Posts by mellowtiger83

Where on earth did this Mercedes pace come from? Honestly, enough is enough!

It’s unbelievable. They were a full second faster than Ferrari during FP2, and I was actually convinced Ferrari had this in the bag.

@Ivic Joza

Basically, Joza was trying to tell you that you're nothing more than a common little badger, though he clearly lacked the finesse to wrap that sentiment in any kind of polite packaging!

Just a badger crawling out of its hole.

ruggedhawk20 said:To isn't even plagiarism if you look at it closely; it’s more like eclecticism.

There you go. You. Exactly.🎉>

You people are absolutely clueless! So what if Biancha is Canadian? That’s irrelevant. What actually matters is that she was hands down the best Lara Croft model ever, and more importantly, there is an actual mod featuring her likeness in one of the greatest games ever made, Fallout 4!

If that Knight hadn't gone ahead and slapped her photo up without having the slightest clue who she was, you all would still be sitting there in total ignorance regarding whose chest we're even talking about!

Honestly, who am I even arguing with on this forum anymore? I'm out of here.

crimsonhawk23 said:I don't even need to dig through the hidden posts to see how much he's bashing Alonso. It’s constant. Like some parrot, he's got nothing but Alonso on his mind all day long. 🤣

Exactly. Even when reading between the lines, he brings up Alonso just as often as he mentions Lewis Hamilton. 🙂

And now we're approaching the end of his protege's career, somewhere around that summer in 2019 back when things were happening in sunny California.

Are we really calling these SUVs? Or should we just call them the ultimate all-purpose pieces of junk?

neonfox65 said:

No, he's not a Ferrari fan...

Hey man, how do you say "epic idiot" in whatever language they speak over in Europe?

Gary Palmer8 said:Wow... the sheer amount of disrespect aimed at Lewis Hamilton here... I mean, what else does he have to prove on the track before people stop claiming his talent is just pure luck?

Who is doing the disrespecting? From where I'm sitting, Sebastian Vettel is the one getting dragged through the mud over the last three pages.🙂

And who Tibi? He’s just a bit eccentric—a total Hamilton hater, really. Nothing serious, though. Just a minor diagnosis!

darkmarlin16 said:Well, Vettel was on the outside during that right-hander at the chicane.🕺

Sebastian Vettel was positioned on the inside line through that left-hand chicane. In those kinds of situations, when there's contact, the driver caught on the outside—in this case, Lewis Hamilton—is usually the one who ends up spinning out.
It went fairly well for Lewis Hamilton, I suppose. Aside from that, his attempt was quite aggressive—he was pushing right to the edge, and contact was practically inevitable at that point. Sebastian Vettel really had little chance of avoiding it. Hamilton made his move like that because he’s sitting on a points lead; he simply had less to lose in the grand scheme of things.
Sebastian Vettel made a mistake in that situation by trying to defend his position, though I can hardly blame him. It is simply the standard reaction for any racing driver, and what transpired was entirely natural.
It isn't really a matter of placing blame on either Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton. It was simply a racing incident where one driver managed to come out on top. It could have just as easily gone the other way, with Hamilton securing the advantage, or both of them ending up stuck in the gravel trap.
There isn't much point in overthinking this.

stormybadger8 said:So, is there actually any logic behind Kimi coming out behind Vettel? And honestly, seeing them exit in that exact same formation again right after Spa... it just doesn't add up.
Why on earth did Vettel spend twice chasing the slipstream of that Mercedes instead of just utilizing his own car? It’s pure overthinking. All this tactical maneuvering and trying to reinvent the wheel when the solution is already staring them in the face. Just plain nonsensical. 🤷

Besides that, wouldn't the outcome be exactly the same if Kimi had gone out first, chasing Lewis Hamilton's slipstream, while Sebastian Vettel chased Kimi? What is actually the difference there?

I simply cannot grasp the logic here. It seems fundamentally flawed to shift all the risk onto the driver fighting for the championship, while essentially offering zero resistance to the driver who should, by any rational standard, be acting as the No. 2. You can easily manage the gap between Vettel and Kimi within the team itself. To do otherwise is just poor strategy.

Something very strange is definitely brewing here...
It would actually make some semblance of sense if Vettel had tried to tuck in behind Kimi to catch a slipstream—you know, like that move he pulled back at Spa. But that’s not even the issue here. The real problem is that the formation was identical to what we saw at Spa, yet Vettel still chose to pull out and attempt a pass on Kimi.
It’s a different story entirely when you consider how those clowns up top absolutely botched the track positioning, even worse than what happened at Monza. Kimi didn't get a single inch of slipstream out of it. But honestly, in the end, it hardly matters since Bottas spun out and basically ruined everyone's opening flying lap anyway.

I fail to see the logic. On what grounds can anyone claim that was the finest drive of Lewis Hamilton's entire career? 🤦
Good grief, are you actually aware that with statements like those, you come across as the biggest mythomaniac to ever exist? 🤣

What’s the point in me sitting here trying to hype up Sebastian Vettel’s charge through eighteen positions? It feels a bit redundant when you consider that the only actual heavy hitters on the grid right now are Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.
The FIA basically removed themselves from the equation, Max essentially committed career suicide, and when you actually look at the facts, his only real challenge was facing Ricciardo... that was a decent little breakthrough, I suppose, but nothing spectacular.
Lujo didn't exactly put on a spectacular show, either. He just drove a composed, solid race and capitalized perfectly on the golden opportunity that was handed to him on a silver platter.

Lujo had a decent race, I suppose, though nothing particularly remarkable to report.
He was handed a massive pile of assets, and honestly, he played his hand perfectly. He leveraged every single one of those gifts to turn a serious profit. It was smooth, calculated, and undeniably effective.
Not that he pulled off anything particularly special or groundbreaking there... I honestly don't see that drive even breaking into his top 20, let alone being his best. 🤦

He had some damn luck that he didn't spin out during that contact with Sebastian Vettel. In situations like that, it’s usually the guy on the outside who ends up getting screwed. 🙂

And immediately following that, it became patently obvious that Hamilton would take the win, provided he didn't collide with someone or suffer some sort of mechanical failure.
The reality was always going to be that Kimi wouldn't be able to hold him back, and even if he somehow managed to keep him behind on track, we all know Ferrari would have just botched the strategy through the pit stops, leaving the door wide open for Mercedes-Benz to shine.
So, what was it that we actually witnessed during the race itself?

Mercedes-Benz executed their strategy flawlessly regarding Kimi’s pit window and that subsequent hesitation with Bottas. Meanwhile, Ferrari completely botched things by forcing Kimi to grind out those excessive sequences of fast laps.
And then later on, you have Kimi just trailing behind Bottas, and by the end of it, Kimi's tires were absolutely shredded.

After everything that went down, Lewis Hamilton basically had an incredibly easy job beating Kimi and cruising through the rest of the race to the finish line...

Maybe he could have tried passing both Ferraris on the outside? Not that they weren't arguably the faster cars all weekend long. Plus, he drove an absolutely flawless race, staying right on the limit for almost the entire duration until he finally moved past Kimi.
+ and I'm not the only one saying this!! + even in the Ferrari garage, after the fans had been giving him grief both before and after the race🙂

stormybadger8 said:Regarding Ferrari's infamous qualifying tactics at the Italian Grand Prix...

If memory serves, they did something similar at Spa by sending Vettel out first, followed by Kimi...
Because Vettel was the one who exited immediately after Bottas and Hamilton (with Bottas tasked with creating a slipstream for Hamilton...)

So, Kimi wasn't given a specific task like Bottas was either...
And similarly, his teammate could have certainly utilized Vettel's slipstream; if I recall correctly, they sent Kimi out too late, leaving quite a gap between them during that initial dry run... but regardless, Vettel was definitely the first one out...

How and why they used the exact same pattern two races in a row isn't particularly clear, especially since "slipstreaming" proved to be such an effective weapon in both instances.🤔

Usually, teams follow a system where, if drivers are roughly equal, they alternate who goes out first and who follows in the next race...

Teams with a definitive No. 2, like Mercedes-Benz, obviously do the opposite, ensuring Bottas always takes the inferior strategy to pull Hamilton along...

However, I don't recall any team ever behaving like Ferrari, choosing a scheme twice in a row where the driver intended to be No. 1 ends up with the worse strategy twice.😵

You've got it wrong! Vettel should have had a Mercedes in front of him for the slipstream at Monza, but he was released onto the track too late and ended up too far back from the Mercedes.🙂

Essentially, Ferrari's tactic was sound in theory, just poorly executed and frankly stupid in practice. The idea was to slot Kimi ahead of the Mercedes because they assumed Vettel would naturally be faster anyway.

By screwing over Vettel—who needed to be in the slipstream of a Mercedes—they also screwed Kimi (or perhaps he just screwed himself), as he was about 3 seconds behind Vettel and likely didn't benefit from any slipstream at all!

In the end, it turned out great for Ferrari, except for the fact that the wrong driver took pole, and we all know how they reacted during the race and how Hamilton dealt with them.

In short, perhaps one of Hamilton's best drives ever.

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, just spare me Charlie and his endless explanations.🤦
The man is blatantly biased. The stewards' decisions are inconsistent at best and highly questionable at worst, yet he always seems to have an abundance of justifications for why things happened the way they did.😁

Essentially, Charlie and the officials are killing Formula 1 on a daily basis. Most of their decisions don't actually reflect what is happening on the track; they exist merely to manipulate the standings and spice up the show.🙂
They clearly prioritize who committed the error based on who the victim was...
If Max had caused a similar incident involving anyone other than a Mercedes-Benz driver, there wouldn't have been a penalty. Not because he didn't deserve one, but because Charlie and the stewards simply don't care about anything else.🙂

It seems the system operates on who complains the loudest rather than who is actually at fault.
Max’s penalty was almost certainly triggered by Mercedes whining, not because the officials would have penalized him regardless.

For instance, you have Sebastian Vettel being released unsafely toward a Sauber driver during the same race, and nothing happens.
An unsafe release is a binary thing—it either happened or it didn't—so there isn't much room for debate.
And since Sauber certainly didn't complain, Charlie and his crew played blind, and miraculously, no penalty was issued.
If Vettel had been released in that exact same manner toward a Mercedes-Benz driver, you can bet money he would have been penalized before that very lap even ended.☕

That is precisely the point: penalties are handed out arbitrarily and without any semblance of order.
Penalties should be applied equally to everyone, regardless of which team or driver is involved.

neonfox65 said:He was right once; that move was a total wild card.

🙏🙏,this is exactly why being a forum regular matters.

neonfox65 said:🤦

I already gave you my answer in that other thread, and clearly, you were left speechless. Unnecessary? Please. Max needed to defend himself because that is quite literally why he gets paid. It wasn't dangerous because he didn't wreck anyone or spin them out. If he had done that, a penalty would have been appropriate. But Valtteri caught up to him, and instead of letting us actually watch a battle, those idiots ruined the race. You claim to watch NASCAR, so tell me, do you actually see any real racing happening there? This whole argument is ridiculous.

Look, I’m a fan of Max and I root for him, but he earned that penalty, wheel included.

neonfox65 said:I'll say it again: against officials meddling in driver duels. Drivers should settle things on track themselves; that's what racing is. Constantly scrutinizing every tiny detail and handing out penalties just kills the sport. This wasn't how things used to be—some genius decided this was a good idea, and frankly, it's nonsense. The only exception is when someone truly messes up (like when Max hit Sebastian Vettel in China), then a penalty is warranted.

Go ahead, keep trying to spin it how Max was closing in on Bottas and just happened to make contact with his wheel in a way that was totally unnecessary and dangerous!

I took a closer look at that footage of Bottas versus Max, and honestly, Max getting penalized was 100% warranted—maybe even more than they gave him. Here is why.

The breakdown is simple: Bottas was holding his line. He occupied his position on the left side, and then Max, coming from his own lane, swerved left toward Bottas until he made contact with the tire. I should clarify that Bottas was driving his intended line at that exact moment; it was Max who veered out of his path and steered into him just to try and grab a better angle for the chicane.

This isn't some debate about whether Max failed to leave enough room for Bottas. Bottas had already established his position. This was about Max making a rather reckless move to the left, continuing that movement right up until he slammed into Bottas's car.

The penalty was absolutely justified.

crimsonhawk23 said:It isn't Kimi's fault that Sebastian lost his cool and felt the need to dive into those first two corners like some kind of amateur acting tough.

They could have easily secured P1 and P2 if Seb hadn't completely botched it against Lewis.

Let me state this for the third time in this thread: since Canada 2017, which means over 28 races, in the very first lap Vettel has managed to destroy his own front wing through sheer incompetence in five separate races. It isn't Kimi's fault when this guy acts foolishly and then spends the rest of the time complaining and playing the victim. That whole... "I should have been on pole" bit is ridiculous. 🙄 Just drive faster than Kimi and you'll get it, wtf.

The second chicane was just pure stupidity from Vettel; it was as if he had no idea whether Kimi was going to let him through or not 🙂. After the first chicane, the outcome should have been obvious.
The real issue lies with that first chicane and Kimi blocking wheels during a direct duel with a teammate who is fighting for the championship!

It seems like the folks at Ferrari didn't even bother communicating the start strategy to their drivers, though I find their overall policy regarding Kimi quite baffling.

Returning to the footage of Alonso and Magnussen at Silverstone, I've just noticed Magnussen's nasty understeer. It supports my theory that he simply couldn't move Alonso further right at that moment. I'd love to see an onboard from Magnussen's car if one exists; I am fairly certain he was busy correcting massive understeer right then.

crimsonhawk23 said:Is Alonso really at fault just because Magnussen pushed him off the track by about a car and a half? 🤣



Fine, let Nando take the fall if that's how we're playing it.😵So, why hasn't there been a penalty? It seems like nobody has been penalized this season for failing to leave at least one car's width of space. Except for Max, of course, who left Bottas exactly one car width—if you can even call it that, since he actually gave him more—and yet Bottas didn't go a single millimeter off the track. It’s quite curious. 😬

At that specific moment, Magnussen had already overtaken Alonso. He was sitting about a foot ahead on the inside line, and because of how that corner is shaped, he couldn't push any further right without completely killing his car's stability. Alonso had a much clearer view of Magnussen since he was trailing just slightly behind, yet he made this desperate, forced attempt to squeeze through the turn. It was a bad call. He should have known Magnussen would have to drift wide; there was simply no other way to take it given that both drivers were pushed right to the edge of their traction limits.

Regarding the penalty handed down to Max, I find it rather excessive. He left just enough room, really. As far as I am aware, Max was penalized for both cutting the chicane and that incident where he pushed Bottas. In my view, this whole penalty is quite foolish.

In my view, racing incidents shouldn't be subject to penalties.

Regarding that first clip, Magnussen is largely to blame, whereas for the second one, it’s definitely Alonso.
I can't really get into the specifics right now since I'm away from my computer and typing on a phone is just too much effort.

crimsonhawk23 said:Poor guy; it feels like everyone is ganging up on him 🤕

He was just stating facts. I still haven't figured out why Kimi Raikkonen would bother having any kind of beef with him, especially since it's been two days since the race ended.