Lewis Hamilton F1 Champion & Turkish Grand Prix Results

[Purple88]

Even if you are not a Formula 1 or racing fan, if you happened across this thread, it is your lucky day.

The link below is to the highlights of yesterday's Turkish Grand Prix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg3v8VKEtBc

 

Yes, Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes won again, but it was how he won it.  On a crazy wet track, slick as snot, qualified way down in 6th spot, which is way down for him.  Hamilton displayed the patience of Job (in the Bible, for those of you that know that book) in the middle part of the race and just methodically made only 1 pit stop to take the race by about 30 seconds over a terrific effort from Racing Point's Sergio Perez (more on him in a minute) and Sebastian Vettel (more on him too) in 3rd.  Followed by Vettel's Ferrari teammate and odd man out of the podium Charles LeClerc.

 

Lewis Hamilton - is simply the best Formula 1 driver in the 70 year history of Formula 1!  He tied the Great Michael Schumacher with 7 World Titles yesterday!  Just an amazing effort from the ONLY black driver on the F1 circuit.  He's an incredible story and how he rose up the ranks is also an incredible tale as well.  I highly recommend taking a peek at F1 before he retires, as he is the Michael Jordan of F1.

Sergio Perez - just a tremendous run for the Mexican driver yesterday to withstand a furious charge from the Ferrari stable and he just held onto 2nd place.  The crazy thing is Perez does not have a F1 seat next year as of today and would be a real shame if he doesn't run next season.

Sebastian Vettel - has had a terrible year by Ferrari's sky high standards, but the German got a tremendous jump from the standing start at the start of the race and jumped from 11th all the way to 4th basically by the first turn.  He was fortunate that his team mate LeClerc made a small mistake to give him a gift at basically the last turn of the race to slip onto the podium.

Charles LeClerc - is my favorite driver who drove a hell of a race only to see Perez run just wide of the 3rd to last turn.  LeClerc bolted to the inside but found himself on marbles and lost control just for an instant to let Perez and Vettel just slip by.  He was reportedly "inconsolable" after the race.  But he will have many more races in front of him.  And Ferrari (outside of some of LeClerc's best work) is just now starting to make some gains in a very disappointing season in which they have basically been serving drinks to Mercedes and Red Bull all year!

As you can tell, I love F1 and is my goal to get to go to a race in the near future.  Check it out!  Next race is November 29th in Bahrain!  Check out the link below:

https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2020/Bahrain.html

The race will be on one of the ESPN channels about 9 am on that Sunday morning!  Check it out!

[gchs_uk9]

Is there only one driver in Formula 1? I ask only because every Sunday the ticker says "Lewis Hamilton wins XXX Event." Formula 1/Grand Prix driving is boring to me no matter what, but it can't be enjoyable if the same person wins every time.

[theguru]

On 11/16/2020 at 2:31 PM, gchs_uk9 said:

Is there only one driver in Formula 1? I ask only because every Sunday the ticker says "Lewis Hamilton wins XXX Event." Formula 1/Grand Prix driving is boring to me no matter what, but it can't be enjoyable if the same person wins every time.

Lewis Hamilton is the the best driver in the best equipment.  He dominates F1.

[Purple88]

On 11/16/2020 at 2:31 PM, gchs_uk9 said:

Is there only one driver in Formula 1? I ask only because every Sunday the ticker says "Lewis Hamilton wins XXX Event." Formula 1/Grand Prix driving is boring to me no matter what, but it can't be enjoyable if the same person wins every time.

 

12 hours ago, theguru said:

Lewis Hamilton is the the best driver in the best equipment.  He dominates F1.

GC,

Guru's words here are very true.  Lewis Hamilton is the best driver in the best car right now.

I was like you many years ago and would only pay attention to who won the race.  That's what counts right.  I've been an Indy Car fan the longest, but those ovals wear you down with only 1 or 2 guys can win there (except the Indy 500, which like the Derby, is more like on its own yearly event than a standard race).  In NASCAR, when they went to the big ovals, it got to be the same thing there.  Outside of the Indy 500 and maybe Daytona, I haven't watched much of those 2 American racing groups.

So I finally gave F1 a try.  The reason I like it better and have become a fan include the following:

1. They drive in multiple countries around the world and on every continent but Antarctica.  I think that's really cool.  Next year will be the first time they race in Saudi Arabia and it will be a night race, which should be really cool.

2. There is more to keep track of than just who is winning the race.  There are basically 3 groups: a. Contenders, b. Mid-Pack, c. Also rans.  I pay attention to who is doing well for all 3 groups during the race at the same time.  These groups not only compete on the track as drivers, but as "constructors" or teams too.  Good for a few sparring verbal elbows throughout the season!

3.  Your team mate in F1 is different than American racing.  In F1, you are trying to make sure you beat your team mate ever time, which seems counterproductive to most (and me too).  Then in some races you see team mates using different strategies to try to take races or improve their positions for the betterment of the team.  It's just another thing I always keep tabs on as it always comes into play for why guys are let go.

4. Your tires or as they say it tyre selection is critical.  Pirelli is the world renowned supplier and they give teams a total of 3 tyre compounds a race out of a total of 5 overall compounds they make that have varying hardnesses and associated speeds and longevities.  Which type you use when matters and some can make their tyres last longer than others and makes it fun to watch if you get that deep into it.

5. I like the TV guys on F1 better than the American racing.  I'm not sure if its the accents or how they present the information but just more enjoyable for me.  It may be that there is always mass information on the screen at all times.  With the race in the middle of the screen, the list of drivers in their current position in the race is shown to the left with varying things like what tyre they are using now, what interval to the next car they have and if they are in the pit or not.  I feel you're more in tuned with the race at that point.

6.  The standing start for F1 is WAY BETTER IMO than guys jockeying to hold everyone else up at the beginning and then sling-shoting away.  The standing start tests every driver to start the exact same way at the exact same time, which I think is much more fair.  And creates a CRAZY first turn at every track/race.

7.  They have DRS (drag reduction system) set up at most races.  DRS is a system that gives the driver behind you an advantage IF they are inside of 1 second behind you.  It is only enacted at certain points around the race track, but allow for more passing with this tactical strategy.

8.  The cars are always changing and it's fun to see the cutting edge technology in action and see what they have developed next.  And the cars aren't all the same.  Some don't understand this.  But it puts the teams engineers in the spotlight to generate the absolute best technology for their teams cars and the proof in on the track.  Mercedes is one of the top teams and they put a crap-load of money into it.  But starting in 2021, there is supposed to be a cap as to how much can be invested to give the mid-pack a chance to catch up a little.

9.  Making the podium (getting in the Top 3) is a big deal in F1.  So typically it is both Mercedes drivers (Hamilton and his team mate Bottas) and the Red Bull driver Verstappan.  But whenever that doesn't happen, it is really fun to watch who gets up there, which is why last weeks race was really exciting to me that Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel both got on the podium when they typically don't do that.

In the end, it is like everything else in life, you have to want to try it and see if you might like it or you don't.  There are 3 races left this season before they take a well earned 3 months off before the 2021 season kicks off in Australia.  If you have questions, let me know.  Sorry to wear you out with all this, but hoping it might spur you to give it a chance.  No pressure.

[gchs_uk9]

7 minutes ago, Purple88 said:

In the end, it is like everything else in life, you have to want to try it and see if you might like it or you don't.  There are 3 races left this season before they take a well earned 3 months off before the 2021 season kicks off in Australia.  If you have questions, let me know.  Sorry to wear you out with all this, but hoping it might spur you to give it a chance.  No pressure.

Wow! Good stuff, Purple. I'm not convinced I'll become a fan (I don't really love any motorsports) but I'm going to give it a try based on this recommendation.

[Purple88]

49 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Wow! Good stuff, Purple. I'm not convinced I'll become a fan (I don't really love any motorsports) but I'm going to give it a try based on this recommendation.

GC,  That's all I would ask of you is to give it a chance.  Remember I only started because I loved the INDY 500 and that was it.

Maybe watch a race before the end of the year and then one in March or April and see if you might like it.  (Germany and Belgium are usually great races just FYI due to the cool tracks they have) 

A typical F1 weekend consists of Practice Rounds on Friday (they are just testing their cars on the tracks and the drivers are getting accustomed to the tracks), Qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.  Qualifying is important as it determines who starts where on the grid.  Its a little complicated, but best to know that at the beginning (Q1) all the drivers go out on the track and try to make the fastest lap time.  Those times are compared with everyone else's time and the bottom 5 drivers are cut.  They then move to Q2 and do the same thing with the next 5 drivers cut.  In Q3, the final 10 drivers compete for top lap time and determine the order they will start for the race on Sunday.  It's also shown on ESPN 2 usually on Saturday mornings, FYI, especially if you were curious as to how they determine who lines up where for the race.

Please ask questions as you get them.  Another thing I like is knowing Lewis Hamilton won't be around forever and who will be the next guy.  It will likely be Verstappen, but not 100%.  Also Michael Schumaker's (he was the greatest driver before Hamilton) son is supposed to get a shot at Ferrari next year and that will be a very good story to watch. 

It won't take the place of NCAA football or basketball or HS sports for you, but may give you another thing to keep track of that you might enjoy from time to time.