Sepang Grand Prix - March 30, 2014

Tyler Bennett5 said:Valtteri Bottas was 100% convinced yesterday he’d overtake Jenson Button.

We had a pretty similar conversation during last year's race at the same track, though the main players back then were Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Similar? Maybe. But not quite. Rosberg couldn't pass anyone. Seriously, anyone at all...

Jason Campbell70 said:Honestly, for stunts like that, they should've handed out life sentences. ☕

Maybe all five of them are, though that specific move toward Alonso is still pretty questionable... I mean, Alonso was never exactly playing second fiddle to Rosberg.
And honestly, look at how the refs have been calling things lately. They could basically show up whenever they feel like it and just call whatever they want. Just slap a penalty on Alonso already. Imagine if Rosberg had been overtaken by pure accident... through no fault of his own.
I mean, let’s be real—that similar move Rosberg pulled on Hamilton during that same race would've easily earned him a lifetime ban or at least a multi-race suspension.🙄

That’s the problem right there. The FIA doesn't have anyone competent enough to actually tell the difference between legitimate strategy and straight-up dirty playing.
It’s honestly mind-blowing. If Sky has the tech to just deploy aerial cameras whenever they want to get that perfect angle and measure every single thing in real-time, then I truly don't get it. Either some kid or the refs clearly don't have the same gear, or they’re just completely clueless about what they're looking at.🤷

Then you get hit with total nonsense at the end. Like when Grosjean gets slapped with a penalty for overtaking Massa, who was being completely clueless... except Massa actually shoved him out of the way—just like how Rosberg was pushing Alonso and Hamilton around. Except Grosjean was way further ahead before the shoving even started.

And once again, they didn't even bother to penalize some absolute bullshit...
Honestly, the bias is getting ridiculous. It’s actually scary how much they lean into it—it's all about protecting reputations and certain teams at this point.
If Rosberg had been driving for some bottom-tier outfit like Marussia, Caterham, or even the FIA, he would’ve been slapped with a penalty for this and that in a heartbeat.😁

cosmichawk12 said:Anyone got some race highlights? I totally missed the whole thing.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2ROb4QRfAlEBF6rv0P

George Ramos15 said:Similar, sure, but not quite. Rosberg couldn't pass anyone. Absolutely nobody...

Are you actually sure about that?
Rosberg had about as much chance of overtaking Webber as Bottas Button did.

By lap 39, he was already breathing down Hamilton's neck, and by lap 44, he'd blown right past him.
And he was already trailing by... About 9 seconds behind Webber. Just 12 laps left to go...
And honestly, Hamilton was consistently clocking times a full second faster than Webber. If they’d actually let him through, he might not have overtaken him outright, but I guarantee he would've been breathing down his neck the whole damn time.

Jason Campbell70 said:Honestly, moves like that should carry a life sentence. ☕

You’re talking about Alonso. I couldn't agree with you more on that. There’s just no defending it.

Raymond Anderson4 said:You mean Alonso. I'm right there with you on that one. There's just no arguing with the facts here.

Hahaha, that’s easily the best comment here.🤣🤣🤣😂😂

stormybadger8 said:Are you really that sure about that?
Did Rosberg really have the same shot at overtaking Webber as Bottas did against Button?

By lap 39, he was already breathing down Hamilton's neck, and by lap 44, he had already blown past him.
And he was trailing by that much, too? About 9 seconds until Webber. Only 12 laps left to go...
Even if he hadn't been let through, wouldn't Hamilton have eventually caught up? He was consistently running laps a full second faster than Webber anyway. If they'd just let him pass, he probably would've ended up right on his tail regardless.

Rosberg clocked his fastest lap on lap 44, while Webber hit his on lap 45. Webber was actually faster by 0.080. Honestly, I really doubt they caught up to him as easily as you're suggesting.
Take a look at everything that happened around lap 40. Honestly, I don't think the Mercedes cars stood a chance...
Check out this latest FIA document regarding the driver standings chart. Is everyone keeping up with the current rankings?
EDIT: My bad, I didn't realize you were linking something similar. Sorry about that. I see what you mean now. Honestly, it doesn't look like there was much of a chance there... Webber wasn't exactly pushing it...

Webber couldn't even push because those tires were toast by lap 8 or 9 every single time, and he was supposed to make them last 11... plus, Red Bull was having a nightmare with those hard compounds during this race 😉
plus, he had to save fuel since he burned through that too... damn, everyone heard the commentators saying his fuel consumption was trash 😉
And besides that, he literally cooked his tires in the first two laps just trying to keep up with Vettel 😬

Come on, you've gotta remember that race 🤣
It wasn't like Vettel just casually breezed past him; after that, Webber was basically dropping a second per lap compared to him...
If he actually had the pace, he wouldn't just be driving faster—he would've slammed into the back of Vettel at the end 😬

Rosberg didn't stand a chance, especially since Webber had already destroyed his tires and was busy swearing his head off in the cockpit—he probably couldn't even see what was happening around him 😬🤣

stormybadger8 said:Webber couldn't even keep up because those tires would burn out by lap 8 or 9, and he was supposed to make it to 11... plus, Red Bull had some serious issues with those hard compounds during that race. 😉
On top of that, he had to save fuel since he was running low... and come on, everyone heard the commentators mentioning how weak his fuel situation was. 😉
And besides that, he literally shredded his tires in the first two laps just trying to keep pace with Vettel. 😬

Man, you’ve gotta remember that race! 🤣
It wasn't just Vettel passing him easily and moving on; after that, Webber was just losing a full second per lap compared to him.
If he actually had the pace, he wouldn't just be driving faster—he would have absolutely hammered Vettel at the finish line. 😬

Rosberg didn't stand a chance, especially since Webber had already trashed his tires, and he was probably cursing so much inside the cockpit that he could barely see what was happening around him. 😬 🤣

Rosberg was on worn mediums for his final stint while Webber was on fresh hards. Even if he had caught him in the last three laps—which would've required destroying his tires to do—could he really have had a shot on ten-lap-old soft rubber? No matter what problems Webber was facing, Mercedes was eating through tires even faster than Red Bull. He simply wouldn't have been able to pass him.

Magnussen’s got serious heart, man 🙂

analogbison71 said:Magnussen really has heart. 🙂

😕

George Ramos15 said:Rosberg was running on old mediums in his final stint while Webber was on fresh hards. Even if he caught up to him in the last three laps—which would've required absolutely shredding those tires—he wouldn't have stood a chance against ten laps of older, softer rubber. Regardless of whatever issues Webber was having, Mercedes was eating through tires way faster than Red Bull. He just wouldn't have made the pass.

Look, I never said *I* could pass him...
I said Rosberg had the same shot as Bottas did before Button passed him.😁

stormybadger8 said:I mean, it’s not like I was saying I could pull that off myself...
I said that Rosberg had just as much of a shot as Bottas did before Button took over.😁

We’re just going in circles now. There's really no point in pushing this further. At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, right?🙂

darkmarlin16 said:http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2ROb4QRfAlEBF6rv0P

Thanks, though I actually stumbled upon a few clips that were a bit longer than this one earlier... 😁

Anyway, nothing surprising there—Hamilton sitting right at the top, which is exactly where you'd expect the best guy on the grid to be... ☕

cosmichawk12 said:Nothing to it—Hamilton takes the top spot. Isn't it only fitting that the best man on the grid gets pole? ☕

Colleague, you're being a bit too subjective again, aren't you?😁.
Let's not go there; people might actually get upset if we start acting like we're the gold standard for objectivity.

Alonso fans on the forum, Kimi fans at the track 😁

No way we’re getting through Vietnam without the American flag flying high🙏🙏🙏

So I’m sitting here watching the race again, and I just noticed that "F1 visits USA" sign on that hill looks totally fake, like it was just slapped in there with CGI.
I had a hunch right from the start, but I wasn't 100% sure until now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngWhFrQdIYA

Man, watching Massa 😍
just hits different, you know?

darkmarlin16 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngWhFrQdIYA

Massa 😍

Question is, was it actually all that much?🤣
Mađo claimed they were ordered around 14 times, but this video only shows 9 messages about that specific issue.🤣

It’s pretty interesting how they even banned Bottas from attacking Massa right at the start.😁

Though, it didn't take long for things to go sideways. 🤣


😂

The season has kicked off spectacularly, with even the underdog picking up a mere 15 out of 50 points!
Hamilton is driving phenomenally, and the car has finally returned to its former glory; at last, we aren't forced to watch some mediocre driver standing on the top step while everyone else engages in a desperate, disorganized scramble toward the biggest fraud in the combustion cycle.

Marko 🙂, listen to this guy claiming they could have had it; what sheer arrogance from some firm based out of Austria 🤣

He hasn't whined this much in the last four years... now he's suddenly decided to start whimpering... 🤣

"By switching Toro Rosso over to Renault engines, our goal was to solidify the relationship with the French manufacturer. Had we possessed a superior engine, perhaps we would find ourselves at the very top, but we are currently lacking 80 horsepower compared to Mercedes," remarked Marko.

Yet, when you were busy collecting championships using Renault power units for four straight years, you certainly weren't complaining, were you? 🙂

I wouldn't be surprised if they simply pulled out of F1 halfway through the season once they realize they can't catch Mercedes or the maestra. People like this, who contribute absolutely nothing to the sport, represent the absolute bottom of the barrel. Instead of building a monument to Renault for placing them where they are, they choose to spit on the hand that feeds them. It is truly shameful. ☕

Honestly, STR really made the right call switching to General Motors🤣
If they’d stuck with Ford, they’d be absolutely screwed right now😂
I mean, just look at how badly Sauber is struggling🤦

As for Vettel, I’m actually pretty happy with him😁
He’s only 10 points behind the leader, which is basically nothing considering the absolute mess the preseason turned into...