This evening Oscar Piastri won his 3rd race of the season and the result moves him into top spot in the drivers championship. The result was never in doubt once Verstappen left the track and gained an advantage on the very first corner. Verstappen was given a 5 second time penalty and in hindsight could have cost him the win. Verstappen finished 2.6 seconds behind Piastri and should have given the place back to avoid the penalty.
I think everyone was expecting a safety car to turn the race on it's head and there was one, but this was on the first lap and too soon to be a factor in the race. LeClerc and Norris delayed pitting for tyres for as long as possible with the hope of a safety car that never happened.
Norris messed up again when he over took Hamilton before the DRS zone and was subsequently overtaken by Hamilton wo benefitted by opening the rear wing worth an extra 16km'h. The problem is Norris did this same stake twice and this cost him a good 2 seconds. Again this highlights a naivety and why he may be in the fastest car he is no longer the favorite to lift the title. It is these small details that is the difference between coming second and winning a drivers championship.
When we look at todays podium Piastri definitely has an advantage of having the fastest car, but the other two being Verstappen and LeClerc are over performing by finishing so close behind the McLaren. Verstappen during practice was 0.8 seconds a lap slower than the McLaren during practice so the team is finding time somewhere and the race pace advantage is not as big as once thought at the beginning of the season.
The teams cars perform differently under various track conditions and these last two races have been in hot humid conditions. Miami is next so there will be no change there either and the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes must wait for cooler temperatures to show what their car can do.
What is interesting to note is teams are not going to develop their cars any more this season besides a few upgrades. The reason behind this is next year sees new regulations and all the development budgets are being spent on next years car. One would have thought Adrian Newey the top car designer at Aston Martin would be able to influence the 2025 car, but it maybe that bad it is not worth wasting time and money on it. Next year is when he will be judged and having a good 12 months they will be a top team next year.
This year the constructors title will be McLaren's eve though we still have another 19 races to go. Mercedes do not have the car to compete and Red Bull only have one car scoring points so Verstappen cannot do this on his own. Ferrari will be fighting for second in the constructors title race and once the races are on European soil they should be right up there.
What I do find quite annoying is the bias towards the British drivers and you can see and hear the disappointment when Norris is not winning. They are not helping as this only adds more pressure to a person who is lacking self confidence.
