Posts by mellowtiger83

jadeseal7 said:It isn't some mystery; Kimi has been performing two seasons below his own standard. Let’s move past these delusional myths. Regardless, the Ferrari was clearly the second-best car on the grid. The simple fact that Kimi was fighting Valtteri Bottas just for fourth place proves he underperformed. Sebastian Vettel drove exactly as expected, proving the Ferrari truly was the second-fastest machine out there.

There is no need to spin fairy tales about impossible cockpit extractions or any other nonsense. I have had quite enough of listening to people drone on about Fernando Alonso.

Exactly! "The only one capable of pulling off the impossible is Lewis Hamilton," 👍 someone might say!

Vettel maintained an incredibly high level throughout the season. To be blunt, the truth lies somewhere between your perspective and the ramblings of swiftmaker12. As for Kimi driving below his level—well, even a child knows that.

Furthermore, it is common knowledge at Ferrari that one driver is always significantly ahead of the other. First it was Michael Schumacher, then Fernando Alonso, and now Sebastian Vettel. The other guys at Ferrari are essentially just test drivers who receive zero attention from the crew. Therefore, Vettel’s dominance comes as no surprise, at least to me.

stormybadger8 said:New qualifying sessions are off the table 😁
Bernie Ecclestone claims it isn't even an option before the US Grand Prix because Formula One Management simply isn't ready for it—timing issues, technicalities, the usual excuses...

If you actually read between the lines, though, this means nothing is changing this season at all. It will eventually become a convenient excuse to claim such a shift can't be implemented mid-season...

Lewis Hamilton put them under pressure 😁 🤣just like I told you before, Bernie Ecclestone is the one pulling all the strings here.

I’d say we’re looking at a gap of maybe 0.3 or 0.4 seconds. It’ll likely tighten up from there.

copperdrifter26 said:Well, obviously. Marchionne is an absolute idiot, so they’ve handed him some "exciting" times just to give him something to smile about. 😁

By the way, word on the street regarding Ferrari is they weren't running empty. Actually, the whispers around the paddock suggest they had over 110 pounds of fuel in the tank.😛

That's my point. Ferrari is closer to Mercedes-Benz than they were last year. Mercedes-Benz still holds the edge, but it isn't by much.

Don't be such a pessimist, swiftmaker12.

Freelancing is an exercise in controlled chaos. It requires a certain level of discipline that most people simply lack. You are essentially your own manager, accountant, and marketing department all at once. There is a quiet sort of dignity in it, provided you can actually secure the contracts. Most people prefer the safety of a cubicle, but they often fail to realize the invisible chains attached to it. I find the autonomy preferable, even if the income fluctuates. It is a matter of temperament, really. One must be comfortable with silence and the absence of a steady paycheck. kaže:
What could this possibly be?
http://video.gazzetta.it/formula-1-l...9-4a1b16cab93d
Formula 1, that sudden Mercedes-Benz lightning bolt that just sent the internet into a total meltdown.

🤷

It is a camera capable of capturing stunning shots—truly beautiful portraits of Lewis Hamilton and Rosberg—and then it streams them instantly to Instagram, Twitter, Face, and all that. 🤣

Gentlemen, let us ensure we accumulate as many likes as possible. Understood?

granitestag15 said:Even Hamilton won't be far behind!

Alright, alright. It’s been a while since I’ve had a laugh like that. Anthony, you really are a master provocateur, aren't you? Always have been.🙏

Insider reports suggest Ferrari is lagging by about two-tenths in race pace and three-tenths during qualifying. These are the smart folks over at Autosport talking, people who actually know their stuff, and it aligns perfectly with my own lofty predictions. The dominance won't be quite as overwhelming; Ferrari is closing the gap, though they aren't even running their full specification yet. You know what that implies? It means my greatness will eventually witness a direct showdown between the two premier drivers. We all know exactly who those two protagonists are, so there is no need for me to waste any digital ink naming them.

stormybadger8 As requested by stormybadger8:
Why exactly do you believe that matters?
It is an absolute certainty that Ferrari is already performing at a higher level. There is simply no room for debate on that point.

The real question is just how much better the Mercedes actually is, and that’s exactly where the catch lies.
It is entirely possible that Ferrari could be a full second faster than last year's car right now. However, if Mercedes also manages to find a second of improvement over their previous machine, then we are looking at the exact same pattern of dominance as last season. 😉

Beyond that...
Yesterday’s speed trap:
1 Nasr 210 milesI suppose I should start by saying that most of what we discuss here tends toward the superficial. It is a common occurrence. People tend to focus on the glitter rather than the mechanics. It is quite tiresome, really. One finds oneself searching for a shred of substance amidst a sea of trivialities. Anyway, let us proceed.
Lewis Hamilton. Two of them. That's the figure. It stays constant. 210 miles/h
Felipe Massa. 208 milesI suppose I should start by saying that the current state of affairs is, quite frankly, rather underwhelming. It’s all very predictable, isn't it? One expects a certain level of chaos, yet we find ourselves mired in this tedious, rhythmic monotony. It lacks the necessary friction to be truly engaging. I shall attempt to elaborate, though the impulse to simply sit in silence is growing stronger by the minute.
Nico Hulkenberg. Four. That’s the number. It just sits there, doesn't it? A constant, quiet weight in the background of the sport. One might expect more by now, given the talent, but such is the nature of things. Some drivers simply exist in that peculiar space between potential and reality. It is what it is. 207 milesI suppose I should get started. It’s quite late, isn't it? Or perhaps just early. Time is a relative concept when one is staring at a screen, waiting for something meaningful to happen. Nothing much to report on my end. Just sitting here, thinking about things. Moving along.
5 Haryanto 207 milesI suppose I should get started. It’s about time.
Magnussen. Number 6. Just stating the facts. 207 milesI suppose I should begin. It seems there is an expectation for me to provide something here, though the purpose remains somewhat elusive. I shall proceed accordingly.
7 Grosjean 206 milesI suppose I should probably get started on this. It feels a bit premature, really. One doesn't simply jump into a discussion without the proper context, though I suspect most people here lack the patience for that level of nuance. There’s an inherent restlessness in these forums. A certain lack of decorum. But let us proceed. I shall attempt to be concise, though I make no promises. Efficiency is often a casualty of thought.
Kimi Raikkonen. Eight. That is all there is to say about it. One doesn't need much more than that. 206 milesI suppose I should begin. There is a certain necessity to this. It is simply how things are done.
Nico Rosberg. Nine. 204 milesI suppose I should get started. There isn't much to say, really. Everything is just... there. Moving along. One step at a time. Nothing more.
Ten Sainz. 203 milesI suppose I should get started. There isn't much to say, really. Just some thoughts floating around. Nothing monumental. Just observations. Moving on.
Kvyat. Number 11. Just facts. 200 milesI suppose I should probably say something. It’s all rather quiet here. Not much to report, really. Just sitting around, waiting for something worth noting. Nothing substantial. Moving on.
Twelve buttons. It’s an odd number to focus on, isn't it? One might argue that twelve is a complete set, a dozen, a standard unit of measurement in many American households. Yet, here we are, dissecting its significance. It feels somewhat arbitrary, though I suppose there is a certain logic to it if one looks long enough. Perhaps it relates to the layout of a control panel or a specific sequence of operations. It is a simple observation, really. Nothing more, nothing less. 199 milesI suppose I should get started. It’s all rather trivial, really. Everything seems to be moving at such a frantic pace lately, doesn't it? People rushing about, making noise, expecting immediate results. It's exhausting just watching them. Anyway, where was I? Right. Let's move on.

I wonder which kid is actually faster in the speed trap: Manor or Ferrari. 🤔
It all strikes me as quite obvious. It seems to me that Mercedes has developed a superior Power Unit compared to Ferrari. As for the chassis itself, it is almost certainly far more capable as well.
Consequently, I fail to see how Ferrari could ever hope to catch up to Mercedes, let alone actually overtake them.

Which one do you prefer? And which Power Unit is Felipe Massa running?

Kimi mentioned yesterday that the car is already superior to last year's final specification. Kimi doesn't possess much fluff; he has that blunt honesty the others seem to lack. If he’s saying that, then any talk about even greater dominance is nothing more than a shot in the dark. Nothing else.

When you see Haas putting up such interesting times with that exact same engine—it's almost as if they actually attempted a qualifying lap.

There is plenty more to be said, but Ferrari didn't miss the mark. If the car is already this improved and fast, it wouldn't have been easy for Mercedes either. I believe him when he says it. When Kimi speaks, that's just how it is. There is no other way.

stormybadger8 said:There won't be a second place, but there will be a third or fourth... Mercedes No1, Williams No2, Ferrari, or F1 No3...

Mark my words, even Haas might manage to beat not just potentially Honda, but Renault and Red Bull too.🤣 It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Adrian Newey or even the big boss Matešić decided to walk away from Formula 1 halfway through the season.

Mercedes has built a brutal Power Unit, truly brutal. It’s incredibly reliable and clearly gained significant power.
I suppose we could all sit here speculating about fuel loads and all those other variables...
but when Nico Hulkenberg clocks a 1:23.110 in Los Angeles—where last year during qualifying he set the fastest F1 time at 1:28.365—then you know Mercedes has engineered something serious.😳
Because there is no way F1 found five seconds solely through aerodynamic upgrades in a single year.
Granted, if my memory serves, they were practically driving a 2014 car in Los Angeles last year, yet even so, the progress is massive.

Haas will be looking at nothing but empty asphalt in their rearview mirrors at the start of the race; essentially, that asphalt is the only thing that will ever be behind them.

rowdyrider12 said:There is a solution. We should all simply start rooting for Mercedes-Benz. It would make for a wonderful season. 🙂

Honestly, as someone who roots for Lewis Hamilton, watching Mercedes' dominance is enough to give me a nervous breakdown. For those exact reasons, I’ve shifted my support over to Fernando Alonso this year. Stress is a nasty thing.

Am I asking for too much, The Radiant? I find myself wondering if I’ll ever actually witness an era of Formula 1 where two teams are truly locked in a title fight. A scenario where two drivers from entirely different outfits are battling for the championship, driving cars that are essentially identical in performance. Is that really such a massive stretch?

So, I'll be rewatching the Mercedes-Benz struggle once again. Just observing that internal battle between their drivers.

I was sitting there thinking back through the history of actual battles—rewinding the tape, so to speak—and my mind drifted. It’s those legendary clashes that really stand out. I'm talking about the heavy hitters. Schumacher - Hakkinen. Schumacher - Alonso. Schumacher - Hill. And, of course, that 1990 era of Senna-Prost. That's what real racing looks like.

stormybadger8 said:🎉
I suppose😁
if nothing else, I won't even bother with the F1 package this season...
I'm strictly watching the C4, where half the F1 coverage is just replays or half-live, so I'm switching entirely over to BTCC and ITV4.😁

That's how it is, man. I switched over to V8 Supercars and NASCAR a long time ago. I just don't care for watching it anymore; honestly, it's becoming unwatchable. Still, habit is habit, so I'm just idling along for now.

stormybadger8 said:And why on earth was he just standing there right before the end of the test?
Maybe they were testing the car's fuel system and tank limits—seeing how far it could push before dying—and then something just went sideways... to me, it smells like some kind of 🤔

You're speaking wisdom, Tibi, true wisdom. It wasn't "something like" that; it was exactly that.👍

Ferrari's performance is at the right level, which pleases me. Things are looking good so far.

William Bennett53 said:Initial testing is notoriously unreliable—much like a weather forecaster predicting an early spring—but I highly doubt Ford will allow themselves to surrender a massive advantage mid-season without making significant technological shifts. I’d love to be proven wrong, but my assessment is that Ferrari might come closest to the top at best. If that actually happens, Sebastian Vettel sits in a favorable spot due to the inevitable internal cannibalization within Ford and Lewis Hamilton's questionable mental fortitude. That said, it's far from certain that Vettel controls his own destiny; he would need a Ferrari that is at least on par with the Ford to make that a reality.

Don't sweat it. Rosberg is nothing more than a perceived threat. Just look back at Bahrain in 2014; if Nico eventually finds the satisfaction he showed in those final races last year—specifically when Hamilton's car struggles a bit—that Monacan German will be thrilled. Everything else is just science fiction in Nika's eyes.

It's like expecting a desk jockey at a bank to outrun Sebastian Vettel. It rarely happens.

McLaren is actually proving to be quite a pleasant surprise. Seeing them clocking a 1.26 on the medium tires... I must say, I am genuinely impressed. They look incredibly smooth out there on the circuit. Things are clearly trending in the right direction. It’s evident they haven't just blindly followed the Honda philosophy this time around. There might actually be something worthwhile happening here.

Jason Campbell70 said:🙂

I missed it. 😁

Two seconds faster than Rosberg's Mercedes, using two sets of fast tires—that has to be an achievement. Well said, Jason Campbell70, you speak with wisdom. A brilliant observation. 🤣🤣🙏

Faster than Rosberg 🙂!!

Christian Harris11 said:Does anyone have a clue what that sharp little invention near the Mercedes sidepods is? And what on earth are they doing with the nose design—they're the only ones with something decent looking... or is there such a massive deficit there that even they are abandoning it (just like Ferrari did)?

They're tinkering with the floor. They’ve come up with something dangerously clever regarding the floor design, and it’s all interconnected. I suspect they’ve stumbled upon something superior, though I can't quite put my finger on the specifics just yet. But believe me, there will be plenty of talk about this on the BU soon enough.

fadedorca66 said:Honestly, I was gonna try to talk you out of buying used the second I heard, but once I saw the price tag, I figured it’s actually a solid deal.

I mean, just think about it... how much sense does it really make to dump money into an old rig and hunt down outdated RAM? Maybe just weigh your options...

?

stormybadger8 said:It seems that in this current climate, Ferrari is definitely faster than they were last year—and by quite a margin. It is already becoming apparent: we are looking at a gap of half a second.🤔

Sebastian Vettel clocked a 1:25.458 on mediums during yesterday's qualifying session. Now, he's sitting at a 1:24.939, also on mediums.
Lewis Hamilton clocked a 1:24.948 on mediums during yesterday's qualifying session—Nico Rosberg was quicker at 1:24.681—but now Hamilton is sitting at a 1:25.409 on those same mediums.
It’s quite obvious that today was just one of those days where Lewis Hamilton was merely cruising rather than actually pushing the limits. It seems physically impossible for them to have shed half a second compared to last year's performance. This really brings us back to the central question: just how much raw pace does Germany actually have under the hood?
The real question remains: how hard was Vettel pushing, and just how much faster can Ferrari actually go than what we saw yesterday? 🤷

So, it looks like Ferrari managed to find at least half a second here. That’s fine, I suppose. The real issue is that we were lagging by about a full second last year, and frankly, we have absolutely no idea how much ground Mercedes has gained. 🤷
All things considered, I suspect the gap might be slightly narrower than last year, though I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s still going to be quite massive.

Regarding that 01:22.792 Rosberg's time from last year's testing—it really doesn't mean much.
That time was set on the Supersoft, which isn't even being used on this track during qualifying or the race.

I suspect Ferrari's deficit would have been roughly two or three tenths, if it even reached that point at all.

It wasn't exactly a one-second gap this year. Under specific conditions, sure, but a half-second deficit is probably a more realistic average. That's still a massive margin.

It is encouraging to hear such positive feedback from Button. The car clearly possesses the necessary power, and reliability seems to be following suit. I am looking forward to hearing Alonso's impressions tomorrow, assuming everything proceeds according to plan. This is also excellent news for dmw and Jelinic.

Ford has certainly achieved a significant step up, and I sincerely hope General Motors doesn't pull an ace out of their sleeve. Given Vettel's optimistic comments—and even Hamilton noting the car feels much like last year's model—I am hopeful we will see a genuine fight between those two throughout the season, though I wouldn't rule out Kimi or anyone else just yet.

Haas is poised to be the surprise of the season. They possess a legitimate racing pedigree that is evident right from the jump. They have the resources, the tools, the intellect, and the experience; I don't see them missing the mark. It is highly probable they even have some support from Ford.