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[Other Sport] F1 nonsense





GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,222
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
I tell you what though: despite team orders, Lewis Hamilton could have done far more for his reputation and standing if he had come onto the radio and said he was going to ignore instructions and let Bottas come past him to take the win.

He would still almost certainly have won the World Championship and even if he didn't, again, his reputation would only have improved if this incident turned out to be the reason why.

...and what if he has a couple of breakdowns, or grid penalties for changing engines/gearboxes etc..... and loses the title by less than 7 points ?

I don't think they would be concerned about his 'reputation'
 


Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,521
There is nothing new about what happened to Bottas, indeed all F1 fans accept this as part and parcel of the sport as it has always been.

It only really matters if F1 is serious about growing the sport and growing the global fanbase because promoting a systemically unfair sport to the masses is a hard sell.

Team orders effectively rules out a big chunk of the betting market, and in an era when sport is becoming more transparent through increased drug-testing, use of technology in decision-making, the continued use of team orders to engineer a result seem counter-intuitive.

Toto Wolff was clearly beating himself up during the race about having to justify the decision to Bottas. Indeed, there was a decent chance Hamilton would have overtaken Bottas and won the race fair and square without assistance. And once Hamilton was let through by Bottas mid-way through the race we were then faced with the confusing spectacle of what might happen if Hamilton himself had mechanical issues - would Bottas be allowed to challenge for the lead if he suddenly found a bit of pace, or would he simply be left to block out Vettel in that scenario?

I don't think Hamilton needed the assistance - he already has the best car, he has a huge lead over Vettel and I think Mercedes made a very bad call that they didn't need to make. A sad day for F1.
 




DavidRyder

Well-known member
Jul 23, 2013
2,884
Lewis was going to extend his lead anyway, would have been nice for Bottas to get the victory.

I caught the end of the BTCC on ITV4 yday, the last race. It was absolutely brilliant racing, and for entertainment and good honest driving it knocks F1 into touch.
 




Steve.S

Well-known member
May 11, 2012
1,833
Hastings
You were about half an hour AFTER I openly admitted the analogy doesn't quite work :dunce: And fair enough, it's not actually cheating simply because it isn't against the rules - although if Vettel ends up losing to Hamilton by a point or two, he may feel he has been properly cheated out of a title.

And really my two points aren't fully addressed by simply saying it isn't cheating:

1) they crown the world champion as the one with the most points. Hamilton didn't earn his points today, so that seems flawed to me. Corrupt, in fact.

2) 150,000 or so will pay a fortune to watch a RACE, but then team orders ruin the spectacle. Are the crowd given refunds or are they expected to pay £100 a ticket to watch Mercedes decide who is going to win? i.e £100 to watch very fast traffic.

By the way [MENTION=47]Tooting Gull[/MENTION], I have respect for snooker and darts - they are what they are, games or sports, whatever - but they are not inherently corrupt or unfair like this traffic nonsense.

I think you will find plenty of Vettels team mates have had to let him through on a number of occasions. Had it been the other way round yesterday the same thing would have happened. It’s a team sport.
 


Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
69,880
Consider this scenario:

RB Leipzig are playing Red Bull Salzburg in the penultimate round of the Europa League group stages in late November. It's all square at half time, and as things stand Leipzig need a point to qualify. However, Salzburg look like they will need a miracle because Celtic are hammering group whipping boys Rosenborg, which means that Salzburg need 3 points here and another 3 at Celtic to pip the unwashed to 2nd.

Red Bull orders Leipzig to concede 3 goals in the second half and to take all their strikers off. Handily, they now just need to beat Rosenborg at home to qualify and now Salzburg have a chance themselves. A good job well done.

That sounds a bit shit doesn't it? You might even say dishonest and cheating? But apparently that sort of conduct is all perfectly ok in Formula One and exactly why it will always be even less of a sport than Darts or Snooker to me - and why Lewis Hamilton or any other driver should never be anywhere near SPOTY when the time comes.

It is nothing but fast traffic. It isn't even competitive. Why would anyone pay huge sums to watch this organised charade?

Wouldn't cross the road to watch the F1 traffic, but has to said that the cars in the Red Bull museum near to Salzburg airport are drop-dead gorgeous glittering works of art.
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,110
Surrey
I think you will find plenty of Vettels team mates have had to let him through on a number of occasions. Had it been the other way round yesterday the same thing would have happened. It’s a team sport.
Is it? So Hamilton isn't "world champion" then? Sorry, my mistake.
 




Is it? So Hamilton isn't "world champion" then? Sorry, my mistake.

To be fair, the Drivers Champion receives no prize money, the Constructors is where the money comes from so in effect it really is a team sport.
 










studio150

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2011
29,555
On the Border
Football – It says something for the quality of sports administration that (FIFA and UEFA led) football is probably one of the better administered sports.

Your drugs must be particularly strong to overlook: Blatter Platini and all the others taking money for votes, the awarding of the World Cups to Russia and Qatar. and the list goes on
 


Geestar

New member
Nov 6, 2012
3,421
Shoreham Beach
Bad situation to be in but it was the right call. One is fighting for the title, the other isn't. It is why Bottas has a contract at Mercedes, perhaps luckily as he hasn't exactly excelled in an excellent car.

Who's to say Hamilton wouldn't have passed him anyway.

Sent from my TA-1020 using Tapatalk
 




goldstone

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
7,108
Consider this scenario:

RB Leipzig are playing Red Bull Salzburg in the penultimate round of the Europa League group stages in late November. It's all square at half time, and as things stand Leipzig need a point to qualify. However, Salzburg look like they will need a miracle because Celtic are hammering group whipping boys Rosenborg, which means that Salzburg need 3 points here and another 3 at Celtic to pip the unwashed to 2nd.

Red Bull orders Leipzig to concede 3 goals in the second half and to take all their strikers off. Handily, they now just need to beat Rosenborg at home to qualify and now Salzburg have a chance themselves. A good job well done.

That sounds a bit shit doesn't it? You might even say dishonest and cheating? But apparently that sort of conduct is all perfectly ok in Formula One and exactly why it will always be even less of a sport than Darts or Snooker to me - and why Lewis Hamilton or any other driver should never be anywhere near SPOTY when the time comes.

It is nothing but fast traffic. It isn't even competitive. Why would anyone pay huge sums to watch this organised charade?

Well said that man. You have summed up the non-sport that is F1 extremely well.
 















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