I’ve watched the last lap a few times now and am still scratching my head as to why Lewis didn’t defend whatsoever. He left the door completely open in Turn 5. I suppose he was expecting Max to to attempt to pass in turn 6 at the end of the long straight and wanted to get a good exit out of Turn 5, or even if Max did pass in T5 maybe Hamilton was thinking he could get him back on straight given drs and MB’s much higher straight line speed. But if you know Max, he’s going to go for that gap and weave like a mad man to defend the rest of the lap if he is ahead. I don’t think Max would have driven the same if roles were reversed and he was leading Lewis into T5.
Maybe. But the guy has was 6 of the last 8 championships and Mercedes has won 8 in a row--6 of them with basically no other competition. People are tired of it.
I think Lewis was using NASCAR-like logic. He believed he'd have a better chance to finish ahead of Max by letting Max tow him down the long straight, rather than vice versa. Didn't work out. His guess was good, but also wrong. <--- Bonus points for anyone who gets the reference without Googling. Otherwise, he'd have simply done what Perez did to him, which is overcommit to the inside line on every corner then park on the apex to charge batteries. Nobody made a pass work on the outside all day.
Oh well. 'Sorry about their bad luck. They're following the wrong venue....the one where the best of the best are plying their trade, and reaping their just rewards. Maybe IndyCar is more up their alley. Oh wait a minute. That wouldn't work either.....they'd be bored there too with the same manufacturer being the only contender period......
Image Unavailable, Please Login Lap times leading into the battle with Perez. Hamilton tried to pass Perez on the outside and couldn't do it, despite this kind of advantage. Next lap, he forced Perez outside and finally got past. I'm even more convinced now that Hamilton left the door open for Max to pass on the inside, believing he'd carry more speed through the corner and regain the position on one of the two long straights ahead. He really should have simply done what Perez did and played the part of the disadvantaged lead car. His fundamental problem is that Max could afford to fight to the death while Lewis had to be careful. That is an awful position to be in, with the disadvantage magnified when facing an unpredictable opponent. Max's "table image" paid off. Watching the race again, I believe, to Lewis' credit, he wanted to win outright and did not want to win as a result of a penalty given to Max.
Hamilton staying out during the Giovinazzi VSC on lap ~37 looms large. Max changes tires, Lewis does not. Toto: "Michael, please no safety car..." Oof. Had Hamilton stopped, he'd likely have won the race. Image Unavailable, Please Login He was right.
In the final analysis, Mercedes and (to a lesser extent) Hamilton played not to lose. Red Bull and Max played to win. Fortune favors the bold. That is the advantage of owning the tiebreaker, and on this occasion it was decisive. Toto owns this loss, as he owns countless victories preceding.
"This field has to bunch, and then they have to send lapped cars around..." MB assumed it'd end under yellow. In fairness, I'd assumed the same the moment the SC came out. Net/Net, Toto owns this.
Last lap, Max HEAVILY defended the inside to the point of way overcommitting. The outside never worked, and never would work. The only reason I can fathom that Lewis left that door open is that he thought he'd regain the position on the subsequent straights. Fun race. Best in years.
Any talk of a “shared championship” is absurd. Both drivers should issue statements that neither of them will accept such a travesty. Brundle turned out to be an idiot.
No ****ing way!!!! Its F1 not soccer. Second place is the first loser. There can only be ONE champion.
They didn't play to win. They made the decisions because it was the only thing they can do, as they had no answer for Ham/Merc. They didn't start the race thinking "were gonna make 4 pitstops because we are going for the win" If Merc had pitted they would have stayed out.
No. Maintaining track position is not being consevative, often its good stratedy. RB has won many races by maintaining track position. The issue is Masi intervined and the safety car rules played out differently than its been all season. Thats the issue.
I'm going to be honest. I would fall in this more than likely. I think what they did makes sense to me. But I can see room for complaint. I'm so happy max won. But I don't dismiss people who are Hamilton fans being upset.
Sorry ktu, I must disagree...... It only takes a sneeze.....nay, just a breath.....by Lewis for the haters to come out of the woodwork. (reminds of Donald Trump haters...)
So, if a team and a driver are dominating, they have to me made to fail to give others a chance, is that what you are saying? Perhaps we should turn F1 into a merry-go-round, with a different winner every year to give every one a chance ?
No, that's not at all what I'm saying, and I honestly have no idea how you deduced that from my reply.
People are tired of watching a successful team and a successful driver year after year, that's what you wrote in post #28. I didn't make it up.
My response was to another poster that stated there would be a ton of Hamilton hate threads if the results of the race favored Hamilton instead, to which I said "Maybe. But the guy has won 6 of the last 8 championships and Mercedes has won 8 in a row--6 of them with basically no other competition. People are tired of it." How you equate that to me saying that "if a team and a driver are dominating, they have to me made to fail to give others a chance, is that what you are saying?" is beyond me. You're drawing conclusions that aren't there. Nowhere did I state that anyone should be "made to fail to give others a chance." Nor did I even so much as elude to turning F1 "into a merry-go-round, with a different winner every year to give every one a chance?" People being tired of watching the same team and/or driver dominate the sport is not the same as wanting that team to be "made to fail." Like I said, you're drawing conclusions that aren't there.
