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History made today: Covid Lewis wins his 7th World Championship!

Hank Reardon said:
Bottas is often quicker than Lewis in FP1 1 and FP2 and occasionally outqualifies Lewis. He rarely beats Lewis on Sunday for two reasons. First, Lewis is simply better at race management, and by that I mean tire management. The guy simply knows how to finesse those tires to get the maximum out of them. And second...and let's not kid ourselves...he gets the better Merc strategy. How often have we seen Bottas used as an old tampon in order to get Lewis into be better position vs a competitor? Happens all the time. Nope Valtteri...stay out there on those crappy mediums for a bit longer in front of Max. By the time Bottas is allowed to box...hey, Lewis is 8 seconds clear! Thanks Valtteri!

Now, don't get me wrong. Lewis is the superior driver and deserves all he has. And Lewis simply does not make mistakes. But Bottas isn't exactly given a level field to play often enough on race day. It will be interesting to see how they play these two on Sunday. Who gets to be Lewis?
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The Lewis of today is vastly different from the Lewis of 10 years ago. Young/immature overly aggressive and petulant then.

He rarely makes mistakes should be his mantra now. Even peak Schumie couldn't claim that.
After he retires and given time, he will be recognised as the greatest driver for his thoughtful, skilled driving.
 
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RB seems pretty concerned over the layout. I’m guessing Bottas, George, Max, and throw a blanket for 4th over RIC, ALB, SAI, NOR, and PER
 
I also think there's a solid 50% chance Russell is over-amped at the start and gets involved in something that either results in a DNF, or a massive loss of position that ends any hope of a podium. If he ends up say...11th...and just outside the points, the Internet will explode.
 
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Hank Reardon said:
1. Bottas
2. Verstappen
3. Russell (Unless he mucks it up and DNF's)
4. Perez
5. Albon
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This unique outer track doesn't seem to be a great track for over-taking so quali is critical like a Monaco.

Its a power track for sure, barely any turns so, in theory, its Bottas or this season's Merc powered car.

Bottas is a great #2 driver but you always got the sense that when the pressure is on to perform, he seems to always have a major mistake in him on race day.

Imo. Russell is Saturday Boy and Bottas is the original Mister Saturday.

A tough overtaking track so anyone behind Versteppan will struggle unless your name happens to be Hamilton.

It's a race that gives us a glimpse into the future for sure, post-Lewis which I suspect will be 2023.
(Two more seasons left in him -- I think this season has been hard on him; living in such an isolated covid bubble for the past 10months, no fans -- he has to ask himself whether it's worth it anymore, once he breaks Schmie's record.)
 
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sglowrider said:
This unique outer track doesn't seem to be a great track for over-taking so quali is critical like a Monaco.

Its a power track for sure, barely any turns so, in theory, its Bottas or this season's Merc powered car.

Bottas is a great #2 driver but you always got the sense that when the pressure is on to perform, he seems to always have a major mistake in him on race day.

Imo. Russell is Saturday Boy and Bottas is the original Mister Saturday.

A tough overtaking track so anyone behind Versteppan will struggle unless your name happens to be Hamilton.

It's a race that gives us a glimpse into the future for sure, post-Lewis which I suspect will be 2023.
(Two more seasons left in him -- I think this season has been hard on him; living in such an isolated covid bubble for the past 10months, no fans -- he has to ask himself whether it's worth it anymore, once he breaks Schmie's record.)
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I agree with everything you say here, which is why the start will be so important. (Advantage Max here, I think.) Bottas seems to get jumped routinely, and check out the start by George last Sunday below. Not awe inspiring.

 
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Hank Reardon said:
I agree with everything you say here, which is why the start will be so important. (Advantage Max here, I think.) Bottas seems to get jumped routinely, and check out the start by George last Sunday below. Not awe inspiring.

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As for the future stars:

I do like Russell -- he seems to have that quiet steely-eyed glint about him.
Compared to the other young guns, he seems a lot hungrier than say a Norris who has done quite well and I suspect will have a few wins in his near future.

Russell may have a deeper hunger coming from a relatively poor background. Won too easily early in his career so I think that's part of the reason why Mercedes stuck him at the back of the track with Williams. Build some deep-rooted hunger in him.

And bit like Lewis and Rosberg, Russell and Norris are currently best buds.... let's seem what happens if they ever get into the same team!

Albon is Mister Zen; talented but too nice a guy to be in the same stable as a Verstappen. Think he came up too early. His confidence has been crushed through the last race may have helped retrieve some of it back a bit.

LeClerc I think needs to mature up a bit -- a bit too emotional at this point but hey, he is still a kid. But clearly, the talent is there as has shown that he is willing to go toe to toe with Verstappen and also consistently outperforming a four-time world champion.

The possible outsider world champ of the future and an oldish young gun is Sainz.
His dad was a great WRC driver and a world champ so he knows what it takes.
 
Its criminal that Perez is struggling to get a seat:



Either Carlos Slim or the drug lords need to step up. 😬
 
That is too bad about Perez. He just seemed to get caught as the odd guy out when the music stopped. I really thought he might get that Red Bull seat but that’s not looking good. He surely deserves a spot on the grid more than Latifi or even Giovinazzi...I mean really, not that Giovinazzi sucks but he’s going nowhere ever. He’s just taking up space. And as much as I like Kimi, he’s just driving for laughs these days.

Of course if we want to talk about mob...er, Russian Oligarch money, next year we get Mazepin in the Hass. Mazepin is apparently a Grade A Asshole. Which is OK, I guess. These guys are all so nice maybe we need a villain for a little color. Especially a Russian Mafia villain.
 
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Hank Reardon said:
That is too bad about Perez. He just seemed to get caught as the odd guy out when the music stopped. I really thought he might get that Red Bull seat but that’s not looking good. He surely deserves a spot on the grid more than Latifi or even Giovinazzi...I mean really, not that Giovinazzi sucks but he’s going nowhere ever. He’s just taking up space. And as much as I like Kimi, he’s just driving for laughs these days.

Of course if we want to talk about mob...er, Russian Oligarch money, next year we get Mazepin in the Hass. Mazepin is apparently a Grade A Asshole. Which is OK, I guess. These guys are all so nice maybe we need a villain for a little color. Especially a Russian Mafia villain.
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whyyounoic ?
 
ce36ei said:
George led FP1 👀
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I'm off work today so I was watching. Good to see that he seems to have adapted to the car very quickly. I'm trying not to put too much stock into FP1 times. I'm normally a Ferrari guy (just another reason 2020 sucks) but I think we're all Russell fans this weekend. I hope he can keep it up.

But it just makes me even more pissed that Claire stood in the way of George getting the Merc ride in '21. Look what we're going to miss.
 
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George Russell and Lewis Hamiltion, stolen from Reddit:

h6xtfuwio8361.jpg
 
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Hank Reardon said:
I'm off work today so I was watching. Good to see that he seems to have adapted to the car very quickly. I'm trying not to put too much stock into FP1 times. I'm normally a Ferrari guy (just another reason 2020 sucks) but I think we're all Russell fans this weekend. I hope he can keep it up.

But it just makes me even more pissed that Claire stood in the way of George getting the Merc ride in '21. Look what we're going to miss.
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They shifted the hours/schedule for this race. So they start at 1.30 AM now. Sucks!

Luckily I have a couple of soccer matches/EPL to watch on both nights.
 
sglowrider said:
They shifted the hours/schedule for this race. So they start at 1.30 AM now. Sucks!

Luckily I have a couple of soccer matches/EPL to watch on both nights.
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Yeah, aren't you like...in Singapore, or at least that general area?
 
sglowrider said:
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I'm encouraged, but still skeptical. I'm still not sure his race pace is going to match up to his ability to drop a hot lap. Finessing the tires...which is something that Lewis is fantastic at...is something the George has never much had to worry much about. I'm really pulling for him, but I just feel like it's asking too much for him to come home P1. A podium would be fantastic.
 
Hank Reardon said:
I'm encouraged, but still skeptical. I'm still not sure his race pace is going to match up to his ability to drop a hot lap. Finessing the tires...which is something that Lewis is fantastic at...is something the George has never much had to worry much about. I'm really pulling for him, but I just feel like it's asking too much for him to come home P1. A podium would be fantastic.
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I imagine that if he got P1 at his first attempt, then it will just bring up that old discussion of whether its the car or the driver!
 
Qualifying looks like it’s going to be a cluster. Maybe should’ve changed the rules for this week?
 
ce36ei said:
Qualifying looks like it’s going to be a cluster. Maybe should’ve changed the rules for this week?
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Looks like George fell back to earth in FP3. I fear his unblemished record of outqualifying his teammate is about to come to an end.
 
ce36ei said:
Yep, he’s toast. Bottas has it hooked up.
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Wow. You can't get much closer than that.

Race prediction. While I still think there's a possibility Russell could fumble something badly on the start I'll leave that off the table and assume nothing goes terribly bad. Bottas gets off with the lead. Max gets the jump on George. They run 1-2-3 like this. Bottas and Max pull away from George just a bit. Max gets the lead from Bottas during pit stops. That's how it finishes. Verstappen, Bottas, Russell.

And did you see my man Charles drag that shitty Ferrari up to P4 in the early part of Q3? Hopped out of the car, dropped the mic, and didnt even bother with another run. "Take that, ****ers." Ha ha.

And Albon. Couldn't get the Red Bull out of Q2, with that shot of Horner shaking his head thinking, "We have to keep this guy just because he's Thai?"
 
Hank Reardon said:
And Albon. Couldn't get the Red Bull out of Q2, with that shot of Horner shaking his head thinking, "We have to keep this guy just because he's Thai?"
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Half thai. But it would make sense for Red Bull.

It was originally a thai company until some bright austrian entrepreneur decided that he could internationalise the product/company.

But having a 2nd driver crumbling under pressure in the company of a potential GOAT in the same stable isnt anything new. Albon is too nice a guy to have that killer instinct/focus like a world champion. I guess that old adage that nice guys don't win comes true once again.
 
Bottas says he left a bit on the table. Makes sense. George looked a tenth or 2 slower coming into it. The start will be interesting. Neither Bottas or George usually make great starts.
 
ce36ei said:
Bottas says he left a bit on the table. Makes sense. George looked a tenth or 2 slower coming into it. The start will be interesting. Neither Bottas or George usually make great starts.
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Mister Saturday and Boy Saturday. Lets see what happens on sunday.

Russel has the advantage of always needing to extract every single ounce out of his cars in every race -- so he needs to be more accurate than most. That's his advantage over Bottas.

But he will obviously does not know the W11 (the greatest sports car EVER) as well as Bottas.

Listen to the end -- he doesn't know the basic settings or switches!!

The next race at Abu Dhabi will probably a fairer comparison between the two drivers.
 
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Looking like the bum engine is gonna cost George but dang he’s been impressive.
 
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