Thursday Morning O/R/T: Cuck Norris, Obama Declines, RX Retro Review?

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in happier times

Apologies for the late publication on this; I’ve been up in the air and away from the computer, as some of you already know.

Multi21, or just playing fair?

I might be remembering this wrong, but wasn’t this supposed to be a boring season in Formula One? And isn’t the Hungarian GP supposed to be boring no matter what? Well, that’s why they run the races. Observations, in no particular order:

• This was a bad weekend to be a professional strategist. The normally unflappable Hannah Schmitz badly under-served Max, to the point where he, in a German-language interview, suggested that he should also perform the strategy role from within the car during the race. At one point the camera zoomed in on her and she appeared to be crying. McLaren’s strategy, on the other hand, was excellent, allowing Lando Norris to effortlessly undercut Oscar Piastri… wait, he drives for McLaren, and he was supposed to get the tires first.

• So, if you’re Lando, do you give the position back? In his seat I’d have done it immediately. He’s not certain to challenge Max for the championship this year, and he needs the goodwill of his team. Or I’d steam forward to the win and apologize afterwards. Rather than either of these two responses, Lando chose to… wait. And to force a series of embarrassing conversations with his race engineer. It made him look childish — but many F1 WDCs have been childish. What they tend not to be is : indecisive.

• Lando was so angry he snapped at Lewis in the post-race room. “You had a fast car”. “You had a fast car seven years ago.”

• Meanwhile, Max and Lewis appear reasonably okay with their collision. I agree that it was a racing incident, or close to one. Of course, Lewis was lucky in said incident; he almost always is.

• Did Yuki out-drive Ricciardo yet again, or did he just get a better strategy? Either way, the Mandatory Japanese Driver is now holding twice as many points as his celebrated teammate.

• Logan Sergeant continued his habit of qualifying behind Alex Albon but ahead of Sergio Perez. Albon, meanwhile, was remarkably unpleasant to his pitwall. Not the leadership behavior for which he is so often praised.

In other F1 news, Esteban Ocon is now confirmed to join Ollie Bearman at Haas. Should make things interesting, anyway — but from a distance it sure looks like a shotgun pointed directly at one’s foot.

I still think Max is likely to win the WDC. I no longer would bet my own money on RedBull winning the constructors’ championship. Prediction: Lando finishes second for the year, Lewis third, as George Russell succumbs to the general Mercedes policy of treating him like a backup driver regardless of results.

Is it a coronation, or a confrontation?

Your humble author will likely go to his grave dissatisfied with the way Kamala Harris was anointed our next President in perhaps the least democratic process this country has seen since the 19th Century. This is a woman who couldn’t pull above one percent in any primary vote ever taken. There are a dozen Democrats who poll better than she does. Let’s not even talk about the fact that the media, and the opinion-makers in this country, declared Joe Biden out of contention based on a JPEG image posted via Twitter, even though this image stood in direct contrast to multiple in-person declarations on Joe Biden’s part and was not confirmed by a living Joe Biden for a full four or five days after it was posted. Seriously. This would be like Lyndon Johnson declining the nomination via a classified ad in the Peoria local newspaper, then avoiding the media afterwards.

Nevertheless, Queen Kamala it is, based on a straw vote by unelected delegates.

Except.

President Obama has deliberately declined to endorse her. And he is someone whose word continues to carry tremendous weight in the cloistered circles that choose our blue President. Is this merely a case of him expressing distaste for the way this particular sausage was created? Or does he have a plan for his hometown convention, one that could range from “Hire my wife” to “I’m baaack”? I mean, he’s only 62 years old! A child, by today’s Presidential standards!

At the very least, this makes a profoundly unpleasant story a bit interesting.

To review, or not to review

On Friday, I’ll be releasing a full data-driven review of the mighty Sebeco SPX. In the meantime, I’m driving a 2022 Lexus RX350, courtesy of a rental car agency that apparently has a hard time letting go. Is this worth a review as well? Does anyone care about the previous-generation mommy-wagon? Would it be amusing to hear what Danger Girl thinks of it? (Hint: she has not been complimentary.) Let me know your thoughts.