Posts by Raymond Anderson4

It honestly feels like things just won't align for Lewis Hamilton the way his driving style deserves. It’s always something unexpected popping up out of nowhere—last year it was Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Brazil... and now this situation with VB. I really feel for him.

analogpilot16 said:It was honestly a masterclass in pure driving skill. He capitalized on every single opening—first when Hamilton had that tire blowout, then he jumps to 1st. Then Massa hits a puncture, and boom, back to 1st again. Then Vettel drops out—another win. Finally, Raikkonen gets missed in the pits—that's yet another 1st place for him.
My goodness, Alonso really is a maestro...

A few more turns and Hamilton might have ended up in the wall... plus, Massa practically shaved him like a sheep right at the start, haha!

My point was actually about the timing after the second SC and how effectively he used those fresh tires to make his move.
I wasn't talking about the luck he had when Lewis lost a tire or when Vettel's car failed...

Drew Bennett68 said:It’s shaping up to be a fantastic race in Silverstone; there are just so many different strategic variables at play.

Do you think Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa can actually fight their way into some decent points, or maybe even snatch a podium spot?
Will the Mečkin duo fade away as the laps tick down, or will they actually stay in the hunt for the win?
And what about Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel? Two old friends—will they treat us to another one of those legendary, gritty battles on the track?
Daniel Ricciardo looks like he's smiling at the prospect of a career-defining result; is a podium really within his reach?
Pastor Maldonado is starting from the very back, so is there any hope for him to scrape some points?
Is Lotus truly tapped out, or do they still have a bit of bite left in them?
Can McLaren and Williams step up and make us proud on home soil?


The momentum seems to be shifting in favor of Ferrari and Lotus.

Personally, I don't find Ferrari's pace promising at all. It definitely works in Pastor Maldonado's favor, because I honestly doubt Fernando could catch him through pure pace during the race.🤷
Hebga, you can't be blind to the fact that Ferrari was struggling in the high-speed corners yesterday. Felipe Massa had to lift off the throttle in Copse because he couldn't take it flat-out, which is exactly what Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, and the others were doing consistently ahead of him. Just by lifting like that in that one corner, you lose two or three tenths.
Even Pastor Maldonado mentioned after qualifying that he expects a good race since this track suits them. It’s a shame for him.

Lewis Hamilton mentioned they’ve made some progress with tire durability, but they're still struggling with wear on the left side here.

As for Lotus, I'll wait until the end of the race to judge, but everything feels like it's following the same pattern as last year before Korea: constant improvement, improvement, and then nothing.

I was actually right in the middle of editing my own post while you were typing yours. I misread things...
Pih :/

Man, if Fernando’s car is really that bad that Nick Heidfeld is pulling half a second on him... I just can't buy it.
Actually, scratch that. Not half a second. My eyes were playing tricks on me...

Alonso... man, what a mess.

Mercedes really shines in the final sector; that's where they pull ahead... everywhere else, it's basically a toss-up between Red Bull and Mercedes.

Oof... that was rough.
Where they really need to be aggressive and lightning-fast through the corners, our car just looks nervous and unsettled.

That pit stop strategy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was just nonsensical... cutting those two corners by pitting seems way too aggressive to me.

Ferrari is basically in a coma right now... I honestly couldn't care less about their race pace or how supposedly "good" they are in that department. How are you supposed to win a championship with a car that can't even manage to squeeze itself into the front rows at the start?
Massa is struggling even more.

Alex Fowler5 said:Honestly, Lotus would be way better off if the track was another 20-30C hotter.

Boullier is claiming that the new upgrade package should work even in cooler conditions.🤷
We'll see. They made similar claims last year about major improvements mid-season, and it didn't exactly pan out the way they promised.

Gene: "Alonso isn't happy. He's dealing with tire degradation, poor traction, and a total lack of stability—basically, there's just no grip left in the rear."
:/

Jason Campbell70 said:Lotus showed up with open DRD air intakes and a different monkey seat. Just a hunch, but maybe we'll finally see that DRD in action. Even if it's just during some free practice sessions.

Ferrari already debuted a few minor tweaks today. Front brakes and the rear wing.

Mercedes also arrived with a slightly modified rear wing.

McLaren turned up with new decals. 🤣🙏

McLaren is interesting to watch.
The MP4-27 was incredibly fast at the end of its run.
The MP4-28 is basically just an MP4-27 with pullrod front suspension.
The MP4-28 is a disaster—one of the worst McLarens in years.
And the worst part? They aren't fixing it.

It was a somewhat similar story with Ferrari last season.
The F2012 had issues too, across the board.
Then suddenly... the Italians pulled it together. After race five or six, the F2012 actually looked decent, and Alonso climbed to the top of the driver standings.
But then again... those Italians can be sloppy, disorganized, and defeatist.

Something is rotten at McLaren. I doubt the current lineup can fix things enough to get them back to where they belong.

Regardless, tomorrow we finally find out who actually worked over the last three weeks... and who was just coasting.

Ferrari arrived with a strange floor design, looking quite cut away ahead of the rear tires.

Drew Bennett68 said:I honestly think Ferrari is going to cruise to a win here, provided the weather stays clear. The track layout is packed with those high-speed corners that this year's Ferrari setup absolutely loves—plus, they shouldn't have any trouble managing their tire degradation.
Besides, I can't help but feel like these next two races are going to be absolute game-changers for the championship standings. It’ll either be Fernando Alonso making a massive dent in that points gap, or we might see Sebastian Vettel sliding down toward fourth place.
Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself with the predictions, but hey... if Red Bull shows up with a fast car on these "aero-heavy" tracks, it would mean they finally cracked the code on their tire issues.

They do a good job protecting them, but they warm up far too slowly. That’s where the trouble starts.
Alonso ends up at a disadvantage right when he needs to set a fast lap for Q3. He can't push the car to its absolute limit because of those damn tires... and by the time they actually reach temperature, he's already on his third lap. By then, it's too late. Those tires are already too worn out to fight for pole position.

swifttiger75 said:The No. 1 truth is that he was absolutely brilliant in the junior categories. But that’s exactly the problem—he’ll probably convince himself he's untouchable back home, and instead of driving in sync with the car's optimal resource management (read: tire wear), he’ll just go out there and do his own thing.

I’m certain Levi's is going to end up finishing behind dear Rosberg—assuming they even finish at all. And those high-speed corner combinations... hmm. I suspect the rear tires on The Mercedes are going to be screaming this weekend.

If they had been running last year's tire compounds, Mercedes would have been in serious trouble. Thankfully, this year’s hard compound should give them the edge they need. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if they're actually in as much trouble as everyone says. During the race in Canada, Lewis Hamilton was putting up some pretty decent lap times toward the end. We might just see a repeat of that performance this weekend; hopefully, those testing sessions weren't a total waste of time.

Jason Campbell70 said:Yeah, lucky for them, they aren't shredding those rear tires like crazy.

I don't think it's really about the tires. It's more about the FRIC system, which helps prevent the front end from diving. By doing that, it stabilizes the aero balance and keeps the car at the right ride height.
To be clear, I'm not saying Mercedes isn't struggling with tire wear—that's obviously still an issue.

If Ferrari could get their hands on last year's tires, they’d hit the jackpot...
My prediction for this year is
1. Vettel
2. Alonso and Webber
3. Webber
I have my doubts about whether Mercedes will perform well in these previous races. In my opinion, they tend to favor those "stop-and-go" tracks rather than these fast left-right corners... though I could be wrong. We'll see how it plays out.

graniteharbor502 said:Why isn't Sebastian Vettel popular? It's because he wins all the time and it’s just become tedious. It would be nice if he'd just hand over at least one title to someone else.

Yeah, there’s definitely something to that. I can't imagine how most Fernando Alonso fans could deal with him, since how can anyone even dare to consistently beat "the best" driver?

Your argument doesn't hold water. It's parched for a single logical point.

Sebastian Vettel isn't popular because he tries to build his fame on these poorly staged moments.
For instance, he pulls an FF at the end of a race, and then Rocky chimes in over the radio: "c'mon Seb, bring the car home, you aren't getting any points for that."
And his response? "Satisfaction."
What kind of dialogue is that? I'd bet $33 that it's all just a pre-planned scene.🤷

Real drivers stay quiet and drive. Hardly anyone does that anymore. Nowadays, everyone is flipping people off, screaming about blue flags over the radio, or begging for penalties because someone is blocking them.

If Sebastian Vettel were a real driver, he would have stayed tough after that situation with Mark Webber, instead of acting so defeated. You're a three-time champion, man.
First he apologizes, then he claims Mark Webber was also causing trouble during his career, and then he flips the script again to claim he's a team player... just pick a side.

That’s why I like Fernando Alonso. He’s upfront about wanting to see his rivals fail, he uses those samurai quotes (so epic 🙏), yet he helps his teammate. In the same breath, his morality and kindness can serve as an example to others.

Douglas Adams15 said:Exactly.
That gave Massa another point, too. Congrats to the winner. Again. I’m honestly just counting down the days until we fix our qualifying setup so Plačko can actually show some teeth. The car isn't actually that bad, though—Massa jumped ahead eight spots, and he still had to clear both Webber and Hamilton on track. We aren't even counting Bottas.

Ferrari has speed, but it's inconsistent race pace. It shows up sometimes and disappears the next, depending entirely on the track temperature.
Today, with a full tank, the pace was sluggish. As the race progressed, things started looking better... but they just can't seem to shake these growing pains.
Plus, Massa was busy overtaking TR, Sauber, and Williams... so Massa's pace isn't really the best indicator given who he was fighting. Even during those brief moments where he had clear air for a few laps, he was actually slower than Fernand.

Richard Vaughn62 said:He’s changed completely... kind of like how Anakin turned once the dark side started pulling at him.

Completely. Just before the race today, they aired this little segment showing him driving with Herbert. Herbert was asking him questions, and he just kept giving these three-word answers while staring blankly out the window.
It was the exact same thing before the race in Monaco, except back then he was riding with Martin Brundle...
It’s his way of telling you indirectly. He’s basically saying, "I've got the money, and I'm doing this all for you."