Melbourne Grand Prix - March 17, 2019

Gary Palmer8 said:plus, the whole thing is just ridiculous 🙂—this guy wins one single race and suddenly he’s declaring war... honestly, it just shows he doesn't actually believe he can win the championship...

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If he didn't believe it, he'd just pack his bags and head home already.

stormyviper2 said:Alonso just goes wherever the biggest paycheck is—that’s been obvious for years. Honestly, if Williams Racing offered him $50M a year, he'd probably drive that wreck too. 😉

His whole career path is basically just chasing the money... nothing new there.

Williams Racing can barely afford a single wing, so that's a pretty ridiculous take. Besides, Alonso would take any deal just to get behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz.

A bit of Vettel



The man drives with this certain air of boredom, as if he’s just coasting, yet he clearly lacks the raw edge.
Then again, Adrian Newey is the one stacking up the championships.

Sebastian Vettel seems like a genuinely decent guy. Honestly, I could easily see myself grabbing a coffee with him and finding enough common ground to talk for hours.

That’s what I appreciate about him. Plus, the man can drive. He can really drive.

But let's set F1 aside for a moment; that's technical piloting, not true driving. I'd love to see him give NASCAR a shot at Watkins Glen. I have no doubt he’d find his footing immediately.

Don't put him in NASCAR just yet—I wouldn't want to watch that too soon...

neonfox65 said:Don't bother putting him in NASCAR; he wouldn't be watching NASCAR anytime soon anyway.

Who actually cares what you choose to watch?

Just a rhetorical question. I'm not looking for an answer from you, neighbor.

And don't let me run into you on the Mississippi River side.

neonfox65 said:Let's be real here—Williams doesn't even have the budget to fund a single front wing, so that whole theory just doesn't hold water. Besides, you know for a fact Fernando Alonso would jump at the chance to drive for Mercedes-Benz if the opportunity actually arose.

No way. I wouldn't do it. He’d probably stick with McLaren even if they were only offering him $40 million a year. XD
Let's be real, man—he’s all about the money, and I don't think anyone is under any illusions about that. Everyone knows exactly where his priorities lie. 😉

mellowtiger83 said:....

Just to put things into perspective: with R.B.O., he actually had a car that was three laps faster than whoever was sitting in first place. That’s just the plain truth.
I honestly feel like the 18th edition of the Ferrari is easily half a step ahead of where we were, even if there isn't a massive headline making noise about it right now.

So, what’s the bottom line here? What are we actually walking away with? 😬

You clearly know your way around a spear...
and honestly, that’s about all you’ve got going for you.

stormyviper2 said:Adrian Newey won those titles, not Vettel. Just putting that out there. XD

XD Mladić,

That Adrian Newey guy hasn't touched a Constructors' title since '98—and didn't bag a Drivers' one until '99—meaning he went an entire decade without winning a single thing. Then, suddenly, once he gets Sebastian Vettel in the car, boom: four Constructors' and four Drivers' titles. (And get this—it's called a "Drivers' title," as if some random driver just shows up and hands them out, right?)

Kind of weird, don't you think!?

Let me say this again.
The RB 3 is three lengths faster—that’s just the headline.
The Ferrari 0.5 is half a length faster—no headline needed there.
My conclusion? XD

stormyviper2 said:I'm telling you.
RB 3 is three lengths faster—headline made.
Ferrari 0.5 is half a length faster—no headline.
Conclusion? XD

So how exactly do we measure these "lengths"?

What even constitutes a length in this context?

Can we just convert these lengths into some other unit of measurement?

stormyviper2 said:I’ll say it again.
The RB 3 is three lengths faster—that’s just the headline.
The Ferrari 0.5 is only half a length ahead—no headline needed there.
Conclusion? XD

The conclusion here is that you’re measuring lengths incorrectly. You clearly need some instruction on how to actually measure them. Since I have a penchant for being helpful to fellow forum members, I’ll give you the chance to measure my own length myself, provided I give you detailed instructions on the proper technique.

stormyviper2 said:Not likely. He’d probably drive for McLaren if they were willing to cut him a $40 million annual check—I guess.
He's just in it for the money—honestly, I think everyone knows that by now. 😉

Is money really that much of a driver for Alonso? I mean—he essentially walked away from $40 million at McLaren over those two years—just to chase much smaller paychecks in IMSA or other series. Even combined, those wouldn't come close to a quarter of what he was pulling at McLaren. Maybe money isn't the primary motivator after all.

Tax Cut Now

mellowtiger83 said:The conclusion is that you're measuring with the wrong yardstick. Since I'm the kind of guy who actually enjoys helping out people on this forum, I'll give you a chance to measure mine instead—I'll even provide detailed instructions on how to do it properly.

Look, the conclusion is actually pretty straightforward.
Even Erikson would have taken the title in that Red Bull car.

crimsonhawk23 said:Is money really such a massive priority for Alonso that he’d walk away from making roughly $40 million a year at McLaren (his total for 2017 and 2018) just to chase much smaller paychecks in IMSA or other series? Even combined, those wouldn't hit a quarter of what he was pulling at McLaren.

#TaxCutNow

There's no "McLaren money" left, and there's no more Honda. Unknown.

If it wasn't about the cash, why didn't he just sign with AlphaTauri and drive for $2 million? Unknown.

He could have easily driven for AlphaTauri for $2 million, or even less. Unknown.

Edit:

Besides, back in 2007 at McLaren, he was there for the paycheck, just like he was later at Ferrari, and again during the McLaren-Honda era. Unknown.

Honestly, I don't see what part of this is so hard to wrap your head around? Unknown.

He could have easily spent all those seasons driving for Renault for maybe a third or a quarter of the salary he was getting from the other teams. Unknown.

stormyviper2 said:There’s no such thing as McLaren money—and there’s no more Honda either.

Honda was at McLaren back in 2018? That sounds like total fiction—I won't even bother with the rest of that statement.🙄

And since we're talking about cash, wasn't Richard asking Ferrari for 50 million last year? 😆 I guess if they're lying, then I'm lying too, because multiple sources were pointing to that exact figure. At least 20 million was a certainty. In the end, since even Red Bull didn't want to cough up 20-ish million a year, he jumped ship to Renault—where he'll likely never see a podium again.🙄

crimsonhawk23 said:Honda was at McLaren during the 2018 season? That’s news to me. I won't even bother commenting on the rest of that. 🙄

And since we're talking about money, didn't Richard ask Ferrari for 50 million last year? 😂 I've heard that exact figure from several different sources, so if they're lying, I guess I am too. But I know for sure it was more than 20. In the end, because even Red Bull wasn't willing to cough up 20 million a year, he jumped ship to Renault—a team that isn't ever going to see a podium finish. 🙄

Well, good morning to you if you think Ricci is in Renault just for the paycheck. Everyone knows that's the deal. 😂

I'm not blaming him, though; honestly, if I were in his shoes, I'd probably do the exact same thing. 😉

Edit:

McLaren has some reserves left, but those supplies aren't going to last forever. 😉

stormyviper2 said:There's zero chance of McLaren money—and Honda is long gone anyway. Unknown

Look, the guy basically wanted Honda out the door—it just shows he cares about the cash, not the actual results. Kid needs to go to bed... 👋

neonfox65 said:Look, the guy just wanted Honda out of the picture—it’s pretty obvious he cares way more about the paycheck than actually winning races. Go get some sleep, kid.👋

Let's be real: if McLaren-Honda hadn't handed him $40 million a year right out of the gate, he wouldn't have signed a thing, man.😉

If his salary at McLaren-Honda had been closer to what those guys over at Red Bull are pulling—maybe around $5M—he wouldn't even be looking at that team.

stormyviper2 said:McLaren has some depth, though—it won't last forever, I suppose. 😉

In case you missed it, who sponsors Coca-Cola? Is it Mercedes-Benz? Or... McLaren? 🤔 McLaren seems to be doing quite well financially. Need proof? Just look at their sponsor list—they aren't just there for decoration.

As for Richard, I'd love to see him finally grab those trophies—maybe then he could actually compete with Hulk. For now, Hulk is up 1:0 and 1:0 (qualifying and race), and it’ll likely be 2:0 and 2:0 by the second weekend. Though, honestly, neither of them will end up on the podium anyway. 🙄

At the end of the day, McLaren basically admitted they can't afford to keep paying Alonso $40 million a year for the next few seasons. Ever since they moved on from Honda, it feels like the cash flow has just dried up.

Honestly, I could swear I read somewhere a little while back that they were actually cutting Alonso's salary. I'm pretty sure I saw it mentioned somewhere.