2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola - April 24th, 3 PM

cosmicmoose2 said:Tomorrow’s going to be rough for Ferrari... Red Bull just has better race pace on this track.

It’s looking grim for Sebastian Vettel...
I can't tell if his tires just fell off a cliff halfway through the sprint or if the setup was such a disaster that their race pace was absolute garbage...
But honestly, with pace like that, I don't see him finishing ahead of anyone. 🤔

Seriously, his pace was pathetic. Anyone who passed him left him in the dust within seconds. He literally couldn't stay in the DRS zone for even a single lap...
Valtteri Bottas, who cleared him first, put 12 seconds between them, and Mick Schumacher in the Haas was about 7 seconds ahead...
And this was just a sprint, where nobody really feels like risking a massive crash just to fight for some random 10th or 11th place on the grid. Drivers have grit, sure, but they aren't going to divebomb like they would in a main race. If the pace stays this criminal, he's going to get swallowed up in the actual race...

I don't get how Lawrence Stroll managed to screw this team up so badly. I mean, F1 teams have always had solid cars that could occasionally snag a podium, but this current mess is basically Marussia level. Scoring a single point with this junk would be a miracle...

I get the feeling Sebastian Vettel might call it quits soon. Struggling through this nonsense doesn't make sense, no matter how much money Lawrence Stroll tries to bribe him with...

As for Ferrari—specifically Charles Leclerc—it doesn't really matter where he finishes (aside from bragging rights for the home crowd),
considering how fragile the Red Bull is and all the nonsense Max Verstappen is capable of pulling. Given the lead he already has, all Charles needs to do is cruise, collect points and podiums, and call it a day...

Robert Cox46 said:It all comes down to the weather. If it rains, they've got decent pace, but honestly? There's a solid chance at least one Ferrari ends up stuck in the barrier... On the flip side, Red Bull just needs to finish the whole race without blowing up.

Ugh... well, if the weather plays out right, maybe even Lance Stroll pulls off a win...😁

swiftmaker12 said:it's just a finger
whether it belongs to him or KMag, who knows

Man, you’re out here taking photos of them! Like we actually need to know if Pippa's hitting it or not.

Whatever. Is this really what we're fighting for? For an America where some Dane barely even cares about a legal-age German!?

cosmicridge5 said:Fine, since you're being so stubborn—you thinking something like this:

😁

Or maybe more like this? 🤣

Though personally, this one's my favorite: 😍 😁😁😁

Look, we all know you're the President's biggest fanboy—like, you probably have every single word he's ever posted memorized by heart.

So, honestly, why the hell are you always trying to take him down!?

Dana Murphy4 said:Leclerc isn't happy with second place—man, how times change.

It's his own damn fault. Ferrari just throws tires out there without a care in the world about who or what they're ruining right behind them.

Charles really let me down today. We already knew Sainz was basically Trump, but Charles? That was a genuine gut punch.

The most dominant car on the grid can't even clinch a sprint win. Unbelievable.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.

John Ortiz4 said:That specific turn at Indianapolis has been slowed down now—it used to be incredibly fast and honestly pretty terrifying. The track itself is just spectacular, though, running right alongside the river with those houses and fields nearby. I actually made it out to Indianapolis back in 2002.

You know, I was there in 2002 as well.👍

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/zh...rash/10156186/

Zhou is going to have to start from the pit lane.

ruggedhawk20 said:It’s on him. Izija just tosses tires around without a second thought about what—or who—is right behind him.
I'm pretty disappointed in Charles today. We already knew Sainz was basically acting like Trump, but Charles being this bad is a genuine shock.
The supposed most dominant car on the grid can't even manage to pull off a win in a sprint race...

Dominant compared to who?
Sure, against Mercedes, maybe. But compared to Red Bull, they don't have a single cent of an advantage.
If you actually have some convincing arguments to support that, lay them on me.

cosmicmoose2 said:It’s going to be a rough one for Ferrari tomorrow... Red Bull just has better race pace on this track.

I’d agree, but anything can happen.
Even Max was sliding all over the gravel yesterday, and he messed up during qualifying too. Plus, their setup in Saudi Arabia was a disaster, at least if you ask me. They aren't exactly perfect.
I'm looking for Leclerc to go for the win, and I'll settle for Sainz actually finishing the race.

Roger Wright94 said:Dominant over whom exactly?
They might have an edge over Mercedes-Benz, sure, but when you stack them up against Red Bull, they don't possess even a single cent of an advantage.
However, if you happen to possess any convincing arguments to support that claim, please, do share them.

The truth is, Ferrari possesses the technical advantage, yet they simply lack a driver capable of actually capitalizing on it.

Based on what we saw yesterday, Leclerc was basically redlining just to hang onto that one-second gap, while Max just sat back there, playing it cool and waiting for those tires to give up the ghost.
And hold on, even Perez managed to claw his way back from being 6 or 7 seconds down to just 1.7 by the end of the sprint. That’s the same damn Perez who was trailing Leclerc by 20 seconds back in Australia.

It's pretty obvious Red Bull has the edge here. Though, I’m really hoping Ferrari prepped the car better for rain so they can actually show some life... assuming it even pours, of course.

It basically comes down to who hides their weaknesses better—Ferrari and Leclerc managing tires, or Red Bull and Max saving the engine if the rain stays away.
Of course, pit strategy plays a huge role too—who hits the pits when and how clean they execute the whole thing.
This might just be one of those races decided entirely by the pit crews.

Btw, looks like this Red Bull Case car really suits them.
They even snagged the fastest lap during the sprint since they seem to be better at tire management than Max—yesterday, once he dealt with Norris, he clocked the fastest lap maybe 6 or 7 laps after Leclerc did.

Kind of interesting that Max didn't get the fastest lap except for maybe one time (I guess, not totally sure). Either Max was nursing his tires or just saving the engine (😬) so he could just take the win at the end 😬.
It seems like Leclerc pushed too hard and just burned through his tires too early.

graniteharbor502 said:Ferrari definitely has the edge, they just don't have the drivers to actually take advantage of it.

Driver Standings:

1. Charles Leclerc 78

2. Carlos Sainz
3. George Russell
4. Sergio Perez
5. Max Verstappen
6. Lewis Hamilton

Anthony Baker84 said:It’s wild that Max didn't even grab the fastest lap, I think maybe just once? (not that I'm 100% sure). Either Max was babying his tires or he was just saving the engine 😬 and still walked away with the win 😬.
Clearly, Leclerc went too hard too early and absolutely cooked his tires.

If you look back at those old battles between Leclerc and Max—those were actually intense—this time Max just cruised right past him without breaking a sweat.
Same thing when you look at races where Ferrari had the edge on pace (like in Australia); their lead over Max just kept growing and growing. Here? He barely managed to stay a second ahead while the tires were still decent.
Bottom line: the cars on this track aren't even close. Red Bull just has the upper hand here.

graniteharbor502 said:Ferrari has the edge, they just don't have drivers capable of actually using it.

Red Bull Racing was clearly the faster car during the sprint—and I mean significantly faster...
Just look at how far behind Sainz was compared to Perez, or Perez compared to Leclerc...

Unless we're going to pull that same old stunt and claim this was somehow the best race of Perez's entire life.🙂

Time to ditch the fanboy goggles and put on some actual glasses.

cosmicmoose2 said:If one considers the previous battles between Leclerc and Max, which were significantly more intense, one notices that here, Max simply moved ahead without encountering any real struggle.
Similarly, when we look back at races where Ferrari held a clear pace advantage, such as in Australia, his lead over Max would steadily expand; yet here, he could barely maintain even a one-second gap while the tires were still in decent condition.
It stands to reason, then, that the cars on this particular circuit are not on equal footing, implying that Red Bull Racing holds the upper hand.

stormybadger8 said:It was quite evident during the sprint that the Red Bull Racing car was faster—and I do not mean just slightly faster, but substantially so...
One need only observe the gap between Sainz and Perez, or Perez and Leclerc, to see the truth of it...

Unless, of course, we are going to fall back into the old habit of claiming this was somehow the finest race of Perez's entire career. 🙂

It is high time to set aside those rose-colored glasses and finally put on a pair of realistic ones...

Who was it, precisely, that admitted after the sprint to having overheated the tires far too quickly?
For my part, I have discarded the biased lens entirely. I find I can now truly appreciate the drives that actually stand out, and lately, those have primarily been Max's performances over the last few seasons.

Sainz began his charge from 10th place, and after slicing through the field to reach 4th just a few laps before the end, he continued to post lap times comparable to the Red Bull Racing drivers during those final stages. Does that not prove that it is possible to make overtakes without utterly destroying one's tires?
As for Leclerc, he was never forced to fight through traffic, spending the entirety of the race driving in clean air.

What kind of crazy weather are they forecasting for Indianapolis today? I wouldn't be surprised if Hamilton pulls off something special given the conditions.

graniteharbor502 said:Who actually said you burned through those tires too fast after the sprint?
I'm done with the fanboy goggles. Seriously. Now I can finally just enjoy the races that actually stand out... and lately, those have just been Max's drives over the last few seasons.

Carlos Sainz started P10, and when he fought his way up to 4th just a few laps before the end, he was still pulling times comparable to the RB drivers during those final laps. So, yeah... he proved you can actually make overtakes without absolutely shredding your rubber.
Charles Leclerc didn't have to fight anyone; he spent the whole race driving in clean air.

If you aren't a fan, then your race analysis is surprisingly weak for someone who claims to follow Formula 1 for this long.
Sure, Leclerc had the position in yesterday's sprint, but he wasn't controlling the race. Look at his wins back in 2022—like Bahrain and Australia. In those races, he paced himself perfectly to keep Max out of DRS range. He actually had the luxury of managing his tires.
On the flip side, if he’d been more careful with his tires yesterday, Max would've caught him in DRS and blown right past.
Because of that sluggish race pace—which is purely down to the car—Leclerc couldn't control the tempo; he just had to hammer it and pray the tires lasted until the checkered flag.

The comparison to Bahrain and Australia totally holds up because there were no wild variables in the sprint, like rain, to mess up the data.

I don't get why you're struggling so much to admit Max drove a patient, smart race by simply exploiting his car's advantage over Ferrari.
Why does Max always have to be some kind of underdog in your head? I've never once seen you credit his car for his success, yet you do it constantly for everyone else...

It’s purely because he's a blinded little fanboy, though honestly, it's almost cute how much he worships him.

Who’s actually taking this one—Sainz or Perez?