Christmas Day is less than two weeks away, and if you haven’t yet found a gift for the Formula 1 fan in your life, worry not, we’re here to help. Fun with Cars combed Amazon and found 6 must haves.

 

 

1. Legos! For anyone with a penchant for building, Denmark does more than make quick Magnussens. Legos sells these super cool F1 Technica sets. Jim has one, I know because I bought it for him.

LEGO Exclusive Technic Grand Prix Racer 42000

 

 

2. More Legos! Not everyone needs thousands of pieces to get the Lego experience, this kit offers the same feel, but with a simpler build.

 

LEGO City 60025 Grand Prix Truck Toy Building Set

 

 

3. The Ron Howard film, Rush, covering the 1976 championship battle between Niki Lauda James Hunt. Brilliant!

Rush (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD UltraViolet)

 

 

4. Or, if you prefer a documentary, listen to Michael Fassbender describe F1 as it progresses from its early stages into the 1990s. It’s a fascinating film, I love it.

1 The Movie (Formula One) [Blu-ray]

 

Actually, Jim and I watched them both together.

Check it out here

 

5. A mechanic’s Tale, by F1 commentator Steve Matchett offers insight into what it was like on the other side of the pit wall.

The Mechanic’s Tale: Life in the Pit-Lanes of Formula One

 

 

6. You know, some folks just want clothes. I found that too, here’s my favorite.

2014 Williams Martini Racing Zip Polo

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Robin

Since we saw Mercedes humble its competitors at the 2014 Formula 1 season opener in Australia, it seemed inevitable that the Drivers World Championship would eventually be contested between the Silver Arrows teammates: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. At the United States Grand Prix on November 2nd, the only other driver with a shot, Daniel Riccardo, was mathematically eliminated and proved inevitability correct. With the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale fast approaching, it’s down to two drivers and 50 points. Hamilton holds a 17 point advantage, but Rosberg dominated last weekend and won the Brazilian Grand Prix, so he carries momentum. Who will win? Statistics say: Hamilton.

I devised this fun little chart outlining all the variations on results between Hamilton and Rosberg:

Green means Hamilton wins, blue means Rosberg wins. The number within each cell is the margin of victory (Rosberg’s are negative because of the math I used). There are 110 different possible outcomes of the Abu Dhabi GP. In 85 of those outcomes, Hamilton wins, Rosberg in 25. Because of Mercedes supremacy, only four of those outcomes are likely:

1) Hamilton Wins, Rosberg in second
2) Rosberg wins, Hamilton in second
3) Hamilton wins, Rosberg DNF’s
4) Rosberg wins, Hamilton DNF’s.

In three out of four of those cases, Hamilton wins.

Put it another way, if Hamilton finishes second or better, he becomes Drivers World Champion, regardless of how Rosberg finishes.

Almost all F1 fans agree that double points for the last race are silly…stupid…gimmicky—a mistake. But our best argument for reverting back to the 2013 points scoring system is that double points aren’t likely to change the outcome. Here’s a theoretical chart without double points, but all else equal:

In this case, Hamilton would have a slightly stronger statistical chance at the championship, but notice that the four likeliest scenarios I listed before remain the same.

So there you have it, the Fun with Cars nerdy version of championship math. And now for our prediction: Daniel Riccardo hops on his magic Kangaroo and boomerangs back in time several Grands Prix, wins them all, and the 2014 Formula 1 Drivers World Championship!

-Robin Warner

Both Robin and Jim have a long history with the automotive press, and this latest video from /DRIVE channel goes behind the scenes with Car and Driver Magazine for their major annual track testing event, Lightning Lap. Starting about four minutes in, Jim makes an appearance, talking about the technology he brings to the event, and has done for years. It’s an interesting view into our lives when we’re not talking about Formula One.