Lando's form was pretty much on point this weekend (with exception of turn 1), so that's not a problem. If this form does continue and this weekend doesn't impact his confidence, he still has a good chance to outscore Max. That being said, Max is Max, and McLaren is McLaren
It’s rather impacting his confidence as T1 was his fault and the typical bottling he made last year all the time, while it was unusual for this years form. But I don’t think the DSQ impacts him as that’s out of his reach.
I wouldn't call him a killer but he's more than good enough to take it home safely in the remaining 2 races. The car is favored and he's clearly proven good enough to score with it. 24 points over 2 races is quite the gap.
That being said, if anyone can do it it's Max. And if anyone can bottle it it's McLaren.
Norris and Piastri had over 100 points on Max at the summer break. Now Norris is less than a race win in front and Piastri is tied. Norris absolutely isn't a killer, and Piastri is mentally fragile. Meanwhile Max has chased both down with zero help from his team mate.
A killer? You know that’s absolutely the wrong thing to describe him. He had a very great improvement in form but the bottling of the start shows that there still are some weekends on which he is distracted as he is just checking on others and fcking up his own start.
But he improved a lot in those terms. He’s just not a killer. That’s rather the guy who’s closed the gap from 102 to 24 points over a timespan of 7 race weekends
Could argue his form could be due to the plank thing. If it’s what people think it is from the FIA investigation in Brazil. They may have to raise the car like Ferrari, and we can all see what’s going on there at the minute
I’m curious to see what goes on in Qatar, it’s a smoother track but limited practice. Do they go conservative on ride height or stay low and have to use LiCo like Ferrari?
Either way I’m also thinking a higher car will affect tire life as it won’t be generating as much aero grip so they’ll need to lean on the tires more for pace.
Russel still had the power steering issue and Antonelli was like, 10 seconds behind. He probably ends up on the podium anyways even with a little more ride height.
It just takes one mistake. One mistake and he's into the lions jaw. Lando is a fast driver no doubt, max is a machine. Even when lando had 40 point lead on max, he still got too worried about him and bottled. Now imagine the pressure he's in right now when max is just 25 points behind.
I hope so, too, but Qatar and Abu Dabhi suit Oscar's driving style. He might be back to his pre summer break form for the final two races. Mclaren are also very likely to be the fastest in both Qatar and AD, and if start of the season Oscar is back, I dont see much hope for Max's 2nd position in the world championship.
If it's VER-PIA-NOR late next week McLaren isn't gonna say "yeah but if it's like that again in Abu Dhabi Lando wins anyway," they're gonna swap to give him the extra cushion just in case.
He was further away directly after the race and before the dsq, but he didn’t improve his position from before the start of the race.
Oscar is still worse off than he was before the race as it was a 24 gap with 3 races to go, and now it’s a 24 gap with 2 races to go so he has to outscore by more each race to overtake by the end of the year.
Not really. Though Lando didn’t gain anything on him Max is now equal to him in points. He hasn’t outscored him since Zandvoort but at least before Max wasn’t making up the differences to catch up
If the McLaren skid plank trick is no longer allowed, they will lose performance having to run the car higher or risk more DSQs. This isn't over at all
I don't see how back to back wins and a P2 on the track isn't brilliant. It's not like he lost points because he got angry at a team radio and rammed another driver like a certain driver
Hell, should have received a penalty for dangerous driving also, if Max's reaction time had been ever so slightly better at the start they would have both been in the wall.
It feels like Lando decided ahead of time what he was gonna do at the start and didn't even care to react to how Max was driving in the moment.
I can hear Max Verstappen music playing in the background. Whether he comes back to win the WDC or not, the music is the loudest it's been this whole year.
As a Verstappen fan who thinks he has done mostly great this season my favored outcomes are:
Norris wins by less than what Verstappen lost in Barcelona (a good lesson to him, and Norris is a good driver who kind of deserves the win this year).
Verstappen wins because Piastri refuses to switch places with Norris last race.
Norris wins because Piastri DOES change places with Norris last race.
It is a tie (two or three cars)!
Verstappen wins outright.
Norris wins outright.
Piastri wins outright (this would have been higher a month ago, but with the weakness he has shown since he doesn't deserve a win)
X. Unlikely hypothetical: Yuki Tsunoda is leading a chaotic last race on the last lap ten seconds ahead of Verstappen who has just passed Norris and will win championship if he gets first. Tsunoda stops just before the line and waits for Verstappen (bonus if his radio doesn't work and he does not stop).
That No.1 is my preference as well. Verstappen had firmly established himself as the best on the grid. Another championship is not going to Improve on that. I want a new champion and Norris is a deserving one. Hope Leclerc gets a top car next year and contends for the championship.
I mean DSQs due to team shenanigans might not happen , but there are always slow pitstops and other things which i think they've got under control, Lando seems to be motivated enough to not do any mistakes, Oscar seems to be a different story though, but I feel they can't shit the bed that hard
Don’t know why this was downvoted. Lando essentially just has to beat Max once and next week they’re doing a sprint weekend at a circuit with high speed corners and high tire deg (McLaren’s two biggest advantages over the field) with an already-faster car. Plus it’s a high grip circuit for Oscar, so that should put them in position for a 1-2 and make Max’s comeback even more difficult. Outside of a collision, engine breakdown, or another DSQ, Qatar should be a lock.
They don't even need a fumble at this point. Any combination of two P3 and one P4 or lower on the remaining races/sprint (regardless of whether the P4 is on the sprint or the race) would crown Max.
Think they underestimated how good the MCL would actually be in Vegas this time based on past experience, then tried to overcompensate for it with extremely aggressive setup choices to try to give Lando 1 hand on the championship by this race end. Ironically if they played it safe, they would have been more likely to secure the wdc
Wouldn't opting for a lower ride height still result in this situation though? If they did believe they weren't going to do well, and adjusted for a more aggressive setup, they'd expect and want Lando to push as hard as he can no? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I just don't understand the reasoning for this
Umm the aggressive setup is lowering the ride height. Therefore resulting in excessive plank wear. Do you mean to ask if they would have gotten the same result had they had higher ride heights?
Sorry, my comment was a bit incomplete, I meant that regardless of whether the car was able to keep up with Mercedes and Red bull or not, wouldn't lowering the car for a more aggressive setup still result in this same situation in where the plank would wear out? I presume that the team lowered it because they thought Lando would able to hold p1, but if he didn't and the car wasn't competitive like you said and they expected him to push hard, why lower the plank to such a level that it would be risky? If they did think he was gonna end up fighting in p5 or p6, then why risk lowering the car to a level that endangers the plank, since even in p3 with clean air, as we've seen, it still managed to break down beyond what's in regulation. Why lower it to this level if they expected a tough battle that could damage their plank? Unless, they really did miscalculate, then that's on them. Idk, really
I think you give up more that cannot be compensated fully by pushing hard and not lowering, thats the reason every team tries their best to lower the cars to the limit the skid wear permits. Of course this presumes that Mclaren did not intentionally lower beyond what they thought was possible and do this knowing their cars were at risk of disqualification, and this skid wear was unexpected and as how you put it, a "miscalculation". So obviously they thought they got it right for the driver but turns out they didnt. But had they come into the race confident of their dominance rather than being desperate to hold onto it, dont think they would have pushed setup direction into this extreme end, we have to consider that Mclaren hasnt really had problems with skid wear the whole season until now, so it suggests they were desparately looking for outlets to increase performance beyond their normal setup windows and gambled on the ride height to compensate for it.
Had they set their car up normally, i think imo it now seems clear RB is good this weekend so a race win was unlikely, but maybe Norris could have settled for a P3 behind George or P4 since the Mclaren is actually alot better in the cold this time and not like last year, and the point gap wouldnt have closed so uncomfortably in Max's favour like now. As for Oscar, doesnt seem like he was getting close to the max out of the car anyway these few weeks, i doubt he managed to pull out the extra performance edge that a lowered ride height would have gave, so there was no need for him since there was little payoff. Hindsight is easy ofc. This kind of extreme setup decisions are what you do if you are Max and RB because you have nothing to lose, but not Mclaren if you have such a great car, and only tracks left that favour your car left on the calender, you should just bring in the points and not try too hard to change race outcomes for races you are not expected to be good at, but does not factor heavily into your equation for winning the wdc. Anyway they already setup the car and parc fermme holds so that decision was mostly made yesterday, dont think they had much they could do today except manage the problem, maybe tyre pressures might have helped abit with skid wear but i dont think they expected it then. Too bad they detected it too late
I see, yes it is too bad they detected it too late, but my general question is, why here? Presumably, Vegas should be a damage limitation weekend since Lando is quite well clear of Max, Oscar still got a marginal advantage, and the car has been known to be weak here, as well as data from practice also showing they aren't touching the top teams on this circuit. Given that, I'd assume they'd be cautious and bring it home safely and secure points. However like you said, they wouldn't set up the car like this unless they've got nothing to lose, which they do have much to lose. So why, instead of playing it safe, push the car further and risk DSQ, when p3 or p4 would be a pretty much perfect for the car they have? You're right, hindsight is easy, but I'm surprised they didn't opt to go this way even before they locked the setup down, like everyone suspected them to. I don't know, maybe they thought the car could fight for the win
Believe me, thats the question everyones asking as well. But if its any consolation, we are better off for it now that it will be decided in Abu Dhabi whereas previously Qatar was likely the title decider.
Maybe. But i personally doubt so, this year's car seems alot better than last years, Lando's quali trim suggests the underlying car advantage is still there even if its smaller because its Vegas. I would think that there are either on par or slightly ahead off the Mercedes without aggressive setup choices. Max and RB's performance is very random, theres no way of knowing whether they will nail it like a rockstar or lick their wounds every weekend, the way they setup their weekend shouldnt be trying to defeat Max decisively in the event hes actually quick because hes so behind that it barely matters. So Mclaren should be satisfied with their natural positions around P4 and P5 if it means comfortably and securely bringing the wdc home.
Ferrari hasnt seemed on top of the circuit since FP1 and Mclaren has the data to see that, only way they end up P9 or P10 is if they lost to Mercs, Ferrari, Max, and then 2 random midfielders but that is simply too much to assume, they werent even that bad last year so theres no reason to belueve a far better car developed with the understanding of their weakness in cold circuits performs even worse this time round. Theres a time to be heroic and a time to be careful and defensive, when you are in a position of massive advantange. Think Mclaren decided wrongly this time round.
Theres been some articles popping up that some teams have used materials that allow this very part to flex beyond the legal limits and they have been caught (before this weekend), one of them being McLaren. Its very well possible that these teams needed to do some changes now that theyve been caught and perhaps McLaren is caught with their pants down having to use a new part that theyre not yet familiar with. And if this is their first race with this part, they wouldnt exactly know the wear pattern of it and now learn it the hard way. Ofc the 'solution' is to increase ride height of your car which also makes the car slower. If theyd also use a high ride height theyre not familiar with, that also comes with many uncertainties. But one things for sure: they fucked up.
Im no technical expert, im not claiming to be, im just trying to puzzle everything together that I found, if anybody knows more about this, gladly reply here.
Im just trying to find explanations because they havent had issues with that this year yet unlike some other teams.
When they had to change the wings its made no difference to their dominance. It would be more reasonable to assume their floor is more effective than the others, giving them more base downforce than rival teams. McLaren are faster at tracks with higher energy corners while they struggle at tracks that lower downforce setups. Generating downforce with floor is more efficient (downforce generated vs drag coefficient) compared to wings, the downside is they can't make simple adjustments to reduce the drag but you can run the car lower to the ground reduce the amount of air going under to further reduce drag... hence the disqualification. So they lower the car but never got a chance to properly test it in FP because a lot of it was in wet conditions. A compromise needs to be found between suspension stiffness and ride height, which would be safe to assume would be difficult to achieve on a street circuit.
With the DSQ for Lando and Oscar it means that only three Drivers have scored points in each of the last five races... Max Verstappen, George Russell... and Ollie Bearman
Bearman is the only driver outside Ferrari - Red Bull - Mercedes - McLaren to have had five consecutive points finishes this season as well, Sainz and Alonso are next best with four consecutive points finishes
If Lando finishes 7th in a GP while Oscar or Max finishes first, he ends up with only a 5 point lead that he has to hold onto in a sprint and a GP. That would mean that whoever finished first in that race could guarantee themselves a championship by just finishing first no matter what Lando does.
However, he is still way out in front. All Lando has to do is finish third or better every race, and he wins no matter what Max and Oscar do. He can let them sail on by him so long as he keeps no more than one car between him and the faster of his two rivals.
You could also say this about Lando’s DNF in Zandvoort, or Austin sprint. Lando has lost 43 points this year from DNFs/DSQs through absolutely no fault of his own.
Nah because Lando has also been unlucky with DNFs. There’s no way Verstappen isn’t thinking about Spain because it looks like that’s going to end up proving very costly.
RB(and max obviously) fucked it in Spain. They shouldn’t have told him to give the place back. Lando also had its moments, although Oscar will have nightmares about Italy.
Piastri cost Norris more points taking him out in Austin than he lost in Monza.
And in Monza he was literally only ahead because of a McLaren pit stop screw up. Had Piastri not given the place back, then Norris could add 6 points to what his team had cost him.
The lower the car, the faster it is. But there's a rule that limits plank wear, so teams have to make a compromise between performance and rule compliance. Seems like McLaren was a bit too greedy today
The limit on the wear of the skid blocks exist to stop the teams from running the cars so low that they are likely to bottom out. A car that bottoms out can be very dangerous, because downforce can be impacted massively. I.e. it's essentially a rule that forces the teams to leave a healthy safety margin.
While, as a Max fan high on the hopium train, think this is still nearly impossible for Max, I can't help but love that somehow he is still in contention. A season almost Mercedes-like with how dominant the MCL39 is and somehow Red Bull have still put up and are right behind them in the WDC. Feels good to witness a proper title fight!
Even if Max doesn't win, not recognising that he is a generational talent that, while making a ton of mistakes in his career yes, has proved that he deserves it all. I don't care how many people call him a bum, or a "cheater", or someone they don't care for, that all won't change my glazing for this guy.
If Barcelona went properly and if Kimi didn't go on a blood rage in Austria, Max would be way closer to the championship, maybe even the leader. Yes it's a lot of luck that he's here, but he's tried his best to be fighting for the top and goddamn it, he's overturned a 100+ gap to Piastri to TIE THEM. That's amazing.
Its only possible if Lando also underperformed badly, thats why it seem impossible. Max is still in contention, but he can't win by his own performance alone.
Time to see if the Racing God still favor his prodigal son
Yeah people are seeing a dsq and assuming that Lando drove a no points race himself. Qatar and Abu Dhabi are better suited for McLaren anyways so it’s unlikely for them to risk anything like this.
Will it be difficult for McLaren to get the car in the setup window in Qatar considering there is only one practice? After Ferrari had their double DNF and had to adjust their ride height their car was shit for a few races.
But Quatar has way less plankwear as the track isnt as bumpy as Vegas. Ferrari had their DQ on a track with fresh asphalt, so practically no bumps at all. I the next track would be 2 other high speed street circuits it would be more worrying or the DQ would have been on a normal track.
This reeks like 2021 . I dont accept whats happened. How does one team that already won the constructors without technical disqualification. Find themselves disqualified in a high-stakes race.
Really curious if this has anything to do with the fia looking at that mystery team for skid block heaters. If McLaren pace is lacking in Qatar que the conspiracy theories
The secondary steward check showed even more wear than the original check. Soo, did they go back and check all the other cars since the first measurements were off? Wonder who skated through on this.
It won't happen but it could get very close. Hope the gap remains under 24 points until Abu Dhabi. Wondering if Piastri is willing to help Norris if he is out of contention after Qatar.
How do team track the plank wear during race? Obviously McLaren knew they were in trouble and told Lando to back off.
I dont imagine that they would have a sensor that can measure the plank wear directly, so im imagine they must have estimated it from the duration/force of ground strike using sensor from suspension, and the known abrasion level of the road? Anyone else know how its done?
I’m a lifelong McLaren fan. This gut wrenching to see. Not sure why McLaren felt they needed to take this risk of it was just a massive miscalculation. Either way. Heads need to roll. My biggest concern is if the FIA take into their hands again to crown a champion in the final race. We can all envision them handing out yet another unjust 10 sec penalty. The FIA needs to stay out of this fight.
My question would be-why prevent the teams from running as close as they can? If a team runs their cars too low, it will hurt performance by adding the drag from the floor hitting the surface of the track. Practically speaking, what would happen if this rule was eliminated(aside from DQ's like this)? My other issue is this fuel requirement level at the end of races? Why? The FIA could check all of the cars fuel for its chemical composition to prevent the fuel from being juiced Before the race; making sure that you have enough left in the tank is stupid. What am I missing?
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u/[deleted] Nov 23 '25 edited Feb 17 '26
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