Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2024Formula 1

[Liquid]

F1 is one of the few sports to feature microphones for the athletes/players. I'm sure if sports that don't have microphones would have a similar amount of tantrums.

Which shows that as much as fans always want to know more, sports might be better off without it.

This post brought to you by the Stop Broadcasting Team Radio During The Races, Have It As Bonus Content After A Race Party.

 

[Dennisch]

On a serious note, F1 is turning into a football match. I'm so done with all the constant whinging over the radio.

This. They tell on each other like a bunch of little kids, or like footballers asking for a card for the opponent. And apparently Russell did this on overdrive at the stewards.

The penalty was absolute nonsense as they were both not on a fast lap. You can now screw someone over by pretending to go fast and just drive onto their gearbox and scream that it was dangerously slow driving.

 

[Pupik]

That 1980 to 1982 run I didn't know of, but it's really impressive if I'm thinking about it!

Points only down to 6th, raging unreliability and only around 16 races a season. That's only around 100 distinct points positions for a season. Compare that to 2024, with 24 races plus Sprints, that's 288 individual distinct points positions.
Will have to go on a proper deep dive into those seasons eventually

It did take a bit of brain-racking on my part.

Upon further research, the sequence actually ran to six years in a row from 1977-82! (21 five times in a row then 26 in 1982!)

More teams, more drivers switching in and out of them (running out of money, talent, or luck) as well.

 

[sillybilly]

The penalty was absolute nonsense as they were both not on a fast lap. You can now screw someone over by pretending to go fast and just drive onto their gearbox and scream that it was dangerously slow driving.

I mean it did look like George had to make a pretty severe correction to his speed and direction so I would think that it looked like dangerously slow driving to me.

When I saw it I thought George was on a lap and thought it was going to be slam dunk penalty...

Even 'not on a fast lap' it was a pretty sketchy part of the track to be moving so slowly...

I have been frustrated for the last several years with the amount of incredibly slow driving during qualifying - regardless of safety it looks like a freaking joke, and I"m not having a go at Max, it is ALL of the drivers taking the mickey with silly slow times around the track.

I mean just how crap are the tyres???

I think they should consider Indycar offset timing line for qualifying so they don't need to waste time on track on a cool down lap, just dive into the pits and keep out of everyones way...

 

[Har1MAS1415]

More teams, more drivers switching in and out of them (running out of money, talent, or luck) as well.

I know

 

[PorscheFan91]

Re the radio chat, I feel the worst era was the one where the team principals could talk to race control as it just felt like the equivalent of players crowding around the ref in football.

I tend to mainly watch onboards these days (so happy these finally made their way to Now TV this season!) and it's interesting how angry radio messages really make up the vast minority of chat. Indeed, I've followed Yuki's onboards the most this season probably and for someone with a reputation for being ultra angry all the time, most of the time he's just getting on with the job.

I feel Seb put it best:

 

[Jimlaad43]

Hmm, now where can I find a show that uses real F1 footage, dubs over misleading audio at various points and twists the truth to push a false narrative?


Oh wait it's called Drive to Survive.

 

[PorscheFan91]

View attachment 1409792
Hmm, now where can I find a show that uses real F1 footage, dubs over misleading audio at various points and twists the truth to push a false narrative?


Oh wait it's called Drive to Survive.

Amen to that!

I can’t watch it anymore - I thought the first couple of seasons were brilliant but it’s just reality TV schlock now.

Saw a headline on the BBC sports site focusing on Max’s beef with George and it does feel like the sport has gone full WWE now thanks to Drive to Survive.

 

[toastet]

Revealed: Why the FIA delayed Qatar Safety Car and punished Lando Norris

The FIA has released a statement to clarify some of the decisions made during the Qatar Grand Prix after race control was in the spotlight.

www.planetf1.com

Debris situation:

· 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.
· A VSC would not have been a solution, as the cars remain spread out and there is not sufficient time for a marshal to clear the debris.
· The FIA constantly reviews its methods and processes and will analyse further the specific scenario, and discuss it with the teams, in order to see whether in the future a different course of action needs to be taken.

Norris:

· The penalty was in accordance with the penalty guidelines circulated to the teams on 19 February 2024.
· A double yellow flag infringement is considered a serious compromise of safety, which is why such offences carry such a severe penalty.

 

[Fezzik]

So the plan was just to have yellow flags there for the rest of the race, and hope no one hit it?

 

[Roo]

On a serious note, F1 is turning into a football match. I'm so done with all the constant whinging over the radio.

This. They tell on each other like a bunch of little kids, or like footballers asking for a card for the opponent. And apparently Russell did this on overdrive at the stewards.

Ultimately, like diving in football, these are competitive people who will do whatever it takes to win, even if that includes looking stupid or being hated (see also Max Verstappen's driving standards - he's said something similar in the past about that). There's a potential competitive advantage in highlighting to the stewards - or, if you prefer, dobbing in - another driver's transgression in the hope they get penalised, so they do it. The only way drivers will stop complaining on the radio is if they're giving a penalty for doing so.

We're choosing to watch a sport featuring the highest level competitors. Nice guys finish last and all that.

That said... I don't like it either.

 

[Jimlaad43]

So the plan was just to have yellow flags there for the rest of the race, and hope no one hit it?

No, red and yellow striped flags. This is not the same as a yellow and doesn't have the same restrictions about overtaking and lifting off. This is the normal precedent for debris that marshals and race control have decided is not worth clearing. It often is displayed for 1 or 2 laps and then withdrawn after all cars have seen it.

What do the FIA mean "A VSC wasn't the solution"? As a marshal myself, I can tell you that's an easy clear from someone stationed on the Pitwall. It was just past the end of the pit wall. Get someone stood at the end ready to go, put a VSC out and close the Pitlane. It'd be cleared in 20 seconds then you go again.

Hopefully though this is the warning the FIA needs to realise that the VSC doesn't work as well as a FCY. Under an FCY cars go at pit speed rather than sticking to a delta, meaning the gaps are longer and the drivers have more time to acknowledge and avoid marshal's who are trackside. I have swept carbon debris from the middle of the Wellington Straight with the entire WEC pack coming past at pit speed and it's absolutely fine for both drivers and marshals.

The FIA have proven this weekend that they do actually care about drivers speeding under yellows. That's great because I have doubted that for quite a few years, so it's time to make sure the drivers actually do the rest of the instructions for yellows and be aware of what is happening on track and avoid whatever is out there. Double Yellows means "DANGER, be prepared to stop", that could be a crashed car, a spun one around a blind apex, a rolling wheel by the barriers at the other end of the gravel, a marshal clearing debris. If the FIA are scared to put people trackside to clear up debris, they need to change their rules and operations to make the space where needed.

 

[Liquid]

The Norris penalty is an open and shut case. Zero complaints. Irrespective of the conditions, do the drivers need to be reminded of Bianchi? Double-waved yellows mean, and have always meant, slow down and be prepared to stop. In the nostalgic 90s and 00s, it was a hand-raise of "I see the flag but I won't slow down". This lax attitude clearly still hasn't gone away.

The debris itself is farcical. I'm not big on neutralising races with too many full SCs but as @Jimlaad43 said, a quick VSC and this debris was sorted.