[Official] Driver of the Grand Prix: Russian Grand Prix 2021

[chillibowl]

this may be a bit revisionist history and no doubt DC would probably tell the story a bit differently, but in the closing stages of the 97 and with the title fight squarely between Williams and Ferrari, Mclaren looked to set themselves up for a successful 1998 campaign by having DC yield his position in the last race of 97 thus helping Mika to go on to secure his first race win.

hindsight now, but how important was that first win? surely now one can say it was a crucial first the first step in Häkkinen winning the title the following year.

of course team orders are handled differently now days and Lando, did perhaps in the short term, throw away his first race win yesterday, but you really get the sense that they are building something special here.

so this isnt exactly a case of history repeating itself, but moreso could be an equally important moment for the young driver to learn from? perhaps even every bit as important as Mika's first win?

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by E.B

I feel the Merc insisting that Lewis stop was their realisation that bottom line was they were racing Max for the big picture rather than Lando for the win.....

Through this lens it would have been better for Hamilton had it not rained, he'd finished second and Verstappen stayed 6th or 7th. Delighted Hamilton may be with the 100th win, but in the title race it was arguably a better weekend for Verstappen.

[BTCC frog]

I'm surprised to see ten votes for Verstappen and zero for Leclerc. They started on the back row together, and Leclerc would have beaten Verstappen without the late rain shower, despite driving a Ferrari which was clearly not as quick as the Red Bull. He even passed teammate Sainz late on, when Carlos started on the front row. I voted Lando Norris, but Leclerc was a close second for me, and Alonso immediately behind him. Shout-out too to Russell, Raikkonen and Sainz.

[gert]

I don't get the high amount of votes for Verstappen.
Sure, he had a great result but compared to Hamilton?

After lap 28 the gap between them was 4 seconds
After lap 32 it was 11 seconds
After lap 36 -> 20 seconds
After lap 40 -> 34 seconds
After lap 44 -> 42 seconds
After lap 47 -> 49 seconds
After lap 50 -> 54 seconds
After lap 53 -> 53 seconds


Today, I voted Hamilton.

[gert]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

I'm surprised to see ten votes for Verstappen and zero for Leclerc. They started on the back row together, and Leclerc would have beaten Verstappen without the late rain shower, despite driving a Ferrari which was clearly not as quick as the Red Bull. He even passed teammate Sainz late on, when Carlos started on the front row.

Leclerc was right behind Verstappen (2 seconds) when Verstappen pitted for inters.
If only Leclerc would have followed him in...
He only stopped 3 laps later (together with Norris)

[GTRMagic]

Mr Hamilton... he ignored his team the first time round, then listened and stopped.
Had he done what Mr Norris did, he too would be nowhere in the results

[chunterer]

Alonso. Arguably outperformed the car and cheeky turn 1 excursion aside the progress he made during the wet part wss stunning. A 3rd place at least was his until he had to pit for tyres.

[Adam43]

That’s a left field choice. I like it.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Adam43

That’s a left field choice. I like it.

You're welcome.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by Adam43

That’s a left field choice. I like it.

Here's a leftfield choice you might disagree with: Kimi Räikkönen.

It was a good result we fought hard for. We could keep up with our rivals in the dry but passing them was not easy, especially in the DRS trains. In the end, we made the right call on the tyres: I thought it was getting too wet and we chose to box, which really helped us in the end. We did the best we could and we have some points to show for it.

By the sounds of it, he made the call to pit, or was at least instrumental. He was there to capitalise and put himself in a position to beat faster cars. Not bad pace prior to that either surrounded by a tough midfield. Plus, it may be the last chance I can vote for him. I see I'm not the only one, either.

[S griffin]

It was certainly a solid drive from Kimi, whose experience got him into the points