Championship showdown this weekend. Will Lewis win his eight title or will Max win his first? All will be revealed on Sunday.
TV Times:
Qualifying Live: 1PM. (Sky Sports)
Race Live: 1PM. (Sky Sports and Channel 4)
Bring! It! On!
I actually think Tsunoda is more dangerous than Mazepin at this stage.
Fascinated by the difference in starting tyres. It really sets the race up for a grandstand finish -- Hamilton hunting Max down on fresher tyres in the closing laps. It would be a fitting end to the season.
I'm assuming Max may want to two-stop which would mean a quick pace from him. Perez in 4th could be crucial in building a gap for him to drop into, while staying inside Hamilton's pit window.
I see the WWE merchants are out in force already. Some really silly stuff here about Max taking out Lewis or the number 2s being used to take out the number 1s. Silly season again...
Interesting to see how it will play out. Surprised Max got the job done yesterday. Him starting on softs was a disadvantage in my mind, but if Checo can jump Norris at the start and mind his tyres like only Checo does it should give Mercedes something to think about around the pit stops.
All in all just hoping for a clean race. As a Max supporter, I was a bit disappointed at some of the stuff last week so hoping he can keep a level head today.
Mazepin out so that reduces Safety Car chances by about 92%
Classy message
https://twitter.com/HondaRacingF1/status/1469891270177062916?s=20
I agree re Sainz. He has sort of stayed below the radar but done a pretty decent job in a new car/team.
Ham will not take any chances at the start, he can catch Max later on if neccessary.
Come on Max !!
I think leclerc is up there and Sainz has announced himself as a top tier driver too.
I think he was underrated last year, beating Norris. And he's only 9 points behind Leclerc this year which is a great result given he switched team and leclerc is in his 3rd year at ferrari.
He's an outstanding driver. I think him and Gasly are the next best drivers after Max and Lewis.
Something which I doubt many drivers can claim
Lando was super in qualifying today.
Maybe Perez takes out a few bollards that forces a safety car for when max has built up a gap on softs and gets a cheap pit stop
Pleasantly surprised with quali. Max on pole which surprised me and great stint from Lando.
If they could have known he would start on pole, there’s no way they’d have started him on softs. By far the biggest advantage of softs is speed off the start, which he doesn’t need from P1.
Unless Verstappen can distance himself from Hamilton, RB will be second-guessing Mercedes for the first stint: pit too early and Hamilton will go long, wait too long and Hamilton will undercut.
Verstappen will be looking to take out Hamilton at the first corner if he's any way alongside.
Hamilton can't hold off too much at the first corner because he risks losing 2nd to Norris.
Perez to insert himself half a metre into Hamilton's gearbox and get a 3 year contract extension with RB.
perez right behind lewis
Bottas is well positioned for some Hungary style bowling.
If Perez can get a good start and keep his tires alive, he can put some pressure on Hamilton during the stops. I can't see Bottas getting close enough come pit-stop time to make an impact.
Hamilton being surrounded by soft tire starters will put some pressure on him for the first lap or two. I can't see Norris being content following him if he's faster at the start.
Norris might have a chance at a win here, knowing that the front 2 will have their elbows out for the majority of the race. Keeping Perez behind might be a challenge, but you never know...
For the constructors, both Red bull and McLaren have chances to gain a position. I doubt Alpha Tauri can catch up with Alpine, but Yuki was flying in Qualifying
RB playing for a 2 stopper from the start. I think I saw Max has no mediums left so Soft/Hard/Soft it is.
The start will be absolutely crucial. Perez could do with getting in the mix. Lando could be great help to Lewis.
At least it’s set up to be an actual race, and not just one driver spinning off and managing tires for a couple of hours!
The more I think about it, the more I think RB were always going soft from the start. I know sky and Horner himself said it’s not ideal but they can’t match Merc on the same strategy so have they played the last card on the season and will it work? We’re gonna find out soon! The most anticipated first corner in 13 years maybe?
All down to the tyre strategy and Mercedes have the edge there I think starting on mediums. Although the first few laps will be uncomfortable for Hamilton surrounded by soft starters I think he'll come through in the end.
It's going to be a cat and mouse game for the pit stops, obviously Red Bull have to bring in Max first once those softs start falling away but then what? Norris, after falling way off the radar since Russia will be keen to defend his podium so unless Perez can get him off the line or within the first few opening laps he'll have to second guess the undercut.
The Red Bull strategies have been excellent this season, crafty.
What a lap from Max, he was even faster on his second without the tow.
nicely poised for a tense race tomorrow. No clue who it could play out.
Stop will ye, completely against the run of play.
I think it's always been hd on sky. its freesat they fell out with so it disappeared off the epg. you could always tune it in manually. sorry should have made that clearer !
your channel4 should be hd already I think.
Can't find Channel 4 HD anywhere on Sky Ireland, even the manual tuning only throws up SD versions.
Delighted for Max, great drive.
Typical comment from Hamilton- I've such a dislike for him.
Sets it up perfectly for the race tomorrow.
Perez needs to take Norris first up tomorrow if Lando is any way hesitant.
Best oscar for dying swan goes to Red Bull.
And with all the information so far, makes sense for them to go for the softs. Degradation was minimal in F2 races, as was overtaking :( so with soft or medium their strategy would have been if they win the start: Stay ahead of Lewis and pit at the first opportunity for hards to finish the race on. Mercedes will go long and try to get the tyre advantage in at the end of the race.
If they loose the start, pit as soon as a window opens for hard.
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