(Red Bull Racing)
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix went down on Sunday, with the two chief protagonists - Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) and Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda) - squaring off against each other for the World Championship title. You can watch the video highlights (below) for the big picture of the race. Verstappen started on pole but lost the lead to Hamilton on the first lap. A coming together between the two saw Hamilton run wide and cut a corner. Red Bull wanted him to give back the position but were told he had wiped out any advantage gained. Hamilton led by 11 seconds heading into the final few laps before a safety car came out after Nicholas Latifi crashed. At first, the race director said that lapped cars wouldn't overtake the leaders but then said they had to, leaving a final lap shootout between Verstappen and Hamilton. Verstappen, on fresher tires, passed Hamilton to take the win and the world championship. Mercedes has lodged two protests against events in the race (both were denied). Watch the race highlights here. (Thanks to Gary Rose/BBC.com) (12/21)
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix went down on Sunday, with the two chief protagonists - Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) and Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda) - squaring off against each other for the World Championship title. You can watch the video highlights (below) for the big picture of the race. Verstappen started on pole but lost the lead to Hamilton on the first lap. A coming together between the two saw Hamilton run wide and cut a corner. Red Bull wanted him to give back the position but were told he had wiped out any advantage gained. Hamilton led by 11 seconds heading into the final few laps before a safety car came out after Nicholas Latifi crashed. At first, the race director said that lapped cars wouldn't overtake the leaders but then said they had to, leaving a final lap shootout between Verstappen and Hamilton. Verstappen, on fresher tires, passed Hamilton to take the win and the world championship. Mercedes has lodged two protests against events in the race (both were denied). Watch the race highlights here. (Thanks to Gary Rose/BBC.com) (12/21)
(F1)
(BBC.com)Kimi Raikkonen has been speaking about his final race in F1 ending in retirement: "Sometimes in a sport it goes like that. I am happy. I am looking forward to a normal life outside of the race weekend. We can actually plan something as a family. It is hard to plan when we are doing this work because things change quickly. It is great to have the freedom and be at home with the kids. They grow up quickly." (Thanks to BBC.com)
Editor-in-Chief's Note: I purposely didn't comment on what happened in Abu Dhabi - until now - because I was so disgusted with the whole thing I couldn't bring myself to type any words. Now that I've given the entire episode time to settle, I do have a few things to say. First of all, as longtime readers know, I find the current state of F1 to be loathsome. The cars are hideous to look at, and they're saddled with pathetic, wimpy engine sounds that have no compelling visceral appeal whatsoever. The "business" of F1 is even worse. The powers that be in the sport have chased the money for decades now, adding races to add revenue while almost completely destroying the integrity of the sport. It's a Greed Circus unlike any the world has ever seen. And the sanitized, colorless tracks - which have multiplied to a disheartening degree - yield predictably boring racing for the most part. Yes, it started with Bernie Ecclestone, but it has been perpetuated and taken to an even darker place by the current management. The fact that the end of the climactic race of the 2021 season was botched to an unprecedented and embarrassing degree was simply inexcusable. It was a Bush League Bullshit call to end the race under those circumstances. Sir Lewis Hamilton was flat-out robbed, and to end the World Driver's Championship that way will be a black mark on the sport for the rest of time. As for Verstappen, his in-race conduct throughout the year bordered on amateur Formula Ford racecraft, and his deliberate moves to "off" Hamilton were so much Bush League Bullshit too. He's an exceptional talent burdened with a classless streak that is very unbecoming of someone carrying the title of "World Champion." And I reserve special derision for Horner, Wolf, Masi, et al. for conducting themselves like spoiled children. Masi chatting up Horner and Wolf during races was completely ridiculous and unacceptable. And Horner distinguished himself as a petulant whiner, while Wolf did himself no favors by throwing around protests when it was clearly a gigantic waste of time. Sir Lewis Hamilton conducted himself with class and composure befitting the seven-time World Champion that he is. It is really too bad that the rest of his sport is incapable of doing the same. -PMD (12/21)
His Final Lap
By Charles Jenckes, Lead CFD Process Engineer, Williams Grand Prix Engineering
Grove Oxfordshire, England. The 16th of December in Grove Oxfordshire was warm for December and was a typical grey English day. On this Day Sir Frank Williams took his final lap around the factory that bore his name and he and his family made world renown.
The world championship and race wining Williams F1 cars were lined up in front of the factory and added brightness to a drab day. Each car looking prepared for a hot lap at Silverstone. Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg; Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Jenson Button; Juan Pablo Montoya, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Ricardo Patrese and Jacques Villeneuve all drove for Sir Frank Williams’ Williams Grand Prix Engineering.
The factory staff lined the road around the car park as the hearse drove slowly around. Not a sound from the 600 plus lining the road to pay their respects. Just before the hearse arrived at the front of the factory, a Royal Airforce helicopter cut through the air over the tops of the trees. The pilot banked the craft and its crew flew back over the factory just as the hearse came to a stop in front of the factory and the gathered Williams F1 cars. With the sound of the helicopter fading, a F1 engine shrieked to life. It barked and ripped the quiet away from the factory. Just as abrupt as it had started, the engine was cut. The hearse drove away to the funeral. The staff quietly queued back into the building to resume work on the FW44 for the 2022 F1 season. (12/21)
By Charles Jenckes, Lead CFD Process Engineer, Williams Grand Prix Engineering
Grove Oxfordshire, England. The 16th of December in Grove Oxfordshire was warm for December and was a typical grey English day. On this Day Sir Frank Williams took his final lap around the factory that bore his name and he and his family made world renown.
The world championship and race wining Williams F1 cars were lined up in front of the factory and added brightness to a drab day. Each car looking prepared for a hot lap at Silverstone. Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg; Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Jenson Button; Juan Pablo Montoya, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Ricardo Patrese and Jacques Villeneuve all drove for Sir Frank Williams’ Williams Grand Prix Engineering.
The factory staff lined the road around the car park as the hearse drove slowly around. Not a sound from the 600 plus lining the road to pay their respects. Just before the hearse arrived at the front of the factory, a Royal Airforce helicopter cut through the air over the tops of the trees. The pilot banked the craft and its crew flew back over the factory just as the hearse came to a stop in front of the factory and the gathered Williams F1 cars. With the sound of the helicopter fading, a F1 engine shrieked to life. It barked and ripped the quiet away from the factory. Just as abrupt as it had started, the engine was cut. The hearse drove away to the funeral. The staff quietly queued back into the building to resume work on the FW44 for the 2022 F1 season. (12/21)
 (Trans Am Championship images)
After coming close for the last three years, Chris Dyson brought home the 2021 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA championship following an outstanding season. The driver from Poughkeepsie, New York, won seven of the opening 10 races in the No. 20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang, clinching the title with one race remaining. While Dyson missed the season finale at Circuit of The Americas to concentrate on family matters, late substitute Matthew Brabham took a dramatic last-second triumph to give the team its eighth victory. "Winning the championship was massive for me, personally, on a few levels,” Dyson said. “Trans Am has been one of the linchpins of America road racing for decades, and to be alongside some of the great champions – many of whom I saw racing as a kid – it’s hard to put in to words how meaningful it is, being considered a Trans Am champion.” Coming from top-level LMP1 and LMP2 (675) Prototype sports cars in ALMS, SRP and Daytona Prototype in Grand-Am, Dyson enjoyed the transition to the Trans Am race cars. “In all the forms of racing I’ve been able to compete in, I raced in cars at the top of the tree for their respective style of racing,” Dyson explained. “I think when it comes to GT-level racing, the Trans Am cars are hands-down the most monstrous cars you could possibly be racing. The actual driving is so rewarding in the Trans Am cars because there are no driver aids. The cars demand a lot of you as a driver, and reward precision and aggression. There’s a nuance between the two that’s endlessly fascinating and challenging.” For 2022, expect to see Dyson back in action in Trans Am. “Right now, our priority is to come back and defend our Trans Am championship, and hopefully build on what we’ve done so far,” he said. “I know the competition is not going to rest easy, and we’re already eagerly preparing for 2022.” The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli is one of the longest-running championships in motorsport, and will celebrate its 55th season with a diverse 12-race 2022 schedule that will include multiple road courses, a roval and a street circuit. Trans Am’s 2022 roster of races will be staged at legendary venues across the United States as part of SpeedTour, IndyCar Series and NASCAR events with the season kicking off at Sebring International Raceway February 24-27. (Thank you to Trans Am Media) (12/21) 
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