Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Istanbul Park, 2020

Hamilton clinches seventh title with wet weather masterclass

2020 Turkish Grand Prix summary

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Lewis Hamilton has become world champion for the seventh time in his career with a stunning drive to victory in a rain-hit Turkish Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver edged his way to the front of the field in a tense race on a treacherously slippery circuit, passing Sergio Perez for the lead, and going on to win by half a minute.

Perez had taken over the lead from team mate Lance Stroll, who ran at the front for much of the first half of the race. But the Racing Point driver began to struggle with his tyres as the track dried, and gave up the lead to make an extra pit stop.

Charles Leclerc attacked Perez for second place on the final lap but ran wide at turn 12. That not only allowed the Racing Point driver back into second, but handed the final podium place to Sebastian Vettel.

The Red Bull pair challenged for victory early in the race, but both dropped back after spins. Max Verstappen pirouetted while trying to pass Perez, and Albon did the same later on. Verstappen compounded his error with a second spin in the closing stages.

That allowed Carlos Sainz Jnr to grab second place ahead of the two Red Bulls. Lando Norris claimed eighth by passing Stroll, who never managed to get back up to speed after his extra pit stop. He came in ninth, while Daniel Ricciardo took the final point for Renault.

Valtteri Bottas’shopes of keeping Hamilton from the title faded quickly. He spun at the first corner when Esteban Ocon was knocked into a spin ahead of him, and went off several other times during the race. He was eventually lapped by his team mate and finished 14th.

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2020 Turkish Grand Prix reaction

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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181 comments on “Hamilton clinches seventh title with wet weather masterclass”

  1. This was a race Mercedes should not have won. Verstappen blew this from yesterday and even today. Regardless of the car, I don’t believe Verstappen is the next driver to win the championship. A big 0 chance unless he improves on timing his moves.

    1. I think we saw what he can do in a dominant car, it’s only a matter of time. If I could bet my money on the near future, I’d say Hamilton will leave Mercedes alongside Wolff after the next season and Mercedes will bring Verstappen in.

      1. I think not. Wolff owns 30% of the Mercedes team. He will continue at Mercedes in a less demanding and time-consuming role.
        The one place that Hamilton might want to go, is to end his career at Ferrari. He would do that only if they had a decent car. Based on recent form, that is unlikely.

      2. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        15th November 2020, 17:00

        @pironitheprovocateur Sorry, case closed on this argument today. If you don’t understand why the headline is “Masterclass” you either slept through the race of understand nothing about driving a race car. That was the culmination of 14 years, starting with incredible speed and adding everything else that is necessary to win 7 WDCs. Max has about one 6th of the skills necessary to do that and the difference today showed that. The driver made the difference today not the car. Couldn’t use full power so no engine advantage. Couldn’t use max speed so no downforce advantage. He outclassed Max in patience, tyre management, called his own pit stop strategy bang on, kept it pointed the right way and only went slightly off the circuit twice with cold brakes. He kept his head which is what you need to win 7 WDCs. Max is nowhere near him yet and won’t get there before Lewis retires. Masterclass.

        1. Absolutely in agreement. It shows the haters are not really concerned about the sport, their denial of Hamiltons achievement is not about talent, its about something much more sinister. This was an astonishing drive today in car that all weekend was far from dominant and on a set of intermediate tyres were slicks at the end of the race. Glad that Seb Vetel was on the podium to share Hamiltons day. Genuine praise from a 4 times champ. Verstappen was a lot less magnanimous in his comments and showed he still has a long way to go to be anywhere near the overall ability and race craft of Hamilton. He had great chance today and blew it big time.

          1. Exactamundo.

            Lewis Legend.

        2. He did it.

          That kid I saw racing all those years go at dunkeswell, Kim Bolton and fullback.
          He was just making and the only other one with a roof rack at the time!

          Then on the long circuits of brands, Silverstone and others.
          there was us racing around in our ‘British championship’ and this kid was annihilating the field.

          He had it, far more than the Buttons and the Davidson’s we all raced against.

          I am chuffed to have seen history in the making…

        3. then what do you call Max and Hamiltons race in Germany 2019?

          Lewis won because he made no mistakes, and was fast, for sure.
          But this was the same as Germany 2019, only the other way around. Then Lewis had 1/6 of the skill?

          Dry races and Mercedes, under normal circumstances can’t be beaten, and in the wet, I think they are equal, but still depending a lot on the car to get the tyres working. The dry races win the championship…

          1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
            17th November 2020, 13:01

            @johnever If you read what I wrote:

            “That was the culmination of 14 years, starting with incredible speed and adding everything else that is necessary to win 7 WDCs. Max has about one 6th of the skills necessary to do that”

            7 WDCs, not just one race. And I stand by it. Max can win a race or two, he’s extremely fast. It takes more skills than speed alone to win a championship, and it takes even more to win 7.

          2. @johnever in the case of the 2019 German GP, you could say there were extenuating circumstances for Hamilton given the illness he had at the time – don’t forget that Mercedes nearly pulled him out of the race to replace him with Ocon.

        4. still a lot in your statement I disagree with…
          I think you just need to win more than your opponents, and get points when you can’t win, all the above average drivers have shown how to do it, in F1, or before, e.g. karting or other formulas

          “Couldn’t use full power so no engine advantage.” Check the onboards, a lot of full power… a lot, especially on the back straight, the only overtaking opportunity.

          I think the car, in the rain, is more important then we think… look at Mercedes and RBR at Austria, big difference in the hands of the ones who can drive in the wet, it’s not all the driver… Mercedes by far the best
          Look at the RBR in Turkey, on full wets the best, on inters I am guessing 3rd best.
          Even compare the RBRs at Brazil 2016, with 2107? Hungary
          There is more to it

          1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
            18th November 2020, 20:23

            @johnever You have that completely wrong. This particular track in the wet put Merc on the back foot. They could not switch on the tyres in the wet until they ran at pace foe 6 or 8 laps. That was evident throughout the weekend and Merc posted a post quali debrief with Shov explaining just that. The Merc was traction limited out of turn 11. At no point in the race could Lewis use full power because of both the conditions on track and the tyre situation he had. Post race Lewis laid it out as I have said.
            I don’t mind people who have different opinions, that’s fine but not knowing the facts? Nope. That’s not acceptable to me. Learn the sport you are watching or stop commenting on it. Sorry! That’s just my opinion.

          2. @davewillisporter
            I wanted to reply, your tone I liked, untill the condecending ‘learn the sport’, not worth responding o.t. then.
            And don’t start with that I am not replying because I am wrong, I chose not to

    2. Still very impatient but no question the fastest for natural speed. If he was in a car where he only had to drive 95% rather than 100% he wouldn’t make mistakes.

      Hamilton made plenty of mistakes early in the race when conditions were tough.

      1. And yet who is at the top step of the podium? All year long Red Bull have moaned about losing time on the straights, blaming the engine. Now we come to a wet, slippery track where downforce and getting the tyres up to temp is important, where they should excel and where are they? That’s right, both drivers facing backwards.

      2. Hamilton lost a couple of places with tyres that were not working but he never spun the car and also didn’t cost himself a pitstop by wrecking tyres. Hamilton managed his pace and tyres to get the maximum result today whereby others didn’t.

        1. He finished what was it 20-30 seconds ahead of the Racing Point that dominated that first third of the race. He must have been 20 seconds behind the RP at one point. Hamilton had no answers when it was wet he was going backwards.

          1. Verstappen showed why he’s not quite as good as Hamilton and never will be. Speed, he’s got. But he’s more impatient and a touch less precise than Lewis. That still makes Max one of the best of all time and definitely the best of the rest. But today was another one of those races where Hamilton shows he’s a better racer, full stop.

          2. Perez lost time in his pitstop and arguably some of the early Hamilton pace issues were stuck behind Vettel when Hamilton chose not to push his luck. Perez also had some time losses out breaking himself. Verstappen threw away a race win behind Perez which let Hamilton through and we know Stroll went the wrong way on strategy.

          3. @david-br Never will be? Verstappen is only 22, he has time. It’s not that long ago that Hamilton was more incident-prone and impatient than Verstappen is, and was a lot less consistent too. Just think of how he blew the 2011 Hungarian GP win, or how he would suddenly be half a second off Button. Would people during that time have guessed Hamilton would have matured this much? Verstappen will be fine, by the time he is in his 30s, he’ll be a much more astute driver and I reckon he’ll be dominating F1. You can make a quick talent smarter, you can’t really make a smart driver quicker.

          4. @mashiat

            You refer to Hamilton’s worse season- every great driver has had one of those. I’ve heard this argument before and the facts are this- Verstappen is young age wise but not experience wise. He’s got alot of mileage on and is still committing the same/similar mistakes.

            Max is where Lewis was just before he joined Merc and I wouldn’t say he’s showing much improvement in his racing IQ. Think about it- so far Verstappen’s toughest test was Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo beat him twice despite not having the same ultimate speed.

          5. @blazzz And was Hamilton a complete driver in his sixth season in F1? No, he wasn’t. He was still making errors in judgement in wheel-to-wheel battles and off-the-track as well. I think Max is more consistent than Hamilton was at the same point in his F1 career, and Max will mature no doubt. You would have to be extremely naive to believe he will continue being such a risk-taker all the way through his career, especially once he has WDCs on the line. Right now, Max has nothing to fight for except the odd win, so there is a lot less for him to lose when he is taking those risks.

          6. LOL!! You need to join Trump’s team and quick as with your manipulation of facts, you might get the US election result overturned

          7. @mashiat

            And was Hamilton a complete driver in his sixth season in F1? No, he wasn’t

            I agree- but Hamilton was much improved compared to the 2007 Hamilton. CCan’t say Max is much improved compared to the 2016/2017 Max.

            I think Max is more consistent than Hamilton was at the same point in his F1 career

            I disagree. At this point Hamilton had already won a championship against a stronger Ferrari and been up against 2 world championship team mates. Sure enough Hamilton overdrove the car at times, but no way is Max more consistent than Hamilton at this stage. Hamilton was sticking the car on pole when it had no right to be (especially under the RBR years) and showing his talent in the wet as well more often than Max has. To date Max has 2 poles and even you will surely admit that Red Bull has been capable of more (as Ricciardo showed). The reason why you may think Max is more consistent is he’s in a clear second best car on the grid with a team mate who can’t challenge him and a 30s advantage to the rest of the pack. On days like today, when car advantage is nullified for all, and Max has to deal with several dogfights he shows he still has alot of room for improvement.

            You would have to be extremely naive to believe he will continue being such a risk-taker all the way through his career, especially once he has WDCs on the line.

            It’s okay placing alot of faith that he would change his approach in a WDC situation- that’s your opinion. I don’t think he will- 5 seasons of poor racing IQ at critical times have proved that. I think back to Interlagos with the Ocon incident- more experienced drivers just wouldn’t take the same risks with a dominant car and substantial advantage that Red Bull had. Time will tell but don’t hold your breath. IMO Leclerc will outshine Verstappen in the future.

          8. @blazzz No improvements from the 2016 Max? The 2016 Max was under scrutiny at every single race for his defending antics, is the 2020 Max the same? How was Hamilton vastly different from 2007 to 2012? He was a cleaner and more consistent racer in 2007 if anything. Max didn’t even do some banzai move today, he was directly in the spray of the Racing Point and tried to move alongside him, and spun. Hamilton even screwed up an attempted overtake on Vettel today and lost another position as a result. Was that racing intelligence? And as for Max’s consistency, even when he had Ricciardo as his teammate, how often was he off the pace? Did he ever have a weekend where, on pace, he was way behind Ricciardo? Not really. Hamilton, on the other hand, had weekends where he just went missing compared to Button. Verstappen will get better with his decision making with more experience, as Hamilton did. One of Hamilton’s biggest criticisms in his McLaren days was his poor racing IQ. He would struggle to choose the right moments to conserve or push, would get involved in avoidable and unnecessary incidents and would fight for every single position as if his life depended on it. Hamilton himself admits that his racing intelligence was still very raw and he struggled to cede even when it was the smart thing to do. Sound familiar? But look at Hamilton now.

          9. @mashiat by historical standards, the number of races that Max has participated in is now enough that, in the past, he would have been considered a veteran – some drivers didn’t even compete in that many races over an entire decade.

            At 116 races, Max has now competed in more races than John Surtees did in over 12 seasons (111 races from 1960-1973), Keke Rosberg did in 9 seasons (114 from 1978-1986) or, in a somewhat ironic twist, even his own father Jos, despite the fact that Jos’s career lasted for longer than Max’s has so far (8 seasons and 107 races from 1994-2003).

            Even against modern drivers, the lengthening of the calendar in modern years means that Max has covered quite a bit more more in terms of mileage compared to where other drivers would have been at a similar point in their careers.

            If you look at Alonso, Hamilton or Raikkonen, as some of the more modern champions, they had to get halfway through their seventh season to accumulate the same level of racing experience that Max has now achieved in under six seasons – Max is where Alonso was in 2008, Kimi was in 2007 and Hamilton was in 2013 in terms of the number of races he has been in.

          10. @mashiat

            The 2016 Max was under scrutiny at every single race for his defending antics, is the 2020 Max the same?

            That tends to happen when you’re that hyped and you are in a front running car. I already gave you examples of how we see similar errors. You can continue to ignore them if you want.

            Max didn’t even do some banzai move today

            Did you miss the spin behind Perez? Like, are we even debating on an objective level here?

            How was Hamilton vastly different from 2007 to 2012?

            Already in 2008, Hamilton handled the title pressure by winning it in the most difficult conditions when it all seemed it was lost. That’s just on eg. That you even have to ask is baffling.

            Hamilton even screwed up an attempted overtake on Vettel today and lost another position as a result.

            Hamilton ran wide- quite different to spinning several times. You think Hamilton’s mistake today was as bad as Verstappens? Okay.

            Did he ever have a weekend where, on pace, he was way behind Ricciardo?

            Are you for real? You sound like a casual with that statement. Baku- before the crash, Ricciardo was ahead on pure pace. Even Max’s first victory- he was behind on pure pace before he changed to a one stop and Ricciardo was put on a 2 stopper for no sensible reason. Monaco 2016 is also another one. That’s just off the top of my head. You are starting to sound either like a casual or an overzealous fan. Comeon.

            One of Hamilton’s biggest criticisms in his McLaren days was his poor racing IQ.

            This is your opinion.

            had weekends where he just went missing compared to Button.

            True and again that was in mostly in 2011- in what was Hamilton’s worst season. But that said- Button is a world champion. Daniel Ricciardo is not. On the flip side in Singapore 2016 Max Verstappen was nowhere compared to Ricciardo- on pure pace. Exactly what you are levelling against Lewis.

            I think you suffer from selective memory or as I said- you’re an overzealous Verstappen fan.

          11. Oh Darren go take a nap.

      3. Hamilton made no mistakes in today’s race. And your other claim about Verstappen being the fastest is utter nonsense.

        Red bull should be very disappointed.

        Won’t reply to Darren Moore anymore as he appears to be another troll.

        1. Max has no accomplishments or achievements in F1,he is great when there is no pressure of expectation but chokes when the pressure on……Max had 4 chances to take pole to become the youngest pole-sitter and blew them all somehow with Ricciardo taking 3poles from him.
          Max is untested in a high-pressure situation with a teammate of equal standing where every mistake counts…People are actually crediting the guy for beating Albon, Max is only being elevated because Lewis is black, we have never seen anyone achieve so little, prove so little be elevated so high…even when Lewis won his 3 championships you couldn’t put his name next to any great, yet people are comfortable in putting him not just on Lewis level but beyond……

          1. I was with you untill you brought race into it. I don’t think the hype difference is to do with race. Some fans granted are prejudiced but Verstappen was getting hyped by Red Bull way before his F1 debut. Then obviously when he got there he proved he had the talent but there was alot of rough edges- some still showing to this day 5 seasons on. I think the hype train has mnostly to do with the younger generation who frankly haven’t been watching F1 long enough, the changing media landscape (with social media playing a huge part) and the fact that he drives for a team that’s also known for its aggressive marketing style. Certainly, what is unquestionable in my view, is that Max Verstappen’s hype doesn’t match his talent.

          2. Its always about Race,money and power,its why Trump got millions to vote for him while they profess to color blind with their confederate flag and Maga hat….

        2. @icarby It would be incorrect to say that he made no mistakes this race. On lap 1, he was running a comfortable third place and made a pretty severe mistake that dropped him behind Vettel, Verstappen and Albon. He made up for it later in the race, but that mistake could have proved costly today. Plus, he also went wide trying to overtake Vettel.

          1. but that mistake could have proved costly today. Plus, he also went wide trying to overtake Vettel.

            Neither we’re going to be “costly” given Bottas spin on the first corner of the race. He could have cruised around in 6th place and still won the big prize. But he didn’t, he won the race.

            Meanwhile, Verstappen dominated the whole weekend, fastest in dry and wet conditions for FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1 and Q2. Then he blew pole and threw away a race win while in P3 and being the quickest driver on track.

          2. @mashiat – lap 1, where everyone was struggling runs wide probably due to issues with grip is it a mistake, who knows but it’s lap one and Merc issues for this race heavily documented, the best thing about that is that he impeded no other drivers and let them go.

            Hamilton couldn’t pass Vettel confidently due to conditions and wisely backed out and ran wide to avoid collisions and more strategically saved his tyres.

            So I’m happy to stand by the statement that he made no errors.

      4. Hamilton’s mistakes were not as severe as Verstappen’s. Verstappen spun twice, and Hamilton ran wide a couple of times. I don’t care what car he has, I give him a big 0 chance of winning a championship with that style of driving. I am a Mercedes fan, and I don’t want Verstappen replacing Hamilton if the latter leaves. I have a big 0 faith in him. Once I saw him closing on Perez, I already knew that was not going to end well, and it did. Had he not spun while overtaking Perez, he would have won the race.

        1. @krichelle the only thing of note was Hamilton attempting a pass on Vettel, deciding against (right decision) and running wide and lost a place. Not long after that happened Max flat spotted his tyres trying to pass Perez.

          For me Hamilton was faultless today, made me excellent decisions. Plus I really didn’t expect him to win by his margin today there were faster cars out there.

          1. @icarby +1
            @krichelle I have to admit I’m more of a driver fan than a team fan – I’d prefer a cycle (quicker turnover) of best teams overall and more equal at the top between 2 or 3. But it’s a good question about Max as a replacement for Lewis. In a dominant car, it’s no issue, Max would still win easily. But in the kind of close fight with Ferrari we saw in 2017 and 2018, with Leclerc in the lead Ferrari? Max would need to reach the kind of near error-free Lewis has shown over recent years. It looks a big ask just now.

      5. You dont give up on you mission to put Hamilton down, hun? Since yesterday you´re being here to bash the guy — even when he produces a race like that. Must be hard and painful to be you right now…

      6. In fairness it took Hamilton, arguably 5 seasons to cut out errors at the vital times of races

        It will be interesting as I trust the temperment of Le Clerc a bit more than the slightly better skill of Max

      7. No doubt VER is fast. However he does not engage his brain. Being fast doth not maketh a WDC. Much left to learn but he has time on his side. I genuinely hope he hope he realises his potential but currently there are big ? Over his ability to compete over the course of a whole season and get over the line.

        1. You can’t engage what you haven’t got!

      8. Also look at how close albon finished that shows you its was bad on maxs part

      9. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        17th November 2020, 13:11

        It’s almost like people, ahem, Darren Moore don’t understand what they’re watching.
        Mercs took 6 or 7 laps to switch on the tires. Did so in FP3, Quali and race. Brundle and Ted must have said it dozens of times. Shov said it post quali de-brief. During that first phase of the race Lewis went 6th, 3rd, 5th, 6th and had a couple of MINOR excursions off the track. Once his tires came close to the window he was able to stick to Vettel but Vettel’s pace wasn’t fast enough to bring the Merc tires properly in. Lewis tried aan overtake but brakes were too cold due to Vettel’s pace. In clear air Lewis could put in the energy necessary to get the tires in the window and keep them there. Bottas on the other hand never did.

    3. I disagree with your theory that Verstappen blew it yesterday @krichella. The mistake was with the team bringing him out right behind Kimi. I do agree that the three on the podium showed what experience does – just biding your time, not overdriving it and waiting till it comes towards you to then pounce.

      Hamilton clearly did that. And he had the experienc and self confidence to tell the team to stay out. Perez did that – that was the reason the gap between Stroll and Perez was so large. And Vettel did it too. He even settled for getting passed, but then picked up right in time to be there to take the chance.
      Sainz also did a really good job, it seems Norris also to have a strong last phase.

      Verstappen got frustrated behind Perez and went too soon. Albon did the same later. And even Leclerc did that in the last lap and it brought him an inglorious 4th. Still very good. But beaten.

      I do think Verstappen has been learning. But clearly is not quite there yet. If he had a dominant car, I am sure he’d be winning championships. In a race like today, clearly it is a bigger gamble, where it would be hard to gamble against Hamilton rising to the top.

        1. @bascb Verstappen had a dominant car all weekend and didn’t finish on the podium. Yesterday I would attribute to a bad strategy call to bring him in when he went purple in 2 out of the 3 sectors. Ultimately a disappointing weekend for Red bull.

          1. It defenitely is and should be a disappointment for Red Bull, yes @icarby.

            The misjudgement bringing Max out behind Kimi yesteday. And today both drivers tried to push for a pass when it just was not there.

        2. Max has raced in 116 F1 grand prix. His mistakes today were not due to a lack of experience.
          He had no pressure but still bottled it.
          He has great speed but i don’t think he is wdc material. Maybe if he improves his self control but he doesn’t show any signs of that from his expletives and attitude of recent times.

          1. Max did show some class with his comments about Lewis today though (I KNOW!!) The media were goading him into making quotes that he could beat Lewis in comparable machinery but he simply said “That is not for today. Today is about Lewis” Kudos deserved for that.

      1. I agree. Patience was the key. Verstappen has yet to learn this…

      2. @bascb I think that the reason why some might be saying that Max lost this race yesterday is not so much because of where he started, but whether losing out on pole yesterday meant he came into this race with the wrong mentality and that frustration impacted on his driving.

        As you note, his mistake when trying to pass Perez was a move of frustration, but would Max have made such a move if he wasn’t already angry about failing to get pole yesterday? Similarly, some of the onboard shots seemed to suggest that there were certain corners where he was being quite a bit more aggressive with the throttle than he had been on Saturday during qualifying, particularly after the mistake he made when trying to pass Perez.

        In terms of mental preparation, therefore, you could make a case that Max did lose this race today because he was not driving in the way that he would normally have driven, and that may stem from him carrying over his frustrations from today into this race.

        1. Anon, Max lost due to lack of patience. Nothing more, he’ll learn eventually just like Leclerc will.

          The podium tells a very big story reference today’s race.

          1. He has 116 grand prix races under his belt. How many more does he need to “learn”?

          2. He may have that many F1 races but it’s not like other drivers of his age have had fewer races over all. His have just been in the premier class. He’s still only 22 and will mature over the next 2 to 5 years. His biggest issue is patience (or lack of). He’s impatient on track, chooses the wrong battles and the wrong time to battle. If he irons that out, he has the speed. No one knows how he’ll do with the pressure of a genuine WDC fight though.

          3. @aezy_doc
            I think he is too mentally fragile. He is sulky, easily angered and does not think.
            On qualy for example, he could have simply lifted and gave Raikkonen 5secs up the road with no loss of tyre temps, but instead he followed for 2 laps, overtook then choked when the pressure was on and made a mistake on his flying lap(confirmed by Horner).
            He will disintegrate mentally when he is in a close title battle.
            He has so much experience but seems so unpolished.
            I don’t see him being wdc any time soon. There are so many other current drivers (Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Riccardo, Russell) who seem quick and mentally resilient.

          4. aezy_doc, why do you keep saying that Max is “still only 22”? He’s 23 years old and about two weeks older than Leclerc is (Max’s birthday is at the end of September and Leclerc’s in mid-October): Norris, Stroll and Russell are 22, but not Verstappen.

            Also, you are wrong to say that “He may have that many F1 races but it’s not like other drivers of his age have had fewer races over all. His have just been in the premier class.” If you want to make the argument of including races in Formula 1 and also in junior series leading up to F1, then the figures for Max are still pretty favourable.

            If you take the races from Verstappen’s start of his career in Formula 3 to now, he has competed in a total of 190 races. If you compare him against drivers of a similar age then, in terms of ascending order, Leclerc has currently only competed in 150 races in his career, Ocon 176, Russell 180, Stroll 183, Gasly 195 and Albon 197.

            Compared to the six drivers of similar age to Max, four of those drivers have less racing experience in the totality of their career – in fact, Leclerc has a significant disadvantage compared to Max – and two further drivers only have a handful more races under their belt than Max has competed in.

        2. Why carry a previous days anger into a new day

        3. …he came into this race with the wrong mentality and that frustration impacted on his driving.

          Then that’s one more to thing that he needs to get better at. No one in their sane mind would argue that he lacks pace, but racing IQ is something he needs to develop. I really hope he does. I want him and Leclerc battle it out on the track and it won’t happen if he continues to choose wrong moments to mount an attack.

      3. It was wet the entire race! Hamilton can’t win. Which is it then car or the driver today. Couldn’t use engine power or down-force yet won by 32 seconds. Your comment doesn’t make sense did you not see the intermediate tyres turned into slicks by the end of the race! Verstappen had all the aces today and he totally blew it and in doing so showed his lack of race craft. Hamilotin handed him his ass today into a car that had been third best all weekend.

    4. @krichelle
      It’s a funny story, if you think about it.
      Verstappen brags all the time about how easy it supposedly is to win in a Mercedes car and how 90% (or 60%, as he corrects later) would be champion in that car, yet this weekend he had the absolute best machine and failed to deliver both in quali and race.
      Eventually, it must not be THAT easy to deliver, when you are expected to, huh maxi?

  2. What a drive!!!! A true champion’s performance by Hamilton today. Performed when it mattered the most. Never ever discount Lewis the Legend Hamilton. He silently rose up the race when others around him either chewed their tyres or were making mistakes. Bottas did a Massa Silverstone 2008 today and Max was too much talk for much less show. Happy for Seb today. He deserves this one.

    1. The Skeptic (@)
      15th November 2020, 12:23

      Absolutely agree. Plus, Perez MUST get a drive in 2021!

      1. Indeed, Perez is a top 10 driver with 20 seats to fill, if he’s not in F1 next year it’s an absolute travesty.

        1. I would actually say top 5 now

          1. @joac21 So you would rank Perez above two of these drivers: Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo, Verstappen, Sainz and Leclerc. Are you sure about that? Hell Gasly won a race this year and I didn’t add him into the mix. I think Norris also is in with a shout to be considered up there above Perez although that will be apparent next year seeing how he fairs against Ricciardo.

  3. This is the season with the highest number of drivers on the podium since 2012 (twelve compared to thirteen back then).

  4. Lessons for Max, he can learn a lot from Lewis. He had the fastest car today but didnt win. Lewis is still the benhmark of the field.

    1. A real tortoise and the hare situation today.

    2. Fastest in the wet because the conditions took away the Mercedes natural advantage (11/14 front row lockouts missed out on two because of wet qualifying).

      When we got a dry line it was clear the Merc was the quickest car. Bottas is no yardstick he’s terrible in the wet. No confidence at all. Pathetic holding Hamilton up when the blue flags were being waved.

      1. But the Red Bull is the fastest car this weekend, lead all the practice sessions and higher in qualifying so ruined your narrative b o n d o.

        1. I think Red Bull’s advantage this weekend was with the way they got their tyres and brakes up to temperature. They must have a secret process for this. Their disadvantage was the impetious nature of their young drivers. On that front they still have a lot to learn . They will very likey swap driver again next season and so any experianced gained will go with those changes.

      2. Hamilton was on pole in Styria with 1.2s in front of Verstappen too. Showing that indeed it’s not the car. Neither today with Bottas a lap down.

        Mercedes not getting pole or even near pole yesterday had nothing to do with the wet weather. They were slow in the dry too. They didn’t have the quickest car today either. Experience and consistency is what counted most for the end-result today. Verstappen and Albon were fastest up until the point when they started blundering it all away.

        1. Its not enough to say Redbull were the fastest. I was thinking Mercedes driving into those skitish corners, slowed them to the point where they couldn’t generate enough down force.

          In otherwords the bad surface compounded with slower entry speed resulted in less down force. Redbull must have a marginal aerodynamic advantage. This though was even out in the wet conditions.

          Mercedes had made gains in recent years on tracks where cornering was a challenge, but this track with its poor preparations has once again exposed the Mercedes. Things will be different next week, I expect Bottas to come back good. He’s due a win.

          1. No I hope Ham win the last 3 races to equal Schu 13 wins in a season. A new record

      3. So according to your logic, when we had a dry line, when the Merc was the best, Bottas should have moved forward. But he went backwards. Troll on.

      4. To be confirmed but Bottas said he hit something or someone and damaged his steering such that he stated he found steering the car very difficult.

      5. I’m a bit confused earlier you wrote “Hamilton had no answers when it was wet he was going backwards”, but at not time did anyone change to dry tyres

        Was it dry really, but only you noticed?

      6. Wow Darren, was that a positive for Hamilton? The first I’ve seen you post

      7. Pipe down Darren. You’ve copy and pasted that far too many times now.

      8. The track was never dry enough for all four wheels. The race startdd and ended on wt weather tyres.

  5. I really did not expect that winner.

    Stroll choking on Sunday as usual.

    1. @ppzzus I really didn’t expect a Hamilton win either. Stroll I felt sorry for, he didn’t want to come off the tyres and pit, Perez (and Hamilton) showed his assessment had been correct. Though maybe he couldn’t have finished as well as them.

      1. I don’t really feel bad, but yes he would’ve finished higher if he didn’t pit. He blew a ten second lead to perez in his second stint, hard for me to feel bad about that.

    2. @ppzzus to be fair to Stroll, I would say that was a strategic mistake by the team – the radio traffic shows he was against the decision to pit for new intermediates.

      You can see why the team made that decision, as the two Ferrari drivers looked competitive when they did put on new intermediates, but in retrospect the correct call would have been to stay out.

      1. I have to agree on the point with Stroll being against pitting. Then again, his tyres were clearly in a worse state then those on Perez’ and Hamiltons car or on the other chasing cars Anon.

        I actually think they should have pitted him a lap or 2 earlier (not exactly sure about gaps on track though), giving him a better chance to get going again. Alternatively, they should have probably told him to take it a tad slower 10-15 laps earlier when he was building that huge gap, he might have taken too much out of the tyres at that moment.

        1. @bascb on the other hand, it might have been a case of going through a graining period on those tyres and then being able to recover some of that performance afterwards – Perez did seem to go through a similar phase himself in his stint.

          It probably was a case of either pitting earlier or hanging onto the tyres – it looked as if pitting when he did was at an awkward point where fresh tyres were generating too much temperature and the track was not quite wet enough to make them last, or it was a case of holding onto the tyres and letting them wear down to being more like semi-slicks, as the drivers ahead did.

          @ppzzus it seemed to be a bit of mixture – some drivers, like the two Ferrari drivers, did seem to make it work, but some other drivers who did pit around the same time, like Russell, also seemed to struggle to get a fresh set of intermediates working properly.

      2. Being against it or not there was very little between the two strategies. Ferrari was all over perez at the end, instead Stroll fell like a stone.

      3. They asked Stroll to wait till the transition to slick he said his front tyres have all gone, when the Ferrari drivers pitted and was faster thats when they decided to pit Lance, most especially when Lewis indicated that its never going to be dry enough for slick

    3. Harsh on stroll. He’s simply had a race similar to Lewis did at China 07′, but nowhere near as disastrous, i.e. lacking experience

      You can see from the podium that experience counted, particularly if you’ve raced here before. Both Lewis and Seb, had better instinct for where the danger was and how to manage the tyres. Illustrated by the way Lewis actually backed off Vettel to preserve them at one stage

      1. Think Lewis said his tyres went through bad graining behind VET rather than him backing off on purpose, but I get your point.

  6. By the way, this race has fully underlined one of the key factors in current F1 – the race of atrition was mastered by two drivers who can brilliantly work with tyres. Quite a difference to Lance who’s just not on the same level in this respect yet.

    1. Who said tyre management was boring? I didn’t think Lewis had a chance until the last 10 laps when it started to become clear he wasn’t pitting again. I still didn’t believe he could make it work til the end! Pretty incredible he could keep it on the road, let alone build the gap!

    2. I think Mercedes´ kindness to tires (i.e. inability to heat them up quickly) played a role on the inters. It seemed to me that everyone else was overheating them (trying to go through puddles of water), while Hamilton was simply staying on the racing line. That made the difference.

      What Hamilton should be praised for today is keeping up at the front while Bottas went downwards pretty quickly. Awesome drive there and no major mistake.

      1. Hamilton was cooling his tyres often too though.

        1. Yes, initially. But I dont think he was doing it in the last 20-15 laps at least. While even drivers like Verstappen started to do that only few laps after pitting for new inters.

          1. Because by then his tyres were too old.

          2. He was driving effectively slicks at that point so there was no point him driving through puddles to risk a spin. Also as the tyre compound wears it generates less heat.

          3. That´s true. Good points @f1osaurus @slowmo .

      2. Kotrba +1 Mercedes always had a chance of coming into the race once the tyres were going, and that, allied with easier on the tyres and Hamilton’s combination of tyre management and wet weather skill meant the win became feasible. However it relied on Hamilton keeping it on track at the end, which was up there with the three-wheeled win at Silverstone.

    3. Great point. And it’s hilarious to remember that we were told that Hamilton would be finished after 2009 – when refueling stopped and so tyre management became vital

      He simply evolved in 2010 and had arguably his best season in terms of race craft (for me only beaten by 2018) – tyre management debate over. Although there were those that still partonised him about this as not been as good as Button for management – actually the facts hardly supported that

      Once that skill had been achieved, it really made him a complete driver

  7. Great race. What better circumstances than this to allow the cream to rise to the top and show us what they are capable of.

    Hamilton had the speed. He had the patience. And he had the wherewittal to rebut the teams call to pit. Masterclass indeed.

    And we got to see how good Perez is with managing tyres, also biding his time and then bringing it home with solid defence against the Red Bulls. And against Leclerc. Also nice to see Vettel show that there is stil a top driver within him. He seemed to be looking forward to Turkey. He beat his teammate in a Ferrari that really sucked on Saturday. He made a great start and first lap and then kept close enough to oppertunisticly claim that podium.

    Great drive from Sainz to climb up to 5th, only half a second behind Leclerc, who also did a great job but got a bit overeager to claim second, and that did him in. Much like Verstappen being overeager to get past Perez ended his hopes earlier. Lovely drive from Norris too, FLAP and some nice overtakes. Lance, well, he does have the speed in the wet for certain. And he did a solid job. But I think he needs to learn about managing the race, expectations and improve. Albon too, doing really well until about the half point. A decent enough driver in the wet it seems, but not quite there.

    1. I don’t quite believe that Merc were serious about stopping HAM a few laps before the end. Probably a red herring

      1. But several teams warned their drivers to expect rain before the end. Even Hamilton said that if it did rain his tyres wouldn’t work. But by the time the team asked him to pit, I think there were only two laps remaining and the rain didn’t materialise.

  8. Great race, Lewis is just so good. Bit sad we didn’t get another winner and I hope Perez gets the RB seat.

  9. Hamilton showed why he’s such a phenomenon today. Not only outstanding talent (finishing on those tyres without a spin!), not just supreme patience (Verstappen and Leclerc: learn), the most impressive aspect was wanting to win the race from 6th. No concern with 7 titles or just beating Bottas to secure it. He wanted to win, and did.

    Vettel’s congratulations to Hamilton in parc fermé were an excellent moment, a really generous and warm gesture.

    1. Wholeheartedly agree, from practice Lewis was calculated, he minimised practice in order not to damage his car or bin it. But pushed a little more when it was needed. He went for the need when he didn’t need to and aced it, making the right decisions throughout.

      An absolute masterclass!!!!!

      I felt the three on the podium were all the most deserving.

      Perez I really can’t understand how he hasn’t got a drive.

      Vettel, whilst maybe distracted in recent seasons I think that he has shown he is great in the more leaner times.

      The highlight for me was Vettel’s heartfelt congratulations to Lewis, he recognises what he has witnessed and he meant it, not an easy thing to do.

      I don’t like wet weather races but thankfully no one crashed and this has to be the best race of the season!!!!!

  10. A win in a car that was a long way away from the fastest car through great race pace and tyre management. I think we saw what happens when you had cars that setup for a full wet setup and those that tuned for mixed conditions.

    I think Red Bull and Racing Point gambled on a full wet setup with suspension geometry to heat the tyres which backfired as the track dried and they then cooked their tyres. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari clearly compromised on setup which cost them yesterday but paid dividends today (although not for Bottas strangely).

    Perez did outstanding to get those tyres to the end and I take back any criticism I made of him as he clearly showed he can still offer something different to other drivers. Albon was very poor again, even with Verstappen spinning and taking extra stops he finished behind. Verstappen seems to just lose his head, happens occasionally in wet races even for the best.

  11. In the end it’s the drivers with the best strategy that didn’t make mistakes came out on top (Hamilton, Perez and the Ferrari drivers).
    Stroll would have finished at least P5 had he stayed out as he wished to. Max probably the fastest today, but too impatient for his own good.

  12. Perez in Mercedes would be perfect.
    I am afraid that Bottas will be protected as he is more ‘functional’ to the team dynamics. Not sure Sergio would be able to play supporting actor as good as Bottas.

    1. I think too much is being judged on this one race. I don’t think Perez is as good as Bottas overall and is far worse in qualifying. While Botta’s race pace is lacking, Perez has had many more race ending results as well as picking up other sort of penalties for erratic driving than Bottas. Perez has slightly better racepace and better tyre management, but would say that is about it and Bottas is on the whole better, and significantly more ideal to be Hamilton’s team mate I’d say. Today however was a shocking performance from him. However, I don’t think it is quite as bad as crashing out of the race, which Bottas has only been at fault for once in his entire career.

      1. Bottas is better for Hamilton, but Perez is a far better race for me

        It actually shows at how poor of a management team McLaren were under Whitmarsh when they didn’t realise what a talent they had, albeit, raw

        Before I thought RB should get The Hulk, simply as he’ll be a more malleable Bottas type team mate for Max. But they need Perez as Max needs someone who’s going gert in his face a bit as he’s becoming a driver who is a little bit too sure of himself

        1. Perez to Mercedes I think would be a bad move.
          When paired with Button he was very inconsistent with poor pace in tracks with front limitations, according to JB.
          Undoubtedly he will have improved but as he was soundly outpaced by Button, he is likely to fair even worse with LH as a teammate.
          He hasgreat pace in the right circumstances, but week in week out he will underperform in comparison I fear.

    2. Just to keep this in perspective, Bottas picked up damage to his chasi and his front wing in a clash which wasn’t his fault.

      1. The second clash was avoidable by Bottas on lap one that caused the damage.

  13. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    #teamLH

  14. Has to be said, what a way to win. There was no luck, just driving skill and most importantly the minerals to run his race the way he wanted to run it. How many times did he have to tell his team he wanted to stay out? How many other drivers followed team orders to pit only to adversely affect their race?

    He could have cruised his way around and finished just about anywhere after Bottas’ performance and still won the championship, but he pushed hard for the win like it was any other race. Probably the second best race I’ve watched.

    1. What’s the best race in your opinion @skipgamer, if you don’t mind me asking?

  15. I feel for Stroll for losing out on a maiden win after leading for a large portion of the race distance.

    1. @jerejj By the looks of it he took too much out of his tyres compared to Perez and Hamilton. Not managing the tyres gives extra pace while it lasts, but it comes at a cost.

      1. Yeah it did look like Stroll push a lot harder on his tyres at the start of each stint.

    2. I felt he had a chance of finishing on the podium while I was expecting a win for Verstappen. Even after the bad start for Max, I couldn’t see Stroll winning that race.

  16. This premature coronation of Max as ‘Rain Master’ were laid bare today. Comical string of spins in a day where even Vettel held it together. Lewis wipes the floor with any pilot from the rose tinted ‘glory era’ and future pretenders in wet and mixed conditions, the greatest of all time!

  17. A drive befitting a 7-time world champion. Never had the fastest car all weekend, took a contrary strategy that only one other driver made work (and Perez is famous for being good on his tyres), mastered both the car and the changeable conditions as the race progressed, didn’t make mistakes, turned a 20s deficit into a 25s win, and even made his own strategy call at the end.

    You can see the talent he displayed right from the start in 2007, but he is now so much more complete, both in skill set and mental strength. Other cars had a greater chance to win, but Hamilton made the difference today.

    Perez also deserves a lot of credit, and you have to feel Albon might have just squandered his best chance to make that Red Bull seat his own for 2021. Nice to see Vettel nick a podium at the end too.

    Great race overall. Even with 10 laps to go, it was far from certain who would win. A bit of rain at the end would have been nice, but can’t have everything.

    1. Martin Brundle made the comment about rain incoming for the last lap that had it rained then Lewis and Sergio would never of got back to the pits.

      A good call to stay out and good for them the rain held off.

      From seemingly nowhere Lewis topped the timings with a 1:45 and was right behand Sebastian. Then Alex passed them both but had to pit. Shortly after that Sebastian pitted. Maybe Lewis could of got impatient at that point. That was I think the turning point of the GP.

    2. Glad to see Vettel get a podium despite the almost routing slow pit stop from Ferrari when he is about to score points or get ahead of Lerclerc, Coincidence though.

      1. Agree. I was once a Ferrari fan but they are just unprofessional. VET is still on the team for the season yet they don’t see it that way.

      2. I was telling my gf to watch vettel’s pit stops as they always seem to screw him. They didnt for the first but they didnt disappoint for the second.

  18. Well done Lewis!!!
    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  19. Hamilton showed true masterclass today. All of the true and rare skills of a great great driver were there, once more. He drove like a champ, won like a champ, celebrated like a champ and spoke like a champ. And what a champ he is. He is a living legend. Everything else is just silly and trivial.

  20. What a great race.

    Great drive from Checo. He fended off so many better heeled competitors. Max at first, Albon after that, Lewis after that and finally Leclerc on the last lap. Credit to him for only letting 1 of these 4 through.

  21. Significant that the Top 3, consisted of two who had raced here before and each had a terrible experience of what happens in damp conditions if you don’t pay attention (Hamilton, China 2007 & Vettel, here in 2010) plus Perez who is easily the next most experienced driver in a car that can challenge for a podium

  22. No offence @keithcollantine and the rest, but I think that the title of the article is too far fetched and misleading for those who haven’t see the race. Lewis was literally nowhere during wet conditions and he couldn’t even pass Sebastian. He started getting strong when the track started to dry, with the help of these semi-slick tyres, just as Checo. Their difference was that Racing Point had wet setup and Mercedes dry setup, so Lewis did what he is supposed to do when conditions started to benefit the Mercedes car.

    Of course you need skill to be able to go safe and strong with these tyres, so mega kudos to both Lewis and Checo.
    My objection is for the misleading and in a no way accurate title, not for abilities or so.

    1. It was a total masterclass. Anyone who can make the field go backwards in damp/wet conditions on inters that looked like that, deserves that title

      As most of us knew would happen, he was nowhere for the first 10 laps (I joked yesterday that he’d be 40s behind by the time they’d warned up – it wasn’t a bad guess as it was nearly 30) because the Merc is kind to it’s tyres and has superb low grip. Rubbish of course when you get Istanbul in rainy November on a track never used

      Only those other three of four other greats, like Senna and Shui could have done this. Although, I think if Fernando had been driving instead of Stroll, he’d had one

      1. Both Checo and Charles, despite his last corner error, had a great race today.
        Plus, Checo was the only of the 20 without a single error.
        Do they belong to the “greats” also, or you little story just fits to what you already had in mind?

        1. No they don’t but they don’t have 7 WDCs and many previous instances of such great performances. You my friend are just going to have to suck it up, cause you are very much in the minority with this opinion.

        2. @f1-fan Perez made errors. Two of them cost him positions. One to Hamilton and the other to Leclerc.

          1. All drivers made errors. This was about making less than the others.

      2. Not forgetting that, with Bottas at the back of the field after his first turn spin, Hamilton could have cruised around in 6th place to win the big prize (something someone like Prost would have done). But he didn’t.

    2. Decision making must play a roll in mastery, no?

      If that is the case, then you must give Lewis his degree of mastery for making the correct decision on important calls at the right time that allowed the mercedes car to benefit, no?

      So, decision making mastery plus incredible skill to drive today (as you as you acknowledged) means that he showed mastery in a race that very few could.

      He was by far a step above all today, wouldn’t you say?

    3. @f1-fan The whole races was done on either extreme wets or intermediate tyres. That makes it a wet race. If it was actually dry they would have switched to … dry weather tyres.

      All of them had issues passing other cars. Verstappen tried and destroyed his race. Hamilton tried, didn’t work, then decided to do it with strategy instead and won the race.

    4. Someone’s a little sore. That was, indeed, a 100%, bonified masterclass befitting of a 7 x WDC. Shame you cant appreciate what you are seeing but… the numbers don’t lie.

      1. What is really a shame, for humanity in general, is that people always bring totally irrelevant things to their talks, and they always try to compare apples with oranges, insisting that this is a valid argument. But I don’t blame you. It’s very, very hard to try to be mature and impartial.

        1. Living Rent Free #44
          15th November 2020, 19:25

          An ironic comment, if ever I saw one.

    5. @f1-fan Clearly, but then it was always thus. Yesterday when other were faster than Hamilton, it was all about the cars. When he’s fastest today, it’s all about the driver. Same with the race. In the beginning when he was making mistakes, going off, losing places and floundering behind backmarkers, it was obviously the car, but when the track dried out and the car started working, and the others were eating tyres and going backward, it was of course all about the driver. I can understand his fans going on like this because that’s how they are, but respectable sites calling it a driving “masterclass” is frankly embarrassing.

      1. @balue Yup. Fans have the right to say what they want, whether their favorite driver is called Lewis, Max or Charles etc.
        But the journalist is obligated to be as close to the reality and the facts as he can. Simply, this is not the case here. Anyway, they are trying to “kill” racism, but good journalism is long dead and gone.

        1. I think you don’t understand what journalism is at all actually, you may want to step outside your echo chamber and do some research.

      2. Ahhh, Balue! I was waiting for you and your cronies to crawl out from under your rocks. Still… at least you are consistent and predictable with your drivel.
        You are free to read whatever sites and headlines you choose but don’t be surprised if you find a few that don’t support your warped view on Lewis Hamilton. May I suggest the Daily Mail for future reading. You will find many of your peers there.

        1. @deanr The only thing predictable is the inevitable personal attacks by Hamilton fans of anybody not singing their hero’s praises, just like you here.

          1. OH THE IRONY!! Keep up the good work Balue! 🤣 Lewis Carl Hamilton F1WDC 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018,2019 & 2020…and on you will whine.

  23. I can only think it two error-free drivers today. And no one gave a “master class” to me.

    If they were not enabled DRS… it was not necessary. Very nice GP up to that point, then, just okish.

    1. Soo… What happen with the “great” Verstappen today? This was a race he should have had pole but didnt. Should have won but was not even in the top 3. Not even top 5!!! And people want to elevate him to champion level when he has actually achieved nothing special. The next great white hype i suppose. And i agree with john who earlier texted that its because Lewis is black. Verstappen has done nothing special when the chips are down. When it matters he folds over.

      1. I agree with everything you say but “great white hype”? This is not just provocative but also complete nonsense. The whole grid, bar Lewis, will consist of white drivers in 2021. Lewis will not be around for too much longer so naturally, the next WDC will be white (barring some unforeseen circumstances) I know this is a phrase taken from boxing and for me, it has no place in a society pushing hard for equality for all. As you were.

        1. I apologise if i offended u. My point was that Verstappen is already been lifted to legend status in the realm of shumi, senna, alonso, lewis and it does seem more because of his “heritage” while Lewis is continiously down played and it also seems its because of his “heritage” its so subtle (at times) except to any1 that is of colour. Lewis has to do and be soo much more while verstappen just has to show up.

          1. Not offended but thanks.
            As I said I agree with everything you wrote. Just the great white hype/hope thing triggered me.👍

  24. I must be a living nightmare to want to see this guy lose.
    Hamilton achieved a level of perception of his surroundings that few ever did.

    He just did his race, managed car and tyres and tried to be fast while doing it. And everything went to his direction because the others weren’t doing that and were overdriving, like Stroll and Verstappen.

    It’s not easy, but he has done it for so long that it’s just natural.

    Mercedes was nowhere, and the guy still got the win, not by being the fastest but by knowing when to attack, and it took more than half the race for that moment to come.. Impossible not to respect that.

    1. Exactly, all the talk of its the car ONLY demolished today.
      Yes, a very fast car is a pre-requisite to a WDC, but you still have to keep it on track and get to the chequred flag first,. And consistently, in all types of conditions

      Who did that today? LH..

      If max can do that, he’ll be the one to beat LH.

      In these conditions, Just because you have a car in front does not mean you have to overtake it ASAP. Wait for it..

  25. Good drive by Lewis. Not perfect, he did make mistakes, but he kept the car pointing in the right direction and took advantage of the cars natural pace when they conditions allowed.

    Bottas had a shocker. He’s looked broken this season. Only Toto benefits from having him in the car. For the sake of the sport he needs to go.

    Question – How can Vettel keep the Ferrari facing the right way in the wet but not in the dry?????

  26. Hamilton proved to be made of GOAT material. Drove like a GOAT, won like a GOAT, celebrated like a GOAT and spoke like a GOAT. Hate him or not, he is a true and worthy multi-champion.

    1. Even his hairstyle is like. GOAT.

      1. Certainly the greatest comeback story in sport

  27. A lesser driver would have sat in third and thought “hey World Championship Won”. But not Hamilton, there was a race to be won and he took it. Poor old Stroll, he can drive super fast but everything has to be right…..a bit of pressure and off the cliff he goes…..a bit of pressure and Hamilton pounces.

  28. All he has to do was to wait to track dry out knowing he has a super car. Sorry but thats not great racing. He was moaning like a girl yesterday. On the other hand vesrtapen once again proved he is fast but thick as well.

    1. Max has outperformed Lewis once in the wet. Germany 19. This is no excuse as for Lewis’ exacting standards Germany 19 was a poor race. HOWEVER, Lest we forget…Lewis was not well that weekend. VER drove slightly better and got the win he deserved but as proven yesterday “one swallow does not make a summer”. Take away Germany 19 and Lewis has won every wet race going back to 2014.

      1. Replied to wrong comment.

  29. Everyone saying max is washed up for this one race should rewatch germany 2019. Hamilton had a great race today and max cracked, no denying it, but you can’t completely judge a driver’s ability off one race

    1. I don’t think anyone is saying Max is washed up based on one race but you have to admit he threw away a win today. Also bear in mind some fans of Hamilton will be simply returning the jibes Verstappen fans were touting in Germany. Hamilton simply proved he’s still very much one of the best in the rain today.

    2. Max has outperformed Lewis once in the wet. Germany 19. This is no excuse as for Lewis’ exacting standards Germany 19 was a poor race. HOWEVER, Lest we forget…Lewis was not well that weekend. VER drove slightly better and got the win he deserved but as proven yesterday “one swallow does not make a summer”. Take away Germany 19 and Lewis has won every wet race going back to 2014.

  30. It’s not a masterclass, it’s not a clinic, this was a display of pure art – it was an absolute masterpiece. The way he drove was simply breathtaking and how many times has that been said of Hamilton’s drives and yet he pulls another one out. We are all quite fortunate to live in the era of Hamilton. Even if you hate Hamilton, you tip your hat off and simply admire the best driver of all time (not just our time but probably future times). Take a bow Lewis! Take a bow!

  31. HAM was getting frustrated behind VET early. Tried a pass, went a little wide, and then he drops back to 3+ seconds behind. Race control allows DRS and all of a sudden HAM is on VET. VER on the other hand no patience. Not on the track, not in the pits, not coming out of the pits. Races are a set number of laps and VER has yet to learn how to manage his car for the entire race.

  32. He’s actually pretty good isn’t he.

  33. Masterclass? Stunning? I thought I watched the Turkish GP. Maybe I had it on a different race.

  34. HAM is really an ace in managing his tyres. The driving, consistency and focus is what amazes me

  35. Everybody see that Leclec can’t drive at wet. Completely, period.

  36. Hamilton wins race – it’s a boringly predictable headline that we see all the time.

    But this was one of those weekends which will hopefully silence the whingers who always seem want to put to put Lewis down and diminish his achievements because he’s in the fastest car. He wasn’t today, he won through sheer driver brilliance. He played the long game and focused on maximising his time on track by not spinning, looking after the car, constantly assessing the track, and ultimately put his not-the-fastest-car half a minute ahead of everyone else.

    Of course Lewis has fluked a few results – every driver gets a few lucky races that swing their way, but 7 championships are not won on luck.

    Lewis Hamilton’s brain is the most devastating weapon any team currently has in F1. He’s gone from an impulsive youngster who made rookie mistakes, to a driver who takes each race at a time and combines incredible natural speed with an ability to constantly asses the race and drive to the conditions and calculate strategy. He’s not just in the best car, he’s been part of the team that’s developed it.

    1. But this was one of those weekends which will hopefully silence the whingers who always seem want to put to put Lewis down and diminish his achievements because he’s in the fastest car.

      Have you read some of the comments above?

  37. It’s a funny story, if you think about it.
    Verstappen brags all the time about how easy it supposedly is to win in a Mercedes car and how 90% (or 60%, as he corrects later) would be champion in that car, yet this weekend he had the absolute best machine and failed to deliver both in quali and race.
    Eventually, it must not be THAT easy to deliver, when you are expected to, huh maxi?

  38. Ridiculous. Hamilton just got lucky again. He was happy just to score points for his title winning race and took it easy after first having tried some moves and gone off and realized Bottas was nowhere, then the track dried out and people started to eat their tyres and fall back, so all he had to do was drive in circles to beat a Racing Point for the win in the most dominant car of it’s era and maybe even all of history, famous for it’s kindness on tyres which was just the ticket on balding inters.

    It could easily have been wet the whole race, been him on the outside tangled up in the first corner, stuck in the gravel after his off, or suffered a shower toward the end after disregarding the team instructions and stuck it in the wall, and he would be nowhere or had a DNF, but he lucked in again with the best car and now people make out that it was some sort of amazing drive. If anyone deserves honors it was Perez or even Vettel.

  39. Why all the Verstappen hate? I’m a Hamilton fanboy and I can still see the enormous potential there.

    He’s young and he’s fast. Only 10 years ago, Lewis was making similar mistakes. He’s plenty of time to polish his skills. The first thing you need to get to F1 is speed. Max has that is abundance. The only way he won’t get better is if he keeps a closed mind and doesn’t learn from his mistakes.

    I have no doubts that Max will be a multiple world champion if he gets in the right car at the right time. It’s on him to polish his skills to make sure that it happens. You have to lose to learn how to win.

  40. “And it’s Lewis Hamilton, put up by Sebastian Vettel, would you believe it?! That sums it all up!”
    It’s like Lewis Hamilton scoring 4 goals to secure his team the league title.

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