Mexico City GP: Nov. 5-7, 2021

Richard Walker38 said:I wouldn't exactly characterize that as a blatant collision, would I? There was a bit of a lock-up, and it seems like Valtteri Bottas cut him off slightly in his line. The contact was incredibly minimal, and honestly, it appears Bottas was still pushing at full throttle during that exact moment, which likely caused him to lose traction and experience some wheel spin.

He got tossed out from the rear. Historically, instances like this have resulted in shared penalties, haven't they?

The only real blunder was that Sergio Perez didn't snag the fastest lap when it was obvious Lewis Hamilton wasn't going to catch him. In a tight Constructors' Championship battle, that's the kind of extra point that actually matters.

Sent from my iPhone

Drew Bennett68 said:Pierre Gasly finishing 4th? Respect.

Honestly, he should be seeing finishes like this all season—and even last year—if the guy hadn't been hit by that massive accident. It feels like almost every single race, someone screws him over. It’s either his own team making a bad call or some other driver slamming into him. He tries to dodge everyone, ends up spinning out, and just falls down the order. It's frustrating to watch.

Richard Walker38 said:I wouldn't exactly call that a clean hit. He locked up a little, and Bottas kind of cut him off on the line. The contact was pretty minor, and honestly, Bottas was still pinned full throttle at that exact moment, which probably caused that wheel spin.

Give me a break, he slammed right into his rear tire at the apex of a corner that Bottas was taking normally, while this guy charged in at a ninety-degree angle.😵

The fact that Bottas braked early was just a lucky break for him, whereas losing control and locking up only made things worse.

Kyle Lopez2 said:Give me a break. He caught him right on the rear tire at the apex of a corner that Bottas entered perfectly fine, while this guy came flying in at a ninety-degree angle.😵

Look, I’m not saying there wasn't contact, but it wasn't that blatant, aggressive, classic "I'm going to ram you" move where someone locks up, just like how Bottas did to Norris and the Red Bull guys.

He locked up a bit and clipped the tire. Honestly, he did more damage to his own car than he did to the other guy's.

I find myself sitting here, rewatching these recent interviews, and I am honestly struck by a sense of disbelief at how Lewis Hamilton chooses to disparage Perez. He even had the audacity to laugh it off, remarking, "when you realize someone like Sergio is actually putting pressure on you, that's when you know the car is truly elite." It feels entirely unnecessary, doesn't it? To me, it strikes a rather low note. One would hope for more grace—to rise above the fray even in the face of defeat 👎

Richard Walker38 said:I mean, I’m not saying he didn't crash into him, but it wasn't that blatant, classic move where you just squeeze someone out while locking up, like what Bottas did to Norris and the Red Bull drivers.

He just squeezed him a bit and clipped the tire. Honestly, he probably did more damage to his own car than he did to the other guy.

Just a little nudge🤣🤣🤣

The kid caught him right on the rear tire and spun him out at the very start of the race.🙏 He's as guilty as Sanader.🤣

Gave his tire a little squeeze.

:rofles:

graniteharbor502 said:I’m watching these interviews now and I honestly can't believe how Lewis Hamilton is throwing Sergio Perez under the bus. He’s basically laughing it off, saying, "when you see someone like Sergio Perez pressing you, you know the car is great." It's just unnecessary—and honestly, pretty low. If you're going to lose, at least lose with some dignity. 👎

Classic Englishman move—acting all high and mighty.
Sergio was one of those underrated drivers last season, and he's finally finding his rhythm now that the Red Bull RB16B is essentially built entirely around his teammate.

We should keep this in mind for when George Russell starts giving him a run for his money in that 2022 car.

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.

wiredseal7 said:Classic Englishman move—playing it smooth.
Sergio was one of those drivers who just flew under the radar last season, but he's finally finding his rhythm now that he's in the RB16B, which was basically built specifically for his teammate.

Just wait until George Russell decides to give him a run for his money in that 2022 car.

Honestly, it’s about damn time—especially since he got the lucky break of not getting kicked out the second he started stalling, which we've seen plenty of already.

Word on the street is that Sergio Perez was stuck running a pretty rigid, default setup for a while, but over the last four or five races, they finally gave him the keys to tweak things himself. It looks like he’s finally stumbled upon a setup that actually feels right to him.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Toto Wolff claims that the situation involving Max Verstappen, where he was granted access to the outside line, simply should never have unfolded like that.

And honestly, I find myself agreeing with him; wasn't Max actually the most dangerous element in that specific moment, given that if they had successfully shut him out, they would have essentially secured a 1-2 finish for themselves?
Ideally, Bottas should have been guarding the outside line while Lewis Hamilton maintained his position on the inside, leaving Max with absolutely nowhere to maneuver.
Instead, what we saw was Bottas being left hanging out to dry—though, if we are being perfectly honest, he bears some responsibility himself for allowing himself to be caught in such a squeeze.

It strikes me, almost as an afterthought, that perhaps they had coordinated this entire formation prior to the race, with Bottas holding the flank and Hamilton positioned on the inside, intended to let Lewis slip through to take the lead; did they perhaps fear Max Verstappen would dive down the inside, leading them to leave that outer space open as a precaution? It seems they never anticipated that someone would simply bypass them so decisively during the turn entry, especially when Lewis Hamilton was already providing commentary after the first lap about the urgent need to address their braking issues.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Toto Wolff mentioned that the situation where Max Verstappen found an opening on the outside shouldn't have happened.

I'm inclined to agree; Max was actually the most dangerous one there. If they had shut him out, they would have secured a 1-2 finish easily.
Bottas should have held the outside line while Lewis Hamilton stayed tucked alongside Bottas's side, leaving Max with nowhere to go.
Instead, Bottas ended up exposed, though he did share some of the blame by getting himself sandwiched in.

That's a pretty silly take. The track is maybe wide enough for five or six cars, and you're suggesting someone should pull off a blockade right when you aren't supposed to be dancing around on the circuit.🤔

If Bottas were fighting for a championship against Hamilton, it would have been better to just hold his ground at the start and give Max the slipstream to pull him up to Hamilton before attempting to defend the position.

In this case, Bottas was following the plan to immediately give Hamilton the draft, but Hamilton just had a better launch and ended up alongside him. So what was Bottas even supposed to do?

With Hamilton and Bottas occupying the center of the track, Bottas had already made his "defensive move." What else could he have done? Meanwhile, Hamilton is drifting even further wide to defend against Sergio Perez.

By the time they hit the braking zone about 100-150 meters out, all three were lined up. What was Bottas's best move there, considering the worst thing that could happen is staying stuck in the middle?

It’s a nonsensical comment. Bottas just had a poor start, plain and simple. Max used the slipstream to overtake them both, and that was that. There wasn't much else to be done. Trying to dive down the inside here is just asking to wreck both Hamilton and Max—though Hamilton would probably just spin, whereas Max would likely get pushed off without much damage.

Diving down the inside and completely missing the apex would just mean slamming into Max. I highly doubt any Hamilton fan is foolish enough to throw their driver under the bus just to help Max win the championship.☕😵

ruggedhawk20 said:You actually hoping for something!?

You're a moderator. You've got all the tools you need so you don't have to "hope"—you just make a threat and the users fall in line.

Regular users like us are stuck with nothing but hope, but not you.

And why would I even thre...
Look, I can always just edit a post. It’s not how things are usually done, but it works.

Besides, the schedule is clearly laid out in the first post. I have no clue what the hell you're complaining about. 🤷

Richard Ross11 said:What a complete joke this Bottas guy is...

What kind of nonsense are you talking? Bottas is an alien. 😳
I mean, who else but an alien could take the worst car on the grid (thanks to Toto Wolff and The followers) and nearly pull off a hat trick? 🤣
The guy grabs Pole (half a second faster than the lead Red Bull Racing car) and then takes the win (over a full second faster than the lead Red Bull Racing car...), all while hitting the pits maybe five times, and still manages to finish ahead of both Haas F1 Team cars and both Williams Racing cars. 🙏

Raymond Anderson4 said:Toto thinks it shouldn't have happened—that Max getting that opening on the outside was a mistake.

If Toto hadn't meddled in driver relations and nagged Bottas about letting Hamilton through ASAP, Mercedes would've cruised to victory...
The question is who, but there’s no way Red Bull Racing could have passed them on pure pace unless they messed up the start and let the golden boy ahead...

Red Bull Racing had better race pace, sure, but not enough to pass the Bear just like that.
Look at Perez; he couldn't touch Lewis Hamilton if he tried, and wouldn't have been able to even if the race went another 15 laps...
Even better example: Bottas was behind Ricco, and the speed gap was massive on Bottas's side, yet he was still completely helpless.
Same deal with Sebastian Vettel vs. the Nazi; Vettel was clearly faster and spent the entire first stint stuck in the DRS zone behind him, unable to make anything happen...
But once the Nazi pitted, Vettel moved up and left him choking in the dust...
And it wasn't just that; within ten laps, Vettel went from being about 18 seconds ahead of Ricco/Bottas (if he'd covered the Nazi, he would've ended up behind them since pit stops take ~22 seconds) to a massive 30-second lead. The Nazi fell so far back I stopped even checking his position after three or four laps...

Bottom line: Bottas and Hamilton absolutely botched the start, and that's the real reason Max finished ahead. Everything else is just fairy tales.
And they blew the start because Toto decided to stick his nose where it didn't belong. ☕

stormybadger8 said:Another perfect example—look at Bottas stuck behind Ricco. That speed gap was massive on Bottas' side, so he stood absolutely no chance.

Honestly, this is just a rerun of every single time this season Lewis got stuck behind Lando and couldn't pass him for the life of him. Either Lewis and Bottas are just total amateurs who can't handle one kid and some random guy like Ricco—totally possible—or you're in that spot where if you push too hard to close the gap, you totally wreck your car by driving through dirty air (also totally possible). If it was the latter, Perez would've probably been trailing Lewis until the finish line on old tires and still wouldn't have passed him.

It’d be pretty cool to run an analysis at the end of the year to see how many overtakes actually happen in the final stages. Just guessing without actual data here, but my vibe of the season is that track position is mostly decided right at the start, and then everything else comes down to strategy, weather, and pit stops—plus whatever mistakes happen there. Even in those nail-biters where they're chasing someone down to the line, there's rarely any passing left. The only thing that comes to mind is Bahrain, where Max Verstappen passed Lewis near the end, but then had to give the spot right back, and couldn't pull it off a second time.

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.

I honestly don't get why people think Mercedes stood any chance of actually making a dent in the standings. Let's be real: Max Verstappen would have picked them off before they even finished the first lap. The only way they had a shot was if they managed to sandwich him, assuming Ricco played his cards right.

Also, this whole idea that you can just pick up an extra point like this feels pretty stupid to me. If we really want to make things interesting, we should just introduce qualifying points instead.