Posts by Raymond Anderson4

Does anyone know what the track temperature is right now? Is there any data available somewhere?

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, I have no clue if that's actually a rule or not...
Pepe mentioned it while defending Lewis Hamilton, saying everyone has to be on the grid within 30 seconds, but whether that's true or not, I don't know.
But one thing is for certain: Lewis Hamilton absolutely, positively was not on that grid within those 30 seconds.

It was pretty obvious he was stalling. He was playing it smart, banking on the fact that the guys right in front of him would be stuck on cold tires. It was clever, but honestly, it felt a little dirty. 🙂
At the end of the day, if he wanted to engineer the best possible scenario for himself, he had to micromanage everything—including the start.

stormybadger8 said:There’s zero chance Luxury was on the grid within 30 seconds of the leader, no 🤣
.
It took him a solid 10 seconds just to get to his spot after even Nikita Mazepin had already parked.
Looking at the main feed, he took about 20 seconds from the moment everyone else up to Stroll were lined up...

I'm looking right at it now—assuming the feeds on F1 TV Pro are synced, which they should be...
Then we're barely talking about him making it to the grid within 60 seconds...
Max hits his mark at 09:19, while Lewis doesn't show up until 10:11...

Are you actually sure about that 30-second claim?
Honestly, I'm surprised Red Bull didn't lodge a protest and the FIA didn't hand out a penalty.
Because that was some seriously blatant stalling.
Looks like the start barely squeezed in under 60 seconds from when Max pulled up, but it was down to milliseconds whether they broke the limit or not...

Is that 30-second window actually a rule?
If it is, then sure, he should be penalized if he was stalling on purpose, but who do you actually penalize in other scenarios?
The last guy isn't always the one at fault. You have 18 other drivers between the first and the last; how is the final driver supposed to make it in within 30 seconds if the guys ahead of him are dragging their feet? I think this rule is incredibly hard to enforce fairly. If we apply it strictly, the last driver will constantly end up being blamed and penalized for things they didn't do, simply because the people in front were slow.

This situation with Hamza is clear-cut, though. If it's in the regulations, then yes, he should have been penalized because it's obvious he was stalling.

Jason Campbell70 said:Worst case scenario for Verstappen? He’ll just have to wait for that first pit stop.
One Undercut, and it's bye-bye Bottas.

Best case? Which is more likely, in my opinion? He pulls away right at the start.

Unless Bottas manages an Undercut. Red Bull Racing just doesn't have the pace right now, so there's a real chance Mercedes makes a move and brings Bottas in early, even if it's 2 or 3 laps ahead of schedule. Bottas could definitely play spoiler for Lewis tomorrow.
But a lot rests on Lewis's shoulders here. He needs to put together a flawless race if he wants any optimistic chance of being glued to Max's bumper by the end.

Max should have it in the bag tomorrow if he nails the start and clears Bottas early on. In clean air, I just don't see Bottas being able to keep pace with him.
I wouldn't go with the soft tires, either. Even today, his rubber was a tier above what Bottas was running, so having that better launch off the line made all the difference.

Those clouds started rolling in over the track right toward the end. I'm not sure what the weather is looking like there at this exact moment, but it looked like we were about to get hit with some serious rain.

Perez struggled today, and Red Bull just didn't have the pace to make a move on the cars ahead. It’s hard to argue for an overtake when you're fighting poor exits coming out of Turn 12 and simply lack the top-end speed compared to the rest of the field. Honestly, looking at how those two are performing together, I'm not sure how anyone can expect them to find a way past Carlos Sainz.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:Everyone seems to be conveniently forgetting that Max Verstappen started out on mediums. He didn't even begin closing the gap to Valtteri Bottas until lap 20. At the end of the day, Bottas admitted his tires were absolutely spent and they lasted just about as long as they could.

It’s honestly a joke that Max couldn't just cruise to an easy win while sitting on those mediums.🙄

Around lap 14 or 15, he was sitting with a 1.1 or 1.2-second lead behind him, if I remember correctly.
The tires weren't the issue at all. The real headache was how unstable the Red Bull was through Turn 12 and the Turns 1-3 complex.
Max was losing about two tenths every time he exited Turn 12. It happened repeatedly, which eventually pushed him over that one-second mark and left him vulnerable to the DRS.

Jason Campbell70 said:It’s not just about that "stupid" gear synchronization issue anymore; now we're looking at medium tire degradation too. 🙏🙏🙏

What did he actually say? I caught what Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz were saying, but I missed his part entirely.

Kyle Lopez2 said:It's more like pushing the engine straight to the redline.

He drove that thing flawlessly. You need a driver—or maybe two—who can actually tap into a car's full potential the way he did today. It makes you wonder why Sergio Perez isn't matching Max Verstappen's pace when they're sitting in the exact same machine. At some point, you have to admit it comes down to the person behind the wheel.

Susan Davis7 said:There wasn't much point in risking it all—plus, starting P2 isn't exactly a disaster compared to P1... if you can even call it worse

He couldn't have taken the risk even if he wanted to. Valtteri Bottas managed his tires perfectly, and honestly, their top speed is at a level where Red Bull Racing just can't compete.

Max is going to run into some serious trouble if he finds himself stuck behind Bottas after the first lap. RB simply doesn't have the pace to overtake Mercedes, and they aren't even close.

Lewis Hamilton, what a drive! Man!

Red Bull is basically struggling through Turn 12. Both Max and Sergio Perez are feeling it.

Max doesn't have a prayer of catching Bottas; he just lacks the top speed to make it happen.

It’s actually a bit of a blessing in disguise for Lewis Hamilton that this went down in Brazil. At least now he’s got the Sprint race to try and claw back some lost ground.
Even with a five-place penalty, he’ll likely be starting somewhere around 15th tomorrow, which honestly feels better than being stuck at the very back of the grid.

darkmarlin16 said:Honestly, Lewis Hamilton deserved that penalty.

It was earned, but it's such a shame for the championship and the excitement of the race.

If there’s ever a day where Bottas needs a redo of what happened in Canada, this is it.

Raymond Anderson4 said:It’s definitely possible he’ll face a penalty, and honestly, he probably should. I’d imagine it would just end up being a warning to the team or maybe a fine somewhere in the ballpark of $50,000.

☕

Max Verstappen is scheduled to meet with the stewards in about an hour, so it looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer for a final decision on his penalty.

Today’s F1 management is running a complete farce. 🙏
It’s pretty obvious they’re stalling on a decision, desperately hunting for any tiny excuse to avoid handing Lewis Hamilton a penalty. They know if they let this go, the championship fight is effectively dead.
The next few races are basically just going to be a formality, a slow procession leading up to the final lap in Las Vegas where we officially crown Max Verstappen as the champion.