12-12-2021, 10:50 AM
First, before anything else, how about that effort by Perez to slow up Hamilton so teammate Verstappen could catch up. Who knows if it ended up meaning anything, but that was damn impressive.
If there was no re-start and a close race, people would be griping about Hamilton not having to give the position back on the lap 1 incident. As it was, with an 11 sec. lead before the safety car, it was obvious Hamilton's car was faster. That leads me to the re-start controversy.
In sports, and in particular on this board, one of the greatest areas of debate is playing it safe when you have a lead, or continuing to be aggressive even when in the lead. Regardless of anything else, Mercedes had a choice to hold track position or be willing to give it up to ensure having the faster car in a re-started race. They chose track position. You can't have it both ways. It just so happens, they choose the wrong own. It happens all the time in racing. That's just part of it and one reason it is so compelling. How many times do we see guys gambling with tire choice in wet conditions? Norris lost a race he would have won this year by being aggressive staying on slicks, only to slide all over the place and be forced on to intermediates after losing the lead.
I'm convinced that if Hamilton came in for soft tires when Verstappen did, even if Verstappen had taken the lead as a result, that Hamilton would have been able to pass him in a similar manner Max passed Lewis. But I think Mercedes screwed up by not coming in for new tires when the virtual safety car was turned on.
As for the regulations and decision to only allow 5 cars to un-lap themselves, I don't know. The last thing you want is for races to end under caution conditions. I believe - but am not certain - NASCAR red flags races when there are incidents in final laps. I believe the best course of action would have been to red flag the race and have another standing re-start. That would have given all cars opportunity for new tires, evened the playing field, and left as many laps of racing possible. Now, those re-starts at ends of races can create even more incidents, but I think you need to try to keep the competition decided on the track as much as possible.
If there was no re-start and a close race, people would be griping about Hamilton not having to give the position back on the lap 1 incident. As it was, with an 11 sec. lead before the safety car, it was obvious Hamilton's car was faster. That leads me to the re-start controversy.
In sports, and in particular on this board, one of the greatest areas of debate is playing it safe when you have a lead, or continuing to be aggressive even when in the lead. Regardless of anything else, Mercedes had a choice to hold track position or be willing to give it up to ensure having the faster car in a re-started race. They chose track position. You can't have it both ways. It just so happens, they choose the wrong own. It happens all the time in racing. That's just part of it and one reason it is so compelling. How many times do we see guys gambling with tire choice in wet conditions? Norris lost a race he would have won this year by being aggressive staying on slicks, only to slide all over the place and be forced on to intermediates after losing the lead.
I'm convinced that if Hamilton came in for soft tires when Verstappen did, even if Verstappen had taken the lead as a result, that Hamilton would have been able to pass him in a similar manner Max passed Lewis. But I think Mercedes screwed up by not coming in for new tires when the virtual safety car was turned on.
As for the regulations and decision to only allow 5 cars to un-lap themselves, I don't know. The last thing you want is for races to end under caution conditions. I believe - but am not certain - NASCAR red flags races when there are incidents in final laps. I believe the best course of action would have been to red flag the race and have another standing re-start. That would have given all cars opportunity for new tires, evened the playing field, and left as many laps of racing possible. Now, those re-starts at ends of races can create even more incidents, but I think you need to try to keep the competition decided on the track as much as possible.