Grand Prix 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

i had a bit of time so i thought i would give it ago.

the 1st ever Saudi Arabian GP, it feels weird to be this far into the year & we still arent into the finale. into context lewis debut season in 2007, the penultimate race was on 6th october. but we are on the final leg for what has been 1 of most enjoyable seasons for many a year (to be fair its a low bar) & arguably the best rivalry since Hakkinen/Schumacher 23 years ago. some cracking racing between the 2 title contenders. alot of controversy along the way. the momentum like a rollercoaster as at times Hamilton & Verstappen have looked like they were heavy favourites only for it to swing the other way by the next race or in space of 24 hours. really looking forward to see which way it swings again.

Saudi Arabia like the middle east is trying to move away from their reliance on oil to generate income & are using sport to rebrand themselves or as some critics call it sportwashing but for legal reasons i may leave that alone. LOL but they have spent big hosting Joshua V Ruiz heavyweight rematch, Formula E, Dakar Rally, Spanish + Italian Super cups, Fifa World Club Cup, the worlds richest horse race, Golf, Asian games in the future & the F1. then surrounding areas hosting the 20/20 cricket world cup , potential bids for both the world cup & Olympics

it will be the 1st time that F1 has raced at back to back new venues outside of Europe as prior 2 times 1959 Germany/Portugal & 1970 Germany/Austria. its a miracle that their is a race on at all because it has been a race against time to say the least. 5 weeks ago it looked more like the pictures of 1 year to go not 1 month go

1st November 2021

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1st December 2021
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the circuit looks like a real challenge, its high speed, imagine baku without the twisty middle sector. it could be carnage because you make a mistake your hitting the wall at 150mph. i would expect safety car or 2 & that unpredictability not good for Lewis Hamilton at the moment because is imperative that he finishes ahead of max verstappen otherwise the title would get very tough


Finally the 1st GP since Frank Williams passing what a man what a motorsport icon. who will be missed & hopefully they will have a moments silence for him. before the race
 
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As far as I can see, the following drivers should face penalties now:
  1. Hamilton for falling more than 10 car lengths behind Verstappen under the safety car
  2. Bottas for driving unnecessarily slowly under the safety car
  3. Verstappen for trying to drive into Hamilton
  4. Leclerc for hitting Perez
At this rate, Norris is going to win this race.
 
Its too long for Formula E, I would suggest, in line with what I have seen today that it would be suitable for a good ole' banger race
 
It is an utter farce. Communication has been appalling, the track is utterly unsuitable for racing, Michael Masi seems to be having a howler. This really is amateur hour from top to bottom.
 
I have no idea what either driver was doing there. Hamilton didnt know what was going on, but if it was am engine issue, he would have just driven round him. I think that the instinct to drive round him may have been affected by "but its Max".
 
I think it’s a bit much to accuse Verstappen of brake-testing. He basically slowed right down to let Hamilton past. Hamilton then hit Verstappen.

Verstappen probably should feel agrieved about getting a 5 second penalty having let Hamilton past (twice).
 
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