Posts by Amanda Kelly

Lewis was actually slower than Vettel during the race.
Aside from the fact that in these tricky overtaking conditions, track position—whether you're holding it or defending it—should be the absolute foundation of any strategy.

So, setting the actual passing aside, Vettel was simply faster.
Right after he pitted for fresh rubber and fended off Max Verstappen's attack, he just pulled away.
Max went into the pits a few laps later, and by then, the gap between Vettel and Lewis was widening. That’s the key part!
It was growing, not shrinking, which is the exact opposite of what everyone was betting on.
And I'll be damned if I let anyone convince me that Lewis gave up right at the start or even halfway through the race.

Whether this comes down to Ferrari being overly precious with their tires or something else entirely remains to be seen in the upcoming races.

Both Mercedes-Benz cars nailed their starts.
Ferrari, on the other hand, was a mess, especially Kimi Räikkönen.
I can't tell if that was just a one-off disaster or if Mercedes actually perfected their launch control.

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Vettel
4. Verstappen
5. Ricciardo
6. Raikkonen
7. Bottas
8. Perez
9. Hulkenberg
10. Massa

Massa Ilitiga FP2

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

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Nico Rosberg
3. Sebastian Vettel
4. Daniel Ricciardo
5. Kimi Raikkonen
6. Max Verstappen
7. Sergio Perez
8. Valtteri Bottas
9. Nico Hulkenberg
10. Felipe Massa

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Nico Rosberg
3. Daniel Ricciardo
4. Sebastian Vettel
5. Max Verstappen
6. Kimi Raikkonen
7. Nico Hulkenberg
8. Sergio Perez
9. Valtteri Bottas
10. Fernando Alonso

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Ricciardo
4. Raikkonen
5. Vettel
6. Verstappen
7. Bottas
8. Perez
9. Hulkenberg
10. Alonso

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Vettel
4. Raikkonen
5. Verstappen
6. Ricciardo
7. Hulkenberg
8. Bottas
9. Perez
10. Sainz

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Nico Rosberg
3. Sebastian Vettel
4. Kimi Raikkonen
5. Max Verstappen
6. Daniel Ricciardo
7. Nico Hulkenberg
8. Sergio Perez
9. Carlos Sainz
10. Fernando Alonso

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

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Vettel
4. Raikkonen
5. Daniel Ricciardo
6. Verstappen
7. Hulkenberg
8. Perez
9. Carlos Sainz Jr.
10. Fernando Alonso

stormybadger8 said:P. S. My only issue is you're rooting for someone who I'm genuinely worried won't see a title for decades...

I can't help but feel like a handful of people actually want to make sure Vettel doesn't win (which would indirectly screw over Ferrari too).
Imagine the mess that would cause.

Ricciardo lost this race because of corporate compliance and subordinates being too afraid to act.

Look, the pit crew had tires ready to go, but they were a different compound than what the pit wall actually decided on. There was a massive communication breakdown—the guys on the ground had no clue what the higher-ups wanted. By the time the order finally trickled down, the crew had to ditch the prepared tires for the right ones, and that hesitation cost them precious seconds.

If someone in that pit lane actually had the guts to say "no" and just slap on the tires they already had ready, Ricciardo would have come out ahead of Hamilton. I’m pretty sure he would've held his ground. Sure, the tires would have been softs and it was a little cooler out, but I’m convinced that would've been plenty to defend against those ultra-softs used by ultra-Hamilton.

Where the hell did Vettel’s third-place finish go?
Was it lost in that scrap right behind Mass?

mellowtiger83 said:Everything checks out. So maybe Rosberg didn't just lose those 11-13 seconds behind Ricciardo; maybe Hamilton wasn't actually stuck either. You're forgetting how much time Hamilton lost. Even a perfect pit stop wouldn't have saved Ricciardo at that point. It is what it is, but the pit stop screwed Ricciardo, Nico screwed Hamilton, and qualifying screwed both of them because the car was garbage the day before when he only had one shot at a flyer.

As for the race itself, Hamilton was basically handed that win on a silver platter. IMHO.
Even when he pulled a driving error, he got away with it—no consequences. And honestly, in my opinion, it wasn't even a minor infraction.

Then he starts throwing himself around, jumping, acting like... well, you know. Look, winning doesn't always mean you need to throw a party, especially in Monaco. Sure, you should be happy, but this wasn't some spectacular victory worth a parade.
Though, let's be real, he loves playing the clown regardless.

One look at Hamilton and Ricciardo’s faces after the race was enough.
Ricciardo looked like he’d just lost half his family. Honestly, I get it. His finish—whether it was second, fifth, or tenth... who even knows anymore—was probably a disaster.
Then there's Hamilton, doing his usual routine, acting like he just stumbled into some massive win by pure luck. I still don't quite wrap my head around it.

@ Forti
+1

I can't even begin to process this. It’s just... nothing. Zero substance. Total void. kaže:
And how exactly do you know that? 🤔
Maybe Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen are just the ones actually making the best of this year's Ferrari.
Maybe any other driver would be sitting right in the middle of the pack. You know, when we're all just taking our best guesses.

My bad, I missed a word there. My mistake. Maybe.But honestly, there’s no reason to complain about that. It goes for pretty much anyone.
There’s no guessing game here. Kimi’s car fits him way better than last year's did. And honestly, seeing Ferrari finally look cohesive with their drivers—instead of that absolute train wreck we saw last season—is about time.

I don't know what to tell you. Sometimes things just fall apart. kaže:
Same old question again. You know how that goes, right?
How can you even begin to guess what would have happened if things had played out differently?
How are you supposed to know if Sebastian Vettel would have absolutely shredded his tires before he even caught up to Max Verstappen?

Well, I wrote it exactly how I felt.
Look, I don't know. Nobody actually knows. But based on the data we have right now, I honestly think things will play out exactly how I said they would.

I don't know what to tell you. Some things just never change. kaže:
I get that you and swiftmaker12 prefer Sebastian Vettel over Kimi, but honestly, you’re really going overboard just to try and trash Kimi.

Clearly, I have nothing better to do.
Spain—I’ve got nothing against Kimi. Honestly, I'm just glad he was the one up there instead of Sebastian Vettel.
As for Russia—I’m not exactly angry or anything, but I honestly think Kimi could have avoided that incident much more easily. That's all I've got.

I honestly have no clue what you mean. I don't see anyone rooting for Kimi, either. It makes zero sense to me.

stormybadger8 said:The Pit Wall absolutely crushed him.
Kimi settled things right at the start.
I can't believe I'm actually looking back at this old thread about Kimi Räikkönen. It’s wild how much has changed since then. Just reading through these old posts makes me realize how much we all thought we knew back in the day. Honestly, some of these takes are hilarious in hindsight.
Just look at that pit strategy... absolute disaster.

Max's gonna pit later...
I can't believe we're actually seeing this happen. Max is just on another level right now. It’s honestly getting a little ridiculous to watch him pull this off consistently. At this point, you have to wonder if anyone else even has a prayer of catching him. He's making it look easy, which is the most frustrating part for everyone else on the grid.

Then there was that brilliant move by Ferrari to pull him off those old softs. He was absolutely flying on them—half a second faster than anyone else on track, even Max, and nearly three seconds per lap ahead of the field. Instead, they swap him to mediums with 29 laps left, despite being on a three-stop strategy. Pure genius. 🤦😵
I can't believe I'm actually looking at this. Honestly, watching the way things are going with Daniel Ricciardo right now feels like watching a slow-motion car crash. You want to root for him, really you do, but the performance just isn't there. It’s frustrating to watch such a talent struggle to find even a shred of consistency. At this point, it's less about "what if" and more about "how much longer?" Just my two cents.
It happened right before Ricciardo hit the DRS zone, too. The guy was shaving half a second off his lap time like it was nothing. Honestly, if you're going to beat him, at least give him a chance to show what he can actually do first.
It’s probably what you’d expect. Ricciardo got stuck right behind Jevon Palmer immediately after Sebastian Vettel pitted, so he just couldn't find a way past.

Honestly, I rarely see decisions this brainless. The Pit Wall hasn't been this clueless since the USA, and even Mckenna’s mess with Lewis Hamilton in Monaco wasn't even close to this level of stupidity. 🤦

Some guys actually thought Max and Kimi wouldn't last on mediums. They were dead wrong. Apparently, they thought because Sebastian Vettel had those three laps of medium tire advantage, it meant nothing. Total nonsense.
The second they called him into the ring, he knew he stood zero chance of finishing ahead of Kimi and Max.
The big question is: why on earth would they make such a brainless call? What’s actually driving this nonsense? 🤔

Yeah, the local traitors snatched a clean win right out from under him.

stormybadger8 said:The Pit Wall absolutely crushed him.
Kimi settled things right at the start.
I can't believe I'm actually looking back at this old thread about Kimi Räikkönen. It’s wild how much has changed since then. Just reading through these old posts makes me realize how much we all thought we knew back in the day. Honestly, some of these takes are hilarious in hindsight.
Just look at that pit strategy... absolute disaster.

Max's gonna pit later...
I can't believe we're actually seeing this happen. Max is just on another level right now. It’s honestly getting a little ridiculous to watch him pull this off consistently. At this point, you have to wonder if anyone else even has a prayer of catching him. He's making it look easy, which is the most frustrating part for everyone else on the grid.

Then there was that brilliant move by Ferrari to pull him off those old softs. He was absolutely flying on them—half a second faster than anyone else on track, even Max, and nearly three seconds per lap ahead of the field. Instead, they swap him to mediums with 29 laps left, despite being on a three-stop strategy. Pure genius. 🤦😵
I can't believe I'm actually looking at this. Honestly, watching the way things are going with Daniel Ricciardo right now feels like watching a slow-motion car crash. You want to root for him, really you do, but the performance just isn't there. It’s frustrating to watch such a talent struggle to find even a shred of consistency. At this point, it's less about "what if" and more about "how much longer?" Just my two cents.
It happened right before Ricciardo hit the DRS zone, too. The guy was shaving half a second off his lap time like it was nothing. Honestly, if you're going to beat him, at least give him a chance to show what he can actually do first.
It’s probably what you’d expect. Ricciardo got stuck right behind Jevon Palmer immediately after Sebastian Vettel pitted, so he just couldn't find a way past.

Honestly, I rarely see decisions this brainless. The Pit Wall hasn't been this clueless since the USA, and even Mckenna’s mess with Lewis Hamilton in Monaco wasn't even close to this level of stupidity. 🤦

Some guys actually thought Max and Kimi wouldn't last on mediums. They were dead wrong. Apparently, they thought because Sebastian Vettel had those three laps of medium tire advantage, it meant nothing. Total nonsense.
The second they called him into the ring, he knew he stood zero chance of finishing ahead of Kimi and Max.
The big question is: why on earth would they make such a brainless call? What’s actually driving this nonsense? 🤔

The absolute gold standard for stupidity. A true benchmark.
Unless there’s some news we haven't heard yet.

Timothy Castillo6 said:How much time was Vettel actually putting in on Max before his last pit stop when he locked in those final NM?

Three seconds on the first lap.
Then about 1.2 to 1.5 seconds per lap after that.
In my opinion, he would've caught him in about 12 or 13 laps.
And then he would've passed him. Easy.

rowdyrider12 said:I am not a Vettel fan, but rather more of a Kimi fan, yet:
1. Kimi completely botched the start, and by the end, he wasn't even a threat to Verstappen..
2. The pit wall completely ruined the race for Sebastian Vettel.

If I recall correctly, Vettel was positioned behind Verstappen, so perhaps there might have been a genuine chance at victory...

It is time for Kimi to retire, unfortunately.😢

a) Kimi is fine. This year's car suits his style. Doesn't mean someone else wouldn't have been faster, though.

b) Ferrari's pit wall basically handed Vettel the win on a silver platter. Once Daniel Ricciardo fell out of contention due to that late pit stop—losing a couple seconds per lap—Vettel was already hunting him down. He was even closing in on Max Verstappen at half a second a lap before they called him in again. He had the pace. Honestly, I think he would've cruised to a victory.

And what was the deal with those soft tires? Did they run out or something?