F1 - what is your bet?

[PawGo]

What are your thoughts before the final round? Are we going to have a new, orange champion? Or maybe German machine will keep rolling?
Or they both will crash on the 1st lap?

[dothebeats]

Personally rooting for Ocon on the latter part of the season, but you can't really deny that the performances of Verstappen and Hamilton is simply beautiful now that we're nearing the end of this season. Hamilton is poised to win, but Max wouldn't really let it slide. We can see the aggressiveness of Verstappen on the last few races, and he's not giving Hamilton an opening no matter how small that gap is.

Hamilton for the win if we're realistic.

[alegotardo]

What are your thoughts before the final round? Are we going to have a new, orange champion? Or maybe German machine will keep rolling?
Or they both will crash on the 1st lap?

For the first time in years, we have a real world title fight in F1. Red Bull has finally managed to build a car that allows Verstappen to attack Mercedes cars, and it's paying off.
I still believe in Verstappen. But it feels a lot less certain than a few races ago. I think the Red Bull car is often faster and even though it will likely suffer a grid penalty due to engine change at some point, Verstappen should still be able to overcome this through strong performance.

[PawGo]

I am not sure if Max is ready to be a champion (as a person). Definitely I think he will be Number One in the future, but probably not this year.
On the other hand I don’t like fact that for the last few races everyone knows what the next season teams/groups will be and that people must race against their future employers. Bottas was good for Hamilton because was not very demanding. With Russel I think it will be more difficult for LH - and I predict the next season will be very interesting, with stronger team mate and Max becoming more and more mature every year.

[YOSHIE]

I watched this F1 race, but I don't want to bet, I think this race is full of drama, don't ask me the reason, you just watch it, see the results later.

Talking about Verstappen Vs Hamilton, indeed they are competing fiercely, the race is heating up lately, a lot of people are talking about F1, a lot of criticism has been raised by supporters of the drama being played.

You saw at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week, what the heck, no one in the race arena is allowed to brake suddenly, this is just the beginning, see what happens next of course I don't want to say anything about Verstappen Vs Hamilton I have often seen their action, when racing in the Italian GP, ​​England, drama has happened, actually some bettors like situations like this, some bettors don't, they don't want to take risks for their behavior, So, the story will end at the Abu Dhabi GP next december, just see what they do, honestly I gave up on betting for them.

[Cnut237]

What are your thoughts before the final round? Are we going to have a new, orange champion? Or maybe German machine will keep rolling?
Or they both will crash on the 1st lap?

I think Max will try to crash into Lewis to force a double DNF, and thereby win the championship. The only way Max won't try this is if he is out clear in the lead and Lewis is no threat... as soon as Lewis becomes a threat, he will take him out. Max has a certain mentality that we've seen before, Schumacher for example tried the same thing in the final race of the season twice, once successfully by ramming Hill, and once unsuccessfully by ramming Villeneuve, who managed to limp home damaged to beat Schumacher to the title.

Max is certainly a fast and talented driver, but he's just that type of person, and I think it runs in the family... his dad is an absolute psychopath.

[1kodumtek7]

First of all, I just can't wait to see this race! It's been a very long time since I watched a this heated rivalry for the title. Because Hamilton was dominating like all the time. And I think that we will watch a historical race in only three days. I'm expecting Verstappen to take the pole position and Hamilton to take the second position. And the start is going to be very exciting. Verstappen would do everything for keeping his place I guess. And we will watch great attacks and defences from these drivers I believe.

And at the end, I'm expecting Verstappen to win and win his first championship.

[PawGo]

I also think that Red Bull seems to be better at managing tyres & pit stops, Mercedes had some irrational mistakes recently...
The biggest enemy of Max could be himself and I am not sure if he may manage it. Like in Spa 2019 when thousands of his fans came to Belgium and he crashed on the first lap (at least at famous Raidillon )

[delfastTions]

I am not sure if Max is ready to be a champion (as a person). Definitely I think he will be Number One in the future, but probably not this year. .

I probably disagree with the fact that Max as a person is not ready to become a champion.  He has already won so many times at the regional stages, but he just probably got used to the first place on the podium.  But of course he is a brilliant racer, I think no one will argue with that.  For such results as his, one must not only have a brilliant reaction, but also a quick mind and intuition .. And he has them, however, like Hamilton and several other pilots from the top 5-7. 
But, we'll see, and we'll see soon.

[RondoAnyar]

It's very difficult for me to predict this because Verstappen and Hamilton's performance has been quite crazy in the last few races.
However, until now my heart is still on Verstappen if he can control the race like in the previous matches.
as long as he doesn't falter he will win the championship I think because he is a pretty good rider at the moment and even next season will be even better

[NeuroticFish]

As I said in another F1 thread, I am disgusted by both, I no longer care which of the two wins.

Now, this is the first year RedBull had a car close enough to Mercedes' performance. Their car was even better than Mercedes for a while.
But the latest change - in Sao Paulo - made by Mercedes was unexpectedly powerful. Now their car is again significantly faster than the RedBull.
Some tell stories about the more talented pilot and mind games. No. One can be 10 times more talented than the rest; if the car is just a tad slower he doesn't stand a chance.

So the first chance goes to Lewis, and he may win unless Mercedes' overconfidence makes them do mistakes or RBR and Max do something greatly unexpected.

I am not sure if Max is ready to be a champion (as a person). Definitely I think he will be Number One in the future, but probably not this year.

Actually with the changes expected for next year, I feel like the other teams and the younger drivers will start claiming more and more wins and the Hamilton vs Verstappen era will end. So this may be one of the few chances left for Max.

[Bilgent]

I also think that Red Bull seems to be better at managing tyres & pit stops, Mercedes had some irrational mistakes recently...
The biggest enemy of Max could be himself and I am not sure if he may manage it. Like in Spa 2019 when thousands of his fans came to Belgium and he crashed on the first lap (at least at famous Raidillon )

He has already one more wins than Hamilton in this season so far. Even this proves how much he wants this title when he is too close to it. And I know one important thing also that Hamilton is a more experienced driver in this kind of situations as it is Verstappen's first time being this close to the title. This might cause Verstappen to be a little more excited than Hamilton. But I still believe in Verstappen's determination to win the title.

[Jackl87]

What are your thoughts before the final round? Are we going to have a new, orange champion? Or maybe German machine will keep rolling?
Or they both will crash on the 1st lap?

I personally think that the odds have shifted greatly in the last few weeks in favor of mercedes. After they have changed the engine in Hamiltons car it just looks like that the car itself is simply a few tenths of a second faster than the one of Red Bull. That's also why Verstappen had to risk absolutely everything in the qualifying of the Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia and he almost delivered an absolute miracle round but in the very last corner he just risked a little bit to much. The performance difference of the cars is also obvious if you look at the second drivers of the team. Bottas has no problems to keep up with Hamilton at the moment while Perez is far behind.

[Expecto]

I'm thinking about betting on Max Verstappen for the title. But I didn't see that there was such option on the website I'm thinking of betting. Instead, there is an option like "Who would be the winner?" for this GP. Hamilton is being favoured of course but Verstappen has a really nice odd now. I believe that Verstappen will make it to the title for the first time ever. I know that Hamilton also want to break a new record by achieving his 8th title in his career. By doing that, he will be the only driver who has that many titles in F1 history. So, let's get ready for a big competition!

[delfastTions]

Actually with the changes expected for next year, I feel like the other teams and the younger drivers will start claiming more and more wins and the Hamilton vs Verstappen era will end. So this may be one of the few chances left for Max.

Max Verstappen is only 24 years old.  So if something extraordinary does not happen, then his era could continue for more than one year.  It seems to me that Lewis is gradually leaving the stage, and he is 12 years older than Max.  The reaction is not what it was before.  This is an objective aging process, there is no getting away from it.

[NeuroticFish]

Actually with the changes expected for next year, I feel like the other teams and the younger drivers will start claiming more and more wins and the Hamilton vs Verstappen era will end. So this may be one of the few chances left for Max.

Max Verstappen is only 24 years old.  So if something extraordinary does not happen, then his era could continue for more than one year.  It seems to me that Lewis is gradually leaving the stage, and he is 10 years older than Max.  The reaction is not what it was before.  This is an objective aging process, there is no getting away from it.

Max will not leave, indeed; I didn't say he would. But Lando, Carlos, George are just a few of those who, if the car performances will become closer to each other, will make it super hard for Max to stay on top.
I find Max rather unlucky to be ... somewhere between the relevant generations. Of course, I can easily be wrong too...

[Turbolinea]

Actually with the changes expected for next year, I feel like the other teams and the younger drivers will start claiming more and more wins and the Hamilton vs Verstappen era will end. So this may be one of the few chances left for Max.

I think that the era of this duel would end earlier than we expect on the condition that Hamilton leaves F1. Otherwise, we can still continue to watch this rivalry I believe. But there is also a truth that the cars are changing in the next season. In this case, the rest of the teams and drivers will also have an opportunity to close the gap with the top 2 teams and drivers.

[PawGo]

Max will not leave, indeed; I didn't say he would. But Lando, Carlos, George are just a few of those who, if the car performances will become closer to each other, will make it super hard for Max to stay on top.
I find Max rather unlucky to be ... somewhere between the relevant generations. Of course, I can easily be wrong too...

I really wonder if Russell is a material for a champion. We know that in Williams he had somehow "lost years" and there is a possibility that un Mercedes he will show what he can do. There must be a reason why they invested in him. BUT - many may depends on his role. Bottas was just a shadow for a Hamilton, "the great champion", is Russell going to be shadow as well? I do not know. Maybe depends if he is going to be a team mate of champion or not.

Personally I am not a fan of any of two guys on top, but I am glad the change is coming.

[DatKing]

Max Verstappen is my favourite to win the title. Maybe it is going to be very very tough but I know that he has it in himself. Verstappen is a very aggressive driver also and we saw that in the last race especially. But he still needs to be very careful while becoming this aggressive. This could be even the end of him considering the title chance. I'm looking forward to watching the race.

[NeuroticFish]

I really wonder if Russell is a material for a champion. We know that in Williams he had somehow "lost years" and there is a possibility that un Mercedes he will show what he can do. There must be a reason why they invested in him. BUT - many may depends on his role. Bottas was just a shadow for a Hamilton, "the great champion", is Russell going to be shadow as well? I do not know. Maybe depends if he is going to be a team mate of champion or not.

There are too many things unknown. It depends how good next year's car will be, especially since the care will be different starting next year. It depends whether Lewis will "make room" for George and how long until Lewis will retire. It's way too hard to say anything for now.
It was interesting how Mercedes managed to fuck up badly the race George could have been winning. Or maybe it was intentional so a tiny number of people don't see how much better their car was compared to the others'?