Unpopular Motorsport Opinions

[sillybilly]

The 2025 F1 season one of the worst seasons for rule application consistency (?)

At least 6 races, that is 1 in 4 or 25% of the events tainted by stewarding decisions that are dubious or in some cases full wtf, involving championship contender drivers:

• Spain - 10 second penalty for deliberately crashing into rival, wildly lenient.
  
  
• Monaco - bad sportsmanship flag got misplaced. Absolute mockery of the sport that the stewards should have sorted. 10 second penalty for George cutting a chicane a bit hypocritical while they allowed others to do the dirty on sportsmanship.
  
  
• Canada - erratic driving and a little changing positions behind safety car cancel out?
  
  
• Silverstone - Race Direction shenanigans with late safety car lights out, not SC ending message, driver reacts and gets penalty.
  
  
• Mexico - multiple free passes to ‘keep Max in the championship battle’ ?
  
  
• Brazil - penalty incorrect on Piastri when he wasn’t given room / Antonelli drove into him.
  
  There are actual words in the guidelines that the car position is not the all important thing :
  
  “Although these guidelines indicate specific relative positions of the cars at various points, the Stewards will always look at how the situation played out in total when reviewing an incident.”
  
  I would think that means the context of the incident, in which case Piastri was making a full effort to avoid incident and abort the pass - he even used less than a car width of track and was cadence braking and kept inside wheel on the kerb… in this context him being to blame for Antonelli hitting him is just silly.
  
  However, it seems like “the situation played out includes FIA’s desired outcome to generate Max vs Lando scenario”

Recent seasons have been messy, 2021 was pretty shocking even before the final round, but this year just seemed especially suspect from racing integrity.

 

[Pete05]

The 2025 F1 season one of the worst seasons for rule application consistency (?)

At least 6 races, that is 1 in 4 or 25% of the events tainted by stewarding decisions that are dubious or in some cases full wtf, involving championship contender drivers:

• Spain - 10 second penalty for deliberately crashing into rival, wildly lenient.
  
  
• Monaco - bad sportsmanship flag got misplaced. Absolute mockery of the sport that the stewards should have sorted. 10 second penalty for George cutting a chicane a bit hypocritical while they allowed others to do the dirty on sportsmanship.
  
  
• Canada - erratic driving and a little changing positions behind safety car cancel out?
  
  
• Silverstone - Race Direction shenanigans with late safety car lights out, not SC ending message, driver reacts and gets penalty.
  
  
• Mexico - multiple free passes to ‘keep Max in the championship battle’ ?
  
  
• Brazil - penalty incorrect on Piastri when he wasn’t given room / Antonelli drove into him.
  
  There are actual words in the guidelines that the car position is not the all important thing :
  
  “Although these guidelines indicate specific relative positions of the cars at various points, the Stewards will always look at how the situation played out in total when reviewing an incident.”
  
  I would think that means the context of the incident, in which case Piastri was making a full effort to avoid incident and abort the pass - he even used less than a car width of track and was cadence braking and kept inside wheel on the kerb… in this context him being to blame for Antonelli hitting him is just silly.
  
  However, it seems like “the situation played out includes FIA’s desired outcome to generate Max vs Lando scenario”

Recent seasons have been messy, 2021 was pretty shocking even before the final round, but this year just seemed especially suspect from racing integrity.

With what unfolded this year post Dutch GP, and the new 2026 gimmick rulebook, if it wasn't for the involvement of one OP81, I wouldn't give Formula One the time of day.

 

[sillybilly]

With what unfolded this year post Dutch GP, and the new 2026 gimmick rulebook, if it wasn't for the involvement of one OP81, I wouldn't give Formula One the time of day.

The Qatar McLaren strategy just was insane, do you think that McLaren took some kind of payment or deal too try to keep Max close in the championship? Maybe McLaren were caught stretching rules on the skid blocks and the FIA made a secret deal and they were not allowed any more wins.

It just doesn't make sense what they did. Just seems like a super dodgy, and even the strategy at the final race was a bit weird.

 

[ScottPuss20]

The Qatar McLaren strategy just was insane, do you think that McLaren took some kind of payment or deal too try to keep Max close in the championship? Maybe McLaren were caught stretching rules on the skid blocks and the FIA made a secret deal and they were not allowed any more wins.

It just doesn't make sense what they did. Just seems like a super dodgy, and even the strategy at the final race was a bit weird.

Nah mate, McLaren were just incompetent.

 

[Pete05]

The Qatar McLaren strategy just was insane, do you think that McLaren took some kind of payment or deal too try to keep Max close in the championship? Maybe McLaren were caught stretching rules on the skid blocks and the FIA made a secret deal and they were not allowed any more wins.

It just doesn't make sense what they did. Just seems like a super dodgy, and even the strategy at the final race was a bit weird.

After the monumental job Michael Masi did on the final race of 2021, what I mentioned in my previous post with regards to this season, the money and the egos involved in the category, I would think nothing is beyond the realms of possible or manipulation.
I mean, they welcomed back one of the shiftiest characters F1 has ever seen in Flavio Briatore.
Into a role he proved he couldn't be trusted to uphold. The supposed pinnacle of the sport!
Add to all that, we've just had to watch the FIA President manipulate the voting process of the most recent election, but hey, nothing to see here. Move along 🙄

 

[sillybilly]

After the monumental job ...

Is it unpopular opinion to think that M. Masi is just a scapegoat, fall guy and did not make the decision to basically fix the result?

I reckon he was instructed by someone with more authority / leverage / power.

Even that there are clickbait articles that Toto or other staff are still publicly blaming Masi seems weird to me. Maybe they are fake news, I would be surprised with Toto and others really believe Masi made the decisions alone - so I reckon they could in on the cover up (although why) - or was it really that convincing the he really made the decision??

 

[Pete05]

R

Is it unpopular opinion to think that M. Masi is just a scapegoat, fall guy and did not make the decision to basically fix the result?

I reckon he was instructed by someone with more authority / leverage / power.

Even that there are clickbait articles that Toto or other staff are still publicly blaming Masi seems weird to me. Maybe they are fake news, I would be surprised with Toto and others really believe Masi made the decisions alone - so I reckon they could in on the cover up (although why) - or was it really that convincing the he really made the decision??

Regardless of who sat in what seat, the F1 Rulebook was already written, approved and published for all to see.
What was plainly obvious before the Safety Car pulled into pit lane, and after the chequered flag had fallen, is the rules and procedures were NOT followed.
Michael Masi's call.
Why he chose not to follow the rulebook he was employed to enforce and operate under, is his call. By not doing so, he put himself in a position to be scrutinised and ultimately removed from the job.
Had he not done what he did, and strictly followed the rulebook, the spotlight of blame shines on anyone but him. Anyone trying to shift blame to him finds themselves open to slander.
Anyone trying to roll Masi under the bus and get rid of him for whatever reason, is using a pop gun against a bullet proof vest if Michael has done no wrong. Wrongful dismissal suit anyone?
Instead Masi loaded the gun with silver bullets and saved them the trouble by driving the bus off the cliff himself.

 

[sillybilly]

Anyone trying to roll Masi under the bus and get rid of him for whatever reason, is using a pop gun against a bullet proof vest if Michael has done no wrong. Wrongful dismissal suit anyone?

Haha. For me this is a funny idea, I have zero trust in Fl accountability and figure they would weasel out of anything. They might as well have had some leverage and said "Do this or you are fired" ... then he did it... "You're fired anyway"... I imagine he has tight NDA contract so will never tell - he might have a big payout to protect, to legal fees to not have to pay.

Either way the outcome is consistent wth Fl desired results. I base this on the previous 3 races stewarding being clearly pro Verstappen in contrast to early season randomness of stewarding...

I think there was an inquest of sorts that basically said all the fans upset have wrong expectations, basically showing Fl was happy with the outcome. I think it's short of absolving the race director actions, I mean UN-firing him wouldn't really be an option.

Verstappen being 2021 champion was a good thing for Fl and many Fl stakeholders.

Masi's call? Fl's call? Seems like no difference to me.

 

[Earth]

I didn't find Max Verstappen's 2025 drive all that impressive

If McLaren prioritized Norris and didn't make several huge blunders, Lando would have locked up the Championshp with 4-5 rounds to go. Max getting close was more about McLaren then his ability

 

[sillybilly]

I didn't find Max Verstappen's 2025 drive all that impressive

If McLaren prioritized Norris and didn't make several huge blunders, Lando would have locked up the Championshp with 4-5 rounds to go. Max getting close was more about McLaren then his ability

Yeh, might have also been more impressive if he didn't crash into Russel at Spain showing he still knows how to throw a big baby hissy fit when he doesn't get his way.

McLaren blunders : I watched DTS episode covering the 2nd last race, and I'm wondering if the McLaren pit wall are doing some serious acting work there... The situation was one of the simplest strategies of the last few seasons maximum 25 laps per tyre, so with 50laps remaining the safety car pit window opens and that is when to pit. The only possible exception is if you are stuck near the back. If you are in 1st and 3rd with several second gap between then there's plenty of time to stack the stops without any delay on the second car... 100% fair on the drivers, 0% reason to not pit.

unpopular opinion : it had to be thrown on purpose, it just doesn't make any sense. They are a mostly competent team and rarely every throw a Ferrari Strategy. Maybe the pit wall didn't know and it was an internal sabotage but I don't know... I suspect $howtime $henanigan$ and some kick backs from the FIA or some sponsors to make the the Verstappen title challenge stronger in the final race and didn't want a McLaren 1-2.

 

[renegade an]

Yeh, might have also been more impressive if he didn't crash into Russel at Spain showing he still knows how to throw a big baby hissy fit when he doesn't get his way.

McLaren blunders : I watched DTS episode covering the 2nd last race, and I'm wondering if the McLaren pit wall are doing some serious acting work there... The situation was one of the simplest strategies of the last few seasons maximum 25 laps per tyre, so with 50laps remaining the safety car pit window opens and that is when to pit. The only possible exception is if you are stuck near the back. If you are in 1st and 3rd with several second gap between then there's plenty of time to stack the stops without any delay on the second car... 100% fair on the drivers, 0% reason to not pit.

unpopular opinion : it had to be thrown on purpose, it just doesn't make any sense. They are a mostly competent team and rarely every throw a Ferrari Strategy. Maybe the pit wall didn't know and it was an internal sabotage but I don't know... I suspect $howtime $henanigan$ and some kick backs from the FIA or some sponsors to make the the Verstappen title challenge stronger in the final race and didn't want a McLaren 1-2.

100% agree, it felt orchestrated.

 

[Veinz]

I open the pantry in the kitchen and the first thing I see is a formula 1 logo on a bag of nacho cheese doritos. I kind of hate how popular F1 has become over here.

 

[Pupik]

I open the pantry in the kitchen and the first thing I see is a formula 1 logo on a bag of nacho cheese doritos. I kind of hate how popular F1 has become over here.

It's...weird. I probably would have sopped up all of this excitement up thirty years ago, but it was also comforting having a niche that was almost entirely out of the public's opinion; sort of a fantasy space to withdraw without interference and influence, yet enough of tiny fanbase that had more of an overlapping interest. If someone mentioned anything about F1 in America during the 1990s outside of a telecast, you figured they weren't trying to fit in, that was real.

Kind of feels like how NASCAR got "big" in the mid-1990s. One day it's just silly people banging wheels and suddenly their logo is on everything. On the other hand, I don't wanna be the gatekeeper that says crap like "well I remember the first turbo era, you kids wouldn't understand" but I also don't care what Lando Norris ate for breakfast...

 

[Imbissbrunto]

I open the pantry in the kitchen and the first thing I see is a formula 1 logo on a bag of nacho cheese doritos. I kind of hate how popular F1 has become over here.

Most likely because of Netflix and Drive To Survive. I really noticed an increase in F1‘s popularity among younger people in the last couple of years, especially those who didn‘t really care about motorsports before.

 

[RetroVelocity]

I actually quite enjoyed the Rally1 hybrid cars in the WRC, and it’s a shame they never really worked out
It felt like what Group B was trying to be all those years ago, this time with significantly less fiery death (Except Craig Breen - We still miss you, buddy)