Posts by cosmicmoose2

Yeah, but you're throwing out examples of massive performance gaps between cars as an argument during a season where two drivers actually have nearly identical machinery. When the cars are this evenly matched, that’s when true racing skill and a driver's actual headspace really start to matter...

So, that whole logic of yours—claiming George Russell is way faster in a Mercedes than he was in a Williams—just doesn't hold water. It's totally irrelevant when you look at the fight between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in the cars they're running right now.

Look, I’m not saying I’m his biggest fan, but I am pulling for him—well, more specifically, I’m rooting for Ferrari. Honestly, the condescending attitude from some people on these forums drives me nuts... acting like Max only wins because he’s a god, while everyone else exclusively wins just because of their car.

Just to remind you, our friend here claimed "it's all about the car," but apparently, that rule doesn't apply to Max.

I'm not necessarily claiming Leclerc is a better driver than Max, but it's just ridiculous to argue that he beats him (and he would've beaten him in those two races where Max's DNF happened) purely because of the car, implying Max would just smoke him otherwise.

You can actually see how much Leclerc has improved since his first season at Ferrari, and let's be real, Ferrari isn't dominating anything. They have a good car, sure, but it's nothing dominant. That massive gap in pace was really only visible during the Grand Prix of Miami. Though, even then, I'm not sure if Ferrari is just naturally faster on that track or if Red Bull just benefited more from the removal of the 4th DRS zone. Personally, I'd bet on the latter, because Max had a slightly better race pace than Leclerc during practice, before they even messed with the DRS zones.
Even Sergio Perez mentioned that Ferrari was only stronger in Miami and that they're pretty much neck-and-neck everywhere else...
Max fans can get so annoying sometimes with that "us vs. them" mentality. When he loses, they can't stay objective for even a second. They just go straight to making excuses that he simply couldn't do anything against a way faster car.
And honestly? Max isn't driving as well as he did back in 2021. Especially in qualifying... the numbers don't lie.

He basically snatched it from him in just half a second during a race where Red Bull was actually dominating two out of three sectors thanks to that straight-line speed. And then you’ve got Ferrari getting hit with a yellow flag right in their one decent sector... Honestly, there are a million ways to spin this mess.

graniteharbor502 said:Based on driving skill. Not even mentioning all those previous seasons where Leclerc was basically invisible, and he's only showing something now because he finally has a dominant car. Plus, Max still managed to outmaneuver him in a slower car back in Saudi Arabia.

Oh, please... What car was he supposed to be competitive in to challenge the leaders? That 2021 tank that was trailing Mercedes by 300 points and Red Bull by 280?
Or that 2020 disaster where Ferrari was basically the sixth-best team on the grid?
2019 was the only year since Leclerc joined Ferrari where they actually had a decent car, and that was only his second season in Formula 1. He was a rookie! He was just maturing as a driver...

Max has been in Formula 1 for 6 or 7 years now, and he didn't even see real results until Red Bull closed the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari dropped out of the fight entirely.

So, if we go by your logic—which is that a driver has to be visible and competitive even in a garbage car—then suddenly Max is worse than Leclerc.
Think about it. Even though he’s way more experienced, he only became champion once he had a car that could actually go toe-to-toe with Lewis, and even then, he got that little nudge from Michael Masi.
And honestly? That 2021 version of Verstappen was a better driver than this current version is... for now.

Look, let's be clear. I'm not saying Verstappen is bad. I'm just applying your own ridiculous criteria to him. Because when you argue, suddenly it's Leclerc's fault if he can't get his tires up to temp after a Safety Car restart. But meanwhile, Max isn't blamed when he struggles with tire temps in qualifying. Makes sense, right? Not really...

Leclerc is "bad" because he wasn't visible in a car that was sitting in 6th place at one point, but Max is "good" even though he only became a factor once Red Bull finally gave him a fighting chance.
When the standings suit your argument, you use those numbers. When the table doesn't fit your narrative, suddenly those numbers don't matter (like how Perez is ahead of him right now).

Maybe try picking a set of criteria and actually sticking to them for every driver before you start typing. Then maybe what you say will actually hold some weight...

Check out this stat:
Back in 2021, Perez was trailing Max by an average of 0.673 seconds in qualifying. Fast forward to 2022, and that gap shrinks down to a tiny 0.065 seconds... crazy...

stormybadger8 said:If we're talking pure pace, Max has been terrible this season—like, seriously bad. I don't think I've ever seen him this off the pace.
Not that he's out there driving like a maniac and smashing into walls or other drivers like he used to, but he’s just slow. Plain and simple.
Why? God knows. But it doesn't look like Red Bull is slower than Ferrari; it looks like Max is just slower.

For crying out loud, just look at what Perez is doing with that car in qualifying! I mean, Perez—who has never, and I mean *never*, been a qualifying specialist and usually gets absolutely smoked by his teammates...
And even when he does beat them (which happens more than you'd think), it's mostly because he treats those tires like they're made of glass during the race...

So, either Max is just slow and struggling in qualifying, or Perez is on something crazy because suddenly he's fast enough to outpace Max, who has always lived and breathed qualifying...

I totally agree, it feels like Max isn't the same beast he was last season. Last year he was dialed in, totally unstoppable, just oozing confidence. Now? He seems vulnerable. Maybe it's the setup, maybe it's tire warm-up issues, who knows...
He seems a bit rattled too, though I haven't a clue why. Maybe he felt better being the underdog chasing the title rather than the champion trying to defend it. Especially with that little "human error" stain from last year hanging over him.

Edit: With Charles Leclerc, it feels like the exact opposite. He's mentally rock solid and incredibly consistent.
And then people try to claim it's all just the car... If that were true, why isn't Sainz sitting in second place?

graniteharbor502 said:It’s all about the car, because let’s be real, Max is just a better driver than Leclerc.

Based on what, exactly?
You love using the standings as "proof" for which car or driver is superior. By that logic, Perez is a better driver than Max now since he’s got more points in the exact same car... unbelievable.

Anthony Baker84 said:It was 27 laps after the last Safety Car. He didn't just pass them, he absolutely smoked them...

Actually, that's not even true. Leclerc only lapped the very tail end of the pack. Remember back in 2020? There were races where Lewis Hamilton was basically breathing down the necks of Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, and Alexander Albon, while he had lapped almost everyone else—like all 15 other drivers!

mellowtiger83 said:Maybe it’s because they only bring home one measly point????...🤔

But that’s only if you’re talking about the top 10. Alonso ended up finishing 14th...

Just look back at last season and those earlier years when Mercedes-AMG absolutely owned the hybrid era.
How long did it take them to lap the backmarkers? Sometimes it was just one or two laps...
There were times they’d slice through the field and put those slow cars a lap down in just 15 or 20 laps flat.
So, how many laps is Ferrari going to need to pull that same stunt this season?
Raikkonen was just on another planet.
It used to be nothing but Mercedes, then maybe Red Bull popped up occasionally, and Ferrari was always miles behind everyone else.
Last season was actually pretty competitive for once, but even then, it was basically just Mercedes and Red Bull fighting it out.

A Mercedes... man, it is absolutely wild how much that crew is dragging their feet lately. At this rate, they might actually end up being serious contenders for the constructors'
title.
And Lewis? He drove a hell of a race today, honestly. If it wasn't for that nightmare pit stop, he’d be in a different spot entirely. I know, I know—he can be a total pain when he starts complaining, but let's be real, his team isn't even the one at fault here.

graniteharbor502 said:And yet people still have the nerve to claim Ferrari and Red Bull Racing are on equal footing...

Right now, the Ferrari is way more reliable. Speed-wise? They're basically neck and neck.
Max had that wreck, so it’s tough to call, but the reality is he absolutely trashed his front left tire with that mistake in lap 13. Left him in a total mess where Charles was just pulling away, and Max didn't even have a decent pit window compared to the rest of the pack.
Even before the issues started, he didn't have the pace to touch Charles on the hard tires.

You can't just blame everything on the car. Charles is mentally dialed in this season—he's being super consistent. That's how you build a championship run. If the car stays reliable and keeps keeping up with the upgrades, Charles actually has a real shot at the title.

Fine, then I guess I’ll just go ahead and eat dirt...

Raymond Anderson4 said:I think Leclerc takes it. If he doesn't mess up the start, I really think he wins...

Ferrari looks incredibly strong in the final sector, and honestly, Red Bull Racing is pretty much neck-and-neck with them everywhere else... they aren't even faster.

The only thing that might trip up Ferrari—which Christian Horner actually pointed out could be an issue—is how they handle the bumps. It might not matter for a single lap, but over the course of a full race? They might actually have the edge there.

In my opinion, the chances for Ferrari are huge. We've already seen all season long that Red Bull Racing warms their tires up way quicker.
If Leclerc nails the launch and we don't get a restart, he’s got a massive shot. But if it goes to a restart? I'm giving the advantage to Max.

wiredcanyon39 said:

Fernando Alonso absolutely crushed those two sectors.

That’s exactly why he wrecked the car. He was pushing that thing way past its limit...

Raymond Anderson4 said:Norris told Comcast after the race that he actually likes the track and it suits him just fine.

Wait, didn't Max get a new front wing too? I wasn't really paying attention during the broadcast, but looking at the replays now... yeah, he's rocking a new front wing as well. Who knows if he ditched his old one during Q3 or what...

Honestly, I wasn't even watching closely, I was just listening to that stream with Palmer. That's how they reported it.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Max Verstappen is absolutely struggling with his car during qualifying. For some reason, Sergio Perez seems to have found a better setup than him.

Maybe it's because Perez is running a brand new front wing! That's gotta be it!
P.S. Way to go, Charles Leclerc! He’s been incredible this season, totally unfazed by the pressure...
It looks like Carlos Sainz is losing his edge, though. Hopefully, he can claw his way up through the field tomorrow.
Still, it’s just not right seeing one Ferrari going up against two Red Bulls.

Jacob Castillo70 said:Sebastian Vettel looks like he’s having a total meltdown. 🤣

What a legend 🙏

I mean, what's even left for him driving that absolute junker?

I've got a gut feeling this track is going to be absolute perfection for Red Bull Racing since they’re basically flying on the straights and every single inch of it is a DRS zone.

Jacob Castillo70 said:The FIA is supposedly looking into how DRS works, basically hinting they might scrap it entirely down the road.

Americans: hold my Chardonnay NZ 🤣

I don't know, having four different DRS zones sounds like a total circus act. We'll see...

It’s already obvious the car is way too dominant when drivers are actually willing to give up a position just to get that DRS advantage.