rustyridge10 said:It feels like Mercedes isn't quite the untouchable force they used to be. I honestly think Ferrari is going to give them a serious run for their money this year, and judging by how qualifying went, they might already be closing the gap. The only real outlier might be Hamilton himself, since he's basically in a league of his own on the grid right now... I was really hoping Kimi would show a lot more pace today, but he was a bit of a letdown out there. Hopefully, things turn around soon Lance Stroll and Jolyon Palmer are honestly just a joke. I'm really hoping Williams makes up for all the damage these guys are going to cause them throughout the season
Even if Vettel had a dominant car, without Hamilton there to check him, he wouldn't be able to hold anyone off—much like that old battle back in Austin years ago.🎉
northerncobra31 said:How much did Sinek lose out on for pole position?
I didn't bet on pole because I had absolutely no clue who was going to take it. In fact, I actually sent a private message to that fellow advising him against betting on pole at all.
But since I'm sitting on about $200 from the bookie now, I might consider placing a wager on the race itself.😁
stormybadger8 said:Ricciardo hit a wall...🙂 And honestly, a snail running a marathon would be faster than that car, so of course it's a Renault...😁
Why don't you just start rooting for Hamilton so we can actually have an interesting season?🎉🤣
Look, there's really no need to go looking for trouble.😁If he was actually rooting for Hamilton, then Sebastian Vettel would have walked away with the championship.🍿.
But it simply won't happen. It just isn't going to work!
neonfox65 said:FIA scraps the 'Max Verstappen rule' ahead of the 2017 season
Smart move by them... finally some common sense 🙏
The FIA won't be the one handling him; Kimi will. I highly doubt the Finn has forgotten his place. Things are going to get messy during their first encounter on the track.😁
jadeseal7 said:It wasn't for nothing that Hamilton insisted during the press conference that Ferrari has the edge on pure pace.
But then again, maybe this actually *is* Ferrari's true pace? Or perhaps they're just being cautious—maybe they're worried that if they show their full strength too early, Mercedes will just turn up the wick in qualifying and leave them in the dust.
We’ll just have to see how things look in FP3. If the times are still looking grim then, well, we're in trouble. It would be a real shame to see another season slip through our fingers like this.
As a Hamilton supporter, the last thing I want to see is Mercedes dominating yet again. Especially since there’s no Rosberg left to push him; I have zero interest in watching another one-man show. It's obvious Bottas isn't on Rosberg's level, and he never will be.
What we need is a competitive Vettel out there. This whole one-man show situation needs to end immediately.
jadeseal7 said:Exactly—now everyone is finally going to see what Nico Rosberg was actually about.
And let's be real, Ferrari is sandbagging—and they're doing a damn good job of it. ☕
It seems to me that Ferrari is just straight-up faking it. Let's just wait for qualifying tomorrow; there isn't any other way to know. We aren't any smarter than we were after practice.
The only thing that interests me is that Honda has clearly sorted out a massive chunk of their issues. My little Alonso-Perez bet doesn't feel quite as safe as it did before.😁
Sam Roberts8 said:I see Ferrari announced they ran race simulations, so it’s entirely possible they could be fighting for pole position during qualifying tomorrow. 🙂
As far as I can tell, everyone has done some version of long-run simulations during their practice sessions, except maybe McLaren, who are probably running on some specialized training mode.
Ferrari will likely be in the mix for Pole tomorrow, though Hamilton looks absolutely terrifying out there—and I don't mean the Mercedes, I mean Hamilton himself. It’s as if Bottas isn't even driving the same car.
Rosberg's true caliber is being proven once again.
In every single sport, there's always an attempt to cheat by any means necessary. In most disciplines, we call it doping; therefore, these cars are essentially on performance-enhancing drugs.
For instance, we recently saw a case in cycling where they discovered a tiny electric motor hidden inside the drive hub. It was quite weak, sure, but over a distance like 124 miles it certainly isn't something you can just ignore.
Cheating exists in every arena. Not too long ago in swimming, athletes were using those specialized suits that practically eliminated water friction and drag, which eventually got them banned.
graniteharbor502 said:Some photos taken during the time in Los Angeles: http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/f...-11946791.html
I’ve been looking through the photos. Ferrari and Mercedes look incredibly complex aerodynamically. Williams looks terribly simple—fluid, if you want to call it that. Red Bull isn't even in the shots 🙂, so we'll have to wait a bit longer to see what they come up with and what they actually bring to the Australian Grand Prix.
McLaren looks aerodynamically very solid to me, quite complex as well.
Susan Jones8 As stated by: The odds on Verstappen dropped to 1.65. It’s going to be a hell of a showdown against Alonso. Whoever beat me to this... damn. 😁
I placed my bets at 1.8 odds. It’ll likely drop even lower by tomorrow. Honestly, they'll probably just pull it from the menu entirely because the number is frankly ridiculous.
Gentlemen, I just placed my wager at the local betting kiosk $333 on the upcoming showdown between Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez. If everything goes my way, the payout should land somewhere north of $1,600.
Should I come out ahead, $200 I intend to roll the entire winnings onto a driver mid-race.🙂
If I lose, I will simply bite my lip and spend the next few days avoiding my wife at all costs.🙂
Let's go Vettel, let's go, absolutely tear up those streets in Los Angeles with that Ferrari.
Show Lewis Hamilton how an F1 car is actually driven.
I want a 1990 remake of when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were battling it out in those lightning-fast cars right up until the final race of the season.
graniteharbor502 said:In this life, absolutely nothing is ever certain, is it? If we look at the math, in 99.99% of possible scenarios, Perez is going to cross the line ahead of Alonso. It is only in that one singular instance out of ten thousand that Alonso manages to edge out the Mexican driver. Do you really want to carry the burden of having made a mistake that leaves you bleeding cash, especially when there isn't a soul around to offer you any consolation or tell you it wasn't your fault? 😬
You aren't wrong. It's just that if we were being realistic, the odds on Perez would be practically 1.01. These geniuses of ours are giving Alonso an equal shot; perhaps they know something we don't.😁
James Harris34 said:What do you guys think? Is it worth placing a serious bet on Sebastian Vettel this weekend before the odds drop?
It depends on how much they favor Lewis Hamilton. Personally, I’d put Sebastian Vettel at 50%, Kimi Räikkönen at 20%, Lewis at 25%, and Valtteri Bottas at 5%.
Look at this: Alonso vs Sergio Perez at 1.8 for qualifying 🙂. Honestly, what idiots. It's Honda versus Mercedes.