A perfect plan of execution and a quick rectification of falling behind Russell at the start were key to Max Verstappen's victory at the Spanish Grand Prix. Lando Norris eventually came close but finished second ahead of Lewis Hamilton who confirmed the resurgence of Mercedes.
Was looking at the final quali lap telemtry traces of NOR and VER, courtesy F1-tempo
- T5 and T7 is where Norris is gaining a cumulative 0.2
- T10 (and T13-14 is where VER is clawing back this same 0.2
- inherent driving style difference means VER is braking earlier and entering corners earlier, inorder to get onto throttle slightly earlier at exit (the 'more straightning of corners' driving style I was referring to last week). NOR is however, much smoother (like Button) with his brake and throttle inputs and carries higher minimal speeds through corners, helped possibly by the MCL38 being superior to RB20 in their current setups, when it comes to slow/medium corners. The Mclaren is able to rotate better than the more understeery RB20, I think. High-speed corners, RB20 is the undisputed king. The only exception to this is T10 where both cars/drivers are behaving almost exactly same.
It's almost confirmed in my mind, that the MCL38 has matched (possibly even surpassed) the RB20 in terms of ability. The Mclaren is, I believe, a much wider-window car than the RB20 as of today. The way they are going about the weekend, is with clockwork efficiency and precision like what RB19 used to do in 2023 - no setup drama, no driver complaints, right on the money from FP1 itself. The only remaining doubt is how the tyre deg of MCL38 (in normal summer temp conditions) is going to be, w.r.t the RB20. If that too proves better tomorrow, we can safely say the Mclaren is THE CAR of 2024, usurping the crown from RB20.
The Mcl has not surpased the RB20. RB20 still the better car. Lando is just doing his thing. Just by the mere fact some corners are full throttle for Max is enough evidence the RB20 is still in a different league. It maybe just needed less setbacks on Friday to extract more. If you have the best high speed cornering and better corner exits and braking like Rb20, then it's difficult to be beaten over the race. There is more margin to manage the race. My opinion, but I see Lando needing to push more to keep ahead. We have had close Qually all year and redbull still in a different league in the races. But who knows!
How many tenths did Max gain by being flat through some corners?
And show on telemetry where redbull was better on braking and acceleration and how many tenths Max earned…
The cheapest sort of pride is national pride, every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.
The cheapest sort of pride is national pride, every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.
If they don’t end up on podium with track temperatures perfect for them, what will be their next excuse?
The cheapest sort of pride is national pride, every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.