PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑18 Mar 2026, 03:33
mstar wrote: ↑16 Mar 2026, 18:27
catent wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 22:45
Hamilton most certainly did not leave Leclerc "for dead", seeing as Leclerc finished 3.5s behind him, and was closing the gap over the final few laps.
And I guarantee you, if the roles were reversed and someone claimed Leclerc left Hamilton "for dead", you'd find such a description of the race utterly ridiculous, because it is.
In both races this season, Leclerc was slightly quicker during the first stint, and Hamilton slightly quicker during the final stint.
Nevermind that this is Leclerc's worst track, and arguably Hamilton's best.
Good for Hamilton, because he looks quite strong at the moment. But those trying to frame this as a negative outcome for Leclerc are letting their tribal bias show, and it's a bad look. By tearing down Leclerc, you're effectively diminishing Hamilton's accomplishment. And beyond that, Leclerc has shown himself to be a quality race driver; there is no doubt about his ability and consistency.
The praise for Hamilton is very well deserved. The criticism of Leclerc is absurd. And those who are incapable of supporting their preferred driver without reflexively engaging in prejudiced, tribal ways of thinking/talking about their preferred driver's teammate, suffice to say I find that an incredibly unfortunate mindset to be trapped in.
I thought lewis race craft was really good. Charles got baited to use his tyres trying to pull a gap to Russell -opened up graining on his front left. Lewis dropped back by 2+seconds cooled his tyres, then interpreted charles was struggling and then went for it. He gapped him for 15 laps in a row -lapping within 1/2 tenths. What else do you want to say? he was nearly 4 seconds in front of charles? He did leave him for dead. Charles had no reply.
Over race distance Australia he was behind charles and closing before pitstops, and then after the pit stops he was clearly faster taking down 7 seconds lead to 0.8. Its not a critisism of charles but we just looking at the facts there wasn't any issues lewis was just faster.
Again when we get to Baku/Monaco i expect charles to smoke lewis -these tracks Charles is elite!!
This is a grave concern for Charles if somehow Lewis' way of driving is making the tyres last longer and worse if it compounds and gets better and better. We might see the quicker driver lose out to a slower one whose managing the tools and tyres better. Not what I like to see? But it's something we have to prepare for if it happens.
I don't think there is any good evidence at this point that Hamilton is managing his tires better than Leclerc, especially after only two race weekends. Leclerc has demonstrated strong tire management and race pace in recent seasons, and he closed the gap to Hamilton over the final handful of laps at China.
In both Australia and China, Leclerc was marginally quicker during the first stint (mediums), while Hamilton was marginally quicker during the final stint (hards). You claim there were no issues in Australia but that is not true; Leclerc was apparently managing temperature concerns during the final stint in Australia.
China, also, wasn't quite entirely clear. Leclerc seemed to have a bit more pace initially, bridging the gap to Hamilton and passing him on a few occasions. Hamilton then effectively matched Leclerc's pace, stayed close, and Leclerc made that mistake (although I'm not sure that really changed the ultimate outcome; Hamilton was largely matching Leclerc's pace regardless of the lockup, and was just consistently quick at a track he likes quite a lot - and happens to be Leclerc's worst - which isn't surprising).
And then after Leclerc's lockup and their subsequent battle, Hamilton showed a bit more pace during the 3rd quarter of the race, while Leclerc pulled back some time over the final few laps. Leclerc may have sent his tires out of their ideal operating window during their final battle (just as Hamilton may have done the same earlier in the race, during his battles with the Mercedes), but there's no evidence Leclerc had significantly more overall degradation, else it seems highly unlikely he closes the gap to Hamilton over the final few laps. That either suggests Leclerc wasn't managing his tires any worse than Hamilton, or Hamilton was cruising over the final few laps; knowing how much that first podium in a Ferrari (particularly at that track) meant to Hamilton, I think the former explanation is far more likely than the latter.
I'd also point out - and this relates to track preference/suitability - those long-radius corners are not Leclerc's strong suit and it's something for him to work on. I think setup preference plays a big role in this, as Hamilton likes a more planted rear, while Leclerc likes a lighter rear; a track like China with long-radius corners naturally lends itself towards Hamilton's preferred balance, while Leclerc's proclivity for a loose rear doesn't get along well with those types of turns/corners.
In any case, saying Hamilton "left Leclerc for dead" is laughable and completely inconsistent with the on-track action and ultimate time gap. A 3.5s interval is leaving another driver "for dead"? Insanity. Leclerc pulled back some time over the final few laps - that's not "being left for dead". And what about during the first half of the race, when Leclerc was able to bridge the gap to Hamilton on several occasions? Is that not relevant?
As I said before, if the results were reversed, the two battled, Leclerc came out ahead, pulled a small gap, but Hamilton closed over the final few laps and wound up 3.5s behind when all was said and done, and someone claimed Leclerc "left Hamilton for dead", you'd be calling such a description of events absurd and ridiculous ... because it is. Full stop. And I'd be sat here vehemently arguing the same thing regardless of the names of the drivers.
My analysis is that Leclerc had a good race (especially considering the track), while Hamilton was a bit better. Both had strong weekends and I was very happy with their respective performances.