- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Conclusions from the Japanese GP
- Updated: October 10, 2016
Lewis Hamilton absolves Max Verstappen while Nico Rosberg showed that he is the real deal.
Last of the late movers Max Verstappen’s prowess when on the front foot, pedal to the medal, is already the stuff of lore. Still a teenager, his gung-ho approach has helped him to one victory and five podiums in his short career.
Despite his reputation for being a maverick overtaker, the youngster has a well-developed ability to defend. Kimi Raikkonen knows this from past scrapes in Spain – when Verstappen kept the Ferrari at bay to claim his first victory. And in Japan it was Lewis Hamilton’s turn to examine the Red Bull diffuser.
Mercedes described Verstappen’s defence against the Champion in the final phase of the Japanese Grand Prix as erratic. Hamilton then took to social media saying that he had no issues with Verstappen’s driving, which is the approach fans want to see from drivers.
This is F1. These are the best drivers in the world. Moaning about erratic driving is best left to men in SUVs fighting for parking spots at the supermarket.
Hamilton recovers, but not enough Going into lap 2 of the grand prix, Hamilton would have been quite happy if he had been offered a podium.
Bogged down at the start, Hamilton found himself down in eighth position through the first lap at Suzuka. With fast cars ahead of him, including Ferraris and Red Bulls, it seemed a long afternoon would be in store for the defending Champion.
However, thanks to the deft strategic work from Mercedes, Hamilton was up to fourth after the first round of pit stops. There was a bit of hammer time and then the Merc tacticians again came to the rescue as Hamilton got ahead of Sebastian Vettel using the undercut through the second set of pit …
