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Grand Prix thread Aramco United States Grand Prix 2021

Discussion in 'Formula 1' started by ched999uk, Oct 21, 2021.

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Who will finish first?

Poll closed Oct 23, 2021.
  1. Lewis Hamilton

    53.3%
  2. Max Verstappen

    26.7%
  3. Valtteri Bottas

    6.7%
  4. Sergio Perez

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  5. Lando Norris

    6.7%
  6. Daniel Ricciardo

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. Sebastian Vettel

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. Fernando Alonso

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  9. Charles Leclerc

    6.7%
  10. Any Other

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. TopClass

    TopClass Well-Known Member

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    Intriguing finish to the season! Max was excellent under pressure today so well done to him and the team.

    Mexico on paper should see them ahead of Mercedes (on a side note- look out for Ferrari there- I remember someone saying mechanical grip is king at high altitude and I rightly or wrongly feel Ferrari has that).

    Red Bull on paper have an edge in Brazil too, but I have to say that the 3 Middle East races look nailed on for Mercedes to be strong.

    IF Hamilton pulled out a Middle East clean sweep, that wouldn’t leave much margin for Max to win the WDC.

    It really is mighty close and now reliability is everything.
     
    #181
    Quite Possibly Raving likes this.
  2. El_Bando

    El_Bando Can't remember, where was I?
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    To be fair if Max didn't have the blow out in Baku and not been punted out in Silverstone then this would be a non contest. We're lucky to have it this close
     
    #182
  3. Mark Blow

    Mark Blow Well-Known Member

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    The only person to blame for not finishing at Silverstone is Verstappen himself. What about Italy then, Verstappen took out Hamilton so neither of them finished.
     
    #183
  4. Justjazz

    Justjazz Well-Known Member

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    Neither finished in Baku, but I have to say Mercedes are messing this up. They could and should have won yesterday. It is not all about lap times and tyre wear, it is also about track position. Merc focused on the first two and ignored the last one. They had the opportunity to gain track position and chose not too. That borders on dumb. They know how strong Max is. They could have done the undercut on the second change or pitted earlier than Target plus 8. Their computer modelling ignores the human element (a line from 'Sully') and the unexpected, e.g. Max getting DRS off a back marker and Lewis not getting DRS.
    I am going to say Mercedes deserve to lose this year. RBR deserve both titles this year. Yes they might have benefitted from having a budget for two teams, but if so, that itself is innovative.
    I will be pleased for Honda who have been vindicated. Mclaren had the right strategy partnering with Honda, just the wrong personalities.
    I am annoyed with Toto who is, in my view, in denial.
     
    #184
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2021
  5. SgtBhaji

    SgtBhaji Well-Known Member

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    Baaaaah. I was thinking Mexico was this coming weekend. Can't wait two weeks for the next installment.
     
    #185
    ched999uk and TopClass like this.
  6. TopClass

    TopClass Well-Known Member

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    same! Gutted!!
     
    #186
  7. Justjazz

    Justjazz Well-Known Member

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    you will both enjoy it even more when the race starts. When you get to my age, 2 weeks feels like 1 week.<laugh>
     
    #187
    Big Ern, TopClass and ched999uk like this.
  8. SgtBhaji

    SgtBhaji Well-Known Member

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    My problem is, there's two weeks of work to get through before it gets here... That's just torture! :p
     
    #188
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  9. El_Bando

    El_Bando Can't remember, where was I?
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    The ones I listed were big points losses for Max. Im going to add the Bottas hungary punt too.

    The Silverstone incident was Hamiltons fault. He went aggressive. Was left loads of room and tried to push Max wide. He does this all the time and is well documented. The line he took in monza was also irregular but the corners were tighter and was to defend. Max should have seen it coming.
     
    #189
    push likes this.
  10. eddie_squidd

    eddie_squidd Well-Known Member

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    Hmmm. Without meaning to keep raking over this one, I would contend that Lewis did go into the corner very aggressively, intended to take the racing line but understeered towards Max rather than deliberately forcing him wide. You can argue it amounts to the same thing, but I think the intent is different.

    From Max's side, he steers into Lewis even though he knows he is there, as shown in the video from his car. He seemed to assume that Lewis would drop back. If he had gone wider (there was space) he would have been in a good place to have the inside going into the following corner, but chose to take his line and to hell with the consequences.

    Racing incident. Arguably both had a part to play, with Lewis perhaps slighlty more guilty, as was refelected in the penalty he received.

    On the plus side for Max, this and the other Monza incident should teach him valuable lessons about when to attack and when to err on the side of caution and strike when the opportunity comes, which it was likely to later in both races.
     
    #190
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2021
    Justjazz, ched999uk and DHCanary like this.

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