In the round-up: Max Verstappen says he will feel he has “completed” Formula 1 if he wins the world championship this year.
In brief
Winning one title “the final goal” for Verstappen
Verstappen, who can clinch the championship at the next race in Saudi Arabia, said he doesn’t have ambitions beyond winning a single title.“In F1, not so much, because that’s it, you have completed it,” he told the BBC. “And then it doesn’t really matter any more how many you win because you’ve already won one. And of course I would always try to win more. But that’s done. That’s the final goal. And I will, of course, work very hard to try and achieve that.”
However he doesn’t intend to move on from F1 after winning a single title. “After that there’s a lot less pressure. Of course, I will have a lot of fun driving, but then maybe slowly start thinking about other kind of stuff outside of Formula 1 to achieve.”
Detroit GP promoters reveal details of new track
“Bringing this annual international event back to the streets of Detroit will help our businesses downtown, will shine a light on our beautiful riverfront with an inclusive summertime festival and it will open up new opportunities to engage and connect with our local neighbourhoods and communities,” said Detroit Grand Prix chairman Bud Denker.
Boschung extends Formula 2 stay
Ralph Boschung will race in Formula 2 for a sixth season next year, and exceed 100 starts in the junior series, after signing new deal to extend his stay at Campos.
He arrived in the series with Campos in 2017 but missed the final round, where his place was taken by Lando Norris. He reappeared with MP the following year but again didn’t complete the season, missing the final two double-headers.
Following a partial campaign with Trident in 2019, he reappeared at Campos for the 2020 season finale as a substitute for Jack Aitken, who was making his Formula 1 debut. Having returned with Campos this year he lies 12th in the championship on 40 with two triple-headers remaining.
“In my sabbatical year in 2020 it was basically the end of my racing career,” said Boschung on social media. “I’m very proud I managed to secure the funding to compete now my second full season in F2 and my second full season in racing since 2015. Thank you all for the support.”
Valuable lesson for Qatar promoter – Brawn
Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn says the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix will have been useful for the event’s promoter ahead of the series’ return to the country after next season.
The venue has not been included on the 2022 F1 calendar as the country is holding the FIFA football World Cup next year.
“The promoter did a fabulous job to put this event on and now has had a real insight into F1, which will be invaluable for when we return in two years’ time,” said Brawn. “This has been a perfect event for them to understand what they need to do for the long term.”
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Amazing to get a first taste of my new car 🔴⚫️ How good does the 2022 livery look! 🔥 @nismo @nissanedams pic.twitter.com/6PnSZrf6qb
— Maximilian Günther (@maxg_official) November 23, 2021
The stewards in Qatar organised for Christian Horner’s “rogue” marshal to meet Max, to compensate for his team boss’s rogue remark. A nice touch. pic.twitter.com/SDlLYnxzc0
— Joe Saward (@joesaward) November 22, 2021
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Brundle: F1 title tension rises as Hamilton, Mercedes raise game vs Verstappen in Qatar (Sky)
There were mitigating circumstances to say the least and with no trackside yellow warning panels, but green panels on the pit wall for the pitlane weighbridge, I would have missed the relatively poorly lit sole marshal post correctly waving a flag or flags on the left-hand side every time.
Over 80,000 fans celebrate as Qatar delivers riveting F1 race weekend (The Peninsular Qatar)
A total of 80,000 fans attended the three days of racing held at the iconic Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC) that welcomed the F1 family for the very first time.
The Caribbean karter who’s already starring as a Mercedes F1 junior (Formula Scout)
For the past two-and-a-half years I’ve been in Italy, because we realised after about a year of driving in Europe it’s really difficult to go back and forward between the Caribbean and Europe. And it helped a lot to move over here, for me. But then I also know the sacrifice that my parents had to make and my sister. Pretty much most of my family, the sacrifice they had to make was quite big, so it motivates me even more.
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
Ferrari and PMI’s similarities makes a split between team and sponsor a sensible move, says Ciaran:
The Philip Morris sponsorship is a ‘special’ deal for a ‘special’ team – both of which run the risk of appearing like archaic dinosaurs in a new world of sustainability, corporate social responsibility, etc…
PM’s concerns are more obvious – anti-smoking measures are the new norm and will only get more stringent. Ferrari’s are more interesting though, as their product has traditionally been loud, exciting, expensive cars… which is threatened by the trends of electrification and resentment towards excessive wealth. Very different worries, but they run the risk of furthering their antiquated image if they continue their partnership. I wouldn’t be surprised if they went their separate ways.
The glory days are likely over for both. In both business terms and visual appearance – that ghastly green MW logo is a far cry from the iconic nineties designs!
Ciaran
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Heart Of The Sunrise, Nakavich, Beverly Sanford and Haziq Danish!
Green Flag (@greenflag)
24th November 2021, 0:33
And he may even get it when Hamilton retires.
trib4udi (@trib4udi)
24th November 2021, 7:12
Lewis would have already sealed this year’s championship if he didn’t make too many mistakes down the way.
Eg baku . Lewis missed an easy 25pts.
Monaco was also painful for Lewis being dominated by Bottas that weekend.
Tommy Scragend
24th November 2021, 7:44
theRealMax (@millionus)
24th November 2021, 7:52
What about “But if’s….”
Arnoud van Houwelingen (@kavu)
24th November 2021, 8:10
And Max would have already won the championship if this didn’t happened:
– Max his tyre blow-out in Baku in one of the last laps ( he lost 26 points in that race)
– If there wasn’t a red flag in Imola when Hamilton was in the gravel ( he would have been lapped by Max)
– If Bottas didn’t use his car as a bowling ball in Hungary ( Max lost a podium because of this)
– Hamilton hitting Max rear tyre in Silverstone which led to Max’s DNF
– botched pitstop by RBR in Monza
gardenfella (@gardenfella72)
24th November 2021, 8:35
@kavu orange-tinted glasses, I see
Manto
24th November 2021, 8:53
Love how Ham fans use double standards for everything
Dex
24th November 2021, 10:30
What he said is a fact, tint or no tint. Your reply is utterly pointless as it doesn’t negate anything he said, nor it adds something new; you just qualify a person you don’t even know.
Mayrton
24th November 2021, 12:27
Well said Dex
nickthegreek (@nickthegreek)
24th November 2021, 12:20
you conveniently left out the part where he drove into Hamilton in Monza…
HRT (@vvans)
24th November 2021, 12:40
Fair or not, from a championship standpoint it was actually a good move for Max. I am pretty sure he would have lost points otherwise.
Same for Lewis in Silverstone. Although in Silverstone Lewis’s move resulted in a net gain of around 32 points (assuming Max would have won and Lewis would have ended second), so that was a big hit.
HRT (@vvans)
24th November 2021, 12:41
@nickthegreek. I accidentally reported your comment trying to reply. There’s no way to undo it :S
Jeff
24th November 2021, 20:07
Okay, so max lost 100 points to hamilton cos of freak events and deliberate crashes, and hamilton lost 2 to max cos of italy.
Yep, italy makes all the difference lol
melanos
24th November 2021, 20:30
That was a tie, DNF for both. Marginally better fot Max as he was ahead but nothing comparable to those occasions were Max lost a lot of points
JohnH (@johnrkh)
24th November 2021, 0:42
One race at a time, one title at a time..what other way could you approach it? After his *first WDC he may start to eye off a run at Indy or Le Man.
*if he doesn’t win this year I think his chances will diminish substantially due to the number of other excellent drivers on the grid and the new cars next year.
Todfod (@todfod)
24th November 2021, 4:13
Among the new crop of drivers… he still stands at the top in my books. No doubt that Leclerc, Norris and Russell are mega talents, but they’re still going through the learning curve that Max has been through from 2016 to 2018.
If Max doesn’t take the title this year, I can still see him fighting for it in the next regulation change. Hamilton though.. might jus have a season or two left before Russell pips him. I think this season might be Hamilton’s last chance to take a 8th title.
Mayrton
24th November 2021, 7:15
I agree. Both might have a chance this year that wont come along for a long time. Given the car changes and given I dont think Lewis can beat George looking at his delta vs Bottas
MacLeod (@macleod)
24th November 2021, 8:01
It’s just natural there will be a young gun who will detrone the champion. Alonso did it with Schumie Lewis/Sebastiaan with Alonso it’s the way how nature works.
Learon
24th November 2021, 10:37
In reality no-one knows how Lewis will fare against George. What is extremely likely is that George will outperform Lewis more than Bottas ever did. If George was partnering Lewis this year, he would l have taken points off Lewis and Max would already have been crowned. So next year, Lewis and George will take points off each other, that is pretty certain; therefore it leaves the door open for others to win, in particular Max, assuming that the 2021 engine performance translates somewhat into 2022 car performance. That is basically what happened in 2007 with both Lewis and Fernando losing the WDC by one point.
hyoko
24th November 2021, 21:02
The way a pretty much unremarkable driver such as George Russell (also known as Mr Saturday, usually pretty good in quali day but more often than not poor on race day) is often deemed to be able to outperform his teammate says a lot.
Personally I would not put my dough on any of them, I consider them both pretty much average racers, (while better than average qualifiers)
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
24th November 2021, 8:11
@todfod With the added advantage that he would have been through a title fight and its pressure already. We’ve seen both Lewis and Max make some (costly) mistakes this year as a result and they both lost out some points on the way, probably more than during previous seasons.
If the field get tighter, it puts them at an advantage, together with Alonso which is also good pressure handler. Russel, Norris and Leclerc still have to go through that and not sure they won’t show some signs that might cost them if they are in title fight. We sw Russel bin it a few times under pressure for getting his first point…
Note, I didn’t include Vettel with Alonso as I don’t think pressure handler is his forte.
erikje
24th November 2021, 9:47
I see this a lot, max making costly mistakes this year.
Enlighten us…
Mayrton
24th November 2021, 12:35
Yes, thats parroting the Mercedes narrative. Lets list those mistakes then, as I remember him being either 1st or 2nd in almost every race where he didn’t get bumped off or had a flat tyre. Possibly the UK fans attribute him with Silverstone and Monza. While I certainly do not agree (and never will) with the first, the second could be there if you must if you regard the sequence there as one corner (instead of two corners how I see it… clumsy but especially unnecessary mistake from Hamilton in my book)
jff
24th November 2021, 7:08
I think what 2021 has shown is that Verstappen and Hamilton are well ahead of the rest of the field.
Some are WDC material but they need a dominant car to achieve this.
Leclerc is not really ahead of Sainz.
Russell still needs to prove he can also race on Sundays.
Norris should show more consistency in his performances.
Gasly is a dark horse, but unlikely caught up with Verstappen.
Ocon needs to beat the old guy first.
Alonso has the wits of a champion but no longer the speed.
The Dolphins
24th November 2021, 13:53
Given it’s a sample size of 1 and tongue firmly in cheek: Russel has shown that in 100% of his race starts in a Mercedes works car he can only come 2nd to Bottas both in qualifying and race pace. Lewis then should have an easier time with George as team mate.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th November 2021, 16:42
Russell was significantly faster in that race than bottas, he dominated him like hamilton used to.
melanos
24th November 2021, 21:06
What he does not have is the machinery, (and consequently the speed)
Fred has never been a speed monster, anyway. Pure speed, as in qualifying, has never been his forte. But in racecraft he is the best since Alain Prost.
Ajaya
24th November 2021, 1:55
Max obviously is talented, but looking at rosberg and now max saying this, if he actually means it; this only makes me respect Lewis, MS and FA more.
Coming from humble backgrounds they had to work extremely extremely hard for what they got, without any initial backing
Or connections into F1.
Sure, spreme talent , they all have.. its the hunger…
Jason (@jasonj)
24th November 2021, 3:03
I don’t think it is hunger for Hamilton, I think it’s pride. All of Shumacher, Hamilton and Alonso’s first WDC would have been hunger, a desperate need to validate themselves. But after that it’s wanting not to be beat and become a has been, like Vettel, Raikkonen, Alonso and even Hamilton a few years ago. Now Ham is within striking distance of a huge statistic, he just wants that scalp, but hunger is when you dream about it all night and talk about it all day. That’s long gone for Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, etc.
Weirdly I think Alonso may have that hunger, but he’ll die with that unsatisfied.
ChrisVB
24th November 2021, 7:01
I think it’s difficult to keep that hunger if you know you don’t have the car available to you. It would drive you nuts to know you can, but the car is just not fast enough. But then again, all F1 drivers think they can win the WDC if they have the right car.
That’s what is respectable about Alonso: he’s been in the worst car on the grid for several years and still has that hunger.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
24th November 2021, 12:39
“but he’ll die with that unsatisfied”
Ooof…that was a hard one. ..but, that is the truth.
I admire Alonso for his unrelenting tenacity and determination, but as much I’d like to be proven wrong, it is highly unlikely that Alpine will have a car that’s capable of challenging for a title. Even if they’re slightly slower than the front two, I believe Alonso can put in a challenge, because of his consistency.
Broadsword to Danny Boy
24th November 2021, 15:50
I don’t agree. You are essentially suggesting that anyone who has won a WDC is then motivated by fear of failure. One could equally argue that if you’re mainly frightened of failing then you obviously quit at the top.
On the contrary I’d suggest that anyone reaching the pinnacle of motorsport (or any sport perhaps) is driven by a need to compete and win, a need to prove to someone (perhaps just yourself) that you’re the best, and whether it’s a single win or gaining a single championship it will never be enough for most of them, they keep going until they lose that need or until circumstances dictate otherwise. They don’t need to talk about it constantly nor dream about it every night, after all they are living it.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
24th November 2021, 4:59
Was Hamilton thinking about becoming a 7-time world champion in 2007 or 2008? He would have been foolish to. You have to take it one year at a time, and Max shouldn’t even think about titles beyond the current year. I doubt Hamilton is thinking beyond title number 8.
anonymouscoward (@anonymouscoward)
24th November 2021, 5:39
I get your point but Hamilton has to be thinking about beyond 8 but I don’t think it’s 9…
Tommy Scragend
24th November 2021, 7:47
Verstappen can’t win with some people. If he’d said he was looking to win multiple titles, people would have called him arrogant. So he says he’s just happy to win one, and people criticise him for not having the hunger/commitment/courage to go and win more.
What would you rather he had said?
Alex
24th November 2021, 19:43
Well said.
Dan G (@dang)
24th November 2021, 12:56
Yep. Verstappen is really only here for the money now. Not at all clear that he *wants* the title in the way previous champions have, and for that reason, I rather doubt he’ll ever be a WDC.
I can see RBR dropping Verstappen for 2023 if he doesn’t win this year or next. They’re not here to make up the numbers.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th November 2021, 16:47
Ahah, and who exactly would they replace him with? There’s not a better driver in f1 atm.
Todfod (@todfod)
25th November 2021, 4:54
I never thought someone would even suggest that Red Bull would drop Verstappen. They’ve pretty much revolved their entire racing team around Verstappen for the past 5 seasons. It’s the driver they want to hang on to for his entire career… and I find it ridiculous that they would do it for a driver who doesn’t care about being world champion.
Robbie (@robbie)
25th November 2021, 16:17
@todfod “I find it ridiculous that they would do it for a driver who doesn’t care about being world champion.” Talk about ridiculous. I take it that is your interpretation of Max saying life won’t change for him if he wins the WDC? If so I think you are grossly misinterpreting his words. Not saying I can read his mind, but sorry, you don’t get this good without absolutely loving what you are doing, nor do you fight as hard as he has been doing if you don’t care.
I’m pretty sure what Max is meaning is simply that if he wins or doesn’t win the WDC, life will go on, and he will go on to compete next year just as hard as this. It sounds to me like he simply has a very healthy perspective that F1 isn’t everything in his life. Whatever happens this year he will live to fight another day, and love it.
I tie this in with his comment about winning the one WDC. I completely admire and respect that because I have always held the opinion that even the racers with ‘only one’ WDC are in a very very elite group of people in the history of racing. It’s a number that is only in the 30’s of WDC winners in the history of F1. I don’t rate my drivers based on the number of WDC’s they have, and I honour all of them for having even one. I think Max feels the same way. And when I read ‘fans’ deriding WDC’ers for only having the one title, I have to wonder why they have that perspective and lack of respect for the sport for which they claim to be a fan.
Todfod (@todfod)
25th November 2021, 16:42
@robbie
Dude.. Before going on a rant.. At least try and understand what I was saying. I was replying to a comment saying that Red bull would drop Max because he’s just making up the numbers. At no point do I question Max’s talent or hunger to win titles. Nor am I questioning his talent. I was rebutting the comment saying Red bull would drop Max.
Robbie (@robbie)
25th November 2021, 16:53
@todfod My apologies. Yeah I didn’t follow the comment made by @dang closely enough to fully grasp what your meaning was in your response. I took your comment the wrong way as a result. Sorry about that.
Ajaxn
25th November 2021, 0:38
Like Rosberg, Verstappen comes from a racing family. For him its about walking in his father’s footstep and matching his father. If his only goal is to emulate his father, then that goal might not allow him to go beyond that, to be better than. So yeah, he’ll likely quite the sport like Rosberg and live on that glory. It might actually benifit the sport if Verstappen doesn’t achieve his goal at the first attempt.
Asanator (@asanator)
25th November 2021, 13:18
Max has already obliterated his fathers record in F1 which didn’t amount to particularly much. I don’t see that as a factor in his determination to succeed in the sport or his motivation for success thereafter.
Jonathan Parkin
25th November 2021, 15:29
Yeah he exceeded it on his first podium/win in Spain then put it beyond all doubt with the second podium. Max did point out that the second his father got was inherited (Belgium 1994)
sumedh
24th November 2021, 3:29
It may be to do with being sons of F1 drivers. They probably get into racing only due to family pressure. Hence 1 championship makes the family pressure go away.
Damon Hill, Villeneuve, Rosberg – everyone’s form dropped off after the 1st championship (Nico didn’t even try!). May be that happens to Max. I hope not.
Todfod (@todfod)
24th November 2021, 4:16
To be fair.. Hill, Villenueve and Rosberg didn’t look entirely capable of being multiple world champions. They were always 2nd best to Schumacher or Hamilton or some other driver on the grid. In terms of talent, Max is second to none one the grid.
sumedh
24th November 2021, 5:16
Hill and Villenueve I agree. With hindsight, we can appreciate how Rosberg ran Lewis very close from 2013-2016. He did much better than Bottas and Vettel could do in 2017-2020, better than Button in 2010-2012. Only Max in 2021 did a better job than Rosberg.
Rosberg with the right team / circumstance could have been a multiple WDC. Imagine for a second that Lewis turned down the Merc offer in 2013. Whom would Mercedes have then picked to partner Rosberg? Not Alonso with their history. Not Vettel given he had just won his 3rd WDC with Red Bull. Not Ricciardo, Max; unproven until then.
Mercedes would have probably got Button / Perez / Hulkenberg to fill the 2nd seat. In that situation, I can see Nico winning at least 2 years out of 2014-2016.
macaque (@macaque)
24th November 2021, 5:28
I agree that Rosberg could have been a multiple WDC, but I am not sure he would have worked so hard if he hadn’t been pushed to do so by Hamilton. And it goes the same for Hamilton being pushed by Rosberg.
ChrisVB
24th November 2021, 6:56
Indeed, but maybe that lower level Rosberg would still have been good enough to win multiple titles with that Mercedes.
melanos
24th November 2021, 21:10
Rosberg, indeed. Just about anyone but Bottas and Luca deBoer could have been multiple WDC in the Merc provided they could consistently beat their teammate.
Ajaxn
25th November 2021, 0:50
As we rewrite history, lets not forget the many misfortunes which befell Hamilton that year, or the actions which took place within the Mercedes camp that year, to facilitate Rosberg’s win. Rosberg in my opinion was gifted the championship by a Mercedes who could afford to reward their B driver because there was no external competition.
With Redbull ‘apparently’ closer in performance, and Ferrari showing signs of regaining their form ‘by whatever means’ Mercedes might not be able to afford competition between their drivers.
My guess is after 8 championship and nothing left to prove, Hamilton might be ok in a suportive role until he retires from the sport.
Iosif (@afonic)
24th November 2021, 8:20
Let’s be real here, in that scenario he could have probably won all of them. The dominance of Mercedes was huge in all years the recent years. Even in 2018, Mercedes out-developed Ferrari massively. Rosberg is probably in Vettel’s level, he would have easily won them all.
oweng (@oweng)
25th November 2021, 6:45
Would Mercedes have been so dominant had Hamilton turned them down?
My answer would be no. The best teams hire the best drivers for a reason. Otherwise they’d get cheaper drivers in and spend more on the car. Just like with Schumacher at Ferrari, in my opinion drivers at that level are key contributors to dominant cars, not lucky recipients of them.
Just a Fan
24th November 2021, 8:36
Am a Max fan, but feel he still can imrove on his quali performance. 19 wins but 12 poles, right now he’s more of a schumacher than a senna.
Still mighty good, but imagine if he ironed out those occasionally scruffy Q3 laps, he’ll be untouchable – senna & schumacher talent combo.
Don’t think Max has hit his ceiling yet – which is scary
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
24th November 2021, 12:45
@todfod
I would like to think that had Villeneuve moved to Mclaren for 99 instead of BAR, he would have won another title, or at least got really close. Hard to say if he would have beaten Mika, but Jacques was certainly in his prime up till about 2001.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th November 2021, 16:55
Absolutely, he gets underestimated due to the car he had, opposite of hamilton.
Todfod (@todfod)
25th November 2021, 7:20
@jaymenon10
Agree. I was a huge Villenueve fan when I started watching the sport, and on his day, he was incredible to watch. After winning his first title though.. he just didn’t seem to have the hunger to go through it all again and add to his tally. I feel that was reflected in his decision to join BAR rather than looking at a confirmed top team drive.
Robbie (@robbie)
25th November 2021, 16:37
The reality is that after JV’s WDC in 97, Renault stopped developing their engine, so he no longer had a competitive ride. JV didn’t “join” BAR, he helped form it and was an investor in it. BAR started because of JV and his commitment. He had no other viable options in the way of a WDC level ride. So he took a huge risk which took huge guts. Mid-way through his tenure at BAR, when Benetton offered him a ride, it was Honda that convinced JV to stick it out with BAR. Meanwhile nobody was going to stand a chance against MS/Ferrari/Ecclestone/Mosley and their drive to create the new chapter in F1 with MS ending the Ferrari WDC drought.
In my perfect world the best and most epic storyline would have been JV going to Ferrari, thus putting the Villeneuve name back on the red car ala Gilles, with a fair battle in equal equipment between he and MS. But of course that’s just fantasy land, and BE’s and MM’s plan was rather to shape everything around MS, including a contracted boot licker teammate, so that he could have more advantages hand over fist over the rest of the grid, and thus ensure the ending of the Ferrari WDC drought that way. What a shame.
JustSomeone
24th November 2021, 11:37
True, Max is probably the first true “gymnastics girl*” of F1. Really born and raised to be F1 champion where his dad failed and his mom was also a racer. All planned out from the start by the same management his dad had, and not allowed to fail. He did make it though!
*) Which incidentally is very much discouraged in that sport, enforced with age limits because it was considered child abuse.
Dan G (@dang)
24th November 2021, 13:17
That explains an awful lot.
melanos
24th November 2021, 21:15
Well, Keke Rosberg got a WDC, didn’t he?
A lucky one if you will, with only 1 win the season which I believe is a standing record. But a WDC nonetheless.
melanos
24th November 2021, 21:23
A terrible year, 1982
My favorite wasn’t Alain Prost yet, I was hoping Gilles would win a much-deserved WDC. Alas, it was not to be.
Kaydan
24th November 2021, 4:20
I think Max is just talking conservatively and not thinking that far ahead just now, taking one at a time is probably the best way to approach it. But I imagine, that if or when he gets that first one he will go into pride mode as @jasonj said. Max will want to surpass everyones tally, Hamiltons target specifically to prove he is the best and knowing he has youth on his side and the full backing of any top team he goes to, I think he will certainly aim to be the GOAT.
I think Qatar won’t learn anything from the GP, I actually think they’ll learn it next year from the world cup. The one thing that race didn’t have but world cups do? Atmosphere.
Happy for that marshall, the cynic in me does think though, that maybe, just maybe a future fan marshall might think creating a similar situation might be a direct access ticket to meet there hero. Hope not.
some racing fan
24th November 2021, 5:34
That new Detroit track uses some of the F1 layout, and it looks terribly awful. People should already bee concerned about the future of the event there.
nandy
24th November 2021, 7:16
One hard fought title against the most dominant team in F1 history trumps a handful of empty titles cruising around in a rocket powered limo with a second a lap advantage…
Yusha (@freebird78)
24th November 2021, 7:37
You mean like Lewis’s first title in 2008?
Gubstar
24th November 2021, 8:28
I think he means all the titles he has won since Rosberg retired. Lewis very much earned those first 3 championships, but the rest have been handed to him on a platter and even in 14/15 he only had to beat one other car.
Philip (@philipgb)
24th November 2021, 9:01
I mean ’17 and ’18 he was up against a Ferrari that was the better car driven by a 4x world champion, he didn’t win those years in a dominant car, but he had a car close enough that he was able to make the difference as the driver
And this year again the Red Bull is the better car over the course of the entire season, though as the driver Hamilton has been a mixed bag of taking some wins that should have gone Red Bull’s way, and losing some wins that should have been his. The races Max has been taken out while not at fault are the key differentiator but he still deserves respect if he takes it because the two of them have been in a class of their own
Mathias
24th November 2021, 11:13
you do know that hamilton won the most races in every seasons for many years, including 2017 and 2018, thanks to the mercedes car. lol. And failrarri never was the dominant car. Even if it was, the awful strategy by the ferrari team would neuter their performance.
It’s only the first time since the FIA chose the mercedes engine to be the norm, after 3 years of development on mercedes’ side, that hamilton has a competition and with all his experience cruising 1s a lap ahead of everybody, he shows is not as good as his fans like you keep saying. ANd yet you keep glorying him.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
24th November 2021, 11:24
How could have been the 2017-2018 Ferraris the better car when, to say the least, they had more tech issues than Mercedes?!?!
Edvaldo
24th November 2021, 21:25
@mg1982
“more tech issues than Mercedes”
that’s a straight up lie. Both mercedes broke down on austria 2018. Ferrari didnt had any technical issue that year.
MacLeod (@macleod)
24th November 2021, 8:14
That is very nice of Max as he shows no hard feeling he did only his job!
Alberto
24th November 2021, 9:07
I think Max’s comment can be interpreted as negative but he will probably win every possible trophy that can be won on a tarmac. He might have 4-5 different titles in various racing series when he retires.
Qeki (@qeki)
24th November 2021, 10:35
Max is 24 and he is speaking the life after F1. Yeah.
Plossl (@)
24th November 2021, 11:51
Came across this in the Youtube comments section regarding Lewis using the switches on the steering wheel to silently tell Bono which tyre he wanted on lap 40, thought it might interest others…
So for those of you wondering, there’s three total rotary wheels at the bottom-center of the wheel. The one of the left is “Strat” which controls ERS deployment throughout a lap and fuel flow. The center one is multi function. It deals with weather conditions (torque vectoring), general display information, what tire compounds are on, it can clear errors and even set the clutch bite point. The one on the right is HPP (High Performance Powertrains). It further controls fuel flow and engine timing. The HPP rotary use to be commonly moved over years past because you could turn down or turn up the engine power during the race. Now that this has been banned, it’s placed into the desired mode and left in that position unless coming into the pitlane or under safety car conditions (each constructor can turn down their engines under pitlane and SC conditions), but the engine mode must be returned to the original position under green flag racing or reentry onto the track. The HPP dial can also non-verbally cue wing flap adjusts.
The Strat knob does in fact have a yellow and white selection, and the HPP has a red selection. He can rotate those knobs to a selected number with the corresponding color and nothing will happen. When he rotates them, Bono can see what he has selected, but Hamilton actually has to press “OK” (bottom-left) for it to take effect. So he could move it to Strat 14 which is white and Bono could see that, noting that Hamilton wants the hard compound tire, and nothing would change regarding energy deployment
Plossl (@)
24th November 2021, 14:00
Doh… Forgot to mention this was for the Brazil GP.
hyoko
24th November 2021, 21:29
Sounds really convoluted. Not sure it is legal to send messages to the team which are unavailable to anybody else (encrypted radio comm with the team is not allowed although pretty much everybody uses some sort of code), but my guess is that the rulebook does not say anything specific about it.
Jogo
24th November 2021, 14:09
I truly believe he’s sayin so just because he didn’t win yet. Almost every driver has 3 missions to complete: first title, lady in red, earn money. L’appétit vient en mangeant. Anyway I don’t see him as a person who really wants to smash records, I mean become the best ever, bathe in the rays of glory etc. He really doesn’t seem to be that emulous.
melanos
24th November 2021, 21:30
Didn’t get the memo, you mean driving for Ferrari?
macaque (@macaque)
24th November 2021, 15:50
Does anyone remember a press conference this year (or 2020?) with Lewis and Max where Lewis broke another record and was asked about his age, then Max said something to the effect of “oh, no! Do I have to drive for another 10/12 years”? Implying both that he wouldn’t want to stay in F1 so long, and that he wants to beat Lewis’ records.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
24th November 2021, 16:52
“Ralph Boschung will race in Formula 2 for a sixth season next year, and exceed 100 starts in the junior series, after signing new deal to extend his stay at Campos.” Yikes! Kinda defeats the purpose of a feeder series if there are people driving for five or six seasons.
Plossl (@)
24th November 2021, 19:17
I’am not a gambler but after reading that I’am thinking of putting a bet on Max doing the Triple Crown by 2027…..