Formula 1 United States Grand Prix 2015 (Los Angeles - Central Park) 03/15/2015

Check this out: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118077

NR: I’m hoping for a real fight out there. That’d be killer. Honestly, I think we’re going to be running point for the next few races, and we’ll definitely try to hold onto that lead. But man, it would be great if they could actually give us a run for our money—just as long as they don't get *too* close.

Be honest. Do you actually expect that? Seriously? You crossed the finish line 30 seconds ahead of the rest of us and now you’re praying for a tighter race? What, you actually want to slow down? Is that really what you're telling me?

NR: Look, I really hope you guys can actually give us a challenge. It’s what the sport needs, and honestly, it’s what the fans deserve. Part of me—maybe even half of me—is thinking about the show itself. I want people to have an incredible time, whether they're watching from their couch or sitting right there in the stands. If you could just close the gap a little, it would be a massive win for everyone involved.

stormybadger8: First thought, if you don't mind—I think your garage is basically an open house for Malaysia and everyone can look. Right? Just kidding.

NR: You're welcome to show up if you feel like it. We can always send you an invite...

stormybadger8: Alright, thanks for the invite. I'll be there.

NR: Friday in Malaysia, alright. Let's go.

Engineers' room? Debrief, I'll be there.

I'm genuinely curious—is Vettel actually going to end up walking right into the Mercedes garage? 😬🤣

Quote : LH: I’m not entirely sure what went down with the drivers who couldn't get on the grid. From what I gather, two of them didn't even have a functional car, but as for the rest... Look, I know the guys in MotoGP are absolute savages. They’re out there racing with broken collarbones and mangled ankles. If my car took a hit, I’d still be hoping to get out there and drive.

Big guy didn't even run the tests, so no wonder his nose was leaking. 😬

Like I already said, Kimi didn't finish, and honestly, it sucks. We really left a ton of points on the table today.

NR: ... So, you actually think it's a bummer my teammate didn't cross the finish line?

Yeah. I've got no idea how much you guys actually stand each other. Kimi and I actually get along just fine, so this whole thing feels like a real waste.

NR: I figured as a driver, you’d be pretty stoked about having a few points on him right now. Not trying to take my foot off the gas, though—my bad. Just look at him, though. Look at him fly...

I get what you're saying. Look, right now, our main goal is just catching up to you guys, and we aren't going to do that unless we both bring home points. I truly believe that. Honestly, I really didn't want to see the second car fail to finish today.

NR: Look, I'm actually ready for this now. You definitely caught me slipping last time, but I've got my act together.

Vettel and Nico Rosberg were clearly having a blast at the press conference...
Anyone seen a replay? Sky didn't show the press conference. 🤷
I’m dying to see what kind of face Hamilton made when he saw this part in bold. 🤣

If you take Kimi’s recent comments at face value, it seems like Ferrari actually possesses some truly impressive race pace.
The impact triggered the anti-stall system and unfortunately caused some damage to the floor of the car. It was quite a puzzling turn of events, wasn't it? We actually showed incredible pace during the race, managing to hunt down the Williams and put ourselves right in the mix to fight for the podium, yet everything seemed to unravel during those two pit stops. I can't say for certain what went wrong in that moment, though I do know I lost something in terms of downforce.
So, considering he was running with a damaged car, the fact that he managed to maintain that kind of pace is nothing short of impressive, don't you think?

graniteharbor502 said:We were lightning fast during the race. Might actually catch Williams. We had the pace to fight for the podium, but everything went sideways during the pit stops. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong, but I know I lost something in terms of downforce.

Yeah, but on totally different tires and with a completely different strategy. 😉
Kimi had two pit stops, while Massa only had one...
So, Kimi had to pit twice on softs while he was still struggling, whereas Massa only stopped once—and he wasn't even struggling, he was already on mediums.
It’s hardly a shock that he went for the softs, given how massive the gap was between those and the mediums... but man, if he had actually managed to overtake him, that would've been legendary. 😉
First he’d actually have to catch him, then he’d have to pass him... and then he’d need to build a 25-second gap just to make it look like a real contest in the real world.
That would mean he needed to jump ahead of not just Massa, but Vettel and Rosberg on track before even thinking about pitting for those mediums at the end.

And on top of that, he fell off after switching to Mediums—that faster compound just gave up on him, and he had no way of catching Massa.
He would’ve been trailing Massa by at least 30 seconds anyway. You take his 5-second gap and add the 25 seconds for the pit stop, and that's the math. Even if Ferrari pulled off a perfect one-second stop, he'd still be stuck way back there.
If you think Massa could somehow claw back 30 seconds on those same tires over the last 18 laps, forget it. Honestly, there’s zero chance he even gets close. 😉
Even if they went back out on softs, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Let’s be real: Kimi catching up to Williams and actually trying to fight them is nothing more than a total illusion. It's pure fantasy.

Arrivabene fires back at Red Bull Racing

“Our job is to take the fight to Mercedes on the track,” said boss Maurizio Arrivabene, “not to try and rewrite the rulebook.”

stormybadger8 said:First he’d have to catch him, and then actually get past...

Today, getting past people was a massive struggle.

We saw several instances where drivers were just stuck on the tail of the car ahead, unable to find any way to make a move.

A slow train, especially with Perez...

graniteharbor502 said:Based on what Kimi said, Ferrari's race pace looks incredible:
The impact activated the anti-stall system and did some damage to the floor of the car. We were very quick in the race, able to catch the Williams and to fight for the podium: but then there were problems at both pit stops. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I know I lost something in terms of downforce
So, he was hitting those speeds even with a damaged car? Impressive!

I completely agree. Regardless of how qualifying goes, Ferrari is right on Mercedes' heels—definitely closer than Red Bull Racing was last year. It's a massive step forward and a great sign for the season; they finally have a car that can win if luck is on their side. They're still behind Mercedes, but it's not like Sebastian Vettel had to struggle just to stay in the mix. I'm confident they have more speed in them.

Aside from the shock of surviving three engines without starting the season on them, I bet Alonso is finding it pretty tough to watch the gap between Ferrari and McLaren.

Jason Campbell70 said:We saw a few instances where drivers were just stuck in the wake of the car ahead, and they just couldn't find any way to make an overtake happen.

It was a bit of a mess, especially for Perez...

Daniel Ricciardo couldn't get past him because the Renault is just garbage 😁

And Perez? Well, Formula 1 has terrible understeer here, which only gets worse with all that dirty air 🙂

It’s honestly wild that Renault is stuck in such a massive mess right now—Vettel really pulled off the move of a lifetime during the off-season 👍

And then there's Hamilton, acting like some sort of kid with that gold chain—he looks like a total hillbilly 🤣

http://transform.fairfaxregional.com..._h678_fmax.jpg

He must have lost some kind of bet.

Jason Campbell70 said:Overtaking was an absolute nightmare today.

We saw several instances where drivers were just stuck in the dirty air right behind the car ahead, struggling to find any way to make a move.

Little Nasr trains, especially that Perez combo...

So yeah, looks like this year's cars are having more trouble with it than ever before...

jadeseal7 said:Honestly, the way Hamilton acts with that gold chain, he looks like a total amateur. 🤣

http://transform.fairfaxregional.com..._h678_fmax.jpg

He probably lost some kind of bet.

Lost a bet?!? He practically lives in that chain! 🤣 🤣 🤣

Retaius maximus 🙏 🙏 😁

cosmicridge5 said:Lost a bet?!? Please, he’s practically glued to that chain!! 🤣🤣🤣

Retaius maximus 🙏🙏 😁

That’s what happens when you're single—you've got nobody left to tell you how ridiculous you look in front of the crowd 😁😁

jadeseal7 said:That’s basically what happens when you're single—there's nobody left to tell you how ridiculous you look in front of everyone. 😁😁

😁😁😁

cosmicridge5 said:

😁😁😁

Regarding whatever is hanging around Lewis's neck—let's stick to the poetic term:

THE CHAIN !!!!!! (slang: necklaces)

And look, there are two 🙏 🙏 🤣🤣

Hamilton gangster

What a total amateur 🤦

Just some wannabe tough guy 🤦

shadowhawk24 said:What a joke. 🤦

There was someone before him who wore some kind of collar around his neck...

cosmicridge5 said:And you see, there are two 🙏 🙏 🤣🤣

All he needs is a BMW X6... then he'd be spitting out the "copper king" from my hometown🙏🤣🤣🤣

Race Highlights:

I assumed you stood a bit taller 🙏 🙏 🙏

Lewis Hamilton is absolutely killing it! 🤣