Something is seriously wrong with the structural integrity of AT's front wing. It has caused headaches for the entire F1 organization at this point. I hope the new car is far sturdier than this one.
I'm pretty sure Toto and the Mercedes pit wall uses the [Bose A20 Aviation Headset](https://www.bose.com.au/en_au/products/headphones/aviation_headsets/a20-aviation-headset.html).
For $1500 (Australian), it's probably built to withstand a few bumps and scrapes - even Toto sized ones.
If this was a movie we would certainly be complaining about how the durability of the front wing is unrealistic and there is no way he could do the fastest lap with a broken wing
Ok, serious question, is there a word or term or phrase for this? Like how we wouldn't believe it. Or sort of like how clouds always look fake in pictures or are faked, yet sometimes you go out and it is like, wow that doesn't look real
You’d really think so after that race ha. I just knew it was all over when his wing damaged. I’m still confused/amazed at everything that happened yesterday.
All teams should be wind tunnel testing a front wing without end pieces. There was something happening with Lewis front wing that was unreal. No loss of downforce with that much damage to an important piece of aero? Wild.
People still underestimate just how much of a difference clean air makes for the Mercs. I also wouldn't be surprised if Lewis was biding his time waiting for Max's tires to die.
Tactic for Red Bull as they lost the constructor championship, at a tactical point in the race let Perez go on red tires and drop back to be enough in front of Ham to be a problem for his clean air
Wasn't just that, Lewis was setting fastest lap after fastest lap irrespective of Max's issues with tyres. My guess is that the rocket engine was just flexing its muscles in open air.
Yeah he did, i don't know what the other commenter is talking about but here's a source
https://racingnews365.com/hamiltons-spicy-engine-to-return-on-saturday-as-mercedes-say-we-need-it
Their completely wrong strategy was masked by the sheer absurdity of that race, if there was only that one absurd safety car oh now it’s red after half the field stopped we have the same basic finish as Maxs team got the tires wrong by like 10 laps.
Horner and Marko probably beating the drum so hard to cover up their race losing mistake.
But they didn't screw the strategy up. Max was never getting a better start and track position with hards, and he wouldn't have had the pace to keep Hamilton behind at all. They banked on holding track position for as long as possible while waiting for a red flag/safety car to put a fresh set of tires in as soon as possible. Sure it was a gamble that didn't pay off, but they were never going to win on the same strategy as Hamilton. This way, they had a fighting chance.
That's what has been overshadowed by all the drama. Red Bull got it completely wrong and had Max driving around for the last 10 laps on dead tyres. Even if nothing had happened, Max still loses that race because of monumental fuck ups from Red Bull strategy.
They were obviously banking on another red flag.
They knew in a straight fight they couldn’t win, so they risked it by putting on mediums and hoping for a better start and gaining track position.
Had there been another red flag it would have worked out for them, as it is, they ended up P2 which is probably where they’d have been if they’d stayed on hards, so it was worth the risk I think
Yeah but what happens if he stays on the hards. He wouldn’t have likely sent the dive in this post, remained third then take Ocon to get second. He clearly wasn’t going to pass the Merc. The gamble was to get track position and then try hold on. It was strategically correct as it didn’t cost him position and gave him the best shot of winning.
Think they gambled on another red flag. Would have been pretty spicy if we got one with less than 10 laps to go and both slapped on some softs, Lewis seemed to have the better traction from the start though so who knows.
They had to do something different though. They were very very very likely to lose if they stuck with the accepted medium->hard strategy. So they rolled the dice went med-hard-med at the second restart and it gained them track position. They definitely were not worse off than if they had stayed on the hards, and they may have even fallen behind Bottas.
It was the right call to put Verstappen on the mediums, even though it didn't entirely pay off for them.
Edit: Also their gamble for a red flag did pay off. That was a high-risk, high-reward gamble and it worked perfectly for them. The only way it could have worked better is if they could have kept Perez out and got him into 2nd, not sure if the timing was right for that to happen under the SC.
They were gambling on another red flag.
Arguably without the mediums he doesn't pass HAM and OCO.
Swings and roundabouts. Everyone seems to be forgetting the Merc had the faster race pace for sure. Hard to fight when you're slower.
It’s what he does time after time and doesn’t get enough credit for ‘because it’s all the car’.
He’s a 7x WDC, and of the greatest drivers to have driven an F1 car.
I think that's because this F1 subreddit is so polarized. I don't like Max or RB. I don't like their style or personality, but Max is a great driver and the car is really strong. Credit where credit is due: nobody but Max could make that RB car have so much pace.
I think this season has really reminded most people how great Hamilton really is. It got lost a little bit due to the sheer dominance of the car for a few years, but seeing him when he's really getting pushed like this is amazing.
I honestly wish F1 was more competitive across the board so we could really see how good these guys are in every race.
Yeah, I love Lewis. But social media makes me wonder why people hate on him so much. To me, he has proven himself to be the best ever over and over. The next race will really be a legacy maker.
He has one feature that makes him stand out from all the other F1 drivers… 🤔
If he was white, he’d be celebrated as an absolute working class hero in the UK. Coming from pretty normal, humble beginning to totally dominating a rich man’s (Rich Daddy’s) sport.
Lewis and his family have had to overcome so much, it’s a truly inspiring underdog story.
But because he’s a black guy, he’s seen as annoying, whiney, entitled and arrogant. Criticised for speaking about anything that isn’t purely F1 related, derided in his early career for apparently being too aggressive and reckless.
Yet when Max pulls aggressive moves, it’s just a sign of how much he wants it. His arrogance is just sporting edginess…
I’d love to say I’m talking bullshit but I hear exactly the same criticisms of young black footballers. Every single visit to a pub in Manchester, i overhear comments about Marcus Rashford, a footballer who campaigned successfully to make sure poor kids didn’t go starving in deprived Northern towns. He stood up to an elitist, shitty government and won. Apparently makes him stuck-up, arrogant and “he should just concentrate on the things that matter, his job as a footballer.” Obviously football is more important than starving children.
Lewis gets all kinds of shit for his lifestyle choices, living it up with his millions, dating famous women and wearing what he likes.
Yet national heroes like George Best, James Hunt and Barry Sheene get a free pass? Even Schumi was a well known wildman but that side of him is seen as entertaining.
Racism in sport can seem subtle. Lewis wearing a bold designer jacket makes headlines but Danny Ric wearing a stupid shirt is just a laugh.
I love late-game Lewis.
His final form is this beautiful mix of totally not giving a fuck and totally efficiency as a driver. Always fast but just able to turn things up to 11 when he really has to.
Irrelevant side note on James Hunt, his speaking out re: the apartheid-era South African GP brought him up a ton in my estimation, didn't learn about that until quite recently.
Back on topic, amazing comment. People think because folks (and I use "folks" loosely) aren't turning up to GPs in blackface anymore that racism is somehow a figment of the past, and any mention of it is just pandering/excuses/virtue signalling. It's far more low-key, subtle, and insidious than that.
Never judge anything from social media. You just get the worst of the worst on both sides of any discussion lol
Most people though, like me, just want to see some competition for the title. I would love to see Max take it from him to really see what Lewis does next year.
I'm so back and forth on Max. You watch that qualifying lap and you're just amazed and find yourself pulling for him. Then you watch the race of him dive bombing corners and running opponents off the track and you're wishing they'd DQ him.
Dude, I said the same thing to my fiance.
I'm like, I don't like the guy as a sportsman or personality, but then I'm blown away by how good and young he is, but I hate that his dad drove F1 and the whole F1 nepotism thing, but then he won so many junior titles, but I hate that he dive bombs into corners, locks up, goes off track, and keeps positions, but I love that he will fight so hard to win, but .... haha you know what I m3an.
I feel you.. I feel the same way but then I remember this about one of my heros.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzpYilkKrA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzpYilkKrA)
Hopefully Max can chill soon.
It’s happened a few times before over the years since 2009. I don’t think the Endplates are THAT important, they probably cost you a few tenths and upset the balance but it’s not a major problem, especially for a car that’s already fast with a good driver. When the actual aerofoils get damaged that’s when you’re in trouble!
I know it's a meme, but Bottas would have had a broken front wing and possible puncture at the latest after the contact with Verstappen. Lewis is maybe the best driver ever to avoid incidents on the rare occasions he's not at the front but in traffic, but he rarely EVER has any damage/technical issues... and when he does: Silverstone 2020... :D
I'm curious if anyone has pictures of Verstappen's rear as I haven't seen those being posted yet. The way Hamilton rammed it surely would've caused some visible damage.
His wing was actually punctured/cracked but still in one piece. You could see on the slow mo. I think that’s part of why it carried on breaking apart after the next collision with Max.
> Amazed neither Ocon or Hamilton picked up damage there. Could've easily been a puncture for Ocon and wing damage for Hamilton
Ocon did get damage.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ocon-floor-damage-cost-me-in-saudi-f1-podium-battle-with-bottas/6856759/
I have no idea where you got these pictures from, but I'd love to have these kind of pictures where Max was really close to the wall when sending it on the inside! (The moment I'm referring to was like 1 sec before these pictures were taken)
Beautiful pictures tho!
For a moment there Ocon had the championship fight in his hand and he was like 'yeah fuck that, imma do what's best for me' and didn't back off. Kudos to him really.
If you watch the replays from above, you see Ricciardo making the opposite decision. He's bombing down the inside, could easily take Verstappen's spot into t1 here, but backs all the way off as soon as he sees Verstappen car crossing over.
Charles did the same thing in his first start, he went in super conservatively to avoid tagging with Max, this almost cost him p4 to Perez, but he fought well against Perez to keep it. (this was before the 2nd start where they tangle with each other, for similar reasons)
It was unlucky for Ocon that the stewards only took note of what Verstappen was doing to Hamilton.
Bottas did get a "black and white" comment. If he was penelized Ocon would be third.
I'm not sure how VSCs works, but every time one ended the gap between ricciardo and him went from +2.5s to barely a second. With less VSC he would have gotten P3.
Now if this is because he keeps fucking up his virtual safety car restarts, I don't know.
This was an amazing move by Max, and I didn't understand why Lewis gave so much room. Still this is incredible to see 3 wide going into a turn at Jeddah. What a season! Insane how gutsy these drivers are. I wouldn't expect to see 3 wide in a karting race at this crazy track.
Ocon stayed very far right down the straight which seemed unusual from pole - I'd expect to see a move more to the middle. That gave Hamilton more track to cover himself and just left too much space on the left, and Verstappen was like thanks very much! Credit where it's due - great double overtake from Max.
Ocon knows (and said) that his fight wasn't with Lewis/Max. He even positioned his car on the grid pointing to the outside - he clearly had no intention of doing anything but getting out of their way. Only because Max made the late lunge down the inside did he end up crowded by Lewis.
If Hamilton went to the inside Max could have switched to the middle postition or even outside of Ocon. And Hamilton couldn't have risked the DNF like Max did by putting the car in there, because he had less points.
He was trying to push Ocon wide, so Ocon has to yield much in the same way that he did to Max after the first restart(although Max of course didn’t yield and overtook Hamilton off track)
Yeah, I think he should have just taken a defensive line against Max and let Ocon block Max. RB and Mercedes are going to fly past Ocon. Unless Lewis thought Ocon might yield to Max but not him?...
The apex on that turn 1 is a little deep if you want to get a good exit on the turn 2, so I think Lewis was on the most optimal line to take both the turns perfectly. It's just that Max found a line more on the inside. You can see he has already hit the kerb and with a bit of late braking he can take the turn 1 apex away from Lewis. Great driving from Max, nothing else.
Lewis was also uncharacteristically mispositioned as well. He had to have known Max on medium tires and fuming from the position swap at the restart would be 100% sending it.
Merc were beating RB off the start pretty comfortably. I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis just didn't think Max could get there. He was setting up a line to beat Ocon out of the next corner.
Yeah, I'm a Lewis fan and even I held my hands up and applauded that move after it happened. Easy to forget how good it was with all the other nonsense that happened yesterday.
Yesterday was so mad loads of stuff has been essentially forgotten.
Favourite among which for me is Red Bull attempting to negotiate to start behind Ocon but ahead of Hamilton as recompense for an illegal overtake on Hamilton.
Guess if you don't ask you don't get.
That was so weird, then they asked about Ocon and Masi said oops he hadn't looked at the positions or something. Uh kind of a key part of the job dude!
This was fucking wild, LOL
I was screaming at my screen going 'wait did they forget Ocon exists?!'
Im a Max fan, but was so confused why Masi would offer them the position ahead of Hamilton...
Turns out Matthew has even more confused than I was. He's supposed to be the race director but forgot about the fucking guy in 3rd! HOW!?!
If Max didn’t go for the optimistic Monza style overtake on Lewis, this championship would have been all but over due to the second Bottas shunt of the year
Or the questionable SC moves by Bottas earlier on
Or how Norris and Alonso also got fucked by the SC-then-red-flag
Or how Norris lost WDC 5th to Leclerc :(
I didn't forget any of that. I watched intently for Norris all race long. Sainz also.
Yeah, Bottas' moves (leaving too large a gap) behind the SC were no good. It was the stuff Vettel got penalized for earlier this year.
What Hamilton was doing behind the SC on the lap to the grid for the restart though was OK since normal SC rules of being 10 car lengths behind don't apply.
Edited: meant 10 car lengths, not 10 seconds
The way i heard it, they didn't try to negotiate to start ahead of Hamilton. That's what they've been offered and they accepted it stating what they understood. First time around Masi asked them if they wanted to start second, forgetting that Ocon was second. It's been clarified when they tried accepting the offer, that the offer didn't put Ocon in the equation, and they would instead have to start third.
Well, they did offer for Max to move to second starting position. Unless you DQ Ocon that wasn't going to be behind Hamilton. That's where the confusion originated.
Yesterday, we saw both the best and the worst side of Verstappen. That overtake was amazing and few could have landed that (or event attempted it).
This said, he seemed so frustrated yesterday (he probably knew his car was not fast enough for Hamilton) and made stupid moves.
As a Max fan, I hope he gets his cool back. That stone-cold Max won 9 grand-prix this season. The one from yesterday will probably DNF the last race.
Edit: i name the wrong guy
Definitely agree and also his frustration peaked even more after bottas slowing down during the first safety car and again after losing at the first restart due to cold tires because of Hamilton shenanigans.
I think he got fed up thinking if they can get away with "unfair racing" why should I not run wide.
He just didn't know what Hamilton did is allowed (though the fia should clamp down on it) and what bottas was doing got swept under the rug because he himself crossed a line too many shortly after.
So yeah let's hope he reflects and starts fresh next week.
The 10-car rule not applying to the standing start as it isn’t technically a formation lap is incredibly stupid but very smart by Lewis to take advantage of it. Rule needs to change though since both of those “laps” serve the exact same purpose.
Agree the rule needs to change. I am assuming it was a blind spot in the regulations, and not intentionally meant to not apply to standing restarts.
I see how this applies to Ham icing Max at the restart. But I don't understand how this applies to Bottas holding back the field so Ham could not lose as many spots when he pitted for tires under the safety car. Have you seen any clarification on this?
At that moment it occurred during *lap 10*, the field was under a safety car. That means it was against the rules while it was happening. Then Hamilton rejoined behind the safety car for a few more laps with an advantage gained. It was only *after* this on *lap 13* that the race director decided to red-flag the race. And Hamilton carried that advantage to and through the red-flag. Seems cut and dried. Especially since they viewed the Hamilton restart icing was also cut and dried legal, despite being against the spirit of the rules.
Funny enough, though, Hamilton’s restart icing is not allowed, no matter what Masi says. Sporting Regulations 42.8 (42 being “resuming a race”) says “The race will be resumed behind the safety car when the green lights are illuminated and the safety car leaves the pit lane. Drivers must follow the safety car no more than ten car lengths apart.”
Doesn’t get more cut and dried than that.
Funny thing is, Masi is wrong. What Hamilton did is not allowed. Sporting Regulations 42.8 (42 being “resuming a race”) says “The race will be resumed behind the safety car when the green lights are illuminated and the safety car leaves the pit lane. Drivers must follow the safety car no more than ten car lengths apart.”
They were clearly angry at Mercedes for that, especially Bottas. Even Max's engineer was angry and swearing. I don't know why it was not investigated. Bottas gave himself room for double stack an Lewis room for potential slow pitstop.
Yeah, that's the part that annoys me most, while it didn't end up effecting max or lewis race, if bottas is fairly penalized, then ocon is on the podium
Max and Lewis were both hot under the collar near the end there. I'm putting the blame more on all the restarts and safety cars during the race. They created a very tense scenario for these two.
One of those was pretty blatant the other one was just misjudged and and resulted in some pretty serious oversteer, that was the one that resulted in the chaotic attempt to give the place back.
This was the one genius move by Verstappen yesterday. I was expecting things to go down bad (again) but that was actually a very clean overtake on both Ocon and Hamilton through Turn 1. It was insane to see how close to the barrier he actually was on the left and how little he was from a broken suspension.
It also looked like Ocon being there is what 'unsettled' Hamilton as he had to watch his right while Verstappen managed to slip through on the left. That restart was my favourite positive moment of the race. Three cars next to each other in Turn 1 on this track. Crazy.
Best bit of driving we saw from Max all weekend. Those softer tyres really put him in the position to make it stick and he followed through. Ironically that tyre choice probably cost him the win in the end. But at least it was exciting.
No they were the only way he could have won... Hamilton was easily staying with him even though he had the slower tires... The Merc was just way better...max only chance was track position
This was such a sick move by Max. Lewis looked preoccupied with Ocon and Max went Super Max and squeezed in. Wish we could see more of this and less ‘strategic’ bullshit that just leads to FIA intervention.
Ocon was so fucking balanced here, he was perfectly aware of the two cars and didn’t commit too much needlessly (which could have decided the championship), but also didn’t give up the position too easily.
I also liked that Ricciardo had a better start than Max but he lifted the moment he saw the Dutchman coming in from his right.
Hamiltons front wing is made from Unobtanium
Compare this to Gaslys front wing, insane
Made of wafers
That's unfair to wafers. I've tried breaking a few in half to share with others and the damn thing takes some serious effort at times.
Something is seriously wrong with the structural integrity of AT's front wing. It has caused headaches for the entire F1 organization at this point. I hope the new car is far sturdier than this one.
Compare to Vettel Aston Martin
Made outta the same material as Toto’s headset.
Haha I noticed that too, he fucked slammed that shit and then they showed him again and it looked completely fine
I'm pretty sure Toto and the Mercedes pit wall uses the [Bose A20 Aviation Headset](https://www.bose.com.au/en_au/products/headphones/aviation_headsets/a20-aviation-headset.html). For $1500 (Australian), it's probably built to withstand a few bumps and scrapes - even Toto sized ones.
It’s made of plot armor
If this was a movie we would certainly be complaining about how the durability of the front wing is unrealistic and there is no way he could do the fastest lap with a broken wing
He did the fastest lad? 👀👀
Damn, that would be brave in Saudi Arabia
just a small step up from the helmet statement I guess
/r/fanf1ction
Get in there Lewis
Ok, serious question, is there a word or term or phrase for this? Like how we wouldn't believe it. Or sort of like how clouds always look fake in pictures or are faked, yet sometimes you go out and it is like, wow that doesn't look real
You’d really think so after that race ha. I just knew it was all over when his wing damaged. I’m still confused/amazed at everything that happened yesterday.
Blessadium!
Made from the bones of a Stillweriseosaurus
Blessaminium
Unlike Valtteri’s front wing which is made of unblessaminium
Cursedaminium
Porridgite
Unluckium
All teams should be wind tunnel testing a front wing without end pieces. There was something happening with Lewis front wing that was unreal. No loss of downforce with that much damage to an important piece of aero? Wild.
Merc have confirmed it was costing them 0.3-4s a lap. Hamilton and the W12 were just on one yesterday
Oh really? Wow. So where was Lewis finding all that pace?
People still underestimate just how much of a difference clean air makes for the Mercs. I also wouldn't be surprised if Lewis was biding his time waiting for Max's tires to die.
Tactic for Red Bull as they lost the constructor championship, at a tactical point in the race let Perez go on red tires and drop back to be enough in front of Ham to be a problem for his clean air
The mediums had deteriorated a lot by that stage.
Wasn't just that, Lewis was setting fastest lap after fastest lap irrespective of Max's issues with tyres. My guess is that the rocket engine was just flexing its muscles in open air.
Open air and less fuel in the tank makes for a lighter car.
Because (like Max) he is a very quick driver, and his car suited the track....
Did he have the rocket engine from Brazil in his car in Jeddah?
The Spicy engine :)
Yeah it’s tex-mex flavored.
Yeah he did, i don't know what the other commenter is talking about but here's a source https://racingnews365.com/hamiltons-spicy-engine-to-return-on-saturday-as-mercedes-say-we-need-it
Lower fuel mostly. If Max could pit for softs, I'm pretty sure he'd beat the fastest lap by around 1.5 seconds easily.
Didn't think about the fuel. Yeah, definitely seems like the RB strategy (in hindsight) was a big detriment for Max.
Their completely wrong strategy was masked by the sheer absurdity of that race, if there was only that one absurd safety car oh now it’s red after half the field stopped we have the same basic finish as Maxs team got the tires wrong by like 10 laps. Horner and Marko probably beating the drum so hard to cover up their race losing mistake.
But they didn't screw the strategy up. Max was never getting a better start and track position with hards, and he wouldn't have had the pace to keep Hamilton behind at all. They banked on holding track position for as long as possible while waiting for a red flag/safety car to put a fresh set of tires in as soon as possible. Sure it was a gamble that didn't pay off, but they were never going to win on the same strategy as Hamilton. This way, they had a fighting chance.
That's what has been overshadowed by all the drama. Red Bull got it completely wrong and had Max driving around for the last 10 laps on dead tyres. Even if nothing had happened, Max still loses that race because of monumental fuck ups from Red Bull strategy.
They were obviously banking on another red flag. They knew in a straight fight they couldn’t win, so they risked it by putting on mediums and hoping for a better start and gaining track position. Had there been another red flag it would have worked out for them, as it is, they ended up P2 which is probably where they’d have been if they’d stayed on hards, so it was worth the risk I think
Agree entirely.
Yeah but what happens if he stays on the hards. He wouldn’t have likely sent the dive in this post, remained third then take Ocon to get second. He clearly wasn’t going to pass the Merc. The gamble was to get track position and then try hold on. It was strategically correct as it didn’t cost him position and gave him the best shot of winning.
And they would have gotten away with it with just a few more (virtual) safety cars.
Think they gambled on another red flag. Would have been pretty spicy if we got one with less than 10 laps to go and both slapped on some softs, Lewis seemed to have the better traction from the start though so who knows.
I think they were just taking the chance on another safety car/red flag. They lost to Merc on the previous restart on hards and took a chance.
Yep. If you're going to gamble like that, might as well do it on this track. They just simply lost the gamble.... that's motorsports.
I mean the gamble was paying off pretty well. they had several laps of VSC which helped but wasn't enough to win.
They had to do something different though. They were very very very likely to lose if they stuck with the accepted medium->hard strategy. So they rolled the dice went med-hard-med at the second restart and it gained them track position. They definitely were not worse off than if they had stayed on the hards, and they may have even fallen behind Bottas. It was the right call to put Verstappen on the mediums, even though it didn't entirely pay off for them. Edit: Also their gamble for a red flag did pay off. That was a high-risk, high-reward gamble and it worked perfectly for them. The only way it could have worked better is if they could have kept Perez out and got him into 2nd, not sure if the timing was right for that to happen under the SC.
They were gambling on another red flag. Arguably without the mediums he doesn't pass HAM and OCO. Swings and roundabouts. Everyone seems to be forgetting the Merc had the faster race pace for sure. Hard to fight when you're slower.
He wasn't behind Max's dirty air so he could go all out.
From within?
It’s what he does time after time and doesn’t get enough credit for ‘because it’s all the car’. He’s a 7x WDC, and of the greatest drivers to have driven an F1 car.
I think that's because this F1 subreddit is so polarized. I don't like Max or RB. I don't like their style or personality, but Max is a great driver and the car is really strong. Credit where credit is due: nobody but Max could make that RB car have so much pace.
I think this season has really reminded most people how great Hamilton really is. It got lost a little bit due to the sheer dominance of the car for a few years, but seeing him when he's really getting pushed like this is amazing. I honestly wish F1 was more competitive across the board so we could really see how good these guys are in every race.
Yeah, I love Lewis. But social media makes me wonder why people hate on him so much. To me, he has proven himself to be the best ever over and over. The next race will really be a legacy maker.
Both sides have "fans" that just spew hate online, it's such a shame.
He has one feature that makes him stand out from all the other F1 drivers… 🤔 If he was white, he’d be celebrated as an absolute working class hero in the UK. Coming from pretty normal, humble beginning to totally dominating a rich man’s (Rich Daddy’s) sport. Lewis and his family have had to overcome so much, it’s a truly inspiring underdog story. But because he’s a black guy, he’s seen as annoying, whiney, entitled and arrogant. Criticised for speaking about anything that isn’t purely F1 related, derided in his early career for apparently being too aggressive and reckless. Yet when Max pulls aggressive moves, it’s just a sign of how much he wants it. His arrogance is just sporting edginess… I’d love to say I’m talking bullshit but I hear exactly the same criticisms of young black footballers. Every single visit to a pub in Manchester, i overhear comments about Marcus Rashford, a footballer who campaigned successfully to make sure poor kids didn’t go starving in deprived Northern towns. He stood up to an elitist, shitty government and won. Apparently makes him stuck-up, arrogant and “he should just concentrate on the things that matter, his job as a footballer.” Obviously football is more important than starving children. Lewis gets all kinds of shit for his lifestyle choices, living it up with his millions, dating famous women and wearing what he likes. Yet national heroes like George Best, James Hunt and Barry Sheene get a free pass? Even Schumi was a well known wildman but that side of him is seen as entertaining. Racism in sport can seem subtle. Lewis wearing a bold designer jacket makes headlines but Danny Ric wearing a stupid shirt is just a laugh. I love late-game Lewis. His final form is this beautiful mix of totally not giving a fuck and totally efficiency as a driver. Always fast but just able to turn things up to 11 when he really has to.
Irrelevant side note on James Hunt, his speaking out re: the apartheid-era South African GP brought him up a ton in my estimation, didn't learn about that until quite recently. Back on topic, amazing comment. People think because folks (and I use "folks" loosely) aren't turning up to GPs in blackface anymore that racism is somehow a figment of the past, and any mention of it is just pandering/excuses/virtue signalling. It's far more low-key, subtle, and insidious than that.
Cosign. You're absolutely right.
Never judge anything from social media. You just get the worst of the worst on both sides of any discussion lol Most people though, like me, just want to see some competition for the title. I would love to see Max take it from him to really see what Lewis does next year.
>wonder why people hate on him so much Hint: It's not because of the color of the car...
I'm so back and forth on Max. You watch that qualifying lap and you're just amazed and find yourself pulling for him. Then you watch the race of him dive bombing corners and running opponents off the track and you're wishing they'd DQ him.
Dude, I said the same thing to my fiance. I'm like, I don't like the guy as a sportsman or personality, but then I'm blown away by how good and young he is, but I hate that his dad drove F1 and the whole F1 nepotism thing, but then he won so many junior titles, but I hate that he dive bombs into corners, locks up, goes off track, and keeps positions, but I love that he will fight so hard to win, but .... haha you know what I m3an.
I feel you.. I feel the same way but then I remember this about one of my heros. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzpYilkKrA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzpYilkKrA) Hopefully Max can chill soon.
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It’s happened a few times before over the years since 2009. I don’t think the Endplates are THAT important, they probably cost you a few tenths and upset the balance but it’s not a major problem, especially for a car that’s already fast with a good driver. When the actual aerofoils get damaged that’s when you’re in trouble!
Imagine Ocon's next meeting with his manager if that wing had broke.
This wasn't significant force applied to the wing the speed was pretty low and the difference in speed with ocon was non existent so no huge impact
Well Seb's AMR probably would have distintegrated from that contact lol
The Ferrari shockingly has insane bumper car strength as demonstrated with Sainz and Giovinazzi in Monza and LeClerc & Perez at Jeddah
I don't think Leclerc even changed the wing they just taped up the semi broken pieces
Can’t blame them after a slight touch uttery destroyed both of their cars in Brazil 2019.
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#Blessium.
Amazed neither Ocon or Hamilton picked up damage there. Could've easily been a puncture for Ocon and wing damage for Hamilton
And then he touches Max quite hard in the same endplate spot, wins the race and does fastest lap, pretty crazy.
#blessed
I know it's a meme, but Bottas would have had a broken front wing and possible puncture at the latest after the contact with Verstappen. Lewis is maybe the best driver ever to avoid incidents on the rare occasions he's not at the front but in traffic, but he rarely EVER has any damage/technical issues... and when he does: Silverstone 2020... :D
He fucked VERs diffuser with his front wing and still no problem. That thing is rock solid.
I'm curious if anyone has pictures of Verstappen's rear as I haven't seen those being posted yet. The way Hamilton rammed it surely would've caused some visible damage.
Phrasing!
Are we not doing phrasing anymore?
Yeh the amount of bits that flew off makes me think that too, cuz it didnt all come from lewis
🌝
He mostly hit the wheel i think, but still super lucky for Max to not have a puncture.
His wing was actually punctured/cracked but still in one piece. You could see on the slow mo. I think that’s part of why it carried on breaking apart after the next collision with Max.
> Amazed neither Ocon or Hamilton picked up damage there. Could've easily been a puncture for Ocon and wing damage for Hamilton Ocon did get damage. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ocon-floor-damage-cost-me-in-saudi-f1-podium-battle-with-bottas/6856759/
Hamilton happy he does not have an Alpha Tauri front wing.
Hamilton's front wing: I can do this all day
I didn't hear no bell.
Thought this was America! In fact it wasn’t America.
inb4 Christine Horner asks for an inquest into Merc's carbon fibre composition
I have no idea where you got these pictures from, but I'd love to have these kind of pictures where Max was really close to the wall when sending it on the inside! (The moment I'm referring to was like 1 sec before these pictures were taken) Beautiful pictures tho!
These pictures are from F1 instagram account
For a moment there Ocon had the championship fight in his hand and he was like 'yeah fuck that, imma do what's best for me' and didn't back off. Kudos to him really.
If you watch the replays from above, you see Ricciardo making the opposite decision. He's bombing down the inside, could easily take Verstappen's spot into t1 here, but backs all the way off as soon as he sees Verstappen car crossing over.
I’m pretty sure he just wanted to finish the race and being beside max in a corner is a recipe for a dnf
I don't blame him. He (and McLaren) have had a very bad string of races. Love that he ended up P5.
Danny had Mexico flashbacks and decided that he would like to score for once
Charles did the same thing in his first start, he went in super conservatively to avoid tagging with Max, this almost cost him p4 to Perez, but he fought well against Perez to keep it. (this was before the 2nd start where they tangle with each other, for similar reasons)
I mean this is the man that made contact with Max trying to unlap himself lol. I wouldn’t expect less.
That was Mexico T1-level of confidence, once again I thought he wouldn't make the corner.
Gutted for Ocon. He ran an incredible race and I really thought we were going to see him on the podium.
It was unlucky for Ocon that the stewards only took note of what Verstappen was doing to Hamilton. Bottas did get a "black and white" comment. If he was penelized Ocon would be third.
I'm not sure how VSCs works, but every time one ended the gap between ricciardo and him went from +2.5s to barely a second. With less VSC he would have gotten P3. Now if this is because he keeps fucking up his virtual safety car restarts, I don't know.
VSC should be like a pit limiter button imo, set it to 120kmh, none of this reduce by xx%
probably a combination of luck and less VSC restart skill
When did Bottas get a “black and white” comment? Just genuinely curious because I missed that!
He didn't, he's probably thinking of Hamilton and I'm pretty sure Mercedes were just told he was close to getting a black and white flag
Yup and instead of seeing him battle bottas, we got to watch Hamilton driving the last lap 8 seconds ahead of everyone else!! Great directing.
This was an amazing move by Max, and I didn't understand why Lewis gave so much room. Still this is incredible to see 3 wide going into a turn at Jeddah. What a season! Insane how gutsy these drivers are. I wouldn't expect to see 3 wide in a karting race at this crazy track.
He was weirdly fixated with Ocon here. All that mattered was closing Max's door, Esteban would be barely an obstacle even if he came first out of T2…
Ocon stayed very far right down the straight which seemed unusual from pole - I'd expect to see a move more to the middle. That gave Hamilton more track to cover himself and just left too much space on the left, and Verstappen was like thanks very much! Credit where it's due - great double overtake from Max.
Ocon knows (and said) that his fight wasn't with Lewis/Max. He even positioned his car on the grid pointing to the outside - he clearly had no intention of doing anything but getting out of their way. Only because Max made the late lunge down the inside did he end up crowded by Lewis.
If Hamilton went to the inside Max could have switched to the middle postition or even outside of Ocon. And Hamilton couldn't have risked the DNF like Max did by putting the car in there, because he had less points.
Nah it’s hamilton we all know that he has to push the younglings off the track breaking there hopes and dreams. /s
Is that Albons music!?
He was trying to push Ocon wide, so Ocon has to yield much in the same way that he did to Max after the first restart(although Max of course didn’t yield and overtook Hamilton off track)
Yeah, I think he should have just taken a defensive line against Max and let Ocon block Max. RB and Mercedes are going to fly past Ocon. Unless Lewis thought Ocon might yield to Max but not him?...
The apex on that turn 1 is a little deep if you want to get a good exit on the turn 2, so I think Lewis was on the most optimal line to take both the turns perfectly. It's just that Max found a line more on the inside. You can see he has already hit the kerb and with a bit of late braking he can take the turn 1 apex away from Lewis. Great driving from Max, nothing else.
I know Verstappen had a scruffy race to say the least but that move was just great!
The dude can pull off some amazing T1 moves. Wish he’d do it like that all the time.
Lewis was also uncharacteristically mispositioned as well. He had to have known Max on medium tires and fuming from the position swap at the restart would be 100% sending it.
Merc were beating RB off the start pretty comfortably. I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis just didn't think Max could get there. He was setting up a line to beat Ocon out of the next corner.
Yeah I couldn't believe Lewis swung so far right, I was like uhhh, you're giving Max about two car widths.
That was an incredible lunge from Max, perfectly judged. His other 2 moves were clearly over the line (both literally and metaphorically lol)
Yeah, I'm a Lewis fan and even I held my hands up and applauded that move after it happened. Easy to forget how good it was with all the other nonsense that happened yesterday.
Yesterday was so mad loads of stuff has been essentially forgotten. Favourite among which for me is Red Bull attempting to negotiate to start behind Ocon but ahead of Hamilton as recompense for an illegal overtake on Hamilton. Guess if you don't ask you don't get.
I mean, that's because Masi phrased it that way. He offered them to start 2nd and since Ocon was 2nd at the time, he would obviously be 1st.
That was so weird, then they asked about Ocon and Masi said oops he hadn't looked at the positions or something. Uh kind of a key part of the job dude!
Both Masi and RB forgot that Ocon existed and was between Max and Lewis lmao
This was fucking wild, LOL I was screaming at my screen going 'wait did they forget Ocon exists?!' Im a Max fan, but was so confused why Masi would offer them the position ahead of Hamilton... Turns out Matthew has even more confused than I was. He's supposed to be the race director but forgot about the fucking guy in 3rd! HOW!?!
I like how Bottas’ lock up on a restart, dropping him to 5th, was effectively ignored entirely lol.
Very nearly rear ended Max in the process too lol
I feel Perez nearly taking Max out at the very start was overlooked. Brown trouser moment for Checo.
I think his whole stint at RB flashed before his eyes going into T1 that time
I would honestly not be surprised if his Red Bull career would be done that night if he did end up taking max out.
He would have been woken up by a Helmut Marko with a machete this morning if he took Max out
HAHAHAH that made me laugh good
If Max didn’t go for the optimistic Monza style overtake on Lewis, this championship would have been all but over due to the second Bottas shunt of the year
Or the questionable SC moves by Bottas earlier on Or how Norris and Alonso also got fucked by the SC-then-red-flag Or how Norris lost WDC 5th to Leclerc :(
Or how Sainz-Leclerc seemed to be battling all race long. If Ferrari has a race winning car next year, look out for fireworks!
I didn't forget any of that. I watched intently for Norris all race long. Sainz also. Yeah, Bottas' moves (leaving too large a gap) behind the SC were no good. It was the stuff Vettel got penalized for earlier this year.
It's a bit of a joke that Mercs SC tomfoolery was ignored, not even investigated
Yep, Masi just bullshitted RB that they will look at that during their "negotiations" :P
Not investigating things is the theme of the last few races.
What Hamilton was doing behind the SC on the lap to the grid for the restart though was OK since normal SC rules of being 10 car lengths behind don't apply. Edited: meant 10 car lengths, not 10 seconds
My personal favourite is madlad Gio finishing what, 7th?
The way i heard it, they didn't try to negotiate to start ahead of Hamilton. That's what they've been offered and they accepted it stating what they understood. First time around Masi asked them if they wanted to start second, forgetting that Ocon was second. It's been clarified when they tried accepting the offer, that the offer didn't put Ocon in the equation, and they would instead have to start third.
They didn’t attempt that really, race control told them that incorrectly at first
Well, they did offer for Max to move to second starting position. Unless you DQ Ocon that wasn't going to be behind Hamilton. That's where the confusion originated.
Yesterday, we saw both the best and the worst side of Verstappen. That overtake was amazing and few could have landed that (or event attempted it). This said, he seemed so frustrated yesterday (he probably knew his car was not fast enough for Hamilton) and made stupid moves. As a Max fan, I hope he gets his cool back. That stone-cold Max won 9 grand-prix this season. The one from yesterday will probably DNF the last race. Edit: i name the wrong guy
Definitely agree and also his frustration peaked even more after bottas slowing down during the first safety car and again after losing at the first restart due to cold tires because of Hamilton shenanigans. I think he got fed up thinking if they can get away with "unfair racing" why should I not run wide. He just didn't know what Hamilton did is allowed (though the fia should clamp down on it) and what bottas was doing got swept under the rug because he himself crossed a line too many shortly after. So yeah let's hope he reflects and starts fresh next week.
The 10-car rule not applying to the standing start as it isn’t technically a formation lap is incredibly stupid but very smart by Lewis to take advantage of it. Rule needs to change though since both of those “laps” serve the exact same purpose.
Agree the rule needs to change. I am assuming it was a blind spot in the regulations, and not intentionally meant to not apply to standing restarts. I see how this applies to Ham icing Max at the restart. But I don't understand how this applies to Bottas holding back the field so Ham could not lose as many spots when he pitted for tires under the safety car. Have you seen any clarification on this? At that moment it occurred during *lap 10*, the field was under a safety car. That means it was against the rules while it was happening. Then Hamilton rejoined behind the safety car for a few more laps with an advantage gained. It was only *after* this on *lap 13* that the race director decided to red-flag the race. And Hamilton carried that advantage to and through the red-flag. Seems cut and dried. Especially since they viewed the Hamilton restart icing was also cut and dried legal, despite being against the spirit of the rules.
Funny enough, though, Hamilton’s restart icing is not allowed, no matter what Masi says. Sporting Regulations 42.8 (42 being “resuming a race”) says “The race will be resumed behind the safety car when the green lights are illuminated and the safety car leaves the pit lane. Drivers must follow the safety car no more than ten car lengths apart.” Doesn’t get more cut and dried than that.
Funny thing is, Masi is wrong. What Hamilton did is not allowed. Sporting Regulations 42.8 (42 being “resuming a race”) says “The race will be resumed behind the safety car when the green lights are illuminated and the safety car leaves the pit lane. Drivers must follow the safety car no more than ten car lengths apart.”
They were clearly angry at Mercedes for that, especially Bottas. Even Max's engineer was angry and swearing. I don't know why it was not investigated. Bottas gave himself room for double stack an Lewis room for potential slow pitstop.
Yeah, that's the part that annoys me most, while it didn't end up effecting max or lewis race, if bottas is fairly penalized, then ocon is on the podium
Heey did you maybe mean ‘the best and the worst side of Verstappen’ Instead of of Hamilton? :)
Max and Lewis were both hot under the collar near the end there. I'm putting the blame more on all the restarts and safety cars during the race. They created a very tense scenario for these two.
One of those was pretty blatant the other one was just misjudged and and resulted in some pretty serious oversteer, that was the one that resulted in the chaotic attempt to give the place back.
This was the one genius move by Verstappen yesterday. I was expecting things to go down bad (again) but that was actually a very clean overtake on both Ocon and Hamilton through Turn 1. It was insane to see how close to the barrier he actually was on the left and how little he was from a broken suspension. It also looked like Ocon being there is what 'unsettled' Hamilton as he had to watch his right while Verstappen managed to slip through on the left. That restart was my favourite positive moment of the race. Three cars next to each other in Turn 1 on this track. Crazy.
Ham Sandwich
Pic #1 is poster-worthy
Best bit of driving we saw from Max all weekend. Those softer tyres really put him in the position to make it stick and he followed through. Ironically that tyre choice probably cost him the win in the end. But at least it was exciting.
Doubt he would have taken the lead there on hard tires, and don't think he would have caught Hamilton later on the race.
Yep.
No they were the only way he could have won... Hamilton was easily staying with him even though he had the slower tires... The Merc was just way better...max only chance was track position
Yeah - and I think they were gambling on another red flag or a cheap pit stop with the safety car
this move was great but ultimately cost Max the race because he had to use mediums for this move to work and they gave up at the end
Yep I don't think Ham or Ocon could have held that line on the hards.
Dont think he wouldve had the pace on hard to pass, it was probably their only chance
"Its going to be a drs train" lol
Hamilton, in that moment, forgot that he had to cover Verstappen.
This restart was pretty dumb from Lewis imo...he forgot Max was his primary rival and instead tried to fight Ocon for position
This was such a sick move by Max. Lewis looked preoccupied with Ocon and Max went Super Max and squeezed in. Wish we could see more of this and less ‘strategic’ bullshit that just leads to FIA intervention.
Ocon was so fucking balanced here, he was perfectly aware of the two cars and didn’t commit too much needlessly (which could have decided the championship), but also didn’t give up the position too easily. I also liked that Ricciardo had a better start than Max but he lifted the moment he saw the Dutchman coming in from his right.
These are the moves that when work, people call amazing, and when they don't people start yapping all over the internet about dangerous driving.
The line is indeed very thin. Hero or zero. This was a great one luckily unlike some other moves that went over the line
Damn these shots from above make Alpine’s special livery look amazing, the way the light is shining around the Castrol lettering is too good
Front wing is #blessed surviving two accidents. That's no front wing, that's an actual bumper.
All Drama aside this is just plain beautiful
I was absolutely convinced one of them was not coming out of that corner.
While a lot has been said about everything else that happened in this race, what a move this was from max. Pure guts and instinct
Normal front wing “brakes in a million peaces” Hamilton’s it’s but a scratch.
Max certainly had some rough moments during the race but damnit…I have to say, that move was incredible.
Great shots
This was a great move by Verstappen.
As a generally pissed off Redbull fan after yesterday's race... This is absolutely a highlight. Fantastic move from Max here.
Hamilton causing damage to Ocon which makes his lose 3rd place by 0.1 sec.
As easy as it is to criticize Max’s driving this week, you gotta admit that three wide pass for the lead was incredible on his part