Not a fan of the sprints, but this one did actually deliver, with racing all the way through as you say and it’s nice to have watched almost 20 laps and not be certain who has the best car (if anyone). Carlos drove particularly well imo. I was shocked by the stat that Max has outscored Lando since Miami, if he does go on to win the WDC that’s going to be the main reason why. If nothing changes dramatically over the last few races then McLaren WCC and Max WDC would be a fair reflection of the year imo.
I read this is one of the parts teams publish the designs of, so that anyone can copy them and that it’s been like this for at least 3 years. I agree it seems an odd approach, but I guess if it works, in a cost cap era you just live with it until changing it brings a performance benefit. Zac still seems to be casting aspersions, but I note they’ve been made to change their rear wing again and it’s stopping anyone talking about that I guess…
Ted Kravitz on his note book said Andrea Stella denied the wing change was forced on them , or to hide something .
Yes, officially the FIA has “asked” some teams to make modifications, which is probably the best way to handle the flexi wings given it’s a bit of a grey area.
It won’t get any attention but Alonso sticking that absolute dog of an Aston in P9 for Q2 is absolutely spellbinding. How he has wrestled that mess into Q3 is utterly remarkable. God tier.
It’s a grid that should provide some interest for tomorrow. Sainz in third seems like the one to watch for me, he battled throughout the sprint, but still kept his tyres in good position, which should pay him back more over a longer distance.
Sainz has had a strong weekend here to be fair. He is making the most of this car for his final few races before Williams. Looks a really intriguing race - it would really get tense if one of them can jump Max too and keep him in some dirty air- I get the impression all teams are very closely matched. He hasn’t had a great weekend but a sleeper like Piastri in P5 is very dangerous if the front 4 are battling each other.
oh, predictions. I'll be boring, Max takes the lead at T1, but then after 10-15 laps the McLaren finds pace.
