F1 2021 Round 15:Russian Grand Prix 2021

Ah right apologies, I can’t remember the 2019 one. Regardless, the precedent for Landos reprimand is in place!

Edit: Just had a look at the 2019 incident and it’s completely different. Hamilton intentionally entered the pits from the wrong side and the conditioners weren't the reason it happened. I don’t really think they can be compared.

I think the outcome was fair tbh. If a pen had been given I don’t think he could complain tho either.

You couldn't have that any more backward. The civil service is somewhere where there should be room for common sense. When it comes to sport, common sense ought to dictate that the rules are applied in the same way to everyone.

Like I said before, in football if the ref could decided not to bother giving a corner because it was raining and the defender slipped when he hit the ball out, that would be utterly ridiculous and people would rightly be calling it a sham. There is no difference here. Either the rules apply all the time or never, if you leave it up to some people in a room to decide on a whim in secrecy, you end up with decisions that simply can never be trusted.

As others have pointed out, they excused Hamilton another year too, basically the only precedent right now is that the driver always gets a time penalty no matter how minor the slightest infraction of one tyre going over a line might be, unless it's a British driver with a Mercedes engine who the media will whip up a frenzy about if they get penalised, in which case it's a reprimand. Which is precisely the reason why the rules ought to be black and white.

Using your football analogy, we see fouls let go all the time and the ref playing advantage and then go back and book the player who committed the foul at the next break in play, it’s pretty common!

And in this case, strictly speaking the law was followed as it explicitly states “a driver must not cross the white line… except in cases of force majeure”. The stewards judged this to be a case of force majeure.

Yeah that’s it. He cut straight across the grass verge in 2019 after losing his front wing at that corner.

I think this season has shown that the money hungry world of F1/FIA have little regard to the safety of drivers over the need to profit... Belgium being the obvious example.

I think Lando is only just getting started... McLaren have shown a lot of commitment to him. they wouldn't change the car to suit Riccardo, because it was to Lando's liking.

He has a three year deal with McLaren, notably running a merc engine and competing with the main two for the last two races. I am still very much convinced he will progress to a mercedes seat thereafter.

The halo you refer to was brought in as an after thought after many incidents and accidents.

YES there have been advancements in F1 that have improved the safety of the sport i.e. no refuelling. BUT f1 is not primarily concerned with the safety of its drivers. Any moron can see that.

How does driving at top speeds of 233mph in torrential weather, poor visibility AND obstruction of view noting the halo as referenced by yourself spell out safety to you?? Safety is rescheduling a race the next day. Unfortunately that isn't money efficient. F1 gave the bare bones race possible to avoid paying out in refunded tickets for the Belgium race. I am all for an entertaining wet race and I get that these drivers are professionals and able to drive in a multitude of conditions but there is a line. They aren't performing monkeys either.

What race are you talking about exactly because in Belgium they had to complete two laps behind a safety car!! Pointless exercise altogether

Ya I think Lando has done enough already to put himself in the shop window for any top seat.

I think he is up there with Verstappen. He is pretty much always there when the chance presents itself.

Only the best seem to manage that. Schumacher, Hamilton, Alonso etc.

He needs to win a race or two first of all - even Perez managed that at Force India. Not even Hamilton is near Verstappen level at the moment so Lando has to judged accordingly. I think Leclerc is a more accomplished driver than both Norris and Russell right now so the Brits have it all to do next year.

Gasly has absolutely carried that Alpha Tauri team this season - I am not a fan of Tsunoda (his inexperience coupled with what comes across as a bad attitude hasn't helped him much this season but I am sure he will learn) but I think Gasly is in a grey area - Red Bull dont seem to want him back - Marko has already stated that Gasly going back to that seat is a non-runner. Why is the second seat of RB so difficult to fill and where can Gasly go from here?

Also wondering what the future holds for Riccardo - he is getting on a bit in driver terms (32) and although a likeable character, he has never amounted to what has been expected for him ... I know he has improved in the last couple of races for McLaren and he may have just taken a while to settle in, but I do wonder where he can go from here too.

I know any mention of Lewis just starts the usual comments of "always been in the fastest car" etc... but after his win on Sunday there, 14 years of being in the forefront of F1 is pretty incredible and I feel that people who live through history never appreciate as much as those who look back on it (to echo Toto's comment).

I had heard rumours that Red Bull had been interested in Alonso only he had already signed his contract with Alpine. They don't seem to have a focus to fill that seat for a potential front runner, more of just an able assistant for Max. But sure, that's been the situation at Mercedes for 5 years too, though in fairness to Bottas - he has done a stellar job.

With George going to Mercedes, they would be wise to try poach Lando at some stage or even one of the Ferrari lads to actually invest in that second seat properly, instead it seems cursed. RB might win the drivers championship but the constructors isn't going their way unless they fill that seat properly - though I am already writing Perez off here and he has pulled a few good performances out the bag compared to Albon and Gasly.

Will Gasly experience Albon-esque issues? (Mercedes were not happy with the RB driver taking a seat with a mercedes powered engine) that could cause issues with a potential move to McLaren/Aston Martin etc... I could see Vettel retiring in the next year or two and the Aston Martin seat becoming available - though it has been a very "mid-field" car this season.

In fairness considering it has been effectively a two horse race of a season, Alpine and McLaren still got a win. The mid field has been very entertaining this year and credit to Sainz and Leclerc as they have effectively kept ferrari in the midst of it all when they have not been as strong car development wise. Even Williams have contributed to the season. Haas have provided the extra obstacles on the course 😂.

It really shows the level of teamwork between the engineer and driver! The amount of comms is interesting, especially considering the conditions! Goes to show that we really only get to hear a fraction of them during the live broadcast on SKY.