IT'S race Week !!! United States Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway 03.20.2022

Charles Leclerc starts trolling over the radio during the final lap, shouting: "There's something strange with the engine!" 🤣

I can only imagine how many engineers at Maranello probably spilled their cappuccinos in a panic the moment they heard that 🙏

Raymond Anderson4 said:Ferrari looked solid yesterday, though nothing to write home about. Charles Leclerc definitely benefited from starting on pole; he was able to control the pace without having to push his limits too hard. The tires just weren't durable enough. It was a similar story for Sergio Perez—he had the raw speed to keep pressure on Carlos Sainz, but the tire degradation made it impossible to stay glued to his gearbox.

Red Bull built a great car, but it looks a bit sluggish to me. I think there’s still plenty of room for them to find more pace.

Look, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari successfully fended off two different undercut attempts and a Safety Car restart. That happened because Leclerc drove his heart out and the crew reacted fast and stayed sharp. Sure, he had the advantage of starting up front, but a 2-4 second gap can vanish in the blink of an eye if you don't react to what Red Bull Racing is doing immediately.
They kept the whole race under control the entire time.
Calling Ferrari "just decent" is a massive understatement if you ask me...

I’m dedicating this entire season to absolutely demolishing the myth surrounding Mick Schumacher. Look, when Kevin Magnussen steps up and grabs those points—which, let's be honest, should have been seven of them—it proves my point. Mick spent the whole year driving without any real pressure, yet even after being slightly compromised by Esteban Ocon at the start yesterday, he still couldn't find a way to score. Once McLaren and the rest of the field actually tighten things up, he’s going to be stuck in a dogfight with Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi just to scrap for 16th or 18th place.

James Allen9 said:I’m dedicating this entire season to absolutely demolishing the myth surrounding Mick Schumacher. Look, when Kevin Magnussen steps up and grabs those points—which, let's be honest, should have been seven of them—it proves my point. Mick spent the whole year driving without any real pressure, yet even after being slightly compromised by Esteban Ocon at the start yesterday, he still couldn't find a way to score. Once McLaren and the rest of the field actually tighten things up, he’s going to be stuck in a dogfight with Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi just to scrap for 16th or 18th place.

What kind of mythomania are you even referring to? 🤣

All the driver and engineer quotes following the race finish



man, Kevin Magnussen is swearing like a sailor (just constant beep beep beep 😬)—and if I caught that right, I think Mick Schumacher was dealing with some engine power issues during the race.

graniteharbor502 said:What kind of mythomania are you even referring to? 🤣

Formula 1 is probably the only place where you'll hear nonsense like that. 🤣

What absolute mythomania? Seriously, nobody in Formula 1 is out here calling this kid some legendary talent. All they ever say is how humble he is, how well-raised he is, and how eager he is to learn. He’s young. He’s got plenty of time to actually become a great driver as long as he keeps that hunger to improve.

But "mythomania"? Where exactly is that happening? 🤣

Elizabeth Mendoza, can you seriously not go five minutes without picking a fight? Like, if there isn't a real reason to argue, you just make up some total nonsense?

Elizabeth Mendoza said:Formula 1 is probably the only place where you'll hear nonsense like that. 🤣

What absolute mythomania? Seriously, nobody in Formula 1 is out here calling this kid some legendary talent. All they ever say is how humble he is, how well-raised he is, and how eager he is to learn. He’s young. He’s got plenty of time to actually become a great driver as long as he keeps that hunger to improve.

But "mythomania"? Where exactly is that happening? 🤣

The myth-making started the second he landed a seat in Formula 1. Being young isn't an excuse, and besides, this is already his second season.
Kevin Magnussen is going to eat him alive

Jenson Button had to grind through nine full seasons before he finally clinched the world title.
Before 2009, he only managed to snag a single win.

Then you look at David Mansell—he put in 11 full seasons, plus those extra races back in 1980 as a third driver, before he actually became champion.
He didn't even see his first victory until his sixth season in the sport (back at Brands Hatch).

So, Mick still has a shot—he just needs to stay patient.

Or maybe that kind of patience only works for those English types... total cowboys.

Sam Clark75 said:Yeah, another total scripted masterpiece—honestly thought I was seeing things, but nope! 😂

Even worse than before. 🤣 🤣 🤣

View on twitter

Raymond Anderson4 said:Ferrari looked solid yesterday, though nothing to write home about. Charles Leclerc definitely benefited from starting on pole; he was able to control the pace without having to push his limits too hard. The tires just weren't durable enough. It was a similar story for Sergio Perez—he had the raw speed to keep pressure on Carlos Sainz, but the tire degradation made it impossible to stay glued to his gearbox.

Red Bull built a great car, but it looks a bit sluggish to me. I think there’s still plenty of room for them to find more pace.

The last time Ferrari kicked off a season with a pole, an FL, and a race win was back in 2007... and their last 1-2 finish to start a season was way back in 2010.

Nah, it wasn't spectacular at all. Actually, scratch that—it's huge for them. They haven't seen a season opener or a car this competitive right out of the gate in over a decade.☕

stormybadger8 said:The last time Ferrari kicked off a season with a pole, an FL, and a race win was back in 2007... and their last 1-2 finish to start a season was way back in 2010.

Nah, it wasn't spectacular at all. Actually, scratch that—it's huge for them. They haven't seen a season opener or a car this competitive right out of the gate in over a decade.☕

Just to refresh everyone's memory here

Back in 2017 and 2018, Ferrari had a championship-caliber car, and Sebastian Vettel was arguably the best driver on the grid
But they managed to mess it up during those two years through sheer incompetence
Sebastian went through the exact same thing Alonso did in 2010 and 2012
Between the Ferrari team decisions on the pit wall and their overall strategy, they were basically built to lose
When you finally get a real shot at winning after years of nothing, decades of losing become a massive weight—you end up choking right when it's a layup
It was pretty much the same story for Alonso in those two years
And don't even get me started on the Yankees
If the Yankees started a season with a 15-point lead, they'd find a way to screw it up for the manager and the whole front office
That's exactly how Ferrari will play it this year

They'll end up right back where they started. After four or five races, once Mercedes and Red Bull pass them, they'll just sit there looking completely baffled by their own failure

Mercedes isn't going to overtake anyone. With this failed concept, they might just end up being worse than the rest of the field.

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, this is pretty wild...
I can’t even remember the last time I watched a Ferrari race where both drivers had seamless pit stops, the strategy was spot on, and the crew wasn't just fast, but lightning fast...

It looks like they’ve been drilling those pit stops hard. Taking a full second off Red Bull Racing with stop times is basically 😲
For years, Red Bull has been the gold standard for pit work—their in-laps, out-laps, and stops were how they clawed back positions. This time, Ferrari beat them at their own game. It looked like Red Bull couldn't touch them, even though I didn't get the feeling Ferrari had a massive advantage in pure race pace...
They absolutely crushed them with strategy and pit speed. For Ferrari to pull that off for one driver is rare enough, but doing it for both? That’s genuinely shocking...

Usually, they lose their minds the second the second driver gets involved, running weird experiments just to get data for the lead driver—whom they usually screw over just as efficiently...
At this point, Red Bull used to look like the organized team while Ferrari's pit wall felt like a chaotic mess...

Being a Ferrari strategist was easy this Sunday.
The whole plan basically boiled down to shadowing Red Bull.
Max Verstappen pits, Charles Leclerc pits.
Just repeat that until the checkered flag, hold the position, and maintain the gap.

It was safe play, which they could afford because their car is simply faster. Honestly, if they had needed to, I think they could have pushed their race pace even harder.

On the flip side, when you're stuck with a car that's a second slower, you start pulling those Mercedes-style gambles with the hard tires.
Because if you stick to traditional tactics and just shadow the competition, you aren't going to gain anything.

As for the pit crew performance? Nothing to complain about there.
They absolutely outclassed Red Bull at their own game.

swiftmaker12 said:Just to refresh everyone's memory here

Back in 2017 and 2018, Ferrari had a championship-caliber car, and Sebastian Vettel was arguably the best driver on the grid
But they managed to mess it up during those two years through sheer incompetence
Sebastian went through the exact same thing Alonso did in 2010 and 2012
Between the Ferrari team decisions on the pit wall and their overall strategy, they were basically built to lose
When you finally get a real shot at winning after years of nothing, decades of losing become a massive weight—you end up choking right when it's a layup
It was pretty much the same story for Alonso in those two years
And don't even get me started on the Yankees
If the Yankees started a season with a 15-point lead, they'd find a way to screw it up for the manager and the whole front office
That's exactly how Ferrari will play it this year

They'll end up right back where they started. After four or five races, once Mercedes and Red Bull pass them, they'll just sit there looking completely baffled by their own failure

I cleaned up your post for you a bit.

Someone really needs to start a thread for Saudi Arabia.
I'm going to skip this one and open up a discussion on Australia instead.

Why? Is there just a lack of good paddock girls in Saudi Arabia?

James Allen9 said:I’m dedicating this entire season to absolutely demolishing the myth surrounding Mick Schumacher. Look, when Kevin Magnussen steps up and grabs those points—which, let's be honest, should have been seven of them—it proves my point. Mick spent the whole year driving without any real pressure, yet even after being slightly compromised by Esteban Ocon at the start yesterday, he still couldn't find a way to score. Once McLaren and the rest of the field actually tighten things up, he’s going to be stuck in a dogfight with Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi just to scrap for 16th or 18th place.

Mick messed up during qualifying; he absolutely should have made it into Q3, no question about it.

Then in the race, after the safety car, his pace just completely fell off a cliff compared to everyone else because of engine issues... Aside from that, he drove a decent enough race, even if he was stuck way down in the pack for most of it.

The first race is always chaos. You really have to wait a few rounds before you can tell who is actually where. Even Fernando Alonso was written off at the start of last season, yet he ended up finishing ahead of Esteban Ocon...

Besides, look at the grid as a whole—the older, more experienced drivers seem to be adapting to the new cars much better than the younger crew. Mick is qualifying quite well and has shown steady progress throughout the season... in that regard, he's actually pretty similar to Ricciardo...

stormybadger8 said:The last time Ferrari kicked off a season with a pole, an FL, and a race win was back in 2007... and their last 1-2 finish to start a season was way back in 2010.

Nah, it wasn't spectacular at all. Actually, scratch that—it's huge for them. They haven't seen a season opener or a car this competitive right out of the gate in over a decade.☕

I was actually talking about the race itself. Charles Leclerc drove a really solid race—though I wouldn't go as far as saying "excellent," since he was in a Red Bull Racing car that only had one real shot at an undercut, which ultimately failed.
Ford beat out Mercedes, who struggled, and Red Bull Racing, who both completely fell apart.

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, this is pretty wild...
I can’t even remember the last time I watched a Ferrari race where both drivers had seamless pit stops, the strategy was spot on, and the crew wasn't just fast, but lightning fast...

It looks like they’ve been drilling those pit stops hard. Taking a full second off Red Bull Racing with stop times is basically 😲
For years, Red Bull has been the gold standard for pit work—their in-laps, out-laps, and stops were how they clawed back positions. This time, Ferrari beat them at their own game. It looked like Red Bull couldn't touch them, even though I didn't get the feeling Ferrari had a massive advantage in pure race pace...
They absolutely crushed them with strategy and pit speed. For Ferrari to pull that off for one driver is rare enough, but doing it for both? That’s genuinely shocking...

Usually, they lose their minds the second the second driver gets involved, running weird experiments just to get data for the lead driver—whom they usually screw over just as efficiently...
At this point, Red Bull used to look like the organized team while Ferrari's pit wall felt like a chaotic mess...

I suspect this might have been their solitary lapse in judgment from this past weekend. 😁