While Hamilton’s assertion that yesterday’s contact and penalty for Verstappen sets an important precedent, is it the right one?
A thread…
When a driver leaves the pits and other cars are on the straight, the driver exiting is shown a blue light at pit exit and a blue flag is waved as shown here. This is because the onus is on them not to cede position but to re-enter the track mindfully.
After the blend line finishes, Hamilton moves onto the racing line in the braking zone. At this point and given he’s been shown the blue, the onus is still on him. Yet Verstappen isn’t wholly behind and so he should give a cars width, which he does not.
If we rewind a few years, Hamilton was left less than impressed with Leclerc squeezing him in a similar style, in an incident which bought Charles a black and white warning flag. There’s precedent therefore that Hamilton was, perhaps, a bit naughty on Sunday under braking.
The two navigate Turn 1 side by side and cleanly. The onus is still on Lewis as the aggressor to pull the move off, and Max is entitled to defend his position which he does by running a touch faster and deeper.
But this is where it gets sketchy… there’s space for two cars at T2 but the driver who now finds himself on the outside has to give space. A lot of space. Hamilton says he did. The images suggest otherwise.
Could max have backed out and cut to the left across the speed bumps? Yes. Should he have needed to? Arguably not. 50/50? Again, arguably. 60/40 against Hamilton given he closed the door with Max alongside? Again, that’s arguable.
There’s every justification that this was simply a racing incident. And if not, that Hamilton as the driver re-entering the track, the aggressor and the one who needed to pull the pass off and who closed the door mid pass was more at fault. Again, it’s arguable.
So the question I guess we are left with is whether any penalty needed to be given, if racing incidents can still just be racing incidents when it involves championship rivals, and in this case if not, whether blame was apportioned correctly and proportionately.
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What an honour to host the final panel of the day at #F1Accelerate with movie royalty Jerry Bruckheimer and Joseph Kosinski. Their F1 movie sounds incredible. They’re creating an 11th team and filming on track and on event from Silverstone to the end of the year.
They’ve spent 18 months taking what they learnt on Top Gun Maverick to develop the smallest moveable 6k camera ever designed to take the viewer into the cockpit. A cockpit in which their stars will actually drive. That’s right. Brad Pitt driving an F1 car from Silverstone onwards
The car has been designed by Mercedes and is already testing (you may have seen a video online.) As are their actors, in sim and real life. Lewis Hamilton is in daily communication and is advising on storyline and script to ensure it’s the most accurate racing film ever made.
@davemusing@karunchandhok Thanks for this Dave. I understand the disappointment created by the result, believe me. But my hope people can make peace with it comes from the fact I don’t think that the result can or will be overturned. As you've been so detailed in your explanation, I'll try to be in mine.
@davemusing@karunchandhok Sport has, at its root, human judgement. Now this can, and often does, go wrong as humans are fallible. The list of questionable decision making in major sporting events is long and extends far beyond Formula 1 and just Abu Dhabi. Just ask Roy Jones Jr. Any England football fan.
@davemusing@karunchandhok Questionable refereeing decisions are part of the lore of the game. Maradona’s Hand of God. The USSR winning the 72 basketball gold. Derek Jeter’s home run against the Orioles. Mark Cueto’s disallowed try in the 2019 RWC. Henry’s hand ball against Ireland. The list goes on and on
With the embargo lifted today on reviews for season 3 of Drive to Survive, I can honestly so it's the best so far. The consistency across the series as a whole and the quality of the story telling is outstanding. The Mercedes and Ferrari episodes in particular are excellent.
The Mercedes episode is incredibly heartfelt and human, with a real gut punch ending. The Ferrari episode is also brilliantly and unexpectedly candid as the team's relationship with Sebastian deteriorates. A conversation between Seb and Christian Horner is a real wow moment, too.
The Racing Point saga is dealt with well, spread over a few episodes, and makes what was a complex situation manageable for a new audience without skirting too lightly for die hards. The second Red Bull seat and the Pierre / Alex storyline is also nicely handled.
Been thinking about this for a while but I reckon hula hoops with shoulder straps might be our best means of ensuring social distancing. I’ve made a diagram incase anyone wants to build a prototype.
Don’t worry. I wasn’t being sexist with the diagram for the apparatus. As you can see from this diagram, it’s a unisex design that both men and women can use!