“What a horrible weekend guys” Esteban Ocon lamented at the end of last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Three races into his Formula 1 comeback, having spent a year and a half on the sidelines, Ocon’s return wasn’t going to plan.On a drying track, he made a late switch to slick tyres, which wiped out the advantage of his good start. After toiling all afternoon in traffic, he suffered the ignominy of Lando Norris relegating him to 14th place on the final lap.
Ocon could scarcely have imagined that a year on, in similar conditions, he would claim his breakthrough grand prix victory. It took a little luck, a first-lap pile-up and a tactical mis-step by a rival. After that, Ocon’s poise under pressure and his team mate’s robust driving secured a breakthrough win for the 24-year-old and the Alpine team.
Bottas goes bowling
The championship contenders, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, got away cleanly from first and third on the grid respectively. But Valtteri Bottas in between them found wheelspin and dropped behind Verstappen, plus the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez, and Lando Norris, who started brilliantly from sixth in his McLaren and was about to pay for it.
As Bottas tucked in behind the McLaren on the inside approaching turn two, he found his car light on downforce and hit the brakes too late. He rear-ended the MCL35M into Verstappen’s car, then thumped into Perez himself. Behind them Lance Stroll also braked too late for turn one, knocking Charles Leclerc into the other McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo.
This was one of the costliest first corner pile-ups for some time, with shades of the carnage Romain Grosjean unleashed at Spa in 2012. Bottas and Stroll both retired on the spot and were given five-place grid penalties for F1’s next race.
That was little consolation for Red Bull: Perez was out of the race and suffered engine damage which will likely mean he incurs a grid penalty at a later date. Perhaps even worse for them, Verstappen was ‘walking wounded’, his Red Bull badly damaged but at least still able to circulate.
Two weeks on from the controversial collision between Hamilton and Verstappen at Silverstone, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had now seen both his drivers suffer as a result of Bottas’ clumsy error. “He’s done a great job for Mercedes in taking out both of our cars,” Horner fumed several hours later, repeating his point for emphasis.
Among those to benefit were Ocon, who moved up from eighth on the grid to take second, and Sebastian Vettel, whose slow getaway from 10th proved a blessing.
“I had a really bad start and it turned out to be the right place to be, so I did get lucky,” he admitted. “I took a bit of margin.
“In these conditions it’s so easy to make a mistake and as we saw it can be quite costly. I really planned to be on the inside and it turned out to be the place to be. Other people were taking each other out and I had a clear track.” He emerged from turn one in third.
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Mercedes’ tactical error
By the time the race was ready to resume the track had dried out considerably. The field left the pits on intermediates, but one by one the drivers concluded slicks were the way to go. With one exception: Hamilton, leading the field around, stuck with his intermediates.
Ocon and his engineer Josh Peckett also came to the conclusion that slicks were the way to go. “If we were not able to talk, probably it would have been a different story,” said the driver. “But it was clear to me that it was dry, so I was discussing it with the team what to do.
“What put me in a bit of doubt was Lewis continuing straight – because Lewis and the team, Mercedes, they usually don’t make mistakes at all. So I got a bit in doubt once that happened but it was definitely the clear thing to do, so we boxed.”
Hamilton must have started to wonder whether he’d done the right thing when he took up pole position with the entire grid to himself. Had other cars lined up behind him, those who had pitted would have started later. As it was, once Hamilton pulled away and passed the pit lane exit, the rest of the field was released.
His pursuers instantly set faster sector times in the middle of the lap, and as Hamilton headed for the pits at the end of the first tour the scale of Mercedes’ error became apparent. Once fitted with four medium compound slicks, he resumed 14th and last.
Gasly and Hamilton also demoted the Haas, but Mercedes knew they needed a tyre advantage to made headway, and brought Hamilton in early for a set of hards. Red Bull moved to cover him off, but even with a two-second advantage before pitting, Verstappen’s car was so badly damaged he emerged behind Hamilton – as did Ricciardo, also struggling ahead of him.
Hamilton shot past Schumacher again, lost little time with Nicholas Latifi after the Williams driver pitted from the dizzy heights of third, and took a few laps to pick off Yuki Tsunoda. But his pass on the AlphaTauri tipped Ferrari’s hand: They pitted Carlos Sainz Jnr to emerge ahead of the Mercedes driver on fresher tyres, halting his progress for the time being.
Ahead, Ocon and Vettel circulated at the front in close company to begin with, but from lap 23 the Alpine began to edge clear. Vettel’s chance to use an early pit stop to attack Ocon was diminishing, while Aston Martin eyed the unhelpful gap to Alonso, who Vettel was set to emerge behind if he pitted.
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Finally on lap 35, with Ocon now 2.6 seconds up the road, they brought Vettel in. “I pushed really hard on the way in and probably a bit too hard,” said Vettel. “I locked the rears and triggered the anti-stall. Then I pushed like crazy on the out-lap. It was close.”
The other Alpine of Alonso led for two laps before pitting. That restored Ocon to the lead with Vettel breathing down his neck, Sainz almost seven seconds behind with Hamilton in pursuit, and Alonso 16 seconds behind in fifth.
Alonso’s decisive defence
With Hamilton filling his mirrors, Sainz could see what was coming next. “I was trying to read a bit through the race to see how we were going to manage to finish in front of Lewis for that podium,” he said.
“In the end, he did what I was expecting him to do, which is what he’s done here the last two years: Box for a fresh tyre and then come back through the field. He has the car with a capacity to overtake – we don’t. So we decided not to cover him.”
Sure enough, Hamilton hit the pits again on lap 48 for another fresh set of mediums. He rejoined fifth, 22 seconds behind Ocon, with three other cars between them.
Team principal Toto Wolff was quickly on the radio to encourage him that a win was there for the taking. “He’s got a great heart, Toto,” said Hamilton, “but with all due respect, when I got the call, I was like, ‘I want whatever they’re smoking at the end of this race!'”
Hamilton feared it would be “impossible” to catch the cars ahead. But the driver who made the crucial difference was Alonso, who produced a defensive drive which helped his team mate win the race.
For 10 laps Alonso resisted everything Hamilton threw at him. The Mercedes driver pressed relentlessly, even looking optimistically at the outside line into the super-quick turn four, only to be rebuffed.
“It was very, very much on the limit, if slightly over some stages. But wheel-to-wheel battling in racing is good and in hindsight now watching, I’m sure if I watch it back it’ll just be close and we both finished, so that’s how racing should be.”
Hamilton was less magnanimous on the radio at the time, complaining at one point that Alonso squeezed him too hard. Finally the Alpine driver snatched a brake hearing into turn one, ran wide, and Hamilton pressed home his advantage. Next up was Sainz, who Hamilton passed with ease compared to what he had just been through.
The Mercedes driver still had enough life in his tyres to bring the leaders into view by the final lap. Unquestionably, had he made it past Alonso a lap earlier, he’d have had a shot at second place, and another lap or two earlier could have given him a crack at the lead.
Ocon resists Vettel
Ocon came under fiercer pressure from Vettel in the second stint, the Aston Martin seemingly happier on the hard rubber. “I tried everything to push him into a mistake,” said Vettel. “He had some minor lock-ups, but nothing big.
The leader had a worrying moment when they lapped Giovinazzi. Having tipped Verstappen out of the lead of the Brazilian Grand Prix while a lap down three years ago, Ocon showed extra caution with the backmarkers now the show was on the other foot.
“I was not enjoying blue flags,” he admitted. “Blue flags and me is not a great story, either behind or now in front.
“It was very, very close. Once I got the dirty air, I think we were a little bit slower overall than Sebastian in this race and that slowed me down, basically. I was struggling to get into the blue flag for Antonio, for him to clear, and Sebastian got DRS because of that, and he almost made a move.
“He was very, very close. A bit too close for comfort. I just managed to put the gap then in the tight section – the car felt amazing in that tight section.”
When the chequered flag fell, the gap covering the top three had shrunk to less than three seconds. Chased by a pair of drivers with 11 world titles and 152 grand prix victories between them, Ocon joined the ranks of F1 race winners.
Behind Sainz and Alonso came the AlphaTauri drivers, Yuki Tsunoda having run fourth after the turn one carnage but waved his quicker team mate by when instructed on lap 48.
After two years without a point, the floodgates opened for Williams. Nicholas Latifi took eighth on the road, having passed his team mate at the start and stayed there. Russell actually emerged from the pits after the restart in second, but had to allow a string of cars by having passed them illegally.
Verstappen’s reward for a hard day’s grind in a battered RB16B was a point for 10th place. It may yet prove vital in the championship outcome, though he leaves Hungary provisionally six points behind Hamilton, which will become eight if Vettel’s disqualification is upheld.
Ocon savours breakthrough triumph
The world champion’s breakthrough win came 14 years and 99 victories ago. But Ocon was discovering the view from the top step of the podium was exactly as he hoped it would be.
It was strangely fitting that it should come at the track where he’d suffered a tough weekend 12 months earlier. “It can sound weird,” Ocon admitted, “it’s not the favourite track of many drivers, I would say. But it is one of my favourites, for sure.
“On the calendar it is in the top two. Probably step one now.”
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2021 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Ocon congratulated by past French F1 aces after breakthrough win
- Alpine doubt first win signals a performance breakthrough
- Vettel disqualification hearing to take place on Monday
- Why no one received a Grosjean-style race ban for the Hungarian GP pile-up
- Ocon’s “beautiful” late-stint pace was other key to Alpine’s breakthrough win
F1 race reviews
- Norris achieves feat which eluded Hamilton by taking McLaren to constructors’ title
- Verstappen masters race track and rule book with satisfying Qatar victory
- Russell strikes gold in Vegas as Verstappen’s title comes at a canter
- Verstappen counters critics with champion’s drive in soaking Sao Paulo
- Sainz seizes swansong Ferrari win as Perez endures home race horror show
Kribana (@krichelle)
2nd August 2021, 6:58
As I said in the summary post, massive respect to Alonso for that battle, and to both of them. Fair play there. Otherwise, I think we would be talking about Hamilton’s 100th win now. Just like in France, the undercut was almost like Singapore levels of 2-4 seconds gain. A rain shower cleared the rubber and made the grip levels vary throughout the race considerably.
matt
2nd August 2021, 15:28
I disagree,there’s no way Lewis would have overtaken vettel,being so close to ocon,because vettel had drs also.so on a track that’s very hard to overtake on already,I don’t think Lewis would have managed it.plus I think Alonso is getting too much credit for his defending.i mean it’s one of the easiest tracks to defend on,plus Alonso had good tyres,which helped alot..sainz had older tyres,which made getting past him alot easier.
Prab
2nd August 2021, 17:29
I second this.
Alonso would have earned my praise had he not made a mistake, but he did so only a few laps after when he was under pressure.
DaveW (@dmw)
2nd August 2021, 20:33
Tough crowd here. Look at the chart. After getting by Alonso Hamilton was seconds faster per lap than him and the leaders I think Hamilton would have done Vettel just like Sainz.
Balue (@balue)
2nd August 2021, 20:30
The delta between the cars was 2.7 seconds,so keeping someone behind who also had DRS for one lap is an achievement.for 10 is amazing.
rodewulf (@rodewulf)
3rd August 2021, 0:39
@balue Two guys above don’t understand the basics about Formula 1 and at least this matt guy has been clearly showing he doesn’t even want to learn, because he goes on thread after thread with the same pointless arguments, no matter how many times they had been refuted nothing is gonna change. Just wondering, what’s the reason for those guys to keep shouting online this rubbish, never questioning their beliefs, not even to explain their views and build on them? If that was to express emotions only, it all gets foolish and predictable. Many of those Hammy fans are the kings of shallow comments on this site, unsurprisingly. I don’t see the point of commenting on what you don’t have a clue but yet arrogantly affirm lots of things out there that don’t even make sense. This is what a fanbase generally looks like, and despite some exceptions LH’s is especially a silly one.
schumi_alonso
2nd August 2021, 7:10
Was Gasly asked (by some senior management) to try for the fastest slap, because………..
sumedh
2nd August 2021, 7:42
While tin foil hat bearers may think this was orchestrated by Red Bull, a look at the lap chats suggests this wasn’t the case.
Gasly was 6th on lap 68 was 30 seconds off Alonso (5th) and 25 seconds ahead of his teammate (7th). It was a no-brainer to go for the extra point at that time.
macradar (@macradar)
2nd August 2021, 7:52
Has to be
t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
2nd August 2021, 8:59
I don’t think RBR asked AT to do that, it was just more down to the position Gasly was in where he had nothing to lose by going for it (unless they completely messed up his pit stop). Remember, AT are in a very close battle in the constructors as well with Alpine and Aston Martin so every point counts for them.
Ldom (@ldom)
2nd August 2021, 7:10
I was a little bit shocked to see VER feeling the need to bump into MSC. Once again, acting like he’s the only one on the track, or maybe he doesn’t have situation awareness. Anyway, people say he’s matured but I don’t see the difference.
Sham (@sham)
2nd August 2021, 7:36
While I tend to agree, to a point, I don’t think the bump was deliberate. Hamilton banged wheels with someone too.
This is what you get when DRS works as intended and just gives the pursuer a sniff of a chance, proper wheel to wheel battles.
I think the Schumacher/Verstappen incident was innocent enough and huge congrats to Mick for a stirling defence. Got his name being mentioned in a very positive way.
Both championship contenders did well today, considering that both had their work well and truly cut out.
I do think that it’s a shame Lewis didn’t get his 100 and 9 at Budapest at the same time – but he rescued what he could and there is no doubt he gave his all.
As for Max, I think he drove a remarkable race considering the damage – and hats off to him, and Red Bull, for not simply parking it at about midway.
Mayrton
2nd August 2021, 9:43
You will never see it because you dont want to
Ldom (@ldom)
2nd August 2021, 18:50
Not true, I actually like VER. I think he’s a fantastic driver but he’s not making progress with his calls. Like in Silverstone where he could have avoided the collision and instead ended up with 0 points.
However, Horner/Marko, those I can’t stand.
Alec Glen (@alec-glen)
2nd August 2021, 11:14
That’s just Max’s style. Brundle’s often said over the years that he’s very aggressive there when he’s closing the door in both attack and defense, he’ll cut you up to force you to get out of the throttle so you can’t get back at him basically. I don’t think it’s a bad thing necessarily as it’s very effective, he’s the car in front so the driver behind needs to avoid him, but very occasionally it will catch him out if the other car doesn’t play ball.
Mark in Florida
2nd August 2021, 17:47
(@alec-glen) I think his driving style is a reflection of how terrible these cars are in traffic. The Pirrelis are garbage , the loss of down force in traffic is garbage. So in order to pass you have to as they say in Indy “stick it in there’. People who play nice all the time seemingly can only pass on the straights with DRS. To do it in the corners you have to be more assertive to make it stick. Mick did a wonderful job defending with that boat anchor he’s driving around in. He is also showing he’s willing to drive hard as well to stay ahead. Get rid of DRS, make better tires and have a car with more mechanical grip. The racing should improve vastly and drivers can make passes without banging into each other so much.
Mayrton
3rd August 2021, 20:15
Well put!
JohnH (@johnrkh)
2nd August 2021, 7:42
Ocon showed can stand the pressure of defending the lead in an F1 race, he did not crack. A well deserved win and another step towards a Merc seat.
kpcart
2nd August 2021, 10:57
Nah, he recently signed a 3 year contract extention with Alpine. Mercedes got rid of him long ago. Russell is much faster.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
2nd August 2021, 11:40
kpcart I’m pretty sure he’s still a Merc driver.
Balue (@balue)
2nd August 2021, 20:32
Top notch, but he’ll be an Alpine driver for the foreseeable future.
Chaitanya
2nd August 2021, 7:43
That decision to start on grid was Lewis’s decision as teams cannot coach their drivers on formation lap. If I remember correctly last year one of Haas was penalised for the pit call on formation lap.
RandomMallard (@)
2nd August 2021, 7:49
Yes that is normally the case, and as you point out, both Haas cars were penalised for it last year.
However, the lap after a restart is not officially a formation lap, it is counted as a race lap (with it counting towards the lap tally as well). This is ppears to be why teams who did tell their drivers to pit were not penalised.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
2nd August 2021, 8:17
This is not so in the case of the restart, as explained in the article.
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd August 2021, 7:54
Very strange then as the team said nothing but the commentators were also saying that. Now they don’t know all the rules but i thought the same.
So it’s was a fault of Mercedes not knowing the rules or they were just sleeping….
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd August 2021, 7:51
I think i am going to say this once the amount of Lewis luck is almost unnatural Lando just miss him after being launched. I promised my grandfather i would never get his vodookit from his chest but i am tempted. (I would only curse his Car otherwise he would be in danger problem is those cars are going so fast and could harm Lewis.)
I will keep it locked away… Not that noone will believe it eitherway. Yes My grandfather is a shaman from a african nation who doesn’t exist anymore.
I noticed a investigation of Schumacher and Verstappen in turn 1 and it was no action nessary. That was when Max passed Mick in turn 1 and Mick came dangerous next to Max and force Max to evade. I thought it was a bit too much for Mick but was innocent enough when Max Passed Mick i find that Mick went a bit to far when he hit Max as he was passed already. But it was a great moment to present his.
Also It seems Lewis doesn’t know the rules during second formation the team can’t talk back to Lewis. He was talking about it was too dry and was waiting for a answer.
Steve (@scbriml)
2nd August 2021, 9:31
@macleod The article explains that radio communications are not restricted on the formation lap for a restart because it counts as a racing lap.
RP (@slotopen)
2nd August 2021, 12:07
@scbriml
Did Merc make a mistake in not talking to him? I haven’t been able to find if they said anything to him.
Seems like they would have discussed all the activity in the pits.
Steve (@scbriml)
2nd August 2021, 20:13
All the teams kind of looked a bit silly not sending their drivers out on slicks for the restart.
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd August 2021, 7:57
It seems so the case I (and the commentors) thought otherwise but then Why didn’t Mercedes said anything? Sleeping?
I wonder why noone went on slicks the second restart was that a rule or so?
terro (@terro)
2nd August 2021, 10:21
i think you smoked some of your grandpa’s stuff, you are clearly cooked mate. not one of your affirmations here is correct. go get some sleep.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd August 2021, 13:06
I never tough my grandfather stuff that would get me killed so many posions brrr… But talking about some family heritage just release me some frustations. I am clear again.
sumedh
2nd August 2021, 8:53
The way that Hamilton trail comes down from lap 48 to lap 54! Wow! And it flatlines against the gladiator – Alonso. Double Wow. The pace advantage of Mercedes was staggering, but could not overcome Alonso, until it was too late.
If Lewis would have won this race in the closing laps (just like previous race), would have been heartbreaking. Thank you Fernando was giving us this dream result!
Witan
2nd August 2021, 9:28
Russell changed tyres and then simply drive to the front of the queue in the pit lane overtaking stationary cars to start at the front of the pack. The stewards told him to give the places back, which he did. But I am still not sure which rule he broke if any.
erikje
2nd August 2021, 11:16
If under yellow it wad allowed. Under red there is a order in the pit lane and then eventually a restart.
Balue (@balue)
2nd August 2021, 20:34
How was that not a penalty?
DaveW (@dmw)
2nd August 2021, 20:37
Wouldnt the alternative have been to let every single car past since there would not be a gap?
Depailler
2nd August 2021, 9:44
Should the FIA consider removing the grid penalty for changing PUs that have been damaged in a collision, if the collision is caused 100% by another driver?
If not then
Bottas – Guilty party = 5 place penalty
Perez – Innocent party = 10 place penalty.
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
2nd August 2021, 10:50
The moment the penalties for restricted parts are lifted for innocently damaged cars, any accident, no matter how small, will require an engine swap, according to the teams.
The rules need to be changed, but it must be ensured that parts are not unjustifiably replaced.
erikje
2nd August 2021, 11:18
You u can argue that when a driver is penalised for it the other ones are not the guilty part in the engine troubles.
Dave
2nd August 2021, 12:45
Fix your grammar.
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
2nd August 2021, 22:36
The rule about the number of parts should be changed period. With the cost cap, if you can stay within the cap and use a new engine for every race, more power to you (no pun intended). The introduction of the cost cap should make many rules, like parc ferme after qualifying obsolete. Again, if you can have a qualifying car and a race car and do it within the cost cap, then go for it.
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd August 2021, 7:59
Engine swap is back to the grid so a 15+ grind penaulty
kpcart
2nd August 2021, 11:08
That restart with only Hamilton on track reminded me of Indianapolis in 2005. Weird. Would have been even weirder to see the the 5 lights with all drivers in pit. Ocon can take this one. A win a n F1 is special. I think he will go on to be a 1 race winner like Heikki Kovaleinen but good luck to him all the same.
ian dearing
2nd August 2021, 11:20
Ham on the grid
https://media.giphy.com/media/hEc4k5pN17GZq/giphy.gif
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd August 2021, 12:08
Lol, it was just like that :)
mia
2nd August 2021, 12:39
So wonderful to see Ocon’s winning smile. One abiding memory was when he was shoved 3 times by a hot-headed Max in 2018 apparently so irritated by Ocon’s smile. Keep smiling Ocon! Does it seem like Max cannot duel with other cars without tapping them? One kept reading Max was supposed to have a refined racecraft. Sainz and especially Alonso’s dances with Hamilton were very, very good to see. Racecraft indeed from all of them. Hope Hamilton has time to rest and recover.
Dave
14th August 2021, 8:19
Never forget Traitor Verstappen. This is the Neverstappen Movement.
Iosif (@afonic)
2nd August 2021, 13:10
Nicely written review. However it has to be “a lot of” help by Alonso and not a little. Had Hamilton been able to pass him within a couple of laps (as he did with almost all other cars) we would have most certainly won the race.
lubhz (@lubhz)
2nd August 2021, 13:16
We have to give credit to Sainz too, for holding Hamilton for more laps than Alonso managed to do. The interactive data: lap charts, times and tyres page shows how Hamilton was following Sainz from lap 33 to 47 but unable to pass the Ferrari.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
2nd August 2021, 15:04
@lubhz Something to consider is that Sainz was on much fresher tyres than Hamilton was at that phase of the race & that Hamilton never really got that close to Sainz due to his tyres just starting to drop off in terms of performance which is a part of why Lewis pitted for fresh mediums on lap 48.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
2nd August 2021, 13:33
Game to find all the comments condemning repairs to cars under a red flag, but strangely can’t find any…
ian dearing
2nd August 2021, 14:10
The Hamilton/FIA mafia at work again? Alonso in trouble with the stewards now.
https://twitter.com/f1troll_/status/1421916069158166531/photo/1
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd August 2021, 8:01
That is fake…. balls … Very big components….
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
3rd August 2021, 11:21
@macleod https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd August 2021, 13:28
Seems i noticed the humour to late …. :)
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
2nd August 2021, 14:54
Just wanted to mention something regarding the ban on radio communication on the formation lap as the fact Ocon was having discussions with the team on the restart lap seems to have confused some.
The regulation banning teams from been able to talk to drivers on the way to the grid only applies to the formation lap before the initial race start. The lap to the grid for any subsequent restarts isn’t classified as a formation lap & since the safety car leads them out of the pits & around to the grid it is instead treated like a SC restart with radio traffic allowed both ways.
The ban for the formation lap was introduced primarily to stop teams instructing drivers on optimal clutch settings based on data from the launch at the start of the formation lap.
The rule is also pretty unnecessary for restarts as they don’t have any new data to give them since they all leave from the pits & are behind the SC for the lap to the grid & any data they gathered from the initial start would have been discussed during the red flag with setting changes made before cars exit the pits so there isn’t anything new teams could tell drivers over the restart lap in terms of setting changes or anything so applying the rule to restarts is deemed unnecessary.
Green Flag (@greenflag)
2nd August 2021, 15:03
Did his sphere size exceed the technical or sporting regulations?
Green Flag (@greenflag)
2nd August 2021, 15:04
This was supposed to be a reply to dearing’s post, above.
BlueChris (@bluechris)
2nd August 2021, 21:05
Alonso is also under investigation 👀
https://new.reddit.com/r/formuladank/comments/ow5x0b/alonso_is_also_under_investigation/
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd August 2021, 8:01
That is fake…. balls … Very big components….
Balue (@balue)
3rd August 2021, 7:40
If anyone doubted the new race director Masi is not in the old FIA ilk, this race is all the proof you need. He will consistently throw a red flag for not much more than a stranded car, but after a big L1 pile-up with cars and debris all over he will not, and gladly put marshals on a wet track and at the end of the fastest straight, and the reason can only be because he and FIA is in conflict with a team so will use his power to disadvantage them as much as possible, in this case strategically wait until there is no possibility to redo the start, and after they have been in the pits for repairs and come out last. What amazes me is how natural it is for FIA personel to get into this Mosley-esque mindset, and how the culture there is such that just getting on the white shirt and you feel like you’ve joined the politburo.