2016 Car Launch and Pre-season Testing

Alright, here’s the lowdown on why this whole McLaren-Honda reincarnation is such a disaster 🤔

Back in the day, we had the "Marlboro McLaren-Honda," but now it’s just "McLaren-Honda"...
Obviously, they're missing Marlboro as a partner to handle the heavy smoking, so these new guys are basically trying to smoke during the race themselves instead. 🤣

Basically, McLaren-Honda needs to find a sponsor whose sole job is to smoke, rather than trying to do the smoking themselves. 😬🤣

stormybadger8 said:Well, there it is. There's your answer as to why this whole McLaren-Mercedes reincarnation is such a disaster. 🤔

Once upon a time, we had the "McLaren-Honda Philip Morris" era. Now? It’s just "McLaren-Honda."
Naturally, they're missing Philip Morris as a partner whose entire job was promoting smoking. I suppose these new guys are just trying to compensate by smoking during the races instead. 🤣

Therefore, McLaren-Mercedes simply needs to find a sponsor or partner whose sole purpose is promoting tobacco, rather than having to smoke on their own. 😬🤣

👍😁

ruggedhawk20 said:If Gilles Villeneuve had lived, he would have easily secured the 1987 title with that Ferrari. And especially if you consider Ayrton Senna.

Besides, if you compare Berger's results from 1990 and 1991—when he was actually driving a proven championship-winning car—those results are arguably even weaker than what happened in 1987.

True. The only question is how much Fercan could have endured from Ayrton's brutal driving style. He certainly would have walked away with about 15 pole positions that season.

ruggedhawk20 said:How exactly is Gerhard Berger better than Rubens Barrichello?

Both men were viewed as future world champions right up until they ran into a truly dominant driver on the track.

They are essentially two nearly identical drivers with nearly identical careers.

The only distinction is that Berger was perhaps a bit luckier; he ended up at Ferrari alongside a struggling Gerhard Alboreto, which made him look significantly better by comparison.

The 1987 Ferrari was a championship-caliber car. Unfortunately, they simply didn't have a championship-caliber driver.

Precisely. Neither of them are the same anymore. Both had their fates sealed by the exact same circuit. They both spent their entire careers fighting an uphill battle because of Imola. Imola decided it for them—once, then again later.

Both of them can only credit a miracle or some higher power that they even survived those races.

Sebastian Vettel just clocked a 1:24.6 on mediums during a 10-lap stint. Where you at?

American journalists covering Formula 1 have started sounding the alarm—this year's Ferrari is undeniably fast, but the reliability is just not there...
The main issues facing Ferrari right now:
1. engine overheating struggles
2. gearbox seizure issues
3. excessive vibration problems
The general consensus among the press over there is that the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife...

I mean, why bother being afraid of a dictator like Sergio Marchionne?....

Their only real shot at success is if Mercedes-Benz messes up their pit strategy...
Yesterday, during a race simulation, Lewis Hamilton actually clocked a faster final time than last year, but he had to pit three times—and two of those stops were absolute nightmares because they couldn't get the front left tire changed properly...
It’s like trying to turn a stripped screw—no matter how hard you push, nothing moves...

copperdrifter26 said:Sebastian Vettel hit a 1:24.6 on mediums during a 10-lap stint. Where are you even getting this from?

Did he set that time on the first lap or the last?
And how are you so sure that stint was actually 10 laps long??? Where did you find that info? 🤷

All I see is a 1:24.611...
EDIT:
Sebastian Vettel: out-lap - 1: 24.6 - 1: 26.2 - 1: 26.6 - 1: 26.8 - 1: 33.3 min - Inlap..
So it wasn't even 10 laps, but hey, those five weren't bad at all, actually 👍...though that last 1:33 is kind of weird. 🤔

"Unexpected News of the day - Fernando Alonso has been announced as the ambassador for this year's Grand Prix in [Location]."

Honestly, he might be better off just retiring from Formula 1 altogether—he could just make a living charging appearance fees everywhere he goes...

The wealthy ones really are everywhere—just like how Mariah Carey flew out to [Location] to perform for some dictator at a wedding or something similar....

stormybadger8 said:Was that lap time set during the opening stint or the final one?
And besides, are you absolutely certain that stint lasted for ten laps??? Where on earth did you find that data 🤷

All I can see is a time of 1:24.611...
EDIT:
Sebastian Vettel : out-lap - 1: 24.6 - 1: 26.2 - 1: 26.6 - 1: 26.8 - 1: 33.3 min - Inlap..
It doesn't actually look like ten laps—though, honestly, even these five aren't bad at all, in fact 👍...it's just that last 1:33 really catches me off guard 🤔

A simple mistake, lifting off the throttle, stuff like that—nothing particularly mysterious about it.

Ugh... here we go again OFF, let's just stop or take this somewhere else.
That was ages ago, so I might be fuzzy on some of the specifics.
Long story short: both Rubens Barrichello and Gerhard Berger were classic drivers in their prime who happened to be number two drivers at the same time, so they had the "bad luck" of basically being water boys for the lead driver. And honestly, it’s still the same way today. You just can't become a champion when you're driving alongside someone like Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher.
Plus, look at Berger—he actually spent two years as the lead driver at Ferrari alongside Gerhard Alboreto, back when that guy (I think he means Fercan) was barely dragging the car to the finish line every other race.
Take 1987 for example, which was 9 retirements, while Alboreto 10. What does that tell you about the car?
Even if some literal Martian—a mix of the absolute best of the best—had been driving that Ferrari back then, they would NEVER have been a Formula 1 champion. Period. The legendary lead drivers like Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, or Nelson Piquet only had maybe 2, 3, or 4 retirements.
It was pretty much the same deal in 1988.
And don't even get me started on 1989, where there were 12 DNFs.
Back then, Senna would just go out, gather data, and watch his own back. That’s really all there is to it.

stormybadger8 said:Was that time set during the first lap or the last one?
Also, how can you be so sure that stint was exactly 10 laps??? Where on earth did you find that info? 🤷

All I see is a time of 1:24.611...
EDIT:
Sebastian Vettel: out-lap - 1: 24.6 - 1: 26.2 - 1: 26.6 - 1: 26.8 - 1: 33.3 min - Inlap..
It doesn't look like it was 10 laps, but even these 5 aren't bad at all, actually 👍...I'm just a little puzzled by that last 1:33 🤔

That's the second time he's clocked a 1:24.6. Before that time, that was the stint duration 🙂

I'm guessing that's just a cooldown lap.

Lewis Hamilton hit 1:24.7 on medium tires.

Timothy Castillo6 said:Ugh... not this OFF topic again—can we move on or just find somewhere else to talk?
It was ages ago, so I might be fuzzy on some specifics.
Long story short: Both Rubens and Gerhard were classic peak-performance drivers who happened to be number 2s—so they had the "luck" of basically being water boys for the lead driver. And honestly, it hasn't changed. You aren't winning championships when you're running alongside Senna or Schumacher.
Plus, look at Berger—he actually got two years as the lead guy at Ferrari alongside Alborett, while the other guy (I think he meant Ferkan) barely limped to the finish line every other race.
Take 1987 for example—that was 9 retirements, and Alboreto 10. What does that say about the car?
Even if you took a literal Martian—a perfect blend of the absolute best talent—and put them in that Ferrari, they wouldn't have been an F1 champ ever. The legends driving lead roles—Prost, Senna, Mansell, Piquet—only had like 2, 3, or 4 retirements.
Same deal in 1988.
And don't even get me started on 1989, where there were 12 DNFs.
Then Senna just stepped up to gather data and cover his own back. End of story.

Don't embarrass yourself.

Instead, explain how Prost almost snatched the title in 1990 using a car that was barely updated from the one Berger failed to win anything with in 1989.

Especially since Mansell had the exact same success in both '89 and '90.

So, it’s clearly not the car.

1990 really exposed Berger. That was the year everyone realized Berger was a mediocre driver, not a great driver stuck in a junk car like people used to claim.

Sadly, some people still believe that crap today, even after having 26 whole years to wrap their heads around what happened in the 1990 season.

Alright, fine, I'll take the L, no big deal, I own it.

But seriously, saying someone could have clinched the title in a Ferrari back in '87? What kind of logic is that? A TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT?
Was the '87 Ferrari actually a championship-caliber machine ready to dominate?

From what I can see, Hamilton was the only one who managed more laps than Vettel (65 vs 58)...

Looks like Ferrari is dealing with some massive issues regarding their new PU 🤔

They've already stalled a few times, and now Haas and Sauber just blew up today... I guess Sauber is also running that new Ferrari PU 🤔
Basically, the only Ferrari-powered team running without a hitch is STR 👋 because they're still using last year's engine. Turns out not having the new tech might actually be an advantage for them 🤣


Fuck 🙂
This is giving me major 2014 Red Bull vibes. Vettel is probably having nightmares right about now 😬

jadeseal7 said:We've seen this before. When Nico Rosberg is given the green light, he can outpace Lewis Hamilton.

Wrong subforum.

Give it a shot here.

jadeseal7 said:It all started after Monaco 2014.

I can't exactly recall every single race right now. Besides, that’s not even the point.

Fortunately for your argument.

dustyskipper77 said:From what I can see, only Lewis Hamilton managed to clock more laps than Sebastian Vettel—65 versus 58.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes-Benz shouldn't even be out there on the track. Why bother?
They’ve put in the mileage. Now comes the real work: testing every technical solution, dialing in the perfect aero package, and nailing down the ideal setup before those first races of the season roll around.

Jason Campbell70 said:Well, that actually works out quite nicely for your argument, doesn't it?

👋

He he he he he he 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂, I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time. Jason Campbell70, I might just have to build you a monument 🙂

Good grief, I was drinking my coffee and ended up inhaling it through my nose. These things aren't even true 🙂 🙂 🙂

stormybadger8 said:It looks like Ferrari is dealing with some pretty major issues regarding their new PU 🤔

They've already stalled out a few times, and now look—Haas and Sauber both just blew up today... I think Sauber is running that new Ferrari PU too, right? 🤔
Basically, the only Ferrari-powered team actually running smoothly is STR 👋, mostly because they're still using last year's engine. It almost feels like using the old unit isn't a disadvantage for them, but an actual edge. 🤣


Fuck 🙂
This is giving me massive 2014 Red Bull flashbacks; Vettel could be having nightmares right about now. 😬

Looking at the prošlotjedni slika, Ferrari hasn't even touched soft tires all this week.😛

By the way, that's probably just an exhaust pipe touching the bodywork. Nothing too crazy.

stormybadger8 said:It looks like Ferrari is running into some serious issues with their new PU 🤔

Do we actually know how many miles this engine has put in?

I find it hard to believe teams wouldn't be pushing these engines to the limit toward the end of testing. Wouldn't they want at least a rough idea of where the durability threshold sits? It’s only logical to run those stress tests right before the final qualifying sessions.