Congratulations!
I didn't see anything worrying with the tires in the first stint. Max was pulling away comfortably. In fact, they only stopped early to cover the Hamilton undercut. Tires were fine. Max was protecting the tires a lot in S1.
It almost seemed Checo was faster in the last stint and if he didn't have that damage from the paltry Alfa he probably would have finished in 2nd. In hindsight it would have been prudent to change front wings considering the safety car but it is what it is.
Checo's pace was very confusing. He was fast and at times the fastest on the track. It went unnoticed by many and critics will jump in to say he was terrible but thats not true. He just struggled to overtake anyone which is a shame. I think maybe the wing damage and the draggier wing hurt him in the race conditions.ispano6 wrote: ↑24 Oct 2022, 00:50It almost seemed Checo was faster in the last stint and if he didn't have that damage from the paltry Alfa he probably would have finished in 2nd. In hindsight it would have been prudent to change front wings considering the safety car but it is what it is.
I had a good feeling RedBull would go for mediums on that last stint and that it would be good on the tires. They didn't seem to have any issues with the warm ups and the wind was the biggest factor as predicted.
It appears they went conservative for race setup. Max did two preparation laps in quali to bring tyres up to temp, which points to being extremely kind on tyres. COTA has been a circuit that puts a lot of stress. It seems the setup paid dividends.napoleon1981 wrote: ↑24 Oct 2022, 01:27Great race. Surprised to see Max could make those mediums last longer than Lewis could with his hards. Max's tire management is his most under rated skill, yet he is miles ahead of anyone else.
Lets get that 14th win next week!