2013 German Grand Prix - July 7th

stormybadger8 said:If Ferrari had actually made it into Q3, they would’ve been starting ahead of Lotus. They were clearly faster than them during qualifying, but then you have to wonder if Lotus could even keep pace with them—let alone find a way to overtake. 😉

It’s always stuck in my head. You just can't stop wondering if things could have gone differently.
Meanwhile, they’re busy defending that strategy call, of course. It’ll be a long time before we get the real story.
No, there's one thing I definitely regret. After that Q2 performance, it actually looked like we were making progress heading into Q3—which has been a massive pain point lately. I could have at least walked into the race feeling satisfied with where we stood.

stormybadger8 said:The latest reports regarding the technical direction at Ferrari have surfaced. It seems there is quite a bit of movement behind the scenes. Is the team finally finding its footing? We’ve seen enough shifts in strategy over the years to know that nothing is ever set in stone. One has to wonder if these adjustments will actually yield results on the track, or if it's just more internal restructuring. It remains to be seen how this impacts the upcoming sessions. Stability is rare in this sport, isn't it? Let's see how it unfolds.
Am I seeing things, or is Ross just losing it because of that tire change ban?😁

That’s just Ross Brawn. A total opportunist.
He’ll say whatever he needs to, won't he? Anything to secure a better position for himself—or maybe even for his team.

Even the folks over at Mercedes aren't happy about this one.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report...ce=mostpopular
And this, mind you, is all for safety. 😁

It’s obvious that Ferrari could have handled things better if I had managed to pull Alonso through to Q3. But then again, Renault really dropped the ball too, messing up Kimi's strategy by calling him into the pits at the absolute worst moment. It feels like we always end up stuck in this "so bad, so bad" loop... If both teams had just made slightly smarter strategic calls, who knows? Maybe we would have ended up exactly where we are right now anyway...

Samuel Ruiz4 said:Just wanted to flex a little here—I nailed the top three finishers in China perfectly. I am definitely placing some bets starting with the next race.

tibi, looks like you've found your teammate for next season 🙏

hope Kimi brings you nothing but good luck 😁😁

you guys aren't going to sweep both titles anyway, and maybe this single one will finally be the end of it 😁
stop whining about Mark, seriously 🙂

William Bennett53 said:Look, it’s obvious Ferrari could have handled things better if I had actually dragged Alonso into Q3. But then again, Renault screwed up too—they completely botched Kimi’s strategy by calling him into the pits at the absolute worst moment. We always end up stuck in this endless loop of "what ifs"... if both teams had just made smarter strategic calls, who knows? Maybe we’d still be looking at the exact same result we have now.

Don't tell me Kimi lost the race first to Lewis, and then to Grosjean
right from the get-go

If he had handled that more quickly, more skillfully, or just less painfully—I honestly think he would have taken the win without much trouble at all.

Grosjean was excellent in the race, holding his own against both Vettel and Kimi... if only those lucky guys got to drive races like this more often.

Emily Patel64 said:I think the harmony in the sky would have lasted quite a while...😁
(though.. Max would have been even better if Kimi wasn't biting as hard as he used to and if he weren't so mediocre. Who knows, maybe he'll manage to find some peace with them in the coming years so there's no real motivation for pointless proving things and all that jazz😁)

I actually think Ricci would be perfect for creating chaos in the garage and properly getting under the guy's skin, if they actually brought him in for a season or two😁

Just let Max deal with the maestros; Kimi is biting harder than ever😉

Emily Patel64 said:True, but he manages to do it all under the radar, stylewisejust checking off the boxes to meet contract obligations 😁
He won't baby the tires like some socialite just to struggle when trying to overtake

That isn't the Kimi we remember. Nope

But is today's Formula 1 even the one we remember? 🙂

wiredscout14 said:Let Max deal with the masters—Kimi is biting harder than ever right now. 😉

I'm just not buying it—not even close.

Is today's Formula 1 actually the sport we grew up watching? 🙂

Look, there are moments where things just get messy—take Romain's qualifying run in Monaco, for instance, or how Sergio was driving people absolutely crazy during the race itself.

Even Lewis is finally waking up, which honestly? That's a good thing. 😁

stormybadger8 said:Even if you hate them, the Ferrari was easily the best car in Germany for a long, long time...
It reminded me of the old days when they had nothing to show for it, mostly because their strategy was just abysmal...

I think you're exaggerating how fast the Ferrari actually was this week. You keep bringing up that Q2 speed, but you're completely ignoring how bad their pace was on medium tires throughout the entire weekend.
It wasn't just the race either; look at the FP-e sessions. No matter how much fuel they carried, Ferrari couldn't match the pace of the leaders. Analysts like James Allen and the younger guys pointed out that they were lagging on mediums, and I saw it with my own eyes. Honestly, if they had been slower on the yellows, it might have been easier to stomach, but for Fernando, who builds his whole weekend around Sunday performance, this is bad news.
You also mentioned that final stint.
Just take a look at the lap times Fernando was putting down.
Right after he exited the pits, he clocked that incredible 1.34:5. But when you compare those to Kimi's times, you see that Fernando was actually slower, even though he was on fresh rubber while Kimi was on used softs from two laps prior.
After that, once we hit FL, Alonso's times weren't competitive anymore.
Let’s look at laps 7 (56th), 8 (57th), and 9 (58th) of that last stint. Fernando and Kimi pitted on the same lap.
Fernando: 1.34:358, 1.34:458, 1.34:605
Kimi: 1.34:0, 1.33:767, 1.33:830
I'll say it again: Fernando was on brand new softs and Kimi was on worn ones, yet... Fernando's tires seemed to fall off a cliff after only 4 or 5 laps. Either that, or Fernando just overcooked it trying to hunt down Romain.

Raymond Anderson4 said:But I think you might be overstating things, specifically regarding Ferrari's speed this weekend... you keep bringing up Ferrari's velocity during Q2, yet you seem to overlook how sluggish their pace has been on medium tires throughout the entire weekend.
It isn't just about the race; even looking at the FP-e, the situation is clear. Regardless of the fuel load, Ferrari simply hasn't matched the pace of those leaders. Experts such as James Allen and mlad have pointed out that they are falling behind on the mediums... though, if I am being honest, I witnessed it with my own eyes as well. Would it have been better if Ferrari were merely slower on the hard compounds? Perhaps, but for Fernando, who builds his entire weekend strategy around Sunday's performance, this is quite troubling news.
Furthermore, you touched upon that final stint.
If one would just take a moment to examine the lap times Fernando was recording.
Immediately after exiting the pits, he managed those incredible 1:34.5 laps, but when you actually sit down and compare them to the times Kimi was putting up, you realize that Fernando was driving slower, despite having fresh rubber, while Kimi was out there on old softs from two laps ago.
Following that, during FL, Alonso's times were no longer competitive.
Let us look at laps 7 (56th), 8 (57th), and 9 (58th) of that last stint for comparison. Fernando and Kimi entered the pits on the same lap.
Fernando: 1:34.358, 1:34.458, 1:34.605
Kimi: 1:34.0, 1:33.767, 1:33.830
I should reiterate once more: Fernando had brand new softs, whereas Kimi was using worn ones, and yet... it appears Fernando's tires degraded significantly after only four or five laps. It is either that, or perhaps Fernando pushed too hard trying to catch Romania.

You make a valid point. That is a solid analysis.

It wasn't about chasing Roman, it was about overtaking him. 😉
He was killing it while chasing—even considering he had to dodge Marussia and Caterham just to stay on track during that lap where he was a full lap down from them between laps 52 and 56. By lap 56, he was already glued to Roman's bumper, and after that, he basically just had to match Roman's pace...
Look, you can't drive significantly faster than someone you're stuck behind unless you actually pass them.

Just check the lap times and the gaps from lap 56 onwards; then it'll make sense to you. 😉
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...nando%20Alonso

Plus, it looks like Roman was actually tasked with holding Alonso back—basically acting as a buffer so Alonso couldn't catch or overtake Kimi.
If Roman had more speed left, he probably would have saved his KERS just to keep Alonso tucked in the DRS zone, driving just fast enough to prevent the overtake for the rest of the lap.

And honestly, it makes zero sense why Alonso even pitted for mediums during the first stint. It’s not like his pace dropped or anything; if anything, he was putting up incredibly consistent times, not much slower than the guys on Soft tires (check the first stint 😉).

Compared to Kimi
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...nando%20Alonso

Where exactly am I supposed to see a difference in pace on those mediums???
The third stint was almost identical in length and pace, even if Lotus was slightly quicker... but to me, it looks like Kimi—or rather, Lotus—was way better on the restart after the SC. They obviously got their tires up to temp much faster than Ferrari, which explains why the gap closed so quickly in those first few laps.

Compared to Vettel
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...nando%20Alonso

Take another look at Alonso's third stint on the mediums...
Vettel pitted twice, so look at the times once Vettel came back out on fresh mediums...
Between laps 43 and 49... by lap 43, Alonso's tires were 18 laps old (he did 4 laps under the SC), yet Vettel pulls an insanely fast lap that's only 0.800 slower than Alonso's, despite having brand new rubber versus 19-lap-old tires. 😉
Then, by lap 44, Alonso is already pulling 0.200 ahead of Vettel. 😳
They stayed roughly neck-and-neck until Alonso's pace finally tanked toward the end of the stint around lap 25 on those tires. Until then, his times were fast and super consistent.