Posts by steelmaker83

stormybadger8 said:I'm on the same page...
I’d say Ross is basically a non-starter at this point; it’s just more paddock gossip from journalists running their mouths...

What is actually interesting is this report in today's The Evening News claiming Vettel's contract is sitting at a massive $63 million per season.😲
Hamilton's probably losing his mind if that number is actually real, because it would mean Vettel's salary is triple what he's pulling in.😁

As if that's not obvious...

stormybadger8 said:Here we go, it’s finally happening. 🤣

I’m genuinely curious when your emails will actually make it into The Evening News.🤣
Who knows, maybe they’ll end up in someone else's inbox too, instead of just hitting the journalists.🍿

And what exactly "started"? Lewis Hamilton is leaving Ferrari with class, which is exactly what that team deserves.

The fact that the current team principal lost his way doesn't cast any shadow over a solid five-year run.

redheron12 said:Which part is giving you trouble?

Is it the premise or the conclusion?

Premise: Dennis alfa and Omega at McLaren
Premise: Lewis Hamilton at McLaren
------------------------------------------------
Conclusion: Hell has frozen over.

Or is it this whole thing with Lojz and Ferrari that's bothering you?

Dennis at McLaren isn't exactly the alpha or the omega these days, let alone both.

On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton at McLaren sounds interesting. ruggedhawk20 claims Dennis set up a trap for Lewis, but I think Ron is just scrolling through his phone looking for Brawn's number to ask him for a recommendation on a fishing rod.

We'll see.

redheron12 said:What kind of fever dreams are you all having?

Someone actually thinks they can replace Dennis? Dennis is McLaren... how would anyone even attempt that?

Lewis Hamilton at McLaren... no way. You'll see hell freeze over first.

Lujo and Ferrari... unlikely.

By the way... if A and F split up, who gets custody of the kid?

You’re clearly living in the past...

vividlynx68 said:Frank is never going to sign a driver who comes in making the kind of demands Lewis Hamilton would.

There was one time...

stormybadger8 said:It all comes down to when this whole drama actually started...
Hamilton was on the edge after Spa, so it's entirely plausible he threatened to walk away from Mercedes if they didn't give him what he wanted...
From there, it's easy to imagine that news leaked to Fernando Alonso, causing everything to boil over right after that race...

There might have been a scenario involving Lewis heading back to McLaren and Alonso stepping into the Mercedes seat.

That option looks pretty much dead now, though I still maintain that Lewis won't stick around at Mercedes if he loses the championship.

But Lewis isn't going to lose the championship.

Ultimately, Alonso is stuck with McLaren. Frank will never cut a check large enough to meet his demands, so that deal was basically dead on arrival.

Either that, or he completely blew it. If he blew it, he's an idiot.

ruggedhawk20 said:Berger is stepping in to replace that heavy-set Frenchman Sutil absolutely crushed

What was his name again? It slipped my mind.

Lux? He isn't even at McLaren...

graniteharbor502 said:I was reading the latest issue of USA when I saw that Lewis Hamilton approached Mercedes wanting a swap with Lewis Hamilton—essentially trying to push Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari and taking his seat at Mercedes. Apparently, Mercedes turned him down because they’re perfectly happy with their current lineup and have no interest in changing things up. Once word got back to Ferrari, they decided Lewis Hamilton wasn't 100% committed to the team anymore. Their response? They're cutting ties with him and signing Sebastian Vettel, who has been on their radar for quite some time.

One more thing to consider: Vettel is bringing several people from Red Bull with him. It wouldn't be surprising if that actually strengthened Ferrari's position.

That's just his theory, and it’s likely grounded in some truth, though we probably won't ever know the full details. One thing is certain: Lewis Hamilton made the first move, and Ferrari countered by bringing in Vettel.

ruggedhawk20 said:hmmm... you were definitely giving off those West Coast vibes

Look, I'm not a clone, nor am I pretending to be one. I just use the language I actually speak every day. I write exactly how I talk and think.

I realize that’s a rare breed in this corner of the internet, but that’s just how I roll.

ruggedhawk20 said:But wait, aren't you from Miami?

Dammit, Joe, just pull one of my posts where I’m actually using some Southern slang.

No, I'm from Washington, D.C.

ruggedhawk20 said:Since when does your buddy work at Mayo Clinic?

Isn't he supposed to be in your neck of the woods, man?

?

In Washington, D.C. slang (after being around for sixty-something years), "bro" is standard. It’s not actually my favorite word, but I clearly find myself using it more often than I realize.

cosmicridge5 said:No, a month later isn't the time for that anymore; at this point, it's just what happened, happened (btw, what kind of fall was it? Did you lose consciousness, or did you have other issues? Oh, wait, I see you mentioned there were no symptoms. In that case, if a month has passed, you're likely fine, so don't sweat it 😁)

Regarding the CT scan, it'll eventually become the standard practice to run one after even minor head trauma. It's not quite the norm here yet (mostly because it's expensive, obviously), and they won't just do it for no reason—they usually only order imaging if they're actually concerned. If you really want one after a light bump, you'd probably have to pay out of pocket at a private clinic.

As for being completely sure it "passed without consequences," if you're talking about potential neurological issues, those from milder traumas generally only show up when you return to your normal routine. For instance, if you're a student, you might notice changes in how studying feels or if concentration is harder than usual, or maybe some subtle shifts in mood. But again, that’s all pretty subjective.

If you mean secondary injuries, those typically develop within the first few hours up to about three days, if I recall correctly (though I should probably double-check if it's exactly three days or ask my grandma 😁). Regardless, you definitely aren't going to develop an edema or similar secondary issues a full month down the line. 🙂

p.s. Please, for the love of god, don't quote this entire wall of text of mine. 😁

In an underground parking garage, a woman ran straight into a concrete beam—dead center on her forehead. It made such a sound that everyone present jumped. I immediately called my buddy, who's a surgeon, to see if I should rush her to the ER, but he said there was no need if there were no immediate red flags (vomiting, confusion, dizziness, etc.), because they wouldn't do anything with just a standard X-ray anyway.

Aside from her head ringing for a few hours, she had no other symptoms (none of the stuff mentioned above). She did tell me she felt her brain shift inside her skull, though. Anyway, we never went anywhere, and it has definitely been over a month now. There are no issues currently. Everything functions normally, but I'm wondering if there could be something hidden that would still warrant a CT scan.

I just realized (based on what my buddy told me) that if nothing happens in those first few hours after the impact, then you're in the clear. Your comment has me a little worried now.

vividlynx68 said:Yeah, because clearly, being the number one driver justifies diving headfirst into a high-stakes corner against drivers five or six. 🤷

It isn't quite that simple. You can buy almost anything in Formula 1 except raw talent. That’s why Lewis Hamilton is the number one driver—it’s just basic math based on pure ability.

It’s standard procedure for a team to assume they can fix every other variable, but you can't manufacture talent. Consequently, the most talented individual will always be the most sought-after asset.

That doesn't mean that talent actually translates into results consistently.

darkmarlin16 said:Honestly, I doubt a driver of that caliber would sleep through an entire Formula 1 season. Every year brings new headlines, and you have to stay sharp.

Maybe Lewis Hamilton signs a one-year deal with McLaren for 2015, and then in 2016, we see a swap between Mercedes and McLaren—Lewis Hamilton moves to Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton goes to McLaren.

Or maybe Lewis Hamilton heads to Lotus in 2015 since they’ll be running Mercedes engines.

Things are clearly complicated. Lewis Hamilton likely started negotiations with Mercedes, which forced Ferrari's hand to snap up Vettel. They couldn't risk getting played by him after the season ends and being left without a decent replacement.

How blindsided Ferrari was by Lewis Hamilton's move is evidenced by the fact that Bianchi immediately jumped in to offer himself to Ferrari right after the news broke. Bianchi wouldn't have bothered if he knew Vettel was already locked in. But he didn't know, so he took a shot—makes sense.

However, Ferrari hesitated with Vettel, and he slipped away instantly. He's been waiting his whole life for this—again, obvious.

Meanwhile, things got messy for Lewis Hamilton because Mercedes obviously doesn't want to go public with such loud rumors. They want a quiet end to the championship without the extra psychological warfare surrounding Lewis Hamilton's arrival. Plus, they're waiting to see what happens with Lewis Hamilton—because now it's clear he stays if he wins the title.

At the same time, McLaren clearly won't agree to a one-year contract because Honda wants stability for at least two or three seasons. Beyond that, Dennis isn't interested in being someone's stepping stone, and they're also waiting to see what happens with Lewis Hamilton.

Which is logical. It's logical that everything revolves around him. He's young, the fastest guy on the grid, and soon to be a two-time champion—basically the top prize in the paddock.

Lewis Hamilton isn't that anymore, which is why he has to wait. Lewis Hamilton is choice number two. Again, logical: a more complete driver than Lewis Hamilton, but slightly slower and much older. Naturally, he becomes number two.

That's why the situation with number three is settled. No one was waiting for him; he just grabbed the bone that was thrown his way.

cosmicridge5 said:Just as a quick follow-up to what I mentioned earlier, it’s actually pretty important to head to the ER even if you don't think you hit your head that hard. Especially if you start noticing any weird symptoms—things like worsening headaches, fatigue, sleepiness, or motor issues. Anything at all, really. And definitely if you lose consciousness, even for a split second, or if any symptom starts to ramp up. That can happen suddenly or maybe just a few hours later. Personally, I’d probably suggest seeing a doctor after any significant head impact, obviously excluding the times you just bump your head on a kitchen cabinet or something minor like 😁.

It matters because it’s entirely possible for someone to get up off the floor right after an impact looking totally fine—walking and talking normally—only to have their condition take a sudden turn for the worse. Usually, that happens because of this secondary injury I was talking about earlier, or rather, that secondary chain reaction that can kick off even from a seemingly minor injury.

A tragic example of this is Natasha Richardson (Liam Neeson's wife). She had a fall while learning to ski with an instructor; it looked like a relatively minor accident. She got up, went back to the hotel, and then a few hours later her condition deteriorated. By the time she reached the hospital, it was already too late—she suffered brain death and was soon taken off life support. So, essentially, it was that secondary injury that caused her death. To be clear, I don't mean a second physical blow; these "secondary injuries" are the result of—as I mentioned—a whole series of biochemical reactions in the brain (and the body as a whole) that trigger following the primary injury, which is the initial hit. It’s possible for these to be triggered by milder hits, though that’s probably less common than with moderate ones.

With severe injuries, it’s almost inevitable that these secondary injuries will occur. We often don't see the true extent of the brain damage until those secondary processes have played out, since they aren't instantaneous like the primary injury that happens at the moment of impact.

Of course, that doesn't mean they will always develop. With milder traumatic brain injuries, such as a standard concussion, they are quite rare, and most people recover fully without any secondary issues or neurological fallout.

But in Natasha Richardson's case, despite how trivial the fall seemed, it triggered bleeding—specifically an epidural hematoma. After what’s known as a "lucid interval," where she seemed completely fine, things took a turn for the worse a few hours later. By the time she hit the hospital, brain death had occurred. During that lucid window, however, the bleeding from the impact was forming an epidural hematoma (blood pooling between the dura mater and the skull), which then put pressure on the brain. That compression is usually what causes the severe neurological issues or death if the hematoma isn't surgically drained immediately.

In her specific situation, if she had gone to the hospital immediately and received a CT scan that caught the hematoma, she likely would have been operated on right away, and it’s very possible she could have avoided permanent damage altogether.

So, brain trauma is incredibly tricky; sometimes people don't survive relatively mild primary injuries, and vice versa. While there is certainly a strong correlation between the severity of the initial hit and the recovery outcome, TBI is often called an "invisible epidemic." It's predicted that starting in 2020, these types of injuries would become a leading cause of death in developed nations like the US.

By the way, right before heading to bed last night (instead of hanging out on 😬 ), I came across this: If anyone happens to be interested, you might want to give it a read. I'll try to summarize some of the interesting bits later—though I did have some pretty bad nightmares about people dropping weights on tiny little mice, which was awful... I might share those details later too, if anyone actually cares 😁.

Fair enough. But how much time has to pass before you can be absolutely certain there won't be any lingering consequences after a "benign" hit like that? And would it actually be wise to get a CT scan, say, a month after the impact, even if there aren't any symptoms like headaches or anything else?

Jason Campbell70 said:With an impact force that heavy—where the car literally tosses a 6-ton hunk of iron aside—do you really think an extra inch or two of Lexan would have changed anything?

And in Jules Bianchi's case, where would that reinforced metal structure even end up?

The link I shared doesn't actually show Lexan; it's just a steel structure. Would it make a difference? Who knows. Maybe.

If Bianchi had been running this setup on his car, maybe the whole situation wouldn't have turned out so disastrously...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/116206

cosmicridge5 said:Yeah, the impact force was insane, pretty grim to watch 😢 And I guess it would be a genuine miracle if he manages to come out of this without serious long-term issues... :/
The mere fact that he didn't die at the track is probably the best proof of how impressive all these modern safety measures—from HANS to the helmet and the car itself—actually are.

But like Gary mentioned, we've grown somewhat accustomed to seeing terrifying crashes in Formula 1 (just think about Kubica in Canada, or Webber in Spain), where drivers would practically walk away from the wreckage almost unscathed... And it's not just us getting used to it; the drivers themselves have too, and it's not impossible to imagine they might have become a bit too complacent regarding the safety provided by all these modern systems... It's just human nature, especially considering how hyper-focused everyone is on competitiveness and results. Honestly, that's usually what we value most about them anyway, rather than any concern for their own safety on track. In fact, if we actually notice a driver prioritizing safety, it's rarely seen in a positive light; instead, they get mocked as being "soft" or told they aren't "real racers."

Just look at the amount of mockery Massa faced regarding this incident, which still follows him today, simply because he yelled that he couldn't see anything and couldn't drive like that... (And the radio response he got back was telling—stay cool... we are in a good position, which basically means your safety isn't the priority right now, the track position is 😉 Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I think I see the point...

Even now after this race, following his statement that even before Jules's accident, he had been shouting over the team radio about how much water was on the track, fans just react with: "Oh, Massa, he's always complaining and whining 🙄" But drivers don't live in a vacuum; all those factors definitely affect them psychologically, which then naturally impacts their driving behavior...

So, what I'm trying to say is that (imho) it feels a little unrealistic and unfair to start questioning why Bianchi didn't slow down more under yellow flags and such, if we know how often we ourselves interpret those kinds of actions negatively, viewing drivers as weaklings or "show ponies" instead of "true racers," and so on...

Which is why it seems to me that if we really want to go looking for someone to blame, maybe we should start by looking in the mirror... 😉

That all holds up, but let’s be clear: the track conditions weren't the issue, and neither was the car leaving the circuit. The sole, absolute reason this happened was that excavator. It had no business being there.

Look, the whole situation is complicated. In theory, this kind of disaster could happen during a dry race under perfect conditions—no heavy machinery required. One car breaks down and pulls off onto the apron, the yellow flags fly, and then the marshals head out to push the car out of harm's way. Then, suddenly, another car comes barreling down the track—maybe due to a brake failure—and slams right into them. Boom.

So, you're looking at a constant probability—tiny, sure, but it’s there. Now you’re just multiplying the sheer catastrophe of that outcome by sending some damn excavators out onto the track...

The issue is simply this...

The fallout is that, from here on out, any time a driver goes off and the car stays within "reach," we’re going to see a Safety Car.

And honestly? That's how it should be.

If that helmet had made contact with that section of steel, Bianchi would have ended up just like Tom Pryce.

The only reason we can even discuss the possibility of survival is because his head hit that angled part instead. Otherwise, that piece of heavy machinery acts like a counterweight that’s usually part of the integrated track assembly; if you walk into one of those while it's moving, you're looking at a fatal injury.

Are you kidding me? He actually hauled off the entire excavator...