Max Verstappen - The road to Champion

[Nitrodaze]

Reminiscent of Young Fernando Alonso winning his first Monaco grandprix in 2006, driving the Mild Seven-Renault; Renault R26 2.4 liter V8. Alonso had three prior disastrous visits to Monaco, but his win in Monaco which was his second in a run of four consecutive wins that season, saw him comprehensively beat the incumbent Michael Schumacher, who incidentallly also did not finish on the podium in that race. Alonso went on to win his second and last driver's World chamionship that season.

That race parallels Verstapens Monaco win. Monaco had been a boggey track for Verstappen in the past, like 2006, the incumbent Lewis Hamilton was comprehensively beaten and was not on the podium like Schumacher before him. But this race win speaks of a different story. It demonstrates the coming of age of the racer in Verstappen and annouces to the entire F1 world that he is a genuine and serious contender for the 2021 drivers title. And he won the race with such maturity that dispells any doubt of his chances of winning the title this season.

Verstappen now leads the drivers leader board by four but very important points. And Redbull has found themselves consequentially propelled to the top of the constructors championship. As we head to another fast flowing street circuit in Baku, where Mercedes would still have the same issues that put them off the top of both championship, all signs suggests that Redbull and Verstappen are set to extend their lead at the top.

Baku is going to be an interesting race, as Baku has typically been a Mercedes track; a Bottas track to be specific. It is imperative for Redbull to win this race, as it is imperative for Mercedes to recover from their Monaco disaster. In a sense, Baku could easily be a race that would indicate how this season may end.

Another observation in Monaco is that, the Mercedes team is beginning to show signs of Deminishing Return. They are showing fragility on the strategic front and have had a consistently poor pitcrew since the last quarter of the 2020 season. The rut in the Mercedes pit just seems to be getting worst. And could be the very chink in the Mercedes armour that would hand one or both of the championship titles to Redbull and Verstappen. Monaco was a race that showed how much the new regulations has hurt Mercedes. They have been able to work around it on other tracks, but the unforgiving and punishing track of Monaco, took the Mercedes Chassis to its basic core.

Whichever way you look at it, Verstappen is the golden boy of F1 at the moment. And he has a fantastic chance to cause an upset and win his first F1 world championship. This is a chance that he cannot afford to miss. But it would be pure folly to dispell Mercedes and Hamilton at this early stages of the 2021 season

[Zico]

I thought Max was 4 points clear.
It looks to me that the RB is a good 1 lap car but the Merc generally has better race pace. Unless RB can improve their race pace I reckon Lewis will win it without too much drama.

[Nitrodaze]

I thought Max was 4 points clear.
It looks to me that the RB is a good 1 lap car but the Merc generally has better race pace. Unless RB can improve their race pace I reckon Lewis will win it without too much drama.

Well spotted, l meant Redbull was one point clear of Mercedes. Yes, four point clear of Hamilton, leaving Mercedes scratching their heads. The Mercedes race pace is strong but there would be tracks like Monaco that would expose the inherent weakness in the chassis.

[airshifter]

Monaco is a track that is well suited to the current (and some past) RB cars. Max did a great job and I think that most likely he would have beat Leclerc's time as well as possibly Bottas had the session not been red flagged. He has matured well with time, and I think given the right car he can certainly race with the best around these days.

But I think it's premature to see where the car performance will leave him this year. Right now I think Merc still have the overall upper hand, but not by much. Long term if the cars stay this close it will be a head game with Max and Lewis... who can keep their cool and just drive and deal with the pressure. Lewis hasn't had to deal with this as much in recent years due to the car issue, so really since Nico managed to beat him once that has ended with car performance and a weaker team mate challenge. Max on the other hand has been working with a lesser car for years, to is more accustomed to taking his lumps with being down on power and such. But he's hungry, and having a car close or equal to the Merc is going to fire him up. The question is will he be able to deal with it.... we might see this season.

[Nitrodaze]

Lucky man. What a let-off with Hamilton's mistake at Baku. We could have been going into France with Verstappen behind by 18 points minimum. But he goes into France still in the lead with four points. The racing gods may have been smiling down on him l would say. But this is how winning happens. When the opposition cannot capitalize on your setbacks. We have seen that time and time again with Hamilton.

That said, the tyre puncture at Baku could prove very costly for Verstappen through the next five races where Mercedes would definitely be mighty.

[F1nKS]

At the end of the season, I think Red Bull will look back on the first 6 races and see they left a lot of points on the table.

Now if Perez has really figured things out and if Bottas is going full Vettel, I could see Hamilton winning the driver championship and Red Bull winning the constructors.

There are a lot of "ifs". But at least it gives us a lot to talk about.

[Nitrodaze]

At the end of the season, I think Red Bull will look back on the first 6 races and see they left a lot of points on the table.

Now if Perez has really figured things out and if Bottas is going full Vettel, I could see Hamilton winning the driver championship and Red Bull winning the constructors.

There are a lot of "ifs". But at least it gives us a lot to talk about.

Mercedes are very weak on the constructors front. Hence l can see that happening. However, there is no guarantee that Hamilton would win it either. They operating at a ragged edge at the moment which causes lots of mistakes. We are seeing uncharacteristic errors at most levels of the Mercedes operation.

[Bagwan]

Mercedes are very weak on the constructors front. Hence l can see that happening. However, there is no guarantee that Hamilton would win it either. They operating at a ragged edge at the moment which causes lots of mistakes. We are seeing uncharacteristic errors at most levels of the Mercedes operation.

Or , they are strong enough that they can dangle it in front of the others , then snatch it from their grasp .

Did you notice how strong Aston looked ?

[Nitrodaze]

Or , they are strong enough that they can dangle it in front of the others , then snatch it from their grasp .

Did you notice how strong Aston looked ?

The long straights of Baku made the Aston Martin look better than they really are. Like the Mercedes, they suffered through the twisty parts of the circuit which was why Vettel could not trouble Perez. The Alpha Tauris were brilliant through the twisty bits but suffered on the long straights of Baku. So there was nothing usual going on there.

[Bagwan]

The long straights of Baku made the Aston Martin look better than they really are. Like the Mercedes, they suffered through the twisty parts of the circuit which was why Vettel could not trouble Perez. The Alpha Tauris were brilliant through the twisty bits but suffered on the long straights of Baku. So there was nothing usual going on there.

I am going to assume you meant "unusual" there in your last line , but you kind of made my point at the same time .

That Merc lump is fat enough to make that Aston look good on those straights . Of course they couldn't keep up with the bulls with that thing in the corners but it demonstrates the grunt .
Remember that extra second in Monaco ?

They had lots of time to cook up the "magic" story after Max went off , and the move didn't damage the car at all .
I think they would have left Lewis in second had Max not lost the tire , but neither of them scoring is almost as good a result if you're trying to keep your opponent looking strong for the cameras .