We already know Lewis had Corona, so he's got the antibodies.
It wasn't just Lewis who tested positive; a ton of them caught it during the break. Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, plus Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton during the season—maybe even others, I didn't catch everyone, but basically they all picked it up back in January 😬. If I were some conspiracy theorist, I'd say they were probably advised to get it done during the hiatus just to stay safe for the season 😁.
I remember reading somewhere that Toto handled it for some of them, and the elder Stroll did too. A lot of them probably did.
I honestly doubt the ones who didn't get sick aren't vaccinated. It all gets handled through those private channels. If regular folks are scrambling for the vaccine, you can bet these guys are getting it too.
neonfox65 said:Here’s another perfect example. Okon went for an overtake with all four wheels off the track—and he did it three different times! The FIA didn't say a single word about it.
Look at that battle between Leclerc and Verstappen at Silverstone. The drivers aren't the problem here; the issue is the FIA failing to actually enforce the rules. Even Brundle pointed it out right after the duel, saying "he took the position outside of the track," yet there was absolutely no reaction from the officials.
It's just like FIFA and their nonsensical VAR calls. You have these vague rules that the ref interprets however they feel like in the moment, and then you see the exact same situation handled completely differently in two different games.
stormybadger8 said:Honestly, I have no idea what's crazier about this whole fanboy nonsense. 🤣 Talking absolute nonsense like how Germany isn't actually dominant in this hybrid era 😍 Or rambling on about how anyone could have won those titles if they were driving that German car... It's hard to say which part is more idiotic...
Look, I will never get this. First, people claim Mercedes-Benz is so dominant that Hamilton had it easy getting those titles, but then a few sentences later, they're acting like it was total luck and anyone could have done it. 🤷
Generally me, I just don't get why people try to downplay someone's success just because they're driving a great car. If we follow that logic, we should just erase all of Vettel's titles at Red Bull, wipe away Alonso's wins in that dominant R25, and just toss out Michael's titles at Ferrari too, right? If we're talking pure dominance, during their most dominant season, Mercedes-Benz scored 44% more points in the constructors' championship than the runner-up. Back in 2002, Ferrari scored 59% more.
Over the last two seasons, that car has been absolutely dominant, even if it did show some weak spots here and there. It wasn't even close to this level of dominance in previous years. Plus, they’ve got a solid second driver who consistently grabs points, which really helps them pull ahead in the Constructors' Championship.
When I said "normal people," I meant folks who actually look at things realistically. Most of the posts here are just straight-up teenage-level whining. Look, I don't even like Hamilton for other reasons, but claiming he spent the MAJORITY of his career in the best car is pure idiocy. He’s had a 14-year career, and only in the last two seasons was he truly dominant to the point where he could basically stroll through most of the year. Back in his early days at McLaren, sure, the car was good, but it wasn't untouchable—he was out there fighting hard with Alonso and Kimi. After that, McLaren just turned into a total wreck. During his first three years at Mercedes-Benz, the team was still building up, and he was constantly battling Rosberg. Once Rosberg left in 2017, he finished 40 points ahead of Vettel, mostly because Vettel had two DNFs in the second half of the season. Honestly, Vettel shot himself in the foot during that season and the one after, essentially handing the title over to Hamilton.
Yeah, 2019 and 2020 were boring because he had zero competition, but saying he had a superior car for the VAST majority of his career is just plain stupid.
Larry Rivera83 said:And after everything, Lewis Hamilton's body language once the race wrapped up suggests this was probably his toughest battle since 2016. Things are about to get really interesting.
Look, I don't totally love him because of how he kept running wide, but my respect for him shot through the roof after that race.
I honestly can't remember the last time I saw an F1 driver literally beaming and grinning from ear to ear just because they got to go wheel-to-wheel with someone on track. That is what a real athlete and a true racer looks like.
I was glued to the live timing the whole time, and Lewis seemed to be pulling away just a bit on the straights. It wasn't until Max Verstappen got into that DRS zone after flying off following the lockup that things shifted. Even then, he didn't seem to close the gap nearly as aggressively as usual, mostly because once a car loses momentum like that, it's hard to recover when you're trying to hunt someone down in DRS.
Larry Rivera83 said:Alright, am I just losing my mind here? I could swear Max and a few other drivers were also going off track at that exact same spot! I can see the image perfectly in my head, but I really don't have the energy or the time to sit here and replay the whole race just to prove it..
Max got a message over the team radio that the Mercedes drivers were cutting the corner there, so he figured he might as well do the same. After that, the commentators were joking about how they’d report everyone, only for the team radio to play a few laps later where they tell Hamilton he’s going to get the black & white flag if he keeps it up.
I honestly don't see any issue with what Lewis Hamilton did. It was a brilliant bit of dancing right on the edge of an undefined rule. You take advantage while you can, and once they catch on to what you're doing, then you play dumb.
If the briefing had clearly told them "no," they wouldn't have done it. From what I gathered by listening to the statements afterward, nobody explicitly told them it wasn't allowed.
We've seen this kind of loophole exploitation before. I remember one year—I think it was in China—when Sebastian Vettel overtook two cars right in the pit lane entry section, only to later act all innocent and claim he checked the rulebook and saw nothing forbidding it.🤣
Like I wrote yesterday, Hamilton planned this entire thing out perfectly. He went for the aggressive move during the first half of the race, knowing that once they realized his tactic, he could just back off and eliminate his opponent's advantage later. And that’s exactly how it played out. He essentially forced him off the track by positioning the car just right, leaving him with no choice but to go wide. Total masterclass.
Bottas was pretty quiet today. He stayed ahead of Norris, but he just didn't have enough pace to catch the leaders, even with the team constantly barking at him over the radio to push harder. I honestly think that once Perez isn't dealing with issues like we saw this weekend, he’s going to walk away with the win whenever there's a scrap for third place.
Raymond Anderson4 said:I think Max’s tires were shot, even more so than Lewis Hamilton’s.
No way. Honestly, Lewis Hamilton’s tires were actually in worse shape. He ended up going wide right before the duel, which basically handed Max Verstappen an even earlier opening than anyone expected.
That’s just pure experience from Lewis. He played it perfectly and his defense was absolutely masterclass.
Look, everything Lewis Hamilton pulled off today was pure veteran savvy. He was dancing right on those track limits during the first half of the race because he knew the team would eventually step in and warn them to tighten it up. By doing that, he basically set the stage to knock Max Verstappen out of contention later on, allowing him to make up ground once his tires started falling off. Then, he positioned his car perfectly during that duel, forcing Max off the track and completely breaking his focus.
Top-tier driving. Max Verstappen was also absolutely phenomenal, but you can't just buy experience—you have to earn it over years. I am seriously looking forward to seeing more battles like this throughout the season.
That annoying "walk us through it" guy on TV asks Nikita Mazepin about the "positives to take away from the race," even though the guy barely lasted three laps. 🤣
I’m seriously impressed with Charles Tsunoda; the kid drives like he’s got ice in his veins. It’s such a shame Pierre Gasly ended up shredding Daniel Ricciardo's tires and completely ruining his race—honestly, I think he would've walked away with a solid finish today if that hadn't happened. The midfield battle is going to be absolute chaos. McLaren looks incredibly sharp right now, assuming Daniel Ricciardo can just get those tires up to the right operating temperature. As for Lando Norris, he drove an absolutely flawless race.
bluepuma9 said:Max Verstappen totally blew this one. When he moved back to give Lewis Hamilton his spot, he was way too aggressive. He stayed too close to Lewis through that next sequence of turns, which caused him to slide, and I'm pretty sure he overheated his tires. After that, he lost his pace for a lap or two, and that was all the room Lewis Hamilton needed. He was just being too Emotional.
analogpilot16 said:Now we’re finally going to see what Max Verstappen’s mental game is really like when he actually has a car capable of winning a championship. We'll see if he cracks under the pressure or stays cool.
I highly doubt it. Max Verstappen is an elite-level driver mentally. Now that he finally has a top-tier car, we are in for one hell of a season.
The mere fact that Hamilton is clearly itching for a chance to go toe-to-toe with Max says everything you need to know about how much he lives for racing. Honestly, I bet the last two years have been a total drag for him. At least back in the day, he actually had some battles with Vettel before the guy retired from the sport.
