GP Las Vegas; Jun 23-25, 2017

Why are people complaining already? Sebastian Vettel is still leading the overall standings in that Ferrari—he isn't about to just give up. Plus, there's a chance those last two tracks were just outliers... we'll see how things shake out once Mickey hits the track in Austria.

Timothy Castillo6 said:Mercedes totally crushed it and they're putting the championship back where it belongs.

p.s.
Now the real heavy hitters are finally starting to show up. ☕

What even is the championship right now?

Max Verstappen is breathing down the necks of those Ferraris. Honestly, I’m expecting a total beatdown tomorrow—if his car hadn't crapped out on him back in Canada, he would've had them right where he wanted them...

neonfox65 said:Max is breathing down Ferrari's necks right now. Honestly, if his car hadn't acted up in Canada, I was fully expecting him to be absolutely tearing it up out there tomorrow.

I really think Max Verstappen is going to give Sergio Perez a run for his money.

Yeah, 🤦
...

jadeseal7 said:Max Verstappen is going to pull a fast one on Sergio Perez.

And he’ll do it ruthlessly, though I’m honestly worried he might even fool Ferrari...
If the track suits him like it did last year, Perez could easily end up back on the podium...

Well, Sebastian Vettel is only 0.250s faster than the Force India. It’s clearly a setup issue. He was sliding the whole time and just doesn't have the pace for a single lap, plus there are rumors he's running an old engine... If Max Verstappen manages anything at the start, he'll blow past them on that straight near 1.2 miles...
Basically, I’m expecting Vettel to take second tomorrow during the race because Valtteri Bottas is useless and will probably crash out just like Max Verstappen...

Sebastian Vettel's quotes after qualifying:

"We're starting from fourth. If I can move up just one spot, that’s a podium. We'll see. I think Mercedes will be fast tomorrow too, but I have no doubts that we can hold our own against them. Our long runs were great on Friday, but that doesn't mean much when you're starting a bit further back.“

Looks like they’re dealing with some seriously massive braking issues...
A couple of them missed their marks way too many times, which basically means the brakes aren't cutting it and—more importantly—they don't trust them at all...

Still, that shouldn't be as big of a headache during the race as it clearly was during qualifying...

Hmm, I missed his statement. Pretty optimistic considering how badly qualifying went.
Sure, finishing 3rd or 4th is fine, especially that 4th place for Sebastian Vettel, since it was obvious the car was a total disaster all weekend...
But if neonfox65 hadn't started rooting for Richie again, who knows how bad it could've been. Honestly, it feels like Sebastian Vettel could have easily finished behind both Red Bull Racing cars, maybe even behind Force India in qualifying...

The setup was totally off, which caused those tire overheating issues, and with an aging engine on top of that, this result isn't exactly a shocker. Still, Sebastian Vettel was actually faster than Mercedes in Friday's simulations on both compounds...
On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton absolutely smoked Valtteri Bottas today. Now I can see why people are backing him and calling for him to stay put next season...

stormybadger8 said:Man, if neonfox65 starts pulling for Richie again, I don't even want to know how bad things are gonna get...

Always gotta stir the pot, huh? 👋

Just so you know—I'm riding with Max 🙂

neonfox65 said:Keep on trolling if you want, 👋

Just so you know, I'm pulling for Max Verstappen 🙂

You must have mixed up the numbers on the car 🤔
Don't go blaming me just because he hit the wall today...

I honestly have no idea what you're getting at with all that provocative talk—I just don't get it. I'm rooting for Max Verstappen 👋
...

Man, you really are just the embodiment of Pirelli, aren't you?

Joseph Flores15 said:Man, Mickey really put me through the wringer

Mickey totally crushed me all

Jack Kelly5 said:Stop kidding yourself, it's clearly Pirelli's fault.

Funny how before, you’d be blaming the FIA and their endless nonsense about cost-cutting instead of Pirelli...
In all fairness, it isn't exactly easy making tires for cars that don't even exist yet—cars they aren't even allowed to test their rubber on. But sure, just hand over the tires and go ahead and test them on some makeshift old chassis that barely resembles what you're actually building for...

And apparently, they had to decide which compounds to bring ages ago, and now they're admitting they should have brought US, SS, and S instead of SS, S, and M...
To top it off, the tires themselves are garbage because they're too hard, and there was basically zero testing since they're only doing it live during qualifying and the race...
Honestly, everything is going "great" considering the whole thing is organized like a complete circus...

The track surface just doesn't have any bite. Since Ferrari seems obsessed with soft tires, they aren't really getting any advantage here.
If there were issues with the brakes, I'm sure people would already be complaining about them.

Roger Wright94 said:"The track" has terrible grip. Since Ferrari really thrives when they can lean on those softer compounds, they aren't exactly seeing the benefits here.
If it were an issue with the brakes, I'm sure we'd already be hearing all about it.

Forget the brakes—it’s clearly a combination of a poor setup and running much harder compounds than they'd like.

Anthony Baker84 said:hm, which Vettel are we even talking about when there are two different results listed for him (and something for Massa)? Is this basically just Lance Stroll's first win over Felipe Massa?

is by 0.045 sec. Though honestly, Massa was really struggling with his car today.
The kid is on the upswing; the only question is if he can actually keep up that consistency... we'll see how it plays out tomorrow.

Richard Ross11 said:I'm going to be watching Ferrari's strategy like a hawk tomorrow 🙂
Third place is only a 10-point difference, which means if Sebastian Vettel takes it, he still stays in the lead...
Who’s car is going to crap out tomorrow?
Who's going home with their pants full of shit?
Let's see who breaks under the pressure... 🙂

Expect more chaos at the first few turns.

neonfox65 said:Max Verstappen is right on the heels of those Ferraris. Tomorrow, I'm expecting some aggressive moves that would've happened in Canada if his engine hadn't given up on him.

Yeah, provided his engine doesn't blow up... he might also end up causing an accident.

jadeseal7 said:Max Verstappen is going to run circles around Sergio Perez.

I actually think Esteban Ocon might give Sergio Perez a hard time tomorrow. Word is they've dropped the team orders.

Good grief, I missed qualifying. Didn't Lewis Hamilton have those issues getting his tires up to temperature? How on earth did he scrape that 1:40.

Forget him; I saw my bets hit at the Super Bowl. Kimi finished top 3, and Esteban Ocon landed in the top 8. 🙂

I caught a glimpse of Max starting right up against Ferrari; things might get interesting at Turn 1. 🙂

The bowling ball is primed and ready to roll from fifth on the grid. I wonder who’s going to get wiped out—which idiot is going to lose their head? Will some fool nail himself into the wall, or will he "accidentally" take someone else down with him?

Lewis Hamilton is far enough away! Well, I certainly hope so!!