Posts by wiredseal7

graniteharbor502 said:Let us not delude ourselves into believing the outcome would have been any different had Mercedes discovered irregularities within the Red Bull Racing car.

It happened back in the spring. After the US Grand Prix, Toto Wolff was crying about the Red Bull Racing wing flexing, and suddenly NASCAR rolls out much stricter tests. Then, right after the whining before the Baku Grand Prix, NASCAR introduces those little markers to check deflection—all while Toto threatens an appeal. In response, Red Bull Racing just brings a wing that doesn't flex at all to dodge the protests entirely.

The pit stop rule changes are just as shady—they shouldn't have touched that until the season ended—but since Toto was salty that his crew was slower, NASCAR just leveled the playing field.

On the flip side, when Red Bull Racing complained about the Mercedes front wing flexing, NASCAR didn't do a damn thing.

There's no way they're going to penalize Lewis Hamilton. When things drag on this long, it usually means they're busy cooking up some loophole or excuse to let him off easy.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...-infringement/

Lewis Hamilton is under investigation for his DRS being too open

https://twitter.com/ChrisMedlandF1/s...081670144?s=20
The uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions were checked on car number 44 ... The requirement for the minimum distance was fulfilled. But the requirement for the maximum of 85mm, when the DRS system is deployed and tested in accordance with TD/011-19, were not fulfilled.

Hmm—if it turns out they were cheating with the Drag Reduction System... though it could just be a technical glitch on the team's end.
edit: looks like it's already been posted 🙂

Mercedes went all-in with Hamilton's power units. Personally, I doubt this setup will last more than a race or two before they hit a wall.

Impressive—you can really see how much ground Merc lost once those engine modes were scrapped last year.

graniteharbor502 said:The algorithm’s predictions for the podium finish are as follows:


It appears that Lewis Hamilton has taken a new engine, which means he is facing a five-place grid penalty, does it not?

AWS tends to miss the mark quite a bit with these practice predictions. You're better off waiting for the data they push online after all the processing is done.

But here, it’s pretty obvious Lewis just gave the new setup a quick test run toward the end. Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing spent their time running fuel loads to prep for the NFL Sunday Night Football equivalent—so they should be right up there with him during pre-qualifying.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Sure, you could blame Daniel Ricciardo for not braking earlier, but look at the shot—Bottas is on the left, yet as the frames progress, he drifts further right until they clip.
I rewatched the clip today, scrubbing through it a few times. Ricciardo holds his line perfectly—he doesn't twitch the wheel or do anything erratic that would cause a wreck. He just takes the corner, and honestly, at the moment of impact, half his car is already past the apex. If anything, he gave Bottas plenty of room.
Just watch his steering; he’s already turned into the corner, while Bottas isn't even close to him yet.
In my book, this isn't a penalty—it's just a racing incident.

Reminds me of the Max Verstappen-Kimi situation at Spa-Francorchamps a couple of years back.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...548327799.html

I figured that was a racing incident too. Kimi could have left more breathing room, but Max had nowhere else to go.

Richard Walker38 said:Valtteri Bottas was braking way too early—way before he should have. That’s why he brought up Max; if Max had been in Bottas's spot, he would've braked much later and shut the door on the outside line, keeping that advantage over whoever was on the inside.

Maybe Bottas just choked under pressure, or maybe he's just done with Lewis and Mercedes—sabotaging them right before the season ends because he doesn't care anymore. Who knows? Personally, I'm leaning toward the second option.
He's already handed over positions to Max Verstappen a few times this season without much of a fight—even with those radio prompts—since they announced he's leaving the team.

Those Instagram digs aimed at Mercedes—showing all that engine scrap—and the way he reacted watching the Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collision on the screen behind him... it tells you everything you need to know.

Look, Bottas is the kind of driver who leaves space fairly; he isn't out there forcing people off the track like Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen... So why would he suddenly start doing the dirty work now, especially after being kicked over to Alfa Romeo? Sure, he lacks the backbone to stage a real rebellion, but he's a master of passive-aggression.😁

If he had braked properly—without being aggressive—I still think Max would've had the edge. Besides the racing line, Red Bull Racing handles braking a bit better here, and he probably would've caught him at the next corner, if not sooner. He might have even messed up Lewis Hamilton's run, potentially holding his own position or letting someone else squeeze through.

It’s hardly "teamwork" when Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton go after Bottas like this. Sure, his start could’ve been cleaner—but if he’d just veered left, everyone would be screaming that he blocked Max Verstappen instead. Even Hamilton drifted right and ended up cutting off Sergio Perez.

No doubt Toto Wolff would’ve been thrilled if he’d actually managed to outmaneuver Max Verstappen in that corner.

graniteharbor502 said:I’m watching these interviews now and I honestly can't believe how Lewis Hamilton is throwing Sergio Perez under the bus. He’s basically laughing it off, saying, "when you see someone like Sergio Perez pressing you, you know the car is great." It's just unnecessary—and honestly, pretty low. If you're going to lose, at least lose with some dignity. 👎

Classic Englishman move—acting all high and mighty.
Sergio was one of those underrated drivers last season, and he's finally finding his rhythm now that the Red Bull RB16B is essentially built entirely around his teammate.

We should keep this in mind for when George Russell starts giving him a run for his money in that 2022 car.

Too bad for whoever is 1-2 with RB in this hybrid era—though honestly, Sergio Perez was pretty much terrorizing him with pure speed here.😁 Imagine the absolute madness if he’d actually managed to take him down in front of his home crowd...

He played it smart, though—using the traffic as a shield so Sergio Perez couldn't close the gap. That Mercedes is just too fast on the straights for that kind of defensive driving to work again. Maybe they should've gambled on a two-stop earlier.

Max basically gave Mercedes a reminder of exactly who they're dealing with. The race car felt lightyears better than it did in qualifying, and they were actually matching Mercedes' pace. Looks like those tires were the real headache yesterday.

Max sorted it out right at the start.
Now they can just use Checo to "terrorize" Hamilton during that first stint. 😁
If he doesn't make a move on the Ferrari, that long straight is going to be a problem...

stormybadger8 said:Classic Toto Wolff/Mercedes tactics—it’s wild how some people still buy into this stuff.🙂
They cruise through the FP-ove at half power just to play the victim—"Oh, we're struggling, we're worse than the Haas F1 Team..."
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Valtteri makes it into Q3 and the poor guy working his soul out to drag those dying tires along find all this magic strength, and boom—they sweep the competition with a 0.5 second gap.🙂

It's pretty obvious Mercedes was sandbagging during practice—especially in sectors 2 and 3—but even Red Bull Racing missed their ideal tire window at the end of Q3 (just like they did at the end of FP3).

shadowmarlin22 said:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2kk...annel=FORMULA1

Something like that. Let's go grab that title and then head straight to retirement.☕

order 66.

I’m honestly stunned. It’s wild how much things shifted during qualifying compared to the practice sessions.
Red Bull Racing couldn't really find any pace outside of those medium tires in Qualifying 2—and honestly, even if Yuki Tsunoda hadn't completely botched that final attempt, I'm not sure they would have had enough to matter.

Tomorrow we’ve got that grueling, marathon-length race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so anything could happen.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I'm not sure if there's ever actually a race where teams switch back to an old Power Unit—I know they run the older specs during practice sessions, but as far as I can tell, that doesn't happen during a real Grand Prix.

NASCAR doesn't bother publishing who's running which specific component—they just give you the current allocation—so tracking down exactly where a certain part was actually used is a massive headache.

If an old engine is good enough for practice, it's good enough for the race—there's nothing in the rulebook that says otherwise.

It looks like there’s no going back once they switch to a new component spec. Take Ferrari, for example—they’re already burning through a fourth engine during practice sessions just because trying to sync up a new battery cell spec with the training engine, only to swap it all back for Saturday, is apparently too much of a headache.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Max might actually grab a fresh Power Unit before the season wraps—he’s already put three races on this one, and there are still five left to go. Even if he makes it through, that engine will be totally worn out, leaving him at a disadvantage against Lewis's Power Unit.

You're forgetting he’s also got that third Power Unit from Saudi Arabia that's seen three full race weekends. Plus, he swapped out all the components in Russia—not just the ICE like Lewis did—and he had that easy run in Turkey where he could really baby the engine.

The first Honda engine managed six races including practice sessions, so these guys should be able to handle it. Unless they start pushing too hard like Mercedes does—then we're looking at a fifth engine or them dialing back the power for the last two rounds if things look comfortable enough.

Mercedes' strategy doesn't really need an explanation. They're playing high-stakes poker with these engines. You can see it with Valtteri, who's been hoarding engines for the final stretch. 🙂

fadedwalker18 said:Let's just ignore all this talk about favorites. Once the Grand Prix weekend is over, then we can start complaining about who was supposed to win.

Sure, the facts are right there, much like in previous seasons in Mexico City—Red Bull loves the thin air, Renault (Alpine) likes it, I don't know who else... but Mercedes and Ferrari? Not so much.

Predicting performance is just pre-race folklore. I'm not going to speculate on what actually happens on track. There's plenty of precedent for the fastest car not winning—look at 2019.

This will probably end up being damage control for Mercedes, while Red Bull Racing has to stay aggressive to close the gap in the constructors' championship.
Even Mercedes admits that, at best, they'll just be fighting alongside Red Bull Racing.
https://readmotorsport.com/2021/11/0...or-mexican-gp/
My bet? Either Red Bull Racing hits those balance issues they saw in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, or Mercedes pulls out some secret weapon—maybe an upgraded turbine compared to '19.

And hey, if someone gets hit with a penalty for a yellow flag, blows a tire, shreds a wing or floor during a duel, has an engine blowout, or gets lucky with a VSC, we can chat about that after the race.

Go Checo!
Red Bull Racing is the clear favorite in that thin Mexico City air—both because of the engine and the chassis. Back in '19, Max Verstappen was half a second ahead of Mercedes on Saturday, but then he got dinged for those yellow flags and ended up having a rough time battling both Mercedes cars.

Just one correction: Lewis Hamilton is already running that fourth Power Unit. If they decide to go with a fifth, Mexico City would be a logical spot—but honestly, given how far behind he is in the standings and the performance issues in these conditions, they might just rethink it.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:Fresh tires and an empty tank—he still managed to snag it even with the slowdown. But let's be real, Lewis ended up pulling away by a full second and a half. He definitely choked in that final sector; his time was 1:12:54 while Lewis's 1:11:09 was way ahead.

They told him earlier that a pit stop isn't ideal for a flyer, but he went ahead and played dumb anyway. It’s entirely possible he just cruised through the lap—staying slow enough to manage things, yet fast enough in that last sector to overtake.

Sure, maybe LH was already eyeing those softs for a qualifying-style lap, but honestly, a mediocre Valtteri Bottas shouldn't have been much of a threat regardless...

Raymond Anderson4 said:Did Sergio Perez make a mistake at the start? It felt like he dropped back a notch at one point. Still, it was a solid drive from him considering how tough it is to overtake on this track.
Max was incredible, and Lewis Hamilton was right there with him, constantly putting pressure on the Red Bull Racing pit wall.

Pierre Gasly had a predictably great race. For him, the secret to consistency over these last three races has been crushing qualifying—getting the heavy lifting done on Saturday so he can just close it out on Sunday.

Fernando Alonso looked great, while Esteban Ocon seemed to struggle with how slow Alonso was during the opening laps.

Yeah—he flat-spotted those hard tires while chasing down Nikita Mazepin, which forced an early stop for mediums.

Strange that Lando Norris didn't get slapped with a penalty for that contact with Sergio Perez—it felt a lot like what we saw in Austria where things just bump and grind. Plus, it definitely messed up his aero.

Fernando Alonso had a solid run; looks like he made a move right at the start.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:What "screw you, James"? He slowed down in the final sector. He was flying through the first two sectors and then just backed off once they told him to abort the lap.

He didn't really slow down once he posted that fast lap—if anything, he just forced his teammate into the pits.

Sergio Perez was breathing down Alonso and Carlos Sainz's necks during those last couple of laps—too bad they didn't show what they had.

Way to go, Max! He had everything under control—just fast enough when it mattered. The leadership is finally back in the hands of the guy who’s actually earned it this season.

Valtteri Bottas 🙏 This was basically a massive middle finger to James—the way they have to babysit a driver just to chase a fast lap is honestly pathetic.