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

We'll see 😁
I just hope the season doesn't end up being boring.

You think it would be boring—is that because of Red Bull Sebastian Vettel?

neonfox65 said:You think it would be boring—is that because of Red Bull Sebastian Vettel?

Boredom isn't even the issue.😁
It’s gonna be a mix of Multi 12... and a little Multi 21.😬


Cheers.🙂

I snapped this back when Vettel was still too young for me to even order a beer at the bar for him.
Mark thought buying the kid a drink was a solid investment at the time. Looking back, he clearly miscalculated.

neonfox65 said:You think it would be boring—is that because of Red Bull Sebastian Vettel?

Haha, well, since it's about Ferrari, I guess I'm thinking about Red Bull.
If Sebastian Vettel just dominates everything, I probably won't even bother watching the 2013 season.

Sam Roberts8 said:Haha, well, since it's about Ferrari, I guess I'm thinking about Red Bull.
If Sebastian Vettel just dominates everything, I probably won't even bother watching the 2013 season.

But hey—as long as we've got legends like Lewis Hamilton, Vuce, hot girls, and cold beers, there's always hope

I watched the footage from the recent race—it really makes you think about how much the technical side of the sport has evolved over the years. It’s quite a shift from when I used to watch these events as a kid—back then, everything felt so much more raw and less calculated.

🙏🙏🙏

I watched that clip—it really makes you think about how much the landscape has shifted. It’s one thing to see the data on paper, but seeing the actual movement on track is quite another—something I remember feeling back when I first started following the sport years ago.

🤣 🤣 🤣

Nathan Jones98 said:But hey—as long as we've got legends like Lewis Hamilton, Vuce, hot girls, and cold beers, there's always hope

In my opinion, the best races of the season are Monaco and Dubai.
I've been watching NASCAR for 12 years now, and I haven't seen a season as exciting as 2011.
Anyway, let's focus on China.
What are your thoughts on the results?

Are you kidding me???
Look, if you've been watching NASCAR for 12 years, then you saw 2002 and 2004. Those were actually interesting, whereas 2011 was just boring.😕

If you're saying that because Red Bull Racing was dominating, then fine, but you seriously can't claim 2002 or 2004 was more exciting.😕
Good grief, that Ford car was practically twice as dominant compared to the competition as the Red Bull Racing car was.😳
I honestly don't recall a single Red Bull Racing car lapping those near-podium guys, or races where it was just two Red Bull Racing cars and maybe one other driver in the same lap...

Back in 2002, Ford had a 1-2 finish nine times. About three-quarters of the races that season, they finished a full lap ahead of the pack, and there were even races where they were the only ones on the podium in the same lap...

And in 2004, they had eight 1-2 finishes, and again, about three-quarters of the races that year, they were finishing a lap ahead of everyone else...

Meanwhile, the Red Bull RB7 only had three 1-2 finishes, and including Malaysia, that's only 13 total...

Sure, maybe I’m just getting old and everything seemed better back in the day... but honestly, watching this today is just plain boring, especially when one team is totally dominating. Yeah, sure, there are tons of overtakes and it feels "tense," but once you realize there's a massive restriction on engine development in the background, plus they have hybrid technology, DRS, and all those other gadgets—not to mention how they have to manage every single tire type because the manufacturer intentionally makes them degrade differently—it all starts feeling fake. It's like, a driver just hits a button and suddenly has an extra 50 horsepower to blast past the guy in front in under a second. Seriously, it feels like some teenager came up with the whole concept. It has less and less to do with actual racing. Man, what a difference ten years makes.

Zachary Thompson2 said:Sure, maybe I’m just getting old and everything seemed better back in the day... but honestly, watching this today is just plain boring, especially when one team is totally dominating. Yeah, sure, there are tons of overtakes and it feels "tense," but once you realize there's a massive restriction on engine development in the background, plus they have hybrid technology, DRS, and all those other gadgets—not to mention how they have to manage every single tire type because the manufacturer intentionally makes them degrade differently—it all starts feeling fake. It's like, a driver just hits a button and suddenly has an extra 50 horsepower to blast past the guy in front in under a second. Seriously, it feels like some teenager came up with the whole concept. It has less and less to do with actual racing. Man, what a difference ten years makes.

Unfortunately, I agree. All these restrictions + the various gadgets + the tires = crap.👎
But hey, it is what it is. There's no fixing it.🤷
And regardless of the rules or whatever tech they introduce, someone always manages to build the best car, and there's always a driver who's the best in that car and ends up dominating... it's nothing new, and at the end of the day, it'll always be like that.

I think the main reason for all the constant whining is always the same...
My driver/team aren't the ones winning, so😢 the rules suck.👎

It all boils down to how many unhappy people there are. When the three biggest fanbases are all pissed off at once, you get exactly what we're seeing now.
But if they finally let engine development go and scrap the aerodynamics...
then by some miracle, Red Bull Racing (aka Chevrolet) pulls ahead in that area and starts bullying everyone again, there'll be a whole new wave of whining: "Give us back our aero and freeze the engine development!"🙂😁

Imagine if Chevrolet actually had the green light to push their engine development further—they probably would've had the best power unit on the grid...

Nathan Jones98 said:Imagine if Chevrolet actually had the green light to push their engine development further—they probably would've had the best power unit on the grid...

Nathan, were you even watching NASCAR back in the nineties? 🤷

stormybadger8 said:Are you kidding me???
Look, if you've been watching NASCAR for 12 years, then you saw 2002 and 2004. Those were actually interesting, whereas 2011 was just boring.😕

If you're saying that because Red Bull Racing was dominating, then fine, but you seriously can't claim 2002 or 2004 was more exciting.😕
Good grief, that Ford car was practically twice as dominant compared to the competition as the Red Bull Racing car was.😳
I honestly don't recall a single Red Bull Racing car lapping those near-podium guys, or races where it was just two Red Bull Racing cars and maybe one other driver in the same lap...

Back in 2002, Ford had a 1-2 finish nine times. About three-quarters of the races that season, they finished a full lap ahead of the pack, and there were even races where they were the only ones on the podium in the same lap...

And in 2004, they had eight 1-2 finishes, and again, about three-quarters of the races that year, they were finishing a lap ahead of everyone else...

Meanwhile, the Red Bull RB7 only had three 1-2 finishes, and including Malaysia, that's only 13 total...

Look, back when it was V10 engines and there was no Hybrid technology or DRS, the sport was exciting. There was more strategy and intense overtaking. Ever since they introduced DRS and Hybrid technology, passing has become too easy because drivers aren't allowed to block those trying to pass. That’s why 2011 was the most boring, while 2012 was actually pretty good. We'll see about 2013.😁

Sam Roberts8 said:Look, back when it was V10 engines and there was no Hybrid technology or DRS, the sport was exciting. There was more strategy and intense overtaking. Ever since they introduced DRS and Hybrid technology, passing has become too easy because drivers aren't allowed to block those trying to pass. That’s why 2011 was the most boring, while 2012 was actually pretty good. We'll see about 2013.😁

You're totally cherry-picking memories there! I bet your favorite years were just whenever Lewis Hamilton was absolutely crushing everyone, right? Most fans watching at home probably just saw the start, zoned out during the national anthem, and then woke up later to hear Ivica Blažičko screaming into the microphone...
Look, I've been watching NASCAR since the late 80s, and honestly, my favorite years were always the ones where "my guys"—the drivers and teams I root for—were totally dominating.
Let's be real here: ever since they introduced DRS, Pirelli tires, and that Hybrid technology, there's more passing than we've ever seen in history. Whether you think it's artificial or not doesn't really matter—the sheer number of overtakes is way higher now.

stormybadger8 said:Are you kidding me???
Look, if you've been watching NASCAR for 12 years, then you saw 2002 and 2004. Those were actually interesting, whereas 2011 was just boring.😕

If you're saying that because Red Bull Racing was dominating, then fine, but you seriously can't claim 2002 or 2004 was more exciting.😕
Good grief, that Ford car was practically twice as dominant compared to the competition as the Red Bull Racing car was.😳
I honestly don't recall a single Red Bull Racing car lapping those near-podium guys, or races where it was just two Red Bull Racing cars and maybe one other driver in the same lap...

Back in 2002, Ford had a 1-2 finish nine times. About three-quarters of the races that season, they finished a full lap ahead of the pack, and there were even races where they were the only ones on the podium in the same lap...

And in 2004, they had eight 1-2 finishes, and again, about three-quarters of the races that year, they were finishing a lap ahead of everyone else...

Meanwhile, the Red Bull RB7 only had three 1-2 finishes, and including Malaysia, that's only 13 total...

Which two years were those again? '02 and '04. 😍.
Good grief, every single Sunday used to feel like a holiday. 😂

Donna Robinson5 said:You're totally cherry-picking memories there! I bet your favorite years were just whenever Lewis Hamilton was absolutely crushing everyone, right? Most fans watching at home probably just saw the start, zoned out during the national anthem, and then woke up later to hear Ivica Blažičko screaming into the microphone...
Look, I've been watching NASCAR since the late 80s, and honestly, my favorite years were always the ones where "my guys"—the drivers and teams I root for—were totally dominating.
Let's be real here: ever since they introduced DRS, Pirelli tires, and that Hybrid technology, there's more passing than we've ever seen in history. Whether you think it's artificial or not doesn't really matter—the sheer number of overtakes is way higher now.

Look, there is more overtaking, and that’s a good thing. They had to change something because nowadays, teams try to exploit every single milliliter of airflow. That leaves nothing but "dirty air" for anyone following, making it nearly impossible to stay close through a corner. But tell me, when was the last time you saw a pass in a DRS zone that actually took your breath away? When was the last time a move felt truly uncertain? We don't get those side-by-side tire rubs at 180 mph anymore, or that nail-biting tension wondering who's going to slam the brakes first before the turn.

In my opinion, they should just let drivers defend their positions without limits. I think that would bring back the tension. Right now, what's happening in the DRS zones feels less like racing and more like a game of chess.☕

Hey, buddy 😲

Something's definitely brewing here... Sebastian Vettel is basically sitting right at the top of the list to sub in for Mark Webber at the end of the season. 😳
I’m dying to see if they actually let him get out there for a few laps during Formula 1 practice.

@Sebastian Vettel, you're totally right. They only really introduced that one-move rule back before DRS and the Pirelli tires came into play. Before that, the overtakes were way more intense, but you'd only see that kind of defensive move once per race. Honestly, I think it’s going to be a huge stretch for them to allow changing lines to defend a position, even with DRS in the mix.

When is that Friday finally coming??