Posts by mellowtiger83

It is a shame Charles Leclerc didn't take the win. I suppose I will offer a somewhat detached analysis now, stripped of any bias, since I stopped caring about Lewis Hamilton a long time ago—and Max Verstappen even less so. This was nothing more than a standard racing incident, devoid of fault, let alone deserving of a penalty. The fact that Max ended up in the hospital is simply a consequence of contact occurring at such high velocity. Both Max and Lewis Hamilton could have avoided this; primarily, it was a misjudgment of available space on Max's part. Lewis couldn't have moved to the right because, at that speed and given the line already chosen, any attempt would have likely resulted in an even more severe collision toward Max. It is called understeer. There you have it.

Everyone needs to lower their blood pressure. Personally, if I were in Lewis Hamilton's position, I wouldn't be apologizing either. He is just as much to blame as Max; it was two hot-headed drivers colliding. A pure racing incident.

And Christian Horner ought to give some thought to how he handles his reactions.

darkmarlin16 said:Fernando outmaneuvered him, as expected. ☕
George Russell messed up Carlos Sainz Jr.; he earned that penalty. ☕
Lewis Hamilton is just being hypocritical. Yesterday he was lecturing everyone about needing to wear masks, yet he doesn't even follow his own advice. 🤣 🙂, pushing propaganda 🤮

It looks like none of our title hopes are happening this year.

Two spins, and not one from Fettel 😲w
Even with better tires and DRS, he couldn't overtake Nanda:🙂

For tomorrow, I predict Sebastian Vettel will move up one more spot in the standings. There's something about how Aston Martin looks under his control; I believe he'll finish ahead of Fernando Alonso, though Sainz will likely jump both of them before the race ends.

And I find it hard to believe Vettel didn't have a single spin. Statistically, that's nearly impossible. He lost his championship at Ferrari because of spins; saying he had zero is simply unlikely.

Vettel is the master of dead zones. They really ought to design side mirrors for him the size of dinner plates just so he stops slamming into people and himself.

fadedwalker18 said:

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Thanks for this video. If we are talking about raw pace, he is easily the fastest driver to ever sit in a cockpit. Perhaps one could argue for Clark, but strictly on pure speed, it's him.

And certainly the greatest wet-weather specialist to ever live. That race in Portugal was nothing short of a miracle.

ruggedhawk20 said:What Senna haven't they watched? You mean the Senna from Asif Kapadia's doc? Is that the one you're talking about?

Nah, thanks. We couldn't care less about that glorified little fairy tale documentary.

And unfortunately—judging by your posts—that's probably the only "Senna" you've ever actually seen.

I watched it! Am I not allowed to have an opinion?😁

The greatest driver of all time.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Because the rules were different back then, the stewards' decision no longer applied once they changed.

I’d hand you a penalty for this... you're just stubbornly insisting on your own version of reality.

It is quite obvious that the rules are drafted specifically to suit Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes; I fail to see any other logical explanation.

neonfox65 said:Five seconds.☕

Regarding Hamilton, I assume his overtake involving all four off-track excursions was perfectly legal, and I suspect he didn't receive a five-second penalty. 😁

A penalty only occurs if someone overtakes Hamilton. In reality, Red Bull Racing didn't receive a penalty; they simply chose to let Hamilton pass on their own initiative. I have a feeling Max had enough of a gap to pull away by more than five seconds before the finish, but Red Bull Racing decided to play it fair against a dirty Mercedes and a protected Hamilton.

That damn Sebastian Vettel gets hit with a penalty because of Nikita Mazepin, even though he’s completely innocent. He didn't even have a chance to react.

Watching the showdown between McLaren and Ferrari throughout the rest of the season should be quite interesting. I am also hoping to see some progress from Aston Martin and Alpine.

Hats off to Fernando Alonso. His pace was impressive until the issues surfaced with that noticeably slower car. Even with his speed, I don't think they have much to celebrate right now. Ferrari and McLaren, however, have plenty of reasons to be satisfied—especially Ferrari. After yesterday's disaster, they are back in the mix and making strides. They actually managed decent race strategy and executed solid pit stops.

I'm looking forward to Imola.

fadedwalker18 said:Max Verstappen was a disappointment. Nothing from him.
If he couldn't manage his own pace yesterday and bring a better car on fresher tires to secure the win, then there is no chance he takes the championship this year.

🤦🤦

Max didn't disappoint me, but the Red Bull pit wall certainly did. I expected much more than such amateurism from them, especially since Valtteri Bottas wasn't even a threat and they were fighting against Lewis Hamilton. Yesterday, they allowed Lewis Hamilton to undercut them twice on fresh rubber, which essentially forced them to destroy their own tires trying to chase him down. Max could have easily finished first if they had simply responded to the Mercedes undercut just one lap earlier each time.

Max performed at his level and drove perfectly.

graniteharbor502 said:If you actually look at Perez's lap times and the gap, things become quite obvious. He simply couldn't match Bottas's pace, especially considering Bottas had enough margin to pit one more time just to set the fastest lap.

Comparing stints is pointless here since the guy started from the pits. Bottas spent the entire race running in clean air, whereas Perez didn't have that luxury. Besides, this is his first race with Red Bull Racing; he’ll need time to find his footing.

Richard Green73 said:I don't buy into any conspiracy theories regarding Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes-Benz, but the officiating needs to be more decisive. It’s unacceptable to let a driver maintain a time advantage by cutting corners over thirty laps, only to suddenly start enforcing the rules right in the middle of the race...

My neutral take is that Lewis Hamilton didn't gain an advantage here. As for this talk about cutting corners, Max Verstappen was penalized because at the exact moment they were battling for position, he was off on all four wheels; besides, the following sequence is a gentle left followed by a gentle right, which ultimately favors him on the left.

It wasn't just Hamilton "cutting corners"; plenty of other drivers have been doing the same thing lap after lap.

As far as I am aware, it was stated during the pre-race briefing that such moves wouldn't be sanctioned, so Red Bull essentially shot themselves in the foot.

By the way, I would have preferred to see Max Verstappen win, but it simply isn't happening, primarily due to poor strategy.

neonfox65 said:Go ahead and check it out. For me, it didn't cut out once yesterday.

https://sportsurge.net/#/groups/0

Appreciate it, neighbor. This will be helpful; my usual site keeps buffering on me constantly, so hopefully this is more reliable.

I find myself most surprised by Ferrari. They were written off early on, especially considering they were absolutely buried on this specific track last year. Yet, looking at the data, they’ve made the most significant strides of any team. From what I can gather, they’ve only lost about half a second compared to last season, whereas the home favorites have dropped by as much as two seconds. Ferrari is closing in on the frontrunners quite aggressively. While Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-Benz remain the pace-setters, the battle for third place is shaping up to be a genuine fight between McLaren and Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso didn't surprise me one bit. He remains quite clearly the finest driver to sit in a cockpit over the last two or three decades. Once again, he has driven well beyond the actual capabilities of his car; it’s plain to see. He has manufactured a gap where there shouldn't be one.

I am looking forward to the race.

Raymond Anderson4 said:What a Ferrari. Charles certainly won't be leading after just a few laps. No matter how you look at it, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-Benz are simply too fast for Ferrari.

I fail to see why not. If he manages a clean start on those soft compounds, he could easily jump into the lead after the first two corners. A four-position gain isn't an impossible feat.🙂

The race should be quite a spectacle. One ought to keep a close eye on Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc specifically; alongside Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, they are the drivers on this grid actually making a difference.

It’s been quite some time since I last picked up any hardware, and seeing these prices today has left me somewhat stunned. Is it actually possible that the Ryzen 5 2400G is currently priced at $467 when I paid significantly more for it just six months ago? $263

WTF.

Alex Barnes93 said:Something I totally missed while watching the broadcast—and honestly, this was the absolute highlight of the race—was how Valtteri Bottas sat in the pits for 37 seconds only for them NOT to change all his tires before sending him back out 🙏 I mean, even Ferrari couldn't pull off a mess that bad 🙏

Check it out: https://streamable.com/1meknp

Man, they didn't even swap out a single 🤦 🤣 They take off the hards, slap on new mediums, then rip off the mediums and just shove those same used hards right back on 😂

E2: The craziest part of this whole circus is that neither Russell nor Bottas even needed to pit in the first place.

Actually, there was plenty of reason to pit. There really was. 🙂, if you read ruggedhawk20's post, you'll understand exactly what kind of necessity we're talking about.
Even if we aren't talking about Russell, it's about securing third place for Racing Point.

Gary Palmer8 said:All in all, yesterday really showed us what Formula 1 would look like without Lewis Hamilton...

The dominance remains identical; the only difference is that instead of Hamilton, we’d be looking at multiple championships for Russell.

Everything stays the same.

It isn’t just my suspicion; Mercedes-Benz is essentially mocking the competition. I am convinced they are orchestrating the championship, driving only as much as necessary and occasionally allowing someone else a victory just to keep the spectacle alive.

Take yesterday's conclusion, for instance. It was hardly accidental, and the payoff was substantial. Interest in Formula 1 has surged, stock prices have climbed, and there is this unprecedented craze for chaotic racing. It is the classic case of the wolf leading the flock.

NASCAR might have some idiotic rules, but at least they actually race—plus a few other things!

Consider WRC, where the driver is everything; the driver makes the difference. Meanwhile, yesterday proved that a rookie, stepping into a car for the first time and barely knowing which button controls the brake, can make a mockery of the entire field.

Do you see the distinction between genuine racing and a scripted performance?

bluepuma9 said:That doesn't make the engine illegal.🤷
We're going into the eighth year under these regulations—ten if you count when they actually finalized everything—and Ferrari still can't put together an engine that's both legal and competitive. Sorry, not sorry.😁

Ever since Bernie made those accusations back in Germany and things went south, Mercedes has essentially enjoyed total FIA protection. Even if they were running something illegal, nobody would ever know. Look at Lewis Hamilton’s private tests with that improper helmet, and it just keeps going.

Then there was the matter of letting them race with the DAS system, even though they declared it illegal just a year later. It seems they aren't just being protected; people are simply looking the other way. Who knows how much more dirty laundry is tucked away in those drawers.

Beyond that, Ferrari wasn't declared illegal. Instead, a deal was struck with Ferrari: from 2022 onwards, they get to be the number one priority. In exchange, let Mercedes dominate for a little while longer and keep your mouths shut.
A deal was made.

So, starting in 2022, you can expect the reds to dominate.

bluepuma9 said:Honestly, it’s probably for the best. Given all the drama surrounding Ferrari's engine, those titles would have been tainted by controversy anyway. They’d just be remembered as a stain on those seasons, assuming they even kept them.

Excuse me? What on earth are you talking about?

Mercedes-Benz isn't a disgrace. I mean, surely you understand why the Mercedes-Benz engine was untouchable for all those years?

I'll tell you exactly why. They basically tailored the regulations to suit them before the rules were even officially finalized.