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

Roger Wright94 said:Don't lecture me—go tell Valtteri Bottas's engineer (and I'm quoting him here).
And I never said the tires were at fault.
Bottas just couldn't get them up to temperature. And clearly, even the Mercedes engineers didn't have a clue, since they were working on it—and obviously, it didn't help much.

Right, because Lewis Hamilton manages to heat them up perfectly...

Driving a car isn't just turning left, right, braking, and hitting the gas.

There's definitely an art to warming up those tires—obvious stuff.

When you add it all up, it’s clear that Hamilton is the one making the difference.

That's why I'm actually stoked for this season—it's a driver's season. The real talent will step up and grab podiums while the others just struggle to keep up.

stormybadger8 said:I mean... I honestly can't tell if you're playing blind, deaf, or just straight-up trolling me here...
We've heard all sorts of nonsense—like that wild theory about how Valtteri Bottas needs to take a specific line through a corner just so he doesn't accidentally shave a tenth off Lewis Hamilton's time...
And besides the rumors about what Jean Todt was whispering in the garages, you've got Toto Wolff giving lectures to the media about how even his own Mercedes-Benz Number 2 drivers aren't allowed to attack or overtake... 🙂
Plus, let's not forget Esteban Ocon and all that maneuvering in Monaco just to stay out of the way. ☕

If anyone's acting fake or trolling, it’s definitely you—seriously. We've seen this movie before with Toro Rosso moving aside for the Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel drivers like they were invisible... so please, don't act like you suddenly became an F1 expert the moment Bottas joined Mercedes.

Jeremy Reyes4 said:It’s funny how some people just decide to rewrite history whenever it suits them—honestly, it happens more often than you'd think!🤦
Go watch the race again—it’s definitely worth a second look!

It took me just 10 seconds to find that first Google result after reading your post—super quick!

I just caught this story about the tension within the team—it’s wild how things shift so fast! It really makes you wonder what's going on behind the scenes during those high-pressure moments—just like when I used to work in tech and everything felt like it was spinning out of control at once. Definitely gives me a lot to think about regarding the upcoming season!.

Even though there were only six cars running on Bridgestones out there during the race, Rubens Barrichello told Globo that the team actually asked him to let Michael Schumacher ahead—even though the German wasn't even in the championship hunt that season!

"The team actually asked me to dial it back a bit—just so Michael Schumacher could close the gap and make the move on me," said Rubens Barrichello, who's 35 now and driving for Honda.

"Right then—in that exact moment, I just knew my time was up. That race in the States was everything," he added.

Gary Palmer8 said:Ah, right... that explains why Jean Todt used to wander into the Sauber garage back in the day just to order the drivers to hold up Jacques Villeneuve... and it's just like when Flavio told Nelson Piquet to intentionally hit the wall... or when they informed Rubens Barrichello he had to slow down just to let Michael Schumacher through during that race where only six cars were competing

But you're spot on, nobody else was getting orders quite like Valtteri Bottas... you've got a point there... with the others, things were three times worse than this...

I don't know how old you are, but even a six-year-old wouldn't be able to believe this...🙏🙏

shadowcobra89 said:I don't know how old you are, but even a six-year-old wouldn't buy that story🙏🙏

"After the meeting with Mr. Symonds and Mr. Briatore, Mr. Symonds took me aside to a quiet corner and, using a map, pointed me to the exact corner of the track where I should crash. This corner was selected because the specific location of the track did not have any cranes that would allow a damaged car to be swiftly lifted off the track, nor did it have any side entrances to the track, which would allow a Safety Marshal to quickly move the damaged car away from the track. Therefore, it was felt that a crash in this specific position would be nearly certain to cause an obstruction on the track which would thus necessitate the deployment of a safety car in order for the track to be cleared and ensure the safe continuation of the race.

Mr. Symonds also told me which exact lap to cause the incident upon, so that a strategy could be devised for my teammate Mr. Fernando Alonso. […]

During these discussions, no mention was made of any concerns with respect to the security implications of this strategy, either for myself, the public or other drivers. The only comment made in this context was one by Mr. Pat Symonds who warned me to ‘be careful,’ which I took to mean that I should not injure myself.

I intentionally caused the crash by letting go of control of the car just before the relevant corner. In order to make sure I would cause the incident during the correct lap, I asked my team several times via the radio to confirm the lap number, which I would not normally do."

Okay, maybe it wasn't Flavio—but it was definitely Symonds. 🙂 It’s unlikely Flavio knew anything about it 😁

shadowcobra89 said:I don't know how old you are, but even a six-year-old wouldn't buy that crap🙏🙏

Hold up!?

You seriously never heard about the Singapore Grand Prix 2008?

Gary Palmer8 said:If you're trying to act like a troll, you're the only one doing it here. We've seen this a million times with AlphaTauri moving out of the way for the Red Bull drivers like they're invisible... so don't pretend you haven't been following F1 since Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes...

It would be weird if they didn't move...
And no, this isn't the same situation.☕

AlphaTauri is owned by Red Bull Racing; they are literally their junior team, so obviously they’re going to move. Expecting anything else would be insane...
Anyone who actually believes fairy tales about some entrepreneur letting one of his companies sabotage the other—basically punching himself in the face—clearly isn't playing with a full deck...

On the flip side, Williams Racing isn't owned by Mercedes, and it's certainly not Force India...
That's why it's a totally different ballgame. It's not normal for Esteban Ocon to move for Lewis Hamilton in Monaco, where overtaking is basically mission impossible, especially when he goes public about being told to move, and then Toto Wolff later confirms he gave the order...
It's also not normal for Wolff to publicly lecture George Russell about how he shouldn't overtake Mercedes drivers...

And honestly, who cares what some AlphaTauri driver did?🙂
What does that have to do with the fact that Bottas is the most obedient Number 2 driver ever, used exclusively as a wingman from race to race, while his boss publicly calls him the best helper in history...🤔

Anyway, a juicy little quote popped up for all the marketing gurus out there🙂
For all those marketing types who have spent years believing the fairy tale that the Mercedes isn't a dominant car...🙂

https://www.racefans.net/2021/04/28/...in-idle-mode/?

What more do you need besides this official confirmation that Mercedes has been running their cars in "safe mode" since the start of the hybrid era just to avoid embarrassing the competition and triggering rule changes regarding the engines...
Good grief, if you read between the lines of what Paddy Lowe is saying, it turns out they already had an advantage before the first race of the season that they weren't even using, and then they found another 7 or 8 tenths during the second test...🙂
And yet, they still proceeded to dominate qualifying and races like nobody in the history of the sport...

Who knows how much extra power they're still hiding, or if they're even using their full strength today or if they're still holding back...
But sure, let's talk about how Red Bull is dominant and miles ahead of Mercedes, and how McLaren and Ferrari are super dangerous and making Mercedes tremble in fear...🙂

stormybadger8 said:

Jason Campbell70 said:They hated Alain Prost.
Then they hated Michael Schumacher.
Now they hate Lewis Hamilton.

Shouldn't we say:
Jason Campbell70 hated Fernando Alonso
Jason Campbell70 hated Lewis Hamilton
Jason Campbell70 hated Sebastian Vettel

I'm not sure why you'd put Vettel in the same breath as those F1 legends.

stormybadger8 said:Jason Campbell70 hates Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc...

Jason Campbell70 hates Max Verstappen:

Jason Campbell70 said:Max Verstappen is the best thing to happen to Formula 1 in the last ten years.

Jason Campbell70 hates Max Verstappen:

Jason Campbell70 said:Regarding Max, it feels like pure déjà vu today.
Back in 2003, a young 22-year-old Fernando Alonso lapped Michael Schumacher—who won his sixth world title that season—during the Canadian Grand Prix.

In 2017, a 20-year-old Max Verstappen lapped Lewis Hamilton—who is securing his fourth world title this season—at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Circle of Life

The kid is already a driver's driver, a superstar, and a future multi-time champion.

Jason Campbell70 hates Max Verstappen:

Jason Campbell70 said:And I'll say it again...

The guy is a bold, aggressive, arrogant jerk—exactly how Michael Schumacher was at the start of his career.

And that’s exactly why I like him.

Jason Campbell70 has been a Max Verstappen supporter since day one.
When everyone else here was busy predicting Charles Leclerc would start a long championship run any second now... only Jason Campbell70 was on the side claiming Leclerc was just a "submissive little boy" who could forget about titles as long as Max is driving in Formula 1.
People attacked me then, trying to convince me I was wrong.

By the way, Jason Campbell70 doesn't hate Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc is such a bland character that you can't even hate him properly.

stormybadger8 said:Interestingly, a rather intriguing statement has surfaced for all those marketing-driven bettors🙂
To all those marketing-driven bettors who have spent years believing the fairy tales about how the Mercedes wasn't actually a dominant car🙂

https://www.racefans.net/2021/04/28/...in-idle-mode/?

What more could anyone possibly need besides this official confirmation that Mercedes has been running their vehicles in a sort of "safe mode" since the beginning of the hybrid era, just to avoid embarrassing the competition and triggering rule changes regarding the engines...
Good grief, if you read what Paddy Lowe is saying carefully, it seems they already held an advantage before the very first race of the season—an advantage they didn't even bother to use—only to find another 7 or 8 tenths during a subsequent test🙂
And yet, regardless, they proceeded to dominate qualifying and races like no one ever has in the history of the sport...

Who knows how much reserve power they might still be holding back today, or whether they are even utilizing their full strength at this moment, or perhaps they still aren't...
But let's pivot slightly to the narrative that Red Bull Racing is dominant and miles ahead of Mercedes, or that McLaren and Ferrari are incredibly dangerous threats that Mercedes is deeply afraid of...🙂

I haven't encountered a single person in real life who disagrees with the assertion that the Mercedes car is the most dominant ever seen in Formula 1. Such people clearly only exist on TikTok, perhaps popping in to check out F1 while taking a break from reading romance novels alongside CR and LeBron James

stormybadger8 said:It would be pretty weird if they weren't moving...
And honestly, it's not even the same scenario ☕

What does any of that have to do with the fact that Valtteri Bottas is easily the most disciplined Number 2 driver ever? I mean—he’s basically used as a pure wingman race after race, and his own team boss even goes on record calling him the best support driver out there...🤔

Alright... like most people, there's really no point in trying to argue with you 🙂

But about that other part—if it's actually true, then the folks at Mercedes are just being foolish... you should just floor it and let the FIA deal with the fallout... you only live once!

shadowcobra89 said:I haven't met a single person in real life who disagrees with the idea that the Mercedes car is the most dominant thing to ever hit Formula 1. Honestly—if you find anyone who thinks otherwise, they’re probably just scrolling through TikTok during a break from reading romance novels while popping over to check out Formula 1 alongside CR and LeBron James.

The truth is, the Mercedes car hasn't been some sort of unchanging constant all these years. It isn't even the same car! The regulations have shifted drastically—it's a different game every few seasons. That massive advantage they had with their Power Unit in those early years eventually shifted toward entirely different technical areas, which you can clearly see just by looking at how the other teams performing with those engines fared.

There were certain seasons where they were absolutely crushing it—much like how McLaren was back in the late '80s—but then there were plenty of years where they weren't even close to that level of total dominance. Take 2018, for instance; they grabbed about half the wins, and for everything else, they were usually sitting right there in second place—and that's even without factoring in any random Mercedes retirements. 2017 felt pretty similar to that.

Of course it isn't some constant. This thing was being built up for years long before the hybrid era kicked in—mostly because they had all the inside info handed to them under the table. Combine that with the engineering talent they basically went out and headhunted from everyone else, and you get the kind of absolute dominance we've seen in Formula 1.

We shouldn't overlook those exclusive private sessions with the Pirelli tires, either. I mean, Bernie paid a massive premium just to get some breathing room from all that legal harassment. If they fleeced him, honestly, they got what was coming.

Robert Cox46 said:It’s definitely not a constant factor—they spent years building up an edge before the hybrid era even started because they had all those inside connections. Combine that with the top-tier engineering they’ve been poaching, and you get that massive dominance we see in Formula 1.

Yeah, plus when you pair that setup with the greatest driver of all time, it makes them incredibly tough to beat.

Gary Palmer8 said:Yeah, when you pair them with the GOAT, they’re basically unbeatable.

Spot on. I mean, the entire foundation of that car was built while Michael Schumacher was running the show.

ruggedhawk20 said:That’s spot on. After all, the whole foundation of that car was laid down back when Michael Schumacher was still the main guy driving it.

What, did Schumacher design the wheels too?

Amy Castillo4 Asks:
They spent years building that advantage before the hybrid era even started. Why? Because they had all the inside info.

That story was debunked a long time ago.
Even if that were true, clinging to the argument about the seventh (now eighth) season of hybrid power units would be a complete waste of time. For obvious reasons, wouldn't it?

Not to repeat myself:

Jason Campbell70 said:Even if that story were true—which it isn't—hybrid turbo engines were actually introduced seven seasons ago.
A couple of seasons after a rule change, sure, you could hear someone whining that Mercedes had an unfair head start on the technical regs. But seven seasons later? Still dragging up that same old story is nothing more than a confession of being unable to develop a competitive engine.
In just seven years, Honda has performed absolute miracles with their development, pulling off some incredible wins.
Renault pulled off miracles during their development phase. They actually won.
Ferrari? In qualifying for Dubai, they were nearly 1.5 seconds slower than last year. What happened?
While everyone else poured their resources into engine development, Ferrari spent all their energy hunting for loopholes in the technical regulations and looking for ways to cheat. In the short term, that strategy might have actually secured them a title—if Sebastian Vettel hadn't completely blown it back in 2018. But looking at the long game? Ferrari has tumbled down to being just the sixth of the seven serious teams currently competing in Formula 1.

Back to Ferrari and those turbo-hybrids they were so slow to grasp... It's worth noting that Ferrari was actually the very first team to get a hybrid turbo engine out on the track for testing.
Back in December 2013, we saw those clips of the Ferrari acting as a test mule for the new Power Unit, tearing through laps down at Indianapolis.
What kind of collective frenzy was going on over at the Scuderia forum? Everyone was just celebrating, riding that high from the 2014 season and the new title. 😁

Jason Campbell70 Asks:
Aerodynamics regulations have shifted quite drastically over the last seven seasons. It’s been a wild ride. First, we had noses that looked more like snowplows—complete with those bizarre, phallic-looking appendages—and now look at us. The front wing has been totally overhauled: simplified, widened, and redesigned from the ground up. Then there's the sidepod area. We went from incredibly basic setups to seeing boomerang shapes, intricate vanes, and bargeboards that just keep getting more complex by the year. How did we even get here?
Wheel hubs and blow axles—once some of the most complex designs ever seen—were essentially banned overnight. Floor designs went from being flat, seamless surfaces to being riddled with holes, slots, and rounded edges. Even the rear wing saw a massive overhaul, shifting from high and narrow to wide and low. All this, alongside a mountain of other constant tweaks to the aerodynamic regulations.
It’s almost predictable, isn't it? Mercedes remains the gold standard.

Why? Because they possess the most capable crew in the business.
Look at Adrian Newey. When he had his team behind him, he was untouchable.
From Williams, through McLaren, all the way to Red Bull—no matter how the regulations shift, Newey always finds the winning edge.
Mercedes will maintain that advantage as long as they have this specific talent pool, endless funding, and the drive to win.
Regardless of what the rulebook says.

Robert Cox46 said:We also shouldn't overlook those exclusive private Pirelli tires tests.

"Exclusive" would imply they were held for just one single team.
But Pirelli organized a test and invited two Formula 1 teams.
One was Mercedes, and the other happened to be the very team that complained the loudest about Mercedes participating in the test in the first place.

ruggedhawk20 said:That’s spot on. After all, the foundation of that car was built while Michael Schumacher was still the lead driver.

Honestly? These arguments are incredibly childish.
You don't need any of this.