^ Would sure like to know how the contracts are written, if you suck this is void, or you must at least stay in the top 5 every race?

Ya gotta wonder…

Good qualifying, yes I think strategy will be king there.

I don't agree with the McLaren strategy in this race . Congrats to the ........ ahem ....... winner .

Wow, just wow

Max shows he is a big spoiled baby, Lewis with his 200th podium, but what the hell was McLaren thinking?!

Both cars on the podium but your best chance of the championship is letting Lando win, no idea why they did that…

Good strategy race though

That was different.

You can tell the winner was not entirely pleased with the circumstances.

Max is still a baby, the second things don’t go his way watch for whining.

Incredible achievement from Lewis.

I read somewhere that the contract is written such that Perez must stay within x number of points as Max, for the contract to remain valid.

Lando Norris got robbed by his team. I am a fan of both Lando and Mclaren but it seems the brain trust at McLaren has not firing on all cylinders.
Lando has some responsibility for his misfortunes but todays team strategy was lame.
Lando would have run Oscar down, is chasing Max for the championship and nice guy shyt has got to stop.

Yep, whiny VER is back. He couldn't get by HAM after the first pit stop so he started blaming his team . His risky dive bomb move on HAM proves he is not a real champion. As for McLaren, they have got a bit of clown show to resolve. I am thinking they did not expect NOR to be that quick or PIA to be that slow after the first pit stops. Would be interesting to be in the team meeting,

Here is hoping McLaren has the long term strategy and speed to take it Red Bull.

I disagree with swapping the mclarens. Ok so you messed up the pit sequence and gave the undercut and the first place to the 2nd place guy. Fine.
If Oscar can get within DRS again you swap back and let them
Race… but to ask Norris to slow down ???
I mean assuming the pits had been fine and Piastri had come out ahead, Lando had pace to beat him during the last 30 laps and would have. So the mistake IMO worked out to Oscar’s advantage - I doubt he would have won without losing out and the team hamfistedly trying to switch them back.

Yea, I don't understand why Oscar was gifted a win. A win is a win, but to not earn the win is just weird for F1.

Andrea Stella screwed that up., he's a nut bar I think. Bet it wont happen again. IMO

Oscar got a great jump on the start and passed his pole winning team mate . As he built a lead I didn't hear the team ask him to give the lead back to Lando .

Lando and his side of the garage decided to undercut on the pit stop . That strategy worked and Lando was in the lead . NOW the team decides a swap is needed ???????

I think it was a BS call and I doubt Oscar is real proud of that win .

The McLaren team orders thing doesn't bother me.Piastri was ahead at whatever critical point predetermined by McLaren, so the team honored its preferential treatment to get him his first win. Whether it was the smart thing to do with regards to the driver's championship or not is another matter. But with this move, the team has cemented the concept of team commitment, and if McLaren chooses to favor Lando in the championship hunt in the 2nd half of the season, they can expect Oscar to play the team game in return.

If I was a ticked off Lando, I would have either waited until the last lap to let Oscar by, or I would have let him by earlier and then aimed for fastest lap to prove a point (figuratively and literally).

If Lando loses the championship to Max at the end of the year buy just a couple of points, the team will really know they shot themselves in the foot today.

True, but with the number of races left, if that's the way McLaren wants to go (making Norris be the #1 driver), there is a greater potential for additional points for Lando with the help of Oscar--whether that's swapping finishing positions like today, being a rear-gunner, trying alternative/sacrificial tire strategies, etc. Don't underestimate the value of having two obedient team drivers.

Team orders, pffft! Lando was increasing his gap to Oscar, so why have him slow down to gift the win to Oscar.

Those losses and bad calls this season are really getting to Max. No more VMax. Hello OG Max! lol

A question for the Pelican brain trust. Seems that Red Bull’s struggles started about the time Newey left. Did he have that sort of quali, race day influence that his absence is a source of their issues? And I guess Horner-gate has not helped

It's not quite that black and white. Newey isn't the only guy in the aero/design team; there are accumulating factors, such as reduced cost cap for winning last year, less cfd and tunnel time for winning last year, loss of staff to other teams, AND gains made by other teams because they have more cfd/tunnel time, some old red bull staff, and there are smart people in other teams who can figure stuff out. The fact is that by this time in the frozen regulation cycle things tighten up, just like 2021.

I don't think so re:Newey, too soon... Even this year he was only giving directions, Pierre Vaché (sP?) drew most of that car, and actually some say there were disagreements that led to Newey pulling back and deciding to walk away.

If you look at it, the gap between redbull and Ferrari (and behind them) is about the same. Except Mac Laren jumped forward in a crazy way and Mercedes finally seems to have a handle on their car and are still a bit ON/Off but closer.. MacLaren is the big question mark for me, how on earth do you go from this ****e to this good in one season when Mercedes was stuck for 3 years... Hmm...

I was listening to an interesting podcast where the guys were analyzing the car pace based on both drivers and sectors etc... and saying the Red bull was the 3rd or 4th fastest car now, and so far Max's brilliant driving had masked this very well but Checo was at the car's true level. I'm starting to believe it, and it's nice to see Max lose patience.. Also I'd like to see his race engineer tell him to F-off on live radio sometimes ("childish" was too nice)...

The Alpine Mercedes deal is done for 2026.. What a hit on the Viry powerplant that has 12 world championships in the past (92-97, 05-13)) but clearly did not adapt well to the hybrid era..According to the team boss their engine was down 30 hp on the Mercedes/Ferrari/Honda. Could be announced as early as this week end's Belgian GP.
It's weird as Alpine road cars of the past were separate chassis and a renualt engine, now it'll be the exact opposite in F1. (I drove an A110 last week and I want one badly - too bad they aren't imported in the US)

Funny:

https://youtube.com/shorts/UKfUX65akwU?si=Ou5nA1mN0SKgI1CX