i took a walk during the race because i was too stressed and my promise of not looking at what was happening lasted a good 8 minutes after the start lol started seething in public for the fight/pitstop but so happy for the P2! Also walked for like an hour, thanks Lando for the steps today i guess
i hope he keeps his form and i hope mclaren will be smart in the next races, even though I'm not sure they will - i think this weekend had the best outcome possible honestly: better in quali twice, better race and the crash wasn't Lando's fault
it was good, wasn't it? i'm still processing all that happened, but overall it seems like such a strong answer to all the noise in the weeks after singapore and the messy 'repercussions' media day. it wasn't luck, but even the big things that went wrong, went wrong in a way to his advantage, like losing points in the sprint sucked, but it was oscar (of all people) who was the one who hit him to take him out, and then finishing what, 20s behind in the race? which was something.
it was nice to see how lando delivered when it mattered in qualifying both times, and even though a lot of people have a lot to say about the fact he wasn't able to drop an immediate overtake of charles despite charles's near perfect defense, better tire strategy, race data, clean air, and strong enough pace to be a problem, he was still able to follow close for lap after lap (not easy), be smart about his tires, and pass cleanly on track, twice, under restriction because of track limits.
it really was a mature drive from lando, not hectic or desperate at all, despite the lack of data. it's been fascinating watching this year with the trajectory of him becoming increasingly comfortable in the car at the same time as other teams have been catching up to meet their dominance. early in the year he pushed too hard, overdrove at 105% instead of trusting the pace at 95%, and it didn't serve him well then, but all his work in mastering the car is sure serving him now.
i don't know how the rest of the season will go, what's possible to achieve, what the team will do, the pace of the cars around him, etc, but i am increasingly certain that lando is in a good place mentally, despite all the team fuckery. he knows what he's doing, he's not letting the pressure get to him, and he is in a good position to finish the year strong. hopefully his best efforts will be enough to push him over the line, and mclaren's negligence with 2025 upgrades won't ruin everything haha















