2022 - Race 5 Miami

[Zico]

Well I decided to watch it live in the end.. and tbh it was well worth it.
Brundles pitwalk trying to interview various 'stars' that he didn't know (and they him), wrongly identifying them and also being snubbed right left and centre, had my brother and I in stitches. Funniest one yet. Worth the watch if you didn't see it..

Race had more overtakes and mistakes than I expected, still not sure how Lando and Gasly came into contact and who was most to blame but it certainly livened up the remainder of the race.

Not sure why Lewis was pissed at his team for them asking if he wanted to pit for softs during the safety car then for them making the 'wrong decision' All he had to do was ask when those round about him had stopped and what tyres they were on... I'm pretty sure the Lewis of old would have asked that question instead of throwing it back at them. He seems to just be going through the motions when there is no title in sight.

Stark contrast to Russell being situationally aware and previously suggesting they stay out for as long as possible for the chance of a safety car.. which paid off for him. Fortunate perhaps but it shows you can also influence your own luck by actually being fully involved.

I was surprised at Max being able to get past Charles and staying ahead... running lower downforce usually narrows the peak performance window due to higher tyre deg but it was Charles who looked to suffer from that the most. Turned out to be a very tactical battle at the front with two differing setup approaches. Ferrari look to have the better car for qualy but Red Bull the superior race car yet again... Monaco will no doubt favour Ferrari but the more I see, the more I'm leaning towards RB to catch and pass Ferrari in the points very soon... and Max to also catch Charles if they get their still questionable reliability properly sorted.

Still not a fan of the track but it turned out to be a better race than I imagined. 6.5/10

[gm99]

ETA: I just have to ask, how many other people are aware of the background of Willy T. Ribbs? I'd have to assume those of us in the US know of him, but I'm not sure people in other countries do.

I know him, but only because I used to follow IndyCar quite closely (I even met him at the Indy 500 in 2009). Even so, I got to admit that until yesterday, I wasn't aware he had tested an F1 car for Brabham in the 1980s. My friends, who only watch F1, have no idea who he is.

[Zico]

I know him, but only because I used to follow IndyCar quite closely (I even met him at the Indy 500 in 2009). Even so, I got to admit that until yesterday, I wasn't aware he had tested an F1 car for Brabham in the 1980s. My friends, who only watch F1, have no idea who he is.

I vaguely knew the name but knew next to nothing about him, my older brother did though... and also knew he'd tested Brabhams F1 car.

Talking of which.. Sainz's eyes totally on stalks after Ribbs's very cliche'd post race interview also had us both laughing.

[N. Jones]

I forgot about this -

They had a fake marina! What a joke.

[Bagwan]

I vaguely knew the name but knew next to nothing about him, my older brother did though... and also knew he'd tested Brabhams F1 car.

Talking of which.. Sainz's eyes totally on stalks after Ribbs's very cliche'd post race interview also had us both laughing.

Like gm99 , I used to watch Indy back in Willy's time , so I knew of him , too , but , if anyone watched the Austin race a couple of years ago , they did a big focus piece on him , so we all should know of his fame .

That moment where he spoke with Charles "Chuck" Leclerc , and the look that "Chuck" had on his face when Willy started with that was classic .

By the way , can we lose Danica , or at least try to keep her from talking ? She has absolutely no idea about F1 , and consequently asks the most general and basic questions that tend to shock those being interviewed for a moment before they can answer .
Do your homework , girl , or stay home .

[Bagwan]

I forgot about this -

They had a fake marina! What a joke.

Yeah , I know what you're saying !
They could have made that water a lot more realistic if they had some sort of projectors underneath , so it would have looked like it was moving like real water does .

And , I thought they really missed a trick because they didn't put any edging on it , so the water just ended , so it didn't look real at all .

It obviously needs to be much bigger next year as well because nobody would park boats that big in a wharf that small .


And , those didn't look like real mermaids either .

[airshifter]

The fake marina, yeah it was fairly lame. From what I understand though that section commanded some big bucks for tickets.

I didn't get to see the Brundle pit walk or hear any of the Danica commentary, as I watched on F1TV and didn't watch the network coverage. I've seen other races with Danica on commentary and didn't think she was bad, but it seems in general that people are divided on her as a commentator.

I was a bit perplexed about the radio chatter between Lewis and the team as well. He seemed clear he didn't want to lose track position, but then acted like the team steered him the wrong direction. Either you have confidence in car pace or you don't, and he has been very vocal in the past about his desires, even when the team didn't go along with them. I guess it's just frustration building, but he doesn't help them in the long run.


I had forgotten about the Austin segment they did on Willy T. Ribbs. I just found the timing interesting, as Lewis has been involved in a study about people of color in F1 and related things. He could learn about real adversity from someone like Willy T. and others that had a much harder path of acceptance into the various racing sports. For anyone interested there is a Netflix series called "Race" about the Bubba Wallace hurdles in recent years, and it goes into some of the history of African Americans in US motosport. I thought it was an interesting series.


At any rate, Miami was better than I expected. I really hope Merc or another team get more into the fight at the front, but for now the Ferrari vs RB battle looks as tight as Merc vs RB last year. As the cars develop I hope it gets even better.

[truefan72]

I had forgotten about the Austin segment they did on Willy T. Ribbs. I just found the timing interesting, as Lewis has been involved in a study about people of color in F1 and related things. He could learn about real adversity from someone like Willy T. and others that had a much harder path of acceptance into the various racing sports.

TBH, what do you know about Hamilton's situation and what adversity he faced to make a comment like that?
Everything else you said was fine, but that really rubbed me the wrong way.
Trust me, the man experienced some real adversity throughout his life and none more than once he entered F1.
In many ways, he has (and has had to carry) a similar demeanor to Ribbs in pretending all the things don't get to him.

[airshifter]

TBH, what do you know about Hamilton's situation and what adversity he faced to make a comment like that?
Everything else you said was fine, but that really rubbed me the wrong way.
Trust me, the man experienced some real adversity throughout his life and none more than once he entered F1.
In many ways, he has (and has had to carry) a similar demeanor to Ribbs in pretending all the things don't get to him.

So it's assumed that I know nothing of what Lewis has faced but should "trust you" to know his struggles? They are well documented and he's been open about the struggles being a man of color moving through the ranks.

But I've seen first hand the differences in racism in the US as opposed to the UK, as well as being old enough and having lived in areas of racial tension. Beyond that I've known about Willy T. well before he was a big name, and the history of racism in the area he grew up. I'll be more than happy to stand by my comment.