F1 2019 (Not the game) Spoiler-All

EverythingsTentative wrote:

I know they are trying to make it sound like all these different possibilities could play out, but all it needs to say is Rosberg 2016 Champion. How many times has Rosberg finished outside of the podium this year?

One more time than Hamilton has. If Lewis gets pole position, and Verstappen crashes into Rosberg...

Do they get a lot of rain in Abu Dhabi?

Gravey wrote:

If Lewis gets pole position, and Verstappen crashes into Rosberg...

Yup. Hammy's only hope is to keep #3 on Rosberg's butt and hope someone takes him out.

Here it is, simplified:

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I hope everyone gets to see the final race soon. It was honestly one of the most exciting Drivers Championship fights in recent years.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

I hope everyone gets to see the final race soon. It was honestly one of the most exciting Drivers Championship fights in recent years.

Probably the best race of the season, from the first lap to the last. I'm surprised how close it got to Hamilton's ideal situation, and with Vettel more threatening than the Red Bulls—not realistically close for a chance for Lewis, but still plenty exciting.

The only disappointing part of the whole thing was Button's early retirement.

It was pretty obvious what Lewis was trying to do. I can't blame him and I don't think anyone can, not Rosberg or his team. I would have probably been more aggressive. What did Lewis have to lose? Go so slow that Nico has to pass you to no get passed him self, and oops Nico got spun. Racing incident.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

It was pretty obvious what Lewis was trying to do. I can't blame him and I don't think anyone can, not Rosberg or his team. I would have probably been more aggressive. What did Lewis have to lose? Go so slow that Nico has to pass you to no get passed him self, and oops Nico got spun. Racing incident.

Yeah Mercedes talking about "needing to fix the situation" with team orders makes me roll my eyes. What is he supposed to do when it's this close? Not try? Sure, you hire two of the best drivers in the world and tell one of them not to try.

drdoak wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

It was pretty obvious what Lewis was trying to do. I can't blame him and I don't think anyone can, not Rosberg or his team. I would have probably been more aggressive. What did Lewis have to lose? Go so slow that Nico has to pass you to no get passed him self, and oops Nico got spun. Racing incident.

Yeah Mercedes talking about "needing to fix the situation" with team orders makes me roll my eyes. What is he supposed to do when it's this close? Not try? Sure, you hire two of the best drivers in the world and tell one of them not to try.

Yeah, it was racing tactics, it was legal, and from where I was standing (sitting), it made the race more exciting than any other race led by both Mercs, including Spain. I think Jalopnik summed it pretty well:

Mercedes was right, and Lewis was also right to disobey them. Their goals contradict in the most ridiculous way possible.

So what if Lewis was going 9 sec slower than he did in qualifying. Close racing is exciting, not necessarily fast racing. So with that done and thoroughly enjoyed, we'll see what the seemingly-going-in-the-wrong-direction "wider! faster!" 2017 cars do.

The BBC are awfully salty about Hamilton not getting the championship.

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NSMike wrote:

The BBC are awfully salty about Hamilton not getting the championship.

The BBC is a British publication and Lewis Hamilton is British

(I want to be clear that NSMichael is my roommate and I know he already knows this)

I mean, even Hamilton shook Nico's hand on the podium.

With the amount of clear bias that media generates for F1 drivers in their home country it makes me not want an American Drivers Championship contender.

I really hope that the changes that are coming next season close the gap between the top teams. If Mercedes is still dominant next season I'll probably stop watching for a while.

Ricciardo WDC 2017

drdoak wrote:

Ricciardo WDC 2017

This is the only acceptable outcome.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

With the amount of clear bias that media generates for F1 drivers in their home country it makes me not want an American Drivers Championship contender.

I really hope that the changes that are coming next season close the gap between the top teams. If Mercedes is still dominant next season I'll probably stop watching for a while.

I don't think I'll stop watching, probably because this is the first season I've ever watched, but I totally understand the feeling. I don't mind front running cars, mid pack, etc.. , but I would like to see each group have about 6 cars in it and any of the six could get pole/fastest lap/podium.

If you are like me and dont have a specific person you want to follow, watching to see who comes in third is a bit dull.

I would like to extol the better racing of the GP2 feeder series, if I haven't already. 10 different race winners this past season alone. They're spec cars, but they're open wheel, and about... 1.5 seconds? off the pace of F1 cars. Is good racing.

Nico Rosberg just announced his retirement.

Since 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula One World Champion. Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target.And now I’ve made it. I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right. My strongest emotion right now is deep gratitude to everybody who supported me to make that dream happen.

This season, I tell you, it was so damn tough. I pushed like crazy in every area after the disappointments of the last two years; they fuelled my motivation to levels I had never experienced before. And of course that had an impact on the ones I love, too – it was a whole family effort of sacrifice, putting everything behind our target. I cannot find enough words to thank my wife Vivian; she has been incredible. She understood that this year was the big one, our opportunity to do it, and created the space for me to get full recovery between every race, looking after our daughter each night, taking over when things got tough and putting ourchampionship first.

When I won the race in Suzuka, from the moment when the destiny of the title was in my own hands, the big pressure started and I began to think about ending my racing career if I became World Champion. On Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, I knew that it could be my last race and that feeling cleared my head before the start. I wanted to enjoy every part of the experience, knowing it might be the last time… and then the lights went out and I had the most intense 55 laps of my life. I took my decision on Monday evening. After reflecting for a day, the first people I told were Vivian and Georg (Nolte, from Nico’s management team), followed by Toto.

The only thing that makes this decision in any way difficult for me is because I am putting my racing family into a toughsituation. But Toto understood. He knew straight away that I was completely convinced and that reassured me. My proudest achievement in racing will always be to have won the world championship with this incredible team of people,the Silver Arrows.

Now, I’m just here to enjoy the moment. There is time tosavour the next weeks, to reflect on the season and to enjoy every experience that comes my way. After that, I will turn the next corner in my life and see what it has in store for me…

https://www.facebook.com/nicorosberg/

Verstappen Mercedes 2017 World Champion?

What a crazy thing. Wow.

Good for him, I think. I've never really been a Rosberg fan, he doesn't have much charisma and never seemed capable of beating Hamilton wheel-to-wheel. But he won the championship (and I've been finding the whole "does he deserve it?" thing annoying—he got the most points, he won, let him enjoy it), achieved his dream, beat Lewis, doesn't need more money, and doesn't want to sacrifice his family any more. Go out on top.

So long-time team Audi surprise withdraws from WEC, dominant VW surprise withdraws from WRC, and new champion Rosberg surprise retires from F1. Anyone else got something planned?

It sucks to see Rosberg go. I've liked him since his first season in F1 and it is really cool that he was able to win a drivers championship.

Now I wonder if Mercedes is going to be able to get a driver that can compete with Hamilton. If Mercedes continues to dominate Formula 1 and Hamilton doesn't have a teammate that can challenge him it could be an extremely boring season. I know Pascal Wehrlein is a Mercedes reserve driver but I don't know if Mercedes would take a driver that was in one of the worst cars of 2016 and put them into, potentially, the best car of 2017.

For some people that one championship is enough. Like Dennis Taylor in snooker. Great to go out on top.

If we're talking about charisma, yeah, Nico doesn't exactly light up the crowds, but neither does Hamilton. In fact, on pure charisma, the only one on the grid who really has that is Ricciardo. Although Button is pretty charming too...

But ANYWAY.

Nico does a lot of social media stuff for his fans. Don't know if you've ever bothered to look, but after just about every race, he posts an update about his travels and the like, and always thanks the fans. Also, Nico won back the Italian crowd at Monza - a crowd that booed Hamilton. Nico does OK.

Also there was after Baku, when a reporter accidentally got his attention by holding out his mic, without being prepared to ask any questions, and Nico interviewed himself:

https://streamable.com/7ayv

Maybe Sky try to undermine Rosberg's image, he often comes off as humourless and defensive in their pre- and post-race stuff.

And here's your 8-bit season review:

That was pretty great.

Apparently Bottas is Mercedes first choice? Why does that feel like a "Lets not give Hamilton any competition" pick?

Massa is coming back to Williams.

But with Mercedes looking to sign Bottas to replace retired world champion Nico Rosberg, Massa has now agreed to stay at Williams for at least another year in order to help the team in a season where big regulations changes are set to reward experience.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ma...

Confirmed, Bottas at Mercedes. Massa at Williams.

http://m.bbc.com/sport/formula1/3848...

Wouldn't it be terrible if all these rule changes this year were really bad for Mercedes.

I found a few of these in the free bin at 2nd and Charles. 2011 2013 2014

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Ecclestone is out. Chase Carey is the new CEO, and Ross Brawn may be taking over the sporting side of Bernie's old multi-headed role.

“I was deposed today,” Ecclestone told Auto Motor und Sport. “I am simply gone. It's official. I am no longer the leader of the company. My position has been taken by Chase Carey.

“My new position is one of those American terms. It's something like an honorary president. I have this title now, even though I don't know what it means.”

I don't know if this will be better, but it can't be worse.

I am liking the cars this year so far. I really like the sails on the back.

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