Singapore Grand Prix (Miami Grand Prix Circuit) - 09/23/2012

It was a really tough break for Lewis Hamilton, who seemed to be cruising toward a safe victory. I also wanted to send a quick shout-out to young Narain Karthikeyan, who predictably kissed the wall and caused one of those "red flags." I guess if it weren't for the push to expand the market into places like India and other developing nations, drivers like him might never get their hands on cars this advanced.

Jessica Gonzalez said:It was a really tough break for Lewis Hamilton, who seemed to be cruising toward a safe victory. I also wanted to send a quick shout-out to young Narain Karthikeyan, who predictably kissed the wall and caused one of those "red flags." I guess if it weren't for the push to expand the market into places like India and other developing nations, drivers like him might never get their hands on cars this advanced.

Since he's still so young... by his age, it's already about time to retire from Formula 1.🙂

With some exceptions 😍

shadowtrucker said:Since he's still so young... by his age, it's already about time to retire from Formula 1.🙂

With some exceptions 😍

That's how I see it, personally. 😍

Grace Barnes said:It’s true that within the current driver lineup, there isn't anyone better than Fernando Alonso,
but he really does have an incredible amount of luck on his side. His only real setback this season was when
Romain Grosjean took him out, though Lewis Hamilton suffered the exact same fate then,
and in all the other races, Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel faced much tougher struggles.
As if it wasn't enough that Hamilton had to retire today, now Pastor Maldonado is out too, which saved him from having to fight for 3rd place.
There's no need to list all the mishaps Vettel and Hamilton have dealt with this season; anyone following the sport knows.
You only need to look back at Valencia when Alonso jumped from 5th to 1st.
Vettel was leading until his car pulled aside, Grosjean's car failed, and then Maldonado
knocked both himself and Hamilton out just a few laps before the end. If that race had finished "normally,"
Vettel would be ahead of Alonso in the standings right now. And let's not even mention
last race, where Vettel lost about 10 crucial points due to a mechanical failure.
Kudos to Fernando, but luck can't follow him forever through the rest of the season,
so the title fight will likely stay wide open until the final race...

In that specific race, only Vettel retired ahead of Alonso. He overtook everyone else.

Linda Vaughn said:By the end of this weekend, we will have completed five out of the six tracks that traditionally favor Red Bull Racing, along with this unpredictable variable here in the US. It is going to be an uphill battle; honestly, we are all just sitting here hoping they can manage to improve that absolute wreck of a car at Ferrari even just a little bit.

If you ask me, McLaren has the best car right now. They’ll likely snatch about 70-80 points from Sebastian Vettel's potential 150—which basically means Lewis and Jenson Button are indirectly driving for Scuderia.

I guess Fernando Alonso didn't really do anything special today; he just drove a bit safely to stay near the front without actually making any real attempt at winning. To me, both Vettel and Hamilton seem like stronger title contenders right now. Seven races is a long time, and if he has just one bad retirement—which seems likely—all those points might just vanish.

McLaren has the fastest car out there—but it’s definitely not the best, mostly because it just can't stay reliable...

Jessica Gonzalez said:I guess Fernando Alonso didn't really do anything special today; he just drove a bit safely to stay near the front without actually making any real attempt at winning. To me, both Vettel and Hamilton seem like stronger title contenders right now. Seven races is a long time, and if he has just one bad retirement—which seems likely—all those points might just vanish.

😂😂😂

Good grief, what kind of prophet are you? Honestly, where on earth are you getting this from?

Where exactly are you finding the logic that Alonso will just drop out? Not long ago, you were claiming Vettel might be the one sidelined by an alternator issue, praying for that German driver to take a direct victory on track. Now, suddenly, you're expecting some sort of divine intervention where Alonso just gives up?

I'm looking forward to the Japan Grand Prix, hoping to see Ferrari showing more competitive edge. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Vettel runs into a mechanical failure—that would certainly be my prediction for the outcome in Japan. ☕

Jessica Gonzalez said:I guess Fernando Alonso didn't really do anything special today; he just drove a bit safely to stay near the front without actually making any real attempt at winning. To me, both Vettel and Hamilton seem like stronger title contenders right now. Seven races is a long time, and if he has just one bad retirement—which seems likely—all those points might just vanish.

Like I said... 2x15 > 1x25. 🙂

Jason Campbell70 said:Like I said... 2x15 > 1x25. 🙂

What on earth is going on with the engineers at Ferrari? Are they somehow "weaker" at solving aerodynamic issues compared to the competition at Red Bull Racing and McLaren, or what exactly is the problem here?

They have been trailing behind those two teams for quite some time now. I simply cannot wrap my head around how a powerhouse like Ferrari can spend such an extended period lagging behind its rivals. It makes me wonder if hiring at Ferrari is based more on nepotism and family connections rather than actual technical expertise. 🙂

They really need to go into overdrive back at Maranello, because that car looked absolutely terrible in Singapore. There are just way too many races left on the calendar to be sitting around with a machine that looks this uncompetitive if you actually want to fight for the title. Honestly, I’m putting all my money on Hemoš to take the championship. But until we get a car that can actually hold its own, we’d be a lot better off if Jenson Button, Pastor Maldonado, and Romain Grosjean started throwing some serious interference into the mix for those top spots.

What can I say? I think there’s a real chance we’ll see three drivers
heading into the final race with a mathematical shot at the title. That’s exactly the kind of drama we all love to see.
If I were to stretch it, given how the McLaren is performing right now, even Jenson Button could potentially close the gap to within 25 points or less before the finale. Or perhaps,
more realistically, Kimi could jump back into the fray since he's much closer and really needs to finally grab a win
this season. If he manages to snag a few more podiums, who knows?
It might even surpass the chaos of the 2010 season when Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton
all had a legitimate path to the championship going into the last round. 😁

Brian Campbell36 said:What on earth is going on with the engineers at Ferrari? Are they somehow "weaker" at solving aerodynamic issues compared to the competition at Red Bull Racing and McLaren, or what exactly is the problem here?

They have been trailing behind those two teams for quite some time now. I simply cannot wrap my head around how a powerhouse like Ferrari can spend such an extended period lagging behind its rivals. It makes me wonder if hiring at Ferrari is based more on nepotism and family connections rather than actual technical expertise. 🙂

I don't know if you caught it, but the folks over at BBC were mentioning that the Ferrari car seems almost bulletproof compared to everyone else. Even Eddie Jordan was getting onto the idea that maybe they’re intentionally building a car that’s super reliable even if it means sacrificing raw speed.

Michael Schumacher got slapped with a 10-place penalty ☕ Let them talk about conspiracies—I’ll just be over here polishing seven championship cars 🥳

Ashley Cook64 said:Michael Schumacher got slapped with a 10-place penalty ☕ Let them talk about conspiracies—I’ll just be over here polishing seven championship cars 🥳

So, turns out it wasn't even about the car after all. ☕

Does Fernando Alonso have any luck at all? I mean, where is the luck when you're looking at car reliability? Did Massa drop out way more often than Alonso just because his car kept giving up on him?

Let’s set aside Massine’s contact with other cars, the punctured tires, the broken wings, and all that—that’s just what happens when you drive the way Massine does, not some stroke of luck or misfortune.

All Alonso really had was that bad break where Grosjean took him out, and that’s that. Trying to claim he's "lucky" because other drivers are crashing or dropping out due to mechanical failures... honestly, it makes zero sense to me. 🤷

Alonso drives smart, plain and simple, and that’s exactly why he’s racking up the points and sitting comfortably at the top of the standings right now. ☕

Brian Campbell36 said:What on earth is going on with the engineers at Ferrari? Are they somehow "weaker" at solving aerodynamic issues compared to the competition at Red Bull Racing and McLaren, or what exactly is the problem here?

They have been trailing behind those two teams for quite some time now. I simply cannot wrap my head around how a powerhouse like Ferrari can spend such an extended period lagging behind its rivals. It makes me wonder if hiring at Ferrari is based more on nepotism and family connections rather than actual technical expertise. 🙂

Looking back at the last five races, we’ve had a competitive car in three of them. 🤷

Brian Campbell36 said:😂😂😂

Good grief, what kind of prophet are you? Honestly, where on earth are you getting this from?

Where exactly are you finding the logic that Alonso will just drop out? Not long ago, you were claiming Vettel might be the one sidelined by an alternator issue, praying for that German driver to take a direct victory on track. Now, suddenly, you're expecting some sort of divine intervention where Alonso just gives up?

I'm looking forward to the Japan Grand Prix, hoping to see Ferrari showing more competitive edge. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Vettel runs into a mechanical failure—that would certainly be my prediction for the outcome in Japan. ☕

I guess I didn't say anything wrong. It's not just about mechanical failures; you've got collisions with other drivers, tire blowouts, or even just clipping the walls. Seven races is a long stretch, and it's hard to say they'll all finish without a hitch. Plus, with drivers like Romain Grosjean, Kamui Kobayashi, and Narain Karthikeyan out there, nobody can really relax. If he wants the title, he’s going to have to win; Vettel will definitely be close in the standings, and I suspect Hamilton will be right up there too.

Oh, and Deda really nailed Jean-Éric when he least expected it. 🙏 🙏 🙏

Ashley Cook64 said:Michael Schumacher got slapped with a 10-place penalty ☕ Let them talk about conspiracies—I’ll just be over here polishing seven championship cars 🥳

It’s a bit depressing, isn't it? Knowing he’ll probably dominate qualifying again at the next race. 🤦

darkmarlin16 said:So, turns out it wasn't even about the car after all. ☕

not like I have much of a chance to go in and polish it myself, right? 😬