Motorsport

I mean, of course it will be Crofty and Brundle. It's a giant "PLZ SUBSCRIBE TO SKY NEXT SEASON" advert. I'd imagine they will mention the new regs more than a few times above normal too to drum that home.

Ace they've done it though. It's the kind of thing you need to make available to everyone really.

Saves messing around with streaming sites at least.

There is no way I'm ever subscribing to SKY again.

the-race.com/formula-1/fia-issues-points-deduction-warning-ahead-of-f1-title-decider/

Key section:

"Masi’s notes included the following regulation reminders: “Any infringement of the principles of fairness in competition, behaviour in an unsportsmanlike manner or attempt to influence the result of a competition in a way that is contrary to sporting ethics.

“For all the FIA championships, cups, challenges, trophies or series, the stewards may also decide to impose the following penalties: Suspension for one or more competitions, withdrawal of points for the championship, cup, challenge, trophy, series.

“Points should not be deducted separately from drivers and competitors, save in exceptional circumstances.”

This is exactly what needed to happen and I'm delighted that Massi has taken this step. Have to applaud him for finally getting in front of events rather than playing catch-up.  I owe an apology for being so sceptical.

It's about as forthright as the FIA can realistically be and the last sentence is absolutely key. The clear implication is for Toto and Christian to reign their drivers in or risk the constructors which is ultimately where the real money is.

Now we're clear, neither driver can win the Championship by doing something unethical or unsporting.

Yeah agreed, logically Mercedes should have the advantage given the track changes. Equally, Red Bull wasn't supposed to be competitive in Saudi and very much were when tyre compounds and ages were equal. I suspect that what we've really seen all year is the single biggest factor is which team can get the tyres switched on and fully optimise their setup. It's been really hard to predict who will manage that best round by round.

Anyway I'm far less stressed about a close contest now that 'notice has been served'.

I think I'd have to stop watching all sports full stop if it happened, because the only way would be down from there.

Extremely likely I'd say, yeah. But fucking hell it's going to be great if they line up P1 and 2 on the grid.

I'm hoping for a Mclaren vs Renault Championship battle personally.

They could both do with slumming it in the midfield for a season or two to gain some much needed perspective. They've both done their best to derail and devalue a brilliant championship between them. I don't think Horner is helping Verstappen's siege mentality one bit and Toto is doing his level best to drag Lewis back into a victim mentality he's been clearly trying to shake himself free of to do some real good with his voice.

Realistically I'd rather see neither of them looking insufferably smug on Sunday as neither of them deserves it. Hopefully the focus goes to the drivers.

I don't know if they always do this on Sky F1 as I don't usually leave it on in the background.

Sky are basically flexing their media muscles here coordinating questions between Sky UK, Sky Italia and Sky Germany. They are basically switching between Ted and Craig filling (quite entertainingly and skillfully to be fair) and Toto and Christian in the pen as they bounce between Sky interviewers from around Europe.

I don't understand why they persist with these daytime practice sessions at night/twilight events that don't even begin to match race conditions. It's pointless for anything other than recon. They get fewer and fewer chances to run the cars and gather data as it is.

Logistically speaking, of course it makes perfect sense but from a perspective of gathering any meaningful data it seems totally useless.

Must be on the vodka early this weekend.

Clearly showed Alfa what he thought of the special livery.