ruggedhawk20 said:I think your buddy finally grew up enough to realize he needs to pack his bags.
This kind of blatant leaking during the preseason is an absolute disgrace.
A man can leave America, but you can never truly leave the mentality of the old country behind.
I can't speak to whether he’ll get fired, but let’s be real—this info is basically common knowledge at this point. Besides, he knows perfectly well he isn't dropping any bombshells here. It's not like I'm going to call Ford with a tip. 🤣
A guy tells me they burned through about 25 days of R&D just working on that nose design.
To be fair, I suppose the whole point of this testing session was to see how that nose and the S-duct actually play together, along with a few other variables. That’s why they didn't bother ordering any supersofts or ultrasofts. They stuck to mediums and a couple of softs—which they didn't even touch, really—since the main objective here was pure durability.
Here’s what our guy is saying from Barcelona: "We're sticking to the pre-set schedule for now. We aren't chasing lap times; our priority is checking every system to make sure everything is functioning correctly."
Now, I have to ask: "Everyone is obsessed with the timing—who’s fast, who’s slow. What’s the actual plan regarding pace?"
The response: "I can't go into specifics. You know there are things I just can't disclose. But we haven't been running at full tilt yet, which is why we stuck to medium settings. We have a few upgrades lined up, so we'll likely be testing true performance during the final session."
Fastest lap - Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 18.063s (lap 74)
A quick observation here. Whether people like Lewis Hamilton or not, the man is undeniably talented. He drives brilliantly. That’s an indisputable fact. If he has the best car on the grid, he does. But then again, so did Lauda, Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Alonso, and Vettel.
Every single one of those world champions had the superior car at some point during their title runs. It’s the same story with Hamilton. In case anyone has forgotten, this is a sport where a massive cast of characters plays the lead roles—specifically the engineers who design and develop the machine. This is motor racing; as such, the car accounts for 50% of the success, and the driver accounts for the other 50%.
It isn't that I’m some massive Hamilton devotee—honestly, I’m not a huge fan of any driver—but I’ve followed F1 for years. I’ve been to plenty of races and I understand how these teams operate. I know it from firsthand experience.
All those guys working on these cars? They are grinding nearly 24/7. During a race weekend, sleep becomes a luxury. Mistakes happen; we are all human, after all.
Everyone is jumping on Hamilton now, but let's be real: while mistakes do occur, this particular one wasn't an accident. Hamilton signed a new contract, and I know there was talk about it during the briefings. At the meeting, it was made clear that even though they messed up, Hamilton needs to remember he is part of a team and the team has his back.
Unofficially? This wasn't just a blunder. It was a message to Hamilton that the team comes before everything else, especially him.
Now, we just wait to see where he stands and what happens next.
Well, that deficit isn't exactly a shocker. Mercedes showed up to Barcelona with a fair amount of upgrades on the car. The engine itself hasn't changed much, but they've dialed in the front suspension and the ERS.
I honestly don't care if Ferrari takes the win. Really. 👍
It would only make the championship more interesting. What I know for certain is that Mercedes ran through Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 with their tanks sitting at maybe 50-65%. What’s actually keeping them up at night right now is the tire degradation. Lewis Hamilton dealt with some minor issues there, and it's glaringly obvious that Ferrari is managing their tires much better. Just like we saw back in Malaysia.
Engine power and raw pace aren't the issue here. I know for a fact that everyone at Mercedes is pulling an all-nighter tonight, trying to figure out a fix for those tires.
Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari is a legitimate threat in Bahrain
The cold, hard facts: Nico Rosberg edged out Lewis Hamilton by a mere 0.115 seconds on pure lap times. Meanwhile, the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen sat roughly half a second adrift.
However, things shifted during the "race-simulation" stints—those heavy-fuel runs designed to test tire durability under actual racing conditions—where Ferrari actually looked faster.
When running on the "soft" compound, which is expected to be the primary tire for the race, Sebastian Vettel averaged a 0.6-second advantage per lap over Nico Rosberg.
It’s worth noting that Lewis Hamilton hasn't completed a comparable run on the soft tires yet. Plus, the teams aren't disclosing exact fuel loads, and we all know how much that weight fluctuates lap times.
I have to admit, I find myself agreeing with him. It’s nothing new, really. Mercedes will always prioritize their own outfit over the other teams they supply engines to. That's just how the game is played.
And there it is—the third installment in that legendary franchise by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney. I caught it recently, and I have to say, the film isn't bad at all. In fact, it’s quite a funny watch. Word is they'll be promoting it at Cannes soon, and the critics are expected to give it a pretty warm reception. The absolute highlight for me? Seeing Al Pacino play such a complete sucker. He played the role brilliantly.