#benefits of competitive analysis

[gayofthefae]

Coming around to the idea that the entire “I love you” speech WAS true - just not the full story. It came across as somewhat disingenuous because there were subtextual complications like the consequences(negative and positive) on his relationships with both El and Will partially because of how it could be misconstrued in the wrong context. But everything he said WAS absolutely true.

He didn’t inherently “plagiarize” from his earlier speech to Will in his room. If anything, it just provides further proof that he acts this way WHEN he’s scared of losing someone because he did it with both of them. He CAN have done it with BOTH of them. It doesn’t have to be just one and the other one is transference. His position in the love triangle doesn’t inherently contradict his trouble with vulnerability as it relates to his inability to say “I love you” to El.

I think a lot of people - myself in past analyses included - try to make it too black and white. Not only like he can only love (in a general sense) one of them but also like the reasons for his behaviour towards both El and Will has ONE explanation: either he thought he was losing Will OR he’s jealous of the girl in the letter, either he was scared of being vulnerable and telling El he loved her OR his feelings are torn (newsflash: a person can be torn AND love you). It can be multiple things. It can be all of them for each of them. Feelings are COMPLICATED. I common assumption made too is that he’s SELF-AWARE of all of these feelings. 

Maybe he has feelings for Will but isn’t aware/acknowledging them enough to even consider them in his hesitancy to tell El he loves her - maybe his feelings for Will have been entirely compartmentalized and separated. Maybe he felt jealous of the girl in the letter BOTH because he likes Will AND because Will didn’t tell him about this girl he likes and he’s forming new relationships without him and it makes Mike feel left out and like Will is moving on from him. They can all be true!

[liveblack]

Competitor Marketing Strategy | Liveblack

Staying ahead of the competition is highly demanding in this fast-moving age. Because everyone wants to be on top and to be on top, you have to have some knowledge about who your true competitors are. You need to identify ways to outperform competitors with the help of competitive analysis. Explore how competitor analysis can be done and focus on optimizing your business to the next level.

What is competitive analysis?

Competitive analysis in marketing is gathering information about competitor’s services, sales, and strategies, identifying their strengths and weaknesses to gain insights and discover opportunities to do better than competitors.

It will help you keep track of market trends to drive brand awareness, customer engagement, and opportunities to grow your business.

What is the purpose of competitive analysis? Well, the purpose varies depending on what you want to research. It will also help you see through your advantages, unique points, and barriers to growth to strengthen your business strategies. We can also conclude some of the key points such as,

Identify opportunities in the market

Highlight your competitor’s weaknesses

Discover new market trends

Detect flaws in your strategy

Compare your performance with other competitors

Promote your unique value proposition

Discussing the purposes and key points to stand apart in the market through competitive analysis, let us now move to — how to research a market. Is there a specific way to research the market? What are the tools that work for you to better understand the market?

As we all know, market research is crucial to achieve success. Gather data and shape your business plan accordingly to meet your goals and achieve success. The Internet is a handy and easily accessible option to do market research. However, it has its flaws. The information published on the Internet may be incomplete or not updated with the time or not relevant to this date.

Another option you can think of is surveying. Surveying can help you get meaningful insights. Get connected with customers, suppliers, and stakeholders, you’ll get a better idea about how your product or service is helpful to them or what the pain points it has.

Feedback can provide real help to businesses. Genuine feedback from customers and other stakeholders gives you some straightforward views to look into your business strategies and change according to the time being.

To gain more into the competitor analysis let’s dive into the types of competitor analysis. There are mainly 3 types of analysis that can help your business improve leads, revenue, and brand awareness.

Social media competitor analysis -

Social media has the power to drive customers to businesses. It leads to customer engagement and brings sales. However, it’s important to know where your audience is and how to get their attention.

A well-planned digital marketing strategy will pave the way for your business. Conducting social media competitor analysis will give you a chance to look at what social networking sites your competitors are using, what type of content they use to interact or engage with their audience etc. what strategies they have that effectively work in their favor.

Also, look into how frequently your competitors post on their social media platforms with what kind of posts or topics they choose to share. Videos, images, humor, captions, etc. can be the true examples to delve into. How they interact with their followers is also an essential part of your competitor analysis to check.

PPC competitor analysis -

This analysis involves keywords and phrases your competitors are bidding on. Here, the main goal is to get better results and drive leads than your competitors. You have to study the types of ads they are paying for. Are they paying for expensive keywords or have they mainly focused on improving brand awareness?

Do they create landing pages for every campaign? Are you reviewing their CTAs? All these features provide you with an insight into a competitor’s budget and goals.

SEO competitor analysis -

Have you checked for what type of SEO keywords your competitors are ranked for? Figure out the real deal with SEO competitor analysis. Also, you can check these techniques such as,

Compare backlinks

How to rank for more keywords

Compare your website performance with competitors

Keeping track of your competitors has many benefits. Competitive analysis is a continual process to update your business strategies now and then. The Benefits of a Competitive Analysis includes,

Understanding the market

Develop USP (Unique Selling Point)

Discovering competitor’s weaknesses

Improving your business & marketing strategies

Understanding economic climate

Minimizing repetitive mistakes

Explore new trends

Discover target audience

Stand out from competitors

We have all these benefits and types of different competitor analyses. However, many competitor analysis tools help you effortlessly collect data. Here are the few examples we’ve mentioned.

Sprout Social — understand competitor’s performance on social media through various points

SEMRush — Widely used SEO tool. Explore keywords, monitor rankings, site audit, etc.

MozBar — Check how authoritative a website is

Buzzsumo — Check on better-performing content

Similarweb — A tool for content & SEO

Facebook Ad Library — Search for ads in a better way

These are some of the finest competitive analysis tools free not fully but have some features you can use for free to stay ahead in the competition.

Competitor marketing strategy is made up of well-done research, planning, and tactics to stay ahead of the competition in the market. This strategy covers activities such as advertising, customer support, exploring trends, content marketing, etc. to analyze how your business sets a benchmark.

Do you know about 4ps of the marketing? If you want to know more about how your competitors are ahead of you, you must know these 4ps to take the lead.

First is Product — What products they are selling? How are their products different from yours? What is a special feature of your competitor’s product or service? What are the better features they have in their product that your product lacks?

Second is Price — What price model their product is? What pricing structure do they follow? Do they have low or high pricing? What’s that point that attracts customers for the pricing structure they’ve set?

Third is Promotion — How do they promote their product? What offerings are they offering? What digital marketing strategies are they using? What social networking channels are they on to promote their product or service? What are their promotion strategies?

Fourth is Place — Which place do your competitors have their stores? Are they fully selling online or have local retail?

Working on these 4ps can help you gain information about your competitors and allow you to focus on strengthening your business.

Competitive advertising research used by businesses is a way to make the consumer realize how you are different and better from your competitor.

A competitive analysis template can provide you with sufficient space where you can compare the different fields with a detailed analysis of your competitors. This way you’ll get a clear idea of how you can stand apart and excel beyond the rest.

How does SWOT analysis help you in competitive analysis? Well, to stay ahead in the market, you should know about your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and that’s where you need SWOT analysis. It is used for strategic planning and helps you explore the mentioned points to develop a good business strategy.

We at Liveblack, a full-stack digital marketing agency work on every aspect of marketing to help you evolve your business. By reading how this competitive analysis works, we can provide you with practical solutions and advice to manage every one of your needs.

[medicaldevicesindustrynews]

Knowing About Sports Drinks Before Consuming Them

Sports drinks can help you a great deal in keeping yourself hydrated when working out. sports drink was introduced in 1965. Gatorade was developed and tested it on a football team. Since then, sports drinks have become a commonality among athletes all over the world.  What Exactly are Sports Drinks? They are a beverage which can replenish some nutrients lost during exercise. They do not contain…

[essglobe]

Mastering Efficiency: Retail Inventory Management Solutions

Business intelligence (BI) in the retail industry delivers comprehensive data on contact between customers and eCommerce stores. This data can allow merchants to make better business decisions. It can also assist brick-and-mortar stores in understanding client behavior, making merchandise adjustments, and altering prices accordingly. Business intelligence helps merchants be prepared for pricing, stock availability, trends, shipping, and more.

Optimize your retail operations with precision. Explore our advanced inventory management solutions for seamless efficiency and improved profitability.

[electronalytics]

Electronic Timers Market Emerging Trends and Forecast by 2017-2032

The global electronic timers market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period, 2018-2028.

The competitive analysis of the Electronic Timers Market offers a comprehensive examination of key market players. It encompasses detailed company profiles, insights into revenue distribution, innovations within their product portfolios, regional market presence, strategic development plans, pricing strategies, identified target markets, and immediate future initiatives of industry leaders. This section serves as a valuable resource for readers to understand the driving forces behind competition and what strategies can set them apart in capturing new target markets.

Market projections and forecasts are underpinned by extensive primary research, further validated through precise secondary research specific to the Electronic Timers Market. Our research analysts have dedicated substantial time and effort to curate essential industry insights from key industry participants, including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), top-tier suppliers, distributors, and relevant government entities.

Benefits of a Market Research Report:

Informed Decision-Making: Market research reports provide critical data and insights that enable businesses to make informed decisions. This can include decisions related to product development, market entry, expansion, and investment.

Competitive Advantage: By staying up-to-date with market trends and competitor strategies, companies can gain a competitive advantage. Market research helps identify gaps and opportunities in the market.

Risk Mitigation: Understanding market dynamics and potential challenges allows companies to proactively address risks and uncertainties, reducing the likelihood of costly setbacks.

Targeted Marketing: Market research helps in identifying and understanding the target audience, enabling companies to tailor their marketing efforts for maximum effectiveness and customer engagement.

Product Development and Improvement: Research reports provide insights into consumer preferences and needs, aiding in the development and improvement of products or services that meet market demands.

Key Trends in Market Research Reports:

Digital Transformation: Market research is increasingly leveraging digital technologies, including AI and big data analytics, to gather, process, and analyze data more efficiently.

Globalization: With the globalization of markets, companies are relying on market research to assess opportunities in international markets and navigate cross-border complexities.

Sustainability and ESG: There's a growing focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and market research is often used to understand and align with sustainability trends and consumer preferences.

Data Privacy and Security: As data privacy regulations evolve, market research reports are adapting to address concerns related to data collection, handling, and protection.

Predictive Analytics: The use of predictive analytics in market research is on the rise, allowing businesses to anticipate market shifts and consumer behavior more accurately. This trend is particularly prominent in forecasting future market conditions.

Receive the FREE Sample Report of Electronic Timers Market Research Insights https://stringentdatalytics.com/sample-request/electronic-timers-market/3309/

Market Segmentations:

Global Electronic Timers Market: By Company • Honeywell • Legrand • OMRON • Leviton • Intermatic • Schneider Electric • Panasonic • Theben Group • Kubler Group • Eaton • Hager • Enerlites • Crouzet • Autonics Corporation • Ascon Tecnologic • Marsh Bellofram • Trumeter • SELEC Controls Pvt. Ltd. • Tempatron • Sisel Engineering Inc. • ANLY Electronics Co.,Ltd • Kübler Group • Dwyer Instruments • Pujing • Any Electronics Co.,Ltd

(This is a tentative list, the report on delivery will have additional companies profiled with potential/new entrants within the major shareholder market: Please subscribe to the latest sample report to know more)

Global Electronic Timers Market: By Type • Analogue Timers • Digital Timers Global Electronic Timers Market: By Application • Industrial Device • Lighting System • Others

Regional Analysis of Global Electronic Timers Market

All the regional segmentation has been studied based on recent and future trends, and the market is forecasted throughout the prediction period. The countries covered in the regional analysis of the Global Electronic Timers market report are U.S., Canada, and Mexico in North America, Germany, France, U.K., Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Rest of Europe in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Argentina, Brazil, and Rest of South America as part of South America.

Click to Purchase Electronic Timers Market Research Report @ https://stringentdatalytics.com/purchase/electronic-timers-market/3309/

Here are some key highlights you might find in a market research report:

Executive Summary: A brief summary of the report, including its purpose, methodology, key findings, and recommendations.

Market Overview: An introduction to the market, its size, and its growth potential.

Market Size and Growth: Information about the current market size and anticipated growth trends, including historical data and forecasts.

Market Segmentation: Details about how the market is divided into segments based on factors like product type, application, region, and more.

Competitive Landscape: Analysis of key players in the market, their market share, strategies, and competitive positioning.

Market Trends: Identification of current and emerging trends that are shaping the market, including technological advancements and shifts in consumer behavior.

Market Drivers: Factors that are fueling market growth, such as changing consumer preferences, regulatory changes, or technological innovation.

Market Challenges: Obstacles or issues that the market faces, such as regulatory hurdles, economic downturns, or supply chain disruptions.

Opportunities: Areas of growth and potential that can be harnessed by businesses and investors.

Consumer Behavior: Insights into consumer preferences, buying patterns, and the factors influencing purchasing decisions.

Regional Analysis: Information about the market's performance in different geographical regions, including factors specific to those regions.

Industry Best Practices: Recommendations and insights into best practices for businesses operating in the market.

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[charles-leclerc-official]

2024 Monza Grand Prix Race Analysis

Charles brought home his second career victory at Monza with one of the most impressive drives of the season. Let's take a look at exactly how he pulled it off.

Table of Contents Ferrari - Charles - Strategy - Tyre Management - Data Analysis Carlos Mclaren - Team strategy - Oscar - Lap 1 overtake - Lando Other moments and drivers of note Final Thoughts

This analysis is goign to be very Ferrari and Mclaren focused, because they were the main teams of interest. There are a few other mentions, but the competition at the front of the field is where the bulk of this analysis is aimed at.

Ferrari

Ferrari brought a few upgrades to the SF-24 this weekend. The most notable of which was a new floor. The floor was meant to address some of the problems previous upgraded floor specs had introduced to the car in previous rounds. Given the results both drivers saw it is safe to say that Ferrari seem to be back on track with a competitive car. The Ferrari was very close to the Mclaren on speed this weekend. Which is looking promising for a competitive from field in the final races of the season.

Charles qualified P4 and finished P1. Carlos qualified P5 and finished P4.

Charles

It’s one thing to win at Monza once behind the wheel of a red car, but to do it twice? Well that’s called building an unforgettable legacy. 

Charles brought home his second career win at Monza, with one of his best performances this season and indeed another career highlight.

There were quite a few things that went into this win. From an excellent lap one overtake, to masterful tyre management Charles really reminded the entire grid what he's capable of with this drive.

There is a lot of strategy and data to get to, so we are just going to dive in!

Strategy

The strategy of both Ferrari and Mclaren were the deciding factors in this race. There are a lot of little details and key moments so I going to present this in a timeline of events.

First, Monza was hot, while ordinarily this race is a pretty straightforward one-stop, teams were anticipating needing to do a two-pit stop strategy going into Sunday, due to the high tyre degradation observed in the hot temperatures. Both Ferrari and Mclaren seemed to have planned on a two-stop as their base strategy.

Second, with George starting in P3 it was assumed he was not going to hold that position. The Mercedes was not handling the heat well, and he was not going to hold third for long. Ferrari and Mclaren seemed to both have assumed this. And this was a correct assumption.

With that in mind, it's lights out and away we go!

Lap 1

On turn 4 Charles took advantage of an opening Oscar exposed when he passed Lando. Lando didn't close the gap quickly enough and he was more focused on Oscar, so Charles had the opportunity to overtake. So right off the bat he made it from P4 to P2.

George also went off at turn 1 due to a lack of grip and that was where the other place came from.

Lap 15/16

On lap 15 Lando pit, undercutting Charles and gaining a place back up to P2.

On lap 16 Charles pit in response to this undercut. This was to try to save something against Lando who had just undercut him. It’s an automatic reactionary strategy call. Charles wasn’t pleased with this from the team as he felt the tyres had more in them. I think that the call to box here while not strictly necessary it wasn’t bad either as allowing Mclaren the chance to get further ahead on hards was not going to be good, given the rate at which the mediums were degrading.

This pit was really the deciding moment of the race though at the moment it felt like it wasn’t in Ferrari’s favor. Ferrari said they always had considered the possibility of a one-stop, they knew the car and drivers were capable, but with the temps it was a little iffy before they saw how the hards performed on race day. Charles making that early pass really set them up to benefit even more from this strategy.

The option for the one-stop was discussed on radio as early as lap 11. And I think a lot of the waffling over the radio after that first pit about strategy was running interference against Mclaren. Ferrari were trying to make sure they two-stopped while they stayed on a one-stop.

Lap 33

This was the lap where the race changed. This was where Mclaren revealed they were going to stick with a two-stop, and this was where Ferrari decided that Charles should one stop.

Charles was told to box opposite Mclaren. At this point in the race it was unclear if Lando or Oscar were going to box first, both were experiencing graining on the hards.

But then Lando pit. This gave away Mclaren's strategy, and also I think Ferrari were expecting Oscar to pit first. They were trying to trick Mclaren into pitting Oscar first over the radio, but Lando was struggling more and Mclaren are always reluctant to give up the lead of the race even for a bit.

On lap 33 Oscar was informed that Lando pit, and also Oscar reported the graining on his tyres was getting worse very quickly.

Charles was told to build on his delta by speeding up, I think to try to make it look to Mclaren like they were not trying to conserve and they'd also do a two-stop.

I will cover a little more on this specific stint in the data analysis section.

But the important thing to note is that this is the lap where the strategy was decided by both teams, and effectively Mclaren's fate was sealed.

Lap 39

On lap 39 Oscar pit and this was when Mclaren's chances were over. They couldn't stay out longer and had to commit to the two-stop even though it was clear that was going to lose them the race. Their car and drivers were not able to handle the graining.

This was also the lap when Ferrari reaffirmed the strategy choice for the one-stop with Charles.

Checkered Flag

Charles ran the remainder of his hard stint pulling off effectively perfect lap times for 38 laps. He didn't see any drop in performance in the tyres, and held the lead of the race comfortably after Oscar pit on lap 39.

This win came from three factors. 1) Charles' brilliant overtake on turn 1 gaining him several places up the field 2) Good strategy calls from Ferrari to effectively counter Mclaren 3) Genius tyre management from Charles to get the maximum out of the hard tyres in difficult conditions for tyre deg.

Now when it came to the call to make the one-stop strategy there has been some confusion about who made it and when. Some have asserted that Carlos somehow was the one behind the call to make the one-stop, which is not what happened, and also is not how strategy calls are made in the team. 

Here are the radio messages transcribed on the lap they occurred. Note that “Plan B” is the one-stop strategy

*note there are a lot of radios that I did not include as they were not relevant to the strategy call at hand, this is just for simplicity

The thing I think that has been misunderstood about these radios is that Carlos is speaking about plan B for himself. He was going over how to properly cover Lewis in the pits with his engineer, Charles was not mentioned at all. The info that Bryan shared about Carlos with Charles was because if Carlos felt plan B was possible they wanted to ask Charles if he felt the same. So this wasn’t Carlos putting the whole team on plan B, it was him making the best strategy call for himself, which is normal and it was the correct call, but to claim his choice made the decision for Charles is incorrect. 

It’s also important for the team to communicate to a driver if their teammate is going to be on a different strategy, as that was a possibility. It’s just information they need to have.

Note that Charles was already considering a one-stop on lap 11, and there was no mention of that plan to Carlos on his end. So this was a strategy Charles and the team were considering much earlier. With the undercut I think it led them to flip flop some on which strategy would be best, but then on lap 33 they locked it in.

However, listening to the full radios, I think that the final choice for Charles to be on the one stop was when they asked Charles to stay out on lap 33, and then asked about his tyres on lap 35. The message from Bryan to Charles on lap 39 was him informing that his teammate was also on the same strategy. This is also further evidenced by the radios in between being focused on building a good delta, setting the target lap time, which was the lap time needed for the one-stop, and also aiding Charles in managing certain turns for management. All of this happened prior to Charles receiving the message about Carlos on lap 39. 

Also a very important detail comes from Lando’s post race press statements. When asked when he was committed to the two-stop was when he boxed for the second time. Lando boxed on lap 33, the same lap where Charles was told to stay out. I think that seeing Lando box and confirming that Mclaren were on a two-stop that was when Ferrari locked in the one-stop for Charles. He was not told to plan on boxing again opposite Oscar or anything, which they also knew was coming. Lap 33 was the deciding lap of the race. 

I am not trying to discredit Carlos here, but the data/timeline backs that Charles was already on the one-stop strategy before Carlos even said anything. I think the team very quickly switched Charles on the one-stop around lap 33 when they decided not to pit. 

Fred

I want to include a few quotes from Fred on the team strategy as well as they confirm what I parsed over the radio as well as the behavior on track.

"It [the one-stop] was a good strategy. We had it planned from the start. We saw the high degradation at the beginning and were surprised, but we stuck with our choices. A bit risky, but it went well. The drivers managed the tires very well, without over-pushing. We made a good strategy like in Zandvoort, but here we also won."

So Fred is affirming that this was their chosen strategy going into the race. It makes sense at this has been a strength for Ferrari all season and Mclaren has not been able to counter the SF-24 and Charles on tyre management. It was especially optimal as most teams were thinking it had to be a two-stop.

"At one point, though, we thought we would go for two stops. Even if we didn’t experience any degradation in the second stint. However, Charles felt comfortable. When we realized that the worst-case scenario was finishing on the podium, we went for it. We said to ourselves: ‘Alright, let’s stay consistent with the lap times and go for it’. Everything went well. I believe Charles had everything under control; he drove perfectly."

This is reflective of the middle when they might have been considering that plan C option that included another pit, likely informed by the graining they were seeing on the Mclaren's and the Red Bulls. This would have been around lap 30-33.

They checked in with Charles on his lap times and he was just a machine on track not wavering, so there was no reason not to. After that it was mind games with Mclaren trying to get them to mess up their pit timing with Oscar even more.

Carlos

Carlos ran a solid race. I think as a final race at Monza with Ferrari this was a good drive. He kept things clean, also pulled off the one-stop, caused a little interference to help Charles at the front. All around a good drive and a good effort with the team.

I would have liked to see him make the podium of course, but with the Mclaren’s on a two-stop his chances of that were slim. Because with his track position he was going to get passed by them on newer tyres.

Carlos struggled more on the one-stop, as he did hit a wall with his tyres on the final laps of the race. Which really highlights Charles pulling off the consistent performance he did on 4 lap older hards.

In spite of all of this I think this was one of Carlos' strongest performances of the season as well. It was a challenging order to do the one-stop and he help his place with it.

Just adding this to be abundantly clear.

“Carlos came up with Charles strategy!”: No, Charles and the team already switched to the one-stop before Carlos’ radios, and also the car behind is not making strategy calls for the car ahead, that doesn’t happen. Carlos was simply communicating with his own engineer about the strategy that would suit him best in his own race, as he should.

Data Analysis

We have some excellent data to examine from this race. And it really informs what was an wasn't possible for certain teams and drivers.

First I want to do a comparison of Charles and both Mclarens, this is probably the most important data comparison for this race.

There are two things to note, first all drivers saw a drop off in performance with the mediums around lap 11. More important is that second stint on the hards. 1.23s as lap times was the target, for both Ferrari and Mclaren, it seems that target lap time was determined to be best for management and speed. So it's not like Charles was going any slower to conserve, no they were all going at the same pace on those tyres, and the Mclaren's just couldn't keep that same pace up without graining. About 15 laps in Lando reported loss on his front left, and Oscar reported the same issues. They were all on the same lap times, so it's not like Mclaren were pushing harder and burning through their tyres faster(that came later) They just couldn't sustain that pace.

I think that the first 10-15 laps of that second stint both teams were feeling each other out, they were trying to set a pace they could sustain if they needed to one-stop. Mclaren experienced graining about halfway through the stint and found that they couldn't' sustain the pace needed for the one-stop in the conditions. Both drivers confirmed this both on the radio and also in post race press statements. This was kind of a game of chicken. Both teams on one-stop pace, trying to see who would blink first and pit. Mclaren blinked, they pit and Ferrari ran away with it. I think Mclaren thought that possibly this was still a game of who could pull off the undercut timing, while Ferrari were trying to ensure Mclaren gave up the places at the front.

You can see in the second hard stint that the Mclaren's really pushed the hards, that is what pushing on them actually looks like. But again at the end of the stint Oscar kind of hit a small wall with them and couldn't keep closing the gap, and it was also too late to make up the final time he needed.

What this really shows is that Charles and the Ferrari were capable of the optimal strategy in the second stint and Mclaren were not.

Quick look at Charles vs Carlos.

This really just highlights the performance of the SF-24. You can see around lap 45 where Carlos had to contend with Lando and that was also around where he hit the wall with the tyres and started to lose performance compared to Charles.

Here is Charles' data on it's own just to highlight the consistency of those lap times, he didn't experience any drop off in performance and even had the tyres left for a little bit of pushing on that final lap. This is really a visual representation of the skill Charles showed on track. At no point was he losing the tyres.

Charles was told a target lap time and he set it for 38 laps straight without fail. And he had a little left in the tank for a slightly speedier lap for the victory.

And here is Oscar vs Charles

At the end on the final two laps you can see that Oscar's pace was good, it was faster, but it wasn't increasing, so he wasn't going to catch Charles. It's unclear if he really burned through his tyres too much to be able to keep closing the gap. But Mclaren needed to find the right balance of giving him enough time to try to catch Charles, but also a window where his tyres wouldn't give out. It may just not have been possible without more conservation, and on that final stint Oscar was not doing any conservation at all.

Ferrari pulled off brilliant strategy playing to their strengths both in their car and in Charles. Even if Mclaren had had better strategy they were not going to be able to effectively counter Ferrari. They had to hope Ferrari made a mistake. And that wasn't happening, not this weekend, not this car, not this driver.

All in all a brilliant race from the entire team. And remember, if it comes down to a contest of tyre management Charles will come out on top.

Mclaren

Obligatory disclaimer you are reading about Mclaren on a Ferrari blog, and you are reading about Monza on a Ferrari blog.

That being said I don't feel too concerned about bias as Mclaren fans are also not pleased with Mclaren's team performance, so it's not just me, the team is actually just not delivering.

Lando qualified on pole and finished P3, Oscar qualified P2 and finished P2.

Now, I will say that Mclaren really were in a no-win situation the moment Charles was on a one-stop. They couldn't do a one-stop themselves so they really were left with no real way to counter. That's just the way it goes when you are up against the best tyre manager on the grid.

However Charles being brilliant does not excuse the continued bad strategy from the team.

Team Strategy

"Papaya Rules"

I feel like everything that can be said about Papaya rules has already been said, but this is the obligatory section in this analysis to say that this is a dumb name and I am not sure how anyone is meant to take the team seriously with code words like this.

Now I have also been saying this constantly this season, but Mclaren seem to really like making me repeat myself.

Mclaren have had strategy issues all year. And this one is interesting because seemingly they started off okay. Lando lost a place to Charles early in the race, but he was able to gain it back with that undercut in the pits. Mclaren specifically have struggled to get their pit timings right with Ferrari. 

However. 

I think the biggest weakness in Mclaren strategy has been the inability to account for certain possibilities, and also the inability to change plans as the track evolves. They made a lot of assumptions about this race and that led to issues for them. They assumed Ferrari were going to do a two-stop, and didn’t change that assumption until it was too late (even though Ferrari and Charles have literally undermined them before in this same way) I will given them some lenience in that the team did ask Oscar about the possibility (when it was already too late) and Oscar confirmed that a one-stop wasn't viable on his end. But they were also making that determination way too late into the race.

I wouldn't go so far as to say this was Oscar's race to lose. It was Mclaren's race to lose, and as we now know with hindsight, their inability to one-stop really meant neither driver had a chance. I don't see this as a missed win for either driver or the team simply because Ferrari and Charles were just better, and there wasn't an effective counter to a strategy they couldn't replicate with their drivers or car.

Probably the most entertaining part of this race was Mclaren thinking they successfully undercut Charles with Lando to get P2 back. Well, look how well that went over. So even when they successfully undercut they still lose.

Mclaren pit wall: 0 Charles and Ferrari: 3

One Stop a possibility?

The short answer is no. The long answer is that Mclaren asked Oscar if he thought a one-stop was possible and Oscar said no. 

Put simply, they didn't one-stop because they couldn't. Neither of their drivers thought they could one-stop with the graining they reported. And they were on the same pace as Charles in that second hard stint. So it's not like they were pushing harder on those tyres, the team wanted to see if it was possible and it wasn't. They just don't have the car and the drivers for it.

Carlos, who is better on tyres than Oscar, and was on fresher tyres than Charles had lost his tyres by the final laps. He is better or matched with the Mclaren drivers on tyre management, and also in the SF-24 which for all the faults the car may have it is the best car on the tyres, and he was hitting a wall. So do we really think that Mclaren were going to fare better? I think not. 

Oscar himself said that he was seeing pretty severe graining into his first hard stint and he wasn’t going to make it. You might say “oh but Oscar was driving assuming a two stop, he’d have conserved more if he’d known he was going to one-stop” and this is true, however he was on a similar hard pace to Charles in the hard stint, and he had graining, if he’d have had to slow even more to conserve he’d have lost the place to Charles anyway. Lando also saw graining on the front left about 15 laps into the stint. Both Mclaren drivers reported that the graining they experienced was not manageable and they would not have been able to pull off the one-stop. The team even asked Oscar if he could one-stop and he said no. I think at that point Mclaren knew Charles was going to stay out and realized they were going to lose unless Oscar could somehow make his tyres last.

Furthermore, while a driver who is exceptional at tyre management could have pulled off a one-stop in that Mclaren car, neither Oscar or Lando are really the driver for that. And I have been saying all year if it is a contest of tyre management Charles will win. They might have stayed out lost their tyres before Charles and he passed them anyway. 

Oscar especially, he is not as bad on tyres, he’s been improving, but to expect him to have improved to the level that he’d be able to hold the lead of the race for that many laps in those conditions while the car was graining on the fronts at the rate they observed is beyond his capabilities at the moment. 

The fact remains that if it comes down to a contest of tyre management Charles will win, it’s just a matter of time. It’s very difficult to counter because they can’t even copy his strategy, he has the skill and a car to pull off something that the Mclaren car cannot. They just have to watch him do it unable to really do much about it. 

Oscar

Oscar ran a solid race on his end, and it might have been a race winning drive, if Ferrari had been on a two-stop strategy. Ultimately he didn't gain any places in the end result, but he did gain one on his teammate.

The most notable part of Oscar's race was on the first lap when he overtook Lando to take the lead of the race into turns 3 and 4.

I think the footage is pretty clear, it's a clean pass, shooting for a pretty clear gap.

Lando made a mistake. He relaxed after getting through turns 1 and 2 with the lead, he broke early and eased into the corner leaving himself wide open on the outside. So open that Oscar and Charles had the opportunity to get by. He was not on guard, and you have to be if you expect to hold the lead of a race. He even left that spot open after Oscar passed which was how Charles got through.

Lando also lost some grip into turn 3 and that did not help in his ability to defend against Charles.

Oscar's overtake was fair, clean, and one of his best so far this season.

"Oscar made contact with Lando he was not in compliance with the papaya rules!": No there was no contact, it would have been mentioned on the radio if it was significant in any way. Lando also confirmed after the race that no contact was made. They got close but didn't touch.

"Oscar shouldn't have attacked his own teammate": His teammate shouldn't have left a 2 car opening and gone slow on the entry into the turn

"The team should have given orders for Lando to be ahead": they specifically didn't do that. So that's not a priority.

"Oscar is a bad teammate he should have helped Lando": He wasn't told to, in fact he was told they could race. And if Lando wanted to be ahead he should have defended better. To win you have to beat your teammate too. I can't make Mclaren give Lando priority so unless they change that Oscar can race as much as he wants.

Now, as far as teammates racing each other go I am generally in favor, so long as it's clean. And that is what happened here so I take no issue. I am not a Mclaren fan, I don't care if they should have prioritized one driver over another. However, the team's reluctance to issue team orders is certainly interesting and will likely be a problem again in future races.

The rest of Oscar's race was determined by how he was faring against Charles and Ferrari. I already outlined in detail above how that was not going to end well for him. But he was asked if he thought he could one-stop, he said no he didn't think it was possible. He reported graining and losing the tyres about 15 laps into the stint, at that rate with Ferrari reporting none he was not going to make it to the end. He ran about as good of a race as he could with the strategy that was possible for him.

Was he going to catch Charles at the end? No. There weren't enough laps left, and he pushed the hards too much closing the gap down to 2.5 seconds. They didn't have it in them to continue that.

Lando

Lando's race was determined by 1 mistake, after that he was playing catch up the rest of the race to recover places lost. He lost the lead to Oscar on lap one, and that was due to his own driving leaving a gap exposed long enough for not one but two drivers to take advantage.

He got a good start into turn one for once, and immediately thought he was safe because he pulled it off, he was then easy on the breaks into turn 3-4 and opened up to a move from Oscar that realistically should have been a window for Oscar to take. And if Oscar hadn’t I can promise you Charles would have. He just does not have the ability to defend his position, and makes very rookie mistakes. He isn’t new to this, he’s been driving in F1 for years, that time is meant to be so when he’s in a championship fight he can pull it off, and the results from this year have been weak. 

If he can’t defend from his own teammate, who is the one who will race him the cleanest (you think Max or Charles would have been easier on him?) then he can’t defend against an actual rival.

He also lost a few seconds in the pit lane when he hit the sign. Which was just weirdly sloppy even for him. It may be evidence of how bad the condition of his tyres was.

I don't have much to add about his race. I don't think he would have won, as I stated above both Mclaren's were going to end up behind Charles with that strategy.

Other Moments and Drivers of Note

George: George went off on the first chicane because he lost grip. The Mercedes was not handling well in the heat and he was never going to hold on to P3 for long. He had both Ferraris which had better race pace and handled much better in the heat behind him. It was not a matter of if but when. The Mercedes car really struggled with the track and the heat.

Only 4 drivers pulled off a one-stop in the points: Charles, Carlos, Alex, and Kevin.

Drivers outside of the points who ran a one-stop were: Franco, Daniel, Esteban, Valtteri and Zhou. Again I would not take this as evidence it was within the cards for Mclaren.

Red Bull: the red bull car was having power issues and had to operate in a lower engine mode, which compromised the team's race. I think the heat being a factor was part of the issue. The car hasn't been cooling as consistently as past models. Max and Checo were therefore more limited this weekend unable to reach full top speeds.

Final Thoughts

This race reminded us that the season is far from over, Ferrari are back at the front fighting for wins. With 8 rounds to go a lot can change on the WDC and WCC front.

Charles delivered another legendary win, Mclaren are still unable to form a strategy. Would love to see this repeat until the end of the season.

That's all I got, see you in Baku!

[probablyasocialecologist]

Agroecology in the global north needs to fully reckon with its position in the global system of imperialism and incorporate that into its analysis and demands. Our global class position as small farmers in the colonial core necessitates reckoning with class as a global phenomenon and hierarchy, before discussing it within regional or national bounds. Imperialism here taken simply as the enforced flow of value from south to north as a result of militarised capital. Agroecology (or food sovereignty movements, either way) needs to recognise how European farmers benefit from the flow of value from the lands, labour and resources of the global south. That’s not to say that capitalist competition can’t undermine efforts towards agroecological farming, but how we parse that challenge matters. It changes our focus from “globalisation” which is a critique now most commonly wielded by the far right, to capitalism. It allows us to name the system’s dynamics. Capitalist competition is what drives down production standards and with it incomes. Our demand should become to stop competing with each other and whatever that takes.

[13lunarstar]

Uttara Phalguni

The twelfth nakshatra

Degrees: from 26°40' Leo zodiac to 10 °00' of Virgo zodiac

The ruler of nakshatra: Sun (sans. Surya)

Nakshatra's guna: rajas (human)

Uttara Phalguni keywords: leadership, creativity, responsibility, sociability, nurturing, ambition, contracts, comfort-seeking, social responsibility, diplomacy, artistic flair, generosity, warm-heartedness, harmonious partnerships, critical thinking, realistic life approach (Virgo's influence)

Symbol: a bed ( especially rear marriage bed and bed legs) or a hammock, representing relaxation, enjoyment, and union

Uttara Phalguni's deity is Aryaman, one of the Adityas*, associated with contracts, unions, and agreements. Aryaman signifies the bond between people and the responsibilities in relationships.

(*In the Hindu pantheon, the Adityas are a group of deities, often depicted as the sons of the solar goddess Aditi. They are divine creatures associated with various aspects of nature and celestial phenomena. Among the most notable Adityas there are Surya (the Sun god), Varuna (the god of water and oceans), Mitra (the god of friendship and contracts), Aryaman (the god of contracts and unions), and others)).

Uttara Phalguni in various planets

Sun in Uttara Phalguni: brings strong leadership qualities, creativity, and warmth, making individuals suitable for roles that require authority and inspiration. They excel in leadership positions, such as CEOs or team leaders, where they can confidently lead others towards success. Their natural talents fit in fields like art, design, or entertainment, where they can express themselves with originality and flair. However, they may need to guard against tendencies towards dominance or ego issues, ensuring they maintain humility and openness to feedback and criticism. their warmth and generosity, impatience and need for recognition can sometimes pose challenges, requiring them to cultivate patience and inner security. Education, event planning, or hospitality professions align well with their nurturing and supportive nature, allowing them to create welcoming environments and inspire others.

Moon in Uttara Phalguni: Following a Moon in Magha's royal placement and a Moon in Purva Phalguni's creative mindset, Moon in Uttara Phalguni indicates a tendency towards diligence and executing plans. With its span extending into Virgo, this Moon is known for analysis and perfectionism, and individuals may display analytical prowess and a penchant for precision. Proficiency in negotiations and deals is likely, with potential career paths in finance or law, albeit requiring substantial effort to ascend. They exhibit a pragmatic outlook on life, possibly perceived as astute or shrewd by others. While those on the Leo side may aspire for authority through diligent effort, those on the Virgo side are driven solely by the pursuit of perfection. However, the Virgo influence may also foster a sense of facing more challenges compared to others. This diligent and perfectionist streak is often inherited from the mother.

Mars in Uttara Phalguni: infuses individuals with passionate energy, drive, and a strong sense of duty. They possess a competitive spirit and are determined to achieve their goals through hard work and perseverance. Their leadership qualities shine through as they take charge and inspire others with their enthusiasm and charisma. With a focus on creative expression and innovation, they excel in fields that require dynamic problem-solving and strategic thinking, such as entrepreneurship, engineering, or sports management. However, they may need to temper their assertiveness and impatience at times, learning to channel their energy constructively and collaborate effectively with others.

Mercury in Uttara Phalguni: imbues individuals with strong communication skills, a sharp intellect, and a nurturing disposition. They excel in negotiating and mediating conflicts, often finding balanced solutions that benefit all parties involved. With a creative flair and a love for beauty, they may pursue careers in fields such as writing, design, or the arts, where they can express themselves effectively. Their warm-hearted nature and diplomatic approach make them valuable team members and mentors, fostering supportive and harmonious relationships in their personal and professional lives. However, they may need to guard against being overly critical or perfectionistic, learning to balance their analytical abilities with empathy and understanding.

Jupiter in Uttara Phalguni: bestows individuals with a generous spirit, wisdom, and a sense of justice. They possess a natural inclination towards supporting and uplifting others, often taking on roles as mentors, teachers, or counsellors where they can share their knowledge and guidance. Their expansive vision and optimism drive them to pursue noble causes and humanitarian efforts, seeking to create positive change in their communities. With a strong moral compass, they uphold principles of fairness and integrity in all their endeavours. Jupiter's influence here also enhances their leadership abilities, as they inspire trust and confidence in others through their benevolent and inclusive approach. However, they may need to guard against becoming overly idealistic or self-righteous, remembering to stay grounded and practical in their pursuits.

Venus in Uttara Phalguni: signifies a fusion of commitment, generosity, and a sense of responsibility especially within relationships (including spousal). Individuals are passionate about socializing, unions, friendships and relationships. With a magnetic charisma and a knack for diplomacy, they excel in roles that require interpersonal skills, such as counselling, event planning, or customer service. However, they may need to guard against tendencies towards indulgence or superficiality, ensuring that they maintain balance and discernment in their pursuits of pleasure and comfort. Venus in Uttara Phalguni individuals generally radiate grace and elegance, bringing harmony and joy to both their personal and professional lives.

Saturn in Uttara Phalguni: grants individuals a strong sense of responsibility, discipline, and practicality. They approach life with a structured mindset, preferring order and stability in their endeavours. Patient and persevering, they are willing to invest the necessary time and effort to achieve their goals. Their diligent work ethic and attention to detail make them reliable and dependable, often excelling in roles that require precision and methodical planning. However, they may need to guard against tendencies towards rigidity or pessimism (the nature of nakshatra's ruler Sun is opposite to the nature of Saturn), learning to embrace flexibility and adaptability when faced with change or uncertainty.

Rahu in Uttara Phalguni: brings a unique blend of energies, often associated with desires for recognition, ambition, and creativity. Individuals with this placement may possess a strong drive to achieve success and attain status in their chosen endeavours. They may be drawn to roles that allow them to shine in the spotlight, such as performing arts, politics, or leadership positions. However, there can also be a tendency towards self-centeredness or manipulation in the pursuit of their goals. They need to cultivate humility and integrity, balancing their ambition with consideration for others. Rahu's influence here can enhance their creative talents and innovative thinking, but they may need to guard against impulsiveness or overindulgence.

Ketu in Uttara Phalguni: indicates an individual with a strong sense of duty and responsibility, often drawn towards serving others or contributing to the community. These individuals may have a deep inner wisdom and a spiritual outlook on life, seeking to find meaning and purpose beyond material pursuits. They may struggle with feelings of isolation or a sense of being misunderstood by others. It's important for them to cultivate self-awareness and inner peace, embracing their unique perspective while also remaining open to connecting with others on a deeper level. Good placement for scholars, occult science, astrology, and astronomy. An individual might become a clerk, stenographer, typist, computer operator or governmental servant.

[autumnmobile12]

The Sekoto Peak Tournament

It’s kinda funny how My Hero Academia is pretty much told through the lens of Midoriya’s perspective to the point where all other professions that have a fan following:  athletes, actors, singers, etc. just go completely by the wayside.  Just once, it would have been great to have Kirishima or someone mention a household name and Midoriya’s all, “…..?”

“Y’know, [insert name here?]  Legendary boxing champion?”

My point is, other professions outside of hero still exist and are probably just as popular as they’ve always been, so here’s the ‘Young Rei used to snowboard competitively’ headcanon.  This started as a piece I did for Inktober with a, ‘Rei’s a refridgerated character.  Don’t love that,’ attitude.   Because aside from finally making an attempt to fight for her family (a little late, sure, but I’m not here to do a character analysis right now,) Rei doesn’t have much characterization beyond being the victimized mother in Shouto’s story.

So two things to consider:

1.) Snowboarding is a high-intensity activity.  High intensity activities are known to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.  So Rei having this career before marriage (and possibly a little after) would have had a very positive impact on her mental health.  But after having four children, something this intense would be difficult to restart and being in her late twenties when Natsuo and Shouto were born, her professional career would have been effectively over.  Being cut off from snowboarding and its mental health benefits would have definitely contributed to her downward spiral in a more significant way than if she had never done it.  In its own way, this is also a reflection of Touya having all his energy and ambition and nowhere to put it, contributing to his own mental break.

2.) In both my Inktober post and this piece, Rei won gold and she’s wearing a different jacket, showing these were separate competitions.  Winning gold wasn’t a one-off moment; she was relatively successful and that may have served as some unspoken tension/resentment between her and Endeavor if she was one of the top competitors in her profession while her husband never made it past second place until over two decades into his.

I like the idea of this background for her.  I want to explore it further possibly as a one-shot, but I have a lot of ongoing projects right now (plus I’d need to do a little more research on how professional snowboarding competitions work,) so it’s a little up in the air whether or not an actual fic will happen.  For now, I hope you enjoy the artwork.

…

I also referenced Touya’s freaky smile for these, albeit not quite as intense.  He got that from someone, and my money is on Mom.  Mostly because I am entertained by the idea of a much younger Rei rocketing down a mountainside and terrifying other snowboarders with the same ecstatic, unhinged smile her son has.  And that footage probably exists online somewhere, someone in Class 1A is going to find it, and be all,  “Uh, Todoroki, I think I found a video of your mom.”

…

And just in case anyone asks:  Yes, that is Korra in the back.  I like to sneak crossover cameos into both my fanart and fanfics, and when thinking of characters, I remembered a behind the scenes LOK fact that Korra’s character design was partially inspired by female snowboarders.

The third snowboarder is also a cameo from a more obscure, nostalgia cartoon:  Suzy Lu from Storm Hawks.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Paul Blest at More Perfect Union:

The Federal Trade Commission voted Tuesday to ban new noncompete agreements for all workers and make existing noncompetes null and void for everyone except senior executives. These agreements are used to restrict 30 million American workers from changing jobs or starting their own businesses due to claims that they could use “trade secrets” in their new roles.  Noncompete agreements can restrict job mobility based on geographic area (i.e., a doctor joining a new practice within 50 miles of their old one) or a time period after leaving the position (anywhere between several months to more than a year). They have been banned in multiple states in the past few years. 

But the FTC has issued a uniform ban that will cover hundreds of millions of workers following a 180-day period for for-profit companies to enter into compliance. More than 26,000 comments were submitted on the rule, more than 25,000 of which supported a noncompete ban, FTC staff said Tuesday.  The FTC estimated that the new rule will increase workers’ wages by up to $488 billion over 10 years, which FTC staff said would mean a $524 increase in annual wages for the average worker. The FTC also estimated that the rule would lead to more than 8,500 new businesses per year.   “Right now workers are stuck in place because of these noncompetes,” FTC chair Lina Khan told More Perfect Union in an interview about the rule. “So even if they get a better job opportunity with higher wages, with better benefits, they can't actually switch jobs, which is bad for those workers. It's also bad for other workers who won't have the opportunities that are not being created because of these noncompetes.”

Five states have passed bans on noncompetes, not including New York, where lawmakers passed a ban last year that was then vetoed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. After Oregon banned noncompete agreements in 2008, researchers found, average hourly wages for all workers were boosted by up to 3 percent; the same analysis found that low-wage workers subjected to noncompetes saw a substantial negative impact on their wages.  The final rule differs from the proposal in that “senior executives,” those in a “policy-making position” making more than $151,000 per year, will still be subjected to noncompete agreements signed before the effective date of the new rule.

Since announcing the proposal in early 2023, the FTC’s rule has come under fire from the business lobby. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said before Tuesday’s meeting that it will file a lawsuit to block the proposal as soon as Wednesday. A top Chamber official said earlier this week that the rule “opens up a Pandora’s box where this commission or future commissions could be literally micromanaging every aspect of the economy,” Bloomberg reported.  But the FTC argues that noncompete agreements are “an unfair method of competition” that affect both high- and l0w-wage earners. In the medical profession, nearly half of all physicians are subject to noncompete agreements, according to the American Medical Association, which backs the effort to end the practice. (The FTC estimated that the new rule will result in “$74-$194 billion in reduced spending on physician services over the next decade.”)

The Federal Trade Commission voted to ban competition-stifling noncompete agreements except for senior executives.

[spottedsnake]

if i’m being totally honest, i didn’t initially like this part of chapter 39, but it’s really grown on me after some more thought and shrue’s expansion on the idea.

to me it felt like an unnecessary simplification of the complex ethical questions that the podcast asks about the practice of sacrifice and how it fits into the world it’s built. “sacrifice is bad because it doesn’t work” is a less interesting claim to explore than “sacrifice is bad because of the moral implications of having a system that is designed to kill you if you step outside of the preconceived societal boundaries, even though it is significantly beneficial in some aspects of life.”

but looking back on this scene, i don’t really think that’s a fair assessment. what the slag executive is pointing to in this instance is that the practices of sacrifice and sainthood in the silt verses world have created an economic environment based on dangerous and unsustainable shortcuts.

the police force uses the cloak in order to reduce personnel costs without reducing workload. instead of developing more robust energy infrastructure, both the peninsula and the linger straits rely on the saint electric for their energy. even in this same episode there’s a saint of creativity created and used by a university, a place supposed to be where people are taught to think critically for themselves! and there’s a lot more examples of companies and individuals taking shortcuts like this because, well, that’s what they’re incentivized to do.

who is going to spend the time and money to develop better skills and technology when all you have to do is throw a person into the killing machine and you get the same if not better outcome?

if we suppose that the linger straits and the peninsula follow our own world’s pattern of economic and demographic development, they experienced a population boom during a period of technological advancement, decreasing the negative consequences of repeated sacrifices and forced sainthoods. now that their economies have somewhat stabilized, it’s reasonable to assume they had a corresponding drop in birth rate, changing the broad cost-benefit analysis of having an economy that runs on literal flesh and blood.

not to mention that now, the companies are experiencing diminishing and even negative returns. and being that they have tossed out every other tool in the toolbox, they are going to hammer this problem until they force it to be a nail. will a sacrifice for every floor of a building help its stability? maybe not, but it’ll probably be profitable. more sacrifices might help in the short term, but it’s not going to change the fact that capitalism relies on exponential growth, and their society cannot support that. any business that stops their worship to focus on other methods is probably not only angering a now very powerful god, but also severely handicapping themselves in the competitive market. so every corporation keeps throwing more resources and lives into a growing sinkhole, just to try to survive.

“we don’t know how to stop” is a very apt description of the current state of the silt verses economy, and also the problem that shrue and paige are answering. kill your gods; learn what you have lost and what you have abandoned.

[gsinfotechvispvtltd]

Why is Social Media Listening Important for Your Brand Reputation

Social media listening refers to the practice of monitoring and analyzing conversations and mentions related to your brand on social media platforms. It involves actively listening to what your audience is saying about your brand, competitors, industry, and relevant keywords. Here are some key reasons why social media listening is important for your brand reputation:

Understanding Customer Sentiment: Social media listening allows you to gain insights into how your audience perceives your brand. By monitoring conversations, you can identify positive sentiment, negative feedback, and customer concerns. This understanding helps you address issues promptly, improve customer satisfaction, and protect your brand reputation

Crisis Management: Social media can be a breeding ground for potential crises. By actively listening to social media conversations, you can identify and address issues before they escalate. Promptly responding to negative feedback or addressing customer concerns demonstrates your commitment to customer satisfaction and can help mitigate the impact of a crisis on your brand reputation

Building Strong Customer Relationships: Engaging with your audience on social media platforms allows you to nurture strong customer relationships. By actively listening and responding to customer feedback, you show that you value their opinions and are dedicated to providing excellent customer service. This engagement helps build trust, loyalty, and a positive brand reputation

Identifying Brand Mentions and Influencers: Social media listening enables you to discover brand mentions and conversations that may not directly tag your brand. By monitoring these conversations, you can identify brand advocates, influencers, and potential brand partnerships. Engaging with these individuals can help amplify your brand message and enhance your reputation

Market Research and Competitive Analysis: Social media listening provides valuable insights into industry trends, competitor activities, and customer preferences. By analyzing these conversations, you can identify market opportunities, refine your marketing strategies, and stay ahead of your competitors. This knowledge helps you position your brand effectively and maintain a competitive edge

Improving Product and Service Offerings: Social media listening allows you to gather feedback and suggestions from your audience. By understanding their needs and preferences, you can make informed decisions to improve your products or services. This customer-centric approach demonstrates your commitment to meeting their expectations and enhances your brand reputation In conclusion, social media listening plays a crucial role in managing your brand reputation. By actively monitoring and analyzing social media conversations, you can gain valuable insights, address customer concerns, and build strong relationships with your audience. This proactive approach helps protect and enhance your brand reputation in the digital landscape. Remember, social media listening is an ongoing process that requires consistent monitoring and analysis to stay informed and responsive to your audience's needs and sentiments.

[sirenjose]

Analysis of Ganji Gupta

Ganji was born in India during a time when Britain still ruled over it.

Britain came to India after a sea route connecting Europe to India was found, and Britain initially came due to the economic prospects of trade, but eventually this turned into the desire to acquire territory.

The British presence in India began with the establishment of the British East India Company (the British government having no authority over them at this time). Initially, the focus was trade and acquiring goods such as silk, cotton, spices, and more. Trading posts were established and British communities developed, but eventually they started to meddle in Indian politics and transformed from a trading company to a ruling one. It was at this point that the British attitude towards Indians degenerated (a sense of superiority vs inferiority formed, biased views regarding non-western cultures arose, British disdain increased, and so on). Racism, frustration from the British forcing their own way of doing things (including the English language) on them, policies benefiting the British, and so on contributed to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (aka Revolt of 1857, First War of Independence, or Sepoy Mutiny).

As a result of this rebellion, the British East India Company was replaced by the British Raj, which was when the British Government took direct control from the East India Company, with Queen Victoria later proclaimed Empress of India. Britain continued to focus on profit and change beneficial to themselves, which led to subjugation and exploitation, and their views of Indians did not improve (still viewed themselves as superior, believed in stereotypes as well as believed Indians were in need of British guidance and governance to civilize them and bring them modernity).

This background is important for Ganji as it is clear this is what he experienced, especially due to Ganji’s 1st letter.

Ganji we know grew up with a talent for cricket, which was the “British national sport”.

 His 2nd deduction implies he was a “prodigy”, with many people who knew him recommending him to participate in the regions “open tournament”. We know from Ganji’s trailer that he received “Love, Happiness, Hope and Pride” from playing cricket, showing how much he enjoyed the sport and how much it meant to him.

According to this same deduction, combined with Ganji’s backstory, we knew he was a “kind, obedient, and friendly” person, “mild-mannered” (aka gentle and not given to extremes of emotion, which is curious considering later on in Ganji’s story), quiet, and well-behaved. One of Ganji’s backstories states this event (where he was recommended to participate in the Open) took place when he was 16 years old.

During this competition, we know he was skilled enough to earn 12 consecutive wins. The next game after those 12 was a semi-final with the British Royal team. It does not say if Ganji won or lost that match, nor if he won the competition in general, but we do know he was skilled enough to receive an invitation from the Royal team to join them and an offer to help him train. As the deduction uses the word “exception” and applauds him for his performance, I’m assuming he did manage to at least defeat the British team and could’ve won the competition too, but it’s impossible to say for sure right now.

We do know that Ganji saw this invitation as a “good chance” and he “looked forward to a better future”. As a result, he left India with the British Royal team, where he stayed at the Queen’s Guard’s manor. Unfortunately for Ganji, it isn’t until he has arrived that he realizes the truth: “he discovered that no one here cared about him at all, and that he was just a toy that was called away for entertainment when the Guard had a little fun. No one knew where he came from, and no one had seen his family. He was struggling alone in this strange place”.

This was echoed in Ganji’s trailer, which says: “Yet when I was brought here I finally realized, These gentlemen simply needed a proper toy to play with. The funny thing is they were far from gentlemanly themselves. All they longed for were our submission and servitude”.

The terms “submission and servitude” tell us how Ganji was treated while in Britain at the Queen’s Guard’s manor. This is further emphasized by Ganji’s deduction 5, which states Ganji was only given 1 day to train, while 2 others (Oliver and Willie) were given 3 days to train. As that deduction says, despite how Ganji hoped for a better future from this opportunity, the “other sided” ended up only being a “mirage”.

Considering Ganji’s earlier invitation and how he is now being treated combined with only being given 1 training day, it seems the British didn’t want Ganji to be outstanding, which potentially could relate to the feelings of superiority discussed earlier. They didn’t want to feel inferior to someone like Ganji, and thus could further explain why they didn’t give him much training time. In the trailer, we see him picking up balls, and if this was all he was allowed to do, that’d further hurt his ability to train and improve. Lastly, Ganji was only allowed to train on Sundays, and back then, this was seen in Britain as a day of rest, when people didn’t work. This could’ve included cricket as well (there are instances of people being prosecuted for playing cricket on Sunday), which shows how much the Royal team tried to hinder Ganji’s ability to train, meaning he likely wasn’t being trained very professionally.

(If the room we see Ganji in before the fire in his trailer is the one he was given upon arriving at the manor, the state of the room could further show how the Royal Team felt about Ganji. The only identifiable items in the room are the cricket ball, as cricket is what he enjoys, and a blurry picture that we can see Ganji in, which could potentially have been of his home and thus ties to his desire to return to it.)

This fits with Ganji’s design notes which say “his social status and the agenda of politicians did not allow him to have obvious extraordinary talent”. It is because of this the design notes say Ganji’s gentle personality was forced to change into “a personality that takes strong measures to fight against fate”. (It is also right after this that it mentions Ganji being “manic”.)

Going to Ganji’s 1st letter, it further reveals how people thought and felt about Ganji and others like him. The part where the author says they need to “take the lead so that the rest of us may get the chance to educate the foolish” fits with how we earlier discussed the British felt they had to govern and civilize the people of India for their own good. This is emphasized with how later the letter says “If it weren't for your insight, he would have spent his life in the mud without ever being touched by the empire's light” and Ganji getting “the chance to lead a civilized life”.

This letter describes Ganji as a “gift” with his “only desirable qualities” being his “average cricket skills and humble personality”. Their sense of superiority is clear hear considering they call Ganji’s skills “average”, yet we know he was talented considering he at least managed to receive 12 consecutive wins in the competition, while the comment about Ganji being “humble” could tie in to how Ganji in his trailer says they just wanted “our submission and servitude”.

Despite how badly Ganji was treated, the one exception was the son of the owner of the Queen’s Guard’s manor. We know he was friendly to Ganji based on Ganji’s deduction 6, which is title “relieved” and shows that the kid thought Ganji was “brilliant” and asked Ganji to play with him. It is possible Ganji is the one who feels “relieved”, and that could be due to actually finding someone friendly in this place. In the JP and CN versions, it potentially has the kid use the term “big brother” for Ganji, so altogether, the kid was likely being honest about his feeling regarding Ganji’s skills and honestly just wanting a real playmate (rather than a toy like the others saw Ganji as).

In this same deduction, it mentions a “well-made board” that has Ganji’s name carved in it. As this is the deduction that involves the son of the manor owner of the Queen’s Guard, it is possible this board was a gift from that kid, and that board may have actually been a bat for cricket.

Going back to Ganji’s 1st letter, it mentions a “Duke Elgin” and a “Viscount”. Based on the mention of “the Viscount’s prominent father” and how this Viscount “demanded” Ganji to “take classes with him instead of just playing cricket with him”, it’s possible the “Viscount” could be the son of the owner of the Queen’s Guard’s manor. We know this boy asked Ganji to play cricket with him due to how cool and talented he thought Ganji was, so it could also fit he might also ask Ganji to take classes and spend other time with him. I’d like to imagine Ganji enjoyed spending time with the boy, as taking classes and playing cricket with him was likely much better than being treated as a toy by the others or languishing along in his poor room.

Ganji continues to play cricket, despite his anger, though he does form a relationship with this boy. If Ganji was 16 during the Open when he was invited to join the Royal Team, and Ganji is at least 21 in game (as he can drink Demi’s dovlin), he was likely subjected to the mistreatment of the Royal Team and owner of the Queen’s Guard’s manor for a fair number of years at least. As we know, he was never able to meet his family while he was at that manor and he was forced to “struggle alone in this strange place”. The “last straw” came one day when he received news “bad news” about his hometown, with his deduction 7 saying he’d received a letter saying “Go home and save them!”

It is soon after this that a fire breaks out and burns down the manor of the Queen’s Guard. The only survivor was the owner’s son and Ganji.

This is also the same time that in his backstory trailer it says “Stop being nice to everyone. I need a new identity. I want to go home. Perhaps that is the only place where there's still hope”.

This matches with Ganji’s last deduction, which is “a letter to home” that he wrote to his mother, saying that “everything’s fine with me. I’m coming home soon”.

Right after the fire starts in one of his backstories, it says Ganji became a “manic patient, often falling into uncontrollable irritability”, so it seems the fire and around this time is when he is first said to be manic. His deduction 9 has a diagnosis saying “Mania, easily irritated. Avoid looking at fire. Suggest locking all windows and doors and staying at home alone”. It is because of his worsening mania that is says people stayed away from him and called him a “thug”, but Ganji only cared about going home.

Once again returning to Ganji’s 1st letter, the end of it talks about getting info on Ganji’s “hometown and the extraordinary spice extraction”. The mention of spices fits our earlier discussion on Britain’s interest in India in part for its spices. This info about Ganji’s home and spice extraction is apparently helpful to whoever this “sir” is and an “upcoming mission” he will be going on. This same “sir” is apparently someone responsible for the idea to bring Ganji to England (though for now I’m thinking he isn’t the Queen’s Guard’s manor owner, who I think is the Viscount’s father).

Considering the talk about Ganji’s hometown and the obvious interest in its “spice extraction”, this could mean this “sir” is someone behind whatever “bad news” came from Ganji’s hometown, and likely the “bad news” and “upcoming mission” had to do with their clear interest in its spices. And if they wanted info on Ganji’s hometown, that could mean one of the few reasons they invited Ganji over was for that info so they could exploit his hometown for the “spice extraction”.

(One side note about Ganji’s 1st letter, but in the CN and JP versions, it says this “Sir” is someone who is recovering their health in “Delhi”, which further shows it’s not the owner of the Queen’s Guard’s manor, who we know was in Britain. It’s possible, if this is someone capable of going on missions and is mentioned regarding “we need… people like you to take the lead” that this “sir” is someone higher up in the government regarding rule of India, who could order a mission to Ganji’s home for it’s “spice extraction”).

Next is Ganji’s 2nd letter, which unlike his 1st (which happens before the fire) his 2nd happens after the fire. We hear he tried to board a freighter. Likely he was attempting to stowaway to return home, but he was caught and taken away by someone working for Duke Elgin. Ganji was placed in a detention center, where he was examined. They mention a “strange scar on his forehead”, which potentially came from the fire that burned down the Queen’s Guard’s manor. We do see Ganji with the owner’s son while the fire burns the manor, so if he had to go in to rescue him, that could have been when.

Considering how they say Ganji, besides his scar, seems “as strong as ever” to me kind of feels like they’re still talking about him like an object or one of their possessions.

After this, the letter mentions how Ganji would be “quiet during the day” but would go “mad” at night, with him “either holding his head between his hands while slamming it against the wall with a pained expression plastered across his face or attempted to snatch the candles used by the guards to keep the place lit up. He only settled down once we locked him in the darkness of the dungeon. But once the next day arrived, he was back to normal again”. It was due to this behavior that the author states he went to purchase “strong sedatives” (to be used on Ganji if he went out of control). During this time while the author was away, Ganji was able to escape despite the guards around him. Despite this, the author believes Ganji will return as they still had several of his possessions, including “medical records, an invitation, and that "treasure" of his.

It says the part with the signature had been “burned off”. If Ganji was messing with candle fire while in the detention center, it’s possible he did something similar to this letter if he got ahold of it (unless it’s nothing important).

The mentioned “treasure” is likely the note from home that reads “Come home, child”. Considering it says “child”, there’s a chance this could’ve been written by his mother. We know Ganji’s written to her himself before, so him receiving correspondence from her would make sense.

Another treasure we know Ganji owns is his accessory Cozy Fleece, which is a sheep toy “given to Ganji when he was young” and said to be “one of the several treasures in his luggage”. This was likely another item given to Ganji by his mother, when he was still home, and thus why he treasures it. Another potential treasure could be Ganji’s bansuri accessory, which has the description that mentions its music helps to recall his hometown.

As for the medical records, it says that the patient is suffering “severe homesickness” and displays “impulsive behavior during times of extreme depression or anxiety”. This means that Ganji’s “mania” is caused by his “severe homesickness” in moments when he’s suffering from “extreme depression or anxiety”. That could mean, with Ganji already being homesick for years before the day the fire started, Ganji’s “last straw” when he received bad news about his hometown now makes sense why the fire likely started then. That “bad news” triggered his anxiety and severe homesickness, depressed him when he realized he was stuck at this manor with no quick way home, before then making him impulsive and “manic” in his desire to go home as soon as possible. Whether or not it was on purpose or an accident, it is possible one of his “impulses” resulted in the fire starting, or a confrontation that triggered his irritation causes it to accidentally begin. Maybe a bit of sanity returned to him afterwards, and that could be when he rescued the boy as we see him with the boy during the fire in Ganji’s trailer. But for now, information is scant on the specifics of this event.

Potentially after escaping detainment could be when we see him living by himself like in his other backstories. It’s possible he was in hiding from those that had captured him. We don’t know for sure whether he returned to them for his treasure (it’s possible with how important his note from his mom likely was). We know from Ganji’s backstory that it says he “lived in a cold room with little furniture for years” and “seldom stepped outside during the year”. He had no friends, always looked solemn, and people found it “difficult to get to know him”. Ganji is described as “peculiar and lonely”, and someone his neighbors “loved to gossip about”.

His backstory mentions “random loud noises coming from his room”, which could tie to the behavior he displayed at night in the detention center, when he’d hit his head against a wall.

Regarding Ganji hiding in his room all the time, this connects back to his deduction 9, the diagnosis that suggested “locking all windows and doors and staying at home alone”.

The part about “avoid looking at fire” implies, whether or not he did it and whether it was on purpose or accident, it implies he’d been deeply affected by the fire that burned down the manor. Maybe because of all the feelings (and irritation) he had from how long he spent there, being mistreated and never being allowed to train. Maybe because of the boy he’d formed a relationship too and how this fire took away his home and family, just like Ganji was without his home and family. Maybe any conflict he had if he was somewhat responsible, whether accidentally or on purpose, as his trailer does mention wanting those “gentlemen to repent for their sins” but also because this was a place he’d had such high hopes for regarding his future and now it’s turning to ashes, as well as was a place he’d suffered alone, away from his family, for a long time, but more conflict because Ganji was deep down still a “kind” person (and maybe regretted not saving more people, or regretted if he had a fit of anger and its consequences that day that causes all these events). Just another boy, like the son of the owner of the Queen’s Guard crying at the sight of his home on fire, that was crying out for his family and home as it was threatened or attacked but Ganji unable to do anything about it.

The backstory continues by saying he kept his appearance “hidden” whenever he went out, which could relate to if he was in hiding from the people who’ve been trying to capture him in his letters, or to the mistreatment he potentially receives if people knew where he was from, or to hide the scars on his face from people if he knew how they’d react upon seeing it (as they did describe his face as “horrifying”). It also fits with how his trailer said he needed a “new identity”.

Despite how they treated him, Ganji was said to give “softly spoken words of appreciation to the neighbors’ trivial kindness”, which seems to connect to Ganji’s original personality (as he was described as kind, friendly, and mild-mannered before he came to Britain).

Others debated the reason for Ganji’s behavior, suggesting “regret” (tied to the fire that ended his training with the Royal Team, as other people wouldn’t know the full truth about his feelings towards the Royal Team) or “cautiousness” (from living in a foreign country). Unfortunately for Ganji, everyone decided that Ganji had “a lot of secrets” and “might bring trouble to the town and decided to stay away from him”.

The last thing we hear about Ganji is he still dreamt of returning home, and eventually received an invitation from the manor, offering a “huge reward”, enough for Ganji to use to go home, and he “decided to take the risk”.

Side note regarding Duke Elgin.

I couldn’t find any “Duke” Elgin, but I did find an “Earl” of Elgin. The 9th Earl of Elgin, Victor Bruce, was the Viceroy of India.

I don’t think this is the exact same “Duke Elgin” but it could be a basis for the character (for Netease when designing this).

These were individuals appointed by the British monarch. They represented the British government in India and exercised authority over British India on behalf of the British crown. Victor Bruce served as Viceroy during 1894-1899m which was a particularly troubled period in Indi’s history, and his tenure was not seen as a successful one. During his administration, there was economic and social unrest, a famine, bubonic plague, and the Tirah campaign (Afridi Frontier Rising). This campaign took place in Northwest India and involved the British seeking to restore control over the area after an uprising occurred (with 1 of the challenges they faced being the mountainous terrain).

I don’t think this is exactly where Ganji is from, but this event, as well as all the other issues occurring at the time, could relate to or be a sort of basis (to Netease) for whatever did actually happen to Ganji’s hometown.

Apparently the “bansuri” is a flute connected to north Indian music (with the venu being connected to the south), which could mean (with how the Tirah Campaign happened in the Northwest) Ganji could be from somewhere in the North part of India.

[quixtrix]

god save our women; a ramble of an analysis

or, captain laserhawk REALLY shot jade in the face and im still upset about it because oh my GOD they really made her be thrown into a role that is not HER and in death she's still a Figure. yknow, i personally don't have a problem with sarah x jade, but over the past few months occasionally i'd think about it. yeah, it's funny to call sarah gay as hell for putting jade in a femme fatale outfit, but. should that truly be our basis for the ship? or should we think a bit deeper on why exactly sarah would put the sole woman in her lil tool set into such a position? i wonder why it wouldn't hurt to think about why jade would be forced into a role where one has to be sexual.

sarah is an extent of eden and eden is society and society will occasionally harp an odd sort of something masquerading as feminism to you that being sexual gives you power! but really it only serves to loop back into being for the man's enjoyment.

now i have to say that being sexual can be empowering! it really is! we just also have to acknowledge that in the eyes of society, sex is an exchange where it serves the man more than it does the woman. it still feels good to be sexual though, and being sexual can be used right for what you want.

but when it comes to jade, jade is forced to fall into this femme fatale role, this role that demands one to be a maneater, when she usually sticks to a more impersonal way of work. in this role, she dresses in clothes that she's not comfortable with wearing, when told to change from her usual outfit she is visibly uncomfortable, and overall it doesn't fit her.

she is not a sexual person. she does not typically utilise sexuality as a tool in her arsenal, she doesn't even seem to really touch it (or she's just insanely bad at flirting). either way, she's not used to being in this position because she does not choose to be in this position often.

anyways, why does sarah think to put the woman in a position where she would have to step out of her comfort zone? because obviously, she uses things and positions as tools, and sexuality is a tool.

now i want yall to bear with me as i compare sarah to another woman in media; makima. no im not calling sarah some god awful dommy mommy or some shit, i'm bringing in makima to highlight how sexuality is used. she uses her sexuality as a woman to entice this young boy into doing things for her, ranging from a kiss to assaulting him and telling him that she'll give him more as a reward. while not inherently sexual, she offers up a date with her to encourage the devil hybrids under her control. she even offers up a kiss at one point to encourage competition. makima, someone raised by the government and given tools that she uses to manipulate others, has sexuality in her arsenal. it is not a stretch to say that sarah, someone who has intimate understanding of the government, the ladder she climbs, has seen others use sexuality as a tool. hell, it might even be encouraged to use it as a tool. i'm absolutely not saying that sarah fucked her way to the top, im saying that sarah is aware that sexuality is a tool that one can use.

now we all know how sarah got to the top, which can be reasonably assumed to be through military rank and impersonal ways. ways that don't require one to lower your guard and take you in before they strike, like a femme fatale way would. sarah most likely got through to the top by using people and throwing just enough weight around. so why does she not allow jade to flourish in a way that honestly would benefit the team way better yeah no its because she sees her as a fucking tool in order to recognise jade's real talents she must first let go of the notion that she is a simple tool and accept that as a human she has legitimate strengths in unique areas and not just one where you can remind them who is in charge and how you are a tool and FUCK EDEN AND THEIR FUCKING TOOL MINDSET FUCKING CAPITALIST MINDSET IN A SO CALLED POST CAPITALISTIC SOCIETY!!!!! okay im getting a lil heated but yknow what let's continue FUCK PEY'J LOOK AT THIS SHIT

IM SO SORRY BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL FANS THEY DID YOU SO WRONG BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO FUCKING HAMMER IN THE IDEA OF JADE BEING A FIGURE AND NOT A PERSON EVEN IN DEATH SHE IS BOILED DOWN TO SOME FUCKASS WHO KNEW HER AS A BABY'S LOVE INTEREST AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THEY DID YALL WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they did yall so wrong my god. my god !! imagine! someone who knew you as a BABY openly admitted to you when you were a young adult in your 20s that he has feelings for you! what the hell! what purpose does this serve than to cement the idea that jade is a tool, a motive? jade, a goddamn REPORTER tryna spread light on a legitimate issue on society and then gets thrown into the Ghosts because of it, is boiled down to a tool. a fucking tool by both sarah and pey'j, TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE SEEN by both show and fandom AS POSSIBLE LOVE INTERESTS FOR JADE.

SHE LITERALLY COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE IF SARAH DID SEE HER AS HUMAN AND DID UTILISE HER ACTUAL TALENTS INSTEAD OF SEEING HER AS A TOOL AND FOR THAT JADE IS UNFORTUNATELY NOT SEEN AS A PERSON, BUT AS A FIGURE.

but yknow what. yknow who also has been seen as a figure and not a person.

dolph laserhawk. eden's child soldier that they raised as a paragon of hope fallen into disgrace.

yknow what also happens with dolph and jade? they treat each other as human. jade includes dolph in her lil vlogs as she does with the rest of the team, because she is a good person. dolph recognises that she is indeed a person, someone worth remembering as themselves. not as who she was to someone, but as someone who went out of her way to offer kindness. she gets a goddamn speaking role in his vr dream alongside alex, who yes groomed him, but he also made dolph feel human.

i didnt even realise it before that they put the only two people (that are. dead. bullfrog is not here for obvious reasons) that have made dolph feel human and not an extension of eden in one frame BUT THYE FUCKING DID. these mfs and dolph are basically real recognises real

this isn't about dolph though, this is about jade. jade, who didn't get to be shown to the world as a person, who posthumously became a figure for a man's revenge, who was put into a position she is not suited for because she was not recognised as human. jade, who is the most human out of the ghosts, who gave voice to those that couldn't through her work, who went into exposing pagan min because of her uncle, her family that she loved. for being the most grounded member, they had to kill you because you mattered so much. kept the team together through kindness. god they did you so wrong jade.

[zorosnavigator]

So here's the promised part 2 of the Zonami fics rec!!

Part 1 can be found here

(i havent got the time to read or do much on this blog and post the rec with all college stuff last week and the beginning of class, sorry !!)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10264637/1/The-Bounty

Already recommended it in the 1st rec (author dreamsinword ) but i still put it again here because i'm in love with her writing, and frankly the experience not only made me smile like in the manga, (Zoro and Nami dynamics, (besides the obvious romantic tones) and the rest of the crew are on point! ) but it nails the characterization of everyone, and with OCs that you feel could belong in Oda's world!!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37865146

(warnings: if ABO genre is not to your liking then dont read this one!)

So i only went through 1 chapter,( it has 11 chapters up) but so far (which is, not very far, but bear with me 😅) it doesnt seem to fall into the cliche of the'strong omega who doesnt like alpha but in the end falls under the alpha's charm anyway because uuh uh, sexy and smells goood!!!!- a trope that i personally hate because of consent issues... (no flames if you love it though 🙃)

it describes the strawhats crew with a dialogue that seems pretty thoughful (of what the scenario want to do and tell us) and not just in a way it only copies the anime (luffy screamed: i'm hungry!! Nami said: Baka!/ Robin was reading in a chair and Franky was building something that i found often in fic). (also i love any Abo writers who dont focus totally on smut, smells, dominance, and physical side of the genre and rather works on the system, the world and how the implications of the second sex impact the psychology and story as a whole! ) that said, the story seems promising!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48206047

@cutieininferno on tumblr!!!!

fic where you feels the very obvious attraction between them (but without the too much cringy emotionally stuff like 'he had nice abs, sexy and she was love with him! so strong!) but it still make room for the plot and you want to know what happens next!! (also bonus point for including the witch nickname in the actual plot, love it!! ) all in all, go read it what can i say more beside im sad there isnt more kudos???!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22678642

Good plot. Nami centric (and her origins), friends - to lovers, i enjoyed that one too!

One shots, short fics

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/776756/Rasetsu

Sweets little drabbles,

angstier than the previous one (and can be read as friendship)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2430733/1/Because

oh boy this one is a little messy but it hurts in the best way (also mention of implicit sex) love the 'mature' take on them!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6358367/1/Small-Steps

more friendship, and analysis of Nami from Zoro pov

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6375303/1/Moments-Like-These

how to write perfect Zonami in 642 words. No comments.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49450201

ANgst angst angst, implied sex, sort of...friends with benefit, (still happy ending) again, from Zoro pov!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8336653

They made out in the storage room. this is uditory torture for the rest of the crew. I laughed during this one!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8330107

again, a make out, a drunken kiss and a stupid competition. Love it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1128823

Drabbles so sweet i have to brush my teeth.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8336968

One shot abt Zoro first time - do you know how much i like this headcanon???? no? now you know. Virgin Zoro with accidental rizz is awesome!! (Luffy is always this element in the fic who made me crack up!!!)

[charles-leclerc-official]

2024 Austrian Grand Prix Race Analysis

Austria was full of surprises in a few ways. Given the nature of this race the main focus is on the battle between Max and Lando in the final stint. I am covering their incidents in detail and examining which moves are legal and if any penalties were deserved.

The data this race lies more in the footage than the numbers. So that is what I will be examining in greater detail for this analysis.

Table of Contents Ferrari - Charles - Carlos Red Bull - Max - Max vs Lando Mclaren - Lando - Oscar Haas Mercedes - George Final Thoughts

Ferrari

Ferrari have been trying to optimize car setups for both drivers with the combination of both recent upgrades. This is a process and this race showed that they are getting closer to good qualifying again and the car still has the pace. 

Charles

Charles made an error on his final qualifying lap and that cost him places on the grid. It was a risk to place higher in qualifying and it didn’t pay off. One thing to note is that Charles did believe the car had the speed for a top 3 placement and had he not made a mistake in that corner he probably would have been on the front two rows. 

Charles’ race was determined in the opening lap. He made contact with Oscar when he was squeezed by Oscar and Checo. No penalties were given as this was lap one and there was crowding. I place blame on both Oscar and Checo, however Charles indicated that he believes Checo was more at fault because he forced him a little wide. He was behind so he shouldn’t have been there, 3 wide doesn’t work. So I will defer to Charles' opinion on the matter there. 

The damage to Charles’ front wing required a long pit stop where he lost considerable places and put him 20 seconds off his original place. While they were able to swap the front wing there was also minor damage in a few places so the car was not perfect the rest of the race. 

After this Charles’ race was entirely about trying to stay at a competitive pace to climb up places. He needed 4 pit stops, all on mediums to achieve this. And the team did great supporting him, keeping him on fresh enough rubber to be able to climb back up the field and have a chance at the points. The mediums were the best option, they weren’t lasting as long and since there was some damage Charles couldn’t preserve the tyres in the same way he normally does, but they were still offering better grip and speed compared to the hards this race. 

Charles qualified P6 and finished P11. Not a good result, however considering the circumstance he still ran a good race, managing damage and a pretty narrow pit timing strategy. 

Big thing to also note was Ferrari had an under 2 second pitstop for Charles, the fastest of the race, great work from the pit crew, that was the kind of speed Charles needed given how much time he was losing with needing to pit so often. 

Carlos

Carlos qualified P4 and finished on the podium in P3. First Ferrari podium since Monaco and that is something to celebrate. 

His race was pretty standard, he ran a clean race and the main focus was just to keep pace and not allow Oscar to pass too early or to fall behind him too much. And Carlos did that. He said himself he knew Oscar was going to pass eventually, that was almost inevitable given the difference in the cars this race, but he stayed pretty competitive on pace. 

Carlos was faster on the first medium stint. Oscar was slightly faster on the hards. On the final medium stint Oscar was faster but Carlos was also on slightly older medium tyres, and Oscar still fell to his pace by the end, so Carlos tyre management was overall better, he just didn't have the car to properly fight on speed.

Carlos did show that the SF-24 pace is there, and that the car can still be expected to finish on the podium, even when the setup is not optimized. 

Obviously this finish did benefit from Max and Lando being out of the top 3, but that’s the way this race worked. Lando and Max’s loss was Carlos’ gain. It’s good that he had the pace to stay near the front to be able to have the higher placement when that happened. 

Good clean race from Carlos. 

Overall a mixed result weekend from Ferrari. There were quite a few moments where the team was struggling, but both Charles and Carlos results from the car are promising and it seems that things are on an upward trajectory when it comes to optimizing the car setup for the upgrades. 

Red Bull

Max

Max qualified on pole, and finished P5. His result was influenced by his main battle this race with Lando. The early stints of his race were not very eventful. Mostly because Max did build a pretty good gap to P2 on the first stint, and helped onto it in the second stint(although he was losing performance on the hards) It was the final stint that determined his race. 

Max Vs Lando

The most important thing to note before diving into the actual battle between these two is the fact that Red Bull are the ones to blame for what unfolded. Max was well ahead of Lando, having created a good gap of about 6 to 7 seconds. Lando didn’t have the pace to catch him. The only reason Lando did catch Max was because Red Bull had a 6+ second pit stop which put Lando right on Max’s tail. That isn’t Max’s fault, his pace and speed were great, he should have been much farther ahead and there wouldn’t have been any battle. Red Bull failed Max here, and it cost them what likely would have been a win. This was the setup for Max actually having to defend against Lando.

The other thing about this pit was that Max had to take used mediums. Red Bull assumed this race would have two hard stints, and when the hard tyre was not performing well they had to fall back on their used mediums to try to keep the pace. Mclaren had two sets of mediums. So coming out of this pit Max was on used medium tyres and Lando was on new mediums. This also played a key role in their battle. 

First a quick look at their full race pace.

The thing to note is Max being faster on that entire medium stint, that was when he created most of the gap to Lando. The hards both drivers struggled on, as did the rest of the field, the hard compound was not performing well on this track, and even then Max was faster more often than not, he was losing some time there but it was gradual enough to keep most of the gap he’d built. So Lando didn’t have the overall race pace to take Max this race, he needed that slow pit stop to be able to catch him, he was not going to close the gap otherwise. 

Before we get into the footage and what happened I want to say that the TL:DR of my opinion on this battle was that it falls almost entirely under hard racing. There are a few moments that crossed the line but nothing egregious, and the results are more Lando's fault than Max's.

I also want to clear up some misconceptions about the rules. I have seen a lot of commentary and opinions about moves made by Max that don’t actually apply an understanding of the rules correctly. 

Rules

First “No moving under braking” this is not actually against the rules. It was for a brief period between 2016 and 2017, but was deemed too restrictive to driver’s ability to defend their lines. So a looser rule Article L chapter IV 2.e was implemented. 

“It is not permitted to drive any car unnecessarily slowly, erratically, or in a manner deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers at any time”

This article is up for a lot of interpretation, and yes moving under braking can fall under this rule. But it is vague on purpose to allow for discretion and specific interpretations of a situation. You can argue that that stewards should have issued a penalty under this rule. However, the idea that moving under braking is specifically outlined as always against the rules is incorrect, and thus Max is not automatically in violation of the rules for doing so. 

This is assuming he did in fact move under braking. It seems in some cases he did, but it is such a narrow window it is hard to accurately see in the telemetry where on the track he started to brake. I say all of this to make clear that I am not saying that Max for sure moved under braking. Proving moving under braking is difficult, and if it is so unclear then the argument it was erratic or dangerous starts to fall apart.

Next I want to present the overtaking rules. Mainly that Max is allowed to move to defend his line going into a corner. The key thing is he is allowed to move ONCE in response to the car behind. And that is what he did. Lando's radios aired made it sound like those kinds of things are not allowed, but they are.

Max is allowed to move to defend his line. He is allowed to do so once in response to the car behind. Also Max did leave enough space for Lando in almost every interaction they had. The same cannot be said for Lando.

Finally this rule pertains to both Max and Lando's penalties. I would argue that Max did not repeat serious mistakes that caused a collision. Lando most certainly did leave the track multiple times without reason.

So, now you know what the rules are, and can see that they are not quite as narrow as some media outlets have suggested. There is a lot of room for interpretation, and that can present it's own problems. It's important to see what the rules actually say because they have been widely mis-reported on, especially by Mclaren.

With all that being said let’s look at the footage and what happened this battle.

Final Stint Battles

There has been a lot of criticism leveled at both drivers for their racing in this battle. I would say more of it has fallen on Max, likely because he was the one who was penalized for the contact. But to me it is pretty clear they are both equally responsible for how this unfolded, with more blame to be placed on Lando for his driving quality and dangerous moves.  

Max was defending his line, he’s allowed to do this, and more importantly he was faster, getting to the apex first every time. Lando didn’t have the speed and to make up for this he divebombed. That is dangerous. Lando’s desperate driving naturally had Max defending more aggressively, if not things would have ended worse. 

Lando was penalized for exceeding track limits for these moves. He wasn’t making clean pass attempts. He didn’t have the speed to actually get alongside Max for a better pass. 

The first incident I want to look at is Lando’s overtake attempt that resulted in him overtaking off track and having to give the place back to Max. 

Some have claimed this footage shows Max forcing Lando wide. Lando missed the apex by some margin, Max was turning because Lando should have turned as well, instead Lando is going straight for too long. Max narrowly avoided the collision there. The reason for this was that Lando was really late lining up that overtake, so he couldn’t pull it off cleanly. He needed to be alongside Max sooner for the overtake.

So here(frame 1 and 2), Lando is lunging to the inside, that’s fine. Max is on the outside and stays on the outside. Then going into the turn(frame 3) Lando goes straight and Max turns, he’s expecting Lando to turn, seeing as it’s a turn on the track that would be the thing to do there. Lando got there late and completely misjudged the apex. That’s why he locked up and went off the track. Max would have stayed on the outside there if Lando had set up the pass correctly. Max turned at roughly the right time. It only looks like he turns into Lando because Lando kept going straight. 

Lando continued straight off the track, Max didn’t really change his line much except to avoid the crash, he had the outside line and he followed it, Lando went off the track himself and Max just turned. 

Lando noted that Max was reacting to his move. This is allowed, under the sporting regulations a defending driver ahead is allowed to move once to react to an attack from an opponent. What isn’t allowed is multiple moves (weaving etc) Max was moving once. 

The dangerous part was Lando attempting certain passes anyway after he saw how Max was defending. 

But I think all of this from both Lando and Max falls under hard racing. 

What was penalty worthy was the extent to which Lando was exceeding track limits. One time I can overlook but he did it continuously, and Max was not forcing him off. He was simply not lining up those overtake attempts well and leaving the track as a result. A deserved penalty on that front. 

Furthermore on the quality of Lando's driving. He was revealing his hand on moves pretty early, and then was shocked when Max was easily able to react to the move and defend. That's a pretty simple skill issue. It's not like he was even making it hard for Max. He attempted the same move on the same corner multiple times in a row, it's no wonder Max didn't have trouble anticipating what he would do.

Lap 63

Lando lunged to the inside of Max on turn 4. That’s fine, he was going to try to overtake on the inside. 

However again he went straight into the turn and dived into Max, which forced him off the track. He didn’t leave any space on the outside at all, so Max had to leave the track. Lando argued that he was at the apex first and thus Max had to give the place back, but that move wasn’t allowed, he forced his opponent off the track to ensure he reached the apex first. And then didn’t leave a space. The reason he got there first was because he went straight instead of turning. That’s the move Max was having a problem with. 

So no, Max should not have given the position back. 

Here the footage shows clearly where Lando cut Max off and forced him wide. This is probably penalty worthy according to the rules. The fact none was given while Max received a later penalty for less is interesting.

Lap 64

Now to the big incident, the lap 64 collision that resulted in Lando’s DNF and Max’s loss of the lead of the race (4 places in total)

Personally I would classify this as well under hard racing. I think that had they not been racing so hard up until this point and had Mclaren not complained so much about Max defending this wouldn’t have been a penalty(in addition to the fact it caused a DNF also probably played a role in the penalty). In my eyes both drivers are roughly equal in fault, and in those circumstances I usually say no one gets a penalty. It’s a pretty fine margin and a difference of opinion is likely in this area.

Here is a look at the key moments and car placement of the contact(indicated by green circle) It was pretty light contact. Max noted that it was surprising the amount of damage that was caused by the brief touch. 

The thing in this footage is that Max does give Lando space. He didn't force him off. Lando expected Max to yield, and Max didn't and was under no obligation to, he gave Lando enough room (barely but it was enough) so he doesn't need to yield more space to him at this point.

I want to put this pass in context of the rest of the race. For multiple turns now Lando was diving to the inside and forcing Max wide. So now that Max is on the inside he’s just refusing the yield. It’s not surprising he would push back after laps of Lando making erratic pass attempts. I don’t think the way Max entered this corner is incorrect. It is slightly off the racing line, but I think it falls under hard racing. 

However given he was on the inside line it seems that he was more at fault for the contact hence the penalty. I think the penalty also took into account previous moves that were noted. 

Here is the rule that Max was penalized for breaking. 

This clause is really up to the interpretation of the stewards, and they must have decided that Max’s driving in that turn was more at fault, likely because he was on the inside. 

In my opinion I don’t think Max is clearly more at fault. I believe this incident is both driver’s fault in roughly equal measures. In this case I don’t believe either deserve a penalty, or both should be penalized. Max gave Lando space and there is large runoff in that corner. It was not dangerous and Max was not the sole party at fault for the contact. 

This was hard racing. I believe that the stewards were very liberal in their interpretation here and given they overlooked other earlier incidents from Lando I don't think this penalty was entirely fair.

The second point of contact(when his rear tyre touched Lando's front wing) I don’t think is Max’s fault. He wasn’t in control of the car after the puncture and Lando turned into him. So the front wing damage Lando may have sustained is not Max’s fault. 

I want to add that I believe Lando should have received an additional penalty for violating the same clause as Max. His dive bombing multiple times was erratic and dangerous, more so than anything Max was doing. If Max was deserving of a penalty for dangerous driving than so was Lando. Lando’s moves were worse because they were often in violation of track limits, which shows the moves were not legal. 

Did Max force Lando into the grass after the collision between the two on the turn?

No. 

Watch the footage. Lando is very clearly behind Max leaving the turn. Both have damage. The important thing here is that Max was ahead and had the racing line. Lando speeds up and pushes hard to get alongside Max. Who at that point was under no obligation to give him space. Lando defeated himself there and further damaged his own car by trying to catch up to Max. What was he trying to accomplish? He wasn’t going to get past Max at that point? Max can’t prevent Lando from making rash moves. 

Max already made his line clear when coming out of the corner, and it doesn’t change in reaction to Lando. Lando was the one who cut across the track to try to shoot for that gap. A gap it was clear Max was going to close regardless of if Lando was there. 

The reason Max was driving like this and on that line had nothing to do with Lando at this point. Max had a puncture, you can see the tyre moving and wobbling. He’s trying to move with it so that it stays on the wheel long enough for him to make it back to the pits. If he drifted in the other direction he would make the problem worse and risk the tyre slipping off. He’s basically chasing the direction the tyre needs to be able to make it back to the pits. You can see him moving to try to center the tyre better after the contact. If he had moved over he would have slid the tyre off the axle and sustained more damage that probably would have ended his race. 

You can see above that the tyre is slightly toward the body of the car. If Max had drifted more to the outside of the track he would have pushed the tyre off the wheel and then he would have ended his race. He needed to follow the tyre's movement to keep it on so he could make it back to the pits, this required him to make a clean diagonal across the track which he did not deviate from.

Lando on the other hand didn’t try to manage his puncture. He was behind Max and the line Max was on was very clear. Max didn’t change direction. So Lando diving(Frame 3 where he suddenly changed direction) to the outside and speeding up there was entirely his fault. He had no business being there, it didn’t accomplish anything because he already had the damage. In fact he made his own damage worse with that stunt. He could have done what Max did and try to get back to the pits to be able to finish the race. But he didn’t. People make it seem like Max pushed Lando off, that wasn’t what he was doing at all. Lando swerved to the outside of Max there and shouldn’t be shocked when Max, who was nursing damage, didn't yield. 

Given the circumstance and Max’s consistent movement here the rules also side with Max. 

The rules outline the need for DELIBERATE crowding of a car. It is quite clear in the footage that Max didn’t change anything when Lando approached, and he didn’t deliberately crowd him off. This is why no penalty was given. 

So no, Max didn’t push Lando off, Max was dealing with his tyre in the only way he could. Lando created that problem for himself. And the result was he damaged his car more so he wasn’t able to recover at the pits. If he had kept behind Max and actually tried to manage the puncture he had a chance of staying in the race. But he chose not to, and guaranteed an end to his own race. Not trying to negate the actual fault in the contact into the turn. However, it wasn’t a guaranteed DNF coming out of it. One driver managed things to be able to finish the race, the other didn’t. 

But the key thing to take away from this part of the race is to watch the tyre and see that’s what Max is reacting to, not Lando. The grass incident was of Lando’s own making. 

Max didn’t make Lando speed up like that to try to pass him again. He also didn’t make Lando choose that line. Lando has no one to blame but himself for that part of the incident. 

Ultimately my opinion is that the way Lando was lunging into the corner was more dangerous than any move Max pulled against him. You could tell from watching who was the more experienced and skilled driver at wheel to wheel driving.

What I have found shocking is the way this battle is being reported on. The bias in the media is strong this week, and I would encourage everyone to watch the footage with the actual rules in mind to see who moved and who gave space and when, because the footage paints a very different story when you take the actual rules into account, not the rules the Mclaren have been implying exist when they don't.

Max showed his usual wheel to wheel battling skills, and also managed to keep his car on the track even after the puncture. Superior driving from him compared to Lando.

Some have been upset that Max's ten second time penalty did not result in him losing places. He finished the race in P5 and after the 10 seconds were applied he was still in P5.

Well that's not his fault the car behind was so far behind his time. Ten seconds is the fair penalty time for this. The fact Lando DNFed does not change what the punishment should be. Max was just fast enough to be able to out race a penalty, which does happen.

Max reminded us all this race why he is the current champion.

Mclaren

Lando

I have said numerous times in previous race analyses that I did not believe Lando could pass Max in competitive conditions. And this race proved me right. 

I am not saying Max was perfect, however Lando’s driving was erratic, desperate, and was never going to work. He tried to make the same pass and acted surprised when Max was able to anticipate the same move at the same corner. He wasn’t even able to actually make the pass because he needed to go over track limits every time. And he didn’t have the pace to get alongside Max for the pass. 

This was very sloppy driving at the front on his part. Examining the passes it was clear he didn’t have the pace going into the turn to make the pass cleanly. Pushing and not estimating that correctly was what cost him. 

Also it is important to note that Lando was on fresh medium tyres and Max was not and Lando still was not able to properly close the gap. There was a pace difference between the two due to the tyre age and Lando still was not able to properly overtake Max. That’s another issue of skill. 

He had DRS, fresher tyres and still wasn’t able to get past Max. And yes the leader is allowed to fight being passed, that’s part of racing. What I am saying is that these factors should have been enough for Lando to make a clean pass. None of his pass attempts were good. He exceeded track limits multiple times trying to do so. 

I think this comes down to Lando’s inexperience with actually fighting on track at the front. I said before this would be a problem for him and I was right. A lot of what we saw in this battle was Lando’s inability to figure out how to fight Max coming to light. 

Really sloppy race from Lando and he ultimately defeated himself. He had a chance to try to make it back to the pits without race ending damage, but he didn't he pushed the car and ruined the rest of his own race.

Mclaren also arguably should have been penalized for Lando driving with unsafe damage. We saw that he was losing pieces of carbon fiber and brake duct pieces and other debris was being strewn across the track. Checo and Red Bull were penalized for something very similar in Canada and yet this time there was no penalty given.

Oscar

Oscar qualified P7 and finished P2. He would have been higher on the starting grid but his Q3 lap time was deleted for track limits and then Mclaren failed to properly appeal the decision. His best Q3 time would have seen him start P3.

He ran a solid race, climbing up the field pretty quickly. He finished in P2. He like the other top 3 benefited from the race leaders losing places, but again, that's the way this race worked. He did a good job climbing up all those places.

Solid racing from him and a solid result.

Haas

This was Haas best race result not just this year, but in years period. Nico finished P6 and Kevin finished P8. They brought home a combined total of 12 points in this one race. In 2023 Haas scored 12 points in an entire year. So in a single race Haas took home their WCC total from last year. That's a pretty big deal for a mid-field team. This race really showed just how far the team has come in such a short time.

Not only that but both drivers drove really well. At the beginning we saw them battle, feeling out each other's pace. It became clear that Nico was the faster and after that they were on a mission to secure those points.

Nico especially had the best race in Austria. He was one of the few drivers really making the hard tyres work for him. He overtook Checo in a Red Bull, and was even able to use his tyres to really mess around with him a bit on track. I will note that when he overtook he was on newer hard tyres. But still his management and use of them was yielding far more than the Red Bull. It was genuinely impressive racing from a racecraft standpoint on multiple fronts. I

Haas as a team had the best race in Austria, and both drivers had the best races of their season thus far.

Mercedes

This was Mercedes best result of the season. George qualified P3 and finished P1, Lewis qualified P5 and finished P4.

George

George won the second Grand Prix of his career and it certainly was a unique win. 

Because this wasn’t a win of speed or sheer racecraft. It was taking advantage of an opportunity and driving the cleanest race at the front.

The interesting thing is George himself said in his pre-race interviews that for him to have a clear shot at the win (given the speed of the two cars ahead) something would have to happen to Max and also Lando. And when miraculously something did happen to the lead two drivers George was there to capitalize. He said the circumstances that they would need for a win on his side, and when the circumstances presented themselves he was there to be able to take home the win. 

Just shows that sometimes running the cleanest race with the fewest mistakes is what will pay off. George was fast, he wasn’t the fastest. But given the way this race unfolded this wasn’t going to be a win of pure speed. 

Here you can see that George was by no means the fastest, however his management on the hards, which was more challenging this race, and simple consistency put him in his position.

George and Lewis were pretty evenly matched on pace. George was faster that first medium stint. Lewis made his hards last much longer. They were on a different tyre strategy by the end of the race so a comparison there is harder.

Good job George!

Final Thoughts

I have been really disappointed with how the main battle of this race has been reported on. British bias has always been a problem in the sport but this week it really came out in full force. I encourage everyone to read the actual rules and watch the footage for car movement yourself. When someone is telling you what is happening that can be misleading. Don't just listen to me either. I have presented my opinion, you can take it or leave it.

Interesting race from a footage perspective. I am optimistic about Ferrari going into the next few rounds. We'll see if I am proven right on that front soon enough.

That's all I got, see you all in Silverstone!