Melbourne Grand Prix - March 17, 2019

Nicholas Newman2 said:To make things even more ridiculous, everyone keeps forgetting one crucial fact: Toto Wolff is the boss at Mercedes.

Where on earth did you get that info, and how long have you been believing it?🙂

This is what people demand from Formula 1, not this Italian-style sloppiness and total failure to communicate with the media.
It is almost as if they are living in the 15th century, completely isolated from the public eye. 🤦
The PR battle between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes is going to be just as intense as the fight on the track itself.

Helmut Marko claims they are currently ahead of Ferrari; 🎉

“We are hoping that Mercedes' form was specific to Melbourne. We are currently ahead of Ferrari, but our goal is to be ahead of everyone.”

I am still reeling from Marko's statement—he suggests that Red Bull possesses a superior power unit but a subpar chassis. Does this imply that the Japanese engineers have outperformed the great mind of Adrian Newey?

“The best part of our car is the Honda power unit. We must improve the chassis.”

And that isn't even the full story; now HP is coming on board with Honda;

“The Board has promised us that more strength is arriving soon. It is up to us to develop the chassis and catch those who are currently leading the way.”

Based on Marko's comments, it is abundantly clear that Red Bull is aiming for the WDC with Max Verstappen;

“Five wins is the bare minimum, and fighting for the title is mandatory.”

https://www.f1puls.com/38324/marko-n...amo-popraviti/

People keep saying the Red Bull car was built specifically for the Renault engine, not the Honda one...
If that's actually true, then it’s not out of the question that the current chassis just isn't perfect right now...

Which basically means we could see a totally different RB car or a "B-spec" version around the time of Barcelona...

It would also pretty much explain Ricciardo's move, since it's obvious Red Bull didn't really trust Honda anyway—after all, they didn't design this car with them in mind to begin with...
Instead, it looks like the whole thing was designed with a backup plan in case things went south, letting them ditch Honda for 2019 and stick with Renault...
It's even possible that Ricciardo leaving for Renault was the final straw, providing the ultimate excuse to dump Renault and finally commit to Honda...

Come on guys, why all the arguing?

Unfortunately, I think it's obvious to everyone that the romance in Formula 1 is dead. There isn't a single team left fighting for titles that would actually tell their drivers, "Just go out there and give it your best shot, winner takes all."
If I were running a team, I’d pick my number one driver right at the start of the season—doesn't matter if it was Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton, regardless of how much I personally liked them.
So what if Valtteri Bottas is seen as the "weak link" at Mercedes? Honestly, I'd rather be that than being the lead driver for some bottom-tier outfit. The guy helped Lewis Hamilton countless times, and so what? He did his job, and you can see that from miles away. It’s just a shame Kimi Raikkonen wasn't playing the supporting role last season at Monza, where the Ferrari crew looked like a bunch of amateurs.

I wrote this a while ago, and @Nicholas Newman2/">@@Nicholas Newman2 just reminded me of it: Mercedes is basically what Ferrari was back during the Schumacher era.

Nicholas Newman2 said:the epitome of evil and cliché

And that is exactly why I started rooting for them.

Monza wasn't even that bad. I mean, it wasn't nearly as soul-crushing as Germany. Germany was just straight-up 😵

God, it’s pathetic when Kimi starts acting like he doesn't care after ten laps—just sitting there, basically pissing himself and shitting himself, waiting for someone to ask if his kid is okay or if he's finally going to take orders for once. 🤦🤣

At the end of the day, Ferrari got hammered because they didn't use team orders when they actually needed them.
Good grief, even British Sky or C4 were acting shocked, wondering what kind of kid they had that wouldn't follow orders, or if maybe there was some technical glitch with the team radio or something. 🤦
Seriously, British Sky/C4, who are die-hard Hamilton fans, couldn't wrap their heads around it. They were debating live on air about how Ferrari is totally losing it and what on earth they're even waiting for. 🤦🤣

And honestly, those same idiots would have been acting the exact same way in Germany last year if they hadn't used Valtteri Bottas the way they did...

stormybadger8 said:At the end of the day, unnamed got punished because he refused to follow team orders when it actually mattered.

Everyone on VN Italy acted like a complete idiot in their own special way, from that unnamed guy all the way down to Sebastian Vettel, and even Kimi Raikkonen wasn't far off. The first guy was just being a total troll, second was too high-strung to wait for Kimi to move, and third? Well, he clearly wasn't thinking about his teammate's championship fight—especially knowing how short Kimi's fuse can be. Honestly, we're better off just forgetting the whole mess.

stormybadger8 said:And honestly, you’d find the exact same kind of idiots right here in the States if they hadn't treated Valtteri Bottas that way last year...

It’s all the same story. Whether it's Ferrari during the Michael Schumacher era or Red Bull Racing back when Sebastian Vettel was running the show, it's all just different versions of the same thing.

Brian Campbell36 said:I can't quite wrap my head around what Helmut Marko said—claiming the RBR power unit is superior to the chassis. It makes you wonder if the Japanese engineers actually outpaced a genius like Adrian Newey;

“The strongest part of our car is the Honda power unit. We really need to work on the chassis.”

The chassis was originally built around a Renault engine, which, let's face it, lacked both raw horsepower and straight-line speed. I'm not sure why anyone finds this surprising—car development takes about 16 months, after all. Things should settle down soon enough, I guess.

stormybadger8 said:Where did you get that info, and how long have you known?🙂

From a psychic named Milan😛
About the same time you found out that they were intentionally sabotaging Nico Rosberg while Hamilton just had "unlucky" breakdowns.😒

crimsonhawk23 said:Alright, I haven't come across that specific detail anywhere else yet, so thanks for the heads-up. Even if that's the case, though, I don't see any reason why he couldn't have overtaken him halfway through the race if he had been in a superior car powered by the exact same engine 🤷

There was actually a radio transmission where they told him to hit the "overtake button" for five seconds, and he responded saying he was doing exactly that, but nothing was happening...

fadedpanther51 said:Everyone at the Italian Grand Prix acted like an absolute idiot in their own special way. You had one guy just talking total nonsense, then Vettel, who was clearly on edge and couldn't wait a second for Kimi Raikkonen to move out of the way. And then there's Kimi, who didn't exactly show much consideration for a teammate fighting for the championship—probably knowing full well how short his teammate's fuse is. Honestly, better to just forget the whole mess.

Unfortunately, that’s true—well, partially.
Drivers acting like idiots? That’s just a symptom of having a terrible boss and even worse management.

It’s pretty clear that unnamed is the one truly at fault here. That's exactly why he had to get the boot.
Look, unnamed is the one who actually needs to step up, get things organized, and start showing some real authority.
And he shouldn't be leaving those kinds of calls up to the driver's discretion, either. 🤦
What is Kimi Raikkonen supposed to do? Just lose his mind? Should he be sitting there overthinking what his boss ought to do versus what actually makes sense?
Sebastian Vettel really needs to stop losing his cool mid-race. It’s ridiculous. He should already know if they're going to tell Kimi Raikkonen to move out of the way or not.
Stop wondering if that unnamed guy is actually going to grow a pair today, or if Kimi Raikkonen will finally remember he needs to get out of the way.

Germany was way worse for me. We’re talking about two drivers on the same team running completely different strategies, and the boss couldn't figure out how to manage them for even thirteen laps. Absolute mess.
Now even Kimi has to ask the team if this kid is just shooting blanks and whether he should pack his bags or not...
Look, even two hotheads like Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon knew exactly when to back off once they realized they were running completely different strategies.
If the boss doesn't have the guts to make a call right now, he’s just proving he’s a complete amateur.

fadedpanther51 said:It’s all the same story. Whether it's Ferrari back in the Michael Schumacher era or Red Bull Racing during the Vettel years, it's just different flavors of the exact same nonsense.

Not really...
If I remember correctly, back when Jean Todt was running things, Ferrari actually had a boss. They had clear priorities and everything was exactly where it needed to be. It was a team that ran like a Swiss watch.
It’s kind of like today’s Mercedes—everything is dialed in, everyone knows their job, and nobody is stepping on anyone else's toes.

Red Bull during the Vettel era wasn't even close to being that polished when it came to leadership. They definitely had their share of stupid mistakes—just like Ferrari did last year, and more than once at that.
Back then, they actually let drivers get away with total bullshit—messing with each other on the track and using all kinds of weird, shady tactics. Then it just turned into this collective circus where everyone, from the drivers to Helmut Marko and Christian Horner, would just go out and trash each other in the media.
So, were those weird tactics actually intentional? Honestly, I have no clue. But even if they were... who cares? It doesn't matter.
Look, if that wasn't intentional, then they're just incompetent. Their priorities are all over the place.
Even if they did it on purpose, it doesn't change much. It’s just a blatant display of a Team Principal who can't get his act together. He clearly hasn't got the guts to tell his drivers exactly who's the Number 1 and who's the Number 2. Total weakness.
So, they really have to cook up some transparent bullshit just to shove Driver B behind Driver A... unbelievable.
Then they spend weeks dragging it out in the media, making excuses and whatever else...
It’s just proof the boss lacks the backbone to actually command his own drivers...

And it was damn obvious that Horner didn't have the guts or the capacity to step up and get any of those drivers in line properly. He couldn't set things straight if he tried.

As far as I can tell, this Binotto guy is shaping up to be a real leader...
Not that I won't personally hate some of his calls down the road, purely because I'm biased...
But for now, Binotto has definitely shown he's the boss. 👍
No games, no PR nonsense, no finger-pointing... just "this is how it is, I'm in charge, listen to me, period." ☕
He told Leclerc exactly where things stood right out of the gate without any stalling or dodging, and the kid took it like a champ.

He laid it all out before the season even started without playing mind games, so there's really no point overanalyzing it.

Nicholas Newman2 said:From the psychic Milan 😛
Around the exact same time you claim they intentionally sabotaged Nico Rosberg while Lewis Hamilton just had "random" breakdowns 😒

You're working with ancient history here...
Just because Toto was managing Bottas back in the day doesn't mean much, because that ship sailed a long time ago...

Unless Bottas is paying him massive amounts of cash under the table—because let’s be real, there isn't usually some deep love between a driver and a manager (unless we're talking about a situation like Flavio and Alonso)—for most people, this is just a job and nothing more...

Think about it 😉
For Toto, Lewis Hamilton is lightyears ahead of Bottas, Rosberg, or Ocon in terms of value...
Bottas is basically just filling Rosberg's old seat. He's easily replaceable—driving-wise, marketing-wise, or whatever else you want to measure...

Hamilton, on the other hand? Replacing his talent might not be the biggest headache, but
marketing-wise, nobody on the grid even comes close to Hamilton's pull... not even close.
Especially not Vettel. Sure, he'd be the obvious choice to drive if Hamilton left, but marketing-wise, Vettel is practically useless. He stays out of the spotlight, doesn't do Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, doesn't have a massive fan army, or whatever else you need...
He doesn't show up at events, doesn't go grabbing drinks all over the world, and so on...
Then you've got Lewis, who is constantly everywhere, and the media is always buzzing about "Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton hanging out somewhere or other," and companies like Mercedes absolutely love seeing the name "Mercedes" in the headlines, regardless of the reason...

neonfox65 said:

Unlike Max—who’s really just fighting for that potential 3rd place spot—Mercedes actually gets to decide which of their drivers walks away with the championship this year! 🤣

stormybadger8 said:Well, word is they're saying the car was built specifically for the Renault engine rather than Honda's...
And if that's actually true—which would be wild—then it's not out of the question that the chassis isn't quite perfect right now...

Which basically means we might see a totally different RB car or maybe even a B-spec version around the time of Barcelona...

It would honestly make sense regarding Ricciardo's decision, too—since it seems like Red Bull didn't really trust Honda, given they clearly didn't design the car with them in mind from the start...
Instead, it looks like they built it with a backup plan in case things went south—you know, just ditching Honda for the 2019 season and sticking with Renault...
It’s even possible that Ricciardo leaving for Renault was the final straw—the little thing that pushed them to finally cut ties with Renault and commit to Honda...

lol, what an imagination you've got there... I mean, they didn't trust Honda, yet they still signed them🤣 🤣🤣—I'd love to see some of your business decisions, haha!

Just the fact that it's Honda, combined with their determination to make it work and being backed by a top-3 team, tells you everything. It’s world-class tech that’ll eventually hit the top. Maybe not this year, but next? Then it's championship time.

stormybadger8 said:Vettel isn't going to sit there and lose his cool during the race... he needs to know if he's actually going to tell Kimi to move over or not.
Stop worrying about whether someone’s actually going to step up today or if Kimi will finally remember he needs to get out of the way.

Well, he finally snapped, and it's officially gone down in history. Honestly, Kimi isn't even the one to blame here, and that strike was totally justified.
By the way, even though I'm not exactly a huge Vettel fan, if I were his teammate, I’d tell him right before the lights go out: "Hey, you take the lead into the first turn. I'll just tell the bosses and the media that I accidentally drifted off for a second at the start."

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, I think Germany is way worse.

I'm with you on what you said about striking—plus, yeah, Vettel's exit was a mess. 🤦

stormybadger8 said:From what I recall, back during the Jean Todt era, Ferrari actually had a boss who called the shots. They had clear priorities and everything was exactly where it needed to be—a team that ran like clockwork.
It’s a bit like today's Mercedes—everything is perfectly dialed in, everyone knows exactly what they're doing, and everybody knows their place.

That’s exactly what I’ve been shouting from the rooftops. Everyone knows how the game works—where everything happens, how it unfolds, and yes, even the whole team orders situation. People just tend to be way too cynical about it, especially the casual fans. It’s why Ferrari had such a massive wave of haters during their dominant era, and honestly, it's the exact same thing happening to Mercedes today.

stormybadger8 said:Red Bull during the Vettel era wasn't even close to being that kind of dominant powerhouse.

Both the current Mercedes and Schmiemann's Ferrari were absolute slugs, but they managed to look decent just because the cars were so dominant. They ended up backing Vettel since he had all the momentum—and honestly, I always preferred Webber—but in the end, it was the right call. It paid off big time with a mountain of championships.

stormybadger8 said:Right now, Mattia Binotto smells like a proper boss...
It’s totally possible I won't personally love some of his calls down the road, just purely from a fan perspective...
But for now, Binotto has definitely proven he can handle being the boss
No scams, no PR nonsense, no finger-pointing..

The new boss will be solid, that much is true, but this bolded part???
Look, without that stuff you can't even compete with the Bear, and you have to play the PR game—it's just how Formula 1 works these days. Like someone said, their PR department is basically stuck in the 15th century. The image below perfectly describes 😁

Gary Palmer8 said:lol such a massive brain... look, they didn't trust Honda, but they signed them anyway 🤣🤣🤣 just so I can watch some of you guys make business decisions haha

The fact that it's Honda, and they stuck to the plan to succeed, and that a top 3 team signed them, proves it's a world-class team with elite tech that'll eventually hit the top. Maybe not this year, but next year could be it, and then we're looking at championship glory.

Red Bull signing Honda for STR actually makes perfect sense from a business standpoint—it's brilliant logic...
They could have easily left Honda in STR this season and kept the RB crew on Renault if Renault turned out to be the better bet...

Then they could just switch to Honda later once Honda proves itself to be better than Renault—say, in 2020 or 2021, or maybe never if Renault stayed stronger and more reliable.

Basically, they just kept their options open for the main team or the RB squad...
In the meantime, they pulled the trigger on Honda and clearly made a damn good call. 👍

It’s also perfectly logical that they started car development for this season ages ago. If they started before making the final call between Renault or Honda, then obviously they built the car around what they knew they had—specifically the PU they were certain would deliver at least what they currently have...

So this whole theory actually holds water. Regardless of the nonsense Marko often blabs about regarding how this year's car was tuned specifically for the Renault PU, it's very likely true.

Nicholas Newman2 said:Are you kidding me?
Of course I believe the cards are on the table at Mercedes up to a certain point, but that doesn't mean the higher-ups don't have a favorite driver. For people who see things in black and white, there is no middle ground. And if they ever make it look like there's any gray area, it's just because someone's being shady to keep the masses distracted. So, yeah, maybe.

Fair enough.
But I don't buy it. Not because Mercedes is my main rival or anything, but just based on a whole string of indicators.

As for that move in Canada, I tip my hat. I actually respect it. It aligns perfectly with how I see things.
Whether they were being honest or not, they pulled off some brilliant PR and created a talking point that’ll keep paying dividends for a long time.
So, if it was purely sincere, I salute them.
If it was just being rebellious and rock-and-roll, I still salute them.
If it was a calculated, cold-blooded PR stunt for long-term gain, then I salute them ten times over. You’d have to be a real shark to pull that one off.

Nicholas Newman2 said:It’s like they have a psychic in the Mercedes garage. They knew those points wouldn't matter anyway, and they knew Vettel would screw up even more after that mess in Singapore, knocking himself out of the title race. That's why they went ahead and made sure Lujo handed that position back to Bottas in Canada.

And how many times did they mess with his head, and how many times did he just blindly, submissively, and without an ounce of character follow along!?

Roger Wright94 said:And how many times were they screwing with his head, and how many times did he blindly, submissively, and spinelessly just listen to them!?

Why does anyone consider that messing with his head or being spineless?

For God's sake, someone hands you 5, 10, or 20 million bucks to drive 21 races a year in the best car on the grid...
On top of that, they ask you to play second fiddle to a teammate who's faster than you at least 70% of the time...

And that's the problem? That's what's "messing with his head"?
Seriously?
I don't see it. 🤷

Messing with someone's head would be like when Sauber promises you a seat if you bring in enough sponsors, you pull it off, show up in Australia, and find some other guy sitting in "your" car wearing "your" suit...
That's getting screwed over, not this...

What Red Bull has been doing to Gasly for years could actually be called messing with his head—you're in, then you're out, then you're back, it's just a constant cycle...

And I'm pretty sure van der Graditi and Gasly would gladly take it if Mercedes were the ones screwing with their heads. 🙂

stormybadger8 said:Why does anyone think this is messing with someone's head or being spineless?

Look, if someone hands you 5, 10, or 20 million dollars to drive 21 races a year in the best car on the grid...
And then they ask you to play second fiddle to a teammate who's faster than you 70% of the time in just a handful of races...

And people call *that* messing with your mental health?
Seriously?
I don't see the issue here. 🤷

You must be married.😁😁

stormybadger8 said:Red Bull signing up Honda for STR—it makes total business sense on their part, and I mean serious logic here...
They could have easily just stuck with Honda in STR this season and kept the RB guys on Renault if Renault ended up being the better bet...

Then they could just jump ship to Honda once Honda proves itself better than Renault—say in 2020 or 2021, or maybe never if Renault stays stronger and more reliable.

Basically, they just kept their options open for the main team or the RB crew...
In the meantime, they decided to go with Honda, and clearly, it was a brilliant move. 👍

It also makes perfect sense that they started developing the car for this season ages ago. If they started before making the final call between Renault or Honda, then it’s only logical they built the car around what they knew they had—an engine they were certain would deliver at least what they currently have on hand...

So, this whole theory actually holds water. Regardless of all the nonsense Marko often blathers about regarding how they adapted this year's car to the Renault PU, it’s very likely the truth.

1) You lied earlier when you said Ricciardo moved to Renault first and then RB decided to switch to Honda—that’s a straight-up lie.

Second, from what I've read, as soon as RB secured Honda for TR, they knew it was a done deal and that by 2019, their main team would most likely be working with Honda too.

And third, this car was built using the same philosophy as the last few years because the PU lacked power. It doesn't even matter which specific engine it is—the point is it was weak, so they had to make compromises. Now that they realize Honda is stronger, they're starting to add DF and maybe even a Spec B chassis. Honestly, don't pay attention to these rumors; they're just filler—I mean, who cares about development? That stuff happens behind closed doors, and on the track, you see results through actions rather than talk.

neonfox65 said:Now that they've realized how much stronger Honda is, they're starting to add the DF and maybe even a Spec B chassis.

Honestly, I'm happy for them. I really want to see Max pull off something big this season just to make the championship actually interesting. 👍