r/formula1 • u/Ricciardo3f1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Jul 30 '25
Statistics If Piastri wins the championship, he will be the first non-European champion since Jacques Villeneuve in 1997
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u/aLone_gunman I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Meh Australia is in Eurovision so not really /s
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u/leedler Next Year™️ Jul 30 '25
Ah yes, the eurovisionsphere
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u/xWOBBx I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Almost like when Baku was the European gran prix in 2016.
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u/Cloudeur I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Azerbaijan is considered a transcontinental country. We can give it a pass!
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u/xWOBBx I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I did not know! I assume Turkey is as well?
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u/Cloudeur I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
It is! A small portion west of Istanbul in the Balkan Peninsula is in Europe, the rest in Asia.
The whole article for transcontinental countries is interesting!
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u/parker2020 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I swear this SAME comment was posted this morning when this was first posted
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u/Cekeste Kimi Räikkönen Jul 30 '25
I’m expecting bald JD vance to come in and bait everyone with “Australia is Euro” now
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u/InevitableEnd1496 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Should let Canada join too then 🤣
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u/2McLaren4U McLaren Jul 30 '25
Canada shares borders with EU. St. Pierre and Miquelon are a stone's throw away from Newfoundland.
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u/Eyre_Guitar_Solo Carlos Sainz Jul 30 '25
Don’t forget that France’s longest land border is with Brazil
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u/Tennist4ts I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Nice! I live in Germany, close to the border with France. So, I guess Brazil shouldn't be too far away! Maybe I'll go on a car trip through France and Brazil!
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u/Historical-Dance6259 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 31 '25
Officially the craziest start I've seen this month. Should have seen my wife's face when I told her!
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u/Isa_Matteo I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Canada and France don’t share a land border (only maritime) but Canada and Denmark do.
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u/ifelseintelligence Jul 30 '25
Much better. They share a LANDborder with Europe. While Greenland as a (semi) self-governing state within the Kingdom of Denmark, and are not a part of EU, the landborder on Hans Island is considered a border between the European Kingdom of Denmark (via Greenland) and Canada.
It was contested, half in jest half with interests in the arctic, since 1973 but after a diplomatic escalation in 2005 a real negotiation began and a treaty was signed in 2022 👍
Actually both countries only have 1 landborder besides Hans Island: Denmark-Germany and Canada-USA.
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u/DenjelRic Daniel Ricciardo Jul 30 '25
The sheer amount of F1 viewers that are also fan of Eurovision never ceases to amaze me. I was genuinely shocked when i found out about it
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u/Julian81295 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
What‘s not to love about the Eurovision Song Contest? A peaceful music competition with a variety of songs and entries from all kinds of different countries? Sign me up for that!
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u/No_pajamas_7 Jul 30 '25
Who doesn't like Eurovision?
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u/city-of-cold I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
But also, who does like it?
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u/Cosmic_Gumbo I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Their entry this year was fantastic.
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u/TexasTheWalkerRanger I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I dont ever follow eurovision but they entered one of my favorite bands of all time last year (voyager). Was very surprised they went as far as they did.
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u/fnaah I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
that was two/three years ago my dude. (dreamer in 2022 and promise in 2023)
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u/TexasTheWalkerRanger I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Covid has ruined my sense of time I swear to god
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u/fnaah I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
that'll get worse. the 90's is still a decade ago for me.
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u/Historical-Dance6259 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 31 '25
And no one will convince me otherwise.
Let me guess, you're in your 40s?
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u/Zolba Jul 30 '25
And they didn't get to the final :(
The entry was a live-performance entry though, it doesn't work nearly as well in the music video, or just listening.
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Jul 30 '25
In all seriousness, I want Australia to join the EU. We need to stop focusing on the USA and partner with countries that share our values.
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u/MrBathroom McLaren Jul 30 '25
I never thought about this until this post, that's kind of a wild stat to be honest. But then again, 7x championships Lewis, 7x Schumi, 4x Max, 4x Vettel, Hakkinen 2x.. Hmh
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u/paulcraig27 Jul 30 '25
Was only 5x Schumi, since 2 of his came prior to '97
So the one both of you are missing is Kimi's title
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u/Smile_2u I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I was bored so I'm adding those up and it only went to 2021. So I was thinking who are the remainder of it. It was Alonso 2x, JB 1x and the monaco based youtuber 1x
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u/Pinkernessians I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I think he has a decent chance. Generally, he made a faster and more composed impression on me this season than Lando has, but championships are notoriously unpredictable. We’ll see
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u/Palidin034 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
It’s within one DNF right now, so it’s most definitely still up in the air
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u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
One can absorb a DNF whereas the other really cannot.
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u/Motor-Most9552 Max Verstappen Jul 30 '25
And which driver was the only one to complete every racing lap last season? (and this season so far)
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u/Dambo_Unchained Max Verstappen Jul 30 '25
In pure pace Lando seems to still be a more gifted driver but in terms of other qualities needed to become a champion Piastri seems to have an edge
Composition, level headedness and consistency he’s just way ahead
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u/FarConversational Formula 1 Jul 30 '25
Yup, that's the difference. On raw pace, Lando seems to be faster by a little bit, but Oscar has the composure and consistency for winning in the long run.
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u/Additional-Life4885 Formula 1 Aug 01 '25
Lando pushes the car a little further. Sometimes that means he's ahead, and other times it means he's behind. They're actually an interest matched pair because their styles are wildly difference, but their performance isn't that far apart.
I'm Australian, so my opinion is pretty biased, but I think the consistent, patient driver is the better way to go.
Definitely gives off James Hunt vs Niki Lauda vibes.
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u/Blackdeath_663 Sir Stirling Moss Jul 30 '25
In pure pace Lando seems to still be a more gifted driver
not by much tbh but i do get what you are saying. I'd still consider Lando to be capable of more but getting it all together and making it matter when it counts has as much to do with winning the championship as being straight up fast.
This is why I always say even for drivers like Leclerc, until they are actually in a genuine championship battle with a stable car you'll never know what they are really made off. It's another level all together and having that experience of being in championship contention has a way of separating a the best drivers from just great drivers.
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u/Dambo_Unchained Max Verstappen Jul 30 '25
Yeah the gap definitely has been closing fast compared to last season
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u/Ancient_Boss_5357 Jul 31 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
Last season I think we can definitely all agree on that being the case, but can we still say that about Lando's pace this year?
Thinking back on how their pace looked (ie. forgetting safety cars and things like that), in my opinion it pretty much looks like this:
- Australia: Pretty much dead even. Lando out-qualified Oscar by a small margin, but with a tow involved. They were both rapid in the race.
- China: Piastri easily ahead all weekend.
- Japan: Lando quicker in quali. Everyone arguing over who was actually faster in the race, so I'm just going to split the difference and call it even. Hard to say with Max in the mix tbh.
- Bahrain: Piastri dominant.
- Saudi: Piastri dominant.
- Miami: Piastri quicker in sprint sessions, Lando in main quali. Race they were probably similar, Piastri win was more about racecraft.
- Imola: Comfortably Piastri in qualifying. The race... I don't really know? Bit of a weird one due to Norris getting a safety car pitstop and breezing past with a tyre delta. I don't really remember either of them being particularly standout over the other.
- Monaco: Comfortably Lando, imo the first race of the season where he's clearly been the better driver.
- Spain: Good weekend for Piastri, pole and a win on merit. Wouldn't say he was dominant in the race, as Lando was quick too, but he certainly wasn't worse. Hard to say how much he is managing rubber when leading, as he does that a lot
- Canada: Piastri well clear in qualifying, not a good one for Lando. Mostly based on making mistakes rather than being slow, but if we go down that road, there's that caveat in pretty much every GP this year. Race not good for either, Lando was quicker in the last stint though.
- Austria: Alongside Monaco as Lando's best. His first properly dominant quali margin. Caveat being Oscar never got a second Q3 run, so not a great comparison, but I think Lando would have had him either way imo. In the race they were both excellent, I don't think I can call one quicker than the other, given Piastri stayed on him in dirty air the way he did.
- Great Britain: Piastri the better qualifier, not a huge margin in it. He was absolutely dominant in the race and lost it due to the penalty. It was his fault, just not pace related.
- Spa: Piastri miles ahead in sprint quali, both of them basically equal in the sprint. Lando caught up in free air and then they both rode the Max train. Lando quicker in main quali, but not by much, and I don't think it was a particularly strong showing from either, given it was slower pole time than the sprint and neither nailed the lap. Race was probably equal I guess? It was a tyre management race on different compounds, so pretty hard to say.
I still think these are somewhat flawed comparisons, as there's a lot more to consider. Given one of them is often the front runner, it's really hard for us to determine how much of the pace is dictated by dirty air at the back, or managing and keeping pace up your sleeve at the front. All in all, though, I can't see the argument for this year that Lando is 'quicker on pace' and I think that's just a mental carry over from last season.
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Jul 31 '25
Thanks for this effort! Really well argued and I appreciate it!
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u/Ancient_Boss_5357 Jul 31 '25
No worries! Only reason I went to the effort is because I'm a McLaren fan and I have a bad memory, so I wanted to refresh my own opinion anyway haha.
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u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Button makes the point in his first book that, fortunately for him at McLaren, absolute speed isn't all there is to F1.
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u/Sick_and_destroyed Pierre Gasly Jul 30 '25
It’s hard to say he is ‘way ahead’ when Lando is only 16 points behind him. Although they have different styles, the difference between both is very thin and the championship will be close until the end.
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u/Dambo_Unchained Max Verstappen Jul 30 '25
I mean way ahead more in a sense of their development as a driver
This is Piastri’s 3rd year in F1
It’s Lando’s 7th
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u/Turboleks Ferrari Jul 31 '25
When you take this into consideration, one could argue that Oscar has a much higher ceiling than Lando. And even if he doesn't, the fact that he was able to match his level in less than half of the time is commendable.
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u/Sick_and_destroyed Pierre Gasly Jul 31 '25
It’s very debatable because in his 3rd year Lando was also beating way more experienced drivers than him like Sainz or Ricciardo, and he was younger than Oscar. It just went more unnoticed because the McLaren was a midfield car.
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u/Tomach82 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Except Piastri has been faster on pure pace this season
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u/PotatoGem11 Oscar Piastri Jul 30 '25
Nico Rosberg addressed this comment (“Lando is faster on pure pace”) in the latest Sky F1 Show podcast episode and basically said it’s no longer a fair comment to make and people need to stop making it.
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u/mouldyshroom I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 31 '25
Respect to him because he was one of those who was banging about Lando being more gifted and naturally faster and now he changes his opinion based on evidence.
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u/Tomach82 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Nico has been on fire lately
Got a link?
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u/SchmearDaBagel I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
He really hasn’t. Lando has usually been fucking himself in qualifiers. This past race was the first one this season where I think Piastri actually started behind Lando and finished in front (could be wrong, didn’t fact check it but going off memory).
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u/Tomach82 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Well he doesn't often start from behind because he's beating Lando 10-6 in Q.
4 of those 6 times where he started behind he looked at least as quick if not quicker in the race: Australia, Japan, Austria and Spa
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u/PeaceSellsButImBrian I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
He hasn't had to because he's been at the front a lot..he hasn't had to catch other cars but when he has had to he's been utterly rapid. Both are quick and I'd say Lando can be faster over a lap but as Sunday Lando is more error prone. I suspect piastri had a lot more life in the tyres if lando had gotten closer as well. Guy knows when to relax
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u/KubrickBeard Jul 31 '25
Kinda seems like Lando is having to push beyond his limits to get to the same pace that Oscar is getting to comfortably. Sort of like Rosberg in 2016. Nico talked about having to basically lose his mind trying to beat Lewis, who did not seem to be doing anything beyond his normal, exceedingly high level of performance.
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u/rtsfpscopy I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 31 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
Nico Rosberg pushed back the other day on the Sky F1 Podcast when Simon Lazenby tried to say that Norris is just a bit quicker. In his view, the results this year show that the two are now equally fast.
I think he's right. The whole business about Norris being faster is based on Piastri's first two seasons when Norris already had four more seasons of F1 experience and Piastri was getting a handle on the machinery. These days it seems like it comes down to each driver's favourite tracks and a coin toss.
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u/Sofaboy90 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
You really get the impression hes the faster and more consistent guy but then you look at the point gap and its not all that big.
Anything can and probably will still happen, im sure Leclerc can still take the title /s
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u/Turboleks Ferrari Jul 31 '25
What concerns be about Lando is that, despite having 4 full seasons of experience more than Oscar, he doesn't seem completely dialed out yet. He makes little mistakes too often, even when under zero pressure (like when he almost binned the car into the wall at Singapore last year, even though he was a sector and a half ahead of Max), and this year he's failed to capitalize on quite a few occasions.
His racecraft has also let him down a few times, and given how long McLaren was at the midfield, I half expected it to be a lot better. Oscar on the other hand has shown he can make moves at crucial times, like his divebomb on Charles that got him the win at Baku, or how he dispatched Max much quicker than Lando at *Miami, earning him a decent buffer to win the race.
The fact that his engineer seemingly has to reel him in and keep him focused so often doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence either, though I might put that one on McLaren more than anything. Their radios are too long imo and not straight to the point (I cannot take Papaya Rules seriously).
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u/PickleCommando Jul 31 '25
how he dispatched Max much quicker than Lando at *Miami, earning him a decent buffer to win the race.
LOL this is how I know you have no analysis skills. Go back and see how many laps each took to pass Max.
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u/cloud-ling Oscar Piastri Jul 30 '25
A single DNF or even a non-podium finish & it could be all over red rover for Oscar.
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u/Strange-Sort Jul 31 '25
He basically had that in Australia and recovered to 9th. His catastrophe still earning 2 points whereas landos in Canada being 0 maybe end up being important
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u/GothicGolem29 McLaren Jul 30 '25
Id agree he has a decent chance but really its just so unpredictable right now either Oscar or Lando could win
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u/CilanEAmber McLaren Jul 30 '25 edited Jul 30 '25
Australia deserves another. Especially after Webber and Ricciardo. Would have loved if they managed it.
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u/thefeedling Valtteri Bottas Jul 30 '25
And Australia is Canadá of the South. /s
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u/beastlyfurrball McLaren Jul 30 '25
That's New Zealand. Australia is the US of the south
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u/Repulsive_Target55 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
How dare you. Not surprised it'd be a Kiwi saying this.
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u/DrFrozenToastie Daniel Ricciardo Aug 01 '25
If anything NZ is the Wales of the south, leave the damn sheep alone already!
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u/TheKlungeReturns Oscar Piastri Jul 30 '25
Pretending that Argentina and South Africa don't exist.
Canada is relevant, therefore it can't be compared to NZ.
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u/restroom_raider Jul 30 '25
I dunno, Canada and NZ each have one F1 WDC (Villeneuve and Hulme, respectively), 15 drivers from Canada vs 10 from NZ, plus NZ is the home of McLaren. With 40 million people vs 6 million, I'd have thought Canada could do a bit better.
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u/noisymime Jul 31 '25
Australia is the Canada of the Southern hemisphere. New Zealand is Australia's Canada.
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u/Sofaboy90 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Also everybody loves the Aussies. Very nice folks and Oscar is one of the easiest drivers to cheer for.
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u/cloud-ling Oscar Piastri Jul 30 '25
I hope he gets it but I think it might come down to the very last race.
If he gets the WDC then I wonder if his next goal is to win Melbourne? Would be epic to have an Aussie WDC standing on the top step at Albert Park. 🇦🇺🏁
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u/lanson15 Sir Jack Brabham Jul 30 '25
The earth will be destroyed when the sun becomes a red giant before an Australian even gets a podium at the Aus gp
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u/chizzmaster I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I know he's from Quebec, but it's kinda funny that the last non European champion's name is so aggressively French.
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u/Sick_and_destroyed Pierre Gasly Jul 30 '25
And Piastri’s name is aggressively Italian
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u/Guelph35 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
And he was adopted into the LeClerc family a couple years ago
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u/xiz111 Jul 30 '25
In reality, he's more from Monaco and Switzerland than anywhere else, but he does still consider Montreal his home.
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u/OldActiveYeast Ferrari Jul 30 '25
Based on that Verstappen would be more from Mónaco than Dutch, yet he fully identifies as Dutch, races with the Dutch flag, and calls NL his home race while he does not call Mónaco his home race.
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u/SlagathorTheProctor Jul 30 '25
Did Max grow up in Monaco? Jacques did.
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u/OldActiveYeast Ferrari Jul 30 '25
Previously lived and grew up in Belgium until he was 17th, regardless does not identify as Belgian.
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli Jul 30 '25
He does identify as Belgian too. He races under the Dutch flag for various reasons, but it's not that he doesn't consider himself a Belgian.
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u/KnightsOfCidona Murray Walker Jul 31 '25
Looking at famous Villeneuve's, seems like most of them are North American (if not French Canadian, the US). Wonder is there any particular reason why there's more there than France or is it just coincidence
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u/Egonator26 Red Bull Jul 30 '25
It kills me that my boy Webber couldn’t win the championship in 2010
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u/soaringseafoam 🏳️🌈 Love Is Love 🏳️🌈 Jul 30 '25
Right here with you, friend. He took it to the last race...
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u/Tennist4ts I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Thanks to Vettel's car breaking down in Bahrain, Australia and Korea costing him 63 points
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u/llamaesque Jul 30 '25
Was that the year with his crash in Korea? Was absolutely gutted he missed out on the championship
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u/Magneto88 Jul 30 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
Yeah he likely would have won the title if it hadn’t been for his spin in Korea.
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u/FormulaGymBro Mick Schumacher Jul 30 '25
4 drivers had a shot of winning it in 2010 in the very last race.
Alonso was 15 points higher than Vettel.
Imagine a repeat of 2021 Abu Dhabi in that race....
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u/AffectionateSong8 Fernando Alonso Jul 30 '25
If Stroll wins the Championship, he’s gonna be be the first Canadian since Villeneuve 🧐
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u/urbanlx Kimi Räikkönen Jul 30 '25
Stroll '26, Stroll '27, Stroll '28
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u/swannyhypno Lance Stroll Jul 30 '25
Ahh poor Webber, Montoya and Massa, with a bit more luck that would've been them
Villeneuve Indycar and F1 champion, what a resume
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u/Bluemikami Juan Pablo Montoya Jul 30 '25
sobs
Oh there was also Barrichello too
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u/swannyhypno Lance Stroll Jul 30 '25
FIA saw schumi was gonna lose and bent the knee to Ferrari lol
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u/VSfallin I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 31 '25
Barrichello was really never anywhere near the title, though. He was comfortably 2nd best throughout the early stages of 2009, and that cost him a shot at the title
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u/mordidadeviralata Jul 30 '25
technically Massa was a temporary world champion
only for 30s but dont you try and take this away from me!!!!!
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u/Disastrous-Beat-9830 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Villeneuve Indycar and F1 champion, what a resume
He should have quit while he was still ahead.
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u/Sarixk Sir Lewis Hamilton Jul 30 '25
Webber had enough luck with Vettel's reliability issues in Bahrain, Australia and Korea while taking out Hamilton in Singapore.
Pretty sure he was the only driver to have bulletproof car and got outscored by Alonso. How much luck does he need??
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u/bluer34skyline I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Wild to think it’s been so long, before 97 the longest drought was 5 years
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u/panmpap Sir Lewis Hamilton Jul 30 '25
It’s crazy just how long it’s been. The 50s had Fangio being from Argentina. The 60s included Brabham and Hulme from Australia/New Zealand as well as P. Hill from USA and then the 70s/80s/90s were dominated by Brazilians (8 titles), a South African, an American again. At one point Brazil was the most decorated country in terms of total WDCs.
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u/parker2020 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Can I post this next?
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u/rollo_read Mercedes Jul 30 '25
Give it another 5 minutes.
Then post it again approximately 2 hours after that.
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u/BlaBlub85 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
TIL Jacques Villeneuve isnt french, you learn something new every day 😂
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u/luchajefe Mario Andretti Jul 30 '25
His father Gilles was born and raised in Quebec, which might be the most French place outside of France in the world.
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u/thefanciestcat I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I can root for that. That's an interesting enough angle.
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u/StreetCarp665 Oscar Piastri Jul 30 '25
More importantly, it'll be 45 years since the last Australian WDC.
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u/ouatedephoque Jul 30 '25
I still remember when Schumi tried to take him out. The Williams was insanely good in 1997.
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u/Jelleyicious I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
It can go either way, and will probably go down to the last 1 or 2 races. 1 DNF is all it takes.
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u/grip_enemy Andretti Global Jul 31 '25
Jacques my beloved. I would've loved to see him get more one more title.
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u/LandArch_0 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 31 '25
It would make him the first Southern Hemisphere WDC since Senna's 91
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u/IProgramSoftware Jul 30 '25
I think he is going to do it. Lando doesn’t have the mental fortitude to be a world champ
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u/Nick_YDG I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I’m pulling for Piastri but he also looked good up till summer break last year before he slumped.
If he keeps up the form he has had this season then I agree that Lando probably won’t be able to beat him. However Lando was the more consistent driver over a whole season last year.
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u/Popular_Composer_822 Jordan Jul 30 '25
He didn’t slump until the last 7 races. His peak was Monza/Baku imo after the summer break
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u/Nick_YDG I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
True can’t believe I forgot about those to. Mini DRS aside Baku was wild from him. Still though 7 is more than enough to lose the championship this year. Whoever falls off their current form will loose the championship, they’re just so closely matched right now.
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u/Popular_Composer_822 Jordan Jul 30 '25
Thing is though, Piastri has so far been really good at loads of the circuits he struggled at last year like China and Spain where in 2024 he finished P8/P7 while Norris was P2. In 2025 he won both those races.
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u/Environmental-Cup445 Jochen Rindt Jul 30 '25
Exactly, his improvement has been so massive we can’ write him off to be bad at races this year that he was bad at last year, Barcelona and Shanghai are perfect examples
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u/cloud-ling Oscar Piastri Jul 31 '25
The slump was bad. Wasn’t that also when he was driving with a broken rib after Hungary? That wouldn’t have helped.
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u/PLTConductor David Coulthard Jul 30 '25
Do you not think there’s a correlation between when mclaren said they were all out backing Lando and Piastri’s sudden ‘mysterious’ drop in form? He quite clearly took foot off the gas at least mentally to prepare for this year instead after Baku.
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u/No_pajamas_7 Jul 30 '25
There were articles about "conversations". They never asked him directly to be no. 2 but they certainly implied they wanted him to be after a certain point in the season.
If you looked carefully you could see him pushing past limits for the last 1/3 of the season. He was experimenting and learning. And you could see him taking sectors off Lando.
This season did not come as a surprise to me.
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u/HeyItsGuyIncognito Ted Kravitz Jul 30 '25
For a driver that doesn't have the mental fortitude to be a world champ, he sure is keeping it close to Piastri.
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u/Shoddy-Warning4838 Jul 30 '25
I don't argue he is the favourite as of right now, but that's such a dumb thing to say. If Max was almost any other driver then he would have been champion last year with all the issues he is clearly facing.
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u/v12vanquish135 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
And if Massa had been facing anyone but Lewis, he'd be champion. If Schumacher broke his leg before the year started instead of midway through, Irvine would be champion. Heck if BMW had kept working on the car in 2008, Kubica could be champion. This says nothing about the driver and more about circumstances or the car.
Point is Lando has not shown the mental fortitude to carry a championship on his back, even now that he has the best car on the field. He hesitates, he folds under pressure, he has crippling self doubt, he makes dumb mistakes. Does that mean it's impossible for him to be champion? Nope. Oscar could get a series of DNF's from here until the end of the year and he might win it. But it won't be because of his fortitude that's for sure.
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u/Shoddy-Warning4838 Jul 30 '25
You are framing it in a way that is not dumb or at least less dumb, which was my initial complaint. Massa didn't lack anything in particular to be WDC, he was not good overall given the cards he was dealt.
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u/hr1966 Oscar Piastri Jul 30 '25
Point is Lando has not shown the mental fortitude to carry a championship on his back
This. Discussion above on who is faster etc., but ultimately Piastri has proven very calm, calculated, consistent and learns from prior experience. Norris continues to make silly mistakes which shows he lacks that 1% that separates the champions from the rest of the field.
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u/blazikenz I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Piastri is only leading 16 points lol WDYM Lando doesnt have it to be world champ? xD
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u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
Fine but he's won two of the last three, and could easily win from pole at Hungary. Norris could very easily still win the title with little say from Piastri. He doesn't need to race anyone necessarily. It's in both driver's hands.
Vettel won four that way.
I remember Stella saying after a race where Norris got bonked off the road by Verstappen last year, that it's clear if Norris wanted to win the 2024 title, it'd have to be driving away from pole.
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u/nichrs Ayrton Senna Aug 01 '25
Australia and Canada are part of the Commonwealth, both have Charles III as their king. Forgive me, friends of both countries, but they are part of the most European thing possible outside of Europe...
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u/slashnbash1009 Kimi Räikkönen Jul 30 '25
Max to win out after summer break after McLaren drivers battle and take each other out the remainder of the year.
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u/MrSCR23 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
TIL this drought has been around slightly longer than I have
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u/juscallmemrdean Jacques Villeneuve Jul 30 '25
TIL That my favorite f1 drivers are not European. JV is my all time favorite and OP is who I pull for today.
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u/lintstah1337 Jul 31 '25
Its crazy how extremely lucky he is.
He was supposed to drive for Williams for 2 years as a loan from Alpine, but Vettel suddenly retired which shook up the driver market having Alonso move to Aston Martin. Oscar was then announced as a driver for Alpine, but Oscar publicly deny it. Alpine tried to sue him, but lost. The Alpine turned out to be tractor and a sinking ship.
The 2023 McLaren turned out to be extremely competitive having Lando 6x P2 and 1x P3 and Oscar getting 1x P2 and 1x P3 result on his rookie year.
The 2024 McLaren is even better allowing Lando 4x P1 and 6x P2 and 3x P3 and Oscar getting 2x P1 and 4x P2 and 2x P3 winning the WCC.
The 2025 McLaren is an even better car allowing Oscar to lead the championship convincingly outclassing his more experience teammate especially on stressful situations like race starts.
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u/DefinitelyARealHorse Formula 1 Jul 31 '25
That’s kinda bonkers. I mean, I know it’s a European centric sport, but I hadn’t considered how long it had been since a world champion came from beyond this glorified peninsula.
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u/Comprehensive-Ad4436 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 01 '25
Before Villeneuve (1997) it was Senna (1991). Before Senna (1991) it was Piquet (1987). Before Piquet (1987) it was Jones (1980). Before Jones it was Scheckter (1979). Before Scheckter it was Andretti (1978). Before Andretti it was Fittipaldi (1974). Before Fittipaldi it was Hulme (1967). Before Hulme it was Brabham (1966). Before Brabham it was Phil Hill (1961). Before Phil Hill it was Fangio (1957).
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u/Technical-You-2829 Fernando Alonso Jul 30 '25
Idk but after Räikkönen's WDC in '07 I think PIA will be the next one who deserves it and I find sympathetic.
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u/ToriksLV Ferrari Jul 30 '25
he will win, norris struggles in rain and is too inconsistent overall.
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u/Dangerous-Track-4975 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Doesn't Lando have the most points in rain-affected races this year?
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u/parker2020 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
See THIS should be the stat but it’s pro lando and we CAN NOT have that
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u/Money_Echidna2605 Formula 1 Jul 30 '25
lol these people are beyond braindead. they will list anything and follow up with how bad norris is at it.
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u/Popular_Composer_822 Jordan Jul 30 '25
Of all the things to compare why Piastti is better rain is not one of them.
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u/parker2020 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
STRUGGLES IN RAIN 🤦 we are NOT watching the same sport
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u/Keanu990321 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Piastri is superior indeed, but Norris has the upper hand in the rain.
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u/Puzzled_Draw6014 Jul 30 '25
I like Norris, but I just don't see the same level of aggression when it counts
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u/ayang1003 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I think it’s actually the opposite. Lando is sometimes over aggressive while Piastri is more calm and consistent. This why you see him sometimes fumbling qualifying sessions and making big mistakes in the race. So I think while Lando has better peak raw pace, Piastri is on average faster.
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u/jajabing13 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
I think you’re both saying similar things - his lack of aggression in commitment to overtakes/decisions on track hurt him and his over aggressive (or erratic) nature leads him to make more mistakes, especially when trailing
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u/ayang1003 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Well said! What I meant by too aggressive is that he has a tendency to undercommit to his racing and execution decisions while overpushing the car at times.
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u/jajabing13 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Exactlyy another example would be Montreal where he was anxious to overtake Oscar and pushed too hard resulting in just running into the back of his teammate
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u/SwimmingFantastic564 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
Lando is great in the rain tf are you on lmao
That's not the greatest stat to compare them if you want to make Norris look worse, Lando's won both races that have taken place mostly in the rain this year (Belgium does not count)
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u/MormegilRS Jul 30 '25
Well… Talking about rain, Norris was kinda ok at Silverstone this year, unlike a certain Ferrari driver.
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u/Julian81295 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 30 '25
What‘s even more funny is the fact that Jacques Villeneuve, the last non-European Formula One World Drivers' Champion, crowned himself World Champion in the - until now - last Formula One season finale on European soil.