Posts by Raymond Anderson4

As of today, the finger emoji isn't about Vettel anymore—it belongs to Max Verstappen. It would be pretty incredible if he celebrated a win with that same iconic gesture Vettel used to do. 🤣

Can someone please Photoshop Max's head onto Vettel's body for those victory celebrations where he uses the finger? 🙏

Drew Bennett68 said:Things are really starting to simmer now.

Well, that's just how Americans roll. They really are pros at what they do. 😁

Jack Kelly5 said:I guess it’s just way better to settle a championship using an illegal car instead, right?
🤦

I just wanted to say that it's absolute madness to let a championship reach a point where it's decided by technicalities like this—especially when I don't think the driver has any say in the matter. As far as I can tell, I don't believe Lewis Hamilton had any idea about the improper DRS usage.

I get it, things are starting to drag. If Lewis falls behind and Max just cruises through with a massive points cushion, the championship is basically decided right then and there. It’s honestly ridiculous to let a title be settled that way.

We’re all still sitting here waiting on Lewis's penalty, even though the decision was clearly made. 😁

Or maybe they just took Max Verstappen aside for some testing to see if he actually has some supernatural strength in his hands. 🙏

Nicholas Torres37 said:In my opinion, Max might end up getting penalized for messing around with the setup😁

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.

If the Drag Reduction System was truly left open too long, then a penalty has to be issued. I really hate seeing this happen, though—it’s such a shame when things get decided by technicalities instead of letting the championship be settled out on the track.

Drew Bennett68 said:That penalty is going to impact tomorrow's results.

Exactly. If he doesn't drop back, then even after Lewis's penalty, he'll still be ahead.

It looks like Bottas has already checked out for the season; his mind is stuck firmly in 2022.

It’s crucial for Red Bull that Perez doesn't mess up the sprint tomorrow and manages to stay ahead of Lewis heading into the main race. They might not be able to hold him up for an entire stint, but even just five or six laps could make a massive difference in the final standings.

In my view, if Max gets an incredible start and sees a clean opening to make a move into Turn 1, he should go for it. But honestly, it might be better not to overextend. There isn't much track before that first corner anyway, so he likely won't lose second place regardless.
Sunday is what really matters here. Losing a single point tomorrow probably won't change the big picture.

Jason Fox2 said:Are Brazilians just stuck in the past, or did they run out of sponsors and have to start looping those old commercials???

As far as I know, the Expo is currently underway after being pushed back because of COVID.

Lewis Hamilton was outstanding, Max Verstappen looked good, and Valtteri Bottas put in a solid performance.

Looks great.
Honestly, I should probably take a stroll through the
Paddock.😁 Or maybe just grab a spot on the balcony and watch Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, and the rest of the crew walk around below.

graniteharbor502 said:Valtteri Bottas is already turning into the corner right at the moment shown in this photo. His line is set. Ricciardo has to adapt to that since he's trailing behind. You can't just force your way into a path occupied by someone who has already committed to the turn ahead of you. Ricciardo likely thought there would be space, but he misjudged it. It was his call, and his mistake.
This is the exact point of contact:


What exactly is Ricciardo looking for here? 🤷
A penalty is absolutely warranted. 👎

What is he looking for? Why is staying on the racing line a crime? He moved to the right specifically to avoid hitting anyone, and in my view, he isn't forcing his way through at all. He isn't even close to an illegal overtake.
Also, we don't know anything about Bottas's speed. If he was slowing down significantly at the moment of impact, then he basically made himself an easy target.

You could argue that Daniel Ricciardo should have backed off, but if you look at the image, Valtteri Bottas is on the left. As the frames progress, he drifts further and further to the right until they make contact.
I rewatched the footage today, rewinding it several times. Ricciardo was holding his line; there wasn't a single moment where he jerked the steering wheel in a way that caused the collision. He drove his line through the corner perfectly, and honestly, I don't see any issue with how Ricciardo handled that turn. In fact, at the exact moment of impact, half of his car was already on the curbing, which makes me think he actually gave plenty of room to Valtteri Bottas.
Just notice his steering—his wheels were already turned into the corner at that point, and Bottas wasn't even close yet.
In my opinion, this isn't worth a penalty. It’s just a racing incident.

The situation with Ricciardo Bottas is a tough one to call. Some people might be looking for someone to blame, but honestly, I wouldn't hand out a penalty here. To me, it feels like a 50-50 split on the fault. Ricciardo could have probably braked a bit harder since he had a clear view of what was happening, but then again, I think Bottas took that corner just a little too aggressively and ended up clipping Ricciardo's front wing.

This sprint could be a bit more exciting than I’m hoping.
I have a feeling Mercedes will show some real strength, but Max Verstappen looks even stronger; he always seems to find an extra gear at this track.

George Miller2 said:Honestly, Red Bull looked like a dominant car yesterday.
If nothing else, you can see it in the AlphaTauri results... Has Yuki Tsunoda even made it into a Third Quarter this season? As far as I recall, never..
Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda... All those cars had an incredible amount of potential.
It feels a lot like those old Racing Point results.

They were dominant, sure, but only when there was nobody ahead of them. Perez was taking half a second out of Lewis Hamilton on average per lap, but once he caught up, he hit a wall.
Here is the breakdown of Perez vs. Max Verstappen

49 lap 1:19.468 1:20.672 -1.204 +6.068
50 lap 1:20.188 1:20.461 -0.273 +5.795
51 lap 1:19.675 1:20.111 -0.436 +5.359
52 lap 1:19.890 1:20.224 -0.334 +5.025
53 lap 1:19.686 1:20.130 -0.444 +4.581
54 lap 1:19.882 1:20.628 -0.746 +3.835
55 lap 1:19.643 1:20.281 -0.638 +3.197
56 lap 1:19.960 1:20.577 -0.617 +2.580
57 lap 1:20.309 1:21.141 -0.832 +1.748
58 lap 1:20.151 1:20.427 -0.276 +1.472

graniteharbor502 said:But you have to be ahead of Max Verstappen to pull that off. According to the telemetry data, Max was braking 15 meters later than both Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton. It doesn't matter how perfectly Bottas holds his line if Max Verstappen is already ahead of him before they even hit the turn:


Besides, you can see Hamilton was slightly ahead of Bottas there, so why didn't he just squeeze Max out by moving toward the car on his right? 🤷
What’s really important to remember is that this happened at the very first corner right after the start. Neither the tires nor the brakes are at their optimal operating temperatures yet. Drivers are essentially flying blind, relying entirely on gut feeling to decide when to brake or how to approach the apex. And in those moments, Max is in a league of his own.

The truth is, Max managed to brake that late yesterday simply because he was on the racing line! That was the main factor.

He mentioned it during the press conference and again after the race—he found an opening on the racing line that actually had grip left in it.