Max and that car are like Lewis and the Merc. Take Max out and Lewis is leading the WDC. Same as last year…take Lewis out and Max wins the WDC (minus retirements, of course). It’s always been a car + driver formula for me. I’ve maintained all season that based on what I’m seeing on the track (planted Red Bull versus temperamental Merc) that Red Bull was the better overall package. I think they’ve taken a step forward now, where before I felt Merc had an advantage on traditional circuits, I think Red Bull has it on all circuits. When Horner said it after France, that’s significant because team principals won’t say something like that unless they’re comfortable that they’ve cleared the competition. I don’t believe Merc will spend the $$ to answer the challenge this season either. I continue to believe the title is Red Bull’s to lose.
The Ferrari team looked like they threw in the towel before the weekend started. But the drivers are still going for it. Mostly, it shows that the "competition" between teams doesn't really happen. Charles started in 7th and ended in 7th, despite a trip to the back. That's just where the Ferrari stands relative to the other teams.
Kinda boring race but I'm thrilled for Red Bull and Max. Great going by Ferrari. Leclerc without that first lap incident would have been close/on the podium. Nice job by Stroll beating his team mate.
Agree. The cost cap is the last thing F1 needed in terms of competition. If you get the set up/design wrong why bother at all to amend it. Just wait til the next year lol. Honda are also leaving-- its good 'face' to leave with success.
Updated Drivers' standings: 1. Verstappen - 156 pts 2. Hamilton - 138 pts 3. Perez - 96 pts 4. Norris - 86 pts 5. Bottas - 74 pts 6. Leclerc - 58 pts 7. Sainz - 50 pts 8. Gasly - 37 pts 9. Ricciardo - 34 pts 10. Vettel - 30 pts Updated Constructors' standings: 1. Red Bull - 252 pts 2. Mercedes - 212 pts 3. McLaren - 120 pts 4. Ferrari - 108 pts 5. AlphaTauri - 46 pts 6. Aston Martin - 44 pts 7. Alpine - 31 pts 8. Alfa Romeo - 2 pts 9. Williams - 0 pts 10. Haas - 0 pts
Toto stated with SKY today they have stopped developing overall. They will try to maximize the package they have. To be honest if true the season is over. The stated deficit is .25 and on a circuit that Mercedes have done very well on.
Yes it is......................... Wolff: Title race isn’t over despite end to Mercedes development By: Luke Smith Jun 27, 2021, 12:43 PM Toto Wolff believes the Formula 1 title race is “far from over” despite Mercedes’ decision to stop developing its 2021 car as it sticks to its resource plan for 2022.
Lando had a very lonely drive once he let the Perez and Bottas by: he was faster than the “best of the rest” but slower than the frontrunners.
Yeah. Obviously McLaren is playing the long game, doing what it takes to maximize their position in the manufacturer's championship. Therefore they pick their battles appropriately and wisely. It takes a certain discipline.
Agreed - it must have hurt Lando to just let everyone by. But McLaren has a bigger challenge now: they have to get reliable speed out of their number 2 driver.
Nice to see ferrari get their strategy spot on even with Leclerc's early mistake costing them a stop. After the mess last week and their lackluster qualifying I was expecting a lot worse, but seems they've learned something with the setup that hurts them in qual but more than makes up for it in race pace. They're still in it for 3rd, especially if Ricciardo doesn't figure things out soon.
Given where we were relative to McLaren on lap 2 the guys did very well. Danny Ricc just seemed to fade later on. Hats of to Norris though, again.
This is indeed interesting to read, and coming from you, a spectacular U-turn !!! For years, in your attempt to denigrate Hamilton's success, you have been telling us that anyone driving a Mercedes would win, and it was all down to the car. So, it's rather surprising to hear from you, that if Max win, that axiom is not valid, and that it's all down to him. Talk about double standards ....
I do think that the RB dominance isn’t as clear cut as the one Hamilton enjoyed though Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
@Bas isn't talking double standards. It is true, that "anyone can win in a Mercedes car" (quoting Bas) given the level of dominance Mercedes has had since the start of the hybrid-era.....until 2021. Now that Max has a competitive car in 2021, that saying "anyone can win in a Mercedes car" is out the window. Mercedes and RedBull are somewhat equal in comparison with regards to car and team. Unfortunately, Mercedes has stopped developing the W12 to focus on 2022...also unfortunate for RedBull that Mercedes has "thrown the towel" on this 2021 season to focus on 2022.
Well, this year it is. Max starts to obtain poles regularly, which he never used to. 5 Red Bull wins our of 8 GPs, that a good indication of domination to me. Mercedes looks to be on the back foot this year, and has no answer.
Toto and Lewis can say something to the effect of the 2021 season "Of course RedBull won the 2021 season because we stopped development of the W12 to focus on 2022.".........to safe face.
I’ll partially disagree with you, they are dominant yes but nothing like what peak Mercedes and Hamilton have enjoyed during their run. Look at 2019… and that’s not even peak Mercedes …8’races… 8 wins! Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk