1. Is Max Verstappen going to win this?
Verstappen’s up 18 points now, which is three grands prix Hamilton needs to make up in the one-finishes-first-the-other-finishes-second-and-gets-the-fastest-lap format. Is that a lot? I don’t know. But it feels like kind of a lot.
Another way to look at this is that Verstappen has four wins and Hamilton has three, and I’d imagine the winner of that race wins the championship more often than not. So maybe Verstappen isn’t up as much as we think. That said, if he’s as fast next week as he was this week (which is a reasonable expectation on the same track, I’d guess), the lead could grow even bigger.
2. Is Red Bull going to win this?
Red Bull’s 40-point lead over Mercedes is slightly larger, per driver, than Verstappen’s over Hamilton.
3. What does it mean if Verstappen and Red Bull keep winning?
How much of this is Verstappen? How much of this is Red Bull? Is Hamilton keeping it closer than it would be with equal drivers? Or is Verstappen just making things happen? Recent history would suggest the former, and if that’s the case, I’m curious if it means it’s harder for Hamilton to make up ground, since returns on driver improvement at given tracks are marginal (easier to find the first one-second improvement than the second).
4. Is Red Bull huge in Europe?
The brand, I mean. Because I don’t feel like it’s that big in the U.S., but here they are being a massive part of a mainly European sport. Even got the Red Bull Ring sponsorship. Are they a European company? What do I not know about Red Bull?
