Canadian Grand Prix (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) July 29, 2012

"I've always had a thing for young Canadian women..."

Mostly, I don't give a damn about Canada unless it's raining.

And screw McLaren if they don't pull off a 1-2 finish here.

Michael Lee4 said:Damn, if McLaren doesn't pull off a 1-2 here, I'll eat my hat.

I'm down for a 2-3 split.😁

Unless Mark Webber decides to show up, or if Fernando Alonso and his buddy just give up after crashing into each other. ☕

Michael Lee4 said:Not unless we're looking at Mark Webber, and even then, if his finger and Fernando Alonso decide to just throw in the towel because they smashed into each other mid-race ☕

honestly, which one of those two is actually anyone right now? 😕 😁

Michael Lee4 said:mostly, screw Canada without any rain.

Locally, the forecast shows it getting warmer and warmer as we approach the weekend. And Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn't far—just a few hours' drive.

Some rain would actually be great, especially for qualifying. 😁

it's finally McLaren's turn

Fernando Alonso is looking absolutely sharp right now. Honestly, unless he hits a major mechanical failure, nothing should stand in his way. I’m calling it now: he’s finishing in the top three.

Don't even go thinking you're right...😬

So, it’s a 1-2 finish for Ferrari.

I'm afraid there's just no way for her to pull it off.😢

Fernando Alonso is absolutely on fire right now...

darkmarlin16 said:So, which one of these two actually stands out now? 😕 😁

It is clearly Sebastian Vettel, while the other is Fernando Alonso. 🤣

As for my expectations for this race, I am envisioning a scenario where Fernando Alonso secures the victory just in time for his 31st birthday, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel knock each other out of the race entirely, and Felipe Massa manages to snatch second place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, allowing everyone to head off to their well-earned vacations feeling perfectly content. 😉

The reality is that Fernando Alonso has built up such a massive lead that some people are finding this season dreadfully dull; consequently, they are sitting around wishing he would end up with zero points or suffer a DNF.

Tyler Bennett5 As I was saying:
It’s pretty obvious that Pastor Maldonado was driving like he was afraid to crack an egg.
He was braking way too early. Everyone was passing him without any trouble, it just wasn't happening for him every single time.
He gave me a quick nod as he passed by.
It might be that one over in Canada. Good old days. Pastor Maldonado.

It looks like one of the drivers—though I wonder who else might be caught up in this mess—has managed to cause a collision. 🙂

fadedwalker18 said:It looks like one of the drivers—and honestly, I’m starting to wonder if there's anyone left on this grid who hasn't been involved in one yet—just went and caused a collision. 🙂

Maybe we'll see a safety car out there this time?

It’s been quite a while since anyone has gone head-to-head with them, but we might just see that happen this weekend.

Raymond Anderson4 said:The Sauber car is actually quite impressive, but I just don't think Perez and Kamui Kobayashi possess the level of talent needed to steer a machine like that into a win.
It’s a bit like the arguments people make regarding Lotus...

@Clark: I get the feeling the McLaren drivers aren't looking for any trouble with the weather. 😁

That said, my money is on Seb for this weekend.

The Sauber car looked incredibly fast at the Hockenheimring (unless Force India was just having a terrible run of luck!?). Personally, I believe Kamui Kobayashi has what it takes to grab a victory (likely before Sergio Perez does in that Sauber), though we shouldn't overestimate just how elite the Sauber car really is. 😢

fadedwalker18 said:The Sauber car looked incredibly fast at the Hockenheimring (unless maybe Force India was just having a nightmare!?) . Personally, I think Kamui Kobayashi has what it takes to grab a win—well, before Sergio Perez does in that Sauber—but let's be real, the Sauber car still isn't quite at that elite level yet. 😢

There's zero doubt in my mind that Sauber can win. It’s all about whether they can actually nail qualifying and stay out of the Q2 scrap.

At the Hockenheimring, Kamui was in the back of the pack but still managed to shave ten seconds off Fernando Alonso's time (comparing Alonso's last pit stop at lap 41 to Kamui's at lap 43)—and we all saw that Fernando Alonso definitely wasn't exactly babying the car during those final laps.

He wasn't even pushing his absolute limit... he mentioned that getting a clean start was the priority, and after that, it all came down to tire management.
I actually agree with him because Fernando drove incredibly well up to turn 6, and then I think he intentionally backed off a bit... Seb and Jenson were consistently breathing down his neck in sectors two and three, lap after lap.
Alonso would pull away in the first sector, but through the second and third, those guys were always clawing back about half a second or so.

Looks like we might get some rain in Budapest during the weekend, especially on Sunday!!

🙂

🙂

😵

Raymond Anderson4 said:I agree. Fernando was flying up to turn 6, then I think he intentionally backed off a bit... Seb and Jenson were staying right on his tail through sectors two and three, consistently lap after lap. Alonso would hit P1 in the first sector, but those two were always clawing back about half a second through the rest of the track.

Oh, there's no doubt about it—Alonso was definitely nursing those tires.

We watched Jenson Button constantly closing the gap to Fernando Alonso, looking for any chance to use DRS.

But Fernando Alonso kept him at bay by deploying the KERS at just the right moments.

Then comes that final team radio message in Italian: "Don't worry about the tires, just push."
And boom—suddenly he's pulling a 2-3 second gap in just a few laps.

What does that say? It suggests Ferrari doesn't fully trust their own tire degradation estimates, so they pivot to an ultra-defensive tactic.

It’ll be interesting for Canada, where we're expecting 86 degrees with a chance of rain.
If we get a quick shower, a track that's already sitting at 104 degrees is going to dry out incredibly fast.

A short stint on a track that dries this quickly—especially if a downpour hits in the second half of the race—is basically a recipe for disaster.

Look, let's be real here,

It’s either going to be Kimi or Romain taking it... just a Lotus 1-2 finish. Honestly, I have no clue which one will grab the top spot.

ruggedfox28 said:Expect some rain hitting Washington, D.C. over the weekend—especially this coming Nedilja!!

🙂

🙂

😵

God help us!!!