Verstappen fighting alone again against Hamilton at home

21 comments on “Verstappen fighting alone again against Hamilton at home”

1. 

   Red Pill (@redpill)
   4th September 2021, 22:19

   Will Merc do a Talladega Shake n’ Bake?
   1. 

      Red Pill (@redpill)
      4th September 2021, 22:33

      PS> I think any overtaking will be all about the undercut.

      Over cut does not appear to work on this track?
      1. 

         someone or something
         4th September 2021, 22:52

         Overcut doesn’t sound very likely, as the track is rather abrasive, so there’s always going to be an advantage for fresher tyres.
         On the other hand, the long runs in Free Practice have shown that the tyre wear isn’t that bad. In conjunction with the fact that it’s a very short lap, this should prevent the undercut from being overly powerful.
         In other words, if two cars of similar pace pit within a lap of each other, the most likely outcome should be no change in position.
         Of course, cars starting out of position, especially Pérez, should be able to gain places during the pit stops by doing the opposite of their rivals.
         1. 

            Red Pill (@redpill)
            4th September 2021, 23:24

            “@someone or something”

            Don’t forget about the massive track congestion/traffic there will be and how it will play out in the tactics and pitstop strategies.

            Bummer that overtaking is not really possible on the track and now sounding like even pitstops may not effect overtaking but the likelihood of red flags happening on Sunday seems high and wondering how that will effect the racing and strategies? Maybe a team will get away with making no pitstops in the race and just change tires during red flags? I guess we’ll find out.
            1. 

               someone or something
               5th September 2021, 0:30

               Don’t forget about the massive track congestion/traffic there will be and how it will play out in the tactics and pitstop strategies.

               That’s the reason why I wrote that strategy-wise, this race may well have a lot in common with Monaco. Overtaking hard to impossible, undercut unlikely to work on pace alone (let alone with traffic), high chance of neutralisations cheapening pit stops => Best strategy will likely consist in waiting things out and getting the others to pit first, then covering them.
               Another important aspect will be the pace Gasly and the Ferraris can keep. No disrespect to Giovinazzi, but I’d be surprised if he could keep up, so the cars Verstappen and the Mercedes will have to watch out for are Gasly and the Ferraris (and possibly the Alpines, if they can get past Giovinazzi), because even if one of them has the pace to make an aggressive undercut work, passing any of these cars should be virtually impossible.
2. 

   someone or something
   4th September 2021, 22:46

   Red Bull will be wary of Mercedes splitting strategies. But the undercut will not be quite as powerful as it would be on a longer lap, and, as pointed out, Verstappen may have enough pace in hand to drive away from such considerations.
   Additionally, given the high probability of the Safety Car being deployed at one stage or another, there’s less to gain by pitting early. Staying out as long as possible and waiting for a cheap pit stop should be more likely to succeed. And if that doesn’t happen, managing a gap and waiting for your rivals to pit before you should also be a solid strategy.
   In many respects, this is shaping up to be a very similar race to Monaco, though hopefully with more on-track overtakes, and with the first lap out of the pits actually being faster.
   1. 

      Rob (@)
      5th September 2021, 5:13

      Won’t matter when merc takes out max lap 1
      1. 

         someone or something
         5th September 2021, 11:02

         much insight
         very added value
         wow
      2. 

         Esploratore (@esploratore1)
         5th September 2021, 20:03

         See how verstappen started fast and ran away the first turns? Was afraid of being taken out again!
3. 

   hahostolze (@hahostolze)
   4th September 2021, 23:10

   I don’t think a lack of Perez or Mercedes having tactical flexibility will be the problem here. Verstappen and the Red Bull look like they have pace in hand. What I do think will decide the race is that very thin line between being fast and going over the line. This track is so difficult and so unforgiving. We’ll see a lot of mistakes, mostly killing. Don’t see why that can’t happen to the frontrunners either.
   1. 

      Mayrton
      5th September 2021, 0:36

      I agree, this will not be boring
4. 

   Tom
   4th September 2021, 23:32

   Tomorrow will be a total snooze. Max will pull at least 7-10 seconds before the first stops meaning Mercedes have no options at all. Without a safety car or red flag he will win by a minimum of 20 seconds.
   1. 

      Robbie (@robbie)
      4th September 2021, 23:46

      That would be great and would not be a snooze for me.
   2. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      5th September 2021, 20:04

      Didn’t happen, mercedes seemed up there, depending on tyres, with hamilton ofc, you can’t use the argument “bottas was further behind” cause look where perez was.
5. 

   Ole Brummer (@andrewwj)
   5th September 2021, 0:08

   Nothing new, then. This has been his lot for just about the entire season to this point. The nature of the circuit means it should be an easy victory for VER.
6. 

   Vince (@sydneykb)
   5th September 2021, 2:24

   Just concentrate on outscoring Hamilton.
7. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   5th September 2021, 6:22

   An overtaking fest is unlikely unless Perez can climb through the field fast.
   A blue flag fest, yes, although a similar story for all short tracks.
8. 

   Psi (@psi)
   5th September 2021, 7:08

   You mean:
   Max is Home alone.
   1. 

      erikje
      5th September 2021, 12:23

      And we know how that ended for the “visitors”
9. 

   iCarbs (@icarby)
   5th September 2021, 9:47

   Max should win today and I honestly don’t think there will be an answer from anyone. The only person that can ruin this is Max himself, so just like Hamilton in many previous races this should be 25(26) points in the bag, that is the expectation.
10. 

    Balue (@balue)
    5th September 2021, 10:22

    1 stop race, no overtaking, results decided by luck with safety car or red flags.

    Yay for old-school tracks.. /irony

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