I'd put him as favourite now myself, next 2 tracks are Mexico and Brazil which he is great at. He'll be within 25 points of Piastri before Vegas imo.

What was very recently a long shot with Max winning, is becoming an increasingly shorter one. Today will be pivotal, big performance needed form the McLaren drivers, a shot in the arm, otherwise this could be incredibly close with Max.

If Max pulls off this comeback from the dead, his legendary status will grow exponentially.

Edited October 19Oct 19 by DJHazey

Honestly don't see McLaren winning another race all season.

Was Bearman robbed by Yuki or was it fair?

Should have been a pen 100%, wild swerve under breaking.

radio of the day for me

The way the top 3 in qualifying today consisted of the three drivers who DNF’d back in zandvoort, ooh the revenge arc is coming

Charles and Lewis to lead by the first corner prayer circle 🙏🏼

the way I gasped

That VSC call was crushing. I think Leclerc was toast but Bearman may well have held on anyway.

Also worth mentioning the very lucky escape for Lawson and two marshals. I remember all too well what happened with Tom Pryce and Frederik Jansen. This should never be allowed.

Edited Sunday at 23:143 days by Severin

Yep that was ridiculous^ they throw a VSC for Sainz completely tucked away in the slowest corner on the track but nothing for Lawson bombing past marshals on a live track, go figure.

Bit of a shame for Lewis there, don't think he would have got on the podium anyway but that corner cut was a bit too obvious, What he should have done is stayed behind Max going into T4 and claimed for him to get a penalty for shoving him off the track at T1 but for what it's worth I think he'll be immune from penalties for the foreseeable as they want a closer title fight (like how last year was the reverse and he was overly penalised for everything).

This was the first time I can say Lando looked like a world champion, that was a truly commanding performance this weekend which I didn't expect. Even so Bearman was the clear MVP, he's really come on leaps and bounds in the past few races and now leads Ocon in the standings.

According to the FIA, the VSC was employed because the Williams of Sainz was smoking and a potential fire at trackside - this meant marshals had to be deployed and the rules stipulate neutralising the race.

I think they could probably use double yellows for a situation like that but the VSC was definitely active for longer than seemed necessary.

Lando drove well enough in qualifying and at the start to make Sunday's race little challenge. Piastri meanwhile needs to regain his form if he wants the title, which is still very much a possibility. Max needs one more DNF from them both if he's to have any real chance.

George needs to shut up with the whining.

Tbf George had every right to make the point to the team as I think he could have passed Bearman at that stage of the race but even by his standards that was quite the rant. I did laugh at his Hamilton-inspired comment of sarcastically asking whether he should let Piastri by.

I really struggle to make a case for Piastri now tbh, looks as if he's lost his way with the car and his old habits of weak qualifying are coming back. In a season where it feels 90% of the races have been decided by qualifying it looks a long shot.

Ollie Bearman bar Norris driver of the weekend for me. He got fourth on merit in an Haas.

Yet again, we're seeing reports of multiple brawls/fights between fans at a Grand Prix. This is becoming an increasing problem over the last few years and is coupled with an increase in abusive behaviour among fans too.

I can't help but think that the way the sport is being sold to the masses now, in the sense of ramping up the drama (and rivalries that don't really exist) by both liberty and social media is a major factor in contributing to a lack of 'oneness' among fans. Online discussions are now a cesspit of name calling, conspiracies, lies and outright bile.

I have fond memories of Schumacher/Hill or Prost/Senna fans good naturedly ribbing each other and it never getting nasty. Indeed I never saw anything but a shared love of the sport over individuals drivers. Whilst I'm sure that's still true for the majority, and there were almost certainly some moments in the past, it feels like we're starting to see a noticeable decrease in that spirit in favour of tribalism.

There's definitely a football-esque element to drivers fanbases online. It's as if you like your favourite driver and therefore must hate their rivals and their fanbases.

I've found myself proactively disengaging withe the general fan base more and more lately. It's quite the shame really

I’ve seen for a while the way ‘fans’ can be so irrational and one-sided when it comes to people they support/dislike

I can pass those comments off as dumb people with dumb views, but yeah when it translates to pantomime boos and violence it makes me think more should be done to challenge the initial views (if that makes sense)