Turkey I believe. Dropping him is an option but I would be shocked if they did.
I heartily second **Novelty Bobble’s ** linked documentary - it’s really chilling how deadly F1 was back in the day. There’s some pretty horrific footage in there though so if you’re sensitive to watching people die you might want to give it a miss. The long shot at the end of one driver trying to save another from a burning wreck is one of the bravest and most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen.
Back to the OP, the drivers are in teams of two, and the team bosses have a plan for the whole season. As others have pointed out there are all sorts of rules about engine and tyre usage that need to be planned for, which a driver in the midst of racing may fail to take into account. Overtaking a teammate at a time when the race is all but won as a 1-2 for the team is a stupid risk and Vettel really should be punished for it by his team.
well, maybe it’s more popular than I thought, but in any case (and as my reference to football shows), what I’m saying does not really rely on how popular it is or isn’t. There’s plenty of things that are really popular but there’s still people that don’t know much about it. If that’s true for football, and it is, then surely it’s also true for Formula 1, which may have a big and devoted following but is not quite as ubiquitous as football is (in the sense that even people not following it would hear about it and learn as through osmosis). I think your surprise about people not knowing Jackie Stewart says more about you then it does about the OP.
As a long-time fan, I’ll second posts 5 and 7. Very accurate.
Additionally, if you read Webber’s comments in the post-race press conference, he spells it out in pretty plain language. He mentions the huge money at stake, the 1000 employees of the factory and how the goals for the team are not always in the best interest of the fans.
I could be wrong, but I recall hearing that the world-wide popularity of F1 is second only to soccer (football).