Spain 2016

[steveaki13]

Max was catching Ricciardo early in the race before stops, but Ricciardo must be disappointed because its not always about being faster. He had track position.

Just a case of the team splitting the cars. Ricciardo was given what was on paper the best strategy. Not sure anyone saw Max & Kimi doing over 30 laps on those tyres. Just unfortunate play out of the race really.

[dj_bytedisaster]

So why were Ricciardo and Vettel put on strategies that required overtaking on a circuit where you can't overtake?

Because the three stop strategy was calculated to be six seconds faster than a two-stopper. It turned out the other way round because the medium compound was able to last longer than even Pirelli had thought possible. I think they did the correct thing, but with the wrong driver.

Ferrari had to go aggressive on strategy, Seb was in a position to try and Kimi is too useless to go on a strategy that requires driving fast. Seb was caught out by the fact that track temps had gone up by 5 degrees since the start and was right in the same region as it was in quali, read: the tyres instantly died on them.

The 'mistake' here was Red Bull's. They should have covered Seb with Verstappen, not RIC. They gave up Danny's better track position without necessity. Basically it was Silverstone Frontwing-gate and Canada 2014 all over again. It seems to be a trademark of Dr. Marko that at some point the old favourite get's an unmistakable message that his time as the team leader is over because they now have a new golden boy.

[jens]

Wow! Now that was a race! Which reminded me, why I love F1, and I got my passion back.

Big controversy and drama with dominant Mercedes crashing out instantly. You don't see that every day.

You also don't always see such race. Realistically 4 drivers competing for win! Complicated strategy games, which some drivers (Vettel/Ricciardo) got it wrong.

And then... the big story. Max-boy came, saw, and won! A telling victory. Probably marks the start of a great journey, a bit like Senna in Portugal back in 1985, Schumacher in Belgium in 1992 or why not Vettel in the Toro Rosso in Italy in 2008.

[dj_bytedisaster]

And then... the big story. Max-boy came, saw, and won! A telling victory. Probably marks the start of a great journey, a bit like Senna in Portugal back in 1985, Schumacher in Belgium in 1992 or why not Vettel in the Toro Rosso in Italy in 2008.

I really like Max, but I still think he's a bit over-hyped and all those who declare him a racing god right now, might be setting him up for a nasty fall. It's true that he drove a perfect race, but once the Mercs where gone, he 'only' had to beat cars that were close or even weaker than his own. That's why I don't think the comparison with Monaco '84, Portugal '85, Spa '92 (and Barcelona '96 for that matter) or Vettel win in Monza '08, does not really work. The defining element of all these drives by Senna, Schumacher and Vettel was, that they were in an inferior car and beat the dominant cars of that season on the track.

As I said, it was a fine drive and I'm sure he will show some even more spectacular drives once RB have something resembling an engine in the back, but Barcelona was 'merely' a very good drive helped by strategic luck. Also the fact that his direct pursuer is long past his sell-by-date was also helping a bit.

[The Black Knight]

I really like Max, but I still think he's a bit over-hyped and all those who declare him a racing god right now, might be setting him up for a nasty fall. It's true that he drove a perfect race, but once the Mercs where gone, he 'only' had to beat cars that were close or even weaker than his own. That's why I don't think the comparison with Monaco '84, Portugal '85, Spa '92 (and Barcelona '96 for that matter) or Vettel win in Monza '08, does not really work. The defining element of all these drives by Senna, Schumacher and Vettel was, that they were in an inferior car and beat the dominant cars of that season on the track.

As I said, it was a fine drive and I'm sure he will show some even more spectacular drives once RB have something resembling an engine in the back, but Barcelona was 'merely' a very good drive helped by strategic luck. Also the fact that his direct pursuer is long past his sell-by-date was also helping a bit.

I agree with this. It's not comparable to the aforementioned races but it was mightily impressive none the least. It is simply because he is so young that it impresses that much, not necessarily because it was one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, it wasn't. But it showed exceptional potential at a very young age and that is really what impressed me. If he is this good now, I can only imagine how good he'll be in a couple of years. Time will tell.

[dj_bytedisaster]

I agree with this. It's not comparable to the aforementioned races but it was mightily impressive none the least. It is simply because he is so young that it impresses that much, not necessarily because it was one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, it wasn't. But it showed exceptional potential at a very young age and that is really what impressed me. If he is this good now, I can only imagine how good he'll be in a couple of years. Time will tell.

I agree with you. He's a talent the likes of which comes about every ten years at most.

That is the critical bit. Because all the hype now might turn against him. The elder statesmen will remember with how much hype Rubens Barrichello once came into F1. It didn't help him. And how many WDC's does Fernando Alonso have again? Despite being considered one of the best of his generation? How your career works out depends on so many more factors than just´your talent. He could well end up being a one-hit-wonder, which would be a shame. The two markets with the most WDC's in the last thirty years (Britain and Germany) are saturated and struggling, so a Verstappen success might bring in much needed enthusiastic fans.

[jens]

The reason I compared Verstappen's win to these three was only because all were the FIRST win of mentioned drivers. I mean races itself, how they were won and conditions were completely different - for starters Por'85/Bel'92/Ita'08 were all wet races.

But first win is always an important milestone for any driver.

Doesn't mean I expect Max to start winning now... And he would need right cars to win or challenge for championships. But he has plenty of time on his side.

[AndyL]

James Allen has a really interesting analysis of the strategy decisions:
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2016/0...ll-or-ferrari/

[Big Ben]

Ricciardo should start looking for a new team. He's probably going to be Verstappen's b***h from now on at RBR, because it's the news with the new wonder kid that's going to sell better their poison.
I really hoped RBR would end up without an engine this year

[dj_bytedisaster]

Ricciardo should start looking for a new team. He's probably going to be Verstappen's b***h from now on at RBR, because it's the news with the new wonder kid that's going to sell better their poison.
I really hoped RBR would end up without an engine this year

Puts the '14 Canadian GP in a different light, doesn't it? Because that's when Seb got the same treatment in favour of RIC's maiden win...