The F1 thread

Cols

Looks like a decision has already been made in some form.  Neither Michael Masi nor Nikolas Tombazis (head of  single-seater technical matters) are part of the FIA General Organisation chart any more.  Instead, their role in single seaters is temporarily taken in placeholder form by Peter Bayer, the Secretary General for Motor Sport.

https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/fia_organigrammes_-_january_2022.pdf

Masi's the obvious one after his very public actions.  Tombazis is more obscure, but he was a leading figure in driving through the 2021 rule changes that specifically hobbled Mercedes and Aston Martin.

It was evident through the year that the powers had be had decided that it would be A Good Thing if someone else won the championship, if only to break the monotony of 8 years of Mercedes domination. 

The end-of-race safety car shenanigans in Abu Dhabi were a golden opportunity for Masi to achieve that objective after all appeared to be lost, but the deck was repeatedly and systematically stacked in favour of a Max/RB dream title throughout the year.  The Merc-damaging rule changes, the preferential treatment of Red Bull in delaying rear wing compliance changes early in the year until all the quick circuits were done, the benevolent attitude towards Verstappen's driving, a free "win" for Max at Spa... the list goes on.

stickyfiddle

Eeeenteresting. Worth comparing with the Feb 2021 one before it disappears... 

https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_original/public/capture_decran_2021-02-19_a_15.21.13.png?itok=KDTam19b ;

goldtop

Ideally the person who decides on safety in the heat of the moment should be unaware of which car is which and where, when he decides on red-flag, VSC, SC, etc. Can't think of a practical solution on that, though.

Boromedic

@Cols as ever ^^, on the money.....

Cols

Boromedic said:

@Cols as ever ^^, on the money.....

Cheers man

skullfunkerry

goldtop said:

Ideally the person who decides on safety in the heat of the moment should be unaware of which car is which and where, when he decides on red-flag, VSC, SC, etc. Can't think of a practical solution on that, though.

I've thought this before. I guess you could achieve that with something like the trackers the teams use to see where the gaps on track are for qualifying and pitstops - but it would need to be unlabelled so that you knew where the cars were but not which was which. Would make it tricky though for something like accidents, where you'd need to be able to see how much damage there is to the barriers or how much debris on the track, things like that.

chillidoggy

Cols said:

Boromedic said:

@Cols as ever ^^, on the money.....

Cheers man

Don't go all high and mighty on us and start thinking you can throw a party anytime you feel like it, though. That's a slippery slope.*

*Allegedly.

Cols

chillidoggy said:

Cols said:

Boromedic said:

@Cols as ever ^^, on the money.....

Cheers man

Don't go all high and mighty on us and start thinking you can throw a party anytime you feel like it, though. That's a slippery slope.*

*Allegedly.

I'll keep myself grounded by continuing to be shockingly bad at Fantasy F1

stickyfiddle

Aaand Marcin Budkowski is out at Alpine. Safe to assume Omar will be confirmed there in the next day or 2, and possibly Bukowski into the FIA to take the Race Director’s seat - he’d been mooted as Whitings potential successor a while back.

chillidoggy

Read this morning the the FIA investigation won't be released until about 2 days before this year's first race. 

stickyfiddle

chillidoggy said:

Read this morning the the FIA investigation won't be released until about 2 days before this year's first race. 

Conveniently just after the press conferences??  

chillidoggy

stickyfiddle said:

chillidoggy said:

Read this morning the the FIA investigation won't be released until about 2 days before this year's first race. 

Conveniently just after the press conferences??  

And if Hamster says he's not making a decision about whether to race in 2022 until he hears the outcome, he's not got a lot of time to do so!

Cols

chillidoggy said:

Read this morning the the FIA investigation won't be released until about 2 days before this year's first race. 

According to the FIA: “The outcome of the detailed analysis will be presented to the F1 Commission in February, and final decisions will be announced at the World Motor Sport Council in Bahrain on 18 March."

Possible whatever’s presented in Feb might mollify Hamilton.  Timing the announcement for the first day of the opening GP just smacks of more Drive To Survive drama.

Lewis hasn’t confirmed if he’ll race this weekend; everything hinges on what the FIA announce about the Abu Dhabi investigation. Will he get into the car for first practice, or will we see him dramatically leaving the circuit?

skullfunkerry

I’ve been kind of getting on with my life and trying not to dwell on any of this, but I really feel bad for Lewis Hamilton; whatever you think about him, he’s the biggest name in the F1 paddock and he’s done a lot to bring Formula 1 to new audiences; there’ll be arguments forever about whether he’s the GOAT, but he’s certainly got nothing tp prove about his driving ability… this all feels like he’s being railroaded out; it’s making me feel the same way Harry & Megan leaving the country felt.

sinbaadi

I think he absolutely has something to prove again.  One season with a genuine competitor and he didn't win the title, is how it looks.

They'll never be in equal cars but I'm sure he'd love to win the title again ahead of Max.

Remember, everyone, that anything could happen next year, the cars are so different, all bets are off.  Do not be surprised to see the status quo upset.
Norris for the WDC!  This year's new GOAT!

Boromedic

sinbaadi said:

I think he absolutely has something to prove again.  One season with a genuine competitor and he didn't win the title, is how it looks.

Unless you actually follow F1 even as a casual observer and you'll know that Lewis was robbed of the title by the race director, so no it's not how it looks at all. Literally the whole world knows that AD was controversial, and the only people who keep trying to avoid the controversy are the Max/RB fans and the Lewis haters.

I agree on the new regs, it's always possible someone has found a loophole or maxed the regs to get an advantage. Still think Merc are up there like, they've invested a lot in this season. 

goldtop

sinbaadi said:

I think he absolutely has something to prove again.  One season with a genuine competitor and he didn't win the title, is how it looks.

That is most definitely NOT the way 2021 F1 will be remembered. That bit is just for Max/Horner/Marko, and even they know.

I hope LH comes back, because I'm excited to see what the 2022 changes really mean and hope they shake things up.

stickyfiddle

First car launches next week, then testing later this month. 

Also see this good vid on the changes to the Aus circuit. Looks like a similar concept to the Abu Dhabi changes and hopefully with similar benefits

stickyfiddle

Haas launching today! I'm guessing similar to last years' livery but on a very basic show car. Good to be finally seeing proper hints of the 2022 changes from a real team though

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team/status/1489237292518715400

stickyfiddle

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team/status/1489554296995733505

It looks like the old one with new wings. Funky side pods though.