2016 Formula 1

[Fuzz]

I like it when a car is out of place, always fun to see how much they can recover. I mean, ya, it sucks for Vettel, but it makes for a good show! And most drivers go through it at least once a season. Ricciardo has had more than his share, and Hamilton was just at the back. Wouldn't be surprised to see him finish top 6, given safety cars and the length of the race. Singapore can be brutal.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

That was quite entertaining. Seeing Max battle, Seb move up, Kimi and Lewis and Ric almost pulling it off at the end there.

I see from his podium attitude that Lewis is back to sulking. I don't mind a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeve but Lewis has the personality of a child. He's either celebrating wildly or sulking like a baby. I'm really pulling for Nico. And it's too bad because Lewis is probably an all time great. Then again Schumacher was pretty much the biggest dbag in the universe on track and he dominated the sport for a decade.

[Methanolic]

I gotta say that was a disappointing race based on expectations.

I really thought this race would have produced a lot more excitement. The highlight was (without a doubt) the battle between Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat. I was glad to see a smile back on Kvyat's face inpost race interviews as he's had a pretty crappy season.

The big teaser was if Danny Ric could catch #6 (cheeto dust?) orange face Nico, one more lap added to the race, or less back markers for Daniel to fight through on the last couple of laps and it may have been a different final result.

As far as Lewis' demeanor on the podium goes, I would have to disagree with the term "sulking". He's a racer, Nobody celebrates 3rd place or gets overly celebratory over being the last guy on the podium. I think Lewis handles himself pretty well and he's a great ambassador for the sport. He's one of the most outspoken drivers when it comes to thanking the (paying customers) fans who come out and attend these extravagant events. I'd much rather see him take the C-ship than Nico. So now we have a rivalry in one of the least read threads on CP

Also, As far "D-bags" in motor sport? The longer your on track career goes, the bigger your potential to become a so called, "D-Bag", especially if you're successful. Look at Max Verstappen, he's only just begun and already there's haters out there. He will be criticized for being reckless and dangerous and a "D-Bag" while his fans will say he's gutsy and innovative.

And now for some controversy; Schumacher didn't dominate on talent, He dominated on sheer cheatsmanship from who he was contracted to drive for in an era when cash was king.

[Fuzz]

Good work by Vettel! Ricciardo did a nice job, though I'm not sure what the team were thinking. Like they could just roll up on Rosberg and he wouldn't turn it up. Obviously they had to try, but I didn't think it was going to be likely. The championship is going to be a tight one.

I hear what you are saying on Hamilton, though he isn't the only driver like that. Most of them are a bit emotionally immature, Rosberg included. He's has his moments of mega-frown. The older guys are definitely better, look at Button and Kimi for example.

I'm not sure if it is because they have so much audio delay on the commentary, but they would end up talking over team radio. Really annoying, they need to fix that. Not sure if it is a Sky issue, or somehow TSN is mangling it.

Oh, and LOL when Crofty basically called Ted fat, and Ted just took it.

[Fuzz]

Oh, there is one very lucky marshal...that was ridiculous.

[4X4]

Aww, poor Hamilton. Instead of bobbing his head, he had to hang his head.

I'm not sure why I hate him, exactly. Maybe it's his losing demeanour. Maybe it's his winning demeanour. Maybe it's his earrings. All I'm really sure of is that he really really hates losing to Rosberg, and he sulks even more when Nico is first, and he's not.
He seems like a big baby that's angry about losing, and is even more angry when his teammate is one of the ones who beat him. Like a bad sibling rivalry that only one sibling gives a crap about.

[wontondestruction]

Holt crap! What a race! Ricciardo and Verstappen are fighting for position and Hamilton's engine just grenaded. Best race in a long time, and it's not over yet.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

It has been a fun one for sure. Some close racing going on. Swings in momentum. First Rosberg looks to be hurting, then bam! Out of nowhere Hamilton's engine blows out.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Lewis really fuelling the fire for the conspiracy theorists out there. I think he's just a whiny little baby as usual but adds to the drama nonetheless.

Sky coverage is fine, although I preferred the bbc guys, but man I really noticed the Lewis Homerism today. That reporter saying she wanted to hug Lewis? Seriously? Then Danny wins his first race in over 2 years and they spend the entire celebration lap and post race discussion discussing a guy who DNFd. I realize the championship is at stake and this is a huge blow, just the pro Lewis slant seemed extra obvious today.

[wontondestruction]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Lewis really fuelling the fire for the conspiracy theorists out there. I think he's just a whiny little baby as usual but adds to the drama nonetheless.

Sky coverage is fine, although I preferred the bbc guys, but man I really noticed the Lewis Homerism today. That reporter saying she wanted to hug Lewis? Seriously? Then Danny wins his first race in over 2 years and they spend the entire celebration lap and post race discussion discussing a guy who DNFd. I realize the championship is at stake and this is a huge blow, just the pro Lewis slant seemed extra obvious today.

Pretty much everything I read and see about F1 comes from a British source, so I'm so used to a British bias that I don't even notice it anymore. I was a little surprised that Brundle pretty much agreed to LH conspiracy theory.

[Fuzz]

Great race!

Watching the start in slo-mo, I'd put the blame on Vettel. He was on the inside line, but I don't think he slowed quite enough and he came away form the apex. If he had held the same line as Hamilton, there would have been room, unless Rosberg turned in further. Which he may have.

To bad Button lost out on the safety car, but it is nice to see them solidly in the second tier group, considering where they were last year.

I don't feel Rosberg's punishment is enough for that kind of move, because in the end, he still came out ahead. I'd think a place penalty would be more justified. I also think that's major a$$hole driving on his part, and he's done it a few times this year.

Gotta feel bad for Hamilton, he had a great weekend. He earned the win. Obviously the broadcast is going to favour him, they also single out Palmer and Button all the time. It's a British broadcast, they are going to lean towards their drivers. Why the surprise?

Now, to technical issues...WTF is going on with TSN? For some reason qualifying showed up on Sunday in the guide, not Saturday, so I had to torrent it yesterday. What recorded today as "qualifying" was the race, but with big gaps. Once I realized they missed 10 laps, I switched to the other recording. Then, all but one of the commercials were still full screen, not the (admittedly horrible) PIP. On the plus side, the audio delay has been cut from about 1.5seconds to 0.5 seconds.

I'm almost at the point of saying screw it, an downloading it and watching it totally commercial free, since TSN can't get their crap together, and finding out as I sit down to enjoy it is annoying. Better to assume it is going to be wrong and torrent it ahead of time.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Yeah Vettel clearly overshot the apex on the 1st corner I thought. Rosbergs pass on Kimi was bad and he's now establishing a clear pattern of not being able to pass without contact.

As for sky, who said I was surpassed that they favour British drivers? I was commenting on the fact that they were clearly ignoring all storylines except Lewis and were acting like it was the end of the world. It has always been noticeable and even expected but rarely do I feel it actually detracts from the broadcast because they don't usually just ignore the race that just finished.

Not sure how TSN screwed up that listing so bad. Luckily I had the pre show taped which was the actual race. I just happened to turn to sportcenter in the guide before the broadcast which was the pre race coverage.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Lewis really fuelling the fire for the conspiracy theorists out there. I think he's just a whiny little baby as usual but adds to the drama nonetheless.

Lewis Hamilton is a complete and utter loser, one of the many reasons modern F1 is a joke and unwatchable IMO.

[Methanolic]

^ Great commentary.

Heartbreaking what happened to Lewis. I'll say it again, Lewis is a racer and anything less than 1st place will put him in a bad space like any other pilot who's only goal is to win. "Whiner" is a weak comment.

If you want to see an authentic example of a "whiner" in the world of auto racing, go gather up some footage of Juan Pablo Montoya.

Nico Rosberg got away with a brutal unsportsmanlike move. I agree with Fuzz, a place penalty would have been far more appropriate than the 10 second slap on the wrist. The stewards know this is the "safe" penalty because it appears harsh (not the standard 5 second penalty) but they are very well aware the Mercedes will (likely) achieve that 10 second lead on P4 and therefore make the penalty pointless. Before word of Race Control's lame decision on Rosberg, I really had high hopes of seeing Kimi on the podium.

And yeah, TSN's guide info was completely screwed. And yeah, Sky totally screwed up the team radio from Riciardo by overlapping the Lewis interview. And yeah, the British personalities focused more on the UK drivers as they always have.

At the end of the day, nothing's lost or won yet, there's still 5 races left.

The red bull dealership will be busy tomorrow "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday".

PS: Congrats to Palmer (Go Brits Go!) for collecting a point today.

[Fuzz]

It was telling watching the replay of Nico's move. Given the car's trajectory, he was on a line straight off the course. The only thing that got him back on line was bouncing off of Kimi. Had Kimi not been there, he would have gone straight off the course.

Contrasting that "pass", we saw the fantastic wheel to wheel racing of the Red Bull's. For a moment I forgot I was watching Max. He did really well to respect Daniel. Maybe there is hope for him yet.

[Methanolic]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Contrasting that "pass", we saw the fantastic wheel to wheel racing of the Red Bull's. For a moment I forgot I was watching Max. He did really well to respect Daniel. Maybe there is hope for him yet.

^ Yes! Fantastic between Max and Daniel.


...PS: In case anyone is interested in re watching the race, TSN is re airing the Malaysia GP at 5:00 PM. MT time today.

[Fuzz]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/37535006

Vettel given a 3 place grid penalty. Now, I look at this, and I look at what Rosberg did to Kimi, and ask why the difference in punishment? Obviously one is given out after the race but the difference in severity is obvious.

[Fuzz]

More evidence Rosberg's punishment was insufficient:

http://www.formula1.com/en/latest/he...raikkonen.html

Kimi's car was damaged, so he couldn't keep the pace.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

If Rosberg wins the championship by 3 pts...

[Fuzz]

LOL, ya. But then I'm sure you can comb the season and find any number of reasons for any driver that could swing a few points their way. It is what it is, but some consistency would be nice. I think the stewards should be quicker and would have forced Rosberg to give the ill-gotten position back, at minimum.