That does sound more plausible. If he had issues with his hand surely they would have hedged their bets by putting a reserve driver in 1 car for a practice session thus giving them options. Even if it was Alonos's car, so Stroll could have seen how his wrist went. OK so it was unlikely both cars would be in the points but with only 1 car they limited their chances. Then again it was a lot of upgraded parts to risk on a reserve driver.
It did seem in the interviews everyone was keeping quiet re Max, no one seemed to want to criticise. Is that something to do with the stupid FIA rules in not saying anything controversial to bring the sport in to disrepute? Not that words make much difference after the track incidents. Just had the feeling all the drivers and team principals where being very diplomatic, a bit too diplomatic for the Piranha Club! Max given 3 more penalty points!
I think you’re spot on Ched . They have mentioned an easing of the swearing rules , but have they said anything about comments that criticise the stewards etc ? I even understood why Max simply refused to discuss the incident , damned if he does , damned if he doesn’t ♂️
Although I’ve felt it for a while, now we’ve had the rule change, I think I can confidently say that the WDC is going to one of the McLaren drivers. Although they’re basically only a point per race apart, I have to say somehow this “fight” feels really dull. Some part of that is that Norris and Piastri haven’t really raced each other this year with McLaren waving off the only times that seemed possible in Aus and Japan, but - in general - each driver has had their strong and weak events and so there’s been little combat. McLaren have definitely done a good job in instilling a team first mentality, but that’s resulted in two drivers who don’t seem that bothered which of them will come out ahead. Given this is the last year of the rules cycle, and so this might represent the only chance for these two for a while, I do hope this heats up a bit going forward.
Lando is going to have to find his teeth if he’s serious about winning anything. He is as meek as anyone I’ve ever seen at the front end and I’m amazed at how he rolls over to the big fish around him. He didn’t fire a shot at Piastri today whatsoever.
Lewis in a “poor old me, the world must hate me” shocker. I have absolutely no idea what he is doing - he should be rallying Ferrari all around him and building relationships for 2026, but he’s being the cringeworthy diva we’ve come to know and expect in recent years. Lost to Hollywood I’m afraid and totally out of touch. Been a pretty stellar career but he has been very, very average now for 4 seasons, with just the occasional glimpses. I imagine he’s really struggling in there on limited Italian and in a team where Charles is truly immersed. But then that was obvious and he should have known what he was walking into. He could do with a Rob Smedley or Ross Brawn type in there to bridge the gap but when you look at how Schumacher went there and rallied the troops compared to this little whingebag, it’s night and day. I’m at the point where you have to wonder how he’d have fared in closer battles instead of the dominant hybrid Merc of 2014-2021 that he was gifted. He is definitely one of his generations best but do I rate him far above Alonso? I’d say Fernando and Lewis closely matched then Seb just behind, but not the ‘GOAT’ we get led to believe by British media and statisticians.
'Pretty stellar career.' He's the most successful driver in the history of the sport. Granted, he's past it now and is a bit of a whinger - but respect where its due.
That's also how I see it. They havent/didn't suddenly become bad drivers but they lost their edge due to age but also having spent a career at the sharp end and having accomplished the ultimate, multiple times. Slight lack of motivation and will to give 110%. Compare that to the guys at the front who are at their peak and are scrapping, in many cases, for their first world championship.
Late to the party as I've been so busy. But the only way to deal with Max and his dangerous antics are to slap on race bans. Petulant, childish and dangerous. He's a great driver, but over the years he has got away with murder.
With Hamilton, I think it’s probably fair to say that this generation of cars don’t play to his natural strengths, but also that he’s failed to adapt to them, which is where - perhaps - the age part comes in. I’ve long felt that with Hamilton that he’s always been very good at “inflating his own legend” which probably leads to unrealistic expectations from both himself and fans. It seems to me that he’s lost because he’s searching for something - vastly outperforming his car - that I don’t think he’s ever had. The media have played their part too - as you say - and certainly any discussion about GOAT status is going to be based solely on headline statistics with the counter arguments being based on a more nuanced and sophisticated view of the numbers. F1 also is really competitive now - how many drivers on the current grid - given Hamilton’s career - would you back to meet or exceed his achievements? Honestly given the cars he’s been in this rules cycle, I’d say his performances have been mildly disappointing in the sense that they are the worst of a bunch of very good F1 drivers up front and that lack of adaptation is probably the difference between being competitive within that group (which I think is his level) and just off the back.
Stewards have announced that they would not have asked Max to give the place back to George for the 1st of the corner incidents as they believe it was Max's corner! So his team were in the wrong when they instructed Max to let George past! I wonder if this will be the point that Max decides to switch teams for 2026?
Yep completely take your point- I guess what I’m alluding to is whether or not those statistics are slightly nuanced given the level of dominance and lack of challengers he had in those Merc hybrid years. But of course, no multi champion has ever not had at least a couple of dominant cars (Prost, Senna, Schumacher, Vettel) so he’s not alone in that regard. But very few had the clear run of years that the Merc team had. I mean Christ, they had an 80bhp advantage over the Red Bull Renaults for such a long time. I just can’t help but look at those 2007-2013 and 2022-2025 years now, with the benefit of hindsight, and say he looks quite as God like as we’d have thought in 2014-2021, ie when he’s in amongst multi competition - he’s still clearly a very, very good driver but perhaps not the absolute greatest of all time is what I’m saying. He is/was quality, but I think we’re seeing that against Russell, LeClerc is very different to battling Valteri Bottas. He can still turn it on and get it done as we’ve seen in Silverstone, Spa and Shanghai for example, but what frustrates me more is his mindset and public attitude I think more than anything- I think unless he wraps his head around things or Ferrari deliver a proper machine next year, it could end in tears because Ferrari won’t put up with it forever. He has to own the fact that Russell and Le Clerc both are performing more consistently than him at the minute. I still think his his championship experience could pay dividends if Ferrari are fast out the traps next year…power unit could be key.
This feels like a moment where they might have missed the experience of Wheatley, so I wonder if it’s really telling him anything new? I still think we’re in a holding pattern, no-one has any real need to jump yet and most teams will accumulate huge 2026 progress between now and the summer break, which is when I think we might start to see things happen.
Problem with Max is he isn't really reacting to what is happening in the here and now, he's reacting to what happened years ago when he made his dad angry. Don't know if that can ever be fixed tbh.
He’s the most successful driver in the history of the sport STATISTICALLY . More races per season , More points per race . Brilliant driver no argument . I do however agree with Sir Jackie Stewart , that you can only really be compared to Drivers of your own era . Otherwise there are too many variables .
Yeah, I wouldn't say he's the best driver ever. Also cars are a lot more reliable nowadays. I'd agree you cannot compare eras - especially if you were too young to watch them.
I remember 81 onwards . Very good point about reliability . not sure if you were around or not , but the turbos letting go could be quite spectacular
Tad too early for me! My earliest memories are the end of Mansell/Prost/Senna although I was around 5/6/7. I remember it being announced on the news that he was dead. My era is really Schu vs Hill onwards. 80s stuff looks great to me!
