organic wrote: ↑20 Apr 2025, 20:14
PierreW wrote: ↑20 Apr 2025, 20:04
AR3-GP wrote: ↑20 Apr 2025, 20:02
WInnable. Lost to bad start.
They will have to understand why the car isn't fast at the start anymore. They were particulary strong last year for that point.
Well McLaren said they worked hard on that in the winter. could just be a relative thing where red bull didnt get weaker but macca stronger
What if it was a bad start by Max ? It can happen, can't it ?
Once he lost the start, irrespective of whether he gave back the position or whether he took a +5s , he was destined for P2. Race pace matches Mclaren for the 2nd time this year - Suzuka and Jeddah.
The Mclaren team thread is full of Max fans v/s Piastri/Norris fans slugging it out about whether Max is cheat, whether his wheel to wheel skills are poorer than Russel, whether Piastri is the true 'goat' that Max fans claim to belong to their driver, etc etc etc. Hope this thread doesn't get polluted similarly.
My honest opinion : Max screwed up the pole start, after a gap of a few years, probably. Statistical average has to catch up someday. As for the T1 incident, Piastri only did what Max usually does - grabbing the inside of the corner and understeering to the outside, forcing off the guy on the outer line. Max got a taste of his own medicine this time. And he has to take it. He shouldn't sulk like a petulant child. I didn't like his behavior in the cool down room or on the podium during champagne spray. He finished less than 3s behind the McLaren, despite a 5s penalty, and had matching race pace to the McLarens, ending up with 12 point WDC gap behind the McLarens after five rounds of races. That is a silver lining by itself, considering the 'issues' the car has, and how much 'car development' is lagging behind McLaren.