24Chromium

TRAKCAR

24Chromium

I've noted the absence of Niki Lauda in the Mercedes garage the past two races. I've google searched as to why, but found no news. Anyone know why he's not been in attendance?

The TV coverage via the ESPN app has been disgraceful. They don't stream the pre-race if you don't happen to catch it live.

enduro911

Per Ted Kravitz he's "not well". I don't know what that means.

On an unrelated note, Hamilton's infraction was a pretty clear cut and dry case of breaking rules which resulted in no penalties. The verbiage crafted by the stewards is quite lackluster to be kind. Just like you had a lot of tifosi and Vettel fanbois indicating that the penalty in Baku last year was sufficient, you're going to get a ton of Anglo fans and Hamilton fans saying this was a great no-call. If you don't believe me, go check the comments in Racefans.net.

In both cases, the non-action is garbage but the general policy is somewhat consistent - if you're in the hunt for the championship, you will receive no penalties or watered-down penalties for your actions. I'm sure you can find cases like the Vettel penalty for blocking in qualifying as an exception, but this is the gist of the situation. It's unfortunate that they can't just impose the necessary penalties. I guess the show is more important because the racing is often so lackluster. Because this is the case, you have to have the championship fight itself to keep people interested.

Dear Lewis, this would therefore be an appropriate time to use your #blessed hashtag.

24Chromium

Let's be real. The application of the rules and appropriate penalties in F1 is and always has been a joke. Does anyone remember the $100 million fine McLaren got for 'spying' many years back?

Leica356

Joe S.

Interesting tactics... Push your car on a hot track, no penalty. Pioneer a new route out of pit row, no penalty.
I’m sure Hamilton is a great driver and I always gave his attitude the benefit of a doubt. But after the last two races the petulant child has proven to me he is a complete douche. And way to go Max fans! Cheer when someone crashes! Hurry back over to the tour now and get busy trying to push Froome off the bike again!

enduro911

Agree regarding the history of penalties, I can certainly think of a few that stand out as bogus. However, why does the spying scandal stand out to you? I'm assuming the amount is egregious? The nature of penalizing Mclaren seems reasonable.

LuigiVampa

That was straight-up BS when I saw that. Who cheers another driver crashing?

Engine trouble, going off line, spinning - maybe. But no one should ever cheer a crash.

Manifold

I'm not a fan of that either, though I think it was pretty clear that the crash was low speed and the chance that Seb was injured was close to zero.

Coochas

Circuit Motorsports

This right here. He nosed it in so slowly that the only thing that broke was the wing and the connectors on the signs that line the circuit, the sign however was just fine.

Cheering when your competitor has bad luck, that's part of sports. This is no different than cheering when Tom Brady throws an interception or Lebron has a turnover.

Akunob

From 14th to 1st place...I don't care what your attitude is, in the modern F1 era that is simply an astonishing and incredible feat! Pure driving genius!

Manifold

Not sure I'd go that far. Either Hamilton or Bottas should have eventually been able to get near the top six because their cars are faster than the other 14. Then the tire strategy and weather worked out for Hamilton, the safety car closed the gap further, and of course Vettel took himself out of contention.

Akunob