Thursday. Austin. No flag, no lap. A pre-race statement. I read it on Monday, at the post, as usual, with the thermos.
Observation. The driver of the second Red Bull said: “I don’t think we have the fastest car.” Then, about his team-mate: “I think if you put Max in the Ferrari, he would have won the race by an even bigger margin. So that’s my opinion.”
I note the facts. In Singapore, the Red Bull won by seven seconds over Charles Leclerc. In qualifying, pole was decided by five hundredths. Lewis Hamilton was third, twelve hundredths back, having set the quickest times in Q1 and Q2. The declarant started from the pit lane, power unit replaced, and finished tenth. One point.
At post 14, we know this kind of statement. Jean-Luc, my reserve, has said for thirty years that I raise the yellow faster than he does because I have the best chair. He has never sat on it to check. I wave the flag. I don’t judge chairs.
The declarant says the car “remains very difficult to drive”. He wants a trouble-free weekend in Austin, after two weekends he finds very frustrating. A reasonable request. At the post, we say the same thing every morning at six, and it’s chucking it down anyway.
Your correspondent salutes a young man who gives the credit to his team-mate and the car to the opposition. The Raidillon, at Spa, would have settled it.
An opinion is not an incident. Nothing to report to race control. An opinion is an opinion. Post 14, received. Nothing further to report.
It’s true, we checked: Nextgen-Auto.
