US Grand Prix - Indianapolis Motor Speedway 09.02.2018

I guess it would be great if Ferrari could pull off that 1-2 tomorrow; giving Kimi the tow was probably a smart move. 👍

crimsonhawk23 said:I think Vettel is a great guy, honestly, but he seems to struggle with a massive ego and can't seem to handle any real competition within his own team. That’s exactly why they pull all that nonsense. Tomorrow, the lead change will just happen right in the pits—1st Place Seb, 2nd Place Kimi, 3rd Place Lewis, and 4th Place Bottas. It's as simple as that. 🤷

Forget the pit stops. They’re just going to grab him right on the track during the first lap, and then Kimi Räikkönen Mercedes is going to end up blocking just like Valtteri Bottas did. The second they stepped out of those cars, Sebastian Vettel started whining. He definitely wasn't wearing a huge grin when he congratulated his teammate—so much about how great they are together.

As soon as Kimi isn't out in front, everyone starts acting like they've got sour grapes just because the big guy didn't take the top spot.

Jason Campbell70 said:During both those fast Q3 laps, the geniuses are basically sending out driver number one just to pull driver number two along.
Especially when driver number one is fighting for the championship, while driver number two doesn't have any real reason to care about points—other than helping driver number one clinch the title.
At Indianapolis.

Well, I guess I've seen it all now.
GG WP.

I honestly think they were just trying to get Kimi Räikkönen ahead of Lewis Hamilton, assuming they'd swap positions later... they clearly didn't account for Bottas smashing into Vettel at the start and throwing the whole race into chaos...

stormytiger4 said:Who’s actually at fault here? I bet Fernando Alonso will go out and claim Kimi is just an idiot, but from what I've seen so far, it's not that simple to call.

The folks over at US News are saying Fernando Alonso is purely to blame and acted like a complete moron—claiming even a total amateur couldn't pull off something that stupid...
they spent a good five minutes tearing him apart 🤣 damn, honestly, I wouldn't have defended him either 😂
I actually started questioning my own eyes and wondering if Louis messed up the lap because they were bashing him so hard.😬

Jason Campbell70 said:In both those fast Q3 laps, the geniuses are basically sending driver number one out just to pull driver number two along.
Especially when driver number one is fighting for the championship and driver number two doesn't have any points incentive at all, other than helping driver number one grab that title.
At Indianapolis.

Alright, I think I've seen it all now.
GG WP.

But honestly, it’s pretty obvious... Now they're trying to act like everything is totally equal.
Regardless, tomorrow, once Kimi overtakes him—which is the most normal thing in the world when you've got one guy chasing a title—Hamilton fans are going to be whining about how Kimi is playing the wingman.

Man, I really feel for Kimi, though. 👋

James Harris34 said:Bravo Kimi. Showing up at 39 on his home track and absolutely tearing it up against a driver the entire team has been favoring over him for four years straight? Priceless.

Did you see how stoked Ariverbene looks in the garage? 🤣
The guy is practically jumping for joy like they just clinched a double championship. 😁
So much about who he actually favors. 🙂

Big thanks to Kimi Räikkönen for the cash! Honestly, watching Sebastian Vettel's face right now is worth its weight in gold.🙂
The look on the pit wall Ferrari is just priceless.🙂

Gary Palmer8 said:comparing Kimi's standing at Ferrari to how Bottas is treated at Mercedes is just ridiculous...

Right, because Bottas is clearly the #1 driver since he spends his life slipstreaming Hamilton, and Vettel is obviously the lead driver because he’s busy slipstreaming Kimi...
I see you've totally nailed the logic there. 👍😁

I told you guys Kimi would grab pole, and tomorrow Daniel Ricciardo is a billion percent going to set the fastest lap—it's a total lock. And yeah, Bottas has been miles off his game the last few races; he wasn't exactly a top-tier driver for Mercedes before, and now he's struggling even with Force India.

Richard Walker38 said:Forget the pits—they'll probably just let him pass on track during the first lap, and then Kimi Räikkönen Mercedes will just block like Bottas used to.

I’ve run Indianapolis Motor Speedway a million times in iRacing 😬, and I’m not entirely sure it's even feasible to take P1, yield to P2 for the lead, and then immediately block P3 and P4 behind you. Honestly, I’m pretty convinced that’s nearly impossible—especially since Kimi tends to have a slower start, which might leave him sitting in P4 if he struggles off the line again (just to let Vettel through). If Lewis Hamilton was P4, maybe—but risking P3 seems like too much for Ferrari. Besides, I don't see the logic in it, so the pit stop option feels more likely, if not easier to pull off.

Richard Walker38 said:They hadn't even climbed out of the cars before Vettel started complaining—hardly a wide grin while congratulating his teammate, so much about how great they are together.

Funny how Kimi is all smiles until he isn't leading, then it's nothing but sour grapes when things don't go his way.

👍

crimsonhawk23 said:Personally, I’m not sold on scrapping DRS entirely—but I am all for getting rid of every single restriction. Basically, let whoever wants it use it, whenever they want, wherever they want... honestly, if someone wanted to run an entire lap with open DRS, let them. It would actually make things more interesting because driver skill—especially defensive driving when someone is breathing down your neck with open DRS—would finally start to matter a bit more.

Then what's the point of DRS? If that's the case, just scrap it altogether.

Richard Walker38 said:Forget the pit lane; they’ll just take him out on the track during the first lap, and then Kimi Räikkönen Mercedes will block him just like Bottas used to. They hadn't even stepped out of their cars before Vettel started whining. He certainly wasn't offering a wide smile to congratulate his teammate—so much about how great they work together.

It's funny how as soon as Kimi isn't leading, everyone resorts to sour grapes because the driver who was crying didn't finish number one.

They are all cut from the same cloth—whether it's Seb, Louis, Fernando Alonso, Schumacher, or Senna. Clearly, you need that kind of temperament if you want to be the best.

neonfox65 said:What's the point of having DRS then? If that's how it works, they might as well just get rid of it altogether.

Maybe try thinking things through for a second before jumping in with questions like that.

stormytiger4 said:But honestly, it’s all pretty vague... Now they're trying to act like everything is totally equal.
I mean, tomorrow—once Kimi overtakes him, which is just business as usual when you've got one driver fighting for the title—Hamilton fans will probably start whining that Kimi is playing wingman.

I'm definitely rooting for Kimi, though. For sure. 👋

Are you new here? Ferrari has been pulling this exact same stunt for twenty years—so if it looks weird to you, you must be new to the scene...

crimsonhawk23 is spot on here. Kimi is a notoriously shaky starter, so there’s really no point telling him to just let Vettel through at the lights. If he happens to nail the launch and manages to hold his position—with Vettel breathing down his neck right behind him—he can always sort things out later in the race. If Hamilton ends up tangling with Mad Max or something similar, maybe they'd even consider letting Finc take the win. Though, honestly, that probably wouldn't be a smart move either.

stormybadger8 said:Did you catch Ariverbene in the garage earlier? Man, he was just absolutely beaming, like he couldn't contain himself or anything. I guess he's pretty stoked about how things are going, maybe. 🤣
Man, this guy is jumping around like they just clinched a double world championship or something. 😁
So much about who he's actually rooting for, I guess. 🙂

I mean, we’re all kind of joking that you should probably just shut up after that absolute disaster in Indianapolis, but seriously, maybe try not to make things even more embarrassing for yourself...
🤦

hiddensailor7 said:Ferrari really needs that 1-2 finish tomorrow, so giving Kimi the tow was definitely the right call.👍

I'm with you on that; they definitely did this on purpose.
They just don't want to screw over their own luck at the start.

crimsonhawk23 said:I’ve driven Indianapolis a million times on iRacing 😬 and I’m just not seeing how you can take P1, let P2 pass you for the lead, and then immediately block P3 and P4 behind you. Honestly, I’m convinced that’s impossible to pull off—especially since Kimi usually struggles with starts too, so he’d likely drop to P4 instantly if he starts slow again just to let Vettel through. Besides, I don't see why they'd even bother with that strategy. To me, the pit stop option seems way more likely and just easier to execute.

👍

Look, I wasn't talking about an immediate overtake anyway. There are a million ways tomorrow's start could play out. My gut feeling is that Vettel will get a great jump if everything goes right at the lights, and then Kimi will get the order to build a gap and sit right on the bumper of those Mercedes-Benz cars so Vettel has clear air.

But hey, that’s just my theory—call it a conspiracy if you want. 🕺

EDIT: My go-to sim is Assetto Corsa and I absolutely hate Indianapolis. 😁

How naive can you guys be? 🤣

This was a tactical move by Vettel, and honestly, a masterstroke 🙏
They call it killing three birds with one stone 🙂

1. He starts ahead of Lewis Hamilton, but right next to him...
2. Kimi starts directly in front of Hamilton, and we all know how Kimi starts...
3. Kimi is signing his new contract with Ferrari tonight 🙂

The race is clearly ending with Vettel, Kimi, and Hamilton in the top spots ☕

I’d much rather see a 1-2 finish with Kimi leading the way than a 1-3 with Sebastian. Tomorrow, Kimi will likely get a team directive to let Sebastian through, making it a perfect 1-2 finish.