Posts by Raymond Anderson4

stormybadger8 said:It wasn't that Ferrari was fast, it's just that RB was incredibly slow during this race...
First off, Ferrari clearly pushed their luck too far, which ended up causing one car to catch fire and the other to break down...

On the flip side, RB obviously completely botched their setup. They were absolutely destroying their tires and had zero grip, so they never stood a chance at being fast...

Besides, one swallow doesn't make a spring...☕

One swallow doesn't make a spring?

What about Australia or Monaco? During which part of the weekend did RB actually look equal to Ferrari to you?
Spain? Did RB really match Ferrari there?
I think those are rhetorical questions...

Come on, TBF, please...

If Max Verstappen keeps going at this rate, he’s going to be driving like he's walking on eggshells by the end of the race.

Pierre Gasly.

But this isn't even comparable to Sergio Perez.
Sebastian Vettel was way over to the left, with part of his car practically on the curbs. At the moment they made contact, Sergio Perez had plenty of track space available on his left side.

Douglas Roberts49 said:Ferrari is going to mess up their pit stops again
There's no way they won't

And even if they don't, Red Bull Racing will just catch them anyway.
Their pace is just too dominant. It doesn't really matter what anyone else does when Red Bull Racing is on the track.

swiftmaker12 said:Is Ferrari actually paying attention to the other drivers?
Fernando Alonso is stuck on hard tires, and everyone is piling onto him like they're racing through a heatwave in Celsius
and they honestly think those tires can last over 40 laps.

Total idiots.

How is Max supposed to manage that many laps then? His medium tires didn't even last 15.

swiftmaker12 said:That Ferrari pit crew is just a bunch of idiots.

Why say that?
They didn't even lose the race. If anything, their pace looks great. I actually think they're looking at a clear win here.

Raymond Anderson4 said:The Ferrari fans are looking good right now. Max might be forced into a double pit stop.

Then again, if those top three drivers maintain a solid pace, Max could pivot by pitting for softs and then hunting down the Ferraris.

Ferrari is looking really strong right now. At this rate, Max might actually be forced into a two-stop strategy.

It’s a shame for Ferrari; they really deserved that 1-2 finish...

stormybadger8 said:bla-bla-bla...
There is absolutely no question that Red Bull Racing is a significantly better package than Ferrari right now—and I mean significantly.
Last year, they were clearly superior to the Bear, which is why Max barely managed to scrape that championship title.

Another issue was how the FIA basically looked the other way regarding Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes last season. It felt like they were blatantly favoring Mercedes and Hamilton right up until the final race of the season.
Then, suddenly, they started making excuses about needing to clean up their reputation, acting as if they weren't biased toward Red Bull Racing all along. 🤣

But this season, Red Bull Racing is a much stronger package in almost every department, except for the drivers. When it comes to qualifying pace, they’re pretty much on par with Ferrari, but in everything else, they are miles ahead...
If you look at the driver talent—Max Verstappen vs. Charles Leclerc, or Sergio Perez vs. Carlos Sainz—it’s roughly equal. It’s a matter of nuances rather than one being vastly better than the other...

Sure, Ferrari usually holds the edge in qualifying, but you have to wonder how much of that is the car versus tire management or just having a lucky day.
In terms of Race Pace, Red Bull Racing takes it without question.
And don't even get me started on strategy. There's a world of difference there; Ferrari doesn't stand a chance against Red Bull Racing when it comes to tactical decisions...
Pit stop speed? Again, Red Bull Racing is miles ahead.
Team Management and big-picture decision-making—like deciding which driver gets priority and when—is where Red Bull Racing leaves Ferrari in the dust. They aren't even in the same conversation.
Regarding tire management during the race, Red Bull Racing has the advantage, even if they struggle more in qualifying.

Ultimately, Red Bull Racing is the superior package. It wouldn't even matter which driver was in which seat; the result would be the same because races are decided on Sunday, not in qualifying...
Even if you swapped them—putting Max and Charles in the Ferrari and Sainz and Perez in the Red Bull—Red Bull Racing would still lead both championships...

If Red Bull Racing is indeed the better package, then they are simply better suited for the actual race.
What keeps Red Bull Racing at the top is Max and his experience, plus his deep connection to the team. It reminds me of the eras of Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull Racing or Michael Schumacher with Ferrari...

In Bahrain, they were neck and neck. Whoever had the edge in tire preservation took the win. In Bahrain, following the cars was tough because the tires dropped off so quickly. Charles Leclerc made the most of that.

Saudi Arabia—Red Bull Racing was slightly ahead, but that wasn't the only factor. By the end, we were watching a duel between identical cars because of how the tires were behaving.

Australia—Ferrari was ahead.

Imola—Red Bull Racing.

Miami Grand Prix—Red Bull Racing.

Spanish Grand Prix—Ferrari.

Monaco Grand Prix—Ferrari.

Baku—Red Bull Racing.

Canadian Grand Prix—neck and neck, though Red Bull Racing had the better strategy. I suspect the outcome would have been different if Charles Leclerc had been running right behind Max.

United Kingdom—I'm not sure; until Max had to pull out, it looked like a three-way battle with almost identical pace.

cosmicmoose2 said:If things don't get messy right at the start tomorrow, it’s going to be a snooze fest. Red Bull just has too much race pace on this track.
Sainz looked sharp, but it's pretty clear he isn't matching Leclerc's pace. It could be an issue tomorrow, at least during the opening laps, until Leclerc manages to get out of the DRS window.

Everything changes if Leclerc manages to jump Max at the start.
To me, Max didn't look untouchable today. It seems to me that Ferrari is managing their tires quite well—not any worse than Red Bull.

The main thing keeping Red Bull at the top is their top speed. That’s exactly why Perez made such progress; his top speed was incredible, even when the driver ahead had DRS, Perez was still closing the gap.

I’ve got a feeling Ferrari actually has the race pace here. I used to think Charles Leclerc would be the one taking both the sprint and the main race instead of Max.

Drew Bennett68 said:They stripped almost all of Perez's time slots, so he's starting 13th. This should be interesting.

It’s going to be an intense sprint, assuming we don't see any major collisions in the opening lap.

Aston Martin is really struggling to get those tires up to temperature during qualifying. We didn't see these kinds of issues back at the start of the season, so I suspect the recent upgrades to the car might actually be the culprit here.

Roger Wright94 said:Someone mentioned this was a great move:
Charles Leclerc vs Lewis Hamilton - Copse corner

The Sky Sports crew pointed out that you really can make that overtake there. There’s a solid comparison to be made with last year’s race; looking at the footage, Lewis took a much tighter line toward the apex this time, whereas he went wider through that section last year.

graniteharbor502 said:What Max did was actually done by Carlos Sainz Jr., Sergio Perez, and Charles Leclerc during this same race (though I'm not quite sure about Lewis Hamilton). So, saying "everyone does this" doesn't really hold water because most drivers are already doing it.

In that case, everyone should have at least received a warning.

I watched the second start, and in my opinion, Sainz drove aggressively, but he didn't force Max Verstappen off the track.
We definitely need a better camera angle to judge the situation between Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

On a separate note, if a driver capitalizes on your mistake and begins an overtaking maneuver, and Mick Schumacher is already mid-pass in the final corner of the last lap, you can't just shut them out. This isn't a video game.
That’s exactly where Max was—he shouldn't have closed the door like that. He could have squeezed Mick Schumacher toward the edge of the track, but instead, he lunged straight in, acting as if he had already cleared him.
And honestly, if Mick Schumacher had been even slightly more aggressive, we would've seen a collision.

Richard Walker38 said:Some of you would penalize 90% of on-track duels

Mimozice

You can't just block a driver who's trying to overtake you.

If someone is faster—maybe they have better exit speed or they outbrake you—just be a class act and take it on the chin, but defend yourself before that happens. Why didn't Max just squeeze Mick before the corner itself to take the tighter line? Max was on the wider path, Mick had better grip, and he went for the inside move, but he didn't actually establish himself there because it looked like he just teleported into the slot.

Roger Wright94 said:Mick finally grabbed his first points. Honestly, he might have even walked away with a higher position if he hadn't run straight into Max. Once Max decides to shut the door on you, there’s just nothing left to work with—not even a crumb.

Mick vs Max

Max deserved that penalty for what he pulled there; it was just way too much. Mick actually had the better exit speed—mostly because Max’s damaged floor really messed things up—and he held a solid line on the inside, but Max just shut the door on him.
If everyone drove like he does, we’d see nothing but desperate lunges at the DRS zones. Every time someone tries to make a move, he just shuts the door immediately. Look, if you miss an apex or someone else simply gets a better exit out of the corner—or maybe they're just stronger on the brakes—you can't just constantly drift wide or block their line to compensate. It's not sustainable racing.

wiredseal7 said:I don't think Binotto even had the guts to attempt a double stack to avoid messing everything up. For some reason, Sainz ended up with the advantage—maybe because he didn't finish his front wing (or whatever they were thinking).

Maybe Sainz didn't want to slow down Hamilton when the SC came out, fearing Leclerc would snatch the win from him instead. It looked like he went straight after Leclerc right after the restart rather than playing it cool and holding him up.

It was Sainz's moment; he’s been waiting for this for a long time after finishing second so many times. Still, he just hasn't shown the same level as Leclerc this season. He lacked that extra bit of pace, which was obvious when he was struggling under pressure with that damaged front wing (unless that somehow helped his tire management).
He also made a mistake under pressure while being hunted by VER. That could have cost him the victory entirely if VER hadn't picked up a piece of debris from an AT car and damaged his floor.

But honestly, they messed up even more by not asking Leclerc.

They only had one driver capable of fighting for the win. If they had consulted Leclerc, Ferrari would have had a legitimate shot at a 1-2 finish.

Binotto screwed up, but he's trying to frame it as if Sainz would have lost 10 seconds in the pits, whereas he would have only lost maybe a second or two.

At the end of the day, Leclerc was leading on track, so he should have been the priority.
Instead, Sainz got the edge and Leclerc is the one losing out.
If they had gone for the double stack, the total loss to the team would have been much smaller than what happened by skipping it.

Brian Garcia24 said:Charles Leclerc failed miserably again this weekend, regardless of how much some people want to praise him (I’ve even seen some ridiculous articles about it over at ESPN).

Why did he fail miserably?
He actually had a solid weekend. It didn't go his way, sure, but if there hadn't been an SC, he would have won. He would have won convincingly because his pace was simply untouchable compared to everyone else.

Brian Garcia24 said:What I find funny is how everyone emphasizes that he was fast despite having a broken wing, as if that damage wasn't HIS fault—specifically, his stupid and insanely risky move against Sergio Perez. If it had been Max Verstappen, maybe I wouldn't complain, but risking everything just to get past Perez is just reckless. Then again, maybe he realized that Perez is really his only true threat. 😁

If we're comparing him to Carlos Sainz, he was faster even with the damaged wing.

Brian Garcia24 said:Secondly, all his issues this weekend—like the fact that he got stuck behind Sainz in the first place—are his own fault due to poor qualifying and that mistake in Q3. Apparently, everyone conveniently forgot that.

He was only 0.315 behind the leader in rainy conditions.
So he wasn't first, but what's the big deal? Even Max Verstappen wasn't always on pole during qualifying, yet he still went on to win races.

Brian Garcia24 said:And now Sainz is supposed to back off because he might be a tiny bit slower right now, even though he earned that first place fair and square?! It’s not like Charles Leclerc is on a different strategy or running a second faster per lap, which would make a fight pointless. No, he's just slightly faster; he has zero chance of overtaking him on track, leaving him with nothing to do but cry over the radio.
Worst of all, Ferrari clearly showed they were favoring Charles, and they even had Sainz let him through at the end. I suppose karma caught up with them eventually, even if it happened by accident.

Personally, I wasn't bothered that he didn't move out of the way. The issue is that when Ferrari goes wheel-to-wheel, their top speed isn't much different from anyone else's. In fact, Charles Leclerc could have sat behind him for another 20 laps and still wouldn't have passed. There was a delta there—Charles was consistently faster, just not fast enough to make the move.

If you want proof that Charles was actually quicker, look at what happened during the swap. In the following eight laps, he pulled ahead by 4.2 seconds.

So why didn't Carlos Sainz pull away by 4.2 seconds while Charles was stuck behind him?

That strategy was a mess. They absolutely screwed over Charles.

Mattia Binotto claims they weren't sure about a double stack. Fine, but what was the alternative?

If they had gone for the double stack, Carlos would have lost maybe a second or two at most, potentially coming out behind Lewis Hamilton.
Essentially, they would have had a 1-3 for Ferrari on the SC restart, both on soft tires. How is that worse than having one Ferrari on fresh softs and another on hards who is guaranteed to drop back? Charles was already at risk of losing positions to Fernando Alonso...
It basically came down to this choice:
1. Carlos loses a maximum of one position but stays on fresh rubber.
2. We leave Charles on old tires and risk him dropping to 5th or 6th.

They chose option 2.

How is that anything other than favoring Carlos's strategy?

Brian Garcia24 said:Regardless, Charles can seem faster to casual fans because he’s always driving right on the edge. But that style leads to a mountain of mistakes, which have been hard to count this season alone. He even had two just this weekend, though luckily one didn't cost him too much.
Carlos is a far more consistent driver, even if he looks slower sometimes because he doesn't take the same risks Charles does.
At the start of the season, it was clear the car didn't suit him, and he dealt with an incredible amount of bad luck—likely even more than Charles if you tally it all up.
He’s roughly on par points-wise, and after that blunder Charles made in Italy, I actually said Carlos was the right pick for Ferrari this season. Even though he was nowhere to be found then due to those two straight DNFs. But Carlos has finally found his rhythm with the car, and the result is that the last time Charles was ahead of him was in Miami, six races ago.

Can you actually list these mistakes he's made all season?
Imola?
The contact with Sergio Perez the other day?
What else?

And you say the last time he was ahead of Carlos was Miami?

He was first in Spain, and he would have been the worst possible second-place finisher if it hadn't been for that mechanical failure—he was beating Carlos.
In Monaco, his strategy ruined him. He was the fastest man all weekend—qualifying, and in the race up until the first pit stop, sitting 4.7 seconds ahead of Carlos.
In Canada, he recovered five spots from the back, finishing just three behind Carlos. It's such a shame that Charles wasn't right behind Max Verstappen during those last ten laps.

United Kingdom, again, his strategy let him down.