Pretty much how I see it. FIA was sloppy with this, and season, and in the end Lewis and Max never really dropped the ball when it came to driving.

Sure enough Toto will Toto because that's his job, but I think even Lewis can just accept this and look to next year to take over. A lot of these events were atypical so he knows he's not declining unless the car absolutely lets him down.

Congratulations to Max. A lot of titles don't come on the exact or more "legitimate" terms, but what it took to be in contention, all he could do was seize his opportunities, and he did. End of the day, he did his job and not everyone could've executed this with the same circumstances.

It was a sucky ending to the season. Controversial at beast. Enough said. The whole year has been the same.

Enough said!!

It is a shame, that F1 new owners are about entertainment over racing! F1 is now fully a sports entertainment business!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

:iagree::iagree:

The next 90 days should be interesting. :ugh2:

I have no words.

A win is a win! In officiating, one should strive not to be the determining factor in who win or losses!!! Except if you want to make Netflix richer!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

The so called "Race Director"

Still rather that the championship was decided on a flying lap than under an extended safety car.

If I were Masi, I'd have let Toto and Christian's calls go to voicemail, though. Last thing he needed was to deal with those two whiners while trying to figure out how to clear the track.

Lewis' race was compromised from the moment they called him in way too early to cover Max's pit stop (lap 14). Being in the lead at the SC, Mercedes had little choice but to leave him out, while Max got the soft tires and wing adjustment he needed to be competitive. I can see why Merc felt confident in staying the course, with the odds being that the race would either end under a waved yellow or that racing would resume with one or two laps to go and lapped cars between the two leaders.

The rule to clear the lapped cars is to allow for racing between the leading cars, and un-lapping these four or five and then ending the SC although not directly handing the trophy to Max, gave him that one last opportunity to take it.

That final lap, and Perez' crazy mad dogfight with Lewis on tires way to old to have done what he did (20 lap old reds), made this the best race of the season for me. Even if there were about 55 laps of snore-fest in between it all.

Max had a streak of good luck. Lewis had him covered all race. That is part of racing. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. On to next season.

Phenomenal driving. I was laughing at Lewis for whining about it.

As far as Max and Lewis go, I enjoyed watching them race this year but it's never a good thing for anyone when the refs have a role in determining the outcome. And Lewis damn near won despite his team sabotaging him.

It will be very interesting to see where things fall into place next year.

LMAO, the only rule that is clear is the race director can do what he wants and he did. A better decision would have been to red flag the event, stopping time and letting the teams change tire equally, do a standing restart for the last three laps. Now that would have been more exciting and there would not have been any controversy. Masi fcked up plain and simple. Max won given the circumstances and that doesn't make him the villain because the dice rolled his way.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Not to laugh at Toto's expense, it is funny when you go (very) selective with the context



> Lap 36:
*safety car*
Toto: "Mikey please no safety car. Interferes in the race. Please not."

> Lap 57:
*safety car pulling out to let them race*
Toto: "No Mikey! Nooo!!!"

I rate Checo extremely high on my list of drivers. He’s always a hard racer but very fair.

What a year of racing aye? Regardless of who we're rooting for, we were blessed and maxed out on entertainment with the kind of twist and turns one could only dream of. All us racing fans were gifted with the best experience from the start of the season to the very last lap. Thank you Max and Lewis for showing everyone else where the limit is and all the other supporting characters. On the top of my list in the supporting cast is Checo, Lando, and Fernando. Although Valteri came in 3rd in the driver's championship, he was very underwhelming. If there anything I want changed, it would be keeping Toto far away from the kitchen telling the chef what to do and duct tape on Marko's pie hole. Oh yes, FIA....git yer 5h!t together.

LMAO!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

So, did anyone ever read a satisfying answer as to why they retired Checo (one lap after they pitted him for new tires, and to his total shock)???

There's only one answer that I can think of that explains a lot of the loose ends of this race.

Nope! Nothing at all. The only thing that makes since to me is they wanted Max to have all the limelight. Netflix style!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/wh...ppeal/6892920/

Why Mercedes chose not to pursue its Abu Dhabi F1 appeal
The decision by Mercedes to not proceed with its appeal regarding the result of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has angered many fans of Lewis Hamilton and the team.
Why Mercedes chose not to pursue its Abu Dhabi F1 appeal
Adam Cooper
Adam Cooper
Dec 18, 2021, 6:41 AM

They naturally saw the process as the last chance for the outcome of the 2021 world championship to be turned around, after the late call by race direction to allow the cars splitting Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap themselves under the safety car on the penultimate tour.

As such there’s a widespread feeling on social media that Mercedes let the fans down, or that the team has been silenced by some kind of deal with the FIA.

So why did the team chose not to pursue its appeal?

It comes down to two main factors. There was indeed a conversation with the FIA, but only insofar as the governing body agreed to launch a full investigation that will come up with answers that the team wants.

And secondly, team principal Toto Wolff and his colleagues recognised that, however strong they felt their case might be, they were not going to win it – and there would be no change to the result of the race and thus the championship.

Rather than push on with an inevitably messy process that could damage F1 and the image of Mercedes, it was decided to call a halt to proceedings.

“After the race, I called Jean Todt and [FIA secretary general] Peter Bayer and said that I didn't agree with this decision,” Wolff explained on Thursday.

“Of course I knew that it was purely a personal emotion, because we had to sort out the legal remedies and whether we could protest at all, or against what. And we did that immediately in my office.

"We got all the engineers, lawyers, Ola [Kallenius, Daimler chairman], just all together and decided to file this protest.

"Ron Meadows and the team went to see the stewards twice, at the invitation of the stewards. And then we waited for the decision, which was negative.

“And then it was a matter of going back to the hotel and sulking, or thinking about what had happened. Or, on the other hand, to celebrate an eighth constructors' title with the team. And that's what I did - trying to push aside the frustration about the decision that cost the drivers' world title, until the next day.”
The Safety Car and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12

The Safety Car and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Filing a notice of intent to appeal bought the team 96 hours during which to consider its options. The deadline was Thursday evening – by co-incidence the same time as the FIA prize giving, where Verstappen was due to get his championship trophy.

“We've spent all the last few days being in dialogue with the FIA, with Lewis and Ola and his colleagues to make the right decision,” said Wolff.

“And we've vacillated over and over again in those days between, 'We're going to go through with this appeal' and 'We're going to pull back despite all the anger and just try to make the sport better and use this moment to just make the decision-making more robust'. The final decision to withdraw the appeal was made on Wednesday evening.”

Asked if in the aforementioned dialogue with the FIA any admission by the governing body that mistakes were made, Wolff stressed that it hadn’t, which is no surprise.

“I think it is very difficult in such a situation to compromise your legal position. And I think for the FIA it wasn’t clear if we would go all the way with the appeal, and therefore you cannot expect any admission. I think they have taken the right step.

“The president has convinced the World Motor Sport Council to set this commission in place, to look at the incidents of the Abu Dhabi race, and to avoid any such situations going forward.

"All of us welcome that decision. I don’t think it was easy. The statement of the FIA, when you understand the nature of the governing body, is a strong and robust one.

“Obviously as a racer you would wish full admission, but that is not possible at that stage.

"I think we have taken a stop in the right direction. It is a modest step, considering the magnitude of the failures on Sunday night, but better a modest step than not.”

The bottom line is that Mercedes thought that it wouldn’t win at the International Court of Appeal, and in suggesting that Wolff in effect criticised the sport’s judicial system, which was a bold claim to make in public.

“We believe we had a very strong case, and if you look at it from the legal side, if it would have been judged in a regular court you could almost guarantee that we would have won. But the problem with the ICA is the way it is structured.

“The FIA can’t really mark their own homework. And there is a difference between being right, and obtaining justice.

“So there is a lesson to be learned, how can we make sure that going forward in situations like that that the right decisions are being taken, the verdicts from stewards are a response to the regulations, and judgement in the courts – whether it is the ICA or the CAS [Court for Arbitration on Sport] which is not currently part of the legislation – can be judged in a way that is fair and neutral to every participant.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2nd position, waves to fans from Parc Ferme

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2nd position, waves to fans from Parc Ferme

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Wolff stressed that Hamilton was personally involved throughout the process: “Every step on the way it was joint decisions. We decided together with Lewis to protest, to launch the appeal, and to withdraw the appeal.

“As you can imagine, not only for him, but also for us as a team, it was terrible to be confronted with a decision that decided the outcome of the World Championship.

“But nobody of us, neither him or us, want to win a world championship in the courtroom.

"But on the other side, we were deeply wronged on Sunday. And it wasn’t just a case of a bad call, it was a freestyle reading of the rules, and it left Lewis like a sitting duck. It was tremendously hard for him and for us as a team to withdraw the appeal, because we were wronged.

“And we deeply believe that in F1, the pinnacle of motor racing, one of the most important sports in the world, justice is being done.

"So my soul and my heart cries with every bone that this should have been judged in the right way, and the legal situation would have given us right. But there’s a difference between being right and obtaining justice.”

Wolff has sympathy with Hamilton fans who believe that Mercedes should have pressed on with its case, and have expressed their thoughts on social media.

“I can understand the frustrations of many," he said. "And to be honest, I have the same.

"I am also in two minds, all the time, between my perspective and my judgment on the legal position, and my realism about the outcome of such proceedings.

“As I said before, there's a difference between being right and obtaining justice.

"And I don't think that at the moment, we are set up in terms of our governance to end up in a situation that would have given us remedy, that would have reinstalled the result that was taken away from Lewis before the last lap of the race.

"And that's why heavy-hearted we have decided not to appeal because we wouldn't have gotten the result back. Now I think we have the right tools in hand to make sure that the decision making going forward is better.

“And we will be holding the FIA and the decision makers accountable for making the sport more robust and the decision making more robust and more consistent.”
Mohammed ben Sulayem, President EMSO (UAE)

Mohammed ben Sulayem, President EMSO (UAE)

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

All eyes will now be on the FIA as its newly elected president Mohammed Ben Sulayem takes on the job of setting up and overseeing the commission that was suggested by his predecessor.

No details have emerged of what form it might take, but Wolff says it has to do a proper job. And having withdrawn the appeal in part as a response to its formation, Mercedes will no doubt try to ensure that it does.

“I expect the commission to not only come up with words, but with actions,” said Wolff.

“And we will hold them accountable for the actions. Because we cannot continue in a sport that is meant to be sport followed by entertainment, and not the other way around, [where] we are held ransom by ad hoc decisions in every field - in technical and sporting.

“And therefore there need to be clear measures in place before the start of the season, so every driver, every team and the fans understand what it is on, and what is not on.”

He stressed that it’s not just about Abu Dhabi, but the bigger picture: “It is a wider problem, because if you look at most of the controversies that have happened this year, it was about decisions.

“Sporting decisions on the track, inconsistency of the execution of the regulations on track. It’s one thing to drive hard, and to have differences of opinion among the drivers, and among the teams.

“It is in the nature of the game. But inconsistent decision making leads to controversies, leads to polarisation, and that was the grounds for many of the totally unnecessary controversies on the track.

“So the FIA needs to decide how they are going forward. We had a good dialogue with the FIA over the last few days.

“The commission that it has set in place I have trust and faith that we will formulate, together with all of our competitors and the drivers and the other teams the right decisions and actions to avoid such a scenario in the future.”

Glad that the FIA will investigate. Including the influence that team principals wield with the director and stewards during the race.

I feel for Mercedes, I really do - it was an emotional season culminating in an emotional and exhausting race. But Toto (and Horner) can’t suck and blow at the same time.

Unfortunately, new FIA leadership seems like it might be the most corrupt yet, so expect more of the same, only worse.

Yeah, I got a chuckle when they had the audacity to speak on adhering to the rules when deliberating whether to punish Lewis for not showing up to the Gala.

I do wish AMG would have taken the FIA to court if anything to just force the FIA to admit they f-ed up. However, I understand their reasoning for not doing it. Max is a worthy champion, even if I strongly dislike his driving style. Him and RB are not the ones anyone should be pissed at after that last race.

I think gracious to withdraw and move on. Something the shite at RedBull would never do.

Horner speaking of morality. He left his pregnant wife to marry Spice Trash.

Fk him and the entire team. FK Max and his shite father

FK THE FIA.

Sport my aszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

On to next year.

The more things change, the more things stay the same!! :tup:

:iagree::iagree:

:stirthepot:

:stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::s tirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::sti rthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirt hepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::happyda nce::happydance::happydance::happydance::happydanc e::happydance::happydance::happydance::happydance: :happydance:

And, along the same lines...
Further reports suggest she's got the position.

No Spa refund. So fans see manipulated final and now no refunds for the joke of Spa

https://www.planetf1.com/news/belgia...o-fan-refunds/

Something you might be interested in.

That was a really insightful video. Now I’m looking at Murray differently after learning of all this. I’d like to see what he has to say as a rebuttal.

https://motorsport.tv/embed/xCWJRra8...des-amg-f1-car

Mercedes first team to fire up 2022 F1 car
Mercedes has become the first Formula 1 team to confirm it has fired up its 2022 car.

ess than a fortnight on from the final round of the 2021 F1 campaign, the Brackley-based outfit published a short video on Thursday revealing the fire up of the new W13.

The video showed staff at its factory overlooking the event, with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff being kept up to date with developments via a live video link on a mobile phone.

The images offered no further clues about the design of the new Mercedes car, which Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will race in 2022.

While the pre-Christmas fire-up of the Mercedes car shows how far the team has progressed, teams are still set to wait until February to launch its definitive new challengers.

With an all-new rule set coming in to play, the rate of development of the new ground effect cars means teams want to wait as long as possible before committing to their final design.

With teams also mindful that rivals will want to learn as much as they can from the opposition, there will not be much incentive to release details too early in case others can copy the best ideas.

F1’s first pre-season test is due to take place at Barcelona in Spain on February 23-25, with teams expected to unveil their cars in the weeks before then.

A new era of @F1 starts right here… ��

Firing up our 2022 F1 car for the first time - the W13 is ALIVE. �� pic.twitter.com/fphuaVp2dI
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 23, 2021

Today at 12:01 AM

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/th...pands/6960600/

The brutal reality for mechanics as F1's calendar expands
By: Jonathan Noble
Dec 23, 2021, 3:45 AM
Formula 1’s ever-growing calendar, allied to the punishing presence of triple-headers, has pushed the championship’s travelling staff to the limit.

Grand prix racing’s chiefs have always tried to give the impression that they are doing their best to manage the difficulties those that working in the pitlane face.

However, as F1’s calendar looks set to explode even more in the future, and triple-headers are now the norm, many within the paddock have expressed some private concerns that they are not being listened to, as things look set to get even worse for them in the future.

While some team bosses have cruelly suggested that anyone who doesn’t like the gruelling work demands can simply go and find another job outside F1, losing a bunch of staff needlessly through burnout is not a solution that suits the series best for the long term.

Autosport has heard the story of what life is really like on the road for a mechanic right now, and just why things are close to a breaking point.

Speaking anonymously to a team member who travels with the F1 circus, Autosport can reveal how life has changed for mechanics in recent years, what impact the bigger calendar is having for those in the garages, and just what F1 can do to help make a better future for all those involved.

Here are his words...

The mechanic's viewpoint
There is no hiding from the fact that life on the road as a Formula 1 mechanic is tough. It has always been that way, and none of us do it because we are after an easy time.

We all love F1, and know that being a part of grand prix racing is something that requires you to dig deep.

But, as the Formula 1 calendar has expanded and the triple-headers become a norm, things have hit a breaking point for a lot of people who work in the garages.

The working hours are a lot. From the Wednesday before a race until the Sunday night afterwards, it's a minimum of 12-hour days every day. You don't realise what that takes out of you until you go back to work in the factory and a normal eight-hour day is almost comical because it feels so short!

In fact, you don't realise what an abnormal life it is on the road until you actually come back home.

What makes it especially tough is the fact that it is so relentless, with no recovery time. You work from the moment you get off the plane, and that can be after a really crappy flight where you have been crammed in economy class and got little to no sleep.

After the end-of-season triple-header in Mexico, Brazil, and Qatar, the combination of punishing economy flights, late timetables and timezone changes meant everyone was absolutely shattered, and that is when I think I saw people struggling the most.

The peak tiredness when it hits is a horrible, horrible thing. When you are away from your loved ones and on the road, you can feel so alone.


Then, when you are coming home on a Monday morning or Monday evening, and you haven't slept properly in days, that then affects how you feel in your personal time. It means your relationships can suffer – either because you are agitated with your partners or you've got other things on your mind. And that's not fair on you nor them.

You are not just mentally fatigued, you are physically drained as well. As the season wears on, there are a hell of lot of injuries happening. The teams do have doctors and physios to help look after you, but the easiest solution is to pump you with painkillers to just keep you going. There is no way in a million years that a regular doctor would give you what we are given to keep us going.

For those that don't want to go down the painkiller route, they turn to alcohol, and that's not especially good either.

On top of all this, the COVID rules have added another stress point, especially as teams like to manage the timing of the tests in terms of what is best for them rather than what is best for the individual.

Some teams don't want you to test too early in case that puts you out for qualifying or the race. Instead they prefer for you to wait until as late as you can for your pre-return PCR.

But if there is a problem and the test result doesn't come back for any reason, then it's the mechanic who suffers as he has to stay away from home for yet another day to go and get retested.

One day extra doesn't seem a lot, but it all adds up when everyone is so tired and just wants to be home with their loved ones. It is typical of a lack of empathy from the teams about what they are putting people through.

Between the stress of test results being processed in time so we can all go home, the requirement to self-isolate in the UK, and the calendar changes on short notice, we have had to give up so much of our lives to F1 so that people at the top can make more money while we get nothing in return.

On top of the sheer tiredness and being away from home so much, it is difficult to balance the relentlessness of it with the really high expectations that is placed upon everyone in the garage to work at their highest level. Nobody wants to make a car in which a driver retires or crashes, so everyone is absolutely wired into it.


And that just adds to the stress. The drivers, and all the factory personnel, are relying on you to perform at 100% and not to make any errors. But anyone can make mistakes. We're only human, and I've made plenty in my time.

When you do, there is just this silent disappointment from others. You get asked about why you let it happen, why you weren't more aware of things, and it's difficult to take that in on top of everything else.

Then you start doubting yourself. It throws you, and makes you risk even more mistakes because you start getting more stressed about it. It's mentally fatiguing.

The pressures of all that, plus the tiredness triggered by the number of races and the triple-headers, has got to a point where the atmosphere in the garages can be very toxic at times.

And that toxicity comes from being in a competitive arena. It's almost like a corporate environment where you're trying to climb the ladder but people aren't getting anywhere so they end up being horrible to others.

There is a lot of banter but it can get nasty very quickly. I've seen it a lot of times where it's been funny but has then crossed the line a bit too much, and the humour has become too dark.

It can have a negative impact on some members within the team who have insecurities regarding their appearance, sexuality, or work status. Exacerbating those insecurities can lead to depression and everything that comes with it like social isolation and an unhealthy lifestyle.

It's a toxicity caused because everyone is on top of each other all the time: there is no getting away to have a little bit of a breather.

The guys are having to build the car, then straight after they might have to go and build the gearbox and then they might have to go and do the suspension. There isn't even half an hour for some lunch sometimes, as you feel you need to wolf your food down to get back to work.

Teams have tried to do their bit to improve things, and there are things that are better now than a few years ago.



The curfew has helped a bit, and of course we don't have to do a whole bunch of testing between races like there was a few decades ago.

On hotel rooms, we did used to have to share rooms, but now a lot of teams have realised that giving everyone single rooms doesn't really affect their budget too much. And the positive reaction they're getting from the people due to that is very beneficial for the teams.

However, the mental health awareness on teams’ social media is often about the drivers, but not the rest of their workforce.

You get the impression that the top management don’t want to assess their mechanics and technicians as they’ll be scared of the results. If they know the results, they know that they have to act upon them, and ultimately a mechanic isn’t important enough to worry about nor spend extra money on.

That leaves some of us feeling that if you do mentally breakdown – and I know some colleagues who have – there is no extra support for us. No one is going to come and catch us.

Often when people talk about the stresses and strains of the mammoth F1 calendar, they say that if you don't like it then you can leave. Some team bosses have even said as much.

But that attitude just shows how out of touch some are with the reality of what is needed in F1, and this belief that you can simply slot in replacement staff like fresh light bulbs.

All that will be left, if you push everyone over the edge, is having kids doing the job. You won't find great mechanics, you won't find great technicians, and the sport as a whole will fail because it is no longer about the best staff working for the best teams who attract the best drivers.

If any teams think they can promote someone fresh and young from a junior category with no experience, and expect them to win championships in the future, then they’re not understanding the reality of the sport.

Just like any master craftsmen, you need the experienced person to pass on their knowledge to create the best product. F1 isn’t too far from that, and you need the previous generation to teach the new generation. Without that, a team won’t succeed in being the best.

I feel that F1 is close to a tipping point, with the calendar getting longer and the sport's bosses thinking they can keep rolling out the triple-headers.

So many people have talked about quitting this year and that hasn't happened any other years that I've been involved in the sport.


Normally at the end of the season there are two or three team members who decide they don't want to keep going to the races. But this year there have been so many more people talking about the need to get out. I think with COVID, people are realising that there is a life outside of F1.

I worry about the long-term future too because on top of all the stress and strain caused by the schedule, the mechanics are also paying a big price for the cost cap.

The wages of a mechanic have pretty much flatlined over the past 20 years – and what motivation does that give you for the amount of time, mental and physical effort that you are putting in over your years in the sport?

In addition, because teams are trying to keep a lid on spending due to the cost cap, they simply cannot afford to hand out pay rises that keep up with inflation. So it's going to stall wages, and kill the job market in F1 as it will fall behind other series.

There is a weird scenario where we are almost better off going to work in Formula 2, Formula E or WEC for slightly less money, but do almost half the races and not have to put up with all the hassles of a 23-race schedule. It should not be like that.

It also means for those who love F1, and who can put up with the stresses, that there just isn't the scope to plot a normal career path. In the past you could aspire to move up to be number one mechanic, to chief mechanic and then even higher. And each time getting a decent pay hike.

That path doesn't exist anymore because the pay grades just aren't there – and if the staff inside the sport can't see a future, then how on earth can F1 expect to attract the most promising individuals from outside?

And does it make sense for the cost cap to exempt the highest paid staff in the team who already enjoy many more luxuries than those working on the garage floor?

I think team management and those who run F1 are aware of what's going on, but I don't think they fully understand it, which is why there isn't an urgency to make changes that would help everyone.

If F1 does nothing and doesn't react to what a lot of mechanics feel, then you are just going to end up with a high turnover of people, and that is going to hurt the teams the most.

I'm not sure if it's just the working staff who think that 23 races is too much: I sense even the fans think that a run of triple-headers is not great. It feels like the sport is being cheapened in a way, where each race is no longer as valuable and important because there are now so many.



And why isn't there more consideration for a calendar that works better for staff? Why, for example, are we going from Azerbaijan straight to Canada next year? It doesn't make any sense at all, especially when a Turkey/Baku run would be much more sensible.

There are some solutions though that would help us a lot.

Of course, wages are always important. There needs to be a rethink about the pay structure in the sport to ensure that those in the front line aren't being hurt the most by the cost cap.

For what would seem like a small pay rise for the bosses would make a massive difference to a lot of us on the ground.

Also, why not get us out of our cramped economy plane seats for some of the more gruelling races, just so when we land we are in much improved shape to do a better job for the teams?

And what about pushing more for a staff rotation system, so we keep the best team members refreshed and motivated for the entire season? I know one team has tried resting mechanics for a few races this year and it has made a big difference.

But perhaps the biggest thing that would help is a bit of empathy from the top of F1.

We all do this job because we love grand prix racing, but there comes a point where our mental and physical well-being needs to take priority over the needs of the sport to keep pumping out the races.

More downtime for exercise and for recovery, some proper health checks to ensure we can perform at our very best, and just a better understanding of what our life is really like when you hit those brutal low points in the middle of yet another triple-header, would mean the world.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1...ottas/7013338/

F1 2022 cars "not crazy different" in simulator, says Bottas
By: Jonathan Noble
Co-author: Luke Smith
Dec 28, 2021, 6:00 AM
Valtteri Bottas does not think Formula 1’s 2022 cars will have a totally different feel for drivers compared to the current generation of machinery.

F1 teams are working flat out on the all-new ground effect cars that are arriving for 2022, and aimed at helping improve the racing by allowing drivers to follow each other more closely.

A number of drivers who have tried the new concepts out in simulators have said that they will require a contrasting approach compared to now – as they will move around a lot more on the edge than the current cars.

However, with Bottas having tried out versions of the 2022 car in both the Mercedes and Alfa Romeo simulators, he feels that things will not be totally different.

Referencing his run in the Mercedes sim earlier this year, and the Alfa try-out a few months ago, Bottas said: “At least at that point, it felt like the cars are a bit off in terms of downforce.

“But the overall feeling, at least in the sim, wasn't that dissimilar in either of the simulators. We can't simulate following other cars and stuff like that, but it’s not crazy different. Maybe still a bit less downforce but, like I said, that will change.”

Bottas’ comments are in contrast to McLaren driver Lando Norris, who reckoned the new F1 cars feel quite similar to drive to F2.

Get rid of these in F1 as well. This certainly applies. Force drivers to deal with the track. Minimize escape --

Stoner: MotoGP corner run-offs “worst thing that's happened" to bike racing

Double MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner believes the advent of large asphalt run-offs at circuits is “the worst thing that’s happened to motorcycle racing”.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/wh...ivers/7067159/

Why F1's 2022 cars will be more of a handful for drivers
By: Jonathan Noble
Co-author: Giorgio Piola
Jan 3, 2022, 5:10 AM
Formula 1 will unleash a new rules era this year, as the series shifts to ground effect cars that are aimed at making the racing better.

While the regulations are not specifically designed to make overtaking easier per se, the hope is that the new concepts will allow drivers to follow their rivals much closer than before.

To achieve that, F1 has had to move away from a reliance on downforce created by the front and rear wings and instead the cars will generate much more performance from channelling air through venturi tunnels underneath the car.

By doing that, it is hoped that pursuing cars will not suffer as much from the wake of rivals in front, which should also help reduce sliding and minimise tyre overheating.

One of the consequences of the change in rules was expected to be a dramatic increase in lap times – with initial talk being that the cars could be as much as five seconds per lap slower.

However, with teams rapidly understanding the details of the rules, the suggestion is that the cars could be as little as 0.5 seconds adrift of where F1 lap times are right now.

But even with the lap times being similar, one common theme that has cropped up in recent weeks has been how different the cars feel for the drivers.

For beyond the loss of downforce, drivers who have tried the cars in the simulators have talked of the cars not feeling as settled.

As McLaren’s Lando Norris said: “I don't think it'll be as nice to drive in a way. I think it'll be a little bit more on the limit in terms of pushing and so on. A little bit like F2 in a way, I think, where you see more fighting the car and stuff.”

Such comments, at a time when F1 has moved towards cars that are aimed to make them more stable when following others, appears to suggest something has gone awry.

However, as the FIA’s head of single-seater technical matters Nikolas Tombazis explains, what the drivers are experiencing is a consequence of a move to make the aerodynamics of the cars simpler.

For, whereas teams previously honed the airflows of the old generation of cars to ensure consistent airflow over the bodywork through a corner, such an outcome is not possible now.

“There's quite a few challenges in driveability terms nowadays,” explained Tombazis.

“Teams had developed the through-corner performance from a driveability point of view and for stability, and they did a lot of work in the simulator.

“They also did a lot of work on the aerodynamics to make sure the car didn't have quick changes of characteristics through the corner that would unsettle the driver.

“To my understanding, the new rules make that a bit more difficult. So therefore, the cars I think will be a bit more difficult to drive: which I think is a good thing.”


Tombazis said the areas that teams had honed the most – like airflow from the front wing to the bargeboards and under the floor – was no longer possible because of rule restrictions.

“It was previously achieved on the front wing and on the bargeboard area by playing very carefully with the various vortices, and how they travel through air,” he said. “That is more limited now in what is possible.”


The consequence of the limitations on what teams can do, allied to the change in car characteristics, should put a bigger emphasis on driver talent – something Tombazis is happy about.

“I think it's a good thing for the skill of the drivers that the car isn't as predictable,” he said. “I think it's going to be potentially more difficult to drive because they may be not as refined in some of the characteristics.”

In other words, it's going to make passing more difficult, because both the car passing and the one being passed will already be on the edge. And good luck if the passee is Stroll, Mazepin, Schumacher or Latiffi!

Nice now even more heavy. Crazy crazy.......

New 2022 F1 cars only ‘0.5-2 seconds slower’ despite 40kg weight rise
2022 F1 season Posted on

2nd November 2021, 8:13 | Written by Keith Collantine and RJ O'Connell

Cars built to new technical regulations for the 2022 Formula 1 season could be as little as half a second slower than their predecessors despite being much heavier.

On top of a 40kg increase in the minimum weight limit, to 792kg, next year’s rules will also simplify the cars’ suspension and radically alter their aerodynamics. Upper aerodynamic surfaces will be simplified, while teams are being given greater freedom to generate downforce using their cars’ floors.

Despite these changes, F1’s technical director Pat Symonds recently suggested the new cars could lap as little as half a second slower than this year’s machines.

When the new regulations were first confirmed in 2019, Aston Martin (formerly Racing Point) CEO Otmar Szafnauer predicted it would slow cars by around five to seven seconds. He now concurs with Symonds’ view about the performance of next year’s machines.

“It’s going to be track dependent. I think at some of the tracks we’ll be on par with this year and other tracks we will be slower,” Szafnauer told RaceFans. “But my five-to-seven second estimate at the time was before we delved deep into our development programme.

“I think we’re going to be a lot closer – even on the tracks where it’s going to be slower – to this year, than five to seven seconds. It might be at some places a half a second difference, and other places one-to-two seconds.”

The new technical regulations were originally slated for introduction this year, then delayed by a season due to the pandemic. Teams were allowed to carry their 2020 cars over with some modifications to limit performance gains this season. As a result lap times have risen by around one to two seconds year-on-year.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/11/02/...g-weight-rise/

The real question is, just how many times will the FIA CHANGE THE RULES after the season has started?? :ugh2:

They haven't invented a number high enough, yet!

Meanwhile, here's a simple Rorschach-like test to see how well you are coping without F1.

What do you see here?
(hint: it isn't sexual! LOL)

why do they keep making the cars heavier? The PUs are efficient enough to shrink the fuel tanks so they can go back down to 2009 sizes, right?