Posts by mellowtiger83

stormybadger8 said:And why would I ever self-banalize...🤔
If anyone deserves to be called self-banalizing, it’s the Ferrari strategists...

The reality is, I had actually convinced myself that Ferrari finally realized a few things, and I was expecting the whole thing to be strategically orchestrated just to block Lewis Hamilton at the start...
and if that were actually the case, it wouldn't have mattered at all who from the red cars took off first or second...

The real issue isn't that, but rather the fact that they chose to mess with one another at the start instead of working together like Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton do against the competition...
That is the problem, nothing more.

Because in the end, the outcome would have been identical. Even if Kimi Räikkönen had gone out in qualifying to draft behind Vettel, the grid would have just been Vettel, Hamilton, Kimi, Bottas...
Vettel and Hamilton would have blown past Kimi in a heartbeat, and Vettel would have ended up in the slipstream during the pit stops, leading to the exact same result as when Kimi fell back.
Since America manages their tires significantly better—noticeably so—they were faster in the race, which means the chances of Vettel keeping Hamilton behind him without Kimi's help, or even with Bottas helping Hamilton, were extremely slim...

One observation: Vettel's race pace is likely much superior to Räikkönen's, and Vettel probably would have kept Hamilton out of the DRS zone!

Secondly, allowing Kimi to fight with Vettel during this phase of the championship—and worse, allowing him to defend aggressively—is incredibly foolish. It only plays right into Hamilton's hands, and he executed Ferrari's stupidity with cold, clinical precision.

The idiots at Ferrari are acting as if they are fighting for the title against Takumi Satō in Super Aguri, rather than against a powerhouse like Mercedes and one of the greatest drivers alive!

Absolute morons. Let's set aside our affection for Kimi for a moment; almost everyone loves the guy, but he needs to get out of Vettel's way immediately during this part of the season, just like Rubens Barrichello used to move for Michael Schumacher, and that's that.

They made a squared-off stupid move at Indianapolis, and I fear it will cost them the drivers' championship, especially against Hamilton, who is clearly in peak form (a classic second-half-of-the-season trait), and against a team that is starting to slowly figure out Ferrari's secrets.

crimsonhawk23 said:👍

Don't go forgetting Michael Schumacher :P

I left him out on purpose. I'm honestly not sure if it would be a good thing to wish he were alive right now.

crimsonhawk23 said:Pardon my detour from the main topic, but I am currently over at a friend's place playing rFactor 2, and I am driving what is easily the most brutal Mercedes ever made— C11..



What an absolute beast 🙏

Long live Heinz Harald Frentzen and Peter Sauber.

Regarding the avatar, I could just upload a photo of Sebastian Vettel 🙂 and claim his fandom as my own.

Are we ever actually going to grab a beer? Honestly, just let these three little agitators be; they clearly don't grasp how this forum functions yet.
And everyone here is just one step away from being maximally aggressive and overly eager for a fight.🙂

stormybadger8 said:I have absolutely no idea what you actually know or don't know...

The only thing I am reasonably certain of is that by the end of this season, you’ll be weeping about how poor Lewis Hamilton had to drive a total junker just to stay in the title fight until the very last second against that absolute disaster of a car...

Hmm, I am not entirely convinced🙂, though it would certainly be entertaining if we were watching a duel right through to the final race.
Lewis Hamilton still holds one advantage besides those 30 points; he can afford to let Max Verstappen get aggressive with Sebastian Vettel, much like what happened at Indianapolis.
Essentially, Hamilton will maintain his lead until the folks over at Mercedes-Benz finally figure out Ferrari's secrets—and judging by their statements, that is exactly what they are working on. Once they do, expect Hamilton to hit warp speed and disappear into the distance.

Enough with the constant jokes about Vettel! Have you all even heard me?🙂.

Good grief, do you people realize that if Hamilton ever gets sidelined, we won't be able to survive on nothing but Vettel's fanboys alone.

crimsonhawk23 said:

I heard a rumor that DHL reached out to him regarding a sponsorship deal.🙂

Toby, I also hold the opinion that Mercedes-Benz is actually faster than Ferrari 🙂.
Is that acceptable now?

stormybadger8 said:God, this slow car 🙂
Go ahead and ramble all you want, but you can't even explain this tiny margin to yourself...
https://www.formula1.com/en/results....test-laps.html

A whole second faster on the FL than Kimi? For heaven's sake, even if a reincarnated Ayrton Senna were walking on water, there is no theory where he could pull an FL a full second faster than what is effectively a much quicker car according to you...
And that's against cars of the exact same weight, on the same tires, and with Kimi behind the wheel—who, if he's a specialist at anything, is a specialist at pulling an FL...
Sure, Kimi will mess up qualifying or the race about 50% of the time; sure, he’ll botch the start or a restart; but he will always pull an FL if the car has any decent pace whatsoever. ☕
If you don't understand why I'm saying this, go educate yourself...http://www.statsf1.com/en/statistiqu...ur/nombre.aspx

That Ferrari at Indianapolis wasn't even close; by some miracle, the Mercedes was exactly one second faster than it. ☕

Though, one shouldn't forget to mention that Mercedes is drastically slower than Ferrari and that Valtteri Bottas is an absolute alien who also managed to steal those mysterious 0.6 seconds from Alonso. 🙂

So what? What does an FL have to do with anything? Throughout history, barely even notable drivers have pulled an FL during a race! For instance, if I recall correctly, Alonso pulled an FL at Indianapolis in that junk Honda a few years back!
Cars that aren't even remotely competitive used to pull FLs.

Daniel Ricciardo pulled plenty of FLs this year, so Red Bull realistically can't even compete unless it's on very specific tracks.

What specifically does an FL mean to you? To me, it's a useless, irrelevant statistic that shows absolutely nothing.

Ferrari was fast in FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, and Q3, and now you're trying to convince me that Mercedes is actually the fast one.
Dammit.

stormybadger8 said:It is simply a matter of being objective, nothing more... and I might add, it is quite evident you aren't exactly a Hamilton supporter.😍
I am genuinely curious about what excuses are being prepared for when Hamilton fails to keep up with the Blockers and Woody Woodpecker ends up losing a title that was practically already his.

Hamilton should have lost the championship already; Vettel personally ensured that didn't happen.
It would be quite a strange turn of events if Hamilton managed to win a title with such a slower car, though given how things are trending, it remains a possibility.

So, what kind of excuses are we supposed to hunt for on Hamilton's behalf?
Hamilton provides his own excuses—take, for instance, when two fast cars pull up alongside him on the outside of a chicane.
Or when a slower car manages to grab pole position in the pouring rain.

Which part of this is unclear to you?

neonfox65 said:I'm not sure if anyone else caught this.

https://twitter.com/AldonaMarciniak/...41642209062912

https://twitter.com/OfficialMinis/st...22544599613441

Naturally, there’s absolutely no talk of penalizing Sebastian Vettel at Monza; those officials simply aren't doing anything about it.

I find myself wondering why no penalty was issued.😁

I honestly don't get why Sebastian Vettel didn't just play it smart and let Hamilton go down with him. He could have easily claimed he lost grip, both end up with a DNF, and he walks away with those 17 points intact. It sounds much better than taking a -30 hit.

Now, Vettel is stuck praying for a Hamilton DNF, which would still leave Hamilton with a 5-point cushion.

All the pressure has shifted entirely onto Vettel. One more mistake and his championship hopes are dead in the water, whereas Hamilton can afford to mess around and still stay right in the hunt.

stormybadger8 said:No need to worry about me, honey. 😍

It’s nothing. I just feel bad about what happened to Sebastian Vettel. That’s all.

Forget it.😁

Toby, get out of here! Nobody’s going to bother you. Let’s just sit back and talk about how masterly Sebastian Vettel handles that steering wheel.🙂

A nod to Lewis Hamilton as well—that overtake on the outside was quite something. Bravo!

stormybadger8 said:You all are being incredibly naive🤣

This is a tactical move by Sebastian Vettel, and frankly, a masterstroke. 🙏
It’s what they call killing three birds with one stone. 🙂

1. He starts ahead of Lewis Hamilton, though technically alongside him...
2. Kimi starts right in front of Lewis Hamilton, and we all know how Kimi handles starts...
3. Kimi is signing a new contract with Ferrari tonight. 🙂

The finish is obvious: Vettel, Kimi, then Lewis Hamilton. ☕

I am eagerly awaiting another brilliant post suggesting Sebastian Vettel intends to start on a dirty line. 😁
I truly enjoy reading these masterpieces.
This is precisely why being a permanent member of Reddit matters; everything else is just noise.

Calm down, Gajs. Pick a better username. I wouldn't want the moderator to give me a warning just because I’m a four-time champion.

Jason Campbell70 said:The only thing more pathetic than the "history of quality among Sebastian Vettel's teammates" is the "recent driving performances and results of Kimi Räikkönen."

Don't try to play it that way. You won't be able to explain to us how Räikkönen is actually faster than Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, or Jenson Button, or how he's somehow better than Mark Webber.!
Watch what you say. You might already be writing something in defense of that four-time fraud.🎉

It’s a shame about Nico Rosberg leaving, or perhaps more specifically, the fact that he isn't pulling for the same side as Sebastian Vettel. I know for a fact things were getting pretty tense between him and Ferrari.
By now, he would have swept the floor with that four-time fraud and likely secured himself two world titles by now.

But then again, guys like Sebastian Vettel just happen to align perfectly with a 39-year-old, indifferent old man who somehow manages to be fast every once in a while despite his own handicaps.