Rory McIlroy has been an important voice through all of this.
Weird things happen when you have two batters.
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It ain’t a sport but I sure as shit wasn’t going to start a new thread for it…
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A few years ago, the FIA - the body that overseas the various “Formula” open wheel racing series - mandated that all cars be designed with a “halo” around the open cockpit to protect the drivers’ heads. Many fans decried the addition, complaining that it spoiled the look of the cars.
However, at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last year, it saved then World Champion Lewis Hamilton’s life when a collision with Max Verstappen caused the latter’s car to climb over Hamilton’s where the rear wheel - still spinning under power - rode right over the halo.
Well, it was Silverstone weekend again last weekend, and the halo was needed to save a driver’s life, not once, but twice. At the start of Sunday’s F1 Grand Prix, some jockeying for position saw a series of collisions that resulted in the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu being flipped upside down and sliding off the track at 160mph. Zhou was pinned in the car for a while, but emerged virtually unscathed from a crash that would’ve been unsurvivable without the halo.
“Oh fuck!” indeed.
Earlier, a crash in the F2 race saw the halo take the full brunt of an airborne car coming at a 90 degree angle. Again, the driver walked away from an accident that would’ve seen him decapitated without the halo.
'Twas a busy weekend for the stewards.
Here’s the F1 race highlights for what turned out to be an incident-packed race that ended up with a crazy final ten laps as a safety car incident had the field bunched for a chaotic sprint to the finish.
I just watched the Grand Tour segment on Jim Clark.
127 drivers died in motor sports in 1968.
Thank goodness safety measures have steadily improved.
But it’s still a deadly serious risk those drivers take.
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It’s quite incredible how well the cars are built today. In Formula cars, the driver is surrounded by a near-indestructible bath tub so the car can disintegrate around them, and they’re safely cocooned in a protective shell.
What was scary about Zhou’s crash that it was right at the start of the race, so he was carrying a full fuel load. Had the car caught fire, he - and possibly some of the crowd - would’ve been incinerated. I presume the fuel shuts off when the car registers an impact, and that saved the day here too.
But that’s not always the case.
Holy shit.
If you like racing, I thoroughly recommend Ron Howard’s “Rush”. It’s the story of the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt. It’s an incredible story but the racing scenes in this movie are just amazing.
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I need to watch that, as well as Ford vs Ferrari.
I don’t follow racing nearly as much as I did as a kid.
I feel like I should though. We’re ushering out the ICE era and while speed will be there I don’t want to take the roar of rockets on wheels for granted.
The Senna doc is excellent too.
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Ford vs Ferrari is a great film. Mrs Hawk loved it, even though she’s not a racing fan. As they explained the ending, how the guy won because he started farther back at the beginning of the race, she says “isn’t it that way in every race…someone starts at the front of the line and someone starts at the back?” She’s kinda perceptive for an accountant sometimes.
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I’ve been unable to watch boxing for some time. I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to watch football.
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I worry about CTE with my friend and former player Roosevelt Leaks. He was a battering ram, not a runner, in his years in the NFL. As a FB in the I, he blocked DEs, DTs, and LBs. He ran on 3rd and 2.
ETA: I called Leaks. He has had two football-related surgeries on his neck and back and needs PT. His mind seems ok now. We had a nice chat.
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Breakfast at Wimbledon this morning features two of the biggest a-holes in the sport. Somehow Nick Kyrgios managed to harness his talent and keep his behavior in check to reach his first finals in a Grand Slam tournament. Meanwhile anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic goes for his 21st Grand Slam title.
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Kyrgios has as much talent as anyone on the circuit but he just doesn’t have the mental makeup to be a champion.
What a collection of redasses. A stark contrast from the ladies’ championship.
For those who are F1 curious but don’t know what it’s about.
Next race weekend isn’t until the 22nd/23rd/24th, in France. All the practices, qualifying and the race itself are carried live on ESPN.
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I see that the USA network is going to push the ratio of golf to commercials to and beyond the frustration point.
They’ve got to come up with all that extra money somewhere. They’ll be in gor a shovk when people start saying “fuck it, I’m not watching this anymore”.
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Woods is 13 shots off the leader, and apparently it’s because he got a bad draw and it’s a bit gusty.
This is why I hate that he came back to golf. It’s not him, it’s having to listen to the slurping noises coming from the booth (and the fact that we’re forced to see every one of his shots while those playing better are ignored).
It’s not good when they’re measuring putts in yards.
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