It looked as if Max Verstappen was going to lose a lot of points to Lewis Hamilton in Russia, but the chaotic final stage in the rain saw the Dutchman finish second behind his great rival in the battle for the championship.
Mercedes got a penalty
An engine change meant Verstappen had to start from the back of the grid and a fifth-place seemed the highest achievable. In the end, that too proved too optimistic and it looked like the Dutchman had to settle for seventh. However, the late rain shower shook up the field, resulting in a second-place for the Red Bull driver who is now just two points behind Hamilton in the championship.
DTM boss Gerhard Berger would put his money on Verstappen, he says. F1 Insider. "I think Max is going to be world champion. He finally has a car on par with Mercedes and he's doing a fantastic job. His second place in Sochi was more than damage control, considering he had to start at the very back." In doing so, the Austrian makes a nice football comparison. "You could say Mercedes got a penalty, but Max stopped it."
Verstappen knows what he needs to do
A strong point of Verstappen is his mental strength, Berger believes. "Max, with all his determination and concentration, seems completely clear-headed. He knows exactly what to do." According to Berger, Verstappen spoke to Valtteri Bottas prior to the race. He thinks Verstappen made it equally clear to the Finn to stay out of the title fight. "Champions do that too. Senna went to the drivers on the grid before every race and told them his plans. That always worked."
I would like to see Max World Champion this year.Doingva good job so far
I would like to see Max as World champion this year.Doing a good job so far
Verspatten is a good & promising F1 Driver but he is not yet the same class of Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton is the greatest ever F1 Driver in the History of F1. WHAT IS SURE IS THAT VERDPATTEN IS A DANGER TO OTHER DRIVERS AS HE SHOWN AT MONZA
Max the Belgian, not dutch, ok his father is dutch, but his mother is Belgian, he was born in Belgium, his family home where he grew up was in Belgium, he has a belgian passport and residency, yet m.o.r.o.n.s think he is dutch! ??
Max is meant to win this championship! With checo on his side, even though he's had a couple of tough races in past, he's the perfect wingman! #Ver_Per_TheUltimatePair
i hate hamilton!! he is too much intrust and too proud of him! his personality make him hatefull!! then i hope max will win, just cuz i want to see hamilton broken!!! but for my part, i prefer Lando Norris! so next year i would like to see him being the world champion!!!
i hate hamilton!! he is too much intrust and too proud of him! his personality make him hatefull!! then i hope max will win, just cuz i want to see hamilton broken!
Hope he beats Lois (I know he's a family guy) this year
RAZORWINE123. You my dear should learn how to spell LEWIS. It's not that difficult.
I'm rooting for this title fight to go down to the last race of the year. I personally think Lewis will win specifically because of what I think is the biggest difference between him and Max. I think Max's biggest weakness is that he never seems to look at the big picture. He flys into every corner no matter what regardless of the race circumstances. He never backs out of the move that puts himself in danger of crashing or crashing others. He just goes for it. It makes him fun to watch but we've seen it cost him already a couple times this year and I believe it's gonna cost him in the upcoming races. I want to see him race a little more with his head instead of his foot especially in instances like at Silverstone and mona because, weather it's his fault or someone else's, it damages his title Hope's. He risks everything for every move regardless of weather or not he should. Anyway like I said I hope they battle it out close all the way to the final lap.
Anything could happen but I really want Max to Win.
You'll both be broke as the vaper will mess it up some how. As for that snake bot the tot letting him pass so easily made the dumb fans think that he did because of the way merc treated him. B S, as he just proved that he didnt like the ham in the first place by letting the vaper pass so easily. Do you think that lando, saniz, not to mention the Honey Badger would move over for him. The vaper could never approach them to say keep out of my way, when they know they can beat him, lol even from race starts. Well if drivers are going to start intimidating weak drivers so they can gain an advantage in a race then F... this F1 B S. .
You'll both get broke cos the vas will mess it up one way or another. If i was a lando or a russle, not to mention the Honey Badger wanting to prove them selves with what seems now better cars than last season, what make you think they will let him pass easily! Bottas was playing the bitch because of the team and proving to all fans that he actually is not friends with the ham. Bot the 2 faceed tot!!
When a driver wins a few world championships year after year it gets a bit boring and predictable, variety is the spice of life, go for it Max......
F1 has always had an unfair advantage to one team through its history. And those teams have always had one driver better than the other. Look at Schumacher and his partners, maybe Eddie Irvine was his best. But he was told to stay behind him. Vettel with 4 straight championships in a row and his co driver was told what to do. We would all love equal cars with equal speed etc. And allowing just the skill of the driver to see who is best. But all this money and technology is used in hybrid cars these days because of that. Even Renault once dominated and they made half decent cars. As a Brit I want a Brit to win that's natural to be patriotic. In all fairness I would love to see Russel and Norris at Mercedes in the future. Verstappen I have always liked even though he changed nationality reminds me of the Republic of Ireland football team in the early 90s believe only a couple were real Irish men the rest just claimed it to get playing. In the end the best cars will win regardless of who drives.
I believe Max will be crpwned befote the last race as F1 champion
I can't say who will win. Max hasn't hit his peak yet, his has still got to work more on his patience, which cost him win in round 1 and lead to his crash in Monza, but there has been definite improvements this year. And at his peak, he could be better than Hamilton ever was.
For years watching one driver benefiting from the fastest car and with a weak driver in the other side of the garage is enough. Lets race and watch drivers on merit, like Max, Russell, Leclerc, Sainz and others. People stopped watching F1 because of this!
Forgot about the regulations changes this year mate, how convenient.
Of course BOT was told to stay out of the title fight. BOT supported HAM more than enough the last years. Enough is enough, HAM is on his own now.
I doubt they hang on your opinion. Are you a grudge bearer then? Even you're not the victim? You hold grudges on behalf of others?
A level playing field would be a good thing but F1 has never been that.
Not at all, I just like to see who is the strongest. For that you must have a level playing field, not like Silverstone or Hungary.
Agree if Max continues putting in the performances and Redbull says on par with Mercedes, the title is his. On the other hand if Lewis ,uses his experience and Mercedes mange to make the car more competitive around corners, its gonna be Lewis⁸ Its a season we have been waiting for, why has it taken 8 years for teams to catch Mercedes.
Maybe because to catch up they needed to spend big, because the cost of the current hybrid is ridiculous
I don't think Ferrari and Honda/RBR are short of money, but Honda has done a great job
I dont think money is a problem.but your statement of current hybrid is ridiculous and complex its right.even money cant guarantee engine performances since its complex..you need good amount of "time" to make things work and extract performance wrt engines when you are behind. until 2018 ferr where the only team who closed gap to merc with engines.may be almost on par.Also may be first half of 2019.since 2nd half after all those engine rulings and then covid made their life worse with engines.meanwhile honda continued upward curve and now here we are in 2021 with honda engines almost there with merc. I have always said this wrt chassis/aero rules if u r behind its bit easier to close by a year or 2 but then with engines its not easy neither can money guarantee it.
This is the nicest comment a LH fan has posted this year. Totally realistic with your analysis. I can reapect that and gaind som respect for the lettuce.
Lewis is already using his experience and along with Wolff, they've tried to fluster Max on many occasions with mind games. He's simply unflappable. Something which even the staunchest Lewis fan couldn't claim he is... Hamilton has never handled pressure very well. Max should be well ahead in the title race were it not for sheer bad luck. I agree about the amount of time it's taken teams to catch up. The sport has been terrible for so long but this season has been fabulous. What everyone wants to see.
Tried to fluster Max? Wtaf are you talking about... at least be truthful to yourself. Whiny Hornby and his love puppets Crashtappen and Helmit have gone on and on like little kids the whole season! Yes there are mind games from both sides, but how you can say it's down to the Merc team is simply ridiculous. No, I don't like MV as he thinks he's above anybody else on the grid. If the rules weren't changed in favour of redBull , they wouldn't be anywhere near the championship- fact.
What rule are you talking about? Are you saying the rule that the Merc engine made that big a diffrence and the fact they are not allowed to change to settings makes Lewis not win anymore? ... Do i understand right... Lewis is not the best driver... he merely had the best car??? I can agree with you!
I think Max is going to be world champion. Gerhard Berger would put his money on Max....Me too!!!
I think your mom has been putting something in your soup ??
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