Posts by neonfox65

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.

Toro Rosso Honda 🙂

stormybadger8 said: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...

Man, you have got to be kidding me! Seriously!

ruggedhawk20 said:Based on everything I've seen so far, McLaren might actually take the world title this year

Everything up to this point has just been growing pains for a massive, legendary machine—one that’s going to go down in history right alongside the MP4-4

Mark my words.

Back in February '88, McLaren went through some absolute nightmare testing sessions too, and we all know how that story ended

Fernando Alonso is going to become a 3x WDC by this fall

Just listen to what ruggedhawk20 said

🤦

Wait, didn't you say Hartl was going to be champion too?

RB takes the lead 👋

A Hartl on the same tires and still outpacing Alonso...

Kyle Edwards5 said:According to this Toro Rosso is already hitting walls today.

A news quote: Toro Rosso have suffered their first major setback of winter testing after managing just one lap in the afternoon session on day five in Barcelona.

The Red Bull junior team seemed ready to smash through another hundred laps, aiming to push that Honda engine way past the 425 laps they clocked during 2017 testing. But things fell apart fast. After Gasly put in 53 laps this morning, he barely managed a single solitary lap in the afternoon.

But it wasn't the engine—it was the suspension...

McLaren finished dead last—both in terms of raw speed and total laps completed. What a disaster...

For us desperate Ferrari fans, the car actually looks pretty reliable—though I'm still not convinced it has the pace to catch Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel managed to clock a faster time than Mercedes, even while running on slower tires.

Red Bull is looking close, but man, that reliability is starting to worry me.

stormybadger8 said:That’s not even close...
McLaren and the rest of them aren't some underdog weaklings...
If anything, they were labeled the "bullies" before, while STR was the one called small and weak...

Teams like Haas or ABC News have never been at the top; their drivers never acted like they owned the place or looked down on everyone else...
And honestly, they didn't play dirty or push other drivers off the track just because they felt entitled to space...
There is a massive difference between a powerhouse like McLaren and a bottom-tier outfit like Haas or Manor...

McLaren and Alonso fall more into the "what goes up must come down" category rather than being some little underdogs...

And no, I don't feel bad for them one bit. Especially considering how they mocked Honda, not to mention Alonso’s habit of mocking absolutely everything and everyone—like that stunt with Petrov and all that garbage...

Actually, it makes me pretty happy to see STR ahead of them. I’d love to see STR leapfrog Ferrari and Mercedes for all that matters...😁
Because STR is easily my favorite team on the grid, and they always deliver.🙏

So what if he waved? It's not like he rammed Hamilton like Vettel did in Baku—now THAT was a dirty move.

ruggedhawk20 said:This guy actually knows his stuff.

No clue 🙂

11:56 Crushed the middle sector—fastest of anyone out there from Max. Then followed up with a personal best in sector three... finishing just 0.053s ahead of Valtteri!

Let's gooooooooooo 🙂

Live RB! Max just clocked his third fastest time on the medium track🎉

Red Bull-Ford 🙏

TOP SPEEDS ON THE MAIN STRAIGHT
Chassis Engine Top Speed [mph]
1. Haas Ferrari

209.0
2. Ferrari Ferrari

207.6
3. Mercedes Mercedes

207.0
4. Toro Rosso Honda

207.0
5. Williams Mercedes

205.7
6. Force India Mercedes

205.7
7. Sauber Ferrari

204.5
8. McLaren Renault

201.4
9. Red Bull Renault

200.0
10. Renault Renault

200.0

Client list is in safe mode 😁 (fingers crossed...)

MOST LAPS COMPLETED BY TEAM (ALL 4 DAYS)
Team Engine Laps
1. Toro Rosso Honda 326
2. Mercedes Mercedes 305
3. Ferrari Ferrari 298
4. Sauber Ferrari 284
5. Williams Mercedes 277
6. Renault Renault 273
7. McLaren Renault 271
8. Red Bull Renault 211
9. Haas Ferrari 187
10. Force India Mercedes 166

Honda🙂

mellowtiger83 said:everyone else can just grab whatever scraps are left,

Max?

Verstappen's at the back, running full throttle—but that engine is definitely stuck in safe mode.

stormytiger4 said:Look, the car's aesthetics are pretty much the only thing we can actually talk about right now. Those times from the first test—which, let’s be real, is being run in freezing conditions—don't mean a damn thing compared to the footage from the sponsor promo shoots.

And you're seriously trying to predict the championship based on how the car looks? Give me a break...

mellowtiger83 said:

neonfox65 Asks:
Actually, I just read something quite different. My understanding was that René explicitly mentioned we shouldn't be paying any attention to their lap times during these initial tests. Because they'll be saving the engine.

It seems likely that Mercedes-Benz and Ford will be making an appearance at Daytona.🙂

Good grief, are you actually aware that any team could probably hit a 1.17 right now without breaking a sweat?

I didn't say that. My take? Everyone looks pretty nervous—Red Bull Racing seems to be the class of the field right now. Plus, they’ve clocked the most laps, which is huge...

mellowtiger83 said:What are you talking about regarding the Power Unit status? It’s only been one day of driving. Besides, Anderson is praising Ferrari and their stability again; he was spot on last year.🙂.
Today's conditions, specifically the 2°C temperature, are what actually matter; they probably won't even go out.

What do you mean "Renault"? They just pushed the throttle a little harder than everyone else and now suddenly they're a "must-have," right!

And what's this about Honda? My god, they clocked a massive amount of laps! Super!! But those laps were roughly five seconds off the pace, which is completely irrelevant; they could have driven 1,000 laps without a breakdown at that rate.

Once Mercedes and Ferrari actually turn up the power, then we'll see what's what.🤔

See, I actually read the exact opposite. Word is Renault said don't even look at their lap times during early testing because they're saving the engine!

mellowtiger83 said:Stop babbling about testing times because they are completely irrelevant for several reasons. The temperature was hovering around 40-45 degrees, which alone is enough reason to disregard any comparisons for the time being. Besides, it is only day one! Kimi mentioned that they weren't even attempting to push for pace; they were simply running through various setups to see how the car reacts.

Once they start clocking laps under 1.19—or better yet, dipping below 1.18—then perhaps things will become a bit clearer.

Instead, let's just gossip about how the car looks at the launch presentation...🤦

ruggedhawk20 said:Running like clockwork—dead on.

With the McLaren-Honda combo, the only real issue was Honda.

McLaren is basically heading straight for a total meltdown.

I mean, we're talking about a crew that hasn't even smelled a Constructors' Championship in twenty years.

Jordan’s got way more chance at the title than McLaren—and they aren't even in F1.

As for AlphaTauri—don't expect small gains, we're talking massive results here. I actually went out on a limb today and called Brandon Hartley a World champion—and honestly? I stand by it!

🙄