CNN Indianapolis Motor Speedway 09/08/2013

darkmarlin16 said:Exactly—for *you*. For anyone with actual working eyes? Hell no. ☕

You might finally see sense once Fernando Alonso retires. ☕

darkmarlin16 said:honestly though, how are you even gonna wrap your head around those sky-high experts claiming Red Bull has been "superior" for years now? 🍿

Yeah, Red Bull Racing is definitely the powerhouse team, no doubt about it.
Like I've said a million times already, they’re easily the best crew on the grid. We're talking top-tier drivers, elite mechanics, the sharpest engineers... and honestly, they usually have the fastest car in certain areas, too.
Honestly, Horner is the weak link here. But hey, he's maturing with age, and let’s be real—he’s still outperforming most of the competition (unless you count Ross Brawn).

Since we're on the subject, you're still dissecting those random comments from the Sky broadcast.🤣

Bernie Ecclestone is basically telling Alonso he’s out at Ferrari by the end of the season, and apparently, the guy has zero clue where he's heading next. His only real options on the table right now? Marussia or Caterham. Typical.🤣

Brundle says the McLaren MP4-22 was by far the best car he ever drove...
So this advice is coming from a guy who was driving the Red Bull Racing RB7 and the Ferrari F2002 not that long ago? Real expert stuff right there. 🍿

stormybadger8 said:Yeah, Red Bull Racing is definitely the powerhouse team, no doubt about it.
Like I've said a million times already, they’re easily the best crew on the grid. We're talking top-tier drivers, elite mechanics, the sharpest engineers... and honestly, they usually have the fastest car in certain areas, too.
Honestly, Horner is the weak link here. But hey, he's maturing with age, and let’s be real—he’s still outperforming most of the competition (unless you count Ross Brawn).

Since we're on the subject, you're still dissecting those random comments from the Sky broadcast.🤣

Bernie Ecclestone is basically telling Alonso he’s out at Ferrari by the end of the season, and apparently, the guy has zero clue where he's heading next. His only real options on the table right now? Marussia or Caterham. Typical.🤣

Brundle says the McLaren MP4-22 was by far the best car he ever drove...
So this advice is coming from a guy who was driving the Red Bull Racing RB7 and the Ferrari F2002 not that long ago? Real expert stuff right there. 🍿

Can you drop a link or maybe a recording of the conversation?

Raymond Anderson4 said:If he wants to be remembered as someone who expects a royal court to cater to his every whim, then fine, let him have it.
Personally, I couldn't care less... but people are going to stop buying into this myth of him being some otherworldly driver if he keeps acting like this.
Go check out the Ford thread over on ESPN; the fans there are losing their minds over him, while his die-hard supporters are busy posting deep philosophical pleas for everyone to just give Massino a break.

lol

Look, the team decided that if they didn't nail it at Indianapolis Motor Speedway or Singapore, the season was basically a wash. Naturally, they were going to try everything they could. What else were they supposed to do—sit there like losers and watch it happen without trying anything? It didn't work. So what?

As for the fans, let them think whatever they want. The way that guy operates is such a specific psychological anomaly it belongs in a research paper; I’m not wasting my energy on it. Alonso did his job at Ferrari perfectly well. He performed exactly at the level expected of him. He didn't win any titles because others were better, fair enough. Moving on.

Well, there won't be a broadcast, so... anyway, huge congrats to our guy on the win tomorrow!

stormybadger8 said:So what are they?
Honestly, Alonso proved today he’s just a total fraud, not championship material.
That guy is destined to be second best forever... seriously, every single time he actually has a real shot and the right tools, he completely chokes.

If he couldn't even grab a Pole this time, then he's absolutely hopeless...
If I remember correctly, you were just arguing a little while ago that Alonso is faster than Massa in qualifying by half a second... which I shut down with a mountain of data proving it's more like 0.350...

Now, just do the math: look at where Massa is—who nobody is helping through qualifying—compared to Vettel, and then imagine where Alonso would be if he were 0.300 to 0.500 slower...

Based on all the rumors and everything going on, it looks like Alonso might be getting his walking papers from Ferrari soon.
If this pattern of Massa being faster continues in the races and during qualifying in Singapore, then it’s obvious: LdM ate dirt, signed a deal with Kimi, and they're getting rid of Alonso.
Finally, Massa might actually get a real chance to show what he's worth compared to that Spanish politician.

He didn't necessarily need the top spot, but if he's truly as good as everyone claims, he should have at least secured P3.

Joseph Peterson8 said:He didn't necessarily need the top spot, but if he's truly as good as everyone claims, he should have at least secured P3.

The gap to 3rd place is smaller than my damn ego.

darkmarlin16 said:The gap to 3rd place is smaller than my damn ego.

That’s true, but everything just fell apart for him during those last four years at Ferrari... if he were actually that much better and more dominant than Massa, he really should have been at least 2 or 3 tenths ahead of him.

Joseph Peterson8 said:He didn't necessarily need the top spot, but if he's truly as good as everyone claims, he should have at least secured P3.

So, you have one guy—supposedly the most talented driver on the grid, a legitimate title contender, driving the fastest car in qualifying—who ends up digging through the grass in a corner and fails to even make it out of Q2. So what does that tell you?

Mark is chasing that win tomorrow 🙂 🙂

stormybadger8 said:So what are they?
Honestly, Alonso proved today he’s just a total fraud, not championship material.
That guy is destined to be second best forever... seriously, every single time he actually has a real shot and the right tools, he completely chokes.

If he couldn't even grab a Pole this time, then he's absolutely hopeless...
If I remember correctly, you were just arguing a little while ago that Alonso is faster than Massa in qualifying by half a second... which I shut down with a mountain of data proving it's more like 0.350...

Now, just do the math: look at where Massa is—who nobody is helping through qualifying—compared to Vettel, and then imagine where Alonso would be if he were 0.300 to 0.500 slower...

Based on all the rumors and everything going on, it looks like Alonso might be getting his walking papers from Ferrari soon.
If this pattern of Massa being faster continues in the races and during qualifying in Singapore, then it’s obvious: LdM ate dirt, signed a deal with Kimi, and they're getting rid of Alonso.
Finally, Massa might actually get a real chance to show what he's worth compared to that Spanish politician.

He won't be "eternal second" since he already has two titles under his belt. So, he did manage to win something after all.

As for today, I don't see where you found some massive opportunity. Maybe for 3rd place? That's hardly a life-changing opening.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Can you drop a link or maybe a recording of the conversation?

Maybe in the next few days...
I doubt it's even on YouTube yet... they aired it during that show right before qualifying.

It looked like he was just messing around, but with Bernie Ecclestone and his statements, you can never really tell.🤷

Joseph Peterson8 said:He didn't necessarily need the top spot, but if he's truly as good as everyone claims, he should have at least secured P3.

At the very least,☕
He was faster than Mark Webber in both Q1 and Q2, and let's be real, Webber didn't exactly pull off some miracle lap in Q3...

darkmarlin16 said:I'm seeing things pretty clearly, thanks to my luck. Fernando is the best driver right now, Lewis is the fastest, and Vettel is trailing behind.

Well, stay lucky then...😍

So, if there’s any kind soul out there who hasn't put me on their ignore list yet—could someone please explain what actually happened with Luja and Kimi during Q2?🙂

stormybadger8 said:This is highly likely to be the case 👍
And accidents in Formula 1 probably play a role too... for instance, I'm convinced Fernando Alonso isn't nearly as aggressive on the edge as he was after Belgium 2012...
Dammit, those moments just stay with you—you find yourself hesitating to go full throttle every single time.
It’s just a natural part of the process in the end.

Isn't that exactly what Mika Häkkinen said after his incident—that he felt about half a second slower per lap because he had one foot on the brake?

Olivia Martin12 said:So, if there’s any kind soul out there who hasn't put me on their ignore list yet—could someone please explain what actually happened with Luja and Kimi during Q2?🙂

Lujo went off track on his first attempt—and not pretty... then he tried to nurse a lap on those garbage tires, but it just wasn't happening.
Then he popped back out right into the middle of the traffic, couldn't find enough pace, and ended up running into Adrian Sutil just as he was setting his flyer...

The Lotus cars were just slow.🤷
Maybe they were gambling and switched to a rain setup, knowing they didn't have a prayer of a high grid position.🤷
Though even that doesn't quite explain it... they simply weren't fast enough.
And the big question is why on earth did Lotus decide to put Kimi in the longer-wheelbase car at the end? He basically wasted all of Friday because he was driving a completely different beast...

But honestly, the real shockers were how insanely fast the STRs were (which, given everyone else's screw-ups, might have actually landed them in the second row if they hadn't both botched Q3), both McLarens being fast enough for Q3, and a surprisingly solid performance from Nico Hülkenberg.

brightwolf48 said:Isn't that exactly what Mika Häkkinen said after his incident—that he felt about half a second slower per lap because he had one foot on the brake?

Even Mark Webber told the BBC not too long ago that he just felt it wasn't there anymore—that he simply didn't have that same raw pace he used to have. I guess that's just what happens when you get older...

I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a fascinating race—one where Red Bull might actually lose their grip on the win.
Between Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton, there’s enough room at the start for plenty of cars to dive into that first chicane; this track is just built that way. I’m expecting a lot of lock-ups, shoving, and inevitable contact.
Plus, Lewis had such a solid setup and his lap times were looking really competitive, so I’d say he’s the quiet favorite here.

analogpilot16 said:I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a fascinating race—one where Red Bull might actually lose their grip on the win.
Between Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton, there’s enough room at the start for plenty of cars to dive into that first chicane; this track is just built that way. I’m expecting a lot of lock-ups, shoving, and inevitable contact.
Plus, Lewis had such a solid setup and his lap times were looking really competitive, so I’d say he’s the quiet favorite here.

If Sebastian Vettel doesn't nail the getaway, he's in trouble because his top-end speed is just pathetic compared to the rest of the pack; if he slips up even a little bit at the lights, he might find himself struggling just to grab a spot on the podium.