Malaysia Grand Prix (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) March 29, 2015

What is going on with those Red Bull brakes? Every single time they hit the braking zone, they kick up such a massive cloud of dust that I honestly thought something had just shattered under the chassis. I haven't seen anything quite like it from any other team.
If Ferrari can actually maintain this pace and keep things competitive, the heat might shift toward the FIA and their tire selection process.

silvergull10 said:What is going on with those Red Bull brakes? Every single time they hit the braking zone, they kick up such a massive cloud of dust that I honestly thought something had just shattered under the chassis. I haven't seen anything quite like it from any other team.
If Ferrari can actually maintain this pace and keep things competitive, the heat might shift toward the FIA and their tire selection process.

Word is they swapped them out once Vettel left.🤣
They wanted to make the switch way before that, but Vettel kept insisting they were total garbage, so they didn't budge while he was still on the team.😁

graniteharbor502 said:That is certainly my own impression of the situation as well.

I just hope they don't sacrifice Kim for it.

stormybadger8 said:Word is they swapped them out once Vettel left.🤣
They wanted to make the switch way before that, but Vettel kept insisting they were total garbage, so they didn't budge while he was still on the team.😁

Looking at the results from Malaysia, it's pretty obvious he was right. They act like comets flying toward the sun. Mercury gets all covered in carbon—or soot, I guess—and based on their exhaust, I get the feeling anyone tailgating them is getting a face full of crap inside their helmet. Honestly, it feels like they probably have to peel that tape off every single lap. Lucky we didn't have to spend much time stuck behind them. 😍

Top-tier race radio moments (Lewis Hamilton); "Listen, buddy, stop talking to me while I'm hitting the apex. I nearly went wide." 😵👏

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/vide...eport-malaysia

21... So, did Watson really just call Horner an idiot out loud on live TV? 🤷🤣

stormybadger8 said:http://www1.skysports.com/watch/vide...eport-malaysia

21... So, did Watson really just call Horner an idiot out loud on live TV? 🤷🤣

He uses the phrase "is not clever," yet I find myself wondering if you might try to draw a slightly more definitive conclusion from that, wouldn't you?

graniteharbor502 said:He uses the phrase "is not clever," yet I find myself wondering if you might try to draw a slightly more definitive conclusion from that, wouldn't you?

They say something along the lines of Dud...
which I have zero clue what that even means, but it definitely doesn't sound like a compliment. 😬

Autosport’s latest driver ratings:
Rosberg 7
Hamilton 9
Sainz 8
Verstappen 9
Ricciardo 6
Kvyat 7
Grosjean 7
Maldonado 5
Massa 7
Bottas 8
Vettel 10
Raikkonen 7
Alonso 7
Button 7
Ericsson 6
Nasr 2
Perez 6
Hulkenberg 6
Merhi 5

graniteharbor502 said:Autosport’s latest driver ratings:
Rosberg 7
Hamilton 9
Sainz 8
Verstappen 9
Ricciardo 6
Kvyat 7
Grosjean 7
Maldonado 5
Massa 7
Bottas 8
Vettel 10
Raikkonen 7
Alonso 7
Button 7
Ericsson 6
Nasr 2
Perez 6
Hulkenberg 6
Merhi 5

They’re being objective to the point of insanity...🤦
Did they use the Stars and Stripes as a napkin before scribbling these scores down?🤣

Give me a break. Rosberg actually had a better race than Hamilton...
First off, his team absolutely screwed him over with the Safety Car timing. They pulled him into the pits way earlier than Hamilton—way more chaotic traffic than what Lewis dealt with, if I recall correctly. He had to clear Massa, Ricciardo, and whoever else was in front, yet he still managed to close the gap to Hamilton just as fast, if not faster.
And more importantly, he started behind Vettel and finished right on Hamilton's tail. So he didn't lose ground from the grid, whereas Hamilton...
Plus, I honestly feel like if the race went another 3 or 4 laps, he probably would've overtaken him. Even without the pit lane disaster, I wouldn't be surprised if he caught Lewis...

As for Kimi and all the nonsense he dealt with? Not even worth discussing. Honestly, after the restart, he might have actually driven the best race out of everyone behind the Safety Car...
Sure, it makes sense that Vettel stayed ahead because his qualifying and start were miles better than Kimi's, but it wouldn't be a stretch if they'd given them the same rating...
But there is absolutely no way in hell Kimi belongs in the same group as those other 7s...

stormybadger8 said:They’re being objective to the point of insanity...🤦
Did they use the Stars and Stripes as a napkin before scribbling these scores down?🤣

Give me a break. Rosberg actually had a better race than Hamilton...
First off, his team absolutely screwed him over with the Safety Car timing. They pulled him into the pits way earlier than Hamilton—way more chaotic traffic than what Lewis dealt with, if I recall correctly. He had to clear Massa, Ricciardo, and whoever else was in front, yet he still managed to close the gap to Hamilton just as fast, if not faster.
And more importantly, he started behind Vettel and finished right on Hamilton's tail. So he didn't lose ground from the grid, whereas Hamilton...
Plus, I honestly feel like if the race went another 3 or 4 laps, he probably would've overtaken him. Even without the pit lane disaster, I wouldn't be surprised if he caught Lewis...

As for Kimi and all the nonsense he dealt with? Not even worth discussing. Honestly, after the restart, he might have actually driven the best race out of everyone behind the Safety Car...
Sure, it makes sense that Vettel stayed ahead because his qualifying and start were miles better than Kimi's, but it wouldn't be a stretch if they'd given them the same rating...
But there is absolutely no way in hell Kimi belongs in the same group as those other 7s...

Please, don't shoot the messenger.
I am merely passing along their specific evaluations, nothing more. 🙂

stormybadger8 said:They’re being objective to the point of insanity...🤦
Did they use the Stars and Stripes as a napkin before scribbling these scores down?🤣

Give me a break. Rosberg actually had a better race than Hamilton...
First off, his team absolutely screwed him over with the Safety Car timing. They pulled him into the pits way earlier than Hamilton—way more chaotic traffic than what Lewis dealt with, if I recall correctly. He had to clear Massa, Ricciardo, and whoever else was in front, yet he still managed to close the gap to Hamilton just as fast, if not faster.
And more importantly, he started behind Vettel and finished right on Hamilton's tail. So he didn't lose ground from the grid, whereas Hamilton...
Plus, I honestly feel like if the race went another 3 or 4 laps, he probably would've overtaken him. Even without the pit lane disaster, I wouldn't be surprised if he caught Lewis...

As for Kimi and all the nonsense he dealt with? Not even worth discussing. Honestly, after the restart, he might have actually driven the best race out of everyone behind the Safety Car...
Sure, it makes sense that Vettel stayed ahead because his qualifying and start were miles better than Kimi's, but it wouldn't be a stretch if they'd given them the same rating...
But there is absolutely no way in hell Kimi belongs in the same group as those other 7s...

Well, he's had his week—and Schmidt is in Aston Martin too.🕺

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/b...e-9410492.html

To be honest... you're absolutely right. I think Kimi was a total class act, and honestly, there's nothing anyone could say against him or anything he did wrong.

Christian Harris11 said:To be honest... you're absolutely right. I think Kimi was a total class act, and honestly, there's nothing anyone could say against him or anything he did wrong.

Yeah, a ten, but only after the Safety Car came out...
Before that, his qualifying was a disaster, which pretty much tanked his start. That’s why he might actually end up with less than a perfect score.
But honestly, what really bugs me isn't Kimi's low rating—it's how ridiculously high they rated Hamilton.

I don't see how driving a dominant car only to lose the win is somehow better than someone dragging a heap of junk from the back of the pack up to 4th place...
I have no clue what logic these journalists are using, unless it's just pure marketing or some massive fanboy bias...

Yeah, I honestly think it's just too much for both him and Rosberg to handle; when you have a car that's that dominant, where they're just lightning fast on a single lap and have those quick pit stops, they aren't even really a threat anymore... it doesn't make any sense

stormybadger8 said:Yeah, a ten, but only after the Safety Car came out...
Before that, his qualifying was a disaster, which pretty much tanked his start. That’s why he might actually end up with less than a perfect score.
But honestly, what really bugs me isn't Kimi's low rating—it's how ridiculously high they rated Hamilton.

I don't see how driving a dominant car only to lose the win is somehow better than someone dragging a heap of junk from the back of the pack up to 4th place...
I have no clue what logic these journalists are using, unless it's just pure marketing or some massive fanboy bias...

If Hamilton was in a car that HAD to pit once more than the competition, and he wasn't even fast on the pace, how exactly was he driving a "dominant" car?

In Malaysia, Mercedes was anything but dominant...

steelmaker83 said:If Hamilton was in a car that HAD to pit once more than the competition, and he wasn't even fast on the pace, how exactly was he driving a "dominant" car?

In Malaysia, Mercedes was anything but dominant...

Not even close...
The Mercedes was still lightyears ahead of the field. The issue was just that Hamilton spent half the race driving like a grandma behind Hulkenberg, Sainz, Grosjean, and Perez (who, by the way, was moving so slow that seven cars caught him in a single lap)...
whereas with Rosberg, you could actually see that Massa and Ricciardo were the only real threats, and once Ricciardo was out of the picture, the rest of them were basically sitting ducks...
That’s exactly where Vettel managed to pull a ten-second gap that held until the very end.

Sure, an extra pit stop means fresher tires for the whole race and noticeably better lap times, but good luck setting those times when you're stuck crawling behind Hulkenberg and the rest of the pack for five laps straight...

Mercedes clearly struggled with tire degradation, and let's be honest, Hamilton isn't exactly known as a master of tire management—unlike someone like Button. Isn't there a much simpler explanation here? Perhaps Lewis simply had to drive well below the car's actual pace just to keep those tires from falling apart prematurely?

If you take a look at 2 or 3 laps of Hamilton’s onboard during his second stint on the hard compound, things might start making a bit more sense. 🙂

By the way, he cleared Perez by half a lap, and managed to jump three drivers from 5th to 2nd in just one single lap.

I guess those four laps on the fresh hard tires are still actually slower than the mediums.

Hamilton was probably better on tires than Button for most of 2012, too.

crimsonstag84 said:If you take a look at 2 or 3 laps of Hamilton’s onboard during his second stint on the hard compound, things might start making a bit more sense. 🙂

By the way, he cleared Perez by half a lap, and managed to jump three drivers from 5th to 2nd in just one single lap.

I guess those four laps on the fresh hard tires are still actually slower than the mediums.

Hamilton was probably better on tires than Button for most of 2012, too.

I vividly remember both the opening and the closing races of that season, and in both instances, Button was clearly the better performer.