US Grand Prix (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) 08/25/2013

Jason Campbell70 said:Well...A one-man circus.As English speakers would say.

The guy took the bait.
He had the faster car on the straights. But Lewis? He clipped the curb way too hard coming out of Eau Rouge.

A gift even Felipe Massa wouldn't have passed up.

Truly nothing to see here. No spectacle at all, and certainly no "scent of blood" in the air.

Not at the start, but during the DRS detection point—just before Alonso makes his move to overtake.
He figured he’d let Alonso take the lead through Eau Rouge and Raidillon, then just use DRS to snatch the position back on the Kemmel Straight. But it looks like his math was a little off. 😁

Ah, I must have misheard or taken it out of context. My bad.

fadedwalker18 said:Sebastian Vettel got his due, so don't you worry...

I got slapped with a penalty just for saying it was trash... but apparently, I can't even trust the Vettel fans running this forum leadership...

David Parker44 said:I got slapped with a penalty just for saying it was trash... but apparently, I can't even trust the Vettel fans running this forum leadership...

Watch your mouth next time and try being decent, you homo.

Amanda Kelly said:Well, I guess I was right then.
If Lewis Hamilton had just held on for a few more laps, Alonso would have walked away with the win.

Heh, how was he supposed to defend? Mercedes was slower than a Caterham through Eau Rouge, and by the time Vettel actually hit the gas coming out of La Source after the start, you could already tell holding onto that position past Kemmel was going to be nearly impossible. 🙂

Up until Eau Rouge, I suspect Hamilton burned through most of his KERS while Vettel saved plenty since following in the slipstream was so easy. Hamilton clipped a curb a bit on the exit, which didn't help, but I don't think there was much else he could do. A 10s slipstream plus KERS and a bit more straight-line speed equals an overtake.

Maybe they leaned toward a wet setup given the higher downforce and that short RB-style 7th gear (196 miles/h limiter), or maybe they were just trying to find a balance with more downforce that they couldn't quite nail on Friday.

By the way, during those first 2-3 laps, Vettel was over a second faster in just the second sector compared to everyone else. 😂 That’s probably not just the driver at work. 😁 It looks like they absolutely nailed the setup.

crimsonstag84 said:Heh, how was he supposed to defend? Mercedes was slower than a Caterham through Eau Rouge, and by the time Vettel actually hit the gas coming out of La Source after the start, you could already tell holding onto that position past Kemmel was going to be nearly impossible. 🙂

Up until Eau Rouge, I suspect Hamilton burned through most of his KERS while Vettel saved plenty since following in the slipstream was so easy. Hamilton clipped a curb a bit on the exit, which didn't help, but I don't think there was much else he could do. A 10s slipstream plus KERS and a bit more straight-line speed equals an overtake.

Maybe they leaned toward a wet setup given the higher downforce and that short RB-style 7th gear (196 miles/h limiter), or maybe they were just trying to find a balance with more downforce that they couldn't quite nail on Friday.

By the way, during those first 2-3 laps, Vettel was over a second faster in just the second sector compared to everyone else. 😂 That’s probably not just the driver at work. 😁 It looks like they absolutely nailed the setup.

It was the exact same deal after what I think was two pit stops—one lap after Alonso, and then he's hitting a middle sector that's a whole second faster than him during those opening laps.

I mean, how are you guys even watching Formula 1? I tried tuning in on TV recently (even though the commentators drive me crazy), but then I got hit with a notification saying my subscription was canceled.🙂 I ended up hunting down a satellite feed and watched the Belgian GP on Swiss RTL, but does anyone know of another channel that isn't encrypted and ideally broadcasts in English? By the way, that race was incredibly boring...

A perfect setup was achieved. But what about those who didn't find their rhythm, yet still manage to deliver a stellar race once they finally get out there?

crimsonstag84 said:Heh, how was he supposed to defend? Mercedes was slower than a Caterham through Eau Rouge, and by the time Vettel actually hit the gas coming out of La Source after the start, you could already tell holding onto that position past Kemmel was going to be nearly impossible. 🙂

Up until Eau Rouge, I suspect Hamilton burned through most of his KERS while Vettel saved plenty since following in the slipstream was so easy. Hamilton clipped a curb a bit on the exit, which didn't help, but I don't think there was much else he could do. A 10s slipstream plus KERS and a bit more straight-line speed equals an overtake.

Maybe they leaned toward a wet setup given the higher downforce and that short RB-style 7th gear (196 miles/h limiter), or maybe they were just trying to find a balance with more downforce that they couldn't quite nail on Friday.

By the way, during those first 2-3 laps, Vettel was over a second faster in just the second sector compared to everyone else. 😂 That’s probably not just the driver at work. 😁 It looks like they absolutely nailed the setup.

If the second sector belongs to Red Bull, we already knew that.
I was expecting Mercedes to have the edge in the first and third.
As for Ferrari, I was hoping for some progress—and I got it.

If Hamilton can't hold off Vettel from pole, and even a Ferrari like this one can't crack the top two in qualifying, then we should all prepare for continued Red Bull Vettel dominance.

graniteharbor502 said:A perfect setup was achieved. But what about those who didn't find their rhythm, yet still manage to deliver a stellar race once they finally get out there?

The guy is giving them credit, and here you are, looking for something to complain about.

I'm honestly not following your logic here... they literally said the car was performing unexpectedly well on its own.

EDIT: @Amanda Kelly I think that’s just a quirk of how things work at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the opening lap (just look at Nico Rosberg back in the 2011 season—he popped out of La Source behind Sebastian Vettel and then blew past him on the Kemmel straight like it was nothing). It's a similar story with India; you've got those two turns followed by a massive straight, so the guy on pole takes all the wind resistance. If you don't pull a four-tenths gap before hitting that long stretch, you're basically sitting ducks, even with DRS.

Amanda Kelly said:You mean TBF!? Because I can't think of anyone else in that circle.

What was I getting at?
I’m actually pretty happy with how Ferrari is looking. The car was fast in every condition—really fast. As for qualifying, I think that was just a lucky break.
To pull off a Red Bull Vettel combination today, you basically needed Alonso starting on pole to have any chance.
The Ferrari was powerful (almost like it was back in Barcelona) and Alonso was excellent, but unfortunately, it just wasn't enough.

The guy won the race with one lightning-fast move (one I didn't even see coming). I'm sure there was some kind of mistake by Lewis, but regardless, Sebastian Vettel's performance was flawless. I was watching the race on German TV and couldn't make heads or tails of the commentary. All I saw was that there wasn't even a hint of anyone closing in on the leader. Maybe the kid could have even been faster.

The only way things significantly change is if the cows die.

I am in complete agreement with these observations. 👍
Alonso was brilliant, and Ferrari was quick; had they qualified higher up the grid, who knows what might have happened? But Vettel was simply on another planet yesterday. 🙏
Hamilton certainly didn't have his day... and frankly, neither did the Renault or McLaren crews.

Anyone know what happened with Massa's KERS?

Edit: Just saw online that it was malfunctioning.
So, Massa finally lands P7, despite having a partially broken car and a messy run of luck at the start.
Honestly, I think Grosjean only made it past him because of a lucky break (this time).
If that car had been working right, he could have easily shaved 10-15 seconds off his time. He needs to drive harder and be more aggressive. There’s nothing left to wait for or lose. Not at the start, and certainly not during qualifying.

Amanda Kelly said:The guy is giving them credit, and here you are, looking for something to complain about.

I am not nitpicking, truly; I am merely pointing out the blatant double standards at play here.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227...r-off-to-blame

Interesting stuff. Renault is claiming that some discarded visor film ended up blocking Kimi Räikkönen's brake duct.

crimsonstag84 said:Heh, how was he supposed to defend? Mercedes was slower than a Caterham through Eau Rouge, and by the time Vettel actually hit the gas coming out of La Source after the start, you could already tell holding onto that position past Kemmel was going to be nearly impossible. 🙂

Up until Eau Rouge, I suspect Hamilton burned through most of his KERS while Vettel saved plenty since following in the slipstream was so easy. Hamilton clipped a curb a bit on the exit, which didn't help, but I don't think there was much else he could do. A 10s slipstream plus KERS and a bit more straight-line speed equals an overtake.

Maybe they leaned toward a wet setup given the higher downforce and that short RB-style 7th gear (196 miles/h limiter), or maybe they were just trying to find a balance with more downforce that they couldn't quite nail on Friday.

By the way, during those first 2-3 laps, Vettel was over a second faster in just the second sector compared to everyone else. 😂 That’s probably not just the driver at work. 😁 It looks like they absolutely nailed the setup.

Pretty much.
Both Mercedes cars were set up for rain—basically, they chose a configuration that would provide an advantage if the weather turned. More downforce, lower top speed.
It’s possible their low downforce setup just doesn't work because of the increased tire wear.

Meanwhile, the Red Bull was dialed in for high top speed and purely dry conditions.
That kind of Red Bull setup struggles when you need to follow another car, but it's lightning fast in clean air.

Everything lined up perfectly—and we saw the result yesterday.
Vettel was 1.4 seconds clear after the first lap; the Mercedes cars weren't even a threat on the Kemmel straight (not for Vettel or Alonso), while Webber was stuck fighting through traffic.

William Bennett53 said:http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227...r-off-to-blame

Interesting stuff. Renault is claiming that some discarded visor film ended up blocking Kimi Räikkönen's brake duct.

This was already brought up yesterday.
And if you ask me, it sounds like the most standard excuse in the book.

Something was off with the brakes on Raikkonen's car from the very beginning. You could see smoke coming from his front brakes right at the start, and they were shedding an unusually large amount of carbon dust from the first lap.
And we know they showed up to Indianapolis Motor Speedway with modified front brake cooling.

PS - There is no such thing as a "brake duct radiator." 😁

via Imgflip GIF Maker

kohones and half.

Jason Campbell70 said:This was already brought up yesterday.
And if you ask me, it sounds like the most standard excuse in the book.

Something was off with the brakes on Raikkonen's car from the very beginning. You could see smoke coming from his front brakes right at the start, and they were shedding an unusually large amount of carbon dust from the first lap.
And we know they showed up to Indianapolis Motor Speedway with modified front brake cooling.

PS - There is no such thing as a "brake duct radiator." 😁

Go ahead, call that hole through which air flows to cool the disc whatever you want... 🤣

Amy Mendoza25 said:via Imgflip GIF Maker

kohones and half.

It’s easy enough being a big shot in today's Formula 1.

Jason Campbell70 said:Pretty much.
Both Mercedes cars were set up for rain—basically, they chose a configuration that would provide an advantage if the weather turned. More downforce, lower top speed.
It’s possible their low downforce setup just doesn't work because of the increased tire wear.

Meanwhile, the Red Bull was dialed in for high top speed and purely dry conditions.
That kind of Red Bull setup struggles when you need to follow another car, but it's lightning fast in clean air.

Everything lined up perfectly—and we saw the result yesterday.
Vettel was 1.4 seconds clear after the first lap; the Mercedes cars weren't even a threat on the Kemmel straight (not for Vettel or Alonso), while Webber was stuck fighting through traffic.

Sure, in the long run, maybe.
But honestly, it felt like Lewis didn't quite nail Eau Rouge. He wasn't at his limit. That’s probably why Vettel was glued to his gearbox and could pass him so easily.