Australian Grand Prix (Los Angeles - Central Park) 03.26.2017

neonfox65 said:Will Red Bull actually let him go? 🤔

Maybe we'll see Grozan after all...

Look, Sainz is hungry for a real shot, and since he's hitting the final year of his contract, things are getting dicey; Renault was totally interested in grabbing him, but those guys wouldn't let him go without a fight.

mellowtiger83 said:All I can say is I fell asleep. Missed the race entirely. Huge congrats to Sebastian Vettel—absolute masterclass.

Since I wasn't watching, I can't really weigh in on Kimi.

This is great news for the championship. It’s about time someone actually beat Mercedes in a straight fight. Plus, we're heading into those high downforce tracks soon, which should play right into Ferrari's hands.

You really messed up by changing the clock, didn't you? It seemed like a reasonable call yesterday evening when you announced the race was starting at 8.

8. Nevermind, just take a look at that start—specifically those first pit stops for Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, and then that double overtake on Fernando Alonso at the end. Aside from that, little guy was absolutely legendary, and even Valtteri Bottas performed better than anyone expected him to.

darkmarlin16 said:Look, Sainz is hungry for a real shot, and since he's hitting the final year of his contract, things are getting dicey; Renault was totally interested in grabbing him, but those guys wouldn't let him go without a fight.

I didn't realize it was his last year. Well, in that case, he’s gotta step it up... either at Ferrari or find another top team.

William Bennett53 said:You really messed up by changing the clock, didn't you? It seemed like a reasonable call yesterday evening when you announced the race was starting at 8.

8. Nevermind, just take a look at that start—specifically those first pit stops for Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, and then that double overtake on Fernando Alonso at the end. Aside from that, little guy was absolutely legendary, and even Valtteri Bottas performed better than anyone expected him to.

It has nothing to do with the clock; I simply fell asleep.🙂.

How excellent that little Nazi was; from what I noticed in the standings, he's down two laps!!

Bottas is better than anticipated, though his gap to Lewis Hamilton is being masked, or so I heard, because Max Verstappen stayed right on his tail.

Good grief, why is neonfox65 rooting for me? Why??? 🙂

When it comes to Rika, this weekend was a total disaster 😢

Such a dull race. I missed the last ten laps or so, but honestly, I’m not feeling it. Right after the start, the field just spread out and settled into a steady 1 to 1.5 second gap. After all that hype about how difficult overtaking would be, we might just end up watching endless processions instead of actual racing...
It really looks like Ferrari is the heavy favorite for the title this season. Part of me would love that, but seeing Vettel as the clear frontrunner makes it feel a little repetitive already...
Man, Kimi, what a disappointment. You clearly have the fastest car on the grid and you still manage to underperform like that. At this point, you're acting like nothing more than a glorified wingman for the team...
Congrats to the longtime fans and the new Ferrari supporters joining the club today. A little shake-up at the top of the standings after the last few seasons definitely won't hurt...

stormybadger8 said:

Good grief, why is neonfox65 rooting for me? Why??? 🙂

I've been pulling for Rika since Monaco 2016—this is honestly the first time he's dealt with something like this... as if it hasn't happened to everyone else before.

stormybadger8 said:

Good grief, why is neonfox65 rooting for me? Why??? 🙂

Isn't mocking neonfox65 and Ricco a bit much?

Dammit, things just didn't go their way this weekend!

Sam Roberts8 said:That’s all fine and well, but if Lewis Hamilton is camping out right behind Max Verstappen in such a subpar car, then either Verstappen is just that good or catching up is incredibly difficult

sent from my iPhone

Haven't we already seen Hamilton stuck behind Hulkenberg?🤔
There's nothing weird about it. Red Bull is the third fastest car on the grid, and Max knows how to drive—more importantly, he knows how to defend...
Besides, Hamilton was running two sets of slower tires. Honestly, it’d be more of a miracle if he managed to pass Max at all, let alone make it look easy...

It would be strange if he were camping behind a McLaren or a Sauber, but a Renault with Hulkenberg isn't exactly a powerhouse, much less a Red Bull on faster rubber...

So, unlike last year, did Mercedes actually mess up their strategy this time? Interesting.🙂

I guess you have a point there, though I'm really hoping we see some actual battles for first place 🙂 personally, I think the best shots for Ferrari are with the terrible driver and Sergio Perez 🙂

sent from my iPhone 6

stormybadger8 said:Haven't we already seen Hamilton stuck behind Hulkenberg?🤔
There's nothing weird about it. Red Bull is the third fastest car on the grid, and Max knows how to drive—more importantly, he knows how to defend...
Besides, Hamilton was running two sets of slower tires. Honestly, it’d be more of a miracle if he managed to pass Max at all, let alone make it look easy...

It would be strange if he were camping behind a McLaren or a Sauber, but a Renault with Hulkenberg isn't exactly a powerhouse, much less a Red Bull on faster rubber...

Hey, there you are! I've been waiting for you... 🙂 So, you finally admit that Red Bull Racing is faster than Ford 🙂

mellowtiger83 said:So, unlike last year, did Mercedes actually mess up their strategy this time? Interesting.🙂

It wasn't Ford that screwed up—it was Lewis Hamilton who blew it.
Bottas could have easily stayed out on those same tires just as long as the ones on the red car. Honestly, the only one struggling with tire degradation was Lewis Hamilton.

This isn't some massive strategy blunder. It’s just Hamilton being Hamilton—he spent the whole damn race whining over the radio about how his tires were completely shot.

Sam Roberts8 said:I guess you have a point there, though I'm really hoping we see some actual battles for first place 🙂 personally, I think the best shots for Ferrari are with the terrible driver and Sergio Perez 🙂

sent from my iPhone 6

I don't see Perez making the cut—he had his shot with McLaren and just didn't deliver.

mellowtiger83 said:It has nothing to do with the clock; I simply fell asleep.🙂.

How excellent that little Nazi was; from what I noticed in the standings, he's down two laps!!

Bottas is better than anticipated, though his gap to Lewis Hamilton is being masked, or so I heard, because Max Verstappen stayed right on his tail.

From my perspective, the situation looks like this: he was driving the weakest car on the grid—running last year's engine, lagging behind in development, and generally underpowered—during his first ever F1 race. He didn't even get a chance to practice, since Pascal Wehrlein was still in the seat during Friday's sessions, before he ultimately decided he wasn't in peak form. Yet, during the race, he was remarkably steady. No mistakes, no openings given...

But tell me, Mario Andretti, you’re a seasoned veteran of the track; in your estimation, was what Wehrlein achieved something worthy of praise, or should it be dismissed entirely?

neonfox65 said:Hey, there you are! I've been waiting for you... 🙂 So, you finally admit that Red Bull Racing is faster than Ford 🙂

Max is faster than the Renault.
Ricciardo definitely wasn't there today. Maybe he got his hands on the first shipment of those special bikes... but don't worry, I'm sure one will find its way to Max too. 😁

I guess Lewis Hamilton fans will start blaming the strategy now, but if Ford had been as dominant as they were last year, they would have lapped Sebastian Vettel by three or four laps.

Sent from my iPhone 6

Kyle Edwards5 said:Kimi: "Look, we already knew how this was going to play out right after qualifying. We saw the writing on the wall, but by then, there just wasn't enough time to overhaul the setup before the race started. Things actually felt much more stable once we switched over to the soft tires. It’s clear to us—once we finally dial in the setup, we'll have a serious package on our hands. Still, a solid result for the team overall."

If this turns out to be true, then I guess that explains why the performance was kind of underwhelming. It’s basically just the classic runner-up driver narrative, isn't it? They're probably just testing out different setups during the race weekend, and I suppose they'll eventually stumble upon some conclusions or whatever.

mellowtiger83 said:So, unlike last year, did Mercedes actually mess up their strategy this time? Interesting.🙂

Not really, I mean... I think Sebastian Vettel was actually putting up better lap times before they hit the pits, but then he and Lewis Hamilton tried that early pit stop strategy to see if they could make up for all that damage. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn't, but that's what they were aiming for, I guess.
I guess Sebastian Vettel was actually looking pretty quick today, if you ask me.

mellowtiger83 said:It has nothing to do with the clock; I simply fell asleep.🙂.

How excellent that little Nazi was; from what I noticed in the standings, he's down two laps!!

Bottas is better than anticipated, though his gap to Lewis Hamilton is being masked, or so I heard, because Max Verstappen stayed right on his tail.

And he finished ahead of both McLarens, both Haases, and the other Sauber 😳 all while driving the absolute worst, weakest car on the grid...
If that isn't worth a damn, I don't know what is...

The guy finished 12th in the first race where he didn't even get a chance for Free Practice or a proper setup!
Now he's 12th in the championship. Hey, hello, 12th!

Last year, Ericsson didn't manage to crack the top 10 once during the entire season...