Australia vs. USA - March 25, 2018

stormybadger8 said:Oh sure, because suddenly there's this urgent need for change...
It wasn't an issue before, as long as the old rules worked perfectly for the Germans and RB. 👏

Exactly. Vettel deserved that win, and that's why he managed to stay ahead on those old tires right up until the VSC hit. After that, Hamilton just couldn't find a way past him. When you actually sit down and think about it, nobody was passing anyone—except for the brilliant Ricciardo early on, and that little stunt involving Bottas and the cars trailing six or seven seconds behind.🙂

mellowtiger83 said:Alonso was better in his first race with Renault than he was with Honda over three full seasons—that’s like 60 races. 60:1 ratio, haha.

Honda is killing it in the Toro Rosso, honestly sucks for that little Italian outfit. What a waste!

Hard to say if Honda is actually trash or if it's just the drivers...
I still think Sainz could probably snatch some points today driving this STR car...

Unfortunately, STR's driver lineup is basically on par with Williams. The car looks pathetic, but who knows how bad it actually is...

nimblesurfer17 said:I’m just questioning Grosjean's decision to park exactly where he did.

He parked outside the track, right by the nearest gap in the fence.

There's really nothing to fault Grosjean for here.

nimblesurfer17 said:Wait, where exactly did I say or imply that? 🤔
Let me clear things up for you: nowhere.
I’m just questioning Grosjean's choice to park the car right where he did.
No conspiracies, no rigged races, none of that nonsense.

Alright, alright. A lot of people were talking total nonsense this morning, so I honestly thought you were jumping on the bandwagon of stupidity and hinting at something being fixed. My bad.

stormybadger8 said:It's honestly hard to tell if Honda is just total garbage or if the drivers are actually making it look that bad...
I’m still sitting here thinking that if Sainz were behind the wheel of this STR car today, he’d probably walk away with some points easy...

The thing is, the STR driver lineup is basically on par with Williams right now, and while the car looks like an absolute wreck, who even knows how much of that is just pure design failure...

TR definitely has more talent in their cockpit than Williams does

📲

Sean Barrett35 said:Yeah, he needs to pit immediately. Even if it turns out the nut was tight, they're getting penalized regardless of whether the wheel actually flies off or not.

https://www.eurosport.com/formula-1/...91/story.shtml

If that wheel pops off, it's a 10-place grid penalty. 🤔
That’s exactly why they need to pit right this second—to dodge that penalty...
Sure, the team loses a few grand on a pit stop, but a 10-place penalty? That's massive, especially when you've got a car fast enough to actually score points...

TR and Williams have absolute garbage drivers right now. All four of them need to just pack it up and head over to Formula E, or maybe drop down to GP2 to actually learn how to drive before they even think about coming back.

Congrats to Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, and Kimi Räikkönen. They capitalized on the chaos from the SC and earned that win.

One thing is certain: the Mercedes-AMG car is painfully fast—easily the quickest on the grid. Even on older tires, Lewis Hamilton was clearly faster than Sebastian Vettel; he just couldn't make the move because of the track layout and Ferrari's top speed. You can see from the aerial views that Mercedes-AMG and Red Bull Racing are dominant through the corners, while Ferrari is struggling there. They still have work to do... At least it's encouraging that Ferrari has a competitive engine, even if they lack that "party" mode 😁

Valtteri Bottas needs a serious kick in the rear and should be sent straight to a concentration camp. It’s embarrassing that a car that mediocre can't even outpace Renault 🤦
And I honestly feel for Fernando Alonso. It's sad watching him celebrate a 5th place finish that he only got because Haas pulled out and the SC came out...
Red Bull Racing looks lifeless and completely underwhelming... there's no way to make progress with an engine that's this weak 😁

I feel worst for Haas. Such sloppy mistakes and wasted points. It's like they're rookies out there, just terrible 🙂

stormybadger8 said:It’s hard to tell where the problem lies—is it the Ford engine or just the drivers?...
I still maintain that if Carlos Sainz Jr. were behind the wheel of this Red Bull Racing car today, he’d actually have a shot at scoring points...

Red Bull Racing is unfortunately operating at a Williams Racing level when it comes to talent. The car looks miserable, though one wonders just how dire the technical situation truly is...

Honestly, even if the late Ayrton Senna were to rise from his grave during his prime, they probably wouldn't be scoring points. At best, maybe they'd scrape into the top 12.😁

What do I even know about Ford? Just look at their consumer lineup; it's an unrecognizable brand, completely lost in time and space.

So, Ted and Martin Brundle just broke it down: if the folks over at Mercedes-Benz knew Sebastian Vettel actually had a shot at overtaking Lewis Hamilton during that VSC, they would've pushed harder to build a bigger gap. Instead, their software was telling them everything was under control, so they just cruised, saving tires and holding steady. Then everything went south.

I’m asking you all to please stop picking at one another! These provocative, argumentative bickering matches are completely against our community guidelines.

Thanks!
😁

Congratulations to Ferrari and, of course, to all the Ferrari fans out there. Their strategy was spot on, making this a well-earned victory.

Terry Carter2 said:Please, let's keep the personal attacks to a minimum. Aggressive, argumentative bickering simply doesn't align with our community guidelines here.

Thanks.
😁

Who's my friend? Gill is singular. 😁

stormytiger4 said:So, Ted and Martin Brundle just cleared things up: if the Mercedes-Benz crew had realized Sebastian Vettel actually stood a chance at overtaking Lewis Hamilton during the VSC, they would have pushed harder to build a larger gap. Instead, because their software suggested they were safe, they played it smart with tire wear and maintained the status quo. And then, disaster strikes.

Long story short—it was a Ferrari failure.

stormytiger4 said:Look, Ted and Martin Brundle just laid it out quite clearly: if the folks at Mercedes-Benz realized Sebastian Vettel actually stood a chance of overtaking Lewis Hamilton during a VSC, they would have pushed harder to build a larger gap. Instead, because their software indicated everything was under control, they opted to save tires and maintain the status quo. Then, total chaos.

Regardless, the results were messy. Personally, I am quite pleased with how the championship is shaking out, mostly in the hope that Ferrari can finally stabilize, especially since the Mercedes-Benz car is clearly the faster machine right now.

Jason Campbell70 said:Basically—Ferrari completely blew it.

Exactly. This was straight-up suicide, following the classic Ferrari playbook. 👍

mellowtiger83 said:They got wrecked, and honestly, I’m kind of happy about it. Hopefully, this forces Ferrari to get their act together because Mercedes-Benz is clearly the faster car right now.

Yeah, Mercedes is a beast and Lewis Hamilton is just on another level. We probably won't see much excitement from the rest of the field this year.

mellowtiger83 said:Honestly, they got screwed—I'm actually kind of happy about how the championship is shaking out. I'm just hoping Ferrari can find some consistency soon, because let's be real, the Mercedes-Benz car is clearly the faster machine right now.

hahahaha

I find myself once again compelled to praise Max for his sheer artistry behind the wheel. It takes a certain level of finesse to pull off a maneuver like that without clipping the wall. This isn't some stroke of luck, either; he pulled the exact same stunt back in Brazil. Honestly, Valtteri Bottas could learn a thing or two from Max if he actually paid attention.🙂

stormytiger4 said:Exactly. This is essentially a suicide mission executed according to Ferrari's playbook. 👍

Indeed. Mercedes is quite powerful, and Hamilton is incredibly powerful; I don't expect much excitement from the rest of the field this year.

Precisely. That was the word I was searching for—they are just too strong. Too strong. It is fortunate we were in the USA rather than on a track that actually allows for overtaking.🙂

mellowtiger83 said:Regardless of how things shake out, I’m personally happy about the championship race in hopes that Ferrari can finally stabilize, especially since the Mercedes-Benz car is clearly faster right now.

Stop stalling, we can see your avatar. 😁