Me, myself and some haphazard stories about Formula One.

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Brief description of Formula One in a photo : where 20 drivers would race against each other for a win, for a championship.

July 17 was a memorable day for F1, and that prompted me to finish this article even though it's quite late, I couldn't delay it to the next day.
Me and my 7749th part of trifling stories, wandering thoughts.

I have known Formula 1 for a very long time and have been passionate about it since about 2-3 years ago. And perhaps, the first impression of the sport is the racing car with the most modern and advanced technologies to ensure the lives of the racers.

However, no machine or equipment can guarantee absolute safety. Especially when they belong to cars that often rush at a speed of no less than 100km on races with sharp corners, terrain, and dangerous weather conditions. July 17th is probably a very ordinary day for everyone, but for F1 racing and its fans, it is a milestone for each of these people to be aware of the dangers in the sport that seems to have reached the strictest standards of safety.

Since the terrible crash of the legendary Ayrton Senna in 1994 at the GP San Marino, F1 has constantly improved, improved safety for racing cars, and no one expected that 10 years later, a tragedy would happen. Another fatal crash happened, after relentless efforts to ensure the lives of the racers. During the white rain on the Suzuka track (Japan) in September 2014, Adrian Sutil of Sauber team had an accident and needed a crane to move his car off the track. And while the crane was working at the edge of the track, the car with number 17 driven by Jules Bianchi lost control and collided with the crane at high speed. The days that followed were the time when everyone did not stop hoping that the young driver, a talent of the Marussia team, would recover, would return, and would be able to be a part of Scuderia Ferrari as his wish or the wish of so many fans. Yet fate played with hopes on 17/7 of 7 years ago, something bad happened, I don't want to talk about it here because it's painful, whether for Jules fans or simply F1 viewers, even for those cheering on his opponents!

Seven years after Jules' catastrophic collision, F1 is still constantly improving safety with new parts on the car, including HALO. The device named "halo", shaped quite like ... sandals (the most realistic description) was opposed by some people when it was first released but saved the lives of many racers.

Charles Leclerc in the crash at Belgian Grand Prix 2018. 
Romain Grosjean in the crash at Bahrain Grand Prix 2020.
Max Verstappen in the crash at the British Grand Prix 2021.
Lewis Hamilton in the accident at the Italian Grand Prix 2021.
Most recently, Zhou Guanyu in an accident at the British Grand Prix 2022.
And many other racers have been protected by technologies that would not have been overlooked if it weren't for the Jules crash.

It's just my effort when I'm trying to find the bright spots in a very disconsolate event!

Of course, everyone hopes that the horrible accident didn't happen so that they can see Jules Bianchi - a promising young driver - race for Ferrari, continue to achieve success in a budding career, and the most important thing is to be alive. 7 years have passed, and now Charles Leclerc - a brother that Jules was very close to during his lifetime - has been writing Bianchi's unfinished dreams: to become a Ferrari driver, to win many points, to win the battle with the racing team from Italy which has an abounding tradition. Speaking of racing perspective, I still support Max Verstappen but from an emotional perspective, I hope that when the 2022 season ends, the championship will belong to Charles Leclerc because it will be a beautiful ending not only for the season. but also for Charles, or Jules far away.

Jules Bianchi, surely Formula 1 lovers will not forget you!

In conclusion, Formula 1 has always been a tough, dangerous and brutal sport, and not only me but many other fans are aware of that when choosing to follow and be passionate about it. However, sometimes, some things make our thinking go beyond our perceptions and attachments. And perhaps, we need those reflections to change our perspective on our favorite sport, like the way F1 is constantly changing, all for the safety of the driver, so that the remains of races are the joy, the excitement to the extreme, the aftertaste will be the sweetness of champagne for those on the podium, not the fear, anxiety, suffering, bewilderment.

 

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Formula One drivers were joined by the family of Jules Bianchi on the grid of his afternoon’s Hungarian Grand Prix as the sport paid tribute to the late French driver with a minute’s silence.
I'm not confident enough and not strong enough to post a separate picture of Jules or the accident that haunted me that year. So, I chose a photo where all the drivers had come together to remember him before the 2015 Hungarian race. The drivers in the photo in particular, and the drivers in general may have different backgrounds, coming from the team. Different racers, life ideals, racing styles, and maybe even rivals, but they all have an endless passion for racing, and almost every weekend they are betting their health and life for the sake of racing. So, instead of attacking and criticizing the drivers who we don't love, why don't we respect them for the dangers they face while competing in the sport we're following?
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From left to right, this is a photo of 4 French drivers : Anthoine Hubert, Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly when they were young.
From left to right, this is Anthoine Hubert, Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly. They are brothers, close friends since childhood, and have a passion for speed, sharing the desire to conquer races. Leclerc, Ocon, and Gasly have been, are, and will continue to shine in F1. As for Hubert, he will forever no longer have the opportunity to accompany his friends as in this photo, he died while racing in F2 - a slightly lower format than F1, during Belgian Grand Prix 2019. Once again, we could see how brutal motorsports can be. Of course, I say that with no intention of boycotting this sport. Why should we cyber-bullying, and threaten to kill the racers when they know that every time they get in the car, and rush away as soon as the signal light goes out, they can lose the friend they've been attached to for a long time and maybe even forever lost the chance to see the black and white checkered flag raised at the finish line?
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Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collided, Italian Grand Prix 2021.
Although I didn't want to post this photo (honestly, I don't like Lewis Hamilton) but thanks to HALO (the protective ring separating the tires of the Red Bull car from the helmet) that Lewis was saved in the Italian Grand Prix 2021. If the legislators and car developers had listened to Lewis' objections about HALO a few years ago: "ugly", "weird", no one can forecast how many days like July 17th would happen in F1, and no one can assure that Lewis Hamilton can survive after that crash.
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