Valencia Grand Prix - June 26, 2011

🙂Lucky we had the Nürburgring 24h, there was plenty to watch😁

Jeffrey Sanchez7 said:I don't get why they're so scared of just building another Monaco? I mean, the viewership for that race is easily double anything else on the calendar...

Look, you can't just manufacture a new Monaco out of thin air every single year. Besides, let's be real—MC gets its fame from being a legendary, old-school staple, not because the racing is actually thrilling. Honestly, if I’m ranking races by pure excitement, MC usually barely scrapes into my top five, if it even makes the list at all. But yeah, fine, it's still leagues ahead of this Miami mess.

Joshua Doyle11 said:Give me a break...

Look, if we’re seriously talking about Paul Ricard hosting VN France, then why don't they just ditch Miami instead of constantly questioning whether legendary Spa stays on the calendar?

Spa isn't getting kicked off because of some random whim, either. It's simple: the Belgians are broke.

Honestly, how much this pathetic track perfectly sums up this entire season and today's race🤣

Double DRS zones, KERS, brand new tires... and people still can't pass. It’s ridiculous.🤣
On top of that, you basically need the guy in front to mess up and the guy behind to pull off a miracle just to make a move.

Sutil was faster by—get this—4 seconds. Four whole seconds. That was in one lap right before he caught Alguersuari, and that was with relatively fresh rubber against Alguersuari on ancient tires. And he still finished fourth. 🤦

This track is an absolute disaster.👎

Which race was Jaime’s absolute best? 🙏🙏🙏🙏

Alonso was honestly just on another level 🙏

stormybadger8 said:This pathetic excuse for a circuit perfectly encapsulates how dismal this entire season and today's race have been.🤣

Between the dual-zone DRS, KERS, and the new tire compounds, you would think overtaking would actually be possible, yet here we are.🤣
On top of all that, you still need the guy in front to make a glaring mistake and the guy behind to pull off some miracle maneuver just to see a move.

For God's sake, Sutil was four—count them, four—seconds faster per lap right before he caught Alguersuari, and that was on relatively fresh rubber, while Alguersuari was struggling on ancient tires and still ended up finishing just outside the points.🤦

This track is an absolute disaster.👎

Both drivers have KERS, and since the strategies were essentially identical among the leaders—aside from Hamilton's minor hiccup for a few laps, though Massa was too far back to care—tire choice didn't even play a role. All that's left is the DRS, which was set quite conservatively, with the activation point sitting just over 200 meters after the corner.

By the way, why on earth can't Jergovic grasp the difference between the detection line and the activation point?

Keith Rodriguez27 said:It’s not like they’re dropping Indianapolis Motor Speedway just because they suddenly felt like being difficult; it’s really just a matter of the fact that those folks over in Belgium simply don't have the cash to pull it off.

Honestly, I feel like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway deserves its own legendary status entirely separate from everything else.☕

When it comes to Bernie, he shouldn't be taking even a single cent from those Belgians.
But let’s be real, we all know that at the end of the day, money is the top priority for Bernie.😢😢😢

That’s just the way the world turns these days.
It all boils down to the bottom line, doesn't it? At the end of the day, whether you're staring down a massive corporate merger or just trying to balance your weekly grocery budget at Publix, everything eventually circles back to the almighty dollar.

It’s actually wild that all 24 drivers managed to cross the finish line

That’s how it should have gone down in China too, though I think someone over at Toro Rosso had a nightmare with their tires there...

Honestly, this year's cars are incredibly reliable—we aren't seeing those blown engines, gearbox failures, brake issues, or hydraulic meltdowns anymore... just the occasional KERS glitch or some annoying DRS issue where you can't get it to open, but even that is nothing compared to the old days

And there's almost zero contact on track. Everyone is just dancing around each other at the start because they know those DRS zones exist where you can basically "overtake"—well, I call it "DRS-ing," since it isn't a real pass—so nobody feels like risking a massive pileup right out of the gate

If you want proof of how ridiculous this track layout is, just look at the fact that we barely saw any actual overtaking via DRS at all

I’m really looking forward to Silverstone... hoping for some rain so Massa can channel his inner ballerina again, kind of like back in 2008. ☕

Only the 4th race in history where literally everyone who hit the grid actually crossed the finish line 🙏🙏🙏

Ambrosio probably dropped about 5 pounds just from the sheer stress of that one 😲

mistybison10 said:Both guys had KERS, and their strategies were basically identical—at least among the leaders. Aside from Hamilton struggling slightly for a few laps, Massa was too far back for tires to even matter. Then there’s the DRS, which was set pretty conservatively; it didn't even kick in until about 200 meters after the corner.

Seriously though, why can't Jergovic figure out the difference between detection and activation points?

😕 What kind of luck does Hamilton need to be running with Alguersuari and Sutil, especially when Sutil was somehow four seconds faster than Jamie during the lap Stiegel caught him and pulled up right on his bumper?🤷

stormybadger8 said:Sebastian Vettel is absolutely killing it right now, it’s actually getting ridiculous🤣

I honestly can't wrap my head around it, feels like the officials totally screwed over everyone except maybe McLaren and Mercedes with how they handled that engine mapping stuff😲

Ferrari just keeps getting better, which is honestly great news for Sebastian Vettel since they were basically bringing up the rear anyway

And don't even get me started on the refs, they were straight-up legendary in the worst way possible :face palm:

Petrov😲 gets a free pass, then Grandpa messes up, then Mark Webber loses his spot, and then you've got this guy tailing Kamuia for like two or three laps behind blue flags with Mark Webber right behind him, and nobody—not the drivers, and definitely not the refs—gives a single damn about it😂

Major props to Mark Webber though👍 I'm just glad he actually finished the race👍

That STR performance was wild, especially those Algiers moves🙏🙏🙏

Did you catch how they let Grandpa slide when he crossed the line exiting the pits?😁

stormybadger8 said:😕 I mean, seriously, what kind of nonsense is Lewis Hamilton pulling with Jaime Alguersuari and Adrian Sutil? Like, how does he even justify saying Sutil was somehow Jamie's faster by four whole seconds during that lap where he caught up and was basically breathing down his neck🤷

🙂
JA-I-ME😉

darkmarlin16 said:🙂
JAMIE😉

darkmarlin16, quit messing around. 😬

stormybadger8 said:😕 What kind of nightmare scenario is Lewis Hamilton facing when he’s stuck battling Jaime Alguersuari and Adrian Sutil, especially considering that Sutil was somehow four seconds faster per lap during that stretch where he caught up and was breathing right down his neck?🤷

I wasn't even talking about anything other than those top six drivers in the race, where we actually saw some genuine overtaking for once. My point was specifically that Lewis Hamilton struggled with his tires at one stage, which was really the only instance where tire performance mattered among the leaders since everyone was stuck on the exact same strategy. It just goes to show that Pirelli is basically turning into Bridgestone, failing to provide rubber that allows for any meaningful strategic variety. Not to mention the fact that those soft tires lasted thirteen laps in full-spec cars—and those are long laps, mind you. They should have barely lasted eight or nine, forcing them to run more stints on the hards instead.

The American network was only three laps down 🙏🙏🙏

I mean, honestly, they kind of lucked out since the track was so massive. When we hit Spa, I’m betting they’ll be sitting at just -2 laps 😁

Joshua Doyle11 said:Look, Spa-Francorchamps deserves some kind of special VIP treatment.☕

Basically, Bernie shouldn't be taking a single damn cent from the Belgians.

And then you’d have Monza popping up, then Monaco, then the Japanese people, Albert Park, Silverstone, and even Canada has been on the calendar forever. Everyone would start asking—and honestly, they'd have a point—why the hell do they all have to pay up while Spa gets a free pass?

Maybe Bernie could look the other way for a little bit because of a recession or whatever, but long-term? Absolutely not. No way.

But we all know money is Bernie's number one priority.😢😢😢

That's just how the world works now.
Money, money, money....

mistybison10 said:Look, I wasn't even talking about that, just the top six in the race. There was actually some overtaking happening earlier on. My point is Lewis Hamilton struggled with his tires at one point, and honestly, tire deg was the only thing separating those top six because everyone was running the exact same strategy. It basically makes Pirelli look like Bridgestone—they aren't bringing tires that allow for diverse strategies. Not to mention those softs barely lasted 13 laps in full cars. And those are long laps, too. They should’ve lasted maybe 8 or 9 before drivers had to pit for more stints on hards.

And when does Hamilton *not* have tire issues?😂

Keith Rodriguez27 said:Monaco

Monaco doesn't pay a dime to Bernie—not really. It’s more than enough just to gather all the global elite in one spot...

Everything is playing out exactly as expected, another win for Sebastian Vettel, so many congratulations to 😁

Joshua Doyle11 said:I honestly think Spa-Francorchamps deserves a special kind of respect when it comes to these deals.☕

In a perfect world, Bernie shouldn't be taking a single dime from the Belgians.
But then again, we all know that for Bernie, it’s always about the bottom line first, isn't it?😢 😢 😢

That's just how the world works these days.
Money, money, money...

If you look at Monaco, that's the only track that doesn't pay a penny to host the race.☕