Round 15: Singapore Grand Prix

Yeah, and if I can just jump off that for a second... the whole thing really boils down to what we actually expect from a champion...

I mean, looking at how things are actually playing out in Formula 1 right now—just staring at those standings—it’s totally different from what anyone predicted. It doesn't line up with our expectations or who you'd think "the guy" should be...

Because honestly? If you're crowning a champion based strictly on current reality, it's basically just Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa at the top. But if we’re talking about who *should* have it based on raw talent, pure class, or whatever, then you've got a whole different list of maybe six drivers, ranging from Vettel all the way down to Fernando Alonso.🤷

rustystag7 said:Look, you might be exaggerating a bit, but there's probably some truth somewhere in the middle...

I mean, if you’d told me this at the start of the season, I probably would have bought it, but the reality on the ground is that he's driving well; whether you call him a workhorse or not, he’s winning, and that’s the whole point of the fight.🤷

People are just being unrealistic—like, Massa puts down a string of fastest laps and nobody bats an eye, but when Kimi does it, suddenly it’s the end of the world, the surprise of the year...

I get that Massa has his quirks, and I'm not denying that, but he has his strengths too, and honestly, fans these days are just spoiled; one minute you overtake Lewis Hamilton and suddenly you're a god, then the next you can't pass anyone and win, and suddenly everything is a disaster again...

I think we understand each other—regarding Kimi, I always thought he was pure class, but damn, he has the car, he has everything, yet he just isn't doing anything...

Unlike the others, I don't think he's a criminal; I just think Massa is getting under his skin, whether he's being a workhorse or not, I couldn't tell you, but generally speaking, he's the fastest guy on track this season.🤷

So look at it without any bias: there are maybe three or four people who could actually take the title. You've got Massa, who drives like a machine, makes zero mistakes on track, and wins whenever he gets the chance, even though he's dealing with a mountain of pit errors and tactical chaos behind him.
Then there's Hamilton, a great driver, aggressive in a good way, but that aggression leads to mistakes and he gets cranky; he wins, sure, but you have to factor in that he hasn't had major engine failures, whereas Ferrari's tactics have been a mess for him...

As for Kimi, everything he's done for Ferrari has been catastrophic driving, for reasons I can't quite wrap my head around...

And Kubica has the talent and a decent car, but that's about it; his time will come, but he's shown he can't handle the pressure just yet, because after starting strong at the beginning of the season, he started losing ground to the teams from McLaren and Ferrari...

So you pick your champion when people ask where Formula 1 is headed, because honestly, none of these drivers are complete...
Personally, I need Alonso, but he's stuck in a Renault that can't compete, and he's the one to blame since he chose it himself.

It's obvious no driver is perfect in every single department, but what I'm trying to get at is that Massa is only really in the championship hunt because his teammate is essentially lost in space and totally out of it, so the battle against him is a bit of a farce. The other factor is what I see on the track; I don't care if someone has the fastest car or the slowest, I only care about how they drive, and when I see a driver who's more of a joke than a surprise, that's not a driver to me, let alone a title contender, no matter how much the FIA might back them.

You mentioned Kubica and how he started well but couldn't hold his own against the leaders. There's truth in that, but the bigger issue is that BMW couldn't keep up with the development pace that McLaren and Ferrari have, so if you swapped Kubica into a Ferrari and put Massa in a BMW, do you really think the results would be the same??
And as for Hamilton and Alonso, believe me, they are just a few levels above Massa.

wanderingdriver7 said:Look, Renault announced back in 2007 that they were pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of the season—so what else was Alonso supposed to do? Just sit around until the year ended only to land himself in some backmarker midfield team? The guy isn't an idiot. If anyone deserves to be called foolish, it’s Renault; making a blunder like that essentially cost them a World Championship for a whole season.

Listen to this guy... Honestly, if there was any mistake made here, it was Alonso's decision to leave. Had he stayed, he likely would have secured the title again next season too. 🙄
Then again, once you catch the scent of big money, it’s hard to resist—it reminds me of when Shevchenko made that move to Chelsea...
As for all that talk about Renault exiting Formula 1, most of that was just rumors and hearsay... 🙄

dustyhound said:Honestly, the only mistake Alonso made was leaving. If he’d stuck it out, he probably would’ve been champion next season too.. 🙄

Were you even watching last season?😕
How on earth could he have won the title last year driving a car that was barely scraping points together?🤷

He just caught the scent of money and couldn't resist.
And all that talk about Renault pulling out of Formula 1 was just pure gossip... 🙄

It was way more than just rumors. There was enough noise to make anyone hesitate to risk everything. Do you seriously think he’d ditch the team he won championships with just to jump into a squad that’s been getting wrecked on track lately? 🤣
As for the cash... you'll see how much it actually matters when he turns down Honda's offer just because there's a chance Renault might have a better car next year. For this guy, the car comes first, then the paycheck. 👍

Man, this thread is absolutely crushing it. We’ve officially set a new record for the most posts in a single race discussion all year long. No other race thread has even come close to breaking the 700-post mark. 👋
It’s actually kind of wild when you think about it, especially since we didn't even kick this thing off until Friday during free practice. Usually, people start hyping up these threads like ten days before the green flag even drops! 👏

Edward Howard2 said:this thread actually holds the record for most posts—it’s officially the busiest race discussion we've seen all year. No other racing thread has even managed to break the 700-post mark. 👋
It’s even more impressive when you consider this thread only popped up on Friday during free practice, whereas some of the earlier topics were getting started nearly ten days before the actual race. 👏

you clearly weren't around back when the VN SAD 2005 was happening ☕

mistybear87 said:you weren't around back when we were watching the VN SAD 2005 ☕

Well, there was definitely a certain quality to things in the past that seems to have slipped away.

Honestly, these kids today just don't get it. 😁

Bernie on Montezemolo’s remarks

"If the Ferrari president is right about the Miami Grand Prix being a circus," he said, "then we have to be grateful to him for providing the clowns."

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

mistybear87 said:you weren't around back when the VN SAD 2005 cars were tearing it up ☕

That’s exactly why I called her this year's record-breaker—I haven't really bothered keeping track for years now, so who knows? 😬

But honestly, that 2005 race in the States? It’s hard to imagine anything ever touching that level again. It was just such a wild ride that people haven't stopped talking about it since. 😁

Edward Howard2 said:which is exactly why I called her this year's record-breaker—I haven't felt like digging through the archives for years😬

Do you actually have the drive to crunch these stats?😁
...this isn't exactly your first rodeo, is it?😁

I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Honestly, my bad for being such a mess lately. I know I haven't been around much, but I’m finally back in the mix! It feels good to be here again. Let's get into it. kaže:
You guys up for crunching some stats with me?😁
Come on, man, this isn't exactly your first rodeo.😁

Since you're already bringing up the stats... 😁

Here’s the breakdown of the top 10 most popular threads ever—basically the heavy hitters with the highest post counts since we first kicked things off on the Formula 1 subforum back in December 2002 through October 2008.

SAD 2005. - 1257
2. BRAZIL 2007. - 930
Singapore 2008. - 715
Belgium 2008. - 684
5. CANADA 2008. - 654
Europe 2007. - 637
Italy 2005. - 616
Spain 2008. - 599
9. AUSTRALIA 2008. - 596
Europe 2005. - 586

So, looking at the data here, we've only got five races from 2008 to look at—and hey, that season isn't even over yet! Meanwhile, every other year combined barely manages to put that many drivers in the top 10. If you actually follow the numbers, it’s pretty clear this PDF is blowing everything else out of the water. It’s easily more popular and getting way more eyes on it than anything we've seen in the last six years. Fact is, this thing is busier than ever. ☕

👍 🤣🤣
SAD is supposedly "the most attended," yet I don't find it particularly appealing at all.😁
...or was that just that one race where they didn't even use tires?🤣

Jose Anderson14 said:👍 🤣Hey, 🤣you
know, SAD is supposedly the "most attended," but honestly, it doesn't look all that exciting to me😁
...wait, was that the race where they didn't even use tires?🤣

Yeah, that was exactly the one where Schumacher pulled off one of those absolute legendary wins from his career 🙏

...in a brutal scrap against Jordan😉 and Minardi...😁

Jose Anderson14 said:...in that brutal fight against Michael Jordan😉 and Gene Haas...😁

And honestly? The only way they could've snagged a win was maybe one race back in 2005. 😁

Edward Howard2 said:for some people—the real competitors—the machine they pilot comes before the paycheck. It’s about the car first, then the money.👍

🤣

dustyhound said:🤣

you're gonna see 😉

are you some kind of night owl? I swear, you're only ever hanging out in these threads after midnight 🤷

[QUOTE=Edward Howard2;16397313]Since you're bringing up the stats... 😁

Here’s a look at the top 10 most heated race threads—basically the ones that generated the absolute most chatter since this F1 subforum first crawled out of the woodwork back in December 2002 through October 2008.

1. US 2005 - 1257
2. Brazil 2007 - 930
3. Singapore 2008 - 715
4. Belgium 2008 - 684
5. Canada 2008 - 654
6. Europe 2007 - 637
7. Italy 2005 - 616
8. Spain 2008 - 599
9. Australia 2008 - 596
10. Europe 2005 - 586

If you actually sit down and look at these numbers, it’s pretty glaring: five of these top ten spots are taken by races from 2008 alone, and keep in mind the season isn't even over yet. All the other years combined can barely put up half that much weight. So, if we're going strictly by the data, it's safe to say this year's coverage is blowing everything else out of the water compared to the last six years of history. ☕[/QUOTE

The two best races[/QUOTE]

Edward Howard2 said:you'll see 😉

Are you some kind of night owl or what? It feels like you only show up to these debates once the clock passes midnight. 🤷

And honestly, where even is our number one guy? The forum feels pretty empty whenever he's nowhere to be found. 😬

Edward Howard2 said:That’s exactly why I called her this year's record-breaker—honestly, I just haven't felt like digging through the old archives for years.😬

But looking back at that 2005 race here in the States? It's hard to imagine anything ever topping that. It was just one of those legendary moments that got everyone talking like they never had before.😁

Back during that race, our attendance numbers absolutely blew up. If I remember correctly, we actually had over 25 people hanging out on the PDF at once. Before that, we rarely even broke double digits, didn't we?😉

It really goes to show how many fans are following the sport but just aren't jumping into the conversation (or at least, aren't becoming active posters).☕