Posts by stormybadger8

William Bennett53 said:Honestly, it’s nice seeing General Motors back in yellow. Maybe now the marketing hacks will actually start calling them General Motors again.

Ted calls them Jordan 😁
so is he joking or does he actually lose his mind every single time? I can't tell.🤣

Ferrari 🤦

What an absolute disaster...
The good:
- Vettel and Ferrari actually nailed the start.

The bad:
- The pit wall and strategy were pathetic. 🤦
I honestly can't wrap my head around why they thought leaving Kimi and Vettel out on old tires was smart. 😵
It would have been fifteen times more logical to go straight to fresh Softs and then finish on the SS if they were too scared to try the Medium...
That way you at least have the option to push on the Softs until the end, or pivot to another Soft stint if the stint length looks wonky or if the rubber actually holds up.
- Unreliable as hell, especially seeing how early Kimi's car gave up on him... things aren't looking good.
- A catastrophic pit stop with agonizingly slow tire changes. 🤦
- Race pace was garbage compared to Mercedes on everything except the SS.
On the SS, they were barely a hair faster than Mercedes on Mediums—definitely not enough.
On fresh Softs, they were only slightly quicker than Mercedes on old Mediums... clearly Mercedes played it smart with all that aggressive testing in Barcelona.
- The worst part? Even with much newer tires and DRS, they couldn't touch Mercedes. Passing felt like a suicide mission.

Overall, pretty grim. Maybe they'll fix some stuff and show progress, but realistically, they don't stand a chance at fighting for anything. 👎

jadeseal7 said:Car looks have gone downhill fast since 2009.

Seven seasons later and we've only had two interesting ones... just look back at 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Rules...
It’s hardly shocking when one team dominates right after a massive rule change...
just like it isn't shocking when the other giants catch up after a few seasons of stable rules and you end up with a pack of equal teams fighting at the top...

What's weird is having a huge rule shift and then seeing development completely locked down before the first race even starts—that's how you get this absolute garbage we're seeing now...
And honestly, it feels like it'll never end.

Look, there's zero issue with Germany dominating. That's not the issue at all; it's a totally normal, natural part of Formula 1.
The real Problem is these moronic rules introduced under the guise of "cost-cutting," which have basically guaranteed this total dominance,
and nobody has the guts to admit they were played. Everyone was being selfish, thinking they'd be the ones to benefit, and now here we are.

Now, after that qualifying nonsense, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are busy throwing themselves into the ash, calling it stupidity and saying it needs to be scrapped... because scrapping it doesn't hurt their bottom line one bit. 😉
But funny enough, it didn't occur to them to scrap the Power Unit rules—well, not to Wolff, anyway, since they suit him perfectly. And Horner would give us the exact same speech if General Motors or Red Bull Racing were in Mercedes-Benz's shoes. 😍

jadeseal7 said:Formula 1 started going downhill back in 2009.

Just thinking back to those VN Brazil races in 2007 and 2008...

Don't talk nonsense...
2010 and 2012 weren't any worse...☕
Actually, they were way better than 2007 and 2008. Back then, you only had two teams at the top with zero chance for anyone else,
whereas in 2010 and 2012, you consistently had at least three teams capable of winning, with a fourth popping up occasionally.

Besides, even that massive dominance from 2000-2004 wasn't actually bad.
The only real problem is getting garbage rules like this where dominance is basically baked in, leaving the rest of the field with practically no shot at breaking it just because of the rulebook.
F1 hit the skids the second everyone started whining about budget cuts while costs were simultaneously skyrocketing. 🙄

swifttiger75 said:Why so fatalistic? It’s not like Mercedes-Benz just woke up one day and magically became fast. One of their top engineers—Michael Schumacher—spent a few seasons tweaking things behind the scenes, and now we're seeing the payoff. They're the best right now, and they earned their spot at the top.

It’s not fatalism, it’s just reality...
Look, I don't have anything against Mercedes-Benz dominating. They put in the work and the money, so they deserve it...

Yeah, sure, it gets a bit boring to watch sometimes, but that's not even the issue...
What actually drives me crazy is this absolute nonsense with the rules—qualifying regulations, testing bans, engine development freezes, and all those other ridiculous restrictions...

graniteharbor502 said:If it’s warm tomorrow and Ferrari finishes more than half a minute behind, we can officially call this season Mercedes' too.

Mercedes owns this season even if they're lagging by less than 5 seconds at the finish line...
What good is decent race pace when there's zero chance they'll actually start ahead of them or overtake them on track? Maybe they'll snag one of them in the pits—yeah, right, maybe Nico Rosberg—and that's it.
Expecting Mercedes to struggle after those tests is just plain delusional...
Bottom line: it's already obvious this whole thing is a bust.

The only hope is that the gap shrinks and keeps getting smaller as the season goes on.
Maybe they'll have a shot in 2017, but this season is dead in the water. Qualifying today made that crystal clear.😉
All you had to do was look at Maurizio Arrivabene's face after that first real fast lap from the Mercedes, and everything was painfully obvious...

mellowtiger83 said:Lewis was in another dimension today, even compared to his own teammate. It’s going to be damn hard for him to lose tomorrow. Something catastrophic would have to happen—rain, a Safety Car, you name it.

I'm expecting Sebastian Vettel to be fighting Rosberg. Expecting some chaos near them too.

I even put a parlay together: Hamilton wins, lead by more than 6 seconds, and Fernando Alonso finishes the race 🙂. Hopefully, I'll win enough for a decent coffee run.

I placed one on an Alonso win and one on a Jenson Button win 🤣.
Zero chance, really, but the payout was too good to pass up. 😬

Raymond Anderson4 said:So much for Vettel’s car development.
The current gap between Lewis and Vettel comes down to the engine, just like how Newey used to be the difference between Vettel and Fernando, making him Lewis.
You see how easily top drivers snag titles once they actually have a decent car.🙂.
We all said Lewis would settle for one title, then boom—great car, back-to-back championships.
It was the same deal with Vettel, it would've been the same for Fernando, and probably Ricciardo too (talent-wise, he's right up there with them).

Completely incomparable...
You can't just tweak an engine enough to catch Bear, because they'll always be at least two or three steps ahead...
And let's be real, the FIA is never going to ban the Mercedes engine.🙂
They went after Red Bull for every little thing, looking for any excuse to screw them over, while they were turning a blind eye to Mercedes regarding illegal testing and tire pressures.

But hey, no rules stopped the rest of the grid from copying Red Bull to try and catch up, yet under the current regs, nobody can touch Mercedes.

As for Vettel and his stint at Ferrari, just think about what Ferrari even looked like before he showed up.🙂
Besides, even last year he racked up more podiums than Alonso managed in any of his five seasons...

copperdrifter26 said:Tibi, what are you even talking about? STR is just a second behind Ferrari—it’s nowhere near the level you're claiming.

Red Bull definitely isn't as good as Bear when it comes to the chassis; they aren't even close. Look, being 1.8 seconds off the leader... there's no way they're facing a deficit of more than 150 horsepower. In my opinion, Red Bull's chassis is sitting somewhere down with Ferkan...

McLaren already smoked them back in Los Angeles 2012, so this isn't exactly a shocker.

http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...ualifying.html

A whole second, huh? 🙂
STR is actually less than half a second behind Kimi, and that's with them only getting one fast lap in right at the start...

As for power, Bear seriously cranked up their PU; the gap could easily be over 100 HP compared to Renault and Honda...
At the end of the day, I think Ferrari is trailing by at least 50 HP too, maybe even more than they were at the end of last season. The only difference is they've got a better car this year...

dustyskipper77 said:Vettel is banking on a comeback during the race...

http://www.f1puls.com/9018/vettel-ni...okret-u-utrci/

Yeah, he's certainly expecting it...
He's been spinning this same old yarn since he joined Ferrari, so why stop now?

Chances of Bear actually beating them in the race are even slimmer than his chances in qualifying...
Unless, of course, Pirelli cooked up some special tires just because Bernie asked nicely...

Robert Cox46 said:Bernie took a swing at this morning's qualifying, but he was pretty clear about one thing: going back to the old ways isn't on the table. He’s sick of seeing Mercedes sitting there in P1 and P2 because, frankly, it kills the viewership. He even floated this wild idea about slapping penalty seconds on the top drivers from the previous race during qualifying just to shake up the grid and actually make things interesting.

Look, if you ask the boss, we can kiss that old Q3 format goodbye—you know, back when Mercedes would roll onto the track and absolutely demolish everyone else in the first few minutes. But honestly? This new format hasn't done a damn thing to get Mercedes off the top step either. 🤔

Pure idiocy. Just the same old crap...
If you've got the fastest car and the fastest driver on the grid, they better dominate qualifying. It’s just common sense. ☕
Pure idiocy. Let's organize a race between a tortoise and a cheetah—but only on the condition that the tortoise wins. 🤦

The only thing that would actually make sense is a reverse grid where qualifying points count toward the standings too—just with a smaller point haul, obviously.
Let’s talk points. If we go with the 15, 12, 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 system, and looking at how the race actually played out...
Imagine if they actually ran the race with a reversed grid—like having Lewis Hamilton starting in 22nd while Pascal Wehrlein takes pole. Pure madness. 😁
Sure, let's just make tires and fuel—both volume and flow rate—completely unlimited. Toss in unrestricted DRS and KERS usage while you're at it. Why stop there?

If they’re going to put on a circus, they might as well do it right. If we're doing a masquerade, let's at least make it look like one. 🤣

Tyler Bennett5 said:It's pretty obvious Bottas and Massa aren't exactly qualifying specialists. If I remember correctly from previous seasons, it takes them forever—usually three laps minimum—just to nail a fast one. As for the car, they're probably just waiting on a new nose or front wing in Bahrain to see if their winter upgrades actually did anything. Whatever they grab in this race, they grab.
We'll all act like geniuses tomorrow once the race is over. As for the rest of the grid, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari have already staked their claims.

Hard for them to catch anything if Ted actually has decent intel...
Looks like a disqualification is coming their way since they failed to hand over the required paperwork to the FIA regarding suspension, tires, and so on.

After those qualifying sessions...

STR 🙏 expected them to be up there, but they aren't quite on the same level as Ferrari itself 👍
Honestly, I wouldn't even be shocked if they snagged a podium at some point this season...

RB 👍 Adrian Newey has built an absolute beast of a car. I have a feeling Ricc and Kvyat would be fighting for the title even with last year's Ferrari engine, but with a German one? They'd win it guaranteed...

McLaren-Honda—and what an obvious leap forward. 👍
I expect Button and Alonso to be scoring points almost every single race...
It’s going to be a massive season for McLaren.

Williams 👎 took a huge step backward compared to the rest of the field...
Either everyone else got way faster while they stayed stagnant, or they just completely messed things up and ended up slower than last year...

FI—pretty disappointing, I was expecting more.

Germany—better than expected.

Ferrari—solid, but no massive jump in performance... at this pace, they might have knocked Mercedes off their throne somewhere around 2019-2020...

The rest—predictably bad...
The real question is who cracks first: Manor, Sauber, or will Renault just decide to pack up and leave Formula 1 entirely?
Haas looks decent for a start... nothing spectacular, but definitely solid enough...

northerncobra31 said:It’s all the same thing. Those were just winter tests, and obviously they were running on low fuel.

A 0.8 gap is just way too massive. Even if Vettel dropped it to 0.6, he's still not winning a title with that.

Compared to last year, the gap in qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix shrank by 0.553 sec...
By pure math, that would mean the gap in San Francisco is actually about 0.2 sec, since they were trailing by 0.7 sec there last year...
Now, whether that math actually matters or if the progress is truly identical across every single track? That's a huge question mark.

If that improvement were actually real—if they really did close the gap to Germany by 0.5 sec across the board...
Then compared to last season, Vettel would be taking Pole in:
Malaysia, Bahrain, Austria, Indianapolis, Singapore, Mexico, and Brazil...
It’d be great if that was the case, but I'm afraid we won't see anything like that except maybe in Singapore...

graniteharbor502 said:Did you actually watch that qualifying session we just saw, or are you just talking nonsense? ☕

What could they possibly be trolling about now...
Exactly what you’d expect. Every single time, they just swap the end of the Q round with the beginning. Typical.
I told you guys. I said this whole thing was just going to be one pile of rubbish on top of another while everyone else was busy acting like geniuses, claiming this new format was going to be absolutely brilliant.🤣

This is a total reality check.
It starts off interesting, and then—boom—you're out of tires, fuel, or time. You’ve got no choice but to dive into the pits in the final few minutes. Just total chaos.

Decent Q1
Rough Q2
Absolute disaster in Q3...

Honestly, this whole thing is a total joke. It’s even worse than I thought it would be...

Season's basically over. Bear is just as dominant as they were last year, exactly like I predicted. And I was right about Ferrari—they're going to struggle to hold onto second place against STR and Red Bull Racing. Meanwhile, Williams is completely screwed, just fighting Haas for 5th in the standings...

jadeseal7 said:Looks like Tibi is daydreaming again 😁

Tibi is stuck in full-blown delusion mode😬🤣

swifttiger75 said:

McDonald's will finally get its act together right when Alonso leaves 🤣
And you're still acting like a kid who thinks they're somehow ultra-dominant. Just keep laughing, I guess. 😁

Right before all that went down, Rosberg slammed into a wall, so it’s not out of the question that everyone was playing it super safe. 🤔
So, it actually seems more likely that everyone was just being careful while Alonso pushed it to the absolute limit...

Though, hey, nothing is impossible—not even an ultra-dominant McLaren-Honda...

William Bennett53 said:I skipped the practice session... 😢
McLaren-Honda looks solid on this scale. 🙏 Does that mean they actually improved, or are we just seeing two elite drivers fighting through terrible track conditions?

McLaren-Honda—basically Alonso—was way faster than everyone else...
It’s weird as hell. Either everyone else was just cruising and playing it safe while Alonso was driving like his life depended on it, or Honda actually pulled off a massive upgrade...

Otherwise, under identical conditions, he was faster than Red Bull, Toro Rosso, and Ferrari... and I mean by a noticeable margin, mostly over a full second.
Super strange and totally out of left field. Who knows what actually happened there. 🤔

All those guys who ended up ahead of him later did it on a practically dry track, in much better conditions. 😉