We Are Falling - And Rising Again

My brain keeps telling me 'No. He's not winning this thing. Gap is still too big' but then my heart is like 'But maaaaaybe' and I start dreaming of the celebrations😭

Hinch: In the last four Grand Prix weekends, Max has cut 64 points out of the lead, he now is only 40 points back, and there are five weekends remaining. it's a maths problem. And when you really dive into it over the last few, I don't think he's had the fastest car. I think he is exceptional, I think Redbull has executed brilliantly. (...) But No, I don't think the Redbull is the quicker car at the minute, but I think it's close enough that if they miss a little bit, they being McLaren, Max just doesn't miss, does he? The Redbull's gotten to a point where he can be consistently good with it, and he just doesn't make mistakes. So, it is still gonna take a bit of luck, it's still gonna take some faltering on the McLaren side for it to happen, but yeah, it's the numbers don't lie. It is very possible that Max could still win this championship.

Clarkson: (...) What makes this guy so good?

Hinch: I mean, we've been having this conversation for three years now, haven't we?

Clarkson: Is he still getting better?

Hinch: He's not getting worse.

Clarkson: No, he's not.

Hinch: It's not a function of the car like we saw in '23 and even in '23 there were moments where you could isolate certain performances. Fine, he wins from pole and whatever, but there were moments within certain races that you could just see, "My goodness, he is exceptional" even when he's out on his own just in front cruising. And then we've seen him in enough wheel to wheel battles, we've seen him in enough high pressure situations. He had no business winning in Imola, he had no business winning in Suzuka, he is just– He's impenetrable. I mean, he is so capable of extracting 100% out of his car at all times, in all conditions, under any and all circumstances. And I think that's what's so dangerous about him, because there's been plenty of times where he hasn't had the best circumstances, he hasn't had the best car, but he just gets the best out of it, and he's kept himself in this championship fight. He's kept Redbull, it's a bit harsh saying single handedly because Yuki has contributed some points, but basically single handedly in the fight for P2 in the Constructors' Championship. He's 10 points behind– They are 10 points behind Mercedes. That is Outrageous to think about!

And it's all going according to plan, but then Zandvoort happens and its like: Okay I guess Tweedledee is going to win the drivers, thats fine, Tweedledumb will just get p2.

And then after the summerbreak you feel this looming sense of fear, there's a song haunting you and Verstappen wins and then he wins again and Tweedledee puts his car in the wall three times and Tweedledumb can't pass some midfield cars and suddenly people are talking.

They're saying its doable. He could do it. And the music gets louder and you're starting to sweat and Tweedledumb is starting to lash out more and more and he's starting to look more and more desperate and its starting to look more and more likely that a 1, 2 might not happen and that the threat is serious and- where the fuck is that music coming from???

And you hear this maniacle laughter of the Verstappen fans that are starting to turn their delulu up louder and louder and this can't be happening, this has to be a nightmare.

Nearly 70 points in 7 races, its too much, right?

But it's all people will talk about and experts refuse to say its impossible because they all know that that looming presence can and will do the impossible and now you're just in survival mode.

Nine years later, Lambiase now feels that his job every Grand Prix weekend is to be Verstappen’s “dad, a sports psychologist, best friend, worst enemy, everything. You’re his complete circle of friends in one.” “You’re on a boat down a river, and you’re surrounded by a whole load of crocodiles. So you’re dealing with the closest crocodile to the boat. That’s all we’re doing." - Gianpiero Lambiase

”Formula one should be grateful for that”

No margins for errors, 100% every. Single. Time. There's no other like him. And comparing George or even Charles to him is actually an insult

Well, no one could do 2023 in Rocky because it was optimised for and by Max. Probably by what it became by AD2023 most people would have been spinning off the track in it.

But even if any other driver had a car that was optimised for them, they wouldn’t have been able to do what Max did in 2023. And I’m not talking about the grand slams and poles to wins with 20 second gaps. I’m talking about 49 laps on one set of hard tyres to gap his teammate enough to get a pit window that put him in contention for a win from 9th on the grid. Pitting a lap too late in torrential downpour and making up 3 seconds a lap on his teammate on the same tyres to make the undercut work. Managing a break issue to a win by 10 seconds. Yes, a lotttt went right for him that year and when things are on he is ON and that consistent excellence is impressive. But at every moment when something didn’t go as well as it could have, Max was the only thing standing between Rocky and a loss, and he never let it go. Not once. Not for one sector, one lap. And no one on the grid is bringing that to a season. Whether or not they are capable, we don’t know, but the plain fact is no one has proved that they are.

Max vs. Ferrari cone, GP Barcelona, 2025

Chiel: I saw this one in the pit lane yesterday.

Max: Yep, that's mine, yes. No, because Ferrari always puts them really far out and so I said: 'if it happens again, I will break it.'

Chiel: You already said that on the radio?

Max: To that-- The previous race. It's been like that for a few races. I thought if it's there again, I'll run over it completely.

Chiel: Oh you did it on purpose then?

Max: Yes, absolutely.

GP: that’s pole position