Posts by stormybadger8

James Harris34 said:DraftKings is offering odds as high as 4.0 for Vettel to take pole, which seems totally delusional to me. He’s basing his predictions on Australia, and we all know that track tells you absolutely nothing. I think this is worth a shot because the battle between Vettel and Hamilton is going to be intense, and those odds for Vettel will probably tank down to 2.5 after the first two practice sessions.

Anyone betting on this is just asking to lose money...
Bottas is taking pole, and honestly, it's almost a lock...
His only real threat is someone from Red Bull, and as crazy as it sounds, I’d actually bet on Gasly over Max.

Hamilton getting pole in Bahrain? Yeah, right. He was barely beating Nico Rosberg there, let alone dominating. Against him, Bottas has a clear 2-0 advantage here.☕
I don't see Ferrari even sniffing pole in Bahrain, even if they weren't having their usual issues. Last year, both the USA cars and Red Bull were right there.
This year, they'll probably end up behind Mercedes and both Red Bull drivers...

If you want a real gamble, look at the 50.0 odds on Gasly. It's insane how high that is, especially since Gasly was absolutely killing it in Bahrain last year...

darkmarlin16 said:They were solid in Bahrain last year, and sure, they won in Australia, but let’s be real—that was mostly thanks to Haas pulling off some mechanical miracles. I wouldn't write Ferrari off just yet.

Australia is always a weird one. It doesn't tell you much, and the same goes for Red Bull Racing, just in reverse.

If you listen to the "wisdom" coming out of Toto's kitchen, they were actually dominant last year. 😁

The Reality is they were worse than the USA last year. The only caveat is that Hamilton spent the first half of the season looking pretty checked out...
He looked more hungover than like a serious contender for a podium, let alone a win. ☕

Here was the Situation last year:

Australia:
Mercedes had a 0.664 edge in qualifying...
The Race — Mercedes absolutely choked on strategy, basically handing Ferrari a free pit stop. If it wasn't for that screw-up, Ferrari would've been screwed in Australia, trailing by at least 15 seconds.

Bahrain:
Ferrari had a 0.166 advantage in qualifying.
The Race — Ferrari won, but barely, scraping by with Bottas only 0.699 behind—and that’s assuming Bottas wasn't even really trying to hunt down Vettel.

The USA easily could have taken both Australia and Bahrain last year, especially if Hamilton had actually driven at his usual level...

Since the USA looks even better in Australia this year,
even if Ferrari gets their act together, I don't see them having a prayer. Last year they barely held off Bottas, and Hamilton was practically invisible in Bahrain.

Timothy Castillo6 said:So... what's this then?
David Bernstein isn't pulling any punches. He’s basically calling out the absolute mess that is the current state of affairs at Ford. It’s not just about the cars anymore; it’s about the leadership and how they're handling the pressure. You can tell he's frustrated. Honestly, who can blame him? Everything feels like it's spinning out of control, and instead of fixing the engine, they're busy arguing about the paint job. It’s a joke.
David Bernstein, an insider over at Ford, says they finally pinpointed that issue that's been bugging them since Miami.

It’s not like he was explicitly called out, but did they actually dump him? Honestly, you... (I'll stop myself before I say something worse). 😂

We've known what the problem was for a long time now. 😉
I can't believe people actually think this works. It’s like watching someone try to fix a broken engine with duct tape and a prayer. Honestly, some of you just refuse to see what's right in front of your eyes. It’s embarrassing.

Once they bring back those Red Bull stickers, it’s going to be a completely different team. 😁
And they'll definitely be fast then, since they were already flying back in Barcelona...

I honestly didn't see Pierre Gasly absolutely wrecking the entire field like that 😲
Was Max tenth or eleventh in the end? 🤷

Gregory Brown94 said:Eh, I’ve got my stuff ready. But the spot on the F1 forum is already taken. Everything just went south fast...

Solid intro, buddy, by the way. 👍

Go ahead and start a new thread for the Bahrain Grand Prix March 29-31...

This whole Ivićev thing is really more about the Singapore Grand Prix being held tomorrow in Bahrain anyway. 😁

ivic27 said:... Personally, my favorite absolute disaster was when Mass's fuel hose popped off (was that 2008?)
...

Honestly, I have no idea how you managed to confuse Bahrain with Singapore 🤷

Richard Ross11 said:Russia will move over to Red Bull Racing before Los Angeles...

That's pretty obvious...
Now we just need to see who they're actually replacing. 😁

You clearly know your way around a spear...
and honestly, that’s about all you’ve got going for you.

stormyviper2 said:Newey won those titles, not Vettel. xD Just putting that out there. XD

Seriously 😲
Is this guy 😬
Got the exact same style as Grosjean 🤣

Gary Palmer8 said:Alonso is slightly behind Hamilton, but way better than Vettel... Vettel isn't even a top driver, really.

Good grief, Vettel isn't an elite driver on Alonso's level? He's not a top driver? Give me a break!
Because if Alonso and Hamilton were actually in the same league as him, they would've probably ended it all long ago out of pure frustration...

I mean, there’s zero chance poor guys like Alonso and Hamilton wouldn't have committed suicide from misery ages ago if Vettel were actually a top-tier talent like Alonso. 🙂

Since "not a top driver" Vettel somehow managed to snatch four titles right under Alonso's nose, while Alonso didn't get a single one against him...
Even poor Hamilton only caught one title while Vettel grabbed four—but hey, damn Vettel isn't a top driver, right?

And if Vettel were just close to Alonso's quality, and brought that massive 0.6-second advantage to his team just like Alonso does, he'd surely have bagged his first title in STR 2008, then the second in 2009, followed by 3, 4, 5, and 6 at RB, and then 7, 8, 9, and 10 at Ferrari...

How on earth could miserable Alonso survive having only two titles, seeing absolutely nothing from Vettel's era, while that hated Vettel somehow grabs ten titles right in front of him?! Seriously, Gary Palmer8, how?!
He couldn't. Both he and those Honda engineers would’ve definitely performed a ritual harakiri right in the middle of Suzuka. 😢

And how would Hamilton survive having zero titles while that hated Vettel takes ten? Again, Gary Palmer8, seriously, how?!
It would completely break even the toughest person on the planet and drive them to harakiri, regardless of whether they had anything to do with Japanese culture or not. 😢

So, we should all be incredibly grateful that Vettel isn't in Alonso's class; otherwise, we'd definitely be without both Hamilton and Alonso by now. 😢

James Roberts87 said:And who actually changed their entire lifestyle just because of some guys who love their own rap enough to sit there for an hour and a half "every other Sunday"?🤣🤣

maminho ☕
He’s painting his room blue, then silver, then yellow, then red, then black, then papaya... honestly, what is this guy doing?

Colors change everything. Seriously.
I mean, someone’s definitely getting paid a fat paycheck just watching Alonso bounce from one team to the next. ☕

crimsonhawk23 said:Tibi is literally saying exactly what I just said.

You clearly have massive issues with reading comprehension.☕
Either that, or you’re so clueless you actually believe Brawn and Todt left Ferrari at the end of 2014.🙂

As for how fast the Ferrari was during Alonso's era, people totally exaggerate—it’s the exact opposite of how they talk about Vettel's time...
When Alonso was driving, the car was always rated way worse than it actually was, whereas during Vettel's run, they claim it was much better than reality...
But let’s be real: the cars were pretty much similar. They were consistently at least a top 3 car, definitely not some junker...
And most seasons they were a top 2 car, and on plenty of tracks, they were actually the best on the grid...

But there is one absolute constant in this whole story: Ferrari’s total incompetence and pathetic strategy.
Actually, it was even more obvious during Alonso's time...
Because he kept acting like some kind of messiah or miracle worker, and that useless crew leaned right into it because it suited them perfectly...
They basically treated Massa like a sidekick and expected him to just sit back while Alonso called all the shots, while they sat around sipping coffee waiting for everything to just magically work itself out.

mellowtiger83 said:Valtteri Bottas 🤣Honestly, they basically handed him this win on a silver platter!
Vettel hit the nail on the head—Hamilton looked like he was bored out of his mind.

I’d honestly love to see Sebastian Vettel clinch another title just so we could have five of them, but I don't know where on earth you're finding Valtteri Bottas.🙂

Bottas is the only shot Red Bull Racing or Ferrari have left. Anything else is just a pipe dream.☕

Mercedes still has a massive lead over everyone else. It’s not that insane gap they used to have, but they're definitely still ahead of the pack.
Back in the day, they were barely pushing 60-70%. Then a while back, it climbed to maybe 70-80%. Last year? Probably hitting 80-85%, if not creeping up toward 90%. But honestly, I bet they’ve still got at least another 10% of pure advantage just sitting there, completely untouched.
If Bottas actually starts taking points away from Hamilton, then they might actually stand a chance.
If we get that focused version of Max we saw in Australia—the one who actually plays the long game and picks up points steadily instead of just charging blindly into walls—he might actually stand a chance at snatching some points away from Lewis Hamilton.
And hey, maybe Ferrari actually stands a chance if it turns out Australia was just a massive headache with their setup or tire strategy.

Honestly, Bottas is probably the only piece of this puzzle that could actually rattle Lewis Hamilton. He’s the one guy who might actually get under his skin and prove just how much composure the guy actually has to fake.
Lujo didn't have any reason to get worked up about Max, Sebastian Vettel, or Ricco anyway. He already knew Mercedes would just drop it into second gear and fly past everyone like they were standing still.
Look, if Bottas starts consistently messing up in that same car, that’s a whole different story. That's when people are actually going to start losing their minds.

steelmaker83 said:Total joke, Ferrari's gonna win it all!

Finally seeing sense, huh? 😍

You aren't totally wrong though...
That could actually play out perfectly this season...

If Valtteri Bottas spends this year slapping Lewis Hamilton around in Bahrain just like last year, and keeps it up until mid-season, then Sebastian Vettel definitely has a shot...
Because there's no way Mercedes is going to dump Hamilton for Bottas before Hamilton loses his theoretical title shot...
And even if they do decide that, or if they decide earlier, there's still a massive chance Hamilton will pull everything he can to make sure Bottas wins over Sebastian Vettel or Max Verstappen. Literally zero chance of that happening. ☕

The number one drivers at Ferrari and Red Bull Racing have the best odds this season, mostly because of Bottas and how much Hamilton is going to lose his mind—which we're going to see plenty of. As things stand, they won't be dealing with those kinds of internal team issues...

We'll probably know where we stand after Bahrain...
Once we see what Red Bull Racing and Ferrari's actual chances are against Mercedes, and whether Mercedes actually lets Bottas beat their golden boy or not.

Richard Walker38 said:Kimi just has that charisma.

Fernando Alonso is just a total hack, plain and simple.

Kimi and charisma? Yeah, those two aren't even in the same zip code.
I mean, personally, I really like him, but for the love of God, I honestly don't see a single ounce of charisma in Kimi Räikkönen.
Look, the guy is just damn likable. Seriously, he’s so charming you basically have no choice but to root for him. 😍Honestly, he's got about as much charisma as Plankton.

Talk about charisma. Every other question gets a "Bowah" or some unintelligible mumbling, and that’s where the conversation ends. Real helpful.
He looks like a guy who’s been stuck in a local dive bar for six days straight, only to be dragged out by some random person just to argue.
Where’s the charisma? Honestly, I haven't seen any. 🤔

Personally, I’m just not feeling Alonso at all. I can't stand the guy.
Al always knew how to talk trash over the team radio, blabbing nonsense just to hear himself speak and spinning these massive yarns about how everything good—and bad—is solely his doing.
And then you’ve got those hordes of fans who just blindly swallow every single fairy tale they're fed...
I'm a Cendravac too, but even so, it's not exactly a dead engine.

Look, just go read the definition.
Charisma is that elusive, magnetic quality that just draws people in. It’s not just about being loud or flashy; it’s an aura. Some people seem to walk into a room and instantly command attention without even trying, while others could give a keynote speech at a tech summit in Silicon Valley and still feel invisible. It's a fascinating mix of confidence, presence, and how you connect with the people around you. Honestly, most of us are out here just trying to look like we know what we're doing, hoping a little bit of charm rubs off on us by accident.

Seriously, that is the textbook definition of Fernando Alonso. 🤣
Mr. Six Tenths, or whatever. 🙂
He’s the only reason Ferrari is even in the title fight and McLaren-Honda is scoring points. Honestly, his talent is just on another level.
It’s just him. Everyone else can go jump in a lake. It's him and only him.
And then you've got the fans, his own team bosses, even a whole pack of journalists just parroting the same old lines like a bunch of damn parrots.
Man, this guy acts like he’s some kind of cult leader instead of just another driver. It's ridiculous.🤣

Nicholas Newman2 said:Look, if someone who hasn't watched a single race showed up here, reading your posts, they’d walk away thinking Sebastian Vettel is some kind of alien. Sure, the McLaren was fast in 2012, and Ferrari was too, but it didn't matter—Vettel still walked away as champion at the end of the year. 😉

And another thing—you love casually tossing out how fast Ferrari was back when he wasn't driving for them. Since Vettel joined, they've been hovering near the top of Formula 1, occasionally, though I won't even get started on how everyone there seemed to conspire against him, regardless of the millions they pay him.😂

I never said Vettel is an alien dragging some junker around fighting for titles... that's not my vibe or my talking point.🙂
That was just the chatter surrounding Fernando Alonso when he was at Ferrari.☕

But the MO is basically the same: Ferrari's strategy is a total disaster, and they screw up anything that can be screwed up...
They clearly lack the guts to make decisions, especially quick ones. They mostly just watch what everyone else does and then either mimic them or try to do the exact opposite...
As for actually having a pre-planned strategy they stick to? Yeah, good luck with that...

What they pulled off in 2017 and 2018 looks a lot like what happened in 2008 with Massa, or 2010/2012 with Fernando Alonso...
Or even 2007 with Kimi Räikkönen, except back then, the people on the other side were even more incompetent. They got blindsided by 2007 without knowing why or expecting it. If they had actually expected it and tried to handle it, I bet they would've just blown it even harder.😁

And yeah, sure, drivers made mistakes in all those seasons, but man, the team made strategic blunders too—ranging from cheap little errors to absolutely catastrophic ones...

The only real difference is how much the media dragged certain people through the mud as the scapegoats...
They didn't really go after Fernando Alonso, even though they definitely had reason to. Maybe it's because he isn't exactly a saint; he's charismatic and great at PR, constantly praising himself, so naturally, the blame shifts toward the team, which is obviously incompetent...
I mean, they weren't even remotely bashing Alonso, who couldn't outpace someone like Vitaly Petrov, as much as they trashed Ferrari's strategy...
Honestly, they didn't even complain about Alonso when he crashed in Monaco right before the race or qualifying, or when he had a few bad qualifying sessions...
On the flip side, you can bet they would've torn Sebastian Vettel apart if he were in his shoes.🙂

Because Sebastian is pretty low-key in the media (maybe the most low-key guy on the grid), and he's not exactly the most "likable" guy, either...
He often tries way too hard to be funny, and it usually misses the mark. When he gives post-race interviews, it sounds more like a school briefing than someone praising themselves or their "alien" driving skills and giving "120%" or squeezing 0.6 seconds out of thin air.😍
Most people find him incredibly annoying because he’s spent years snatching titles away from Ferrari and McLaren. Because of that, every single mistake he makes is going to be dragged through the mud and dissected by the media. They're practically salivating at the chance to catch him slipping right now...
At the same time, they'll conveniently look the other way when the team messes up, even though their incompetence is usually what causes his mistakes in the first place. It’s just much easier to spit on Sebastian Vettel than it is to criticize their precious Ferrari.
Especially the Italian media, who have never liked him one bit.
And the British press? Even worse. They’re just dying for an excuse to take a shot at Sebastian Vettel...

If you love Zen as much as she loves Sebastian, you're a lucky woman and all your friends are probably jealous.🥳

Fair point, judge.😁

Nicholas Newman2 said:I’m not hating on Vettel. I wouldn't go so far as to say I dislike him, but "overrated" is probably the best way to put it.

So you think Ferrari didn't have a title contender in 2018? Or maybe they just couldn't squeeze the actual potential out of the car and the race situations!?

It wasn't the car, and it definitely wasn't the team...

Look, you can draw a direct comparison to the 2012 season...
The fastest car was McLaren, no question about it... but it was chronically unreliable and the team was a complete mess.

If you look at the mix of pace and reliability, Ferrari actually had a better car than RB... But there's a massive "BUT" there!
RB was a way more strategically organized outfit, while the guys at Ferrari were predictably clueless and lost.

Basically, Ferrari has been totally lost since Jean Todt and Ross Brawn left, and they haven't recovered since.
They’re totally disorganized, shuffling people in and out constantly, running through the halls and firing people in cycles of two or three years of pure disappointment...
But the real kicker is that the team is a total strategic fiasco at least two or three times every single season because they inevitably screw up big time. Nobody has the guts to make a call, let alone a fast one...
The bosses lack the backbone and authority they should have; under the slightest pressure, the whole lot of them lose their heads together...
And the biggest headache is the Italian media, who start crucifying them and then everyone collectively loses it.

Even when they actually pull off a great strategic race, you can see from the stands that it was mostly just dumb luck rather than any actual planning or intelligence...
Like what happened in Australia last year—they won a race with zero logic or strategy; they basically had no plan and just got lucky.
Then the Italian media starts singing their praises, claiming it was "masterful strategy," and everyone starts hoping they'll win every race that season just by doing nothing or doing the opposite of Mercedes—because apparently, if it worked once, it’s the perfect recipe for success and should work twenty more times.😁

They have seasons where they might even have the best car, but it's still garbage if the team is incompetent...
Take 2008, for example. Most people remember it because Massa blew the title thanks to Glock and all that...
But the reality is he blew the title exclusively because of Ferrari and their absolute, textbook clumsiness.
What they pulled off in Brazil was quite literally a disaster. 😳

In a head-to-head duel between two drivers in two pretty evenly matched title contenders using a 10-8-6 points system...
If you're a Ferrari driver with insanely good pace and you beat Lewis in five races that he was essentially supposed to win based on the car, and you take every other one... that’s a +10 point advantage for you.🎉
Then Ferrari goes and screws up Singapore, and suddenly you’re neck-and-neck with Lewis Hamilton if he pulls off the win there. 😳
Your chances of grabbing a title with a crew like that are basically zero. Even if you have an equal car, or even a slightly better one, it’s still a long shot. Honestly, I’d even question if you could do it with a dominant car...

I’m pretty convinced that if you took this hybrid era, handed Mercedes-Benz's cars over to Ferrari to run, and shoved whoever you wanted behind the wheel...
The real question is whether they’d actually manage to snag even one title 🤦 even if you gave them everything. I’m certain two titles would be the absolute, absolute limit. ☕

fadedpanther51 said:In some alternate universe, sure, maybe Ferrari could've actually won last season if they had Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel instead of Sebastian Vettel.

You bet he would.🤣

Lujo is usually a pretty chill guy, and I’m sure he’d stay perfectly calm at Ferrari. 🙂🤣
Except for when he starts screaming on the team radio two laps after his pit stop about how the tires are absolute garbage, how they're disintegrating, how there's zero chance he makes it to the end, blah blah blah...
What the hell are those guys on the pit wall even doing? And why would he dive into the pits the second he realizes he isn't in first place or that he's stuck behind his teammate or whoever...

Go ahead and imagine him staying "calm" during those chaotic Ferrari strategies that even a drunk person couldn't come up with. 🤦
Just pure stupidity—sending him out in qualifying at Monza just to provide slipstream for Kimi, or driving him crazy by putting him behind Kimi on slow tires and leaving him stuck there for 13 laps while Kimi forgets to ask if he needs to pit or not...

The way things are going now, Lujo would probably slap Zalizanog right in the middle of the pit lane during a live broadcast. 😁

Richard Ross11 said:Yeah, but Lewis Hamilton was already an MVP back then, while Rosberg wasn't... 🙂

Everything's five...
Look, Nico Rosberg was the veteran in that squad. He actually managed to beat Michael Schumacher in all three seasons they were teammates at the same team.
Aside from that tiny detail, here’s what Rosberg actually brought to the table for that team:
First podium.
First pole position.
That first win.
First FL.

Plus, they had their German guy on the team, so it didn't really matter anyway. Second race of the season.In the second race, he got slapped with the exact same team orders as Charles Leclerc did back in Australia, while running alongside Lewis Hamilton.
Even if he spent half an eternity arguing with Ross Brawn over the team radio—where Ross basically held back from telling him to shut up and get lost—you could tell by his tone that things were getting heated. ☕

Let’s be real: Rosberg was definitely the guy who helped build that car and the entire team alongside Michael Schumacher. He’s the one who actually pushed them until they became a powerhouse.

It’s pretty damn obvious that if Rosberg hadn't played it smart and refused to sign that contract back in 2009, he wouldn't have ended up as Lewis Hamilton's No. 2 driver from 2013 onwards.
Look, you can't exactly say he didn't know what he was getting into when he signed that contract. Valtteri Bottas knew exactly what the deal was. He was brought in specifically to be the No. 2 driver, he agreed to it, and let's be honest—he got paid a hell of a lot of money to play that role.
It's a whole different ballgame now. 😉

Of course, the British media completely ignored it. FOM scrubbed every trace of that conversation from the internet, leaving us with maybe one or two pathetic cell phone clips of half the actual discussion.
The media completely ignored this. Apparently, it was way more fun to just bash Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel instead. It’s basically a carbon copy of that whole Multi 21 mess. 😁

Roger Wright94 said:Now, let me talk some sense into you people.
Bottas joined Mercedes in 2017 and actually pulled off a decent season. He had podiums and wins—honestly, more than enough to satisfy anyone.
He went into 2018 with that same mindset and a fair amount of enthusiasm. Then, thanks to a series of unfortunate events, things went south.
a) when you take a driver who can actually win championships and force him to spend his time messing around and getting in other people's way instead of driving, that's just plain stupidity.
b) when a driver lets himself be treated like a complete idiot, then in my opinion, he’s just a spineless pushover with zero backbone.

You're ignoring the bold part...
Bottas didn't earn that seat through pure merit or driving skill. Not even close.
The only reason he landed a ride in a dominant car with the best crew was because Nico Rosberg unexpectedly walked away, combined with his connection to Toto and the business ties between Mercedes and Williams. Otherwise, there's no way he ever gets that seat.

ruggedhawk20 said:Or maybe he's just a long-term thinker who knows the team will eventually pay him back for 2018.

And judging by what we saw, that could happen as early as 2019.

Because it's not in Mercedes' interest to have the exact same person winning every single time. Look at Rosberg as proof. Twice it was Hamilton, once it was Rosberg. Then the cycle repeats. Two times Hamilton, one time... Bottas.

See? Even the math checks out.

Exactly.
And it's highly likely Bottas was promised this during his first contract signing. They probably laid out every tiny detail of what he can and can't do... when he should step up and when he shouldn't.
Then they basically told him, "take it or leave it."

So there's no sudden realization or surprise here. Bottas knew exactly what he was getting into and what to expect.
That's why I don't buy the "being played" excuse—he knew the deal from the start and had the option to walk away.

If anyone got played by Mercedes, it was Rosberg.
Nobody told him exactly how he'd be handled in relation to Hamilton before he signed, since he was already there well before Hamilton arrived.