Posts by graniteharbor502

It seems as though Mercedes is projecting an aura of absolute dominance that is truly intimidating to witness.

Olivia Martin12 said:Good God, what a driver. 🙏

Did you see how he just dismantled them? 🙏

Nobody—and I mean absolutely nobody—knows how to toy with slower cars quite like him. Nobody! 🙏

And even less so when he's doing it to guys struggling with absolute garbage tires! 🙏

Sure, maybe there’s someone else out there capable of it, but it doesn't even compare to the maestro. Besides, those other drivers don't have the kind of patient fanbase that would actually bother praising them anyway. 🙏 🙏

It's practically a given. 🙏 🙏 🙏

Since they can't seem to celebrate titles and victories all that often, why not let them enjoy celebrating overtakes on slower cars instead? And whatever you do, please don't accidentally mention that Mark Webber slapped Fernando Alonso.

Jerry Rogers6 said:I don't recall the specific last lap, just the general trend and how he was closing the gap.
But he was closing in on 😁

Mark is a whole different story—you can't even compare them. 🙄😁

Mark also drives for Red Bull Racing, yet he simply isn't the same caliber of driver as Sebastian Vettel. It seems to me that Sebastian Vettel had fresher tires than Nico Rosberg, so there really wasn't any need for him to push quite so hard. Knowing how Sebastian Vettel operates, isn't it highly probable that he was merely preserving his tires for that decisive fastest lap of the race? 😉

Jerry Rogers6 said:Sure, you've got a deal. I'm saving this post for later. 🙂

Nico was actually putting on quite a show and closing the gap—who knows, maybe that gearbox failure actually saved him from being caught. 😁

Actually, I don't think that's quite right. On that final lap before his retirement, Sebastian Vettel was running a lap approximately four tenths faster than the pace before:
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...g#.UdFKzNhc2bg

Of course, one has to consider that Sebastian Vettel was likely managing his tires to some degree. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that Nico Rosberg would have managed to overtake him, especially when you consider the fact that Mark Webber was breathing down his neck at the very end of the race.

Edward Howard2 said:Now that he's smashed that record, we can pretty much say Kimi is finally evolving from a wild card into a tactical driver. He's starting to look more like Jenson Button and way less like his hero James Hunt.

Congrats! You actually nailed the prediction for this race, unlike last time.

Man, I nailed the last one too, you just didn't want to admit it. 🙂

Do you suppose he's starting to resemble Fernando Alonso, that relentless point-collector?

Edward Howard2 said:Now that he's smashed that record, we can pretty much say Kimi is finally evolving from a wild card into a tactical driver. He's starting to look more like Jenson Button and way less like his hero James Hunt.

Congrats! You actually nailed the prediction for this race, unlike last time.

Man, I nailed the last one too, you just didn't want to admit it. 🙂

No, you didn't. That has been proven time and time again.

Brian Campbell36 said:He’s gone... completely off the grid.☕

It was all easy enough to peddle empty promises back when he was profiting from everyone else's misfortune, but now? Now he deserves to feel the bitter sting of defeat just like the rest of us.

How many times did Sebastian Vettel actually benefit from someone else's bad luck? And more importantly, how often have the rest of the field capitalized on Sebastian Vettel's own disasters?

Jerry Rogers6 said:Come on, now you're starting to act just as foolishly as you used to—eventually, we’re going to end up with nothing but a complete mess and constant, nonstop chaos. 😁😁

Did you forget to account for the crowd's reaction when he went off again? Or maybe you did—but honestly, what does that actually prove? It doesn't point toward any real conclusion.
Just take a good, hard look at how he left Horner and the rest of the crew—just look at his face, honestly. You can see it in his body language alone.

I’m telling you—with the way the crowd treats him, he never stood a chance. He wasn't some saintly figure or a grandfatherly type who cared about the masses; frankly, he couldn't have given less of a damn about those ordinary people out there who absolutely loathe him. 😁

If his performance on track starts to suffer, then I will gladly concede the point to you. However, looking at how he drove yesterday, I didn't see any sign that he had mentally cracked. He was controlling the race from the front once again, and most likely would have secured the win if it weren't for that gearbox failure.

What a race!
Sebastian Vettel was just as convincing as ever, right up until that mechanical failure hit him.
Nico Rosberg takes his second win of the season; it feels like Formula 1 is turning back into a sport dominated almost exclusively by the Germans.
Mark Webber managed to pull off an incredible drive after such a lackluster start.
As for Fernando Alonso, that climb onto the podium was a mix of brilliant driving and a healthy dose of pure luck.
Lewis Hamilton drove a solid race, especially considering that tire blowout he had to contend with.
Kimi Raikkonen really became a victim of the strategy calls over at Lotus. Had they brought him in for a pit stop, he likely would have walked away with a podium finish, wouldn't he? But even so, it wasn't a bad showing, as he managed to outdo Schumacher's streak by scoring points in his 25th consecutive race.

Edward Howard2 said:come on maestro, shake things up 👋

I'm seriously expecting a massive jump of at least 4 or 5 spots for the legendary 🙏

Congratulations! You actually called this one much better than you did last time.

Jerry Rogers6 said: 😢

😁

Look, honestly—everyone knew he wasn't built to handle this kind of pressure. I’ve said it before, back when things were still relatively steady, so don't act like I'm just now making this up out of thin air
But if you ask me? He's going to snap like a cheap twig under all this stress. Mark, seriously, please 😁🙂

It wasn't Vettel who snapped, it was the gearbox. 😉

Nancy Scott5 said:Pastor Maldonado got slapped with a penalty for being too slow

Grrrrr. And now Kimi Räikkönen is forced to launch from the dirty part of the track.

steelmaker83 said:Vettel’s complaining about the cold, claiming there's zero grip...

Tomorrow, it’s going to be Mercedes and Red Bull fighting for the win, while Fernando settles for somewhere around 5th or 6th. I’m starting to worry that if we're looking at the championship standings, Fernando is already out of the running. It was obvious that the whole tire circus at the start played right into Lotus and Ferrari's hands, but now the momentum has completely shifted.

That is precisely how it strikes me as well.

Jason Campbell70 said:A race isn't decided in a single lap.
Qualifying doesn't earn points.

Sure, Ferrari lags behind in Qualifying, but when you factor in tires, DRS, and KERS... is qualifying really that critical?

Precisely my thoughts! One might observe that Mercedes-Benz dominates the Qualifying sessions, yet they find themselves trailing behind Ferrari in the actual championship standings.

steelmaker83 said:Pierre Gasly's performance was an absolute disaster.

If we are talking about failures, shouldn't we perhaps consider those 10th and 12th place qualifying results for Ferrari as being just as catastrophic?

Raymond Anderson4 said: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.

Oh, come now, let us be reasonable; nothing is truly decided just yet. We have seen the Ferraris make up several positions right from the starting lights, and if the other teams happen to run into trouble with their tire degradation, who knows what might happen? Anything is possible.

Jason Campbell70 said:Jean-Éric Vergne made a massive error on his fastest lap, by the way. 😉

And Massa wasn't exactly impressive either. All things considered, can we even be sure these drivers actually pushed to the limit? Perhaps qualifying was intentionally sacrificed just to prioritize race setups.

LOL, such squirming.
Could you please elaborate?

crimsonstag84 said:Vergne made a pretty big mistake on his fastest lap, by the way. 😉

Furthermore, one might argue that even Felipe Massa didn't truly shine today. When we step back and look at the entirety of the session, can we really be certain that these drivers actually extracted their absolute maximum potential? Is it not possible, perhaps, that qualifying was intentionally sacrificed just to prioritize race setups for the cars?

Jason Campbell70 said:What about BBC? 😵

I was watching via a stream, so I suppose I simply confused the two networks.

steelmaker83 said:What half a second? It looks to me like Fernando squeezed every last drop out of that thing.

Felipe Massa managed to clock a faster time than Jean-Éric Vergne, yet Fernando Alonso failed to outpace Daniel Ricciardo.

It appears that Mercedes has once again demonstrated their sheer brilliance during qualifying sessions, though I cannot help but wonder if the race itself might present an entirely different narrative altogether. One really shouldn't be so quick to dismiss Ferrari or even Lotus from the equation, should one? And yet, I find myself feeling that overtaking those Red Bull cars might prove to be quite the daunting task.

Jason Campbell70 said:It’s a shame I couldn't tune in to the qualifying session alongside Mladen Jergović and his expert analysis.

Lewis Hamilton was absolutely brilliant, even right in the heart of Northamptonshire. 🙏🙏🙏
I wonder if the equipment they use to support the younger crew is finally giving out? 🙏

Has Jergović really made his return to the booth? I was watching Sky, and somehow, the moment passed me by entirely.

A few thoughts from some of the drivers following the first day of practice:

Webber: Seb and I were running on different tire compounds today, as we were primarily focused on dialing in our race setups. After all, nobody is going to just glide effortlessly to the front during the race, right?
Vettel: I’m feeling quite satisfied. We managed to get through both short runs and longer stints today, and tomorrow we will have to make a strategic decision during the third practice session regarding whether to prioritize qualifying trim or focus entirely on race pace.

Rosberg: We showed some real speed during one of the laps—one might even expect great things from us in qualifying—but I suspect our true challenge will be maintaining that pace under actual race conditions.
Hamilton: I am struggling somewhat with the balance of the car, though I remain hopeful that we can rectify those issues tomorrow.

Alonso: Tire behavior is going to be the deciding factor here. We simply have to account for the fact that the track conditions on Sunday will be significantly different from what we experienced today.
Massa: I must admit I am disappointed, having lost such precious time today after running wide and leaving the track. Fortunately, the car didn't sustain any major damage, and seeing the pace Fernando is showing during those longer stints gives me plenty of reason to be optimistic.

Grosjean: It was a solid day for us, and I am pleased with how the car feels. If we can just fine-tune a few specific details, we might find ourselves in a very strong position for qualifying.
Raikkonen: For the most part, we are satisfied with everything today. We spent a good deal of time testing a new device, which we are happy with. I only ran on the hard compound and the new development tires today; while we aren't the fastest on the grid yet, we certainly aren't falling too far behind.

Button: The car isn't bad at all, and honestly, the balance feels much improved compared to what we dealt with in Canada.
Perez: We have put in a significant amount of work, but we are still quite a distance away from the leaders.