Posts by Betty Murphy

Carol Ortiz4 said:Under our US traffic safety laws, if you rear-end someone because they slammed on their brakes, YOU are at fault... simply because you're required to maintain enough following distance given your speed so that you can stop safely without a collision...

How is it possible that you aren't familiar with basic road safety regulations, Charles Martin78???
It's honestly surprising how some people end up behind the wheel...

True, but those Schumacher types are completely unpredictable. If you're cruising at 81 miles/h and then they suddenly slam on the brakes—just stomping on them for no reason—you could be following perfectly and still not avoid a hit. In those cases, the law points the finger at whoever "endangered road safety."

Damson said:I actually made a trip out to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway once, and I was lucky enough to see both Schumachers in person!

You mean Ralf and Michael?😁

wearyraven41 said:I once had a buddy who crashed into a little red hatchback with German plates... A cop shows up, takes the guy's license, and basically yells right in his face. Turns out, the guy's last name is Schumacher! 😁

Well, at least the officer had an easy time filing the report. Since everyone knows Schumacher doesn't miss a beat, it was pretty obvious your friend was the one at fault.😁

urbanmoose3 said:I think they went under because they were constantly bleeding money, especially after Bridgestone completely dominated them.

Nice try! But I don't buy it. 😁

Carol Ortiz4 said:Goodyear makes the best tires, and everything else right now is just garbage... if Goodyear ever returned to Formula 1, I'd let them lap me by 10 seconds per lap in a heartbeat...

Oh, definitely.🙄 They’d actually be ten seconds behind because they haven't really focused on that kind of R&D for nearly a decade now.

If you look back at the last ten, you'll find you get the exact same results.

Carol Ortiz4 said:You've already done Newey dirty... and even today, that doesn't really mean much because he's just the top aerodynamics expert, which I can tell you since that's actually what I do for a living... back in the '97-'99 era, we were working with 400MHz machines that were absolute beasts, so if you could calculate aerodynamics on those, you were truly something else...

Nowadays, I can handle it easily on my home Athlon... but when I'm doing this professionally, even as a beginner, I can design almost perfect aerodynamics... still, Newey has the experience (just like the huge teams in Formula 1)... and honestly, I think it's quite an insult to the massive amount of people working on a car to claim Newey is the sole reason for its success...

Man, have you ever actually seen how it's done? He's the team manager; he directs and makes the calls, he doesn't do EVERYTHING himself... but I guess I've gone a bit off-topic here.

Fair enough!👍 You're right, I have no clue how the technical side works; I'm just a fan😁 who appreciates Newey for "his" titles with Williams and McLaren. By the way, did you end up getting that job?

Carol Ortiz4 said:But moving on to the important stuff... McLaren has improved, but they proved today that too many amateur mistakes are slipping through for such a "legendary" team...

True, but Ron Dennis isn't to blame for everything.

Carol Ortiz4 said:By the way, has anyone heard this: Ross Brawn mentioned they already had 80% of next year's car finished, but they had to throw the whole thing in the trash due to the new regulations...

Personally, I think it's a disgrace that NASCAR releases rules for the next season only a few months before the new prototypes are even ready... Max Mosley is SMEĆE!!!!!

Well, even Dennis said back in month four that they were working on three cars—the current one, the B-spec, and the car for next season. So they'll probably have to send all of that to the recycling center too! 😁

Carol Ortiz4 said:He didn't pass the crash tests because of those "revolutionary" tiny spoilers... at least that's what Newey claims...
How can you be so sure their aerodynamics are the best? Since when did you become such an "authority" on this stuff? Come on, please, it's all just evolution, not some massive revolution. If they were actually that much better, we'd see it in the results, but they aren't, so there you go...

How do I know? Because it's Newey, and everyone agrees he's the gold standard in the field. They barely managed to keep him in Formula 1 back in '99 because he was getting bored and wanted to try his hand at the America's Cup sailing. Plus, their engine is a bit underpowered compared to the competition like BAR or Ferrari, yet they're pulling up equal or even better lap times than them (they had pole position last race and the fastest lap during the race).

Raymond Carter2 said:Who exactly is that? I don't recall him at all.

It makes sense, really. He only drove one race and never really made a name for himself. I remember that period clearly because I was actually traveling through the Czech Republic on my high school graduation trip, which took place about ten days after the September 11 attacks here in the USA.

Carol Ortiz4 said:He should probably be grateful; otherwise, someone might have ended up hurt, or Kimmi wouldn't even be the second driver...

Not quite. He’d be the first one. Maybe a track marshal would get caught in the crossfire, or... wait a second... yeah, actually, only Villeneuve is capable of taking out a marshal by the side of the track.

Carol Ortiz4 said:Besides, how can you even be sure all those changes were actually made? Just because Dennis says so doesn't mean it's the truth...

😱 You don't seriously think Ron is LYING!! That's a bit much. Ron is an honest man running a massive operation in partnership with the best in the business—yes, I mean Mercedes-Benz. 😁

Carol Ortiz4 said:Personally, I can't see any difference between the McLaren MP4-18, MP4-18D, McLaren MP4-19, or the McLaren MP4-19B... at least not with the naked eye (or even a magnifying glass).

Take a closer look! There is a massive difference between the McLaren MP4-19 and the McLaren MP4-18; the latter was much shorter. It was designed to be the shortest car possible, which is likely why it struggled with crash tests. The McLaren MP4-19B, however, is a huge leap forward in aerodynamics—I'd go as far as calling it a masterpiece. It has the best aero in Formula 1, easily outclassing Ferrari, Renault, and even that underdog team. That's just my humble take. 😁

Carol Ortiz4 said:As for the engines, Mercedes-Benz simply moved from a mediocre setup to a superior one...
I spent some time this year wondering why they didn't just switch back to last year's engine... it would have been more reliable.

Last year's engine wouldn't have lasted through Friday and Saturday. Back then, they were swapping engines after every single session. 😁 This current engine, if they added just a little more power, would be a work of art, but then McLaren would dominate too much. They probably decided to hold off on that until next season, when we'll likely just be watching Montoya and Raikkonen take all the wins.

Carol Ortiz4 said:No matter how much people dislike Todt because he runs Ferrari, he is a true professional who brought order and discipline to the team (alongside DimOntezemol...). I think he would be incredibly professional in that role... unfortunately, once Max settles in, he won't let anyone near that position until he's finished his tenure.

He’s great, truly, but I think he’d be happier heading back to rally racing. 😳 😁

Raymond Carter2 said:Honestly, I couldn't care less who takes the seat. Neither option is particularly great. They're going to be missing Ralfom for a long time.

Actually, I suspect they might just bring in that driver from the Czech Republic who only did one race back in 2001—I think his name is T. Enka. That would certainly make everyone happy, provided you aren't a Williams fan.😛 😁

No. 3. said:I would really appreciate it if we could swap Marc Gene out for Antonia Pizzon !!!! I honestly had no idea she was going to be behind the wheel!😁 😁 😁

Venon said:I hadn't realized that myself...

Honestly, you all are being far too superficial about this.😁

Raymond Carter2 said:Zsolt Baumgartner
Nick Bruni and Nick Heidfeld
Nick Bruni and Nick Heidfeld
Vitantonio Pantano
Giancarlo Fisichell
Christian Klien
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa and Mark Webber

I find myself dreaming of the day this finally becomes a reality.

Nice job, you nailed it. Based on that order, I expect those will be the starting positions for qualifying.😁

Raymond Carter2 said:Was David Coulthard in 5th or 7th place?

I think I mixed up my notes earlier—my apologies! David is actually in 7th, while Rubens Barrichello took 5th. Here is the corrected order:
1.Kimi Raikkonen
2.Juan Pablo Montoya
3.Fernando Alonso
4.Jenson Button
5.Rubens Barrichello
6.Takuma Sato
7.David Coulthard
8.Jarno Trulli

Kimi Raikkonen
2.Juan Pablo Montoya
3.Fernando Alonso
4.Jenson Button
5.David Coulthard
6.Takuma Sato
7.David Coulthard
8.Jarno Trulli

Frank said:Hold on a second, was that the car from this year that couldn't even finish a race?

Not last year's model that failed the crash test! This year they were running the McLaren MP4/4, which at least kept the naming simple.😁 While it shared some DNA, the aerodynamics were completely overhauled to meet the new regulations and accommodate the new engine cooling setup. Honestly, it was the engine itself that caused those retirements, not the chassis. If you look at the data, they were actually a full second faster than last year's car. If it wasn't for those Mosley safety rules, Kimi might have walked away with the championship.😁

James Roberts87 said:All he’s ever done is cause trouble.

I have to disagree there. If you look at how much safer Formula 1 has become, you'll see otherwise. One thing he did right was refusing to let the MP4-18 slide last season; it's a masterpiece of modern engineering, and his strictness actually gave Kimi a real shot at landing that first championship.👋

James Roberts87 said:The clueless old timer just won't step down; he seems too attached to his seat...
They’re all a bunch of losers.👎

Thinking back to those girls holding umbrellas at the track, I probably wouldn't find it easy to walk away from the whole scene either.😁

PS Robin Fisher53, your thoughts?😁

What is wrong with everyone lately?!😕 Look, Max Mosley actually made some great calls for Formula 1 that people seem to have completely forgotten about. Honestly, even if nobody can recall exactly what they were, that's not really the point.😁

James Roberts87 said:Besides, where did you get the idea that a single tank could actually last an entire race? You'd basically need to tow a massive fuel tanker behind the car just to finish without a pit stop.

Maybe he’d be more inclined to shorten the race to just 20 laps then?
😁