venkyhere wrote: ↑08 Jul 2024, 09:15
The popular opinion right now is
"McLaren went on used S instead of new M for Lando, and the win was gone with that". I don't think it's that simple. Remember Hamilton was on used S as well, and McLaren is car that is good with tyre longevity on any track at any temperature, on any compound, so there was no reason to suspect that despite Hamilton's tyre whisperer credentials, Lando wouldn't have caught him. Afterall, a marginal tyre choice is a lottery, despite all the algorithms and models at their disposal, especially on a low temp track.
I think the real reason Lando lost pace on used S was his out-lap. He hammered it straightaway and took life out of it. Whereas Hamilton was gentler. This, I think is the reason he couldn't catch and pass Hamilton for the lead, which would have given him a nice "buffer" between himself and a rampaging Max who didn't need to bother anything about tyre life and could thrash his new H right from put exit, as it boiled down to 12-13 continuous quali-style attack laps for him.
Found the data that backs my hunch (in
bold above) :
Lando's outlap on his S, was 3-4s faster than Hamilton and Max. This is with the extra 2s he lost not stopping properly in the pitbox. That means Lando was hammering the tyre 6s faster than both of them. Even more incredulous. That's where he lost his tyres, I think. The decision by pitwall wasn't as bad (to go for used S) as it's made out to be. And also, it was not a case of "Lewis made the S last more than what it was capable".
I think it was a simple case of Lando chewing tyres on his outlap and regretting it later, snatching P3 from the jaws of P1.