Formula One 2021

[Lineker]

 

[Lineker]

 

[JasonM]

Hulkenberg, Vandoorne, and Albon are probably praying to god for some race bans to get handed out this year.

[Lineker]

The Hamilton Commission has published its findings: 

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The Hamilton Commission, the initiative set-up by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to increase representation of Black people in UK motorsport, has published its first report into the issue, which includes 10 recommendations for change.

The Mercedes driver – who is the first Black superstar in F1 history – launched the new research partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering last June with the aim of making motorsport “as diverse as the complex and multicultural world we live in”.

The catalyst was when Hamilton was looking at an end-of-season photo in 2019 and noticed there was a lack of representation.

After 10 months of research, the Commission found that wider societal issues were affecting Black students’ opportunities within engineering, as well as specific barriers within the motorsport industry.

The report added that only 1% of employees in F1 are from Black backgrounds.

In a bid to drive change, the Commission has identified 10 recommendations it believes will have a positive impact on the motorsport industry and encouraging more young Black students to pursue careers in engineering.

They include:

• Asking F1 teams and other motorsport organisations to take the lead in implementing a diversity and inclusion charter for motorsport.
• Calling for F1 teams and motorsport bodies to broaden access to motorsport by expanding apprenticeship and work experience programmes.
• Creating a new exclusions innovation fund to develop programmes to reduce the proportion of students from Black backgrounds being excluded from schools.
• Supporting new approaches to increase the number of Black teachers in STEM projects.
• Launching scholarship programmes to help Black graduates with degrees in engineering to progress to motorsport roles.

Click here to read the full report.

Hamilton said: “Given the right opportunities and support, young people can excel at whatever they put their minds to, but our research shows that many young Black people are being closed out of opportunities within STEM, and having their full potential limited.

“While I have enjoyed a successful career in motorsport, it’s been a lonely path as one of the few Black individuals within Formula 1 and, after 15 years of waiting for the industry to catch up, I realised I had to take action myself.

“In order to do that, I needed to understand what was preventing the industry from being as diverse as the world around it. Through the Commission’s research, we can see there are clear meaningful steps the motorsport industry needs to take towards creating a more inclusive environment where diversity can thrive but also that we must tackle the barriers facing Black students that exist throughout their educational journey.

“Some of these barriers I recognise from my own experiences, but our findings have opened my eyes to just how far reaching these problems are. Now that I’m armed with the Commission’s recommendations, I am personally committed to ensuring they are put into action. I’m so proud of our work to date, but this is really just the beginning.”

F1 President and CEO of Formula 1 Stefano Domenicali said the sport is committed to change and will take action.

“The Hamilton Commission has delivered a comprehensive and impressive report that shows the passion Lewis has for this very important issue,” he said.

“We will take the time to read and reflect on all of the findings, but we completely agree that we need to increase diversity across the sport and we have taken action to address this and will be announcing more actions in the coming days.

“We want a sport that is representative of our hugely diverse fan base and that is why Formula 1, the FIA and all the teams are working hard to deliver on our detailed plans to create positive change across the sport. There is always more to do and the report will stimulate thoughts about further actions that are required.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes team have been supportive of his endeavours to improve diversity in motorsport, including switching to a black livery in 2020.

“It is an important piece of research that shines a light on many of the barriers that have contributed to the under-representation of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in British motorsport, and it enriches our understanding of those barriers and how they can be addressed,” said Mercedes in a statement.

“Together with Lewis, we have begun working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport for the future, starting with the Mercedes Formula 1 team. We are at the beginning of a long journey together to make this happen and we look forward to building on a number of the Commission’s recommendations in the years ahead.”

 

[Lineker]

F1: One Begins 2022 Launch Event

Everything You Need To Know About The 2022 F1 Car

[GA!]

On 14/07/2021 at 10:28, Lineker said:

The Hamilton Commission has published its findings: 

 

There's been no black drivers since Hamilton, right? It's baffling yet incredible that the one and only black driver in F1 history is the most successful driver ever.

[Lineker]

He is the only one ever. The only close second is Willy T. Ribbs, who did some testing in the 80s.

Ross Brawn Analyses The 2022 Formula 1 Car

[Chris2K]

Max is over 7 tenths faster than the field in FP1.

 

Gee, I wonder who will win the sprint race?

[Chris2K]

George Russell. God damn.

[Lineker]

Pretty sure that Russell just put himself in the 2022 Mercedes with that absolutely stonking final Q2 lap!

[Chris2K]

As fun as that was, I still don't want this to be a permanent thing. The race is the race, pretending this isn't a race is ridiculous, and therefore it takes away from the Grand Prix itself.

Plus I still think the qualifying session yesterday was more exciting.

[JasonM]

My biggest issue with the sprint quali isn't even the race itself, which on its own is a bit naff. But with the double message F1 is sending with it.

On the one hand, they've spent the past half decade+ pushing hard for a more eco-friendly and economical image with smaller engines, less fuel burning allowed, and even limiting the amount of parts that can be replaced on a car during any given season.

And on the other hand they're now pushing for 17 lap races on Saturdays, which will cause more fuel to be burnt, and more wear and tear to happen on parts, with the added potential that drivers might crash or break stuff off their car which all costs money to replace/fix.

This sprint-race concept feels like they want their cake and eat it too.

Also here's my take on it, if they're doing sprint races. Do away with the whole quali-quali on Friday, and just make it reverse championship order.
If they want to do this concept to add more excitement, putting the shite teams at the front and the fast teams at the back will give them plenty of excitement and showcase the racecraft of the drivers to not just overtake slower cars in a racing situation, but also hold off other fast cars trying to do the same.

Also it even gives worse teams something to fight for. Because if they can hold on for 17 laps to a good spot, then they'll be in a better place any sprint quali or proper quali could ever give them.

[Gazz]

That was pretty much a non-event. The only cars that had any real difference from their starting positions were the two that suffered incidents and Alonso/Kimi being crafty old vets and picking a couple of spots up on the opening lap.

[Chris2K]

The complete universal praise of the idea from every Sky presenter and pundit really makes me wonder if there's some kind of instruction not to criticise it.

[Chris2K]

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F1 managing director Ross Brawn said he was "very pleased" by what he had seen.

"There was lots of action," Brawn said. "People are now understanding it's a complete weekend. We had a great day yesterday, we've had a great day today, and I'm sure we're going to have a great day tomorrow. So three days of action. And I don't believe we have diluted it at any stage; we've only added to to it.

"We will go away and review everything, take some time, talk to the teams and drivers, discuss it with the FIA and see if there are things we can polish, but I don't think we should change anything fundamentally. I think the concept is good.

So yeah, if Brawn (whose idea it was in the first place) has no concerns, it's coming in on a permanent basis whether the fans/drivers/teams like it or not.

 

Also George has a 3-place grid penalty for not being able to teleport his car into an area with more space, and thus colliding with Sainz.

[METALMAN]

I actually quite enjoyed that race, but I also don’t really care if they never do it again.

[Chris2K]

That was absolutely inevitable. Hope Max is ok.

[Twist]

7 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

That was absolutely inevitable. Hope Max is ok.

Definitely Lewis’s fault. Whining that he had the line doesn’t change that, max had track position, the line, the whole shebang. Lewis had all the room he needed to avoid that contact.

[Chris2K]

Yeah I agree, and I expect he'll get a penalty for it based on the penalties of the last race.

It was mental how close they got down the Wellington straight before the crash at Copse.

 

Mercedes' defense to the FIA of Hamilton being "significantly alongside" is hilariously bad.

[Twist]

4 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

Yeah I agree, and I expect he'll get a penalty for it based on the penalties of the last race.

It was mental how close they got down the Wellington straight before the crash at Copse.

Brilliant lap of racing. But yeah, inevitable collision.

Can Mercedes replace the wing during a red flag?

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Twist