Total disaster from the Ferrari pit wall. 😠 To make matters worse, I realized Alonso actually got lucky. If this race had gone on for just one or two more laps, three other drivers would have overtaken him, and then we’d be looking at a complete catastrophe. 🤦
They completely blew it. They ruined an incredible drive by Alonso, stripped him of his championship lead, and basically handed 5 points to Vettel on a silver platter... Honestly, I'm livid.
What were they even thinking down there? Trying to hold position against Vettel while waiting for someone else to pit first? If that was the plan (and it probably was), then the Red Bull crew are idiots too, though they're at least a class above. Their total loss is only 3 points, which feels like managed damage compared to this.
Whatever. I need a minute to recover from this mess. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch"—I guess that was the guiding principle for these geniuses. 😠
It's a miracle everyone knows exactly how those Pirelli tires behave. Actually, "miracle" is an understatement.
Jason Campbell70 said:Plus, Vettel’s car was basically set up just to bolt at the start.
Well, that should be the standard for every car, shouldn't it? To me, it looked like Vettel was on something. He didn't just find that one "perfect lap" you occasionally see; he was hitting them one after another. Still, Webber is trailing by 0.6s, which is a massive gap. Not sure how much those SuperSoft tires have been chewed up yet, or if anyone's going to run into grip issues. It's 2012, anything can happen. Usually, the championship leaders take the win, but these two behind them have a real shot. Though, Lewis Hamilton definitely needs this one more than anyone.
Looking at how things have played out this season (and the stats), Sebastian Vettel is probably our favorite to take the win tomorrow. The run to the first corner is pretty short, which makes making a move right off the line a real struggle. Since we’re expecting a tight race, the pit stops might be what actually decides everything. If you ask me, the odds for the top three are about 45:30:25.
Fernando Alonso could pull it off if his pit crew stays as sharp as they've been lately.
Raymond Anderson4 said:Some teams might actually pull off a one-stop strategy here. The tires seem decent, and since temps are running a bit lower, that might be why.
Pit stops are quick here, so I’m leaning towards two or even three stops being more likely.
The track surface looks like it has pretty low grip, so as the rubber wears down, things should start heating up.
Ferrari's looking fast. Really fast. There are a few races where they run Practice sessions that basically look just like qualifying or the actual race. The only thing I can't wrap my head around is what's going on with those clowns over at Lotus? Are they just putting on a show, or have they completely lost the plot?
ruggedfox28 said:I'll set the race to record, but I'm sticking around for the game only as long as we aren't losing. 😬 🤣
Look, I’ve got my own way of doing things. A specific recipe, if you want to call it that. So, my Comcast signal in this apartment building lags behind everyone else's. It’s just enough to be annoying. So, when a goal is scored, you hear the neighborhood erupt through my open balcony doors first. By the time I finally get the channel switched over, the celebration is already over. Just me sitting there in the silence after the party's finished.
I'm planning to run our ads on ESPN during the race. Honestly, compared to F1, football is just a total snooze fest.
Man, a win from Schumacher would be just what we need heading into the Canadian Grand Prix. But honestly, looking at how this season is playing out, I’d say Rosberg is actually more likely to grab his second win.
This is the real litmus test for Ferrari. We're going to see if those upgrades actually hold up on a track like this. They looked great at the last two races, but those were completely different beasts compared to this one.
Hamilton is still a massive contender to snatch a win. My only caveat? His team finally needs to step up and actually do their job if they want to make that happen. The guy is a beast in qualifying. He's already got two poles, two second-place finishes in QP, and let's not forget that absolute masterclass of a lap during QP in Barcelona.
Well, talk about an opening salvo. They say a single picture is worth a thousand words, but this one... There are plenty of questions floating around. The big one? Are we actually going to see a seventh different winner this year? And if so, who’s the lucky candidate? Or maybe the bigger question is: who will be the first driver to bag two wins in 2012?
steelmaker83 said:Herbert penalized Massa purely because it was obvious Massa knew what was coming. It was a legitimate racing incident where Lewis Hamilton shouldn't have been touched, but they went after Massa just to prove they aren't out to get the driver
Massa didn't leave enough room, sure, but that has NEVER—and I mean never—been a reason to hand out a penalty before.
That’s the sixth incident involving those two this season. It feels pretty fitting that Massa finally gets slapped with a penalty too, just once.
If you ask me, both drivers messed up. They could have both played it a bit smarter and just let it go. At the end of the day, Lewis Hamilton lost more here; he needed those points way more than anyone else.
Maria Lopez said:@ tbfd, if you could just set aside your fanboy bias for once...
😂
Maria Lopez said:... and if you were even remotely consistent with your takes and predictions ...
😂
Maria Lopez said:...but unfortunately, you're incapable of that.
The guy is a total stubborn mule. 😂
Fine, at least it gave me a laugh. In this swamp of boredom and general apathy from the rest of the crowd, this is easily the funniest post on the thread. Even if there was a tiny grain of truth in it.
Michael Schumacher was incredibly efficient, both in his driving style and his end results. That said, I’m not exactly rushing to praise Mercedes; they’re lagging behind the leaders by more than a second per lap on average. That's just too much.
It looks to me like the biggest winner in this section is Pedro de la Rosa, especially considering he's ahead of all those Renault, Sauber, and Force India cars.👍
Why on earth are Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton lagging so far behind their teammates? There has to be more to it than just bad luck. Is there something actually wrong with these cars, or are they just playing around with us?
Felipe Massa is becoming a real headache. Two days in a row, he’s been absolutely wrecking the car. 🤦 Honestly, it takes a special kind of talent to be that consistent at it. Then there’s that collision with Lewis Hamilton. It was clearly a misjudgment—trying to squeeze slightly to the right was asking for too much, though let's face it, anyone probably would've botched it. A crash was inevitable, given his track record. But he doesn't even know how to crash properly. Instead of a clean hit, he just flies off the track and leaves Lewis Hamilton with a broken wing.
Look, I'm not out here rooting for crashes, heavens no. I’d respect him a lot more if he just swallowed his pride and let Lewis Hamilton go. This wasn't racing; it was just two stubborn guys making contact for no reason. I highly doubt either of them will actually learn anything from this mess.
Sebastian Vettel is untouchable. Total dominance, pure sovereignty! 🙏🙏🙏 Jenson Button was incredible! 🙏 Fernando Alonso was incredible too! 🙏
As far as Alonso goes, I’d rather he lose a spot to Button right at the start than have to grind out an overtake a few laps later. In this mess, taking third is a win for him, especially since he left two guys with much faster cars stuck behind him.
Raymond Anderson4 said:South Korea will be the same story—those red tires won't last long, they'll be shot after just two or three laps. And don't even get me started on how Ferrari handles the hard compounds.
I was trying not to bring this up, but those idiots in the pit box absolutely screwed over Fernando Alonso in South Korea. First off, by the time they actually decided to pit him, they'd been sitting there for an eternity. It wasn't just that Jenson Button blew past him by five or six seconds; even Michael Schumacher cleared him. Total amateurs. If they had just brought Alonso in a few laps earlier, where would he be right now?
Second, what on earth was Massa doing racing ahead of Alonso on track? Look, that’s fine once in a blue moon, but it should be extremely rare. Even someone who isn't paying attention could see that Felipe is clearly a class below him. And how much did that stupidity cost us? At the very least, we could have had a much more exciting finish, and Alonso might have even snatched a podium. When are these people going to learn?
Drew Bennett68 said:Sure, I can see Alonso pulling into 2nd right after the first turn, but what happens when he deals with that pack trailing him? Between Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, and Hamdiya, someone’s definitely going to be leaving a front wing out on the asphalt.
Personally, I'd be perfectly fine if all three of them just stayed in the hunt. 😂
Then again, knowing Massa, he's usually the one leaving spare parts scattered across the track. It might actually make his life easier to finish the race without having to find his car in one piece.
And honestly, I'm worried the Red Bull Racing drivers might gang up on Alonso at the start. I’m more concerned about Sebastian Vettel, though. He’ll probably dive toward whatever gap opens up if he sees Alonso in his rearview mirror—and let's face it, looking through a Red Bull Racing mirror is a different game than looking through a McLaren one.
I don't get it. Why were we running on the softest compounds last race, and now suddenly it's the hardest? You think they're just playing favorites for Ferrari? 😁
So, is it actually going to be Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton on the same starting grid tomorrow?! Talk about poetic justice. And you've got two Red Bull Racing cars sitting right ahead of Fernando Alonso. 🙂 How much distance are we looking at before that first turn?