2023 Canadian Grand Prix - Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve - June 16 - 18

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Nobody is catching Max/RB. It’s funny how in the blink of an eye, he can pull away from anyone. Without breaking a sweat he pulls away from anyone’s DRS, and when they tell him ALO and HAM are pushing, he tacks another 2 seconds of distance between them.

Don’t be fooled, that RB in Max’s hands is not running at full potential.

The radio call during this point to Max was very telling: "the others behind you are pushing much more than you are", all while Max at worst was maintaining the gap to Alonso, if not slightly extending it.

That RB/Max connection has loads more pace. Then there's Checo who was lapping at nearly half a second a lap slower than Max, all while Max is managing his pace up front. At this point worrying about Perez's confidence level is a futile effort, he's lost it completely. His only saving grace right now is the substantial lead RB has in the Constructors Championship.

It would be difficult for RB to find a driver whose confidence would not be destroyed by driving alongside Max. They tried bringing up young talents and allowing them to learn alongside him. They've tried experienced veteran like Perez. What next

[AR3-GP]

Nobody is catching Max/RB. It’s funny how in the blink of an eye, he can pull away from anyone. Without breaking a sweat he pulls away from anyone’s DRS, and when they tell him ALO and HAM are pushing, he tacks another 2 seconds of distance between them.

Don’t be fooled, that RB in Max’s hands is not running at full potential.

The radio call during this point to Max was very telling: "the others behind you are pushing much more than you are", all while Max at worst was maintaining the gap to Alonso, if not slightly extending it.

That RB/Max connection has loads more pace. Then there's Checo who was lapping at nearly half a second a lap slower than Max, all while Max is managing his pace up front. At this point worrying about Perez's confidence level is a futile effort, he's lost it completely. His only saving grace right now is the substantial lead RB has in the Constructors Championship.

It would be difficult for RB to find a driver whose confidence would not be destroyed by driving alongside Max. They tried bringing up young talents and allowing them to learn alongside him. They've tried experienced veteran like Perez. What next

Perez isn't "struggling" though. He's driving like he always has...Decent at some street circuits, and on an extended walkabout for the rest of the season. That's the problem.

[Zynerji]

Nobody is catching Max/RB. It’s funny how in the blink of an eye, he can pull away from anyone. Without breaking a sweat he pulls away from anyone’s DRS, and when they tell him ALO and HAM are pushing, he tacks another 2 seconds of distance between them.

Don’t be fooled, that RB in Max’s hands is not running at full potential.

The radio call during this point to Max was very telling: "the others behind you are pushing much more than you are", all while Max at worst was maintaining the gap to Alonso, if not slightly extending it.

That RB/Max connection has loads more pace. Then there's Checo who was lapping at nearly half a second a lap slower than Max, all while Max is managing his pace up front. At this point worrying about Perez's confidence level is a futile effort, he's lost it completely. His only saving grace right now is the substantial lead RB has in the Constructors Championship.

It would be difficult for RB to find a driver whose confidence would not be destroyed by driving alongside Max. They tried bringing up young talents and allowing them to learn alongside him. They've tried experienced veteran like Perez. What next

I often wonder how different the RBR lineup would be today if they chose Hartley over Gasley...

[cheeRS]

Nobody is catching Max/RB. It’s funny how in the blink of an eye, he can pull away from anyone. Without breaking a sweat he pulls away from anyone’s DRS, and when they tell him ALO and HAM are pushing, he tacks another 2 seconds of distance between them.

Don’t be fooled, that RB in Max’s hands is not running at full potential.

Its a VERY clever tactic. Use the pace to get the gap the the car behind (effectively minimising 95% of the risk) then just manage the gap and tyres by lapping 2-3 tenths quicker. Keeps plenty back for if there does become a threat from behind if others pick up the pace.

Vettel effectively created that strategy during 2010-13 when DRS was new. This years RB being much more dominant, the strategy is almost unbeatable save for a reliability issue.

[Hammerfist]

I just don't buy this idea that Max is running at half speed or whatever. At the end of the day, you look at his gap to Perez, it is huge. Should we really think Perez is that bad that he could be so far off Max even when he's not pushing? No way imo. Secondly, noone drives 100 percent flat out in modern F1. Alonso definitely was not driving flat out in the last stint. Hamilton tried in his last stint but he ran out of tires, and he was managing heavily in the last few laps. What I see is that the others are catcing up to Redbull. In two months time let's see where we are, but I doubt they're going to outpeform eveyone at every race in that timeframe.

[KimiRai]

Vettel effectively created that strategy during 2010-13 when DRS was new. This years RB being much more dominant, the strategy is almost unbeatable save for a reliability issue.

Vettel's RedBulls in 2011 and the second part of 2013 were arguably just as dominant.

I just don't buy this idea that Max is running at half speed or whatever. At the end of the day, you look at his gap to Perez, it is huge. Should we really think Perez is that bad that he could be so far off Max even when he's not pushing? No way imo. Secondly, noone drives 100 percent flat out in modern F1. Alonso definitely was not driving flat out in the last stint. Hamilton tried in his last stint but he ran out of tires, and he was managing heavily in the last few laps. What I see is that the others are catcing up to Redbull. In two months time let's see where we are, but I doubt they're going to outpeform eveyone at every race in that timeframe.

Alonso said it was 70 qualy laps for him so apart from the few tenths of lift and coast he was likely pushing to maximum. Max likely had more time under his belt but also it's likely RB is not as far away as before, both aren't contradictory.

[TNTHead]

Nobody is catching Max/RB. It’s funny how in the blink of an eye, he can pull away from anyone. Without breaking a sweat he pulls away from anyone’s DRS, and when they tell him ALO and HAM are pushing, he tacks another 2 seconds of distance between them.

Don’t be fooled, that RB in Max’s hands is not running at full potential.

The radio call during this point to Max was very telling: "the others behind you are pushing much more than you are", all while Max at worst was maintaining the gap to Alonso, if not slightly extending it.

That RB/Max connection has loads more pace. Then there's Checo who was lapping at nearly half a second a lap slower than Max, all while Max is managing his pace up front. At this point worrying about Perez's confidence level is a futile effort, he's lost it completely. His only saving grace right now is the substantial lead RB has in the Constructors Championship.

It would be difficult for RB to find a driver whose confidence would not be destroyed by driving alongside Max. They tried bringing up young talents and allowing them to learn alongside him. They've tried experienced veteran like Perez. What next

Bring in Alonso or Hamilton

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in my opinion, Palou is the only one who could make sense. And he isn't available for another while.

[basti313]

It would be difficult for RB to find a driver whose confidence would not be destroyed by driving alongside Max. They tried bringing up young talents and allowing them to learn alongside him. They've tried experienced veteran like Perez. What next

Well, I think the assumption is just wrong that the confidence of Checo was destroyed by Max. Checo destroyed himself by crashing the car in Q1 twice. There was no pressure, there was no Max, just bringing the fastest car into the Top15. Before that he had a bit too much confidence by being talked into WDC contending...

in my opinion, Palou is the only one who could make sense. And he isn't available for another while.

No IndyCar driver is anywhere near F1. These guys are contending (and often struggling) with Ericsson, Grosjean and Ilott, all found not to be suitable for F1/F2 anymore.
Palou is good, but even though he is now starting to dominate IndyCar, this is not dominant enough to go into F1. It is hard enough for the F2 guys who know the tires.

[search]

No IndyCar driver is anywhere near F1. These guys are contending (and often struggling) with Ericsson, Grosjean and Ilott, all found not to be suitable for F1/F2 anymore.
Palou is good, but even though he is now starting to dominate IndyCar, this is not dominant enough to go into F1. It is hard enough for the F2 guys who know the tires.

that's exactly why he would make sense, I think. Expectations would be fairly low, and he'd be happy for the opportunity.

There's no one available who can challenge Verstappen anyway, and he scores enough points to secure the constructor's championship even without a team mate.

[Sieper]

I just don't buy this idea that Max is running at half speed or whatever. At the end of the day, you look at his gap to Perez, it is huge. Should we really think Perez is that bad that he could be so far off Max even when he's not pushing? No way imo. Secondly, noone drives 100 percent flat out in modern F1. Alonso definitely was not driving flat out in the last stint. Hamilton tried in his last stint but he ran out of tires, and he was managing heavily in the last few laps. What I see is that the others are catcing up to Redbull. In two months time let's see where we are, but I doubt they're going to outpeform eveyone at every race in that timeframe.

Me neither. I think that radio message that the others behind were fighting was a way of asking Max to accept the gap to come down and not speed up himself. Max always wants to go fast. But they didn’t have the tire temps so you are sliding, a small mistake is easily made and the walls are close here. So they hoped to keep Max going as save as possible as he is never really holding back by himself.

[Sieper]

By the way, that tank slapper by Russell, that the car was still OK, how?! It looked like a massive hit.

[slinger]

With all the tech today ,could they not have a sensor to detect the track boundary and automatically put the car into pit lane limp mode... Then have gravel beyond that...
Self governing - no stewards...

Imagine that on the exit of a high speed corner - say 200km/h. Suddenly the limiter kicks in at 80km/h. What's that going to do to the car and the driver's ability to control the car?

Ok,ok. I should never have said PIT LANE. What I meant was a limiter like in road cars. A slight reduction in power to discourage the use of a certain part of the track and if you then push further, go park in the kitty litter...

[Just_a_fan]

The radio call during this point to Max was very telling: "the others behind you are pushing much more than you are", all while Max at worst was maintaining the gap to Alonso, if not slightly extending it.

That RB/Max connection has loads more pace. Then there's Checo who was lapping at nearly half a second a lap slower than Max, all while Max is managing his pace up front. At this point worrying about Perez's confidence level is a futile effort, he's lost it completely. His only saving grace right now is the substantial lead RB has in the Constructors Championship.

It would be difficult for RB to find a driver whose confidence would not be destroyed by driving alongside Max. They tried bringing up young talents and allowing them to learn alongside him. They've tried experienced veteran like Perez. What next

Bring in Alonso or Hamilton

Cor, imagine the fun Horner would have managing that cat fight!

[Just_a_fan]

One thing the race on Sunday put to bed is the idea that the "old" drivers are past it. Fernando and Lewis were on a different level to everyone else behind them - wringing the car for all its worth. Even Russell binned it trying to keep up with those two.

Well done to the oldies!