Posts by stormybadger8

shadowmarlin22 said:Good grief, what a mathematical circus 🙏🙏🙏

You started off with this thesis that if Lewis Hamilton had just squeezed out every bit of potential, he would have snatched the 2016 title. Well, let me set the record straight—he lost that championship by five points because his engine gave up during a race where he was leading, which allowed Rosberg to finish fourth (though Rosberg ended up third since Lewis had already dropped out). The gap between first and fourth place alone is more than five points.

Talk about mental gymnastics 🙏🙏

If you really need me to spell it out, nobody ever consistently extracts absolute maximum performance—that should be a given.

I'm logging off. 🤦
I don't have the energy to read your nonsense while trying to stay polite. 😵

shadowmarlin22 said:Hold up, you actually just tried to compare his battle with Valtteri Bottas to his fight against Fernando Alonso. Look, I’m sorry, but just stop—unplug the router and walk away. 🙏🙏

He gained that advantage on the undercut purely because of the tires, just like everyone else who pitted.

As for 2016, Lewis was basically squeezing every ounce of performance out of that car, which is why he walked away with more points per finished race. Honestly, his engine blew up in Malaysia, while Rosberg didn't have that issue once, and that's how you lose a title. If that hadn't happened, he'd be an 8-time champ by now...

So, in whatever imaginary universe you're living in, Hamilton lost the title because of a blown engine in Malaysia, yet somehow he was "maximizing" the car in every other race to pull in even more points? 🤦

The only conclusions I can draw from this are:

A.) You're either a DMW clone or his younger brother who hasn't even started elementary school yet.
B.) You've never encountered basic math in your life.
C.) You don't know the first thing about Formula 1.
D.) [censored]🙂

With a dominant beast like that Mercedes, especially during the early hybrid era, winning wasn't "maximizing the car"—it was a total cakewalk...
The competition outside of Mercedes was practically non-existent. At the end of the day, Mercedes had 20/21 poles and 19/21 wins that season.😳

Look, the 2016 season had 21 races, and the gap between first and second place was only 7 points. Lewis finished 19 races, while Rosberg finished 20.

Now, go ahead and explain the math to me: how does finishing 19 races with a 7-point gap mean Hamilton "maximized" everything else so much that he suddenly lost less than the 25 points he supposedly missed out on due to that busted engine in Malaysia?
🤦
If we follow your logic, Helio, 19 x 7 gives a massive advantage...
And yet, according to you, Hamilton lost the championship by just 25 points?
Since when is 133 less than 25?
😵

I've read plenty of nonsense on this forum, but this is hands down the stupidest take I've ever seen.🤦

shadowmarlin22 said:Hold up, you actually just tried to compare his battle with Valtteri Bottas to his fight against Fernando Alonso. Look, I’m sorry, but just stop—unplug the router and walk away. 🙏🙏

He gained that advantage on the undercut purely because of the tires, just like everyone else who pitted.

As for 2016, Lewis was basically squeezing every ounce of performance out of that car, which is why he walked away with more points per finished race. Honestly, his engine blew up in Malaysia, while Rosberg didn't have that issue once, and that's how you lose a title. If that hadn't happened, he'd be an 8-time champ by now...

A young, talented Briton is sitting in the best car on the grid...
It all comes down to pure quality, really—Bottas versus Alonso. That’s exactly why Lewis Hamilton didn't just steamroll Alonso in that first race; he couldn't even get past him.
On the other hand, Russell was absolutely laying into Bottas... he really gave him a hard time there.

Of course they weren't just cruising through every lap like robots...
Fluctuations are totally normal. Honestly, a gap of 0.1 or 0.2 seconds per lap is basically nothing—it happens all the time, even to your beloved Lewis Hamilton.

He gained the advantage on the undercut purely because of his tires, just like everyone else who pitted.

Who else?

shadowmarlin22 said:Prost in '86—sure. I'd probably toss in 1982 or maybe 2008 too, but I can't get behind '91 or '95.

Regarding 1991—yeah, the Williams was a beast ahead of its time and all that, but the thing just kept breaking down. Between all those retirements, especially early in the season, they dropped so many points that Senna's class eventually allowed him to snatch it. After that, Mansell went on a tear, but the old pro managed to pull it off anyway.

As for 1995, that’s debatable; it feels like a classic 1a/1b scenario.

Bottom line: looking back over the last 60 years—say, since the 1960s—we have maybe two or three seasons where someone took the title without having the absolute best or even an equal car to the runner-up. But sure, go ahead and attack Lewis 🙏🙏, who has that 2008 run where the Ferrari was clearly the class of the field.

People talk, but Lewis had a more dominant car than, say, Senna or Niki Lauda... Fine, great, but whether he was dominant by one point or 100 points doesn't change the number of titles on his resume. If someone starts arguing Lewis is better than driver X just because he won by a larger margin, they're missing the point—he was driving a monster of a car.

Still, at the end of the day, the guy squeezes everything out of a dominant car, and this is the result we see....

Getting back to the race, there's one thing I don't think anyone has mentioned. Look, Russell is incredible, no question, but you could see a distinct difference—which is totally normal given the circumstances—where Russell would build a lead over Bottas and then lose it every few laps due to some tiny error or something similar. Hamilton's whole thing is that relentless lap-after-lap pace while managing tires; that's his superpower. If Lewis had been driving yesterday, I think the gap between the two Mercedes would have been significantly wider, which gives the pit crew much more breathing room for tire changes and almost certainly prevents mistakes. It's not Russell's fault, obviously, but that's the value of building a consistent advantage—you never know when you'll need that cushion for a double pit stop or whatever.

If the guy was truly extracting everything from the car, he’d have eight titles by now since he would've snatched the 2016 championship too.☕

Russell clearly had issues with the car or just didn't understand the setup yet—you could hear it on the team radio...
So, whether he was building a lead over Bottas or not, it doesn't matter. Expecting total routine from someone who just jumped into that car for his first race in a Mercedes is honestly asking too much...
Even so, within just a few laps of an undercut, he managed to push a five-second gap over Bottas...

Besides, even Lewis needed, what, a handful of races back in 2007 before he finally caught Alonso on track?
I can't remember the exact number, but he definitely didn't nail it in the very first race—and that's considering they were both rookies in that car, though Alonso actually had more experience than Lewis at the time.
So yeah, why expect Russell to show up with perfect routine against Bottas, who's basically a seasoned veteran by now...

bluepuma9 said:What are you even rambling about?
It’s been years since Hulk was even in a Force India seat, and let's be real—this current car has absolutely nothing in common with the one he used to drive back then. On top of that, the guy basically flew straight into someone else's car right before the race started. Between that disaster and the fact that he completely botched both Free Practice and qualifying, he just hasn't found his rhythm at all.

Aside from that DAS system—which they basically only touch during the safety car periods or the installation lap anyway—there isn't any real difference between the Mercedes-Benz and the Williams. Honestly, the steering wheel is what actually feels different, and that’s where the biggest gap lies. That’s really the only part that actually demands an adjustment.

So this guy tells someone else they're just rambling before throwing out some "well deserved" praise. Typical. 🤦
There’s honestly zero difference between Mercedes and Williams. That’s exactly why the championship fight basically boils down to Mercedes vs. Williams until the very last race. 🤣

The RP car is just fundamentally different from the Force India that Hulk was driving. It’s a completely different beast.
There’s no way they changed the procedures. The crew, the guys on the ground, even the steering wheels and everything related to handling—it’s all definitely identical to how it was back in the Force India days.

darkmarlin16 said:Oh yeah, the way Russell charms Bottas was absolutely legendary 🙏

I mean, seriously, what happened to poor Bottas was an absolute embarrassment of epic proportions. Especially after that SC call. It was painfully obvious that Russell was flying while Bottas was just struggling to keep up, and even though Russell seemed to be holding back a bit—probably because he didn't want to end up in a massive collision—it was still brutal. But honestly, the poor guy was so rattled and terrified that he ended up choking and making his own mistake, and once that happened, Russell just tore through the field while Bottas was stuck in the weeds fighting off Lance Stroll 😂

He was already messing with Bottas before that...
So, at the restart, Mercedes pulled a fast one on him. ☕

Just so you know, Bottas pitted, and those geniuses actually put Russell's tires on him. Then they realized they'd given Russell his own set, leaving Bottas with absolutely nothing left.
His brakes caught fire, and then they had the nerve to put those old, worn-out tires—the ones they just took off—right back on the car while they were still cold. 🤦

Honestly, regarding Bottas, it's a miracle he even finished the race on those tires. I mean, nobody actually expected him to pull off some heroic defense on the restart...

darkmarlin16 said:Your precious little pirouette hasn't been seen all season long🤣

Unfortunately, you're pretty much spot on.
I'm just counting down the days until he finally gets out of that team. 😁

You don't even find that funny...
Your boy Sainz is headed for the exact same nightmare Vettel went through this year and in seasons past...
He’d be a hell of a lot better off if he’d just stayed at McLaren.

Yesterday was freaking phenomenal...
I mean, seriously, if his engine was already dead and all they had left was some beat-up old unit to swap in, what kind of amateur move was it to not just put a fresh engine in the car?
If we aren't doing it before qualifying, then why on earth aren't we doing it after?
What’s even the difference? Starting 13th with an old, weak engine or starting dead last with a brand-new one... it's all the same misery.

Yesterday after the restart, Vettel was the only one on softs, and yet Norris just pulls away from him on the straights. How does he have two gears less than that guy? 🤦
Sebastian Vettel comes over the team radio and just lays it out plain and simple: "this engine is dead."

And on top of all that, he hands them two perfect pit stops on a silver platter. 👍
One guy gets a 4.5-second head start, then they crank it up and give the other one a 6.5-second lead. Typical. 🙏

What’s the stupidest part about this whole thing? Honestly, even the tactics were actually decent this time, and the start went better than expected...
The pace on hards was killer. If they’d actually pulled off a decent pit stop, he would've either cruised to the win or at least finished right ahead of Esteban Ocon. But of course, they had to mess up every single thing they touched...

And the absolute dumbest part of this whole mess? Giving him some ancient, washed-up engine was basically throwing the Abu Dhabi race straight into the trash.
Look, let’s be real: they have to swap him out. Whether they like it or not, if they don't make the change now, the guy is either going to completely conk out or perform even worse than he already has.
If they don't fix that starting position from the back, it's a lost cause. They basically just screwed over two entire races.
Thank God he's finally out of Ferrari. 🙏

swifttiger75 said:I don't get why you guys are still obsessing over Lewis Hamilton after Sergio Perez stood on top of that podium here. 😵

I’m honestly just counting down the days until Hamilton, Vettel, and Alonso all retire—then maybe we can finally let some fresh blood actually race.

Well, Perez isn't exactly "young blood"...
He's just slightly less old than Vettel...

Besides, Perez should have been at the top long ago...
And let's be real, he only got there because Hamilton, Alonso, and even Vettel weren't in this last race...

Add to that Max and Charles Leclerc being out, plus the German team absolutely screwing over George Russell, and there you have it.

bluepuma9 said:Yeah, I don't get the Giovinazzi thing either. It's hard to argue Ferrari doesn't have any real young prospects left, because he definitely hasn't proven himself yet. 🤷
I'm not even sure if Mick Schumacher made the right call jumping into Haas. His stock might just tank after a season or two there, regardless of how much talent he has. If I were him, I’d probably stick around for one more year in F2.

Why isn't he clear to you?
The guy is getting paid handsomely to drive...
On the flip side, Ferrari keeps him in Formula 1 solely because he's Italian. With this massive influx of British drivers, they need at least one local hero on the grid to feel connected to their roots...
I can't see any other logical explanation, because there's no way they don't have anyone better coming up through their own academy...
At the end of the day, Sergio Perez came out of their system, so if they had no other options right now, they could've easily landed someone as solid as Perez for Alfa Romeo...

To be honest though, I don't really get what they're playing at with this whole thing.
It's pretty weird that someone like David Valsecchi never got a shot or a push from Ferrari for that exact same reason. The guy was a GP2 champion and still never got a break in Formula 1... meanwhile, we've got this guy sitting there. 😵

bluepuma9 said:I honestly don't get why everyone is acting so shocked by how quickly Russell has settled into the Mercedes-Benz seat.

Look at what Nico Hülkenberg pulled off with RP; he hadn't even touched a Formula 1 car for months before that. These guys are pros. That’s literally why they’re in the paddock and why their paychecks are so massive. Mind you, driving a Mercedes is probably a hell of a lot easier than wrestling a Williams.

And while nobody is actually debating whether Russell is a huge talent—we already knew that long before this race—he’s clearly one of the frontrunners to step in for either Bottas or Lewis Hamilton, assuming Lewis is the first one out the door at Mercedes.

Let's not compare apples to oranges here...
Hulk spent several seasons driving for Force India. He knows every single person on that crew, understands all the team procedures inside out, and knows everything there is to know about the car's setup—including the secrets. It went so far that the engineers at RP openly admitted his input helped their setup. 😳
Basically, they trust his feedback way more than they do Stroll's or Perez's. ☕
It’s a safe bet they had his seat and everything else custom-fitted for him since he was a long-term driver for them...

Russell practically knows nothing about the Mercedes; it's his first time ever seeing the DAS system.
That tiny bit of time he spent in testing isn't exactly "learning how the team functions during qualifying and races" or getting used to the actual procedures...

And no, I wouldn't say the Mercedes is easier to drive than the Williams...
Quite the opposite. The Mercedes is definitely much more complex and complicated when it comes to setup and handling.
The Williams is a basic model, which makes it almost certainly the simplest car possible.
If you mean the Mercedes is more comfortable to drive, then yeah, probably, because the car is more stable and likely "listens" to the driver a lot better than the Williams.
But calling it "easier" to drive? Definitely not.

cosmicstag16 said:I find this logic absolutely fascinating:

In 2008, Ferrari took the Constructors' Championship
- While Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) barely managed to clinch his title in an utterly dominant machine

Then in 2009, Brawn GP secured the Constructors' Championship
- Yet Jenson Button became the champion through sheer, superhuman willpower while driving what was essentially a glorified bucket on wheels

🙏🤣

Back in 2008, McLaren basically had 1.2 drivers while everyone else actually had two.☕
Let's be real, Kovas can't even be called a half-decent driver—the way he handled that McLaren was a total embarrassment...
Bottas is a joke, but compared to Heikki Kovalainen, he looks like an alien.🤦

Kenneth Cruz67 said:I honestly feel like all those technical systems were perfectly legal when they were originally developed in full compliance with the regulations, and since the FIA eventually decided to ban them later on, wouldn't that effectively strip Mercedes of their top spot? I suppose it’s a bit of a stretch to try and compare those kinds of clever engineering feats to something as blatant as outright lying, cheating, or stealing, don't you think? 🤦

They don't even follow the rules. They aren't just breaking them; they’re exploiting every single loophole in the book.
It’s like they’re trying to make it illegal, but if you actually look at the rules, it doesn't strictly say you can't do that exact thing in that specific spot. 😁

That's just how Formula 1 has always been...
The whole point of this crew is figuring out how to screw over the regulators and their rulebook.

It’s honestly kind of weird that we've never seen a team from around here make it into Formula 1. 😁
Our crew has always been the absolute experts at finding loopholes and messing with the rulebook. 🤣

Since we’re already talking about legality...

As a team, Mercedes has been dancing right on the edge—and sometimes stepping over it—since day one.
Now, look, they haven't officially been disqualified, nor has their race car been ruled illegal during a current season. But they've definitely had parts declared illegal for the following season more than a few times.

But because they haven't actually been disqualified or hit with an illegality ruling mid-season, you can't just blindly label their car "illegal."
Still, they’ve certainly racked up more "technical irregularities" than, say, Ferrari did back during the 2000-2004 era.

Here’s why:
That Brawn GP blown diffuser? Later ruled illegal.
The FRIC system? Later ruled illegal.
The double diffuser? Later ruled illegal.
Using the current race car for testing—plus all that other stuff—was technically illegal too, yet Mercedes and the drivers walked away without any penalties.
Then there's DAS—ruled illegal for the next season.

And that’s just the stuff out in the open that the FIA caught. Who knows what else is happening behind the scenes? Given how organized and sneaky these Formula 1 teams are, it's highly likely there's more.
So, honestly, it's pretty ridiculous to call Schumacher's cars "illegal" while treating Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton like they're holier than the Pope. 🙄

Kenneth Cruz67 said:I don't think Lewis Hamilton actually made a mistake there; it honestly feels more like Felipe Massa was just on a mission of his own! 😁

I guess I have to wonder, are we actually attempting to provide some sort of objective value judgment here, or are we all just cheering for our favorites?

I guess if we aren't going to beat around the bush, I’d love to hear what you think, because I honestly find myself wondering who you would personally pick as the superior driver and the more successful competitor in the world of Formula 1?

I find myself constantly weighing this one in my mind, though I suppose there isn't really a single right answer, is there? If you're asking me whether I'd rather see Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton take the glory, it’s such a tough call! On one hand, you have the sheer, effortless brilliance of Lewis Hamilton, which is just staggering to watch, but then you have Jenson Button's incredible finesse and that smooth style that always seemed to make racing look so easy. It’s a bit of a toss-up for me, I guess, depending on what kind of driving you personally find more captivating!

No joke, Button was the better driver, but Hamilton's got the better resume. ☕
Man, that sounded absolutely ridiculous. Seriously, how could you say something so goofy?

Jenson Button snagio je himsku titulu u bolidu koji, kad se pogleda onog trenutka kada je podigao pehar, nije bio ni blizu najbržeg na startnoj liniji.
He was absolutely dominant during the first half of the season—Jenson Button really milked that for everything it was worth—but by the end? It was a total disaster. Not dominant at all.
So, Jenson Button took the title anyway. Whatever.
I’m absolutely convinced Lewis Hamilton wouldn't have grabbed a title in the 2009 Brawn GP season. Honestly, he wouldn't have won it under any circumstances.
Some people would probably write an entire epic poem about Rubens, acting like he’s some legendary driver who's just talented enough to occasionally hold his own against Lewis Hamilton.🙂

Look, even when he had a totally dominant car, Hamilton couldn't just steamroll his way to a title every single year. It’s not like he was winning everything in style, especially considering there was actually some decent competition out there. He just didn't.
Even with the best race car on the grid, he didn't sweep every title. That 2008 championship was basically a lucky break combined with a brutal beatdown, even though he had a massive advantage. He just happened to have Felipe Massa, Heikki Kovalainen, and a totally out-of-it Kimi Räikkönen running against him.
I honestly can't remember a more pathetic championship win in all of history than that 2008 mess.
Honestly, it’s basically a carbon copy of the last race...
George Russell deserved that win and the title. Meanwhile, Lewis spent the whole race embarrassing himself like Bottas—who honestly didn't even deserve to be in the same zip code as Russell's victory.

bluepuma9 said:Look, Lewis competed against three different world champions while driving for the same team—without any team orders in play—and overall, he came out on top. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation anymore. From his karting days all the way through Formula 2, where everyone is in identical cars, he proved he had the goods.
Compare that to someone like Michael Schumacher. He had teammates basically acting as water carriers, drove the best (or maybe questionable) cars for years, so people don't question his stats nearly as much.🤷

Probably because even Schumacher's race car wasn't anywhere near as dominant as the Mercedes...
And talking about legality is just mindless noise. Who's to say this Mercedes isn't "illegal" anyway?🙂

A race car is legal until they find something wrong and disqualify the crew.☕
As far as I know, Schumacher's cars were never disqualified or ruled illegal, so they're just as legitimate as the Mercedes...

Regarding Lewis, yeah, he's sitting in the most dominant machine ever made, but you still need consistency and you have to stay at the top to win.
Every title he grabbed was absolutely earned. Anything else is just fairy tales...

Saying "anyone could do it" is just pure nonsense...
In that car, pretty much anyone on the grid would win a race or two during a season, sure. But winning a championship is a different beast entirely, and winning them back-to-back is on a whole other level...
There are way fewer drivers who could snag a title than there are who could grab a single win—honestly, I doubt half the grid could do it. And as for those who could win consecutive titles? I'm not even sure there are three or four of them on the entire grid.
One guy I'm certain wouldn't be in that group is Kimi, whom I personally love, but he definitely wouldn't be winning titles in a series... he'd be too busy getting hammered after his first win. There are plenty of drivers whose mental game would just crumble under that kind of fame...

But honestly, the "GOAT" talk is also a stretch. A true GOAT wouldn't have choked in a single race or qualifying session, let alone against the relatively mediocre competition of Nico Rosberg...
He also dropped a mountain of PP's (45!!! 🤦) and wins (31 🤦) against Valtteri Bottas and Rosberg... who are supposedly equals, except for the fact that the boss tells the media Bottas is the "perfect wingman," and James keeps telling him to move out of the way at Turn 12 so Lewis can pass, and then he actually does it at Turn 12 so Lewis doesn't ruin his tires overtaking... and we're supposed to believe they're equals? 😍

With Rosberg, things were somewhat obscured, but with Bottas, it's not hidden at all. It's obvious, loud, and public: he's the Number 2 driver.
At the end of the day, it's clear enough that his talent doesn't even come close to the level of that car; he was brought in as the Number 2, and that's his ceiling. Honestly, there are plenty of drivers out there significantly better than him.☕

It’s wild that even looking at the stats, Rosberg and Bottas have twice as many poles as multi-time champs like Alonso, yet they're basically mid-tier Formula 1 drivers... I mean, Rosberg is definitely better, but it's not even a huge gap...
Hamilton alone has 22 PP's over his long career, while Bottas & Rosberg have 45 PP's🤦 even though their win counts are identical...

darkmarlin16 said:Honestly, it would be an even bigger mess if they ended up grabbing those points just because he dropped out.

You almost nailed it 😁
The fact that Russell's Williams Racing pulled a DNF is basically why Mercedes-AMG lost their way...🤣

I can't believe I actually 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I put my money on a Perez win combined with a DNF Max and Leclerc 😍

William Gomez5 said:Mercedes gets hit with a $22k fine, but George Russell keeps his points

Quote : this was caused by a radio communications technical issue wherein The piti wall ’ failed to tell the crew that Car 63 was heading into the pits before Car 77. Because the driver of Car 63 talked over the radio at the exact same time, the crew never heard the instruction. This led to the front tires of Car 77 accidentally rolling right over Car 63 since they were double-stacked in the box.

Look, this is a straight-up violation of the rulebook. Usually, you're looking at a heavy sporting penalty or even a full-on Disqualification. But, they decided to cut them some slack here because of some extra complicating factors beyond just that radio glitch.

Their explanation is honestly pretty weird...
I mean, seriously, why aren't they actually tracking the race from the pits?

It makes zero sense how they thought Bottas could jump ahead of Russell during a double pit stop when he was like 7 or 8 seconds back, if I remember correctly.🤔

shadowmarlin22 said:For those folks like Tibi and the rest who love to hear themselves talk—Max basically summed up his thoughts on Lewis and all that nonsense about anyone being able to do it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFV895InN_c&t=15m23s

Now go ahead and find me the post where Tibi actually said anyone could do it...

Jason Campbell70 said:Actually, I don't even recall you ever mentioning Alonso in any of your posts. Ever.

stormybadger8 Asks:
Am I going to mess with you now that you're pulling for Hamilton? No. There's really no point. Everything became crystal clear after today...

Honestly, I don't know how I'd handle it if you started shoving today's Mercedes performance—that eighth, or rather ninth, place finish—right in my face.

Oh, I definitely have. 😍

I just didn't shove the whole McLaren-Honda reputation meltdown down your throat...
Because honestly, I felt bad for him and his fans...
Just like I felt bad for grandpa, and damn it, I feel bad for Lewis Hamilton now too after this...

It's still not clear why Wolff did this to him.
Realistically, his reputation is going to tank, and the media is going to absolutely lose their minds over Valtteri Bottas...
Either this guy is a total jerk, or Russell is the golden boy that the F1 media (aka the British media) is going to push at Mercedes day and night...
Poor Bottas will be running through the paddock to hide from the Sky commentator, now that's a real race...