Posts by Amanda Kelly

stormybadger8 said:Sure, let's call it "passive" when we're talking about helping Lewis Hamilton 🙂 ...

That's just how he writes.
PP is pure gold; looking at where things stand right now, it’s pretty obvious.
And get this—Toto will probably claim it was all for the good of the team (you know, those precious points).

Richard Walker38 said:Exactly. Ever since they announced Russell, Valtteri decided to go full "passive mode." He doesn't care about the championship anymore; he’s just out there trolling on Instagram.

A podium in Mexico isn't exactly "passive mode."

Richard Walker38 said:Whether they had the right to say it or not is completely irrelevant. This is just blatant, entitled mockery aimed at someone they’ve decided isn't on their level.

He’s too much. That look on his face—pure, unadulterated contempt. He just couldn't help himself; he had to let it show.

Richard Walker38 said:Sam saw how people reacted to what he said, and honestly, he did it on purpose. He knew exactly what he was doing. Now he’s just going through the motions, putting out those fake apologies and "clarifications" like he actually cares.

Maybe you could always shell out some cash for a few PR consultants or communications gurus. Not like we don't have the budget for that.

graniteharbor502 said:... It’s easy for us to sit back in our armchairs and act like we know how Mercedes-AMG Petronas should have handled things. If they had played it differently, maybe the points gap wouldn't be such a joke right now. Team orders and agreements between drivers about strategy and cooperation often fall apart when things get heated on track (just look at those messy Ferrari's attempts at towing during Monza Massa-Alonso). High speeds, split-second decisions, plenty of other variables... it's never that simple.

I'm sure they had a plan. I just want to know where it went sideways—why did the whole strategy fall apart? (Though I guess Lewis Hamilton already gave us a hint about that).

graniteharbor502 said:If he’d let Perez through, he would have lost even more points in the long run.😉
Because if Max managed to jump ahead of Lewis, then Perez would end up losing out to Max. Red Bull Racing would land a 1-2, and Lewis would be stuck in an even deeper hole.

I was talking about a scenario where they sacrifice letting Perez past just to successfully defend against Max. That’s the only move that actually makes sense.

graniteharbor502 said:... And what’s even more tragic is how Max Verstappen’s masterclass gets overshadowed by all the chaos. That start was easily the most intense one we've seen all season.

Max played it perfectly.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway layout has one of the longest stretches from the start line to that first turn. If other tracks were built like this, we might actually get some decent opening-lap action for once.

graniteharbor502 said:... Lewis still had two Red Bull Racing cars breathing down his neck, risking someone diving up the inside. He even admitted it himself: "But obviously I was alongside him, which was good. And then I was just covering my side of the track, trying to make sure no one could come up the inside so I was trying to keep whichever Red Bull Racing I could see in my mirror behind."

Lewis is really only fighting Max.
His main goal lately isn't actually winning—it's just staying ahead of Max. Winning would be nice, sure, but the priority is making sure Max doesn't beat you.

If Sergio Perez had overtaken him at the start, it would have been annoying, but manageable. Something he could deal with.
A win for Max is a much harder pill to swallow.
Hypothetically, if the finish had been P1 Perez P2 Lewis P3 Max, the points gap for Max would only be 6. Instead, it's 19. That's a massive swing.
At the start, Perez was basically a 2% problem; Max was the other 98%.

Mercedes nailed qualifying and had the perfect grid position.
But a couple of days later, I get the feeling they spent way more time worrying about Lewis than they did about Max.

graniteharbor502 said:How do you think the FIA and the fans would react if Bottas intentionally rammed Max Verstappen just to knock him out of the race?
Does Valtteri Bottas really think playing dirty is worth it? As if making an unsportsmanlike move is actually going to help him, especially when he risks knocking himself out of the race in the very first corner. Not exactly a genius plan. 🤷
Everything’s gone to hell if we’re expecting Formula 1 drivers to actually race instead of just intentionally smashing into one another.

What kind of reckless driving and mindless crashing is this?
I was only ever talking about my line through the corners. Nothing else.
Look, you can't just let a car on the outside line pull up alongside you. You’ve got to stay ahead—at least a quarter or a third of a car length—if you want to hold your ground.
If the first turn is a right-hander followed by a left-hander, you want to drift wide on that first one. It lets you square off the corner so you can clip the inside edge of the second turn perfectly. Simple physics, really.

At the end of the day, Lewis and Max have both given each other everything they've got, over and over again.
Either the car's gonna clip the curb on the outside or it’s going straight off track. There isn't much else to it.
Mercedes had everything under control until the moment Bottas braked a little too hard.

graniteharbor502 said:You can't exactly expect Bottas to go out there and snatch a championship for Lewis. It’s on Lewis to show everyone what he's actually capable of.

Sure thing.
Honestly, I’m not even a little bit sorry about how things went down.
Looking back at what went down in Turn 1 during yesterday's race, I can't help but feel Valtteri Bottas could have played a different role for the sake of the team and his teammate. He could've handled himself in a way that wouldn't have cost him much, but would've actually helped out.

And we’re still left wondering why Bottas handled things that way.
It’s night and day. We’re looking at a massive gap here, and I can't decide if we're watching a simple driver error or if Bottas's decision-making is just fundamentally flawed.

I’m pretty convinced this was just a mistake or a lapse in judgment. Bottas has always been a team player up until now—someone you could actually manage. Plus, Toto Wolff is his manager, after all.

If Bottas decided to go rogue, he certainly picked the perfect moment to do it.
Man, I’d have a hard time forgiving him for something like that. Traitors are easily my least favorite kind of people.

wiredseal7 said:It’s not "teamwork" for Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton to be calling out Bottas over this. Sure, he could have had a better start, but still...

Give me a break. If I were Lewis Hamilton, I would've told him where to go. Period. I wouldn't even bother looking his way anymore.
What Bottas did was a massive, massive mistake. Or rather, what he failed to do.

graniteharbor502 said:Come on, tell me how they could have shut him out on a track this wide? 🤷
If Bottas had just veered right, Max would've squeezed right between them, and then Mercedes would be praying they don't end up with a collision between Max and Lewis—which actually plays right into Max's hands since he's leading on points.

Bottas had the perfect setup to block him. Literally perfect!

Once Max gets past that rear tire or pulls right up to the front (while you're holding the inside line), you don't lift. You stay flat out as long as possible—even if you have to go wide—just so you don't let Max through. He shouldn't be able to pass unless he goes off track. What kind of "heavy braking" nonsense is that!? 😵

Let’s play a little hypothetical game here. If Max had been in Bottas’s shoes/position, who on earth was going to pass him there? Nobody. Not even theoretically. And the same goes for Lewis.

Positionally speaking, Mercedes had everything lined up perfectly before that first corner. Lewis on the inside, Bottas acting as the buffer, and then Max trailing behind. Right up until the braking zone. Then everything just went to hell.

To me, this is a massive driving error. Unacceptable. Especially given what the team and his teammate are dealing with right now.
No matter how much Toto talks or prepares the drivers before a race, it clearly wasn't enough.

William Gomez5 said:Whatever your take on Max is, whether you love him or hate him, that move into Turn 1 was legendary.

No matter how this race shakes out—especially if he pulls off the win at the end--

+1
That start is going down in history.

1. VER
2. HAM
3. BOT
4. PER
5. LEC
6. GAS
7. SAI
8. ALO
9. NOR
10. RIC
11. VET
12. TSU
13. OCO
14. RAI
15. STR
16. RUS
17. GIO
18. MSC
19. LAT
20. MAZ

PP VER
FL VER
____________

stormybadger8 said:I honestly don't know what you people are watching or why you're even tuning in 🤔
It’s a total mess from Toto Wolff and the rest of the Lewis Hamilton crew 🤣 ...

Lewis Hamilton (maxf1.net):
“I think I’m mentally stronger than I’ve ever been,” said Hamilton, now in his 15th season of Formula 1.
“And I think that's a huge part of the whole story. I feel like I've been mentally tougher for a long time, but I've become even more resilient.”

There you have it. Lewis is better than he's ever been. Which means the car is the problem.

Richard Ross11 said:One driver's DNF and another's win could settle everything right now. Doesn't matter if it's Mercedes or Red Bull Racing.

Max Verstappen can make up for one Max's DNF. Lewis Hamilton can't recover from one DNF.

1. Hamilton
2. Max Verstappen
3. Sergio Perez

4. Valtteri Bottas
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Lando Norris
8. Daniel Ricciardo
9. Lance Stroll
10. Fernando Alonso

11. Pierre Gasly
12. Esteban Ocon
13. Gio Russell
14. Yuki Tsunoda
15. Valtteri Bottas
16. Sebastian Vettel

17. Russian driver
18. Nicholas Latifi
19. MSC NOP
20. MAZ

PP: Hamilton
FL: Hamilton

shadowstag10 said:Just so we’re all clear—the only reason I stepped up to lead this whole mess was because everyone was losing their minds over how fast the points were being calculated after the Race. And now? Now you’ve got me stuck in this impossible spot where if I decide nobody gets the PP—even though TBF1D is totally right, and honestly, has every reason to walk away from the game entirely—I’m the bad guy. On the flip side, silentbear49 couldn't care less, yet I’ve got Fortin, Amanda Kelly, and darkmarlin16 breathing down my neck if I give Valtteri Bottas the PP. So, fine. I'm giving Valtteri Bottas the PP because that’s what the rules say, and that hasn't changed regardless of any recent tweaks.

As for next season, I’m seriously weighing whether I even want to deal with this headache again.

Sure, we’re all incredibly grateful. It works fast, stays organized, and looks clean—honestly. So, 👍, big thanks.

shadowstag10 said:Just so we’re all clear—the only reason I stepped up to lead this whole mess was because everyone was losing their minds over how fast the points were being calculated after the Race. And now? Now you’ve got me stuck in this impossible spot where if I decide nobody gets the PP—even though TBF1D is totally right, and honestly, has every reason to walk away from the game entirely—I’m the bad guy. On the flip side, silentbear49 couldn't care less, yet I’ve got Fortin, Amanda Kelly, and darkmarlin16 breathing down my neck if I give Valtteri Bottas the PP. So, fine. I'm giving Valtteri Bottas the PP because that’s what the rules say, and that hasn't changed regardless of any recent tweaks.

As for next season, I’m seriously weighing whether I even want to deal with this headache again.

Good grief, I'm not whining. I just disagree with the rule; I think it's a bad fix. The voting makes that pretty obvious.
But hey, like some people said, my ignorance is my own damn problem.

shadowstag10 said:But it clearly wasn't "loud and clear" before (even if it is now), considering like 7 people—which is basically half the group?!—voted for Hamilton to take Pole position, despite the fact we've known since Thursday he had a penalty.

I was convinced we were predicting the order/positions actually earned during qualifying. You know, what they achieved through pure driving.
To me, that's what the Pole position prediction should have been about.

Then you factor in penalties, where drivers lose spots after the fact.
It just made more sense to me to guess based on what happened on the track, rather than waiting a day to see how the grid looks right before the race starts.
Now that I think about it, that logic holds up. My vote goes to Hamilton.

1. Max Verstappen
2. Valtteri Bottas
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Sergio Perez
6. Lando Norris
7. Gasly
8. Ricciardo
9. Carlos Sainz
10. Fernando Alonso
11. Ocon
12. Russian
13. Gio
14. Tsu
15. Vettel
16. Lance Stroll
17. Rai
18. Nicholas Latifi

Monaco Grand Prix Nikita Mazepin
Monaco Grand Prix

Pit Stop Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton

Another sarcastic observation:

According to the standings, Valtteri Bottas gets 4 points for the Pit Stop position.

But Norris was actually the one at the Pit Stop!
He had the fastest lap too, though I'm sure nobody saw that coming.

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Valtteri Bottas
3. Lando Norris

4. Max Verstappen
5. Perez
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Ricciardo
8. Vettel and Gasly
9. Leclerc
10. Fernando Alonso

11. Ocon
12. Vettel and Gasly
13. Russian
14. Lance Stroll
15. Gio
16. Rai

17. Nicholas Latifi
18. Monaco Grand Prix 20th

Monaco Grand Prix Nikita Mazepin
Monaco Grand Prix Tsunoda

Pit Stop: Lewis Hamilton
FL: Lewis Hamilton