think the FIA has regressed to time where they value their bottom line and their own preferences over driver safety. They have become emboldened by their avoidance of major mishaps!

 

[superchuck500]

I think the FIA has regressed to time where they value their bottom line and their own preferences over driver safety. They have become emboldened by their avoidance of major mishaps!

The stupid irony of it is that had they called the safety car right away like they should have (and were inevitably going to have to anyway) instead of screwing around, we wouldn’t have had the weird Lando issue and maybe could have had a decent race to the finish.

F1’s biggest product problem is a lack of truly competitive races. Nascar learned a long time ago that bringing the field together is good for entertainment product. If fate gives you a good safety reason to do it, you jump on it.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

The stupid irony of it is that had they called the safety car right away like they should have (and were inevitably going to have to anyway) instead of screwing around, we wouldn’t have had the weird Lando issue and maybe could have had a decent race to the finish.

The FIA's explanation is as stupid as the actual events.

The FIA said of this decision: “Normal practice is for the Safety Car not to be deployed if there is a small amount of debris, and off the racing line.

“The extensive debris after a car hit the mirror and the punctures that occurred shortly after forced the decision on a Safety Car.

I would call the entire main straightaway, the sole DRS passing zone, a racing line.
In the link below, there's a clip of Lando's "infraction". Dude had a thousandth of a second to react to that light.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...x-including-safety-car.3yHdxqVUyINnY41tkiIt3y

F1’s biggest product problem is a lack of truly competitive races. Nascar learned a long time ago that bringing the field together is good for entertainment product. If fate gives you a good safety reason to do it, you jump on it.

That's has been the nature of F1 racing since its inception though. Their intricate road courses have always been dominated by their wealthiest teams. NASCAR has basically turned themselves into the IROC series with all their cars being a mirror image of each other and that has brought their races into a tighter pack.

 

[superchuck500]

That's has been the nature of F1 racing since its inception though. Their intricate road courses have always been dominated by their wealthiest teams. NASCAR has basically turned themselves into the IROC series with all their cars being a mirror image of each other and that has brought their races into a tighter pack.

Yeah I don’t disagree in general, I’m just talking about how cautions/safety-cars tend to make for more exciting racing for the fans. Of course there can be too many and Nascar has been accused of “manufacturing cautions” in the past - but if you have a clear safety issue on the track, it’s not only appropriate to slow the cars to clear the issue for safety, you also get the upside of having a new element injected into the race.

It’s part of racing, FIA shouldn’t be so reluctant - especially when it is clearly warranted like at Qatar.

 

[superchuck500]

This look gives you a pretty good basis to see why Max thinks Russell’s complaint about the qualifying issue is bullshirt.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

This look gives you a pretty good basis to see why Max thinks Russell’s complaint about the qualifying issue is bullshirt.

I didn't think Max should've been penalized for that, neither of them were on a push lap.

Both of these guys deserved a false start penalty...

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

 

[superchuck500]

I still don't get the Ferrari deal with Lewis. It's a $446M deal with all sorts of aspects beyond driving. They clearly think that he's going to make money for them on the marketing side. I think it's substantially questionable that he will be better in the car than Sainz - but I guess they've done their analysis on what the whole package is worth.

I think Lewis has lost a step in qualifying at minimum - he can still put in a hell of a drive on Sunday, but he's not going to be gunning for LeClerc for poles next year. Sainz won six poles in 2024.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

I think Lewis has lost a step in qualifying at minimum - he can still put in a hell of a drive on Sunday, but he's not going to be gunning for LeClerc for poles next year. Sainz won six poles in 2024.

Yeah, they're not getting that 20 yr old that's thirsting for his 1st win, they are getting a 40yr old at the end of his driving career and father time is undefeated. Dude can still whup it on the track, but Sainz wasn't no scrub.

I do expect Lewis to improve on his qualification runs though. Mercedes has struggled with this new car since its inception and each GP has been a real fight for them to even compete at the same level that they achieved early on with these hybrids.

Ferrari's problem has been race management and Hamilton joining them is not the remedy to that problem, they need to fix what's happening in their booth. I think Lewis is gonna regret leaving Mercedes when he has his 1st experience with Ferrari's questionable raceday decision.

 

[superchuck500]

Yeah, they're not getting that 20 yr old that's thirsting for his 1st win, they are getting a 40yr old at the end of his driving career and father time is undefeated. Dude can still whup it on the track, but Sainz wasn't no scrub.

I do expect Lewis to improve on his qualification runs though. Mercedes has struggled with this new car since its inception and each GP has been a real fight for them to even compete at the same level that they achieved early on with these hybrids.

Ferrari's problem has been race management and Hamilton joining them is not the remedy to that problem, they need to fix what's happening in their booth. I think Lewis is gonna regret leaving Mercedes when he has his 1st experience with Ferrari's questionable raceday decision.

Yeah, it will interesting for sure. It does seem like in 2024, Ferrari got much better at their race management (probably Vasseur's influence) and Mercedes found pace they didn't have in 2023.

But just looking at numbers, George Russell's average start was 5.62 and Lewis's was 8.83 - that has George better than three grid places on average over Lewis in 2024. Whereas at Ferrari, Charles average start was 5.42 and Carlos was 5.7.

We know that Charles is fast, and for Carlos to be just a quarter of a spot behind him means that Carlos was getting pretty much as much out of the car on quali as LeClerc was. Whereas at Mercedes, George outperformed Lewis by such a degree that you have to conclude that Lewis was not getting the full capability of the car in qualifying.

I feel bad for Carlos, tbh