F1 2021 Season

ZIDANE said:
The consistency and talent from either HAM or VER means if either of them have a slight advantage they win the race.

It's Hamilton's to lose in a weird twist because everything points to Merc continuing to have the same pace advantage during the previous wins, just as Red Bull had when they were winning.

It's incredible really, I don't think we've seen this level of consistency from drivers and such reliability in a car during races. Remember when engines used to blow up randomly during a race, it's so rare.

I just hope it's decided on track not with a final stewards decision a day after the final race!
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No, at the end of the day it's still Max's to lose because theoretical points count for feck all.
 
slyadams said:
I've heard something along the lines that RB might consider Jeddah a bit of a lost cause so want a fresh engine for Abu Dhabi. Fact is, if all goes to form and there's no disasters Max would finish second with a 5 place penalty anyway. So if RB think they're most likely going to finish second in the race regardless, its not a bad plan.
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Don’t know about that
Most likely would finish 3rd - got to think Bottas could be ahead of him. Especially if they think the race is a write off to Mercedes, Bottas must have a much quicker car as well.

Finishing 3rd with a Lewis win takes away what we know Max is prepared to do, he’ll do whatever to defend that place and would believe a crash that takes both out of the race is a tactic worth considering.
 
sewey89 said:
I can't shake this thought from my head of Lewis winning but without the fastest lap this weekend so that he's 1 point behind going into the last race and Max just ploughing into him at the first turn of the final race, taking them both out and winning the WC :lol:
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If that happens, surely that's points deduction for Max which will give Lewis the WDC.
 
sun_tzu said:
if its deliberate they will just chuck him out of the championship like they did when Schumacher took out vielneuve

that said it does seem to be building to something like senna prost
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Well he's already tried it once and got away with it so...
 
EdWeatherall said:
Don’t know about that
Most likely would finish 3rd - got to think Bottas could be ahead of him. Especially if they think the race is a write off to Mercedes, Bottas must have a much quicker car as well.

Finishing 3rd with a Lewis win takes away what we know Max is prepared to do, he’ll do whatever to defend that place and would believe a crash that takes both out of the race is a tactic worth considering.
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I can't see it. I feel like Bottas would need an absolute rocket ship to beat Max in an actual race. In races where both Bottas and Max have finished this season Bottas has finished ahead of Max just once. I'd feel pretty comfortable if Max started 7th or 8th he'd still finish 2nd barring any issues. However, I concede this is a track we have no knowledge of, it could be a Monaco in terms of ability to overtake.
 
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I see the press is criticising Hamilton for Mercedes decision to use the company that made the Grenfell cladding as a sponsor.

They do realise that he doesn't choose the sponsors, right?
 
Got a feeling this race will be either absolutely bonkers or put to sleep boring.

I'm leaning towards the former. A very high chance of a safety car too i'd expect.
 
Adam-Utd said:
Got a feeling this race will be either absolutely bonkers or put to sleep boring.

I'm leaning towards the former. A very high chance of a safety car too i'd expect.
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Agreed, I’m hopeful the high speed nature will lend to bonkers. I’d say a high chance of a red flag during the race as well with the limited run off areas.
 
Best case for the neutral would be a Hamilton win, with max finishing in a decent position. Sets it up for a winner takes all race in the last round. Really hope this is what we get.
 
Frosty said:
I see the press is criticising Hamilton for Mercedes decision to use the company that made the Grenfell cladding as a sponsor.

They do realise that he doesn't choose the sponsors, right?
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Considering most modern homes will have kingspan used as insulation I can't really see the outrage here.
 
Max Verstappen sees little benefit in taking on a fresh Honda engine for the final two races of the 2021 championship, as the change would not result in a performance similar to what Mercedes has received.

In a bid to give title contender Lewis Hamilton an edge this weekend, Mercedes has assigned to the Briton the fresh power unit he used to good effect in Brazil, a decision justified by Jeddah's high-speed profile that will require maximum power output.

But Verstappen believes that Honda's engines remain powerful and reliable despite their increased mileage, which implies that there would be little benefit in suffering a five-place grid penalty for the sake of taking on a fresh unit.

"Well, we don't have that peak [in power] with a new engine as Mercedes has," said Verstappen on Thursday.

"Our engine is actually pretty consistent throughout its lifespan. So doing an engine change like that doesn't really bring us a lot."


However, Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko has allegedly said that the Milton Keynes-based outfit is still mulling an engine change for the final round in Abu Dhabi for reliability purposes.

But the Dutchman believes that "we should be able to make it" to Yas Marina with his current pool of engines.

Hamilton's consecutive wins in Sao Paulo in Qatar, where he reduced his deficit to Verstappen in the Drivers' standings to 8 points, suggest that the Briton and Mercedes have the wind to their back ahead of F1's showdown.

But Verstappen says circumstances could come into play this weekend and make or break either team's chances.

"I don’t believe in something like momentum myself," he said. "You have to perform and do well every weekend again.

"We'll see this weekend, but I always find it hard to predict what the situation will be like exactly. It's all in the details, but more things can happen on a street circuit than on a normal circuit anyway."
 
I think the title will be decided this weekend. Maybe not mathematically, but I just have a feeling that one of them will have an issue and get a DNF or finish way down.

It'd be a real shame as this season deserves a proper climax and a final race shoot out.
 
Mercedes is much stronger at the moment so Verstappen needs a bit of luck. A lot can happen in two races so exciting times. Hope it not gets decided in the jury room.
 
sewey89 said:
I think the title will be decided this weekend. Maybe not mathematically, but I just have a feeling that one of them will have an issue and get a DNF or finish way down.

It'd be a real shame as this season deserves a proper climax and a final race shoot out.
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It might not even take something as drastic as that. I can see a situation where someone pits under a safety car period and gets a massive advantage to win the race that they were otherwise losing.

I hope it goes to the final race too, but it’s much easier to say that as a Hamilton fan. If the tables were turned I’d be wanting it done this weekend.
 
Dan_F said:
It might not even take something as drastic as that. I can see a situation where someone pits under a safety car period and gets a massive advantage to win the race that they were otherwise losing.

I hope it goes to the final race too, but it’s much easier to say that as a Hamilton fan. If the tables were turned I’d be wanting it done this weekend.
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Pèrez to do a Nelson piquet junior and tactically go into the wall...

Wouldn't rule it out with how bitter this battle between merc and red bull is getting
 
Camilo said:
Considering most modern homes will have kingspan used as insulation I can't really see the outrage here.
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It's stupid to blame Hamilton but Kingsland are a despicable company and Mercedes should be ashamed at using them as a sponsor.

Not sure why the fact their shitty death trap products they lied about are in many homes should quell any outrage:wenger:
 
Saudi Arabian GP FP1
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Wouldn't read too much into the times yet but Perez looks like he's well off it which doesn't help Max.
 
adexkola said:
Another newb question

How does Perez "help" Max?
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Apart from by crashing other racers of the track (no, not actually), if Perez is ahead of Hamilton, he can block his progress. For example: Hamilton does an early pit stop and gets back on the track behind Perez. As Hamilton is now on fresh tires, he will be able to go quicker than others and move through the pack quickly, while other racers will also get out of the way by pitting themselves. Once Hamilton reaches Perez this way (whom Hamilton is expected to take over given his superior speed and skill), then Perez can help Verstappen by being hard to overtake (within the rules of racing), thus holding up Hamilton and making him lose time.

Similar with Perez keeping back Bottas, since if Bottas in whatever situation is ahead of Max, he is also expected to hold up Max - even if Bottas has generally been spectactularly poor at doing so this season. Of course, Perez and Bottas can also race for themselves, but since they are much slower than Verstappen and Hamilton and less likely to win anything major, the better team approach for them is to play second fiddle in a more strategic role.

On a separate note, I always like Verstappen's interviews (like the one posted by @pauldyson1uk above). I see more of it in Dutch media, where he has this great no-nonsense approach, just tersely speaking his mind without playing games. No bigging himself or others up or the inverse, just realism (from his perspective anyway). I prefer that over the mindgames and political answers.
 
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