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

darkmarlin16 said:Gazzetta is claiming Kimi Räikkönen had to retire because they put him on soft tires by mistake.

Even if it was the soft compound, it looked poorly fitted. You could see it during braking—something just wasn't right. The rear end was dancing.

It was all visible on the TV broadcast.

The rear left wheel wasn't secured properly.
The error only became apparent once the car was lowered from the rear jack.

The mechanic spotted the issue and signaled immediately, but it was too late. Lowering the car from the rear jack automatically triggered the green light for Kimi Räikkönen.

Check out these leaked radio clips from the 2015 season. It’s basically a masterclass in how not to talk to your engineer when everything is going sideways. Some of these guys have zero filter once the helmet goes on. Honestly, watching the chaos unfold through their headsets makes the actual race feel like a calm Sunday brunch. Just pure, unadulterated driver meltdown material. Enjoy the madness.

Felipe Massa to Williams Racing.
Front-left degradation is killing them.

And that’s exactly why Massinog jumped into the ring way too early.
So, Williams Racing might just shred through their tires. It’s going to be a wild ride in the upcoming races...

L46 Driver Audio Clip - Sebastian Vettel 😕
Anish George breaks down the whole situation with Sebastian Vettel. Just listen to it.

What the hell? Why on earth would they tell Vettel to pit in lap 46? 😵
Besides, that isn't even Sebastian Vettel's voice, and according to the link Anish George posted, it wasn't his engineer either. 😵

stormybadger8 said:http://thisisf1.com/2015/03/17/f1-20...adio-messages/

And there you have it—the reason why Massinog opted for that early pit stop...
Essentially, Williams might just need to rethink their tire strategy; things are going to get really interesting in the upcoming races...

Felipe Massa was running slower than Sebastian Vettel, so the plan was definitely to pit before him. The idea was to jump on those fresh tires, clock a decent lap time, and hopefully hold the position ahead of him. Unfortunately, Massa couldn't quite pull it off—he wasn't able to clear Ricciard, which ultimately cost him the podium. At least, that's the condensed version of how James Vowles explained it:

We decided to pit early because Vettel was gaining on us, but sadly, the move didn't yield the results we were looking for.

Tyler Bennett5 said:Felipe Massa was slower than Sebastian Vettel, so the plan was obviously to pit him first. The idea was to nail a fast lap on fresh rubber and jump ahead. But Massa couldn't pull it off—he failed to pass Ricciard, and just like that, his podium chance went down the drain. At least, that's the gist of how James Vowles explained it:

Honestly, he blew it before he even got near Ricciard...
Vettel came out with over a second on him, and Vettel's pit stop was nearly a full second faster than Massinog's 😉
So regardless of Ricciard, Massa still wouldn't have beaten Vettel...

He messed up because Vettel was setting laps faster than Mercedes the moment Massa pitted. Plus, even on fresh tires (before reaching Ricciard), Massa was still slower than Vettel...

Ferrari definitely has a much better race pace than Williams Racing. Their only issue is that their top speed under DRS isn't high enough to actually make a move on track.
But they manage their tires better than Williams, and I have a feeling we’re going to see this exact same pattern over and over...
Williams looks great in qualifying, but then both Ferrarias just cruise right past them through the pit cycles or during that final stint...

Don't forget that Felipe Massa lost out on the entire Free Practice 2 session, which was probably their best shot at getting some decent data on how those tires would hold up during the race.
It’s a real shame Valtteri Bottas wasn't out there either; it would have turned into a proper two-on-two battle.

Tyler Bennett5 said:Don't forget Felipe Massa lost out on all of Free Practice 2, which was their chance to actually study
how those tires wear during the race. Too bad Valtteri Bottas wasn't there to make it a real two-on-two fight.

True enough...
But I bet Bottas would've cruised through that too. It looked easy enough, even with the absolute chaos happening in the Ferrari pit box...
Plus, let's be real, Bottas would've been trailing both Ferraria cars anyway if he'd actually started the race...

I honestly think we’re in for some intense battles between Ferrari and Williams Racing during these first five or six races, but eventually, Ferrari is going to pull away and leave them in the dust.

Wouldn't it be incredible if Red Bull Racing could jump into that fight too? And then, of course, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that McHonda can find a way to join the fray as well.

Now, the big question remains: what kind of performance can we actually expect from Lotus?

Drew Bennett68 said:I think we'll see a solid scrap between Ferrari and Williams through the first five or six races, but after that, Ferrari is going to pull away.

I’m really hoping Red Bull joins the fray, and eventually McHonda too.

Now we just have to wait and see what Lotus can bring to the table.

I'm not quite sure why Ferrari would suddenly leave someone in the dust after five or six races if they hadn't already done it by the first one.
Are you really that certain their upgrades this season will actually be improvements, while Williams might end up stumbling with theirs?

silvergull10 said:Listen to that team radio regarding the tire—the way Kimi just asks about it so phlegmatically 🙏, as if this kind of thing is just business as usual for you guys—plus that massive apology 😁.

You can see the pit stop here; from what I can tell, they're on the harder compound

"Did you leave the wheel loose?" he asked—honestly, sounded like he was just waking up from anesthesia, haha

Tyler Bennett5 said:I honestly can't fathom why Ferrari would let someone go after five or six races if they hadn't already decided it after the very first one.
Are you truly so certain that their development path this season will actually yield improvements, especially when we've seen how much Williams can stumble when they try to roll out new upgrades?

With all due respect to Williams, I simply don't see them having any real chance of standing up to Ferrari at all this season.

Tyler Bennett5 said:I don't get why anyone thinks Ferrari would ditch someone after 5 or 6 races if they weren't already gone by the first one.
Are you seriously banking on their upgrades actually working this season? Meanwhile, Williams will probably trip over their own feet every time they try to improve.

Ferrari is mainly looking at a PU upgrade... plus a mountain of other updates.
Williams likely won't see any PU upgrades unless Bear dumped some junk version on them and they finally get the real deal after five races. 😁
As for everything else? They definitely don't have the budget to keep pace with Ferrari, McLaren, or Red Bull.
But honestly, they just lack the guts. It doesn't matter how much you upgrade the PU or the car; they'll be perfectly happy settling for 5th or 6th in the race and 3rd in the constructors' standings.

And there’s the crux of it: why Ron Dennis is still doubling down on the Honda partnership. He’s basically arguing that you just can't win a championship anymore if you're playing the customer role when it comes to engines. Look at Mercedes—they have this massive advantage, and I’m betting reliability is a huge part of it. They aren't losing any sleep over whatever nonsense Williams is talking about. They don't even need an engine upgrade; their current setup is perfectly tailored to their needs.

cosmicridge5 said:It’s pretty obvious Louie is just your typical nouveau riche simpleton—trying way too hard to show off like some peacock.

Real icons don't feel the need to pose; that's just what fakers and losers do. So, he can go ahead and rack up 666 titles if he wants, he'll still be a loser in my book. 😳

And don't even get me started on "eccentrics"—you and I are the actual eccentrics here. Louie is just some hillbilly dreaming about one day becoming the next 50 Cent.

He'll probably grace us with an album soon—I'm just overjoyed at the thought: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...oc-Nation.html

http://www.theguardian.com/music/201...mpion-pop-star

🙂

I'm sure he's totally devastated by your opinion. 🤣🤣🤣

silvergull10 said:That's why Ron Dennis is still defending the Honda choice—he's basically arguing you just can't win a title as a customer team anymore. Mercedes has such a massive advantage right now, including reliability, and they couldn't care less about whatever nonsense Williams is rambling about. They don't even need engine upgrades; this setup suits them perfectly.

Exactly—they aren't crazy enough to give other teams engines that are just as good as the ones they keep for themselves...

Tyler Bennett5 said:Are you honestly convinced their upgrades this season will actually be improvements? Especially when looking at how much Williams has struggled with their recent developments.

And who exactly is going to handle the upgrades for that ridiculous Williams/Symonds/Bottas/Massa lineup anyway?

Actually, pretty interesting...
If it weren't for Manor/Marussie Sauber, he would've actually been ahead of Williams 😁.
Think about it—if they hadn't shown up in the USA, four cars wouldn't have been knocked out in Q1, it would've just been three plus those two from Manor... and that fourth guy would've been Nasr 😁.
That means he would've started in 15th, basically right in front of Ericsson
.
So yeah, that's what happens when you bring a Ferrari upgrade 🤣.

Jason Campbell70 said:And who exactly is going to upgrade that ridiculous Williams/Symonds/Bottas/Massa poker hand they've been playing?

Honestly, I can't make any definitive calls on how this season will unfold just yet.
Are you going to list the specific people responsible for upgrading the FW36 last season?
Or are you going to claim that every other team just stopped developing their cars somewhere after the USA, and that Williams was the only one keeping up, which is why they were hitting the podium consistently from mid-season onwards?

Tyler Bennett5 said:I can't make any promises about how this season will unfold.
So, you want me to list all the names that actually upgraded the FW36 last year?
Or are you going to claim every other team just stopped developing after the USA GP and only Williams kept pushing, which is why they were hitting podiums consistently by mid-season?

Yeah, right. Like Williams was the only one upgrading—it was mostly just the upgrades living inside their drivers' heads...
The amount of massive opportunities Bottas and Massa blew during the first half of the season wasn't because the car was slow; it was because the drivers were weak.
Let's be real: Williams fell off in the second half of last year, but they finally started delivering the results that car actually deserved...

stormybadger8 said:Ferrari is likely focusing their upgrades on the PU... along with a whole mountain of other technical improvements.
Williams probably won't see any significant PU upgrades at all, unless Mercedes accidentally handed them a dud version and they finally get the real deal after five races. 😁
As for everything else, there's just no way they have the budget to keep pace with Ferrari, McLaren, or Red Bull...
But honestly, the biggest issue is a lack of ambition. Even if they upgraded the PU and the chassis, it wouldn't matter; they seem perfectly content just settling for 5th or 6th in a race, which puts them 3rd in the Constructors' Championship...

How much of an ownership stake does Toto Wolff actually hold in Williams? Is it around 15-20%?
I'm looking at this from a purely business perspective: does it actually serve his interests for Williams to climb all the way to second place overall, or is it better for him if they stay in sixth?
By the time we hit the US Grand Prix, Mercedes might have built up enough of a points cushion to basically guarantee the championship. If Ferrari ends up being their only real threat by then, it would certainly make sense for Williams to receive a PU upgrade just to throw a little wrench in the works.

stormybadger8 said:If only Williams had kept upgrading their drivers' mental game...
The amount of opportunities Bottas and Massa threw away during the first half of the season—not just for podiums, but for wins too—wasn't due to a slow car, but rather poor driving...
Honestly, while Williams struggled during the latter half of last year, they’ve finally started delivering the results that car was actually capable of.

You might not have been paying close attention to them last season, but the FW36 really struggled with downforce right out of the gate. You could see it most clearly during those wet qualifying sessions and races. Between the two drivers, I feel like Massa made significantly more mistakes and let way more chances slip through his fingers. Even the team orders seemed a bit murky regarding driver priority early on. Once everything finally clicked into place, Mercedes wasn't giving anyone else a prayer at winning.

Last year, Williams was basically the only team actually giving Mercedes a run for their money.
Red Bull’s wins were really just a byproduct of Mercedes having mechanical failures and Williams being, well, Williams, but man, that Williams car had some serious pace...
I mean, they weren't kidding around when they locked out the front row at the US Grand Prix, only to end up finishing 3rd and 4th.🤦