132 posts shown.
stormybadger8 said:🙄
Do you really want me to admit I'm crazy and say Red Bull Racing is better than Ferrari and McLaren based on these bold claims?
Qualifying pace
Race pace
Tire degradation
strategy
pit stops and crew
reliability
Red Bull is simply the car to have this year—it's a dominant machine, plain and simple. It's obvious to everyone, but apparently, when Jacques Villeneuve was driving for a team prone to tactical blunders, nobody noticed. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.
That’s all there is to it. In my opinion, the best comparison is Vettel = Jacques Villeneuve. That is his ceiling. There you go, he even has the potential to become World Champion.
stormybadger8 said:McLaren barely has any real competition this season. If we're looking at the teams as a whole, the reality is:
1. McLaren
2. Ferrari
3. Red Bull 4th
.
And what can you even say to that!?!?!?!?😕. SOMEONE CALL A DOCTOR! Get him out of here!
stormybadger8 said:how exactly is Hamilton better than Vettel? 😕
Hamilton is worse than Vettel, and by quite a margin. He had an ultra-dominant race car and snagged the championship not because he’s actually that good, but because Ferrari was completely incompetent alongside Massa. Honestly, he's nothing more than a different package of the same kid as Button. You can even draw a direct parallel between their title wins:
2009 - Button had a dominant race car - one tiny dip in form and he immediately dropped from 3rd to 8th.
- Red Bull Racing competition was so strong, yet Vettel made enough mistakes that there was no way he wouldn't take the title.
2008 - Hamilton had a dominant race car the entire time - but through his incredibly poor driving and ridiculous blunders, he practically threw away a season that was handed to him.
- The Massa/Räikkönen and Ferrari competition was so desperately bad, making literal moronic mistakes at times, they managed to screw up a championship that a mediocre Hamilton should have lost.
.
Ortosti, 2008 wasn't so close that we can't admit Ferrari was clearly faster than McLaren. Look, I'm the last person who would ever praise the guy, but I have to be objective here. That wasn't a title won in a superior car. Not at all. On the contrary, Massa blew it—actually, if we're being honest, it was Räikkönen. That title should have been Räikkönen's, but he's just a lazy bum.
stormybadger8 said:you guys are getting some things wrong; we're only at the start of a second season where Hamilton supposedly has the "best race car." AlphaTauri wasn't a complete disaster, but they weren't exactly elite either.
An average, mediocre driver under the alias Sebastian Unknown managed to qualify 4th for the race at Monza back in 2008 using that same junk heap. So it really wasn't as massive a sensation as people tend to claim. Besides, the general consensus is that AlphaTauri was actually better than Red Bull Racing in 2008.
stormybadger8 said:there are also a few quirks to consider:
- he isn't consistently beating Mark Webber in qualifying like he did last year
- he lacks aggression during wheel-to-wheel duels
- strategy remains an extremely weak link, and things need to change significantly—either he does it himself (which is by far the best bet) or the team has to step up
"
How can you be realistic when you want to be? Unfortunately, three weak points are just too many. Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have maybe one, perhaps two at most, but three...
stormybadger8 said:Do you think Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello have 60 or more? 😂🤣
Not every driver has a spotless record; most are just as old as their passports say they are. The only weird case is Emerson Fittipaldi, because his nurse recorded the wrong birth year, making him look two years younger on paper. But those are official documents that NASCAR can't touch—they come straight from the registry in New York City, and apparently, the officials there don't see any reason to fix it, which isn't exactly a crime. Webber's paperwork is a whole different mess, though. His birth year is listed as 1969 in the local registry, yet NASCAR's records—and even his passport!—say 1974, and now, suddenly, it says 1976.
Andrew Parker41 said:It’s just his spelling and grammar that are a mess. It reads like something an elementary school kid wrote.
Travis Kelce was born:
http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/drivers/21/
There's nothing to argue about there.
Well, isn't that just lovely? Now they've polished him up to squeeze out another two years. I bet NASCAR knows all about what happened in 1969, but they're keeping quiet since it doesn't hurt anyone. It's pure vanity—worse than Joe Biden's.
gentlebear47 said:Well, Hamilton gives his cars names;
Schumacher did the exact same thing this year, except his "had" to be called Corrin—talk about a joke!🤣
So what!? You think he’s some big shot now!? If he wants to be a celebrity, let him write his name on the wing or the engine cover, haha. But if Helmut gave him a little squeeze and a couple of slaps, we'd see him crawling right back to his corporate hole...
Michael Lee4 said:Hold on, this thread already exists—it’s always on the front page. Why start a whole new flame war topic?
And as for these "analyses"... it reminds me of those open meetings where people just talk in circles and end up achieving absolutely nothing.
I know there’s an existing thread, but that one is just biasedly praising Sebastian Vettel. My thread, on the other hand, stays objective. Besides, mine is titled "Pros and Cons," while the current one is called "The New World Champion."
When it comes to talking in circles and getting zero results, that's a pretty common occurrence on internet forums.
Bradley Nelson2 said:He’s clearly the superior driver in this year's Red Bull. Sure, Webber might pull ahead occasionally, but looking at the big picture, Vettel is just faster than him. Between the engine failures in the first race, the second, and even that mess in the final race in Los Angeles, he lost a massive amount of points. Honestly, he’s just as responsible for his own bad luck as Kimi was for his. Plus, the race engineer and the rest of the crew on the pit wall made a few questionable calls during the races.
Superior?! Give me a break.😕😠🤣I saw how he looked like he was driving past a parked tractor when the black car blew right past him.
Sebastian Vettel: Pros and Cons
It’s been about three seasons since Sebastian Vettel joined the Formula 1 grid, so we finally have enough data to actually judge him.
1) There is no question that he can squeeze everything out of an inferior car; he handles them incredibly well. However, he just can't seem to find his rhythm when he's in a dominant machine. In that sense, he reminds me of Giancarlo Fisichella. Just think back to how the Italian drove those underpowered cars at Spa 1997, Spa 2009, Interlagos 1999, and Interlagos 2003—absolutely brilliant stuff. But when he had a top-tier car on those same tracks, like at Spa 2005 or Interlagos 2006, he wasn't nearly as impressive. It's clearly not a track issue, and it's definitely not the car, because let's face it, that 2006 Renault was leagues ahead of the Benetton from '99, both relatively and absolutely.
2) He started losing ground to some shady Australian veteran. On paper, the guy was born in 1974, but there's evidence suggesting he was actually born in 1969 and the documents were doctored so he could stay in junior categories longer. The FIA knows, but they've chosen to look the other way. Honestly, even FIFA looked the other way for Mirko Novosel. They know what's up, and besides, it isn't hurting anyone. Well, except maybe Sebastian Vettel—but in a different way. If he were officially 41, losing to a driver like that would sting even more.
3) On track, he struggles in head-to-head battles against more aggressive drivers in slower cars (look at how Lewis Hamilton overtook him in Los Angeles), which is a trait shared by drivers like Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock, and Heikki Kovalainen. Hmmmmm.
4) When he needs to overtake a slower car ahead of him, he tends to get soft and just gives up on the move (see Bahrain 2009 or Los Angeles 2009).
Bottom line: Sebastian Vettel sits somewhere around Nico Rosberg (who was more or less on par with Mark Webber when they were driving for Williams and Giancarlo Fisichella)—meaning he's a solid driver, nothing more. A future champion? I doubt it.
Discuss.
Shocking news coming in. Due to tax evasion allegations, Sergio Marchionne has been brought in for questioning by investigators in Detroit. He reportedly only stated that he is stepping down from NASCAR. No one knows the real reason, but there is intense speculation that Team Penske has been used as a money-laundering front for organized crime since the mid-90s.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82572APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🤣
hollowhawk412 said:Read this carefully
http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6...s-to-Red-Bull-
Specifically directed at stormybadger8, Pilatus, and Arthur Doyle70
I suspect no major upgrades were actually implemented this year, making that end-of-season analysis spot on.
Well, look at that—Renault has been given approval to make upgrades. This is going to be a mess, and it definitely plays right into the hands of the link provided here.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82246
rapidcobra15 said:Books just aren't enough. We need a regular magazine to satisfy our monthly craving for exclusive, firsthand information. I get the situation regarding NASCAR, but it would be a massive shame if they stopped publishing altogether. When it comes to NASCAR magazines, we don't really have any other choice besides seeing NASCAR at the newsstands. If only we had Autosport too, but even that would go through you guys at Opus, so that would be hanging by a thread as well. Personally, I don't feel the need for extra info when I have NASCAR. Sure, I follow news online constantly, but that’s a different thing entirely. The only things I buy online are books, but that doesn't hit the same way.
I hope the decision regarding NASCAR stays positive, but I’ll understand if they pull the plug—it all comes down to financial losses, and money doesn't grow on trees.
Regards,
Michael
It's tough, incredibly tough. Our market is just too small; that's the core issue. But if one publisher sold NASCAR (the exact same version—completely unfair, with the same ads) across the entire US, then it would actually have some traction. But like this? There's no chance. No magazine selling maybe 1,000 copies can survive—it needs to sell closer to 20,000 to be viable. That's the threshold. Because, you see, then advertisers would actually be interested since their ads would reach a wider audience. You know what I mean?
stormyviper11 said:I'm with you on Sergio Pérez. He's an incredibly likable guy, but clearly, the big team bosses know more than we casual fans do, which is why they keep him in NASCAR. Why they decided he isn't quite top-tier material, I couldn't tell you, but I suspect he'll just remain a "talented" filler for the smaller teams. He’s charming now, but Lewis Hamilton and Jarno Trulli were both like that early in their careers too. After another season or two, we'll stop hoping for greatness and start complaining that he's taking a seat away from the younger drivers. As for Robert Kubica, I sincerely hope he avoids that same fate, though it's certainly not impossible.
Pérez has a flaw: he's too tall. No tall driver has ever truly conquered NASCAR—not because they lack skill, but because the teams build the cars to fit the average driver, who is about 5'7". Being taller just makes things difficult. That was the issue with Wurz, too. He was lightning fast—just look at his performance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in '97. But back then, he was driving the car used by Gerhard Berger, who was also on the taller side. Then came '98 and especially '99, and everything went downhill because his teammate was a tiny little Italian guy, Lewis Hamilton, standing only about 5'3". That's the catch. It's the same story with DC.
Kubica is a different case. He's also fairly tall, but honestly, I think he's overrated. His 2008 run was a flash in the pan rather than a true indicator of his talent. Besides, he only managed that win because Lewis Hamilton slammed into Finland during the pit lane stop.
In my opinion, Kubica will be remembered for Indianapolis 2007, not 2008. What we've seen from him so far is what we get; from here on out, it's all downhill.
stormyviper11 said:Yeah, I agree that Massa made great use of his time alongside Schumacher, but I think a huge part of that gap was down to how open Schumacher was with him—almost acting as a mentor to ensure Massa would be his successor. I’ll never forget a comment Schumacher made back in the mid-nineties when he was mentally battling Damon Hill; in an attempt to crush anyone else's confidence, he mentioned being glad neither Mika Hakkinen nor Rubens Barrichello were in the Williams Racing seat, because if they were, winning the title would have been much harder. Later on, it turned out to be surprisingly easy to settle Rubens Barrichello down and turn him into a perfectly content number two driver—but who knows if things would have gone differently if Rubens Barrichello had been given the chance to lead a top-tier car earlier in his career? Hakkinen waited his turn and then absolutely seized the opportunity. It isn't impossible that Barrichello could have done the same under different circumstances. I get the feeling Schumacher's statement wasn't just talk; it was his way of neutralizing a potential threat by pulling them into Ferrari.
An insider once told me that Barrichello actually had a preliminary contract signed with Ferrari for the 1996 season, right around early September 1995. But MSC stepped in and insisted they bring in Ross Brawn instead. And that is exactly what happened.
Roger Wright94 said:I’m inclined to agree. You never truly know what might happen.
Regardless of what stormybadger8 says, Fernando Alonso drove a flawless race. He pulled off that pass on Felipe Massa at exactly the right moment, stayed glued to Sebastian Vettel's gearbox the entire time, and capitalized perfectly when the opportunity presented itself.
How many others could pull that off with the same level of efficiency if they were in his shoes? Honestly, I think very few.
We shouldn't exaggerate, but we certainly can't downplay his role in that victory.
Fernando Alonso had a killer start, especially right after those first two turns when he muscled his way past Felipe Massa. Honestly, if Alonso hadn't taken the win, it would have been Massa's race. That’s exactly why Alonso is the best driver out there right now—he capitalizes on every single opening he gets. Even if it's just a slim chance, he takes it. Most of the guys on the grid wouldn't know what to do with an opportunity like that. Looking at today's lineup, Lewis Hamilton is really the only one who can compete at that level. The rest of them? Man, they're just completely washed up.
Especially Vettel, who could never actually overtake anyone—never. Just think back to Los Angeles last year and how he got stuck behind Felipe Massa, or even that mess in Las Vegas last year where he was trailing someone else. That’s exactly why he lost the championship, not because of those Renault engines. If Alonso had been driving a Red Bull back in 2009, he would have won the title. Guaranteed.
Besides, back in Turkey, Vettel basically handed the win over to Button on a silver platter. So, stormybadger8, stop talking nonsense and just face the facts. Vettel is good—actually, he's very good—but he isn't elite. Button is also very good. They're pretty much hovering around the same level. Both of them are soft drivers.
stormybadger8 said:how strange 🤷
you can see his top speed is the lowest; honestly, it’s even lower than all the new drivers and teams 😲
it looks to me like there was a minor engine issue right from the start, or maybe it's just the result of those last 15 laps 🤷
but finishing the race with the slowest car on the grid—without a single lap in the top 50 at 4th place—is priceless 😁
that's easy, just send a case of beer via DHL and you'll see me kicking something for a while 😬
man, you really don't get it. Vettel's laps aren't in the top 50 because the best laps (under this new system without refueling) happen at the very end of the race when the cars are light. And Vettel had issues at the end. Why don't you watch football or something easier to grasp instead of F1?
stormybadger8 said:...
Here are three facts for you:
1. Sebastian Vettel had an issue with his 2nd exhaust at the Grand Prix of Las Vegas.
2. Red Bull produces and maintains the exhausts, not General Motors; General Motors exclusively handles the engine, while the gearbox is also Red Bull's, and the ECU belongs to McLaren.
3. Many consider Vettel to be the most charming driver in Formula 1, which makes me seriously question your sexual orientation.