2021 Emilia Romagna GP (Imola) | April 16-18

stormybadger8 said:https://www.formula1.com/en/results....test-laps.html

Anything is possible, sure. But someone pulling a fastest lap nearly a full second quicker than everyone else without even having fresher tires? I find that hard to swallow...
Regardless of all the noise or Wolff complaining about how Red Bull has the fastest car and how they're struggling with this or that.
Mercedes is, without question, the fastest car on the grid...

First off, you claim Mercedes is the fastest car based on the fastest lap standings, yet you post a table where Bottas is clearly dead last, two seconds slower than Russell, driven during the exact same race window.
An interesting way to back up an opinion.

Secondly, out of the last 20 laps, Verstappen was faster in 18 of them—mostly by half a second to a full second per lap.
Hamilton was only faster in two of those (laps 50 and 60).
He knew his best shot at a fast lap would come when he cleared Norris, used the DRS and the slipstream to gain a few tenths on the straight toward the Tamburello chicane, and then squeezed every remaining ounce of life out of those tires in the next two sectors.

One single opportunity, and Hamilton took it exactly when he needed to.
Pure driving intelligence.
That's why he's the GOAT.

Alex Barnes93 said:......

Still nursing that grudge?
In the future, maybe avoid posting nonsense—whether it's about non-existent reverse gears, phantom advantages that never happened, or snarky remarks about what key figures actually said—and nobody will feel the need to correct you. Your ego might stay intact that way. 🙂

Alex Barnes93 said:It’s no wonder this PDF is just a graveyard for old forums...

Plenty of room to move. 🙂

ruggedhawk20 said:Can you please actually prove that one-second advantage for Mercedes...

Like Paula said, "based on basic logic and the facts presented," here’s the proof of that "one-second faster car":

In the last race in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton won in his Mercedes-Benz.
The McLarens and Ferraris trailed him by 46, 59, 66, and 67 seconds respectively.

Over 56 laps, that averages out to exactly seconds per lap.
So, a one-second lead per lap under dry conditions—exactly the kind of pace used by the drivers and teams Lewis was picking off at Indianapolis to climb up to P2.

If we look at the struggling teams (Alpine, AlphaTauri, etc.), we're talking 1.5 seconds per lap or even more.

Basically, Lewis was spot on when he said he had fun fighting through the field to hit P2. 🙏
He straight up admitted he enjoyed overtaking the weaklings and the bottom-feeders!

In my opinion, that’s definitely not something a seven-time champ should be bragging about.
Besides, comments like that don't exactly scream "brilliant strategist" to me.

Roger Wright94 said:So, I guess Lewis was being pretty literal when he said he had fun fighting his way up to P2. 🙏
He basically admitted he enjoyed overtaking a bunch of bottom-feeders!

In my opinion, that’s definitely not something a seven-time champion should be bragging about.
Besides, comments like that don't exactly leave me with an impression of high intelligence.

Amanda Kelly, you sound like someone from Omaha who would start chasing down Prescott if they dropped even one more spot.

Just let them be.

😁

wiredfalcon2 said:It’s time to just ignore you, man. Save yourself the trouble of quoting my posts in the future; I won't be replying anymore. Good luck.

Vicky, I actually feel bad for you. You spend all your energy hating on us, hating on Kimi, and hating on Joseph too. It honestly feels like maybe you're someone whose left brain is working while the right side is just... underdeveloped.😁😁😁

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't go off-topic. 😍

Alex Barnes93 said:If I wasn't entertained by the sheer level of delusion happening here, I wouldn't even be participating—obviously. But watching how some of you clowns would fare over on r/formula1? That's what keeps me hooked. They'd probably just claim everyone is downvote farming😁

We've already seen how people from this thread get treated on mainstream US forums. First, they get roasted just for daring to have an opinion different from the 99% of MSM sheep, then when the truth finally hits, it turns out our very own Neighbor was right all along. One guy against the entire world. That’s the kind of grit we value here—the same stuff President Mile stands for. We don't have time for parrots.

And you—since you're still a rookie around here—you actually have a chance to develop some actual backbone instead of turning into just another mindless parrot. Take this as some friendly advice.

Roger Wright94 said:In the last race in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton took the win driving for Mercedes-Benz.
The McLaren and Ferrari teams trailed him by 46, 59, 66, and 67 seconds respectively.

Over 56 laps, that works out to exactly seconds of advantage per lap.
So, we're looking at a one-second gap per lap under dry conditions—the same drivers and teams Lewis was carving through in Indianapolis on his way to P2.

Did you honestly think it made sense to use the final results from Bahrain as a benchmark for speed during the Indianapolis race?
It wasn't run under the same conditions, nor was it even held on the same continent.

Fine.

cosmicridge5 said:Amanda Kelly, any runner from Paris headed toward Omaha who drops a level should just go chase after Prescott.

Just let them be.

😁

Honestly, I'm just curious about the athletic achievements of people who think like you or Amanda Kelly... I mean, have you ever actually put effort into an organized competition—something that doesn't involve a gamepad—to talk like this about someone who is literally the greatest in history at what they do?

wiredfalcon2 said:Honestly, I haven't seen a video this brainless in ages.

So true... just absolute bottom-of-the-barrel stuff.

Jason Campbell70 said:Did you honestly think it made sense to use the Bahrain results as the gold standard for pace heading into Indianapolis?

Yeah.
Since there was only one race on the calendar before Indianapolis, it’s pretty obvious that the data from Bahrain was all we had to go on at the time.

Jason Campbell70 said:It’s not like they even drove it under the same conditions as the race in Indianapolis. They didn't even drive it on the same continent.
Understood. I'm ready to go. Give me the text, and I'll get to work.

It’s the same old story—drivers like Lewis, McLaren, and Ferrari all being compared to one another. Throughout that entire race in Indianapolis, specifically during those twenty laps where Lewis was carving his way through the field on a dry track, the conditions were basically a mirror image of what we saw in Bahrain.

Look, let's be real: most of those fastest lap times at Indianapolis happen during the final stretch of the race. That goes for the drivers mentioned, too. It’s just how it works.
Looking at the best lap times, Lewis actually has the edge here. Here’s how it shakes out:
Ricco at 2:63 seconds.
From Norr—1:55 seconds.
Sainz clocked a 1:78.
Leclerc is 1.67 seconds off.

d) It feels like overtaking is way too easy.

Taking all that into account, I’d say a one-second gap per lap is a pretty fair estimate. If I'm off, we're probably talking about a tenth or two, but honestly, it doesn't change much.

By the way, of course it isn't the gold standard.
Look, I’m not talking about the entire race at Indianapolis, so don't start throwing extra details at me. I was specifically talking about those last 20ish laps—specifically Lewis overtaking both McLaren and Ferrari. And yeah, I'm talking about Lewis's own comment that he actually found those overtakes fun, which is clearly what you're so obsessed with.

Roger Wright94 said:YES
a) Since there was only one race before Indianapolis—it’s obvious the Bahrain data was all we had to work with at the time.

b) We're looking at the same drivers here—Lewis, McLaren, and Ferrari. During those 20ish laps in Indianapolis when Lewis was making his moves, the track conditions (dry surface) were basically identical to what we saw in Bahrain.

c) Obviously, the fastest lap times in Indy were mostly set during the final few laps. That goes for everyone mentioned.
Based on best lap times, Lewis has the edge (he's faster) by this much:
over Ricco 2:63 sec
over Norr 1:55 sec
over Sainz 1:78 sec
over Leclerc 1:67 sec

d) the subjective feeling of how easy the overtakes were.

Taking all that into account, I'd say a second per lap advantage is a pretty spot-on estimate. If I'm off, maybe it's by a tenth or two—not that it changes the big picture.

Btw, obviously this isn't the gold standard.
And I'm not talking about the (entire) Indy race—don't come at me with your caveats. I'm talking specifically about those last 20ish laps and Lewis passing McLaren and Ferrari. Plus Lewis's own comment (the one you're so obsessed with) about how those passes were "fun."

Why do you keep using that quote from Lewis about the "fun" overtakes to back up your points? That sentence isn't just useless evidence—it actually completely contradicts everything you're claiming.

Of course he had fun; he actually had to work for them. Just because he said they were fun doesn't mean they were easy. In fact, they were fun *because* they were a challenge—because he had to dig deep. They weren't just mindless, boring cruises past opponents. There's nothing "fun" about that.

It's honestly pathetic to equate ease with enjoyment.

ruggedhawk20 said:Why do you insist on leaning on Lewis's comment about fun overtakes to support your points? That specific remark doesn't serve as evidence at all; if anything, the statement completely contradicts everything you are trying to argue.

It stands to reason that those overtakes were enjoyable for him, simply because they required genuine effort. If he remarked that they were fun, does that necessarily imply they were easy? Quite the opposite, actually—they were fun precisely because they were challenging, because they demanded his absolute best. They weren't just hollow, tedious moments of passing opponents, which would hold no joy whatsoever.

It is truly a rather pathetic mindset to equate ease with enjoyment, don't you think?

I find it quite entertaining to cruise down the interstate in a car with an enviable amount of horsepower and breeze past much slower vehicles. I suspect Lewis felt the same way. However, that doesn't change the reality that he was overtaking cars that were significantly slower than his own.

ruggedhawk20 said:Why do you keep leaning on that Lewis quote about "fun overtakes" to back up your point? That sentence isn't evidence; if anything, it completely contradicts what you're trying to say.
...

Lewis's comment is just an opinion, a subjective feeling. I have no idea how you think that counts as actual proof.

Here’s my take—and I'm not claiming to be right—but it felt like Lewis had a car that was a full second per lap faster than the McLaren or the Ferrari. In today's NASCAR, if you've got that kind of pace, overtaking isn't exactly a masterclass in skill (unless you're talking about Mercedes vs. Red Bull).

If you really believe Mercedes isn't a second per lap faster, then go ahead, tell me. Just try to actually back it up with something real for once.

You already said the McLaren was on par. Now we're just waiting on your take regarding Ferrari.

graniteharbor502 said:Personally, I find it pretty amusing being in a car with an enviable amount of horsepower and just cruising past much weaker vehicles on the highway. I bet Lewis had a similar feeling about it. But honestly, that doesn't change the fact that he was overtaking cars that were significantly slower than they should have been.

I guess this is basically the whole point of everything.
After all, Russell showed us exactly what that Mercedes is capable of back in Bahrain last year.

Robert Cox46 said:That’s basically the whole point here.
I mean, Russell showed us exactly how much of a joke that Mercedes car actually was back at Bahrain last year.

The point of what, exactly?

That it's fun to lose to people who suck more than you do!?

ruggedhawk20 said:What’s the actual point here?

So it's "fun" to beat someone who's clearly outmatched!?

I guess you could look at it that way.
There was all this hype about a massive charge toward second place by the end of the race.
To some people, it's just a dominant car bullying the underdog—to others, it's proof of a driver being an absolute legend.

Robert Cox46 said:Sure, you could look at it that way.
There was all this hype about a massive charge toward second place by the end of the race.
Some see it as just bullying the little guys in a dominant car—others call it pure GOAT-level driving.

Max Verstappen is in the dominant car

Lewis Hamilton is basically driving the same thing as the guy fighting Williams for P9

Robert Cox46 said:I guess you could look at it that way.
There was all this hype about that massive charge toward second place right at the finish line.
Some folks see it as just bullying the smaller teams while driving a dominant car—while others think it’s pure GOAT-level skill from the driver.

Honestly, it mostly just sounds like salty haters venting because they were already popping champagne the second Lewis hit the wall... man, I would pay good money just to see those sour faces once the race actually ended.😁

People are throwing everything at the wall to justify Mercedes' dominance... from the Bahrain race, to some vague "subjective feelings" compared to highway driving, only to circle back to yet another comparison with last year's Bahrain GP.

Interesting.

Robert Cox46 said:Besides, Russell showed us last year in Bahrain just how capable that Mercedes really is.

Is Russell driving last year's Mercedes in Bahrain really a valid benchmark for this year's Mercedes performance at Indianapolis?

Interesting.

It’s a shame we didn't have another driver in that exact same car during the Indy race. Then maybe we could use basic logic and the facts at hand to figure out the reality of the situation.
In other words—how much of this is the car, and how much is the driver?

Jason Campbell70 said:who then compare it to driving on the highway—just so they can wrap everything up by comparing it to last year's race in Bahrain.

That's interesting.

Man, it’s always hilarious when people start comparing their beat-up old cars to a NASCAR car and themselves to the drivers.

Jason Campbell70 said:People have thrown just about everything at me to try and justify Mercedes's dominance—it’s honestly getting exhausting. You get people bringing up the race in Bahrain, then pivoting to these vague, "subjective vibes" that they somehow compare to driving on a highway, only to loop right back around to comparing it all to last year's race in Bahrain again. It's the same circular logic over and over.

Interesting.

Yeah, honestly. You could take last year’s Bahrain race—or pretty much any other race since 2014, just ignore the ones where Ferrari played dirty with their engine specs—and you’d end up at the exact same conclusion. Mercedes sits at the top when you look at most of the metrics. And look, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, if we’re being real.