Spanish Embassy (San Francisco-California) May 22, 2011

Alonso's pulling away.
He'll have to pit for fuel soon.🤣

stormybadger8 says... things got a little small during the commercial break...
and the leader just swapped out mid-race... 🤦

Come on, let's go! Let's see some rubber burn! 👋

Way to go, Lewis 👋

If NBC had pulled a stunt like this right now, they’d be getting absolutely roasted by everyone from the networks to the FCC.

Honestly, these guys have more commercials than ABC 👎

Did Button make his second pit stop yet??

Nancy Scott5 said:Did Button make his second pit stop yet??

Nope.

Ford could actually grab a podium here

Ford's pit stops are a joke again 🤦 they barely made it out

stormybadger8 said:Just watched qualifying😁

Out of everyone at the top of the grid, Alonso is sitting in by far the worst spot.

If they already blew it in Q1, why on earth would they push in Q3 when they know they have zero chance? To me, it looks like they're just playing to the home crowd, and I honestly don't see how smart that is.🤷

It seems way smarter to look at the veteran over there—he gets to pick his tires, he’s got a fast car, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he finishes ahead of Alonso.☕

And hey, the guys from the US networks have a point. He hasn't got a single set of fresh rubber, and he's stuck on the dirty side of the track. Vettel didn't even have KERS, yet he still looks satisfied; he isn't whining about it or acting out. Honestly, he looks more confident about winning than Webber does.🤷

He'd probably be happier in 3rd, but who knows? Maybe he pulls a fast one on Webber at the start. 🙂

But hey, Kovacic is ahead of Ricciardo. 🙏 🙏 🙏
Happy for Lotus.🙂

And for Maldonado. 😁

Look, go ahead and root for Red Bull if you want, but for the sake of the championship, it would be great if those two guys could take a little inspiration from what happened back in 2010 and that race in Turkey.

Formula 1... gone too soon. (1950-2011)

swiftjackal3 said:http://f1racing.com/index.php?opt...esti&Itemid=86

After reading this article, everything clicks. In today’s world, aerodynamics is basically a religion! You can't just roll into the season with a few tiny tweaks and hope the competition accidentally naps through winter break. Everyone else shaved off half a second per lap, while Ferrari actually fell behind by two tenths (looking at you, Alonso). And don't even get me started on Massa—it’s his second year being a total mismatch for a powerhouse like Ferrari. Honestly, if Alonso manages to grab a podium, it’ll be a freaking miracle. By the time Ferrari catches up to the pack, it’ll be way too late because Vettel already has a massive head start. They're basically just middle-of-the-pack now. Objectively, they’re sitting in fourth place, trailing significantly behind Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes. If it weren't for Alonso, Ferrari wouldn't even crack the top seven. All this hype surrounding Ferrari is honestly laughable—I mean, Alonso finishing fourth in qualifying? A team like this should be hunting wins, not scavenging for the crumbs everyone else leaves behind. Personally, regardless of what Alonso does or how bad Massa is, they might as well just start designing the 2012 car right now. By the time they catch the leaders, they'll be down by 150 points. While they were busy obsessing over perfecting their KERS system, Red Bull used their 40% functional KERS setup to absolutely shred the competition like a meat grinder.

Most of what was said hits the nail on the head, though I have to push back on the idea that Ferrari should abandon everything to focus on the 2012 car right now.

If we look back at 2009, Ferrari pulled the plug on developing the F60 after only three or four races to start focusing on 2010.

That move didn't exactly pay off, since they ended up starting the 2010 season lagging significantly behind Red Bull.

And as for them acting all excited about grabbing fourth place? That really just exposes their own mindset—it's that classic case of complacency that seems to have taken root over in Maranello.
Well, I suppose they have to put on a bit of a show to keep the sponsors happy and satisfy Alonso's fan club.

Michael Lee4 said:Ford could actually grab a podium here

I'm thinking he'll go for hard tires first, then switch to softs for those final stints to hunt down that podium.

Nancy Scott5 said:I'm thinking he'll go for hard tires first, then switch to softs for those final stints to hunt down that podium.

They went the exact opposite way... staying on softs and then switching to hards at the end, if I caught that right...

The folks over at ESPN are saying the heat should make the gap between hards and softs smaller than usual. 🤷

btw... can't believe Webber isn't passing him with DRS. 🤔

swiftjackal3 said:http://f1racing.com/index.php?opt...esti&Itemid=86

After reading this article, everything clicks. In today’s world, aerodynamics is basically a religion! You can't just roll into the season with a few tiny tweaks and hope the competition accidentally naps through winter break. Everyone else shaved off half a second per lap, while Ferrari actually fell behind by two tenths (looking at you, Alonso). And don't even get me started on Massa—it’s his second year being a total mismatch for a powerhouse like Ferrari. Honestly, if Alonso manages to grab a podium, it’ll be a freaking miracle. By the time Ferrari catches up to the pack, it’ll be way too late because Vettel already has a massive head start. They're basically just middle-of-the-pack now. Objectively, they’re sitting in fourth place, trailing significantly behind Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes. If it weren't for Alonso, Ferrari wouldn't even crack the top seven. All this hype surrounding Ferrari is honestly laughable—I mean, Alonso finishing fourth in qualifying? A team like this should be hunting wins, not scavenging for the crumbs everyone else leaves behind. Personally, regardless of what Alonso does or how bad Massa is, they might as well just start designing the 2012 car right now. By the time they catch the leaders, they'll be down by 150 points. While they were busy obsessing over perfecting their KERS system, Red Bull used their 40% functional KERS setup to absolutely shred the competition like a meat grinder.

Seventh place. Not exactly a podium finish, but I'll take it. 🤣

Seriously guys, stop talking nonsense. Posting stuff like that is like me claiming Red Bull is just a mid-tier team on the grid right now.😂

Let’s be real: Ferrari is easily a top two or three team here. No debate. Alonso is miles ahead of Button, and honestly, he should’ve been sitting in fourth during qualifying. Everything leading up to this race was just a total disaster for him and Ferrari’s questionable strategy.☕

Honestly, Alonso could drive that car with one hand tied behind his back. If they just gave him a halfway decent strategy, he’d be outclassing everyone on the grid no problem.☕

If those two hadn't completely choked during qualifying, Ferrari would have a guaranteed podium right now.😉

They could've cruised through Q1 on hard tires without breaking a sweat. And since Hamilton braked like an absolute amateur again and absolutely trashed his tires in Q3, Alonso easily could've grabbed a podium spot.

Plus, Ferrari struggles a bit during qualifying, but they absolutely kill it on race day. It’s also hilarious that you idiots still don't get it—qualifying isn't about going full throttle just to grab a pole position if it ruins your entire race strategy. Stop wrecking your chances before the lights even go out.

If you put a driver like Alonso in a car this bad, but let him start 17 spots back on a fresh set of tires, he could probably scrape a podium if he drives a perfect race. No mistakes, just pure grit.😉
Since Heidfeld got booted before qualifying, he totally missed his shot. He could've easily snatched 12th or 13th, and honestly, with three new sets of tires, he might have even pulled off a win. Plus, if he had started 15th and somehow landed on the podium? Fans would've absolutely lost their minds. Total delirium.

Button is driving like an absolute beast. Honestly, if he’d just had a cleaner start, he would have been right in the mix for the win. What a missed opportunity.

Button is absolutely shredding both Webber and Zalonso 🙏

What an absolute moron this director is. 🤦

swiftjackal3 said:Look, go ahead and root for Red Bull if you want, but for the sake of the championship, it would be great if those two guys could take a little inspiration from what happened back in 2010 and that race in Turkey.

I've got no problem with that.🤣

Honestly, I’m actually kind of glad Vettel’s starting second today. Watching this same old pattern play out is getting pretty damn repetitive.😢

Red Bull is starting to give me major Ferrari vibes from about ten years ago. 😱