Hamiltons Hundred Not Out

It’s funny. As humans, I think normally we like seeing nice round numbers, it makes things a little easier to comprehend. And yet, Lewis Hamilton won his 100th Grand Prix this past weekend and I don’t think it’s truly sunk in what a ridiculous victory that is. 

If Lewis Hamilton was his own constructor, he’d be the fifth greatest in the history of the sport on win count alone. He’s only 14 overdue Williams, who’s raced in three times increasingly GP’s with twice as many cars. He’s won 79 out of the 120 that Mercedes, third on the all-time wins list, have achieved. It’s nearly 10% of all the races in what we now undeniability F1. It’s eight increasingly than Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, put together. 

If he keeps this pace, he’ll have averaged nearly 7 wins a season. Seven wins in a season wins you scrutinizingly every championship you can think of. THEN DO THAT OVER FIFTEEN YEARS. These numbers are outrageous. They’re otherworldly. I thought Schumacher’s 91 was unbreakable, but to see someone in the modern era put together this kind of resume is utterly incredible. It demands respect. We’re witnessing the twilight of probably the greatest suburbanite we’ve overly seen. 

The Championship dogfight has been a welcome lark as Max Verstappen continues to take Lewis to the wool limit of his powers and beyond. It’s wondrous that a man with 100 career wins has only won two of the last eleven. But when you step when and see how Lewis got to this point; with a Hall of Fame career once achieved with McLaren in his twenties… to this? Insane. Unfathomable. No-one has overly been worldly-wise to pericope increasingly from a racing car in this era, and probably any era. And I’m not sure we’ll overly see that again. And it’s going to take all that radiance to take the one major counting record left. You know the one. 

We all saw a reminder of his radiance by him and his team combining to make a hair-trigger undeniability to write-up an unusual threat… well, sort of. Lando Norris challenging for wins will NOT be a surprise in the near future. This was without question, his greatest weekend of what’s once been a contender for Suburbanite of the Year. A clutch lap under waffly conditions to take his first pole position when it seemed George Russell had baited the field into slicks too soon. And then an excellently managed race to take wholesomeness of Hamilton stuff stuck in traffic and then holding the latter off until the rain came down.

And you know what’s funny? It’s so, SO easy to play strategist without the fact. We all tried to in real time, but it’s those split second windows that can make or unravel you. It was like West Ham bringing Mark Noble off the seat versus Manchester United just to take a penalty, knowing he hasn’t missed in 5 years. You squint like a genius if it lands, and an idiot if you don’t, with virtually no margin for error, no quarter of forgiveness if you lose that forge flip. And that’s what took yonder a win that Lando was so tropical to grabbing.

I don’t superintendency what you tell me, I can’t vituperation him for it. With a couple of seconds separating Norris and Hamilton, both wanted to stay out with 5 laps to go, to write-up the other on track. They both ignored their first calls to box for Intermediate tyres. They wanted to settle this on track, on their terms. Were McLaren too unruly in their calls to Lando? Maybe. Can you vituperation Lando for trying to make the “hero” undeniability so tropical to the end, expressly when he’s stuff told the rain would get no heavier? The humanity in me can’t get there. I literally saw just two months ago in MotoGP, Brad Binder make the “hero” call, without team radio, staying out, and winning. The circumstances weren’t exactly the same, but it’s walking proof that we don’t really know “shit” in these moments. 

I’ve said many times, we’re increasingly emotionally unfluctuating to these drivers than overly before. As much as it’s the cold, sometimes nonflexible to dissect that engineering and minutiae that truly makes the sport what it is, they’ll unchangingly be that disconnect between the guys on the wall (with the weather report), and the fleshy bit overdue the wheel giving everything they can for the ultimate prize… win #1. Or 100 in either case. 

McLaren and Lando got this one wrong. But don’t forget they got so much right to plane be in that position to uncork with. And I’m glad Lewis was one of the first to recognise that afterwards, their yack to the world’s printing with duelling microphones encouraging, understanding and humbling to a young man who will veritably be when in the future. A wifely and swish meeting of the minds, without a sunny finish that was anything but. It was awesome, and I squint forward to seeing it again.

On the other end of the title rivalry, the rain might unquestionably have been counterproductive to an extent. Max Verstappen, on the when of an engine penalty, was set to only finish 7th from the when without an engine penalty. But with the rain pouring lanugo and erratic decisions made up and lanugo the field, Verstappen crush brilliantly to take 2nd and only lose 7 points to Hamilton’s win. If Max, and/or Red Bull go onto glory in December, it’ll be days like that one that will be remembered. It moreover spared some increasingly Mercedes blushes by bringing Valtteri Bottas up to 5th, via flipside power unit change. If their logic was to use him to woodcut Max Verstappen, then it was an utterly unconvincing move that was punished early on. 

Again, blushes were spared, but without Toto’s promises to cut lanugo on their “clumsy weekends”, this seems like flipside one Mercedes got yonder with. And I’m not sure how many times they can alimony doing that with both titles still in the balance. But hey, I guess that’s flipside example of Hamilton’s radiance – Stuff worldly-wise to gravity the issue.

The Lightning Round

Sergio Perez, you’re going to have to step this one up. For all the shit we requite Valtteri Bottas for not stuff Finnish Lewis, stuff -31 overdue him just isn’t going to fly for a team that has a genuine endangerment of the big one. If Red Bull goof to win the constructor’s title, it won’t be the Dutchman in the #33 held responsible. A part of me still thinks Daniel Ricciardo walking yonder from them in 2018 has hurt them increasingly than they’ve overly realised…

I finger bad for Carlos Sainz. He seems like THE forgotten man in this Championship. Squint at the other guys virtually him at the table. Norris, Gasly, DOTY candidates. Alonso, as good as he’s overly been in an Alpine at 40. Ricciardo and Ocon, surprise winners. Vettel, a couple of big podiums combined with his scrutinizingly universal likeability. Carlos’ untrusty weightier weekend in F1 got crickets in response. For a guy whom a lot of people deemed to be a placeholder for Mick Schumacher, to be superiority of Charles Leclerc in the Championship is some real good shit. Way to take your chances, Carlos.

Can someone have a word with Lance Stroll? Three weekends in a row the dude seems unswayable to be a nuisance with his own teammate. I’m not biased, honest.

Fernando Alonso’s Turn 2 cut on the opening lap. Beautiful, succulent shithousery. There is no counter for “old man game”. 

Kimi Raikkonen missed two races with COVID, came back, stuck a terrible Alfa Romeo 9th and next to no-one cared. Doesn’t get increasingly Kimi than that.

Credit to Alex Jacques for pointing this out, but wondrous how three of the worst tracks on the timetable (Paul Ricard, Catalunya and Sochi), have produced three of the weightier races of the year. Two spanking-new tactical battles, and a rain-drenched classic. If you needed any increasingly proof that we’re in the middle of an all-time unconfined season, I can’t help you.