I used to be about as big an F1 fan as you might find. I started every season reading the TR and the SR cover to cover and then digesting the rules changes. Which Internet service provider I used always was determined by who was carrying live F1 racing (and the Tour de France). And I had several F1-centric online accounts, F1 Racing, Autosport, Motor Sport, etc.
Then came 2014, which started with a screw-job, the basis of which came down to the fact that Adrian Newey had better test equipment than the FIA. But by mid-season it was clear that it was Y2K all over again, only this time it wasn’t Ferrari that had “bought the pot,” it was Merc.
Fast-forward eight years and now Hambone gets credited as the greatest F1 driver of all time when the truth is he was the beneficiary of Mercedes recognizing the impact of 2014’s new engine format arriving at the same time as the new TR and its imbecilic “token” system, which drastically curtailed R&D. Which meant that if Mercedes started 2014 with enough of an engine advantage, they could coast for several seasons and still take every championship along the way. So they could afford to spend more than a quarter of a billion dollars on engine development before the token system kicked in because it would be amortized over the next five or six seasons.
I think what saddens me the most about the corner they’ve painted the sport into is that F1, which used the be at the bleeding edge of development in all areas of 4-wheeled racing, now is just another “spec racing” series.
Despite all that, I’m still sorely tempted to watch this season just for the sheer pleasure of watching Hambone get humiliated.
just damn, you said a mouthful...
yup, tech was as much or more part in the boi’s rise than he was.
i really do hope this will be a competitive season
but Max’s heating problem is a bad omen for the weekend
welcome back