Posts by steelmaker83

Whatever the case may be, it's all the same result in the end...

mellowtiger83 said:What exactly is tripping you guys up regarding this statement from Raikkonen?
"If we HAD WANTED to go faster, we could have gone faster." That word "WANTED" is the pivot point here. It’s a clear indication that they didn't intend to push further. That single sentence completely dismantles Tibijev's claim that Ferrari is desperately chasing time.

Also, just for those keeping track, Alonso was sitting at -250 in the first two sectors before he cut the chicane.🙂So, feel free to credit McLaren with a 1:16.800. Is it any clearer now just how much faster Ferrari could have been if they actually cared to try?

Of course they could have gone faster. Everyone could have gone faster. The reality is simply that Mercedes-Benz was the only one capable of being truly fast.

Once the dust settles after Australia and we figure out the actual performance gap—adjusting for track configuration and other variables—people will start manufacturing artificial tension. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz will just baby their engines. They'll coast through the last six or seven races, and Hamilton will walk away with the championship again.

There's no helping it; history repeats itself. Whenever a team finds a loophole or discovers something the rest of the field hasn't figured out yet, they dominate until the rules change or the advantage gets banned. Mercedes-Benz will suffer through it, but they'll stay on top as long as this current setup remains legal.

Hamilton is practically destined to become the most successful driver in history, whether it's earned or not.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:It really all comes down to the overall development dynamics, I suppose. If you’re already mapping out three major upgrades for the car, then a brand-new engine might not actually mean all that much in the grand scheme of things, maybe.

Of course not. First off, if you're running three engines over a season, each one has to last seven races. An engine isn't just as strong in race seven as it was in race one. Therefore, having a fourth engine in the mix provides a clear advantage because each unit only needs to survive five races instead of seven. It's a huge difference.

Second, if you plan for four engines from the jump, you adjust your entire development strategy accordingly. That is exactly what General Motors is planning. They’d be fools not to plan for a fifth. Personally, I’d plan for six. Some will inevitably fail, and some will get wrecked in crashes regardless. If the engine and the car are actually good, General Motors will easily leapfrog the backmarkers during races where they take grid penalties, essentially finishing exactly where they would have without the changes.

So, I fully expect at least one or two extra planned engine swaps from General Motors, which will naturally coincide with proper upgrades.

Ford will do the same. Initially, I thought Ford would opt for a slow but reliable season. Quite the opposite; Ford is looking at an intense season packed with frequent replacements and upgrades. Everything is being geared toward the Red Bull transition, and this year is purely about development and testing for them.

Given everything mentioned, General Motors would be crazy not to follow suit.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Isn't Nitko going to weigh in on those rumors regarding Honda and the late-night engine swaps?

?

They swapped out the rear wheels, and now this thing is pushing them backward... absolutely pathetic...

It’s nonsense, really, but it perfectly captures the lack of focus, the stress levels, and the general mental state of the team right now....

Did you catch that pit stop drill? It was a total disaster. They looked completely lost, like they didn't have a clue what they were doing.

As much as I hate to admit it, it looks like McLaren is in a complete freefall. There’s still a tiny glimmer of hope that things might look different during the first practice session in Australia, but honestly, that's just pure wishful thinking at this point.

I’m really hoping Alonso calls it quits before we hit Spain, just so I don't have to suffer through watching all of this. Once he's gone, maybe I can finally make the psychological shift over to Max. I can't deal with this while Fernando is still in the mix.

What’s actually concerning is just how massive the gap is once you look past the top three teams.....

Ferrari is getting close; this season is shaping up to be an interesting one. They’re going to look incredibly fast on certain tracks. Now we just need to see if they actually have the race pace to back it up.

The showdown between Ferrari and Mercedes is finally coming to a head. Red Bull might actually join the fray before the season wraps up, too. At least it wasn't a total wash.

They probably expected way more, so they're likely feeling pretty let down, but yeah, they actually could have been in the hunt for pole position

So, they basically held back the throttle at the start/finish line....

Then again, these cars aren't anywhere near the performance levels they should be hitting right now. Anything could still happen...

That was to be expected.

It’s good to see the hype building up. I just hope it doesn't all fizzle out by the time we hit the Hungaroring and the technical details start coming to light during qualifying...

McLaren is going to keep pushing through winter testing in Los Angeles... they’ll probably hit their scheduled Day 2 program right around lap 15.

cosmiccyclist8 said:Just look for the long comment from smr201 down below

''The only way to pull off what Ross wants, in my opinion, is some kind of salary cap—something like no team is allowed to spend more than $200 million in a season (or whatever their commission decides). That $200 million would cover everything: R&D costs, driver salaries, and all the personnel traveling to races.

Something like that needs refining because there are definitely downsides I haven't thought of, but it could work.''

What do you think about implementing a hard limit like this instead of these stupid little tokens? Could this actually act as bait to attract new teams and engine manufacturers to NASCAR?

At first glance, it doesn't look like a bad idea.

I've been talking about this for ages, probably seven or eight years now. It’s just a matter of when they finally pull the trigger, but it’s bound to happen eventually.

Sebastian Vettel isn't a loser. He’s a four-time world champion.

Get it?

goldenpilot2 said:And what about after Eau Rouge? How many drivers have been "sacrificed" just because they botched that corner?

Look, Kemmel stretches out for two miles, which isn't nearly enough to actually make a move—it’s barely enough for a desperate attempt here and there. Besides, how much distance is there before you hit the new chicane following that revamped Turn 1 at Monza?

goldenpilot2 said:If you look at the Italian forums, people are arguing the exact opposite. They claim a 300m straight followed by heavy braking into a chicane—one that vaguely resembles a Maggotts-Becketts section where the "ideal" line is barely a foot wider than the car itself (David Culthard)... that's what separates the pros from the amateurs. Anyone who messes up gets punished hard at the next chicane.

Sure, but then there’s zero overtaking. It might be more technically demanding for the drivers, but it'll be way less interesting to watch. You'll get a desperate lunging attempt once in a blue moon, maybe something like what happens at Eau Rouge, but only once every decade.