Tvetovnato wrote: ↑26 Jul 2025, 12:34
Very predictable. Looking at last year with how impossible it was to overtake, this was a no brainer once Max got past. Oscar was 3 tenths behind AFTER Eau Rouge at one point and still didn’t even threaten.
Max getting the job done in lap1. That's it, a boring sprint as a spectator. A brief excitement when Max locked up in the bus stop chicane in lap10, which allowed Piastri to close into something like 3 tenths before the climb to EauRouge (I thought the overtake is going to happen finally), but Max positioned his car superbly at the end of Kemmel straight, and killed the opportunity. Norris disappointed too, by getting close to Piastri and then backing off a bit towards the end.
However, as an engineer, watching the sprint was fascinating. I was surprised how Max wasn't losing terribly in sector2 like he did yesterday in FP and SQ. It was a proper dogfight with battery deployment and recharging. The Redbull is weakest w.r.t the McLaren, through T14.
They way they have setup the RB21 of Max - if the race is dry, quali position won't matter as Max will breeze through cars in the Kemmel straight ; however if it rains (which it looks almost certainly), getting a podium will itself be a mega achievement. T6-T6-T8 and T12-T13-T14 will be painful in low grip conditions.