The idea of cursing in a game is not novel to video games. It’s been around for decades, as long as there have been video games. Cursing in a videogame can be considered an easy way out when the player lacks other skills or knowledge needed to win the scenario they are playing, and it helps them feel like they’ve accomplished something even if their performance was poor overall. However, this begs the question: what kind of impact does cursing have on gameplay?
The “f1 reddit” is a subreddit that has been around for years. It’s often used as a source of controversy, collisions and cursing.
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Laurence Edmondson is a British actor.
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F1 Editor
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Nate Saunders is an American football player.
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Everything was on display during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Controversy. Drama. A collision between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the two championship contenders in Formula One, with some contentious FIA rulings thrown in for good measure.
Surprisingly, going into the last race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen and Hamilton are tied on points. On countback, Verstappen leads since he has more wins, which means he will win the championship if the points remain equal.
With just one week before the race in Abu Dhabi, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is poised to take center stage in the build-up to the winner-take-all finale.
Here’s how it all went down, as well as what the two main characters had to say about it.
Hamilton led Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen into Turn 1 on the first lap.
The quiet start led many to believe that the race that followed would be rather conventional on a track with few passing possibilities, and for the first ten laps, it was.
The script would be flipped at any moment, setting in motion the amazing turn of events that would follow.
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Mick Schumacher’s huge accident at Turn 22 on Lap 11 brought out the Safety Car. Schumacher was OK, but his vehicle — and, it turned out, the crash barrier — had been severely damaged.
When a Safety Car is deployed, it is typically a good chance for teams to pit sooner than they would have if they were racing at full pace. Mercedes took advantage of the chance to pit both of its drivers, despite the fact that this was the race’s first contentious moment.
With Hamilton comfortably in front, Bottas slowed dramatically, ostensibly to stifle Verstappen’s approach to the pit lane. Verstappen was enraged, stating it “shouldn’t be permitted” over the radio.
His race engineer’s remark to Bottas was almost totally redacted for profanity, leaving little question about Red Bull’s feelings about the Finn’s actions.
For the first ten circuits, everything seemed to be normal for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Getty Images/Joe Portlock/Formula 1/Formula 1
Hamilton and Bottas both pitted on lap 12, swapping from medium to hard tyres.
Verstappen was held out by Red Bull, which was a reasonable choice since an alternative strategy is frequently the greatest chance to win a race on a tight street circuit.
The dispute erupted again a few circuits later, when FIA race director Michael Masi red-flagged the race to allow for repairs to the Turn 22 safety barrier.
The race is essentially postponed when the red flag is raised. Importantly, it essentially gave Verstappen — and anybody else who had remained out — a free pit stop since they could replace their tyres during the delay, as per F1 rules.
The regulation has been a source of contention for some time, and numerous drivers spoke out against it after the race.
Verstappen had inherited first place and was allowed to replace his tyres as a result.
“The tyre wall looked great,” Hamilton said over the radio, enraged. That’s a load of s—-.
“Find out why the red flag has been raised.”
“That’s incredible, dude,” Hamilton said later in a communication to Mercedes strategist James Vowels.
“Because we were immediately behind them, James, it was a significant risk they just made. That is incomprehensible.”
Lap 15: It was a standing restart on the grid, similar to a traditional race start.
Verstappen had complained over the radio on the lap returning to the grid about how slowly Hamilton was driving behind him, implying that his title challenger was taking his time getting to the grid.
As they turned left at Turn 1 after the start lights went out, Hamilton got the stronger start and was ahead of Verstappen. On the corner, Hamilton squeezing Verstappen, the Red Bull driver went off the track and resurfaced ahead.
To avoid a collision, Hamilton used evasive action, enabling Esteban Ocon of Alpine to move into second place.
Sergio Perez lost control of his vehicle and spun behind the front-row action, adding to the tension. George Russell slowed to avoid a collision and was struck from behind by Nikita Mazepin.
Although all three drivers were unharmed, the massive amount of labor necessary to clean the track necessitated another red flag.
Red flag #2: The cars returned to the pit lane for the second time for the red flag.
The debate this time was over Verstappen’s starting position.
If the race had gone on without a red flag, Red Bull would very certainly have been ordered to urge Verstappen to hand up the lead to Hamilton. The fact that Ocon had landed up between them may have complicated things, but the red flag meant we didn’t see the scenario play out.
Instead, FIA race director Michael Masi was taking calls from both Red Bull and Mercedes to find out what would happen.
Verstappen seemed to be dropping one spot on the grid at first.
Masi gave Red Bull the option of lowering Verstappen from first to second, which would have kept him ahead of Hamilton at the start.
Masi corrected himself when Red Bull explained what he meant, saying he meant sliding to third behind Hamilton.
Christian Horner, speaking after the race, claimed he had never seen the FIA race director successfully give teams a deal over where they would or would not start.
“That’s something I’ve never seen before,” Horner added. “Obviously, we each made our case, and I’m sure Mercedes did as well. It was just exasperating.”
It was decided that Ocon would start first, followed by Hamilton and Verstappen.
While Hamilton remained on the more durable hard tyre, Verstappen opted for the grippier (but less durable) medium tyre, giving him a greater opportunity of making a successful off-grid escape.
Lap 17: When the race restarted, Verstappen put off a stunning move to reclaim the lead.
Verstappen surged down the inside of Hamilton and Ocon to snare first place as Hamilton seemed to be preoccupied by Ocon to his right.
It was a championship-calibre overtaking maneuver by Verstappen, however it was overshadowed by the contentious occurrences that occurred in the second part of the race.
It’s easy to forget, but during the second restart, Max Verstappen pulled off a sensational pass on Lewis Hamilton. Getty Images/Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1
Hamilton was pinched on one side by Verstappen and on the other by Ocon, and he was lucky not to lose his front wing. In the process, he fell behind Ocon, but by the conclusion of the lap, he had overtook the Alpine driver.
Due to many crashes and the quantity of debris spread on the course, three Virtual Safety Car periods come and go from lap 19 to 36.
The VSC, which mandates that drivers travel at a certain delta time to enable marshals to make safety checks, keeps Verstappen and Hamilton’s duel in the balance.
The melodrama becomes ludicrous.
Lap 37: And it was the start of it all.
When Hamilton drew inside DRS range of Verstappen, he made a move around the outside, but Verstappen raced wide again in an effort to save his place.
On lap 37, Max Verstappen skidded off track, forcing Lewis Hamilton wide. Getty Images/Hasan Bratic/picture alliance
Verstappen took the lead, but the stewards promptly took notice of the incident and ordered Red Bull to relinquish the position. Then, just when you thought things couldn’t get any more exciting, the two championship contenders collided.
However, this wasn’t a racing collision; it happened after Verstappen slowed to let Hamilton to pass due to the Turn 1 incident. Verstappen seemed to want Hamilton to overtake before the DRS detection zone, enabling the Red Bull to reclaim the lead on the next straight.
Despite the fact that Red Bull had urged Verstappen to relinquish the lead after speaking with race management, Hamilton had not been informed of the strategy. Mercedes sports director Ron Meadows said he was just told Verstappen would relinquish the lead as the Red Bull slowed in front of Hamilton, meaning Hamilton had little notice and crashed with Verstappen’s rear.
After the race, Hamilton commented, “There were two possibilities [that led to the crash].” “For one, it wasn’t apparent [what Verstappen was doing], and for two, I didn’t receive the information [that he would let me past],” he said.
“Then it became clear that he was attempting to let me through, as I assume he had been instructed to do, but before the DRS zone.” That meant he’d DRS past me, follow me around the last bend, then DRS me into Turn 1. That was a strategy.
“But the worst part was the sudden, hard braking that occurred at one point, which led to our collision. That was the risky part.”
On lap 42, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collided. Getty Images/Lars Baron
Lap 38: Hamilton’s choice of words at the moment was less polite.
He shouted over the team radio, “He just brake tested me.” “You were driving dangerously.”
“This guy is f—-ing insane, dude,” he said.
Despite an endplate falling off on one side, Hamilton’s front wing was considered to be in good enough shape to finish the race. After the race, the stewards decided to examine the incident.
Lap 42: Mercedes team manager Meadows was enraged with race director Masi, alleging the FIA had not informed him that Verstappen would be allowed to pass Hamilton.
Meadows said he only got the warning after Verstappen had already slowed down in front of Hamilton, despite Masi’s claims that he wasn’t listening to the proper channel. Despite the damage to his front wing, Hamilton maintained within a few seconds of Verstappen until the Red Bull driver halted and allowed Hamilton pass on the approach to Turn 27.
But, just as the Mercedes passed, Verstappen sped back up the inside to recover the lead, leaving almost everyone at the track speechless. Verstappen was handed a five-second post-race penalty for exiting the track at Turn 1 on lap 37 and gaining an advantage in keeping Hamilton behind him, according to the stewards.
On the approach to Turn 27, Verstappen slowed again, and Hamilton took no risks in making the move stay this time. In overtaking Verstappen, he took him all the way to the track’s edge, preventing the Red Bull from obtaining a run on the pit straight into Turn 1. Verstappen’s race engineer subsequently informed him that he didn’t have to let him through since he already had the five-second penalty on his record, but it’s unlikely that it would have made much of a difference to his overall finish.
Hamilton pushing Verstappen wide was “borderline” for a black and white warning flag, Masi later told Meadows. Meadows said that he will pass on the message.
Lap 47: Verstappen stated that his rear tyres were “gone” as he fell farther behind Hamilton in the standings. However, Verstappen’s lead over Ocon in third position was insufficient for Red Bull to perform a pit stop and keep second place, so he had to milk his tyres to the finish.
Lap 48: Hamilton secured the fastest lap point with a succession of rapid sectors, although he did it at the expense of another section of his front wing, which he lost over one of the kerbs. Nonetheless, with two circuits to go, 26 points looked to be guaranteed, and the possibility of the title being decided on points in the last race seems real.
After a thrilling race, Hamilton crossed the finish line on lap 50 to claim victory. Verstappen increased his speed significantly on the penultimate lap to finish 6.8 seconds behind Hamilton, which was increased to 11.8 seconds due to the time penalty. It would rise to 20.8s when he was judged guilty of causing the accident with Hamilton on lap 37, when data from his vehicle revealed he had slammed on the brakes in front of the Mercedes.
Bottas finished third after outdragging Ocon to the line coming out of the last circuit, but the distance between him and Verstappen was too great for him to benefit from Verstappen’s post-race punishment.
Post-race
After Lewis Hamilton’s victory in the Saudi GP on Sunday, the Drivers’ Championship is equal on points heading into the final race. Getty Images/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/POOL/AFP
As you would expect after such a contentious race, the post-race statements were fiery.
Verstappen didn’t even wait till he got out of the vehicle before launching into a tirade. “Thankfully the fans have a clear mind about racing because what happened today is extraordinary,” he stated when informed he’d been named F1’s driver of the day by fans.
“I’m simply trying to compete, because in this sport these days, penalties are more important than racing.”
“This isn’t Formula One for me, but the fans seemed to appreciate it.”
“Today, I gave it my best, but apparently not quickly enough. Still, I’m content with the second.”
Hamilton, for his part, did not hold back, later telling Sky Sports that Verstappen is “beyond the line” and does not believe the rules of Formula One apply to him.
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Verstappen is a Dutch racing driver. He has been involved in controversies, collisions and cursing. Reference: verstappen net worth.
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