F1 Imola GP: April 24th @ 3 PM ET

Anthony Baker84 said:Louis should just retire already

Well, he already is... just like Vettel and Alonso...

Max👍, Ferrari basically shot themselves in the foot—they just completely blew it, with Sainz struggling in qualifying and Leclerc failing in the race.

All in all, just a boring race that I'd rather forget.

George, Bottas, Lando, and Vettel were all performing exceptionally well today. 🙏

Hopefully, this race serves as a wake-up call for those Americans who haven't been paying attention lately.
Then again, you never really know with them; it wouldn't be surprising if both of their cars ended up out of the points in the next race.

Dana Murphy4 said:Given how this race started, this is exactly what Ferrari needed. It is a necessary reality check.

I had the exact same thought. Why take unnecessary risks when it is clear you can't even touch Red Bull here? Even with DRS Leclerc was unable to make any move on Perez.

They should simply accept that this track favors Red Bull. The season is long!

What a killer race! Seriously a perfect way to kick off the rest of the season. It’s such a bummer that Leclerc got caught up in that mess; he threw away points he shouldn't have, though thank God he didn't end up DNFing like he almost did.

McLaren looks incredible. This is looking seriously promising for what's coming next. They haven't even done any massive upgrades yet, and they're already lightyears ahead of where they were at the start of the year. Norris is just routinely 👍
.
Routine stuff from both him and Russell too—finishing P4 is something only the absolute best drivers could squeeze out of this year's Mercedes 🙏. Major Mercedes praise to his teammate as well for the hard work put in to secure that P14.

On the flip side, Sainz is basically being canceled at this point, and it's getting depressing to watch. No matter what he does, it's never enough, and half the time today wasn't even his fault. He's just handing people ammunition to trash him and claim Leclerc eats him for breakfast.

cosmicmoose2 said:It's about pressure, not greed. He's racing in front of a home crowd, finally has a competitive car again, and he's leading the championship.

Look, a driver who cracks that easily under pressure when fighting for second place early in the season isn't the kind of guy who gives Ferrari fans any real sense of security or trust.

Sam Clark75 said:Max 👍, Ferrari basically shot themselves in the foot—Sainz struggled in qualifying, then Leclerc had a rough race.

All in all, just a boring race I'd rather forget.

I mean, we can't really blame Sainz for this one—it was more like some "higher power" 😬 i.e., Ric

Powerful performance from Mick Schumacher!

James Allen9 said:Powerful Mick Schumacher!

he basically sent Alonso into retirement today.

Man, this Alpine crumbling thing is getting ridiculous—(and I think Okon felt it during testing too)

I guess I still haven't quite wrapped my head around how Mercedes just... vanished. Like, going from that absolute masterclass finish back in 2021 to this kind of total meltdown? It’s honestly wild.

Jack Kelly5 said:I still can't wrap my head around how Mercedes just fell off. I mean, going from that 2021 finish to this total disaster... it's wild.

I guess only Louis is struggling—Russell's basically got him in his pocket right now.

Jack Kelly5 said:I’m still trying to wrap my head around how Mercedes just vanished. Going from that insane finish in 2021 to this absolute disaster? It's brutal.

Honestly, 😍Russell🤦 is the only reason they aren't totally bottoming out. If he wasn't there, they'd be lucky to see any points at all—they'd basically be stuck in the same mess as Aston Martin.

Jack Kelly5 said:I still can't wrap my head around how Mercedes just vanished. Going from that insane finish in 2021 to this total disaster... It's honestly terrifying.

Look, it’s not even that Mercedes tanked as hard as Hamilton did... I mean, seriously. Is he just losing his edge because he doesn't have a dominant car anymore, or is there something else going on with him? Hard to say, really...

ruggedcyclist56 said:Right after Leclerc's move... how much stupidity can Max actually pull off?

That move by Leclerc—well, more like a Ferrari move—was pure idiocy...
Why try to be a genius on a wet track using soft tires just to hunt for a single point for fastest lap?
In the end, you just screw yourself over and throw away points. All they needed to do was drive a clean race and grab a podium.☕

Honestly, I mean, we all saw this coming—Leclerc's little blunder was basically a foregone conclusion at this point.

So how did that wrap up? Did the GOAT finally pull ahead of Gasly, or did Perez and Norris lap the GOAT already? 🤔

cosmicmoose2 said:It’s all about pressure, not greed. He’s racing in front of his home crowd, finally has a car that actually works, and he’s leading the championship.

Check out what Nico Rosberg said on Sky regarding Leclerc:

"When you fight for the championship you cannot allow yourself to spin out there on your own. Sure the pressure is there but the pressure is on Perez, not on you."

darkmarlin16 said:this Leclerc error was anticipated.

The same applies to the expected criticism of Sainz.

Hey guys, does anyone know where I can catch the full replay of the race? Just walked through the door and I've been totally cut off from all the news...

The main race. It’s a shame we didn't get any rain; that would have certainly thrown a wrench into everyone's strategy and made things interesting... Ford seemed a bit lost out there today. I feel for Carlos Sainz Jr., though; he's catching quite a bit of undeserved heat for today's performance, even though the blame lies elsewhere...

And it just goes to show that even the GOAT struggles to maintain that status when they aren't sitting behind the fastest car on the grid. ☕