2013 Chinese Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (April 12-14)

Man, they really went all out trying to hype up Mark Webber over at Red Bull Racing 😂

It’s just so naive... honestly, so incredibly naive

stormybadger8 said:Don't go expecting too much. You'll only end up disappointed.☕
Just giving you guys an early heads-up: don't go blaming Fernando Alonso when he fails to crack the top five. It’s not his fault if the weather doesn't cooperate. 😉
You can blame the geniuses at Pirelli and Bernie Ecclestone for that one.🙄

These tires have barely done five laps... and that’s if you count the guy who actually had the guts to push them for five.

Of course, nobody's talking about this. Everyone's too busy listening to British journalists drone on about Red Bull.
So, drivers are driving like complete garbage instead of focusing on their tires. But hey, that’s totally irrelevant, right? Not at all.

And pray tell, on what basis are you basing your claims regarding Mark Webber’s massive surge and Sebastian Vettel’s inevitable win? Are they not also racing on these ultra-degradable tires?

In Vietnam Australia, we saw exactly which side—Red Bull Racing or Ferrari—destroys their rubber first. Therefore, I remain an extreme optimist regarding the likelihood of seeing both Fernando Alonso and Massa on the podium tomorrow.

stormybadger8 said:Don't go expecting too much. You'll only end up disappointed.☕
Just giving you guys an early heads-up: don't go blaming Fernando Alonso when he fails to crack the top five. It’s not his fault if the weather doesn't cooperate. 😉
You can blame the geniuses at Pirelli and Bernie Ecclestone for that one.🙄

These tires have barely done five laps... and that’s if you count the guy who actually had the guts to push them for five.

Of course, nobody's talking about this. Everyone's too busy listening to British journalists drone on about Red Bull.
So, drivers are driving like complete garbage instead of focusing on their tires. But hey, that’s totally irrelevant, right? Not at all.

I’m not usually one for messages from someone using nothing but emojis, but here’s one for you:
🤦.

That tire is from yesterday, and honestly? It's a punctured tire that Jenson Button managed to make even worse by locking up the wheel.

cosmichawk12 said:They really ought to be handing out more soft tires—these ones just feel way too hard...

If we aren't seeing at least six pit stops per race, then it’s just not quite hitting the mark for me...

😂
Man. I don't even know what's funnier—your avatar or this nonsense about the tires. 🙏

cosmichawk12 said:Man, they really went all out trying to hype up Mark Webber over at Red Bull Racing 😂

It’s just so naive... honestly, so incredibly naive

Man, you hit the nail on the head there. They really did a number on him. It was so bad, honestly, someone deserves a good smack upside the head for it.
Just look at what the crew is doing to their own driver. Two races in a row now, and this is happening to the guy who was actually supposed to be leading the championship right now.
Either they’re pure villains or just total frauds. It’s honestly hard to believe they’ve managed to pull off three championships in a row.

Brian Campbell36 said:And pray tell, on what basis are you basing your claims regarding Mark Webber’s massive surge and Sebastian Vettel’s inevitable win? Are they not also racing on these ultra-degradable tires?

In Vietnam Australia, we saw exactly which side—Red Bull Racing or Ferrari—destroys their rubber first. Therefore, I remain an extreme optimist regarding the likelihood of seeing both Fernando Alonso and Massa on the podium tomorrow.

It wasn't exactly a surprise when we heard the whining coming out of Australia regarding how terrible the tires were. Now, suddenly, it seems they’ve managed to fix the issue without any sort of major upgrade. I suspect there is much more to this than just a simple car setup adjustment. Unless they can claw back at least three or four positions on the starting grid, I simply don't see how Sebastian Vettel is going to pull off a meaningful result. He would be entirely dependent on rain or an SC to have any hope. And honestly, even if both occurred, it might still not be enough.

cosmichawk12 said:They really ought to be handing out more soft tires—these ones just feel way too hard...

If we aren't seeing at least six pit stops per race, then it’s just not quite hitting the mark for me...

🤣

Jason Campbell70 said:I’m not usually one for messages from someone using nothing but emojis, but here’s one for you:
🤦.

That tire is from yesterday, and honestly? It's a punctured tire that Jenson Button managed to make even worse by locking up the wheel.

It isn't just a puncture. That tire basically disintegrated after five laps because of massive degradation and a lock-up during braking... which then caused the puncture.
If it's considered "normal" for a tire to explode after five laps just from heavy braking, then we're all screwed.

Brian Campbell36 said:And pray tell, on what basis are you basing your claims regarding Mark Webber’s massive surge and Sebastian Vettel’s inevitable win? Are they not also racing on these ultra-degradable tires?

In Vietnam Australia, we saw exactly which side—Red Bull Racing or Ferrari—destroys their rubber first. Therefore, I remain an extreme optimist regarding the likelihood of seeing both Fernando Alonso and Massa on the podium tomorrow.

There's a tiny little difference between driving a fuel-heavy car on worn-out softs versus running a light car on fresh softs.
Besides that, there's zero chance someone pits in the first five laps and manages to come back out ahead of the leaders on mediums (let alone fighting for points). You can, however, pit in the last two or three laps and potentially snatch P1.

The only thing that ruins a strategy on mediums is a rainy start or an SC popping up right before they're scheduled to pit.
But if there's no SC during the race, the guys up front on softs have almost no shot at a podium.
The only real way one of the leaders grabs the win is if the teams orchestrate a teammate's pit stop perfectly to trigger an SC right when it suits them—ideally right after they've finished their final stop.

Amanda Kelly said:Man, you hit the nail on the head there. They really did a number on him. It was so bad, honestly, someone deserves a good smack upside the head for it.
Just look at what the crew is doing to their own driver. Two races in a row now, and this is happening to the guy who was actually supposed to be leading the championship right now.
Either they’re pure villains or just total frauds. It’s honestly hard to believe they’ve managed to pull off three championships in a row.

It's the exact same thing they did last year to the guy fighting for the title...
That's just the Red Bull way. You wouldn't understand.😁

Why is everyone ignoring the obvious? It’s clear that Sebastian Vettel is going to dominate this, while the rest of them were just trying to manufacture some artificial drama to make the race look more interesting. And as for Mark Webber, he’s clearly on another level entirely.☕

Susan Alvarez94 said:Why is everyone ignoring the obvious? It’s clear that Sebastian Vettel is going to dominate this, while the rest of them were just trying to manufacture some artificial drama to make the race look more interesting. And as for Mark Webber, he’s clearly on another level entirely.☕

If Webber actually starts from the back, he’s got zero chance at a podium. But Vettel starting 9th? He still has a shot.☕

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106731

Nico Rosberg:

"With those tires, it's less about how many laps you can go and more about how many corners you'll actually survive!"

Button Quote:

In Q3, we had one car in the garage and two cars just wandering around like 'Miss Daisy'—and yeah, I was one of them.

So, Jenson Button is officially Miss Daisy from now on.🙏 🤣

stormybadger8 said:It isn't just a puncture. That tire basically disintegrated after five laps because of massive degradation and a lock-up during braking... which then caused the puncture.
If it's considered "normal" for a tire to explode after five laps just from heavy braking, then we're all screwed.

There's a tiny little difference between driving a fuel-heavy car on worn-out softs versus running a light car on fresh softs.
Besides that, there's zero chance someone pits in the first five laps and manages to come back out ahead of the leaders on mediums (let alone fighting for points). You can, however, pit in the last two or three laps and potentially snatch P1.

The only thing that ruins a strategy on mediums is a rainy start or an SC popping up right before they're scheduled to pit.
But if there's no SC during the race, the guys up front on softs have almost no shot at a podium.
The only real way one of the leaders grabs the win is if the teams orchestrate a teammate's pit stop perfectly to trigger an SC right when it suits them—ideally right after they've finished their final stop.

"Five laps"? ☕
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykG4b7Q-xfA#t=1m13
Are we still saying "five laps"? ☕

Tires puncture. Sometimes they just fail for no apparent reason.
What happened to Sebastian Vettel in Dubai back in '11?

Qualifying sessions like this aren't even worth watching anymore. Everyone just does one single lap and calls it a day. That old tension—the thrill of seeing who can shave off a hundredth of a second over two or three laps—is dead. To make matters worse, by the final round, half the grid seems more focused on not driving at all than actually competing.
It feels like that hour or hour and a half would be better spent doing literally anything else, whether that's something actually fun, exciting, or just useful.

And someone needs to tell Bernie Ecclestone that we’re done tuning in for qualifying, and his viewership numbers are going to tank because of it. He’s the only one who can deal with these people over at Pirelli. This nonsense with the tires is definitely being done on purpose, dictated by someone behind the scenes.

stormybadger8 said:It isn't just a puncture. That tire basically disintegrated after five laps because of massive degradation and a lock-up during braking... which then caused the puncture.
If it's considered "normal" for a tire to explode after five laps just from heavy braking, then we're all screwed.

There's a tiny little difference between driving a fuel-heavy car on worn-out softs versus running a light car on fresh softs.
Besides that, there's zero chance someone pits in the first five laps and manages to come back out ahead of the leaders on mediums (let alone fighting for points). You can, however, pit in the last two or three laps and potentially snatch P1.

The only thing that ruins a strategy on mediums is a rainy start or an SC popping up right before they're scheduled to pit.
But if there's no SC during the race, the guys up front on softs have almost no shot at a podium.
The only real way one of the leaders grabs the win is if the teams orchestrate a teammate's pit stop perfectly to trigger an SC right when it suits them—ideally right after they've finished their final stop.

Let's make a bet—if someone starting on mediums pulls off a win, I'm ghosting this forum until the next race. But if someone on softs takes it, you're gone?

If an SC or rain messes with the results, the bet is off.

And you all just have to pick a fight with everything, don't you?

To be honest, he’s just trying to manufacture some optimism—hence that prediction about the soft tires falling apart almost immediately.
So, here we go again with the nonsense about some "tire that exploded after only five laps." 😵🤣

I really liked his point about that too:

stormybadger8 Asks:
There’s a subtle distinction there, isn't there? Is it driving a car on worn-out soft tires with a full tank of gas, or is it running on fresh softs with an empty tank?

Wait, hold on... didn't we just see them taking those corners much smoother?An option?Do tires perform better with a lighter car?
Oh yeah, specifically during that last race, when Adrian Sutil made that massive blunder trying to pull off a stint on the softer tires?

Let's not kid ourselves. Today was qualifying day, and Red Bull Racing completely blew it.
First, that absolute disaster with Mark Webber, and then Sebastian Vettel failing to make the cut. What a mess.
Does anyone actually think missing out on the Third Qualifying Session is some kind of achievement?
No, that’s not it. It's just damage control because they can't break into the front row.
Nothing more, nothing less. No genius strategies, no "faster option" gimmicks. Just that.
Powerless.

Then it’s a gamble, isn't it? Betting everything on a later stint with those soft tires.
So, even the ones starting on soft tires are playing it risky from lap one.
It’s just... gambling with pole position versus gambling with eighth, ninth, or tenth place... those aren't exactly the same thing, are they?

First off, he didn't go wide; he simply barreled straight into the left-hander because he approached it like an absolute amateur. Secondly, is he even allowed to change tires once he's entered the timed lap sequence, or is entering the third qualifying session effectively a guaranteed ticket to parc fermé? Because if he's forced to start on those exact same tires, he might as well forget about a decent finishing position—unless he manages to trigger a massive chain reaction collision involving the entire top ten. And even then, we're talking about the lead pack. Furthermore, if he does opt for a tire change, wouldn't someone like Hulkenberg be sitting ahead of him at the very least if no one else makes a move?🤷

It doesn't even have to go out for a timed lap. They can just stay parked in the garage the entire time if they want and still pick their starting tires.

Alex Fowler5 said:Missed Q1 and Q2. What the hell did Kimi do to get hit with a penalty?

Honestly, I think Adrian Sutil is just being a sore loser because Kimi outpaced him—I haven't actually seen what happened yet.

ps. 0723:

Force India's Adrian Sutil's race engineer tells him they've made it into Q2, though he admits it was "a bit of a struggle." The German, sitting at 14th on the times, shot back: "Kimi Räikkönen destroyed my lap. Tell the stewards."

He’s started. Or at least, I think he has. He just hasn't crossed the finish line yet.

Ferrari isn't messing around with their tire choices this year.
Lotus pulled off a win in Australia thanks to a clever strategy, but this time they’re playing it safe by sticking to the standard plan. On top of that, Kimi Räikkönen is looking at his best starting position yet.
Out of the top three teams—and those occupying the first six spots on the grid—Mercedes-Benz is the biggest tire eater, especially Lewis Hamilton.
That gives Ferrari a real shot here. A very good shot.
I just hope Romain Grosjean doesn't do anything reckless at the start. He needs a solid result, and honestly, Kimi could be in the exact same boat.

What I'm actually wondering about is what kind of tire strategy everyone sitting behind 10th place is going to pull.
Are we going to see just the top seven running on softs while the rest of the grid settles for hards? Or will things actually get interesting?