Obi-Jiff Kenobi

Whatever Max has done or not done to aid Checo, having to rely on bodyguards for his safety is totally unacceptable. It’s only a sport after all.

When sprint races were first announced, I was against the idea. Nothing has happened yet to change my mind.

I really hope the FIA prevail if there is a civil war between FIA & FOM. I intensely, thoroughly dislike the direction the ‘sport’ has taken, and disagree on a fundamental level with almost every new rule change or regulation. Having said that, this increase in maximum fines is purely an FIA decision, nothing to do with FOM, but I do think Mr bin Sulayem is talking sense when he says he’d like to see more teams and fewer races in the future, as well as his push to get the Andretti team on the grid.

Mine arrived today, and it’s very impressive. Mrs Obi-Jiff said it looks really nice, but isn’t worth the money. Of course she’s wrong, but it would be rude to correct her.

For UK viewers, the NASCAR race is live on Viaplay Xtra on Sunday evening.

Well, I had a word with the purser last night, and she agreed this was a worthwhile investment. Rails of Sheffield have sold another deluxe set, with an order for the bar car and Pearce & Crump bus also placed.

Mary had a little bear, And a forgetful mind, She’d often go out for a walk, And leave her bear behind.

Very interesting choice of loco. Personally, I’m very tempted by the Tottenham Gas Works version due to family connections with the area. It doesn’t really go with my only other O gauge loco (1928 Flying Scotsman) but oh well...

Yeah; ‘comedians’ like that can *@#% off!

Hopefully it’ll cost Liberty a vast amount of lost revenue.

I’m really looking forward to the BTCC finale. I’m not a huge fan of Ash Sutton, but as a Ford fan I’m rooting for him all the way.

Very expensive way to tell your lad that he needs to move on, though.

A joke. A joke! My kingdom for a joke!

Liberty and the majority of the teams want to turn Andretti away to safeguard the value of the existing teams (and not dilute their share of the prize money); but it seems to me that a major US team, with a very recognisable name, the backing of General Motors, and a near certainty of signing an American driver, would mean a much greater chance of F1 going stratospheric in the States. That would mean that 12 teams would share a much larger prize pot, instead of the current smaller amount being divided 11 ways, and the value of Liberty’s “product” would be increased, which would boost their income when they sell F1 to the next investor. I can’t see why any of them feels it’s a good idea to exclude Andretti - talk about cutting off your nose...

I’m veering the other way. I cancelled my order some time ago, and have regretted it ever since. Now I’m on the brink of re-ordering, going for the de luxe version, although I’d also have to get a suitable DCC controller. And build a layout to run the thing.

Personally, I feel there’s a case to be made for adding 4 more teams (to make a 28 car field) but only allowing 26 cars to start the race. That would increase the level of competition at the back of the field, and might even mean that teams would sign drivers more on the basis of talent than wallet size.

No more buttered scones for me, mater, I’m orff to play the graaahnd piaaahno.

That’s pretty much what Mercedes have done the last couple of seasons, and look where it’s got ‘em.

No, you’re thinking of Finland, which was made up to keep Japan’s fishing grounds north of the Baltic a secret.

Sargeant has intimated that the coming together with Bottas was Bottas’s fault because he failed to avoid Sargeant’s mistake! 🤪

Did anyone see the announcement that the stewards admitted they got it wrong in Singapore, and Verstappen should have been given a grid penalty for impeding in qually, not a reprimand? Tell us something we didn’t know...

There is also a story that Williams may be after Lawson to replace Sargeant, or even Albon, who is being linked with other teams. Mind you, I’m not sure where Albon could go, unless it’s to McLaren to replace Norris, who could be off to Red Bull, leaving Perez wanting a new seat.

Great idea. Metro and Maestro were really popular in their day, and although modelled at the time (Corgi, Scalextric) they haven’t had much love since, at least until Oxford’s 1/76 versions. If nothing else, I’d love to get hold of Datapost & McCain’s racing Metros in 1/43.

I haven’t enjoyed a qualifying session that much for quite a while. 😄 As for Red Bull possibly being compromised by the technical directive clamping down on flexible aero parts, we’ll only know when we get to the next track or two. It’s unlikely it would have hurt them that much, but they did win in Singapore last year, despite the same compromises of the car being designed for all circuits and Marina Bay being a unique type of track.

As an aside, there’s a Bond Bug a few streets away from me, regularly parked on the road and still in use. Elsewhere in the same town there’s a Reliant 3-wheeler hot rod, complete with roof-mounted rear wing.