Soldato
Keep those rose tinted glasses on.
Poll: Official 2023 Singapore Grand Prix Thread - Marina Bay Street Circuit - Round 16
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Feel free to contest whichever part of that scenario you feel is factually inaccurate.
Due to Sainz effectively towing Lando down the drs zones I don’t think Hamilton would’ve had any more luck than Russell. I think Mercedes needed some more laps/more tyre degradation from the front two to have been able to make a successful pass.
I think Merc cooked their tyres hunting down the Ferrari's and Norris - another few laps and Sainz/Norris would probably have been on rims too but the sheer speed at which Mercedes were going to catch up can't have been good for the longevity of the rubber.
At the end of the day Russell qualified second and DNF’d. Hamilton qualified fifth and came third. So it’s entirely fair in this race that Hamilton showed his class and experience over Russell.
High pressure situations are what make champions. Russell bottled it in this occasion and hopefully he’ll learn from that mistake.
High pressure situations are what make champions. Russell bottled it in this occasion and hopefully he’ll learn from that mistake.
George has embarrassed himself this season. He's become much more unlikeable than when he was the underdog at Williams and seemed more content and grateful of the chance to compete. At Merc, he's made some weird statements/remarks and his behaviour has changed. He is highlighting that it's not just about being quick, something Max is now much more mature with now. It's about picking your moments and remaining calm and focussed. He buckles under pressure and often during battle comes off worse.
I thought Lewis was very mature. He clearly caught George and had more pace and was being held up. George kept on claiming he had the pace all race sat behind Carlos, but when it came to making a move and attacking, he couldn't. Lewis could have had a moan about being let through but instead, "George needs to get the pace up if he can" I thought was pretty tame and respectful given the situation. Lewis could have had a proper attack and nabbed at least second there. George is over trying at times and has become desperate.
Where George is in the championship is not awful given the issues they had this season, but then you look at Hamilton sitting 3rd in often the 4th fastest car. All weekend George was on top in pace over Lewis overall, until that final stint on mediums where the maturity of a 7 time champ shone through imo. That's the difference between Lewis, Max, Alonso and the rest imo.
I thought Lewis was very mature. He clearly caught George and had more pace and was being held up. George kept on claiming he had the pace all race sat behind Carlos, but when it came to making a move and attacking, he couldn't. Lewis could have had a moan about being let through but instead, "George needs to get the pace up if he can" I thought was pretty tame and respectful given the situation. Lewis could have had a proper attack and nabbed at least second there. George is over trying at times and has become desperate.
Where George is in the championship is not awful given the issues they had this season, but then you look at Hamilton sitting 3rd in often the 4th fastest car. All weekend George was on top in pace over Lewis overall, until that final stint on mediums where the maturity of a 7 time champ shone through imo. That's the difference between Lewis, Max, Alonso and the rest imo.
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Extremely telling that Alpha Tauri sent no representative to argue their case for being impeded though. It’s time the FIA insisted the team be sold as it’s now abundantly clear, if it wasn’t enough already, that they’re Red Bull 2.0 and can’t or won’t act independently.
Soldato
Ham probably would have got 2nd or even first if Russell wasnt holding him back .
And it wa sa dumb decisions to hand back the place to Russell after the race start seeing as Russell basically pushed hamilton outwide with nowhere to go....
Once he was pushed out wide he actually let Russell passed him briefly and then retook that spot again, only for merc to tell him to give it back to him a few laps after
Soldato
It was that or a penalty.
I mean they are Red Bull 2.0 - owned by the same company, why would you expect them to act independently?
I think it's makes a mockery that MV didn't get a penalty for the YT block.
It was clearly a block. I thought one of the new aims was to make f1 rules more consistent. This was a clear case of that not being true.
I believe Russell has dropped. A bit this year. Hamilton is the more rounded driver. And yes, more likeable now too.
It was clearly a block. I thought one of the new aims was to make f1 rules more consistent. This was a clear case of that not being true.
I believe Russell has dropped. A bit this year. Hamilton is the more rounded driver. And yes, more likeable now too.
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Not sure why the commentators thought merc were likely winners at the end. At peak tyre life they weren't closing in fast enough. And we know how hard it is to overtake.
Glad they tried. It was Worth it. (if Russell didn't bin it)
Glad they tried. It was Worth it. (if Russell didn't bin it)
I've always thought Russell had a bit of an arrogant streak, probably because despite being in a Williams he was always the "anointed" Merc driver, and I gave him the benefit of the doubt as a young driver doing a good job in a crap car.
But now at times it feels like he's a bit too big for his boots, compared to other young drivers of a similar era like Norris, Albon or even Piastri who all seem far more likeable and humble.
He needs to prove himself, at this point I don't see him being a nailed on replacement for Hamilton as Merc No 1 when he does retire, I've seen little in his F1 career to suggest so far that he's not a Rosberg, Bottas or Barrichello, a very quick, good driver - but not on the level of Hamilton, Alonso or Verstappen.
I have to agree on Hamilton, I've never been a big fan of his at all but I feel he's got older and wiser now and certainly comes across better than he did before, and certainly better than his team-mate.
I thought Crofty was going to have to change his trousers at one point with the excitement.....
Same. I also never really liked him. But he's mellowed out. Definitely seems more mature now. Probably driving a non WCC capable car has helped. I mean he had the best kit for so long.
I was watching using the sky source.. So much worse than Alex jacques I find. Crofty is a tad annoying I find. And brundle is opposite. Too mopey
Soldato
Nicely put though I think it's a bit early to say Max is much more mature - he certainly comes across this way but cruising to a WDC is a very different prospect to fighting for one like 2021. Then again, fighting for your first WDC is different than fighting for your 3rd, 4th, 5th etc. not to mention age is a factor too. It would be great to see another championship fight like 2021 with Max being more mature but I'm not convinced he wouldn't go back to his more do or die attitude.
As for Russell, the first person you always compare a driver to is their team mate. There's no doubt Russell doesn't look great compared against an older, wiser 7x WDC Hamilton but Russell is only 25, so maybe a more apt comparison is Hamilton around 2010. Which is around the time Hamilton seemed to crash in to a lot of drivers, especially Massa. So it doesn't look good for Russell but I also don't think it's as bad as some make out. As the old saying goes - you can't teach a slow driver to be fast but you can teach a fast driver not to crash.
Commissario
Their defence is that Max didn't know Yuki was coming through because they hadn't told him. The drivers do rely a lot on being told who's coming up behind them and if he wasn't aware, then I think it's a fair point. All team radios are accessible by the FIA so it must be true.
They were gaining at over two seconds per lap, they were right behind Lando a few laps from the end so they definitely were closing in fast enough. They had a massive tyre advantage.
Carlos played this perfectly, slowing down just enough to keep Lando within the DRS zone to make it very difficult for George and Lewis to pass. If he'd not done that, Lando would have been a sitting duck and they'd both have got past him with time to spare to catch and almost certainly pass Carlos.
Despite what's been said in here, I don't think Lewis would necessarily have got past Lando in the same situation but I think he'd have been there quicker than George was. While George was gaining on the others and passing them, Lewis was catching him up so he was faster.
No matter what the outcome, I enjoyed this race. There were some good tactics all round and Ferrari actually didn't implode for a change.
Soldato
What was it Albon said a few races ago, his best defence in the race was to have a couple of McLarens behind him.
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