The 2022 Formula 1 World Championship Thread

[Northern Goblin]

Great aesthetic for the race, dogshit track.

Let's not go back to Miami again please.

[Ayirasi]

Missed the beginning, but I guess it was a pretty eventful first few laps.

Shame about Leclerc, but it tightens up the WDC. Max did well to recover and take the win.

[Xanjori]

I really hope they get rid of Monaco from the calender, its just a bad race.

[Ayirasi]

Race was wack, but congrats to Perez on holding off Sainz, though I'd have been fine with either of them winning.

[Espo]

Race was wack, but congrats to Perez on holding off Sainz, though I'd have been fine with either of them winning.

Whatever "holding off" even means in Monaco. I remember Ricciardo winning a few years ago without 2 gears and a busted MGU-K for half the race. This race is such an awful, awful joke and I'm delighted to hear how poorly the contract negotiations are going and can only hope they get rid of this stupid procession that has no place in F1 anymore. Or--find another creative solution (e.g. track changes, smaller cars, or a special format for the race).

But I agree--no issue no matter who won there. But nice to see Checo pick up the win after a tough race last week. A little bit of balance back toward him.

Maybe the only interesting thing, and a fun stat I saw posted: that's the first time a team that locked out the front row, in Monaco, hadn't won the race since 2008--where Ferrari also managed to do it. Ferrari gonna Ferrari I guess. A major shame for Leclerc though to lose that race due to no fault of his own--would have been great to see him win his home GP.

[Ayirasi]

Whatever "holding off" even means in Monaco.

After his initial lock up, and the way his tires looked towards the end, I thought Perez might lock it up at Grand Hotel or Nouvelle, and Sainz would zip right past.

Definite shame for Charles. Guy was flawless.

[MCMLXXXII]

Feel gutted for Charles. Some old-fashioned Italian Pitlane Panic tm going on. Monaco as a race track was always narrow, all the way back to the 1930's. But atbthis day and age it shouldn't be an F1 track anymore although I understand the nostalgic sentiments.
Not to mention the TV coverage of the event. It gets worse and worse every year. They managed to miss every single incident.

[Ayirasi]

Ferrari go boom.

Both championships looking to favor Max and RB.

Why does interview lady have poo emoji on head?

[MCMLXXXII]

That was an Oscar worthy performance by Lewis, getting out of that car.

[Espo]

That was an Oscar worthy performance by Lewis, getting out of that car.

We get it by now--Mercedes and Lewis have somehow harmed you horribly in life.

Could you at least make it interesting and tell us what they did to you?

I'm not in love with either one (or any driver/team on the grid, for that matter), but I don't get the Lewis hate. He had his moments in his younger years, but now he's largely a class act and has done more for the sport than any other driver on the grid right now (popularity wise, social issues, etc). I don't understand why he's so polarizing I guess. For some reason, there's a healthy amount of folks who just assume the worst with him.

[MCMLXXXII]

We get it by now--Mercedes and Lewis have somehow harmed you horribly in life.

Could you at least make it interesting and tell us what they did to you?

I'm not in love with either one (or any driver/team on the grid, for that matter), but I don't get the Lewis hate. He had his moments in his younger years, but now he's largely a class act and has done more for the sport than any other driver on the grid right now (popularity wise, social issues, etc). I don't understand why he's so polarizing I guess. For some reason, there's a healthy amount of folks who just assume the worst with him.

I don't hate Hamilton, he's one of the best drivers ever. I hate what Mercedes has become. That show after the finish is only to influence FIA to change the rules regarding suspension. It's so painfully obvious. Mercedes missed the boat this year. Take it like a man and redesign the car.
But this has been their MO for years now. Why change and adapt while you can go and influence FIA into a rule change. Ferrari used to do that too but at least they changed.

[Espo]

I don't hate Hamilton, he's one of the best drivers ever. I hate what Mercedes has become. That show after the finish is only to influence FIA to change the rules regarding suspension. It's so painfully obvious. Mercedes missed the boat this year. Take it like a man and redesign the car.
But this has been their MO for years now. Why change and adapt while you can go and influence FIA into a rule change. Ferrari used to do that too but at least they changed.

We can probably agree to disagree on 'the show' part if we're referring to Lewis putting on a show at the end. He's 37, with a ridiculous amount of miles on his body, and the Mercedes seemingly has the worst porpoising problem on the grid (the latter part is Mercedes' fault though--they can increase the ride height, but we know what that means). He's also not the only driver to complain about the physical pain from it, either.

That said--Mercedes gonna Mercedes. I definitely can understand how Toto and the team, as a whole, can rub people the wrong way. On the flip side--it's his job to win at all costs, so he's doing it by posturing to get a rule change that would benefit his team. In his defense--F1 spent the last 6+ years trying to massage the rules to end his team's dominance, so I don't entirely blame him now that the shoe is on the other foot. Competition brings out the worst--we've just only seen a big enough sample size of Red Bull and Mercedes to see how shitty both teams can be in a fight (publicly at least). Red Bull simply doesn't have a reason to complain much right now (and the other teams are so far off it doesn't matter).

I agree on Ferrari--Binotto seems to do a good job of keeping the shit out of his team's paddock, at least publicly. He owns their mistakes and doesn't get into all the posturing/shit stirring we've seen from the other predominant team principals. Even when they protested in Monaco--he was pretty diplomatic on his reasoning of not trying to get an overturned victory, but trying to clarify the rules. He didn't piss and moan about it afterward as well.

[Kallisto]

I don't hate Hamilton, he's one of the best drivers ever. I hate what Mercedes has become. That show after the finish is only to influence FIA to change the rules regarding suspension. It's so painfully obvious. Mercedes missed the boat this year. Take it like a man and redesign the car.
But this has been their MO for years now. Why change and adapt while you can go and influence FIA into a rule change. Ferrari used to do that too but at least they changed.

Thinking Ferrari have changed is just not knowing F1. Most (if not all) teams are doing this kind of shit. The only difference is likely Alfa Tauri who are likely waiting on Red Bull to go first.

Thinking Hamilton is faking it though or exaggerating is just stupidity or trolling.

[MCMLXXXII]

Yeah I'm sorry for doubting the guy who is okay within 24 hours, thanks to acupuncture. I must have been trolling. Next time he has a spinal injury he better tell Russell too, who acted like he was perfectly fine.

[Jessicka]

I don't hate Hamilton, he's one of the best drivers ever. I hate what Mercedes has become. That show after the finish is only to influence FIA to change the rules regarding suspension. It's so painfully obvious. Mercedes missed the boat this year. Take it like a man and redesign the car.
But this has been their MO for years now. Why change and adapt while you can go and influence FIA into a rule change. Ferrari used to do that too but at least they changed.

You saw the in-car footage from those Mercedes, it's a wonder the drivers have any teeth left, I really doubt Lewis was faking it. I agree though that Mercedes do need to dump the sunk cost and just fix the car, it's very obviously not working; they've been best of the rest because they finish races, they might as well focus on that at this point because they're not going to challenge for much else.

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Yeah I'm sorry for doubting the guy who is okay within 24 hours, thanks to acupuncture. I must have been trolling. Next time he has a spinal injury he better tell Russell too, who acted like he was perfectly fine.

Surprising how quickly pain killing treatments work, you ever had acupuncture, or paracetomol? Also, other drivers were complaining about that track. Impact has a lot to do with their own build, height etc.

[MCMLXXXII]

You saw the in-car footage from those Mercedes, it's a wonder the drivers have any teeth left, I really doubt Lewis was faking it. I agree though that Mercedes do need to dump the sunk cost and just fix the car, it's very obviously not working; they've been best of the rest because they finish races, they might as well focus on that at this point because they're not going to challenge for much else.

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Surprising how quickly pain killing treatments work, you ever had acupuncture, or paracetomol? Also, other drivers were complaining about that track. Impact has a lot to do with their own build, height etc.

I have no doubt he suffered a lot during the race and I know he wasn't the only one. But, and I'm not alone in this, thought he was really exaggerating. Doesn't matter though.

The only ones who can stop the porpoising and/or bouncing of the Mercs are their engineers. They're running a lower ride height then RB and Ferrari do. But that would mean they probably be competing with Williams and Haas.
It's not a FIA problem, it's a Mercedes problem.
If the two drivers really think the cars are unsafe and they aren't increasing the ride height, there is only one solution the stewards can provide: a black and orange flag.

[Ayirasi]

Fun qualifying in changing conditions. Alonso was a dorifto monster.

[MCMLXXXII]

Drying up slowly made this a great qualifying session. No big crashes. Monster drive by Nando

[Nihilist74]

Why is Lewis Hamilton no longer dominant? Why was Lewis Hamilton dominant before?

[Espo]

Why is Lewis Hamilton no longer dominant? Why was Lewis Hamilton dominant before?

Quick answer?

Before: Lewis Hamilton is an amazing driver who had an amazing rocket ship car.
Now: Lewis Hamilton is an amazing driver who has a mediocre car.

Hard to win consistently in F1 without a competitive car.

More in-depth: His car had some competition in 2017-2018, but Ferrari gonna Ferrari. 2021 Verstappen (amazing driver), finally got a good car and beat him. And now--well, Leclerc and Max both have very good cars. Max is absolutely bonkers and looks, frankly, unbeatable if you give him competitive/top tier machinery (certainly good enough to tangle with Lewis if they're on equal footing--as we saw last year). Charles is incredibly capable as well and has the better car. I wouldn't call the current Mercedes a shit box--but it kind of is one vs the current Red Bull and Ferrari.