Hamilton 5x World Champion ?

[OptionBase1]

At least there was some strategy in play and lots of overtaking in the mid pack. Good to see Mercedes with the double podium, and Perez had a decent recovery from his disaster yesterday. I liked that Stroll had a positive day, but I'm sure Alonso was disappointed with 7th.

Ferrari still doing Ferrari things.

[wes4dbt]

I'm not glad to see Mercedes doing good. I'm still not over that 7yrs of dominance they had. lol

But I get the feeling they are second strongest team. Ferrari doesn't seem to have much performance and the drivers/team aren't helping the situation. HAAS seems to be slipping back to the normal 9th place team.

I hope Aston Martin can rebound and make life miserable for Mercedes.

[OptionBase1]

I know Perez is under contract through 2024, but I'm calling it now that he's unlikely to be back in that seat next year unless he has a flawless second half of the season.

Red Bull is lucky right now that they have such a dominant car and driver with Max that their second car's results are just "win by more" points in the constructor's championship for this year. But they have to assume that by next year, Mercedes, Ferrari, and other teams will have closed the gap even more, and having inconsistency in the second seat might not be enough to win even with Max in the first seat.

I have no idea who they would fill the seat with - I've read speculation that there might be some battle lines drawn to try to lure Lando Norris into that seat - but something will likely have to change if Sergio continues to struggle.

Like the last few weeks, with drivers out of place (Hulkenberg on the front row, Perez and LeClerc behind the middle), it should at least make for some good television because of overtaking opportunities. I don't see a serious Max challenge unless there is a mid-race weather change where when to change tires becomes a key decision.

[OptionBase1]

Another qualifying, another Perez eff-up.

[OptionBase1]

Perez finishing 3rd today was some good luck with the early VSC, good strategy call to leave Perez out, and good driving by Perez to pass so many cars today. I hope his slump is over.

It was good to see Lando back up in contention for good points. Not sure if it was anomalous to this track, but today's race seemed much more competitive, outside of Max doing Max things.

[OptionBase1]

I just saw that 8 drivers were given time penalties hours after the race ended for exceeding track limits during the race. They need to do something different if they need 6 hours to review a 1.5 hour race to see who might have driven a fraction of an inch over a line.

How crazy would it have been if Max was one of those drivers and if Red Bull's decision (technically, Max's insistence) to pit him at the end to go for fastest lap would have cost him the win because he ended up less than 5 seconds ahead of Charles?

It sounds like a chaotic situation for sports betting sites who already paid out the "winning bets" before the post-race penalties were assessed and changed the finishing order.

[wes4dbt]

It's an easy fix, spike strips. lol

Red Bull's car is just dominate. Then add the best driver and the results are pretty predictable.

The NASCAR Cup race was blast to watch. The guy that won had never driven a NASCAR car before.

[OptionBase1]

Ay Caramba Sergio...

[wes4dbt]

Ay Caramba Sergio...

lol

Surprising showing by McLaren. I thought Mercedes would be moving into the second position as Aston Martin fades. Who knows maybe Ferrari will get their act together, they seem to have a good car.

[OptionBase1]

I'm starting to wonder if Daniel Ricciardo's tenure at Alpha Tauri is going to be a brief couple of races, getting back up to speed in an F1 car, with the intention of replacing Perez at Red Bull next month. It would make a bit of sense, since apparently a different Red Bull Junior driver was expected to take the Alpha Tauri seat after De Vries was let go, so that could still happen yet if the above takes place. With the crash Perez had this morning literally seconds into the first practice, I don't see Red Bull letting this Perez absolute meltdown continue to play out for the rest of the season.

[techgnome]

That would make sense...

I'm also starting to wonder if F1 in general (and by some extension the fans too) are pushing too hard to get new blood into the teams. Schumacher last couple years was a disappointment, this year Perez (who really isn't new to it, what's going on there? some kind of psychological blocker?) and DeVries (who was pretty spot on back in Formula E - when I heard he was moving to F1 I thought Sweet!... but... like Schumacher coming from F2, his running was quite disappointing)

-tg

[wes4dbt]

That would make sense...

I'm also starting to wonder if F1 in general (and by some extension the fans too) are pushing too hard to get new blood into the teams. Schumacher last couple years was a disappointment, this year Perez (who really isn't new to it, what's going on there? some kind of psychological blocker?) and DeVries (who was pretty spot on back in Formula E - when I heard he was moving to F1 I thought Sweet!... but... like Schumacher coming from F2, his running was quite disappointing)

-tg

I think it's hard to tell about these new young drivers like DeVries. Is it the car or his driving. Piastri wasn't doing anything all year, then McLaren made some changes to the car and he had a great race.

[OptionBase1]

I think it's hard to tell about these new young drivers like DeVries. Is it the car or his driving. Piastri wasn't doing anything all year, then McLaren made some changes to the car and he had a great race.

Lando wasn't doing anything in the other McLaren either, though. Tsunoda was outperforming DeVries every race by a longshot. Also, it sounds like some of the Red Bull heavies weren't sold on DeVries from the jump, so he basically started out with 1 strike against him.

[wes4dbt]

Tsunoda was outperforming DeVries every race by a longshot.

I just looked at the last three races and in two of them they finished next to each other and the third they were just two positions apart. That seems reasonable, unless you think Tsunoda also need to be replaced. I'm not trying to defend DeVries. I just think it's hard to tell if his low finishes are because of his lack of skills or just a slow car. Tsunoda has a lot more time in the car and he's not doing much.

[OptionBase1]

I just looked at the last three races and in two of them they finished next to each other and the third they were just two positions apart. That seems reasonable, unless you think Tsunoda also need to be replaced. I'm not trying to defend DeVries. I just think it's hard to tell if his low finishes are because of his lack of skills or just a slow car. Tsunoda has a lot more time in the car and he's not doing much.

Tsunoda seems to get lots of recent accolades from the Red Bull big wigs, and I'm not sure why that is. He hasn't wowed in any memorable way this year that I can remember. I was surprised that DeVries was dropped, I don't think Alpha Tauri is competitive enough to have fully gauged his talent, sort of like Haas dropping Mick - their car sucked his first year. But after hearing that Christian Horner was not a DeVries supporter from the beginning, knowing how cut throat Red Bull can be with drivers, I'm not surprised that he was basically driving to keep his job from day 1, and just wasn't impressive enough.

Sergio didn't do himself any more favors only qualifying 9th on a track that is hard to pass. Already there is talk about him still finishing on the podium by some "experts"...there's no way that happens without some sort of perfectly timed safety car or something that nets him a free-ish pit stop. On pace, with who is ahead of him, he's going to be lucky to move up to 6th.

[OptionBase1]

Sergio didn't do himself any more favors only qualifying 9th on a track that is hard to pass. Already there is talk about him still finishing on the podium by some "experts"...there's no way that happens without some sort of perfectly timed safety car or something that nets him a free-ish pit stop. On pace, with who is ahead of him, he's going to be lucky to move up to 6th.

Calling myself out for being wrong on this one. Perez drove a monster race, and they had the exact right strategy for him.

Lando with back to back 2nd place finishes is great for him. Ferrari are clearly out of contention for top finishes for the time being. Aston Martin have dropped off competitive the map. McLaren might make a second half push for 2nd place in the Constructor's championship. Hamilton losing 3 spots in the first few corners of lap 1 was disappointing, I was hoping he'd have a better race than that.

[wes4dbt]

Calling myself out for being wrong on this one. Perez drove a monster race, and they had the exact right strategy for him.

Driving the Red Bull car sure helps. Week after week after week no one else is in the same league as Red Bull. This doesn't looks like it's going to change this year.

[OptionBase1]

Aside from Max winning again, the race today had some good action and drama with various strategies, and the threat of rain.

I felt really bad for Piastri. He was poised for a good race today. It was nice to see Alonso back up at least in the podium conversation for a bit.

I can't believe Hamilton stole the fastest lap point from Max on Mediums.

I'm curious how Alpine fares in the second half of the season after all of their leadership shakeups. Otmar seems to be universally hated by F1 fans. No idea why, he seems very level-headed in every interview I've ever seen him do.

[wes4dbt]

Must be nice to be Max. Wins by 20 - 30 seconds on a regular basis. Must be demoralizing for Perez. At least the other drivers can say it's because of the car. lol

I don't think Ricciardo is turning out to to be an upgrade. But that doesn't surprise me.

The fight for who has the second best car is sort of interesting. At least that's something interesting.

[OptionBase1]

Must be nice to be Max. Wins by 20 - 30 seconds on a regular basis. Must be demoralizing for Perez. At least the other drivers can say it's because of the car. lol

I don't think Ricciardo is turning out to to be an upgrade. But that doesn't surprise me.

The fight for who has the second best car is sort of interesting. At least that's something interesting.

Yeah, clearly my thought of RB potentially replacing Perez with Daniel this season was way off. Now I'm wondering if AT might bring back De Vries this season.

I'm officially rooting for McLaren the rest of the season. I want to see them surge and shake up the Constructor's standings and fight for 3rd or even 2nd. And I want to see Red Bull poach Lando and put him in Perez's seat for 2024. Or perhaps wait for Perez's contract to expire after 2024 and then poach Piastri and put him in the 2nd RB seat.

[OptionBase1]

The Sky commentators were really raking Red Bull over the coals for pitting Verstappen before Perez when switching back to softs early on in the race when Perez was leading and Verstappen was in second. But they seemed to conveniently forget that the only reason Perez was in the lead was because Red Bull pitted Perez 1 lap earlier than Verstappen when going to wet tires when the race first started. Basically, Perez undercut Max (and 1/3 of the field), and then Max undercut Perez. Completely fair game, especially when Max is on the huge win streak.

[wes4dbt]

Maybe Max stayed out by choice. Don't really know. But announcers got to try to make the race interesting. lol

It wouldn't have mattered either way, Max would still have won. Wonder if Max can win win out the year. I wouldn't bet against it. Probably take a mechanical to stop his streak.

[OptionBase1]

Maybe Max stayed out by choice. Don't really know. But announcers got to try to make the race interesting. lol

It wouldn't have mattered either way, Max would still have won. Wonder if Max can win win out the year. I wouldn't bet against it. Probably take a mechanical to stop his streak.

The post-race debrief makes it sound like Perez made the call to pit for wet tires himself, not the team. So props to him for making that right call. I would say if this was earlier in the season, and not at Max's home track, Red Bull probably would not have had Max undercut Perez.

That being said, Max had the pace to pass Perez regardless. And Max is clearly the superior driver. Clearly. If Red Bull had "forced" Max to simply follow Perez to a second place finish, breaking his winning streak - at his "home" track, mind you - I can't imagine the post-race chaos.

[OptionBase1]

The only cliffhanger for this season is if Max will win all the remaining races. Barring mechanical failure or getting caught up in another driver's wreck somehow, it seems quite likely to me.

[wes4dbt]

The only cliffhanger for this season is if Max will win all the remaining races. Barring mechanical failure or getting caught up in another driver's wreck somehow, it seems quite likely to me.

Seem likely to me. Red Bull is the best car and Perez is no threat. Max is really sucking the excitement out of F1. lol

[techgnome]

Member when just a few years ago we were saying the same about Hamilton? Pepperidge Farms remembers...
I've stopped paying attention to Max once he gets to the front of the grid (if he's not already there) and just checks out. The action seems to be in spots 2-5 and 8-12... outside of those positions there doesn't seem to be much going on. Unless it's raining...

I'm trying to remember... what new regs are going into effect next season? If I remember right, this will be the last year for the tire blankets ... I don't think there's any other significant reg changes until 2025... which means there's a chance MAx could clean sweep next year .... that might be interesting.

-tg

[OptionBase1]

It's been fun watching Red Bull win everything this year.

But just like a dirty pair of underwear, all good streaks must come to an end.

[wes4dbt]

I wouldn't be surprised if Max won from 11th.

[OptionBase1]

At other previous races this year, I would say it would have been almost certain he would have, but that car today seemed like a handful. At this point, I would predict that he ends up crashing because his aggressive nature results in him trying to outdrive the car tomorrow.

[OptionBase1]

Slept through most of the race today. Not surprised by the outcome, but felt really bad for George Russell crashing at the very end. He deserved the podium.

[wes4dbt]

It was an interesting race. Thought Mercedes was going to catch the leader but I think their tires were to worn by the time they caught Norris. Sainz did a good job.

[OptionBase1]

I slept through most of the last half of the race yesterday. I was happy that both McLaren's were on the podium.

He may be paired with Max to start 2024, but I would give a < 1% chance that Perez is in the second Red Bull seat late in the season next year. He's gone full Knoblauch at this point.

[wes4dbt]

You didn't miss much. But I'm impressed by McLaren lately. They had such a terrible start to the year and now they might be the second best car.

I don't know what happened to Perez, he looked good early in the year. But if he doesn't finish the year strong you might be right about RB replacing him. Though I don't know his contract situation.

[OptionBase1]

Next year, Red Bull have Max and Sergio confirmed, Alpha Tauri have Yuki and Daniel confirmed. Liam Lawson is going to be the reserve driver. My guess is that if Sergio continues to struggle, then the plans are either:

Daniel into Sergio's seat, Liam into Daniel's seat
or
Liam into Sergio's seat for a handful of guaranteed races, and if Liam struggles there, then bring up Daniel to RB and move Liam down to AT

I'd like to see Sergio perform well next year and finish out the season at RB, but his current form just isn't cutting it.

[wes4dbt]

I'm not saying your wrong but why would RB want to put Daniel in their car. His performance the last few has went downhill.

[OptionBase1]

I'm not saying your wrong but why would RB want to put Daniel in their car. His performance the last few has went downhill.

Outside of Perez, he's the only other driver currently under the Red Bull umbrella ever to be Max's teammate. Sure, he walked away from the seat at the time several years ago because Max was getting the #1 driver treatment and Daniel seemed to resent that, but I'm sure he would now gladly accept that role if it meant being in the best car in the field.

Edit to add: If Daniel ends up in Sergio's seat next year, I would imagine it might only be for the remainder 2024. I don't see him being the next Sergio and being Max's teammate for multiple years.

[OptionBase1]

Another race, another Perez disaster, more Red Bull having to publicly declare they are still standing behind Sergio for 2024.

Meanwhile, Ferarri, Mercedes, McLaren, and even Alpha Tauri and Haas are continuing to close the gap to the front. Red Bull needs a #2 driver that isn't a flailing mess each race.

Perez is reminding me of Chuck Knoblauch at the end of his baseball career.

[wes4dbt]

They got a way to go to close the gap. Max still won by 13 seconds. The others seem to be getting closer on qualifying pace but not race pace. Unless Max is just that much better than everyone else. Hard to say for sure because Perez's runs have been wildly inconsistent.

Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are all very close. The other six are also close to each other. Aston Martin have slid down into the bottom six.

[OptionBase1]

They got a way to go to close the gap. Max still won by 13 seconds. The others seem to be getting closer on qualifying pace but not race pace. Unless Max is just that much better than everyone else. Hard to say for sure because Perez's runs have been wildly inconsistent.

Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are all very close. The other six are also close to each other. Aston Martin have slid down into the bottom six.

Right. I should have been more detailed.

Red Bull may not win the constructor's championship next year with a dominant Max and a struggling Sergio.

Red Bull had a runaway season this year because of the massive performance swings (from good to bad, or bad to good) by teams like Aston Martin, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

Mercedes can win the constructor's championship next year even if Max has another season like he did this year.

Hell, spot Max P1+fastest lap in each race (26 points) and give Mercedes a mix of P2+P3 (33 points), P2+P4 (30 points), and P3+P4 (27 points) finishes each race. Mercedes has a chance to lead the championship points, depending on how Perez scores.

In the last 5 races this year, Sergio has scored something like 17 points, or slightly over 3 points per race. That's not good enough for car #2 from the best team in the field. And it's not good enough for Red Bull to win the championship next year, in my opinion.

[wes4dbt]

I just hope the others find a way to improve and make the lead of the race competitive. The competitiveness of the others is interesting but a battle for the win would be a lot more fun. I don't really care who wins. It would be great to see Max actually battling someone for the win.