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

stormybadger8 said:Seriously, did you miss how close Caterham came to slamming right into RB?🙄>

I saw two drivers—to say the least, equally careless—get in each other's way for a moment.

To say the least.

stormybadger8 said:Like I said, it all comes down to the start... but unfortunately for me, Ferrari looks like the absolute powerhouse on this grid.😢
We'll see, though. Hope dies last.😁

Sure, but eventually, it dies too.

It’s worth noting that this marks the second straight PP Mercedes win.
Given that Nico Rosberg is sitting on a mere 12 points after three races, it’s basically like his championship starts tomorrow.

Respectable match-up on the PP Mercedes front, but if I’m being honest, I really don't see Nico Rosberg as one of the favorites to take the win. I’d love to be proven wrong, but my gut tells me this one belongs to either Ferrari or Sebastian Vettel. I wasn't able to catch the qualifying session, but looking at the standings, it seems the Renaults are trailing behind. 🤷😢 I can only hope we at least find ourselves fighting for a spot on the podium.

What on earth happened with Kimi during qualifying?
Given how he looked during the FP-im and over in China, I was expecting him to be much higher up the grid.
It’s not like I’m rooting against 😁 (he’s still a massive threat), but I honestly think he’s going to be much more aggressive in tomorrow's race. To be blunt, he didn't handle today's qualifying by the book; something just went sideways. I can't quite put my finger on what held him back.
On top of that, he's got some tough teams ahead of him, which makes carving out a top spot even harder.

Amanda Kelly said:What on earth happened with Kimi during qualifying?
Given how he looked during the FP-im and over in China, I was expecting him to be much higher up the grid.
It’s not like I’m rooting against 😁 (he’s still a massive threat), but I honestly think he’s going to be much more aggressive in tomorrow's race. To be blunt, he didn't handle today's qualifying by the book; something just went sideways. I can't quite put my finger on what held him back.
On top of that, he's got some tough teams ahead of him, which makes carving out a top spot even harder.

Kimi Räikkönen says his performance in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix was the maximum Lotus was capable of.

....

He denied any sudden drama occurred, noting the result simply showed the car's true one-lap speed.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106916

Buhuh, just shedding some crocodile tears here. ☕

Tomorrow's start should be pretty interesting... it’s a bummer Lewis Hamilton didn't manage to snag fourth, things would've been way more intense if he had.
I honestly don't see Mercedes making it onto the podium at all. It'll probably just be Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and Kimi Räikkönen taking those spots...

Jergović confidently asserted that Lotus/Kimi would absolutely dominate qualifying, with Alonso following right behind. Vettel was expected to be "somewhere in the mix," while The Bear needed to prove those first three races were nothing more than a fluke. 😂

Sebastian Vettel takes the win, Fernando Alonso takes second, and Lewis Hamilton will climb up the ranks. It's a damn shame about that disaster during the final practice session.

Walter Cox6 said:Jergović confidently asserted that Lotus/Kimi would absolutely dominate qualifying, with Alonso following right behind. Vettel was expected to be "somewhere in the mix," while The Bear needed to prove those first three races were nothing more than a fluke. 😂

Sebastian Vettel takes the win, Fernando Alonso takes second, and Lewis Hamilton will climb up the ranks. It's a damn shame about that disaster during the final practice session.

Vettel won't even crack the top 3

Nica really won me over 😁

I’ve been keeping an eye on things—mostly just listening in the background during practice sessions—but I caught this flash of pure determination from him at one point
It honestly hit me pretty hard 😁

edit: Who knows? Maybe it turns out he’s actually everything that Vettel definitely isn't 😁😁😛

Jerry Rogers6 said:Nica really won me over 😁

I’ve been keeping an eye on things—mostly just listening in the background during practice sessions—but I caught this flash of pure determination from him at one point
It honestly hit me pretty hard 😁

edit: Who knows? Maybe it turns out he’s actually everything that Vettel definitely isn't 😁😁😛

It’d be awesome to have another winner this season, but let's be real: Nica's chances are slim to none. They aren't exactly on good terms with Ms. Pirelli right now.

Even a driver with his pedigree can't seem to make those Pirelli tires work for him.😁

Walter Cox6 said:Jergović confidently asserted that Lotus/Kimi would absolutely dominate qualifying, with Alonso following right behind. Vettel was expected to be "somewhere in the mix," while The Bear needed to prove those first three races were nothing more than a fluke. 😂

Sebastian Vettel takes the win, Fernando Alonso takes second, and Lewis Hamilton will climb up the ranks. It's a damn shame about that disaster during the final practice session.

Everything pointed in that direction, so I don't think Jerga was off base here.
Kimi's pace during the practice sessions looked genuinely impressive, and that was true on both tire compounds.
Even the crew over at Lotus seems unsure about why there's such a massive drop-off in performance...

Tbf1, you're saying the guy used up all his sets, which might give Vettel an edge. I don't know, maybe—there's a chance Ferrari did that on purpose. If we look back at last year, Ferrari struggled right after their pit stops. People were saying they couldn't get the tires up to temperature, but what if it was actually just the initial surface layer? Like, maybe there's such a massive gap in how fast the rubber wears down that Red Bull hits that optimal "working" layer almost immediately, while Ferrari needs like three laps to get there. And honestly, it doesn't look like tire durability is even their issue this time.

Ashley Ramirez4 said:Tbf1, you're saying the guy used up all his sets, which might give Vettel an edge. I don't know, maybe—there's a chance Ferrari did that on purpose. If we look back at last year, Ferrari struggled right after their pit stops. People were saying they couldn't get the tires up to temperature, but what if it was actually just the initial surface layer? Like, maybe there's such a massive gap in how fast the rubber wears down that Red Bull hits that optimal "working" layer almost immediately, while Ferrari needs like three laps to get there. And honestly, it doesn't look like tire durability is even their issue this time.

Last year's Ferrari and this one are two different beasts. I haven't noticed any warming issues.
Fernando Alonso even admitted he pulled out of that qualifying lap near the end. They told him he was already a tenth down, and after that braking error, pushing further was just pointless. These tires aren't brand new, but they aren't shot either—especially not with this version of Ferrari.

Susan Alvarez94 said:Even a driver with his pedigree can't seem to make those Pirelli tires work for him.😁

Classic underdog behavior, haha 🤣🤣😁

Jerry Rogers6 said:Classic underdog behavior, haha 🤣🤣😁

See what happens when you say one or two things over the team radio? He’s already got ten different nicknames.
What’s that old saying... "It doesn't snow just to cover the hill, but to..."

Ashley Ramirez4 said:Tbf1, you're saying the guy used up all his sets, which might give Vettel an edge. I don't know, maybe—there's a chance Ferrari did that on purpose. If we look back at last year, Ferrari struggled right after their pit stops. People were saying they couldn't get the tires up to temperature, but what if it was actually just the initial surface layer? Like, maybe there's such a massive gap in how fast the rubber wears down that Red Bull hits that optimal "working" layer almost immediately, while Ferrari needs like three laps to get there. And honestly, it doesn't look like tire durability is even their issue this time.

There is no such thing as a tire advantage held by Red Bull over Ferrari. Not ever. And I suspect there won't be in the future, either.
If we want to discuss qualifying performance from previous seasons, or race pace, or top speed on the straights, then we have a conversation. We can even debate which circuits favor specific teams or drivers. But let me be clear: there is absolutely no inherent tire advantage held by any competitor against Ferrari.

Perez is a total legend 😂

Thomas Long7 said:No matter how much people mocked the McLaren crew recently—and believe me, they certainly did—you have to tip your hat to them when things go down like this in today's arcade-style Formula 1 🙂

They're honestly the only interesting part of this race.