[GreenThing]

Its funny because the haters were laughing on Saturday saying how the rain levels the playing field and that Hamilton was nowhere (funny in itself given that this was the first wet qualifying session where Hamilton DIDN'T take pole since USA 2015).

Sunday was a case study in wet weather dominance. Even despite being stuck behind Vettel for ages, he still won the race by an absolute postcode. He's the best driver in the field and I just can't fathom why so many people don't get it. I think Max could be a match for him in the dry just about. But no one can match him in the wet.

Is he the greatest of all time? I don't know - too many unknown variables. But is he one of the all time greats? Absolutely without doubt.

I understand what a great driver he is, I just don’t like him. He’d be the last driver on the grid I’d invite out for a pint.

Its funny because the haters were laughing on Saturday saying how the rain levels the playing field and that Hamilton was nowhere (funny in itself given that this was the first wet qualifying session where Hamilton DIDN'T take pole since USA 2015).

Sunday was a case study in wet weather dominance. Even despite being stuck behind Vettel for ages, he still won the race by an absolute postcode. He's the best driver in the field and I just can't fathom why so many people don't get it. I think Max could be a match for him in the dry just about. But no one can match him in the wet.

Is he the greatest of all time? I don't know - too many unknown variables. But is he one of the all time greats? Absolutely without doubt.

I understand what a great driver he is, I just don’t like him. He’d be the last driver on the grid I’d invite out for a pint.

In all my years of watching F1 I've rarely found a driver out-and-out likeable - with the huge caveat that I've never met any of them personally, so these things can only ever be based on TV interviews, third-hand reports of their general behaviour and the way I've seen them conducting themselves out on the track.

It's the nature of the beast - the whole of F1 is mind-bogglingly competitive, and the true greats in any sport are almost always utterly obsessive and mega-focused on themselves, and those are not attractive qualities to the outsider looking in. I actually find Hamilton far more likeable than, for instance, Schumacher or Senna, who both came across to me as complete sh1ts who were ruthless to the point of happily putting others in danger if they looked like getting in their way. I've never had any vibe like that from Hamilton and I actually think he wears his brilliance very lightly, considering.

Absolutely terrifying crash. So scary. Thank goodness Grosjean is seemingly alright.

Common consensus seems to be, that without the Halo he would have died.

[GreenThing]

Until the point where we saw Grosjean sitting in the medical car, I really thought it was a fatal accident. How he managed to climb out by himself, I’ll never know. I will never complain about how ugly the halo looks after today.

I haven't seen a fireball like that in F1 in a very, very long time. Likewise, GT, I could hardly believe it when I saw him sitting in the back of the medical car because - understandably - they hadn't shown any replays of the crash at that point.

When the videos came I was trying to work out how he'd jumped over the barrier to escape, and then I realised that he'd actually gone through it - the monocoque and the halo must have acted like a wedge. And who knows? Maybe it's as well that he did go through because otherwise the G-force alone might have killed him. And he didn't even lose consciousness!?!?! That in itself probably prevented a very different outcome.

Grosjean's crash brought to mind David Purley, GP racing driver from the 1970's in two ways: firstly the fireball, where Purley stopped his car and tried to single-handedly rescue Roger Williamson from burning to death in his car which had crashed and the marshalls just stood around not knowing what to do; and then a few years later when Purley himself had a high impact crash - reckoned to be one of the biggest on record in terms of G-forces (180G) - when his car went from 110mph-odd to zero in about 60cm. He survived that, but god-knows how.

I watched the Williamson crash again on YouTube last night - I always well up a bit when you can tell Purley's despair from his body language that Williamson was gone ... but he still tried to turn the car over and put the fire out

edit: Grosjean "only" experienced 54G in his crash.

[Ottawa Green]

Hamilton will miss the next GP and maybe the one after, because of being rested positive for Covid.

[GreenThing]

George Russell will be Hamilton’s replacement! Looking forward to seeing what he can do in that thing!

[Alan Turing]

Come on George!!!

Gutted for George, yet another safety car blunder by Mercedes...

Still happy for Checo though, hopefully Dr Marko thinks it's time to dump the under performing Albon and give Checo a juicy contract for next year. Saying that Red Bull don't even have an engine provider for 2022 so maybe sign just a one year contract....

Looking forward to next season already!

[Alan Turing]

A double-pisser for George but what a race!

[GreenThing]

George may not have won the race, but he did everything he needed to do. He showed he can control the race from the front and also race in the pack. Yes, he had a tyre advantage over Bottas, but that pass around the outside of turn 6 was sublime.

Gutted for George, yet another safety car blunder by Mercedes...

Still happy for Checo though, hopefully Dr Marko thinks it's time to dump the under performing Albon and give Checo a juicy contract for next year. Saying that Red Bull don't even have an engine provider for 2022 so maybe sign just a one year contract....

Looking forward to next season already!

The cock-up that robbed Russell of victory seemed almost inevitable, so perfect would a win have been. I bet Lewis Hamilton was quietly relieved, though: what on the surface would have looked a textbook Lewis Hamilton victory - pull away right from the start, calmly control and dominate the race from the front, beat your team mate fairly comfortably - would in reality have gone down in the records as the victory of a borrowed 22-year-old Williams driver who had never won so much as a point and whose feet could barely fit in the well of the cockpit.

Albon - nice kid and all that, but his entire demeanour seems to scream impostor syndrome. We tend to forget that even the "worst" F1 drivers are still staggeringly good, but he seems just a little too much out of his depth in a top team with a boy genius as a team mate. I think Perez would give Max much more of a run for his money, and if he doesn't get any seat at all it will be a travesty.