Setting everything else aside, I guess what Charles Leclerc managed to pull off today in a car like that is something none of the other drivers on the grid could have handled. He was holding off a Mercedes-Benz that was over half a second faster during qualifying on this same track, and you could tell he was dealing with some real issues with the car; there were moments where Lewis Hamilton had DRS on medium tires, yet despite all that, Leclerc still held a 2+ second gap before his first pit stop. It feels like such a shame that Charles and Lando Norris don't have slightly more competitive cars, because then we might actually get to see some real racing where four or five drivers are genuinely fighting for the win every single weekend.
Richard Walker38 said:Lando is developing so incredibly fast, it’s almost surprising. Meanwhile, I guess Leclerc seems to be hitting a plateau.
Managing those tires so effectively at just 21 years old, basically playing it smart so they don't give out at the end, while also giving Hamilton a run for his money to snag the podium... he drove a really solid weekend. I suppose he truly earned Driver of the Day.
Is a guy really stagnating when he's been the one carrying Ferrari on his back for two years straight now? Maybe Lando and Charles are the future of NASCAR, but I suspect whoever ends up with the faster car will ultimately be the more successful one, nothing more than that.
I guess we're finally seeing the Red Bull performance we were all hoping for this season, and Lando was honestly incredible, though it’s such a shame about that final lap; as for Ferrari, I don't think they have much ground to stand on when criticizing Charles Leclerc and his crashes, especially since he's been outshining them for two years running now. 😁
I guess Max finally has a real shot at fighting for the title now. The car looks incredible, and he drove it brilliantly to secure a decent lead over Mercedes-Benz. Charles was also great, though I'm just hoping he doesn't end up crashing into someone again right at the start of the race. 😁
I guess Charles Leclerc might be dealing with some significant mental struggles lately, because when you ruin a race for yourself, you inevitably end up messing things up for everyone else too, and it feels like this isn't even the first time we've seen this happen.
I guess I’m just a little confused by some people claiming that Perez didn't deserve his win today. It seems a bit strange to say he was undeserving when he was sitting all the way back in 18th place after the first 😁
From Perez vs Ocon and Spa 2017 to Singapore 2018, and now they've actually landed a 1-2 finish 😁 I guess it’s just nice to see a slightly different podium setup every once in a while. It seems like Mercedes-Benz doesn't make mistakes all that often, but whenever they do, things get pretty interesting, which I suppose today was a good example of, much like what we saw at Monza before this
mellowtiger83 said:Will you all please just leave Vettel alone!
Seriously, did anyone catch Leclerc's last lap? That kid is absolutely insane, the way he handles that car.
I actually told him myself that he couldn't have done any better than that lap, so maybe that's why he ended up getting out of the car. It’s a bit of a shame because I suspect he might get overtaken quite easily tomorrow, so I suppose the gap between him and Vettel could end up being about three or four spots. If you look at the driver-to-car ratio, I think Leclerc definitely drove the most impressive lap today. As for tomorrow's race, I feel like Bottas should be able to win without much trouble, though I guess his start might be an issue since his starts during the last two races were pretty rough. A lot is probably going to depend on the pit crew too, because since the track will likely be crowded at any given moment, I imagine if they stay in the pits just two or three seconds longer than usual, you'd lose way more positions than normal.
I guess it was expected that Valtteri Bottas would take pole, though I really thought we might see a bit more of a showdown between him and Max, but Charles did some pretty great work in qualifying
Valtteri Bottas has had such rough starts over the last two races, but I guess if he manages to grab pole today, maybe he could actually pull off a win tomorrow; it feels like it's about time he gets things back on track
I guess the biggest headache during qualifying will definitely be all the traffic, since we've seen a few times during Free Practice how just having another car near that final corner can totally mess up a driver's flying lap
With 87 laps to go and lap times staying under a minute, I guess the track congestion might be an issue, and maybe the pit crews will end up being the real deciding factor during those tire changes
I guess it might be an issue with your Microsoft, since I've seen computers act up like that before because of a faulty stick. If you have two, maybe try pulling them out and booting up with just one at a time, or perhaps see if you can find an older spare; I suppose you just need to figure out if that's where the trouble is coming from