Hooooly cow.
This is what you want from Formula 1, right? You want head-to-head rivalries that verge on stakes of life or death? I’m getting that right?
Because if that’s what F1’s about, I’m all in.
First off, yes, congratulations to Daniel Ricciardo. I understand this is a big moment for him, a big moment for McLaren, and that the majority of F1 fans in our circles are thrilled for both. Back when Tiger Woods was in the wilderness the first time, I used to tell people that I hoped he’d straight-up disappear for a while then come back and win The Masters with a big, graying beard and a weathered look in his eye. He came back too quick for my tastes. Not that Ricciardo is Tiger Woods, but it’s of that vein of story—the returning hero. That’s a good story. We don’t have enough of that in our fiction these days, film or otherwise.
Secondly, yes, congratulations to Lando Norris, great day for The Lad™. Respect upon respect. Great sidekick to Ricciardo. All around solid storylining by the F1 Fates, and this was only the subplot!
The main story:
I do not know enough about F1 to cast judgment on the incident. But. Verstappen, what the hell are you saying?? I get that this is a bit of a PR game—you’ve got to pressure the stewards publicly and all that—but man, say it in a way that doesn’t make you seem heartless (to be clear, I love Verstappen saying it exactly this way—I want this rivalry to be as bad-blooded as it possibly could be). Also, the halo wasn’t mandatory before 2018? People have occasionally been against the halo?? This is a huge part of making open-wheel racing not…I don’t know, gladiator shit. You can’t have drivers dying. Even just in a practical sense: If people keep dying, you don’t get to do it anymore. Thank God Lewis Hamilton did not die. Thank God for the halo.
I don’t know how many races remain. F1 doesn’t even seem to be trying to update its schedule online. It’s awesome. Great way to handle this confusion. Seven left? Eight? Anyway, Verstappen’s up five points on Hamilton which is hardly anything with that much left, Valtteri Bottas is up nine on Norris for third and some of the others there in line (Sergio Pérez, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz) are within striking distance or close to it there as well, and we’ve got a similar story in the constructor standings where Mercedes is only up 18 on Red Bull and McLaren’s only up 13.5 on Ferrari for third.
Great, great stuff. Love it all.
