Here we go again, back to the usual nonsense... To all you McLaren fans out there: just ask yourselves, would you be making these same complaints if it were Hamilton?
When a driver is exiting the pits, their job is simple: get moving and make sure they don't stall the engine. Checking left, signaling, or making sure pedestrians have the right of way at a crosswalk—that’s the responsibility of the lollipop man. If they didn't penalize Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel for that blatant parallel driving through the pit lane and shoving their way through, I fail to see why Alonso should be penalized for moving. There is an official on the ground—someone who isn't the driver—whose entire job is to assess the situation and signal when it's safe to go. 🤷
I suppose I’m still holding out a shred of hope for tomorrow: 1. That we see a collision at the start, forcing at least one Red Bull to drop back about ten spots. 2. That the skies actually open up and it rains, or at least 3. That Mark Webber manages to finish ahead of his Red Bull teammate, just for the sake of the championship standings.
stormybadger8 said:I’m not entirely sold on that argument. Regardless of everything else, the Red Bulls dropped out of contention due to mechanical failures and sheer stupidity, but even so, the McLarens were catching them and even overtaking them during those races. Let’s not forget that the McLarens were faster than Mark Webber on track, while he couldn't manage to pull ahead of Jenson Button in Bahrain. Besides, Fernando Alonso was closing in on Sebastian Vettel quite dangerously even before the breakdown occurred. Whether he actually could have overtaken Vettel is a massive question mark, but generally speaking, Red Bull struggles to overtake anyone because they lack top-end speed, which is obviously a handicap when you're trying to defend a position.
Unless Red Bull does something drastic with that F-duct or manages to boost their top speed—which I doubt they can do without breaking something else—it's unlikely they'll be as dominant as they appear. They might own qualifying for a while, but once the race starts, all bets are off.
Look, if you want to judge a car's pace, you have to look at the entire lap, not just the straightaways. A joke of a car like HRT might be the second fastest on the straights, yet they trail by dozens of seconds over a full lap. Red Bull clearly isn't the fastest on the straights, but since they are the fastest overall, it means they make up more than enough ground in the corners. You can't blame the car for the factors you're pointing out. If you're faster overall and faster through the turns, how can someone on the straight be right on your tail ready to attack? Only if you've messed something up somewhere...
Red Bull has the fastest car on the grid. Honestly, I don't think it's just about qualifying vs. race pace; you can't have a massive advantage like this in one area without it translating to the other. The fact they’ve dropped three out of the last four races isn't a reflection of their raw speed—it's down to mechanical failures, questionable strategy calls, and driver errors. Regardless of where the Constructors' Championship stands right now, everyone knows who the Sauron of this season really is.
There goes Vettel on the softer compound. He’s been absolutely tearing it up so far, but let's see if he can maintain this pace once things settle down...
If we’re being completely realistic here, I think it would be nothing short of a miracle if Red Bull doesn't walk away with this win under dry conditions.
Red Bull isn't just fast; they're absolutely crushing the competition. From the very start of the season, their dominance has been impossible to ignore, especially considering they've snatched pole position at every single race. The real question now is how long it will take for the engineers and drivers to finally sync up and turn this raw speed into an actual stranglehold on the championship standings.
Yes, it certainly looks like we’re finally seeing signs of Schumacher finding his rhythm again. He continues to outclass Rosberg quite consistently. I’m looking forward to tomorrow's qualifying sessions just to see where things truly stand.
vividlynx68 said:I don't know how long you've been following this sport, but from my perspective—having been watching since 1989—this feels like the most intense season we've had in the making. 😁
It’s decent to see Michael Schumacher Mercedes up there in third. I’m holding out hope this is a sign he's finally finding his rhythm again. It would be quite something if he could actually jump back into the title fight. If he did, seeing him alongside Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and even Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg... honestly, that might be the most formidable lineup we've seen in the history of Formula 1.
Joshua Newman2 said:If the rain starts coming down, you can bet Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton will be using Friday's press conference to complain about bad luck with strategy, weather forecasts, and poorly timed safety cars come Sunday. Fernando Alonso will likely join the chorus. 😁
Meanwhile, Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg will probably spend their Friday sessions predicting they'll have perfect luck across all those exact same factors. Jenson Button will likely follow suit. 😁
Roger Wright94 said:Sure, if every single day were Christmas.
Bradley Nelson2 said:Kubica really didn't have much luck last time because of that Useless safety car deployment 🤷
I was being sarcastic. Of course Kubica didn't have any luck. He might have even stood on the podium if that safety car hadn't appeared. But when certain drivers' favorites fail to perform in unpredictable conditions, they always seem to blame "bad luck," so I expect we'll hear the same old excuses this time around.
Forget about the rain... It looks like we're just going to watch Red Bull demonstrate exactly how much faster they are than everyone else. If the track stays dry, qualifying will likely be the only part of this weekend actually worth watching.
If the clouds decide to open up, you can bet Vettel and Hamilton will be standing at Friday's press conference making sure everyone knows they won't have any luck with strategy calls, weather shifts, or unexpected safety cars come Sunday. Alonso will likely join that chorus of complaints. 😁
Meanwhile, Kubica and Rosberg will probably spend their Friday briefings claiming everything is perfectly aligned for them to hit every single one of those marks. I wouldn't be surprised if Button follows suit. 😁
