[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Autobacs

And Checo knew that hitting and taking out Max would have seriously jeopardized him resigning with Red Bull.

If you take out your triple world champion teammate on his way to his 4th in a row ...
They wont say : You ran a great race !

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Indeed . The RB20 runs not well on hards and great with mediums.

I think this tire is very difficult to prep and has a very small sweet spot. Almost all the teams have had surprising issues from one Q to the next. Not a ding on Pirelli, just the nature of the tire.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

I think this tire is very difficult to prep and has a very small sweet spot. Almost all the teams have had surprising issues from one Q to the next. Not a ding on Pirelli, just the nature of the tire.

It was the Miami track asphalt . It's very slippery and unpredictable .

MAX never found the sweet spot at Miami and was very surprised that he ran the pole .

The McLaren pace was stronger today .

That's what I said yesterday during the QF => https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=132

[gatorfast]

Lando!!!

What a difference a day makes - here is a pic I snapped yesterday as his car was being towed away after the sprint race.

[GuidoK]

I just finished watching the race. Couldn't watch it live as I had a party but watched it without knowing anything about it.
What an interesting race. And Lando finally got his win. Sure a bit of luck with the safety car, but for sure McLaren was really strong today, so Lando definately deserved it.

Both McLaren and Ferrari were pretty much on par with RB today. Too bad that PIA got that damage on his wing, I thought he also was really strong today despite not having all the mclaren upgrades on his car. So that might bring some interesting things in the future.

I wonder what will happen the races to come.
Also a very good result for Yuki in his RBV getting 7th place.
For sure RB (well, Max that is), Mclaren and Ferrari are the top 3 teams of this moment.

[dfox]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

They think Checo made a jump-start and divebombed on the inside but he locked up and missed T1 completely by going straight through ..
The top 4 was very lucky at that moment . Checo could have taken MAX out !
This was a very bad race from Checo

Not a fine showing at T1, but the rest of the race was not terrible. Great defensive driving in an under performing car. He held off Norris for the first third of the race.

Great reactions from Sainz to avoid the accident.

[G30M]

luck of the safety car eh

[NickyC]

Fantastic race, first one all season I didn't have to fast forward through.

[dfox]

Originally Posted by G30M

luck of the safety car eh

2021 would have turned out a lot different if not for a safety car ..

[Davil]

That was a most entertaining weekend. Really enjoyable. Good on Lando!

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by dfox

2021 would have turned out a lot different if not for a safety car ..

Still not come to terms with the 2021 outcome ?

Red flag or safety car: what a difference a flag makes. Enjoy the read: https://www.racefans.net/2021/07/19/...om-retirement/

It's 2024. About time to move on, dfox.

[lens]

This weekend showed that sprint weekends suck for RBR, too little time to find the setup.

Imola though, Ferrari and RBR are both bringing massive upgrades apparently. Newey said the car would be very different and unrecognizable.

I think Mclaren closed the gap slightly.

But track dependant, RBR is still dominant over everyone, Miami was just an outlier.

[Artemis]

Well-deserved first race win for Norris !

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by HeelToeShift

The race today was decent. I think them not calling the VSC earlier and the way the did the SC picking up Max and giving Lando basically a free pit stop to then be at the back and not lose time was terrible. I dont think he'd have won if not for this blunder but low and behold Max still scores more points this weekend than Nor.
I do like seeing Mclaren ahead of Ferrari and it appears MB was right there with Ferrari too. Hopefully both are ahead of Ferrari for next season but good margin.

Lando got his win at last but of course the points totals scored help MAX on his way to move ahead even more with another race gone.
Imola at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in a fortnight will be a welcome back to Europe and hoping all is well with the weather, the race being cancelled last year because of flooding from the nearby river.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Indeed . The RB20 runs not well on hards and great with mediums .

I saw it in Hannah Schmitz face at the pitwall , while Lando got that free pit that MAX wouldn't win this race ..
I mean there was a kind of panic in her eyes, at that moment she already knew it .

Yeah that was well planned and crafty by the stewards for the 'Macs.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Yeah that was well planned and crafty by the stewards for the 'Macs.

Horner : MAX takes out a bollard (cone) , and got a hole in his floor ...
I think it was also by running over the big curb.
It was MAX's first mistake in the last 3 years ..

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Horner : MAX takes out a bollard (cone) , and got a hole in his floor ...
I think it was also by running over the big curb.
It was MAX's first mistake in the last 3 years ..

He decided to go over it head on and saved the car and his race, if he tried to turn then he'd go like Charlie did at Monaco at that time sideways over the curb then the barrier and his race would be over. Actually it's a miracle MAX got second at all with the stewards putting the boot in also with the SC joke timing giving the Mac car the race win there and then, can we guess who was on the stewards...

[M5Rick]

Look at the size of the first RB car compared to the current one, am I the first here to say the FIA are being silly with their rules. The cars should be lighter and smaller than the current gargantuans.

[HeelToeShift]

Originally Posted by lens

This weekend showed that sprint weekends suck for RBR, too little time to find the setup.

Imola though, Ferrari and RBR are both bringing massive upgrades apparently. Newey said the car would be very different and unrecognizable.

I think Mclaren closed the gap slightly.

But track dependant, RBR is still dominant over everyone, Miami was just an outlier.

Agreed. Max also made changes after the sprint which he probably didnt need to make since he won the sprint convincingly. Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone vs the idea of optimizing the setup more.
Ultimately, what Max said was a bad weekend, he wins the sprint, and Nor only wins the race due to some questionable calls on the SC by the stewards, not on merit, if you ask me.

[3798j]

Highlight for me was the masterful restart Lando pulled after the safety car. He stomped on Max right from the get go. Thrilling to watch.

[Davil]

Originally Posted by HeelToeShift

Ultimately, what Max said was a bad weekend, he wins the sprint, and Nor only wins the race due to some questionable calls on the SC by the stewards, not on merit, if you ask me.

Yet he was pulling away 0.5 seconds a lap. Just enjoy it for what it was. Some amazing racing too. Don’t overthink it.

Lewis was a new man this weekend too. He did a chicken little. It was a new day.

And I’m saying this as an Aston tragic. He took both of our cars out in the sprint. Also I’ll admit our car was crap for this circuit. Really crap.

But I still thoroughly enjoyed this weekend. So much racing.

[Car-Addicted]

Note to all you Max fan boys:

Now just think how sweeter Max's next win will be.