Trip Report: Canada (Montreal) - June 8, 2008

I saw the whole thing with my own eyes

I truly hope your spamming gets dealt with appropriately.☕

Raymond Ortiz89 said:I mean, Hamilton drives like he's back in school or something; he just won't quit. And maybe Kimi would be smarter if he actually pushed it harder, I don't know, just my two cents.

Okay, walk me through what you mean by "drives like he's in school"...

Jason Campbell70 said:I’m really hoping all this spamming gets dealt with by some heavy-handed disciplinary action☕

Give me a break, don't be like that

placidsurfer9 said:Look, just walk me through this like I'm five...

The thing is, there isn't even any real movement or heavy lifting involved here; they're just following the textbook playbook, you know? It’s all very systematic, and if you look at how things are playing out today, you can bet your life they'll try to pull the exact same stunt tomorrow—you'll see how it goes.

placidsurfer9 said:Could you walk me through that? Explain it simply...

I can give it a shot.😉

-He sticks strictly to the "textbook" racing lines. Not a single hint of an alternative route.
-No overtaking attempts.
-Zero flair. No bold moves.
-There’s no signature style here. He drives like a machine—just following instructions rather than relying on instinct.
-And those stories about him copying Alonso's setup last year? They aren't doing him any favors.
-Honestly, man, he’s just irritating. It's enough to drive anyone crazy.

Jason Campbell70 said:Maybe I could give it a shot.😉

He just sticks to the textbook route, man. No mention of any shortcuts or alternative paths at all.
It doesn't cut it.
There's just zero excitement here. No big moves, nothing.
He just doesn't have his own signature style, you know? He drives like some kind of robot, strictly following whatever they programmed him to do instead of actually driving by feel.
I mean, all this talk about him copying Alonso's setup last year? It’s honestly not doing him any favors.
Man, I'm telling you, this is seriously getting on my nerves. It’s honestly infuriating.

That’s just not right. He's basically mixing things up and trying way too hard to push the limits.
We’ve been through all this before. I mean, we’ve seen plenty of those killer overtakes over the years.
When it comes to actually making moves, I guess there’s just one that I see sliding through pretty often.
So, looking back at their history... who actually had the more attractive pairing, Kimi Räikkönen or Sergio Perez? I guess. 🙄
He’s got that unmistakable aggression.
The truth is, he just can't get the race car dialed in yet. That’s exactly why we keep seeing him right on the edge; he’s basically spending the whole session just trying to claw back time because the setup is so off. It forces him to drive like a maniac just to stay competitive.
I guess I won't even get into how annoying that whole thing was. 😁
I guess a lot of people didn't actually hate Schumacher; they just thought he was a massive pain in the neck. 🙂

My bad if there are any typos, I'm typing pretty fast so I don't really check my work... 🙂

Good grief, Lewis Hamilton absolutely tore through them... Meanwhile, look at Sergio Perez.🙂

placidsurfer9 said:That isn't quite right. They're just mixing things up and trying to push the limit.

We could argue about this all day, but what's the point? It's not the right setting, and honestly, being objective on a topic like this just isn't possible.

placidsurfer9 said:We’ve been through this before. Remember those incredible overtakes?

The only overtake I can actually recall was at the end of the start-finish straight in Indianapolis. He had the faster race car, sure, but he pulled it off by cutting the chicane—and somehow, he didn't even get penalized.
Could you show me an example of an impressive overtake on a rival driver?

placidsurfer9 said:When it comes to making bold moves, it's one of those rare plays I see sliding through quite often.
Looking back at their careers... who actually had the more impressive run? Kimi Räikkönen or Sergio Perez? Hmm. 🙄

It’s a power slide, not a slide.
A massive gap.

placidsurfer9 said:It has that signature aggression.

He’s really going for it, isn't he? Just attacking everything in sight.

placidsurfer9 said:The reality is he hasn't mastered the race car setup yet. That’s why we see him hovering right on the edge of the points. He spends the entire session just trying to make up for those technical shortcomings, forced to overdrive just to stay competitive. Is that enough to sustain a season?

At the border.🤔

Not exactly. His race car is only a hair slower than the Ferrari. So, Lewis Hamilton finishing third or fourth isn't really that much of an achievement, is it?

lonebison19 said:Man, how Lewis Hamilton just absolutely dismantled them... And then there's Sergio Perez.🙂

Sergio Perez🤣
ever since he became the gold standard for an F1 driver.

Raymond Ortiz89 said:He’s basically cruising. No real effort, no grit. He just does everything by instinct, you know? It’ll probably stay that way tomorrow too, just watch.

Where’s the lack of effort? When he's out there driving on tires that look like they're held together by duct tape and prayer? Or maybe
there was no effort during those overtakes last year... Or maybe when it rained
he didn't try hard enough last season, which is why Fernando Alonso was right behind him and suddenly found grip while he was struggling through the puddles... What about the last Monaco Grand Prix???
If someone makes winning look easy under those conditions, I guess
it actually takes a massive amount of work to make it look that effortless...
I mean, we probably can't even perceive how much work goes into it, so how are we supposed to comment on it like this?...

Jason Campbell70 said:I mean, we could go back and forth on this, but honestly, this isn't the place for it, and it’s basically impossible to be objective about it anyway.

The only time I actually remember him pulling an overtake was at the end of the main straight in Indianapolis, and even then, he had a faster race car. Plus, he cut the chicane to make it happen, and they didn't even penalize him.
Someone please give me one example of him making an actual, impressive move on a top-tier driver.

- and Kimi, just holding his line while keeping the race car steady... 🙄 man, that's hard to do, like, really hard!! I haven't seen anyone else pull that off lately....

When it comes to being aggressive—Sergio Perez and Kimi Räikkönen are way more aggressive!!! Let's just count up the overtakes and the actual excitement levels.
Starting from the beginning of 2006 for those three, obviously...

Jason Campbell70 said:It's right on the edge🤔

actually, not really. His race car is barely the second fastest (just behind Ferrari). So I guess Lewis Hamilton finishing third or fourth isn't exactly some massive achievement

Fourth???? 🙄

I mean, I’d just go back to that whole thing about car setup and raw speed...
If the car isn't dialed in, even if you're working your ass off, you aren't gonna see much of a difference, I guess...

placidsurfer9 said:- and keeping it sideways... 🙄 that's tough to pull off, incredibly difficult!! I haven't seen anyone else try it like that....

Keeping it sideways? Not really. That wasn't even his intention.
With the braking, combined with how weak the downforce on that single-piece(!) rear wing became, the back end just "stepped out" on him.
First, he nearly took Kimi Räikkönen out. Second, after turning right, he cut across the second part of the chicane. They gave him a penalty for that, obviously.🙄

So where is he even landing with a slightly slower race car???
He's not right behind Hamilton... he's not even within a few spots back

Is Fernando Alonso actually a bad driver if Hamilton isn't even that great?????? 🙄

Jason Campbell70 said:He was trying to hold his line, or whatever, I guess. It’s not like he meant to do it, though.
With the braking, that single-piece rear wing just doesn't have enough downforce anymore. It’s basically useless now, and I guess it caused the rear end to step out a little bit.
First off, he almost totaled Kimi Räikkönen. Then, after turning right, he just cut straight through the chicane. And of course, they slapped him with a penalty for that. Typical.🙄

Either way, it’s just unappealing and boring, isn't it?

Another thing—"Kimi almost crashed"—I wouldn't say that... He just squeezed right in front of and...
I mean, he had plenty of time to hit the brakes, but what else was he gonna do? I guess he just didn't.
How did the GOATs actually pass people? Was it just because they had a faster race car on the straights?🙄
I don't even consider him an idol, honestly. I mean, just look at how much he used to push against Hill and Alesi... if you actually bother to remember!
I mean, let's be real—these cornering sections just aren't wide enough if you're actually looking for some serious action. I guess it's just how the tracks are laid out.

And honestly, when things get a little messy out there, I swear I see someone late-charging or pulling some desperate counter-move during almost every single session, let alone

actually managing to pull ahead of the competition with a move like that!! I mean, personally, I think Kimi Räikkönen was basically asleep at the wheel... but this guy totally capitalized on it!!

placidsurfer9 said:Either way, it was unappealing and just plain boring, wasn't it?

Exactly. And the execution was lackluster at best... barely scraping by by cutting the chicane. Especially considering he had a much faster race car and plenty of straightaways to make up the distance.

placidsurfer9 said:Second point, "he almost wrecked Kimi Räikkönen"—I wouldn't call it that. He forced his way ahead, and
he actually had enough time to brake properly...
How did the greatest drivers ever pass competitors? Just using a faster car on the straights??🙄
He’s hardly an idol to me. Think back to how much he struggled against Hill or Alesi.
Simply put, these winding tracks aren't wide enough for the kind of drama you're looking for.

This isn't really the right topic for our high-level debates.😳

I’m definitely gonna go back and watch this replay. Honestly, we should just have LeBron James and Stephen Curry doing the commentary—imagine that duo! Let's see how that goes. 😂