Indistinct World.

I cannot even argue with you people that are convinced that Max or Charles could put the Aston Martin on pole, what are you guys actually on??

When George has a competitive car he has always dominated, wouldn’t you say he “obliterated” the field in Singapore? I did not see any of them getting close to him at all.

I think you’re kind of missing the point of what I said. Obviously you need a competitive car to win in Formula 1. That’s literally the nature of the sport. No one is seriously claiming Max or Charles would drag the slowest car on the grid to pole every weekend. The point people are making is about how much a driver extracts from the machinery compared to what that car normally achieves.

There’s a difference between winning because the car is the best and consistently overperforming the level of the car. That’s been a normal discussion in F1 forever. Some drivers only really look dominant once they get the clear best package, while others look exceptional even when the car isn’t the benchmark. That’s the distinction I was making.

And using Singapore as proof that George “obliterates the field” when he has a competitive car is kind of proving my point about sample size. One dominant weekend doesn’t suddenly define a driver’s level. If that’s the standard, then half the grid would be considered field-destroyers at some point. We’ve seen plenty of drivers have one incredible weekend where everything lines up: pace, strategy, track position, safety cars, whatever. If one weekend meant a driver was suddenly on another level, then you’d have to say the same about drivers like Pierre or Esteban after their race wins too, which obviously isn’t how people usually judge long-term ability.

That’s why people normally look at entire seasons, not a single race. Over a full year you start to see who’s consistently extracting more than expected from the car and who mostly performs at the level the car allows.

And also the “you must be new to F1” comment is a bit ironic because longtime F1 fans usually know better than anyone that one race weekend doesn’t prove much. The sport is full of random outlier weekends where someone suddenly looks untouchable because the track suits the car or the strategy works perfectly.

Literally Drive to Survive 4x09

Christian: You alright?

Max: I don't know.

Christian: You got that dizziness again?

Max: *nods*

Christian: Are you drinking alright? Hydrated? Do you think it's the lights?

Max: Yeah, I don't know, maybe

Then we have Christian and Jos talking in a corner about if there is a way to fix his visor so he has better visibility with the issues he's experiencing.

So yeah. People knew.

Not to mention how much Max was struggling in general at Jeddah qualifying. Like looking like he was struggling to catch his breath in the car and maybe being a bit extra slow getting out. And then the fact that he did make several uncharacteristic errors that weekend.

Not to mention GP being abnormally worried after he barely touched the wall in quali.

GP: All okay Max?

Max: yeah

GP: You okay, mate?

*max doesn't answer but begins getting out of the car*

All this to say Max was definitely suffering from a TBI for the second half of that season and I think the longer it went on the more he struggled.

And then Sophie saying that she took him home to Belgium after he won the title where he slept almost the whole time and she made him his favorite foods in an attempt to get him to eat and recover.

This winter break, F1 gossip pages and fans DMed a hotel to try to prove that the Valentine's Day flowers Kelly Piquet posted were placed there by the hotel and not a gift from Max. Because they are mad that they're together.