2013 United States Grand Prix (Las Vegas) - April 21st

Just three more weeks until the next race.

Jason Campbell70 said:Yes, that would certainly make things much easier to follow and control.

Honestly, it’d be easier than what we’re dealing with now.😁
What’s the big deal with putting a timer on a car set to trigger every time they cross the start-finish line at the maximum possible interval within a single lap (say, 6.7 seconds)?
🤣I could build you a setup like that without breaking a sweat for less than a hundred bucks per car.
☕Besides, the current KERS system uses basically the same logic, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel—just copy it.

All you have to do is link it to the existing sensors that track whether the wing is deployed or not...
The whole automation side of this is dead simple, and even easier to manage...

Once you're in the activation zone (assuming all conditions are met), you just bump the timer up by two seconds or whatever, and boom—done.

I find myself in agreement with that proposal regarding the DRS system. It’s quite unexpected.

Yeah, things are about to get intense over at McLaren. 🍿

Finally heading out for a bike ride. 👋

PS - I'll let you know how fast the speed trap caught me. 😁

Susan Alvarez94 said:I find myself in agreement with that proposal regarding the DRS system. It’s quite unexpected.

What’s so weird about it?😁
Anyone watching F1 wants actual racing and real overtakes, not just people using a button to zip past someone in a designated zone.🙄

Screw the people who only watch F1 occasionally—it's supposed to be fun seeing someone actually fly past another driver on track. That's what makes it a "good show," as Bernie used to say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgT4za3iX74

Alright, look—tbf, the video quality is absolute garbage, but if you squint at the 21-22 second mark right when Alonso hits the corner, you can already tell the DRS wasn't even working yet. We seriously need to get this sorted out. 😉

shadowstag10 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgT4za3iX74

Alright, look—tbf, the video quality is absolute garbage, but if you squint at the 21-22 second mark right when Alonso hits the corner, you can already tell the DRS wasn't even working yet. We seriously need to get this sorted out. 😉

Yeah, looks like it stayed open after he passed Rosberg... though the footage is so bad I'm honestly not even sure if it was open or not.🤷
With Ferrari, it's always a pain to tell because of that white paint on the rear wing...

EDIT:
You're right, it's clearer later on... about two minutes in...
It definitely stayed locked after passing Rosberg. My bad, I totally misread the broadcast the first time around.🙈

Jason Campbell70 said:Yes, that would certainly make things much easier to follow and control.

🤣

shadowstag10 said:Pure bliss? Seriously? How does Mark lose two spots in half a lap? 🤣

Critics would probably argue there’s nothing wrong with letting some high-roller clean you up—especially after you’ve put them through the wringer just like Mark did—but then again, who are we to judge? 😁😁

Who on earth could possibly be a better driver than Lewis? Honestly, it’s a ridiculous question to even ask.
I’m being dead serious here—I am not joking around.

I think I caught this second bit—though my hearing isn't exactly 100% lately—but didn't Horner mention that his tires were already completely cooked? I can't say for sure, though.

Olivia Martin12 said:Cultists are such a joke... they'll find some way to spin even a crushing defeat into a victory if they try hard enough 🤣

🤣

stormybadger8 said:You saw how good I can be when I actually try.😍🤣

I’ve gotta say—I am completely floored. I was dead wrong. Seriously, I totally missed the mark on this one. If that stock had actually behaved the way you predicted, I wouldn't be sitting here feeling like an idiot right now. 😬🤣

And yeah, nice job on that prediction regarding the Renaults making it onto the podium. 🙏

Jerry Rogers6 said:Critics would probably argue there’s nothing wrong with letting some high-roller clean you up—especially after you’ve put them through the wringer just like Mark did—but then again, who are we to judge? 😁😁

Who on earth could possibly be a better driver than Lewis? Honestly, it’s a ridiculous question to even ask.
I’m being dead serious here—I am not joking around.

I think I caught this second bit—though my hearing isn't exactly 100% lately—but didn't Horner mention that his tires were already completely cooked? I can't say for sure, though.

🤣

I’ve gotta say—I am completely floored. I was dead wrong. Seriously, I totally missed the mark on this one. If that stock had actually behaved the way you predicted, I wouldn't be sitting here feeling like an idiot right now. 😬🤣

And yeah, nice job on that prediction regarding the Renaults making it onto the podium. 🙏

This guy is impossible.🙂
I've practically shredded my voodoo doll trying to fix this. I've trashed his rear wing twice now and he still won't budge.🙄
Next race, I should probably just focus on shredding tires like Massa used to.🤔
That would’ve been a much easier job.😬

A solid race to round out the Sunday afternoon.
Plenty of decent wheel-to-wheel action on track and some clean overtakes.
It’s a shame Alonso dropped out of the fight for the win so early, but honestly, that’s just how it goes—today it’s him, in three weeks it’ll be someone else, and the cycle continues.
As for Massa, I don't even know what to say; he seems to have a chronic issue with these tires, but more than that, I think he just choked. He seems to lose his nerve the second things stop going according to plan.

Vettel took a well-earned victory. That opening battle with Alonso was top-tier, though it's a pity Alonso fell away so we didn't get to see the conclusion. All things considered, a deserved win for Vettel.

Kimi—well, what can you say? He proved once again that he’s fast, consistent, and that Lotus is absolutely killing it with tire management. I’m already looking forward to Austin; if it looks anything like last year or today, I don't see any reason why he won't be fighting for the win.

Grosjean finally got his shot and he took it. Moving from eleventh to third through brilliant driving, plenty of overtakes, sharp battles, and a perfect tactical call.
Lotus, Kimi, and Romain 🙏 🙏

Three-week break 🙂

stormybadger8 said:Penalties are just dumb in general... especially all that nonsense involving gearboxes and other garbage...
They should just let them race like they do in IndyCar or whatever, and only hand out penalties for actual bullshit—like when someone intentionally rams another driver off the track and it's crystal clear what happened.

As for DRS, personally, I think they should allow it anywhere on the track, just limit it by time—kind of like how KERS worked for a set duration per lap...
That way, every car on the track has it, and they can manage their usage to defend against an attack in a DRS zone...
Maybe keep that specific DRS zone where you get a 2 or 3-second boost if you're within a second of the guy in front.

I agree on the penalties. Only punish the heavy-handed stupidity and the total nonsense; as for these gearbox changes and technicalities, if there has to be a penalty, just dock one point from the Constructors' Championship.
Regarding DRS, it isn't quite as simple as KERS. KERS gives you that instant burst at the push of a button, whereas the advantage from DRS comes from the aerodynamic drag reduction on the wing, which is most effective on straights where you have a constant flow of air hitting the rear wing.
Even if they allowed it based on time, they'd probably still use it mostly on the straights for the reasons I mentioned, and the rate of crashes and broken cars would almost certainly skyrocket.
Take these rookies, for instance; Gutierrez slammed into Sutil at the last race because he lost downforce during braking, so go ahead, give them DRS to use wherever they want.

Regardless, we saw plenty of interesting overtakes outside of the DRS zones today, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

shadowhawk24 said:A solid race to round out the Sunday afternoon.
Plenty of decent wheel-to-wheel action on track and some clean overtakes.
It’s a shame Alonso dropped out of the fight for the win so early, but honestly, that’s just how it goes—today it’s him, in three weeks it’ll be someone else, and the cycle continues.
As for Massa, I don't even know what to say; he seems to have a chronic issue with these tires, but more than that, I think he just choked. He seems to lose his nerve the second things stop going according to plan.

Vettel took a well-earned victory. That opening battle with Alonso was top-tier, though it's a pity Alonso fell away so we didn't get to see the conclusion. All things considered, a deserved win for Vettel.

Kimi—well, what can you say? He proved once again that he’s fast, consistent, and that Lotus is absolutely killing it with tire management. I’m already looking forward to Austin; if it looks anything like last year or today, I don't see any reason why he won't be fighting for the win.

Grosjean finally got his shot and he took it. Moving from eleventh to third through brilliant driving, plenty of overtakes, sharp battles, and a perfect tactical call.
Lotus, Kimi, and Romain 🙏 🙏

Three-week break 🙂

I agree on the penalties. Only punish the heavy-handed stupidity and the total nonsense; as for these gearbox changes and technicalities, if there has to be a penalty, just dock one point from the Constructors' Championship.
Regarding DRS, it isn't quite as simple as KERS. KERS gives you that instant burst at the push of a button, whereas the advantage from DRS comes from the aerodynamic drag reduction on the wing, which is most effective on straights where you have a constant flow of air hitting the rear wing.
Even if they allowed it based on time, they'd probably still use it mostly on the straights for the reasons I mentioned, and the rate of crashes and broken cars would almost certainly skyrocket.
Take these rookies, for instance; Gutierrez slammed into Sutil at the last race because he lost downforce during braking, so go ahead, give them DRS to use wherever they want.

Regardless, we saw plenty of interesting overtakes outside of the DRS zones today, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

Not sure if you caught it on film, but Massa’s tires literally disintegrated—not once, but twice.😲
It’s high time someone had a serious word with those Pirelli clowns.🙄

Three sets of tires basically exploding in a single weekend.👎
And then they have the nerve to lecture us about "safety" in F1. Total BS.🙄

Man, what happens when this goes sideways at a track like 186 miles? If someone actually gets hurt because of this, it's on them.😳

Look, it’s one thing if the tires wear down and you just lose pace. But the way Massa and Hamilton's tires completely fell apart? That is straight-up dangerous.😳

Hitting 200 mph is seriously lightning fast, honestly.

http://mladenjergovic.com/tko-ce-ga-zaustaviti-2
TBH — here’s the write-up you wanted

Congrats to Vettel and RB—clean and well-deserved.
Kudos to Lotus too. 😁

My Ferrari is pulling a classic Joe Biden move... "everything is fine, nothing is wrong...!" 🙂

In my book, messing up the strategy with Alonso like that—and then trying to gamble again with another pit stop—is unacceptable. They should’ve triggered the move maybe two laps before the planned second stop, just in case they get stuck. No sense wasting precious time.

Not fixing Massa's nose... 🙂

Di Resta did a solid job. ☕

Perez was great; he actually made my afternoon. 🤣 McLaren is finally in the mix!

Mercedes is where they belong. It's just reality. 😉

The race production feels like some budget tourist trap in Florida. Overproduced and clunky.

Vettel 🙏 if it wasn't obvious to any sane person since Brazil last year—Seb is a phenomenal driver. A stellar race, a well-earned victory.

Lotus 🙏 and here is another bonus point for Romain 🙏 damn, jumping from 11th to 3rd... and if Kimi had just performed slightly better in qualifying, who knows? Both drove an excellent race; even better strategy.

as for Resta 🙏

Lewis 🙏 just as I predicted, he finished high up there.
Still, Mercedes needs to work waaaay more on that car.

McLaren 🙏 although they messed up a few positions at the end, the Button-Perez duel was definitely the highlight of the race. Respect for the driving and the battles.

Nico—shame. He’s good, defended brilliantly at the start as much as he could, but the Mercedes is still a fairly limited car, especially when it comes to tire degradation.

Alonso—it was clear early on that he isn't a better driver than Vettel, but he isn't worse either. Otherwise, his drive was just—solid.

🙂 Ferrari

stormybadger8 said:Not sure if you caught it on film, but Massa’s tires literally disintegrated—not once, but twice.😲
It’s high time someone had a serious word with those Pirelli clowns.🙄

Three sets of tires basically exploding in a single weekend.👎
And then they have the nerve to lecture us about "safety" in F1. Total BS.🙄

Man, what happens when this goes sideways at a track like 186 miles? If someone actually gets hurt because of this, it's on them.😳

Look, it’s one thing if the tires wear down and you just lose pace. But the way Massa and Hamilton's tires completely fell apart? That is straight-up dangerous.😳

Look, I saw the whole thing. Obviously, I wasn't expecting him to be fighting for a podium after two blowouts, but my point still stands: he simply wasn't up to the task.
The Ferrari is clearly fast, but it doesn't always show its full potential in Massa's hands compared to how Alonso handles it.
As for the tire failures themselves, I’m leaning toward thinking the car's setup played a role in the punctures. It’s hard for me to swallow the idea that he suffered two identical tire failures during the same race.

I’m sitting here listening to Jenson and Marshall right now... what a load of nonsense.
I honestly don't get why they're making such a public spectacle out of Sergio.
If they'd just take a look in the mirror and actually analyze his driving during the race, they'd see he was the one who forced Sergio off at turn 4.
Sergio had the pace to stay right on his bumper, but this guy just floored it straight into the apex and left Sergio to deal with the fallout.

The only thing that felt even remotely debatable was that incident between Webber and Rosberg, where Mark jerked the wheel and caught Nico off guard—to me, that felt a bit too aggressive.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I’m sitting here listening to Jenson and Marshall right now... what a load of nonsense.
I honestly don't get why they're making such a public spectacle out of Sergio.
If they'd just take a look in the mirror and actually analyze his driving during the race, they'd see he was the one who forced Sergio off at turn 4.
Sergio had the pace to stay right on his bumper, but this guy just floored it straight into the apex and left Sergio to deal with the fallout.

The only thing that felt even remotely debatable was that incident between Webber and Rosberg, where Mark jerked the wheel and caught Nico off guard—to me, that felt a bit too aggressive.

I heard about that! If there's a link out there, please drop it.

Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yXQki6y3Nc