São Paulo Grand Prix (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) | November 12-14, 2021

graniteharbor502 said:Max is inspecting the rear wing on the Mercedes-Benz:
https://twitter.com/frd182/status/14...224311814?s=19

It almost seems as though Red Bull Racing caught them with their hands right in the cookie jar, doesn't it?

NASCAR is going to penalize Max Verstappen for that. 🤣
That’s exactly why they brought him in. And of course, Mercedes isn't to blame at all—it's all Max's fault for messing up the evidence. 🙂
I can’t believe we actually made it this far without someone losing their mind. It looks like the decision is finally in, and honestly, I’m just relieved there isn't more chaos. After everything that went down, seeing the official word come through feels like a massive weight off my shoulders. It was a wild ride, but we're finally at the finish line.

Legends. 👍
You seriously have to make this stuff up. Absolute peak fiction. 🙏
Mercedes is cheating, and now NASCAR is going to go out and investigate just so they can slap Red Bull Racing with a penalty too. 🤣

Drew Bennett68 said:It’s pretty obvious, isn't it? Red Bull is looking a little thin on cash lately.

You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

Mercedes-Benz is actually in an even stronger financial position, yet they've decided to be incredibly frugal with this season's development. They’re even running last year's chassis. They aren't bringing upgrades to every single race like they used to back in their early Formula 1 days.
Why? Because most of their budget and resources have already been shifted toward developing next year's car.
They don't have a massive corporate parent backing them like some other teams—they aren't sitting on an infinite money well.

Goodnight, everyone.

In my opinion, Max might end up getting penalized for messing around with the setup😁

Most people just head out the second they see Lewis on screen. They know there’s really no point in wasting their breath on him, and honestly, they don't want to risk looking foolish by defending him. The only ones sticking around are guys like Fernando Alonso, mostly because their egos won't let them sit back and stay quiet while things go south.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:Lance Stroll needs to get his act together. He’s been pulling this exact same stunt with Vettel quite often lately.

Someone is going to come along and flatten him into a pancake if he keeps closing things down like this.

A perfect summary of how Verstappen has been driving all season.
Never give an opponent an inch, push right past the limit, and if they don't budge? Then it's a 51g impact into the wall followed by accusations of attempted murder.

Don't play it too smart. Eventually, that attitude is going to come back to haunt him. Maybe even this season.

Finally, we're looking at a season that’s actually worth watching. No matter how it all shakes out in the end,

Jason Campbell70 said:You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

Mercedes-Benz is actually in an even stronger financial position, yet they've decided to be incredibly frugal with this season's development. They’re even running last year's chassis. They aren't bringing upgrades to every single race like they used to back in their early Formula 1 days.
Why? Because most of their budget and resources have already been shifted toward developing next year's car.
They don't have a massive corporate parent backing them like some other teams—they aren't sitting on an infinite money well.

Oh, sure, as if they aren't feeling the pressure.

They pinched pennies on this year's car, and now poor Hamilton is left to suffer the consequences.

But hey, isn't that all just part of the master plan?👍

Max was absolutely tearing up the track. If Mercedes keeps maintaining this level of dominance, we’re looking at another DNF for him or Hamilton—maybe even both.

Linda Peterson43 said:They really ought to implement a rule where, in situations like this, the team gets to decide exactly when they take their penalty. Ideally, it should happen before qualifying begins... 🙂
And perhaps, if they take it on Saturday, it would result in a 3-place penalty since it's the sprint race, whereas if they wait until Sunday, it would be a 5-place penalty... 🙂
But again, I maintain that they should have to declare their intentions BEFORE qualifying starts... 🙂

Yeah, right. They might as well just let them choose which position they want to finish in at the end of the race.

Jack Kelly5 said:On the straights? I mean, he's basically glued to the bumper of the guy in front without even having to touch the steering wheel much... but I suppose Red Bull Racing is just on another level right now, I guess.

You hit the nail on the head there. Mercedes-Benz had grip everywhere you looked; it was almost surreal, like they weren't even competing in the same league.

Here’s what they messed with over the weekend:

https://twitter.com/fiagirly/status/...298648578?s=20
#F1: Per reports from Motorsport US, Lewis Hamilton’s 5th PU—while technically following homologation rules—is tuned to push certain parameters, like combustion chamber pressure, to the absolute limit, meaning it only has enough life for four GPs. Apparently, Hywel Thomas, the chief engineer at Brixworth, has prepped a 5th engine for Lewis designed to last only 1.6 miles compared to the usual 7,000-mile standard for a typical power unit. Since they can't legally swap out the approved hardware, the Mercedes engineers played around with the management strategies instead. By cranking up the turbo and messing with the combustion pressure, they’ve created a setup that could potentially squeeze out an extra 15 horsepower—perfect for grabbing pole or pulling off a pass.

So, we're looking at maybe +15 hp over the standard build. Teams always keep these kinds of tricks up their sleeves for whenever they need a Hail Mary at the end of a season.

Against this, RB doesn't stand a chance—assuming what they're saying about Honda is actually the truth.

wiredseal7 said:It happened back in the spring. After the US Grand Prix, Toto Wolff was crying about the Red Bull Racing wing flexing, and suddenly NASCAR rolls out much stricter tests. Then, right after the whining before the Baku Grand Prix, NASCAR introduces those little markers to check deflection—all while Toto threatens an appeal. In response, Red Bull Racing just brings a wing that doesn't flex at all to dodge the protests entirely.

The pit stop rule changes are just as shady—they shouldn't have touched that until the season ended—but since Toto was salty that his crew was slower, NASCAR just leveled the playing field.

On the flip side, when Red Bull Racing complained about the Mercedes front wing flexing, NASCAR didn't do a damn thing.

There's no way they're going to penalize Lewis Hamilton. When things drag on this long, it usually means they're busy cooking up some loophole or excuse to let him off easy.

Look, if the officials say everything is fine with Mercedes, then I guess it's fine. If they say something is wrong with Red Bull Racing, then it's wrong.
Unless you're trying to tell a lie by saying the officials are inconsistent?
😬

It seems some people actually believe F1 teams have bottomless pits of cash at their disposal.

Well, it is widely acknowledged that Mercedes possesses the superior machine on the grid, yet one cannot ignore that Red Bull boasts the most formidable driver in the sport. Will we ultimately witness the engineering triumph prevail, or will pure driving talent seize the glory? It shall be quite fascinating to see who emerges victorious when the dust finally settles.

Nicholas Torres37 said:In my opinion, Max might end up getting penalized for messing around with the setup😁

It’s definitely possible he’ll face a penalty, and honestly, he probably should. I’d imagine it would just end up being a warning to the team or maybe a fine somewhere in the ballpark of $50,000.

Max should have it in the bag tomorrow if he nails the start and clears Bottas early on. In clean air, I just don't see Bottas being able to keep pace with him.
I wouldn't go with the soft tires, either. Even today, his rubber was a tier above what Bottas was running, so having that better launch off the line made all the difference.

Sam Clark75 said:Tsunoda just copped two penalty points after that mess with Stroll: https://www.racefans.net/2021/11/14/...n-with-stroll/

It was deserved. Those are the kinds of overtakes where you decide to make the move before you actually do it, and then you just go for it without thinking twice.

We’re all still sitting here waiting on Lewis's penalty, even though the decision was clearly made. 😁

Or maybe they just took Max Verstappen aside for some testing to see if he actually has some supernatural strength in his hands. 🙏

Drew Bennett68 said:Well, maybe that's just how you see it.😁

🙄

Yeah, well—maybe for me and anyone else who actually expects him to do the job he was hired to do.