Red bull had no choice really. They had to do the opposite of Merc to stand a chance of winning. They had nothing to lose by not pitting. Worse case they would have come back out 3rd later when they pit.
What you on about. His own stupidity cost him pole. He knew before he hit the wall that he was up on Lewis, but his arrogance was to try to go faster.
Hamilton has nothing to worry about, they have faster cars and with drs in play in both Mercs should get past Verstappen before the end.
Well this is going to get feisty. Lewis CANNOT allow Max to take another 7 points than him today because effectively Max can just manage a simple top 5/6 finish next week to wrap up a title. He has to make a pass somehow - but will Max slam the door shut?
I'm not sure Merc is much faster on straight than red bull, maybe the rear wing tests have slowed the mercs?
Ched I wonder if they just gambled on an engine for one race (Brazil) at full tilt you know there because he was enormously quick but with awesome downforce so I don’t think the rear wing was as clever as they say- I just think Merc took a view that Interlagos was **** or bust (hence how emotive they were) and they’re now back to a more normal usage of the PU at tracks which suit them better. I just think they cranked up the engine to max capacity for one race having taken a view they could manage it once and then decided they would trust themselves in the Middle East to get the job done? Just a gut feel. A few techies seem to think Merc has more performance in their engines but that reliability means they have to tone down to compromise.
Side note. I think somebody in the steward's room must be a big Bottas fan. No investigation for clipping Raikkonen or for driving at 2mph under safety car.
