Posts by stormybadger8

Being the best designer and being the most successful designer aren't the same thing...

It’s just like debating titles. We could sit here all day arguing whether Palmer or Alonso—or whoever else—is the greatest Formula 1 driver to ever live...
but the reality is they've racked up the wins, the podiums, and the championships. When it comes to pure success, they sit right behind the legends, and there's no arguing with the math.

mellowtiger83 said:Of course it doesn't line up. The data makes it clear: in this supposed race simulation, Ferrari switched to the Medium tire at lap 14, whereas Mercedes stayed on their initial set until around lap 24. Between laps 14 and 24, Mercedes is pulling lap times that are 0.5 to 1 second faster per lap, despite running tires that are 14 laps older than Ferrari's.

Even a blind man could see something is wrong there.

A blind man can also see that Mercedes and Red Bull have no business running a race sim where the first stint is on Mediums.🙂
That’s literally like trying to run a race sim with only two cylinders and leaving the other four sitting in the garage.🤣
What kind of kid would actually run a race sim starting on Mediums when they know perfectly well there's zero theory suggesting anyone would actually pull the first stint in Barcelona on Mediums...

Most likely, Mercedes and Red Bull ran their simulations by doubling up on either the second or third stint on Mediums, while testing that first stint on softs at some completely different time or day—if they even bothered at all. They probably just couldn't be bothered to stay consistent.

mellowtiger83 said:I'm not sure if anyone else caught this, but Mercedes opted for the hard compound for Australia, despite having barely touched them during the sessions in Barcelona.
Mercedes seems to be gunning for an aggressive strategy, likely aiming for one fewer pit stop than Ferrari. It looks as though Ferrari is managing their tires more effectively, which aligns with those photos from Barcelona showing pieces of Mercedes's Mexican compounds flaking off.

It would certainly be interesting to see if Ferrari has managed to improve their qualifying pace relative to Mercedes, potentially allowing them to jump ahead at the start.

Spare me the tire philosophy...
The specific tire choice doesn't mean jack squat as long as the team has two sets of mediums and two sets of hards available so they can run race sims during FP. ☕

Every single team—and I mean every single one—is going to have the exact same number of sets for qualifying and the race.
The only difference is what they use during FP, which is about as important as yesterday's weather.

Once they see how the compounds behave in FP1, they'll split the duties between drivers. One will run a race sim on one type, the other on another, and that's it.
In the end, everyone follows the same routine: head into qualifying with four sets of the softest possible tires and make sure they have at least two fresh sets of the best stuff left for the race. ☕
And wouldn't you know it, everyone ends up with basically the same race strategy and the same tires. 🙂
One stint on the qualifying tire, then maybe one or two fresh sets depending on the track.
It's the same old story every single race weekend, yet the journalists still feel the need to manufacture drama and act like they're geniuses for analyzing tire choices before the lights go out. 🙄

Mario, you didn't even start this argument right. You didn't go with "Newey isn't the most successful engineer" or "he's not the best boss" or "he doesn't have the most genius design solutions." No, you went with "Newey isn't the most successful designer," which is just wrong because he absolutely is. Period. ☕

Go ahead, exhaust yourself. Talk all the nonsense you want about how Newey is a terrible driver, how he can't change a tire, can't brew a cup of coffee, or couldn't swap a battery if his life depended on it...
but none of that changes the fact that you were rambling about how some non-existent Roy has more wins than Newey. 🙂

mellowtiger83 said:Vettel stated that those testing sessions focused on race pace are completely irrelevant!
In other words, anyone here obsessing over race pace reports and comparisons can take those virtual spreadsheets and shove them.🙂

Anyone who’s actually bothered to follow Formula 1 should have realized from day one that Mercedes and Red Bull have absolutely nothing to do with a race simulator.

I haven't seen anything like this before. Seriously. I’ve been following this sport for ages, but this is a whole new level of absurdity. It’s almost impressive how they manage to mess things up this consistently. Just pure chaos.
I posted this ages ago. It’s not like Sebastian Vettel should have been the one to say it...

What are these journalists even talking about? Just pure nonsense meant to farm clicks. It's got absolutely nothing to do with reality.

So, what exactly have they been doing over at Red Bull and Mercedes? Are they actually faster than Ferrari or not? Who knows. And let's be real—that "famous" race simulator of theirs has absolutely nothing to do with a real race sim. You can see that from a mile away. ☕

mellowtiger83 said:Give me a break. When Adrian Newey comes up with something, the guy is a master at perfecting aero. You can't beat him at that game.

I’m saying it again: to him, Gordon Murray, Colin Chapman, and Roy are absolute legends. Total icons.

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Blah, blah, blah. 🤦

mellowtiger83 said:Roy Byrne!He’s got more wins than him!I’m not so sure about Gordon Murray or Colin Chapman either.

Let's be clear: absolutely not. Not even close. In fact, Adrian Newey has about 50% more wins than Rory Quote. 🤦

mellowtiger83 said:Adrian Newey isn't the greatest designer in history. Sure, maybe in the modern era, but historically? Not even close.

No, you're just being...
Whether someone is a legend or just a glorified copycat is one thing, but let's be real: when it comes to championships and total wins, Adrian Newey is in a league of his own.
None of those guys you're bringing up can even hold a candle to him.

You can struggle all you want, but what you just wrote makes absolutely zero sense.

mellowtiger83 said:Roy Byrne! This guy has more wins than him! As for Gordon Murray or Chapman, I’m still not so sure.

It’s not Roy, it’s Rory Byrne...
Besides that...
Rory Byrne is an absolute legend in the racing world. If you look at his track record, the guy is basically a cheat code. Quote : Byrne-designed Cars have won ninety-nine Grands Prix. Seriously, that's insane. This makes Byrne The third most successful formula One designer, and honestly, I’m not sure anyone else even comes close to that level of dominance. He didn't just win; he dominated across eras. With ten Constructors ' Championships He Has won more Than Any other designer and is The only designer to have won constructors ' titles with Three different formula One teams. That kind of versatility is unheard of. Whether it was working with the legends at McLaren or helping shape the powerhouse era at Red Bull Racing, Byrne just knows how to build a winner. It’s pure engineering genius.

Byrne-designed Cars have won ninety-nine Grands Prix. Quote : Byrne-designed Cars have won ninety-nine Grands PrixWith seven constructors' titles and seven drivers' titles under his belt, this makes Byrne The third most successful formula One designer. this makes Byrne The third most successful formula One designer He’s right there in the mix with Adrian Newey and Colin Chapman.

Then again...
Newey...
Adrian Newey is basically the GOAT when it comes to aero. If you look at his track record, the guy is a legend. Quote : Byrne-designed Cars have won ninety-nine Grands Prix. Seriously, that’s insane. This makes Byrne The third most successful formula One designer, and honestly, looking at the stats, he's easily in the conversation for the greatest ever. He’s got this unmatched ability to find speed where nobody else is looking. He’s gone from winning big with McLaren F1 to dominating with Red Bull Racing, proving he can make any car fast regardless of the setup. Plus, with ten Constructors ' Championships He Has won more Than Any other designer and is The only designer to have won constructors ' titles with Three different formula One teams. That kind of consistency? It’s unheard of. Whether it's working with Colin Chapman back in the day or leading the charge now, Newey just knows how to build a winner.

Newey’s designs have stacked up an insane amount of hardware—over 150 wins and a massive pile of titles. With ten Constructors' Championships, he's outdone every other designer in history. He's also the only guy to pull off constructor titles with three different NASCAR teams. On top of that, six different drivers have snatched the Drivers' Championship behind his steering wheel. Not bad for a day's work.

That whole argument about Byrne being more successful might have held water before Newey showed up at Red Bull Racing, but honestly? Not anymore.

mellowtiger83 said:March 25th is coming up fast. We'll see how it all unfolds.

Bet on Ricciardo (or maybe Max) while you still have the chance.😉

Lujo is playing mind games, which is a dead giveaway that Red Bull actually has some pace...
I see Lujo over there whining about how much he fears Max, claiming Max is his only real threat, and now rambling about how Max absolutely crushed Ricciardo last year...
As if that wouldn't totally mess with Ricciardo's head...

Red Bull clearly looks fast if Lujo is already trying to play psychological warfare with their drivers.😁
And let's be real, Lujo isn't stupid. He knows Ricciardo is the actual threat because he’s consistent. Sure, Max could take him down—and probably do it brilliantly—but Max is still pretty green. There's a massive chance he'll just smash into someone at the next race, and then Lujo is back in the driver's seat.

So, the smartest move for Lujo is to stir the pot and get those Red Bull drivers to turn on each other and fight over points.

mellowtiger83 said:What exactly is tripping you guys up regarding this statement from Raikkonen?
"If we HAD WANTED to go faster, we could have gone faster." That word "WANTED" is the pivot point here. It’s a clear indication that they didn't intend to push further. That single sentence completely dismantles Tibijev's claim that Ferrari is desperately chasing time.

Also, just for those keeping track, Alonso was sitting at -250 in the first two sectors before he cut the chicane.🙂So, feel free to credit McLaren with a 1:16.800. Is it any clearer now just how much faster Ferrari could have been if they actually cared to try?

Man, you really will try to argue anything, won't you?🤦

1. Obviously Ferrari could've gone faster. Good morning to you too... everyone could've gone faster, and nobody is stupid enough to show their full hand and maximum potential to the competition.☕
The only ones who were actually hunting times on empty tanks were probably those clowns at McLaren—either because of sponsors or because of that pathetic start they had with Renault. Nobody else...

But it’s blindingly obvious that Mercedes wasn't even trying. Not even a little bit. They were mostly running on Mediums and were consistently just as fast, if not slower, than the guys on softer rubber...
It's plain as day that they are the fastest, because they're crushing it on mediums, which basically means they're just way faster...

So there's zero question that Ferrari could've been faster. The real question is how much faster, and how much faster can the competition—namely Mercedes-Benz and Red Bull Racing—actually go...
Besides that, since when are driver quotes at press conferences considered ultimate truth instead of carefully scripted PR nonsense?🙂

2. How on earth did you come up with that brilliant math where cutting a chicane only nets you 0.080?🙂 🤣

3...
https://wtf1.com/post/do-fast-lap-ti...ean-anything/?

Go ahead, take a look at this, and then enlighten us on how The German was actually garbage in 2014, 2016, 2017, and even 2018.🙂
Ferrari was actually great in 2017, but they were total trash in 2016, so they were fast in testing regardless...
Honestly, it would be pretty weird to me if Ferrari were fast this season. They've spent years stuck in this pattern: one good year, one bad year, one good year, one bad year...

And isn't it funny how Red Bull hasn't been the fastest in a single testing session?

vividlynx68 said:Lewis Hamilton had the guts to walk away from the fastest car on the grid—leaving it for a Mercedes-Benz team that’d barely managed one win in three seasons—just to prove a point. I still remember how much they tore him apart for it on Top Gear.

Fast forward to now...

Hamilton left a team that was honestly falling apart. Sure, they had the fastest car at that exact moment, but they were also pulling incredible stunts by having a massive pile of stupid technical failures.🤦
And the worst part? They learned absolutely nothing from it. If anything, they’ve actually gotten worse.
Then you have that jerk on the GP driver series proudly claiming he’s the one who screwed up Hamilton's race and how much he learned from it.😵 🤣

besides that, Hamilton knew McLaren wouldn't be a factory Mercedes team anymore and wouldn't even be running Mercedes engines. His move was completely and utterly logical.
If we're being real, everyone expected Mercedes to become the dominant force, not McLaren.

No matter how much the British F1 media trashed them, they always talk up the "legendary" McLaren, even when the car was total garbage. They’re always desperate for British drivers, even if the quality is bottom-tier like Palmer... and of course, they always find a way to blame outside partners like Honda for everything under the sun.

It's the exact same song and dance as the Italian media...

mellowtiger83 said:Kimi Raikkonen is easily the most blunt person in F1 right now. He mentioned regarding the testing sessions that they are essentially meaningless, even suggesting they could have been going significantly faster.

Furthermore, various media outlets are drawing conclusions based on certain race simulations.🙂 In reality, those simulations were either non-existent or barely half-finished!

Additionally, Mercedes-Benz used white tires in most instances. To my eye, this looks like a car that struggles to manage tire temperatures—meaning it likely overheats its softer compounds.

That specific race sim pace for Mercedes shows them running a full second per lap faster than the field.🙂 Please, let's be serious; these tables and time comparisons are completely disconnected from reality.

People are even going so far as to claim that Red Bull and Ferrari excel in qualifying while Mercedes holds the edge in the race. Last year was actually the exact opposite; Mercedes dominated qualifying.

There is no need for all this speculation. It is going to be incredibly tight between the top three teams in Australia.

McLaren will be the best of the rest.

Ever since the hybrid era started, two things about testing have been crystal clear...

Mercedes, the leaders, always show up with Mediums and hammer away on them. They barely even bother bringing the softer stuff to the track, and if they do, they might squeeze out a handful of laps before packing up.

Ferrari, meanwhile, is obsessed with chasing lap times on the softest tires possible, bragging about how they're the fastest ever and how much more speed they can find.

What's the big deal for you, 🤷
?

Italian media is a joke 🤣
It’s the same old story over there—total panic over every tiny detail, acting like the world is ending... then the second someone hits the podium, they start bragging about how they have the greatest, most dominant team in history...
Meanwhile, the Brits just sit there tearing everything apart. Honestly, I don't trust a single word from journalists who act like everything is sunshine and rainbows just because guys like Palmer or Reste are around.

If you want actual truth, look to the Germans. They aren't really the type to fall for cheap euphoria or spout mindless nonsense...

mellowtiger83 said:Did someone actually bring up Bottas? Did you all have a psychic premonition that Mercedes would dominate? You were slightly off with that one.

Max Verstappen is going to cause serious problems for both Lewis Hamilton and Vettel. Serious. If Red Bull is even half as fast as the rumors suggest—and I suspect they might actually be faster than people realize.

Will Red Bull give Ferrari trouble? No doubt about it...
But whether the red or blue cars will actually see the Bear during a race—aside from the start and the first three laps—is the real question. 🙂
If they manage to catch a glimpse of the Bear's rear end during a race without breaking a sweat, it'll probably be Bottas's rear end...

Expecting Mercedes to suddenly stop being dominant when there aren't any major rule changes is honestly kind of laughable...
Last year, the Bear had that suspension issue right at the track after they'd already basically finished designing the whole car around it, so they had to scramble with some makeshift fixes and still ended up being the best...
But this season, there's no such excuse. It's clear that if they have a good day, they're going to be miles ahead—way, way more than last year.

https://www.f1puls.com/26462/adrian-...ora-red-bulla/

Now the big question is how much Red Bull is actually going to upgrade throughout the season...
Up until now, they’ve always stepped things up big time during the year, but with Adrian Newey gone, who knows if they'll keep playing that same tune...

Besides, this could be a subtle hint that Red Bull might just pull out of F1 altogether🤔
F1 Čuno told me that Guzda allowed something like this, so clearly he isn't even that interested in all this stuff anymore...

Oh, right, I totally forgot I actually had to pick a number 😁
If #13 is available, I'll take it. Otherwise, throw me in as reserve for #5...

Even if an alien version of Valtteri Bottas showed up, he still wouldn't be a threat to Lewis Hamilton in the title fight. 🙂

Sure, Red Bull might actually be better than Ferrari right now. It’s totally possible, and it might even be exactly what Ricciardo is saying—that this is easily the best Red Bull car he's ever sat in...
But let's be real, they aren't hitting the level of the Bear anytime soon. ☕

swifttiger75 said:I'm starting a "divota prašina" crew and signing myself up.

First come, first served...
Count me in for the divota prašina team 😁

BANG ! 🙂

Kyle Edwards5 said:Here’s a copy-paste from the Autosport forums. Someone over there went through all the math...

Code:

DRIVER TEAM TIME TYRE TYRE ADJ. DELTA
6 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:18.825 M 1:16.275 0.000
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:18.327 SS 1:16.977 0.702
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:17.221 HS 1:17.221 0.946
10 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:19.189 S 1:17.439 1.164
5 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:18.412 US 1:17.662 1.387
2 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:17.784 HS 1:17.784 1.509
3 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:17.784 HS 1:17.784 1.509
11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:19.464 SS 1:18.114 1.839
12 Lance Stroll Williams 1:19.954 S 1:18.204 1.929
7 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:18.949 HS 1:18.949 2.674
8 Ocon Force India 1:18.967 HS 1:18.967 2.692 9 Leclerc Sauber 1:19.118 HS 1:19.118 2.843

I don't fully buy these calculations, but this looks grim for Ferrari. Their fastest laps aren't even impressive when you consider how close McLaren is—especially given the issues they were dealing with.
It feels weird, though, because it basically looks like Ferrari isn't much faster than last year once you factor in the faster tires and the new asphalt.
There's plenty of chatter about the Ferrari engine being a fuel hog, but I'm not sure if I trust that...

When it comes to Ferrari, you can't trust the math on the first pass. It's always a mess.
I have no clue what I'm talking about, but I do know Vettel had a faster time than Kimi Raikkonen...
It actually looks like they clocked some faster times on the Medium than they did on the Hard, if you were calculating them the same way you would for the Bear...

Clearly, there’s something seriously wrong with that engine. It’s just not performing the way it should.
Check out this clip from Sky Sports. It’s worth a look.
This is all just pure nonsense. Seriously, it’s getting ridiculous. 😲

Joseph Flores15 said:By all appearances, Lujo will cruise to the championship in second gear.

We already knew that part before testing even started... and honestly, we already know exactly how the 2019 and 2020 seasons are going to play out too.
The Bears basically cruised to the title last year too. They got screwed early on by those suspension bans, but from mid-season onwards, they were clearly the undisputed No1.

It’s not even a question who's going to be the fastest. The real mystery is whether we're looking at a No2 Ferrari or a Red Bull, and which four teams actually make the cut on the grid.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:I think I saw Fernando Alonso clocking in at 4 laps on HS under 1.18.
Actually, it looks like his 1.16.720 was wiped away because he apparently cut the final chicane.

If what Pirelli is saying is actually true:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/p...ltas-1013128/?

Medium
Soft - 0.8 sec
SuperSoft - 0.4 sec
UltraSoft - 0.6 sec
HyperSoft - 0.8 sec

That would mean the gap between Medium > HyperSoft is 2.6 sec...
Which would imply that Vettel's 1:17.1 on HS was total garbage, since that puts him at a 1:19.7 on Medium...
And the Bear had a way better time than that on Medium (1:19.3...) back during that first week in the snow...

Valtteri Bottas clocked a 1:18.825 on Medium today, which translates to a 1:16.2...

Everyone’s looking pretty grim if this is accurate. Ferrari isn't even close to the Bear, and McLaren—even if they cut the chicane again—isn't anywhere near it either, being half a second slower than the Bear even with the shortcut. 😳

Matthew Murphy91 said:Race Weather Simulations:


*Honda arrived at these tests with a dozen power units on hand, so whenever there was a significant break in the action for Toro Rosso Red Bull Honda, they simply swapped out the engine. (*Source: Sky Sports)

I have zero clue what genius decided to pull this or what logic they were using, but this definitely isn't a full race simulation... certainly not when you're talking about Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, and probably not even for Ferrari...
The only one that actually looks like a race simulation is this McLaren one ☕

I don't see any logic at all behind why Mercedes and Red Bull Racing would be running qualifying laps in Barcelona on Medium tires 🙂
let alone some weird tactic where you simulate a race just to get disqualified 🤣

McLaren's setup is a totally logical simulation, and there's some sense to this Ferrari one too, even if that Ferrari run isn't really a race simulation where you'd want the fastest possible pace...
A logical race simulation always starts with the softest tire available (like Q2) 😁

As for why anyone would simulate a first stint on Mediums, I haven't got a clue 🤔
And doing three stints on the exact same tire type—whatever it is—makes even less sense...

Have they even picked the tires for Barcelona yet?
If it’s SuperSoft, Soft, and Medium, then the logical combos are:
SS,S,S or SS,M,SS or SS,S,M or SS,M,S or SS,S,SS... blah blah... maybe even starting on Soft and varying it like S,SS,SS or S,S,SS...
but absolutely, under no circumstances would a top team start on Medium and go from there, let alone M,M,M 😵
In the end, even if they desperately wanted to run a race like that, they couldn't, because you're required to use two different types of tires during a race 🙂 🤣

And the dumbest part is that before McLaren, it made sense to run a simulation where they didn't make it through Q3 and had to start on Mediums, but that makes zero sense for Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, and Mercedes.