SS454
14th November 2021, 21:57
A very controversial Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, and rightfully so. There were many unusual procedures and decisions made throughout the weekend that left millions of fans scratching their heads. It also allowed for fans with a biased opinion to have an argument to support their views. All of this shows the real losers are F1 and the FIA. Their inconsistencies and irrational decisions from one incident to the next show they have their best interests in hand, with the main one being keeping fans engaged. Always remember, Formula 1 is a business first, and a racing series second. Unfortunately this can cloud their judgement, for lack of a better word, on seemingly straight forward decisions. Another post may be required to discuss the controversies. On the bright side, this is the last weekend of the silly Sprint Race Qualifying.
Mercedes back to having the best car. After being outclassed by Red Bull in Mexico, there is no denying Mercedes had the upper hand. Though this comes with a load of controversy. Despite a DQ from failed tech on Friday, a last place start in the Sprint Race, and 5 place grid penalty for an ICE change, the Mercedes in the hands of Hamilton was easily able to blow by the competition down the big long straight of Interlagos. A speed differential so great it has raised a lot of eyebrows, including the smart guys at Red Bull Racing, who have suggested there is something fishy going on. There is also data and speculation that this advantage is only present on Hamilton's car, which could explain why Bottas can never seem to advance through traffic like his teammate. Bottas sadly once again did not get any support from his team, they compromised his race to benefit Hamilton's. To be fair, that is completely understandable, except there was a very realistic chance for Bottas to get 2nd. Given the speed from Hamilton's Mercedes, there is no reason why Bottas should not have been in the challenge for the win even.
Red Bull Racing calling this a damage limitation race despite starting the Sprint Race on pole, having their drivers in 1-2 positions after lap 1, and the rivals weighed down with penalties, that is of huge concern for the remainder of the championship. Verstappen had an incredible drive for the most part, but the car was going to be a sitting duck against the Mercedes, it was just a matter of time. Though Max reverted back to doing his traditional Verstappen tactics of weaving on the straight, and driving the outside driver off the track. Seems awfully convenient that the onboard of Verstappen is missing so we can see his steering inputs when he drove Lewis off track. At the very least it was a very questionable move, and perhaps even deserving of a penalty. Fortunately it was a no harm no foul type of incident, much to the sharp mind of Hamilton. Lets not forget, Hamilton pushed Perez into the pit entry lane in Turkey, and nobody seemed to care. As for Perez, a very good drive by him once again. For most of the year he can barely stay within 30 seconds of Max during a race, yet he wasn't too far off all race until he was forced to pit for the fastest lap point.
Ferrari had another fantastic race. Going into any weekend, their maximum target has to be 5th and 6th, realistically. The main goal to attain more points than McLaren in the fight for 3rd in the WCC. Not only did Ferrari finish 5th and 6th, but McLaren had another terrible race and it was huge points for Ferrari in back to back races. As for the drivers, both did top notch, but I have to say that Leclerc is either not quite the superstar we all believe, or Sainz is really stepping up his game.
AlphaTauri perhaps came in the weekend as a favorite to finishing 5th in the race, didn't quite have the same pace they showed in Mexico. Gasly still delivered the maximum the car could achieve, including some good battling with both Apline drivers. Tsunoda's ability to make mistakes which happen to hurt the big Red Bull team continues to impress. His dive bomb on Stroll was beyond ambitious and deserved a penalty for sure, though was 10 seconds too harsh? Putting it in perspective, Lewis Hamilton received the same 10 second penalty for his collision with Verstappen in Silverstone which not only destroyed the Red Bull, forced an engine change, but also put Max in the hospital for precautionary reasons.
Alpine, always inconsistent with their pace. I am sure the team knows where they strong and weak, but I haven't figured it out as their performance varies each and every race and we never seem to know what will show up. A double points finish and both drivers looking pretty equal has to be considered a successful weekend.
McLaren perhaps could have scored some decent points with Ricciardo, who lets give this guy some credit has been driving MUCH MUCH better than he was for the first half of the season. It is starting to feel like the balance is falling in favor of Ricciardo lately. But he still DNF'd and Norris scored a point who probably could have been much better if it wasn't for his tiny mistake into T1 which caused his puncture and ruined his race.
Aston Martin is another team that struggles with consistent performances. Stroll we know got rammed by Tsunoda, but Vettel just wasn't fast enough at any point in the race. Perhaps Aston Martin feel no need to develop this years car and are fully committed to next years car, since they are pretty much locked into 7th place this season.
Alfa Romeo had another good performance from Raikkonen. A collision or a couple of DNF's ahead and he's in the points. Giovinazzi probably wanted a better race, though it is unsure if he had issues or damage.
Williams unremarkable race. George as usual finishes ahead of Latifi, and the team can truly only finish ahead of Haas.
Haas at the back. I was expecting a replay to see Schumacher lose his front wing in a collision with Mazepin, but it turns out it was his own mistake that caused it in a bump with the Alfa. Mazepin stayed clean and finished ahead of Mick, which is somewhat rare.
Driver of the Day. Lewis Hamilton. It can seem hard to give DOTD to the guy that had a car that fast and could make passes on the straight with such little effort or skill involved, but let's be fair and recognize he was in plenty of positions to over drive the car while being aggressive, or getting caught up while dicing through traffic in the opening laps. He need to drive good enough to put maximize what the car was capable of, and he did it.
Mercedes back to having the best car. After being outclassed by Red Bull in Mexico, there is no denying Mercedes had the upper hand. Though this comes with a load of controversy. Despite a DQ from failed tech on Friday, a last place start in the Sprint Race, and 5 place grid penalty for an ICE change, the Mercedes in the hands of Hamilton was easily able to blow by the competition down the big long straight of Interlagos. A speed differential so great it has raised a lot of eyebrows, including the smart guys at Red Bull Racing, who have suggested there is something fishy going on. There is also data and speculation that this advantage is only present on Hamilton's car, which could explain why Bottas can never seem to advance through traffic like his teammate. Bottas sadly once again did not get any support from his team, they compromised his race to benefit Hamilton's. To be fair, that is completely understandable, except there was a very realistic chance for Bottas to get 2nd. Given the speed from Hamilton's Mercedes, there is no reason why Bottas should not have been in the challenge for the win even.
Red Bull Racing calling this a damage limitation race despite starting the Sprint Race on pole, having their drivers in 1-2 positions after lap 1, and the rivals weighed down with penalties, that is of huge concern for the remainder of the championship. Verstappen had an incredible drive for the most part, but the car was going to be a sitting duck against the Mercedes, it was just a matter of time. Though Max reverted back to doing his traditional Verstappen tactics of weaving on the straight, and driving the outside driver off the track. Seems awfully convenient that the onboard of Verstappen is missing so we can see his steering inputs when he drove Lewis off track. At the very least it was a very questionable move, and perhaps even deserving of a penalty. Fortunately it was a no harm no foul type of incident, much to the sharp mind of Hamilton. Lets not forget, Hamilton pushed Perez into the pit entry lane in Turkey, and nobody seemed to care. As for Perez, a very good drive by him once again. For most of the year he can barely stay within 30 seconds of Max during a race, yet he wasn't too far off all race until he was forced to pit for the fastest lap point.
Ferrari had another fantastic race. Going into any weekend, their maximum target has to be 5th and 6th, realistically. The main goal to attain more points than McLaren in the fight for 3rd in the WCC. Not only did Ferrari finish 5th and 6th, but McLaren had another terrible race and it was huge points for Ferrari in back to back races. As for the drivers, both did top notch, but I have to say that Leclerc is either not quite the superstar we all believe, or Sainz is really stepping up his game.
AlphaTauri perhaps came in the weekend as a favorite to finishing 5th in the race, didn't quite have the same pace they showed in Mexico. Gasly still delivered the maximum the car could achieve, including some good battling with both Apline drivers. Tsunoda's ability to make mistakes which happen to hurt the big Red Bull team continues to impress. His dive bomb on Stroll was beyond ambitious and deserved a penalty for sure, though was 10 seconds too harsh? Putting it in perspective, Lewis Hamilton received the same 10 second penalty for his collision with Verstappen in Silverstone which not only destroyed the Red Bull, forced an engine change, but also put Max in the hospital for precautionary reasons.
Alpine, always inconsistent with their pace. I am sure the team knows where they strong and weak, but I haven't figured it out as their performance varies each and every race and we never seem to know what will show up. A double points finish and both drivers looking pretty equal has to be considered a successful weekend.
McLaren perhaps could have scored some decent points with Ricciardo, who lets give this guy some credit has been driving MUCH MUCH better than he was for the first half of the season. It is starting to feel like the balance is falling in favor of Ricciardo lately. But he still DNF'd and Norris scored a point who probably could have been much better if it wasn't for his tiny mistake into T1 which caused his puncture and ruined his race.
Aston Martin is another team that struggles with consistent performances. Stroll we know got rammed by Tsunoda, but Vettel just wasn't fast enough at any point in the race. Perhaps Aston Martin feel no need to develop this years car and are fully committed to next years car, since they are pretty much locked into 7th place this season.
Alfa Romeo had another good performance from Raikkonen. A collision or a couple of DNF's ahead and he's in the points. Giovinazzi probably wanted a better race, though it is unsure if he had issues or damage.
Williams unremarkable race. George as usual finishes ahead of Latifi, and the team can truly only finish ahead of Haas.
Haas at the back. I was expecting a replay to see Schumacher lose his front wing in a collision with Mazepin, but it turns out it was his own mistake that caused it in a bump with the Alfa. Mazepin stayed clean and finished ahead of Mick, which is somewhat rare.
Driver of the Day. Lewis Hamilton. It can seem hard to give DOTD to the guy that had a car that fast and could make passes on the straight with such little effort or skill involved, but let's be fair and recognize he was in plenty of positions to over drive the car while being aggressive, or getting caught up while dicing through traffic in the opening laps. He need to drive good enough to put maximize what the car was capable of, and he did it.