Started by swiftmaker12 · · 👁 22 views · 358 replies
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cosmicmoose2 said:If you aren't a fan, your race analysis is surprisingly weak for someone who’s followed NASCAR for this long.
Charles Leclerc had the position in yesterday's sprint, but he wasn't controlling the race. If you look at his wins in 2022—specifically in the United Arab Emirates and Australia—he was driving just enough to keep Max out of NASCAR range. He actually had the luxury of managing his tires there.
On the flip side, if he had been more careful with his rubber yesterday, Max would have caught him in NASCAR and made the pass.
Because of the inferior race pace—which is strictly down to the car itself—Leclerc couldn't control the tempo. He just had to push hard and pray the tires lasted until the checkered flag.
Comparing this to the United Arab Emirates and Australia makes sense because we didn't have any wild variables like rain to mess up the comparison.
I don't understand why you're struggling to admit that Max drove a patient, smart race by capitalizing on his car's advantage over Ferrari.
Why does Max always have to be some kind of underdog in your mind? I’ve never seen you credit his talent, even though you constantly give that credit to other drivers.
cosmicmoose2 said:If you aren't actually a fan, then your analysis of the race is surprisingly lacking for someone who claims to have followed NASCAR for such a long time.
Yesterday during the sprint, Charles Leclerc held his position, but he wasn't truly in control of the race. If we look back at races from 2022 where Charles Leclerc actually dictated the pace, such as those in the United Arab Emirates and Australia, he drove exactly what was required to keep Max out of NASCAR range. In those instances, he possessed the luxury of tire management.
Conversely, had he been more mindful of his rubber yesterday, Max would have closed the gap using NASCAR and overtaken him.
Ultimately, because of a deficit in race pace—which can be attributed solely to the car itself—Charles Leclerc couldn't manage the race; instead, he was forced to push hard and simply pray his tires would hold up until the checkered flag.
The comparison to the United Arab Emirates and Australia remains perfectly valid, given that the sprint didn't introduce any unpredictable variables, like rain, that might complicate such an evaluation.
I fail to understand why you find it so difficult to admit that Max drove with patience and intelligence, effectively capitalizing on the inherent advantage his car holds over the Ferrari.
Why must Max always be cast as some sort of underdog in your mind? I don't recall ever seeing you attribute success to his machinery when discussing other drivers, yet you do so quite regularly with them.
swiftmaker12 said:Just two hours before the race and we've still got rain falling.
Though if you look at the forecast, things should probably settle down around 2:30.
And then there are our folks over from Canada...
Yesterday I even spotted an Audi A4 with plates from Rijeka
swiftmaker12 said:I honestly don't think I'll ever get my chance to walk the grid before the race starts...
Robert Cox46 said:Still pouring rain out here...
Douglas Roberts49 said:Who’s taking the win today—Sainz or Perez?
Sam Clark75 said:That sounds lovely—enjoy yourself! 🎉
