PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑16 May 2021, 16:17
MKlaus wrote: ↑16 May 2021, 15:12
PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑16 May 2021, 14:23
I can't say he is worse, but he could be going down the wrong approach. He is still four years less experienced than Perez and has raced only in one team essentially so he wont know it all of course.
perez is just too slow. period. his tyre management is nothing more than being slow. at that pace and "tyre life", he can sit pretty at 5th position. i doubt there is really anything max can learn from perez. max is the reference for that car in every aspect. so far, rb16b is behind w12 on race pace and needs improvement to compete for championship. whether it is optimization or upgrades, red bull have work to do. w12 is a fast car and winter testing was just an illusion as they didn't understand the balance. now they do and it shows what it is capable of. some mercedes and hamilton fans should stop doing toto.
The driver in the Mercedes is also a tyre whisperer in this Hybrid formula, he wasnt always like that though, he had to learn from Jenson Button. Perez on the other hand is a natural, he has demsonstrated exceptional tyre managemwnt in all the formulas he has raced in. There is no question about it. Max will not win against the Mercedes if he is not a tyre whisperer too. It just won't be enough to be ahead after lap one. It will do him well to understand anytbing he can learn from Perez. It's just not obvious now because Perez is a bit behind in understanding his RedBull at the moment.
Marko recognizes this as well, that tyre handling contribution by the driver is immense.
Advisor Helmut Marko also sees that H****ton has some advantages. "It's not just world championship experience. I don't know exactly how many years he is ahead of Max, but in terms of tyre handling and tyre use for sure. H****ton is maybe the best in that," he stated in conversation with Motorsport-Magazin.
How much further can Hamilton push his stints? From the available data it seems he can get the pace of the tires maybe 2 or 3 laps more than Verstappen can. Another thing Hamilton can do well is ignore the change in balance from worn tires. Verstappen seems to struggle with that more than Hamilton does.
Both drivers can enter that "flow" state, and you see it in the lap times, they match each other beautifully every now and then. Istanbul showed they are so incredibly close, Hamilton was managing Verstappen at 5 seconds, but it wasn't easy, Hamilton was giving it everything he had. One thing I will say Hamilton is EARNING that paycheck on track, I will NOT deny that.
I imagine that Hamilton through experience has created a more detailed map of the tire behavior in his brain than Verstappen has. He has a better statistical reference(experience) to operate unconsciously in.
So it's Verstappen that has to change, adapt, and improve. It's not easy to do so, change is a high conflict activity. Maybe Hamilton is more adaptable to the situation because he himself is more adaptable, he's had to go through harder adversity, he's had to adapt more than someone like Verstappen who was handed everything in life.
That's not to say that Verstappen can't adapt and improve, however adapting and improving is a very high self conflict activity. If a person is the result of their habits, then how does one form new habits? The same way you become more physically flexible, or stronger, you have to rip and tear your mind and let it form anew. You need new thoughts, new feelings, new mindset, but to get that mindset, you have to work for it.