Merc is dog slow on the straights. Ferrari is the fastest on the straights. Combine that with Russell just struggling a bit. Russell had his wing open and wasn't even closing in on Sainz.
Merc is dog slow on the straights. Ferrari is the fastest on the straights. Combine that with Russell just struggling a bit. Russell had his wing open and wasn't even closing in on Sainz.
You need a big pace delta to pass in austin.
He had saved tires from lap1. Even when Lewis was still in DRS he already took the strain out of the corners while Lewis was still hugging the inside.
Vanja blamed Max, not Charles. And there was no gap as he needed to go outside TL. But TL seemingly don't apply on lap 1 as we saw with LH, so can't blame Charles.PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑22 Oct 2023, 01:02He didn't blame max in the interview though. He seems to admit going for the gap.
There clearly seems to be a need for discussion between stewards and MB / GR team to understand why they appear to build this type event into their race strategy.
Yes he did indeed admit honoustly and fairly that he tried to go for it. I just mentioned that as Vanja was blaming Max for something that even the driver himself sees very differently.PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑22 Oct 2023, 01:02He didn't blame max in the interview though. He seems to admit going for the gap.
I am also not confident yet Max can still win it. But I almost never have super big up front confidence. Max thinks he has about 0.3 0.4 on the others, but he is unsure if that is enough delta to make a move. I had hoped for Perez to come more through the field today and that wasn’t really happening.grubschumi13 wrote: ↑22 Oct 2023, 01:15The cars were very close with RBR the 3rd fastest but Max managed his tires better than anyone.
Lec had nothing to gain by pushing more and Ham was attacking (like Russell) the high speed corners more aggressively than max from lap 1, it was very clear. That costs rubber. I don’t know if for the Merc car this is simply the best compromise? Both drivers were doing it.
Max is the only driver who is consistently within 1.39 lap time. Their ability to preserve the tires will give RBR and Max the advantage for tomorrow's race.
Perez said his mediums were not in good shape from before the start (they picked the worst set for the sprint to save for tomorrow). Then said he damaged the tires pushing too hard in the traffic. I think there is opportunity to have a better race if he manages the pace better at the start of the stint.Sieper wrote: ↑22 Oct 2023, 01:20I am also not confident yet Max can still win it. But I almost never have super big up front confidence. Max thinks he has about 0.3 0.4 on the others, but he is unsure if that is enough delta to make a move. I had hoped for Perez to come more through the field today and that wasn’t really happening.grubschumi13 wrote: ↑22 Oct 2023, 01:15The cars were very close with RBR the 3rd fastest but Max managed his tires better than anyone.
Might be a very good race tomorrow.