2021 F1 Championship Game

1. Max Verstappen
2. Valtteri Bottas
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Sergio Perez
6. Lando Norris
7. Gasly
8. Ricciardo
9. Carlos Sainz
10. Fernando Alonso
11. Ocon
12. Russian
13. Gio
14. Tsu
15. Vettel
16. Lance Stroll
17. Rai
18. Nicholas Latifi

Monaco Grand Prix Nikita Mazepin
Monaco Grand Prix

Pit Stop Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton

1. Bottas
2. Verstappen
3. Norris
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Leclerc
6. Perez
7. Ricciardo
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Gasly
10. Ocon
11. Carlos Sainz
12. Tsunoda
13. Russian
14. Vettel
15. Räikkönen
16. Lance Stroll
17. Russell
18. Nicholas Latifi
19. Monaco Grand Prix
20. Nikita Mazepin

Pit Stop - Lewis Hamilton
FL - Lewis Hamilton

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Valtteri Bottas

3. Max Verstappen

4. Carlos Sainz

5. Charles Leclerc

6. Sergio Perez

7. Ricciardo

8. Gasly

9. Lando Norris

10. Fernando Alonso

11. Ocon

12. Vettel

13. Lance Stroll

14. Gio

15. Tsu

16. Robert Kubica

17. Russian

18. Nicholas Latifi

19. Monaco Grand Prix

DNF Nikita Mazepin

Pit Stop Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton

darkmarlin16, have you perhaps lost interest in following the races lately? I noticed there isn't even any sign of Robert Kubica on the entry list anymore...

I just realized I actually included Robert Kubica in my list; I had updated my rankings several races ago when he was still driving, and apparently, 🙂

The championship works like this: you gotta post your full predicted grid within the deadline—basically how you think everyone will finish—plus two extra picks: whoever grabs pole position and whoever clocks the fastest lap.

So, I was crunching the numbers in Excel, and I've ended up in this annoying little dilemma—like, do I actually award 4 points to the prediction where Valtteri Bottas takes the PP, or go with the one where Lewis Hamilton gets it?

According to Article 2 of the rules, the PP goes to the driver who starts from the best grid position—which, in this specific scenario, would be Valtteri Bottas.

If anyone out there can dig through the rulebook and find some loophole that justifies giving Lewis Hamilton those 4 points for the PP instead, please, let me know right here.

There’s zero reason to hand out points to Lewis Hamilton here; the rules are written pretty damn clearly.

shadowstag10 said:The championship works like this: you gotta post your full predicted grid within the deadline—basically how you think everyone will finish—plus two extra picks: whoever grabs pole position and whoever clocks the fastest lap.

So, I was crunching the numbers in Excel, and I've ended up in this annoying little dilemma—like, do I actually award 4 points to the prediction where Valtteri Bottas takes the PP, or go with the one where Lewis Hamilton gets it?

According to Article 2 of the rules, the PP goes to the driver who starts from the best grid position—which, in this specific scenario, would be Valtteri Bottas.

If anyone out there can dig through the rulebook and find some loophole that justifies giving Lewis Hamilton those 4 points for the PP instead, please, let me know right here.

Rule 13.
The competition results are calculated based strictly on the official results released by the FIA immediately following the conclusion of the race (the preliminary standings).

graniteharbor502 said:Rule 13.
The competition results are calculated based strictly on the official results released by the FIA immediately following the conclusion of the race (the preliminary standings).

Look, it's talking about the race itself—there’s zero mention of Q3 here. I took it to mean this applies strictly to the final race results.

It’s a toss-up, and just like any high-stakes situation, the team principal is going to have to make the final call.
The rest of us are just shouting our opinions into the void.

Here’s how I see it: everyone knew before qualifying even started that Lewis Hamilton had a new engine coming in, which means he wasn't starting from pole regardless of where he landed in the sessions. This wasn't some sudden move by the FIA officials—the kind of mess people used to complain about in our rulebook—because the stewards weren't messing with the results. It was actually Mercedes making a tactical sacrifice. They gave up Lewis Hamilton's pole position on purpose because they figured it’s much easier to claw back lost ground in a place like Turkey than anywhere else. That's why Valtteri Bottas is taking the pole.

I was just reading about how Lewis Hamilton received the Pirelli award for pole position and then gifted it to Valtteri Bottas with a dedication, leaving him seemingly unsure whether to feel honored or insulted 🐔

However, I can't help but think that if they decided to grant Hamilton the award because he truly earned that pole—regardless of any subsequent penalties—then perhaps we should be more inclined to give him credit for it as well. 🤷

In principle, I agree that it is ultimately up to the director to decide 🙂

shadowstag10 said:Look, it's talking about the race itself—there’s zero mention of Q3 here. I took it to mean this applies strictly to the final race results.

If you are looking for the qualifying results, one simply consults the official preliminary standings provided by the FIA. Is there really any ambiguity to be found there?



It is stated quite clearly who made the PP.

graniteharbor502 said:If you are looking for the qualifying results, one simply consults the official preliminary standings provided by the FIA. Is there really any ambiguity to be found there?



It is stated quite clearly who made the PP.

But look, the whole point is what's written in Article 2. It says we should be looking at who actually starts on pole, not just staring at some preliminary qualifying data—because, newsflash, that's nowhere in the rules.

My issue here—and I'm being totally honest—is that if I hadn't already put Valtteri Bottas for the PP, I would've easily, without a single shred of guilt, picked him too. I'm not trying to play favorites or rig my own bets here.

shadowstag10 said:But look, the whole point is what's written in Article 2. It says we should be looking at who actually starts on pole, not just staring at some preliminary qualifying data—because, newsflash, that's nowhere in the rules.

My issue here—and I'm being totally honest—is that if I hadn't already put Valtteri Bottas for the PP, I would've easily, without a single shred of guilt, picked him too. I'm not trying to play favorites or rig my own bets here.

This really needs to be corrected. After all, we are supposed to be predicting the driver who secures the Pole Position, which is exactly what the category name implies, is it not?

That only needs fixing if we decide to look at the qualifying results instead of just the starting grid positions. Because right now, it clearly states who starts first, and when I actually went back to check Rule 2, there really isn't any ambiguity about it. It literally says:

2. The championship works by having competitors publish their predicted full grid order within the designated timeframe, based on how they think the race will finish, along with two extra picks: the driver starting from the best grid position and the driver who sets the fastest lap. Competitors can post their predictions as soon as the previous deadline passes, and no later than the scheduled start of Free Practice 3 during a race weekend; this deadline applies to every single race in the season. Participants can edit their picks or submit new ones an unlimited number of times until that deadline hits.

Look, if we’re going to change the rules just because qualifying results feel more "natural" to us—even though things could easily shift, like if Bottas picks up a penalty and loses pole—then I think we should handle that during the off-season, not in the middle of the season.

stormytiger4 said:That only needs fixing if we decide to look at the qualifying results instead of just the starting grid positions. Because right now, it clearly states who starts first, and when I actually went back to check Rule 2, there really isn't any ambiguity about it. It literally says:

2. The championship works by having competitors publish their predicted full grid order within the designated timeframe, based on how they think the race will finish, along with two extra picks: the driver starting from the best grid position and the driver who sets the fastest lap. Competitors can post their predictions as soon as the previous deadline passes, and no later than the scheduled start of Free Practice 3 during a race weekend; this deadline applies to every single race in the season. Participants can edit their picks or submit new ones an unlimited number of times until that deadline hits.

Look, if we’re going to change the rules just because qualifying results feel more "natural" to us—even though things could easily shift, like if Bottas picks up a penalty and loses pole—then I think we should handle that during the off-season, not in the middle of the season.

I didn't receive any points for Max Verstappen in Monaco even though he started in first place, mainly because we have always traditionally predicted the winner based on the actual race outcome, regardless of any penalties handed out on the starting grid.

Look, man, based on the rulebook, you clearly should have done it.

If things played out like that in Monaco, then I honestly think the only fair thing to do is give Hamilton the points.

The issue is, I—and probably a bunch of other people too—picked Bottas for pole position purely because we knew about that penalty Hamilton was facing. But man, even with that hanging over him, he was faster than Bottas in every single Free Practice session.

Whatever they ultimately decide, it really ought to be applied consistently throughout the entire season if they want any hope of success.

To issue isn't actually anything new within this championship.

Back in 2012, we saw this exact same debate sparked by this post.

At that time, the rule was adjusted so that the distinction shifted from the winner of qualifying to whoever actually takes the first starting spot on the grid—something I only just realized myself. Is it really necessary to have this rule at all, or perhaps it simply needs a more thorough refinement? I wonder what the other competitors think about this matter.

My own suggestion would be that for the Democratic Party, we should strictly adhere to the official FIA results immediately following the qualifying sessions. By doing so, we could sidestep all the messy complications involving post-race penalties, pit lane malfunctions, or issues during the warm-up lap and such.