Melbourne Grand Prix - March 17, 2019

ruggedhawk20 said:Mercedes-Benz doesn't really care about Lewis Hamilton or the UK—not in the way people think. I guess he’ll be leaving the team soon anyway. Besides, Mercedes doesn't want their entire legacy tied to just one driver—that would probably diminish their own standing, in a sense. It seems more important to them to tell the world, "Look how dominant this car is—we won titles with Hamilton, Rosberg, and even Valtteri Bottas." That's the real goal, maybe.

I suppose Mercedes won't quite let themselves get to a point where Lewis Hamilton can tell them, "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have a championship to your name"—not that they'd ever admit it, I guess.

It seems Mercedes learned their lesson from the way Ferrari and Michael Schumacher handled things—they probably won't make the mistake of putting all their eggs in one basket again.

Bravo—exactly this. 👍 Well written. 👏👏

It seems almost certain that Max Verstappen will end up at Mercedes by 2021—unless Honda pulls off some kind of miracle before then—since Toto Wolff keeps insisting he wants him. It’s probably just the logical move to keep that dominance going; besides, Max might just rack up enough MVPs to give a few people on this forum a nervous breakdown. 😬).

crimsonhawk23 said:Bravo, spot on 👍 Perfectly written 👏👏

Plus, it’s looking almost certain that Max Verstappen heads to Mercedes in 2021 (unless Honda pulls off some miracle by then), because Toto keeps insisting he wants him ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ). It's time to keep that dominance going—besides, Max is going to stack up enough MVPs to give someone on this forum a total nervous breakdown 😬.

I've said it before: if Ferrari were actually smart, they'd grab him. Otherwise, don't expect any titles from them for the next decade. 😁

fadedpanther51 said:I've said it before—if Ferrari actually wanted to be smart about this, they should have made the move. Otherwise, I don't see them sniffing around any championships in the next decade. 😁

I agree—something I actually mentioned a few days back, too. 😃

crimsonhawk23 said:If Max Verstappen were behind the wheel of this current Ferrari, he’d probably be the champion—I guess.

Given how incompetent Ferrari seems lately, I can't really be certain about anything regarding them—I guess. I don't love them, but I don't hate them either; honestly, I'm indifferent, though it would be nice to see them actually perform. They seem to be working—I guess. If they actually face some real competition from someone other than Mercedes-Benz—which seems unlikely right now—I have a feeling they’d somehow find a way to blow it. Even if both drivers were running a full lap ahead of the field, they'd probably find some way to mess up the strategy—I guess. 🤷 They act like flies without heads—I guess. 🤷

Richard Ross11 said:Yeah, but Lewis Hamilton was already an MVP back then, while Rosberg wasn't... 🙂

Everything's five...
Look, Nico Rosberg was the veteran in that squad. He actually managed to beat Michael Schumacher in all three seasons they were teammates at the same team.
Aside from that tiny detail, here’s what Rosberg actually brought to the table for that team:
First podium.
First pole position.
That first win.
First FL.

Plus, they had their German guy on the team, so it didn't really matter anyway. Second race of the season.In the second race, he got slapped with the exact same team orders as Charles Leclerc did back in Australia, while running alongside Lewis Hamilton.
Even if he spent half an eternity arguing with Ross Brawn over the team radio—where Ross basically held back from telling him to shut up and get lost—you could tell by his tone that things were getting heated. ☕

Let’s be real: Rosberg was definitely the guy who helped build that car and the entire team alongside Michael Schumacher. He’s the one who actually pushed them until they became a powerhouse.

It’s pretty damn obvious that if Rosberg hadn't played it smart and refused to sign that contract back in 2009, he wouldn't have ended up as Lewis Hamilton's No. 2 driver from 2013 onwards.
Look, you can't exactly say he didn't know what he was getting into when he signed that contract. Valtteri Bottas knew exactly what the deal was. He was brought in specifically to be the No. 2 driver, he agreed to it, and let's be honest—he got paid a hell of a lot of money to play that role.
It's a whole different ballgame now. 😉

Of course, the British media completely ignored it. FOM scrubbed every trace of that conversation from the internet, leaving us with maybe one or two pathetic cell phone clips of half the actual discussion.
The media completely ignored this. Apparently, it was way more fun to just bash Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel instead. It’s basically a carbon copy of that whole Multi 21 mess. 😁

fadedpanther51 said:In some alternate universe, sure, maybe Ferrari could've actually won last season if they had Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel instead of Sebastian Vettel.

You bet he would.🤣

Lujo is usually a pretty chill guy, and I’m sure he’d stay perfectly calm at Ferrari. 🙂🤣
Except for when he starts screaming on the team radio two laps after his pit stop about how the tires are absolute garbage, how they're disintegrating, how there's zero chance he makes it to the end, blah blah blah...
What the hell are those guys on the pit wall even doing? And why would he dive into the pits the second he realizes he isn't in first place or that he's stuck behind his teammate or whoever...

Go ahead and imagine him staying "calm" during those chaotic Ferrari strategies that even a drunk person couldn't come up with. 🤦
Just pure stupidity—sending him out in qualifying at Monza just to provide slipstream for Kimi, or driving him crazy by putting him behind Kimi on slow tires and leaving him stuck there for 13 laps while Kimi forgets to ask if he needs to pit or not...

The way things are going now, Lujo would probably slap Zalizanog right in the middle of the pit lane during a live broadcast. 😁

fadedpanther51 said:I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if Ferrari actually had even a shred of intelligence, they would have snatched him up. Otherwise, don't hold your breath for a championship anytime in the next decade. 😁

honestly, who needs Max Verstappen when you've already got Charles Leclerc?

stormybadger8 As stated by:
It’s pretty much a given. 🤣

Lujo is a remarkably composed individual. He would certainly be a calming presence within the Ferrari garage. 🙂🤣
Good grief. The guy starts whining over the team radio just two laps after his pit stop. He’s out there crying about how the tires are absolute garbage, claiming they're disintegrating and that he doesn't stand a prayer of making it to the finish line. Just endless, mindless complaining. Blah, blah, blah.
What on earth is going on with the strategy calls on the pit wall? It’s baffling. They seem to pull him into the pits the very second they realize he isn't sitting in P1 or that he's fallen behind a teammate. It makes absolutely no sense.

One could imagine him remaining perfectly composed, like a man sipping an iced tea, amidst those chaotic Ferrari strategies that even a drunk grandmother couldn't have dreamt up. 🤦
It’s pure idiocy if they plan on sending him to qualifying at Monza just to act as a windbreak for Kimi Räikkönen. They'll probably just mess with his head by tucking him right behind Kimi on those slow tires, keeping him stuck back there for thirteen laps while waiting for Kimi to finally remember to ask if he needs to move out of the way.

Honestly, if Lujo were around, he would have slapped that guy right in the middle of the pit lane during the live broadcast. 😁

Honestly, there’s some truth to that.

ruggedhawk20 said:Just one, back in 2008.

In this hybrid era from 2014 onwards, nobody besides Mercedes-Benz actually had a championship-winning car. Absolutely nobody. Not even the Ferrari 2017-2018, regardless of how much Vettel haters tried to claim otherwise.

I’m not a Vettel hater; saying I don't like him would be an exaggeration. "Overrated" is probably the best way to describe my view.

So, are you saying Ferrari didn't have a title contender in 2018? Or did they just fail to unlock the car's true potential during the races?

Nicholas Newman2 said:I’m not hating on Vettel. I wouldn't go so far as to say I dislike him, but "overrated" is probably the best way to put it.

So you think Ferrari didn't have a title contender in 2018? Or maybe they just couldn't squeeze the actual potential out of the car and the race situations!?

It wasn't the car, and it definitely wasn't the team...

Look, you can draw a direct comparison to the 2012 season...
The fastest car was McLaren, no question about it... but it was chronically unreliable and the team was a complete mess.

If you look at the mix of pace and reliability, Ferrari actually had a better car than RB... But there's a massive "BUT" there!
RB was a way more strategically organized outfit, while the guys at Ferrari were predictably clueless and lost.

Basically, Ferrari has been totally lost since Jean Todt and Ross Brawn left, and they haven't recovered since.
They’re totally disorganized, shuffling people in and out constantly, running through the halls and firing people in cycles of two or three years of pure disappointment...
But the real kicker is that the team is a total strategic fiasco at least two or three times every single season because they inevitably screw up big time. Nobody has the guts to make a call, let alone a fast one...
The bosses lack the backbone and authority they should have; under the slightest pressure, the whole lot of them lose their heads together...
And the biggest headache is the Italian media, who start crucifying them and then everyone collectively loses it.

Even when they actually pull off a great strategic race, you can see from the stands that it was mostly just dumb luck rather than any actual planning or intelligence...
Like what happened in Australia last year—they won a race with zero logic or strategy; they basically had no plan and just got lucky.
Then the Italian media starts singing their praises, claiming it was "masterful strategy," and everyone starts hoping they'll win every race that season just by doing nothing or doing the opposite of Mercedes—because apparently, if it worked once, it’s the perfect recipe for success and should work twenty more times.😁

They have seasons where they might even have the best car, but it's still garbage if the team is incompetent...
Take 2008, for example. Most people remember it because Massa blew the title thanks to Glock and all that...
But the reality is he blew the title exclusively because of Ferrari and their absolute, textbook clumsiness.
What they pulled off in Brazil was quite literally a disaster. 😳

In a head-to-head duel between two drivers in two pretty evenly matched title contenders using a 10-8-6 points system...
If you're a Ferrari driver with insanely good pace and you beat Lewis in five races that he was essentially supposed to win based on the car, and you take every other one... that’s a +10 point advantage for you.🎉
Then Ferrari goes and screws up Singapore, and suddenly you’re neck-and-neck with Lewis Hamilton if he pulls off the win there. 😳
Your chances of grabbing a title with a crew like that are basically zero. Even if you have an equal car, or even a slightly better one, it’s still a long shot. Honestly, I’d even question if you could do it with a dominant car...

I’m pretty convinced that if you took this hybrid era, handed Mercedes-Benz's cars over to Ferrari to run, and shoved whoever you wanted behind the wheel...
The real question is whether they’d actually manage to snag even one title 🤦 even if you gave them everything. I’m certain two titles would be the absolute, absolute limit. ☕

There’s definitely something to this... It gets even more glaring when you consider just how much money they've poured into that team over the last decade... For what, exactly?!

stormybadger8 said:It’s not just the car, let alone the crew...

You could draw a direct comparison to the 2012 season...
Back then, the fastest car was the McLaren, no question about it... but it was chronically unreliable and the team was a complete mess.

If you look at the combination of raw pace and reliability, Ferrari actually had the better car than Red Bull Racing... But there is a massive "but" there!
Red Bull Racing was far better organized strategically, while the guys at Ferrari were typically disorganized and lost...

Basically, Ferrari has been totally lost since Jean Todt and Ross Brawn left, and they haven't recovered from that to this day...
They are completely scattered, constantly shuffling people around, running through the halls, and firing people in cycles of two or three years of disappointment...
But the main issue is that strategically, the team is a total fiasco in at least two or three races every season because they inevitably screw up—and they do it big time because nobody has the guts to make a call, let alone a quick one...
The bosses lack the backbone and authority required; under even the slightest pressure, the whole lot of them lose their heads together...
And the biggest headache is the American media, who start tearing them apart, and then the whole group collectively loses their nerve.

When they actually pull off a great strategic race, you can see from the stands that it was mostly just pure luck rather than any actual planning or intelligence...
Like what happened in the USA last year; they won a race with zero logical strategy, they basically had no plan and just got lucky...
But then the American media starts praising them, everyone celebrates "world-class strategy," and then they all sit around hoping they can win every race by either doing nothing or just doing the opposite of Mercedes—as if that's some perfect recipe for success, thinking if it worked once, it'll work twenty more times.

They have seasons where they might even have the best car, but it's still useless when the team is incompetent...
Take 2008, for example; most people remember it because Felipe Massa lost the title because of Gluck and whatever...
But the reality is he lost the title exclusively because of Ferrari and their absolute incompetence and chaos.
What they pulled off in the USA was quite literally a disaster when they managed to...

In a head-to-head duel between two drivers in two pretty evenly matched cars for the title, using a 10-8-6 points system...
Say you're a Ferrari driver with incredible talent, and you beat Lewis Hamilton in five races that he should have won based on the car—that's a +10 point advantage for you.
And then Ferrari screws up Singapore, and suddenly you're dead even with Hamilton if he wins that race.
The chances of winning a title with a team like this are practically zero if the car is equal, and even if the car is slightly better, it's still zero. It makes you wonder what would happen if you actually had a dominant car...

Personally, I am deeply convinced that if you took this hybrid era and handed the Ferrari cars over to the Bear's management, throwing whatever drivers you wanted into the seats...
The question is whether they would even manage to take a single title. Even if you forced it, I'm certain two titles would be the absolute maximum.

There's no way around it. If someone showed up here who hadn't watched a single race, reading your posts, they'd conclude that Vettel is an alien. In 2012, the McLaren was fast, and so was the Ferrari, but it didn't matter—Vettel ended up the champion. 😉

And here’s another side note: you keep casually claiming Ferrari was faster back when they weren't running Vettel, yet ever since he joined them, they've been hovering near the top of the standings—even if just occasionally. Not to mention how everyone there seemed to turn against him, regardless of the millions they pay him to be there.😂

If a woman is loved even a third as much as Vettel is, she’s incredibly lucky, and all her friends would be green with envy.🥳

Nicholas Newman2 said:Look, if someone who hasn't watched a single race showed up here, reading your posts, they’d walk away thinking Sebastian Vettel is some kind of alien. Sure, the McLaren was fast in 2012, and Ferrari was too, but it didn't matter—Vettel still walked away as champion at the end of the year. 😉

And another thing—you love casually tossing out how fast Ferrari was back when he wasn't driving for them. Since Vettel joined, they've been hovering near the top of Formula 1, occasionally, though I won't even get started on how everyone there seemed to conspire against him, regardless of the millions they pay him.😂

I never said Vettel is an alien dragging some junker around fighting for titles... that's not my vibe or my talking point.🙂
That was just the chatter surrounding Fernando Alonso when he was at Ferrari.☕

But the MO is basically the same: Ferrari's strategy is a total disaster, and they screw up anything that can be screwed up...
They clearly lack the guts to make decisions, especially quick ones. They mostly just watch what everyone else does and then either mimic them or try to do the exact opposite...
As for actually having a pre-planned strategy they stick to? Yeah, good luck with that...

What they pulled off in 2017 and 2018 looks a lot like what happened in 2008 with Massa, or 2010/2012 with Fernando Alonso...
Or even 2007 with Kimi Räikkönen, except back then, the people on the other side were even more incompetent. They got blindsided by 2007 without knowing why or expecting it. If they had actually expected it and tried to handle it, I bet they would've just blown it even harder.😁

And yeah, sure, drivers made mistakes in all those seasons, but man, the team made strategic blunders too—ranging from cheap little errors to absolutely catastrophic ones...

The only real difference is how much the media dragged certain people through the mud as the scapegoats...
They didn't really go after Fernando Alonso, even though they definitely had reason to. Maybe it's because he isn't exactly a saint; he's charismatic and great at PR, constantly praising himself, so naturally, the blame shifts toward the team, which is obviously incompetent...
I mean, they weren't even remotely bashing Alonso, who couldn't outpace someone like Vitaly Petrov, as much as they trashed Ferrari's strategy...
Honestly, they didn't even complain about Alonso when he crashed in Monaco right before the race or qualifying, or when he had a few bad qualifying sessions...
On the flip side, you can bet they would've torn Sebastian Vettel apart if he were in his shoes.🙂

Because Sebastian is pretty low-key in the media (maybe the most low-key guy on the grid), and he's not exactly the most "likable" guy, either...
He often tries way too hard to be funny, and it usually misses the mark. When he gives post-race interviews, it sounds more like a school briefing than someone praising themselves or their "alien" driving skills and giving "120%" or squeezing 0.6 seconds out of thin air.😍
Most people find him incredibly annoying because he’s spent years snatching titles away from Ferrari and McLaren. Because of that, every single mistake he makes is going to be dragged through the mud and dissected by the media. They're practically salivating at the chance to catch him slipping right now...
At the same time, they'll conveniently look the other way when the team messes up, even though their incompetence is usually what causes his mistakes in the first place. It’s just much easier to spit on Sebastian Vettel than it is to criticize their precious Ferrari.
Especially the Italian media, who have never liked him one bit.
And the British press? Even worse. They’re just dying for an excuse to take a shot at Sebastian Vettel...

If you love Zen as much as she loves Sebastian, you're a lucky woman and all your friends are probably jealous.🥳

Fair point, judge.😁

Fernando Alonso has that charisma 🤣

Cendravac, you're right—his charisma is on a whole different level.

To be honest, stormybadger8 is back at it again, obsessing over Nanda 🤣

Richard Walker38 said:Fernando Alonso's got charisma 🤣

Cendravac, please—his charisma is basically non-existent.

Fernando Alonso is easily the most charismatic driver out there right now

If he wasn't, people wouldn't be constantly obsessing over him. Nobody would be up at the crack of dawn talking about him and Tibač, etc., etc...

Just because you personally can't stand him doesn't mean he isn't charismatic

Look at guys like Nick Heidfeld, Jean-Éric Vergne, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas, and so on... they're perfect examples of drivers with zero charisma.

ruggedhawk20 said:Fernando Alonso is easily the most charismatic driver out there right now.

I mean, he’s right on par with my five and seven-year-old nieces. They’ve got plenty of charisma too, honestly. XD

Kimi has that undeniable charisma

Fernando Alonso is just a total washout and nothing else.

Richard Walker38 said:Kimi has that charisma.

As for Alonso, he’s just a total pushover, nothing more.

Jules had that massive, larger-than-life charisma. 😉

He was this socially awkward, shy kind of guy—honestly, there was something beautiful about it.

I honestly can't imagine how he handled dating girls in his actual life. 😁

Richard Walker38 said:Kimi just has that charisma.

Fernando Alonso is just a total hack, plain and simple.

Kimi and charisma? Yeah, those two aren't even in the same zip code.
I mean, personally, I really like him, but for the love of God, I honestly don't see a single ounce of charisma in Kimi Räikkönen.
Look, the guy is just damn likable. Seriously, he’s so charming you basically have no choice but to root for him. 😍Honestly, he's got about as much charisma as Plankton.

Talk about charisma. Every other question gets a "Bowah" or some unintelligible mumbling, and that’s where the conversation ends. Real helpful.
He looks like a guy who’s been stuck in a local dive bar for six days straight, only to be dragged out by some random person just to argue.
Where’s the charisma? Honestly, I haven't seen any. 🤔

Personally, I’m just not feeling Alonso at all. I can't stand the guy.
Al always knew how to talk trash over the team radio, blabbing nonsense just to hear himself speak and spinning these massive yarns about how everything good—and bad—is solely his doing.
And then you’ve got those hordes of fans who just blindly swallow every single fairy tale they're fed...
I'm a Cendravac too, but even so, it's not exactly a dead engine.

Look, just go read the definition.
Charisma is that elusive, magnetic quality that just draws people in. It’s not just about being loud or flashy; it’s an aura. Some people seem to walk into a room and instantly command attention without even trying, while others could give a keynote speech at a tech summit in Silicon Valley and still feel invisible. It's a fascinating mix of confidence, presence, and how you connect with the people around you. Honestly, most of us are out here just trying to look like we know what we're doing, hoping a little bit of charm rubs off on us by accident.

Seriously, that is the textbook definition of Fernando Alonso. 🤣
Mr. Six Tenths, or whatever. 🙂
He’s the only reason Ferrari is even in the title fight and McLaren-Honda is scoring points. Honestly, his talent is just on another level.
It’s just him. Everyone else can go jump in a lake. It's him and only him.
And then you've got the fans, his own team bosses, even a whole pack of journalists just parroting the same old lines like a bunch of damn parrots.
Man, this guy acts like he’s some kind of cult leader instead of just another driver. It's ridiculous.🤣

Honestly, that’s still less intense than my five-year-old niece when she's having a meltdown. If you're calling that kind of energy "charisma," then I guess we have very different definitions... xD