Posts by Raymond Anderson4

graniteharbor502 said:Come on, how are they supposed to squeeze him out on a track this wide? 🤷


If Valtteri Bottas had just moved right, Max Verstappen could have slipped right between them. That would have forced Mercedes into a real dilemma, risking a collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Honestly, that scenario favors Max Verstappen since he holds the points advantage.

Then let him take the middle. The point is, he had the opportunity and should have gone left to block Max Verstappen. If he did that, Max Verstappen would be forced into the center, and that’s where he can go.
What changes there is that by taking the middle, Max Verstappen loses his ideal racing line. Sure, he might still try to brake late, but he wouldn't be able to pull off a move like the one we saw at the start yesterday.
Essentially, Lewis Hamilton would have had a much better shot at winning that duel. He would have seen Max Verstappen right alongside him, and I highly doubt he'd just let Max Verstappen out-brake him like that—even with the braking issues they dealt with at Turn 1 this weekend.
If the Mercedes-Benz crew had decided to block Max Verstappen, it would have worked. The only threat would have been Sergio Perez coming up on the right, which is a sacrifice they could have easily made.

You saw how difficult overtaking was yesterday.
Toto Wolff mentioned that Red Bull Racing was faster regardless, so what does it matter? If Mercedes undercuts Red Bull Racing, the situation remains the same: Red Bull Racing comes out of the pits behind Mercedes and ends up stuck trailing them. You saw how Bottas unsuccessfully tried to overtake a car that was likely half a second slower per lap. Or look at how Sebastian Vettel tried to pass Gia; yesterday showed that having a faster car means nothing if you're stuck behind someone.
Plus, the DRS effect was weakened because of the thinner air. Yesterday, Sergio Perez only gained 0.2 seconds in the first DRS zone while following Lewis Hamilton. That's negligible.
If Max Verstappen had stayed stuck behind Bottas and Lewis Hamilton yesterday, I am 100% certain he wouldn't have won. 🤷
There was simply no way he was going to overtake both Mercedes-Benz cars on pure pace.

Kyle Lopez2 said:That’s a mindless comment. The track is maybe wide enough for five cars, maybe six, and you’re suggesting he should have staged some kind of blockade right when racing etiquette says you shouldn't be dancing around on track.🤔

If Bottas actually wanted to help Hamilton fight for the championship, his best bet would have been to nail the start, hold his line, and give Max the slipstream to pull him up to Hamilton's rear bumper before trying to defend any position.

Instead, Bottas followed the plan and tried to give Hamilton the slipstream immediately, but Hamilton just had a better launch and ended up alongside him. So what was Bottas supposed to do at that point?

With Hamilton and Bottas both taking the center of the track, Bottas had already made his "defensive move." What else could he do? Meanwhile, Hamilton is drifting even further wide to block Sergio Perez.

In that braking zone about 100-150 meters out, all three cars are lined up. What's the move for Bottas when the best thing that can happen to him is staying sandwiched in the middle?

It's a silly take. Bottas just had a poor start, plain and simple. Max used the slipstream to swallow them both up, and that was that. There wasn't much else to be done. If you try to play hero here, you risk slamming into both Hamilton and Max—though Hamilton would likely just spin, while Max would almost certainly shove you off without a scratch.

Going wide and completely missing the apex just to ram Max isn't an option. I don't think any Hamilton fan is foolish enough to throw their driver into the gravel just to hand someone else a championship win. ☕😵

From the start through to the first corner, Bottas stayed dead straight. He could have tucked left before Max caught his tail, but instead, he just let Max pass without a fight. At least he could have closed the door and forced Max to go right; anything would have been better than what actually happened.
Even Max admitted he found the perfect line. He was on the racing line, which allowed him to brake later. Max wouldn't have been able to brake that late if he were further to the right; he would've had a wider angle of attack. In that scenario, Lewis probably would have emerged leading after the first three corners.

Does anyone think any of the top 10 will actually make it through on soft tires? Any takers?

My memory might be playing tricks on me, but I feel like Max has been getting much better starts this year when he isn't starting from pole position.

Toto Wolff says the situation where Max Verstappen was left wide open on the outside of the track should never have happened.
https://www.youtube.com/v=MLRcKFRhNsE

And honestly, I agree. Max was the biggest threat there; if they had just shut him out, they would have secured a 1-2 finish easily.
Bottas should have closed off the outside line, allowing Lewis Hamilton to tuck right into Bottas's slipstream, leaving Max with nowhere to go.
Instead, Bottas got caught out—though, to be fair, he partially caused it himself by driving right into that sandwich.

Raymond Anderson4 said:This race is going to be intense regarding the constructors' standings, especially with Mercedes-Red Bull, Ferrari-McLaren, and Alpine-Aston Martin all fighting for position.

I’m calling it now: I think Mercedes will grab P1 or P2 during qualifying.

☕

Those turns before the first and second DRS zones make it incredibly tough to stay on the tail of the car ahead, which is exactly why Valtteri Bottas couldn't find any way past Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo is such a seasoned pro; he nails those corners every single time, leaving Bottas with absolutely no room to maneuver.

Robert Cox46 said:That was a messy race. I honestly don't get why the driver braked so early going into turn one.

They’re getting a bit exhausting with this "best crowd in the world" narrative. It reminds me too much of those chaotic crowds at the Daytona 500.

The folks over at ESPN seem to think he braked early just to let Lewis Hamilton through on the inside.

Race driver Lewis Hamilton. 👍

Perez isn't going to catch Lewis; I think people are just manufacturing tension where there isn't any. ☕

I’m not entirely sure why he’s stretching his stint this long. They’ll probably switch him over to the harder compounds, but even then, he’ll be way too far behind to make an impact.
The only way that changes is if they decide to gamble on softs 😁.

Ricciardo managed to get under Valtteri Bottas's wheels. It wasn't much, but it was enough to send him spinning.

Max seems to think everyone else is an idiot.
He’s getting pretty tiresome with how he constantly judges the other drivers.

Valtteri Bottas earned pole position.

It looks like Mercedes just managed to get their tires up to the ideal operating temperature better than anyone else, whereas Red Bull Racing couldn't quite find that sweet spot.

Everyone seems to be pulling a tow in Q3. 😁

wiredseal7 said:You’re overlooking the fact that they also had a third Power Unit from Saudi Arabia that lasted three full races. Plus, unlike Lewis Hamilton, who only swapped out his ICE, he replaced every single component in Russia. He even had a relatively easy race in Turkey where he could afford to baby the engine.

The first Honda engine managed six full race weekends including practice sessions, so surely these can hold up too. Unless they decide to run them at full tilt like Mercedes does—in which case we might see a power drop-off during the final two races if things get comfortable.

Mercedes' strategy doesn't really need an explanation. They're playing high-stakes poker with their engines. You can see it clearly with Valtteri Bottas, who has been hoarding engines to save them for the season finale. 🙂

I'm not sure if there have ever been instances during a season where teams revert to an older engine for a race. I know they use old units during practice, but as far as I know, that hasn't happened in an actual Grand Prix.

wiredseal7 said:Go Checo!
Red Bull Racing is the clear favorite in that thin Mexico City air, thanks to both their engine and the car itself. Back in '19, Max Verstappen was half a second ahead of Mercedes on Saturday, but he got hit with a yellow flag penalty and ended up having a rough time battling both Mercedes cars.

One quick correction: Lewis Hamilton is already running his fourth Power Unit. If he decides to step up to a fifth, Mexico City would be a logical spot to do it, though they might hesitate given the points gap and how performance holds up in these conditions.

Max Verstappen might actually need a new Power Unit before the season wraps up. He’s already put three races on this one, and there are still five left to go. Even if he manages to make it to the finish line—which is doable—this Power Unit will be worn out, leaving him at a disadvantage against Lewis Hamilton's Power Unit.

This race is going to be a fascinating battle for the constructors' standings, especially looking at the fight between Mercedes-Red Bull, Ferrari-McLaren, and Alpine-Aston Martin.

I'm calling it now: I expect a 1-2 finish for Mercedes during qualifying.

They really went overboard with the amount of random creatures they threw into the movie; they could have definitely taken it easier.

granitecyclist said:John Boorman: Deliverance?

That movie just didn't hit the mainstream level required to warrant a sequel. Usually, sequels happen when a film reaches cult status or massive commercial success.
For instance, I think Carpenter's Christine would actually have a great plot for another adaptation, but it never quite captured that mainstream momentum.