SS454
2nd May 2021, 21:07
With a track like Portugal, one must have expected a rather dull race. There was hope the tires would create some drama, and to some degree it did, but never enough to dramatically influence the race... at least not for the top 3. So generally speaking it was a rather boring race, but there was a few things to observe.
Mercedes appear to have handily the best car once again. It's good that they are not 1 second a lap faster, but they are the car to beat. As seen in Imola, and in cases in the past, Lewis Hamilton appears to get an engine mode that is worth a lot more power when he needs to make a pass. He flew by Max without any issues at all. Then even closed on Bottas like his teammate was in a different car. Why didn't Bottas have this power to defend? Who knows. We still have to hand it to Lewis for being the opportunist he is at making that pass happen. Now in a many people's eyes, Bottas is the #2 and has to play a roll to benefit Hamilton. I have a hard time not seeing that didn't happen to some extent today. Bottas who had pole, and the fastest pace in the opening laps, once he was passed by Lewis, his pace seem to drop enough to control Max and Lewis could get a bit of a gap despite constant complaints about his tires. Bottas also seemed to have enough power to defend from Max in the DRS zone, unlike when being attacked by his teammate. Then Verstappen went for the undercut, and Bottas was given the hurry up and laid down a lap that nullified an advantage Max had with his fresh tires and a pitstop that was 1 second quicker. Unfortunately for Bottas, he mucked it up and got passed a few corners later. Is this the team sacrificing Bottas, or is he so mentally broken he doesn't have much fight left?
Red Bull put in a valiant effort. Verstappen always brings it, but the car just wasn't fast enough. Perez I thought had really good pace. It was nice to see a lot of people noticed that once Perez got passed Norris, his pace was as good as the leaders. I thought it was hilarious when Horner was asked on air about using Perez to hold up Lewis, he said that it would be unsportsmanlike. It was clear this was Red Bull's intentions as they held Perez out longer and longer until Lewis caught him. Unfortunately he wasn't able to hold up Lewis for even 1 corner, as Hamilton blew by him down the straight without issue. Perez was then pitted immediately the next lap in a supposed effort to go for fastest lap. It's too bad Max once again made an error and went outside track limits for fastest lap, losing him a potentially valuable point.
McLaren are really really good in race pace. Lando has been outstanding through and through, but even Ricciardo was chewing through the field impressively. I think this is a testament to how good the Mercedes engine is.
Ferrari had it's struggles. With a few upgrades brought, I think their chassis is currently 3rd best, but they still appear to have a clear power deficit compared to the competition. Tire compounds seemed to hurt Ferrari more than other teams, and unfortunately the Medium compound was so bad that Sainz failed to score any points.
Alpine was probably the team of the weekend. Given how up and down that car has been, they put it together this weekend and were in the conversation with McLaren and Ferrari. Ocon was the man all weekend until with about 20 laps to go Alonso of old showed up and was on fire! I'm curious if their performance will be a one off, or if it would continue in Barcelona.
AlphaTauri still can't make anything happen in the race. After 3 races it seems their impressive speed is limited to qualifying. I am starting to believe their car just works the tires right over 1 lap and then falls out of range during a stint. Or perhaps the car is lousy in traffic. Either way the team has work to do to improve their race pace.
Alfa Romeo as I thought did not have the speed to content for points. I think 12th position is a strong performance by Giovinazzi. I am not sure what Kimi was thinking as he literally just drove into the back of his teammate on the straight. Very fortunate it didn't cut down a tire on his teammate.
Aston Martin an all around poor performance. Stroll got upgrades that Vettel didn't. This didn't seem to make a difference and it makes Vettel's qualifying even more satisfying, but honestly I think Vettel's race was abysmal. To be fair I think the team was terrible with his strategy. As it was seen in his later Ferrari days, when Vettel loses his tires, keeping him out longer never proves to be the right call.
Williams back to the back. Russell was another driver that was abysmal. To put his car P11 on the grid then to drop like a stone instantly from the green flag. He dropped so far back that Latifi started to catch him. I am starting to wonder if Russell is a one lap wonder only.
Haas. You have to hand it to Mick Schumacher. 100% this was his best weekend all around and deserving of some praise. Passing the Williams on pace is worth a clap, not to mention finishing ahead of his teammate by a full minute.
Driver of the Day: Fernando Alonso.
It was a tough choice between Lando, Alonso, and Schumacher, though I think Alonso gets the nod. He chipped away throughout the race, and then once on the Hard tires he was blistering fast. He probably could have made a move on Ocon, but the team likely told them to stay put.
Mercedes appear to have handily the best car once again. It's good that they are not 1 second a lap faster, but they are the car to beat. As seen in Imola, and in cases in the past, Lewis Hamilton appears to get an engine mode that is worth a lot more power when he needs to make a pass. He flew by Max without any issues at all. Then even closed on Bottas like his teammate was in a different car. Why didn't Bottas have this power to defend? Who knows. We still have to hand it to Lewis for being the opportunist he is at making that pass happen. Now in a many people's eyes, Bottas is the #2 and has to play a roll to benefit Hamilton. I have a hard time not seeing that didn't happen to some extent today. Bottas who had pole, and the fastest pace in the opening laps, once he was passed by Lewis, his pace seem to drop enough to control Max and Lewis could get a bit of a gap despite constant complaints about his tires. Bottas also seemed to have enough power to defend from Max in the DRS zone, unlike when being attacked by his teammate. Then Verstappen went for the undercut, and Bottas was given the hurry up and laid down a lap that nullified an advantage Max had with his fresh tires and a pitstop that was 1 second quicker. Unfortunately for Bottas, he mucked it up and got passed a few corners later. Is this the team sacrificing Bottas, or is he so mentally broken he doesn't have much fight left?
Red Bull put in a valiant effort. Verstappen always brings it, but the car just wasn't fast enough. Perez I thought had really good pace. It was nice to see a lot of people noticed that once Perez got passed Norris, his pace was as good as the leaders. I thought it was hilarious when Horner was asked on air about using Perez to hold up Lewis, he said that it would be unsportsmanlike. It was clear this was Red Bull's intentions as they held Perez out longer and longer until Lewis caught him. Unfortunately he wasn't able to hold up Lewis for even 1 corner, as Hamilton blew by him down the straight without issue. Perez was then pitted immediately the next lap in a supposed effort to go for fastest lap. It's too bad Max once again made an error and went outside track limits for fastest lap, losing him a potentially valuable point.
McLaren are really really good in race pace. Lando has been outstanding through and through, but even Ricciardo was chewing through the field impressively. I think this is a testament to how good the Mercedes engine is.
Ferrari had it's struggles. With a few upgrades brought, I think their chassis is currently 3rd best, but they still appear to have a clear power deficit compared to the competition. Tire compounds seemed to hurt Ferrari more than other teams, and unfortunately the Medium compound was so bad that Sainz failed to score any points.
Alpine was probably the team of the weekend. Given how up and down that car has been, they put it together this weekend and were in the conversation with McLaren and Ferrari. Ocon was the man all weekend until with about 20 laps to go Alonso of old showed up and was on fire! I'm curious if their performance will be a one off, or if it would continue in Barcelona.
AlphaTauri still can't make anything happen in the race. After 3 races it seems their impressive speed is limited to qualifying. I am starting to believe their car just works the tires right over 1 lap and then falls out of range during a stint. Or perhaps the car is lousy in traffic. Either way the team has work to do to improve their race pace.
Alfa Romeo as I thought did not have the speed to content for points. I think 12th position is a strong performance by Giovinazzi. I am not sure what Kimi was thinking as he literally just drove into the back of his teammate on the straight. Very fortunate it didn't cut down a tire on his teammate.
Aston Martin an all around poor performance. Stroll got upgrades that Vettel didn't. This didn't seem to make a difference and it makes Vettel's qualifying even more satisfying, but honestly I think Vettel's race was abysmal. To be fair I think the team was terrible with his strategy. As it was seen in his later Ferrari days, when Vettel loses his tires, keeping him out longer never proves to be the right call.
Williams back to the back. Russell was another driver that was abysmal. To put his car P11 on the grid then to drop like a stone instantly from the green flag. He dropped so far back that Latifi started to catch him. I am starting to wonder if Russell is a one lap wonder only.
Haas. You have to hand it to Mick Schumacher. 100% this was his best weekend all around and deserving of some praise. Passing the Williams on pace is worth a clap, not to mention finishing ahead of his teammate by a full minute.
Driver of the Day: Fernando Alonso.
It was a tough choice between Lando, Alonso, and Schumacher, though I think Alonso gets the nod. He chipped away throughout the race, and then once on the Hard tires he was blistering fast. He probably could have made a move on Ocon, but the team likely told them to stay put.