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

It’s honestly pretty exhausting reading all these attempts to rig the narrative—claiming that if Max wins this year with a slower race car, it somehow automatically counts as eight titles at once

Gary Palmer8 said:It is honestly quite distasteful to read these calculated attempts to frame the narrative, suggesting that if Max secures the championship this year, it will somehow be because he did it with an inferior race car, and therefore it should automatically count as eight titles all at once.

There is truly nothing more unpleasant than hearing the claim that the Mercedes is a weaker machine than the Red Bull Racing car.☕

And as for Joseph Flores15, he is actually the only one who has had the decency to admit how incredibly subjective his views are. I truly have to hand it to him for that level of honesty!

graniteharbor502 said:Honestly, nothing turns my stomach more than hearing people claim the Mercedes is slower than the Red Bull ☕

I mean, it’s wild... the exact same crowd claiming Lewis is crushing Max by 0.6s per lap in race pace are the ones insisting Red Bull is totally dominant while Mercedes is basically stuck in the same gutter as Williams 🤣 It just goes to show, nothing really surprises me anymore about these folks...

How much longer does the sun have to burn 🙏🙏🙏

Seriously, when is the GOAT going to get the kind of respect that comes with age—you know, like in other sports? It feels like an athlete actually has to lose their edge before people finally decide to love them...

shadowmarlin22 said:How much longer must we endure this bitter heat? 🙏🙏🙏

I find myself wondering, when will the GOAT finally receive the kind of reverence that usually accompanies such longevity in other sports? Is it truly necessary for an athlete to reach the twilight of their career before they are genuinely embraced by the masses? It seems we only learn to love them once their prime has slipped through our fingers...

Max is only 23 years old, after all. We really ought to wait and see if he actually earns the right to be called the GOAT.

graniteharbor502 said:Max is only 23. We'll have to see if he actually deserves all this GOAT talk.

Funny enough,
First things first—he needs to prove he can pull off a championship even when he's sitting in the best race car on the grid. Now's his chance...

shadowmarlin22 said:Funny

Honestly, if you were to even attempt to mention anyone else in that same category while he is still active and standing right there, wouldn't that be even more amusing? 👍

Joseph Flores15 said:Of course I'm trolling, but I'm just playing along with you.

I am not trolling, nor have I ever.
My posts are based on undeniable facts—whether it's looking at time gaps per lap or specific segments of the race.
I have no need for distorted facts, cheap trolling, poor comparisons, or some crystal ball bullshit.

Joseph Flores15 said:You know full well that even at its worst, Mercedes is firmly the second fastest race car, running a full second ahead of the rest of the field, aside from Red Bull Racing.

I partially agree with that assessment.

gentlemoose57 said:Perez had a penalty, plus he went off track.

Did Bottas have anything?

Yes.
A slower race car.

shadowmarlin22 said:How much longer does the sun have to burn before things change? 🙏🙏🙏

When will the GOAT finally get the respect that usually comes with age in other sports? It seems like an athlete has to completely fall off before people actually start loving them...

Formula 1 has a very specific type of fan base.

They hated Alain Prost.
Then they hated Michael Schumacher.
Now they're hating Lewis Hamilton.
And all of this is happening while those first two were—and Hamilton still is—active drivers.

What can I say... the level of hate is just exhausting.

Roger Wright94 said:"The only difference is the tires—nothing else."

Everyone is running the exact same rubber.

Tires are literally the one thing where there isn't any damn difference at all.

Gary Palmer8 said:Sure, but they didn't hand him a car that couldn't compete right out of the gate at the start of the season. Honestly, the way they played equalizer with Mercedes' team orders—or even how guys like Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, or Sebastian Vettel handled things at Red Bull Racing—is just an insult to anyone with half a brain.

Like trying to balance a checkbook when you're already broke. 🤣🤣🤣

Of course they're an insult to intelligence...
Because nobody else ever got the kind of team orders that Valtteri Bottas was handed...

I mean, hello? "Hey Valtteri, move out of the way for Lewis in Turn 8 so Lewis loses as little time as possible while you overtake him." Just brilliant. 🤦

Other drivers might get told stuff like "don't attack," "hold position behind," or "give up the spot"—and yeah, some followed them and some didn't...
But Bottas was the only one getting specific instructions on which exact corner to move in, and he did it without a single word of complaint. Everyone else at least put up a little fight or shed a tear after the race and gave those dramatic interviews.
Bottas didn't even bother with that.

Jason Campbell70 said:Formula 1 has this very specific type of fan base.

They hated Prost.
Then they hated Michael Schumacher.
Now they're hating Lewis Hamilton.
And all this while the first two were still around—and Hamilton is still driving, for that matter.

What can I say... the hate is just exhausting.

Let's be real here:
Jason Campbell70 hated Fernando Alonso
Jason Campbell70 hated Lewis Hamilton
Jason Campbell70 hated Sebastian Vettel
Jason Campbell70 hates Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc...

But since we haven't crossed paths since 2007, tell me—were you hating on Michael Schumacher back then too?😍

Jason Campbell70 is still out here hating on Sebastian Vettel ☕

darkmarlin16 said:Jason Campbell70 still hates Sebastian Vettel☕

I remember him loving him, then hating him, then loving him again, then back to hating him...
Honestly, just a super weird relationship 😁

Whether he’s currently over it or still hating him, I have no clue, but at the end of the day, it doesn't even matter...
What matters is knowing when he'll turn on Lewis Hamilton next or if he ever actually hated Michael Schumacher...

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, that’s just insulting to anyone with half a brain...
I mean, nobody else ever got hit with team orders quite like Valtteri did—and actually followed them, too...

Like, hello? "Hey Valtteri, maybe move out of the way at Turn 8 so Lewis loses as little time as possible while you overtake him..." 🤦

Sure, other drivers dealt with stuff like "don't attack," "hold position," or "let him through"—and some definitely ignored those calls—but it was different...
Only Bottas seemed to get specific instructions on exactly which corner to move in, and he did it without a single peep. Everyone else at least put up a fight or shed a tear after the race, giving those heartbreaking interviews and all that...
Bottas didn't even bother with that.

Haha... well, that explains why Jean Todt used to stroll into the Sauber garage back in the day and tell his drivers to block Jacques Villeneuve... or when Flavio told Nelson Piquet to intentionally hit the wall... or when they told Rubens Barrichello he had to slow down just so Michael Schumacher could pass during that weird 6-car race

But yeah, you're totally right—nobody else got orders quite like Bottas... though if anything, it was three times worse for the others!

Judging by the first two races, here’s how I see the current hierarchy:

Red Bull Racing and Mercedes
It's a wash. If there’s actually any gap in race pace between these two, I’d say it’s less than 0.1 seconds.
On pure qualifying pace, I think Red Bull Racing has the edge. Just slightly—maybe 0.1 or 0.2 seconds.

Mercedes is pulling away from McLaren and Ferrari by about 0.8 to 1.0 seconds per lap in race pace.

Compared to the rest of the pack (Alpine, AlphaTauri, AM), Mercedes is faster by at least 1.5 seconds a lap.

Gary Palmer8 said:Right... that’s why Jean Todt used to hang out in the Sauber garage telling drivers to hold up Jacques Villeneuve... or how Flavio told Nelson Piquet to intentionally hit the wall... or when they told Rubens Barrichello he had to slow down just to let Michael Schumacher through during a race with only six cars left.

But sure, nobody else ever got orders like Valtteri Bottas did... you're totally right... with everyone else, it was three times worse.

Yeah, right... I honestly can't tell if you're playing blind, deaf, or just straight-up trolling me here.
We've heard it all before, but the idea that Bottas was told to move at one specific corner just so he wouldn't accidentally cost Lewis Hamilton a tenth? Never heard that one.
Aside from whatever Jean Todt was whispering in garages, you've also got Toto Wolff giving public lectures through the media about how George Russell isn't even allowed to attack or overtake his own Mercedes-Benz Number 2 driver. 🙂
And don't forget Esteban Ocon dancing around in Monaco just to stay out of the way. ☕

ruggedhawk20 said:Everyone is running the exact same tires.
The rubber is really the only thing where there isn't any difference at all.

Don't lecture me on that—go tell Valtteri Bottas's engineer instead (I'm just quoting him).
And I never said the tires were the problem or to blame.
The issue was that Bottas just couldn't get them up to temperature. Apparently, even the Mercedes engineers didn't have a clue, because they were working on it and clearly weren't making much headway.

graniteharbor502 said:Only two races have passed. Can any of you honestly bet everything that Bottas won't end up on the podium or sitting in the top two during qualifying at some point later this season?

Well, you kind of answered your own question there. If it rains, nobody’s even going to notice Bottas is on the grid—unless he’s busy dodging debris from some wreck on track.

If the track stays dry, he’ll be scrambling for a podium spot because, let's face it, he’s got the fastest car in his hands right now. Once he moves to a mid-tier team in a year or two, he’ll be completely forgotten.
But all things considered, I think he’ll be happy enough with what he achieves—and when he finally hangs it up, he’ll probably feel the need to erect a 100-meter statue to Nico Rosberg. If it weren't for that, Bottas would just be another Esteban Ocon or Nico Hulkenberg... a perfectly fine, steady, mid-pack driver.

Gary Palmer8 said:aha... so that's why Jean Todt used to wander into the Sauber garage back in the day and tell the drivers to hold up Jacques Villeneuve... or how Flavio would tell Nelson Piquet to just intentionally smash into a wall...or even when they told Rubens Barrichello he had to slow down just to let Michael Schumacher through during those races where only six cars were actually competing

but yeah, I guess nobody else was getting orders like Valtteri Bottas was... you're right there... with the others, things were three times worse

It's funny how some people just make up their own version of history🤦
Just go watch the race again.