[Misc] F1 2021

[pb21]

Oh, of course, but he never lays into the team when he's standing being interviewed. When he's being booed by elements of the crowd is probably not the best time to start doing that either.

He saves that for team radio and, I'm sure, behind closed doors.

Well it does seem like Mercedes messed up the strategy relative to Red Bull who got it spot on; I think it would be reasonable to expect him to be disappointed with that.

Either way, as he said potentially better in the long run to start behind Verstappen, assuming that Verstappen doesn't break check him again...

 

[Hugo Rune]

23 seconds for a pit stop, Max will have to go some to build that up if he two stops and Lewis one stops.

Intriguing and exactly as we wanted it?

Yes. Perfect qualifying. It should make the start incident free unless Lewis gets ahead of Max (and then we know the ramifications if that happens!).

Lewis then needs to track Max and go for as long as he can. Max will probably have to rejoin in traffic on medium tyres whilst Lewis maximises his mediums and then gets to be super fast on softs for the last part of the race. Both will 1 stop I think.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Which, of course, is great news for Hamilton: he can blame the team for poor strategy relative to Red Bull, ergo it's not his fault.

Nope, as usual he is being humble in the post quali interview. Here’s hoping my man wins and yours doesn’t :

Magnanimous as always, congratulating his rival, fist pumped him on his way passed, honest with his assessment.

Oh, of course, but he never lays into the team when he's standing being interviewed. When he's being booed by elements of the crowd is probably not the best time to start doing that either.

He saves that for team radio and, I'm sure, behind closed doors.

Maybe flogging it harder will get it back on it's feet

 

[Scappa]

Unconfirmed reports that Mercedes are set to unveil a new suite of safety devices ahead of tomorrow's race

 

[Icy Gull]

Maybe flogging it harder will get it back on it's feet

It’s pretty well the only stick to beat Lewis with if you are a Hamilton hater though

 

[rogersix]

hopefully a dull race with hamilton putting in a few quick laps when mv pits and no contact

 

[Nitram]

Lewis is still in this, Max will have to two stop while Lewis has option of one. So it could be Max chasing down Lewis in the final laps on soft tyres while Lewis is managing his hard tyres. Perez is in a better position to play wingman than Bottas so Bottas needs to have a flying start to be of any help.
Max won the last race on this track at a canter last year (although the track has changed slightly) but Lewis was not at his best due to the after effects of COVID.
Advantage Max but all to play for.

 

[sjamesb3466]

Can't wait for this tomorrow. Am a LH fan and think he can do it, I think the strategy will be all important which favours RB as they are generally better when it comes to strategy in my opinion but being second gives Lewis the option of being aggressive and trying to force matters. It's easier to make bold calls from second than first

 

[mwrpoole]

It’s going to be good to watch for sure. History says this is a one stop track on mediums & hard. RB start on soft’s which are the quicker tyre but not by enough to warrant using it & 2 stops. Can Max get ahead & manage the softs for a 1 stop or can he go hell for leather to make 2 stops work. I think either way without any mishaps we should see Max or LH closing on the other with better tyres in the last few laps. All set for the last lap pile up

 

[WATFORD zero]

Bubbling along nicely for a cracking game tomorrow

 

[Hugo Rune]

It’s going to be good to watch for sure. History says this is a one stop track on mediums & hard. RB start on soft’s which are the quicker tyre but not by enough to warrant using it & 2 stops. Can Max get ahead & manage the softs for a 1 stop or can he go hell for leather to make 2 stops work. I think either way without any mishaps we should see Max or LH closing on the other with better tyres in the last few laps. All set for the last lap pile up

I think 1 stop for both cars. Max will be looking for track position, he can shred his softs and then go hard on his mediums to get ahead of Lewis, once he has done that, Lewis will struggle to be ahead but will be much faster in the last 10 laps or so.

Max will then be in control and will need to engineer contact that ensures Hamilton does not get past. He’ll need to be very subtle but because he is such a good driver, he may be able to make contact look like a 50/50 to the stewards, even if it’s mostly Max’s fault, are the FIA really going to change the result of the Championship?

 

[pb21]

Max will be looking for track position, he can shred his softs and then go hard on his mediums to get ahead of Lewis

I don't think he has any mediums left, he has to change to soft or hard?

 

[mwrpoole]

I think 1 stop for both cars. Max will be looking for track position, he can shred his softs and then go hard on his mediums to get ahead of Lewis, once he has done that, Lewis will struggle to be ahead but will be much faster in the last 10 laps or so. He’ll then be in control and will need to engineer contact that ensures Hamilton does not get past. He’ll need to be very subtle but because he is such a good driver, he may be able to make contact look like a 50/50 to the stewards, even if it’s mostly Max’s fault, are the FIA really going to change the result of the Championship?

They’ve issued the warnings but I really can’t see them deducting points if Max is to blame for both of them crashing out, because as you say Max will manage the situation to argue it was a racing incident gone wrong.

 

[Hugo Rune]

I don't think he has any mediums left, he has to change to soft or hard?

Thought he had a scrubbed set but I suppose Hard wouldn’t be that different and would definitely get his to the end. The risks for him is going for a very different strategy where Hamilton and him are not wheel to wheel at some point. That means that he can’t use his super aggression on Lewis which is key to him winning in my opinion.

 

[pb21]

Thought he had a scrubbed set but I suppose Hard wouldn’t be that different and would definitely get his to the end. The risks for him is going for a very different strategy where Hamilton and him are not wheel to wheel at some point. That means that he can’t use his super aggression on Lewis which is key to him winning in my opinion.

I'm not 100% on the tyre issue TBH, thought I heard that mentioned! It's definitely going to be an interesting race whatever.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Oh, of course, but he never lays into the team when he's standing being interviewed. When he's being booed by elements of the crowd is probably not the best time to start doing that either.

He saves that for team radio and, I'm sure, behind closed doors.

I must admit, I hadn't noticed the booing until the highlights tonight. I assume that the UAE are traditionally big supporters of Belgium/Netherlands drivers for historic reasons.

Looking forward to a cracker tomorrow

 

[Hugo Rune]

I must admit, I hadn't noticed the booing until the highlights tonight. I assume that the UAE are traditionally big supporters of Belgium/Netherlands drivers for historic reasons.

Looking forward to a cracker tomorrow

There are 5,000+ booing Dutch fans there!

 

[WATFORD zero]

There are 5,000+ booing Dutch fans there!

I always thought British expats were THE most nationalistic and I've always had a great time when I've been in the Netherlands

But not tomorrow, Come On Lewis

 

[Guinness Boy]

Was anyone else surprised that Lewis again went out ahead of Bottas on his last run, having seen the power of the tow?

For me Merc are probably quite happy to be second and looking to win it on strategy, rather than have Max on softs gunning for Lewis at T1. Sit LH in behind and wait for the tyre deg. Lewis looks after his well (though I think we're all past seeing through the "these tyres are done. man" radio call ).

Either that or Bottas' last act in the team is to screw over the guy who's always made him look as average as he actually is.

 

[giveusfalmerplease]

being british im trying to be objective here but when you look back at the incidents this years, i cant think of one that was Hamilton's fault. Verstapen seems to have this mental attitude that he cant sacrifice the lead (in any race) and if he does he'll just casually try to take hamilton out doing in. The worse incident was the one went he went straight over a corner and mounted on top of Hamiltons car, clearly an insane move and never an accident. Also in the last race Verstappen was handed two time penalties but they became pointless because he was so ahead of third place. I think they need to tighten up on the rules for every driver and infringements should be treated like yellow/red cards in football - maybe 5seconds first infringement , 10 seconds OR 1 place whichever is the greater impact and 3rd strike black flag the driver.