Sepang Grand Prix - March 30, 2014

It’s getting ridiculous how much fans of that bench-warming sponsored driver are talking trash. He was just circling around in his Ford again, being super careful not to accidentally bump into anyone. I guess time will tell who's actually legit. That guy living on the bench didn't really do anything in that Ford... he basically accomplished absolutely nothing.

Terry Carter2 said:I look at this thread and I'm just wondering why it smells so much like... well, you know!😕
Oh sure, apparently being 14 is some kind of status symbol now!
😁

😂 🤣 🙏 I mean, this is probably the best way to describe fans who just follow whoever is sponsoring the bench.

And lest I forget to mention, Nico Hulkenberg has once again provided undeniable proof of his status as a truly exceptional driver. 🙏

Sebastian Vettel has once again shut everyone up. A podium finish with a car that wasn't even ready.

Lewis 👋

graniteharbor502 said:This race basically proved two things—that the Mercedes-Benz is easily the class of the field, and that Sebastian Vettel is a legitimate four-time world champ for a reason. I mean, pulling qualifying numbers like that in a significantly slower car and nearly snatching pole? Then actually staying glued to Nico Rosberg's gearbox once the track dried out? Honestly, you've gotta give him props for that. 🙏

Oh, please. If Vettel manages to do something decent in a subpar car, suddenly he's a hero—but if Alonso fights for a championship in a slower machine, people act like he’s a total failure because he didn't clinch the title.

Let's get a reality check here, shall we?

graniteharbor502 said:And let’s not even get started on how Nico Hulkenberg just absolutely proved once again that he’s a top-tier driver who deserves way more than he gets. 🙏

Yeah, I'm signing my name to that one. ☕

shadowstag10 said:Of course, if Vettel manages to achieve nothing while driving a slower car, we all shower him with praise, but the moment Alonso tries to contend for a championship in a similarly subpar machine, suddenly he’s considered a failure because the title eluded him.

Let’s try to bring a little bit of reality into this conversation, shall we?

😕 🤷
Who is actually doing what here? Both drivers have had their share of brilliant performances and their fair share of absolute disasters. This recent outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is simply yet another instance that highlights Vettel's sheer talent. I truly fail to see how Alonso even enters into this equation right now, does anyone else?

graniteharbor502 said:😕 🤷
Who, who exactly? Both teams have had their fair share of absolute disasters and total masterclasses. And honestly, this race in Malaysia was just another one to prove how clutch Vettel can be. I don't see what Alonso has to do with any of this right now.

Where's the "masterclass" in that?

If Ricciardo hadn't dealt with those issues, he would've finished right on his tail—so personally, I don't see some massive, legendary achievement here worth all the hype.

He finished behind the faster cars and ahead of the slower ones. Period. End of story.

graniteharbor502 said:Oh, and I should probably mention—Nico Hulkenberg proved once again just how much of a top-tier driver he really is. 🙏

Signed,

And honestly? Ferrari has shown yet again that they've lost that signature Italian flair without Jean Todt around to steady the ship.

Walter Cox6 said:Sebastian Vettel just shut everyone up once again. A podium finish with a car that wasn't even ready to race.

Lewis Hamilton. 👋

He proved he’s got it, especially since Ricciardo was breathing down his neck for almost the entire race. It's not like the car was just "okay"—it was actually the second fastest on the grid, so seeing him take third behind the better driver at Red Bull isn't some miracle, it's just the reality of how things shook out.☕

Looks like Ricciardo is inheriting all that bad luck Webber had.

Man, Webber practically had some kind of disaster waiting for him at every single race last season, but so far, Ricciardo is sitting pretty at 2 for 2.

graniteharbor502 said:😕 🤷
Who are we even talking about? Both teams have had their share of incredible highs and total disasters. Honestly, this race in Malaysia was just more proof of how talented Sebastian Vettel really is. I’m not quite seeing what Alonso has to do with any of this.

Finishing in third place while driving the second-fastest car on the grid—now that is pure skill.🙏

darkmarlin16 said:Mark Webber's bad luck seems to have rubbed off on Ricciardo.

Last season, Webber seemed to deal with some kind of mess at almost every single race. So far, Ricciardo is sitting pretty at 2/2.

I've fixed your post.

dustycyclist19 said:He proved his point, especially since Ricciardo was breathing down his neck for almost the entire race. This isn't some case of an unprepared car; the reality is that this machine is the second fastest on the grid, making a third-place finish for the superior driver at Red Bull nothing more than expected performance.☕

And where exactly was Alonso? 🤣

Red Bull is barely operating at 75% capacity right now. My advice to Mercedes? Enjoy the celebration briefly, then get back to work, because Red Bull will be catching them before they know it.

shadowstag10 said:where is the talent in this?

If Ricciardo hadn't run into those issues, he would have finished right behind him, so I really don't see any particular achievement in this race that warrants such high praise.

He finished behind the faster cars and ahead of the slower ones, and that's that.

So, let us consider the qualifying session. How much did Vettel trail behind Lewis Hamilton—who is widely regarded as one of the fastest drivers of our era, if not the absolute fastest—while driving a significantly slower car? And we aren't talking about a negligible gap, but rather a full second on this specific track. Is that not worthy of admiration? Furthermore, where does Ricciardo's time actually stand when compared to Vettel's?
Then, let us look at the race itself. After losing his position at the start, Vettel managed to overtake someone in an identical car directly on the track. Who else has been able to pull off such a feat lately?
Following that, Vettel steadily builds a lead over his own teammate while simultaneously putting pressure on Rosberg's second-place position, all while driving a machine that is, quite frankly, vastly slower than the Mercedes. If that isn't a testament to pure skill, then I truly do not know what is. 🤷
And one only needs to glance at the final standings to see how the other cars powered by Renault performed.

graniteharbor502 said:Look, let’s just talk about qualifying for a second. How much did Vettel actually trail Lewis Hamilton—who, let’s be real, is easily one of the fastest drivers on the planet right now when it comes to single-lap pace—while driving a significantly slower, inferior car? We're talking a full second gap on this track, which isn't nothing. That deserves some respect, doesn't it? And where does Ricciardo's time even stack up against Vettel's?
Then you look at the race itself. After getting shuffled back at the start, Vettel manages to slice right through the field in an identical car. Honestly, who else is pulling stuff like that off these days?
After that, he starts steadily chipping away at his teammate's lead while simultaneously putting pressure on Rosberg’s second-place spot, all while driving a car that is, frankly, lightyears slower than the Mercedes. If that doesn't prove what a beast he is, I don't know what will. 🤷
Plus, you can just look at the standings to see how the rest of the cars running Renault engines ended up.

That looks real pretty on paper, buddy, but you conveniently left out a few key details. Pretty sure you did that on purpose, too.

graniteharbor502 said:Look at qualifying. Just how much did Vettel trail Lewis Hamilton—who is easily one of the fastest drivers on the planet right now (if not *the* fastest)—while driving a significantly slower car? We aren't talking about a tiny gap either; he was about a full second off on this track. Doesn't that deserve some serious respect? And where does Ricciardo’s time stack up against Vettel's?
Now, look at the race itself. After losing ground right at the start, Vettel managed to slice straight through the field on the racing line in essentially the exact same machinery. Who else has pulled that off lately?
From there, Vettel steadily builds a gap over his teammate while simultaneously putting pressure on Rosberg’s second-place spot. All of this done in a car that is clearly nowhere near the pace of the Mercedes. If that isn't proof of pure skill, I don't know what is. 🤷
You can also see the performance gap just by looking at how the other Renault-powered cars finished in the standings.

bold 🤣🤣

graniteharbor502 said:Look at qualifying. How much did Vettel trail behind Lewis Hamilton—who is easily one of the fastest drivers on the planet right now, if not *the* fastest—while driving a significantly slower car? We aren't talking about a tiny gap either; he was about a full second off on this track. Isn't that worth some respect? And where did Ricciardo's time land compared to Vettel's?
Then there's the race itself. After losing ground at the start, Vettel manages to slice right through the field in an identical car. Who else is doing that these days?
From there, he slowly starts chipping away at his teammate's lead while simultaneously putting pressure on Rosberg's second-place spot. All of this in a car that is nowhere near as fast as the Mercedes. If that doesn't prove pure skill, I don't know what does. 🤷
You can also see how the rest of the Renault-powered cars finished in the standings.

I didn't notice the Renault engines being slow at any point during the race, especially not with Red Bull. Kimi was having enough trouble getting past Kamui Kobayashi and Romain Grosjean, so much so that you couldn't really complain about Renault's pace. Vettel failing to overtake Rosberg is a completely different story... Ricciardo was ahead of Vettel right up until those "magical" sensor issues started happening, and then, by some strange coincidence, a wheel just happened to fly off when he threatened Vettel's position. Strange coincidences...

The only thing I'm actually wondering about is whether that fuel consumption graphic is lying. Based on those numbers, the Williams looks like it's about to explode... 😁

graniteharbor502 said:Alright, let’s talk qualifying. Look at how much Vettel trailed Lewis Hamilton—who, let’s be real, is one of the fastest drivers on the planet right now (maybe even *the* fastest) when it comes to single-lap pace. And he was doing it in a slower, subpar car. We're talking a full second gap on this track. You telling me that isn't impressive? And where does Ricciardo's time even stack up against Vettel's?
Then look at the race itself. After losing ground right at the start, Vettel manages to slice straight through the field in the exact same car. Who else is pulling stuff like that off lately?
After that, he just slowly starts chipping away at his teammate while simultaneously breathing down Rosberg's neck for second place. All of this in a car that is—let's face it—way slower than the Mercedes. If that doesn't prove pure talent, I don't know what does. 🤷
And you can see the results for themselves looking at how the other cars powered by Renault finished in the standings.

Well, yeah, if you're comparing times during rainy qualifying sessions, then sure. Even Alonso "destroyed" Kimi in qualifying, so I'm not claiming he's actually that much better than him.

I mean, props to him for overtaking (the number two driver), but honestly, that was pretty much his whole show.

He was only "threatening" them for a little while until they told Rosberg, "Hey, go ahead and pull a gap," which basically turned it into a totally negligible threat.

And as for those Renault-powered cars... massive credit to Red Bull for building such a damn well-engineered machine again.

shadowstag10 said:It’s always a bit of a gamble trying to hunt down qualifying lap times for a fair weather comparison—you never quite know if you're comparing apples to apples when the track conditions shift. Even so, looking at the data, Alonso really did absolutely shred Kimi's pace during qualifying, so I wouldn't go as far as saying he was just marginally better than him.

Well, you have to hand it to him—he managed to pull off that overtake, and honestly, that’s about as much as we can expect from our number two driver at this point.

He spent all that time making these grand threats—acting like he was actually a danger to someone—until they finally looped in Rosberg. Honestly, if you want my two cents, he’s just completely easy to ignore. It was a totally negligible "threat," really—hardly worth the breath.

As for those cars running the Renault engines—honestly, you have to hand it to Red Bull. They’ve gone and built another absolute masterpiece of a car, haven't they? It’s just brilliant engineering, really.

Even Fernando Alonso Ricciardo was breathing down his neck until he finally decided to open it up a bit—it’s worth putting things into perspective when you look at where Ferrari actually stands right now.