Given the layout of the circuits, you’d definitely rather be Hamilton right now. Red Bull are relying on an accident, reliability issue or strategy feck up from Mercedes. I just don’t see how else they can keep Hamilton behind Max after what we’ve seen in the last two races.
F1 2021 Season
- Thread starter pauldyson1uk
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Given the layout of the circuits, you’d definitely rather be Hamilton right now. Red Bull are relying on an accident, reliability issue or strategy feck up from Mercedes. I just don’t see how else they can keep Hamilton behind Max after what we’ve seen in the last two races.
Imagine Bottas' car will be upgraded as well given Mercedes retired it so they would be free to change some parts right?
Frank Williams
Eddie Jordan
Alain Prost
Jean Todt
Jackie Stewart
They are all going back a few years I suppose
Does anyone know which ICE engine lewis ran this weekend? Was it the brasil one or the other one in the pool?
People are saying not the Brazil one... if that's the case then will be interesting to see what it does at Saudi (perhaps it was so fast as its been tuned to only last 3 races?)
Wonder if red bull might just write off saudi and take a new engine / grid penalty and go for it In Abu dhabi
Frank Williams should be one for sure though I never really focused on that side of things when Williams were dominating as I was young and it was all about the cars on track.
Eddie Jordan is great... For channel 4's F1 coverage.
The others I was thinking more about title winning teams when they are under pressure and fighting other teams - they seem okay but didn't really stand out as the nice but level headed guy that Ross Brawn is.
Otherwise I guess you could add a few like Claire Williams, Vasseur, Whitmarsh, etc.
I look forward to Binotto getting involved next year - seems an odd ball with his own set of opinions but with the might of Ferrari behind him.
Toto confirmed it wasn't the Brazil one earlier in the weekend, and that's what his 'spicy equipment' is about above - using that mega engine (or flexi rear wing if you believe the rumours) for the next race.
They've won the next one barring a disaster so it will come down to Abu Dhabi.
Thanks, bbc article confirmed that it wasnt the brasil engine, though lewis used the same rear wing as in brasil. It was RB who changed their wing for qatar, using the rear wing that they used in Mexico and Monaco. They seem to have a structural issue with their rear wing that they use at low downforce circuits I.e. Saudi and Abu Dhabi. Probably why Horner is so salty.
It was the one from Turkey, I think this was that particular ICE’s third race.
The tribalism in here is poetic. 
Hamilton on chasing milliseconds of performance benefits amongst other stuff.
https://the-race.com/formula-1/hamilton-in-depth-on-verstappen-tactics-and-monster-diva-merc/
https://the-race.com/formula-1/hamilton-in-depth-on-verstappen-tactics-and-monster-diva-merc/
RIP Sir Frank 
What an absolute legend, his team is part the reason why I fell in love with the sport. Hugely respected by everyone, an absolute gentleman.
Sad day for F1.
Sad day for F1.
sad day for F1 , RIP Frank
Legendary Formula 1 team owner Sir Frank Williams, the eponymous founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, has passed away at the age of 79.
Sir Frank was admitted to hospital on Friday and passed away peacefully on Sunday morning surrounded by his family.
"Today we pay tribute to our much loved and inspirational figurehead," the Williams family said in a statement.
"Frank will be sorely missed. We request that all friends and colleagues respect the Williams family’s wishes for privacy at this time."
Legendary Formula 1 team owner Sir Frank Williams, the eponymous founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, has passed away at the age of 79.
Sir Frank was admitted to hospital on Friday and passed away peacefully on Sunday morning surrounded by his family.
"Today we pay tribute to our much loved and inspirational figurehead," the Williams family said in a statement.
"Frank will be sorely missed. We request that all friends and colleagues respect the Williams family’s wishes for privacy at this time."
RIP Sir Frank Williams. A true legend.
RIP
He will eternally be remembered as one of those who contributed their genius talent to make F1 what it is today.
He will eternally be remembered as one of those who contributed their genius talent to make F1 what it is today.
RIP. Sad moment for F1. Some of those Williams cars of yester-year were iconic.
Very sad. I was never a Williams man, but if you were to look at the history of F1, 80's was McLaren, 90's was Williams, 00's was Ferrari etc.
A decade of being there or there about and really should have had a few more titles under the teams belt if not for badluck or the FIA not punishing some absolutely amazing machinery (for its time).
Will miss his presence in the paddock.
A decade of being there or there about and really should have had a few more titles under the teams belt if not for badluck or the FIA not punishing some absolutely amazing machinery (for its time).
Will miss his presence in the paddock.
RIP Frank.
How Verstappen can win title at Saudi Arabian GP
- If he wins the race with the fastest lap (26 points) and Hamilton finishes sixth (8 points) or lower
- If he wins the race without the fastest lap (25 points) and Hamilton finishes seventh (6 points) or lower
- If he finishes second with the fastest lap (19 points) and Hamilton finishes 10th (1 point) or lower
- If he finishes second without the fastest lap (18 points) and Hamilton finishes outside the top-10
Aren't all these scenarios improbable? What would make Lewis finish 6th or lower?
I'm a newbie here, who's also not sure who's at fault for the crash between Max and Lewis a few weeks ago.
Ah, noted. Is he at higher risk of a tyre puncture than others? Only reason I can think of is he needs to drive more aggressively or his tyres are different
No he's not. He's usually pretty good with tyres too. Truth is, unless he gets Max's luck from earlier this season and he has a weird tyre failure or gets crashed into, he's nailed on to win the championship.
I just got a feeling something will go wrong for Lewis in one of these two race weekends.
That's the issue. People have been too bold in their claims that he's now the favourite - yes the car looks so much better, but there are so many variables that can go wrong for Lewis. Strategy feck ups, tire blows, engine malfunctions, yellow flags, red flags, crashes, even just a mistake. Him and Mercedes have to be 100% perfect, whereas Verstappen can come around 4th in one of these races and win the other and still win the WDC.
This really is a bizarre take. The nature of the season and current standings means that neither of these two drivers is anywhere near nailed on to win it. It’s completely open. That’s why it’s so exciting.
Exactly, he needs to be impeccable for two races, four days (quali and race). And the pit crew to be spot on. Lot more racing to be done. Yes the car looks mighty in his hands but he still has to bring it home. Lewis hasn't won 3 consecutive races this season, he has to go on a 4 winning streak to be World Champ. Kudos to him if he can do it.
Given that Verstappen is ahead in the standings, Hamilton couldn't win the championship next race, but Verstappen theoretically could. These bullets just show that would theoretically be possible - nothing more, nothing less.
I do also think Hamilton is favorite now. He's blown Verstappen away with his engine two races in a row now, and according to Mercedes, he didn't even use his Brazil engine last time. Based on that info, Hamilton is most likely to win the next races, and if he does so, he wins the champtionship.
Yes, anything can happen and therefore it's completely open still; but barring accidents/luck, I think it's clear that Hamilton currently has the best papers.
I just disagree, sorry. There are just so many elements to F1 that a simple analysis of faster car = best chance to win race = favourite just doesn’t stack up beyond being a straw man. If both drivers were on level points then yeah sure. But they aren’t. Max has an inherent advantage because of that and therefore you can’t just ignore it in concluding. Like I said, so much can go wrong - which isn’t just based on bad luck - that could mean Hamilton doesn’t win both races. And on top of that this engine point seems to have been made into a bit of a misnomer. Hamilton didn’t have the fastest straight line speeds and actually he made up a lot of his time in a few key corners in Qatar. Add on top of that that we are only speculating that Merc Have the faster car at these tracks which may be wrong given it’s chopped and changed all season (albeit the evidence I agree does suggest it is likely to be the case). Anyway, i think your opinion that he is favourite is fine and I can understand it even if I disagree. I just things like “he is nailed on for the championship” are quite clearly and factually too far).
Oh, I agree - 'nailed on' is too strong, for all the reasons you've provided. But if I had to place a bet right now: given that Hamilton and Verstappen have both been incredibly steady racers this season, that Hamilton has had a clear advantage the last two races, and that I can't predict luck, I'd bet on Hamilton.
Yes they are improbable, but not impossible.
Anything could happen, pit stop could go wrong, Lewis could have a DNF, equally the same could happen to Max.
The last races this season are apparently more suited to Mercedes and Lewis has been on fire for the last few races.
Is Lewis favourite , no I dont think so, but he has momentum and all the pressure is on Max.
Either one could make that one small mistake that costs them.
Looking forward to Saudi.
And that’s fair. I think critically for Hamilton is that it is in his hands to the extent that ignoring all the many things that can happen, if he drives fast and wins he wins the title. And I agree evidence suggests he should have the faster car these races. So I think we are on the same page there. We just weight the potential “things that could go wrong” differently when picking who we’d bet on I guess. I would bet Max because a) I don’t think Red Bull will be much slower if at all (and that narrows the leeway Lewis has in any errors), and b) F1 is so unpredictable that his points advantage just gives him the edge - can not be perfect and still win the title, perhaps. It’s like in football, you might be the better team but if you’re down 1-0 at half time, you’d still have to weigh in a lot of factors before deciding if you really think the come back is on!
How's it bizarre? The difference in pace the past few races was huge. If nothing weird happens Hamilton should win. Unless Red Bull suddenly find some pace like Merc have but I find that highly unlikely. Of course anything can happen, but the likely scenario is Hamilton wins.
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!
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!
I’ve already explained why in a number of posts above.
Yeah, there's that as well. Another element to factor in would be that RB have generally out-strategized Mercedes during races this season, which is not in Hamilton's advantage if things come down to the wire.
All in all, as @ZIDANE says, it's promising to be a very exciting end to the season.