USA/Central Park 03.17.2019

Jerry Moore61 said:Just turn off the cameras and pack up the cables. We're done here!

Signature Extra Large.

The season is officially over.

I guess we can just settle in and wait for 2021. XD

Give me a break, they aren't finished. We’re just going to be stuck listening to the same old stories about how Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari completely fell apart again.
Honestly, we might actually get an interesting race for once, if only to give those losers a little bit of a wake-up call so they can finally use their brains...
But really, what is there even to lose when you're lining up against the Yankees!? 🤷

I have my doubts that Mercedes will ever pull off another repeat of their 2014 run—or even anything resembling Ferrari’s 2004 dominance. It isn't because they lack the technical chops, per se; it’s more that they simply have zero incentive to actually do it. Ever since 2012, viewership numbers have been on a steady, downward slide, and frankly, having a dominant Mercedes era on full display doesn't exactly help fix that trend.

I don't think Australia is really the benchmark we should use to judge this whole season. Even if Mercedes absolutely dominates tomorrow, it doesn't mean they're going to stay untouchable.
The same logic applies if they end up losing, too.

Long live the dream, I suppose. I truly hope things turn out that way, but based on everything I’ve been hearing coming out of the Mercedes camp lately, I have my doubts.

Robert Cox46 said:I seriously doubt Mercedes is going to pull a repeat of Ferrari's 2004 season, or even their own 2014 run, and it’s not because they lack the capability—it’s because they have zero incentive to actually do it. Since 2012, viewership numbers have been sliding down every single year, and having a dominant Mercedes era just makes that trend worse.

Look, I watch the races in person, and honestly, there's barely any room left in the stands:
https://tickets.formula1.com/en/3277-canada-fom/
https://tickets.formula1.com/en/3222-austria-fom/
You can still grab something for Italy, but you'll have to look at 2009 for that:
https://tickets.formula1.com/en/3293-italy-fom/

Why isn't the mečka included in the poll? 🕺

stormytiger4 said:I don't think Australia is really a good benchmark for judging the whole season. Even if the Mercedes cars dominate tomorrow, that doesn't mean they'll stay that way all year.
The same logic applies if they end up losing tomorrow.

I actually disagree; I think it’s a very representative race.

The track isn't lightning fast like Spa, but it's certainly not a tight little street circuit like Monaco.

It serves as an excellent baseline for what's coming. 😉

Bear is out in front, but it’s far from over. F1.5 is incredibly tight. Williams isn't even in the conversation right now, and Kubica would be right on Russell's tail if it weren't for that extra lap.

Tomorrow is going to be a bloodbath in F1.5

So, the race starts tomorrow. It’s around 6:10 AM, right? That's when they kick things off with the formation lap and the grid walk, yeah?

Honestly, you could probably sleep right through the whole race. 😉 You won't be missing a thing.

Richard Walker38 said:Does the formation lap and grid walk kick off tomorrow right around 6:10 AM?

Race

Go get some sleep, man, if you're feeling tired. Some of us were dedicated enough to religiously follow races all the way back from 2004.

I'm not sure if you caught Vettel on the team radio at the end of Q3. Big Seb said a 1:21.0 would have been a dream lap. Meanwhile, Hamilton clocked a 1:20.4. That’s the gap right there—that’s exactly what the Mercedes strategists were banking on, a realistic half-second advantage. Of course, they'll never admit that publicly within the team.

Richard Walker38 said:So, tomorrow the race starts at like 6:10, right? Or does that initial stuff—grid walk, formation lap—start then?

The formation lap...

stormyviper2 said:They have to change the rules for 2021. No question about it. Nobody is catching Mercedes; there's just no way.

Only once they actually change things will Mercedes be back to where they were in 2014.☕

Thinking rule changes will stop Mercedes is pure stupidity.
If anyone actually figures out how to master the new regulations, it’s definitely going to be Mercedes. Ferrari will probably mess it up just like they do with every other rule change...
Red Bull will likely be good, but the massive question mark is what happens with Honda...
Renault will almost certainly be too stingy to invest enough cash into a new Power Unit...

And we’d probably end up with an even more dominant Mercedes than we have now.☕

Honda is definitely going to hold their own under these new regulations. Honestly, they’ve got money to burn, and more importantly, they’ve already cut their teeth dealing with this kind of technical shift. There’s really no reason why they couldn't develop a Power Unit that's just 10 horsepower shy of the Mercedes-Benz. 😉

Gregory Brown94 said:Mercedes-Benz is leading, but it's not over yet. F1.5 is incredibly close. Williams isn't even in the conversation; Robert Kubica would be right on George Russell's tail if it weren't for his current situation.

Tomorrow is going to be a bloodbath in F1.5

Obviously it's not over...
Lewis will probably give his usual speech about how the season entry is a mess, and this year, that might actually cost him dearly...

Because this year, he won't be able to pit two or three times without the F1.5 pack catching or passing him... and there are plenty of them.

Then you've got the likes of Haas, Alfa Romeo, STR, and Renault...
instead of just obedient little drones like Esteban Ocon, who'll move out of the way whenever needed and just park it on the side in Monaco and all that...
It's also highly questionable how much Lance Stroll will actually listen to Toto Wolff and the crew, and we already know Sergio Perez won't 😁 bother even his own bosses, let alone the guys at Mercedes-Benz 🤣

Even if Mercedes-Benz ends up being the fastest, they don't have any support from the B-teams anymore, and that could get expensive fast...

STR, or even Alfa Romeo and Haas, could play a massive role in certain races...

We'll see about that 😁
Anyway, it’ll be fun watching Ricciardo and Hulkenberg tear through the top 3 teams tomorrow...
Expect them to start on mediums with enough pace to stay out long enough to hold up everyone in the top 10...
Honestly, a collision between Ricciardo and Max Verstappen around the first pit stop wouldn't surprise me one bit, followed by a inevitable SC or VSC.
Ferrari might even try to build a strategy around that—it's pretty much their only hope anyway...

stormytiger4 said:Since there isn't anyone else here more qualified than you to call out "stupid" posts—though clearly, something about my reasoning is rubbing you the wrong way... 😉

Let me try explaining this again. Everyone wants to win—it’s just human nature, especially in racing. No team exists without craving a long stretch of dominance.
The question was: what happens if this four-year streak turns into seven years once the new regulations hit? Well, I'll say it straight—sports with massive, one-sided dominance lose their marketing appeal. They become predictable, and then the fans just walk away. We've seen it happen so many times in Rally, the Dakar Rally, WEC, and other series—after a certain point of dominance, people just stop caring. That's the reality. For the Mercedes-Benz F1 project to actually succeed, they need a strong Ferrari pushing them. And honestly, having a powerhouse like Red Bull or Renault in the mix would be even better. Otherwise, even their own internal drive starts to fade... not to mention everyone else.

One quick question: Did the 2005 Ferrari crew push for rule changes just to weaken themselves? Of course not—they were ready to pour in whatever it took to stay on top for as long as possible. It's the exact same thing with Mercedes-Benz right now. You can see they even set up a team in Formula E just to get ahead before Formula 1 goes fully electric. They have the cash, so that theory of yours—that they'll be forced to cut spending while Ferrari and the other big players won't—doesn't hold much water. Since you mentioned earlier that (in cases of total dominance) the sport itself suffers, that means everyone loses. If the sport loses its draw, everyone will have to tighten their belts, not just the Bear. Does that make sense, or am I still talking nonsense? Also, I asked if you knew how much Mercedes-Benz's budget actually is and how it's split up. You dodged that. So, do some homework... check it out here.

So, it's basically 1/3 from sponsors
1/3 from owners (specifically Daimler here)
and 1/3 comes from FIA prize money (more details here).

I did the math, and Daimler 2016 contributed roughly £134 million—which is about $177 million.

Bottom line is, Honda basically tanked it because they had zero experience with Hybrid tech, which puts them about two or three years behind the curve. But through this process, they’ve gained an insane amount of experience—and let's be honest, they have more money than they know what to do with. They're sitting on enough cash to make Mercedes-Benz look broke in comparison. xD

If they had started from scratch alongside Mercedes-Benz, I’m certain they’d be 5 to 10 horsepower ahead of them, and honestly, probably better than Ferrari too. 😉

+ And of course, you can't forget the most important part: they're from Japan. The Japanese are absolute geniuses when it comes to engineering; they are total masterminds at everything they touch.

Edit:

Also, the biggest "what if" is how they moved on from McLaren. xD If they had just signed with Red Bull from the very beginning instead of going with McLaren,
they would already be world champions by now. 😉