I think we are in for an interesting race tomorrow with a Redbull and an AT starting outside the top ten moving up. Hamilton did what he could but Max still had it when it counted. I think Pierre will be really happy with the pace in his car too.
I think we are in for an interesting race tomorrow with a Redbull and an AT starting outside the top ten moving up. Hamilton did what he could but Max still had it when it counted. I think Pierre will be really happy with the pace in his car too.
That was interesting...
Red Bull with Max is super fast! I was wondering why they did Q2 on the softs, but that was an impressive pole set of laps.
Mercedes is not where they want to be, but IMHO, not as bad as everyone thought they would be- they are still right there.
So the race tomorrow will be interesting, as we know Max will probably lead the first few laps on the soft tires. Then what happens?
Red Bull kind of screwed the pooch with Checo, but I guess they were trying to split the strategies putting him on the mediums. I do want him to just be better than Aston Martin, given how he was dropped from a team he had put so much of himself to them.
McLaren looks really fast, but the jump by Ferrari was so much more.
And Gasley? Man.
My excitement level is through the roof. I love how close people are and the splitting of teammates (except for Mercedes and McLaren) in the front. Strategy should be very interesting tomorrow.
alfadriver (Forum Supporter) said:That was interesting...
Red Bull with Max is super fast! I was wondering why they did Q2 on the softs, but that was an impressive pole set of laps.
I think Max is starting on the mediums for the race? I assumed Mercedes was faster than what others were predicting, but kinda surprised Max clipped them by that much.
-Rob
In reply to rob_lewis :
I presumed that too but went back to check, he is on the softs. He must've just cruised around for his Q2 lap to save them for the race start as his pace wasn't anything special at the end of that session.
Also, it'll be interesting if the MazeSpin yellow will result in a change of the grid.
It seems like the new tires, or aero, or something has really affected the ability of the drivers to put together a lap. Lap time position has been really erratic all weekend.
After fp2, they did the side by side of Max and Lewis best laps. They were dead even except for one turn, where Max picked up two tenths.
One little mistake...
Gasley was really impressive. He's either showing that Red Bull made a mistake in cutting him or that Red Bull is bad at managing drivers. After a while, if all your drivers (but one) suck, you have to ask if maybe it's not your drivers that are the problem...
The Alpha Tauri looks really sharp too. They may be a team to watch this year.
Between the shortened testing period and the shorter practice times, the drivers really have very little real-world seat time by this point. It's no surprise that they're still learning the cars and being a bit erratic.
I just finished watching quality. Max's lap was shown from the incar. It was error free. Perfect. Almost looked easy.
Can't wait to see every ones race pace tomorrow. Happy to see the red cars perform well and Riccardo out perform Lando in qually.
Yup, points are awarded on Sunday (except for Saturday Sprint races) so I can't wait to see how it all shakes out with the different tire strategies. The loss of rear downforce under the new rules and running the harder new Pirellis should add up to some great action
I expect that it will be a one stop race.
Based on the tires, I've already guessed that Max will drive off from the start- although wheelspin matters. So the real question is how fast the reds drop off relative to the advantage over the mediums. Then the question is how are used mediums compare to new hards?
IMHO, Lewis has enough with his car that he can keep pace, Valteri- maybe they have found the car issue.
The midfiled will be really interesting- having seen Alpine suck in practice, it was impressive to see Alonso make it to Q3.
A good old McLaren v Ferrari match will be fun, as will seeing what Gasley can do.
The one thing I for sure want (as I've posted) Perez to beat Stroll. And by Stroll, I mean Lawrence. Checo saves a team to present it to Stroll on a platter, and this is what he gets. Good that Red Bull got him.
Last year, the Mercedes worked best on harder tires - probably because it was working them more. I think we're going to see some good strategic battles. And the first corners could be interesting. It might actually be good if Max can outdrag Hamilton so we don't get any argy bargy right at the start.
Lewis and Max tangle at the start and DNF, Bottas has concentration fade, Danny Ric and Lando 1 -2. Not gonna happen, but I can dream . . . seriously, I hope to see a good close race between Lewis and Max, and see the McLarens in the top 5.
Was it me or did Lewis seem genuinely excited about the prospect of a good fight with Max this season? I'm not convinced we will see a traditional race with one of the usual suspects winning
loosecannon said:Was it me or did Lewis seem genuinely excited about the prospect of a good fight with Max this season? I'm not convinced we will see a traditional race with one of the usual suspects winning
Not just you- I thought that too hearing his comments. He enjoyed racing with Sebastian when the Ferrari was fast, so....
Aww, Vettel received a grid penalty and starts last. Could his career at Aston Martin start off any worse? Getting out qualified by Stroll and now this? Ugh!
Marzipan better be bringing a lot of money to Hass. Two spins in quali and a solo crash at the back of the pack on turn 3.
...and the FIA wouldn't let 9 time rally champion Sebastien Loeb have a Superlicense. Too bad he was relying on talent instead of being a Russian bazillionaire's kid.
Keith Tanner said:Last year, the Mercedes worked best on harder tires - probably because it was working them more. I think we're going to see some good strategic battles. And the first corners could be interesting. It might actually be good if Max can outdrag Hamilton so we don't get any argy bargy right at the start.
Given the struggle Mercedes had with the rear end so far, I thought there was a chance that they hve lost that advantage.
But now seeing how this race is playing out, they have not really lost it. While Verstappen is closing on Hamilton, I kind of think that it's Lewis managing the race- especially seeing Valteri keep close to Max, and even slightly close on him.
Long way to go.
In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :
So much for Mercedes managing their tires- that was an early stop for hard tires. Can Lewis close enough to keep these tires under him the rest ofthe race and keep Max behind???
I don't think so, I think Max will have this one. Unless Mercedes learned something from that first set of hards about working them too hard for the first laps, it's a big ask to take them to the end with any performance at all.
Lando has been huge fun to watch so far.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Agreed. I think Max will be fast enough at the end to pass him- this is a pretty easy track to pass on.
I fear it will be a boring DRS pass. Fingers crossed.
WOW
Excellent finish
So did Max give the spot back or was there so much debris on his tires that he could not drive out of the corner???
OK- just heard that he had to give the spot back. But seeing the last few laps, he had dirt on his tires that were pretty bad.
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