2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip, Nov 21 - 23

[_cerber1]

The Mclaren has been faster for the large majority of this season. It was clearly the best car this year and they'll likely still get the WCC from it. There was nothing comfortable about Verstappen's gap whatsoever had Norris/Mclaren simply done better. They had every opportunity to catch up and overtake Verstappen, but their own failures along with Verstappen just being amazing all season made the difference in the end.

Can you give an example of a season when a driver was able to close a 70-point gap?

[marcel171281]

The Mclaren has been faster for the large majority of this season. It was clearly the best car this year and they'll likely still get the WCC from it. There was nothing comfortable about Verstappen's gap whatsoever had Norris/Mclaren simply done better. They had every opportunity to catch up and overtake Verstappen, but their own failures along with Verstappen just being amazing all season made the difference in the end.

Can you give an example of a season when a driver was able to close a 70-point gap?

Can you give an example of a season with 24 races, 6 sprint race and 24 extra point for fastest laps?

70 points is nothing in todays F1!

[venkyhere]

With a competent driver in the other seat RBR was winning the WCC as well, you all know this as well because you say this in the Red Bull Team thread when Checo comes up.

Never said this anywhere. I think you have the wrong guy.

[Vettel165]

After Monza I was very worried as a Max fan. I thought the title was sliping away. But he and some of the working updates in Austin, Brasil and in Singapore saved the year. And many more before of course.

[Cs98]

Again, Max had 7 poles in the first 7 races and won 5 of them. Miami was lost because SC picked up the wrong car, Australia lost due to brake issue. That car was an absolutely great car to start the season, even from Miami onwards MCL was maybe a smidge better but took a bit for RBR to ruin their car where MCL was clearly better.

In a 24 race season having a great car for the first 5 races isn't nearly enough on its own. Verstappen did maximize those races and managed to build a 52 point lead by round 5. Since then he has extended that 52 point lead to a 63 point lead. However you slice it, the McLaren has been a better car (in terms of speed AND reliability) in the 17 rounds since then, but somehow Lando hasn't made up a single point. In light of that statistic I feel it is kind of irrelevant and reductive to argue about this "buffer", or when exactly the RB dropped off. The insane thing is he hasn't closed anything, the buffer hasn't even been used.

[Seanspeed]

The Mclaren has been faster for the large majority of this season. It was clearly the best car this year and they'll likely still get the WCC from it. There was nothing comfortable about Verstappen's gap whatsoever had Norris/Mclaren simply done better. They had every opportunity to catch up and overtake Verstappen, but their own failures along with Verstappen just being amazing all season made the difference in the end.

Can you give an example of a season when a driver was able to close a 70-point gap?

Why do you think there's something special about a points gap? It's not some magical force that then makes it harder for somebody else to do well. And it's not like something like today where Lewis had to push harder to try and reduce the gap to Russell, eventually fading his tires too much before the end. There was nothing stopping Lando from being able to do something about the points situation given the twenty four race weekends, and extra sprint and fastest lap points opportunities.

The only thing that matters here is that Lando spent the large majority of this long season with the fastest car and didn't score enough points over that timespan as a competitor did in an ultimately slower car.

[dialtone]

Again, Max had 7 poles in the first 7 races and won 5 of them. Miami was lost because SC picked up the wrong car, Australia lost due to brake issue. That car was an absolutely great car to start the season, even from Miami onwards MCL was maybe a smidge better but took a bit for RBR to ruin their car where MCL was clearly better.

In a 24 race season having a great car for the first 5 races isn't nearly enough on its own. Verstappen did maximize those races and managed to build a 52 point lead by round 5. Since then he has extended that 52 point lead to a 63 point lead. However you slice it, the McLaren has been a better car (in terms of speed AND reliability) in the 17 rounds since then, but somehow Lando hasn't made up a single point. In light of that statistic I feel it is kind of irrelevant and reductive to argue about this "buffer", or when exactly the RB dropped off. The insane thing is he hasn't closed anything, the buffer hasn't even been used.

That’s certainly reductive. Again Lando still worse but it’s easier to divebomb or defend to crash when you are 50 points up.

Lando was too worried to lose than trying to win. In Austria he should have taken Max out to set the precedent, instead he was the one taken out.