🏁 Maxterclass

🥇Max Verstappen [393]: Called his drive “one of his 10 best races.” Hard to believe there could be nine better than that. Time to do some digging and see if he’s just being demure. I realize that’s a hot word right now but in searching for something that meant modest + coy, demure was at the top of the list. Very mindful.

🥈Lando Norris [331]: The pit right before the red flag left him frustrated: “You take a gamble, it’s paid off for them. It’s not talent, it’s just luck. So just a bit unlucky.” He later did comment “nice drive mate” on Max’s Instagram post.

🥉Charles Leclerc [307]: Says the team had a lack of pace this weekend, compounded by the rain: “On one side, we were just not fast enough: the car was extremely difficult to drive and very, very pointy, very digital, very oversteery, and it was very difficult to drive.” Not sure what pointy and digital mean in terms of the car. Maybe he was talking about a mouse cursor and not his car?

4️⃣ Oscar Piastri [262]: Received praise from his teammate for playing the team game and giving up the Sprint win: “Oscar drove well and he deserved the win today. I’m not proud of winning a sprint race or any race like this, so I thank Oscar and the team.” No more papaya rules here on out.. I predict another win in the last three races for the Aussie.

5️⃣ Carlos Sainz [244]: Struggled in the conditions last weekend: “I had two crashes that I honestly cannot explain very well…It’s very unpredictable, this car this year has been extremely difficult to drive in the wet.”

6️⃣ George Russell 📈 [192]: His gut told him not to pit, which ended up being just a few laps before the red flag. “Very painful all things considered…It was 'box'. I said 'stay out'. It was 'box' again, it was 'stay out', I said. And they said 'box' again. As I said, 'I want to stay out'. And then the last one, you’ve got to go for it. Sometimes you have to trust your gut. Last time I trusted my gut, it went down pretty well.”

7️⃣ Lewis Hamilton 📉 [190]: On driving Ayrton Senna’s MP4/5B from his title winning 1990 season last weekend: “I won my first championship here, had my best ever drive here, and now to be in this country as an honorary citizen driving my hero's car is almost too much to comprehend…It doesn't feel real it's a massive honor."

8️⃣ Sergio Perez [151]: “Nothing really worked” as he fought back to P11 after a first lap spin, and a pit stop before the red flag that dropped him back further.

9️⃣ Fernando Alonso [62]: Was asked if the race was one of the most difficult of his career: “Yeah, a little bit for sure, some back pain, a lot of bouncing today.” Said on the radio he was finishing the race for the mechanics despite being in a lot of pain. Respect.

🔟Nico Hulkenberg [31]: Received first black flag (DQ from race) since 2007 for rejoining the race after receiving assistance after his spin and stop.

11. Yuki Tsunoda 📈 [28]: Thrilled with his P3 Quali result for the GP: “I had a couple of mistakes but had a bit of luck as well. I think overall as a team, including Liam as well, we did a really good job.” Unfortunately fell victim to bad pit stop timing and finished the race P7 - still a good result.

12. Pierre Gasly 📈 [26]: “In these conditions, everything was possible. We believed it until the end. Two cars on the podium — I don’t think anyone would have got that on that bingo card ahead of the season. So it’s just fantastic.” We certainly didn’t. Well done.

13. Lance Stroll 📉 [24]: On his formation lap spin: “As soon as I touched the brake I just had a huge rear lock..so maybe there was a brake failure problem and we have to look into it.” Not sure if that same problem was the reason he drove directly into the gravel afterwards though..

14. Esteban Ocon 📈 [23]: Check out this wholesome interview with former friends - turned rivals - turned teammates Esteban and Pierre who were all smiles after their double podium. On flashbacks to their younger days: “When we were racing on the wet in go-karts..we were both racing together..today, it tastes a bit like that. A beautiful story from where we come from, and that one will for sure forever stay engraved in my mind.”

15. Kevin Magnussen 📉 [14]: Wonder if he was happy to miss the madness last weekend or if he regrets missing out on the wet opportunity?

16. Alex Albon 📉 [12]: TP Vowles says his inability to start the GP was “heartbraking” after a promising quali. His crash damage proved to be too much to overcome for the mechanics with quali moved to Sunday morning.

17. Daniel Ricciardo 📉 [12]: Joined Josh Allen for his first ever Bills home game.

18. Ollie Bearman 📉 [7]: On a sub-par substitute performance: “Too many mistakes, too many time losses.” It was tough out there for the rookies. Also tough: Hearing Ollie on the radio during the torrential downpour urging for a red flag saying “I don’t want to die.” That’s how bad visibility was for a few laps.

19. Franco Colapinto 📉 [5]: Latest rumor: Alpine interested in Colapinto?

20. Liam Lawson [4]: Jos Verstappen on the possibility of Lawson becoming his son’s teammate: “I certainly don’t oppose that…It’s better if there is someone who is competitive and pushes Max forward a bit. That always helps, but we’ll see.”

21. Zhou Guanyu [0]: Saying goodbye: “I will leave the team at the end of the season, but I am fully committed to finishing the season in style. This is not an easy sport for rookies, but the team has allowed me to grow so much over these three years.” By style he means fashion right? Cus I just don’t see the points coming. Maybe he’ll go full K-Mag and take out Max the next three races to give Lando a shot.

22. Logan Sargeant [0]: Think he would have faired better than Albon and Colapinto’s combined three crashes last weekend? I guess we’ll never know…

23. Valtteri Bottas [0]: On his departure: “A situation like this is never easy for anyone but after all the good and in-depth discussions we had in the past weeks, we realized that the conditions to grow this project together were not met.” Hopefully he can land a social media job with Mercedes. He knows the game.

🥇 McLaren [593]: Talking about their championship strategy: “In terms of the constructors’, it doesn’t change anything and that was always our priority. Even when there was a call to be made to support one driver over the other, it was always secondary to maximizing the constructors’ championship.” Ok, I don’t buy this at all. If it were true, why switch Lando and Oscar in the Sprint race?

🥈 Ferrari [557]: Signed a partnership agreement with IBM targeting fan engagement and data analytics. “This includes applying IBM's technology and consulting expertise to analyze and transform Ferrari's massive volume and variety of data – both current and historical – into custom insights, personalized content, and innovative features designed to supercharge the fan experience.”

🥉 Red Bull [544]: TP Horner on Max’s dynamite performance: “It was a masterclass from Max…In difficult conditions…he shone very brightly. To have the patience, but also the attacking…his first lap was outstanding. I think he passed six cars on the first lap. To win from that far back was beyond our wildest dreams this morning.” As GP said on the radio regarding his first win since Spain: “Worth the wait.”

4️⃣ Mercedes [382]: Dropped a hint on a potential reunion with Bottas in a reserve driver role.

5️⃣ Aston Martin [86]: Shoutout to the mechanics who got Alonso and Stroll ready for the race after both crashed in Quali. Unfortunately the team’s struggles continued in the race, with both drivers having brake issues.

6️⃣ Alpine 📈 [49]: TP Oakes on his drivers: “I'm really proud of Pierre and Esteban. They didn't put a foot wrong. They both soaked up so much pressure and actually they had real pace. It was only Max who got the legs on us, so strong day.”

7️⃣ Haas 📉 [46]: Hulkenberg explaining why he rejoined the race after getting assistance: “They were partying and pushing me on and saying, 'come on, go, let's go, this race isn't finished'. In that moment, you don't really think, you don't care to be honest as well.”

8️⃣ VCARB 📉 [44]: Will officially be renamed “Racing Bulls” for 2025. I thought RB didn’t mean Racing Bulls?

9️⃣ Williams 📉 [17]: Team had a clear response to the Sainz to Red Bull rumors: “We can confirm this is not true.” More silliness as the team looks to get Colapinto a seat.

🔟Kick Sauber [0]: Binotto on the Bartoleto signing: “The way he is driving impressed me and more than that…is his capacity to develop, improve and progress through the season…that's what counts the most for me.” Gotta be tough to start your career in the tractor the team currently has. But can’t pass up that debut F1 seat.

• Even Wetter Tires? The latest allegations have Red Bull alleging that some teams purposely injected water into their tires during the Singapore GP to help keep them cool. Pirelli said they have found no clear evidence to support the claims.

• PACE CHART: Max was quicker than Norris and Russell who each had an extra set of tires. Ocon was faster than Leclerc on one less stop as well. 🔽

• Wonderful in the Wet: Other top wet weather performances include Ayrton Senna at the 1985 Portuguese GP, Michael Schumacher in Spain in 1995, and Max Verstappen eight years ago at the same track as his brilliant effort last weekend.

• Wet Weather Shenanigans: Watch the Sauber pit crew have fun during the flood conditions. It’s like when the MLB guys used to run the bases and slide during rain delays. Is that just a legend? Def saw a commercial like that once. No way they’d risk an injury doing that today.

• Slip ‘N Slide: Fans got in on the wet weather fun with some activities of their own. Looks like a great way to separate your shoulder.

Quick Question (My answer)

5 stars. But I do agree, let’s not do that every time. As long as safety remains a priority though, my goodness does the chaos add excitement and true unpredictability. Quali + the GP was one of the wildest days I’ve ever seen in F1.