Posts by stormybadger8

brightwolf48 said:I wasn't just talking about Obrvan and Lewis—though we might actually be on the same page there—but given how disorganized Red Bull seems to be in certain areas, combined with Kimi’s signature ice-cold temperament, I wonder how he’d actually fit into that squad. Let's indulge in a little bit of "what if" speculation.🙂 There’s also Rosberg, Button, and plenty of others who knew exactly how to capitalize on a car's peak performance when it actually mattered. Formula racing is ultimately a synergy between the machine and the driver—it isn't just one or the other. Since you clearly spend most of your time tracking Red Bull, I’ll direct this specific question to you; I suspect you might be capable of seeing the bigger picture if you could just look past everything through Sebastian Vettel's lens for a moment.

I’m asking because when I think back to how Markov absolutely wrecked Sebastian, or how Coulthard's move against Mikko went down—if Massa ever pulled something like that on Lewis Hamilton, there would probably be a public execution happening in the middle of Times Square by the next morning.

Honestly, I have no clue, and I’m pretty bummed it didn't happen.

I honestly doubt he’d have been half as successful as Sebastian Vettel was at Red Bull Racing if the roles had been swapped back in 2009—say, if Kimi Räikkönen had taken that seat instead.
Look, Kimi had the chance to work with Adrian Newey, backed by an equally elite crew and just as much cash—if not more. Plus, he actually got allowed to do in-season testing. It wasn't even close to being as successful as the Vettel-Newey combo.

steelmaker83 said:What part of this don't you get? They're the weaker team. This was their last shot at making something happen, so they had to go all in. It didn't work, and now everyone thinks they're idiots, right?

So what are they?
Honestly, Alonso proved today he’s just a total fraud, not championship material.
That guy is destined to be second best forever... seriously, every single time he actually has a real shot and the right tools, he completely chokes.

If he couldn't even grab a Pole this time, then he's absolutely hopeless...
If I remember correctly, you were just arguing a little while ago that Alonso is faster than Massa in qualifying by half a second... which I shut down with a mountain of data proving it's more like 0.350...

Now, just do the math: look at where Massa is—who nobody is helping through qualifying—compared to Vettel, and then imagine where Alonso would be if he were 0.300 to 0.500 slower...

Based on all the rumors and everything going on, it looks like Alonso might be getting his walking papers from Ferrari soon.
If this pattern of Massa being faster continues in the races and during qualifying in Singapore, then it’s obvious: LdM ate dirt, signed a deal with Kimi, and they're getting rid of Alonso.
Finally, Massa might actually get a real chance to show what he's worth compared to that Spanish politician.

brightwolf48 said:Just one question—as someone who follows Sebastian Vettel so closely, which other driver on the grid do you honestly think could achieve that same kind of symbiosis with a team and deliver comparable results? You know as well as I do that it isn't all just down to Seb🙂.

If it wasn't just about Seb...
Look, to me, Sebastian was a way better driver before he even hit Formula 1 than both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton ☕

Five or six years ago, people thought I was pretty crazy😬
Now they don't think I'm quite as nuts, though I'm still a little bit of a nutcase 🤣

Tomorrow is going to be huge 😍

Sebastian Vettel celebrates 32 career wins and his 4th title tomorrow... and he’s doing it right where he grabbed his very first 🙏😍

darkmarlin16 said:but you know damn well why things went down the way they did😳

I know☕
Same story as this season... they're missing a few screws. Apparently, they left the brains for this year's car back in last year's garage. 😬🤣

stormybadger8 said:Button is going to outpace Lotus in qualifying, maybe even one or both of the Ferraris...
Who knows, maybe the Italians just bought some cheap Chinese bolts while their local steel mills were closed for summer break.😬
And don't sweat that extra second; Button’ll probably be driving at 195% capacity and shock everyone just to keep things interesting.

P.S. Don't tell anyone, but we basically repainted a Red Bull Racing car in McLaren colors and handed the keys to Button.😁
We had to do it just to get them to let us switch to Honda 2015.🤣

☕
That Michelob strategy of rolling out updates all year long is actually working 😲

By the way, Hulk just pulled an absolutely terrifying lap. Seriously, scary stuff. 🙏🙏🙏

William Bennett53 said:What kind of qualifying session was that?

The Renaults and Hamilton... 🙈
Hulk! 🙏 🙏 🙏

It’s looking like a classic Ferrari scenario. 🤣

Alonso: "Felipe is too quick."
I suppose Felipe isn't checking his radio, otherwise they might have warned him he was threatening the majesty of the team. And the result?

4. Felipe
5. Alonso

Pure masters. 🙏 🤣

🤣🤣🤣

Btw I’m just waiting for Ferrari to walk up to the stewards and be like:
"Look guys, we're having a bit of a budget crisis here
"Instead of that $10,000 fine, can we just take a P1 grid penalty instead?"🙂

😂

At least the Maestro is improving. 😳
He's actually close to Felipe this year... at least he isn't over a second behind him like last season. 😬🤣

James Campbell6 said:Those guys over at Ferrari are absolute idiots

Agreed.☕
Kick these hacks to the curb and just hire Nico Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi instead.☕

First and 40th Pole Position Monza🙏🙏🙏

Monzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!😍

Nathan Jones98 said:you're blind

Unbelievable. Apparently, I’m the one who can't see.🤣🤣🤣
The level of fanboy blindness here is actually insane. It's not even close. 🙏🤣


The red line is where every driver has to stop if they want to practice their launch from the pit lane. You aren't supposed to cross it and then try to practice your start from there. ☕



There's proof Massa crossed the line, and there's proof Alonso was practicing starts from a spot he wasn't allowed to be in...

So, please, be my guest and explain to me who exactly is blind?
Does the car's position, the wall, or the light colors look different when you're wearing those red-tinted fan goggles?🤣
Or are you just seeing imaginary blue flags instead? 🤣

Nathan Jones98 said:If I remember correctly, Fernando was under blue flags.

What on earth are you talking about with blue flags and start practice?😵

If you aren't allowed to pull up to a specific spot on the track to practice starts, then you aren't allowed to do it—I don't care if the marshal is waving a Ferrari flag and screaming "Viva Maestro!" at the top of his lungs.🤣

Anyway, this is insane 🙏🤣

Kimi Räikkönen - 1:25.116
Romain Grosjean - 1:25.116

One was on the long track, the other on the short version of the Lotus😁
Now you tell me which setup was actually better 🤣

Sebastian Vettel has officially lost it😬
He jumps out of the car after the Second Practice Session and goes:
"We still need to work on our pace." 🤣>

What’s his plan? To just toss everything out the window by next lap? 😬>

If he actually pulls that off, I bet they'll try to ban him at Red Bull. 🙂>
By the end of this, he'll probably be driving on nothing but rims, two tires, or strictly full wets...🙂>

Olivia Martin12 said:Does anyone have a link where I can actually go and watch this?

Oh, for sure.🤣
Felipe Massa nearly took a shot at Fernando Alonso... so I have zero doubt we'll be seeing plenty of that drama at Indianapolis.🤣

Nathan Jones98 said:Not sure if they were testing something specific or just running into issues.
Basically, Massa's falling behind because I don't think he managed even three clean laps in a row—they were constantly tinkering with the setup and dealing with chemistry issues.

And honestly, the idiots are to blame for sending Felipe Massa out at the end of the session—he went past red and nearly clipped Fernando Alonso, who was coming back onto the track right in front of him (luckily, his exit window hadn't closed yet, but he had to wait because his blue lights came on).

They were testing different wing configurations on the cars...

It’ll be really interesting to see if the FIA actually stays consistent with the rules.🤣

1. Fernando Alonso was practicing starts behind the line and past that concrete wall which is strictly forbidden and something drivers were told was totally off-limits during the briefing.

2. Felipe Massa crossed the track line on a red light, which is obviously a no-go.

Honestly, I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the stewards at Indianapolis right now.🤣
Handing out penalties to both Ferrari drivers after the First Practice Session for such literal, incredibly stupid team blunders—especially in front of thousands of fans—is just way too much.🤣

Who even are these race officials anyway? 🤷

Good grief, who on earth is hiring these Formula 1 journalists and letting them anywhere near a press conference 🤣
Mother Mine, the absolute nonsense they ask at these briefings 🤣

That "brilliant" question asking Alonso if he’s actually taking next season off just to go manage a cycling team was peak comedy 😵
And asking the Ferrari drivers about the track and the fans at Suzuki? That’s pure CNN level journalism right there 😂

It wasn't much better when they asked Webber if he was going to lend Daniel Ricciardo his Crocodile Dundee knife to settle the score with Sebastian Vettel 🙄

Honestly, it’s a miracle Webber kept his cool 🤣
I half expected them to ask the guy if he was mentally challenged or if he was just some kid playing pretend 😂

Amanda Kelly said:Well, it's not like every day is Christmas.
Lotus really dropped the ball in Belgium. It was a mess. I’m holding out hope they’ll actually fix things eventually, but I won't hold my breath.
Here we go again. McLaren’s strategy this year—relying on that single pit stop—is going to blow up in their faces just like before.
They aren't faster than Ferrari, and they aren't faster than Red Bull Racing either. As for Mercedes, nothing about that car is reliable except for Lewis Hamilton's qualifying laps.
It seems to me like Belgium was about the limit for Button.

You'd think you'd see Button actually killing it...
Damn, he still hasn't landed a contract. He really needs to step up.😁

William Bennett53 said:I don't have any doubts regarding Jenson Button; you know he’s always had my respect. My skepticism lies squarely with McLaren. I suspect that if they possess even a shred of intelligence, they've already abandoned this embarrassing mess of a car and are halfway through designing a superior machine for next year. In fact, I’d argue that McLaren's greatest advantage heading into 2014 might actually be how badly they fail this season.

The best thing that could happen to McLaren? Someone kidnaps Michael and Witmarsh, loses them in the woods, and they never come back...

Olivia Martin12 said:Man... I just can't wrap my head around it—I have absolutely no clue where they found the magic to pull a lap time that much faster than anything they've done so far. ☕

Button is going to outpace Lotus in qualifying, maybe even one or both of the Ferraris...
Who knows, maybe the Italians just bought some cheap Chinese bolts while their local steel mills were closed for summer break.😬
And don't sweat that extra second; Button’ll probably be driving at 195% capacity and shock everyone just to keep things interesting.

P.S. Don't tell anyone, but we basically repainted a Red Bull Racing car in McLaren colors and handed the keys to Button.😁
We had to do it just to get them to let us switch to Honda 2015.🤣

William Bennett53 said:

stormybadger8 As I have noted before, there is a certain weight to these observations that often goes unacknowledged. One must wonder, truly, if we are simply witnessing the inevitable progression of events, or if there is something more profound at play here? It is a question worth pondering, perhaps, while one waits for the next development to unfold.
It seems unlikely that we’ll see just one or two... though I suppose nothing is ever truly impossible.
When you actually sit back and look at last year's standings, what do you see? In those top two spots, we have McLaren's number one driver and Sergio Perez.🤣

Jenson Button was holding second place quite comfortably until his car gave out on him. It’s a shame, really; they truly could have secured a 1-2-3 finish if things had gone differently. 🙏

But honestly, the most interesting part is that Indianapolis is one of those rare tracks where Button was right on Lewis Hamilton's heels during qualifying... sometimes even looking better...
If I recall correctly, that was the only place he was consistently within 0.050-0.100 seconds of Hamilton in almost every race...
And in the actual races there, he beat him 2-1...

So I'm not joking around here. I'm being dead serious...