Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, Hungaroring, 2021

Vettel wanted to ‘support those suffering’ with pride T-shirt

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In the round-up: Sebastian Vettel was perplexed by the offence some took at the T-shirt he wore in Hungary.

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In brief

Vettel disappointed by reaction to pride rainbow shirt

Vettel wore a T-shirt with the slogan “same love” and the colours of the LGBTQ+ pride rainbow at the We Race As One moment ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Aston Martin driver, who criticised Hungary’s new law banning gay people from appearing in television programmes or educational material aimed at those under 18, was disappointed by the negative reaction it provoked from some.

“It’s disappointing that just a couple of colours in a different order make such a difference,” said Vettel. “We all stand in the rain before the race on this carpet and we have all these nice slogans and yet it seems to be a problem for some. I don’t understand. It’s a sad world, in some regards.

“If it helps for supporting those people who suffer in countries that are part of the European Union, I’m happy to express myself.”

Hamilton “really, really proud” of Ocon for taking maiden win

Ocon’s a “wonderful guy”, said Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton warmly praised Esteban Ocon, a former Mercedes junior driver still managed by the team, after his Hungarian Grand Prix win.

“Esteban is such a wonderful guy, he’s just really pleasant, super respectful,” Hamilton said. “I’ve always had good rapport with him. I remember when he was in our team, watching and just trying to learn as much as he could.

“I was so happy to see him actually get a seat here and then you’re going up against two-time world champion is not easy. And he’s really taken to it like a duck to water.

“So I’m really, really proud of him and wish him much more success. Hopefully this boosts that team forwards and hopefully they’ll improve over the year and we’ll see closer racing with them.”

Tsunoda was having “worst race week” so far before chaotic grand prix

Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, Hungaroring, 2021
Tsunoda rebounded after Friday crash
Following his crash in practice and elimination in Q1, Yuki Tsunoda had a poor start to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. He said that was adding up to his least successful event in F1 so far, until the first-lap drama shook up the order.

“It was okay in the end,” Tsunoda said. “[If it had been] like a normal race, I don’t know if I could’ve taken points or not, I would say.

“For me, it was the worst race week until the qualifying or until the race in this year. So I have to really analyse and try to work hard to find out what’s the issue and we’ll be back in Spa.”

Ricciardo looking forward to summer break after “long 70 laps”

Daniel Ricciardo said he was looking forward to a break after finishing outside the points in a joyless Hungarian Grand Prix where he suffered heaby damage from the start.

“I don’t want another race after that,” said the McLaren driver. “That was a long 70-something laps or 68, whatever it was in the end.

“I want to get away for a bit, but actually I’ve got testing, I test here on Wednesday so I’ll stay on the game for another 72 hours and then get away. It’s been a busy last few weekends, so I’ll switch off for a little bit.”

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Comment of the day

Formula 1’s increasingly frequent red flag periods may tempt teams to try more audacious repair jobs in future, Dave The Chicken suspects:

Another race, another red flag.

As I watched and waited for what is now the go-to response to a crash with debris, I did ponder why Bottas and Stroll didn’t attempt to keep going, on three wheels behind the Safety Car. After all we know a front suspension can be replaced in 30 minutes as Red Bull did after an incident on a lap to the grid last year. Surely it’s now worth the gamble that a red flag might allow otherwise race-ending damage to be repaired?

No doubt the teams will be considering this. It’ll be like the WEC/Le Mans soon!
Davethechicken

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66 comments on “Vettel wanted to ‘support those suffering’ with pride T-shirt”

  1. Vettel is such a great person.

    Showed great support for the LGBT community here.

  2. I was happy to see this. The Hungarian government t has gone off the deep end.

  3. Well they did disqualify Seb, as he predicted, but “supposedly” for lack of fuel not his tshirt. Never forget that in many countries/organizations you have free speech, as long as you keep your opinion to yourself and go along with the mainstream view – or you follow what is “dictated” by the FIA – the more things change, the more they remain the same……..

    1. Manoli Moriaty
      2nd August 2021, 0:57

      No, that ain’t it. You might benefit from reading the actual rules of the sport than some misinformed conspiracy manual

    2. The Hungarian government do not measure the fuel sample. I often wonder what runs through people’s heads.

      1. @john-h The FIA also isn’t supposed to mess up getting the fuel sample, which from what I gather is the reason Aston Martin is most likely to have appealed. Getting disqualified for the FIA’s error isn’t allowed. It’s easy to see where the conspiracy theories have come from, even though I think this is simply FIA or Aston Martin error, rather than anything deeper.

  4. @rodewulf Seb is unbelievable. Unbelievably great at acting on his conscience. He is repeatedly backing up his words with actions and I salute him wholeheartedly for it.

    As for the fuel irregularities, you should check your facts because the issue was not enough fuel was left to sample, which is not something Seb should be tracking during the race. The team should be tracking that and have let him and the fans of F1 down by not doing a good enough job. But regardless of if it was a team fault or Seb’s fault, Seb is ahead of Alonso in WDC points even with the disqualification. Seems like he can race and “virtue signal”, whatever that means, pretty effectively.

    1. Unbelievably great at acting on his conscience. He is repeatedly backing up his words with actions and I salute him wholeheartedly for it.

      You’re not wrong in appreciating it. But I’m also not wrong in having an opinion that some of his stances don’t make sense and are too much attention-seeking. And this is life. Contrasting points of view.

      As for the fuel irregularities, you should check your facts because the issue was not enough fuel was left to sample, which is not something Seb should be tracking during the race. The team should be tracking that and have let him and the fans of F1 down by not doing a good enough job.

      So which was the issue then? Are all sites reporting it wrong, then? Not able to offer a 1L fuel sample. If it wasn’t the case, what else was it? And rarely a driver is completely blameless for a technical procedure got wrong in his car, or else he shouldn’t confidently drive that car. Especially a basic one like that as disqualifications aren’t very frequent events in today’s Formula 1.

      Seb is ahead of Alonso in WDC points even with the disqualification.

      No, he’s not, check again.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Formula_One_World_Championship
      Alonso 38pts. / Vettel 30pts.

      Even if it was the case, we should always agree first on how much is the machinery performance delta. Or else you’d say that Perez is making a more solid championship than Leclerc, what clearly is not the case. Aston Martin is arguably faster than Alpine so, it proves even more the point that Fernando is racing better than Sebastian. If you don’t believe me, rewatch the races this season and see how many times an Alpine was holding an AM as contrasted with the other way around. When AM drivers are ahead usually they pull away like in Monaco and Baku. So a considerably better car, no doubt.

      Seems like he can race and “virtue signal”, whatever that means, pretty effectively.

      Google and other search engines are there for you to learn stuff so I won’t explain what signaling virtue means. If you’re curious, just search. If not, whatever. And, as the points that I put later indicates, it’s not unlikely that playing the nice guy all the time really can distract you from the track action.

      1. Google and other search engines are there for you to learn stuff so I won’t explain what signaling virtue means. If you’re curious, just search.

        I did and I still don’t understand how it has become a catch all for describing someone who has taken a stand they believe in. It seems like a core component of virtue signaling is that the person is signaling just for the appearance of correctness, rather than truly believing in the stand they have taken.

        But if we take the common usage on this forum and by other internet commentators where it seems that merely taking a stand you feel is morally correct is virtue signaling I could, in turn, accuse you of virtue signaling when you say that Max and Fernando are dedicated racers. You are extolling the virtue of racers who, like the drivers of olden times, are focused purely on sport. But I won’t do that.

        Every. Single. Person. should take stands they feel are morally correct and they should feel free to publicly express those stands. That’s not virtue signaling. That’s having a moral backbone.

        1. @g-funk
          Hum… Nice try, but it’s not the same thing. Vettel’s virtue signaling comes from the fact that he is too privileged himself to wave some of those flags as he has been doing incessantly, and that is according to the main proponents of their own identitarian movements, not my opinion. When I praise those two drivers for their skills, however, I’m not claiming righteousness nor representation, neither discriminately advocating protection for them because of their ‘virtue’. Not the same thing at all, but literally I might be signaling (i.e. simply pointing it out) the virtue of Max and Fernando as excellent drivers depending on the definition you use. But of course this would be almost trivial and certainly not what I meant in the previous post.

      2. ady (@sixwheeler)
        2nd August 2021, 7:41

        @rodewulf Is ‘virtue signalling’ just a way of saying, in this case, you don’t believe any straight person should show support for gay rights? How do you make the distinction between someone who is genuine in standing up for a cause and someone who is simply ‘virtue signalling’?

        1. @rodewulf

          By your logic, any famous person that protests against something outside of their professional sphere is just ‘virtue signalling’.

          So…

          Sir Bob Geldof – Musician and singer who co-created Band Aid/Live Aid, raised millions and saved countless lives – Virtue Signalling.

          John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Drew the world’s attention to the futility of war and, 50 years later, are still THE symbol of the peace movement – Virtue Signalling.

          Tommie Smith and John Carlos – Raised black-gloved fists at the Olympics to highlight human rights violations against black Americans in an image that will forever be remembered – Virtue Signalling.

          Etc.

        2. someone or something
          2nd August 2021, 16:35

          ‘Virtue signalling’ is a right-wing buzzword flung at each and every socially progressive statement.
          The reasoning behind this is that, past a certain point on the political spectrum, it is inconceivable to many that some socially progressive opinions are held in earnest. Therefore, the only logical explanation must be that the people in question are merely pretending to have this opinion, in order to gain approval from certain groups.
          Of course, this implies the existence of groups that are so powerful that it makes sense for public figures to go out of their way and publicly pretend to care about this or that.
          In other words: Whenever you see ‘virtue signalling’ being used, the subtext is that we’re secretly ruled by *Them*, whoever *They* may be.
          (And, of course, it’s virtually never an expression of genuine concern over a person’s sincerity. It’s usually nothing more than an easy way of dismissing opinions that are incompatible with right-wing ideas)

        3. @sixwheeler Seeing his previous behaviour. I’m not certain if Vettel’s propaganda is genuine. But if someone really believes and supports “gay rights” as a straight person without making it more of just a self-image improvement, in my opinion it wouldn’t be this type of virtue signalling. But some people in those movements hold in suspicion someone from a “privileged” group asserting so profusely to be part of this cause but doesn’t belong to the “oppressed” minority. They feel that those people are stealing the speaking place from someone who actually is from the discriminated or underrepresented group.

        4. @sonnycrockett

          By your logic, any famous person that protests against something outside of their professional sphere is just ‘virtue signalling’.

          Depends on the fundamental reasons for them to do it. If it’s for ego-inflating reasons then it pretty much is. If not, then it probaly cannot be seen as virtue signalling. I’m not certain about Vettel, though, but my impression was that he became out of the sudden an activist because he was no longer in a fast car on the track after his performance dropping, or maybe as a way for him to come out noble after his questionable behaviour sometimes on the sport. You know, Multi 21, bumping into Hamilton, changing number plates, lobbying Ferrari against Leclerc, etc.

        5. someone or something

          ‘Virtue signalling’ is a right-wing buzzword flung at each and every socially progressive statement.

          Many people might have used it this way, but my intention is not to do it. If you feel Vettel’s motives are genuine, explayn why. My opinion for now is not definitive but tends to the opposite.

          The reasoning behind this is that, past a certain point on the political spectrum, it is inconceivable to many that some socially progressive opinions are held in earnest. Therefore, the only logical explanation must be that the people in question are merely pretending to have this opinion, in order to gain approval from certain groups.

          Not quite. One can hold an opinion that seems extreme but still be genuine about it, no problem.

          Of course, this implies the existence of groups that are so powerful that it makes sense for public figures to go out of their way and publicly pretend to care about this or that.
          In other words: Whenever you see ‘virtue signalling’ being used, the subtext is that we’re secretly ruled by *Them*, whoever *They* may be.

          It might happen in every social group and power sphere, but hardly it happens the same way in any part of the world, societal sector, business and even less in online forums. And this type of attention-seeking behaviour may perfectly come from the right a well, and from a marginalised group if within their social bubble.

          And, of course, it’s virtually never an expression of genuine concern over a person’s sincerity. It’s usually nothing more than an easy way of dismissing opinions that are incompatible with right-wing ideas

          You are trying to see a political determinism that not necessarily is in place, at least the way I’m treating it. I know the right-wing uses it the most, but we shouldn’t label a term as naturally from one side of the political spectrum. It looks like a bridle in a horse. So you’re tring to read the intentions of someone who says it without worrying about the context, dishonestly assuming bad faith just because of a notion that arouses anxieity in yourself. The underlined assumption here is that, if a term comes from the right, it cannot be right, valid or reasonable and certainly is ill-intended. I refuse vety much this approach, as I think regardless of coming from the left or the right, any concept should be allowed to be examined without blurring preconceptions. The attempt to do that is a noble thing, not “ceding to the other side” as if it was a crime or a sign of moral weakness. That’s why the western world is polarised and its society is going backwards in terms of freedom. And unsurprisingly people who think they’re certain to be the only ones doing the right thing are exactly who are making it all worse.

  5. Is this the beginning of the end for Ricciardo? Halfway through the season and he’s still not really anywhere near Norris’ pace. If he ends up being booted from McLaren for a more affordable driver, where could he go? Things seemed so promising at the end of last year but how much more patience will mclaren have…

    1. @tommy-c as an Aussie and a HUGE Ricciardo fan, it’s very, very difficult to watch. Heartbreaking even.

      I reckon he needs to get on a track and push the car way beyond its limits, so he can find it. I think he feels like he’s on the limit, but it’s actually much further away than his instincts are telling him.

      But yeah… they’ll ride out the year—but conversations will be had. *sobs*

    2. @tommy-c Not even close in my opinion. It looks like he will never get on terms with Lando in this car since it just doesn’t seem to suit his driving style, but the good news is that next season is a brand new concept and might have completely different characteristics. So even if he doesn’t manage to improve for the rest of the season, McLaren will stick with him and wait to see how he performs in the 2022 car (he also has a contract which would be expensive to buy him out of). Every chance that next year he will be back to his best. He has been one of the top 5 drivers of the hybrid era and he didn’t forget to drive overnight, so no reason to take a knee-jerk reaction over a lack of form in a soon to be obsolete car.

      1. True, fingers crossed the new regs suit him. Hard to watch at the moment.

      2. @keithedin well said. I think this also highlights that things are not as simple as “that car is fast”, and that the driver (despite what some people think) still plays a massive role in making a car fast. Ricciardo did that with Red Bull, specially in 2014, when Vettel couldn’t make the RB10 work for him. Something similar is happening to him now, and I guess the psychological part of seeing his teammate third in the WDC isn’t helping. McLaren brought him on board not just for his speed, but for his experience to build the 2022 car, but I really hope he can get back to his best form with this year’s car. That would be perfect to rebuild his confidence, and would greatly help McLaren get third place in the WCC.

      3. @keithedin Yeah, it’s starting to look like Daniel won’t improve enough for this year, he just seems disheartened, no doubt. Lando is a tough opponent to beat, but Dan also used to be. Will his turnaround come later rather than sooner? I hope that’s not the case, but it has been strange really.

  6. Of course Ham likes Ocon, when he was on their team he too punted Max off.

    1. Very clever @peartree. Maybe read the article where he explains why he likes Ocon, then crawl back under your rock again.

    2. I remember when Ocon punted Max off. Because in the cool down room Max was venting and Ham leaned across and said to Max ‘ why did you race someone that you didn’t have to?’ And since then Max has never tried to put manners on someone who is irrelevant to his own race. So maybe your reasoning is a bit out?
      Maybe also with Ocon and Ham its the shared experience of their families sacrificing what little they had so they could chase their dreams?

      1. Nicely put Ian.

      2. You sir watch too much NETFLIX. With the exception of Mazepin, Latifi and Stroll, most of the grid drivers and their families have made extreme sacrifices to be where they are today. Those who received backing earlier than Ocon or Ham were smarter and gained the trust of others to support them to get to F1 but that doesn’t diminish their sacrifices. Now, stop the violins music….

  7. Looking forward to the stats article today.
    Sainz now has 4 podiums, but has only been present at the podium celebration twice!

  8. If Seb is a great activist rather than simply a virtue signaler, why did he tell the stewards of the meeting that he simply ‘forgot’ to remove the shirt?

    1. That was after they have their “we race as one” moment, during the national anthem where drivers are supposed to be just in team kit nowadays

    2. I doubt that he did. The stewards decision document looks like a cut and paste, it is identical for all four drivers and and mentions the WRAO t-shirt (which Vettel was not even wearing).

      1. He did – the stewards noted all four drivers stated they ‘forgot’ about their shirts. My point is that Seb spoke boldly about his views all weekend *except* for the moment he was standing in front of the stewards in an official capacity.

        1. And it’s great that he did.

          There is a simple solution to all of this:

          F1 must stop racing in countries that have oppressive regimes.

          1. Maybe you’re right. Did you watch the race in Hungary (or Bahrain, etc)? They won’t stop going if people don’t stop watching…

          2. @Griffin Wrong. Boycotts by audiences have never worked, because Liberty gets paid in advance and is interested in shareholder behaviour, tracks paying lots of money and broadcasters paying up. The only direct input viewers get is the F1TV+ live service, which lots of people can’t get and in any case is only a small proportion of Liberty’s revenue.

            Liberty has very little reason to care whether anyone watches specific races or not, while their income streams come from elsewhere.

        2. Blaize Falconberger (@)
          2nd August 2021, 20:40

          It’s called a united front. They sounded like they knew what they were going to say. Oh no! I forgot! In succession… leaving the stewards with little room to acuse them of deliberately breaking the rules and they get a teling off… Afterwards Seb said held do it again! Excellent trolling Seb!

    3. @Griffin Because Seb was expecting a penalty and making it as easy as possible for the stewards to do their job (which was by agreeing with the others).

      1. @alianora-la-canta – replying to both comments – You’re right that Liberty answers to their shareholders. Those shareholders realize that without public interest none of that money you reference changes hands, thus the need to grow the sport & increase interest in all areas of the world to gain more money. As for Seb, I realize he was expecting a penalty – just waiting for him to stand up when it counts & not just when it’s convenient.

  9. @rodewulf lol, imagine thinking the two incidents are even remotely related, especially given the T-shirt wearing happened several hours before the fuel sample was taken.

    How dare Seb make a stance for something he believes in (human rights) several hours before a technical infringement has occurred of which wasn’t even his responsibility (pretty sure there’s no fuel gauge on the wheel).

    Yawn. Run along.

    1. Well, Vettel did make sure no one could miss the clear statement supporting diversity when he used the rainbow mask after the race as well :-)

      But yeah somehow making him being a great guy with some principles responsible for a miss by the team he might have learnt about not much earlier than we did is completely BS

      1. @bascb Was he responsible for the technical issue in the race? Probably not the biggest share of blame, that’s mostly on his team.

        Well, Vettel did make sure no one could miss the clear statement supporting diversity when he used the rainbow mask after the race as well

        O, look at it! You can spread a message as efficiently without braking any rules, so I don’t understand the reason of his fuss. It seems Vettel, being too aggressive like his former self or not, is always an immature person.

    2. @justrhysism

      lol, imagine thinking the two incidents are even remotely related, especially given the T-shirt wearing happened several hours before the fuel sample was taken.

      Those are really unrelated indeed, so what’s the surprise? I just noticed that he whined on the media about being summoned many times because of the T-shirt so he was the one to blur the lines between the issues in fiest place.

      How dare Seb make a stance for something he believes in (human rights) several hours before a technical infringement has occurred of which wasn’t even his responsibility (pretty sure there’s no fuel gauge on the wheel).

      Yes, how dare you! The most notable thing he actually changed with that is some conspirational fans being able to convince themselves that he was disqualified because of that, actually. Oh, poor martyr Seb of the social justice causes!

      Yawn. Run along.

      What a “nice” argument, but no. Someone like you need to get used to seeing different opinions or else every individual might end up as just another brick in the wall of a tightly controlled society, and it wouldn’t matter if it’s a rainbow-colored wall in the end.

      1. The irony is that the Hungarian government is attempting exactly what you say i.e. making everyone just another white, Christian, heterosexual brick in the wall.

        1. The irony is that the Hungarian government is attempting exactly what you say i.e. making everyone just another white, Christian, heterosexual brick in the wall.

          Perfectly true, but two wrong actions or incorrect reasonings don’t make up correctness. The Hungarian government is currently supporting forms of censorship for what they deemed as undesirable words/images being spread. Despite the proportions of power, it’s not essentially different from abominating terms like “virtue signalling” just because of its right-wing origin and calling who dares to say it fascist. That’s over the edge intimidation of speech, only lacking the political means to make it dictatorial in practice.

          Someone like you need to get used to seeing different opinions or else every individual might end up as just another brick in the wall of a tightly controlled society, and it wouldn’t matter if it’s a rainbow-colored wall in the end.

          If History taught us something it’s that shaping a society into a wall of bricks may be coming from both sides, the right and the left. Present day China is a prime example of the latter and Hungary is making good strides to be an example of the former. Those type of things just deserve our mostly deep condemnation. I just criticised the shape of this condemnation stance coming from Vettel, which in my view is unconsequential or even counterproducent. Acting paranoid like if everyone is trying to sabotage your activism just puts into question if your are really solid on your ideas or just wanting political favours or self-image improvement. Vettel looks somewhat suspicious on that department because of his previous but not so past behaviour.

  10. What surprised me yesterday was that nobody fitted slicks in the first place, when leaving the pit lane for the formation lap.

    In addition, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Hamilton had also pitted. There is a good chance he would have had to be held at his box until everyone had passed him, or risk an unsafe release. Waiting would still have been better than being last, but possibly not by much.

    I have watched the sport for 30 years, and this was one of the strangest things I have ever seen.

    1. Given that Russell was told by race control to drop back from third to 7th (since he gained those places in the pit lane), they would probably have let others drop back behind Hamilton alike @adrianmorse

      1. @bascb I’m not so sure about that. I think Russell’s case was a bit different, because he emerged from his box next to the queue (perhaps he should have just waited but sneakily decided not to). If Hamilton had sat, say, 10th in the queue, would they have said to all of the drivers ahead: please let Lewis by? What if Hamilton had had a slow stop? Despite the thickness of the F1 rulebook, I doubt there is anything in there to govern this particular situation. The instruction to Russell was probably just the race director winging it.

        1. Ham would have been held in his pit whilst every other driver passed him, as they were all line astern by that stage. Depending on the order of the train and location of their pit box some drivers would have been held for a shorter period, or not at all. Some double stacked to confuse the issue more. I think Mercedes estimated he would have come out somewhere between 6 to 8. The other issue is the location of the Merc pit box. In this case any mistake, unsafe release, etc. by any other team would have also delayed Ham.
          The location of the pit garage is something that all teams are looking into now as some have clear advantages and disadvantages time wise. For example the first pit box in Ricard is something like .3 of a second slower than the others. The pit lane entry is a hard left turn. Simply put as you come off that turn the first box is off to the side, whilst the others are directly in front. So in this case the Merc has to take a wider sweep through that turn. Think Chandhok did a piece on this earlier in the season.

  11. @ Davethechicken are CoTD. The problem here is that you are not allowed to drive a car in an unsafe condition. There is no way race control would be happy with you trying to follow the safety car with the front suspension damaged or bits falling off so they would have been asked to retire the car immediately, been black flagged or been heavily penalised to ensure they didn’t benefit from unsafe behaviour.

  12. This comment is unbelievable @rodewulf , not Seb’s behaviour this weekend. Thank god there are people like Seb that have the balls to stand up and actually say something is wrong, even in the face of people saying they are “virtue signalling”, especially knowing the guy that Vettel is. Sad.

    1. someone or something
      2nd August 2021, 16:46

      Thank god there are people like Seb that have the balls to stand up and

      I believe the gender-neutral term is ‘gonads’.

      I’m kidding, of course. My annoyance about rodewulf’s mud-slinging has given way to a certain silliness.

      1. someone or something

        I’m kidding, of course. My annoyance about rodewulf’s mud-slinging has given way to a certain silliness.

        See my other comment on this thread about Vettel’s recent past behaviour if you want to understand why “mud-slinging” simply doesn’t apply. But I guess the washing of Vettel’s image worked very well. People have forgotten Seb’s antics and unsportsmanlike behaviour quite quickly.
        Seb and Lewis speak and act like like Saruman, from The Lord of the Rings. They mesmerise people with words and poses to erase from their perception their obvious flaws, and the result is many people thinking those two guys who are simply desiring influence and power, both inside and outside Formula 1 business, are somehow martyrs or saints, just because they put the noble causes in the vision of many in between. The causes may be noble in my opinion, but the means to achieve it usually are not.

    2. @john-h

      Thank god there are people like Seb that have the balls to stand up and actually say something is wrong, even in the face of people saying they are “virtue signalling”, especially knowing the guy that Vettel is.

      Precisely because it’s about Vettel that the virtue signalling observation makes even more sense. For someone who follows Formula 1 since not so long ago shall certainly remember many of his antics and unsportsmanlike behaviour in various occasions: Multi 21, bumping into Hamilton on purpose as revenge, change of position number plates out of tantrum, causing lots of incidents becoming a dangerous on track, entitlement of number 1 role against Leclerc without performance to back it up (mugging him lots of points due lobbying Ferrari in 2019 until it was clear he would lose anyway), and finally, going to Aston Martin alongside Stroll, a driver who doesn’t need to perform well or being shown the door, just to hide the fact that he was fading so hard as a top driver as soon as being soundly beaten by Leclerc. There are things still left to address but that’s plenty enough. Laughable is a driver with a recent record of behaviour like that coming out as so noble, but at least he’s trying to become more clean and less aggressive, so I recognise that’s an improvement.
      But for a guy who is way worse than Lewis who in his turn is already a highly contradictory entitled one himself, let’s now pretend that he’s been a nice guy all along just because of some words, a rainbow paint and the same pointless perversity thinking he’s abouve the rules just because he’s doing that favourably for “our side”, shall we? That’s the type of sectarian behaviour that I think is wrong in those movements of minorities, not that much the causes by itself. As long as those don’t mess with individual freedom asking for the state to intervene then I’m not against this stuff at all.

      1. Because he’s an elite ruthlessly competitive sportsman he’s not entitled to an opinion outside of the sport without it seeming like a PR play to cover up the exact qualities needed to become a 4 time champion?

  13. @hazelsouthwell so I had been largely in support of the Hungarian legislative process as I thought it was as a result of a democratic referendum. I can’t say I’d ever agree with the law but I wouldn’t never deny their sovereignty…

    Having read around I now see it’s clearly not remotely democratic. instead it’s a tired authoritarian leader that’s scraping around for public support.

    There will be (apparently) a referendum next year on whether to retain these laws but the questions on the ballot paper will be stuffed with loaded questions. I also see the EU are attempting their own legal action on this (obviously) discriminatory set of laws.

  14. Riciardo has not lost his form or talent. The car is not to his driving style. Same for perez in the redbul. Both drivers r finding it difficult to come to terms with their cars. I say lets see next year. The cars should be designed& built with their drivers in mind.

  15. Re Vettel: “Sebastian Vettel: The One German Person We All Know”.
    Re Hamilton: Remember Alonso and Massa taking one season off after their debut season? They became race winners.
    Re Tsunoda: Take your time, Yuki.
    Re Russell tweet: “Hockenheim Repeat: Both Brought Home”.

    1. @Davey Alonso’s and Massa’s year-offs occurred in unlimited testing era, unlike Ocon’s, so incomparable.

  16. COTD: Undoable because of a rule on driving a car in an unsafe condition, etc.

  17. ‘worry more about the pose’

    That’s an interesting viewpoint.. What is the benefit for Vettel with this? Fair enough for a news cycle part of demographic will think, oh he’s a good egg but they already thought that anyway.

    Surely his life would be a lot easier if he wasn’t putting himself in the middle of a political storm. Takes courage to do so I think. I certainly wouldn’t be brave enough to put myself in the far right wing firing line, I’d just happily keep my head down and race like Max and Alonso. Takes a lot of bottle I think.

  18. COTD’s situation could not happen, because cars that badly damaged are only continuing to the pit lane (if that far – I think Stroll’s car wasn’t going any further), and a black-and-orange (meatball/compulsory pit and repair) flag can only be waved from the start/finish line. As long as it’s done in a way that doesn’t endanger anyone, the cars might as well pit and start repairs.

    Cars that aren’t visibly compromised already continue behind the Safety Car when possible, for the very reason COTD cited.

  19. Embarrassing by Vettel. Let’s see him do something in Saudi-Arabia.

    And why is this a reprimand when nothing was given to Hamilton when he was on the podium wearing a T-shirt stirring up hate for some cops in USA?

    1. Your comment is embarrassing, but nothing Vettel did was embarrassing. He stood up for what he believed in, and for people in Hungary who are discriminated against and who live in fear. He recognizes what’s important, and this is far more important than a potential reprimand or penalty. I’m incredibly proud of him.

  20. About the TV production it’s always like this so I’m used to it now. People milling about in the pits is just a director’s favorite, if it’s not a stricken car for 5 minutes. He thinks that’s what we want to see more than anything.

    The camera operators thinks that all we want is to see how good they are being able to follow cars with zoom at max.

  21. Always despised the guy since his Red Bull years, but this time I take my hat off. The only guy with balls to do this, in the best place, Hungary, where human rights are challenged by the government every day. Massive, Massive respect for Seb.

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