Australia vs. USA - March 25, 2018

Kyle Lopez2 said:What could Lewis Hamilton have actually done during the VSC?
Maybe he could have squeezed out an extra 5 seconds—which would've been enough—but then he might have just picked up a speeding penalty under the VSC.

He had about 2-3 seconds to pull ahead of Vettel at the first corner without any issues. Even with a 2-second gap, he would've been fine.

But his pit wall gave him the wrong delta, and that’s why they messed up. They even admitted it after the race.

Kyle Lopez2 said:It was the VSC that screwed Lewis Hamilton, not Vettel. It's similar to what happened last year in Barcelona when the VSC screwed Vettel. Same situation, same main players.☕

See above.

Kyle Lopez2 said:Kimi Raikkonen is the one to blame here. You get one pit stop window over about 20 laps, and suddenly he's dropped 3.5 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton. What kind of undercut are you supposed to pull off from 3.5 seconds back? That's ridiculous.

The VSC arrived later, so Kimi Raikkonen isn't the one at fault or the loser there.
One single driver found himself in the right place at the right time, seized the opportunity, and took the position.
It’s not the first or last time a (V)SC reshuffles the order.

But what happened before that? That's the questionable part.
It's a wild race... and after starting from a better spot on the grid and running a great first stint, the pit wall tells Kimi Raikkonen "not to hurry." 😁
On top of that, they tell him his teammate hasn't pitted yet and is pushing the limit on his starting set of tires.

Lucky for Ferrari, that VSC saved them from a total disaster; otherwise, they'd be the laughingstock of the paddock all over again.
What a bunch of clowns. It's just not true. 🙏

Jason Campbell70 said:It would have taken him maybe 2-3 seconds to comfortably slip into that first corner ahead of Vettel. Honestly, even with a 2-second gap, he would've been totally fine

But his pit wall just gave him the wrong delta—that's why they messed up—and hey, they actually admitted it after the race.

See above.

The VSC popped out later, so you can't really blame Raikkonen or call him the loser there.
There was just one driver who happened to be in the right spot at the right time, seized the moment, and grabbed the position.
It’s definitely not the first (or last) time a (V)SC reshuffles the order.

But that bit before? That was sketchy.
It's a live race... and after Raikkonen starts from a better spot on the grid and pulls a great first stint, the pit wall tells him "not to hurry." 😁
And then—get this—they tell him his teammate hasn't pitted yet and needs to squeeze everything out of his starting set of tires.

Lucky for Ferrari, that VSC saved them from a total disaster—otherwise, we'd all be laughing at them again.
What a bunch of clowns, seriously, that wasn't right. 🙏

Seriously... it's an embarrassment to the sport... though I doubt anyone would have complained if they'd called a full Safety Car instead of that unnecessary VSC. Maybe the guys in race control weren't ready because they were too busy dealing with some nonsense behind the scenes. Now that they don't have grid girls anymore, I guess they have to find other ways to liven things up.

Kyle Lopez2 said:Kimi Raikkonen is solely responsible for this stupidity; he gets one pit window around lap 20 and suddenly he's dropped to 3.5 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton. What kind of ***** undercut are you supposed to pull off when you're stuck 3.5 seconds back???

Just look at Rosberg's undercut in Australia two years ago when he nearly snatched it from both Vettel and Raikkonen. The whole trick is being right on someone's gearbox before they dive into the pits.🤔

Wait, which race were you even watching? Get this straight: in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton was over 0.6 seconds faster per lap than Kimi Raikkonen. Mercedes is leading, and Ferrari is sitting 2 or 3 seconds back. Bottas is way out of it and isn't even fighting for a podium. So, what can Ferrari actually do? They did exactly what they did—make an early move with Kimi Raikkonen and pray for some kind of incident that would open up space for Vettel later. If you had been paying attention, you would have heard the live broadcast tell Kimi Raikkonen to try and close the gap... Okay, so you think Mercedes just ignored that? No, they simply told Lewis Hamilton to push a little, to maintain that 3-second gap just in case they tried an undercut. And that is precisely what happened; Kimi Raikkonen sped up slightly (increasing his lead over Vettel), but Lewis Hamilton (in a much faster car) also pushed to ensure he had that 3+ second cushion to guarantee a safe pit stop during an undercut. Once Kimi Raikkonen pitted, Mercedes brought Lewis Hamilton in the very next lap and stayed ahead. It wasn't Kimi Raikkonen's call, and honestly, Kimi Raikkonen didn't have much of a shot at passing Lewis Hamilton unless Mercedes had some sort of disaster in the pits.

Of course an undercut is possible if you have a faster car, but today Ferrari wasn't even in the same zip code as Mercedes regarding race pace. Besides, having a superior car like Mercedes trailing behind Ferrari proved to be a massive headache; we saw the exact same pattern with Red Bull Racing trailing behind Haas F1 Team, Renault, and Ferrari.

By the way, Kimi Raikkonen's pit stop was 2.1s, fastest lap was 1:26:373, and top speed was 184 miles/h. Vettel was 2.7s, 1:26:469, and 183 miles/h. Kimi Raikkonen was the better and faster Ferrari driver today, just as he was in qualifying, but that's not everything—luck is a huge factor in this whole game. If a Haas F1 Team mechanic had messed up a wheel nut, Vettel would be standing on the third step of the podium and that’s that. Instead, things went exactly how Ferrari hoped they would.

If you take away Bottas's mess-up in qualifying and have a race without a Mercedes VSC, it's a 1-2 finish with a 10+ second gap while managing the engine. If that isn't clear to you, you just don't understand Formula 1. But that's the beauty of it—situations happen, some people profit, and others get left behind.

Gary Palmer8 said:Yeah, you could’ve pretty much guessed the idiots at Haas would screw up the exact same way twice—Grosjean parking the car so we get a VSC followed by a full Safety Car... just a perfect storm of chaos, and the German barely scraped a win. From here on out, it’s just pure Mercedes-Benz dominance. I can't wait to watch it all unfold this year.

Drink some water instead. This is Mercedes-Benz dominance regardless of how the race actually ended. Just let this delusional forum troll celebrate because he finally stumbled onto something right by accident.

While this victory was certainly a moment of celebration, let’s be realistic: Red Bull and Mercedes-Benz are going to absolutely dismantle the rest of the grid for the remainder of the season.😢

Joshua Rivera56 said:... Without Bottas's mess during qualifying and a race free from any SC/VSC interference, he’d be 1-2 with a 10+ second gap while just nursing the engine.

I wouldn't go that far.
- That "nursing" mode is actually just their standard operating procedure, if you ask me. And even with it, Mercedes doesn't look significantly faster than Ferrari + Red Bull Racing. To actually secure a pit stop window, he would have needed to go into "attack" mode—which shouldn't be an issue—but it looks like he'll need that extra kick just to stay competitive in overtakes. Not to mention, Lewis Hamilton couldn't even make it happen today because this track is a nightmare for passing.

- Hamilton hits the pits right after Kimi Räikkönen. He's covering the undercut. If Mercedes truly felt they were untouchable, this would have been a relaxed situation where Lewis could have pitted whenever he felt like it. But no, they scramble immediately. Last season, they wouldn't have broken a sweat in a spot like this. Even the guys at Red Bull wouldn't have.
Instead, for half the race, Hamilton isn't able to build a big enough gap to protect himself from Kimi's undercut. So, he ends up diving into the pits right behind him.

- My first impression? Mercedes hasn't made as much progress as Ferrari + Red Bull Racing. If Mercedes spent their time on minor upgrades, they've left themselves less room to grow compared to Ferrari, who did a massive overhaul and still hasn't fully mastered their car this year. Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing looks tight and dialed in; they're going to be trouble.

Of course, we'll act like experts once we've seen a few more races. This specific track isn't exactly a reliable benchmark anyway.
Mercedes has the edge, sure, but it's nothing dramatic, nothing discouraging, and nothing soul-crushing like it used to be.

Joseph Flores15 said:This win was a nice little boost—but let’s be real, Red Bull and Mercedes-Benz are going to tear the rest of the grid apart like cats and dogs. 😢

It looks like that’s how it’s going to play out—but man, I feel like a pig at a vegetarian wedding.

neonfox65 said:What kind of "future" are we talking about when Max is already the present? 🙂

I might be off regarding the standings; we'll see how things shake out in two weeks.

Max has been in Formula 1 for several seasons now and hasn't really delivered anything special, aside from that stunt in Brazil where he nearly wrecked himself anyway. Beyond that, Max has over 60 starts under his belt, not to mention how Ricciardo has been outclassing him for two years in the same car—something he did again in Australia. Max is certainly the more attractive driver, media-wise, and clearly a favorite of the FIA. He’s likely faster than Ricciardo, but Ricciardo is simply the smarter driver. Max falls into that Gilles Villeneuve category; we all know how Gilles ended up, what he achieved, and what he could have achieved if he had just known when to lift off the throttle.

Max isn't the future; he's the here and now. The future is likely Charles Leclerc.

Roger Wright94 said:I wouldn't go that far.
- That "saving" mode is actually just the standard operating procedure, if you ask me. Even with it, Mercedes doesn't look significantly faster than Ferrari + Red Bull Racing. To secure pole position, he would have needed an "attack" mode—which won't be an issue—but it seems he'll need that just to handle serious overtaking maneuvers later on. Not to mention that even with that, Hamilton couldn't manage it today because the track layout simply isn't conducive to passing.

- Hamilton pits immediately after Kimi Räikkönen. He’s covering the undercut. If Mercedes truly believed they were that dominant, this would be a relaxed situation where Lewis could pit whenever he felt like it. But no, he heads in right away. Last season, they wouldn't have broken a sweat in a scenario like this. Not even Mercedes would have.
Today, however, Hamilton spends half the race unable to build a large enough gap to protect himself from Kimi's undercut. Instead, he's forced to dive into the pits right behind him.

- My initial impression is that Mercedes hasn't made as much progress as Ferrari + Red Bull Racing. If Mercedes spent their time on minor upgrades, they'll have less room for growth compared to Ferrari, who performed a massive overhaul and still hasn't fully mastered their current chassis. As for Red Bull Racing, they look tight and well-tuned; they're going to be trouble.

Naturally, we'll be more certain once we see a few more races. This particular track isn't exactly a definitive benchmark anyway.
Mercedes holds an advantage, certainly, but it isn't the dramatic, discouraging, or depressing gap we've seen in the past.

One of the best posts ever shared here. Bravo, Roger Wright94!👍

I didn't catch the race, but from what I've been reading, Mercedes-Benz still has the edge in pure pace. Even so, it’s not a bad start to the season.

Jason Campbell70 said:It would have taken him maybe 2-3 seconds to clear the first corner ahead of Sebastian Vettel without any issues. Honestly, even with a 2-second gap, he would have been perfectly fine.

But the pit wall simply gave him the wrong delta, which led to the mistake—something they admitted themselves after the race.

Look above.

The VSC came out later, so Kimi Räikkönen isn't the culprit or the loser there.
One single driver happened to be in the right place at the right time, seized the opportunity, and took the position.
It’s not the first or last time a (V)SC reshuffles the order.

However, what happened before that is questionable.
It's a live race... yet Kimi Räikkönen, after starting from a better spot on the grid and pulling off a superior first stint, gets told by the pit wall "not to hurry." 😁
And while they're at it, they inform him that the guy behind him—his own teammate—hasn't pitted yet and is squeezing every bit of life out of his starting set of tires.

Luck was on Ferrari's side that the VSC saved them from a disaster; otherwise, they’d be facing even more ridicule.
What a bunch of clowns. It's just plain nonsense. 🙏

Oh, Kimi is absolutely a victim here. Why? Because he was sent in when he still had plenty of pace left on his current tires!

Unless the geniuses at Ferrari actually believed they could undercut Lewis Hamilton by 3 seconds using the hardest tires available that weekend?? And even more foolish were the folks at Mercedes, who rushed to cover that idiotic move by the Ferrari pit wall.

mellowtiger83 said:Max has been in Formula 1 for a few seasons now and hasn't really shown anything special—aside from that mess in Brazil where he nearly wrecked himself anyway! Besides that, Max already has over 60 starts under his belt, not to mention how Ricciardo has been schooling him for two years in the exact same car... and he did it again in Australia. Look, Max is the flashier driver, the media darling, and probably even faster than Ricciardo, but Ricciardo is just plain smarter! Max falls into that Gilles Villeneuve category—we all know how Gilles ended up, what he achieved, and what he *could* have achieved if he hadn't gone off... sometimes you just have to hit the brakes, man!

Max isn't the future, he's the present. The future is probably Leclerc!

So, you aren't rooting for Max anymore?

Kyle Edwards5 said:Didn't catch the race—and from what I'm reading, Mercedes-Benz still looks faster—but honestly, it's not a bad start to the season regardless.

Where the hell is everyone going? The moderator for Formula 1—you mean they didn't even watch the first race of the season? I'm pretty sure even Joe isn't bright enough to actually watch the race. 😁

So, I’m taking this post as a provocation. 🧐

Kyle Edwards5 said:I’ve been catching up on everything I missed while I was away, and...
Could we maybe dial back the insults and the constant putting each other down? Just a thought.
Thanks!

@neonfox65/">@@neonfox65,

neonfox65 said:So, you don't root for Max anymore?

Come on, just admit where you were this morning... 🎉

Joshua Rivera56 said:By the numbers, Kimi's pit stop was 2.1s, his fastest lap was 1:26:373, and top speed was 184 miles/h. Vettel hit 2.7s, 1:26:469, and 183 miles/h. Kimi was clearly the faster Ferrari driver today—just like in qualifying—but it’s not just about raw pace. Luck plays a massive role here. If some Haas mechanic had just stared at Vettel's wheel too long, he would've ended up third and called it a day. Instead, things went exactly how Ferrari hoped.

I'm not so sure about that...
Regardless of the VSC, Vettel's pace shot up weirdly fast right after Hamilton and Kimi pitted...
The whole thing felt like a setup orchestrated by him to favor Kimi (and maybe Hamilton if an SC popped up)...
It's possible he was just chilling his tires and prepping for that overcut the entire time.🤔

Right before they hit the pits, Vettel’s pace started tanking. It literally looked like he had absolutely trashed his tires and was about to be forced into an early pit stop...
Then, immediately after Hamilton and Kimi pitted, he suddenly finds the pace to match them—or even beat them—even though they were on fresh rubber...

The gap between Vettel and Kimi before the VSC was 17.2 seconds, which seems just enough to land him right near Kimi after the stops...
Would he have come out ahead, side-by-side, or behind? Who knows, but it looks like it would have been tight...

Anyway, Vettel hasn't been feeling the car all weekend. If I remember correctly, he even admitted after the race that something just wasn't clicking and he didn't trust the car...
Clearly, Kimi's car suited him much better throughout the weekend...
But hey, the VSC worked out perfectly for Vettel, giving him the best possible outcome despite having a mediocre weekend overall...

As for the strategy, Ferrari played it logically: Kimi tried the undercut, Vettel tried the overcut, and they just threw everything at the wall to see what stuck...
Without the VSC, neither would have worked because they simply didn't have the pace. But then the VSC hits them like a lightning bolt and suddenly it works.🙂
Even then, it might not have mattered if Bottas hadn't played idiot during qualifying; if he hadn't, Hamilton wouldn't have been in the mix, and they probably would have been aiming for Bottas instead...
On top of that, Max messed up the start and got stuck behind Magnussen, leaving Vettel plenty of room to play his tactical games without anyone breathing down his neck...

swifttiger75 said:Seriously, what happened to this world? An F1 moderator who can't even catch the first race of the season. I bet Joe Biden isn't watching the race either. 😁

Exactly 🤦
I just blew the whole thing off and grabbed some 622 miles extra so I can actually watch the season opener in peace at home (damn YouTube TV🤣). Be back in a few minutes. 😬🤣