2023 British Grand Prix - Silverstone, July 07 - 09

[AMG.Tzan]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

-Norris lets Max by as if he’s getting lapped, though Max isn’t able to instantly open a gap!
-Yet when Lewis came he defended like “a lion”

Everyone has been doing the same thing with the Red Bulls this year! Nobody is willing to battle them and I cannot understand why! Yes they’re fast and they will eventually pass you but why give up your position so easily? Just battle…that’s your job after all…

I remember Alonso battling Hamilton for 9th at Mexico 2017 as if he was racing for the championship! He would never do the same with Verstapen…

[Cs98]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

-Norris lets Max by as if he’s getting lapped, though Max isn’t able to instantly open a gap!
-Yet when Lewis came he defended like “a lion”

Everyone has been doing the same thing with the Red Bulls this year! Nobody is willing to battle them and I cannot understand why! Yes they’re fast and they will eventually pass you but why give up your position so easily? Just battle…that’s your job after all…

I remember Alonso battling Hamilton for 9th at Mexico 2017 as if he was racing for the championship! He would never do the same with Verstapen…

Aww, poor victim.

He didn't spend time battling Max because he was slower than Max and would've lost valuable time and tyre life doing so. He was able to hang on in DRS for a few laps, that's it. The reason he fought Lewis hard is rather simple to understand looking at the end result, no?

[basti313]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

Bit of a joke isn't it?
Max was doing a DRS fly by. He was ahead into the braking zone and had much more grip. You could see this easily when he went close in the turns before. There was nothing to defend, Lando could have just destroyed both their race by going to the inside trying to brake later than the RedBull....
On the other hand...Lewis still was half a car length behind under DRS into the braking zone at Brooklands. He could brake a bit later...but outbraked himself. Next lap when Norris went to deep into Brooklands you could see that the McLaren simply has more top speed...

[Farnborough]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

-Norris lets Max by as if he’s getting lapped, though Max isn’t able to instantly open a gap!
-Yet when Lewis came he defended like “a lion”

Everyone has been doing the same thing with the Red Bulls this year! Nobody is willing to battle them and I cannot understand why! Yes they’re fast and they will eventually pass you but why give up your position so easily? Just battle…that’s your job after all…

I remember Alonso battling Hamilton for 9th at Mexico 2017 as if he was racing for the championship! He would never do the same with Verstapen…

Aww, poor victim.

He didn't spend time battling Max because he was slower than Max and would've lost valuable time and tyre life doing so. He was able to hang on in DRS for a few laps, that's it. The reason he fought Lewis hard is rather simple to understand looking at the end result, no?

Agree with assessment of LN wanting to get MV past with least disturbance to his own schedule and tyres. Quite a mature outlook I thought.

They were looking at when others behind might challenge them with race pace and tyre longevity (which they hadn't had chance to fully assess in their own performance) and quite rightly too as it came very close to giving them a double podium. A very good team performance and predicted race overview in my opinion.

[chrisc90]

Max was well past Norris before entering the braking zone. That’s the speed of the RB with DRS.

Hamilton couldn’t get ahead of Norris, even with DRS (same with the Ferrari). The Mercedes didn’t have enough speed to overtake before the braking zone(or in it for that matter). Therefore there was actually a ‘fight’ to have in the corner.

I’d have had a guess Lando would destroy his tyres trying to keep Max behind, so whilst the first 3 laps were great to watch, ultimately, in the long run, Norris cemented his 2nd place by keeping tyre life.

Let’s face it, Lewis should have been past at the Safety car restart on 2 compounds softer tyres, which will give a lot more grip…. But that didn’t happen.

[bauc]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

-Norris lets Max by as if he’s getting lapped, though Max isn’t able to instantly open a gap!
-Yet when Lewis came he defended like “a lion”

Everyone has been doing the same thing with the Red Bulls this year! Nobody is willing to battle them and I cannot understand why! Yes they’re fast and they will eventually pass you but why give up your position so easily? Just battle…that’s your job after all…

I remember Alonso battling Hamilton for 9th at Mexico 2017 as if he was racing for the championship! He would never do the same with Verstapen…

Lando knew he cant keep Verstapen behind for long, plus he wanted to extend the set of mediums as long as possible! Battling VER in the opening laps under full fuel load would have killed those tires right away

[Cs98]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

-Norris lets Max by as if he’s getting lapped, though Max isn’t able to instantly open a gap!
-Yet when Lewis came he defended like “a lion”

Everyone has been doing the same thing with the Red Bulls this year! Nobody is willing to battle them and I cannot understand why! Yes they’re fast and they will eventually pass you but why give up your position so easily? Just battle…that’s your job after all…

I remember Alonso battling Hamilton for 9th at Mexico 2017 as if he was racing for the championship! He would never do the same with Verstapen…

Aww, poor victim.

He didn't spend time battling Max because he was slower than Max and would've lost valuable time and tyre life doing so. He was able to hang on in DRS for a few laps, that's it. The reason he fought Lewis hard is rather simple to understand looking at the end result, no?

Agree with assessment of LN wanting to get MV past with least disturbance to his own schedule and tyres. Quite a mature outlook I thought.

They were looking at when others behind might challenge them with race pace and tyre longevity (which they hadn't had chance to fully assess in their own performance) and quite rightly too as it came very close to giving them a double podium. A very good team performance and predicted race overview in my opinion.

The double podium was basically a lock before the SC came, and it was possible because they pulled off that great first stint.

[Just_a_fan]

Let’s face it, Lewis should have been past at the Safety car restart on 2 compounds softer tyres, which will give a lot more grip…. But that didn’t happen.

Lando, in an inherently quicker car, defended very well. They raced wheel to wheel without contact and Lando was able to use his greater speed to his advantage. It was good driving from both of them.

Even if Lewis has got by immediately after the SC, Lando would have still ended the race P2 - the McLaren was quicker than the Merc all weekend. In a DRS fight, the Merc couldn't pass the McLaren. If Lando had been behind Lewis after the SC restart, with DRS he'd have flown by anyway.

[ValeVida46]

Lando, in an inherently quicker car, defended very well. They raced wheel to wheel without contact and Lando was able to use his greater speed to his advantage. It was good driving from both of them.

Even if Lewis has got by immediately after the SC, Lando would have still ended the race P2 - the McLaren was quicker than the Merc all weekend. In a DRS fight, the Merc couldn't pass the McLaren. If Lando had been behind Lewis after the SC restart, with DRS he'd have flown by anyway.

Sums my observations up.
I'd add that the macca was super quick through the fast corners that led to the DRS zone.
Merc could get close but there just wasn't enough road left, because the macca could carry that much more speed through those corners creating a larger gap.

Key takeaway from this race is that McLaren are back with a bang.

[Willy]

Let’s face it, Lewis should have been past at the Safety car restart on 2 compounds softer tyres, which will give a lot more grip…. But that didn’t happen.

Lando, in an inherently quicker car, defended very well. They raced wheel to wheel without contact and Lando was able to use his greater speed to his advantage. It was good driving from both of them.

Even if Lewis has got by immediately after the SC, Lando would have still ended the race P2 - the McLaren was quicker than the Merc all weekend. In a DRS fight, the Merc couldn't pass the McLaren. If Lando had been behind Lewis after the SC restart, with DRS he'd have flown by anyway.

Why do you reckon Oscar couldn't do it?

[mclaren111]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

-Norris lets Max by as if he’s getting lapped, though Max isn’t able to instantly open a gap!
-Yet when Lewis came he defended like “a lion”

Everyone has been doing the same thing with the Red Bulls this year! Nobody is willing to battle them and I cannot understand why! Yes they’re fast and they will eventually pass you but why give up your position so easily? Just battle…that’s your job after all…

I remember Alonso battling Hamilton for 9th at Mexico 2017 as if he was racing for the championship! He would never do the same with Verstapen…

Lando had to manage tyres... Mclaren still has issues with tyre degradation...

[Sieper]

2 things, there indeed wasn’t much chance to defend. It would have to be a very hard move. A brutal one. A not really allowed one.

The alternative is to not do that but try to hook up in the tow and get DRS, with both!! cars. I am quite sure this was a hoped for run plan by McL.

Another day he will defend for his life. Lando is one of the best on the grid imho.

[dialtone]

2 things, there indeed wasn’t much chance to defend. It would have to be a very hard move. A brutal one. A not really allowed one.

The alternative is to not do that but try to hook up in the tow and get DRS, with both!! cars. I am quite sure this was a hoped for run plan by McL.

Another day he will defend for his life. Lando is one of the best on the grid imho.

I think people are just disappointed that Lando didn't defend the inside rather than staying outside and even leaving plenty of space that's all.

I agree that people are letting Max by, and maybe until this race for good reason, but this time Lando had the pace to stay in front, things might be different if the next race they continue to be this strong.

[mzso]

Lando would be mad to move to RBR, frankly.

Lewis is either at Merc or retired. I don't see why he'd go to McLaren nor why would want to replace a young gun with a veteran.

Mad to go to a winning team? Saying such things is madness...

Mad to go to Max's team. Any driver going to Red Bull at the moment is going in to a number 2 seat. Why would Lando do that? Lando isn't interested in playing second fiddle to Max.

Oh, boo-hoo. A driver spending a few years in an ultra-dominant car and everyone talks about them like some supernatural talent. It was the same with Schumacher and Hamilton.
I think it's clear that Leclerc, Norris or Russel could bring the fight to Verstappen. Failing to measure up is what relegated Perez to a de-facto second driver.

[mzso]

And as always double standards by some drivers…

-Norris lets Max by as if he’s getting lapped, though Max isn’t able to instantly open a gap!
-Yet when Lewis came he defended like “a lion”

Everyone has been doing the same thing with the Red Bulls this year! Nobody is willing to battle them and I cannot understand why! Yes they’re fast and they will eventually pass you but why give up your position so easily? Just battle…that’s your job after all…

I remember Alonso battling Hamilton for 9th at Mexico 2017 as if he was racing for the championship! He would never do the same with Verstapen…

Lando knew he cant keep Verstapen behind for long, plus he wanted to extend the set of mediums as long as possible! Battling VER in the opening laps under full fuel load would have killed those tires right away

I think staying within DRS range was an advantageous tactic. If the McLaren was capable of staying there, he could have overtaken Verstappen again at some point withe fuel and tire saved. But the RB still had a lot more performance, so it never happened...