Posts by stormybadger8

graniteharbor502 said:Ferrari has the edge, they just don't have drivers capable of actually using it.

Red Bull Racing was clearly the faster car during the sprint—and I mean significantly faster...
Just look at how far behind Sainz was compared to Perez, or Perez compared to Leclerc...

Unless we're going to pull that same old stunt and claim this was somehow the best race of Perez's entire life.🙂

Time to ditch the fanboy goggles and put on some actual glasses.

cosmicmoose2 said:Tomorrow’s going to be rough for Ferrari... Red Bull just has better race pace on this track.

It’s looking grim for Sebastian Vettel...
I can't tell if his tires just fell off a cliff halfway through the sprint or if the setup was such a disaster that their race pace was absolute garbage...
But honestly, with pace like that, I don't see him finishing ahead of anyone. 🤔

Seriously, his pace was pathetic. Anyone who passed him left him in the dust within seconds. He literally couldn't stay in the DRS zone for even a single lap...
Valtteri Bottas, who cleared him first, put 12 seconds between them, and Mick Schumacher in the Haas was about 7 seconds ahead...
And this was just a sprint, where nobody really feels like risking a massive crash just to fight for some random 10th or 11th place on the grid. Drivers have grit, sure, but they aren't going to divebomb like they would in a main race. If the pace stays this criminal, he's going to get swallowed up in the actual race...

I don't get how Lawrence Stroll managed to screw this team up so badly. I mean, F1 teams have always had solid cars that could occasionally snag a podium, but this current mess is basically Marussia level. Scoring a single point with this junk would be a miracle...

I get the feeling Sebastian Vettel might call it quits soon. Struggling through this nonsense doesn't make sense, no matter how much money Lawrence Stroll tries to bribe him with...

As for Ferrari—specifically Charles Leclerc—it doesn't really matter where he finishes (aside from bragging rights for the home crowd),
considering how fragile the Red Bull is and all the nonsense Max Verstappen is capable of pulling. Given the lead he already has, all Charles needs to do is cruise, collect points and podiums, and call it a day...

cosmicridge5 said:Fine, if you’re really going to be like this, are you thinking more along the lines of:

😁

Or maybe this? 🤣

Though personally, I like this one best: 😍 😁😁😁

A real President would call this terrorism and have the FBI haul you in for questioning.😬

James Allen9 said:Any word on whether Mercedes finally crossed the finish line, or do they still have some laps left in them?

Russell's there, but Hamilton is still wandering around looking for himself out on the track...

Man, Vettel actually managed to keep that tractor of his in a decent spot for once. 😲
I honestly don't get how Hamilton couldn't find a way past him. I mean, come on, Vettel's race pace was straight-up pathetic...

On a side note, this sprint was actually pretty solid. 👍
Looks like they nailed it with the points for the top 8...

Red Bull will end up building their own engines just like any other outfit from the Volkswagen Group jumping into F1...
Realistically? Never. Not even then. But we’ll definitely deal with endless rounds of backroom deals, pointless negotiations, and all that other corporate nonsense along the way...

Raymond Anderson4 said:Maybe he messed up qualifying, but he drove a solid race. If it wasn't for the mechanical failures, he would've walked away with a 2-1-2. He handled Australia well, too, especially considering the team admitted their setup was absolutely shredding the tires.

It’s damn hard to drive a race when you blow it in qualifying. You end up pushing the car way past its actual limits just to keep up, and then you start risking mechanical failures...
And oh look, lo and behold, Max Verstappen had to DNF because of reliability issues. I mean, seriously? How does that even happen?

When you qualify 2, 3, or 5 spots behind where you actually belong, you're stuck driving on the gearbox of whoever is in front of you. Then—surprise, surprise—the whole car overheats, and oh look, the engine dies because it got too hot, or some other component catches fire from the heat...

Red Bull Racing—basically Adrian Newey’s project—has always had this philosophy of building the lightest, skinniest car possible. It's built to grab a pole and fly when it has clean air, but it’s designed so tightly that the cooling is barely adequate as it is. The second you get stuck in traffic, boom—you've got a hundred different problems on your hands.

ruggedhawk20 said:What are you even talking about?

Out of three races, his race car broke down in two.

In the one race where it actually held together, he won.

It’s not about how Max handles the car; it’s about how the car handles being pushed.

That's a whole different story...
The car clearly isn't reliable, but the real issue is that Max isn't starting from the position this car is actually capable of hitting.
Because of that, he instinctively ends up overdriving way more than he should if he were starting from PP, which the car can easily grab.
Then, when he starts in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th and has to manhandle it just to slice through the field, the car becomes way more vulnerable and prone to issues than if he had just started from the PP it deserves...

graniteharbor502 said:Qualifying gap is 2-1 in favor of Max. And that’s after Perez claimed that one lap in Saudi Arabia was the run of his life. Obviously, Max can go even faster, but only once Red Bull sorts out those balance issues. Even like this, before he's even fully dialed in, he's still best of the rest. He didn't even come close to Max this qualifying.

What Formula 1 are you even watching, and on what channel?
Perez is stuck on Max's gearbox every single qualifying session, which is honestly shocking because Perez has never been this close to anyone, let alone Max...

Considering how Perez qualified the Red Bull and the gap to pole, based on everything we saw last year and the way Max absolutely crushed Perez in qualifying, Max basically had to sweep all three PP this season...

graniteharbor502 said:Leclerc even admitted today that Ferrari has "the best car." We can only guess how big the gap to Red Bull Racing actually is, but it’s there. Just like Red Bull has the edge over Mercedes. We're talking pure pace here.

If we're strictly talking about raw speed, Max has been terrible this season. Like, shockingly bad. I haven't seen him this off his game in forever.
I don't mean he's messing up like he used to—slamming into walls or taking out other drivers—he's just plain slow.
Why? Who knows. But it isn't Red Bull being slower than Ferrari; it's Max who's falling behind.

For crying out loud, look at what Perez is doing with that car in qualifying. Hey, Perez—the guy who was never, ever good at qualifying and usually got smoked by his teammates—
and on the rare occasions he actually beat them, it was mostly because he treats those tires like they're made of glass...

So now, either Max is just slow and struggling in qualifying, or Perez is on something, because suddenly he's fast enough to outpace Max, whose whole thing used to be qualifying.

Aston Martin is the fastest AM on the track 😬
Sebastian Vettel 🙈

Douglas Roberts49 said:Anyone got some betting tips?

Latifi will crash into something, and Stroll will probably ram someone else. 😁

Sam Clark75 said:You’re actually on some next-level optimist wave. I’m currently halfway through a bottle of Chardonnay, and even through the alcoholic haze, I still don't see a McLaren on that podium. 🤣

The last time I felt this way was back in 2008 before Monza, so you do the math. 😁
Betting on a Vettel win is a solid 999 odds play. 🤣
Tibi placed his bet, though it would've been a better vibe if it were 666. 😈🤣

Finally, the first race of the season is here, and of course, it’s an early one. 🙏 Plus, Vettel is back in the mix. 😁
Basically, it's obvious—Vettel is taking this one. ☕

I'm feeling optimistic that, by some miracle meant only for me, he'll pull off a win. 🙂

P. S. No, I'm not drunk, just feeling a little cheeky. 😬🤣

Man, these new generations... they’re always in such a rush. 😁
When I think back to how the IMF website looked during the dial-up era—and how long it actually took just to load a single page—today’s speed feels like light speed. 😬

Amy Castillo4 said:Feel free to set me straight, but this is honestly the first time in ten years I’ve actually seen you praise Ferrari’s performance across the board during a race weekend.

Honestly, even I’m surprised by how much I’m agreeing, but damn, they actually gave me reasons to be impressed. 🙏
Usually, when I watch races, I’m glued to LT more than the actual broadcast just so I can laugh at Ferrari’s tactical stupidity...
But this time, I was sitting there stunned because they didn't screw up a single thing. They didn't even pull the kind of basic blunders you'd expect from any decent team, let alone them...

I spent the whole race watching them, waiting for that moment where they'd mess up, where they'd go 😁 now they'll 👋, only for them to react perfectly every single time. 🙏
Seriously, I can't even remember the last time I saw them pull that off—and I don't just mean in the last decade...

If they had acted like this back in the days of Alonso or Sebastian Vettel, they probably would've walked away with four more drivers' titles, and honestly, they could've snatched some constructors' championships too...

Nathan Doyle4 said:If I recall correctly, Sergio Perez pitted around lap 35, while Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz didn't go in until lap 44.
So, I doubt it was a move to defend against Sergio Perez. Perhaps they were just overly optimistic thinking Carlos Sainz could overtake Max Verstappen? Even if that was the case, it would have been smarter to keep Carlos Sainz on track with decent tires in a clearly superior car and just settle for second place.

Regardless, it seemed logical for Charles Leclerc to either shadow Max Verstappen into the pits immediately or stay out until the end. (I was starting to fear they'd call Charles Leclerc in just two laps after Max Verstappen, which would have been a disaster—thankfully the SC saved them from making a total mess of it.)

Carlos Sainz's pit stop makes zero sense to me (maybe for an FL, but the bigger prize was securing second, which he likely could have defended).

EDIT: Found the chart—at the time of the last change, Carlos Sainz was on mediums that were 11 laps old. He easily could have gone to the end. That was probably Charles Leclerc's plan too, staying out on 13-14 lap old mediums (assuming the strategy was to finish on those since they didn't match Max Verstappen's pace).

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...hrain/9167920/

You're way off on that one...
https://www.fia.com/sites/default/fi...ummary_v01.pdf

Sainz was called in perfectly right after Max Verstappen and Perez, who both pitted on lap 43. He went in just one lap later, which secured his position and gave him fresh rubber...
Honestly, under Ferrari's old tactics, trying to cover Max Verstappen and Perez by pitting Charles Leclerc while leaving Sainz out on mediums would have been pure idiocy. Pitting two laps later wouldn't have made sense anymore...
And let's be real, anyone would be a sitting duck on a restart after the SC with two Red Bull Racing cars breathing down their neck on Softs. He would've lost his spot to both of them, if not to Mercedes too.☕
There's no way he defends that spot against anyone, let alone Perez, much less Max Verstappen—not when there's a solid chance he loses it to George Russell too...
If they'd left him out, they would've screwed him. He would've ended up like Michael Schumacher on old mediums against everyone else on fresh Softs...

What really surprises me about Ferrari's strategy is that specific timing.
They played it perfectly by covering Perez with Sainz (and even giving him a shot at Max Verstappen), then calling Charles Leclerc in. Charles Leclerc had the luxury of staying out a lap or two longer because of the gap he had to Max Verstappen before the SC...
Look, Sainz didn't have that luxury, and this time Ferrari didn't just toss the second driver under the bus like they usually do with "we don't care about you." They actually took a risk with their lead driver just to squeeze the absolute maximum out of both cars...
It was a massive gamble, though. For it to work, the pit stops had to be flawless and lightning-fast, especially Charles Leclerc's... so they definitely rolled the dice, but they clearly trusted their crew to nail it.
I'd say they don't just have the pace; they clearly have the confidence, too...

In the past, it was always just about the win and whoever was in front, while the second driver was just an afterthought...

This time, Ferrari had a clear strategy to get both drivers as high up as possible without hesitation.

Red Bull Racing basically just used Sergio Perez as a sacrificial lamb to see if their strategy would actually hold up.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I was actually talking about the race itself. Charles Leclerc drove a really solid race—though I wouldn't go as far as saying "excellent," since he was in a Red Bull Racing car that only had one real shot at an undercut, which ultimately failed.
Ford beat out Mercedes, who struggled, and Red Bull Racing, who both completely fell apart.

True, Mercedes was nowhere to be seen (but hey, their problem...) and yeah, the Red Bull gave up.
But regardless of the Red Bull dying, I didn't see any real threat from Max Verstappen during the closing stages of the race. It’s not like Leclerc "escaped" or got handed a gift win because Max couldn't keep up.
If anything, I think Max Verstappen could have easily overtaken Carlos Sainz before even touching Leclerc...

As for Sergio Perez, his tire strategy was a total disaster. He stood zero chance against Carlos Sainz. That absolute nonsense of running a shorter second stint on Mediums instead of the first one being on Softs?
That decision would have cost Sergio Perez way more positions fighting against the Luxury cars at the end than he ever had a chance of catching Carlos Sainz. Honestly, the SC was his only lifeline. Without the SC, he would've sunk like a stone through the standings.

gentlecobra23 said:Mick messed up during qualifying; he absolutely should have made it into Q3, no question about it.

Then in the race, after the safety car, his pace just completely fell off a cliff compared to everyone else because of engine issues... Aside from that, he drove a decent enough race, even if he was stuck way down in the pack for most of it.

The first race is always chaos. You really have to wait a few rounds before you can tell who is actually where. Even Fernando Alonso was written off at the start of last season, yet he ended up finishing ahead of Esteban Ocon...

Besides, look at the grid as a whole—the older, more experienced drivers seem to be adapting to the new cars much better than the younger crew. Mick is qualifying quite well and has shown steady progress throughout the season... in that regard, he's actually pretty similar to Ricciardo...

Sorry, toddlers...
Mick was nowhere to be found. He’s the only one who didn't swap tires during the SC, which is the only reason he ended up high in the standings in the first place...
And surprise, surprise—after the restart, he had to hit three pit stops just because everyone behind him had fresh rubber while he was out there struggling on dead tires...

It’s the exact same disaster they pulled with the Luxury mess in Abu Dhabi. Terrible team strategy using old, cold tires for a restart after an SC is a recipe for losing positions. It always happens, and it always will...
Ghunter should have told the Race Director to shove it and demanded the SC stay out for at least another 10 laps 😁 then Mick wouldn't have had those engine problems and would've finished tenth. 😍

Jason Campbell70 said:Being a Ferrari strategist was easy this Sunday.
The whole plan basically boiled down to shadowing Red Bull.
Max Verstappen pits, Charles Leclerc pits.
Just repeat that until the checkered flag, hold the position, and maintain the gap.

It was safe play, which they could afford because their car is simply faster. Honestly, if they had needed to, I think they could have pushed their race pace even harder.

On the flip side, when you're stuck with a car that's a second slower, you start pulling those Mercedes-style gambles with the hard tires.
Because if you stick to traditional tactics and just shadow the competition, you aren't going to gain anything.

As for the pit crew performance? Nothing to complain about there.
They absolutely outclassed Red Bull at their own game.

Exactly, but that’s been Ferrari's recurring headache. They'd nail one thing and then inevitably screw up the pit stop or trip over themselves trying to cover the other driver.
If they actually manage to pull it off for one driver, they almost always blow it with the second one...

I can't even remember the last time I saw Ferrari cover a move perfectly in real-time for both drivers while also pulling pit stops a full second faster than their rival—especially when that rival is none other than the lightning-fast Red Bull Racing.