ٰ1

the "lando couldn't overtake leclerc because of skill" takes are wild considering the situation he was in lol. the track was already incredibly difficult to overtake on, and mclaren's gear ratio setup made things even worse. it had a significant straightline speed deficit, was constantly clipping on the straights with the speed limiter kicking in, and couldn't even ride the kerbs because he was instructed to stay either inside or outside of them, as the car simply wasn't going to handle it. this also meant he couldn't take alternative lines through S3 to set up a move. and you could see the braking difference every single lap in the onboard. lando had to brake earlier into turn 1 to keep the car under control, while charles could brake later and carry more speed into the corner. even when lando managed to get close, including on the inside, he couldn't carry the same speed through the braking zone. combined with the ferrari's superior traction out of the final corner, charles could pull away again, while lando's straightline speed deficit and constant clipping made it incredibly difficult to close back in before turn 1. add constant lico management, which he was instructed to do for the second half of the race and throughout his entire stint behind charles, on top of an already difficult and unpredictable car. this isn't the same car he had before baku and he said himself that the car has been horrible and difficult to drive the whole season and probably the hardest car he's ever had to drive in his life. he was fighting to keep it under control through practically every corner. so expecting him to magically pull off a creative overtake under those circumstances is unrealistic. pushing the car beyond its limits to force a move could just as easily have ended with him losing control and taking charles out. and with mclaren prioritising P3 in the wcc, especially coming straight off singapore where he was crucified for taking risks in a racing incident and having "the talk" with mclaren, there was even less reason for him to throw the car into a divebomb. charles defended really well and deserves credit for the way he managed to keep lando behind. but lando also did what he could with a car that simply didn't have the tools to make that move happen.

the way lando celebrated kimi today says everything about the kind of person he is.

lando's title defense hasn't gone the way we hoped, but he's still driven an incredible season in a car that's been notoriously difficult to drive and hasn't always had the pace to fight at the front!! 17 race weekends affected by issues, 1 dns and 3 dnfs, and yet he still managed to put together 3 poles and 2 wins. he's pulled some incredible performances out of a car that hasn't made things easy for him, and that deserves so much more recognition. so much of this season was out of his hands, and that shouldn't take away from what he's achieved. we still have a few races left, so let's enjoy them with LN1 while we can. see you soon, number 1 🤍