[motorworks]

An epic race! One of the best i have seen in the recent years! Not just because of the conditions but also because it really separated the men from the boys!

First up, the 7 time world champion, Hamilton, truly deserves his accolades! He made very less mistakes in these trying conditions,kept his head down and waited for the right window for his tyres to perform and then he just showed rest of the field how its done, by opening up a phenomenal gap to Perez in no time. Im no Hamilton fan, and have been getting a bit frustrated with Mercedes winning non-stop all these years, but you have to give credit where its due. No doubt the Mercedes is leagues ahead of all others, but Hamilton as a driver is right up there.

Next up, the racing point drivers, both Stroll and Perez did a great job in the first half. Once they opened up a bit of a gap, they had the luxury of not following another car in the rain, so I would say conditions favoured them very well at the start. However, it was sad to see Stroll struggle post his pit stop, and he steadily lost positions against other drivers. Perez on the other hand, drove a very mature race and surely deserves his 2nd place.

The Ferraris did very well, Seb had a brilliant start, and even though he was well off the pace of the Racing point drivers, he just looked like a man on a mission, and that was just not to put a foot wrong! So glad he finished on the podium today, he has had a very tough year and a performance like this can lift him up and also boost his confidence for the rest of the races as well as for his next stint with Aston Martin. Leclerc continued to be the quicker Ferrari driver, it was just his luck that he did not gain places at the start and hence he had a lot to make up for. I think he actually covered the most ground in the race, at one time he was some 20 seconds behind Perez, Albon, Verstappen and Vettel and somehow managed to close the gap with some super laps. Very happy with Leclerc, he showed a lot of maturity in his driving skills for his experience, Ferrari have surely got a winner on their hands.

Redbull must be really shocked of all teams, they had a real chance of a win here. The atmosphere, conditions were all so conducive to them as a team, and especially for Max who just loves these conditions. I think Max was too eager, and a bit impatient since he seemed to think that the win was on the cards and he didnt want to just wait for the situation to change, so he was aggressive, thats alright, but it didnt pay off. Albon, surely this was that one race to prove to the team that they must give him that vacant seat at RBR next year, and he did not make a case for himself at all. RBR should get Perez or Hulkenberg for that 2nd seat and let Albon gain some more experience at Alpha tauri.

Of the other drivers, Sainz continues to impress and also remind RBR that he should have been in the senior RBR team. I think he will play the perfect fellow driver to Leclerc next year. Leclerc has got a bit of raw speed, while Sainz seems more composed and consistent.

Lastly, Bottas, all said and done, he does not deserve that Mercedes seat. Forget about beating Hamilton, he is not even remotely competitive. But thats ok for Mercedes I guess. They dont want the situation they had with Rosberg and Hamilton, and they have been bagging both championships so easily, so why rock the boat?

[myavu]

I followed Michael since 1998 and witnessed his 5 Championships. Was on tears when his engine blown at 2006 Japanese GP which cost him his 8th Championship. In 2007 I was supporting Kimi and clapped a lot when Lewis beached his car in China. 2008 I was supporting Massa and between his championship celebrations from nowhere Lewis clinched it. Another disappointment. It was actually since 2009 I started liking Lewis bit by bit and came 2010 the biggest news that my all-time favourite Michael is coming back to the newly launched Mercedes works team. That was full of joy. Like for Lewis had gone into a dormant stage and was expecting some fireworks from Michael. By 2011 mid-season the fact that Michael is no more where he was in 2006 started sinking in. But those years Lewis was performing consistently and I was getting more interest on him race after race. Then came 2013 and he started driving for Merc and immediately the glimpses were there. Rest is history. What a champion? A Champion driver who do what he exactly needed to get in there. Noting more, nothing less. Really happy and great respect for him.

[tazmaan]

A deserving drive by Hamilton to match the great Schumacher. He proved time and again why he is right up there. He qualified poorly, the Mercs were off beat for a change and he could not even overtake Vettle on track. But he displayed his talent along with maturity to win the race which seemed like a far fetched possibility.

Max went aggressive and he is super in wet conditions. He made a mistake and he will learn from it. On track today he was one of the most aggressive driver and that is what I expect from him. As a young gun Le Clark tried the same and lost a place but it proved he is not content and a racer at heart. Every one makes a mistake but what defines them is what they were trying to do and what they want to achieve.

Bottas had a poor drive more was expected from him.

The race was entertaining for a change and there was lots of mid field action too.

[AJ18]

Best race of the season IMO. We saw multiple race leaders, spins and some great racing overall. Seeing vettel on the podium again was absolutely fantastic, and the way he held the top 5 was commendable. Hamilton haters really need to watch that race again, and see the brilliant race he had, probably one of his best drives ever.

[The Riddler]

What a wonderful race! Absolutely loved watching it.

I'm no Hamilton fan, but he's just proved why he is considered as one of the all time greats now. Phenomenal drive and knows just when to go for the kill. He makes the least mistakes out of all the 20 drivers on the grid.

Feel gutted for Leclerc. He's without a doubt quicker of the 2 Ferrari drivers.

[AutoConsultant]

Yesterday was all about staying calm, respecting the conditions and avoiding pushing the car too much. Pure class from the 3 podium holders. Perez and Vettel needed that podium much more than Leclerc.

I have really enjoyed watching Hamilton this year. He has found his voice and is using his fame and stardom to raise awareness on important issues (which I feel is badly missing from Indian cricketing icons). He looks content, enjoys every bit of it, never forgets to thank his team, keeps appreciating other drivers and even did a shoey Hopefully one more title next year and then he can hang his boots.

Brilliant drive by Leclerc and Verstappen as well - they will learn from these mistakes and along with Russell should form the next generation of superstars for the sport.

Albon had yet another chance to show his skill and he was doing pretty well untill he spun off. I feel he is going to retain his seat based on Perez's interviews.

Although the Driver and Constructor Champions have been virtually decided since the early stages, the mid field battle has been incredible to follow with each driver having their own storyline.

[aswin93]

What a Race! Turkey showed what you need to have fun races, reduce the aero grip. Hopefully 2022 regulation changes could help us here.

What a drive by Lewis. This was a weekend when Merc was maybe the 3rd/4th fastest car, and he delivered. What a way to win the 7th World Title.

Awesome drive by Seb and Charles. Ferrari coming alive in these conditions. I just love how Charles went ballistic on himself on team radio post-race with that tiny mistake locking up costing him the podium, a future world champ in the making for sure.

Fell bad for Stroll though, he had everything under control for the first 30 laps but Strategy call costing him a potential podium. TBH I initially thought the call was right as Charles was doing purple sectors on new inters.
A fantastic drive from Checo and it is just sad to see that this guy might not even be in F1 next year.

I feel the Redbull had the quickest car overall, Max was just too impatient when he was stuck behind Checo and Alex pushed a bit too far in his second stint and spun when the inters started giving up. Tough day for the bulls.

Cheers!
Aswin

[rohitoasis]

This Poem was played at the end of Post Race analysis yesterday. (With a different image montage). The beautiful voice of legendary actor John Hurt was overshadowed by the soundtrack in that version. So playing this cleaner version. Have to be honest, made me teary eyed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbcbLbTQmBs

[shibujp]

To state the obvious. Lewis drove a gritty race fitting to the ultimate goal of clinching the 7th world championship. The decision to stay out on the intermediates and run them to slicks was inspired and ultimately that which won him the race.

I am not so sure that any other car could have pulled off that strategy though. I think it is the power advantage that Mercedes has that allowed Lewis to pull it off. But he is an all time great no doubt about it. You may or may not be a fan of his but his achievements cannot be denied. And to top it off he is a global superstar as was mentioned in the post race commentary taking Formula 1 far beyond it's recognized boundaries.

It was crushing to see Stroll fall off after leading for so many races but it's early days in his career and leading a race to victory is a who different ball game to putting in the fastest time over a lap. I would put it down to experience. It's now just raw speed but also racecraft and guile that keeps you are the head of a pack in a race. Good on Perez though to keep that second place. Vettel nearly plucked that from under his nose.

Great drive by the Ferrari duo and finally some solace for Vettel after a torrid season. However I wonder how he would have fared if not for the delay in his second pit stop. He did lose a similar position last race too. I guess he will be telling Binotto not to come to races here on!

The Alfa Romeos flattered to deceive with both of them not amounting to much after getting into Q3 and into the top 10 grid spots. Another driver who surprised me was Bottas who looked so much more confident in the conditions than Lewis during qualifying yesterday. Much of his time was spent improving his skills to catch a spin.

Verstappen saving his car after going sideways trying to overtake Perez was epic. It's a same about his start though. I believe he has had more that one of that this season.

All in all an awesome race. I expected the regular 1,2,3 but boy how it turned and twisted to end up with a podium collectively having 11 world championships between Vettel and Hamilton.

Drive on,
Shibu

[myavu]

Hamilton to miss F1 Sakhir GP after testing positive for COVID-19



I was expecting this since he broke the bubble and mingled with the family post achieving 7th World Championship.

Get well soon champ

Cheers!