Fantastic drive by Verstappen again, showing how Perez really isn't some kind of magic tire whisperer. 14 wins in a season
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Verstappen: "Felt on Friday that a hard tire wouldn't work in Mexico"
Max Verstappen already felt on Friday that the hard tire would not work in the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Mexico. Mercedes opted with both drivers on Sunday for the hardest rubber that Pirelli had taken, but that turned out not to be a happy choice. "I did try the hard tire during the first practice, but it didn't feel right. So I didn't want to use that compound in the race."
One- or two-stop in mind for the race?
"We knew in advance that the first stint was going to be crucial for us. We had to stay ahead at the start and then keep the soft tire alive long enough. Both worked well, although I did get a little bit at the end of the stint. bit in trouble at the left front. Anyway, the gap was already big enough to extend the stint a little longer," Verstappen said in the press conference after the race. "Once we went to the mediums, everything worked well anyway. We realized quite early in the second stint that we could make it to the end."
The Dutchman says that he entered the race with several tactical options and that the number of pit stops was not fixed. "We left that open. We had agreed that we would see what the tire degradation would be like during the race. That's why we opted for a start on softs, so we could go in all directions. That tire lasted surprisingly long until four laps before my pit stop and even then I wasn't really under pressure. It was all about managing."
"When we had mediums under the car, we had to wait a few more laps to see how they would hold up. But after a few laps the picture was very positive and we were sure there was no need for a second stop."
In this thread has been posting again since a long time since this morning . Unread post 31 Oct 2022, 05:42
The many low speed corners combined with the long straight is a good combination for RB at Brazil.AR3-GP wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 14:27I think that pace wise, RB should be very strong again in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Two circuits with back to back very long straights meaning teams have to compromise. RB will be able to utilized their medium downforce package at both of these circuits. I expect races that are very similar to the USA (assuming no turn 1 carnage) and I even think RB can do a 1-2 in Brazil with their aero efficiency.
Absolutely. Plus both tracks will be an overtaking festival. We already saw a lot of action last year, with the new cars this will be great. So even if something goes wrong at the start or with a SC, there is no issue.organic wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 14:35The many low speed corners combined with the long straight is a good combination for RB at Brazil.AR3-GP wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 14:27I think that pace wise, RB should be very strong again in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Two circuits with back to back very long straights meaning teams have to compromise. RB will be able to utilized their medium downforce package at both of these circuits. I expect races that are very similar to the USA (assuming no turn 1 carnage) and I even think RB can do a 1-2 in Brazil with their aero efficiency.
Abu Dhabi also will be an excellent track for rb18 imo. Even better than Brazil
But I think we all (well, most) know they are not going to make a car worse. An upgrade may suit one driver more than the other, but is never going to make it worse.west52keep64 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 01:32I've shared a quote and an interview from Perez himself. I didn't mention Hamilton, neither did Perez. I don't think anyone said any of the other stuff you said. So I guess that's just your narrative then?Gillian wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 01:18What else is he going to say? "No the car is suited exactly to me but I still suck".![]()
Fact is he had a car he liked perfectly, a car Verstappen was unhappy with, yet he still he got beat over a race distance substantially.
Funny this. With Hamilton the story is how he's such a great car developer, helping the team build a faster car. With Verstappen it's just the team building a car that suited to him and no one else. With Hamilton the narrative is he beats all his great team mates and with Verstappen it's he never has a great team mate and a car that's totally designed for just him.
Really interesting how that works.![]()
I doubt anyone of us will ever know how they've developed the car, but Perez obviously has his thoughts and he decided to voice them to the media. I'd recommend watching the whole interview as there are some other interesting comments.Juzh wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 01:26They developed the car in such a way that it now actually turns into corners, something it wasn't doing early on, aka they made the car faster. Amount of understeer rb18 had initially was comical really. What perez was expecting to happen is anyone's guess. We've seen what understeer did to ferrari in mexico. Sainz, who is not a top level driver and similar to perez, says car was great to drive but in the end it finished +1 minute behind the winner. Meanwhile leclerc who likes a car that is lose on the rear was saying car is awful, which is a much better reflection of reality.
Yep Brazil is an overtaking festival even with the nasty aero wash of previous seasons. The only trick will be that it's a sprint weekend so they will have to nail the setup in FP1.basti313 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 14:57Absolutely. Plus both tracks will be an overtaking festival. We already saw a lot of action last year, with the new cars this will be great. So even if something goes wrong at the start or with a SC, there is no issue.organic wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 14:35The many low speed corners combined with the long straight is a good combination for RB at Brazil.AR3-GP wrote: ↑31 Oct 2022, 14:27I think that pace wise, RB should be very strong again in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Two circuits with back to back very long straights meaning teams have to compromise. RB will be able to utilized their medium downforce package at both of these circuits. I expect races that are very similar to the USA (assuming no turn 1 carnage) and I even think RB can do a 1-2 in Brazil with their aero efficiency.
Abu Dhabi also will be an excellent track for rb18 imo. Even better than Brazil