Could Kvyat have won?

[MiniMan64]

Could have.

But wouldn't have.

[sparta6]

Probably not. Doesn't have a cool head

[VolvoT5]

I like Max but the hype is a bit OTT....... he did really well to keep a cool head but in reality he was effectively gifted that win on strategy - Not just Red bull but Ferrari also fluffed the chance to 'undercut' him with Raikkonen.

I do think Kvyat could have won, but one could also argue that Kvyat wouldn't have qualified the car ahead of the Ferrari's as he was on average quite a bit slower than Ricciardo in qualifying.

[VolvoT5]

thatguy11 said:

I also have a strong suspicion that if Ferrari had three-stopped Kimi rather than Vettel, and it had been Seb right behind Verstappen for 20-odd laps, he’d have been able to pass the Red Bull without much bother. The issue Raikkonen had was that the Red Bull was quicker than the Ferrari through the twisty final sector, allowing Max to keep just far enough ahead of Kimi on the home straight to avoid being passed.

Vettel is the master of twisty, low-speed exit corners; his advantage here definitely isn't as high as it was in the blown diffuser days, but he's still the king in this area. I think he’d have been able to carry enough speed through the final chicane and final turn to get him close enough to Max to make a pass at the end of the straight.

I agree Kimi was clearly struggling to stay close enough leading up to the two best over taking chances and it cost him. Kimi seems to have a reputation for not being able to overtake and he got a lot of criticism after the race for not 'having a go'.... but he carved he way though traffic pretty well in Bahrain and China. I think the difference between him and some of the younger guys is he isn't often willing to just throw it up the inside and cross his fingers it works out OK......he said after the race he felt it would have ended in tears if he had just launched one up the inside.

But Vettel couldn't even get in DRS zone when he was behind Verstappen earlier in the race and then towards the end of the race he was really struggling to hold off Ricciardo despite being on the same tyres only one lap older. I just don't see any evidence to make me think Seb had the pace or confidence throughout the race to suggest he could pull off any heroics had he been the one following Max.

So I see what you are getting at but I'm not sure I agree.

Edited by VolvoT5 on Saturday 21st May 19:00