USA/Central Park 03.17.2019

Why does mellowtiger83 have Carlos Sainz as his avatar? Just noticed that now. 🤔

stormybadger8 said:100-to-1 odds on Kimi Räikkönen🙏
What amateurs.🤣

The odds are way too high, but there is zero chance Kimi catches the fastest lap.
If Sauber were just a little bit faster, maybe. But the gap to the top teams is massive. Mercedes and Ferrari are putting up solid laps, and those times are simply untouchable for the best driver in a Sauber.

Brian Campbell36 said:🤦

I’m honestly just counting down the days until Sunday so this kid cools his jets—Lewis is going to cruise through this season just like LeBron James or Roger Federer at the US Open 2019. 🍿
No wonder you got a permanent ban from the basketball forums for posts like this; they're always so full of ego.
After seeing FP2, some kid is already handing out eight World Championships—let's just wait and see how a few actual races go first.

Look, LeBron is in his 16th season and deserves a little breather—you can't force greatness. And as for those other two champions, we're all just waiting for Nadal to make his move and for Hamilton to start dominating again.

If even one of those things happens, it'll be a solid weekend—plus, the sun is finally out! 😁

swifttiger75 said:Why does mellowtiger83 have Carlos Sainz as his avatar? Just noticed that! 🤔

It's not Carlos Sainz, it's Djankarlo Fizikela

damn you illiterate idiot

Raymond Anderson4 said:Ferrari is way faster than they look, and RB is even quicker.
Is Ferrari actually faster than Mercedes? They're somewhere in the mix. If they grab pole, it’ll be thanks to Vettel.
Ferrari's car is a disaster on ground effect. Vettel is pulling everything out of that thing by driving right on the edge.
I reckon they'll take pole by a tenth because of Vettel's monster lap.

Even if they were floating on clouds, they wouldn't be within half a second of Valtteri Bottas, let alone Lewis Hamilton...

Mercedes is just ridiculously dominant. I have no clue what they did, but they are sickeningly fast, even without party mode.🤦
On top of that, their tire management is elite. Ferrari is a complete mess on mediums...

I just hope this is strictly an Australian thing...

Nobody can touch them here. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they overtake everyone on track except maybe Ferrari—and even then, they'll probably leave them behind by over 50 seconds.
Williams is a lost cause; they'll probably drop off after five or six laps.🤦

Raymond Anderson4 said:FP3 will tell the truth. Ferrari needs to dial in the engine and prep for qualifying. There's no way they keep sandbagging like this through tomorrow's sessions.

Yeah, right. Like we're supposed to believe Ferrari, RB, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Haas, Racing Point, McLaren, and especially Williams all suddenly switched into hardcore sandbagging mode at once...
It's like Mercedes is the only one not sandbagging, which hasn't exactly been the tradition since the hybrid era started...

If teams haven't completely flipped their FP approach compared to previous seasons, then expect Mercedes to show up with another 0.5 to 1 second advantage in Q3 rather than the rest of the field catching up.🤦

Poor Claire; honestly, her team would be better off just packing up and leaving this circus altogether. They're being dragged along for the ride, and if these results are anything to go by, they'll end up even worse than last year—not even worth a glance, really.

Sophia Barrett3 said:Poor Claire. Honestly, her crew would be better off ditching this whole circus. They’re getting absolutely hammered, and with these pathetic results, they'll be doing even worse than last year. They won't even scrape a single point.

The tragic part? I have a feeling they might actually fail to finish a single race. I wouldn't be surprised if they can't even stay within the 107% rule in qualifying (DNQ), let alone manage to complete 90% of the laps in a race (NC)...
Maybe Robert Kubica could pull it off, but George Russell? Not a chance.
At this rate, the question isn't whether they'll score points, but whether they'll even show up to every race and actually get classified.

It’s tragic how slow they are. This looks like HRT during their absolute worst days, if not even worse. 😢

ruggedhawk20 said:It isn't Carlos Sainz, it’s actually Carlos Sainz

God, you're illiterate.

Dammit, both of you.

That's Charles Leclerc in the photo, not Carlos Sainz!

So, what actually changed here?
When am I gonna have to drag myself out of bed tomorrow and the day after? 🤷

mellowtiger83 said:Man, you guys are both blind as bats!

That’s clearly Charles Leclerc in the photo—not Fisico!

Honestly, I spent years thinking that was Jamesdin in the pic.

I’m pretty sure it was Fizkela.

ruggedhawk20 said:To be perfectly honest, I spent years convinced that the guy in the picture was Jamesdin.

Jamesdin had that same avatar for an eternity. The fact that you lot didn't even notice the switch just proves how blind you all are; the image is similar enough that your brains simply failed to perceive the shift, whereas mine clearly did.

It's because I operate in four (4) dimensions.

swifttiger75 said:I am certain it was Fizkela.

It couldn't have been Fizikela. The image hasn't changed; you're just perceiving it incorrectly.
He writes: "I am certain it is Fizikela!" I am not entirely sure you grasp what I am attempting to convey here.

Good grief, does the British media ever feel any shame when they pull stunts like this?🤦

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...e-from-ferrari

Mercedes, closely followed by Red Bull, emerged as the pacesetters in practice for Formula 1's United States Grand Prix, but what happened to Ferrari's prodigious testing pace?

If a gap of 0.800 sec is considered "closely followed" in F1, then I guess three PM means🤦 🤣 🤣 🤣
Seriously, have these people no dignity left? 🤦

swifttiger75 said:I’m positive it was all about Fizkela.

Look—you just gotta touch your right fingertips together, point them up, and chant "Fizkela" with a heavy emphasis on the E—while waving that hand back and forth. Simple as that.

mellowtiger83 said:It couldn't have been about Fizikela—the image is still exactly what you misread it as in the first place!
I wrote: "I'm sure it's about Fizikela!"—not sure if you're actually grasping what I'm trying to get at here?

Yeah, the image hasn't changed... but since it isn't Fisichella, and I've realized that now after your confirmation, then saying it "was" [about him] makes sense (if you follow me).

ruggedhawk20 said:You need to touch your right fingertips together, point them upward, chant "Fizikela" with the emphasis on the E, and while doing that, move your hands toward yourself and away from yourself in a rhythmic motion.

Listen, folks—that name is just a mashup of Physics and Kelja. I'll try to whip something up along those lines.

Sebastian Vettel seems visibly on edge heading into qualifying and the race itself;

“What was all that nonsense about being out of shape or lacking pace? To be perfectly honest, I simply don't understand it,”

Could you please include the links next time?

gaff_

https://www.f1puls.com/38181/vettel-...da-su-sporiji/

stormybadger8 said:They aren't even within half a second of Valtteri Bottas, let alone Lewis Hamilton...

The Bear is just overwhelmingly dominant. I have no clue what they did, but they are insanely fast, and that’s without even running their race trim.🤦
On top of that, they seem to handle tires perfectly, while Ferrari is in a complete mess on the mediums...

I just hope this is specific only to the United States Grand Prix...

Nobody can really touch them here. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they overtake everyone on track except maybe Ferrari, though they'll likely leave them behind by over 50 seconds anyway.
Williams is looking miserable; they'll probably struggle after just five or six laps.🤦

Sure, we should all expect Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Haas, STR, RP, McLaren, and especially Williams to suddenly be in heavy sandbagging mode...
It seems like only Mercedes isn't sandbagging, which hasn't exactly been the tradition throughout the entire hybrid era...

If the teams haven't completely flipped their FP-ov approach compared to previous seasons, then we should expect The Bear to be another 0.5 to 1 second ahead in Q3, rather than seeing the rest of the field close the gap.🤦

Be a gentleman and explain what you're basing these conclusions on.

ruggedhawk20 said:Mommy,

Could you please ask Gill to tone it down? There's no need to be aggressive or go looking for trouble with the neighbors.

I pointed out the same thing about this colleague last year, but the mods didn't see an issue with it. It isn't even peak season yet, but they're already stirring up drama in the threads. If anyone is going to listen, shouldn't it be the longtime members?

Nicholas Newman2 said:I was already pointing out this colleague last year, yet the moderators saw absolutely nothing wrong with it. We aren't even in the middle of the season yet—it hasn't even truly begun—and already there is unrest being stirred up in these threads. If anyone is going to be listened to around here, it will be you old-timers.

This is democracy at its finest, isn't it? Why don't we just kick everyone out so that only the godfathers and the echo chambers remain?
It seems Mercedes-Benz fans simply cannot stomach the truth; apparently, one can no longer write a single sentence without someone taking offense and immediately firing off toxic arrows.

If someone finds it bothersome, they have an ignore list, but even that is part of the issue; wouldn't it be more efficient to just hand out permanent bans? 🤦

Given all this aggression directed at my insignificance, I expect Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari to sweep the titles, if only to spite forum dwellers such as yourselves. 🎉