Yeah Merc does always seem to have RB's number on strategy but I think they could always be more flexible as they simply had a much faster car this weekend. I'm just glad Max made that ballsy move at the start to actually give us an exciting Spanish GP for once!

Was a good race for Spain

 

I love Lewis Hamilton and he is one of the best of all time (also helps that he is so bloody fit!), but I really want Max to win this years title. If Max never wins a title he should be considered the greatest champion that never was

 

Some good racing down the pack - getting a bit frustrated for Vettel and Russel though. They canny get into the points

Max is only 23, it'd be unbelievable if he never won a title with potentially up to 15+ more years in the sport. The new regs next year will be very interesting to see if it shakes up the field 2009-style in which case he might himself back in an uncompetitive car.

Max is only 23, it'd be unbelievable if he never won a title with potentially up to 15+ more years in the sport. The new regs next year will be very interesting to see if it shakes up the field 2009-style in which case he might himself back in an uncompetitive car.

 

That is true - I can see him winning a couple of titles when Lewis retires (if not before then)

 

It is an exciting battle this year as we finally have someone who can compete at every race with Lewis/Mercedes

On the whole a pretty decent race for Barcelona standards. Another race where there was a fight for the win, although if Max hadn’t got ahead at turn 1 it would’ve been decidedly more boring.

I've decided I want Lewis to smash it this year, winning the championship against worthy competition. It's been an enjoyable season so far, each race has been at least decent.

If Max never wins a title he should be considered the greatest champion that never was

 

 

Stirling Moss says 'Hi'

 

 

 

In all seriousness though Max impresses me more with every race. It's clear that Mercedes have sorted their handling issues out and the car is much more stable and still quicker than the Red Bull. That Max is even able to compete with Lewis at all is testament to his talent. Unfortunately he has to overdrive the car just to keep up and it shreds his tyres far quicker doing that. Given the performances of Bottas and Perez it looks like the Red Bull is closer to the Ferrari in terms of pace. I expected Perez to be closer to Verstappen than he is by now and it indicates the car just isn't as good as max makes it look. Bottas' race pace is way behind Lewis as ever and I expect the Red Bull to fail in at least 2 races. I doubt the Mercedes will (unless it's for Bottas).

 

Red Bull though should do well at slower circuits like Monaco or high altitudes like Austria. Max could win maybe 5 or 6 races if he does well.

 

I think the year will play out similarly to 1993 when Senna put up a brilliant fight against the odds.

I'm loving seeing Lewis proving that he is one of the most exciting drivers out there. We all got bored of him racing away from the line so often but this year I feel he's driving at his absolute best now that he has real competition from Red Bull.

Stirling Moss says 'Hi'

In all seriousness though Max impresses me more with every race. It's clear that Mercedes have sorted their handling issues out and the car is much more stable and still quicker than the Red Bull. That Max is even able to compete with Lewis at all is testament to his talent. Unfortunately he has to overdrive the car just to keep up and it shreds his tyres far quicker doing that. Given the performances of Bottas and Perez it looks like the Red Bull is closer to the Ferrari in terms of pace. I expected Perez to be closer to Verstappen than he is by now and it indicates the car just isn't as good as max makes it look. Bottas' race pace is way behind Lewis as ever and I expect the Red Bull to fail in at least 2 races. I doubt the Mercedes will (unless it's for Bottas).

 

Red Bull though should do well at slower circuits like Monaco or high altitudes like Austria. Max could win maybe 5 or 6 races if he does well.

 

I think the year will play out similarly to 1993 when Senna put up a brilliant fight against the odds.

 

Whilst I agree with most of this it's clear Verstappen is still making the odd mistake which could prove costly in a season-long title fight. It's to be expected given this is the first season he's a genuine contender but 3 track limit discretions now have cost him a win, a pole & a fastest lap which could prove decisive if it's very tight at the end of the season.

 

I actually think re the Bottas vs Perez debate it actually shows that Bottas isn't actually half bad at all. He's always there or thereabouts to give Red Bull a headache with strategy but it's never the other way round (it should have been in Imola with Bottas down in 8th but Perez made a right pig's ear of things that weekend). It's a new car etc. but Perez is a seasoned veteran compared to when Gasly & Albon got the call up so he must be judged as such.

 

I'm loving seeing Lewis proving that he is one of the most exciting drivers out there. We all got bored of him racing away from the line so often but this year I feel he's driving at his absolute best now that he has real competition from Red Bull.

 

People forget that Ferrari had the fastest car in 2017 & 2018 and Lewis still comfortably came out on top. In fact it's only really been the last 2 years in his whole Merc career that he's had it "easy" as such.

First time I think that I've heard the radio after a team speaking to a race director during the race when Toto Wolff complained about surprise surprise Mazespin.

 

 

People forget that Ferrari had the fastest car in 2017 & 2018 and Lewis still comfortably came out on top.

This is technically true but doesn't tell the whole story.

 

Whilst the Ferrari certainly had the greater straight line speed (particularly in 2018) the Mercedes were more stable and quicker through the corners which balanced it out significantly and is arguably more useful in F1.

As a comparison if you put the Ferrari SF71H, the Mercedes W11 and an Indycar on an oval and gave them 75 laps the Indycar's superior top speed would see it win comfortably (even allowing for its comparatively poor acceleration), followed by the Ferrari and then the Mercedes. Put them on a track with a load of corners on it and the two F1 cars are much closer together and the Indycar is nowhere.

 

It's still Lewis that makes the difference but the Mercedes was arguably the best overall package.

 

I also agree that Rosberg gave him a much harder time of it than Bottas has, but given that nobody thinks of Nico as one of the all time great drivers it's probably best not to dwell on that too much right now.

Edited May 10, 20214 yr by Severin

I actually think Nico is held in much higher regard now since his retirement because of how close he was comparatively to Lewis. Mind you, the Lewis we see today is on another level to that of 13-16 imo.

Agree with that last sentence 100%

Race organisers have confirmed Baku will host F1 until at least 2024 – but there is no possibility this year’s race will swap dates with the Turkish Grand Prix.

 

The new contract will see Azerbaijan’s current deal for hosting Formula 1 extended by a further year, with Baku’s scheduled race cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Formula 1's governing body has launched a clampdown on flexible rear wings amid suspicions teams are bending the rules.

Ha! Such a waste of a Super license

Predictably, Turkey has been dropped from this season's calendar almost as soon as it was added. Another race at the Red Bull Ring will take its place so the Styrian GP will be rolled back out!

Predictably, Turkey has been dropped from this season's calendar almost as soon as it was added. Another race at the Red Bull Ring will take its place so the Styrian GP will be rolled back out!

 

This is a terrible idea for a number of reasons -

 

2 races at the same circuit with no layout change is unlikely to make the 2nd race interesting. We're not likely to see a repeat of Silverstone last few laps.

 

We don't actually need to replace the lost race as we will easily complete enough races for a valid championship and to satisfy TV rights.

 

Moving the date of the French GP will mean many fans with tickets may not be able to attend or will have disrupted plans.

 

Romain Grosjean's demonstration laps in a Mercedes (at his home circuit and in front of fans) will not happen as he'll be racing at Road America.

 

 

 

The Red Bull Ring is one of my favourite tracks but it should have been Paul Ricard for the double header. The current GP layout might suck but this was a golden opportunity to try another configuration and see if it can produce better racing. There are over 100 possible options they could have tried, many that are nothing like the current one.

 

This could all be done with minimum disruption to fans and teams and allow the French to host their race exactly 115 years to the day since they invented Grand Prix motor racing in 1906.