Grand Prix thread Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix 2021

Must say after looking at the footage the fia are partially at fault for not using the electronic boards plus in Max's case there was a blue flashing board!

 

The stewards are inconsistent with collisions but pretty decent with things like yellow flags (or technical infringements). There was never any outcome other than both of them getting a penalty.

I'd say it's pivotal for the championship, but Mercedes are just too fast anyway, so it probably doesn't matter.

 

Max 5 place grid penalty, Bottas 3.

 

Verstappen's 5-place penalty explained
This from the stewards in explaining why Verstappen ultimately had no compelling case for the defence and has had a 5-place demotion applied:

The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 33 (Max Verstappen), the team representative and have reviewed video, marshalling system and telemetry evidence.

Double yellow flags were displayed at Flag point 16.6 after the exit from Turn 16 (however the lights system was not enabled). The Stewards note the representations of the driver and team representative for mitigation of penalty in view of the lack of display of the yellow light panels, no dash warning lights and no audio signal to the driver.

Whilst having sympathy for this request, the Stewards have taken into account the following: 1. Article 27.1 of the Formula One Sporting Regulations states that the driver must drive the car alone and unaided. 2.

Appendix H of the Code states that flags and lights have the same meaning (and hence a flag signal must be complied with). 3. Article 27.2 requires the driver to observe the International Sporting Code at all times.

That code, in Appendix H places the onus of responsibility of complying with flag signals clearly on the driver, so notwithstanding the fact the team argued that the turning off of the yellow sector on the FIA marshalling system some 34 second prior to the driver reaching the yellow flag, signified that it was “play on”, it was the driver’s responsibility to take the appropriate action when entering what was a double yellow flag area.

The Stewards 4. The Stewards examined the audio communications between the team and the driver and at no time did the team indicate to the driver the situation referred to in 3. above.

5. The driver acknowledged his awareness of the presence of Car 10 on the right side of the track. Having seen a disabled car, it is reasonable to expect, as was the case of the driver of Car 55, that there was a potential danger and that a yellow flag situation probably existed and therefore to take the appropriate action (i.e. to reduce speed).

6. The penalty for the driver of Car 44 in Austria 2020 resulted in a grid penalty of 3 positions which is the usual penalty for breaching a single flag situation, and the penalty for the driver of Car 5 in Bahrain 2021 which resulted in a grid penalty of 5 positions which is the usual penalty for breaching a double flag situation. Accordingly, the Stewards believe they have no option but to impose the standard penalty for a breach of the double yellow flag requirements referred to above.

 

Alonso in p3- more of this next year please!!

Pivotal day ahead- Max has to get himself on the podium here.

Not an easy place for overtaking so us to avoid getting punted off. Carlos Sainz in P5 should go well - good pace on Friday FP2 but has to get off the line well

 

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looking forwards to Max trying to get past Alonso, he'll race Max like Max races everyone else. Can see a dnf for Max here tbh, all the drivers seem a bit pissed off he got away with what he did in Brazil.

 

Tbf to all of then, there was only one flag straight after the corner how they going to see that at 200 mph plus no flags on dash

 

I agree that just a single flag and no light boards or indications on dash is not good but on the flip side if a marshal sees an incident before fia then surely he/she has to put a flag out as a warning irrespective of if the light boards are indicating anything.

I think for once the FIA have set the correct precedence being that no matter if it's a single marshal with a flag out or a single light board they must be respected.
Good decision in my books but very bad that the light boards were not activated.

I do wonder where Max would have been had the time just been deleted.

 

to be fair I used to have a problem with yellow flags and got a dsq for ignoring them and nearly hitting a marshall (I didn't know until after). But that was in heavy rain, and having the visor half up and squinting to see, so I could only see about 4 feet in front of me (which is better than letting the visor fog up and be blind.) It's the only thing I dislike about racing the rain.
Never had a problem when I could see properly though.

 

Stay away from Twitter! Phew, it's a mess right now.

 

When isn't twitter a mess lol

 

I can understand the absolute shock of seeing Verstappen penalised, I'm with twitter there!

 

Provisional grid is changed!!!! Bottas to 6th Sainz to 5th!

 

I found the whole tone of that radio exchange very troubling. It was very odd, bordering suspicious.

 

Horner not very happy.

Red Bull principal, Christian Horner, speaking on Sky Sports and reacting to Verstappen's grid penalty: "We are really struggling to understand it - because it looks just a complete balls up. The FIA have effectively said play on.

"The circuit is safe, it's clear, Max was at the beginning, he was in the first sector so we had so much time to look at it and you know the dash, everything for him has indicated - otherwise we would have informed him but unfortunately there is a yellow flag and he just did not see it.

"He saw the white one, he saw the car and saw a green light on the right hand side. I think it is a rogue marshal that has stuck a flag out and he has not been instructed to by the FIA and they have got to have control over their marshals, it is as simple as that, because that's a crucial blow in this world championship for us - now we start P7 at a track we can't overtake at and that is massive.

"We won't appeal - it will be a waste of time."

 

Absolutely right call for both drivers.

This is not hard racing it is ignoring track conditions and flags. This is safety 101 and like the hamilton dq you cannot take back the times and say sorry after the fact.

Same story for the thing about verstappen last sunday. Stewards made a call, its not "all new rules" thereafter. There was no new real evidence so the right rule call is to say no to are looking.

Move on and get racing.

 

Whinger.

 

Blaming a marshal now, surely that's slander? The guy's become a whiney joke.