Formula One ( F1 )

Tense race. That was a pretty convincing drive from Hamilton. This championship really is going right to the end. Can’t imagine what it must be like working at Red Bull right now with the championship so close and keep changing places. Atmosphere must be incredible!

@mmccarthy - reckon this might go down to a Moto3 style conclusion unless the races aren’t close at all!

I've been really enjoying this season. Have even started splurging for Sky day passes for the odd race. Annoyingly, having done that for the last two, childcare issues have rendered the investment wasted as race times clashed with toddler meltdowns. The joys.

Without wanting to overly move conversation from racing to personalities (maybe just a bit) I have to say that Hamilton has massively gone up in my estimation the last few years. I know he's always been a stonking driver and this weekend is classic example; but his unapologetic BLM stance and all round stoicism and sportsmanship has really changed my opinion of him. I find myself liking and respecting him. Weird scenes. I used to think he was a bit of a dick, which was always a weird cognitive dissonance thing because I always supported him over any other driver. Mixture of hometown pride and appreciation of his undeniable awesomeness. Now I get the satisfaction of supporting him because and thinking he's actually turned out to be a properly decent guy. At least he seems to be. I don't really follow the details of what the drivers get up to...

Anyway. Diggin' the racing and here's hoping it ends with a proper scrap rather than a controversial pile-up. Although that would be fun too.

PS - Max is definitely a dick right?

About as much of a dick as Hamilton, but not so self-righteous.

we need a dickometer

Fucking lol. Assume you're talking about something other than his stance on diversity in sport and his statements on BLM as it makes you sound like a bit of a cunt otherwise.

They're all dicks at the start

This ^

And most of them remain that way throughout. It's only once they're a bit over the hill that they ever seem to ease up and seem to focus on enjoying their time (Alonso & Vettel spring to mind).

Growing up as a Schumacher fan, I never understood the massive difference in public opinion in this part of the world between Senna & Schumacher. I assumed it was down to Senna being dead, people tend to let go (at least publically) of the negative opinions a bit when that happens.

Though to be fair, out of all the champions in the past couple of decades, Kimi & Mika stand out as being pretty not-dick-ish.

Yeah, I'm definitely feeling that, would be willing to bet on the championship being decided in Jeddah after one of them goes in the wall. Hoping that's not the case, but at the same time, I'm definitely not expecting any exciting racing over the course of the next 3 races.

Red Bull will be hoping the Merc's engine loses a good few horses in Losail as well given the amount of full-throttle sections in the final 2 races.

^THIS!

Sure I posted something similar a few years back. I was a big Schumacher fan, and used to rail and the injustice his legacy suffered at the hands of cult of personality of Senna. I may have been a bit "on the spectrum" as a younger man. Aren't we all? As an aside the Schumacher doc on Netflix is shit. Don't bother.

Latterly, I think I came to accept that sporting greatness goes beyond stats and really started to get the Senna thing a bit more. Even though he was definitely cunty when backed into a corner. Meh. I may have questioned Hamilton's credentials having greatness bestowed on him on these very pages, so I just wanted to mark that on top his undeniable statistical achievements and technical shiz, I've started to detect a bit of genuine humility and good intention in the purple helmet (fnar fnar).

Having the balls to push the BLM thing hard has gained him massive respect for me.

Yeah I reckon zero chance MV won't turn his car into a missile at least once before the end of the season. I think he's in a relatively small group, Schumacher and Senna included that just aren't wired to understand that what's best for them, is not always the right thing. All top drivers are ruthless but they're still separated by pathology.

In motoGP, I'd say the same for Marquez. Rossi's pulled plenty of shit over the years but you get the feeling he recognised what was over the line, even if he went on to do it anyway!

He's got a stance, but does little other than flap his mouth about it. For someone with his resources I'm sure he is capable of far more.

On a tangental note, I've definitely seen the "He only won because of the car" comments regarding Schumacher's success go out of fashion over the past few years!

Also, completely agree on the stats point. And especially with drivers starting earlier, longer seasons and more reliable cars. Think Bottas passed Prost's pole position record earlier this season.

Yep, agreed. Hoping to see Marquez back towards the front next season but can't see it. Never expected him to have a Rossi-length career with the way he rides but it's not the same without a character like him or Rossi fighting for the championship.

He's got a stance, but does little other than flap his mouth about it. For someone with his resources I'm sure he is capable of far more.

Well he's set up a charity and pledged 20M quid of his own money to help young people from underrepresented groups. That's a little shy of 10% of his net worth apparently. Then he's getting corporate sponsors on board to add more to the pot. I think that's a bit more than flapping his mouth.

Totally, I'm not sure I see Marquez winning another championship. Injury aside, he's missed so much seat time now and Honda have not had a rider that can engineer a good bike in his absence. I think next season could be a barn burner though. So many great riders on competitive machinery, even if they're all Ducatis! Reckon Quartararo would walk it if the Yamaha was any good, so it's going to be fun to watch.

To be honest even if Marquez is at the front again next year, I'm guessing he'll always be one crash away from another few races out. The guy's body must be truly battered at this point.

I don't really follow the tech side of things on the motorbikes, but Ducati's power advantage is just ridiculous. Was great seeing Suzuki do so well last year for a bit of a change, fingers crossed for more of an even representation between the manufacturers next year!

That's news to me, hadn't heard he had actually done anything. Minus five dick points for Hamilton.

Max? A dick? Off the fucking scale!

Lewis Hamilton - a guy who has suffered institutional racism his entire life and is the greatest ever formula 1 driver and doing so against all odds as a black person. His hair has also gotten much better.

Max is a talented, privileged white male F1 driver. But quite clearly a massive lettuce.

out of all the champions in the past couple of decades, Kimi & Mika stand out as being pretty not-dick-ish.

Damon Hill? Deffers not a dick in my book. Would've won two WDC if Schumacher hadn't deliberately driven into him at Adelaide. Like he tried to with Villeneuve, but failed.

I'm all for hard racing, but when you get to the point where you'd rather deliberately drive into another car than lose, you're a dick. And I put Senna, Schumacher and Verstappen in that category without hesitation.

Win fair, or don't win. Winning by foul play is losing.

PS - Max is definitely a dick right?

The evidence to the contrary is pretty damned slim. Unless you think being an ableist self-entitled dickwad is somehow commendable.

You do realise why the Mercedes cars are painted black, for the first time ever, rather than silver? And why?

I spoke to Max a couple of times and he wasn’t a dick. Not as much of a ledge as Danny Ric (who is a complete ledge) but he wasn’t a dick.

Not as much of a ledge as Danny Ric (who is a complete ledge

Gap yaah thread >>>>>>>>>>>

;-)