Melbourne Grand Prix - March 17, 2019

crimsonhawk23 said:Throughout this entire hybrid era, Mercedes hasn't just said it—they've proven through their actions that the Constructors' Championship comes before anything else, even if it means they'll do whatever it takes to sweep both titles. If Valtteri Bottas pulls off another win, or even a third, why would they suddenly start forcing things on Lewis Hamilton when the driver has such a comfortable lead? 🤷 I mean, they haven't made moves like this in any of the previous hybrid seasons... 🤷

You hit the nail on the head. Yet, you still see people on here claiming that the driver will be relegated to being a mere wingman or running errands for Louis as early as the next race. Even after a victory like this, where nobody even thought about sabotaging him to favor Louis, some people aren't even ashamed to push those kinds of narratives.

Of course, they won't acknowledge Nico Rosberg's season; they'll act like that happened in some parallel universe. 🤦

Nicholas Newman2 said:Spot on. But then you get these forum trolls popping up, claiming Finac is just going to be a lapdog, a wingman, or some errand boy for Louis in the very next race. Honestly, even after a win like this from Finac—where nobody even thought about sabotaging him to help Louis—it’s embarrassing that people still come out with those kinds of takes.

Of course, he’s just going to ignore Nico Rosberg's season entirely, acting like it happened in some parallel universe.🤦

The only people living in some alternate reality are the Mercedes fans and the Hamilton loyalists, along with anyone who actually buys the absolute garbage being pumped out by the British press.
Nico Rosberg was never anything more than a number two driver for Mercedes-Benz. Absolutely never. ☕
Look, this has absolutely nothing to do with Barcelona, the championship fight, or any of that other nonsense.
Lewis Hamilton is the undisputed No. 1 from the very first testing lap through the end of every single season. It’s not just about the first race. ☕

How did Nico Rosberg even snag that title? It was pure luck. Forget all that nonsense about "equal treatment" or whatever fairy tale they were selling—it had nothing to do with parity. It was just one of those disastrous seasons for Louis and a garage stacked high with trophies.
Not once during that season did anyone in America think it would be okay for Rosberg to take the title. That’s exactly why he bailed immediately after winning it—to exit with some dignity instead of spending the next season playing second fiddle to Bottas.

It was obvious as day that Rosberg was the real deal way back in Malaysia 2013—specifically during that second race of the season. 🙂
It’s a pretty similar vibe to what we’re seeing with Ferrari right now at the Grand Prix Australia, though not exactly identical. Honestly, what happened back in Russia was a much worse example than anything this Ferrari team is pulling lately.

Look, it’s pretty simple. Rosberg was the veteran in the garage, while Louis was still the new guy trying to find his footing.
So, once again, we've got Rosberg acting just like Leclerc, asking, "Hey, can I pass Hamilton? I'm way faster than him." 🙂
He got roasted just as hard as Charles Leclerc did. But unlike Leclerc, Nico Rosberg actually spent the whole time whining over the team radio—begging, pleading, and practically praying—even though he knew damn well he had zero chance.

And all that, even though Rosberg definitely had enough pace to at least throw an attack his way, if not outright snatch the lead...
Check out the results from Malaysia 2013.
Even if we're talking about Mark Webber, it still took him 12 laps and 8 seconds to pull that off. That wasn't exactly a walk in the park either, and it certainly wasn't any closer or easier than Charles Leclerc's 15 seconds over 8 laps... so yeah, Rosberg still got absolutely roasted.

Besides that, Mercedes didn't have a prayer at winning the title back then. Not even close.
Nobody even thought they were capable of pulling that off, let alone having the guts to try. So yeah, whatever. They ended up giving Nico Rosberg the exact same orders they gave Charles Leclerc. 🙂

And you just know people will start whining about "equality" at Mercedes between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, not to mention how absolutely pathetic Ferrari has been. 🙂
Honestly, what happened between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton was way worse than this whole mess with Charles Leclerc. 😁

Are you guys seriously blind and deaf? How did you miss something this obvious? You didn't see it, you didn't hear it, you clearly had no clue—it’s like you weren't even watching the race. It was a whole different story entirely. 🙂

Raymond Anderson4 said:I honestly think Valtteri Bottas is in for a rude awakening when he finds himself right behind Lewis in Bahrain after just one lap—only to get told to pit early or late just to mess up the race for the guy behind him. It really just ruins the whole flow of the race, doesn't it?

Haha, so that's why he isn't a five-time champ like Lewis—because they keep messing with his pit stops! 🤣🤣🤦

Nicholas Newman2 said:Spot on, man—but you still get these forum folks claiming Finac is just going to be a wingman or some errand boy for Louis in the next race. Even after a win like this from Finac, where nobody even thought about sabotaging him for Louis, some people really have no shame coming out with those takes.

And of course, they’ll act like Nico Rosberg's season didn't happen—like it all took place in some parallel universe.🤦

Lewis is such a class act and a true athlete—real athletes don't have an issue admitting when someone else was better, as long as they know they gave it their all. Honestly, the people typing out all this nonsense are totally irrelevant outside of these forums anyway; they care more about commenting on someone's Instagram than anything else. Take stormybadger8, for example—the perfect definition of a "no-lifer"... I swear, his whole existence seems centered around worshipping Sebastian Vettel. I really hope he's just trolling us all, though, because can you imagine meeting a guy like that in real life? With that kind of attitude, he'd probably end up walking around with a busted face non-stop! 😁

If you ask me, every single team should just tell their drivers during those first couple of races to go out there and fight for the best possible position. No interference, no playing chess with strategy, just pure racing. Let them battle it out on track. Whoever manages to pull off a better start or a stronger result should be the one who gets to enjoy that "team favor" later on when someone actually needs the points more than others.

Richard Walker38 said:I honestly think every team should just tell their drivers to fight for the best spot during those first few races—no interference, no math, just pure racing. Let them earn it! Once someone proves they’re actually faster, then they can enjoy that "team support" if things get tight later on and points become crucial.

Look, teammates can always sort things out behind the scenes—kind of like how Coulthard and Hakkinen handled that first corner back in the day. Mercedes isn't running just so Lewis Hamilton can snag eight titles (though, let's be real, they probably miss the Michael Schumacher era), but if he earns it, they’ll back him 100%—just like they would for Valtteri Bottas if he shows enough pace.

Some people here clearly don't follow the sport closely enough if they're already attacking Mercedes over tactics... I mean, come on—if you're up against a team like Ferrari, you're absolutely going to use every tactical trick in the book if they're even remotely close in speed and quality.

Honestly? I'm just hoping Bottas and Lewis Hamilton pull so far ahead this year that we just get to watch them battle it out while everyone else fights over the scraps.

Gary Palmer8 said:Well, that explains why he hasn't managed to rack up five titles like Lewis. It’s hard to perform when the guys in the garage are constantly messing with you. 🤣🤣🤦

I didn't say that.
It was pretty clear to see that Valtteri Bottas’s strategy was being used to support Lewis Hamilton. That part is undeniable.
That’s exactly what you’ve been saying all along—that having a tactical approach isn't just acceptable, it's completely normal.

Richard Walker38 said:If you ask me, every single team should just tell their drivers during the first few races to fight for the best spot possible. Don't mess with them, don't play math games—just let them race. Whoever manages to break away and get a better result earns the right to enjoy those "favors" later when someone actually needs the points.

By your logic, they should wait until after the first couple of races to even sign contracts so they can see who gets peanuts and who gets the jackpot. But we both know that’s not how the business works.😉

I am seriously counting down the days until Bahrain. Last year, Valtteri Bottas was right on the edge of pulling off a win, and honestly, given the way things are trending lately, I wouldn't even be shocked if he actually snatched a victory this time around. Then again, we're talking about Valtteri Bottas, so maybe I should just keep my expectations in check.

Bottas performed well. Mercedes looks even stronger. Ferrari is just staying the course. Leclerc will be solid. Vettel is exactly where he belongs. The universe is in balance.

I was actually sitting here thinking about putting together a poll for the driver rankings

Grand Prix Australia - #77 Valtteri Bottas

crimsonhawk23 said:What a complete joke this "team" is. 🤦
Sure, let's just blame the late Charlie. Let's blame the maFIA—that's what people call them here, right? Let's blame everyone else for conspiring with Tot and Mercedes-Benz to steal the championship. Obviously, Ferrari is never at fault. They’re in a total meltdown, and if their budget were even 20% smaller, they'd be struggling against Williams. 🙄 It isn't just the car; it's the fact that the entire group is a masterclass in incompetence.

You have no idea how much you're actually right.

stormybadger8 said:The only people living in some kind of parallel universe are the Mercedes-Benz and Lewis Hamilton fans, along with anyone who blindly buys into the nonsense coming from the British media.
Nico Rosberg was never anything more than the No. 1 driver at Mercedes-Benz—absolutely never. ☕
And honestly, it has absolutely nothing to do with Barcelona, fighting for the championship, or any of that other nonsense...
Hamilton is the No. 1 guy every single season, starting from the very first moment of testing, not just once the first race rolls around. ☕

How did Rosberg somehow manage to snatch that title? Honestly, it had nothing to do with any supposed "equal treatment" or those other fair-play myths people keep pushing. It really just came down to Louis having a nightmare season and the sheer mountain of trophies sitting on his side of the garage.
Not once during that season did anyone in Russia think it would be okay for Rosberg to take the title. That’s exactly why he walked away the moment he won it—to leave with his dignity intact, rather than spending the next season playing second fiddle to Bottas.

It was clear as day that Rosberg was the better driver, ever since Malaysia 2013—specifically during the second race of that season. 🙂
It’s a pretty similar situation to what we're seeing right now with Ferrari in Australia, though not exactly the same. To be honest, what happened in Russia was a much worse example than this current mess with Ferrari.

It really just comes down to this: Rosberg was the veteran established in the team, while Louis was still the newcomer.
So, once again, it’s like Rosberg asking Leclerc, "Can I pass Hamilton? I'm way faster than him." 🙂
He caught as much heat as Leclerc did, but unlike Leclerc, Rosberg was actually out there begging on the team radio—pleading and praying even though he knew deep down he didn't stand a chance.

And all that, even though Rosberg definitely had a shot at mounting an attack, if not outright taking the lead...
Check out the results from the 2013 Malaysia GP.
Even if we look at Mark Webber, it took him 8 seconds over 12 laps to hit that mark—which wasn't exactly a walk in the park either. It certainly wasn't any closer or easier than Leclerc's 15 seconds over 8 laps... yet Rosberg still got absolutely roasted regardless.

Besides that, Mercedes wasn't even in the conversation for a title back then—not even close.
Nobody even considered them capable of pulling that off, so honestly, it doesn't matter—they gave Rosberg the exact same orders they gave Leclerc. 🙂

And you just know people will start talking about how there wasn't any equality at Mercedes between Hamilton and Rosberg, not to mention how terrible Ferrari was. 🙂
Honestly, what happened between Rosberg and Hamilton was even worse than this situation with Leclerc. 😁

What are you all doing, acting like you’re blind and deaf? How could you possibly miss something this small? You didn't see it, you didn't hear it, and you clearly had no idea. If you weren't actually watching the race, then you're looking at a completely different story. 🙂

I honestly have no idea what dimension you're coming from.

If that's really how it works, what was actually harder? Was it just hitting a button to force a DNF on Rosberg's car, or was it simply forgetting about tire strategy, like Eddie Irvine did back in his Ferrari days or Daniel Ricciardo recently at Red Bull Racing?

Since we’re on the subject, it would be a shame not to mention how they pulled a perfectly healthy gearbox just to shove the No. 2 driver behind the No. 1 at the start of the grid. Just take a guess as to who they were doing that to.

Now, go ahead and wash up, then sit back and wonder who here is actually blind, deaf, or just seeing things despite having perfectly good eyes. Let's get real.

Nicholas Newman2 said:I honestly have no clue what planet you're living on.

If that’s how you see things, then I guess it wasn't such a big deal to just push a button and cause a DNF for Rosberg's car—or maybe just "forget" about tire management, like Eddie Irvine did back at Ferrari, or even what happened recently with Ricciardo over at Red Bull Racing.

And while we're on the subject, it would be a shame not to mention pulling a perfectly good gearbox just to shove the No. 2 driver behind the No. 1 on the starting grid. Go ahead, take a guess at who they were doing that to.

Now, why don't you go wash your face and think about who's actually blind, deaf, or just seeing things here despite having perfectly good eyes. Let's get moving!!!

Comparing the management style of any other team to the way they run things at Ferrari is just plain crazy.

Ferrari's decision to put Vettel ahead of Leclerc is fine by me—they made their choice, and that’s their right. They laid everything out clearly from the start, which should make it easy to avoid those messy teammate showdowns down the road. (Remember last year at the German GP when Kimi was asking over the radio if he should let Vettel through? Yeah, that kind of thing.)

Basically, they've decided which card to play and who they're building their championship ambitions around. I don't have an issue with that, regardless of my own personal take. At the end of the day, we're talking massive amounts of money, reputation, sponsorships, and a whole web of interests that turn this circus into an actual circus sometimes. This romantic idea of "let them fight" or "just let them race" is a total fantasy. Honestly, I think those days are long gone.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Daniel Ricciardo isn't exactly cheap, either. It wasn't just about him feeling like he was stuck playing second fiddle—it’s also that Christian Horner didn't see much drive from Ricciardo's side to chase after a $20 million payday. 🙂

I’m only bringing that up because I keep seeing people here acting like they have endless options—all this "this guy left" or "that guy stayed" talk. Honestly, it’s hard to believe anyone actually has that kind of leverage. 😁

neonfox65 said:Ferrari's engine radio is in safe mode. If anything else goes wrong, they might actually have to swap out the motor.

stormybadger8 said:Blame the sub-forum, neonfox65—move this over to the other section...

https://translate.google.com/transla...00248,15700253

☕

Observations of the PU:

Kimi Q3 losing RPM heading into turn 11—right between 3:20 and 3:23—and venting that he probably burned through his electrical deployment...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipI7...youtu.be&t=195

Romain Grosjean on the radio saying he "ran out of SOC twice" during Q3:


Those Ferrari-powered cars were looking pretty fast through the speed traps:
View on imgur

Sebastian Vettel is lifting and coasting a ton—you can actually see it indicated by that green LED:
https://streamable.com/seq60

Vettel’s RPM drops and him checking in on his PU:
https://streamable.com/s19in

Leclerc seeing an RPM drop (?) right under the Rolex ad:
https://streamable.com/iro84

Something strange is going on here. It’s possible they didn't have enough time to pin down what was actually wrong with the engine during testing, so they decided to baby it just to get through the race.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Something weird is going down—maybe they didn't have enough time to figure out what was wrong with the engine during testing, so they were just babying it during the race.

Yeah, "something weird" is definitely happening.

How am I the only one who noticed this!?

And I called it two weeks ago. While you guys were all busy obsessing over a dominant Ferrari and this grand championship showdown between Leclerc and Vettel.

I'm the only one pointing out Ferrari's massive car issues.

Because unlike you lot, I don't just stare at lap times—I watch how the car actually handles the track, listen to how the engine sounds, and read the body language of the drivers and the key team people.