#kyalami 1982

[franzantonbeckenbauer]

Gilles Villeneuve, in him driver's strike era. Kyalami, 1982

[1337wtfomgbbq]

Andrea, walking up to Niki and Lole during the kyalami strike in the middle of the night: I had a bad dream.

Lole: What was it about?

Niki: No, don’t ask him that!

Lole: Why not?

Niki: Cause he'll answer!

[raikkonens]

f1 drivers aren’t going on strike like they used to….

[cazzyf1]

pls tell me everything you know about the 1982 drivers strike i think about it often

Right I about to go into as much detail as possible about the driver's strike while hopefully keeping it comprehensible.

*cracks knuckles*

Let's go.

So to give some overall context to the situation, Bernie Ecclestone was doing some meddling. He had control over the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) which meant he could negotiate contracts between teams, track owners, television rights, etc. Realising the sort of power Bernie Ecclestone was getting, the Federation Internationale de I'Automobile (FIA) put Jean-Marie Balestre in charge. There was a big power struggle between these two however both Ecclestone and Balestre united against the drivers in 1982.

At the start of the 1982 season, a new license called a 'super license' was put forward for the drivers to sign. This license was based on other sports, like football's transfer systems, meaning the drivers had fewer rights - their team owners essentially owned them. For example, the super licence meant a team could keep drivers to one team for up to three years, even if the drivers wanted to leave. This happened after, in 1981, Alain Prost was racing for McLaren, and he became convinced that the car wasn't safe. He refused to drive for the team, though he had a contract. He said if necessary, he would walk away from the sport altogether. Then Renault approached Alain Prost, and he joined them. A new license was created to prevent this situation from happening again.

1982 was also the season that (at the time) 2x World Champion Niki Lauda decided to come out of retirement. In 1979 he had been racing for Bernie Ecclestone's team 'Brabham', but halfway through the season, he walked away, finding no more interest in the sport. Eventually Ron Dennis, who ran the team 'Mclaren' tempted Niki back into the sport.

Niki was sent the super license a few days before the start of the season to sign, and being a stickler for detail he made sure to read through all of it. In reading it, Niki realised the control the team owners would have over the drivers and did not approve of it. Quickly, he rang up Didier Pironi who was head of the drivers association, to talk him through what he had found. Didier agreed that these licenses were bad and then called all the other drivers, telling them not to sign the licence. They had been late though, as 24 had technically already signed as they hadn't properly read the licence. The only ones that hadn't were Lauda, Pironi, Villeneuve who had seen something similar in ice hockey and didn't like it, Arnoux, Giacomelli and de Cesaris.

In South Africa, Kyalami the track was prepared for the drivers to start practising, and the drivers were arriving in their normal cars. But before they could get out on track, a bus pulled up with Niki Lauda and Pironi in it. Without their knowledge, Niki and Didier had managed to borrow a bus from Trevor Rowe and were ready to take the drivers back to their hotel at the Kyalami Ranch. They rounded up all the drivers and told them of their plans, and while they were hesitant, eventually, most of them were convinced to get onto the bus. Only two didn't. Jochen Mass, who was late (He's always late, someone said) and Jacky Ickx.

The team owner of March, John McDonald, caught wind of what was happening and tried to prevent the bus from leaving by parking a van in front of the bus. Jacques Laffite got out of the bus to move the van, accidentally stalled it, but eventually got it out of the way. The bus then set off, taking the scenic route back to the Sunnyside Park Hotel while every news van and car chased after the bus, getting clips of Niki Lauda looking out the back of the bus and waving at them.

Eventually, they arrived, and all of them strutted past the journalists and went into the hotel. Thus ensued a fun time for the drivers relaxing around by the pool for the day. However, things back at the track were not shaping up well.

Bernie Ecclestone and Jean-Marie Balestre were pissed. The race organisers threatened to impound the cars, Bernie Ecclestone threatened to sue the drivers, and Balestre announced if the drivers didn't come back, then they would all be fired. Bernie Ecclestone had already fired the drivers from his team, Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese. The mechanics put signs out joking advertising for new drivers. Didier Pironi was doing the main negotiations for the drivers at the track and reporting back to Niki Lauda at the hotel on how it was progressing. During the evening, when dinner was being served, the driver's wives and girlfriends, who were still at the track, started throwing bread rolls at Balestre.

Didier Pironi arrived at the hotel and explained that if they didn't return and drive immediately, they risked life bans. Niki Lauda realised that this strike would last the night, and he knew that if all the drivers returned to their own rooms, the team principles would easily be able to convince them to abandon the strike. They needed to stay united, which meant literally sticking together. He arranged to take over the conference room in the hotel and have all the spare mattresses brought into the room.

All the drivers moved into this one big room, and soon, the entertainment started. Many of the younger drivers felt quite panicked about the whole situation, worried that they would be fired for going on strike, which would have ended any career in motorsports, so they went to the older drivers like Niki for reassurance. Niki tried to lighten up the atmosphere by telling dirty jokes. Bruno Giacomelli, who was quite passionate about machine guns, got his hands on a chart and gave a presentation on how to take a gun to bits. There was also a piano in the room, and driver Elio de Angelis, trained to play the piano, performed for all the drivers. Everyone there said it was the most beautiful playing they had ever heard. Gilles Villeneuve also had a go playing a few joyful pieces.

The team owners and journalists had by now discovered that all the drivers were hiding out in this one big room, and they were trying to get in. At first, Niki gave an interview by the door, but he ensured no one would leave the room. One of the team principles, Mo Nunn of Ensign, had brought the driver, Guerrero's girlfriend, along as a bargaining trip. Niki made sure to accompany Guerrero to see his girlfriend. He said that the situation could have brought a tear to your eye. Eventually, they got the girlfriend away from the team principal and into the room. Team principal Jean Sage of Renault tried to get to Prost and Arnoux but was beaten off.

At this point, the team principals grew frustrated and decided to break into the room, so the drivers had to use the piano to barricade the door.

Then night came, and it was time for the drivers to get even closer. There were not enough mattresses for one each, meaning all the drivers had to bunk up. Many funny photographs have come from this event. Alain Prost and Giles Villeneuve shared a mattress, which led to Patrick Tambay saying if a child came from this, all the others might as well give up.

There was a problem with the toilet as there was only one and it wasn't in the room. There was a key to the toilet and so the drivers agreed to leave it in the middle of the room so they would know if someone left to the toilet and didn't come back. One driver, Fabi, ended up going to the toilet but did not come back.

During the night, Carlos Reuntemann or Keke Rosberg snored so loudly that Gilles Villeneuve threw a blanket over them to cover the sound.

In the morning, all the drivers got up, trying hard not to sniff the odour of the room and got ready to head to the track as Didier Pironi had been able to successfully negotiate a licence they were happy with. No drivers were fired, Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Paterese were rehired, and the race was successful. There were fears that the drivers could be arrested at the airport, but thankfully, that didn't happen. Instead, they were fined for taking part in the strike, which, while it didn't affect some drivers who already had plenty of money, it wasn't ideal for the drivers who were just getting started.

This is as much as I am able to remember; if you know anything more or if there is something wrong in this let me know in the comments below! Hope you enjoyed the read :)

[lellalombardiapologist]

sometimes i wonder what would have happened if senna had been present at the kyalami drivers strike in 1982

[placeholdetitle1]

Jackpot

the grid in kyalami at the time of the drivers strike

[vintageclassiccars]

The Maserati Khamsin is a grand tourer produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati between 1974 and 1982. The Khamsin was sold alongside the DeTomaso-based Maserati Kyalami — also a V8 2+2 GT car - between 1976 and 1982. Designed by Marcello Gandini, it was Bertone's first work for Maserati

[skylinegp]

1982 kyalami according to keke

[protocolseben]

can we get some 1982 kyalami strike shit for like next race thx

[whorekneecentral]

ANJJJJJJ🤗

First of all, happy belated new year🤭 (ik I disappeared for a while and I’m so sorry abt that but with A-Level mocks coming up I couldn’t take any chances when it came to revision haha)

Also, I’ve had weird F1-related dreams recently🤔 (which could be rlly good fanfic ideas tbh), and the ones I can remember are:

the 2010 season as a Mean Girls AU (Mark/Nando/Lewis as the Plastics and Seb as Cady),

the 1982 Kyalami drivers strike as a Wes Anderson film (this is more of a recurring dream but yeah😅 i imagine it as a comedy with a dash of old man yaoi iykwim🤭)

Anyways, hope ur doing ok bby 🩵🩵

- Nando Anon

happy new years!!

the mean girl au took me out

[cazzyf1]

Quotes about the 1982 Drivers Strike that I found funny/interesting (from a pdf of a book I accidentally downloaded)

So, if you haven't seen from my Twitter stream this morning when trying to research something about Niki Lauda for a friend, I came across a pdf link. Thinking it would just be a small article potentially with the answer I was looking for, I downloaded it. I did not notice the fact that it was 154 pages... to my surprise; it turned out to be a whole book about the 1982 season, specifically focusing on Keke Rosberg.

I've read through the chapter about the driver's strike and taken down some quotes that I found interesting. There isn't a lot of detail into what they all got up to that isn't already known, but there is a lot of useful information. Hope you enjoy :)

'You might imagine all this was just like every season, but 1982 was already very different. The Rat, you see, had smelt a rat.'

'Herr Andres Nikolaus Lauda of Vienna had furtive eyes which didn't miss much and a suspicious mind. On 24th December 1981, he sniffed the form from Paris the postman had just delivered and didn't like it at all.'

'The form was the product of events in 1981 when Prost, making his debut in Grand Prix racing with Mclaren, became convinced the car was not safe and refused to drive for the team again regardless of the fact he had a contract to do so. Prost told Teddy Mayer that, if necessary, he would simply walk away from motor sport altogether. Renault approached Prost, he joined them, and Mayer (by training a lawyer) discovered how problematic the law was if you tried to prevent someone from gaining their livelihood. The super licence form represented an attempt to prevent such situation recurring.'

'Lauda claims Pironi made phone calls and was able to prevent 'most of the other drivers' from signing, but in fact 24 did, leaving six refuseniks: Pironi himself, Lauda of course, Villeneuve - who had seen something similar in Canadian ice hockey and didn't like it - Arnoux, Giacomelli, and de Cesaris'

'I was just listening because Didier Pironi did all the talking,' Lauda would say. 'Didier completely unemotional. The important thing was to keep on talking.'

'At 7:00 on the Thursday morning a bus, arranged by GPDA secretary Trevor Rowe, drew up not far from the paddock entrance with Pironi and Lauda in it. Most of the drivers stayed at the nearby Kyalami Ranch Hotel and they'd be arriving early for a GPDA meeting before the hour-long practice session at 10:20. As each arrived they were invited to park their cars and get onto the bus. Mass didn't show up (He's always late' someone said) and Ickx refused. In fact, Mass had been staying with friends of his South African-born wife and so had been out of touch. He knew nothing about the bus but it wouldn't have made any difference.'

'The drivers were, as Lauda recounts is, going for a drive. With Lauda hanging out of the back waving, the bus set off, but as it left the bottom gate of the circuit John McDonald of the March team tried to block it. Laffite and some other drivers got out and pushed McDonald's car clear. Then the bus proceeded to the scenic route to Johannesburg some 15 miles away pursued by 'a whole convoy' of TV cameras, journalists and photographers. The bus went to the Sunnyside Park Hotel in the suburbs. It offered full amenities including a swimming pool.'

'At 10:19 the track opened for practice. The race organisers threatened to impound the cars if the race didn't happen and Ecclestone threatened the drivers that they would be sued for recompense if the cars were impounded. Throughout, Ecclestone adopted a hard line and at one point, in a remarkable interview questioned the value of drivers, "Nobody came up to me at Kyalami and asked where Jones or Andretti were. Already they're not missed. Why should any of the rest of them be missed? If it had suited Carlos not to come back, he wouldn't have given a stuff about F1 now, or whether the crowds came now or didn't. He couldn't give a dam if it suited him not to turn up. In the same way it suited Niki to walk out in the middle of a race. I think he said at the time 'I'm leaving because of policies, I just want to be a racing driver.' If you analyse it, the drivers just don't make any sense."'

'Pironi arrived from the circuit and explained that if they didn't return and drive immediately, they faced life bans. There seems to have been a distinctive mood at the hotel with very real concerns about what they were doing 'camouflaged by high jinks and laughter.' Lauda knew that the older drivers understood what the consequences might be. Ecclestone had already fired Piquet and Patrese. Lauda realised how difficult it was for the young drivers, facing the reaction of their sponsors. Lauda concluded that maintaining solidarity was crucial. Each driver had a great deal to lose.'

'At the Kyalami Ranch, during dinner, drivers' wives and girlfriends threw bread rolls and plates at Balestre.'

'The drivers in Hannesburg inhabited the conference room. "We ended up barricaded in it" Warwick says, "You know what was fantastic? I got to know my colleagues for the first time because, being a non-qualifier at the back of the grid, you don't get a chance to speak to the guys at the front. That was good. The other things that were massive when we were in that compound - we were there for 24 hours - was Bruno Giacomelli standing with a chart and dissecting an AK47 machine gun. He drew these magnificent drawings of how to take the gun to bits and so on. It was very, very funny because in the normal Bruno Giacomelli way he was very, very funny anyway. I think it was a big shock for everybody in authority because they thought they could control the drivers but, to be quite honest, I don't know that half of them in the room knew what we were striking for." Lauda kept their spirits up by telling jokes and, a piano brought, Villeneuve played light music and de Angelis classical pieces. "What really blew me away," Warwick says, "was that we had a piano in the room and Elio de Angelis started playing it. Apparently, he could have been a concert pianist and it astonished me - the other talents that some of these guys had. Then Gilles played Scott Joplin.'

'Many remember the performance by de Angelis. "Believe it or not," Derek Daly says, "the most vivid memory I have of being stuck in the hotel was Elio de Angelis playing the piano like a concert pianist. Remarkable. Definitely, definitely that was a gift, a talent of his.' Jarier points out that "it was a big room and Elio de Angelis played classical music and Gilles played. Very sympa. In that era virtually all the drivers stayed in the same hotels - Kyalami Ranch in South America, the Glen Motorhome in Watkins Glen and so on. A formula one team was 15, 20 people. There were far few journalists, far fewer television people and everybody knew each other." In other words, many of the drivers in the big room were not strangers to each other, however much those at the back of the grid had to be. Alex Hawkridge arrived to try and reach Fabi and Warwick. Fabi was easy to reach because, as it seems, he was already staying in the hotel and had his own room. "Teo we didn't threaten as such, we told him he was contracted to drive. He came out and I was able to speak to him. We reminded him he had signed a contract to drive, and the idea of solidarity wouldn't help him if he was without a drive and think where his best interest lay. Elio was playing the piano - astonishing - and I could hear him. He was a proper concert pianist.'

'The room was barricaded. An associate of mine pushed the door open and shouted their names, "Come and talk to us and we'll resolve this" Of course, as happens when you do that, someone pushed the other way and there was a bit of a pushing and shoving session - by a friend of mine called Douglas Norden, who is known to be a little aggressive when challenged. He was nothing to do with the team, just a friend along trying to help and it turned into a bit of a scuffle, the the door shut." Niki and the others saw it as a further restriction on the drivers' power and they wanted to stop it, and that is always the difficulty with change, isn't it? We were to have another example at Imola when the FOCA went on strike against the FIA. Through the history of human struggle there have been instances involving union. Lauda made sure the piano blocked the door so there would be no further scuffles, giving the police reason to enter. Mo Nunn at the Ensign tried to get Guerrero to come out by taking his girlfriend. When they saw each other they dissolved into tears and Lauda allowed him out to see her providing he - Lauda - came too. Jean Sage of Renault tried to get Prost and Arnoux but was beaten off.'

'The drivers ordered a room big enough to put 30 mattresses onto the carpet - that provoked prolonged ribaldry. At 11:00 pm they moved from the conference room to this dormitory and settled down for the night, having worked out an elaborate way of getting to the toilet across the hallway. It was conducted on the honour system with a key on a plate in the middle of the room. Lauda would remember, "I was sharing a bed with Patrese, someone next to Rosberg was snoring until Villeneuve put a blanket over him in the middle of the night, but all the time we stood together." Warwick would remember, "The drivers spent time with me and we spent a lot of time together - I was sleeping with them, exactly, yes! I haven't slept on the same mattress as Carlos Reutemann ever since, mind you..." To which Derek Daly says, "The funny thing is think I was on the other side because I have a picture of me beside Reutemann. I don't know if he snored. I do think he was still dressed in his driver's suit." Pironi said at the time, "We will see it through, FISA had too much to lose to let the Grand Prix be called off. I'm confident they will relent." "We'd had a lot of pressure because you had people like Jackie Oliver and Alex Hawkridge coming to the hotel," Warwick says, "We were threatened with our jobs if you don't get back there and that, of course, if why Fabi crawled out of the toilet window. He was the only one who broke ranks. He did the dirty on me. Everybody said they understood if I had to go back, I was explaining to people like Lauda, 'It's okay for you guys, you're going to have a job , you're some of the best drivers around but I'm the new kid on the block, my team mate's just jumped ship and I am very vulnerable' and every one of them said, 'We guarantee you will not be fired' In other words, if one is fired everyone goes. That gave me a little bit more confidence to stay there."'

'"It wasn't the strike which made me say, I don't want Formula One," Tambay says, "I enjoyed the strike! It was the best time I ever had with all my friends, although it was a very costly reunion with them. WHat I didn't like was Teo Fabi sneaking out behind our backs to try and get back into the car, and what I didn't like was that I knew we had been screwed - they (Balestre & co) had said "Come back out to the circuit and everything's going to be all right" and I knew we were all screwed"'

'And there, grinning broadly (he usually did), stood the strong, square figure of Brian Henton - available for selection as of this second, Jackie Oliver gave Henton the Tambay drive, but that morning, Henton became embroiled in a tug-of-war between the arrows management and Herr Lauda. Arrows 'were bollocking me saying "Get in the car" and all the rest of it' Henton remembers, 'And I am just about to go out for practice and they needed my signature on their petition. I'd got the team shouting in one ear "Get in that car and get out there" and, just as I am sitting Niki Lauda - who been massaging me all the time and I'd been saying "No, no, no" - rushes up with this petition, he 'hit' me at the right time, "Just sign this, sign it, sign it" I thought I only want to get out onto the track.'

'Lauda records how, throughout the weekend, there had been rumours that once the drivers reached the airport to fly home they would be arrested, although on what grounds it is difficult to say, what happened was quite different. During the race the stewards issued a statement given to each team, saying the drivers Super Licences were being suspended. Three drivers, Fabi, Mass and Henton - were spared: Fabi because he'd gone to the track prepared to drive, Mass because he had driven, and Henton because he got the Arrows drive after Tambay withdrew following the strike. Francis Tucker, steward of the South African Grand Prix, said, "For the purpose of running a race, a temporary truce, was called in the disagreement between the drivers and the officials. The truce lasted until the end of the race. At the end of the race, the truce agreement position was terminated. This means that the position which existed prior to the agreement is effectively reinstated.' The drivers were suspended immediately and each paid 300 Rand to appeal the decision. Fisa said they supported the suspensions and Executive Committee would meet in Paris on the following Thursday, January 27.'

-

And that is all that I took down about the Driver's Strike of 1982. I hope that it was an enjoyable read for everyone!

I feel a bit bad that I accidentally got a free copy of this book, given that the author I've read other books from and it one that I like a lot, and that when looking the book up, it is rather expensive. But these things accidentally happen, and anyone could accidentally look up this exact search on google: Niki Lauda "snored" - and then see the first link that is a pdf of 154 pages titled 1982, which then they could click and get the full copy of the book. These accidents happen. And it is always good to have a virus scanner to check any file you download just in case, my phone seems safe but it's better safe than sorry.

Enjoy :)

[identifying-f1-in-posts]

[1] 23rd January 1982 Kyalami Grand Prix Drivers Strike

need the 2024 grid to have a sleepover rn

[gayferrari]

okay gpda/f1 safety is my thing :D in 2015, the gpda said 'they would never relent in improving safety'(1) and yet qatar was allowed to happen. is this because the drivers didn't see a problem until the race happened? idk.

honestly the main issue the gpda may/has had is having the drivers all agree on smth. nowadays, all drivers are members (2) which gives them some credibility and influence as they are/would be acting as a united front. however! actions that they would have to take to get the fia to change anything are fairly 'drastic', on the lines of striking/boycotting circuits (1982 Kyalami (3), 1970 Nurburgring, 1969 Spa (4)) which isn't something they want to do bc it risks their contracts (in terms of being replaced for the race/for the season (obv not all teams have this option but the ones that are a big deal do. therefore it's risky)) and would be smth they need to do all together to have any impact. different drivers obviously have different levels of stability with their teams and their careers (eg. lewis striking would have less impact on his career than idk zhou/logan). so they don't want to take that risk. the gpda doesn't want to have to force them to take that risk.

could the drivers boycott qatar? absolutely. there are a couple of problems here though. qatar is very expensive as a race bc of qatar airways as a sponsor - if the drivers were to miss/boycott it, there would be backlash. I don't think this should be a reason for them to not want to do it, but yknow not my decision. there's a lot of money in f1 and at the moment (and honestly for a lot if not all of the sport's history), money is more important than driver safety. qatar is not the only risky/dangerous circuit on the calendar but we've seen the risk there more obviously recently. another reason they couldn't/wouldn't boycott qatar is bc of when it is in the calendar. potentially (incl. last year), the title can be decided/confirmed there. missing this race would be damaging to a driver's title challenge.

the main issue with safety in sport is and always has really been money. they lose money if drivers/riders/athletes can't perform. not a good thing, but it's the way it is.

(1) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/33583328 (2) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42314309 (3) https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/kyalami-drivers-strike-5053026/5053026/ (4) https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/f1-history-1969-belgian-grand-prix-never-happened/

(apologies for the rant lol)

tldr of my last ask: money is too big of a deal for the drivers to do anything and always has been but esp in qatar. it's unfortunate but it's very true they are paid to perform and they won't be if they boycott/take any action.

anon, I agree with everything you said! in the immortal words of ABBA, money money money, etc. I brought up Qatar specifically because last year's race was honestly unnerving as hell and I'm truly lowkey worried that this race will be worse than last year, given the general trend of temperatures in 2024 compared to 2023. hopefully nothing bad happens.

this went off on a wild tangent from a casual discussion about Oscar's rib but anyway, I think a normal amount about collective action in professional sports leagues so I think you're very sexy and smart for typing this up! I'm blowing you a huge kiss. hmu off anon whenever if you want to go all George Russell at me 😳

[diarioelpepazo]

El neerlandés puede consagrarse de forma anticipada y conquistar este sábado su tercer título en la Fórmula 1. Otras coronaciones que fueron ese día. Cuál es el récord de Vettel que no podrá batir Max Verstappen logró 13 victorias en 16 Grandes Premios disputados en 2023 (AP Foto/Toru Hanai) Este sábado Max Verstappen puede alcanzar su tercer campeonato en la Fórmula 1 debido a que el Gran Premio de Qatar tendrá carrera Sprint. El neerlandés de Red Bull, que cumplió 26 años el pasado 30 de septiembre, tiene chances matemáticas de liquidar el pleito con anticipación este fin de semana en el Autódromo de Lusail, que otra vez volverá a tener actividad nocturna. Verstappen manda de forma holgada con una cosecha de 400 puntos, luego de conseguir en Japón su victoria número 13 en la temporada. Le sacó 177 unidades a su compañero de equipo, Sergio “Checo” Pérez (223), el único que tiene chances matemáticas de disputarle la corona. En las últimas seis fechas del campeonato -contando Qatar- habrá en disputa 180 puntos, sumando las seis carreras del domingo (cada una otorga 25 puntos al vencedor y 1 por el récord de vuelta) y las tres Sprint (Qatar, Estados Unidos y Brasil), en las que el ganador se lleva un máximo de 8 unidades. La cuenta es sencilla: Verstappen solo necesita firmar tres puntos en lo que queda de la temporada, ya que en el hipotético escenario que Checo Pérez logre alcanzarlo en unidades de aquí al final del año, no podrá batir al neerlandés porque tiene más cantidad de victorias, 13, y el mexicano llegaría en el mejor de los casos a 8, contando las competencias dominicales, que son las que valen a la hora de un virtual desempate. El rendimiento del Red Bull RB 19 y el manejo impecable de Verstappen permitió esa sociedad exitosa que acaricia su tercer campeonato (Taidgh Barron/Zuma Press Wire/Dp / Dpa De esta forma, Verstappen no está presionado para conseguir una posición de privilegio, algo que igual se descuenta que podrá lograr por el nivel de su RB 19, el auto de este año empleado por la escuadra de la bebida energizante. Con que Pérez no termine en el podio en el Sprint de Qatar, el neerlandés se habrá asegurado su tercera corona en la Máxima. Te puede interesar:Checo Pérez elogió a Max Verstappen: “Está a un nivel que no había visto” En Qatar habrá 34 puntos en disputa, 8 al ganador del Sprint y 26 en la carrera del domingo. Si Checo fuese cuarto el sábado, sumará cinco unidades y llegará a 228 puntos. En el caso de que luego gane todo lo que resta en el año y que Verstappen no sume nada (contando los últimos cinco eventos), llegará a los 400 puntos que hoy tiene Max, pero no lo podrá superar por el tema de las victorias. Esta puede ser la sexta vez en la historia que un campeonato de F1 pueda definirse un sábado, aunque en las anteriores ocasiones ocurrieron porque no había carrera Sprint. La primera vez fue el 12 de diciembre de 1959, cuando se consagró Jack Brabham en Sebring, Estados Unidos. Luego, entre la Navidad y Fin de Año de 1962, el 29 de diciembre de ese año, Graham Hill se coronó en East London, Sudáfrica. Más tarde, el 17 de octubre de 1981, fue un día inolvidable y triste para todos los argentinos ya que Carlos Alberto Reutemann perdió el título a manos de Nelson Piquet en Las Vegas, Estados Unidos. Allí también el año siguiente se volvió a definir un sábado, el 25 de septiembre 1982, cuando Keke Rosberg se consagró. Por último, hace cuatro décadas, el 15 de octubre de 1983, Piquet logró su segunda corona en el Kyalami, Sudáfrica. Red Bull ya consiguió su sexta corona de Constructores en Japón. En Qatar llegaría la consagración de Verstappen (REUTERS/Issei Kato) En este campeonato el paso de Verstappen y su Red Bull fue aplastante. Pudo batir el récord de Sebastián Vettel (también con Red Bull) de nueve victorias al hilo en 2013 y Max llegó a diez en el Gran Premio de Italia. Aunque hay una marca que no podrá doblegar del retirado piloto alemán, que es ser el tricampeón mundial más joven de la historia: Seb tuvo 25 años cuando lo consiguió 2012.

Te puede interesar:Lewis Hamilton reveló por qué nunca aceptó unirse a Ferrari en la Fórmula 1 El tránsito de Verstappen por este campeonato fue contundente. A sus 13 victorias se suman sus dos segundos puestos y la quinta colocación en Singapur fue su “peor” resultado en el año. Su rendimiento le permitió a Red Bull lograr su sexta corona en el Mundial de Constructores en Japón. Verstappen no lo dirá por una cuestión de respeto y de códigos internos. Pero él ya se siente tricampeón mundial. Solo resta saber cuándo firmará esa corona y todo está dado para que sea este fin de semana y es probable que se dé este sábado. Para recibir en tu celular esta y otras informaciones, únete a nuestras redes sociales, síguenos en Instagram, Twitter y Facebook como @DiarioElPepazo El Pepazo/Infobae

[taffyvontrips]

some thoughts on the 1982 drivers' strike and a little context

So, I’ve been feeling a little odd about the 1982 drivers’ strike for a while, and I’ve been mulling over it. The reason I haven't written this post before now is because I know that a lot of people in this community are attached to the strike! I am not immune to this! It’s a great story, unexpected and fun, rich with lore. I mean, who doesn’t love union action? Who doesn’t love a good strike? 

I really hate to be a buzzkill and I don’t mean to attack anyone—not any users here (definitely not!), not any drivers either really (maybe Bernie Ecclestone though). I guess I just mean this post as a conversation starter. 

Anyway. People like to use the example of the 1982 strike when they’re trying to make points about modern F1. For example, when the race in Saudi Arabia was in question because of airstrikes happening near the track (I still can’t believe that went ahead, but I digress), and when Domenicali made that asinine statement about drivers’ political engagement, a lot of great posts about the strike were suddenly doing the rounds on modern f1 tumblr. Look at what they managed to do before! people were saying. See how ridiculous it is to say that Niki Lauda wasn’t political! Look here! They organised a strike, maybe they’ll do it again! We love a strike! We love a union!

And good for the drivers for sticking up for their workers' rights and so on. Good on Niki Lauda and Didier Pironi for not rolling over.

However.

Something that has always quietly gnawed away at me ever more since first learning about the strike was the fact that it took place in South Africa, in 1982, during apartheid.

If ever there has been a place where F1 should not have raced, it would be South Africa during apartheid. 

The cognitive dissonance is pretty extreme to me. There was an active international campaign going on at the time to try to pressure South Africa into not being a racist backwards hellhole; musical artists were strongly encouraged not to go there as part of a large cultural boycott, trade embargos were in place, the country was excluded from the Olympics and most sports organisations. An exception to this? Formula One. While these very rich white Formula One drivers were gallivanting on Kyalami Ranch or in the Sunnyside Park Hotel, which was whites-only, the majority Black and Coloured* population were being brutally oppressed, deprived of their civil rights, displaced from their homes, and kept in poverty by an explicitly white supremacist regime.

Were the F1 drivers striking over apartheid? 

Were they striking, perhaps, because non-white people did not have equal access to the GP? 

Were they striking, maybe, because the Black employees at Kyalami didn’t have the right to vote? 

No. 

They were striking because they wanted more control over their contracts. 

If the strike had happened anywhere else, I would enjoy the story without reservation. But it didn’t happen somewhere else, it happened in apartheid South Africa. I think it’s maybe good to keep that in mind as an extra dimension when we talk about the strike. It’s also useful when we think about F1’s relationship with politics—internal and external.

F1 is rumoured to race at Kyalami again next year, and I for one am very excited.

Please reblog with any additions and perspectives you may have!

*a term used in South Africa with different connotations than in other places

[lellalombardiapologist]

@waterfall-of-snow the other instance of a mpreg joke happened at the kyalami drivers strike in 1982, courtesy of Patrick Tambay:

Time for sleep, it was decided, and here there was further scope for humour, for the mattresses were doubles. Villeneuve and Alain Prost bedded down together, prompting Patrick Tambay to speculate that if any child resulting from this liaison became a racing driver, the rest might as well not bother.

If I had 5 cents for every mpreg joke made by a classic f1 driver I'd have 10 cents which isn't much but it's way more than what I would've expected