The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix managed to spark a meme-fest starring the Aston Martin F1 driver, Lance Stroll. Interestingly, the memes weren’t necessarily to troll the Canadian, but to take veiled digs at the French TV channel that was directing the entire race.
Considering Monaco offers no room for overtaking, fans had to keep their eyes wide open in a bid to not miss out on any such rare actions.
Luckily enough, midway through the race, a shocking wheel-to-wheel action took place between Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly. But what followed was a massive heartbreak for the viewers.
How TMC faced the wrath of F1 fans
Vettel was attempting an over-cut against Lewis Hamilton and Gasly, as the German entered the pits after a long stint on the soft tires.
Following a quick pit-stop, Vettel joined the track only to be greeted by the AlphaTauri, who ended up right alongside him on the narrow stretch between turns 1 and 2.
The duo raced each other until turn 2. But neither the fans nor the commentators got to know the end result, as TMC decided it was the perfect time to show the replay of Lance Stroll scraping the barriers around turn 15 and running over the kerbs, a replay that was already shown.
The reaction from David Croft, who was commentating on the action, said it all. “What has happened? We need to know who’s gonna come out in front,” Crofty yelled.
The Lance Stroll memes
The timing couldn’t have been any worse, and fans had no other option but to embrace the funnier side to this impeccable mishap. Then arrived the train of memes on that incident, and the constant entity present on all of them was Stroll.
Every single meme sported the same formula. The memes start with an intense wheel-to-wheel action taking place between drivers. When the crucial point arrives in that nail-biting battle, the action is abruptly cut and diverted to induced another clip that left the entire F1 fandom red-faced.
Yes, you’re right. It is the same old Stroll clipping the turn 15 barriers and running over the kerbs around turn 16 at Monte Carlo.
Should F1 be blamed?
The answer is no. F1 has no control over the direction of the races in Monaco. Unsurprisingly, It is the same story this year as well. A French TV channel, TMC, holds the responsibility and control over what should be broadcasted over the weekend at Monte Carlo.
Of course, F1 letting other channels broadcast a race isn’t new, considering BBC controls the actions at Silverstone and Fuji Television for Suzuka, Japan. But, TMC’s run in Monaco this season was nothing but horrible, and the entire F1 community felt that.
So, will the sport take necessary actions to avoid such mishaps from happening in the future?
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