Posts by stormybadger8

mellowtiger83 said:Sebastian Vettel managed to claw back those few seconds on the old tires to get ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. At that point in the race, Vettel still had life left in his rubber and was actually driving just as fast—maybe even slightly faster—than Kimi on the new Soft tires. So, what would have happened? If Vettel had pitted when he did, without any VSC interference, he would've come out with tires about 10 laps fresher than Kimi's and wouldn't have lost a single second on track.

Now that we've broken that down, you can really see how brainless Kimi's undercut attempt was against a car that was sitting 3 seconds ahead at the time. If those idiots at Mercedes hadn't reacted, Hamilton would’ve just kept pulling away from Kimi instead of letting Kimi pull off the undercut.

I honestly don't know who played it stupider here: Ferrari or Mercedes. Epic.

Kimi could've maybe attempted an undercut if he was within 2 seconds of Hamilton and if they'd handed him Supersoft or Ultrasoft tires to play an aggressive tactical game against Hamilton while ahead. Of course, then Hamilton and Mercedes would've had to cover the move. But once Mercedes saw Kimi went on Soft tires while being 3 seconds back? That's a total Mercedes epic fail.

The real kicker is that they seriously had no clue how the tires were going to behave, and Hamilton didn't either...
If I remember correctly, it was either him or Bottas, but either way, Germany only gave one driver a set of Softs, while the other guy got two...
Because of that, they couldn't actually test the Softs properly, so they had zero certainty about what kind of lap times they'd actually deliver...

Look, I didn't catch the FP's this time, so I have no idea if Ferrari tested long runs on the Softs or what their conclusions were...

Clearly, they thought the Softs would work, and well, they obviously didn't...
It actually feels like the Softs needed about 4 or 5 laps just to hit operating temperature and start performing like they were supposed to...

And they didn't even have data on how the Softs would act during the race, since Kimi was the first one to jump on them.😉

swifttiger75 said:Seriously, what happened to this world? An F1 moderator who can't even catch the first race of the season. I bet Joe Biden isn't watching the race either. 😁

Exactly 🤦
I just blew the whole thing off and grabbed some 622 miles extra so I can actually watch the season opener in peace at home (damn YouTube TV🤣). Be back in a few minutes. 😬🤣

Joshua Rivera56 said:By the numbers, Kimi's pit stop was 2.1s, his fastest lap was 1:26:373, and top speed was 184 miles/h. Vettel hit 2.7s, 1:26:469, and 183 miles/h. Kimi was clearly the faster Ferrari driver today—just like in qualifying—but it’s not just about raw pace. Luck plays a massive role here. If some Haas mechanic had just stared at Vettel's wheel too long, he would've ended up third and called it a day. Instead, things went exactly how Ferrari hoped.

I'm not so sure about that...
Regardless of the VSC, Vettel's pace shot up weirdly fast right after Hamilton and Kimi pitted...
The whole thing felt like a setup orchestrated by him to favor Kimi (and maybe Hamilton if an SC popped up)...
It's possible he was just chilling his tires and prepping for that overcut the entire time.🤔

Right before they hit the pits, Vettel’s pace started tanking. It literally looked like he had absolutely trashed his tires and was about to be forced into an early pit stop...
Then, immediately after Hamilton and Kimi pitted, he suddenly finds the pace to match them—or even beat them—even though they were on fresh rubber...

The gap between Vettel and Kimi before the VSC was 17.2 seconds, which seems just enough to land him right near Kimi after the stops...
Would he have come out ahead, side-by-side, or behind? Who knows, but it looks like it would have been tight...

Anyway, Vettel hasn't been feeling the car all weekend. If I remember correctly, he even admitted after the race that something just wasn't clicking and he didn't trust the car...
Clearly, Kimi's car suited him much better throughout the weekend...
But hey, the VSC worked out perfectly for Vettel, giving him the best possible outcome despite having a mediocre weekend overall...

As for the strategy, Ferrari played it logically: Kimi tried the undercut, Vettel tried the overcut, and they just threw everything at the wall to see what stuck...
Without the VSC, neither would have worked because they simply didn't have the pace. But then the VSC hits them like a lightning bolt and suddenly it works.🙂
Even then, it might not have mattered if Bottas hadn't played idiot during qualifying; if he hadn't, Hamilton wouldn't have been in the mix, and they probably would have been aiming for Bottas instead...
On top of that, Max messed up the start and got stuck behind Magnussen, leaving Vettel plenty of room to play his tactical games without anyone breathing down his neck...

It’s Prestigel for Max Magnussen, Ric Hulkenberg (which is honestly the best nickname of the day...), then terrible Max, Ric Max, Hulk Max, and little Charles Leclerc following up Lance Stroll’s nonsense 👍

Roger Wright94 said:What happened to Hamilton's arrogance?
How's he going to play nice with the media now with those half-baked jokes of his?
kme: kme:

Don't sweat it, he'll be back before you know it...
The Bear is just freaking fast... way faster than Ferrari, and let's face it, Lewis basically has the title locked up already...
Ferrari and Red Bull are noticeably slower than The Bear, plus Bottas is a joke and he's already staring down some major penalties...
You get three power units, but only two sets of electronics and two battery components, and Bottas is already on his last set by the second race...
So even if Bottas actually showed up, he’s hardly a threat—he basically blew his own season during qualifying...

It would be a massive shock if they managed to screw Hamilton over that badly or if he somehow messes up enough to lose the championship. Seems impossible to me...

There's no way Ferrari outdevelops The Bear this season, so just forget about it...

If The Bear gets sloppy, maybe Red Bull has a shot, since they're definitely getting better as the season goes on...
And honestly, even now, FL Ricco's pace is surprising. 🤔
That would mean Red Bull might actually be faster than not just Ferrari, but maybe even The Bear during the race phase...

Lewis was chasing Vettel, but he wasn't anywhere near Ricco's FL...
And Kimi couldn't shake Ricco at all...

Basically, if Max hadn't been playing dummy again, Red Bull would've had a driver on the podium. Max had everything he needed today, maybe even a shot at winning...
With a decent start, he could have easily jumped Vettel, who didn't have the best launch, and then he'd be fighting off Kimi instead of slowing down...
Even without that, he could have comfortably sat right behind Vettel until the VSC, which would've gained him at least two or three spots if he'd followed Vettel's strategy—especially since the Red Bulls were on SS...
I'm pretty sure if Ricco had started behind the Ferraris, he would've been on the podium, if not winning, given how he drove today. He would've either gained positions at the start or at least held them, rather than letting Haas pass him like Max did...

Well, at least we got to see a few overtakes, even if the race was pretty dull in that department...

Magnusen Max
Rick Hulk
Awesome Max
Ricc Max
Hulk Max
...

anything else I missed? 🤔

Roger Wright94 said:Once Vettel took the lead, Hamilton couldn't even put a dent in him.
And that went on for over 20 laps, maybe even 25.

Lewis was closing in, but there wasn't a single serious attack where Vettel looked vulnerable. Not one.
Either Lewis messed up (which he did) or Mercedes just isn't (that) dominant anymore!?

If they actually screwed up Bottas's engine cooling in general...
https://www.f1puls.com/27021/bottas-...vanjem-motora/
Bottas says The Bear was overheating the entire time...

Now the only question is whether this was just a specific setup screw-up for this race or a fundamental flaw in the car itself...

mellowtiger83 said:Kimi got sacrificed for Vettel yet again. Kimi was actually faster than Vettel today, but they completely screwed him over with some idiotic strategy! He was faster in qualifying and even in the race—he was sitting 3 seconds ahead of Vettel right before the pit window opened.

So which "idiotic strategy" are we talking about here? 🤣🤣🤣
Actually, Kimi's strategy was better than Vettel's. They would have screwed him if Vettel had pitted first, because then Vettel almost certainly would've undercut him. ☕

What happened with the VSC isn't something you can plan for with strategy. It has absolutely nothing to do with it...
Honestly, it’s just pure luck. Sometimes the lottery favors you, and sometimes life slaps you so hard your ears ring for days.

Richard Ross11 said:Did they kill Allison's wife? 🙂

What does Allison have to do with any of this?
He’s been at Mercedes for ages.

As far as I know, Ferrari already lost Lorenz Sassi to them this season...

Jason Campbell70 said:Long story short—it's Ferrari.

That's exactly why they started poaching people from Ferrari to bring over to Mercedes.😬

Sean Barrett35 said:Yeah, he needs to pit immediately. Even if it turns out the nut was tight, they're getting penalized regardless of whether the wheel actually flies off or not.

https://www.eurosport.com/formula-1/...91/story.shtml

If that wheel pops off, it's a 10-place grid penalty. 🤔
That’s exactly why they need to pit right this second—to dodge that penalty...
Sure, the team loses a few grand on a pit stop, but a 10-place penalty? That's massive, especially when you've got a car fast enough to actually score points...

mellowtiger83 said:Alonso was better in his first race with Renault than he was with Honda over three full seasons—that’s like 60 races. 60:1 ratio, haha.

Honda is killing it in the Toro Rosso, honestly sucks for that little Italian outfit. What a waste!

Hard to say if Honda is actually trash or if it's just the drivers...
I still think Sainz could probably snatch some points today driving this STR car...

Unfortunately, STR's driver lineup is basically on par with Williams. The car looks pathetic, but who knows how bad it actually is...

Gary Palmer8 said:lol, only a complete idiot wouldn't get why this needs an emergency fix...

Oh sure, because it’s such a massive emergency right now...
It wasn't an "emergency" before, as long as the rules worked perfectly for The Germans and Red Bull. 👏

I don't get why everyone is acting shocked about the move under Safety Car🤷

Honestly, I have no idea which kids out there struggle with basic math🤔

Entering under Safety Car basically cuts your pit stop time in half. That’s why everyone is driving slower on the track than they are in the pits—there isn't a speed limit in the pit lane once you're in, just a cap on the entry, whereas on the track, you're stuck behind the SC until you exit

So, if a standard pit stop costs you 20 seconds during a race, doing it under Safety Car drops that to roughly 10 seconds

And trust me, this isn't even the first time this has happened...

Gary Palmer8 said:Nah, they won't undo it, but they probably won't allow this again because then everyone would just dive into the pits constantly to make up time.

What are you even talking about...🤔

If they didn't change the rules after that absolute disaster where Jenson Button and Ricciardo pitted like they were 6th and 7th, only to rejoin right in front of Nico Rosberg and the rest of them—who weren't even in the pits—sitting on track in 1st and 2nd, and then the SC picks up Button like he's the leader through no fault of his own, then they definitely aren't changing anything regarding standard Formula 1 stuff like the SC and VSC...🤣

stormybadger8 said:Personally, I’m not even a fan of Russia or Lewis Hamilton, but I still find watching these different types of seasons a total blast...
Watching Vettel win when they're actually at the top and fighting hard is way more satisfying than just seeing him cruise in some dominant Mercedes-Benz car...
I'd much rather watch today's race and be happy if Ferrari beats Lewis Hamilton on track than see them get absolutely crushed by Mercedes-Benz in qualifying like yesterday, where they were just lined up one after another...

Better safe than sorry—might as well grab two wins while we can.😍

Love it!🙂

Btw Charles Leclerc explained the reason for the win...

🤣

Mark Ruiz8 said:I'm skipping the wakeup call tomorrow morning. I can't deal with watching this boring Mercedes anymore. A replay on SPTV tonight will be enough.

Are you even an F1 fan if you're writing off the whole season based on one qualifying session?
The Bear is dominant in qualifying 🙂 no kidding, Sherlock 🙂

They poured a massive amount of cash into R&D and talent, built the best engine and the best car, they've got a top-tier driver, and—brace yourself—they actually have a fantastic package...

All that whining about how they "planned" this might have flown back in 2014 or maybe 2015, but it doesn't hold water anymore...
Who's to blame? Ferrari, Renault, or Honda for failing to catch up to The Bear?
Ferrari and Renault had five years to build an engine that could touch Mercedes' level. If they couldn't pull it off, that's on them, not Mercedes. 🙄

Engine development isn't frozen; it's not like everyone is forced to run 2014 specs. 🙂

If you're expecting races where everyone is within a tenth of a second, you completely misunderstand the sport. F1 will always have the top teams, the midfield, and the backmarkers. There's always going to be someone at the front...

Personally, I don't like The Bear or Lewis Hamilton, but I still enjoy watching these kinds of seasons...
Because watching Sebastian Vettel win when they're at the absolute peak and stronger than ever is way more fun than watching him win in some dominant car like The Bear...
I'd much rather watch today's race and be happy if Ferrari actually beats Lewis Hamilton on track, instead of just seeing The Bear steamroll everyone in the order like they did in qualifying yesterday.

https://twitter.com/VladiLadPutin/st...65740600250369

Putin 🙏🤣🤣🤣

The folks over at Williams Racing are about to get absolutely wrecked. 👏🤣

darkmarlin16 said:How the hell do you plan on staying up? The race starts at 7:10 AM, for crying out loud.

Maybe if you weren't already ancient, dear darkmarlin16, 😢

The whole situation with Red Bull Racing and Honda is actually pretty interesting...
It’s hard to make a fair comparison to last year since they had a solid duo in Carlos Sainz and Kvyat back then, whereas this year we’ve got these two kids who haven't exactly proven they can hang with the big boys yet...
I mean, Hartley was only 0.030 off knocking Esteban Ocon out in Q1 to make it into Q2—which would have been a massive achievement for Red Bull Racing last season...

And honestly, they aren't even that far behind McLaren (who were absolutely destroying them by the end of last season), even with this totally inexperienced lineup thrown together at the last minute. It feels like even Red Bull Racing doesn't really know where they pulled these guys from...🤣

All in all, Honda is performing way above expectations so far...👍