2023 Miami Heroes and Zeroes

[Alianora La Canta]

For me, it's telling this thread doesn't exist already...

Heroes

Verstappen - He did a remarkable job of catching and passing Perez despite having the same car and having to get through a fair bit of traffic. That the way he did this underscored the feeling that F1 would have been better off just giving him the trophy and skipping the race underlines the extraordinary skill involved. (Bonus points for his general attitude to proceedings).

Hamilton - After a tough qualifying, got on with it and salvaged a very good position in the race. Also found a way of calling out bad politics that didn't get him penalised. It was a weekend of succeeding under the radar.

Magnussen - What a qualifying! Went backwards in the race, but that's inevitable when putting the Haas about 3 rows ahead of what could reasonably be expected of a good performance at this venue in it.

Zeroes

DRS - so powerful that every move was telegraphed so far in advance that I was able to stop watching on Lap 11, look at the results and think, "Yeah, OK, that was all obvious". The FIA got rid of 40 metres this race, now let's get rid of the rest.

Leclerc - I can't quite put my finger on why, but it felt like he was out of rhythm all weekend. (The irony of saying this about someone who accidentally got a composition of his into one of the major UK charts last week has not escaped me). The consequences almost speak for themselves, except that he's also on his 3rd of 4 permitted gearboxes for the season.

Miami organisers - ridiculously expensive tickets (some for seats with no view of the track), horrendous introduction sequence* that clearly broke multiple FIA regulations (and for which the FIA will not penalise them due to feeling the need to keep the organiser sweet for some reason), and resurfacing that didn't appear to fix the issue for which the resurfacing was done. This was not its finest moment.

* - sidebar: the choice of front-facing staff for the introduction was good, but I couldn't hear parts of what LL Cool J said due to aural artifacts (and he's had too much experience of live music for that to be an error he made), there was objectification of women going on (which is against the FIA's regulations about equality as interpreted for the "grid girl" ban) and the drivers didn't always seem comfortable with how much physical contact was involved. Also, it it overran its slot and prevented some drivers from preparing properly (due to having to shoehorn the prep into less time than they were told to expect, due to timing errors by the very people who told them how much time to expect to have), which breaches the FIA's regulations about pre-start sequencing. If you need 5 more minutes to finish, allocate it beforehand or change the pacing to fit the allocated timeslot...

[imagine the below in an LL Cool J voice]

And a new, special, long-awaited category: FIA Fail of the Weekend!

[resume regular voice]

I hereby award the FIA Fail of the Weekend to an incident during the Porsche Supercup weekend. Rarely on the radar of F1-focused heroes-and-zeroes reckonings, this one made the grade because a lorry carrying Charles Leclerc's (first) crashed car wandered onto the track and split the queue of Porsches going round on their formation lap. Fortunately everyone was alert and no actual damage was done, but everyone's vehicle language (lorry and cars alike) looked surprised. If those cars had still possessed their horns, I am sure these would have been honked en masse. If it had been a minute later and the race had started (I believe Porsche Supercups employ a rolling start), lawyers would have been involved.

But wait! There's more! As far as I can ascertain, no investigation of this incident was so much as announced, which means no formal penalty was given and thus no incentive for FIA personnel to avoid a repeat (except for anyone who was in earshot of any informal consequences that occurred). Australia and Azerbaijan were not extended such grace for improper mixtures of racing cars and non-racing-cars, even though the latter is one of the highest-paying rounds of the season. Why was Miami so privileged?

[Monty]

I could almost take the lazy route and just type upward arrows and ‘what Ali said’ 👍
However, I can never pass an opportunity to complain about the ridiculous performance advantage that Red Bull have; remind everyone that Red Bull cheated the cost cap rules and I think the result is obvious, and to fume about the way RBR gave Verstappen info and strategy to win at Perez’s detriment.
I would also applaud the brilliant driving by Alonso, give a little sympathy to Sainz, and agree that Russell and Hamilton made the most of a poor situation.

[Willy]

Okay, lazy upwards-facing arrows to what Ali said.
But I will also add that once again Alonso shows us just how damn good he still is.
Leclerc was a no show and was it due to his crash and lack of car confidence?
RBR showed what cheating gets you when the powers that be are scared to really do anything about it.

Side note: Sir Jackie Stewart being manhandled by completely no brained neanderthal security who should know who he is or why are they at an F1 race?

Miami, or shall I just say the USA cause Austin has it and Vegas will as well, all glitz and flash, no content.

[rmassart]

The sheer dominance of Verstappen is just scary and basically very very dull.

I have a question for the neutrals. Was it this dull when Hamilton and Mercedes were dominating? I'm a Lewis fan so it's hard to judge, I just don't remember every race being a forgone conclusion, no matter where he started. If he was 9th on the grid it would be unusual for him to beat a teammate starting from pole. And certainly not with that ease. I think. Maybe my memory is failing me!

In my opinion if this utter dominance specifically of Verstappen (I don't get the impression that perez is so far ahead of the rest) continues, F1 will be losing the more serious fans and only be of interest to the casual "selfie post it on social media" fans... Maybe I'm just being selfish being Lewis fan!

[Monty]

I am a neutral with the exception that I can’t stand RBR (since Verstappen joined) and I actively cheer if someone (anyone) beats Verstappen!
I do not accept that Mercedes ‘dominated’. They won frequently but most importantly they scored good points in most races. Through the late 2010’s, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes were consistently fighting near the front (although there was a big gap to the rest of the pack). ‘If’ a Mercedes won it was generally only by a few seconds and was solely due to brilliant driving and the right strategy.
Last year, and even more so this year, the Red Bull’s can pass at will. They do not need brilliant driving, they can just power past any other car and disappear into the distance. They can take fastest lap at almost anytime in the race and I genuinely believe that, if they needed to, they could go even faster.
What makes this so unacceptable is the fact that they cheated the cost cap rules and that they are so ungracious. Marko makes snide remarks about every other team/driver, Horner talks utter rubbish and Verstappen whinges, whines and foul mouths about everything and never even thanks his team or the factory.
In short, I can never remember a time when one team’s domination caused such bad feeling and resulted in such boring racing!

[cosworth151]

I was out of town at a meeting Sunday and didn't get to watch the race until last night. (I also missed the Chat Room) Here are a few additions to what has already been said. I didn't see any of the pre-race so I can't comment on that.

I totally agree about Miami as a venue. It just emphasizes the fact
that Liberty considers the race to be an annoying sideshow to the weekend.

If I understand correctly, Porsche Supercup was the only support series. More undercard races are needed to lay more rubber down on the track. This is especially true at temporary street circuits like Miami. They also give racing fans more value for money. (Not that Liberty cares a fat rat's backside about racing fans.)

I did enjoy watching K-Mag hold Leclerc  at bay. Sadly, I think it was due as much to a poorly designed track as it was to the cars & drivers.

I give a special nod to Alonso for seeing Lance's overtake on a Jumbotron and radioing in congrats. That absolutely reached the revered level of "Kimi Cool."

It's sad that the high point of the race weekend for me was seeing the podium drivers riding to the ceremonies in restored Mini Mokes.

Red Bull's complete domination makes me think about the old Can-Am series. Most of us older fans remember it very fondly. What killed it was that it's history was divided into two eras - one where McLaren ran away with everything and the other when Porsche did.

[Jericoke]

Hero

Sir Jackie Stewart.  I know not everyone gets to see Martin Brundle's gridwalk, but he's been absolutely dialed in on getting a mix of information for race fans, and catching the 'glitz and glamour' that F1 is supposed to be famous for.  In Miami he tried to get a word in with Roger Federer, and he's used to celebrities ignoring him (earlier in the walk he purposely avoided the Williams sisters), it could have ended there, but Sir Jackie saw that a fellow F1 icon was in trouble and without a second thought DODGED SECURITY and got Federer over so Brundle could ask his softball questions!

Watching the 83 year old Scot shrug off security and do his bit for the sport is going to be my enduring image for the season.  F1 doesn't deserve an ambassador like him, and I certainly hope that Seb, Hamilton and Verstappen are taking notes on what it really means to be an F1 legend.

As for Alonso being able to watch the race while running the race... maybe F1 cars are too easy to drive.  I know that they're supposed to be advancing automotive engineering, and self driving cars are very much a future of automotive engineering, but we hear throughout the race weekends about how much 'mental capacity' the drivers have.   Maybe it's time to to make the controls simple again.  Steering, brakes, gas.  (I'm okay with the auto transmission, but if we go back to manual shifters, I'm okay with that too).  No brake balance, no engine modes, no pit limiter.  Let the drivers manage the car with his skill, not a button.

[Alianora La Canta]

Leclerc was a no show and was it due to his crash and lack of car confidence?

Charles said lack of car confidence was the cause (neither he nor Carlos knew what the car was doing from one corner to the next and of course Carlos got more track time due to the whole non-crashing thing). However, Charles is also carrying a minor neck injury from last week's qualifying crash, and it's possible that may not be helping. If this had been the second part of a triple-header (rather than the last of a double), I'd be advocating for Ferrari to rest Leclerc for the week. (As it is, he should have enough time to recover before next round).

I have a question for the neutrals. Was it this dull when Hamilton and Mercedes were dominating?

Not really a neutral, but when others were dominating, we could be reasonably confident it was due to them finding something clever, or understanding some particular element better or were just plain better. Even the times when everyone else was getting outspent generally weren't bitter because it was allowed. (It might not be nice being unable to spend the amounts others were spending, but it was possible to simply treat that as different challenges in the same sport).

Red Bull apparently having FIA approval and support to cheat, when nobody else is granted it, is bitter. It makes a mockery of the whole activity.

(Cars are definitely not too easy to drive. However, the spectator screens now are so big that one would have to either be cornering or driving with one's eyes shut to miss them when they enter viewing range - and most F1 cars were relatively easy to drive on the straights compared to the corners even in the 1950s).

[lkjohnson1950]

I agree with Jeri, there's too much adjustability in modern race cars. In qualifying at Indy the drivers change the suspension setting for each of the 4 corners! The pit limiter is a safety issue, so keep that. How about limiting the number of buttons on the wheel? They can only have 2 or 4 buttons, no knobs, no wheels. One is for pit limiter and the others can be for whatever you want. One function per button. 

[Monty]

Or perhaps it would be easier to keep all the buttons, knobs, screens, etc. but limit the number of adjustments made per race (technically it should be quite easy to monitor the number of ‘inputs’ then over-ride the controls when a limit has been reached.

[cosworth151]

 

maybe F1 cars are too easy to drive.

One of the extras on the DVD of the movie Grand Prix is a documentary called Flat Out - Formula One in the Sixties. In it, Sir Sterling Moss talks about waving to the trackside fans during races. I don't think anybody would say that the cars of that era were easy to drive. It's just that anyone who can handle a race car on the "twisty bits" will have a bit of excess capacity left over on the straights.

[Alianora La Canta]

I agree with Jeri, there's too much adjustability in modern race cars. In qualifying at Indy the drivers change the suspension setting for each of the 4 corners! The pit limiter is a safety issue, so keep that. How about limiting the number of buttons on the wheel? They can only have 2 or 4 buttons, no knobs, no wheels. One is for pit limiter and the others can be for whatever you want. One function per button. 

Unfortunately they need more than that simply to comply with the regulations:

- DRS (no team is allowed to not have one at all)
- Gearbox Neutral (safety requirement)
- Pit Lane Speed Limiter (safety requirement)
- Mark point of interest (I think this is required for potential safety and regulation monitoring reasons)
- Race start (some regulations, notably fuel, change at this point, so at minimum the modifications needed to keep the car in the regulations would have to be selectable)
- Drinks button (safety requirement)
- Radio (safety and regulation enforcement requirement)
- Radio confirm button (safety requirement - specifically, it's one of the methods used to differentiate between if a driver is fine but annoyed and not wanting to discuss something post-crash, as opposed to seriously injured/unconscious)
- Certain of the menu rotary items (in particular, things like radio and display intensity are required for both safety and regulatory compliance reasons). This in itself obliges at least one knob/wheel - and a display
- Energy deployment/state of charge (at minimum, an on/off switch, to meet regulatory requirements)
- Track status indication and attendant explanation options (safety requirement)

Thus, 10 switches, 1 knob/wheel and 1 display are necessary for a F1 steering wheel if the car is to meet safety and reasonable regulatory obligations. That said, even adding 2 programmable buttons would halve the amount of stuff on the wheel.

[Willy]

I understand that all the wheel adjustments are there for various reasons that are mandated. But if they are mandated to be included, they can also be mandated to be excluded.
I for one totally agree with Jeri to get back to simply being the car and driver and no extra gimmicks or enhancements  (this is something I have spoken about before and still believe).

[Alianora La Canta]

The items that are mandatory could only be mandated to be excluded if the issues that make them mandatory also got alternative pathways that didn't result in at least that many buttons coming back.

- I would like the FIA to get rid of DRS. Sadly it's obsessed with it despite the racing being damaged by it (I don't think it's a coincidence that the best race this season was the one with the least DRS).

- Gearbox neutral would have to be replaced by some other one-action driver-activated method of stopping the car, if for safety reasons it needs to be stopped, which would be a button by any other name.

- Not having a pit lane speed limiter would require some method to be sure the drivers wouldn't accidentally steam into the pitlane and risk skittling people or cars. While the virtual safety car system could be substituted for this, I felt the path to greatest simplicity was to jettison the knob section and display usage for VSC and simply make everyone go at the pit lane speed limit when VSC is needed.

- Marking a point of interest is not something I can see being substituted directly, although it is just about possible that making the engineers do it might satisfy safety requirements - provided the protest window post-race was extended accordingly (since it won't be possible to start prepping protests involving marks until after drivers have done with their duties, which for a podium-standing driver extend 30 minutes past the current closure of the protest acceptance box).

- Race start section would be removable if the FIA was willing to go back to refuelling and remove all other rules that require/permit the car to have different states in formation lap and race mode.

- Radio confirm can't be simplified further because of the "checking driver health" issue. Even if the actual radio was removed (something I could envisage if regulations were radically changed), the button's communication of the fact a driver is responding (and has at least one working arm) after a big crash would still make the button necessary.

- Removing the radio and display intensity options would prevent F1 from running in any EU country and probably a few others (I think they'd be OK in the UK but could not be confident of all non-EU countries F1 visits because this is not an area of global consistency).

- A pure fossil fuel car wouldn't need the energy deployment/state of charge button, nor any other non-electrically-powered vehicle. For that matter, if the teams were allowed enough storage and charge that it became competitively attractive to not run out, energy deployment/state of charge button would also be redundant.

- Track status indicator not negotiable due to that legal settlement I was involved with a few years back.