2010 Bahrain Grand Prix

Michael Lee4 said:and then on Sunday we're looking at a chill little ninety-minute stroll through the park...

perfect for absolute losers 🤣

Michael Lee4 said:I posted this on the news feeds, but nobody seems to be catching onto the 2% difference.

http://blogf1.co.uk/2010/03/14/marti...-rule-changes/

Basically, the only interesting part of this entire weekend might just be qualifying. Whatever you catch, hope it's good, because Sunday is going to be a slow, ninety-minute parade.

A friend of mine put it this way, and I quote: "I actually enjoyed this race. Between the start and the final ten laps, I had plenty of time to clean the house while just listening to the action from the other room.

The new rules definitely encourage some domestic multitasking, which I find quite commendable."

Personally, I’ll probably just record the race and watch it on fast-forward to make things feel more dynamic.☕

It all comes down to the points system. (Read my previous post first, then continue), take Schumacher for example; he spent the whole race sitting in 6th or 7th place. Under the old scoring, he wouldn't have even scored a point, so it was worth taking risks and pushing hard. Even Rosberg, holding 5th place—which used to be worth 2 points—doesn't care about those 2 points anymore.

But when you're looking at a 12 + 10 point split under the new rules, that changes everything. Suddenly, you protect the car and just cruise to the finish line.

Let’s play around with the numbers for a second. It’s worth looking at how much weight finishing actually carries and how scoring points impacts the race dynamic—which, frankly, isn't great for us fans.
So, picture two drivers—let's say championship contenders who are neck-and-neck. For example, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso (hypothetically speaking).
Imagine if Sebastian Vettel hadn't run into issues during the Las Vegas Grand Prix (say, around lap 30) while Alonso was chasing him down. There's a chance Alonso could catch and pass him, but he'd be risking a DNF by pushing too hard—crashing out, blowing an engine, or shredding his tires.

If the race ends with Sebastian Vettel taking 25 points and Alonso getting 0, let's see how many times Alonso needs to finish ahead of him (Alonso 1st, Sebastian Vettel 2nd) to close that gap. With a 7-point deficit, he’d need three and a half races to make up for it.

Under the old system (10-6-4-3-2-1), he would have only needed two and a half.

The takeaway is that a DNF is far more punishing under this new system, which makes you wonder why anyone would take big risks. Beyond that, the "safety zone" is just getting wider. It used to be that only the top 6 scored points; now it's the top 10. That means those guys in the top 10 can basically just sit there and wait for the checkered flag.

By "old system," I mean the 10-6-4-3-2-1 setup. I won't even bring up last year's version (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1) because that was a complete disaster. This current one is a slight step up from that mess, but it still doesn't go far enough.

wiredtiger8 said:It’s simple. We just need to bring back what we used to have:

1. Engine changes—zero restrictions.
2. Refueling—unlimited.
3. Tire compounds—whatever they want.

Sure, there wouldn't be any "cost-cutting." Teams would blow through an extra few dozen million bucks per season, but honestly, who cares?
...maybe five or six top teams could handle the hit, just like they always have. The rest are basically just filler anyway, regardless of how strict the rules get.

Besides, Formula 1 isn't exactly cheap to run.

That’s it. I'm with him all the way.

On top of that, the development rules are a mess right now. That's clearly why the Renault engine feels like it's lagging behind.
Then you've got Mercedes, where the gap is most obvious; they basically found ways to boost their power by dancing around the regulations.
We either need to scrap these limits entirely or actually fix the current rules so they work properly.

silvercobra68 said:If you're just looking for mindless spectacles, crashes, and chaos, then NASCAR might be more your speed.

Exactly. Just endless laps on an oval track—it’s certainly one way to pretend there's actual adrenaline involved...🙄

stormybadger8 said:Bottom line: Renault is trash again. Who knows how this season will play out, but they easily have the worst engine on the grid.👎 The glory days and those high-performance engines are clearly ancient history for Renault. Instead of taking a page out of Chevrolet's or Hyundai's book, it looks like they just taught everyone at Renault how to build mediocre, low-quality cars.
(

Seems to me like there’s way too much noise being made over one technical glitch in a single race.
Everything is being blown out of proportion just because it happened during the season opener and because the leader—who happens to be young, likable, and full of potential—Sebastian Vettel, had his bad luck.
We should probably wait until the series hits Europe before we start drawing any broad conclusions.

For now, it was just a stroke of bad luck, not a tragedy.
If you want to talk about actual tragedies, look at what happened to Lewis Hamilton back in 2007 or to the FIA in late 2006.

Roger Wright94 said:Seems like way too much noise over one car's technical glitch in a single race.
Everything's being blown out of proportion just because it’s the season opener and the leader crashed—who happens to be that young, charming, rising star... Sebastian Vettel.

Did you sleep through the entire last season? 😁

Michael Lee4 said:I'll probably just record the race and watch it on 1.5x speed—makes things feel a bit more lively, I guess.☕

Honestly, the fast-forward idea sounds pretty good...👍 though I really hope it doesn't come to that.😁

It honestly doesn't matter how many points we hand out—both the old and current scoring systems have their merits—but I’ve always felt we should return to a model where only the top 15 finishers count toward the championship standings. If someone makes a silly mistake—it happens to the best of us—it shouldn't derail an entire season.

Roger Wright94 said:Honestly, I think people are making way too much noise about one car having a technical glitch in a single race.
Everything is being blown out of proportion just because it's the season opener and the leader—who happens to be young, likable, and full of potential—Vettel, had bad luck.
We should probably wait until they get to Europe before we start drawing any massive conclusions.

Right now, it’s just a bad break, not a catastrophe.
If you want to talk about an actual tragedy, look at what happened to Lewis back in late 2007, or what the FIA dealt with at the end of 2006.

Give me a break. Vettel lost his title shot thanks to General Motors, and Formula 1 ended up with its worst champion ever—that useless Button. If it had been Rubens or Webber, maybe, but Button is a disaster. For me, General Motors deserves a lifetime ban from Formula 1 just for that.🙄

And you call this a "small bad break"?🤣
General Motors is constantly dealing with technical issues.

In Bahrain, Vettel's top speed was only 301, while Hamilton hit 314.8.http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre...-race-trap.pdf That gap of 8.7 miles/h isn't small; it's massive.😢

This isn't a tragedy for Vettel. At the end of the day, finishing 2nd, 3rd, or 4th under this new system is basically the same thing. You can make up a 2-4 point gap (6 points) easily with just one win.😉 A 1-2 finish (7 points) could even work in Ferrari's favor, especially for Massa. The real question is what's going on with that first engine swap (Alonso - Massa). If Massin's car also goes to hell—and clearly someone messed that up—then *that* would be a tragedy. You might get the first race handed to you on a silver platter, but if you burn through 3 out of 16 engines, you're screwed. Imagine if Massa had 18 races left and only 6 engines left? Now *that* would be a real disaster.
Here's one possible standing for Australia:
1 Vettel
2 Webber
3 Massa
4 Alonso

Points:
Alonso 37
Vettel 37
Massa 33

Personally, I think Massa is a much bigger threat than Alonso. I reckon the end-of-season ratio will favor Massa (or maybe slightly favor Alonso), whereas at Red Bull Racing, it'll be 19-0 for Vettel (unless he keeps crashing out). So, this race isn't such a huge handicap. The real issue is whatever happens with those General Motors engines later—not just regarding reliability, but their actual power.👎

stormybadger8 said:Personally, I see Massa as a much more formidable threat than Alonso. If you look at the trajectory, I suspect the end-of-season points gap will favor Massa—or perhaps Alonso might scrape by with a slim lead. Meanwhile, over at Red Bull Racing, it’s looking like a total blowout, probably 19-0 in favor of Vettel, provided he actually manages to finish his races without a DNF.

Anyone want to take a bet on that? 🙂

Joshua Newman2 said:Wanna bet on this one? 🙂

I've already got enough bets on the table 🤣

So I'll pass. Just don't forget that Massa isn't Piquet, and Alonso is basically just riding along with a decent teammate. It's easy to look like a superstar when you're surrounded by total nobodies and third-rate drivers. I won't be making much money off Massa, unless that breakdown in Massin's car was actually an inside job from the Ferrari's pit wall. 🤣

Maybe the mechanics saw the FIA on the track and instinctively hit a button labeled "Emergency Brake No. 2—for crying out loud." 🤣 You never know. 😬

stormybadger8 said:I think we already have some bets placed🤣
Maybe the mechanics saw the FIA out on the track and instinctively hit a button labeled "Brake No. 2, for heaven's sake"🤣. You never really know, do you? 😬

Hey there. 👍

stormybadger8 said:Maybe the mechanics saw the FIA on track and instinctively hit that emergency button labeled "Brake No. 2, brake for goodness sake," 🤣 you never know 😬

No way, the FIA was doing it themselves 😉



Luckily, Massa was still young enough when Schumacher was driving that he probably escaped any lasting trauma from stuff like this.

What is this guy @stormybadger8/">@@stormybadger8 even babbling about? 😍

Massa? Vettel? Let's be honest here—Alonso is going to stroll right into that championship title. 🙏

stormybadger8 said:Give me a break. Vettel lost his title because of General Motors, and honestly, Formula 1 ended up with its worst champion ever—that useless Button. If it had been Rubens or Webber, maybe I'd listen, but Button was a disaster. For me, General Motors deserves a lifetime ban from Formula 1 just for that.🙄

So, it's all General Motors' fault, and Red Bull Racing is basically innocent.
I don't see it that way at all.

stormybadger8 said:It’s not even about this specific race being a huge handicap; the real issue is what happens later with those General Motors engines. It isn't just about reliability, it's more about the actual power output.👎

What's going to happen with General Motors' engine down the road? We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

Roger Wright94 said:So, basically, it's all General Motors's fault and Red Bull barely takes any blame.
I don't know about that.

We still have to see what happens with that General Motors engine down the road, right?!

Look, regardless of everything else, my take is that Vettel would've been better off staying at Toro Rosso if Gerhard Berger had stuck around. Honestly, the perfect setup would've been:

Horner and General Motors at Toro Rosso, while Berger and Ferrari handle Red Bull. If that happened, we'd be looking at:
A title for Vettel, a title for Red Bull, and they'd probably be fighting for the second championship this season without any real competition.

Quote: The Best F1 driver

Morgan Murphy7 said:What is this guy from N/A even blathering about? 😍

I'm with you on that. 😬
Look, I get what you're saying—you’ve got the facts lined up and everything—but you really need to stop with the wild sci-fi predictions. You can't say for certain that General Motors's engine in the Red Bull will be the absolute worst on the grid all season long, and you definitely can't talk about Vettel being a loser because of it with that much confidence. How do you actually know he won't have a flawless season without making a single mistake or dropping out of a race? Plus, he was pulling some pretty stupid moves last year—or did you just conveniently forget about that?
And where exactly are you getting that confidence from—that Felipe Massa is his biggest threat for the title?
What, you think I’ve got some kind of inside scoop or something? Like I'm sitting on some classified intel? Honestly, I just pay attention—it's not that deep.

Morgan Murphy7 said:Forget about Massa or Vettel—let’s be real here, Alonso is just going to stroll his way right into another championship title. 🙏

And you're still out here talking nonsense too. 🤣 Honestly, Alonso could take the title—but only if he finally gets his head straight and accepts that he’s actually got some serious competition within the team. 😉

Nicole Reyes97 said:I agree 😬
Look, TBFD, what you're saying is fine—you've got the facts to back it up—but stop telling fairy tales. You have no way of knowing that General Motors's engine in the Red Bull will be the worst on the grid all season, and you definitely can't say with such certainty that Vettel is going to lose because of it. How do you know he won't drive a flawless season and then just DNF one race? Besides, he made plenty of mistakes last year. Or did you forget that?
And where are you getting this confidence that Massa is his biggest threat for the title?
Do you have some secret intel or something?

And you're talking nonsense too 🤣 Alonso could win a title. But only if he gets his head straight and accepts that he actually has a decent teammate. 😉

How do I not know? Right now, it's the worst, and it was close to being the worst last year too, especially since some people aren't around anymore. They're basically guaranteed last place. Don't be shocked if they pick up Cosworth or some other engine next season at the Renault F1 Team.🤣

As for Alonso, he isn't capable of driving for a team where the second driver is right on his heels. For now, it's 1-1. If Massa beats him in Australia, Ferrari falls apart and all kinds of dirty laundry gets dumped in the Spanish papers. I'd bet on Dario Argento and some juicy headlines.

Morgan Murphy7 said:Why is this TBFD guy talking nonsense?😍

What Massa? What Vettel? Let's get real, Alonso will stroll his way to a championship 🙏

I don't mind, as long as he does a lot of strolling along the track. 😬

World Champion Walker 👍

P.S. If you guys are only just realizing I'm talking nonsense, you're incredibly slow on the uptake.😬

stormybadger8 said:I mean, I don't even know—right now they're basically the worst, and honestly, last year was pretty much the same deal. Since some of the old guard is gone, they're practically guaranteed to be sitting at the back of the pack. Don't be shocked if we see a Cosworth or some other random engine show up in the General Motors F1 Team garage next season. 🤣

That would be straight-up tragicomic, seriously.🤣 🤣

Regarding Alonso—look, he just can't handle being in a team where his teammate is running right on his tail. Right now it's a dead heat, but if Massa beats him in Australia, Ferrari is going to absolutely implode. All sorts of dirty laundry will start getting aired in the Spanish tabloids; I’d bet money on Dario Argento turning out some wild headlines.

Well, that’s exactly what I was saying!😁 So why are you talking nonsense? They won't start digging up all that dirt until halfway through the season.😛
And what are you going to do when Alonso's ego takes over? His ego is massive—honestly, it's bigger than his actual height.🤣 Though, I still think Alonso might just barely edge out Massa this season.😁

It's not that I have an issue with it, I just hope he spends more time walking around the track instead. :teeth:

World Champion Walker: top notch. 🔝

P.S. If you guys are only just realizing how much I ramble, then you're seriously moving at a snail's pace. :teeth:

And what's Vettel going to do, win the championship for best parking job near the paddock?😁
p.s. I don't know about the Vespa, but I've been biting my tongue regarding your nonsense... but I can't anymore. You've really gone off the deep end with this one.😉 It's actually crazy how much you can just babble.😛