Motorsport

I've always felt as though lapped cars should be overtaken when sent to the back of the queue tbh, rather than the other way around being able to unlap themselves. Certainly now in an age of on board displays and better radio where the logistics of doing it are far easier. Safety cars have always been inherently flawed in the way they are to the detriment of the lead car unless you are blessed with literally being right outside the pit entry when it gets thrown.

Same as being able to unlap yourself under red flags for me really. A lap down should be a lap down. Imola was a pretty huge swing in the championship because of that. There are so many inherent inconsistencies in the sport that go against 'fair' that it's really hard to look at just one when it's a shitty house of cards to begin with. Even their push to be at the forefront of sustainable technology gets chucked in the bin when it's convenient to throw in a power unit specifically designed to have a shorter shelf life for temporary gain and receive a lesser penalty for it than the first time you did it.

But it does something to keep me coming back for more. It's a really bizarre sport to follow when you think about it.

Clear safety car situation there.

But seriously, what the fuck? That man is on fire.

You got probably out at the right time.  For many of the last 8 years the Merc dominance over other cars has made the Redbull seasons look almost competitive by comparison.

Although there were a couple of years where Vettel had easily a good enough car to challenge Hamilton, and a couple of years when Hamilton/Rosberg went at each other within Mercedes. The Mercedes era has not lacked spectacle the way that the Schumi/Ferrari years did for instance.

Although at least in those days you'd have reliability issues all over the place making some races a bit more unpredictable.

Quickly looked into this as first thought was that the Ferrari of that era basically redefined reliablity in modern F1.  Indeed Ferrari (or Schumachers at least) was relatively bullet proof. Between 2001-2004 he had four retirements in 68 races.  Of those only one was actually a mechanical failure (Imola 2001) and even that was probably due to him hitting a curb too hard.

I'm sure it happened when Charlie was RD as well.  After all the whole sport was effectively run by a used car dealer with a Napoleon complex.  There's always been cases of very dubious and controversial interpretations of the rules at times, but a) the sport is supposedly more professional now b) I can't recall the RD just totally ignoring the written rules in the way Masi did, and certainly not as such a crucial moment.

I remember his Japan 2006 engine blowout being highlighted as his first in over half a decade. It always amazes me how some of the best drivers ever also had a golden horseshoe up their arse.

Interesting to see what Prost/Senna would have been like if social media was about.

With a full appreciation of the fact that at 37, I'm the firmly the old man shaking my first whilst the sport pivots towards the teenagers who vote in driver of the day and follow their favourite drivers on instagram, but how many manufacturers do you see in NASCAR and CART? 

The big, historic car manufacturers don't like gambling their money on entertainment masquerading as sport.  They like clarity and as much certainty as possible that they'll get their return on investment if they produce the best car.  Boring stuff like transparent regulation, a fair arbitration processes and means for redress will matter to them.  Otherwise they'll walk away and focus on alternatives like Le Mans and FE.  Maybe even break away from the FIA and set up a rival series.

I've been saying for ages that F1 shouldn't be afraid to get rid of the manufacturers and go back to a bunch of privateers with customer engines, like the Cosworth era. Maybe I was totally wrong and actually the manufacturers themselves are an important source of checks and balances. 

Ferarri did have a few totally dominant seasons. But you also had 2000, where Hakkinen pushed him all the way and 2003, where Raikkonen would have won the title if not for an engine blowout in the lead at the Nurburgring which I'm definitely not still salty about 18 years later.