Shambles F1
07/01/2019
Liberty Media wanted to make everything so much better. More action, much more excitement and even more equality and all much, much cheaper. And now what exactly has changed in the two years? Nothing except for the grid girls, because they can now "stay at home". It's not just the fans who are starting to have a hard time with this sport, even the drivers are making themselves heard with statements like: "This is no longer the sport I loved so much! I love racing. I'm a purist in that respect. I like the old drivers and the old cars. It's always an honor when I get to talk to the old heroes. I would much rather show my skills in their era than in the present day." (Sebastian Vettel).
A Grand Prix has now been decided at the green table three times in a row. In Monte Carlo, Verstappen was second but was classified fourth. Then Vettel's penalty in Canada, which cost him and the Tifosi the long-awaited victory, and now Ricciardo's double 5-second penalty in France, which robbed him of seventh place. The three-way battle between the Australian in the Renault, Lando Norris in the McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa-Sauber was the salt in the soup of the entire race. And yesterday Verstappen was almost denied victory, although this was resolved after just three hours. Where is this going?
Let's remember the unforgettable three-lap duel 40 years ago between Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari and René Arnoux in a Renault in Dijon in 1979(watch the sequence on YouTube). Today, both drivers would probably be publicly stoned and banned from motorsport for life, but fans will remember these scenes forever and ever, and this is how the true heroes are chosen.
At least Formula 1 showed a different side yesterday, Sunday, in Austria, when Verstappen showed an inspired race to catch up and still won in the end. Perhaps there is still hope ...
