[fiat_tarun]

Watched the race till HAM made his second stop and then hit the sack considering the working Monday ! Glad Max held on and took the win.

Originally Posted by mnram

...

This race again proves how great HAM and MAX are. Both of them finishing like 40sec ahead of Perez and him being unable to keep up with them in a Red Bull shows how talented both of them are in extracting the max from their cars....

I think Checo drove an amazing race considering he didn't have any drinks all through the race. He kept up for about 15 - 20 laps and then started dropping back. I can't even imagine the physical toll on the body in that heat and no fluids.

[madhav]

I found Mercedes's strategy quite lopsided...One thing that is very obvious with this year's cars is that they are unable to follow or overtake in dirty air unless the car ahead is a middle or lower-order car. So if Mercedes was going to keep Hamilton out for 6 laps and then expect him to catch up to Max with only 3 laps to fight and overtake, then there is something terribly wrong with the strategy. Ok, granted the team has more data on hand to make these calls, but I felt the variables were quite obvious. This gamble would've worked if Hamilton was able to knock off at least a second/lap off Max with the new tyres and have enough laps to attempt the over-take as well.

Overall I was disappointed as my favorite team, McLaren, couldn't do much. I was hoping Norris to fly, but he just had his own race other than the first lap which looked like an awesome overtake.

[Porcupine]

Originally Posted by madhav

I found Mercedes's strategy quite lopsided...One thing that is very obvious with this year's cars is that they are unable to follow or overtake in dirty air unless the car ahead is a middle or lower-order car. So if Mercedes was going to keep Hamilton out for 6 laps and then expect him to catch up to Max with only 3 laps to fight and overtake, then there is something terribly wrong with the strategy. Ok, granted the team has more data on hand to make these calls, but I felt the variables were quite obvious. This gamble would've worked if Hamilton was able to knock off at least a second/lap off Max with the new tyres and have enough laps to attempt the over-take as well.

It was pretty much their only chance. Max was faster than Hamilton even when Hamilton was leading the race in the initial period. Mercedes' only chance was to try catching Max on fresher tyres - and they came very close to making that happen even though it seemed near impossible. If there were a few more laps, they'd have pulled it off.

[iamahunter]

Originally Posted by mnram

What a lovely race! Was a nail biting one especially after HAM's 2nd pit stop.

... Both of them finishing like 40sec ahead of Perez and him being unable to keep up with them in a Red Bull shows..

Shows how dehydration can hit you in a race. Perez was pretty much with the pace and did fantastic job even with the 3rd place without any fluids for the entire race.

I believe, if he had the drinks, he would have been up with the duo. It would have been a totally different ball-game together.

Originally Posted by madhav

I found Mercedes's strategy quite lopsided...So if Mercedes was going to keep Hamilton out for 6 laps and then expect him to catch up to Max with only 3 laps to fight and overtake, then there is something terribly wrong with the strategy.

The call was taken by Hamilton and team let him go with his instincts this time. So you can't really blame the team for this.

Catching up and overtaking a competitor are two very different challenges. Example - Bottas was facing issues passing Yuki, took a couple of laps for him to make that clean pass. As seen from the races this season, "Sir" prefers to push away the competitor.

Yes this was the race for the last 3-5 laps and Max absolutely nailed it. Especially with out any help from his team mate, he held on to the position and did not give in to the Mercedes.
Max faced a lot of issues with back-markers in the last 7-10 laps and even on the last lap with the Haas. Did not hear him complain later, like the 7 time world champion did a couple of races ago.

Also, has anyone noticed the strange working of the Mercedes rear suspension?
The car seems to get a lot more lower at above certain speed providing less resistance and higher top speed. Similar is the case with Ferrari and Alpine. Watch it here.

[Chetan_Rao]

The delay passing the Haas actually benefited Max on the last lap as it gave him DRS for a couple crucial sectors. One could argue he wouldn't need DRS if let through earlier, but back-markers are always tricky, esp. on tracks with tight infield sections.

[reignofchaos]

Saw the repeat of the race in the morning without checking results and it was awesome edge of the seat entertainment. Redbull's strategy and Max's driving were absolutely on point.

Superb race after a few boring ones.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

The delay passing the Haas actually benefited Max on the last lap as it gave him DRS for a couple crucial sectors. One could argue he wouldn't need DRS if let through earlier, but back-markers are always tricky, esp. on tracks with tight infield sections.

Remember 2012 US GP, Vettel lost crucial time getting past Narain, and Lewis overtook him on the straights. Lewis chopped in front of Vettel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfwMsXdgE10

[NKB]

What a race. Thriller till the end.

Max and Hamilton starting from the front was itself going to be exciting given how they have gone about when it comes wheel to wheel racing between them.

I guess Hamilton had a great start going into turn one and taking away the lead. Max didn’t had a start that he needed to cover Hamilton and all the more given this track is very wide. But what was crucial was after conceding the lead, Max did not loose cool and really applied himself well and this is why Hamilton could not run away with the lead. Generally once Hamilton takes the lead he just runs away.

I think race strategy wise Red Bull was ahead. An aggressive strategy well executed. Red Bull took early 1st pit stop for Max and undercut Hamilton to take back the lead. But I felt the 2nd pit stop, may be, was a little bit early for Max. He could have stayed out for another few laps. Don’t think Hamilton would have boxed since he didn’t had that comfortable gap between him and Perez.

Best part was last 5-6 laps, where Hamilton eat into Max’s lead. But I must say a brilliant drive by Max who prevailed over Hamilton who had 8 laps younger tyres. You could see the difference in the tyres of respective cars when they were parked post race.

Also there were other interesting fights going on in the midfield. But then entire focus was on the championship front runners.

Driver’s championship is so tight this year and from that perspective this race was and the rest of 5 races to come, all are going to be exciting.

It is getting better every race and now all eyes on Mexico.

[Mik]

While Max and Hamilton are trading blows in the main event, the bickering in the middle order between the Mc Larens and Ferraris has been really entertaining this year. Four drivers of more or less similar ability scratching out every drop of performance and occasionally punching above their weight.
We are all set for a grandstand finish up and down the order.

[sravankrishnan]

One of the highlights was that hilarious radio exchange between Masi and Alan Permane Talk about commitment to one's job even though it was fairly clear how both situations were completely different, just loved it

[das.sui]

This season is turning out to be special. Probably the first one after 2016 which has got me hooked.
The VER vs HAM battle which kind of reminds of Schumacher vs Alonso in 2006 two of the best of two different generations.

McLaren and Ferrari have been at it. The dynamics between Ricciardo, Sainz and Norris is intriguing. The mini battles between those Norris and Leclerc both emerging out of their young driver programs respectively. Netflix would be laughing their way to bank for Drive To Survive for this season

[shibujp]

Humdinger! That is the way I would describe this race. What an engrossing, energy sapping, grinding race with two of the best racers of this generation driving each other to their respective limits and more.

When it mattered Red Bull pulled out a super aggressive strategy for Verstappen. However it was Perez's stop that forced Mercedes hand. They had no option but to react or potentially end up with both Red Bulls undercutting them. This clearly illustrates the need and value of "wingman" Bottas and his crucial role in Mercedes' championships.

And the tyre management by Verstappen after the second stop was just spot on. He let Hamilton close up till two second then pulled out just enough gap in the succeeding laps to keep Hamilton just out of DRS range. This pattern in the last few laps was crucial. He is really maturing as a well rounded driver. Keeping just in touch with Hamilton at the start but ensuring enough life in his tyres was also another thing that he did well. That ensured an effective undercut. After the first stop too, his simply ate just enough into the gap between himself and Hamilton to ensure an effective second stop rather than got all out to close the gap to its maximum. The contest reminding me of two well matched boxers simply slugging easy other testing each other on endurance rather than brute strength.

The Austin bug seemed to have caught everyone with drivers all over the grid stepping up their game a notch. We even got a cameo from the oldest drivers on the grid with Alonso and Raikkonen going against each other. Tsunoda acquitted himself very well and is quickly gaining a reputation for mounting defenses.

The battle between the Ferraris and the McLaren spiced up the initial laps too. Excellent wheel to wheel racing by Sainz and Riccardo. Riccardo seems to have finally got a hang of the McLaren and is really driving it well now. Even Vettel pulled off a great overtaking move on the outside of Russell. That went for a couple of corners too.

I hope neither RB nor Mercedes suffer a DNF which would ruin the contest.

Drive on,
Shibu

[narayans80]

Awesome race. Redbull nailed this because of strategy. Had RB not pulled the trigger first on 1st stop. And this being a 2 stop race. It was better to play strategy than let Max fight it on track. Am guessing Max was on tyre preservation mode passing back markers, to defend on the final laps.

Another battle worth watching is the McLaren-Ferrari for 3-4 in constructors.

Originally Posted by Porcupine

If there were a few more laps, they'd have pulled it off.

Catching is one thing, passing is another The fact that Hamilton made a late call, played right into RB's hands.

[Hatari]

An exciting race with the tempo building up right till the end!

As soon as Max was able to follow Lewis so closely in the first stint, it had all the ingredients to be a nail biter.
Red Bull used Perez well to get Lewis 1st stop only 2 laps after Max's. This was key to restrict the advantage towards the end of the race.

Initially felt that Red Bull pulled the trigger a few laps too early for the 2nd stint. He had a 3 second advantage which was manageable to stop a lap after Lewis if it came down to it.

But once done, Max managed the initial laps well.. no purple laps, just nursing in the tires to go long.

Another good race from Leclerc, the Ferrari vs McLaren battle continuing nicely.

Shame about the Alpines. They are using last year's PUs in the hope of pushing all development to the new PU's next year, hope it pays off.