Motor Sport
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Alonso and ocon at an alpine event near my work
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It's shaping up to be an interesting race this weekend (F1). Who's breached the financial cap and what will be the consequences? They have already stated that last years standings will remain, but what does that mean for this year's?
Rumours are that it is Red Bull and Aston Martin with one of them being a minor breach and one a major one.
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My money is on some bullshit fudging and ridiculously lenient slaps on wrists.
I get that Drive to Survive has bought a shit load of new viewers in, I believe audiences are 60% up on a few years ago. But, in my opinion, this is first and foremost a sport and should be entertaining as a result of that.
What happened last year, was in my opinion primarily driven by the need to entertain - Though shalt not finish under a safety car.
It was a travesty. I am not taking anything away from the brilliance of Max, he is a once-in-a-generation driver, but he won the last race as a result of the immense pressure placed on Masi, not to end the championship behind a safety car.
So I really do believe we will get some complete bullshit with this one. They won't ban a team, they won't ban a driver, they won't revisit last season's results. FFS this is entertainment, can't mess with that - oh, I almost forgot, there's money involved…..
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Meanwhile, Let's try and draw attention away from the budget cap violations, which if dealt with appropriately, will cause an existential crisis….
Singapore Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team fined £22,000 over nose stud
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/63104058
Yes, I'm fucking jaundiced. I won't stop watching, because I am in awe of the skill demonstrated by the top drivers, but this is not Grand Prix
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Doubtful this Singapore race might go ahead
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all sport involves money, which is the sad part of it. just look at football and the failed super league. the owners saw the $ signs but thankfully the fans played a massive role in starting an uprising to address that.
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well well well, world champion it is.
bloke with the microphone said it in the most casual as way, almost as if your number is being called up at the deli. poor Charles probably didn't even know he got the penalty.
fucking joke.
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Definitely super awkward but Leclerc deserved the penalty. I just don’t understand the way FIA and F1 operate sometimes. I feel like Russell got away with worse last race and it’s always someone else’s fault with him.
I can’t believe Max put up that kind of margin in that few laps though. The lack of spray and clean air up front only account for so much, and certainly can’t explain 27 seconds. Probably would have lapped the field except for the podium finishers in a full race. Mad pace.
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yeah the pace on race day has been mad for red bull all season bar the first few races they had.
Leclerc probably deserved a penalty but what max did to Norris on Saturday was worthy of one too, but he got away with just a warning.
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…and it won’t happen, but imagine if they came out and said Red Bull has broken the cap and they are disqualified for the season…
I am minded to side with Hamilton here, and I paraphrase, "If we had overspent by $7m in 2021, then I think we'd have won the championship last year, and be in a significantly better position this year"
Again, you Max lovers, do not think that this is a dig at Max, he is supernaturally talented (but I suspect a crashing bore over a pint down the pub), and I am in awe of what he can do…..But........
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Of course that’s true, but it’s a complete waste of breath to talk about cost caps until we see the receipts. Hopefully we will and FIA won’t pull the secretive bullshit like they did with Ferrari when they got caught cheating in 2019.
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Another thought: a regulation that doesn't have concrete definition as to infractions and associated consequences is a joke. A nebulous threat that is unmoored to specific parameters opens the door to arbitrary enforcement, which is probably intentional–FIA loves to pick winners as we have seen repeatedly, including 2021 WDC.
It's a shame--I like the idea of a cost cap because I want a level playing ground for the independent teams, but they really botched it.
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interesting thought regarding cost caps.
the premier league, is in a way not govern by any cost caps, financial fair play aside, which makes it the most lucrative and competitive league in the world. I'm not sure cost cap is an effective solution to levelling the playing field. I think that it stifles innovation and competitiveness. whereas on the other hand, a free market would generate much more innovation and competitiveness. but then again, there's also a whole different discussion between a man (football players) and a machine (cars)
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EPL doesn't represent what I like to see in sports in terms of economics. Sure, the bloated budgets bring the best players in the world, but it's top-heavy, with well over half the spend distributed among the top 6 of 20 teams, who are basically the only teams in contention for titles year after year. Major League Baseball in the US is similarly liberal about spend, but for some reason (part of it the playoffs, I'm sure) has a weaker correlation between spend and success.
I would prefer a model more similar to the NFL or NHL with revenue sharing and cost caps, which are proven to create parity in those sports, and if legislated and enforced effectively, will do the same in F1. This gives the independent teams a fighting chance, and who doesn't love an underdog? It also means we would be less likely to see the same champion year in, year out, or if we do, it's because they are a better team, not because they are better funded. The situation now where most of the field fights for mediocrity every single year isn't satisfying to me, and I don't think the innovation that comes from unfettered spending offsets that in the least. Best season in recent memory happened under the cap after all.
That said, the rationale for the cap is not just to level the playing field. It actually could make it much more attractive for moneyed teams such as manufacturers to compete as well. Someone like Audi may have seen pre-cap F1 as a financial black hole, and having some definition around spend could help them decided to join the fray. Then there's the sustainability aspect.
One thing I have been thinking about is rolling caps, where going over one year, instead of just a penalty which disproportionately impacts the smaller teams, a cap hit the following year proportionate to the overspend, perhaps with a budget floor so that teams don't just violate the cap each year.
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the EPL may have massive spend within the top 6, but at the same time, it's the only league in the world that a team in 20th may overrun the top team in the league. granted, it might not be the same across the top leagues in Europe where only 2 or 3 teams will compete at the top every year.
maybe a better solution would be the equivalent to FFP where revenues decide how much a team can spend. this not only creates a fairer playing ground for teams to attract supporters, it also helps build the support in terms of F1 and who knows maybe even F2 and F3.. think of it as a team in the premier league has it's reserves and U21/U18s down the "ladder"
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I saw this on the F1 subreddit a while back
Not shown here, but Max’s win rate when Leclerc has pole is twice Leclerc’s own win rate when he himself has pole.
Obviously reliability and strategy issues at play here but it’s just such a stark contrast I found it noteworthy.
I’d love to see Sir Lewis mount a challenge for WDC #8 next season and for Charles to be in the mix as well even if I kind of dislike Ferrari as a team.
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mount a challenge for WDC #9 next season
