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

Looks like...
but there's no way this is actually happening.

http://www.fia.com/sites/default/fil...pTimes_V01.pdf

Just look at these stints...
everyone else is on softs except Vettel, and honestly, that Williams looks hopeless.
Bottas is barely even hanging in there, barely beating Vettel despite being on tires that are at least a second faster...
And it doesn't stop there—Kimi is pulling times right up there with Hamilton and Rosberg, even though he stayed out way longer.

Vettel - medium (19 laps):
1:32.861, 1:32.904, 1:32.860, 1:33.169, 1:32.520, 1:32.682, 1:33.240, 1:32.774, 1:32.789, 1:32.685, 1:32.681, 1:32.546, 1:32.482, 1:32.623, 1:33.330, 1:33.450

Kimi - soft (17 laps):
1:32.716, 1:32.430, 1:32.616, 1:32.679, 1:32.410, 1:32.541, 1:32.523, 1:32.554, 1:32.102, 1:32.331, 1:32.109, 1:31.966, 1:31.885, 1:32.187, 1:32.078, 1:32.521

Rosberg - soft (11 laps):
1:31.769, 1:32.833, 1:31.829, 1:32.180, 1:32.195, 1:32.005, 1:32.353, 1:32.409

Hamilton - soft (9 laps):
1:32.233, 1:32.047, 1:32.820, 1:32.272, 1:32.573, 1:32.958

Bottas - soft (14 laps):
1:33.435, 1:32.812, 1:33.100, 1:32.771, 1:32.934, 1:32.360, 1:32.270, 1:32.809, 1:33.515, 1:33.555, 1:33.748, 1:33.725

I filtered out the outliers (laps where they were lapping McLaren, Sauber, etc.).
But this simply can't be right. No matter how much of an optimist I am, this is impossible.😳>
Because according to this, Ferrari is basically the fastest car and manages their tires perfectly, while Germany is just eating through them (or pretending to)...

I mean, anything is possible, but I don't think this kind of progress is even theoretically feasible...

Though 😬>
USA 2014 - fastest time was:
Rosberg FP3 - 01:29.375

USA 2015 - fastest times:
1 Nico Rosberg Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.697 29
2 Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.797 25
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:28.412 33
4 Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen 1:28.842 33
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:29.265 32

And it’s not completely impossible that Williams is at last year's Germany level and Ferrari has already overtaken them...
It’s just incredibly weird if that’s true... specifically that Germany is so much faster than their own car from last year, while the other teams using the German engine aren't.🤷>

Given they're a full lap apart, I guess the gap is probably just down to fuel weight—maybe a 30kg difference per stint. In my opinion, Ferrari was likely running much lighter.

crimsonstag84 said:Given the one-lap gap, it’s probably just fuel weight from a stint (~30kg). Basically, Ferrari was running much lighter, IMO.

Could be very likely...

But look at this:
Valtteri Bottas - soft (14 laps):
1:33.435, 1:32.812, 1:33.100, 1:32.771, 1:32.934, 1:32.360, 1:32.270, 1:32.809, 1:33.515, 1:33.555, 1:33.748, 1:33.725

Nasr - soft (13 laps):
1:34.520, 1:33.836, 1:34.026, 1:33.934, 1:33.483, 1:33.397, 1:34.192, 1:34.332, 1:34.032, 1:33.852

Ericsson - soft (8 laps)
1:34.692, 1:33.398, 1:32.539, 1:32.431, 1:32.303, 1:32.632

That Sauber doesn't look nearly as bad compared to the Williams.🤔

Based on those charts stormybadger8 dropped...
McLaren is nowhere to be found. 😢
You're just gonna jinx them if you keep talking like that.

I honestly wouldn't hold my breath regarding qualifying either—and I'm certainly not getting ahead of myself when it comes to the actual race—but I really don't want to get carried away just yet. That being said, there is no denying they've made some serious strides forward.

Timothy Castillo6 said:Looking at those charts that stormybadger8 shared...
It looks like McLaren is nowhere to be found this time around—honestly, they seem completely lost in the shuffle. 😢
I have a feeling you’re just going to charm the life out of them—honestly, it’s practically a superpower of yours.

If you happened to catch the onboard footage during that lap, you might have noticed the McLaren sounded a bit rough—honestly, I’d go as far as saying it sounded downright unhealthy.

It’s honestly mind-boggling how much Honda managed to drop the ball on this one—I mean, truly incredible.

Me back on February 4th, 2015:

Timothy Castillo6 said:If Ferrari manages to pull off more than three wins this season, I’m basically going to lose my mind. Honestly, if they actually deliver on that, it'll be nothing short of a miracle given how much they usually mess things up.And it looks like they actually might pull it off.And then they finally made a massive move.

jadeseal7 said:You could actually hear how rough—honestly, how unhealthy—that McLaren sounded during the onboard lap.

It’s honestly mind-blowing how badly Honda messed this up.

I'm more baffled by Magnussen's exit... it was such a weird, bizarre way to go off track.
First, the kid tells Ted he has absolutely no clue what just happened with the car and needs to check the data, swearing up and down he didn't hit any grass...
only to turn around five minutes later in the garage and suddenly claim it was all his own fault. 🤔

I don't think anyone would have even noticed if it wasn't for that incident with Alonso, but something is definitely wrong with that car...

Honestly, that car is just a bottomless pit of disappointment right now. I truly think McLaren might be staring down one of the most brutal seasons in their entire history—if not quite the absolute worst.

While we're on the subject of things going downhill, does anyone know what happened to DMW? 😁😁

I’m basically just sitting here waiting to watch Carlos Sainz absolutely harvest all those points ☕

DMW must be losing his mind at the sportsbook somewhere...
Even I went ahead and put $3.25 on a McLaren 1-2 finish (Magnussen, Jenson Button) 😬
which would net me about $1,350🤣

Look, if McLaren actually pulls off a 1-2, just know I'll be celebrating and crying at the exact same time 😬
Don't worry though, I won't drink it all. I'll probably save a little something for a Brutus beer 🤣

I'm not totally convinced McLaren is going to be complete garbage...
Yeah, they have a mountain of issues, but it's not impossible for them to fix things and end up with a really solid package...

Actually, it feels like Red Bull Racing might have a way worse season 🤔
between the guys at Renault messing everything up again and Christian Horner and Helmut Marko acting like they own the place... so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Renault walks away from them.
Realistically, when they were winning everything, nobody thought twice about praising Renault, but now they're badmouthing them everywhere... so Renault hasn't gained much from this marriage; they mostly just got mentioned whenever someone needed a scapegoat.

EDIT:
You gambling addicts 😠
They won't even let me bet on a McLaren 1-2 in qualifying...

And not even for $3.25 😢
They say the odds are too high, and the payout is only about $150 😬

I remember back like seven years ago, darkmarlin16 was already preaching that he’d be riding with Carlos Sainz once the Fernando Alonso era finally wound down, and honestly, looking at the grid right now, Alonso is basically a relic of the past, so here we go, let's get it, Carlos! Forget all this Max Verstappen nonsense, I just want to see Carlitos absolutely tear him a new one and leave him in the dust!

Are you actually talking about the same Sainz that Esteban Ocon absolutely bullied like a little kid...

Sainz pulls a 1-10 in qualifying, gap is 2.5. 🙂

In the race, he’s easily finishing in the top 8!!!
I swear on my life, if he doesn't break into that top 8, I'm done.

Honestly, I’m calling it now—he’s looking like a top 6 finisher. ☕

I honestly don't see why people are acting so surprised that Ferrari is essentially running their own separate operation now. During those tests in the US, their car was clocking in nearly a full second faster than last year's Mercedes did at the previous race...

All this talk about straight-line speed is mostly noise anyway; it doesn't even matter for 70% of the track. At the end of the day, it all comes down to who’s packing more downforce.
Is there anywhere I can check the fastest sector times? My gut tells me Mercedes is absolutely crushing it in sector two...

Red Bull Racing and Renault are looking rough. It’s hard to believe they’re running into the exact same headaches again—it's pretty obvious the engine design itself is just flawed. And of course, the guys over at Red Bull are already throwing them under the bus; nothing like that "team spirit" we all know and love. Honestly, Renault would be better off just starting their own independent team. Dealing with Red Bull is clearly doing nothing but tanking their reputation.

stormybadger8 said:Are you seriously talking about the same Sainz who got absolutely bullied by Esteban Ocon back in the day...

Oh yeah, exactly that same Sainz who Ocon totally wrecked.

darkmarlin16 said:Yeah, specifically the version of Carlos Sainz that Esteban Ocon absolutely tore apart.

Do you have some weird fetish where you only root for drivers who inevitably get crushed by the Red Bull drivers? 😬

Vettel joining Ferrari—definitely a career-defining move (especially with RB falling apart alongside Renault)

Alonso leaving Ferrari—a massive career move, though perhaps in the wrong direction

Massa looks shell-shocked by those insane Ferrari lap times
Where on earth did he get that pathetic look on his face? 🤣

F1 Australian Grand Prix : Button Trying to avoid starting at the back

Honestly, I probably should have taken a deep dive into the archives to see when was the last time McLaren actually had to line up from the very back of the grid 🙏