Yes. But that doesn't take away that we had an actual real battle for the title right up until that point.
Yes. Well established. It was meant to hurt RB (Toto claiming that RB had a flexi floor) and tried to get it banned. It turned out Ferrari was the one with the flexi floor and they got hurt. Ferrari and Red Bull where both against TD39, purely because the fix was so simple: Raise the ride height. Ferrari simply dealth with their bouncing car, Mercedes sought advantage by crippling others. Frankly speaking if Ferrari hadn't used the flexi floor at all RB would've been leagues ahead all season, so in a way we should thank Ferrari for ''cheating''.
When Mercedes were crying about their car and demanded a rule change, which they got, it seemed very clear that Red Bull was going to benefit the most. Not because it helped them, but because their car was the only one that did not have any porpoising issues. So they didn't need to make any changes at all. Ferrari on the other hand could only get performance by getting the car on the ground, but it meant a lot of porpoising. TD39 rolls out and Ferrari lose performance, Mercedes can use their car better which helps them, and Red Bull are happy campers since the gap to the closest car just got bigger.
The same rule affects teams in different ways. But is it not the essence of F1 ? Given the same parameters, engineers will find different solutions.
I think a rule should affect everyone equally by design. Naturally teams and drivers will be affected differently by any given rule change. What I didn't like about TD39 is it was unnecessary to introduce mid season. It was brought in to help Mercedes. They rambled on about the dangers of porpoising, and Hamilton acted up his sore back, etc etc. Mercedes had all the tools and resources to change their car. They simply could raise the ride height and solve their porpoising issues. Since that would slow the car down too much, that was unacceptable. So get the FIA to change the rules lol. I think the idea of making adjustments to remove porpoising was a good idea, and I support it. However teams like Ferrari built their car around certain rules, and they got penalized because of a mid season rule change.
I usually don't drift outside the model specific section on this forum but incredible to see this thread from 2014 and how far this kid has come. I love my Ferrari but am a huge Max fan and can't stand Hambone so I love watching this phenomenal run this kid (well no longer a kid) can put on. I always felt the wet weather separated the boys from men and man can he drive in the rain. I remember when he flat out wrecked Rosberg in the wet in an inferior car. I knew he was special at this moment....
That race was epic...Rosberg with a championship on the line as well! Max showed what he was made off when he and Ric both pitted and Max was plum last and Ric I think a couple of places ahead, with about 15 laps to go...still in the wet, Max ended up finishing 3rd, ric in 8th. That pass round the outside of Rosberg still mesmerizes me. The grip he found there and the confidence was insane. Another time he made a pass on Rosberg that year that left Brundle speechless: Max Verstappen's Masterclass Move on Rosberg | F1 2016 Great Britain - YouTube
While I agree the actual racing was better in 2022, the outcome of the WDC was never in doubt in my mind. Max/Red Bull are just too clean in driving/strategy/reliability (unlike Ferrari)
In the mean time, Max takes another pole to a win. 21 sec lead on his teamate, in a 24 lap race.. You might like the guy, you might hate him but nobody can deny we are witnessing some truly Remarkable phase in f1 history. And to my feel the end of it is not even in sight. Seems the only thing able to stop him is something other than any competator.....
after Perez was in clear air and being chased by Sainz...Max was 1 to 1.5 seconds a lap faster than his teammate. Perez under pressure, Max minding his own business. Really once again made a big point and then some.
I hate to admit it, but he’s currently in a league of his own. I think every other driver on the grid would have a hard time in the sister car.
Other than a few years when MS drove for them, when has Ferrari EVER been 'reliable'? Even when Niki won three WDC's, they were not that reliable, they were just more reliable than the others.
Difficult to say but Max’s skills on wet track are just outstanding. His ability to find grip and not doing mistakes is difficult to match for any other drivers including Lewis I guess..
There's a couple of drivers on the grid that would beat him every now and then but over a season....no
I think Azarbejan was a defining race. Remember that Max did not really get the setup right due to the sprint race format. In the main race he was therefore struggling heavily. He explained that he spent a lot of laps trying all kind of settings in the car. I truly think that his expirimenting during this race revealed him some inside/new info. Basically, like a testday. I really think this race provided him with a wider array of tools to get the car in the right window at every next race after this weekend. Although with some circumstances favoring Checco up to that race making them look pretty equal, after the azarbejan weekend Max really crushed Perez every next race. Not only as a result of Checco f*cking up his practise and qualifying but mainly because Max really outclassed him on merit
Yup. It was like the Schumacher days...his teammates also beat him on the rare occasion, what it normally required was Schumacher having a really bad day...and the teammate to be on his absolute best. And even then, it was close. That was Baku IMO. As you say Max has totally demolished Perez since then as well. And Perez isn't stupid. He knows full well the circumstances he won Jeddah in...Max was over half a second clear of Perez all weekend. Hell his time in FP3 was almost as quick as Perez Q3 laptime. Miami was a show of force...street track yet still took the lead quickly despite being on the slower strategy. Perez incapable of even finishing on the podium in both Spain and Canada. He needs one hell of a race today.
The one who could have been a real competitor to Max is Alonso, but he is too old and in a lesser car. I saw Fernando doing things that are (also) beyond real (Eau Rouge…..in the wet). I am a fan of Alonso but he should have been 15 years younger. ciao Oscar
Truth is he realized he’s the teammate of one of the all time greatest.. And the gap is huge between the two. A pill difficult to swallow for his ego no doubts..
