Posts by stormybadger8

Susan Alvarez94 said:Are these descriptions actually objective? Is this some kind of petty demand that drivers should just pull over in certain situations? Could you ever imagine hearing anything like this during the eras of the late Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, or Alain Prost? Am I suddenly the one being biased here?😂
To quote Scrooge—as played by Patrick Stewart: "I'll retire to bedlam." Or, to put it in plain terms, I might as well check myself into a mental asylum.
Personally, I make every effort to approach every race with objectivity, though I admit my perspective is inevitably colored by my own loyalties.
So, has anyone in this thread actually bothered to answer my question? How was it possible for Fernando Alonso to beat Michael Schumacher in a significantly slower Renault, especially when considering he nearly snatched the championship last year in the clearly slower Ferrari?

Oh sure, because listening to team radio for an entire race used to be perfectly fine, right?😁 🤣

Also, it’s funny how you didn't catch the maestro whining and complaining about Perez... really interesting how that part goes unheard, yet Button gets labeled a huge brat just for questioning that same driver's behavior...
Objectivity doesn't exist here, clearly.👍

shadowhawk24 said:I have to say, I can't exactly agree with everything Jason Campbell70 is throwing out there. He’s definitely not hitting the mark on every single point.
He actually went out on a limb there, claiming he wanted to see Kimi running the exact same strategy as Vettel just to give him a fair shot at applying some serious pressure.
If he’d actually played it smart and stuck to that strategy, he might have had a shot at third place. And honestly? That’s being generous. Given the absolute state of his tire sets, I wouldn't have bet a dime on him even getting close. ☕
Look, let’s get the facts straight regarding that gap. When Vettel was clocking those 1:39s, Kimi and Di Resta were lagging by a full two seconds. People love to speculate, but it’s simple math: it came down to the rubber. If I recall correctly, the latter two were basically riding on dead tires at the end of their stints, while Vettel was cruising on much fresher compounds. It wasn't magic; it was just a blatant difference in tire strategy.
Of course, that doesn't exactly take away from the sheer raw speed Vettel was pulling off out there.
It’s a complete no-brainer that Alonso and Vettel would have absolutely smoked them. They were starting from significantly better positions than Lotus ever had a chance of seeing. It wasn't even close.
What Kimi and Romain pulled off today was nothing short of a miracle. Seriously, given where they lined up on the grid and the absolute chaos of this race, that kind of performance is about as close to perfection as you're ever going to get. It was the absolute ceiling of what was possible.

Not really. He was pulling those times consistently for about ten laps straight, and Kimi and di Resta weren't even on significantly older tires than he was.
He actually clocked faster times than Kimi. When Kimi pitted early—way sooner than expected just to jump di Resta—and came back out on fresh tires, that’s when he actually built up that massive gap over him...

So yeah, you're right, the analyst totally missed the mark there. Kimi honestly didn't have a realistic shot at fighting for the win... I actually think if they went with a three-stop strategy, he might have ended up behind Grosjean and di Resta anyway.
And I agree, given where they started on the grid, this was absolutely the absolute limit for Lotus.

Nathan Jones98 said:http://mladenjergovic.com/tko-ce-ga-zaustaviti-2
TBH — here’s the write-up you wanted

Honestly, I'd rather just be buried in ash.😁

Nathan Jones98 said:Sebastian Vettel can't win unless he's sitting on pole—so I don't see why you're being so optimistic--

😍

Especially those "experts" claiming Vettel can't even overtake.😍

BTW, here's the text:👍
I love it when things are written objectively, without the nonsense...
And Jerga is right—I'm not exactly losing sleep over Alonso's stellar drive and being only about 30 seconds behind...
Even though those losers from Red Bull were busy tearing Vettel apart again.🙂
He could have been way faster. To me, the best parts of the race were hearing people whine about him hitting 1:40 while he was out there flat-out smashing 1:39.0s, running laps two seconds faster than Kimi and di Resta.😁
Then there was that ultra-fast lap at the end, followed by all that whining about pit stops—just shut up already.😍

Though I really am bummed Alonso had that breakdown.😢
But man, watching them hunt him down on track would have been pure bliss.🙂
And I'm dead certain Lotus would've stayed far behind, because those two would've been going full throttle, chasing each other the entire race.😳

shadowhawk24 said:A solid race to round out the Sunday afternoon.
Plenty of decent wheel-to-wheel action on track and some clean overtakes.
It’s a shame Alonso dropped out of the fight for the win so early, but honestly, that’s just how it goes—today it’s him, in three weeks it’ll be someone else, and the cycle continues.
As for Massa, I don't even know what to say; he seems to have a chronic issue with these tires, but more than that, I think he just choked. He seems to lose his nerve the second things stop going according to plan.

Vettel took a well-earned victory. That opening battle with Alonso was top-tier, though it's a pity Alonso fell away so we didn't get to see the conclusion. All things considered, a deserved win for Vettel.

Kimi—well, what can you say? He proved once again that he’s fast, consistent, and that Lotus is absolutely killing it with tire management. I’m already looking forward to Austin; if it looks anything like last year or today, I don't see any reason why he won't be fighting for the win.

Grosjean finally got his shot and he took it. Moving from eleventh to third through brilliant driving, plenty of overtakes, sharp battles, and a perfect tactical call.
Lotus, Kimi, and Romain 🙏 🙏

Three-week break 🙂

I agree on the penalties. Only punish the heavy-handed stupidity and the total nonsense; as for these gearbox changes and technicalities, if there has to be a penalty, just dock one point from the Constructors' Championship.
Regarding DRS, it isn't quite as simple as KERS. KERS gives you that instant burst at the push of a button, whereas the advantage from DRS comes from the aerodynamic drag reduction on the wing, which is most effective on straights where you have a constant flow of air hitting the rear wing.
Even if they allowed it based on time, they'd probably still use it mostly on the straights for the reasons I mentioned, and the rate of crashes and broken cars would almost certainly skyrocket.
Take these rookies, for instance; Gutierrez slammed into Sutil at the last race because he lost downforce during braking, so go ahead, give them DRS to use wherever they want.

Regardless, we saw plenty of interesting overtakes outside of the DRS zones today, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

Not sure if you caught it on film, but Massa’s tires literally disintegrated—not once, but twice.😲
It’s high time someone had a serious word with those Pirelli clowns.🙄

Three sets of tires basically exploding in a single weekend.👎
And then they have the nerve to lecture us about "safety" in F1. Total BS.🙄

Man, what happens when this goes sideways at a track like 186 miles? If someone actually gets hurt because of this, it's on them.😳

Look, it’s one thing if the tires wear down and you just lose pace. But the way Massa and Hamilton's tires completely fell apart? That is straight-up dangerous.😳

Jerry Rogers6 said:Critics would probably argue there’s nothing wrong with letting some high-roller clean you up—especially after you’ve put them through the wringer just like Mark did—but then again, who are we to judge? 😁😁

Who on earth could possibly be a better driver than Lewis? Honestly, it’s a ridiculous question to even ask.
I’m being dead serious here—I am not joking around.

I think I caught this second bit—though my hearing isn't exactly 100% lately—but didn't Horner mention that his tires were already completely cooked? I can't say for sure, though.

🤣

I’ve gotta say—I am completely floored. I was dead wrong. Seriously, I totally missed the mark on this one. If that stock had actually behaved the way you predicted, I wouldn't be sitting here feeling like an idiot right now. 😬🤣

And yeah, nice job on that prediction regarding the Renaults making it onto the podium. 🙏

This guy is impossible.🙂
I've practically shredded my voodoo doll trying to fix this. I've trashed his rear wing twice now and he still won't budge.🙄
Next race, I should probably just focus on shredding tires like Massa used to.🤔
That would’ve been a much easier job.😬

shadowstag10 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgT4za3iX74

Alright, look—tbf, the video quality is absolute garbage, but if you squint at the 21-22 second mark right when Alonso hits the corner, you can already tell the DRS wasn't even working yet. We seriously need to get this sorted out. 😉

Yeah, looks like it stayed open after he passed Rosberg... though the footage is so bad I'm honestly not even sure if it was open or not.🤷
With Ferrari, it's always a pain to tell because of that white paint on the rear wing...

EDIT:
You're right, it's clearer later on... about two minutes in...
It definitely stayed locked after passing Rosberg. My bad, I totally misread the broadcast the first time around.🙈

Susan Alvarez94 said:I find myself in agreement with that proposal regarding the DRS system. It’s quite unexpected.

What’s so weird about it?😁
Anyone watching F1 wants actual racing and real overtakes, not just people using a button to zip past someone in a designated zone.🙄

Screw the people who only watch F1 occasionally—it's supposed to be fun seeing someone actually fly past another driver on track. That's what makes it a "good show," as Bernie used to say.

Jason Campbell70 said:Yes, that would certainly make things much easier to follow and control.

Honestly, it’d be easier than what we’re dealing with now.😁
What’s the big deal with putting a timer on a car set to trigger every time they cross the start-finish line at the maximum possible interval within a single lap (say, 6.7 seconds)?
🤣I could build you a setup like that without breaking a sweat for less than a hundred bucks per car.
☕Besides, the current KERS system uses basically the same logic, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel—just copy it.

All you have to do is link it to the existing sensors that track whether the wing is deployed or not...
The whole automation side of this is dead simple, and even easier to manage...

Once you're in the activation zone (assuming all conditions are met), you just bump the timer up by two seconds or whatever, and boom—done.

Susan Alvarez94 said:Regarding any potential penalty stemming from that incident, I believe the situation was far too ambiguous. In my view, whenever a scenario is this unclear, we should lean toward what Americans would call the presumption of innocence.
I was merely building upon certain arguments suggesting that Alonso deserved a penalty today. My apologies if that came across poorly. However, it seems to me that in cases like this, neither side possesses sufficient evidence to justify a sanction. As for post-race penalties, I find them to be utterly pointless. This is especially true regarding weather-related penalties that seem to have no bearing on the majority of the drivers. While adjusting the grid for the next race might make sense, I personally wouldn't go that far either. If an error actually occurred, then a drive-through, a stop-and-go, or even a black flag should suffice; anything else is unnecessary. What are the rest of your thoughts on the matter?

Penalties are just dumb in general... especially all that nonsense involving gearboxes and other garbage...
They should just let them race like they do in IndyCar or whatever, and only hand out penalties for actual bullshit—like when someone intentionally rams another driver off the track and it's crystal clear what happened.

As for DRS, personally, I think they should allow it anywhere on the track, just limit it by time—kind of like how KERS worked for a set duration per lap...
That way, every car on the track has it, and they can manage their usage to defend against an attack in a DRS zone...
Maybe keep that specific DRS zone where you get a 2 or 3-second boost if you're within a second of the guy in front.

shadowstag10 said:Come on, man—I already showed you in that link I sent that the DRS isn't even closed while he's sitting right behind Rosberg.

Shit 🙂
I didn't even record the race 😵
Damn it, I completely lost track of the timers and everything else.🙂

I'll try to find a replay later and see what actually happened.

Maybe that’s why this race turned out like this too...
Here we go again, same kid, different day.

I mean, what's next? Are they going to tell us everyone can just use DRS whenever they feel like it?🤣
At the end of the day, this was an FIA screw-up.😁 🤣

Nancy Scott5 said:I totally missed them checking out Perez during the race.🤷

Alonso was complaining about the team favoring Perez, so yeah, they’re definitely looking into it.😉

Drew Bennett68 said:And sadly, we’re looking at a disqualification draw for the winner of the next race...

It’s gonna be a toss-up between Webber and Perez...
but honestly, I'm betting they just get slapped with a 25-second penalty instead of a grid drop.😍

Susan Alvarez94 said:First, my congratulations to the winner on a thoroughly deserved victory. Moving forward, however, I would like someone to point me toward the specific section of the rulebook that dictates Alonso should be penalized. Please provide the direct link or paste the relevant text here—"or forever hold your peace." It was an incredible cascade of errors, compounded by DRS issues and tire degradation, that ultimately cost Ferrari a significant number of points. While it initially appeared they wouldn't even be in a position to challenge the leader, one has to wonder: if the race had been held in the dry and Alonso hadn't faced such a series of setbacks, would the current winner have actually managed to hold onto his position, or would his concentration have simply crumbled?🤷Rosberg’s performance was exactly what we anticipated—his race pace just wasn't there. But then again, nothing is ever truly decided until the checkered flag flies, is it? As for the Alonso detractors out there: you have to give credit where it's due. You must admit he drove an exceptional race, especially considering the massive handicap he was working with.

Of course he drove great; the guy is easily one of the top five drivers in F1 right now.
Not surprising, really...

I'm still recording the DRS stuff, don't want to stop mid-stream.🤣
I'll check back later. I might be wrong, but on my feed, it looked like he hit the DRS right when Massa was trying to overtake him...
Then again, it’s not impossible he just locked up while passing Rosberg. 🤔

I'll take a look later, but I'm surprised ESPN hasn't done a full breakdown of that play yet.😕
Button and Perez really screwed them over.🤣

Jason Campbell70 said:During the last race, Vettel, Webber, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Bottas, Ricciardo, Chilton, and Button all triggered their DRS when they weren't allowed to.

And they weren't penalized.
That's that.

Who says they weren't allowed?
You.🤷

Was the gap more than a second?
Are you absolutely certain they were overtaking under yellow flags?
Drop a link, a photo, or a video somewhere.🍿

I can pull up a picture of Alonso hitting his DRS while trailing by like 3 seconds in a heartbeat if needed...

Besides, it’s a shame they didn't get hit with penalties, because Vettel would've pulled ahead in the standings if they had.😍🤣

steelmaker83 said:Again?

Yeah, that makes four in a row.🙄

Michael Jackson10 said:Look, since race control manages the DRS system, they can just shut the whole thing down if they want.
A speed limiter isn't part of the actual racing; it's driver assistance, and nobody is forced to use it. Drivers manage their speed in the pits through the throttle and brakes, just like in any other form of motorsport.
Now, we have to ask ourselves: how much of an advantage does the DRS actually give versus the damage done by having it open for 90% of the lap without grip, especially with those extra pit stops to fix it...
In reality, Alonso has already been punished by the mechanical failure, which robbed him of a fair fight for most of the race...

Not true for this specific race.☕
The whole system glitched out before we even got going, so drivers could trigger DRS anywhere on the track. Race control didn't have a damn thing to do with it.😳

darkmarlin16 said:Vettel’s gonna take him down, period, yet this guy is still totally obsessed with Fernando, desperately trying to act like he can somehow downplay that absolute masterclass of a driving style.

🤦

Honestly, it makes me sick seeing how the FIA refuses to hand out penalties when they clearly should.🙂
Hamilton’s garbage tire blows out, wrecks his suspension and gearbox, and the FIA hands him a 5-place penalty. Great.🙄
Then Alonso uses DRS when he isn't supposed to, the system glitches because of it, and suddenly nobody gets penalized. Just magic.🙄

I'm sure everyone else will get slapped with penalties for failures caused by these trash Goodyear tires.🙄
Maybe they should just penalize Massa too, since he did such a stellar job demonstrating exactly how "reliable" these Goodyears are.🙄

stormybadger8 said:I’m only looking for Renault on that podium😍

From here on out, I'm starting every single thread on this PDF. 😈😁🤣😍🤣😂😂

Nancy Scott5 said:Besides, isn't it way easier to handle the corners with less downforce? That's a huge advantage compared to having too much grip.
It would be a different story if he just opened it up on the straights, but he had it open for the whole damn lap.
Even Schumacher had a similar issue back in Canada and didn't get penalized (true, he retired, but they didn't nail him after the race, so at least the FIA is being consistent).

Except in that case, Schumacher was allowedto use DRS because he was within a second, so he wasn't closing the gap illegally.
What happened with Alonso is a completely different story. He engaged DRS when he wasn't supposed to (since he was three seconds behind the guy ahead) and then just didn't close the gap...

It's night and day.☕