2022 Brazilian GP: Post Race Analysis

Good write up but Max himself admitted that he was fine with denying Hamilton a win and admitting to the crash. he knew he wasn't making that corner and he knew Lewis wasn't going to yield.

 

+1 agree with all of these points.

 

I still think Max lost a good occasion to win today, being too hasty in trying to pass his nemesis Hamilton.
I feared that could happen, and it did ! No matter who's right and who's wrong, Max was the loser.
I think the incident unbalanced him, and in a fit of pique, he later refused to help his team mate. Not cool at all ...

Mercedes sealed their comeback with a 1-2. An excellent weekend for them, and maybe a warning for 2023.
Ferrari were never in contention for the win. The Alpine team almost self-destroyed.
A bad weekend for McLaren, Alpha Tauri and Williams. A least Haas had a Pole !

 

Lewis never gives space to an opponent when being overtaken--and he always gets away with it. Different rules for Lulu.

 

A disappointing attitude, IMO, when you are a WDC.
We know there is always a bit of "argy-bargy" between these 2, but why did Max try to settle the issue so early?

 

"Max shaped missile fired at non existent gap" Quote of the day from another thread. Max's PR firm has been posting 12 stories a day on Facebook talking about what a great guy Max is and how a new Golden Boy is rewriting all the records for F1. After all those glowing reviews, Max turned off so many fans today by screwing his team mate in the drivers title. Max just can't help but show the world who he really is.

 

But he still get overtaken at times. It's a matter of being patient, wearing him out and taking the best opportunity.
If that fails, there is a chance using pit stop strategy, etc ...
But trying to pass at the first attempt someone who refuses to yield, is fraught with risks of contact.
Then, the stewards may view it differently and penalise.
Defending aggressively is part of racecraft today; it wasn't 30 years ago when the risks were greater.

 

He's a top bloke for a Dutchman

 

You are correct

Max did not admit or accept any "blame". The crash was 100% Hamilton's fault, for not leaving enough room at apex for a driver alongside. He always drives this way, and he's always breaking the rules when he does.

 

Whatever. I won't judge what happened.
But Max practically eliminated himself from the race by his move, knowing full well what would be the outcome.
That's a costly way to make a point, IMO. He punished himself, where he could have won that race !!!
That mentality of playing chicken isn't very wise for a driver with his talent.
That bring him back to the Mad Max era we though he left behind a few years ago.

 

Max isn't in a position where he needs to be intimated by another driver who always fails to drive according to the rules.

 

Max got a five second penalty because the race stewards saw this as Max's signature move that he pulled so many times in past seasons. They wrote rules at the end of last season to stop "Mad Max" style driving. Max had been good this season because no one had a competitive car. Now the first time MB shows up with a faster car Max goes for his human torpedo move, and the stewards aren't going to play that game so they came down hard and fast on Max.

 

I've got a couple post-race questions ... for anyone who might care to indulge me

First, Tsunoda was not given an opportunity to unlap today It was terribly unfair, and new rules were definitely broken. When can we expect Mercedes to surrender the points gained today?

Second, Hamilton was granted "honorary citizenship" in Brazil, for winning in 2021 and being a Senna fan (according to what i've read). When can George Russell expect his honorary citizenship?

 

My opinion doesn't count, of course, but insisting on a risky move when you know the likely outcome isn't showing great thinking.
Max and Hamilton have a past history, so rushing things wasn't very clever.
Saying later that you would do the same again is bordering on foolish. It's certainly not worthy of a WDC.
In any case, the stewards penalised Max, and not Hamilton. I had no dog in that fight, but I expected that.
That we like the decision or not doesn't matter; in the end Max lost a good race.

 

That bring us back to the Senna days, I guess. I thought drivers had learned from that.

 

I see your point ... really.

But we have one driver basically saying ... "Rules be damned. Everyone knows that i give zero room at apex for an alongside driver. No matter what, I will squeeze that apex like i'm the only driver on track. If you don't get out of my way, you will be hit."

What should other drivers' response, and driving style, be? Avoid any attempts to pass this driver on the inside, at any turn? Or, as Max has done, go for the pass now and then ... and let Hamilton force the collision?

 

What was Max' mistake, IMO, was rushing to pass Hamilton.
Sure, Hamilton was going to frustrate any attempt, for a while at least, and make Max sweat for it, but then other parameters may have given Max better opportunities perhaps after a few laps. Also, it was just the beginning of the race, and each driver would have to pit a couple of times, so their positions may have changed anyway. Maybe tyre degradation for one or the other would have come into play.
But it looked like Max was on a mission and wanted to settle the issue immediatly, at all cost, and this is what happened.
I think it was just another Hamilton-Verstappen encounter, following from last year.

 

we may disagree, but that's a reasonable post william thank you

 

He never left. Period. Proof today. He was penalized by this years rules that Max was responsible for via last year. I give him credit for a brilliant year in a brilliant car but lets not fool ourselves in thinking he has changed. He hasnt. Petulant, impatient lol. Thats his curse living in his 'talent'. Today he was just a schmuck who ruined his own race...........again lol. Thats not talent. Thats simply self destructive. His enablers lack the same class and grace he does. RedBull LOL. They are just the NetFlix rating dream team.

 

@SS454
@william
@werewolf

The Stewards say they recognize that Hamilton could possibly have given a little more room at the apex of turn 2, they determined that Verstappen was predominantly at fault to the turn 2 collision.

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The wording “could have” vs “should have” is interesting considering the rules stating what space in the apex and when applicable (In order for a car being overtaken to be required to give sufficient room to an overtaking car, the overtaking car needs to have a significant portion of the car alongside the car being overtaken…). By rule LH “should have”, but the stewards’ application of the rule and lack of consistency is why we’re having this discussion.

 

TRANSLATION: No matter what the rules say, any contact with Hamilton will be the other driver's fault.

QUICK QUIZ: Verstappen was ahead just after Turn 1, while Hamilton was alongside. By Turn 2, however, Hamilton was ahead and Verstappen was alongside. So ... which driver was carrying "excess speed" into Turn 2?

FOLLOW-UP: Did Hamilton leave a car's width of space at Turn 2 apex ... or didn't he? The answer is simple, and not a matter of "could have", opinion or judgement.