Posts by stormybadger8

wiredtiger8 said:@stormybadger8/">@@stormybadger8...look, obviously the team's bad calls played a part in him dropping to 15th...

...but, in MY opinion—and I think YOU agree—Sebastian Vettel is currently the BEST driver on the grid (aside from Schumi, obviously... well, that's just my take😁). Especially in the rain, he's the best, and he just had to show *something*... you know, aggression, overtakes, attacks... the way Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso does. Instead, he did nothing but circle the track. That’s just not enough for a driver of his caliber.

Though, I’m being way harder on him than you are.

Listen, Schumacher had it much easier than Hamilton. And honestly, the car isn't as fast or superior as people make it out to be. He's clearly great in qualifying, but he's got a massive handicap during the race. It's obvious that Ferrari, and especially McLaren, are way faster than Red Bull. Red Bull might pull a decent lap because they're better in the corners, but on the straights and when it comes to overtaking? They're pathetic.😢

I honestly think the team's development strategy was basically "just grab a win in a boring race." It's hard for anyone to catch them if they've got a 1-2 lead in a straight-up race, but they practically have zero chance of passing anyone else. The car just doesn't have it in it. You see it best with Mark Webber; he has the pace for a single lap, but on track, he can't pass a soul. He'll sit on someone's bumper, clearly faster, but he loses too much ground in the spots where he should be overtaking, and he's useless at following through in the corners.

Even if I agree that Vettel's performance this race was garbage and he could have done much better regardless of the team.😢

hollowhawk412 said:You make more mistakes than Horner. 🤣 😂

The safety car wiped out that entire advantage...
Get it together.😁

🙏 God bless you.🤣

Seriously though, what a great point.😁🤣

Arthur Doyle70 got a penalty 😬🤣😂

I mean, seriously, is this supposed to be some kind of trophy or what? 😬

This season is a joke—it feels like Lewis Hamilton gets handed a penalty every single race. 🤣
What happens at the end of the year? Does he get a ruler slap from Bernie for every violation? Like, one strike per hit? 🤷

Gary Palmer8 said:It’s not hard to hate an idiot who swerves his car right into someone else in the pit lane when there was clearly room for another car... luckily, nobody got hurt. And as for the fans? It’s always McLaren and their drivers. Go ahead and hide in your hole now. 😁

So, Button is still suffering in silence, I see. I figured you’d be busy cheering for Michael Schumacher now that he’s back.😁

As for the Box, poor little Lewis Hamilton drove such a perfect race, and that pit lane move? Honestly, I have no idea what happened to Sebastian Vettel. 🤷
I’m genuinely baffled he pulled out in front of Lewis. Have some shame. He knows he needs to get out of the way when Lewis is on track. He should have just braked and let him pass.
Actually, we should probably penalize anyone who dares to be faster than Lewis. If they overtake him or even try to, we need a rule against that immediately. 😬

Jason Campbell70 said:What does everyone else think about that last Scuderia Ferrari pit stop?

I honestly think they could’ve just closed the pits and thrown out some yellow flags on that tricky section. No need to call out the SC and screw over the leaders like that. Total mess.

I’m pretty sure Alguersuari absolutely wrecked his car on track before even hitting the pit lane. It looks like they were picking up debris right off the racing line, not just at the pit entry, which is probably why things went south. Besides, that pit entry in China is a complete mess—totally blind and chaotic. Just imagine those local track marshals trying to clear fragments while Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso are flying into the pits at full tilt. It's pure mayhem. And honestly, seeing drivers dive into the pits after they've officially closed isn't exactly a rare sight either, so this whole situation is far from harmless.

Gary Palmer8 said:signature

🙏 Here comes the Vettel hater.😁

So, who are you actually rooting for this season? 🤷

I know exactly who I need to start blasting.😬🤣

wiredtiger8 said:Jenson Button... look, I really don't want to say this because I'm not exactly his biggest fan, but the guy is incredible. He drives like a damn professor. Sure, there are drivers out there who are faster, but he’s brilliant because he just doesn't make mistakes. It's like he somehow absorbed the experience of every driver who ever lived.

Kubica... seriously, he killed it again. Respect.

Alonso's alright... but he should've done better.

Nico Rosberg... fast, yeah, incredibly fast. But he always finds a way to mess up. He's just not built for it.

Massa... this has gotta be his career peak. After fighting like hell during the race, he actually managed to overtake Schumacher to grab 9th place. Truly an unforgettable moment for him.

Hamilton was being aggressive again today. Honestly, he looked like the fastest guy out there, but Jenson Button still managed to shut him down and take the win.

Vettel is a disaster. And before you start, no, this isn't on Christian Horner. He’s got a killer car and he’s usually a beast in the rain, yet he still manages to vanish from the race. It happens way too often. Honestly? I'm starting to think he just doesn't have what it takes to be a champion—even if I do root for him.

Schumi... clearly something was off with that car. You could see it most clearly when Vitali Petrov blew past him on the straight—the onboard camera from Schumi's car made it look like that Renault had at least 100 extra horsepower.
Schumacher needs a car built specifically for his driving style. I don't know if everyone here realizes this, but Schumi always hated cars with an oversteering front end—which is exactly what the current Mercedes is. Word is the new car will have a totally different balance. It’ll be fascinating to see how Rosberg handles that change, or if he actually prefers sticking with what he has now. Personally? Let Rosberg enjoy these days where he's outrunning Schumacher while he can. I wouldn't hold my breath.

Give him a break and stop calling him Grandpa. Seriously, what is wrong with you people? He’s literally a year younger than I am.

I’m with you on everything else, but you’re totally overlooking one thing regarding Sebastian Vettel. That "ultra smart" strategy basically tossed him from 1st to 15th place within the first four or five laps. He was stuck behind the entire field, and to make matters worse, the crew didn't even get his tires changed on time during that first pit stop. Look, the kid is good—he trips up occasionally—but more often than not, it's the team that screws up. They clearly aren't thinking through who needs to be where and why. This kind of amateur stupidity just shouldn't be happening.🤦

I honestly think his biggest issue is either trusting the crew too much or just lacking any real authority. He keeps getting stuck in these brainless situations where he needs to make a call, but clearly, nobody’s listening to him—or he just can't pull the trigger. Red Bull is constantly missing that edge of making smart, decisive moves, and that’s exactly where they're falling short.😢

So now the only question left is whether those were bad calls by the race engineer, Christian Horner, or the driver himself. 🤷

nimblesurfer17 said:What a mess that bunch of drivers made today. Was it spectacular? Not even close.☕
Look, if you'd pulled any other move from Lewis Hamilton, maybe I'd have something to say. But this? This is just standard procedure. Totally normal.
Dude, did you seriously not notice how much faster Hamilton's car was on the straights?
And what does Rosberg's car have to do with any of this? 🤷 Rosberg drives his car, Schumacher drives his... ☕

And yeah, I still think it’s a total disgrace that Hamilton spent so much time stuck behind Grandpa in such a superior car... and that it probably cost him the win. Pay attention to the word "probably"... I'm sure you know what that implies.
Go ahead and stay salty about it. ☕

I'm with you on this one. Hamilton obviously had the fastest car on the straightaways, and he had the pace too, yet he was stuck two laps back while the rest of the pack (Vettel) closed the gap immediately once they caught up. So yeah, this is definitely your own fault for being clueless, but hey, maybe you just idolize him too much and lost your edge. 🤷

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre...-race-trap.pdf

😲 What a kid, Hamilton 9.3 miles/h faster than Button😕

This gets even weirder 😕

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre...ce-summary.pdf

Looks like Red Bull totally botched their first pit stop 🤷
I think Vettel actually had to wait just to get into the box; plus, they both had the longest stops of anyone during that first round 😕

The dumbest part? Alonso pitted five times (including that penalty lap), so he was in the pits once more than both Red Bulls combined, yet their total pit time is basically identical. They clearly completely screwed up that first stop 👎

Christian Horner, Team Principal: "It was a very chaotic race today. Both drivers elected to stop early on when the rain came. Unfortunately Mark hit the front jack and damaged his front wing, which ultimately cost both drivers a bit of time.

Horner's running away with the Beer 🙂 you're dead meat if I find you 🙂

btw, Kubica, Petrov and Button were in the pits a full minute faster than everyone else. Without that one lucky strategic call, they’d be way outside the top 10. Even Schumacher would have beaten Rosberg with a time gap like that, unless Rosberg was already glued to his bumper 😲

This was definitely a masterclass in terrible strategy.

nimblesurfer17 said:Interesting stuff, really interesting..☕
If the old man finally gets a car built exactly how he wants it, things might actually get fun..😁

😕Since when are they even allowed to swap out an entire car mid-season? 🤷

Aren't radical chassis changes strictly banned? 🤷

I remember all that drama regarding the F-duct and getting it installed—they were saying you couldn't touch the chassis, making the whole upgrade a massive headache.🤷

Joshua Newman2 said:Seriously guys, all this penalty talk is nonsense. Especially that TBFD nonsense claiming they should've disqualified Alonso for his start error—but I guess he gets a pass because he needs space to process the trauma of Red Bull's pathetic performance. 😁

Look, even though I’m not exactly a Hamilton fanboy, slapping him with a time penalty over that tight pit lane situation would be a joke. If they want to hit McLaren with a fine, fine. If they wanted to give him a drive-through, sure. But trying to punish him ex-post? Total absurdity.

They let those other waves slide last time, and maybe they shouldn't have. But you can't just penalize him now just to "even things out."

They aren't going to penalize Lewis, theoretically or otherwise. Don't hold your breath.🤣

Maybe they can fine McLaren or Red Bull for releasing drivers unsafely.☕

There's nothing to penalize the drivers for. Honestly, if they don't penalize anyone for the Massa-Alonso pit situation, then punishing anyone in the Vettel-Hamilton clash would be pure stupidity.🙄

It's actually pretty dumb that we're even debating this. The only thing that might deserve a penalty was Hamilton shoving Webber off track or overtaking under the SC right before exiting, and even that's debatable. This pit stuff is completely irrelevant.☕

Alonso deserves a penalty 🙂 specifically by being forced to start behind Massa every single time for the rest of the season, and making sure Massa gets to pass him on track every single time. 😬

cosmicridge5 said:They're telling the BBC that something went wrong with Grandpa's car😁

It’s 😬new, and that’s the issue. Grandpa’s just used to those older models.😬

The only thing I’m getting out of this is being right. I called it—either Jenson Button defends the title, or Nico Rosberg takes it. Red Bull and Ferrari are making way too many mistakes; you can practically see their chances slipping away after every single race. It doesn't matter how fast they are, they're just falling behind, especially since this McLaren is absolutely dominant on the straights.😢Honestly, it’s kind of painful to watch how effortlessly they just hunt down the rest of the field on those long stretches.😳

Morgan Murphy7 said:fair enough, 😁

to celebrate, we'll grab a Belgian beer next time 🙏

🙏🙏🙏 I'm down. Last time was alright, but this time we’re hitting somewhere with better beer and actually decent food. 🤣

Stop acting like such a suburbanite; let's just head over to Bunčić's or go on some kind of road trip. 😍

cosmicridge5 said:🙂 😁 😁

Look, I get you're pissed about Vettel's result, but don't go throwing stones at Nanda because of it. 😬

Instead of venting all that hate on Lewis like everyone else does, 🙏🤣

When Schumacher is that bad, he isn't even worth mentioning.🤣

If Michael improves, maybe Alonso won't be such an easy target all the time.😬

Honestly, I'd love to take a swing at Christian Horner just to see what happens, 🙂 but I don't have the chance. 🙂

Lewis Hamilton is a great driver—dirty, sure, but aggressive and good.

Morgan Murphy7 said:please, TBD is just deathly allergic to General Motors and Alonso

The truth is simple: Alonso was feeling the sting of a few bad starts lately, so he focused entirely on damage control. In Formula 1, you can't get away with much without consequences, and he knows it. Claiming he did it on purpose just to cheat is absolute nonsense. 🙏

I haven't been since Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov were at General Motors.🙏 🙏 🙏

Everyone else is better, and I'm definitely not "allergic" to General Motors anymore.😉

Morgan Murphy7 said:Are you drunk? 🙏

Haven't touched a drink in days. Maybe that's why. 😬🤣

gentlebear47 said:What a joke. It was a drive-through penalty and he nailed it. No big deal.🙄

Man, he was the absolute picture of honesty today.🙏

I honestly don't get the difference:

Alonso’s cheating at the start—hitting the pits.
Lewis Hamilton got cheated out of the win—disqualified.

What's even the point? They’re both cheating. If you cheat, you get the same penalty. This is just a waste of time.

Jason Campbell70 said:In Formula 1, they hand out a drive-through penalty for that.

Before they started doing drive-throughs, they used to hit them with a stop-and-go (10 seconds).

Which part of this is confusing you? ☕

Look, I get how it works. Those are the rules. But just because they exist doesn't mean they're actually good or fair.😉
It’s a joke. It’s basically cheating. They hand out these penalties for stupid stuff like driving 50 miles/h through the pits or for standard racing incidents, but this? This feels rigged. The punishment is way too light.☕

Michael Lee4 said:Looking at Vettel and Hamilton going through the pits right now... they're basically repeating everything from '16. Hamilton overtook him on the entry, just like Alonso did to Massa, and then on the exit, Vettel shoved Hamilton to the right, off the track. Both should get penalized.

🤷Maybe, but honestly, I don't see any reason to penalize anyone here. There was zero shoving and nobody crossed the white line. Hamilton just pulled out behind Vettel and moved sideways—calling that "shoving" is a stretch.😕

They might get dinged for pit lane speed, but that's it. I don't see another reason. If anything, Massa and Alonso should've been the ones punished for forcing their way into the pits.

hollowhawk412 said:Now you're really overreacting.. he didn't put anyone in danger.. He got exactly what was coming to him

He gained an unfair advantage, so they took it away... simple as that.

That's just cheating. There isn't a single sport out there where cheaters get a slap on the wrist.🙂

For cheating, there’s only one real penalty: disqualification.☕

Look, I know you're a fan, just like half the people on this forum, but if Hamilton or Michael Schumacher had done the exact same thing, everyone would be tearing them apart right now and the FIA would've handed out a penalty in a heartbeat.☕

Fernando Alonso 👎 👎 👎

slybison8 said:I’m with you—both guys took hits here. Objectively, Alonso lost a spot compared to where he started; the result sucks, but it’s not a total disaster. Massa just had bad luck, and honestly, Alonso didn't pull anything on him that he hasn't already done in previous races. It should all be fine—this isn't some toxic, destructive rivalry like we saw back in the McLaren 2007-e days.

They should've just waved the black flag at Alonso right after that start. Disqualify him and call it a day. He drove a decent race, sure, but in any other sport, a dirty move like that gets you tossed out. That kind of shady business deserves a disqualification, period.😳

Petrov 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏