Ruslan wrote: ↑2 years ago
Well, not the greatest of races, but interesting for the developing narrative.
1. Hamilton: I don't know who won the driver of the race, but it should probably be this guy. He is relentlessly fast. Made one mistake which let Verstappen pass, then Verstappen made one mistake which let him pass. It was a very nice pass by Hamilton.
It is not a bad matchup if this continues for a season-long battle. I do think the Mercedes had the edge on medium tires at this track. Will that be the case at the next track (Barcelona)?
2. Verstappen: Ran a good race. His stealing the march of Hamilton on the restart was good.
3. Bottas: Never really quite there for very long. I am amazed that he gets his contract renewed for one year year-after-year.
4. Perez: He can make tires last.
Observation: Experienced teammates over new teammates 5-1 for this day. This mismatch has been a pretty consistent for the first three races of the season. Only Vettel managed to beat his teammate this weekend (which is not saying that much, and it was not by much).
Alpine: I was surprised at how out of it they were the first two races of the season. Is this their return to form?
17. Schumacher: Not too shabby actually. Did manage to pass Latifi.
Lafiti vs Mazepin: clearly the two worst drivers in the field. Mazepin is much better at finding ways to get air time on TV and youtube.
Driver's Championship: Looks like Hamilton and Verstappen are running away with it in a two-way battle. Good for Norris to hang onto the 3rd place. That will not last.
Team Championship: I think this is going to be resolved between Mercedes/Red Bull by how Bottas and Perez does. The first for third in the team championship is still developing. The first time in a long time, the fight may resolved by which team best works with and best manages their #2 driver. They have not been bothered about that for a while.
Looking forward to Barcelona next week. As Portugal is an unusual track as I gather the track surface is different. Should be interesting to see how everyone compares at Barcelona...and there are then three odd tracks in a row (Monaco, Azerbailjan and Turkey).