Posts by cosmicmoose2

Man, this Ferrari team is driving me absolutely insane. It’s like nobody’s even in charge anymore... total chaos. Even if they actually nail the strategy, there's zero guarantee the drivers will actually follow it.
Just pathetic...
With Max Verstappen out, this should have been a textbook 1-2 finish for Scuderia Ferrari. I can't believe they just threw a gift like that in the trash.

Anthony Baker84 said:like I said, babe

What do you mean by that? Both Max and Charles totally blew it in those final laps, but Sainz didn't...

Maria Fisher46 said:Hey there,

We’re talking about ketonuria caused by fasting here. Even a short fast can show up as ketonuria, but 23 hours of fasting? That definitely does it...

Got it. Thanks so much for the answer!

So, last Friday I went in for a urine test because I thought I might have an infection. Glucose came back negative, but my ketones were at 1+...
I’ve been reading up on it, and apparently, that can be a red flag for diabetes, but it also happens when you're fasting.
Given that I haven't eaten a single thing for about 23 hours—just drinking water—because my stomach was killing me, is it more likely these ketones are just from starving, or should I be worried about diabetes?
Is 23 hours enough time without food for ketones to actually show up?
I'm 125 lbs, BMI 23.5... I mean, I've definitely put on some muscle over the last few years, but my waist is around 36-37 inches.

Once I finish this round of antibiotics, I'm thinking about getting the urine tested again, but there's still a long way to go since this prescription is a full two-week course.

I'm with you there, though I’d just add that Americans absolutely love hyping up their own... I mean, just look at how they act about their national soccer team...

ruggedcyclist56 said:We seriously need a separate thread just for Formula 1 conspiracy theories. Or maybe we should just move this whole discussion over to the Alternative sub-forum.

And you really think it was a coincidence that Max was significantly faster lap after lap than Checo?
What would they actually gain by having them fight on track, other than giving you a little thrill regardless of who wins? Because honestly, any of the three outcomes would lead to the same drama:

• If VER overtakes PER -> people will scream about how they told Checo to step aside before the race and how you can't expect anything better from a pathetic outfit like Red Bull.
• If PER keeps VER behind him -> the comments will be all about how VER is a total weakling and a complete fraud.
• If anything happens that causes a DNF for one or both drivers -> Red Bull are just idiots and nothing like a serious team like Mercedes because they're basically just a soda company with zero discipline, clearly shown by the fact they can't even manage their own drivers. And of course, Max gets labeled "Crashstappen" and an idiot just for good measure.

They wouldn't have gained anything because Max would've just cruised right past him without breaking a sweat.
But the real issue isn't even about Max's blistering pace during that phase of the race... it starts way earlier, with the strategy call.
Max was flying because he was actually on a winning strategy, while Checo was stuck on that mediocre, losing one Red Bull handed to him. And then to top it all off, they basically screwed him by not having Max clear the way so Checo could jump Russell quickly.

Lisa Thomas3 said:At the end of the day, Sergio Perez just doesn't have the depth to go toe-to-toe with Max Verstappen over a full season. He's not going to be a legitimate threat for the WDC...
The level of dominance Max Verstappen established over the last few seasons—where he was basically playing a different sport than everyone else—was never actually realistic. It’s something we’ve never seen before in the history of the sport. At the end of the day, you have to account for track conditions; some circuits just favor certain drivers more than others...
Perez is a solid driver, but he’s up against the toughest competition out there. He knows it, and anyone with half a brain—including the folks over at Red Bull Racing—knows it too...
Even this season proves it. The fact that Perez is trailing by "only" 15 points despite having fewer DNFs than Max—and considering the team handed him the win in Monaco instead of giving it to Max—isn't an argument for them being equals. If anything, it proves the exact opposite...😁
So, sure, if his strategy relies on Max picking up five more DNFs when he hasn't had a single one, then fine—maybe he can still dream about the title. But I’m not convinced that’s exactly brilliant math. And what does playing second fiddle at Red Bull actually get him? Getting kicked out of the team (with or without a contract)? What, is Ferrari going to swoop in and hire him just to spite their own roster of jokers? Even that doesn't seem like a solid plan; as much as Ferrari might be fed up with their current drivers, they aren't about to poach a number two driver from a direct rival... 😁
Honestly, he’d be an idiot to do anything other than play ball. He should just take whatever wins the circumstances throw his way—like right now in Monaco—and call it a day. There’s zero chance he lands a seat as the number one driver at another top-tier team at his age, and he simply can't compete with Max Verstappen. Maybe, if he stays in line, Max decides to move on eventually, leaving Perez to inherit the number one spot along with a much weaker teammate. If Red Bull Racing stays strong, that’s his only shot at a title. If we're talking about any realistic scenario where Perez actually wins a championship, that's the only one...

I usually avoid arguing with this troll, but I can't just let this nonsense sit there unrefuted. If someone doesn't set the record straight, people end up swallowing these ridiculous claims and passing them around like truth.
Look, at the moment those "team orders" were supposedly happening, Max was nearly a second and a half faster than Sergio Perez on track. It’s a safe bet he would have shaken him off quite easily, so all this math regarding point gaps is complete nonsense.
In reality, it wasn't even a classic team order situation. It was just about efficiency—avoiding wasting precious seconds on an internal battle that had a predictable outcome anyway, especially since they were on totally different strategies and running at completely different paces.
For anyone peddling this stupidity, the ultimate proof is this: Red Bull didn't pull Max into the pits for a fastest lap right after Sergio Perez, even though they easily could have. Everything about this is clear and logical.

It's about as logical as assuming Max Verstappen would have stayed ahead of Sergio Perez in Monaco qualifying if things had just stayed clean until the end. But hey, if some people want to act dense and argue over nothing, more power to them...

Max is an elite driver, obviously, but he used to have a car that was tailor-made specifically for his driving style. You can hear Jos Verstappen saying this year's car isn't 100% dialed in for Max, and you can actually see it out there. Maybe not as much during the races, but definitely in qualifying where he struggles to squeeze every bit of performance out of the machine. That's where Sergio Perez might actually find a gap to push him.
And don't act like team orders don't matter. Sure, we can say Max was way faster than Perez when Red Bull told him to let Max through, but who knows how the race would've played out if Max had been forced to yield to a faster Perez after getting stuck behind George Russell? Who knows what happens then... maybe Perez's strategy would have actually worked.
Or better yet, imagine if they gave Perez the exact same winning strategy they gave Max.

The bottom line is, I'm really not convinced Max is going to be so much better than his teammate this season that they both deserve identical treatment within Red Bull Racing...

Carl Lee27 said:The truth is, refineries are seeing these insane profits simply because there aren't enough of them left! For years, nobody bothered to invest in new ones, all while operating costs kept climbing because of this whole green agenda push. All those theories claiming that someone is intentionally keeping refineries offline are total BS—in the US, they're running at record capacities, some hitting nearly 98%.
By the way, Russia is also a major exporter of petroleum products, including stuff like VGO which, ironically, is exactly what refineries need to keep things moving.

So why aren't we investing more in production capacity? Does it even make sense to put money into building new refineries anymore?

stormybadger8 said:If Perez hadn't moved for Max in Barcelona—basically, if he hadn't played nice and followed those team orders—he’d only be one point behind Max right now (Max 118, Perez 117, Leclerc 116). But hey, then he wouldn't have that shiny new contract through 2024, would he?🙂

Fine, whatever, but how many other drivers has Red Bull actually cycled through? Can they even afford to lose Perez? Seriously, who else are they even going to pick to replace him?

ruggedcyclist56 said:Look, Max is the reigning world champ and the lead driver for Red Bull, so obviously he’s getting the priority right now. But let's be real—if Checo starts beating him in the upcoming races, Red Bull isn't going to keep playing favorites. They won't mess with him just to protect Max, no matter what those conspiracy theorists want to believe! Experts? The folks on that American forum were totally off with their predictions. Look, at the end of the day, it’s the Constructors' Championship that actually matters. That’s what brings in the massive payouts for the teams. The Drivers' title? Honestly, if we're being nitpicky about it, it doesn't bring them anything at all.

Canada is up next for the ninth race! So far, we've knocked out seven races of the twenty-two. Max has one more DNF under his belt than Checo, which definitely plays into that points gap, but let’s be real—it doesn't take away from how absolutely elite Checo has been driving lately.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... seven. That means there's a 15-point swing out there for the two Red Bull guys to fight over.

Amanda Kelly said:Leclerc finished the race in Monaco.
And Max doesn't have every single race won anymore.
I guess miracles (finally) happen.

For Leclerc, this is a massive shift. Especially considering how much confidence and raw speed he’s been showing lately.

Nothing too shocking for Max, though he was trailing Perez in every single session—which isn't something we're used to seeing.
Plus, I don't think Perez lacks ambition; a loss like this might actually sting.

So, I just read today that Red Bull extended Perez's contract through 2024. Combine that with the fact that he's only 15 points behind Max, and you could potentially see a massive internal battle brewing. If that happens, it’ll be wild to see if Perez actually follows team orders blindly or goes rogue...
I honestly get the feeling this is the year for Red Bull, but also for Ferrari to snag both the constructors' and drivers' titles. Mercedes took a hit with that little stumble, but there's zero chance they stay weak next season.
What am I getting at here? Basically, this might be the best shot Perez—and maybe (sadly) Leclerc and Sainz too—has ever had at becoming world champion. In a setup like this, the team shouldn't just push Perez aside to help Max unless the gap becomes huge.
And being only 15 points down after just 9 races? That is definitely not a situation where you just sit back and follow orders...

graniteharbor502 said:Does this support the idea:


He finished behind Max because of his own slower lap times. The Pitwall cost him first and second place, but he effectively threw away third place himself.

As the saying goes, it's not about what happened, but how it looks after the fact.🙄
Why don't you go watch the onboard footage of Leclerc's lap following Alex Albon?
But that isn't the only factor either; Leclerc's in-laps and out-laps were actually slower than Max's. He really needed to find more pace there.

He had managed to get his tires up to the ideal temperature, which is precisely why he exited the pits when he did. It is highly probable that he would have shaved more time off his lap and secured either second or third place. Honestly, if he had taken second, I suspect he still would have fought his way to victory, given the sheer pace he displayed during those decisive laps of the race. Sergio Perez mentioned that he couldn't get his tires up to temp on that final lap, so it would have been a struggle for him to improve his standing.

Isn't this just a perfect illustration of everything that feels broken within F1? We constantly see penalties being handed out for these trivialities that have absolutely nothing to do with actual racing on the track. Does anyone actually care if Leclerc missed the scale? If he did, then fine, let them slap him with a fine, but why on earth should they be handing out grid penalties for something like that?

My whole thing is that I don't give a damn about sector times, and I definitely don't treat them like some crystal ball for probability. You have to drive the entire lap—all three sectors—before you can even start guessing who lands where. If we don't look at it that way, then there's no limit to the endless guessing and theorizing, right?
Look, Max could be half a second faster in Sector 1, but then he hits a massive patch of debris or something in Sector 2 or 3 and ends up with a lockup... suddenly that lap isn't a front-runner anymore.
Impossible? An extreme example? Science fiction? Well, guess what? That’s basically exactly what happened to Perez during the race.

But even if I played by your rules, let's be real: Max's lead over Sainz and Perez in Sector 1 wasn't so massive that it couldn't just vanish in the next two sectors. And just because those two had a slower first sector doesn't mean they were doomed to lose ground in the rest of the lap.

Old man's talking nonsense again:
https://racingnews365.com/marko-beli...fying-incident

Helmut Marko thinks Leclerc should’ve been slapped with a massive penalty just because he bypassed the scales... seriously?

Lisa Thomas3 said:The situation was pretty messy. As much as I hate making excuses for Ferrari and their incompetence, it’s just not true to say they single-handedly cost Leclerc three spots and leave it at that.
For starters, I listened to the team radio. Unlike Sainz, Leclerc didn't make his tire preferences clear. When asked about switching straight to hards, he just mumbled, "maybe, but not now," and then went silent. I wouldn't completely rule out his own responsibility here.
Leclerc is leading on track, but behind him, Sainz is dead set on jumping straight to hards, Perez blinked first and pitted for inters, and Verstappen is his main threat whose strategy is still anyone's guess. So what is Ferrari supposed to do? If they cover Perez immediately, they likely lose out to both Sainz and Verstappen (since he'll probably go straight to hards too). If they wait for Verstappen, they lose to Perez and probably Sainz as well. No matter who they try to cover, they’re likely a lap behind the action...
It isn't that simple. Even with Leclerc in the lead, everyone behind him is playing their own game, so he was likely losing two positions regardless. Sure, they lost everything in the end because of indecision, but that's beside the point.

The only way Leclerc could have held onto first place was if he had his own plan and dictated the pace.
He should have just said, "I want this and that, I'm making the move first," and called it a day. That’s the only way to take that kind of risk. But he didn't show that level of decisiveness.
If Ferrari had put him straight on hards without him confirming the track conditions were ready, the media would have absolutely torn them apart.

The best way to defend a position is to think ahead and build a gap before the pit stops. Why wasn't there better communication from the team? Why didn't they tell him to push harder? Or maybe he just didn't have the pace—that might be the real root of the problem.

👍
I thought it would take a few weeks for the "geniuses" to come out with the theory that "Perez was faster than Verstappen in Monaco qualifying," but apparently, one day was enough. 🙏
Perez is the reason RB finished 3rd and 4th in qualifying. Based on his pace during that fast lap, Verstappen would have been P2. They likely would have taken 2nd and 3rd. Instead, Perez crashed and ruined the lap for both himself and Max, right when Ferrari were sitting pretty in 1st and 2nd.
Then you get the idiots counting qualifying gaps and claiming Perez was faster in Monaco just because he crashed. It's just people who don't even watch the races talking nonsense...

Look, until a driver actually completes a full lap—all three sectors—it’s impossible to say if they were actually faster. Just because someone flies through the first sector doesn't mean they aren't going to tank the next two. Maybe the tires overheat by the third sector and suddenly that pace drops way below their PB... or maybe they don't even finish the damn lap at all! So, honestly, only total idiots are out here automatically handing Max the Pole Position just because he had one fast opening sector followed by two incomplete ones where anything could've happened...

As for that Ferrari strategy... yeah, look, I get it, it wasn't an easy call to make. But honestly? The Pitwall absolutely choked it later on. They made two massive blunders afterward that there's just no excuse for... seriously...

graniteharbor502 said:The session began behind the safety car at 16:05—there was an announcement during the broadcast—and, as we know, the decision regarding when the SC clears the track rests entirely with the race directors.

That occurred on lap 20. The reason that Williams didn't move is simply because Charles Leclerc was being remarkably sluggish in his attack. He was driving that lap like a complete amateur, if I may say so. Anyone with access to F1TV can verify that for themselves.

Both Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen switched to intermediates on the exact same lap. Max was faster during that initial entry lap by 1.7 seconds. We all know now that they really ought to have been on the hard tires. Even Carlos Sainz knew it. Honestly, who is to blame—the pit wall or Charles Leclerc—for the fact that they were left in the dark?

Not quite, though. Sergio Perez clocked a 1:32.1 during his first full lap on the intermediates on lap 17.

By the 21st lap, Max found himself stuck behind two backmarkers, whereas if one looks at the cumulative data, Charles Leclerc actually dealt with fewer backmarkers during that specific window. It seems to me that he simply drove worse, both when the track was clear and when he was navigating traffic.

Nine seconds? Where on earth did that number come from? When Charles Leclerc entered the pits, his lead over Max was only 7.6 seconds, and just one lap prior, when Sergio Perez pitted, the gap ahead of him was merely 8.2 seconds.
When racing under such chaotic circumstances, isn't it true that the smallest details become paramount? One must consider how effectively a driver manages their in-laps and out-laps; had Charles Leclerc executed those more precisely, he likely would have finished ahead of Max. Instead, Max secured the position once again, and quite frankly, he earned it through his own merit.

To clarify, Max wasn't actually slower in qualifying; rather, he was forced to abandon his fastest lap because Sergio Perez went off into the barrier.
As I have already demonstrated, Charles Leclerc was the one who lacked pace during those critical moments.

Ha, so now he’s leading because of your fault?🙄

Man, sometimes it’s just impossible to talk to you. "Max wasn't slower in qualifying" but he ended up in fourth? Seriously? Even Christian Horner admitted that grabbing pole wasn't even realistic for Red Bull this weekend. And she's got all the telemetry right there! But sure, in your head, Max would have just cruised into first place. Not the whole weekend leading up to that, not this entire season, and certainly not Horner... none of that supports your little "what if" fantasy.

The user above is making some points. In Monaco, track position is everything, and Max had a rough qualifying session. Those slow laps don't matter much when he basically put himself in 4th place. On the flip side, Leclerc killed it in qualifying and took pole, but ended up 4th because of the team, not because he was 2 or 3 seconds off in tough conditions.

Anyway, this whole argument started over who's really to blame for Leclerc finishing 4th. Honestly, I think it's obvious the Pitwall played the deciding role here. Let's just end the debate there.

graniteharbor502 said:Max is essentially stuck in a train, trailing right behind Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has nothing but clear track ahead of him, allowing him to dictate the entire pace. This was actually a massive opportunity where he could have pulled even further ahead; if he had performed like Kimi Räikkönen once did, he might have built such a substantial gap that he could pit and still rejoin the race in first place.

Actually, even Leclerc didn't have totally clear air—he was stuck behind that Williams for quite a while too. And get this, just like what happened later with Sainz, that Williams wouldn't budge, even after being waved through with blue flags multiple times. It's ridiculous...
That's why you have to wonder if he ever even got those intermediates up to the right temperature.
Leclerc's tires barely even warmed up before he was hauled into the pits again. That's another massive blunder by the team. If they were going to do that, they should've just skipped the intermediates entirely, especially since Ferrari looked so solid on hard tires.

On the flip side, both Red Bull Racing cars were putting up killer lap times on the inters after just one single lap. That tells me everything I need to know: Red Bull Racing handled those tires way better than Ferrari did.

Look, if the cars ahead are the excuse for Max's slower laps compared to Leclerc, then you’ve gotta apply that same logic after the first pit stop, right? Makes sense...

Yeah, sure, Max spent more time following someone, but in this specific case, the pit stop strategy comes down to one thing: can you actually make those intermediate tires work? That was the whole game. So, messing with Leclerc's rhythm—even for "only" half a lap—definitely played a huge role in those lap times you mentioned above.

And what happens when you're stuck on wet tires? You just gonna ignore that?
It’s nothing but high-stakes laps between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc at this point...

Honestly, I think Sainz's strategy was actually spot on—going from wets straight to hards—but he got totally screwed by some guy in a Williams who wouldn't budge despite the blue flag, which is how Perez managed to jump him.
If that mess hadn't happened, I’m convinced Sainz would’ve taken first place, especially since he was clearly flying past Perez in the later stages of the race.

What they should have done is weigh the speed gap between intermediates and full wets during those few laps... you have to decide if it's better to grab the inters and build enough of a gap to get a "free" pit stop for hards, or just grit it out on wets for a few laps before switching to hards for the finish.
Since both strategies were basically neck-and-neck, fine, maybe we can give Ferrari a pass on that one.
But what I absolutely cannot forgive is how long they spent debating things with Sainz while completely neglecting Leclerc... he ended up doing exactly what Red Bull did, just at a much slower pace. And even worse? That moment they called Leclerc in when there was zero chance of a double stack, leaving him just sitting there like an idiot waiting behind Sainz to get his tires changed.
It’s pure amateur hour... honestly, people should be losing their jobs over this because there's no excuse.
You can see Leclerc is way faster on the inters, he's closing in on Sainz who's still on wets, and it's obvious there won't be time to stack the cars.
Those two massive blunders completely trashed Leclerc's race.
Sainz actually drove a solid race, but he got shafted by Williams.

darkmarlin16 said:Honestly, that was easily Sainz's best drive of the entire season

Facts. Seriously, the only good thing about this entire weekend... I just hope this gives him enough of a confidence boost to actually stay ahead of the pack in the next ones.

James Harris34 said:When did we actually see any overtaking in Monaco? Maybe back during that era when Pirelli and Bernie were pulling stunts with the tires, but otherwise, not really. Just think back to twenty years ago when David Coulthard got stuck behind an Arrows for almost the entire race, or 2003 when there wasn't a single overtake the whole time. Monaco is just built that way—it’s not about the cars, it’s the track itself...

Look, "difficult" to overtake is one thing, but "virtually impossible" is something else entirely. In recent years, we've seen some extreme cases where drivers were nursing totally shot tires or even driving a broken car and still managed to hold their position...