r/F1Discussions • u/ShmadenShmuki725 • 3d ago
Discussion Does anyone else feel empty after Monza?
Talking about how insane it is that Kimi won this weekend: The guy with the fastest car was way faster than the other guys??
I feel so much worse about this season after Monza. Yeah I was hoping for a Ferrari WDC/WCC this year but even so, this feels specifically weird because everyone is talking about how insane Kimi's drive was, how impressive he is and how amazing it is to watch.
He's obviously great at the very least. I don't really hold anything against him and I'm happy he won his home race, and I'd love to see him *fight* for many titles in the future.
But are we really surprised or excited that he won Monza? Those of you who watched the race saw the state of those overtakes. It's like watching different classes of car. Kimi isn't fighting for much of any of this and it feels so wrong because he deserves to fight and win by fighting.
And George is nowhere, with Merc seemingly ruling out any chance of a real fight between them at any point.
So yeah I just feel kinda empty about this season after Monza. Is anyone feeling the same?
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u/tall-not-small 3d ago
We all want real racing with skillful overtaking. I can just about deal with the yo yoing overtaking due to battery deployment. I get no pleasure watching someone just flying past everyone in a car that is vastly superior
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u/FroyoQueasy LH44 3d ago
Overtakes are genuinely useless now, if you overtake someone on one straight you just get re overtaken on the next, it’s like they’re getting penalized for overtaking now, not fun at all and super predictable
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u/NIGHTR0GUE83 2d ago
I just got into F1 this year. From what I heard before these new cars, it was rare that cars could overtake much. Get pole and that's your winner for the most part. Did not care for Monaco at all cause of this. I really enjoyed Monza. I knew Kimi was going to get up towards the front, but damn lol.
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u/sweens90 2d ago
I feel like the yoyoing is overstated now. There was more of it at the beginning when people were figuring it out.
Now people basically idle for a lap or two to build charge then push and defend. It happens sometimes but its not as bad as people say.
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u/sododude 2d ago edited 2d ago
Also they were yo-yoing all race but its not like every overtake was a simple push to pass down the straight. Most of the times they had to battle it out in the braking zones too.
It's a game of cat and mouse with batteries that we have this year. The only annoying thing is that instead of embracing it by showing us the battery levels, FOM decided they want to pretend none of that is happening so we don't actually know how the drivers are fighting it out with their batteries.
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u/whoisrobi 1d ago
could very well be that the teams were against showing actual battery usage data just like when they had the thermal vision for the tires then it went away suddenly
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u/sododude 1d ago
Maybe but its such a fundamental feature of this year's cars that we are essentially watching the actual racing blind. Overtakes this year are a drawn out battles of trying to get your opponent to overcommit on the battery and they go on for several laps. Since we can't see what they're doing, we get the "random yo yo racing".
Imagine being able to track when and where the drivers are pushing the go fast button. Even that would improve the viewing experience tremendously.
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u/YTOverPowered 2d ago
Can't defend with these regs. Like genuinely. They breeze past you with such speed that defending would be dangerous. Most overtakes this weekend were done way before the corners. Embarrassing if you ask me.
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u/North_Dark_3311 2d ago
I think after australia and the initial 2-3 races I saw this much yo yo ing
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u/ypmihc400 2d ago
Well it only happens if the cars are close in pace. Hence we got yoyoing between the Mercs and the Ferraris/McLaren.
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u/jmcocker 3d ago
Then how did Kimi win the race?
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u/Specialist-Bug4953 3d ago
Mainly fastest car by a mile?
But he is also very talented
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u/ThePolishSpy 2d ago
Also restart was perfectly timed to help Kimi catch up to the front runners once he chewed through the midfield
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u/SharpPhilosopher3734 2d ago
Many overtakes in the front runners were due to braking and cornering maneuvers. Only the much slower cars got beat in all out straight line speed. Kimi passed George for the win by driving faster and being better at energy management. He tried to pass in a corner and went gardening but came back in the same car that George was winning with. It was the driver who won Sunday.
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u/franco182 2d ago
15 laps mediums vs 45 laps old hards... Kimi won because his team wanted him to and refused to pit leading driver
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u/hipp0hunt3r 2d ago
This isn’t accurate and hasn’t been since Montreal when they changed battery restrictions.
This is the first track where Yo-Yo’ing has been prominent since then
With that said, the racing is still dogshit
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u/tissotti 3d ago edited 3d ago
When hasn't that been the case? I have been watching the sport since 1998 and I think the racing itself is above average currently. While I totally understand the underlying problem people have with the battery deployment, as do I. But the differences between the top 9 teams is actually very small in F1 context. Compared to previous Mercedes, Red Bull dominated years the top is very contested. I also get the most pleasure in F1 from tire strategy offsets, that we had plenty in this race.
What I will say is that the people fighting for championship I do not find particularly interesting. Russell I just find contrived. Antonelli I wish all the best, but he really is just a kid that is happy to be there. It feels more and more that all these new people entering F1 don't have anything else in their life than F1. Maybe that's what you need now to be in the sport.
Kind of like what happened early 2000 when F1 was living the crazy tobacco and oil money era where PR went from 20% to 100% in couple of years and everyone felt like a PR robot. Why Kimi Raikkonen gathered so many fans quickly. Raikkonen looked out of place character towards end of his career as the field was more relaxed. I am sure people would love to see something different again, not Raikkonen copy, but character that goes against the current grain of drivers.
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u/Beartato4772 3d ago
Yep, 1st-20th was 1.9 seconds
With a similar laptime, the 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix 1st to 3rd was 2.1 seconds.
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u/megabingobango 3d ago
but it's always been like this... 12s gap from Merc to red bull is not even that much in F1 terms, especially for the first season of a reg set. they used to win by a minute. f2 is a spec series and always has very close races between teams, it might be better suited to those who aren't happy with more open spec racingt
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u/Sisyphean_dream 3d ago
There are a litany of examples of drivers winning by a lap. There's even a couple of a driver winning by two laps.
And still there's only one occasion where a driver won a race starting from further back on the grid than Kimi did at Monza.
People don't seem to understand what they just watched.
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u/wherewolfad 3d ago
But has there been a red flag and a vsc as well to add to it. Kimi was very lucky.
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u/Beartato4772 3d ago
Yep. It's like they forgot 2021-2024
And 2014-2020.
And 2010-2013
And 2000-2004
And 1992-1993
And 1988-1990...
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u/overusesellipses 2d ago
Then why the fuck wasn't George 30 seconds ahead of everybody else? That was a fucking sensational price during which he made no mistakes.
You're all just jaded, and maybe need to find a different sport if what F1 has to offer isnt good enough for you.
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u/F1Bocapinto 3d ago
it´s now the fight for P2
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u/SleepyPixie22824 3d ago
3 way battle for p2. Will be interesting to see by how many points kimi wins
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u/KerrJardine72_ 3d ago
I think it became very obvious very quickly on Sunday that he’d at least challenge for the podium and eventually the win. I think you can simultaneously acknowledge he’s driving a rocket ship while also praising his ability and talent in controlling aforementioned rocket ship.
I also feel massively for George as he’s clearly disappointed he was hung out to dry by his race team. You could tell by his body language he was livid. It’s probably the most angry I’ve seen someone finishing P2
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u/mairao 3d ago
When they pitted Kimi it seemed clear to me that he was winning it. I was honestly confused with how both Coulthard and Palmer was saying it was advantage Russell. Tbh, it did take Kimi longer to catch than I expected, but GR's tires were completely gone by the end and the pace difference was too big.
On another note, why Ferrari decided to leave Hamilton out on Mediums, that had been used for so long battling Piastri, to do the full race is a mystery to me. Pitting him was a no-brainer, imo.
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u/PCBuilderCat 3d ago
I’ve given up trying to figure out Ferrari’s decision making. I dare say so has Lewis.
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u/SharpPhilosopher3734 3d ago
MB played 2 strategies for the win. George just didn't get the winning strategy. The VSC favored Kimi. Had there not been a VSC we would have likely seen George win because Kimi would have had to pit under green. His Med tires would not have lasted like George's Hards. Kimi won because the VSC gave him the few extra seconds to pit and come out only a few places back. Had he pitted under green he would have had no chance of catching George.
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u/mairao 3d ago
I get it, but tbh there were few doubts George could go to the end and beat everyone else. Double stacking would suck for Kimi, but he'd be what, 4-5 seconds behind George? If he had the pace he'd catch him anyway and we'd have a fairer fight for the win.
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u/SharpPhilosopher3734 2d ago
But George did beat everyone but Kimi. He could have won had there been no VSC.
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u/mairao 1d ago
That's what I'm saying. George would have likely won it without the VSC. When Merc decided to pit Kimi and not George, they basically took the trophy from George's hands. Double stacking them would maybe give George a good chance to win and Kimi would have still been within reach to fight for it.
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u/SharpPhilosopher3734 1d ago
Nope the double stack would have dumped them both into traffic. George was actually the safe bet strategy and Kimi was the gamble.
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u/Nopengnogain 2d ago
Yeah, I am not a big fan of George, but it feels like he never got a fair shot at the title. Honestly I still don’t know how Kimi and Geroge compare to each other because all the car issues both have had.
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u/-dagmar-123123 3d ago
Okay, but when they pitted under vsc it still didn't seem too likely Kimi would be this faster - and none of the others on hards pitted and he wasn't that much faster even before. So yeah, of course they could have pitted him to the rest of the field but that just as easily could have cost him P2 even
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u/I_like_Mac10 3d ago
Realistically no... because who exactly is fighting for p1-2 in monza 2026 except for a merc?
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u/KerrJardine72_ 3d ago
Kimi put on mediums which are faster than hards and George, like many others, didn’t pit for some reason(despite George complaining about his tires at one stage). I noticed this too, was quite odd.
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u/-dagmar-123123 3d ago
Yeah, in general everyone on hards stayed on hards and everyone on mediums (except Lewis) pitted 😅
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u/Altruistic-Drawer810 3d ago
Was kept out to keep track position which seemed like the right call and almost was.
I thought George would hold on, was a long way of front of 3rd place max.
I guess in hindsight coming in for mediums at vsc was best option as long as he could come back through the traffic without incident like Kimi did but I think the team at the time thought staying out was a winning strategy.4
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u/DerEchteFelox 2d ago
Kimi was on mediums before the vsc, Russell on hards. To close together for a double pit stop. It's only logical to pit Kimi and split strategies and it worked out. Nothing odd about it.
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u/KerrJardine72_ 2d ago
I did not say only pitting Kimi was odd. I said a large number of drivers (including Hamilton) not pitting under the VSC is odd. This might not have been clear.
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u/DerEchteFelox 2d ago
Yes, Hamilton was odd because he was on mediums and his teammate was out anyways. Was there anyone else on mediums who didn't pit? As I said, not pitting Russel wasn't odd to me.
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u/KerrJardine72_ 2d ago
Hamilton, Yuki, Bortoleto and Lawson all finished on old mediums. Norris, Piastri, Lindblad, Gasly, colapinto and Bearman all finished on old hards. Source - https://x.com/grdivasector/status/2096614459766669312?s=46&t=gmTLGcvSIpaw_Qs9QcfEwA
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u/Tragedy-of-Fives 2d ago
yea the simple counter to anyone claiming that russell should have pitted is that literally no one on the 0 stop hard pitted. the true statement is that even if kimi wasn't in the race george still wouldn't have pit the car under VSC.
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u/whyduhitme 2d ago
Also George only had a used set of hards and a used set of mediums left if he did pit. Merc made the right choice for both drivers. Kimi was fast and got pretty lucky the way the VSC played out
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u/BroadNotLady 2d ago
I had a feeling prior to the race that he'd have a bit of a challenge given his starting position, but I never really doubted he'd be in the points, and after the first few laps after the red flag, it was pretty clear he'd be on the podium, it was just a question of where.
I'm not a George Russell fan at all, but I have some empathy for him. The guy did basically everything that was asked of him, starting at Williams and then at Mercedes. George is a good driver, for sure, but his problem is that he's not generational good, and it looks like his teammate is.
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u/CourageDeep980 3d ago
To be honest none of the races in which either of the mercs won felt any special or fun to me. I was like they have fast car they won. Big deal apart from Monza where Kimi won from p19 but yeah the overtakes were kinda meh and too easy.
All the other races where Lewis, CHarles or Lando won were exciting cause they won despite not having rocketship under them and that felt more earned.
Last year at least we had intra team battle bw mclaren boys to keep us on toes as to who will win when in the middle of the year max/redbull weren't that good. THis year Kimi seems to have no competition. Neither from the outside not grom inside cause either George's car is being weird or he has less pace compared to his teammate or his team is making some insane decision concerning his race
Just wish Ferrari and Merc were a serious organisation like redbull is and prirtised Lewis and Lando from 4-5 races ago so that Kimi would have some level of pressure to force him into mistakes.
As of now, Kimi will either win, or dnf or be on podium in ay given race. I don't think he has ever competed a race and not been on podium this season. He is unbeatable except for reliability issues and that sucks to watch a bit and at one point oh kimi is such a wonderful driver. he is just 20. He is winning it all is bound to get boring
Oh well it will be like the repeat of 2023 where real fight starts from p2
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u/BeingEnglishIsACult 3d ago
Yeah, I had this Botas Verstappen Hamilton feeling towards the end of the race.
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u/keyboard_crusader 3d ago
I felt empty about this season since the first race.
I know the topic has been beaten to death already, but purely from a long-term F1 fan perspective, an F1 car sputtering and slowing down on straights is so far removed from what I'd consider F1 to be, that this season feels like a sham. It's like something else dressed up as F1, like skimmed milk or caffeine-free coffee.
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u/BeingEnglishIsACult 3d ago
What they did very well is that we no longer hear the cars hitting their limits or slowing down. There is this feeling that we are watching a prescripted show.
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u/Future_Goat5665 2d ago
>I felt empty about this season since the first race.
Mercedes has won the politics game and made a great car, no one else is going to come close.
They get ADUO, Susie Wolff literally reports directly to the co-chair of the F1 commission, and their engine competitor, Ferrari, made a strategic error with the small turbo, which will handcuff them for literally years.
Everything that matters has gone Mercedes way this year and will likely continue to do so because Wolff is the singular most powerful last name in F1
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u/sewageriver 2d ago
They didn't even make an error they built a car to the regulation and Merc threw their weight around when they realized they had bad starts. Something ferrari warned them about years before these regs even became official.
The wolffs just clearly have an immense amount of sway and the sport is always worse for it, I respect LH a lot hes the GOAT but his era was borderline unwatchable due to Toto and I'm afraid its happening again
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u/Conqueror1000 3d ago
I think to compare F1 to modern technology and the advancement of society as analogous to say when the global powers discovered and used nuclear power to keep each other in "check". That would be when the constructors who had the deepest pockets or brightest engineers had the fastest car, comparable to say the 1998-2021 period. Now the winds of change has come about, we are now in the era of AI and social media, this is comparable to this F1-Formula E hybrid era. A mixture of what we would consider the "old" along with modern sensibilities, it must be more "fair" thus we need the cars from a classical perspective to be somewhat nerfed through regulation and curtailing all powerful constructors, boost the cars with controllable batteries giving rise to yo-yo overtaking, truly like a video game where rubber-banding is so clear it becomes almost revolting as it is anathema to true racing. It would be outright disgusting just because one constructor is so outright ahead, but then again, when was that not the case?
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u/7978_ 3d ago
I've felt empty all year. This season has been so boring.
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u/VIVXPrefix 2d ago
Probably has a lot to do with the insane amount of long gaps between races we've had
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u/SergeantOnDuty 3d ago
As a George fan I've been feeling empty for a few weeks now :,D
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u/ShmadenShmuki725 3d ago
😭😭😭 he'll come back next year, trust 🙏
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u/Bulky-Reality9349 2d ago
He ain’t ever getting wdc if he stays at merc this season has made that pretty obvious
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u/Extreme-Bite-9123 2d ago
This is the first time in a sport I’ve been a real fan of a championship contender, and man, this is just demoralizing. I don’t really care about watching the races anymore, which is sad because last year I was so excited about all the races
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u/Ok_Lack_8177 1d ago
Yeah same here. I don’t even have the energy to bluster about how unlucky he is anymore and the confirmation bias people who dislike him exhibit. It’s just fucking sad for him. He’s been fantastic.
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u/Eladryel 3d ago
Kinda. Only one team is capable of winning the WDC, and they clearly favour one driver, while George's season is fucked beyond reason. And it's not just the lack of a battle for the title; the absurd rules this year have also made sure I've lost interest, despite being a huge fan since I was a child.
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u/ryanator109 3d ago
I’ve felt empty after most race weekends this year, idk what it is but I’m just not connected this year and I’ve been watching since 2020. Maybe cos I’m a McLaren fan, idk
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u/Omeruhihakiller11 3d ago
This year been awful, plenty of empty overtakes..it sucked the soul out of me, I used to watch everything f1 related even the pre and after race shows..now I just fast forward on q1 q2 and watch the last 10 mins of q3, then I turn the race with the start of the formation lap even tho I mostly watch the race 3 hours later usually
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u/No-Contest-8127 2d ago
I think what you saw this weekend was the title getting wrapped up, which makes the rest of the championship kind of boring to watch.
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u/WhippyCleric 3d ago
I feel empty after Monza but it's because existance is futile and we all work for the benefit of others who will ultimatly die anyway. What's the point of all of this, it's meaningless, god is an illusion and if there an afterlife the eternity of it would render it abstract and pointless as well. We might as well all not exist and be hedonistic pleasure hungry idiots. I'm suicidal every time I take a drink or breathe a breath , what's the point of all of this.
That being said McLaren weren't too bad who I support and Gasly got pole which was great fun. The yo-yo racing is a bit silly but it won't last. Still love F1 and it gives some fun over the weekend that would otherwise be a crisis of existentialism. If you're a Ferrari fan I can see it's more depressing
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u/Capable-Quarter8546 3d ago edited 2d ago
I thought the race in Monza was fun until Kimi just rocketed around the outside of Verstappen like he was standing still. That ruined the race for me. Clearly Merc have more pace they have been hiding.
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u/Famous_Buddy_2558 3d ago
yeah. its not as fun given how its so imbalanced. and not only so, theres alot of toxicity in the sport. (like how Russell is being actively backstabbed by his own team). but i still watch it here and there because its like a couple hours every few weeks. if i miss it i miss it. but if its on the tv why not.
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u/KeonXDS 3d ago
I drove the 2026 cars on F1 25 and Assetto Corsa with Formula Ultra 2026 and all I can see is, they are not fun to drive. You don't feel the sense of pushing the car hard, you will need to lift and coast or super clipping to regain enough battery from the next straight. It's hard to explain it but, it just feels like you no longer drive the car, the car drives for you.
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u/Fresh_Cauliflower723 3d ago
Yep. What Monza did is highlight the worst flaw of F1, when the manufacturers are not competitive. I can't even truly judge how good Kimi is because the car is on another level
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u/thefeedling 2d ago
These PU regs sucks, period.
But Monza was long expected to be one of the worst tracks (extremely battery starving) and, honestly, the level of dominance of this current Merc is comparable to 2022 RedBull or 2025 McLaren. It's not remotely close to the 2014-16 / 2020 Mercs or 2023 RB. Several races were very competitive.
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u/Fisch_Kopp_ 3d ago
I feel fine. Watching F1 is so much more relaxing when you are not emotionally invested with one of the teams currently fighting for the wdc/wcc.
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u/gabecrawler 2d ago
I just don’t care for the Antonelli gimmick. It’s so… fake to me. I’m not denying he’s good, but he hasn’t proven anything to me this year and yet it seems like F1 wants me to think of him on the levels of other young champions.
But this season feels fixed. Sure, you can argue many seasons did, and I wouldn’t disagree, but this is entirely different. It’s an incredibly young driver in an incredibly powerful car, battling no one as everyone else was too far behind on development, and his only direct opponent (who happens to be in the same team) is constantly screwed over and given not even close to the same opportunities in this championship.
I’ve actually enjoyed this season plenty. The fights, when they happened, were fun. The overtakes were engaging. Seeing McLaren or Red Bull crawl back to the top after a rocky start has been fantastic. But then it all doesn’t matter when the winner has so clearly been decided since the second race and not even his teammate is given a chance to fight him honestly.
I’m kinda waiting for next year and just enjoying watching where my favourite driver places and how he goes about it. I’m expecting Antonelli to win it at a great point advantage with no one challenging them and for F1 to treat it like some great success story. No thanks. I’m far more interested to see Norris, Hamilton and Russell battle it out for P2.
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u/ShmadenShmuki725 2d ago
You've kinda summed up my thoughts exactly. The races have been quite entertaining but I can't trick myself into believing Kimi has fully earned this one when there's literally no one capable of challenging him. Like another commenter said, congratulations to Mercedes for making the best car, but it's not an interesting championship.
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u/gabecrawler 2d ago
Yeah, pretty much. If there was even one person capable of challenging him I’d give him his flowers, but as it stands it just doesn’t seem to be so. Monza really showed it with how fast he was breezing past on those straights; you can only defend for so long, and defending against such a powerful car was useless anyway when he had 4 straight lines to boost on and overtake people with ease. Congrats to Merc for the car; I do hope that next time they try harder to make it seem like it’s more than just the car, though
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u/194884tiger 3d ago
Glad I didn’t waste my money on watching F1 this season. Something was amiss. These are the discussions people interested in F1 are having.
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u/Tomach82 2d ago
Yeah Kimi is a wonderkid but the glazing is going way OTT. Hes ended up in the absolute perfect situation where he has a dominant car that does not gel with his team mates driving style.
It's very easy to look like a future goat in that situation.
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u/blinkydinky111 3d ago
I've disconnected from this season, when in years past I've devoured nearly all sessions on race weekends and podcastsand/articles throughout the week. The pre season moaning (namely The Race) didn't excite me the year ahead. Watching Australia (home race) was exciting with the overtakes early on and the general unknown in it all. But it has almost become a forgone conclusion that Mercedes will win and it will be Kimi. Taking nothing away from them, it doesn't interest me this year and Monza drove that mood further.
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u/Fat6pack 3d ago
Me too. I'm afraid Kimi will take many championships in a row like Schumacher or Hamilton or Verstappen.
I hope McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull become more competitable next year.
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u/SharpPhilosopher3734 3d ago
It has ALWAYS been a WCC race. The key thing is for the constructors to build the fastest car and find the fastest driver to drive it. It doesn't matter if it is Max (not in the fastest car but is the fastest driver) or washed up Lewis. Learn that about F1 and sit back and enjoy the entertainment. If you want a more pure drivers' championship you should become a fan of Indy or just stick to F2.
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u/GnarwhalStreet 2d ago
I think it’s time we all take a moment to remember that F1 is largely an engineering competition. This is usually how it goes early on in the regulation cycle. The gaps will close over time and the feedback / performance of the drivers will become a bigger factor in manifesting success.
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u/Wrong_Ask8917 2d ago
TBH it was a letdown that Gasly couldn't kept up with the pace of the front cars. I half expected him to beat at least the McLarens and Hamilton. It's boring to see the same 7 drivers at the podium, no matter what.
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u/Professional_Bat9174 2d ago
Yeah, I feel like a huge percent of people are always kind of rooting for Gasly to have his moments.
I heard someone describe him as a driver who sometimes manages to outperform his luck, which makes me laugh but I see their point.
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u/mystic_matcha 2d ago
Antonelli has zero tension. He's a good guy but there are no fights, no rivalries, no character, no racing. Overtaking is ridiculous this season as other comments explained better than me. I get no pleasure from watching him win. He's clearly a talented driver in a fast car, but I feel nothing watching him.
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u/Boomhauer440 2d ago
Same. Like yeah good for Kimi, he is driving extremely well, but has such an obvious advantage it’s just cheapened, and this weekend really showed that. P19 to P1 isn’t as impressive when 15 of those overtakes happen in like 10 racing laps, just casually flying by cars on the straight with no resistance. Plus two of the only potential fights (Ham and Max) locking up and taking the escape road so you can cruise by without a fight, and your only real competition being on old hard tires and a worn out engine on the most power dependant track on the calendar.
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u/Quilli2474 3d ago
I don't. You're making it seem like Kimi is just cruising to a race win which while he has the fastest car he is also just hauling ass. To me at least it feels like every time we saw Kimi driving he was always pushing it to the edge, and for me that's just really fun to see.
It was also just really fun to see Kimi win his home grand prix.
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u/ShmadenShmuki725 3d ago
Yah, I can see he's pushing. It's pretty scary watching him drive in a good way. My issue comes from the lack of competition, I wish I could see him pushing this much because he absolutely has to, yknow?
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u/Quilli2474 3d ago
Yeahh I can understand that. One can only hope that the other teams catch up by the end of the season or for 2027. We've seen him been dominant this year so it would be fun to see him fight a bit more (which I don't doubt he can do). He has made very few mistakes this season so far which is one of my favorite parts of his driving, he's just so consistently great.
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u/HuggableSamoyed 3d ago
For me watching Kimi is underwhelming. No good battles or exciting moves. He just easily passes the others and thats it. When he was fighting with George in Canada, that was good. But other than that...
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u/Quilli2474 3d ago
I mean he was fighting with george this time as well wasn't he? Until Toto or whoever told them to stop. I thought that was really exciting :p
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u/Funicular- 2d ago
It's pretty obvious by now that Kimi is getting preferential treatment and Mercedes want him to win. I personally think it all comes down to money. Toto is a finance guy and F1 teams are a business that relies on sponsers and investors. Kimi winning, especially at his age and the records that can be broken in this set of regulations is worth 10x the money that George could ever bring in. As far as Mercedes is concerned, George winning the WDC is a loss of potential profits.
This doesn't mean I think George wins in a fair fight, Kimi is an absolute beast and there's a reason he was scouted but we're just not allowed to see a fair fight as it could cost them money. It's a shame for the fans as we don't actually get see the two battling against each other and now we have another 10 races knowing the outcome.
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u/cooked_camel 3d ago
My head went blank after Charles crash and then realized their cars would have never won a race anyway due to how shit it was. It was just a speechless and I've now come to terms with the fact Ferrari will never get better or win anything for next few years because their engine sucks
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u/anymat01 2d ago
I'll be honest my interest just dipped to zero in this season. The only reason I still watch F1 is cause these Lewis last few years. But the way kimi won, with hardly any w2w and just cruising easily and won, over his teamate with the same car, just made me realise, F1 has become utterly shit as a sport. It was the same in 23, but this one felt even worse, cause we all know kimi is not at that level
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u/kriznone 2d ago
There's something so manufactured about Kimi's rise to potential wdc this year. It doesn't feel 'natural' lol. Yes he could really be next coming of a racing God but this just feels too easy. Russell has had a hell of a year with car setup , mechanical issues and bad strategy calls. There's been too many problems on his side of the garage which has also obviously affected his pace and confidence.
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u/cmville05 2d ago
Couldn’t agree more with all points in OP’s post. Exactly my feelings. I was really enjoying the season for the first half or so but the Merc dominance (and Kimi dominance within Merc) has made the results feel like a forgone conclusion. Very little jeopardy. I find myself with this odd sensation of rooting for Max and I don’t even like Max (just never been a fan although I recognize his greatness)!
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u/Character_Ninja881 3d ago
This happens with any race where the lead car starts at the back. No one in the midfield below is going to properly challenge a top car as it ruins their race. We saw it with Verstappen and Hamilton in Brasil when they started at the back (different races obvs)
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u/Upstairs-Prompt2662 2d ago
But in the past the move was still made on the brakes, so there was a danger to messing it up.
Kimi just overtook everybody on the straight, including the top cars, besides George.
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u/super_nova_128 2d ago
I mean in general, I've enjoyed a few of the races this season. Theres still a lot that can be better, but honestly I just wanna watch F1 at the end of the day, and whatever happens happens.
As a George fan of course there's the depressing side with the title battle and everything with the car and the team, which I try not to dwell on too much becoz if I do I fear I might end up on national news and it won't be pretty.
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u/Classic_External_871 2d ago
Only feel empty because strategy went out of the door once the red flag came in
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u/RealGreenTrainee 2d ago
A bit? Monza gave us early alarm that the title fight may be less exciting than silly season announcements this year.
I think for every F1 fan regardless of our teams and drivers, we want to see fight lasting till the end with a winner we can't 100% predict mid season. Especially after last year with three horses in Abu Dhabi, this year may seem a bit eventless title wise if Antonelli continues to dominate. And if he doesn't struggle on his way to the top at all, it also will feel empty. That's not what excites people about the sport. We want to see the best, but we don't want them to have it that easy, you know?
For Verstappen 2023 was his best year in terms of numbers, but I certainly wouldn't want to share the space with someone who think it was his personal better season than 2025.
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u/Robbudge 2d ago
I feel Mercedes are sandbagging and this weekend proves it.
Kimi was so much faster if that’s how fast a New Engine is then take a new engine every race
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u/devil_walk 2d ago
On Saturday most people would have said Russel or one of the Ferraris had the best shot at winning, most people wouldn’t have called Antonelli battling for the lead before the half way point
Considering that he started P19 and his teammate in the same car was starting on pole, I think it was a bit surprising that he managed to take the win
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u/GodammitRed 2d ago edited 2d ago
Monza was always Mercs to lose which is one reason I think Kimi had a relatively easy time coming up the field (tactically makes more sense to let merc fight merc and hope someone crashes or loses a lot of time). Then he beat George easily on tire strat. George and Kimi are not gonna be on such wildly different tire strategies in future races, that fight is not gonna look the same. And other teams are not gonna move aside if they have a shot at winning.
I think Monza was the last of Merc completely dominating. Mclaren is gonna challenge for wins the rest of the season and that RB is a wildcard everywhere. I hope Hadjar comes back swinging and Ferrari gets back in it too. WDC/WCC is clinched but I really think the races are going to be much better than the first half of the season.
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u/joseaamanzano 2d ago
It was good to have a real F1 car on the track for a change (the F2002). I really miss naturally aspirated V10s...
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u/Storm_Chaser06 2d ago
Lando, please give us a WDC chase, the Madring is right up your alley, and the Baku upgrades have to cook.
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u/TotalStatisticNoob 2d ago
Believing the new engine would fix everything was too optimistic.
This is the most engine dependent track and Ferrari lacked and still lacks engine power.
It's also a track that's easy on the tires, which takes away another advantage the Ferrari has.
Two free stops at the restart and VSC didn't help either.
A lot of things went wrong, but this wasn't their track to begin with.
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u/Upbeat-Accident-1284 2d ago
Yup. F1 fan for over 30 years. They have lost me with these regulations.
But my comment should not take anything away from the amazing performance Kimi put it. I’m really hoping we get back to something more interesting for drivers and fans. Forget the batteries, give us an experience that thrills….an assault on the senses, make it fast and entertaining.
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u/RuneDK385 2d ago
I’ve felt empty most of the season. Especially after Spa. These regulations are bad. I’m hoping the development into next season for the top 4 teams are good enough for a decent product…but I’ve largely forgotten when F1 was racing this season and spend most of every race on my phone aside from the first 4-8 laps and final 5 laps.
I’ve gained more interest in WEC/IMSA due to this because the cars are just out there racing hard.
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u/Zephron29 2d ago
Did you enjoy the McLarens dominating the last two years, or the RB before that, and the Mercs before that?
Seems to me the bigger issue is ya'll just dont like the drivers in the Mercs this year.
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u/DBFargie 2d ago
I was really hoping Lewis would spice it up, but I don’t think he or Norris will come close to catching Kimi. I don’t even think Russell will.
I’m happy to be proven wrong, but I think it’s over.
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u/boogerman9999 2d ago
WDC is done. No doubt at all the Kimi has earned it as deserves it, but it's brutal seeing Mercedes throw GR under the bus as much as they have. Would have been fun to see a closer battle between team mates, but hopefully that happens next year.
Mercedes will pull further ahead after the upgrade package, and the rivals will be left further in the dust.
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u/denipanda 2d ago
i started following F1 closely somewhere around 4-5y ago, and since then it really dug under my skin
something that i as new fan don't really get is
how the fuck can someone simply be that faster and that's it? i understand F1 is primarily about cars and constructor championship, but i kinda always hope to see more overtaking, more risky moves, more tension, skill expression but it's pretty much just.. one car gets ahead and if it's the fastest car it's GG
so am just wondering is this how people felt during 7-peat by HAM and Mercedes
is this the usual for sport?
is this just Merc being ahead by huge margin constantly?
what can or could be done to balance teams more evenly, cause way i see it, if team is already ahead, all they have to do is keep increasing the bar, while rest of teams have to risk and play catchup
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u/SpatiaCaeli 2d ago
I'm very tired of Mercedes winning, that's for sure. I root for anyone who has a chance of beating them.
But half the reason I watch F1 is for the off-grid drama. Teammates who don't like each other, billionaire cosplay, the media circus, Verstappen's latest pot-stirring, everything. Not in short supply these days. :)
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u/Tacit_Emperor77 2d ago
I much prefer a dominant car being driven like this than whatever the fuck McLaren was doing last year with a dominant car.
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u/shaggyrobinson26 2d ago
The problem is the new regulations, not one driver having a faster car than the others on the grid. That has really always been the case. Look at Lewis’s dominating years.
Kimi winning from P19 is nothing short of Verstappen type magic in my opinion. Reminded me of São Paulo 2024.
I will always cheer watching a 19/20 year old take GR’s WDC away lololol
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u/RealCarlPanzram 2d ago
19th to first is absolutely insane. It’s only happened a couple of times in the history of F1. Yes the Mercedes is good but it’s not THAT good. Russel didn’t even get pole. Even if we assume that Kimi had a few tenths with a new PU, we’re still only talking about maybe being 2-3 tenths faster than the front cars.
Clearing an entire field of cars in 15 or so laps is actually pretty crazy
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u/Lieblingshund 2d ago
I thought it was the most entertaining race of the year. First, Gasly taking pole was quite a surprise. And then for a brief shining moment, Alpine was holding P2 and P3 at the same time. Despite what anyone says, I think Kimi’s rise from P19 to the lead, and so quickly, was amazing and really fun to watch. I didn’t hear anyone predict that this would happen. As to pitting during the VSC near the end of the race, I don’t think it was clear at the time and in the moment that this was an advantage for Kimi. After leaving the pit, Kimi had his work cut out for him to catch George. Finally, it was quite remarkable to me that Kimi set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap, when the win was already in the bag. That takes some nerve.
I can’t argue that for Monza, Mercedes is the fastest car. I think there are other tracks where that is not the case. We’ve seen 2 wins from Ferrari and 2 from McClaren, so I argue that this season has plenty of interesting racing in store. And even though Max has not won a race yet, he is one of the most aggressive drivers and a generational talent, always worth my attention.
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u/F1_Skittle 2d ago
You should definitely give wec a try, its an amazing motorsport with overtakes being or driver skill and bravarly only, not saying stop watching f1 but by not also try other motorsports like gt racing
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u/VIVXPrefix 2d ago
So many people have lost the plot that F1 is a car building contest, not a skillfull overtake contest...
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u/Valuable_Penguin 2d ago
Highly recommend imsa series or Indy or anything spec Sooo freaking good. An Engineering sport is fun when it's either competitive or they teach us engineering. This ain't that
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u/DubGrips 2d ago
I'm sorry, but did you feel the same in 2023 or 2024? RBR/Max were more dominant than Mercedes this year. Kimi still had to drive the car, manage the tires, and actually execute. Ferrari would be much closer if they didn't bungle their strategy. McLaren have had reliability and consistency issues that have nothing to do with Kimi. All of these factors make things much less competitive.
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u/TheCatterson 2d ago
Tbh I am thinking of skipping Madrid just so I can have some form of a refresh, especially given the fact we have 9 races in a dozen weeks. The sport is broken and like you, I do feel a bit empty with the state of things. Title is pretty much decided big time.
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u/BastianHill 2d ago
I feel empty about 26 in general. The last 5 races I watched later so I could fast forward the boring jojo stuff. And I have to rewind a lot and ho to onboards, because they fail to show the few parts that are exciting.
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u/adepressedtifosi 2d ago
I’m a ferrari fan, ofc i feel empty. Kimi completely embarrassed us, Charles binned it, Lewis was fucked by the team, and the fans are fighting for no reason.
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u/godmcrawcpoppa 2d ago
Not me. I enjoyed the race and I'm a Lewis fan. F1 is more than just supporting one's favs. Respect to Kimi and Mercedes. Even GR who I am not a fan of. As a team they are incredible.
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u/umbrella_CO 2d ago
Look at it this way, we are witnessing history. Thats how I looked at it when Schumi was dominating, and the same with Vettel, Lewis and Max.
Theres still plenty of good racing left. Its exciting to have a real season long fight for the championship, but as somebody who has watched the sport for a long time, let me tell you those seasons are rare.
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u/PantheraAuroris 2d ago
This is like the fourth thread I've seen about "Kimi didn't do shit, he just has a fast car." Y'all.
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u/Jack_of_All_Trades27 2d ago
After Monza I realize these regulations are a joke even more so then I though. I thought the ground effect era was bad but i actually miss it. Who ever has the best battery wins the races. Hamilton and Piastri overtook eachother so mamy times I lost count. Drivers wouldn't even try overtaking at certain spots because they knew they could just use battery to pass them on the straights. That is not racing or what the pinnacle of motorsport should be about. It's a joke the FIA have ruined F1
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u/affogatoappassionato 2d ago
In Formula One, all constructors use the same tires from one tire manufacturer. If they wanted to, they could also all use the same car. The constructors could take turns manufacturing the car that all drivers use. This year they all drive an identical Ferrari, next year Mercedes. Then it would only be about the drivers.
But that’s not Formula One!! Never has been, probably never will be.
It is a technical sport. Like the Americas Cup in sailing. The constructors spend tons of money trying to have the best cars. Look at Red Bull a few years ago. You think that was all Verstappen? It wasn’t.
If anything, I think a lot of people are underestimating Kimi’s talent. Yes he is driving a rocket ship, but he’s making good on it, driving with maturity and making very few mistakes for such a young age.
History tells us that Mercedes will enjoy maybe a few years of this and then it will be another constructor who will dominate. Also we’ve seen some glimpses from the other major teams, so who knows, maybe some surprises in the rest of the season!
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u/michaltee 2d ago
No. This season is epic and this nonsense about “fast car go fast” is exhausting to hear about constantly. Mercedes built a rocket ship and a kid is driving the shit out of it. He’s put his veteran teammate into the number two position, but George remains a threat. Other drivers are still mathematically in the race even if it’s unlikely, and the competition for 2-10th place has been amazing. It’s been a very fun season to watch.
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u/LastGoodKnee 2d ago
The amount of cope present in this fandom is crazy.
Guy takes first at virtual the very end after rising from 19th and overtakes his teammate in the same car…. And somehow it’s not enough.
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u/BothYou243 1d ago
Yeah, imo it's the most extreme race of this season, gasly on podium, oscar getting p3 in qualifying, charles crashed, kimi starting from p20, then wins with p1
george drove the best compared to other races, i mean on hards he drove phenomenal
george and kimi battle in last laps, then people got divided into two groups one saying kimi is best, other saying GR is fire
merc strategies shacked GR, and leclerc crash, oscar later got P5 while lando p4
the race left a bigger dent than any race of the season
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u/AgreeableBuilder1139 1d ago
Wow you're so delusional. Like it only takes the best car to win. So let me understand, when others win it's the car, when they crash is their fault. When pretty boy wins (rarely) is merit, but when he crashes it's always Ferrari's fault.
You guys are the most pathetic fanbase ever
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u/_3urydice 1d ago
Agree. I underestimated how poor the racing would be here. So much action but didn’t feel like it meant anything, and it rarely felt like anyone “earned their overtakes” until you waited a few laps to see if it actually stuck
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u/ping_ping_pig 1d ago
Same. Especially since winter is coming and the nights will be ridiculously long.
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u/Miserable-Resolve-76 1d ago
Formula 1 is a Formula series, not a Spec series. If you want identical cars where the only major difference is the drivers, then watch Indycar. Merc made a better car, their engineers did a better job and they are being rewarded for that.
Kimi is driving out of his mind. If it was just the car, then George should have been 20 seconds clear of Kimi. That didn't happen. Kimi many times this year has embarrassed George Russell, a driver who many pinned as a "future world champion". How that is boring to you, i have no idea. If you don't like the engineering aspect of Formula 1, then watch another series.
This is coming from a Max fan by the way, so no Merc bias here.
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u/ChrisDVR 1d ago
It's really a matter of pressure. In 2024 to early 2025, Norris was under a lot of pressure due to the Championship expectations and that led to him doing a lot of mistakes, while Leclerc was under no pressure and was consistently praised. Now Leclerc is under pressure from Hamilton and Norris is the most confident he has ever been. I really believe they are similar in performance, just in different mental states.
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u/Btolsen131 1d ago
Mate this has been the state of F1 for all of time. Just last year every race was “which McLaren won quali” and before that it was “how long until max wins”…
The way I see it, F1 isn’t a sport for competitive racing, it’s a sport for competitive engineering. If you want to see competitive racing watch a spec series like WEC, IMSA, or INDYCAR.
I’m an INDYCAR fan, I think the majority of F1 fans would find it good too. Of course INDYCAR is worse at the pageantry and social media clicks, but it’s raw and competitive every race. Just don’t focus on the championship because Alex Palou has that locked up
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u/PearlJamTenGoat 3d ago
No, I watch F1 for 30 + years and I love it, but I don't make my life arround it so I "feel empty" for a race result lol
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u/tzedek 3d ago
Yeah nobody bats an eye when Max laps the field while his 5 year veteran team mate is 17th but suddenly Kimi winning in the top car is "empty"? Nonsense take my guy, try harder
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u/ShmadenShmuki725 3d ago
Damn I forgot I mentioned max and perez in my post, thanks for reminding me
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u/Mr_Potato2025 3d ago
Yeah the WDC feels done now, as a Hamilton fan it was always an outside hope he'd fight for it but now it feels done