[Emvi]

Hattrick hero Max Verstappen
Verstappen's championship lead is swelling big time! Still a long season ahead, too early to predict anything. Redbull certainly look strong at the moment.

[Turbohead]

With Perez stuck behind in the 'DRS train' it was pretty clear that Red Bulls perform only well in clean air. The minute Perez passed Danny around lap 60, he was gaining time very quickly- ended up having a 9.5 second lead at the end. And that explains Max's dominance out in the front.

Lando and Leclerc were crazy!

End of an era for Mercedes, unless they pull out some serious stuff.

[ninjatalli]

What an intriguing race - there were a myriad of strategies being used and then being thrown into disarray due to how the race was turning out. For example whatever strategies the Aston Martin team had by pitting their cars for the first pitstop much much earlier than the others certainly did not work well as they never really improved much to get into the points.

One really feels for Perez as he tried hard (and erred) but the fact of the matter is all 3 penalties (1 for Stroll, 2 for Perez) were a little too strict. Still a decent enough effort to gain back to 5th position (overall 6th with the penalty time addition). But one can just imagine how the race would have turned out if Perez wasn't pushed on to the gravel - we would have certainly seen more fight for 2nd and 3rd position.

Finally sense prevailed on both Mercedes and Ferrari management's side - they allowed their 'B' driver to overtake their 'A' driver and let them do their job. Although I don't think it was a sure shot decision for Mercedes and they delayed it for a while - the frustration in Bottas's post-race interview was quite visible.

A good race in the end - while the first position was more or less assured right from the first lap, there were several fights from 2nd position to even 15th position till the end of the race.

[Vid6639]

Interesting race. Lando was awesome and so was Russel. Russel fending Alonso was superb racing.

Although Lando got the penalty for pushing Perez, I think Perez was a bit ambitious. Lap 1 with no DRS, there was too much to risk to try that on Lando on outside of turn 4. He could have waited for DRS and breezed past to secure a Red Bull 1-2. He had the pace advantage as well. He ruined his race I feel.

Same for Leclerc. He drove well but so many unnecessary lunges and dives on Ricciardo. Sainz waited for the right time and made it stick with least risk. Leclerc fighting with Ricciardo caused Sainz to catch up and again he lost 2 positions cause of that.

Lewis and Mercedes are suddenly look like a number 2 team. They are barely able to put up a challenge.

[fz_rider]

Max is on a different level all together this year. He is reaping the benefits of all the understanding about car he gained last year and maximizing everything.
Track position on this track is so crucial, and Sainz was on the best strategy. Despite losing out position in opening lap, he gained position overall. Good strategy from Ferrari.
Sainz is very less talked about, but he's a very clever man. He performed very well with each team he has driven with. As soon as he moved away from the Red Bull, he flourished. He gels with the team very well. I am very impressed by him.
Norris, what a drive that was ! Even if he would've finished P5, that was a great drive, competing with the Mercedes all race.

[narayans80]

Norris on a McLaren passing Hamilton on a dry track was one of the highlights of this race. How often do we really see that?

Checo was totally out of sorts this race, he could have made it to the podium without all the drama. He should have been ahead of both the Mercs and very likely Norris too, looking at the pace the Redbulls had this weekend. Instead Sainz did a Perez on Perez.

[ajmat]

As things go forward, I see World Championship going between Max and Lewis over next two years. Perez, may be if he is allowed to, then, Norris and Russell will rule the roost thereafter.

[Swaraj65]

It's is Verstappen championship to lose from here. Clearly the RedBull team overall is superior to Mercedes right now. If RedBull can beat Mercedes in Silverstone I think it will be cakewalk for RedBull from there on.

Lando norris what a guy such a nice personality and talent to carry with it. Star performer of this race with Russell who deserved that point. It was also a good race for Bottas and riccardo.

Not many people will talk about it but Bottas had great two weeks in Austria barring that spin in the pitlane in the 1st Austrian gp.

Perez had one of his worst race in RedBull colours. It was surely a RedBull 1-2 had he taken his time but he will recover from it.

Overall a decent race but some of the penalties were not needed.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by ajmat

As things go forward, I see World Championship going between Max and Lewis over next two years. Perez, may be if he is allowed to, then, Norris and Russell will rule the roost thereafter.

Next year everything changes and I expect Ferrari to be competitive again. Add Leclerc & Sainz to this mix as well. Such brilliant drivers.

[SilentEngine]

So many penalties! Some of them deserved, some not! Yuki getting same penalty twice for repeating the same infringement was hilarious!

[clementw]

It was a fascinating race and except for the Orange fans I think most of the focus and the TV coverage was on what was happening behind the runaway leader Max. Credit to Max for running away with the race and having such a huge lead that still was considerable after a late stop.

The puzzling team directions of Mercedes that robbed Bottas of time before he was "allowed" to overtake a struggling Lewis almost put Bottas at risk with a storming Lando.

Brilliant racing and recovery by Lando despite the penalty. The future looks bright for him and the Mclaren team with Riccardio finding some form finally.

Perez after all the heart warming performances seemed to be over aggressive and spoilt his race a few times before pulling it back.

The big heartbreak was Russell who held off Alonso for some time before ceding his precious one point. Hope he scores soon.

The late accidents and Vettel's bad luck seem to be some communication issues with the crew. Hope they get resolved soon as the Green Mercs look promising and will spice up the crowded mid field.

All in all it was an interesting race.

[gtonsing]

Was prepping myself for a dull race but what a race it turned out to be! Max all the way, what a flawless performance! Congratulations!
Lando was just superb!
The penalties were mostly what I would call racing incidents. Most of them were (IMHO) downright silly and too strict!

Question:
What was the "black and white flag" towards the end for? What did it mean and what implications does it have on the driver and team?

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by gtonsing

Question:
What was the "black and white flag" towards the end for? What did it mean and what implications does it have on the driver and team?

The black & white flag is shown when the driver makes more than 2 of the same infringements. More like a warning, after which they start picking up penalties for IIRC.

[veedub89]

Originally Posted by gtonsing

Question:
What was the "black and white flag" towards the end for? What did it mean and what implications does it have on the driver and team?

It was for abusing the track limits. Multiple drivers were doing it to gain some time in quali and had their times/laps deleted for doing so. I think track limits were being enforced on the penultimate corner for this race.

In the race, the same infraction draws the black and white flag after 2 (or is it 3?) violations.

[venkyhere]

the way FIA were handing out time penalties yesterday, this is the way into the future :