Australian Grand Prix (Los Angeles - Central Park) 03.26.2017

stormybadger8 said:Give it a rest.🤦

What you’re getting at is basically saying it’s all the wall's fault—that the wall caused Ricciardo's gearbox issues and breakdowns—instead of just facing the fact that Ricciardo went off track and slammed right into it...
So yeah, clearly the wall is the main culprit here and everything else is just a side note...
And if there wasn't a wall, everything would be just peachy.😍

Good grief, how did that wall even dare to be positioned there? 🤣

Elizabeth Mendoza said:🤣🤣, what a character. Seriously, just go ahead and enjoy your little fantasy world. Sending love. You actually heard him saying he was slowing down, yet somehow he was faster than Hamilton and at a distance where nobody could even touch him. 🤣 🙏

You clearly don't know the first thing about Formula 1 👋

stormybadger8 said:Give it a rest.🤦

What you’re getting at is basically saying it’s all the wall's fault—that the wall caused Ricciardo's gearbox issues and breakdowns—instead of just facing the fact that Ricciardo went off track and slammed right into it...
So yeah, clearly the wall is the main culprit here and everything else is just a side note...
And if there wasn't a wall, everything would be just peachy.😍

You've totally missed the mark here 🙂

Both of you guys are full of it, honestly, but hey, at least it’s actually entertaining to read 🍿 😁

Tyler Bennett5 said:Did anyone catch what Massu was doing out there during the race today?
He spent most of the session glued to his phone, scrolling through comments on Reddit.
Honestly, he wasn't even paying attention to the cars ahead of him, and I doubt the drivers behind him even noticed he was there.

The guy was basically running his own private race. 🙂

But hey, at least Stroll walked away with all the attention when it comes to Williams.

stormybadger8 said:The fact is, Vettel won the race on Saturday, and Kimi lost it on Saturday...
Because realistically, Ferrari might be somewhere near Mercedes, but they definitely aren't fast enough to just blow past them on pure pace (and let's be honest, Mercedes isn't even that much faster than Ferrari right now)
The whole point of the game is to get a good launch and maybe jump Mercedes at the start. Since they failed to do that after qualifying or at the lights—leaving them lined up 1, 2, 3, 4—all that was left was to manage tires, hold the position, and then pray for an undercut or overcut during the pit stops depending on how things looked on track...
And that’s where Vettel shined in the first stint, while Kimi... well, he didn't.
Everything after that was just pure damage control and saving the engine by all four drivers...

Kimi didn't drive a bad race, really. He basically blew it in qualifying, his first stint wasn't anything to write home about, but the rest of the run on softs was perfectly fine...

Exactly... he earned or lost his position back on Saturday...
Claiming he was particularly bad during the actual race is pointless... though, I suppose you didn't say that specifically... 🙂

By the way, it looks like Ferrari is sitting somewhere close to Red Bull, which might actually lead to a much more interesting season... one can only hope...🙂

Race Rating: 6/10

It seems quite evident that Ferrari has emerged as a legitimate title contender, a fact that was already apparent during the pre-season testing sessions, wouldn't you agree? They have now gone ahead and solidified that potential during the official race itself.
I suspect the Mercedes team will find it increasingly difficult to secure those elusive PP wins, and winning actual races will become an even steeper uphill battle for them moving forward.
There is such a massive chasm separating the top three teams from the rest of the field; it makes one wonder if we will ever truly witness that specific kind of magic we all crave—seeing a complete underdog take the checkered flag.
As for McLaren, they seem to be struggling with significant suspension issues, having dealt with them in the final race of last season and again in this opening round. It appears the problems extend beyond just Honda's performance...
Even Hamilton stood little chance of claiming victory today, because had he remained on track in that Ferrari, they certainly would have been poised to execute a perfect undercut.
In any case, it is still rather pleasant to observe this:


Now, Mercedes will find themselves under genuine pressure, which I imagine will lead to quite a few more brainfades in the coming rounds.

Man, this guy is absolutely top-tier, just a total Formula 1 fanatic through and through

He used to be over at Sky Sports calling the GP2 races back in the day

That's right, Toto, just go for it

darkmarlin16 said:

Man, this guy is absolutely top-tier, just a total Formula 1 fanatic through and through

He used to be over at Sky Sports calling the GP2 races back in the day

Jeff was definitely one of the best back then.👍

People are talking nonsense here, so I feel compelled to weigh in.

First off, Hamilton didn't burn through his tires; he actually started the race on rubber that was already four or five laps old.

Once he dropped behind Max, the race was essentially decided. Given the layout of the Los Angeles track, overtaking is nearly impossible.

Vettel drove a masterclass to take the win, so let's end the debate right there.

It’s like Kimi is driving a completely different car. Simply embarrassing.

mellowtiger83 said:People are talking nonsense here, so I feel compelled to weigh in.

First off, Hamilton didn't burn through his tires; he actually started the race on rubber that was already four or five laps old.

Once he dropped behind Max, the race was essentially decided. Given the layout of the Los Angeles track, overtaking is nearly impossible.

Vettel drove a masterclass to take the win, so let's end the debate right there.

It’s like Kimi is driving a completely different car. Simply embarrassing.

Where are you getting this info about the older tires?
I know that was the situation on LT during qualifying, but that wasn't the case during the race...
Besides, that would mean the team sabotaged him on purpose, and apparently with his blessing too.😵

Also, I haven't heard that explanation anywhere else. 🤔

How do you explain why he ran Qualifying 2 on the used set from Qualifying 1 when there were still 3 fresh sets of US tires available at that moment?

Edit:
Just pulled up the race replay on LT again...
According to LT, everyone in the top 10 except Perez is running tires that are 3 laps old...
So, inlap-fast lap-outlap, Hamilton has the same old tires as Vettel, Max, Bottas, and Kimi...

And looking back at qualifying...
He did 5 laps on tires in Qualifying 1, then shows up in Qualifying 2 with old tires and no laps...
Which makes it look like he didn't even participate in Qualifying 2...
Yet by the end, it follows the usual pattern—5, then 3, then 3, then 3—meaning he actually finished qualifying using 4 sets of US tires just like everyone else...

Bottom line: he burned his tires. There's no other excuse.

mellowtiger83 said:People are talking nonsense here, so I feel compelled to weigh in.

First off, Hamilton didn't burn through his tires; he actually started the race on rubber that was already four or five laps old.

Once he dropped behind Max, the race was essentially decided. Given the layout of the Los Angeles track, overtaking is nearly impossible.

Vettel drove a masterclass to take the win, so let's end the debate right there.

It’s like Kimi is driving a completely different car. Simply embarrassing.

... so you figured you'd jump right in. 😵 🤣

swifttiger75 said:... so you figured you'd jump right in. 😵 🤣

😁, look, I am always here whenever stupidity is involved. Always.🎉

There was a glitch in the live timing—it showed Lewis on a set of used Ultrasoft tires. They finally corrected it toward the end.

AMuS claims they had 37 overtakes last year—now they’re sitting at 5 this season. 😁

vividlynx68 said:There was a glitch in the live timing—it showed Lewis on a set of used Ultrasoft tires. They finally corrected it toward the end.

Honestly, the graphics were a total mess. The absolute peak of the chaos was when they had two different data feeds running simultaneously and they actually showed completely conflicting stats on screen.😵
But hey, it’s just the start. Like they say, you gotta throw the first cat in the water to get things moving.
By the way, regarding Lujo and those tires—everything makes sense. We all know his driving style absolutely shreds rubber. In recent years, Mercedes-Benz was able to just mask that with pure dominance, but that luxury is gone now. Especially when someone is breathing down his neck and he's fully aware that Ferkan is a legitimate threat. So, he burns through his tires and starts complaining, just like poor Pascal does all the time.
Wait until we see how he struggles in China; that's the real test coming up. I wouldn't be surprised if even Bottas (if he gets the chance, obviously) starts making him sweat pretty soon.

mellowtiger83 said:People are talking nonsense here, so I feel compelled to weigh in.

First off, Hamilton didn't burn through his tires; he actually started the race on rubber that was already four or five laps old.

Once he dropped behind Max, the race was essentially decided. Given the layout of the Los Angeles track, overtaking is nearly impossible.

Vettel drove a masterclass to take the win, so let's end the debate right there.

It’s like Kimi is driving a completely different car. Simply embarrassing.

Well, one must consider that Kimi was struggling quite significantly with the UltraSoft, and he did mention—quite clearly, I might add—that they finally pinpointed the root cause at the end of qualifying and intend to rectify it for the upcoming races. If one looks at his pace on the Soft tire, it actually appeared remarkably consistent with Sebastian Vettel's performance (and that of the Mercedes-Benz drivers as well):
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...stian%20Vettel

Look, it’s Monday at 11:00 AM and we’ve already burned through 30 pages—last season, we were usually wrapping up the entire race discussion by page 8 or 9.
🙂

Both Mercedes-Benz cars nailed their starts.
Ferrari, on the other hand, was a mess, especially Kimi Räikkönen.
I can't tell if that was just a one-off disaster or if Mercedes actually perfected their launch control.