São Paulo Grand Prix (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) | November 12-14, 2021

A total legend!

Jason Campbell70 said:A perfect summary of how Verstappen has been driving all season.
Never give an opponent an inch, push right past the limit, and if they don't budge? Then it's a 51g impact into the wall followed by accusations of attempted murder.

Don't play it too smart. Eventually, that attitude is going to come back to haunt him. Maybe even this season.

Come on, don't talk nonsense. Hamilton dove right into the back of Max's car at the apex of the turn, and he even missed the corner entirely. How is that an overtake?😵🤣

If Leclerc hadn't stayed on the gas and drifted wide, he would have ended up with Hamilton’s front tire wedged into his rear end. Don't give me that. You go into a corner where you're supposed to be flat out, but you have to brake to hit your entry angle, and now you're calling that an overtake? 🤦

Regarding Monza, the whole point was that Hamilton should have pushed Verstappen out in Turn 1 instead of leaving enough space for half a car and then trying to shove him in Turn 2. Either close the door or leave the space open, but don't play half-hearted defense and then try to muscle someone when you've already lost the line.

And as for his driving style... the last time Hamilton actually had to defend a championship lead against an overtake, it was against Rosberg in Nice, and he did a lion's share of shoving him out of the way there.

Bahrain '14
Canada '14 (last lap, which Brundle called "lingering on the racing line")
Japan '15 (just spinning the wheel)
USA '15 (deliberate contact)
Canada '16
Monaco '16—when he shoved Ricciardo into the wall. Brundle actually contradicted himself on that one; he defended the move when the championship was on the line, even though a year earlier in a documentary with Hamilton, he looked him right in the eye and asked if he really pushed him into the wall during those career highlights.🙂

The only driver he ever had a clean fight with was Vettel, mostly because Vettel never tries to pass from the outside against someone notorious for shoving people off the track—though maybe I'm just remembering that wrong. So let's not pretend; Hamilton is one of the most aggressive drivers on the grid, and everything Max is doing is just a reaction to what Hamilton does when he's leading the championship against a rival.😵

Nicholas Torres37 said:In my opinion, Max might end up getting penalized for messing around with the setup😁

Well, well, well.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Unless Bottas manages an Undercut. Red Bull Racing just doesn't have the pace right now, so there's a real chance Mercedes makes a move and brings Bottas in early, even if it's 2 or 3 laps ahead of schedule. Bottas could definitely play spoiler for Lewis tomorrow.
But a lot rests on Lewis's shoulders here. He needs to put together a flawless race if he wants any optimistic chance of being glued to Max's bumper by the end.

Bottas managed to survive today, mostly because those soft tires lasted surprisingly long, defying all the predictions.
Tomorrow involves three times the distance. They'll actually have to manage tire degradation, and let's face it—that's where Bottas usually struggles.

Kyle Lopez2 said:Come on, don't talk nonsense. Hamilton dove right into the back of Max's car at the apex of the turn, and he even missed the corner entirely. How is that an overtake?😵🤣

If Leclerc hadn't stayed on the gas and drifted wide, he would have ended up with Hamilton’s front tire wedged into his rear end. Don't give me that. You go into a corner where you're supposed to be flat out, but you have to brake to hit your entry angle, and now you're calling that an overtake? 🤦

Regarding Monza, the whole point was that Hamilton should have pushed Verstappen out in Turn 1 instead of leaving enough space for half a car and then trying to shove him in Turn 2. Either close the door or leave the space open, but don't play half-hearted defense and then try to muscle someone when you've already lost the line.

And as for his driving style... the last time Hamilton actually had to defend a championship lead against an overtake, it was against Rosberg in Nice, and he did a lion's share of shoving him out of the way there.

Bahrain '14
Canada '14 (last lap, which Brundle called "lingering on the racing line")
Japan '15 (just spinning the wheel)
USA '15 (deliberate contact)
Canada '16
Monaco '16—when he shoved Ricciardo into the wall. Brundle actually contradicted himself on that one; he defended the move when the championship was on the line, even though a year earlier in a documentary with Hamilton, he looked him right in the eye and asked if he really pushed him into the wall during those career highlights.🙂

The only driver he ever had a clean fight with was Vettel, mostly because Vettel never tries to pass from the outside against someone notorious for shoving people off the track—though maybe I'm just remembering that wrong. So let's not pretend; Hamilton is one of the most aggressive drivers on the grid, and everything Max is doing is just a reaction to what Hamilton does when he's leading the championship against a rival.😵

Give me a shout once you've cooled off from whatever happened during today's race.
I have no intention of engaging with such primitive outbursts.
Thanks.

Things are really starting to simmer now.

stormybadger8 said:Let's wait for the rear wing measurements. 😬

It’s insane how fast the Bear is. Alpine F1 Team and McLaren Racing are easily the fastest on the straights, yet this thing just breezes past them even with both cars running DRS. 😲

With a beast like this, I wouldn't be shocked if Luxury grabs the win tomorrow by a massive margin...
The podium is basically a lock. I don't see any way a struggling Sergio Perez defends against him, and the rest of the field isn't even in the conversation—they're clearly playing in a completely different league.

Must be nice having gear like that

I have a feeling things are going to get pretty intense right up until the finish line.

Just think about Yas Marina and that hotel that looks like a glowing, color-changing kite.

Hopefully, cosmicridge5 is getting a kick out of this too.

Drew Bennett68 said:Things are really starting to simmer now.

Well, that's just how Americans roll. They really are pros at what they do. 😁

Susan Davis7 said:All those debates about car pace versus driver skill really need to factor in the fact that Hamilton’s basically gonna be redlining it just to stay relevant for the rest of the season—while Max just needs to play it smart and cruise to the finish.

That whole mindset of Alonso’s? It totally backfired on him back in 2012.

Jason Campbell70 said:A perfect summary of how Verstappen has been driving all season.
Never give an opponent an inch, push right past the limit, and if they don't budge? Then it's a 51g impact into the wall followed by accusations of attempted murder.

Don't play it too smart. Eventually, that attitude is going to come back to haunt him. Maybe even this season.

At Silverstone, that corner belonged to Max 100%. You can't be making micro-adjustments left or right when you're hitting 150 mph through a turn. In that specific spot, Lewis should have backed off. It was never his corner to begin with, not like Max.

What a plot twist. 🍿

Now they’re just dragging out the decision until the absolute last second to try and manufacture some drama—not that the sprint format isn't already total garbage anyway.

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...race-from-10th


WTF 🤔

I have no idea how that's even possible...
Vettel didn't actually pass Ocon; he was basically on his tail at the very end, but the pass never happened...
And I don't see any potential penalty for Ocon that would move him up just a single spot on the grid.

Did the Sky crew get a little too drunk celebrating, or is some kid just making stuff up? 🤣

Raymond Anderson4 said:At Silverstone, that corner belonged to Max 100%. You can't be making micro-adjustments left or right when you're hitting 150 mph through a turn. In that specific spot, Lewis should have backed off. It was never his corner to begin with, not like Max.

Look, I’ve rewatched that clip a dozen times. I’m not looking to point fingers at anyone specifically, but it was obvious to me there was no intent to hit. It just happened—high speed, tight space, end of story.

Max intentionally lunged into that turn to squeeze Lewis out. He forced the contact on purpose because a double DNF works perfectly for his strategy.

Jack Kelly5 said:Look, if the officials say everything is fine with Mercedes, then I guess it's fine. If they say something is wrong with Red Bull Racing, then it's wrong.
Unless you're trying to tell a lie by saying the officials are inconsistent?
😬

I just hope they actually stay objective this time and stick to the rulebook—kind of like how they handled Vettel back in Canada. Not that anyone's counting, but that disqualification basically handed Hamilton an extra three points on a silver platter.

A new clip of Max's movement just surfaced—
I can't believe people are still acting surprised when things go sideways—it’s like watching the same rerun of a bad sitcom every single week. At this point, you just have to expect the chaos.

What an idiot. 🤦
There wasn't really any force involved—he just grazed it with his finger, if he even actually touched it at all. It’s pretty hard to believe that could cause any real damage or shift the wing setup. From what I'm reading, the stewards seized the wing for an inspection, so hopefully they'll confirm that a light touch like that couldn't possibly alter anything... which wouldn't be surprising.

Of course Mercedes is going to jump on that—it’s their lifeline, maybe even their only shot at staying relevant. It definitely muddled the whole procedure and dragged out the decision, probably just giving Toto Wolff more breathing room to lobby the FIA.😈

Since he went against the sporting regulations, they’re saying anything could happen—a warning, a fine, some points docked from his license, or maybe even a 3 to 5-place grid penalty. It's basically a toss-up at this point.

Jason Campbell70 said:It seems some people actually believe F1 teams have bottomless pits of cash at their disposal.

I mean, you might be missing the big picture here, but just so you know, the budget is strictly capped by the regulations...

What a drive by Lewis! Hats off to him.

If Newey & Co. were already breathing down the officials' necks about Mercedes before qualifying even started, I honestly don't get why Max's logic was to go wandering around like Inspector Clouseau after the session ended. What exactly did he think he was going to prove by eyeballing things himself?! Unless his whole goal was just to signal to the crowd that Mercedes might be messing with the DRS. Either way—total rookie move that could totally backfire on him. He’d have been way smarter to play dumb and just let the "official institutions do their jobs" 😂

I really hope that if they actually find anything, it's just a fine and not some grid penalty.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Unless Bottas manages an Undercut. Red Bull Racing just doesn't have the pace right now, so there's a real chance Mercedes makes a move and brings Bottas in early, even if it's 2 or 3 laps ahead of schedule. Bottas could definitely play spoiler for Lewis tomorrow.
But a lot rests on Lewis's shoulders here. He needs to put together a flawless race if he wants any optimistic chance of being glued to Max's bumper by the end.

What kind of magic trick does he need to pull in the pits to catch Max before the final laps? 🤔

Let's be real: with a beast of a car like that, Luxury Max is going to be miles ahead before the first pit stops even happen. Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if he's already lapping people by lap 10...
Fernando Alonso had the best top speed, he had DRS, and he loves to act tough in these duels, but he couldn't do a damn thing. Rick wasn't any better either...
If we're being realistic, the only actual threat to Max is Sergio Perez—and that's assuming he doesn't get stuck behind Carlos Sainz and trash his tires...

On the flip side, Max has a shot at jumping Bottas at the start. If he misses that, he’s unlikely to catch him through the pit cycles... and by then, Luxury will already be on his radar.

Based on the pace we've seen, I'd say Mercedes will be up by 1-2 seconds right around the pit window, then Bottas will get the signal to clear out, and that'll be that...

bluepuma9 said:Verstappen’s got that driver energy reminiscent of guys like Schumacher or Senna... He’s lightning fast, sure, but he’s also willing to get his hands dirty and push things to the absolute limit just to take the win.
Lewis, Kimi, Alonso... those guys were much better at playing that game.

Out of that whole lot, maybe only Raikkonen was truly pure.
A total gentleman. Just a guy who didn't give a damn about anything else. 😁

Jack Kelly5 said:I honestly just can't stop smiling thinking about the absolute beast of an alien that Alfa Romeo is turning into over the next year.

Alfa Romeo playing their own tune in an Alfa. 🙂

Another penalty: 🧐
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/h...y-lap/6782292/

😁