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

graniteharbor502 said:I am not nitpicking, truly; I am merely pointing out the blatant double standards at play here.

You don't need to point that out to me since I don't think I have any—for instance, I thought Mercedes was set up pretty fairly at Silverstone.

I don't post that often anyway, yet here you are attacking 😛

Amanda Kelly said: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.

You might be onto something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44xuZSuvX1I

If he hadn't made that mistake, Vettel would have overtaken him without much trouble, maybe even straight into the Kemmel Straight, or certainly later in the opening laps.

Jason Campbell70 said:It’s easy enough being a big shot in today's Formula 1.

Or is it?

Jason Campbell70 said:You might be onto something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44xuZSuvX1I

If he hadn't made that mistake, Vettel would have overtaken him without much trouble, maybe even straight into the Kemmel Straight, or certainly later in the opening laps.

🙂

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.

I highly doubt it, honestly. Even Alonso himself admitted that Vettel was just too fast, and that he wouldn't have stood a chance even with a better starting position...

Jason Campbell70 said:It’s easy enough being a big shot in today's Formula 1.

You speaking from experience here?

😂

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.

In my opinion, Vettel was essentially in seventh gear from the jump because he intended to hunt down Hamilton immediately—maybe right after turn one, before Eau Rouge, or right after the climb... which is exactly what happened.
I'd need to see the actual telemetry to be sure, but I highly doubt his car was set up for high top speeds.

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." 😁

I find myself compelled to agree with you on this particular point.

crimsonstag84 said:You don't need to point that out to me since I don't think I have any—for instance, I thought Mercedes was set up pretty fairly at Silverstone.

I don't post that often anyway, yet here you are attacking 😛

If one were to reflect upon the various triumphs witnessed throughout this season, does it not strike you as curious how often victory seems to hinge upon the delicate, almost invisible balance of a car's technical configuration? I find myself pondering a specific instance where a driver managed to secure a win despite facing what could only be described as a sub-optimal setup during the race itself. One might consider the performance of Sebastian Vettel; there was that particular moment when his car felt fundamentally mismatched to the circuit's demands, yet through sheer tenacity and perhaps a bit of tactical wizardry, he managed to cross the finish line in first place. Is it not fascinating how human skill can occasionally compensate for a machine that simply isn't performing at its theoretical peak? It makes one wonder if we focus too much on the telemetry and not enough on the soul of the driver.

analogpilot16 said:No way—prestige would have caught up to him sooner or later. Honestly, Lewis was just a hair slower than him today; otherwise, he probably would have kept pace right up until Sebastian overtook him. To top it off, Lewis mentioned over the radio that he was pulling everything the car had, while Seb was just steadily gaining ground, inch by inch. Maybe if we'd seen a little more rain...

Which brings us to this...
Red Bull looked like maybe their worst ever in dirty air during this race. 😉
Maybe it was just Mark Webber's setup, but he literally stood zero chance against Mercedes. 😳

I was watching the live timing, and things got weird. Webber was actually faster through S1 and S3 than Mercedes—he was cutting roughly a second per lap there. But the second he closed the gap, he started losing over a second in S2. For some reason, he just couldn't hang with Mercedes through that second sector, which basically defined his whole race...

So, it's a massive question mark whether Vettel could have even managed it if he'd stayed behind Lewis.🤷

Good grief, look at all those candles🤣 popping up like ads on a podium.🙏🤣

FOM seriously needs to install AdBlock ASAP🤣.🤣🤣
They actually did a decent job editing the footage though—managed to make the activists and their whole scene practically invisible in the broadcast...

Edit:
Man, they were persistent with that one🙄.

Between Ferrari, Mercedes, and Lotus, it feels like there's always some kind of screw-up preventing them from actually putting together a perfect weekend back-to-back. Ferrari and Lotus seem to struggle through qualifying just to spend the race fighting their way through the field—meanwhile, Mercedes is an absolute monster in qualifying, though they usually end up sabotaging themselves with tire issues (even if that's improved lately).

Meanwhile, Red Bull has found that sweet spot with a perfectly balanced car—great for both qualifying and the race—and Vettel is squeezing every bit of potential out of it. That's exactly why they're sitting right where they belong: at the top.

Absolutely deserved.

I’d honestly love to pelt them with rubber bullets—just so they can finally feel a fraction of the frustration we deal with when watching idiots ruin the fun...☕

stormybadger8 said:The RB9 isn't exactly a dominant machine...

George Costanza: ...just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it.

.

4season said:Your little analyses... what exactly is Alonso supposed to do differently? Is it not enough that he’s averaging half a second faster than Massa in qualifying, or does he need to be over a full second ahead? This Ford car is built specifically for his style, and he’s squeezing every ounce of performance out of it during qualifying. Honestly, I think anyone else—especially someone like Vettel—would have been an absolute disaster in this Ford...

I have a feeling Logan Sargeant is going to absolutely wreck JPMorgan Chase.