Round 15: Singapore Grand Prix

Bradley Nelson2, I guess you went back to rewatch the start and that "controversial" moment between Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen, which is probably why you deleted your post. ☕

Bradley Nelson2 said:I'm not entirely sure, but my gut feeling is that even after hitting a wall at high speed, the hose would likely stay attached. Then again, that's just my take on it.☕

You clearly don't know the first thing about chemistry.🙏

fadedpanther4 said:Bradley Nelson2, you clearly went back to rewatch the start and that "controversial" moment between Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen, then deleted your post. ☕

No, I didn't. I deleted it because I have zero interest in arguing with someone who's been following this sport for ages and still manages to say something that stupid. 🙂

fadedpanther4 said:Bradley Nelson2, I bet you went back to rewatch that start and that "controversial" little moment between Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen, didn't you? That's probably why you scrubbed your post. ☕

I noticed that too—it looks like the post just vanished into thin air.
😁

Bradley Nelson2 said:No, I didn't. I just deleted it because I have no interest in arguing with someone who has followed this sport for so long yet still makes such a ridiculous claim. 🙂

In that case, maybe you should just go rewatch the start.
And if my posts are so stupid, then don't read them... 😛

It’s a shame when people follow NASCAR for years without having any clue how racing actually works. But hey, that’s just how it goes.

stormybadger8 said:Well, damn, I didn't realize you guys had moved the entire debate over to the Paddock😢 given how much bickering was going on, it’s hardly surprising 😬

You Madman 😢 for crying out loud, didn't I tell you specifically not to bet against Sebastian Vettel? 🙂

Look, my friend... Fernando showed them what he can do... regardless of whatever luck he had with the SC, that was just compensation for his bad luck yesterday...

I see my name has been coming up in conversation 😂
I had to go into hiding for a bit 😍

I spent all that time defending Fernando Alonso against every single ridiculous criticism, so naturally, now I’m going to praise him even more

He absolutely would have been on that podium even without the SC if he hadn't suffered that mishap during qualifying yesterday... sure, Felipe Massa was faster, but just look at the best laps and the sector times through the stints... yesterday in Practice 3, he was only four tenths off the fastest time in Qualifying 2—which was Massa's time—and the track improves significantly between Practice 3 and Qualifying 2 once you lay down enough rubber... this was especially obvious here because the tires were wearing out incredibly fast and there wasn't any rain to wash the track clean...

You people can talk all you want, but very few drivers drive the car with that kind of aggression, pushing it to the absolute limit and taking those kinds of risks...

hollowhawk412 said:You guys can say whatever you want, but the way he throws the car around the track, taking those massive risks and pushing everything to the absolute limit... not many people actually do that.

Well... I mean... Kimi Räikkönen ended up throwing his car too, at the end of the day... 😬

fadedpanther4 As I was saying, it seems like everyone is just jumping to conclusions without actually looking at the data, which is honestly exhausting if you ask me. You see these people making these sweeping statements as if they’ve spent years studying the mechanics of the sport, when in reality, they can barely follow a basic race strategy. It’s always the same pattern: a bit of noise, a little bit of speculation, and then suddenly everyone acts like an expert overnight. I find it incredibly frustrating because it muddies the waters for anyone actually trying to have a serious discussion about what happened on the track. We need to stop letting these half-baked opinions dictate the narrative and instead focus on the actual performance metrics, though I suppose that would require a level of discipline that most of this crowd simply doesn't possess.

And honestly, I found myself completely baffled by Blažica’s little commentary regarding Fernando Alonso's supposedly "masterful" driving performance. 🙄 What exactly was supposed to be so masterful about this? The kid simply took what was handed to him on a silver platter. If you ask me, true mastery would have been starting from 15th place and carving through the entire field to overtake every single car in front of him. He won the race. It was deserved. But as for anything fascinating about that specific achievement, I’m just not seeing it. 🙂

To say his performance was nothing short of magnificent would be an understatement. It appears his fastest lap trailed the Ferrari by about a tenth and a half, which isn't surprising given that Renault seems to be struggling with their form this season; they just can't seem to find their footing lately. When the track temperature climbs, that Ferrari becomes absolutely impossible to catch, slipping away like it’s on another level entirely. That’s why I find myself agreeing with what Blažica said about him driving like a total master out there. If you actually take a moment to sit down and look at his lap times broken down by stint, the data tells the whole story—he was consistently blistering throughout the entire run.

fadedpanther4 said:Well... it looks like Kimi Räikkönen finally lost his cool and tossed his car right out of the cockpit at the end. 😬

And that’s exactly where the limit of Fernando Alonso's talent lies... he can push a car right to the absolute edge of disaster, but he never actually finds the courage to cross that line. 😉

hollowhawk412 said:To say he drove brilliantly is an understatement... I think his fastest lap was about a second and a half behind the Ferrari... but Renault seems to be struggling a bit more this year... especially when things get hot, the Ferrari becomes pretty difficult to catch... so I suppose Blažica is right when he said the driving was masterful... if you just look at his stint times, you'll see he was consistently fast.

Sorry, but I'm not going to be convinced that Alonso's drive today was anything short of brilliant, no matter how you frame it.

He won, and credit where credit is due for that.
But, in my opinion, there wasn't anything particularly "masterful" about it.

hollowhawk412 said:I suppose that’s what makes Fernando Alonso so great... he pushed him right to the edge, but he never actually crossed the line. 😉

Even Kimi Räikkönen couldn't have done it. The barrier just wouldn't let him. 😬

fadedpanther4 said:Look, you aren't going to convince me that Alonso's drive today was anything short of masterful, regardless of what you say.

He took the win, and I'll give him his due for that.
But if you ask me, there was absolutely nothing masterful about how he did it.

I wasn't even attempting to convince you...

You just decided to latch onto my posts on your own...

why on earth are you so certain that every single comment on this entire forum is directed specifically at you?🤷

hollowhawk412 said:I wasn't even trying to convince you...

you just sort of latched onto my posts...

why are you so certain that every single comment on this forum is directed at you? 🤷

If I'm not mistaken—and I don't think I am—you were responding to my comment about Alonso's masterful driving. That’s why I gave you the answer I did.

It seems you're a bit sensitive, much like a few others here.
Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. 🙂

Edward Howard2 said:Forget football, I guess. Just... forget it. 😠

fadedpanther4 said:I mean, Massa just fascinates me. Again. Honestly, how much of an idiot do you actually have to be to spend three laps circling around whatever mess someone's car made, only to turn around and drive straight over them on the very next lap?! I guess some people just don't think. Maybe.

These have been my favorites so far, I guess, so I’m pulling them out. After that absolute disaster at Silverstone, Massa didn't deserve anything.

Ferrari didn't really deal with this kind of stuff back when Michael was behind the wheel, I guess.

What goes around, comes around. Karma's a thing, I guess.

Let’s be objective here... Hamilton was the real winner of that race... he finally shut down the noise and didn't go chasing after Rosberg like a madman.

By the way, what on earth is going on with Ferrari... if I were in Massin Place, I’d have taken a shotgun to them by now.

I mean, they basically handed him 20 points on a silver platter during Valencia and Singapore...

And yet, somehow, they still have everything under their control...

If the weather holds up—and I mean really holds up, if you caught my drift—Massa is the heavy favorite for the remaining three races, regardless of those lost points.

Because if it stays hot, a one-two finish for Ferrari is absolutely on the table.

At this point, it's all in the hands of fate.

Kimi just can't seem to get those tires up to temperature for qualifying, and then once the race starts, he just cascades from one mistake straight into the next.

fadedpanther4 said:If I haven't misremembered—and I'm fairly certain I haven't—you were responding to my comment regarding Alonso's masterful driving. That is precisely why I gave you the answer I did.

It seems you’re just as touchy as a few other people on this forum.
My apologies, I certainly didn't intend to ruffle your feathers. 🙂

Well, I went back and actually looked at my previous post... it appears I was quoting a friend...

But it doesn't really matter; it's all a wash. I'm not being sensitive; I'm just feeling somewhat content, though certainly not euphoric, as I've lived through far too much to let myself get carried away by euphoria over just about anything.

Kenneth Taylor80 said:Ferrari didn't deal with this back when Michael was behind the wheel.

Sure, but that's because he couldn't just settle for ego trips. He had to bring people in specifically to sideline or push out anyone who actually made that team successful. Nowadays, Massa is the only one keeping any dignity left with his driving, while this erratic drunk drives like he’s the one paying Ferrari instead of the other way around.

Actually, you’re being completely subjective here... just take a look at the hard data... the actual lap times

it was barely even a contest, as Ferrari was only a tiny fraction faster than Alonso

Bradley Nelson2 said:No, look, it wasn't just about ego—though he clearly couldn't be satisfied with just self-congratulation; he had to bring them into the fold specifically to sideline or drive out anyone who actually turned that team into a winner. Nowadays, the only one keeping any dignity intact is Massa, thanks to his phenomenal driving, while that erratic drunk drives like he’s the one paying Ferrari instead of the other way around.

he basically had to build an Italian empire...

The spirit of Fiat has taken over at Ferrari 🙂