[rx100]

How the hell did George manage that hard tyres for 34 laps? Great strategy call from, but disqualified for underweight.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by rx100

How the hell did George manage that hard tyres for 34 laps? Great strategy call from, but disqualified for underweight.

Merc have a tyre whisperer in George. They now need a fuel whisperer too!

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by rx100

How the hell did George manage that hard tyres for 34 laps? Great strategy call from, but disqualified for underweight.

Though this win is taken away, you really can't take this win away from George. If that makes sense.
Everyone will remember this race as one where the RBR was truly defeated on pace and racecraft. No safety cars or driver errors, etc. "Spa 24? Yeah, George won that, but he was disqualified".

I still feel that if Lewis had been as gung-ho with George, as he was with Perez, he could have taken George by 42. Good though that there was team spirit enough to not be unnecessarily aggressive.
And another day, another record extended for Lewis, though not without "conditions applied". That merc's development is transformational!!
Could it be that he reneges? Be that as it may, it's going to be epic, let's hope Newey doesn't take a consultation assignment for RBR over the break.

Uncharacteristically polite Max in Belgium. Ears boxed?

Piastri is for sure the one to watch out for. If the McL resurgence sustains, and carries to new regs, he is set to be the no. 1 at the team. You've got to admire his demeanour!

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Everyone will remember this race as one where the RBR was truly defeated on pace and racecraft. No safety cars or driver errors, etc. "Spa 24? Yeah, George won that, but he was disqualified".

Not exactly. If Max didn't have the 10 position penalty, we potentially would have seen him at the podium; probably 1st; as he would have started from the pole position.

I still feel that if Lewis had been as gung-ho with George, as he was with Perez, he could have taken George by 42. Good though that there was team spirit enough to not be unnecessarily aggressive.

Agree. Key was that question from him to his engineer around the 35th lap - "...is my pace good enough to catch him..."; to which his race engineer said yes. If instead he had pushed him to speed up and catch him in the next few laps itself; the story would have been different.

Uncharacteristically polite Max in Belgium. Ears boxed?

And with a strong flavor of sarcasm. I sense some unspoken friction; I would not stay away from the prediction of Max himself moving out from RB once Newey leaves.

Piastri is for sure the one to watch out for. If the McL resurgence sustains, and carries to new regs, he is set to be the no. 1 at the team. You've got to admire his demeanour!

Agree 100%. He's the underdog who's silently moving ahead of the two Mclaren drivers; while Norris still fumbles and makes mistakes like a rookie.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Not exactly. If Max didn't have the 10 position penalty, we potentially would have seen him at the podium; probably 1st; as he would have started from the pole position.

The race pace to develop and maintain any kind of gap just wasn't there in the red bull, as was seen in the battle with the car ahead, and behind. Plus, i recall that he didn't have tyres available.

[ridersam]

It was a good race with some good racing on tack. Unfortunate for George that he got disqualified. Did Mercedes not take the degradation of tyres and amount of rubber they lose with the incredibly long stint into account which caused them to be 1.5 Kilo underweight? I wonder. But good to see the team back in hunt at the top.

It is unfortunate for Lando - he keeps having first lap issues which always seems to ruin his Championship points hunt. I hope he gets more consistent and it should be an exiting second half in both the championships

[DIY410]

Redbull didn't have the dry pace, they put a bigger rear wing. While Mercedes gambled on a dryer race and put a lower down force rear wing, which helped them in the race.

[sahil1010]

Originally Posted by mayankk

The race pace to develop and maintain any kind of gap just wasn't there in the red bull, as was seen in the battle with the car ahead, and behind. Plus, i recall that he didn't have tyres available.

Yes but maintaining tyres being front of the field compared to driving in a drs train with dirty air are two different things. Whether Max would have won if not for the grid penalty is out for speculation and every fan club has their opinion.

[volkman10]

Carlos Sainz to Williams!

The Spanish driver signs for two seasons with the British team, the third major in F1, after six months of negotiations following Ferrari's departure.

[rx100]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Carlos Sainz to Williams!

Always thought he is bound to Sauber with Audi takeover in 2026. So it’s kind of surprising.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Carlos Sainz to Williams!

Ideally Red Bull should have replaced Perez with Sainz. Sainz is worthy of a better car than Williams. It's high time that Red Bull move their focus from one driver and focus on both from a constructors championship perspective.

[ridersam]

Rumors are wild with a video going around of Daniel, Laurent Mekies and Christian Horner talking and Daniel walking away with a wide smile - Danny Ric could be in the 2nd Red Bull seat in the second half !!!

Will be good to see the old Ver-Ric rivalry going again, but if the move is made, surely there will be limitations on Daniel to play the second fiddle.

Merc should have swapped the drivers around with Kimi in the Williams and Sainz in the Merc - he is too good a driver to not have a front running car. He can certainly push George more and it gives Kimi also some time and less pressure in the initial years.


Alpine will get Doohan,
VCarb/RB getting could see Perez in there if the swap happens (Liam Lawson is waiting so patiently in the wings - he should get a seat),
Sauber/Audi keeping Bottas likely

Should be an interesting line up next year, and make for some great racing on track given the current level of competition in the field.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ridersam

Rumors are wild with a video going around of Daniel, Laurent Mekies and Christian Horner talking and Daniel walking away with a wide smile - Danny Ric could be in the 2nd Red Bull seat in the second half !!!

Doesn't seem to be the case; seems it was just a rumor.

Red Bull reportedly confirming that Sergio Perez would be staying on.

“Checo remains a Red Bull Racing driver, despite all the speculation of late. We look forward to seeing him perform on circuits where he has done well before after the summer break,” Horner said at the Red Bull factory on Tuesday

Source: 1, 2

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Ideally Red Bull should have replaced Perez with Sainz. Sainz is worthy of a better car than Williams. It's high time that Red Bull move their focus from one driver and focus on both from a constructors championship perspective.

RB clearly doesn’t want to lose the sponsorship that Perez brings, or they would have replaced him by now. Also, they got a Bottas in Perez who follows all team orders religiously. And as posted by ninjatalli, he isn’t going anywhere, at least not till the end of this season.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Carlos Sainz to Williams!

Some trivia:







Source: Reddit

[SideSwipe]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Carlos Sainz to Williams!

The Spanish driver signs for two seasons with the British team, the third major in F1, after six months of negotiations following Ferrari's departure.

Attachment 2634084

Attachment 2634085

As much I think, Carlos deserves a better machine and definitely deserves a seat in RB, I still have hopes on James Vowles. Given the time and money, i still have high hopes for him. Moment things to turn around positively for him, Sainz will definitely play a pivotal role in 2025 season. But these are just speculations and I still root for Carlos for a better car in 2025. He is charming, motivated, relentless and unforgiving. Just wishing for Max and Carlos to be paired up in future.