Posts by Amanda Kelly

Looks like everyone’s lost interest in talking before the race even starts.
Probably because there isn't a shred of uncertainty left, neither for this race nor the championship itself.

So, we're likely looking at another Red Bull Racing win to keep the streak alive.
Does anyone actually see anyone else stepping up to challenge them, even for a second?

It’d be just as fair to ask us fans, too.

graniteharbor502 said:So, I find myself wondering, do you truly believe that was intended as a penalty?

Not starting next year (at least not for Kimi).

stormybadger8 said:The logic wasn't totally broken, though. They saw Red Bull was still eating through tires worse than them and that Alonso was closing in on Vettel during that first stint...

But then again, they should've realized Vettel had tire issues right from turn one—he took a nasty flatspot, which was probably a huge part of the equation...

And if they were truly certain about staying ahead of Webber by a mile, they forgot he ended up breathing down Alonso's neck right after the pit stops. One slightly slower stop and they could've easily lost two spots...

All in all, it was a gamble that ended up hurting Massa while leaving Alonso unscathed, but it could have gone south for both of them fast...

Plus, Anderson nailed it when he said their tactics were a mess—they might have even thrown away the win with that move...
He argued that if they were going to play it risky, they should've kept doing it until the end...
Maybe letting Alonso stay out longer would've worked if they’d sacrificed Massa. He could've held up Vettel for a few seconds in traffic, potentially handing Alonso the win...
In that scenario, Massa would've lost P4 (he was P3 at the time, but they were already too far behind to save him) and finished 6th at best. He was faster than Rosberg and Hulkenberg, so he might've jumped them anyway, but they could've walked away with an Alonso victory...

At the end of the day, Alonso winning plus Massa finishing 6th would've netted them 25+6 = 31 points. Instead, they scraped together 30...

They had to pit Felipe Massa before Mark Webber. It wasn't optional. Trying to pull that off on shot tires works maybe 90% of the time, if you're lucky.

stormybadger8 said:The logic wasn't totally broken, though. They saw Red Bull was still eating through tires worse than them and that Alonso was closing in on Vettel during that first stint...

But then again, they should've realized Vettel had tire issues right from turn one—he took a nasty flatspot, which was probably a huge part of the equation...

And if they were truly certain about staying ahead of Webber by a mile, they forgot he ended up breathing down Alonso's neck right after the pit stops. One slightly slower stop and they could've easily lost two spots...

All in all, it was a gamble that ended up hurting Massa while leaving Alonso unscathed, but it could have gone south for both of them fast...

Plus, Anderson nailed it when he said their tactics were a mess—they might have even thrown away the win with that move...
He argued that if they were going to play it risky, they should've kept doing it until the end...
Maybe letting Alonso stay out longer would've worked if they’d sacrificed Massa. He could've held up Vettel for a few seconds in traffic, potentially handing Alonso the win...
In that scenario, Massa would've lost P4 (he was P3 at the time, but they were already too far behind to save him) and finished 6th at best. He was faster than Rosberg and Hulkenberg, so he might've jumped them anyway, but they could've walked away with an Alonso victory...

At the end of the day, Alonso winning plus Massa finishing 6th would've netted them 25+6 = 31 points. Instead, they scraped together 30...

I don't buy it. Just speculation.
With those fresh tires, Sebastian Vettel was over a second per lap faster than Fernando Alonso.
Felipe Massa wouldn't have lasted a single lap against him.
He managed to hang with Mark Webber, but that was on a light fuel load and with the same worn-out rubber.

stormybadger8 said:It was the crew that made the difference yesterday—the team and the driver together, way more than just the car... and when you look at Webber compared to those two Ferraris, it’s mostly down to the crew.☕

You could see this interesting trend perfectly at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.😁
The kind of teamwork other teams can only dream about...🙏

Lap 23:
The gap Vettel - Webber was about 11 seconds, and they both hit the pits at the same time.
First, the stop for Vettel took 2.6 seconds, then Webber’s stop followed at 2.7 seconds—not even a millisecond of waiting for Webber while Vettel’s crew finished up.🙏

An insane gain.🙏
Vettel vs. Alonso: before the pit stops, he had about a 5-second lead; after Alonso exited the pits, that lead jumped to roughly 10 seconds. That’s a massive 5-second swing by the end of the race.🙏

Webber vs. Massa: before pitting, he was trailing by about 1 second; after the stop, he came out with a 2-second lead.🙏
Webber vs. Alonso: before the pits, he was down about 6 seconds, but after the stops, he was only about a second behind...

The crew deserves all the credit for closing that gap; it was much more about them than the machinery.☕
Even Vettel couldn't pull away from Alonso by more than maybe 0.200 on average per lap. To put that in perspective, for Webber and Vettel to have gained that much ground on Alonso through pure pace alone, it would have theoretically taken them 25 laps. Instead, the Red Bull mechanics and strategists just did it in the pits.🙏

Yesterday at Indy, almost every top car was neck-and-neck—maybe the closest we've seen in the last 10 seasons.
I don't recall a race where even Hulkenberg and Massa could hang with the Red Bull pace, let alone having the top six drivers finish within 10 seconds of each other in a standard dry race without an SC (and I'm not talking about Monaco on those crumbling Pirelli tires...).

Just look at the comparison to the Red Bull wins in2013 and 2011. Look at how many cars were in the same lap, and where the backmarkers were compared to the winner... And man, some of them didn't even manage to stay on the same lap.

And honestly, even Hamilton’s McLaren2012 and Alonso’s Ferrari2010 had significantly more dominant wins than what we saw yesterday, which clearly shows those cars were way more dominant over the field at Indy.

From where we’re sitting in the stands, it was pretty obvious that the Ferrari pit crew and their tire changes were definitely out of line yesterday.
People at home were asking me why I was yelling and swearing at the TV while waiting for Alonso's pit stop.
Even though things went smoothly with Alonso—which wasn't exactly a surprise—it still leaves me wondering why we spent so much time just sitting around waiting.
Alonso was shaving three or four tenths off his lap times in those last few laps before the pit stops. It’s possible they were just waiting on Vettel to make his move first. Honestly, though, I don't get why he didn't just jump right on his tail immediately.

Things were getting pretty tense with Massa, though. The gap was tiny, and honestly, you just had to take the gamble if you wanted any chance at a payoff. Those softer tires had already put in 23, 24, or maybe 25 laps, so a lap on the fresh hards would’ve likely been faster—unless their data was telling them something completely different and someone else had already pitted.

I’m still completely lost on these changes. They make zero sense to me.
How many races have we sat through where the only way anyone actually moved up was by hitting the pits? It’s getting ridiculous how much strategy dictates everything instead of actual racing.
Those folks on the pit wall didn't just show up yesterday. There has to be a logic behind the wait, regardless of which way you look at it.

It’s funny how the tire consistency always seems to finally show up right around this point in the season.

Daniel James8 said:Look, when you have a team where the drivers are on equal footing, even if they're absolute superstars, we've seen plenty of times where the title ends up going to some third guy entirely. That's why I suspect the dynamic at Ferrari will just remain this "lead singer vs. backup" situation for the foreseeable future, and honestly? I can't wrap my head around seeing Fernando Alonso stuck playing the backup role.

If you're thinking of 2007, I have to disagree.
First off, they weren't on equal footing back then. They should have been, sure, but they weren't.
Second, the main reason they lost that championship was Lewis Hamilton's lack of experience and his inability to handle the pressure, which led to those unbelievable, almost surreal mistakes.
I could go deeper, but I won't. With two races left, Lewis Hamilton practically had the championship in the bag—99.99% certain. And somehow, miraculously, he blew it.

Raymond Thomas5 said:Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, and Nico Hulkenberg were basically the only ones who made this race worth watching so far.
Great drives from those first two—even if the actual results were a total disaster.
Ferrari is once again paying a massive price for yesterday's sloppy mistakes.

Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel certainly wouldn't have let that happen.

I'm with you on all of that.
I’ve mentioned this here before, but Sebastian Vettel has this incredible ability to execute. When he locks in, it’s basically perfection. This season, Nico Rosberg is the only one who has even come close to showing a hint of that kind of precision. No one else.
To be fair, maybe people write entire novels about him, so they don't take him that seriously anymore, but this isn't just some trivial thing. It shouldn't be brushed off. A penalty is still just one shot—a single chance you actually have to convert into a goal. And he isn't exactly doing it consistently, and he isn't doing it for everyone.

Raymond Thomas5 said:Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, and Nico Hulkenberg were basically the only ones who made this race worth watching so far.
Great drives from those first two—even if the actual results were a total disaster.
Ferrari is once again paying a massive price for yesterday's sloppy mistakes.

Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel certainly wouldn't have let that happen.

Just a little bit. No need to go overboard with it. The time gaps were barely noticeable anyway.
Let's not forget that Sebastian Vettel is an absolute master when it comes to qualifying and nailing a single fast lap.

And just to be clear, this isn't some attempt at pandering or trying to pay back Hardcore's last post. 😉

graniteharbor502 said:A significant portion of your argument holds weight, I suppose. It seems to me that Lewis Hamilton's race was fundamentally compromised by yesterday's chaotic turn of events during Q2, for which he himself bears at least partial responsibility—though he did step up and take the blame. However, what truly occupies my thoughts is how much satisfaction the fans of Fernando Alonso can actually derive from today's performance. Is it not possible that, within a Ferrari of this caliber, Nico Hulkenberg might have proven to be a far more formidable competitor than Fernando Alonso himself?

Look, that question applies to pretty much anyone. Period.
The only exception is Vettel + Red Bull, obviously.

Personally, I wouldn't swap out Alonso, but I’d dump Massu in a heartbeat. I’d bring in the best driver available right now, no hesitation.
I think a move like that would settle things and clear the air for the long term.
To be honest, it doesn't bother me—as a Ferrari fan—if you guys hate on Alonso, whether you have a reason or not.
What bothers me is seeing talent wasted when we could be squeezing every bit of potential out of this team and pushing it to a higher level.
Alonso isn't a magician.
If you bring in someone incredibly fast and mentally sharp, he'd be forced to squeeze out every last drop of sweat (if he hasn't already). That’s when we’d see where things actually stand. Massa isn't even a benchmark; you can't compare him.

Until then, all this bickering about FA is just noise.
That said, the Alonso lovers are way more justified than the haters, IMO. Honestly, the worship and the unbridled glorification is a lot more logical and positive than all that constant animosity.

I guess the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway finally settled all the debates once and for all.
Don't get me wrong, I’d love nothing more than to see an Alonso victory, but maybe this outcome is for the best. It would have been nice to grab a win before the season ends, but let's be honest—there's zero room left for false hope regarding the pursuit of the Formula 1 World Championship or any chance of Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel actually pulling it off.

The team deserves credit for sweeping up everything in sight, but now they really need to buckle down, fix their mistakes, and address those glaring weaknesses.

Given how this Ferrari car has performed, winning on two consecutive tracks like this was only possible because they started on the front row. And even then, it was barely a guarantee. Since hitting the front row has felt like reaching for the moon all season long, I’m not even viewing today as a shock. This is just the reality of the current grid.
Maybe some other team will figure things out at the next race, but right now, Red Bull Racing and Ferrari are the ones to beat. That said, Ferrari really dropped the ball between Spain and Belgium.

analogpilot16 said:If those three moves by Alonso were a masterclass, then I honestly don't even know how to describe the thirty or so mistakes Hemofarm has piled up today...

Lewis Hamilton 🤷
In a car that gave him podiums for four races straight,
in the exact same car that our most dedicated forum regular claims is the biggest threat to his favorite driver and the whole team,
in a car where his own teammate finished over 20 seconds ahead of him.
So what? Even if he pulled off 330 overtakes, what good does that actually do him? What kind of success is that???
Unless, of course, you consider overtaking those two pathetic McLarens to be some kind of achievement.

I'm feeling pretty excited for tomorrow's race, though I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.
Webber might actually end up being more useful than Massa (but let's be real, he won't).
For Ferrari, having Hülkenberg sitting in P3 is a massive headache. The whole starting grid would look completely different if he wasn't there.
Still, I don't see it as some huge tragedy. Alonso can pull it off. Honestly, I think he can even if Vettel manages to grab the lead at the first turn. Actually, that's exactly the kind of chaos I'm hoping for. Whatever happens, happens.

David Anderson72 said:There’s a massive amount of Ferrari power in the top 10—honestly, only one driver isn't running a Ferrari engine (Gutierrez). Tomorrow, I'm calling it now: we'll see a collision between two Red Bulls, followed by total dominance from the heavy hitters, with Nandov taking the win on home turf.

They don't even need to wreck each other (like back in the good old days); Massa could probably just brush them aside at turn one.
Finally, a single constructive post. 🙏

Ugh, I bet Hulk is going to be looking for some kind of payback since they still haven't given him a seat.
Good for them, though.

stormybadger8 said:Unbelievable. Apparently, I’m the one who can't see.🤣🤣🤣
The level of fanboy blindness here is actually insane. It's not even close. 🙏🤣


The red line is where every driver has to stop if they want to practice their launch from the pit lane. You aren't supposed to cross it and then try to practice your start from there. ☕



There's proof Massa crossed the line, and there's proof Alonso was practicing starts from a spot he wasn't allowed to be in...

So, please, be my guest and explain to me who exactly is blind?
Does the car's position, the wall, or the light colors look different when you're wearing those red-tinted fan goggles?🤣
Or are you just seeing imaginary blue flags instead? 🤣

Unbelievable. How on earth can they throw a red flag when we were supposed to be practicing!? 🙂
And they actually have the nerve to penalize Ferrari at their own home track. A 10k fine. It's almost sacrilegious. Like they're some broke charity case. Speaking of which, who even are these officials?
I can see the conspiracy coming from a mile away.

cosmichawk12 said:In my personal opinion, this was the greatest overtake of all time

If I actually had to pick just one single moment... it would have to be

Go ahead, repeat that classic line of yours. It won't change a thing.

graniteharbor502 As requested by:
Awesome!
Does anyone else remember this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqaXktfn90M

Good grief, give me a break.🙏
The moment Ferrari failed to take the title this year, I knew we wouldn't see them at the top for at least the next decade.

stormybadger8 said:Button is going to outpace Lotus in qualifying, maybe even one or both of the Ferraris...
Who knows, maybe the Italians just bought some cheap Chinese bolts while their local steel mills were closed for summer break.😬
And don't sweat that extra second; Button’ll probably be driving at 195% capacity and shock everyone just to keep things interesting.

P.S. Don't tell anyone, but we basically repainted a Red Bull Racing car in McLaren colors and handed the keys to Button.😁
We had to do it just to get them to let us switch to Honda 2015.🤣

Well, it's not like every day is Christmas.
Lotus really dropped the ball in Belgium. It was a mess. I’m holding out hope they’ll actually fix things eventually, but I won't hold my breath.
Here we go again. McLaren’s strategy this year—relying on that single pit stop—is going to blow up in their faces just like before.
They aren't faster than Ferrari, and they aren't faster than Red Bull Racing either. As for Mercedes, nothing about that car is reliable except for Lewis Hamilton's qualifying laps.
It seems to me like Belgium was about the limit for Button.

Honestly, a win for Ferrari would hit the spot for me and my crew. I’m talking about the location, the timing, the standings... everything.
In my book, Fernando Alonso would be the perfect pick to pull it off, though I suppose I could stomach a victory from Massin too—mostly because I'm not used to seeing that happen, and I'd rather not be blindsided by a miracle.
If the power dynamic stays the same as it was in Belgium and we don't run into some sudden technical setback, it’s actually a pretty realistic possibility.

Jason Campbell70 said:Pretty much.
Both Mercedes cars were set up for rain—basically, they chose a configuration that would provide an advantage if the weather turned. More downforce, lower top speed.
It’s possible their low downforce setup just doesn't work because of the increased tire wear.

Meanwhile, the Red Bull was dialed in for high top speed and purely dry conditions.
That kind of Red Bull setup struggles when you need to follow another car, but it's lightning fast in clean air.

Everything lined up perfectly—and we saw the result yesterday.
Vettel was 1.4 seconds clear after the first lap; the Mercedes cars weren't even a threat on the Kemmel straight (not for Vettel or Alonso), while Webber was stuck fighting through traffic.

Sure, in the long run, maybe.
But honestly, it felt like Lewis didn't quite nail Eau Rouge. He wasn't at his limit. That’s probably why Vettel was glued to his gearbox and could pass him so easily.