I heard the announcers discussing that as well but I'm not sold on that because if that were the case it contradicts the fact that Lewis hadn't gotten the message that RB was giving the spot back. Since Lewis didn't apparently know that Max was conceding to him, he should've went for the pass immediately considering Max had slowed down so much. He didn't and just rode his tail, which again, was just weird.
Just watched the replay. Wow. So sloppy. Lol it to unpack. The stewards seemed to be just shooting from the hip at times. Bottas had a good race outside the lockup Thought Ocon would be able to hold him off. I can only guess that Lewis didn't know Max was giving up the spot bc Max was pretty close to being in the middle of the track. Lewis also saved contact by bailing out when Max was going Yolo into turns. It's pretty clear he's willing to make contact. Also I don't know they rules but when Max gave up the spot and got it right back. Merc said on the radio that Max was gonna give it up but it took like 2 laps for him to do it. Are there no rules on time frames on when a driver has to give it up?
I thought the race director did a fine job trying to clean up chaos. I’ve got no clue what Lewis was thinking. Max is clearly slowing, Lewis instead of passing decides to slow down as well. Just odd seems like Lewis was more to blame as I watched it but post race it seems like Max slowed and sped up and slowed again so he gets the additional 10 second nothing burger. These two are destined to crash each other next race and Max will happily claim his first title with that result. Feel bad for RB as Sergio got stuck in a shit sandwich. Charles had no where to go and ultimately it ended his race and basically needed the constructors title.
Easy for us to say he should have passed him. He probably thought there was another safety car or something with the leader slowing down which would have resulted in penalties for Lewis if he passed him under safety car. toto did say the telemetry shows that max slowing down and speeding up during that incident. Danny Ric with a top 5. Sucks for Lando. Bummer from him almost winning Sochi to now finishing 10th like every race.
All drivers are notified at the exact same time when/if there is a flag. The screens on their steering wheels notify them immediately as do the signs on the sides of the track.
Just finished. If Max really brake checked him, that’s dirty but a) Lewis should have passed him earlier and b) if Max really sped up and slowed down I think there’s at least a chance that Max thought he’s given the position, on the accelerator to get back in line and then brakes again when Lewis reacted weirdly. Lewis definitely ended up there in a bad spot on his own but only Max knows what his intent was and I don’t think whatever it was that he thinks he was wrong. Incredible drive from Lewis. Just expect him and Merc to deliver when it counts in Abu Dhabi to be honest. Hoping Max keeps some semblance of a cool on track.
After watching that post race interview I 100% believe Lewis knew what was happening and didn’t want to pass Max till after the DRS, he specifically mentions this at the end of the interview. And just fucked up by running up the back of Max. With that said I hope we get a clean race next week. The championship and us as fans deserve it. Race hard but clean and please don’t let the race director play a role.
Don’t agree with this. Once Lewis realized what Max was doing Lewis started to go around him to the left and hit the throttle and that was when Max slammed on the brakes. The stewards came out and said it was an erratic brake. Max was obviously trying to get Lewis to pass him then as you mentioned but did it clumsily. All of this doesn’t really matter anyways, Lewis was winning regardless with Max’s mediums going
Im 50/50 on whether Max’s tires had actually gone or RB knew the race was done after the 5s penalty and there was zero reason to push. Bottas pushed to the line on mediums.
Is there some evidence of the last sentence happening before the time penalty instantly sealed the race? He was maintaining the same 0.8-1.6sec gap for like a dozen laps. I’ve just woken up so I’m fuzzy but that’s my recollection, Lewis would get close through the first Ish half of the lap but then by the time they got back to the main straight drs detection, max had gotten out of drs range.
Yeah that was happening when they were battling until Max let Lewis through. Max finished ~6 seconds behind Lewis
Because of 5 and 10 second penalties and him just getting the car home, that truly isn’t reflective. No penalties and not being asked to give away the place like seven times and I don’t think we’re having the same discussion today. I can’t even get straight which penalty/place deferral was to which incident, it was truly a fucking mess.
Also Lewis did purples in the last few laps, but if the incident had been called a Lewis fuck up and Max didn’t have to yield the position, Max had extended out to 2.5 seconds quickly. No idea who would have been faster on full throttle at the end - max on old mediums or Lewis with dinged aerodynamics.
Lewis has bailed out of corners multiple times this season, specifically to avoid contact with Max. Not saying Lewis hasn't been aggressive at times but Max is on a different planet when it comes to agressive driving and being ok with wrecking the other.
I think Max ramped up his aggressiveness in response to the Silverstone incident. He's always been an aggressive driver to be sure but it feels like it's gone to a different level in the 2nd half of this season.
I think you can find blame in the accident not only with Max but also Lewis and I would say a good chunk with F1. Not communicating with Mercedes and telling them your going to force Max to give up the spot so be aware is a pretty significant error. So giving the additional 10 second penalty seems unfair, thankfully as you mentioned none of it really impacts how the race would've finished anyways.
The 10 second penalty came after the race (ie when it was clear it wouldn’t matter), right? Assuming that, I wonder how much of it was F1 penalizing that particular act vs. more akin to something like foul accumulation in soccer and warning him for the future.
Max as driven like this all his life. F1 never has punished him in an effort to real him in some from the ultra aggressiveness, maybe that's because for a large portion of his career he was doing it outside of the title fight and giving must see TV for the sport in sections that don't impact the title picture. But now he's doing it with all the spotlight and he's not ever going to budge. If something happens at the final race I can easily see a narrative of "Max crashed Hamilton to win the title" when the truth is "Max crashed out Hamilton because he's a fucking psychopath behind the wheel who doesn't give a centimeter on track ever" Lewis if he want's to win the title will be the one who has to bail next race or Max will crash them. I think you may be right that had none of the fuckery accrued that maybe Max could've held on. We may have actually scene if the tires being pushed to the limits for that long could've A) not blown up B) been in good enough shape to maintain the gap. But once Max had to give up the spot he knew as did RB that Max wasn't going to get around him and the checked it down. Max did hint that given all that happened he felt he got all he could from the weekend. But it would've been nice to actually see it play out.
I think points being added to his license is probably the bigger penalty with more long term impact. But you are correct the 10 sec penalty had no impact on the race given Max already gave up the spot, finished second and also had like a 24 second gap to 3rd. So the 5 + 10 still resulted in him finishing 2nd. What the 5 second penalty did at the time was remove any chance for RB to call in Max and put him on reds to steal a point for fastest lap. Had he gone in to a change it's likely he comes out just in front of Ocon and wouldn't have been able to put a 6 second gap in the laps remaining.
Not saying you are doing this Bankz, but I’m not sure why some are making a big deal about Max not being able to pit for fastest lap. Sure, the optics of Lewis and Max being tied on points going into the last race is cool, but whether they are tied or Max is ahead by 2 points changes nothing for Abu Dhabi.
Got a group text with some friends and we all got into F1 this season thanks to Drive to Survive. Their level of hate for Max is amazing and hilarious. Apparently one of them got questioned by their wife for screaming fuck you at the TV when Max got passed yesterday
People are very invested and emotional about the sport, that's a great thing. But not getting the chance to get the fastest lap shouldn't play into the title picture unless some massive fuckery happens on the final race weekend. I think it will end up winner of the race is our champion. Also given how tough it is to pass on the upcoming track we may have our champion decided on Saturday during Qualifying. If Lewis or Max get's pole I don't see either being passed on the track. I don't believe the undercut is very powerful on the circuit either but don't hold me to that. EDIT: I went back and looked, the only result next race where Max being prevented at Jeddah in going for the fastest lap would be if Lewis finished 10th, Max finished 11th and Max having the fastest lap in Abu Dhabi. In that scenario and only in that scenario would have Lewis finish 1 point ahead of Max and Champion. No other finish would bring Jedda and Max not being able to go for fastest lap into play. What are the odds of Lewis and Max finishing 10th and 11th next race? Extremely low I would imagine.
He's an easy guy to dislike. Him not liking how Netflix is portraying him and he just walks off the podium yesterday just screams spoiled.
Oh I get it. He's a huge baby. But these guys treat him like he's an Auburn grad and they went to Bama. And it's hilarious to me.
When Max was causing all type of trouble for Seb, Charles at Ferrari I too hated Max like no other. So if those dudes are Hamilton fans I understand the passion. Same goes for Lewis but for other reasons, not so much the ultra dangerous driving but for being a lucky son of bitch. I'm sure if Ferrari ever gets back to being a legit contender for a Driver or contractor title my takes on both will scale up.
I'm the only one that's not anti-Max in the group, so I get labeled as a Max fan. I just want someone different than Lewis to win
I'm honestly surprised how quickly (and passionately) some fans get attached to certain drivers. One of the things I like a lot about F1 is the ability to just watch the spectacle unfold and cheer for chaos and exciting races and to see how your predictions play out. I'm probably the weird one here, but whatever.
I was in this very same boat this season. I just wanted a new champion. And especially after Silverstone I was fully on board with Max. But he sure as fuck has made it very hard for me to want to still it happen. I even found myself at one point yesterday actually not being happy that Max took the lead (I believe on the 3rd standing start)
I think this is one of the main things that I've changed opinions on over the course of the season. Mercedes/Lewis is just such a wagon of a team they just continue to overcome variables/obstacles. They do seem to get lucky in a microcosm, but when they continue to get lucky time in and time out, maybe it's time to start thinking that they are just that much better prepared.
I blame Max for making me a Merc fan mostly. I usually hate the Patriots and Yankees type sports teams. Watching DTS I just really enjoyed Toto's personality and disposition. I even like Horner for the most part. If Max wasnt such a baby I wouldnt care. Ive found myself really liking Alonso most but I missed his time with Ferrari. Id like to see a number of the younger guys like Lando, Leclerc and Gasly do well. But I do think a "villian" type like Max is good for the sport.
Exactly, I hated Max when he first came up but damnit do I want someone different to win this year. Ferrari better have their shit together next year
I think I'm with you now. Looking back on years past it was rare that they would have self inflicted wounds. And even when they did Lewis would maximize the weekend and not make it a total loss. So many times a bad pit call or a mistake would start Lewis at a huge disadvantage and so many races his will or talent (whatever you choose) would bring that car from 20th to 2nd at race end or win the freaking thing. If Lewis screwed up or they had a big call needed because of a safety car or weather they seemed to make the safe but correct call. Maybe its because the confidence they had knowing the car is great, the driver is the best ever and so why risk it or maybe its that they are just better operation. I think at the end of the day its a combo of all those things, having the best car, best driver and awesome people calling shots who are well prepared allows you to force others to chase the race and make bigger mistakes. Max being in the spot he's in currently has a lot to do with RB not getting a foot wrong with Max this season they haven't crumbled under the pressure like Ferrari did with Seb. I also think and I know it may be a hot take but Max in his current prime is a better driver than Seb at any point of his career.
My hope for the future is that the money caps combined with Merc and RB having to refocus so heavily on dev for on this season will shrink the gap to the middle teams. I’d love to see more unpredictable podiums, for Ferrari and McClaren and Alpine to win as equally as the top 2.
Yes. Having 3-5 teams able to win consistently would be wayyyy better. I hate seeing Max and Lewis already lapping people 1/2 way thru the race and finishing 20+ seconds ahead of most of the grid.
Max is crazy talented and likely going to win several, if not many, many drivers championships over the next decade+ and there's going to be soooo much salt itt. I'm here for it and can't wait to see it happen. Now if it's George or Lando he ends up at the top against, I'll be very conflicted.
I spend entirely too much time on social media and so I’ve been guilty of liking people out of pure spite. Half the reason I started rooting for Lewis was because the shit that people say about him. I totally get banter and the tribalism that comes with sports, but some of the shit people say about Lewis is appalling and goes way beyond sports. Since I’ve become a much bigger fan of the sport I’ve grown to like him for a lot of other reasons as well. If I’m being honest though, if/when Lewis gets number 8 I would be fine with someone else winning. Assuming Mercedes isn’t a dog next year, I’m excited to see George in a competitive car and I want to see Charles in championship level car again.
The ultimate story line next year would be watching Russell out drive Lewis and his reaction to that.