US Grand Prix - Indianapolis Motor Speedway 09.02.2018

mellowtiger83 said:I honestly wasn't expecting anything else from you when it comes to Fernando Alonso. He’s stuck driving a total snail of a car, yet he still managed to outmaneuver Esteban Ocon in that sluggish thing. And yeah, I was definitely rooting for him during that scrap with Kevin Magnussen yesterday!
If I asked you what would’ve happened if Kevin Magnussen had pulled that move on Sebastian Vettel before the hairpin? He probably would've been thrilled.
Look, Ferrari is so fast that they’d basically have a massive slipstream going, giving them enough momentum to cruise straight into first place without even trying.🙂.

Look, at the start, Vettel and Hamilton would’ve just pulled ahead before they even hit the hairpin. There's zero chance Magnussen pulls that off. ☕
And even if I'm being optimistic—which, let’s face it, I’m not—if they decide to play stupid and try to block him, wouldn't they both just end up screwing up their own entry into the Final Qualifying Round? 🙂

It’s not even the first time Alonso has pulled this kind of nonsense out of his bag. I distinctly remember him losing his mind and acting like a total jerk toward Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, or Kimi Räikkönen just because they were lapping him. He gets these ridiculous little tantrums when he's being overtaken, and honestly, this is pretty much the same thing.
All that was missing was a little wave and a middle finger, just like what Vitaly Petrov used to pull.

mellowtiger83 said:I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what Sebastian Vettel would even do if he were dropped into a car driven by Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen. It’s a wild thought. But hey, we’ll find out eventually—once Charles Leclerc actually gets his act together and finds some form again.

Are we ever actually going to find out? Probably not.
Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Max Verstappen give a damn about their teammates, let alone Sebastian Vettel. They just don't have the heart for it.
It’s not like they both just stumbled into their No. 1 status or ended up stuck with some mediocre rookie as a teammate.

Besides that, I’m just sitting here waiting for Valtteri Bottas to turn into an alien. Honestly, there wouldn't even be a point in Lewis Hamilton going anywhere if that were the case. I mean, has anyone ever had a tougher teammate than Bottas? 🙂 What could possibly be harder than that? 😍
If he’s that desperate, he should just pick Ocon or Ricciardo to sit next to him instead of Bottas...

I bet Daniel Ricciardo was probably whispering something to Mercedes yesterday while he was giving them one of those big hugs, like, "Hey, listen, try to talk some sense into him tonight, you know, just give him a little nudge about what needs to happen tomorrow."

https://www.accuweather.com/us/weather-forecast/weather-forecast-monza/

NO RAIN IN THE FORECAST

mellowtiger83 said:I'm trying to picture what Sebastian Vettel would do if he were behind the wheel of, say, a Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen car!

Or Daniel Ricciardo. 🤷

Or maybe it's Nico Rosberg. He isn't tied down by some massive contract, and let's be real, he went toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton and drew blood. Plus, he actually snagged a title driving the exact same car as him.

There's another interesting thing here. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were buddies way back in the junior categories, and now they don't even speak. Then you look at how Sebastian Vettel ended up at Red Bull alongside Mark Webber once the latter refused to play second fiddle. Alonso bailed out of McLaren just to get away from Lewis Hamilton, and then did the same thing at Ferrari once word got out that Sebastian Vettel was coming. Now, we're seeing a similar pattern where Daniel Ricciardo is jumping ship to Renault just to escape being in the shadow of Max Verstappen.

None of the heavy hitters can stand genuine intra-team competition. Absolutely nobody.

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned he’d jump at the chance to be teammates with Lewis Hamilton

Since leaving Level 2, Montoya's been looking seriously faster, though Kimi Räikkönen is still hitting the Ascari Chicane first.

stormytiger4 said:Or maybe Nico Rosberg. He isn't tied down by a contract, and we all remember how much blood he drew from Lewis Hamilton during their time together—plus, he actually managed to snag a title while sharing that car.

There is another interesting pattern here—Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were close friends back in the junior categories, yet they don't even speak now. Then you look at Sebastian Vettel in Red Bull, who ended up paired with Mark Webber once the latter refused to play second fiddle. Even Fernando Alonso practically sprinted out of McLaren to escape Lewis Hamilton, and later did the same thing at Ferrari once word got out that Sebastian Vettel was coming in . In a very similar pursuit of a fresh start, we're seeing Daniel Ricciardo jump ship to Renault just to get away from Max Verstappen.

It seems none of the heavy hitters can stomach genuine intra-team rivalry. Not one of them.

Daniel Ricciardo made the move to Renault because it is crystal clear he wouldn't have had—and frankly doesn't have—the same treatment at Red Bull as Max Verstappen. The team clearly favors Max, who is essentially the undisputed number one for reasons beyond just raw speed.
If he had known he’d be treated as an equal with the same status, I'm sure he would have stayed put.
As it stands, there simply wasn't a logical reason for him to stick around.

darkmarlin16 said:Daniel Ricciardo said he'd love to be on the same team as Lewis Hamilton

I believe him. Honestly, he’d probably jump ship to Sebastian Vettel too. Either way, he’d get that chance to sharpen his skills and build a legacy alongside multi-time champs. He just didn't want some kid coming along and outperforming him.

stormytiger4 said:Or Nico Rosberg.

Sure, a complete nobody with over 20 career wins. 🤷

Jason Campbell70 said:Yeah, right. A total nobody with over 20 wins under his belt. 🤷

Which ones did he win alongside Lewis Hamilton to become an immortal legend? If he hadn't been in that same lineup, everyone would be claiming he only won because he was driving a dominant Mercedes and wouldn't have stood a chance otherwise. You and Mario Andretti would be the first to say it.

But look, Lewis Hamilton doesn't even talk to him anymore. It's wild how it goes—it's not just Sebastian Vettel, but even Lewis Hamilton can't stand it when a teammate starts outclassing them. Even after he basically stole his mechanics away.

So, save those stupid anti-Vettel narratives for the off-season lull and leave the nonsense alone.

mellowtiger83 said:It’s pretty wild how Kimi is still outperforming Vettel at 39—even if, like you said, he's basically driving a lemon right now.🙂.
I mean, I'm trying to imagine what Vettel would even do if he had a car like Hamilton's or Max's... but I guess we'll find out eventually, probably once Leclerc gets in there and we see the real deal, though he seems a little off his game lately too..

I honestly think it's mostly because the crew that actually tuned the car moved on to work on the 2019 build. But hey, maybe it's just Leclerc being difficult, who knows.

stormytiger4 said:If he wasn't on that team, everyone would just claim he only won because of that dominant Mercedes car and wouldn't have done it otherwise. You and Mario Andretti would be the first to say it.

If a grandmother were a man, she'd join the army.
Pure nonsense. 🙏🙏🙏

It’s a shame about Nico Rosberg leaving, or perhaps more specifically, the fact that he isn't pulling for the same side as Sebastian Vettel. I know for a fact things were getting pretty tense between him and Ferrari.
By now, he would have swept the floor with that four-time fraud and likely secured himself two world titles by now.

But then again, guys like Sebastian Vettel just happen to align perfectly with a 39-year-old, indifferent old man who somehow manages to be fast every once in a while despite his own handicaps.

mellowtiger83 said:But then you have guys like Sebastian Vettel, who somehow manages to be fast every now and then despite being a disinterested 39-year-old.

The only thing more pathetic than "the history of Vettel's high-caliber teammates" is "Kimi Räikkönen's recent drives and results."

Jason Campbell70 said:The only thing more pathetic than the "history of quality among Sebastian Vettel's teammates" is the "recent driving performances and results of Kimi Räikkönen."

Don't try to play it that way. You won't be able to explain to us how Räikkönen is actually faster than Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, or Jenson Button, or how he's somehow better than Mark Webber.!
Watch what you say. You might already be writing something in defense of that four-time fraud.🎉

stormybadger8 said:You all are being incredibly naive🤣

This is a tactical move by Sebastian Vettel, and frankly, a masterstroke. 🙏
It’s what they call killing three birds with one stone. 🙂

1. He starts ahead of Lewis Hamilton, though technically alongside him...
2. Kimi starts right in front of Lewis Hamilton, and we all know how Kimi handles starts...
3. Kimi is signing a new contract with Ferrari tonight. 🙂

The finish is obvious: Vettel, Kimi, then Lewis Hamilton. ☕

I am eagerly awaiting another brilliant post suggesting Sebastian Vettel intends to start on a dirty line. 😁
I truly enjoy reading these masterpieces.
This is precisely why being a permanent member of Reddit matters; everything else is just noise.

Calm down, Gajs. Pick a better username. I wouldn't want the moderator to give me a warning just because I’m a four-time champion.

nimblesurfer17 said:Rick moved over to Ford because it’s obvious he wouldn't get the same treatment they give Max at Red Bull. Max is clearly their number one priority for plenty of reasons.
If he knew he'd actually have equal footing and status, he would have stayed.
As things stood, there was simply no logical reason to stick around.

Signed.

It doesn't mean he's faster than Max, but he is definitely more consistent.

I honestly don't see Mercedes or Lewis Hamilton having any kind of shot at overtaking Ferrari on this track today. If Sebastian Vettel manages to pull this off, I really think he might just walk away with the championship at the end of it all...

Someone mentioned Rosberg up above. Honestly, that whole thing about him walking away at just 31 years old is a massive "what the hell?" moment for me. You leave a dominant team while you're still in your prime, seemingly because you've had enough of Formula 1, and then suddenly there he is working as a commentator for Sky 🙏

He could have easily squeezed out a few more years of racing and fighting for championships. I just don't get it, especially now that he’s sitting in the commentary booth on TV and walking around the trackside. It doesn't look to me like he was actually done with Formula 1 lol