2016 Car Launch and Pre-season Testing

Kimi Räikkönen is hopping onto the race sim.

I'm telling you—the Halo cockpit is what's shaving half a second off the lap time. That's why Kimi is so fast.

Use some logic here. Is it more likely that Kimi just magically got half a second faster overnight, or that the Halo cockpit actually gave the car a massive boost?

Well, it’s not like he was out there setting blistering lap times once the Halo cockpit was introduced—it’s a shame Joe’s theory didn't quite pan out 👍

jadeseal7 said:Kimi managed to clock a 1:23 on the software... and honestly, the real story isn't just that Ferrari beat Michael Schumacher's lap time, it's the fact that Kimi absolutely dominated him.

Is he finally finding his rhythm again?

Could it be a push rod issue? 🙂

rowdyrider12 said:Could it be the push rod? 🙂

I'm actually leaning in that same direction myself.

I am not entirely sure where else to turn, so I thought I would pose my question here: what on earth is going on with this forum? Every time I attempt to access it from my desktop, I am constantly being redirected to various shady websites, not to mention the endless barrage of pop-up ads appearing on the sides of the page...
It seems to function perfectly fine only when I am using the Tapatalk app on my phone....

For the record, I am certain that my computer is free of any viruses...

Honestly, if Nico Rosberg were behind the wheel at Manor Racing, they’d probably be outperforming McLaren at the SS—they are getting incredibly close right now 🤣

rowdyrider12 said:I’m not quite sure where else to go, so I figured I’d ask here: what on earth is going on with this forum? Every time I log in from my desktop, I get constantly redirected to these random shady websites—plus, there are just endless pop-ups appearing on the side...
It seems to work perfectly fine when I'm using Tapatalk on my phone, though....

Just to be clear, I’ve already checked—I definitely don't have any malware on my system...

Honestly, Adblock is the ultimate cure-all—even if it occasionally acts up and forces me to refresh the page once in a while.

I’m not out here making any grand predictions (not that Joe would want me to), because let’s be real, those rules and all that high-and-mighty nonsense are being written and enforced by everyone knows.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly how Formula 1 ends up operating one day.
As for the answer to that little anecdote: I'm all for it in the way it's actually been applied (if you know what I mean) 😉
. But this current situation? It's honestly nauseating—I can't stand it one bit. 🤮

I’m all for closing off those Formula 1 driver cockpits...

Actually, if they tinted the cockpits enough so you couldn't even tell who was driving—that would be even better....

Let's face it, today's Formula 1 fans don't really care about the drivers anymore; they mostly just root for the teams—basically the corporations—so this is just a natural part of the Formula 1 business evolution....

Drivers have basically become corporate, disposable commodities anyway......

At this rate, we might even see Roscoe (to like) becoming a world champion—provided Mercedes listens to some PR manager who decides it's a "brilliant" move....

It seems like people are shifting their allegiances toward different teams...

Maybe they're gravitating more toward Ford, McLaren, or Williams lately. I honestly can't tell how many Red Bull fans have drifted away since Sebastian Vettel moved over to Ford—or how many new Mercedes-Benz supporters showed up once Lewis Hamilton made his move.

Well, the mercenaries are folding—mostly because the bosses have stopped handing out the cash and those little perks they used to love...

Suzuka was absolutely crawling with Toyota and Honda flags...

swiftmaker12 said:I mean, those mercenaries are folding left and right—mostly because their bosses have stopped handing out the cash and little trinkets they used to rely on...

The atmosphere at the track was absolutely soaked in Toyota and Honda flags...

It’s honestly pretty sad—what can you even do? It’s wild how some people don't even have the guts to cheer for their own side anymore.

jadeseal7 said:It’s honestly pretty sad—I don't know how people can bring themselves to cheer for their own side like that.

hahahahaha, I highly doubt even 1% of them actually knew what they were watching...

To me, it looks like everyone just showed up to the track looking all "polished" and put together...

It reminds me of those employees over at Ford (who basically work for peanuts) putting out ads in the local paper claiming the IRS is shaking them down...

Yeah, that's exactly how these corporate fans come across to me.....

swiftmaker12 said:Besides, today's Formula 1 fans don't really care about the drivers anymore; they’re mostly just pulling for the teams—basically just huge corporations—so it's just a totally natural part of how the whole Formula 1 business evolves...

That's an interesting way to look at it.
It would be pretty cool to see what everyone else thinks on this one.
Are we actually rooting for the driver or the squad?
Thinking back from the 70s through to the 80s, the 90s, and so on...🍿

Quote:>

Timothy Castillo6 says: That’s an interesting way to look at it. I’d be curious to see what the consensus is over here, too. Are we rooting for the driver or the team? Ever since the 70s—and for some, even back through the 80s or 90s...🍿>

American fans—especially those of us on these forums—are a bit of an outlier...

Honestly, because of all the frustration, the ruined legacies, the grim present state of things, and a future that looks pretty bleak, about 99% of members (basically everyone except me)
don't actually care for specific teams or drivers nearly as much as they seem to despise the others...

It's almost hard to believe...

We could just go ahead and make our own separate lists of things we love versus things we absolutely despise.

swiftmaker12 said:hahahahaha, I really don't believe even 1% of them actually knew what they were watching...

It strikes me that everyone showed up to the racetrack looking all "polished" and put-together...

It reminds me of how employees over at Tommy's place—you know, the ones working for that tiny little corner shop—run ads in the local papers claiming the IRS is shaking them down...

Well, that’s exactly how those corporate fans strike me.....

swiftmaker12, everything you're describing happens in other sports too. Just look at soccer—how many people root for Lionel Messi versus how many root for Ronald, or how many supported Barcelona before Messi arrived versus supporting Real Madrid before Ronald, and so on and so forth.

I honestly don't see any issue with who supports whom; for instance, right here on this forum, you have one guy who's a massive fan of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, yet he's got a Vettel logo as his avatar. He's just one person who, if Vettel and Hamilton were fighting for a title, wouldn't even know where to 😁

But hey, the more, the merrier! 🎉

swiftmaker12 said:American followers—and especially you guys on this forum—are the one exception.

Look, between the massive frustrations, the ruined past, the bleak present, and a future that's completely trashed, 99% of you guys—basically everyone except me—are losing it.
They don't even care about specific teams or drivers anymore. It’s just pure, unadulterated hatred for everyone else.

I can't believe this... honestly.

I think you're missing the mark by a mile. Honestly, I’d say you couldn't possibly screw this up more if you actually tried.🤣

Honestly, I’ve never seen a group of Formula 1 fans more chill. It feels like nobody actually hates any of the drivers. And trust me, I’ve been pulling for Sebastian Vettel since 2007, so I know how much passion is usually involved. 😁
I never really got why people trash Sebastian Vettel. It wasn't even about hating him; it was just pure, unfiltered trolling aimed directly at his fanboys.
It’s not even that malicious. It isn't even hate, let alone toward the fans, much less the driver... it's just standard trolling and nothing more.