Posts by graniteharbor502

Preliminary results are in:
swifttiger75 30
iceman-st 32
gentlecobra23 24
graniteharbor502 36
nicro 27
_express_ 27
stormybadger8 28
MladenCro 31
Joseph Edwards86 23
Jessica Ramos12 29
wiredfox81 26
quietridge62 28
coastaldrifter6 27
William Bennett53 28
Terry Carter2 26
Amanda Kelly 19
Linda Bailey17 23
darkmarlin16 25

steelmaker83 said:Are you suggesting the advantage is just as massive as the gap between Sebastian Vettel and the rest of the field? We are talking about a ten-pound difference here. In reality, that margin might even be more significant because he stays consistently ten pounds lighter throughout the race...

If you look at the official website, they are actually having a whole discussion regarding driver weights 🤣
http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2014/4/15664.html

According to these statistics, Massa is the lightest driver out there, weighing in at only 130 pounds. On the other end of the spectrum, Hulk is the heaviest at 165 pounds. However, I find myself wondering, does this weight advantage truly provide Massa with any meaningful edge on the track?

Bahrain 2014.

1. Rosberg
2. Hamilton
3. Vettel
4. Ricciardo
5. Raikkonen
6. Alonso
7. Bottas
8. Massa
9. Button
10. Magnussen

gentlecobra23 said:I just wanted to reach out and let everyone know that I won't be able to manage the tournament or post any results this coming Saturday.

Whether it be Fortin, Dorian, or perhaps someone else entirely, if any of you could step in to handle those responsibilities on a temporary basis, I would truly appreciate it.

Actually, I will likely be back online later in the evening, so I should be able to post some provisional results then.

Brian Campbell36 said:I am merely offering my own observations, which lead me to believe you would much rather see him abandon the octane cycle at Ferrari altogether once and for all.🤣

If Fernando Alonso were to move to Red Bull in the near future, you would undoubtedly begin to worship him as a deity, wouldn't you? Is that not truly what you crave deep within your soul?😁

He won't be viewed as anything more than a distant relative of Jesus, who remains the greatest driver to ever grace the sport.☕

I will admit to recognizing only one true Maestro in Formula 1. That man is Juan Manuel Fangio, and one could argue endlessly about his status as the greatest of all time. As for Alonso, such a distinction simply cannot be applied to him, for he was never the greatest in his own era, let alone across the entire history of the sport.

gentlecobra23 said:One more thing to mention—there is about a 90% chance I won't be near my computer this weekend, which means I likely won't be watching any Formula 1 at all. I am heading out this Friday for a seminar, so I would like to request a volunteer to handle the 2014 tournament results over the weekend. Otherwise, you might all be waiting until Monday evening.

I will try to confirm this later in the week.

I could always post some provisional or unofficial results myself, assuming the servers don't decide to act up again.

Douglas Parker61 said:Kimi's statement:
"I had some damage after that, so we lost some downforce because the tyre damaged the floor."

Why even bother putting in the effort? These threads seem to be drifting further and further away from the actual race, don't they? It feels as though they are increasingly serving as nothing more than a sort of therapeutic outlet for frustrated trolls...

A few additional observations.

Today, Massa complied with the team orders, and interestingly enough, nobody threw any stones at him for it. There was no outcry, no public condemnation, and frankly, I doubt anyone will be booing him later this week. I actually find myself quite pleased by that development; after all, Vettel didn't enjoy such grace from the fans last year.

On another note, what possible benefit could Red Bull possibly gain from sabotaging Ricciardo? None whatsoever, of course. That broken wing might just be the unfortunate aftermath of that disastrous tire change, where the crew had to pull him back toward the pits and one of them inadvertently stepped on the front wing, causing the damage. It’s truly a stroke of bad luck for Ricciardo. However, let us not lose sight of the fact that Vettel also faced significant issues during the first race and was forced to retire; so, to all the conspiracy theorists out there, please don't overlook that specific detail.

Lastly, following Magnussen's momentary lapse in judgment, Kimi ended up with underbody damage, which forced him to stretch his stints much longer than the leaders were able to. This should explain why his pace seemed so sluggish during the race. As the old saying goes, third time's a charm: I am anticipating that we will finally see a strong result from Kimi's side once we get to Bahrain. 🙂

Christian Harris11 said:I am not entirely certain about this situation regarding Vettel, as Ric was practically breathing down his neck... until things went south.

Here, perhaps you might study this so you are better informed next time:
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...el%20Ricciardo

The gap prior to Ricciardov's fateful pit stop (Lap 39) was 13 seconds.

shadowstag10 said:Free practice sessions are a terrible way to measure true pace.

But what kind of pace are we discussing? Are we referring to a single lap or sustained race pace?

If you mean race pace, then I would ask you to provide me with specific data regarding the stint durations.

And if, by some chance, you are implying qualifying pace, then one must investigate whether the track conditions were truly identical during both practice and qualifying.

I simply do not have the inclination to continue debating such trivialities on such a beautiful, sunny day; my best regards to you.👍

While I do not possess the exact data for the stints, it seems quite clear that in terms of a single lap, Ferrari was certainly performing at the level of Red Bull, if not perhaps even exceeding them. As I previously mentioned, the margin of difference there is much narrower than the gap separating Mercedes from the rest of the field.

Anyway, please go and enjoy this lovely day! 👍
I intend to do the same. 😁

shadowstag10 said:So what exactly is the issue here?

Even when Fernando Alonso was supposedly "threatening" Daniel Ricciardo, he was clearly struggling under the circumstances.

Furthermore, if one considers that Alonso managed to finish ahead of every single car powered by a Mercedes-Benz engine—with the exception of the Mercedes-Benz itself—is it not evident, despite any attempts to downplay it, just how much sheer skill he displayed?

It was a perfectly average race for both drivers, nothing more and nothing less.

The gap separating Red Bull from Ferrari at this moment seems significantly narrower than the chasm between Mercedes-Benz and the rest of the field, wouldn't you agree? And did it not appear to me during the free practice sessions, under those dry conditions, that Ferrari actually looked swifter than Red Bull?

Panhard said:Like I mentioned before, I haven't seen any evidence whatsoever suggesting that Red Bull was slower than Mercedes. Not at any single point during the race.

That small gap of a few seconds exists solely because he failed to secure the lead coming out of the first turn and suffered from a poor start; there isn't anything more to it than that. Otherwise, his pace was perfectly on par with Rosberg.

One really ought to ask themselves why things unfolded that way, shouldn't they? If you simply examine the free practice sessions and the fastest lap of the race, the answer becomes quite apparent to anyone paying close attention.

gentlecobra23 said:I must say, at no point during the race did I actually perceive the Renault cars being sluggish, particularly when looking at the Red Bull. One might argue that Kimi’s struggle to clear Kamui Kobayashi and Romain Grosjean serves as sufficient evidence regarding how slow the Renault was. Furthermore, the notion that Vettel was incapable of outpacing Rosberg is quite another matter entirely. It appeared to me that Daniel Ricciardo maintained his position ahead of Vettel right up until those inexplicable sensor issues began—and then, by some strange stroke of fate, a wheel was lost in a manner that somehow threatened Vettel's standing. Isn't it curious how such things occur?

The only thing weighing on my mind is whether that fuel consumption graphic is actually telling the truth; based on what we're seeing, it looks like the Williams is practically running on fumes.😁

And really, what is one even supposed to say in response to that? To suggest he was incapable of passing Rosberg—a driver who has already proven his caliber while piloting the premier car powered by a Mercedes engine, which, let's be honest, is significantly faster than Vettel's machine on the straights? Who is truly being irrational here? 🤷

shadowstag10 said:Now you've gone and brought rainy qualifying sessions into the comparison. Even Fernando Alonso "crushed" Kimi in qualifying, yet I wouldn't go so far as to claim he is vastly superior to him because of that.

Well, credit where it's due for overtaking the number two driver, but that was essentially the extent of his performance.

He was only posing a threat for so long before they alerted Rosberg to pull away slightly; in essence, it was a completely negligible "threat."

As for the cars powered by Renault, one must offer compliments to Red Bull for once again delivering a brilliantly engineered machine.

Yes, Alonso outperformed Kimi, who was dealing with balance issues in his car. However, perhaps more importantly, regardless of his teammate's situation, Vettel managed to contend with the Mercedes cars during qualifying—and in the rain, mind you.

Goodness, after that second pit stop, he was right on his tail. He posed a genuine threat, entering the DRS zone within less than a second of the leader. That is hardly a trivial matter. In any case, every car powered by a Mercedes engine secured points today, with the sole exception of Sergio Perez, who didn't even make the start. Nuff said.

shadowstag10 said:where is the talent in this?

If Ricciardo hadn't run into those issues, he would have finished right behind him, so I really don't see any particular achievement in this race that warrants such high praise.

He finished behind the faster cars and ahead of the slower ones, and that's that.

So, let us consider the qualifying session. How much did Vettel trail behind Lewis Hamilton—who is widely regarded as one of the fastest drivers of our era, if not the absolute fastest—while driving a significantly slower car? And we aren't talking about a negligible gap, but rather a full second on this specific track. Is that not worthy of admiration? Furthermore, where does Ricciardo's time actually stand when compared to Vettel's?
Then, let us look at the race itself. After losing his position at the start, Vettel managed to overtake someone in an identical car directly on the track. Who else has been able to pull off such a feat lately?
Following that, Vettel steadily builds a lead over his own teammate while simultaneously putting pressure on Rosberg's second-place position, all while driving a machine that is, quite frankly, vastly slower than the Mercedes. If that isn't a testament to pure skill, then I truly do not know what is. 🤷
And one only needs to glance at the final standings to see how the other cars powered by Renault performed.

shadowstag10 said:Of course, if Vettel manages to achieve nothing while driving a slower car, we all shower him with praise, but the moment Alonso tries to contend for a championship in a similarly subpar machine, suddenly he’s considered a failure because the title eluded him.

Let’s try to bring a little bit of reality into this conversation, shall we?

😕 🤷
Who is actually doing what here? Both drivers have had their share of brilliant performances and their fair share of absolute disasters. This recent outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is simply yet another instance that highlights Vettel's sheer talent. I truly fail to see how Alonso even enters into this equation right now, does anyone else?

And lest I forget to mention, Nico Hulkenberg has once again provided undeniable proof of his status as a truly exceptional driver. 🙏

This race has really underscored two fundamental truths: first, that the Mercedes-Benz is currently in a league of its own, and second, that Sebastian Vettel has earned every bit of his four world titles. To deliver a qualifying performance that impressive in a car that isn't quite as fast as the leader—nearly snatching pole position, no less—and then to maintain such a relentless pace against Nico Rosberg once the track dried out? It truly deserves the highest level of respect and admiration 🙏

And as for Kimi, well, it was another underwhelming outing 😢

Kimi remains absolutely top-tier 😁

Malaysia 2014. (The final prediction)

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Nico Rosberg
3. Kimi Räikkönen
4. Sebastian Vettel
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Daniel Ricciardo
7. Valtteri Bottas
8. Felipe Massa
9. Jenson Button
10. Nico Hulkenberg

It brings me a certain sense of quiet satisfaction to observe that Ferrari is operating with such commendable efficiency 🙂
And, perhaps even more vital to my own peace of mind, I find myself truly heartened to see that Kimi Räikkönen is maintaining such an impressive level of form 😁

Jacob White49 said:I mean, honestly, how can anyone read those words and fail to grasp the poet's true intent? Is there really any doubt that the Spaniard was implying that little yellow whisker was intentionally playing games? There isn't even a dilemma to be had here; like I’ve said before, the Germans have always been opportunistic, and they certainly aren't changing their ways now. If you find yourself skeptical of that, why not just go ahead and ask Damon Hill or Jacques Villeneuve yourselves?

I can't help but wonder if Fernando Alonso might have actually intended to squeeze Romain Grosjean during that chaotic stint in Belgium back in 2012. 🤣
Is it possible that the Spaniards are simply being foolish because of this? 😍

🙂

👋