Grand Prix of Japan (Indianapolis) 10/09/2011

darkmarlin16 · 2011-10-03T18:16:58+00:00

Track Name: Indianapolis First Race: 1987 (Fuji Speedway 1976) Lap Length: 3.6 miles number of turns: 18 Total Laps: 53 (191 miles) Fastest Lap: 1:31.540 - Kim…

Bradley Nelson2 Active Member

175 messages
joined Nov 2009

#361 · Oct 9, 2011

What really stands out to me is how Michael Schumacher has been performing in these last few races. He’s genuinely squeezing everything possible out of that Mercedes, which is clearly struggling to keep pace with the top three teams. Not to mention, he’s been consistently outclassing Rosberg lately.
A little bit of data to back it up:
Schumacher is trailing Rosberg by just 3 points.
-He’s picked up a 4th place finish while Rosberg hasn't, they both have two 5th place finishes, but Schumacher has 4 retirements compared to Rosberg's 2.
-Rosberg is dominating him in qualifying, but Schumi usually makes up the ground immediately during the first lap.
-Schumacher has a qualifying-to-finish position delta of +33, whereas Rosberg is at -3.

The old man isn't ready for retirement just yet.😁

Drew Bennett68 Regular

471 messages
joined Dec 2009

#362 · Oct 9, 2011

Bradley Nelson2 said:What really stands out to me is how Michael Schumacher has been performing in these last few races. He’s genuinely squeezing everything possible out of that Mercedes, which is clearly struggling to keep pace with the top three teams. Not to mention, he’s been consistently outclassing Rosberg lately.
A little bit of data to back it up:
Schumacher is trailing Rosberg by just 3 points.
-He’s picked up a 4th place finish while Rosberg hasn't, they both have two 5th place finishes, but Schumacher has 4 retirements compared to Rosberg's 2.
-Rosberg is dominating him in qualifying, but Schumi usually makes up the ground immediately during the first lap.
-Schumacher has a qualifying-to-finish position delta of +33, whereas Rosberg is at -3.

The old man isn't ready for retirement just yet.😁

I guess he didn't wreck his front wing in this race; maybe that's where the secret lies...😉

Drew Bennett68 Regular

471 messages
joined Dec 2009

#363 · Oct 9, 2011

Chris Ortiz said:I don't quite follow, what exactly was Red Bull's "bad decision" here? Are we suggesting it would have been a mistake for Sebastian Vettel to just cruise through to the finish line at a steady pace?

And what else? Was he supposed to just overtake a car that was equally fast right in front of him?🤣

I didn't fully catch everything during the press conference, but there seemed to be some discussion regarding an overtake being labeled as the move of the year.🤷
Was Sebastian Vettel actually claiming that his pass on Fernando Alonso at Monza—while driving a car that was two and a half seconds slower—was the overtake of the year?😢🤣

From my perspective, Red Bull really needed to have a new champion standing there at the press conference. It would have looked pretty terrible for their PR if the title celebration happened without him, wouldn't it? And I imagine for Sebastian Vettel, too, it’s much more meaningful to celebrate winning the championship while standing on the podium.

Just my two cents, anyway...

Nancy Scott5 Regular

266 messages
joined Jun 2010

#364 · Oct 9, 2011

Felipe Massa went after Hemoš. 🤣
Those two deserve exactly what they get from each other.😂

darkmarlin16 VeteranOP

1K messages
joined Nov 2015

#365 · Oct 9, 2011

First off, huge congratsSebastian Vettel on grabbing the title.

Going into this race, I was fully expecting Red Bull to just absolutely steamroll the field—like, their most dominant showing all season. But nope, that didn't happen.
As for Fernando, I had him pegged for 5th since, let's be honest, that car isn't exactly a rocket ship, though I was secretly hoping he might scrape into 4th somehow. So, seeing him actually push Jenson Button like that and get right in the mix for the win? Totally caught me off guard. Those white tires were performing shockingly well. Toward the end of the race, I really didn't think Fernando would have the legs to hold off Sebastian using DRS, but man, he defended like a total pro.🙏
He showed some serious class by handling the loss so gracefully, being the VERY FIRST person to congratulate Sebastian on the championship right after hopping out of the car, and then doing it again during the press conference. Honestly, moments like that make me feel pretty damn proud to be rooting for a guy like him.

Regarding Jenson, I’m honestly just glad that if Fernando couldn't take the win, it ended up going to him instead. He proved once again that he's got the edge over Lewis Hamilton, and look, if he isn't rocking that red camera and the number 3 on his car next season, I'm calling foul—that'll be blatant favoritism toward Hamilton.

Red Bull once again played it safe and wouldn't let Mark Webber go for the pass on Sebastian, even though they swore up and down last year that they’d never pull a stunt like that. 🙄

Mercedes, as per usual, was pretty much useless considering what they’re actually aiming for.

Renault 😢

Sergio Perez 🙂

hollowgull5 Active Member

71 messages
joined Aug 2007

#366 · Oct 9, 2011

darkmarlin16 said:First off, huge congratsSebastian Vettel on grabbing the title.

Going into this race, I was fully expecting Red Bull to just absolutely steamroll the field—like, their most dominant showing all season. But nope, that didn't happen.
As for Fernando, I had him pegged for 5th since, let's be honest, that car isn't exactly a rocket ship, though I was secretly hoping he might scrape into 4th somehow. So, seeing him actually push Jenson Button like that and get right in the mix for the win? Totally caught me off guard. Those white tires were performing shockingly well. Toward the end of the race, I really didn't think Fernando would have the legs to hold off Sebastian using DRS, but man, he defended like a total pro.🙏
He showed some serious class by handling the loss so gracefully, being the VERY FIRST person to congratulate Sebastian on the championship right after hopping out of the car, and then doing it again during the press conference. Honestly, moments like that make me feel pretty damn proud to be rooting for a guy like him.

Regarding Jenson, I’m honestly just glad that if Fernando couldn't take the win, it ended up going to him instead. He proved once again that he's got the edge over Lewis Hamilton, and look, if he isn't rocking that red camera and the number 3 on his car next season, I'm calling foul—that'll be blatant favoritism toward Hamilton.

Red Bull once again played it safe and wouldn't let Mark Webber go for the pass on Sebastian, even though they swore up and down last year that they’d never pull a stunt like that. 🙄

Mercedes, as per usual, was pretty much useless considering what they’re actually aiming for.

Renault 😢

Sergio Perez 🙂

man, I seriously need to know which race you were even watching... 😕

stormybadger8 Veteran

1.8K messages
joined Apr 2013

#367 · Oct 9, 2011

darkmarlin16 said:First off, huge congratsSebastian Vettel on grabbing the title.

Going into this race, I was fully expecting Red Bull to just absolutely steamroll the field—like, their most dominant showing all season. But nope, that didn't happen.
As for Fernando, I had him pegged for 5th since, let's be honest, that car isn't exactly a rocket ship, though I was secretly hoping he might scrape into 4th somehow. So, seeing him actually push Jenson Button like that and get right in the mix for the win? Totally caught me off guard. Those white tires were performing shockingly well. Toward the end of the race, I really didn't think Fernando would have the legs to hold off Sebastian using DRS, but man, he defended like a total pro.🙏
He showed some serious class by handling the loss so gracefully, being the VERY FIRST person to congratulate Sebastian on the championship right after hopping out of the car, and then doing it again during the press conference. Honestly, moments like that make me feel pretty damn proud to be rooting for a guy like him.

Regarding Jenson, I’m honestly just glad that if Fernando couldn't take the win, it ended up going to him instead. He proved once again that he's got the edge over Lewis Hamilton, and look, if he isn't rocking that red camera and the number 3 on his car next season, I'm calling foul—that'll be blatant favoritism toward Hamilton.

Red Bull once again played it safe and wouldn't let Mark Webber go for the pass on Sebastian, even though they swore up and down last year that they’d never pull a stunt like that. 🙄

Mercedes, as per usual, was pretty much useless considering what they’re actually aiming for.

Renault 😢

Sergio Perez 🙂

And how was Mark Webber supposed to attack Vettel? 😂

In that SF, Webber wasn't even in the same zip code as Button, Alonso, or Vettel.

crimsonstag84 Regular

518 messages
joined Jun 2010

#368 · Oct 9, 2011

hollowgull5 said:man, I seriously need to know which race you were even watching... 😕

Those three laps still count, though I guess it doesn't really matter if Jenson Button was basically running on fumes at that point.😬

hollowgull5 Active Member

71 messages
joined Aug 2007

#369 · Oct 9, 2011

crimsonstag84 said:Those three laps still count, though I guess it doesn't really matter if Jenson Button was basically running on fumes at that point.😬

aha
then Sumi could have just claimed he was attacking Jenson when he actually should've checked everything leading up to him first
seriously, quit being such haters...

darkmarlin16 VeteranOP

1K messages
joined Nov 2015

#370 · Oct 9, 2011

hollowgull5 said:man, I seriously need to know which race you were even watching... 😕

man, he basically wiped out a four or five second gap in literally one second flat.🙄

stormybadger8 said:And how was Mark Webber supposed to attack Vettel? 😂

In that SF, Webber wasn't even in the same zip code as Button, Alonso, or Vettel.

I mean, if they hadn't told him "don't you dare," he probably would've gone for it.🙄 ☕

stormybadger8 Veteran

1.8K messages
joined Apr 2013

#371 · Oct 9, 2011

darkmarlin16 said:man, he basically wiped out a four or five second gap in literally one second flat.🙄

I mean, if they hadn't told him "don't you dare," he probably would've gone for it.🙄 ☕

Jenson Button explained it perfectly—they told him over the radio that everyone was miles behind him and he should just slow down.🤣Then his radio cut out on him, and to top it all off, they completely forgot to put up the pit lane speed limit sign. Typical.🤣

He had to be pretty shocked when he looked up during the next lap and saw Alonso right on his tail.

Basically, once he realized he couldn't just cruise around forever, he slammed on the gas and called it a day. That was that.☕

Let's be real: neither Alonso nor Vettel stood a chance at overtaking, and Webber wouldn't have had a shot in his wildest dreams. There's a massive difference between just trying to catch up and actually having the pace to pass. Plus, the DRS zone at Indianapolis was placed so poorly it was basically useless.☕

If they’d actually given Lewis Hamilton the green light to overtake Jenson Button, he would've done it without even blinking.😬🤣

A massive conspiracy at McLaren.😳

hollowgull5 Active Member

71 messages
joined Aug 2007

#372 · Oct 9, 2011

darkmarlin16 said:man, he basically wiped out a four or five second gap in literally one second flat.🙄

I mean, if they hadn't told him "don't you dare," he probably would've gone for it.🙄 ☕

and honestly, you already had the TBF1D explain exactly why that happens 😉

man, just start watching F1 as a whole instead of obsessing over your one little idol...

Jack Kelly5 Active Member

117 messages
joined Sep 2019

#373 · Oct 9, 2011

Kind of a dull race, honestly, especially seeing how Sebastian Vettel started just like Michael Schumacher did back when he nearly sent his brother flying into the wall right here 😁.
I mean, at this point, what can you even expect when the championship was basically wrapped up four races ago?
Huge props to both Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, though if the Red Bull drivers actually needed this win, the whole race would have played out totally differently. They’ve been miles ahead of everyone else since way back in 2012, so these last few races feel more like they're just going through the motions, which I guess might actually be alright for us viewers.
All in all, Sebastian Vettel just absolutely crushed the competition this year, and aside from that one hiccup in Canada, I can't really recall any major blunders from him. Seriously, hats off to him.

Amanda Kelly Regular

360 messages
joined Mar 2008

#374 · Oct 9, 2011

Nancy Scott5 Asks:
Felipe Massa went after Hemoš. 🤣
Those two are just cut from the same cloth. They deserve each other.😂

A typical English headline.
They hit you right in the head, leave you reeling, and then conveniently forget to mention why.
I read that, and honestly, I’d say Felipe Massa was the only one who didn't get a single thing wrong.

If the roles had been reversed in today's incident, Felipe Massa probably wouldn't have survived the fallout. He would've spent the rest of his life trying to defend himself against those accusations.
It’s honestly pretty funny how much the FIA seems to favor the guy who actually called them out for racial discrimination.

Amanda Kelly Regular

360 messages
joined Mar 2008

#375 · Oct 9, 2011

Case closed.
Neither Sebastian Vettel nor Red Bull had a single thing to complain about today. The competition—meaning the fans—really shouldn't start making sweeping generalizations based on this performance.

Next up are the prestige races (though they serve as testing grounds, too).

James Diaz8 Member

39 messages
joined Jun 2011

#376 · Oct 9, 2011

Chris Ortiz said:Just one more thing I should mention

If this trend with the tires continues in the upcoming seasons—meaning they just shred themselves instantly—Lewis Hamilton won't stand a chance against Jenson Button. Absolutely none. Without the SC, he would have been lagging 40 to 50 seconds behind Gumby today; instead, he was out front after the first corner and managed to finish without any penalties or collisions.

yeah
I read somewhere today, can't even remember where... that according to everything we're seeing, Gumby, Felipe Massa, and Fernando Alonso are the absolute masters at managing their tires.

stormybadger8 Veteran

1.8K messages
joined Apr 2013

#377 · Oct 9, 2011

Chris Ortiz said:Just one more thing I should mention

If this trend with the tires continues in the upcoming seasons—meaning they just shred themselves instantly—Lewis Hamilton won't stand a chance against Jenson Button. Absolutely none. Without the SC, he would have been lagging 40 to 50 seconds behind Gumby today; instead, he was out front after the first corner and managed to finish without any penalties or collisions.

Not exactly true, though. Hamilton started with a slow puncture, so the gap wasn't quite that massive.

But yeah, it’s been obvious since the start of the season that Hamilton is going to struggle with this while Button gets a huge advantage.

Also, I think Webber is lagging behind Vettel for the exact same reason: Vettel is just way better at managing his tires than Webber is.

Amanda Kelly Regular

360 messages
joined Mar 2008

#378 · Oct 9, 2011

Jenson Button was absolutely clinical today.
What really struck me was how he went after that win without any hesitation. From lights out to the checkered flag, he didn't blink. Even after jumping into the lead during the pit stops, nobody even breathed down his neck. Seriously impressive stuff.

Fernando Alonso took second, which caught me a little off guard. Aside from a relaxed Sebastian Vettel, we’ve got a Red Bull and a McLaren trailing behind him, which makes that podium finish look a lot more legitimate. Well done!

Michael Schumacher put in a hell of a drive to secure that spot, especially considering the car is a bit of a lemon. He's clearly getting better. Props to him.

stormybadger8 Veteran

1.8K messages
joined Apr 2013

#379 · Oct 9, 2011

Nancy Scott5 said:Felipe Massa went after Hemoš. 🤣
Those two deserve exactly what they get from each other.😂

stormybadger8 Veteran

1.8K messages
joined Apr 2013

#380 · Oct 10, 2011

Fernando Alonso is defending his spot using DRS

WTF 😕

I didn't even wrap my head around how that was even possible 😕

Grand Prix of Japan (Indianapolis) 10/09/2011

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