Max Verstappen must be the most fortunate driver in this sport. The dice fall for him every time he needs them to.
I mean, his first win came after the title contenders, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, crashed into each other. His first title came after the race director, Michael Massi, deliberately broke rules with the intention of altering the outcome of a championship. His second championship came after his team breached the cost cap. His teammates somehow always suck drastically in comparison. Not to undermine his talents or achievements — he’s a champion without all the luck (just maybe a three-time champion, not four).
But seriously, in a race where he’s clawing his way back to the top of the standings, both of his rivals are disqualified? Could he send me his numbers for the lottery?
Some people think the double disqualification of the McLaren cars means the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or FIA, is trying to rig the championship. While the FIA has certainly been more than kind to Verstappen, that’s not what is happening here. If those cars hadn’t been disqualified, that would have been unjust.
The real shame is that although McLaren is technologically heads and shoulders above the rest of the teams, it just can’t hang. This team also needs a culture shift.
You know in that one movie when the dorky girl finds out she’s the princess of Genovia and transforms into Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi? McLaren needs to realize it’s the princess and it’s time to rule. No more hiding in the shadows and tripping over itself. Half the job of winning is behaving like a winner, and McLaren is not doing that.
Now Oscar Piastri and Verstappen are level on points. After the summer break, Piastri had a 104 point lead over Verstappen. And though his recent performances haven’t been up to scratch, that’s saying a little bit more about McLaren than it is Piastri.
Moving on. Remember how I told you to bet on black? I hope you did, because the Mercedes crew certainly gambled and won big time. Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing on the podium after being eliminated in the first part of the qualifying round is huge. Sure, he had some luck with the disqualifications, but he held onto those tires and his position for so long in the race I forgot he was there. His defense was akin to another great Italian sportsman, soccer legend Paolo Maldini: You shall not pass. Double podium for Mercedes. Not too shabby at all.
The only thing I’ll say about Ferrari is that Hamilton had a great start to the race.
Again, during the yellow flag, there were marshals on the track. Now, there wasn’t a green flag running, so the cars were slower than usual — but why take risks like that? Mohammed Ben Sulayem, do you have an answer for me?
You know who I haven’t mentioned in a while? Williams Racing! It currently sits fifth in the championship, which is fantastic considering its performance over the last decade. Carlos Sainz Jr. qualified in third. I didn’t expect him to keep the place during the race, but his qualifying pace just means the Williams team can actually put it together. Though it seems they can only put it together for one car at a time.
Anyway, enough about Formula 1 — let’s talk about the real star of the weekend. Beyoncé! I’m kidding. While she is a star, I’m talking about the incredible women racing in Formula 1 Academy. It’s been a blunder of mine that I haven’t talked about them all season. As the girl power advocate that I am, I apologize from the very bottom of my heart.
Las Vegas marked the end of another stellar campaign for F1 Academy. For those of you unfamiliar with it, F1 Academy is an all-women racing series that gives female racing drivers a chance to show their skills and compete in single seater cars. The cars are equivalent to Formula 4 cars. Each F1 team has to back at least one driver on the grid. There are other sponsors such as Charlotte Tilbury, Tommy Hilfiger and AMEX. However, the drivers are part of actual junior Formula teams like Campos Racing, ART Grand Prix or Prema Racing.
Now that you know about F1 Academy, here’s what happened in Vegas.
The championship was down to two main contenders: Doriane Pin of Mercedes and Maya Weug of Ferrari. It’s the final season for both of them, as you can only race for two seasons in the Academy. Pin has scored in every race in her F1 Academy career (over both seasons) and went into the weekend as the championship leader.
Weug needed to win race one to really see her championship bid come to life. And what happened? She made contact with another car right as they were lining up on the formation lap to take the five lights. GASP. She was out of the race, and Pin won with a good recovery drive. Surely her title fight was over. Nope! Because in race two, she overtook Pin and looked to be on a charge for the win.
Like her hero, Hamilton, did to claim his maiden championship, Pin finished in fifth. And to both Weug’s and former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s disappointment, sometimes fifth is the new first.
It was wonderful to see the Mercedes team support Pin.
I love the idea of F1 Academy. It’s making sure that women in racing are no longer unicorns. I wish there was a more planned-out path for drivers to take after the series, but if this is what we have for now, we must make the best of it. And I can assure you, the drivers are.
We’re into the last two races of the F1 season. I hope you’ve had a good time. I know (despite Ferrari trying its best to stop me) I have. Up next is Qatar.
To close, I want to remind you so that you never forget: Everyone watches women’s sports.
