Posts by fadedpanther51

Richard Walker38 said:

I can't remember the last time I watched a race this good. Top-tier racing all around.

Btw, looking at Ferrari and all their endless excuses—wouldn't it be better if they just focused on part reliability instead of talking so much? Unlike Mercedes last year, who nailed both performance and durability from Interlagos to Yas Marina (not that I expect Ferrari to pull off both, obviously).

Man, oh man! 👍

He really had to fight for that win in the end, but he didn't make any mistakes—just pure luck. Honestly, if the race had been even one lap longer, Max Verstappen probably would've taken it.

Michael Schumacher's kid was absolutely stellar too.

Douglas Roberts49 said:Well, they're pros after all.
Some people used to complain about the tiresand then got mocked for it.

And for good reason.☕

Nicholas Newman2 said:Look, even though I’m a huge Mercedes fan, I have zero interest in glorifying behavior that shouldn't be excused—like how Hamilton acts after a race. If I had my way, I’d give him a serious piece of my mind for stuff like that.

There are actually a few sane Mercedes and Hamilton fans in here, kudos to you guys.👍

But has anyone actually stopped to ask this: knowing that Vettel was going to veer right as he pulled off the grass (which was intentional since he lacked grip), why didn't Hamilton just dive past him on the left? At worst, they would have gone wheel-to-wheel, and more likely, he would've cleared him easily. Most importantly, he wouldn't be dealing with this massive shitstorm after the race.🙂

Jerry Moore61 said:Here it is!

View on twitter

What can we actually expect from this appeal, and who are they even appealing to? The local water authority? 😁

cosmiccyclist8 said:Even in his wildest dreams, Vettel wouldn't be touching a podium right now.

He’s not even a fan at this point; he's just a hater. Honestly, this feels more like a soap opera than actual racing.

Signed. Look, I'm not a big Vettel supporter, but this is just ridiculous.
If it were Lewis Hamilton, they would have slapped him with a penalty in a heartbeat. He’s more reliable than a heavy-duty Ford truck.

This isn't even real sport. They should just ban racing altogether and let them play golf on these beautiful grass courses instead.

Richard Walker38 said:John lost his sense of reality on this board a long time ago. Everyone knows exactly who’s responsible for the way people treat Max here. Hint: the guy is a massive Sebastian Vettel fan.

Lewis would never pull a stunt like this. He wasn't out there playing games like Vettel, that amateur. He messes up through his own mistake and then makes it worse by blocking his rivals.

I’m not taking Hamilton's side here—I don't exactly love him either—but that penalty was completely deserved.

Since you brought up Hamilton, Vettel, and Max, just ask yourself one thing: what if every single driver acted like Hamilton? I don't mean his driving skill, because he’s clearly the best on the grid, but I mean his behavior both on and off the track. You’d basically have 20 robots with zero emotion, delivering generic lines and generic moves every single time, simply because his algorithm won't allow anything else.

crimsonhawk23 said:Five seconds, just like Sebastian today. No difference 🤷

Yeah, they were both aiming for the exact same thing. If anything, Max's move was just more obvious because he had so much room to work with, whereas with Sebastian, you almost couldn't tell what happened without watching the replay. But honestly, they both did the same thing. In my book, you shouldn't penalize stuff like this regardless of who's involved—just let them race.

crimsonhawk23 said:I was just asking, I didn't mean to blame you (but sorry anyway, because you definitely didn't do anything wrong!) 🙂

I just re-read this thread and it’s wild how almost everyone calls out Max's massive mistake and his clear INTENT to dive right into Kimi Räikkönen, yet today, when the exact same thing happens with Sebastian Vettel, nobody sees it. 🤷

All five replays 🙂

And man, I just caught that clip—looks like I missed the US Grand Prix 2018 entirely. No big deal though; a few points here or there didn't change much for Max Verstappen or Kimi Räikkönen. It looked like Max was just muscle-ing his way through a hard fight. So, what ended up being the penalty?

@crimsonhawk23/">@@crimsonhawk23 Look, both Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost definitely did things they aren't exactly proud of, but hey, they had their own style and they didn't give a damn. 😁

What’s going on with the discussion above—did Senna intentionally ram Prost?

crimsonhawk23 said:Exactly. Personally, I find these penalties totally nonsensical, but if they’re going to exist, I'm glad they apply to everyone equally. Today it was Seb, "yesterday" it was Max in the Suzuki (who wasn't even leading), Lewis at Spa (who lost the win because of it), and so on.

But as soon as Vettel gets hit, suddenly 🙂 those people advocating for equal punishment for all 🤷 go quiet.

Yeah, except the whole thing just looks like one big totalitarian regime paired with some really slimy PR. Vettel is playing the victim—which he basically is—but doing it in such an attention-whore way, while Hamilton pats him on the back just for the publicity. Honestly, I’d like Hamilton better if he just looked into the camera and told him, "Suck on this, you little German." 😁

Gary Palmer8 said:Regardless, you've got Senna and Lewis Hamilton... The only way Schumacher is considered the GOAT is if you're a "hardcore" Ferrari fan who thinks today's penalty was totally unnecessary...

Are you talking about the massive PR machine used to hype up Hamilton as a superstar? You might see that kind of bias in a VB poll, but anywhere else in the world, it's a stretch.
As for today’s penalty, judging by what people who actually live and breathe Formula 1 are saying—people way more invested than us on this forum—it seems like everyone is actually rooting for Ferrari. 🙄

Richard Walker38 said:For the nostalgic types, Senna and Maradona will always be the gold standard, even if they aren't. Senna became a legend after he passed; if he were still around today, nobody would be placing him at the absolute summit or calling him the greatest driver ever.

I can't really claim to be a nostalgic fan since I wasn't even three years old when Senna died. Thank God for YouTube, though. 🙂
To me, the measure of greatness isn't necessarily about points, titles, trophies, or whatever else you want to count. The best is the one who shows up when it matters most, when things are toughest—the guy who pulls off moves that simply no one else can. You either have that spark or you don't. Senna drove for McLaren, right? And I'm a Ferrari fan, aren't I? By some people's logic here, I should be hating on Senna just because he drove for their rivals. 😵

The point is—I really hope these special snowflakes get out of this sport. Otherwise, nobody is going to watch this anymore except Tot and his inner circle.

crimsonhawk23 said:Weren't you the one defending the Suzuki driver against Max last year? You were claiming a five-second penalty was practically nothing.😬

Go ahead and dig up my old posts—I clearly don't post enough to have much of a paper trail. And what actually happened at Suzuka 2018? I'm not trolling, I'm genuinely asking.

Richard Walker38 said:Would you even watch fair racing? You’re probably one of those people who loved watching Senna and Schumacher smash into rivals just to snatch a championship.

I can't believe how far some people will go just to defend a clueless driver like Vettel. Now, suddenly, Hamilton is some kind of robot because he drives cleanly and is clearly the best guy on the grid without getting aggressive or disrespectful on track.

And who do they think history will remember as the GOAT—both of them, or just Hamilton, even if he breaks every single one of Schumacher's records?
Personally, I don't care about Vettel at all; I'm talking about the principle of penalizing drivers. I'd take Max's side or anyone else's in a heartbeat. But no, right now it's trendy to act like drivers are these special little snowflakes, and apparently, the fans are expected to follow suit. What absolute brainwashing.

You're spot on, Mario. It makes sense because some of those turns in Baku have these sharp 90-degree angles. Oh well, I guess they should just start bulking up the drivers 😁 more weight equals better traction, right? haha

On a different note, here’s my prediction for today's race:

1. Hamilton overtakes Sebastian right at the start, and then the rest of the race is just a total formality.
2. If that doesn't happen, Vettel will pull some dramatic stunt like a prima ballerina.
3. If that fails too, "Fix It Again Tony" will find a way to screw him over through the pits or some questionable strategy.
4. A complete fluke win for Vettel.

Guys, can I ask a total newbie question? It’s pretty obvious that Ferrari is faster on the straights than Germany is at this track. So how do they not just cruise to an easy win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where the straights seem even longer?

@Tibi Just a layman's question here: is it actually possible to build a car or design components from the engine up so they can stay in high mode longer? I mean, sure, it’s totally plausible that someone pushed it way too hard, but would it really be okay if we just dialed back the mode two or three laps before the issue even popped up?

Roger Wright94 said:It’s not quite as bad as it looks at first glance.
After Australia, they actually had a decent racing car on their hands. Whether they can keep it up remains to be seen.
For me, the million-dollar question is whether they have the raw material to actually fight for wins.
On top of that, Charles Leclerc is miles ahead of Kimi Räikkönen right now. We basically have two drivers capable of winning races.
You can also see the difference with the new boss. The communication style is totally different—hopefully, that shift is happening inside the garage, too, not just for the cameras.

Mechanical reliability has been excellent so far. Yesterday's failure could turn into a massive headache if it's a systemic issue, but it might just be a fluke.
It's not saying there aren't problems, but there are plenty of good signs to point to.
Both issues from yesterday (both Seb and Charles Leclerc) might just be one-offs.

I 100% agree with that bolded part! 🙏

Regarding the deficit, I'd much rather they deal with this now than during Spa-Francorchamps or Monza when the championship is on the line. If you ask me when you want your problems to start hitting, the answer is always at the start of the season.