This part of the reason why I think the current crop of green F1 cars is a farce. Fans don't care about green.
I hope ham seizes the opportunity to offer up 1/22 of his salary to help refund money to the fans he cares so much about. I wonder how would ham's narrative differ if the two ridiculous laps extended his points lead by 5 points?
George Russell / Williams bouncing around celebrating that podium and saying "it doesn't matter" how it came about etc. was not particularly appealing. Max and Lewis were at least suitably muted.
Note to moderators: for this thread the spoilers alert should be eliminated. Probably at this moment a dude is wasting his time checking 4 hours of record to find the start of a race.
One of the reasons F1 went to flat bottom design was that underbody diffusers were changing spray into fog which lingers instead of getting thrown off the road. I guess now that F1 designers have found equivalent or greater DF, they create the equivalent fog as the venturi cars.
Coulthard was a lap down and slowed down on the exit of a corner. Schumi had a full head of steam and couldn't avoid him. This is where Schumi tracked him down in the pits and threatened to brain him with his helmet.
I honestly believe that his fatality was the end of Formula 1 as we know it. Every year since, the FIA has gone out of their way to introduce more "safety precautions" into the sport. Hell, you can't make through an entire race with out the safety car being deployed because some backmarker spins in the gravel, completely off the racing line. The thing is, what killed Jules Bianchi was, himself. Speeding under yellow flags on a wet track. God I miss Formula 1.
There was a study made a few years ago (in Germany, I believe) about limiting the spray coming from road vehicles on motorways in case of rain. A flexible rubber "skirt" almost reaching the ground fitted around the wheels considerably reduced the spay, and restored visibility for following vehicles. The efficiency of the device was undeniable, and it was affordable but observers from the car industry objected to them on the ground of aesthetic. I think F1 could consider such system, which could be even removed from the car when the track is dry. Of couse; the purists would object, as always; trying to bring any innovation in F1 is considered sacrilegious.
Anyone that thinks they were genuinely trying to find a weather window to run the race is deluded. This farce was all about money. Hitting contractual conditions necessary to avoid refunds and loss of income. Disgusting. They should all go to jail for fraud. I have rarely been this angry.
With the Japanese GP canceled and a "TBC" calendar slot, it might have been better to reschedule as a "Spa do-over". I'm surprised ESPN stayed with it for the whole boring four hours. I chuckled at the Sky comment that "we'll know it's over when Kimi heads for the ice cream".
Having a construction vehicle lumbering around immediately off-circuit in low light in a monsoon was what killed him. Just leaving Sutil's car were it was would have been safer. His driving was no different to anyone elses at that point in the Grand Prix...
I think you are right, and that you have exposed the reason behind today's fiasco. FIA must be the only organisation that cannot cancel an event for reason of "force majeure". Concerts get cancelled, football match get cancelled, elections get postponed, even the Olympics were run a year late. But here you have Michael Masi fudging his responsability and deceiving the public to suit commercial interests.
It was a case of gross negligence on the part of the rescuers that created the conditions for Jules Bianchi's accident.
I have been at this track when it rained so much and i felt for the fans, its a miserable place to be, especially when you have climbed to the top of the circuit. Wet and cold on the way down is no fun. I can understand the dilemma for all concerned and the 98 race showed the result of driving in such conditions, the rain doesnt stop and the water hangs in the air for days. Having said all of that, why in the hell do the FIA feel its necessary to have a podium celebration for a 2 lap race- In all my 50+ years of watching F1 i have never seen anything so ill thought out.
Jules speed was excessive in the wet going into the corner where Sutil's car was. Do you know the impact in g'forces Jules took?? Not to mention the VSC and safety car as to when they were indicated or brought out.
The indignation is a touch dramatic. LH and Toto didn't want the race rescheduled, but cancelled entirely. This wasn't an isolated event in an otherwise perfect world or perfect FIA. The race should have started at 15h as scheduled. Trying to accommodate a bunch of primadonnas complaining about water in their helmet only generated more BS. The FIA should implement a rule to award points based on qualifying if the race cannot be held - then watch LH and Toto want to race, instead of worrying about the fans and other altruistic pretexts.