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Brilliant by Kimi, finally justified the hype from Toto which did put him under pressure through mid-season. Those final 5-6 laps with a marauding Verstappen with softer tyres behind him, was well executed - he was superb through the last few corners of Sector2 and Juncao (T12) - that's what kept the gap beyond 0.5-0.6s before the DRS began.
Russel should be pretty disappointed today - the kid finished ahead on pure merit and his arch-rival Verstappen, overtook on the first chance he got - didn't get the chance to defend more than 1 corner. But nevertheless, huge haul of points and a stronger hold on P2 in WCC. Well done Mercedes !!
I don't get why this result is such a huge cause for celebration, yes, second place in the constuctor's is strengthened (debatable how much that matters now), but car performance-wise this race was - again - a major disappointment, McLaren and Verstappen were faster by A MARGIN, and we didn't get to see Ferrari's pace, and let's be honest, there was a non-indecent chance that Leclerc would've clapped them too if he weren't bowled out by Piastri early...
A win in Vegas - let alone a domination like last year - is by no means a given by the way, the peaks and valleys in performance are a lot less acute this year, and the other teams haven't been sitting around shrugging at challenges like the gauntlet that was the struggle with the tyres in Vegas last year on extremely cold tarmac with no long radius high speed corners to lean into... I don't see the car's "inherent superiority" in tyre warm up "embedded deep in the car's 'DNA'" as being a free ticket to another win, if it's even real at all anymore, anyone who counts on that might be in for another bitter disappointment, I reckon...
Congratulations to Kimi though, best drive from him all season, hands down... I wouldn't mind this being the start of a trend of him generally getting the better of George, who I think might be the most overrated driver on the grid right now (DOESN'T mean he's bad, just falsely labelled as elite due to fortunate circumstances that generated the necessary optics for him for that to manifest).
Congratulations to Kimi though, best drive from him all season, hands down... I wouldn't mind this being the start of a trend of him generally getting the better of George
talking about starts... that's something to work on, I guess . Both looked like he fell asleep.
They put a lot of pressure on this kid, but he is starting to deliver big time. Felt genuinely bad to see him cry a couple of races back. These cars are not the easiest to jump into the highest level of competition with, so it's hard to blame him for being inconsistent. I think the flashes have been there. He is only 19 years old and literally has room for growth in every aspect possible. Will be very interesting to see how he fares next season with the reset for everyone and new cars that will handle differently.
We'll see if this form continues into the last 3 races.
Apparently George is only doing sim time with the 2026 car and has been for some time now. I wonder if his lack of focus on all things 2025, is giving away a few tenths in performance. He really needs to come out in Vegas and stamp his authority on the team IMO.
I wouldn't mind this being the start of a trend of him generally getting the better of George, who I think might be the most overrated driver on the grid right now (DOESN'T mean he's bad, just falsely labelled as elite due to fortunate circumstances that generated the necessary optics for him for that to manifest).
This is a poor take. George has done more than enough to justify the accolades he's received this season up to now. A lot of this recent Kimi hype is just recency bias from the last two races. If he goes off the boil again in the last 3 races, what will be the narrative then?
He's doing a cracking job but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
We'll see if this form continues into the last 3 races.
Apparently George is only doing sim time with the 2026 car and has been for some time now. I wonder if his lack of focus on all things 2025, is giving away a few tenths in performance. He really needs to come out in Vegas and stamp his authority on the team IMO.
Why can't both drivers do well? It's not a zero sum game.
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his 33% stake in the team at a $6 billion valuation, according to multiple people familiar with the details.
If the agreement is completed, it would be a record valuation for an F1 team, topping the $4.7 billion for a McLaren LP stake sale last month. Wolff will remain in his current role with the Mercedes team, serving as CEO and team principal. The deal is for a mid-single-digit stake in the team through an investment in Wolff’s holding company, which owns the shares. Sportico could not identify the buyer.
. Both looked like he fell asleep.
