GP Germany - 07/25/2010

If we’d actually seen some rain, this race might have turned out to be pretty interesting, but instead, it was just a flat, boring affair. The only real highlight was that whole Ferrari moment, though personally, I don't think it was anything groundbreaking—unless you count them breaking the FIA's written regulations. If they're going to play by those rules, they really ought to face a penalty... maybe something in the ballpark of $100,000🤣

Honestly, Alonso has become even more obnoxious and insufferable to me after that press conference stunt—claiming he wasn't even embarrassed about being overtaken...😠 Meanwhile, Massa🙏 proved once again what a class act he is and a true team player by letting Alonso pass for the good of the whole squad... though I really feel for him, man; he was dominating the race only to be told to step aside... it's just nonsense. I can't stand those forced overtakes—if you're actually faster, you pass them, and if you aren't, then just deal with it and follow along...
MASSA 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

cosmicridge5 said:It’s no secret that he’s my forbidden love. 🤣

Nobody ever actually said Jenson was just a number two driver. I guess people just like to jump to conclusions.

🤣

Wait, are you actually trying to argue that Jenson Button isn't the number two driver at McLaren?! 🤣 Muahaha 🤣

I really don't feel like going over those McLaren-esque little inside jokes again, nor am I in the mood to deal with that recent schizophrenic screaming: Jenson, we really need to watch the fuel consumption here; it's looking pretty critical. I guess you really have to prioritize saving fuel. 🤣

Nobody ever actually ordered him to let Lewis through. The only thing they didn't allow him to do was get into those stupid, risky, and totally unnecessary scraps with his own teammate. I mean, we've already seen exactly how much of a disaster that looks like over at Red Bull.

So, I guess Lewis is just allowed to dive into those stupid, risky, and totally unnecessary battles with him? 😉 If you didn't happen to have one of the smartest, most level-headed drivers like Jenson Button as a second driver, we probably would've been watching a total McLaren disaster shortly after that mess with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. If they had paired him with two Lewis Hamiltons instead of Button, things would've gone south fast. Honestly, I don't know how you can even bring that up without feeling a bit embarrassed. 😁 It was pretty wild seeing how that clash actually went down. I guess you have to wonder what might have happened if Jenson hadn't been playing it safe by managing his fuel, or if he had just decided to hold his racing line instead. 😛 😁

Look, they told Lewis Hamilton to conserve fuel earlier, and he actually did it—dropping just two seconds per lap. But then, after the team radio said Jenson was also saving and wouldn't overtake if Lewis slowed down, Jenson pulled up right behind him and went for the pass anyway. 🙂

It’s probably no wonder Hamilton got annoyed. Either his team wasn't being honest with him, or Jenson lied to them, or maybe he wasn't even informed while they told Hamilton nothing would happen. 😉

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuKJhnBA64E

It seems pretty obvious that Hamilton is using shorter gears and lifting off the throttle a bit earlier. 😛

What happened today was way too blatant. I guess both drivers are a bit smarter than your average Red Bull fan; they probably wouldn't have collided if they'd gone head-to-head. We saw how Fernando Alonso almost overtook near the Parabola—if he’s that much faster, why didn't he try again? 🤷

redheron12 said:Have you seen that clip where Hamilton basically mocks Jenson Button and the British Royal Family?😁

Or even the one where they're racing remote-control cars—Hamilton spins out, and then Button comes flying in with that "you're flying toward Mark Webber" comment.

Seriously though, did you see that commercial where Fernando Alonso and Hamilton are racing through a hotel, just grinning at each other? 😬

And you know what happened right after that... 😬 🤣

cosmicridge5 said:Good grief, man, where are you even going with this? 🤣

I guess Alonso is just fundamentally a good guy at heart, but it feels like the whole world has somehow conspired against him. 😳 😬

I'm heading out of this thread. You guys are being way too intense. 😁

Go Ferrari...

Honestly, I am totally fed up with him today for a few reasons:

1 - all that whining.
2 - nothing but overtaking, and not even aggressive stuff (I'll give Ferrari credit there; at least they made a smart call unlike everyone else).
3 - and that pathetic press conference stunt was the absolute bottom of the barrel. 👎
And then to top it off, he drops a line like, "whatever, I don't care." 🙄

Seriously, it would be a hundred times better if he just shoved his helmet on and didn't take it off until he got home. It’d be better for everyone if he just stopped making statements, stopped sending emails, and just stopped communicating with any living soul. 🤣

Not sure if this was already posted?

If it has, mods can just scrap 🙂

stormybadger8 said:I wouldn't know, I missed the start.🤷

But from what I've heard and realized since, he screwed up big time again.🤦

Honestly, I have no clue what his deal is lately.👎

You're quite the legend, aren't you... missing the start of the race entirely.😉

I haven't the slightest clue what was going through that kid's mind either... that move to block Alonso was completely irrational.

He just lunged right at him, visibly slowed down, and practically handed Massa an open lane...

It was a totally incomprehensible maneuver.🤷

Jesse Williams2 said:Honestly, Alonso has become even more obnoxious and insufferable to me after that press conference stunt—claiming he wasn't even embarrassed about being overtaken...😠 Meanwhile, Massa🙏 proved once again what a class act he is and a true team player by letting Alonso pass for the good of the whole squad... though I really feel for him, man; he was dominating the race only to be told to step aside... it's just nonsense. I can't stand those forced overtakes—if you're actually faster, you pass them, and if you aren't, then just deal with it and follow along...
MASSA 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

It isn't exactly true that you can just overtake anyone if you happen to be faster...

You haven't really been paying much attention to Formula 1 lately either.

Back in 2002, Michael managed to shave two seconds off his deficit within just a couple of miles.😁

But they’re making progress; honestly, everything looked a lot more promising this time around.

Next time, they might actually pull it off without anyone even noticing.🙏

hollowhawk412 said:You're quite the legend, aren't you... missing the start of the race entirely.😉

I haven't the slightest clue what was going through that kid's mind either... that move to block Alonso was completely irrational.

He just lunged right at him, visibly slowed down, and practically handed Massa an open lane...

It was a totally incomprehensible maneuver.🤷

I wasn't even kidding. My AC repairman finally showed up. I’ve been begging him for days, and wouldn't you know it? He actually rolls up today at 1:30 PM. 🙂

Of course, nothing went right. I missed the first thirty minutes of the race, though based on what I saw afterward, I didn't really miss much.🤣

hollowhawk412 said:It isn't exactly true that you can just overtake anyone if you happen to be faster...

You haven't really been paying much attention to Formula 1 lately either.

Honestly, they might as well just nail qualifying and the start and call it a day, seriously...🤣

Instead of docking their budget, someone should really just donate $100,000 to ☕Ferrari
so they can hire a director who actually knows how to hide those team orders a bit better.

I can totally see why everyone is venting right now, especially over in the McLaren camp.

Like you said, McLaren is leading in basically every category, yet you've suddenly dropped to having only the third-fastest car. That's a weird way for things to turn out.
Now that Ferrari pulled off that 1-2 finish, McLaren is suddenly sitting there with just one decent car for the whole championship.
But when you guys were dominating with those 1-2 finishes, you were bragging about that exact same car.
And all this time, you've been constant critics of Ferrari's tech, their organization, and everything else.

Now that you actually have nothing but the third-best car, it’s no wonder you're all spiraling.
One thing people are glossing over here is how much ground Ferrari gained today.

Alonso ended up finishing 25 seconds ahead of Hamilton. If he hadn't been held up, it probably would've been another 10 seconds on top of that.
Being 35-40 seconds ahead over 67 laps means they were faster by more than half a second per lap. That’s huge. Honestly, I’d be worried too.

hollowhawk412 said:It isn't exactly true that you can just overtake anyone if you happen to be faster...

You haven't really been paying much attention to Formula 1 lately either.

Haha... not quite... I've watched basically every race over the last couple of years😁
I don't really get what you mean by that first sentence of yours😕

Just a quick take on my Ferrari today:

Alonso was absolutely brilliant! 🙏
1. In qualifying, he was just two-hundredths behind Sebastian Vettel; everyone else was basically swept aside. A half-second gap in qualifying is a massive advantage.
2. At the start, if it wasn't for a poor launch and Sebastian Vettel's stupid, aggressive behavior, he would have taken the lead immediately. If that had happened, the gaps would have been even wider. Besides, Vettel couldn't do anything against Massa anyway.
3. Once things settled down after the pit stops, he was visibly faster than Massa.
4. One serious attempt at an overtake showed just how lacking Massa's situational awareness was. Alonso let him through. Smart move. Very smart.
5. After Massa laid down the law, he cruised to the finish.

Basically, a great weekend overall and a well-earned win.

I wasn't exactly thrilled by the post-race drama (based on what I'm reading here). I didn't watch much of it, but to me, the whole thing felt like excessive luck and over-the-top celebrating.

Massa drove a great race; I'm glad he managed to snatch those crucial points away from Sebastian Vettel.
Still, I find the misunderstanding of the situation baffling. We could have finished this without all the chaos.
I feel for him on a personal level, but if he can't grasp how things work, then he shouldn't be there.

All in all, a Luxury Ferrari performance.
We need another result like this—or something similar—to prove we're actually making real progress.

hollowhawk412 said:It isn't exactly true that you can just overtake anyone if you happen to be faster...

You haven't really been paying much attention to Formula 1 lately either.

Amanda Kelly said:Just a quick take on my Ferrari today:

Alonso was absolutely brilliant! 🙏
1. In qualifying, he was just two-hundredths behind Sebastian Vettel; everyone else was basically swept aside. A half-second gap in qualifying is a massive advantage.
2. At the start, if it wasn't for a poor launch and Sebastian Vettel's stupid, aggressive behavior, he would have taken the lead immediately. If that had happened, the gaps would have been even wider. Besides, Vettel couldn't do anything against Massa anyway.
3. Once things settled down after the pit stops, he was visibly faster than Massa.
4. One serious attempt at an overtake showed just how lacking Massa's situational awareness was. Alonso let him through. Smart move. Very smart.
5. After Massa laid down the law, he cruised to the finish.

Basically, a great weekend overall and a well-earned win.

I wasn't exactly thrilled by the post-race drama (based on what I'm reading here). I didn't watch much of it, but to me, the whole thing felt like excessive luck and over-the-top celebrating.

Massa drove a great race; I'm glad he managed to snatch those crucial points away from Sebastian Vettel.
Still, I find the misunderstanding of the situation baffling. We could have finished this without all the chaos.
I feel for him on a personal level, but if he can't grasp how things work, then he shouldn't be there.

All in all, a Luxury Ferrari performance.
We need another result like this—or something similar—to prove we're actually making real progress.

Personally, I hate when people get let through in Formula 1, and while I get that it's done for the sake of the team, I don't think Alonso actually earned this win. It doesn't count as a "deserved" victory when your own teammate just hands it to you... And as for that little stunt Vettel pulled at the start, if Michael Schumacher had done that, he would've been hit with a penalty or stripped of points before you could blink... I'm just hoping Massa shows up to the next race being more aggressive and hungry for the win, aiming for at least 1st place.😠-😠-😁

👍Go Felipe... Go Ferrari👍

Amanda Kelly said:Just a quick take on my Ferrari today:

Alonso was absolutely brilliant! 🙏
1. In qualifying, he was just two-hundredths behind Sebastian Vettel; everyone else was basically swept aside. A half-second gap in qualifying is a massive advantage.
2. At the start, if it wasn't for a poor launch and Sebastian Vettel's stupid, aggressive behavior, he would have taken the lead immediately. If that had happened, the gaps would have been even wider. Besides, Vettel couldn't do anything against Massa anyway.
3. Once things settled down after the pit stops, he was visibly faster than Massa.
4. One serious attempt at an overtake showed just how lacking Massa's situational awareness was. Alonso let him through. Smart move. Very smart.
5. After Massa laid down the law, he cruised to the finish.

Basically, a great weekend overall and a well-earned win.

I wasn't exactly thrilled by the post-race drama (based on what I'm reading here). I didn't watch much of it, but to me, the whole thing felt like excessive luck and over-the-top celebrating.

Massa drove a great race; I'm glad he managed to snatch those crucial points away from Sebastian Vettel.
Still, I find the misunderstanding of the situation baffling. We could have finished this without all the chaos.
I feel for him on a personal level, but if he can't grasp how things work, then he shouldn't be there.

All in all, a Luxury Ferrari performance.
We need another result like this—or something similar—to prove we're actually making real progress.

if you ask me, Massa had the better start and he would've finished ahead of that whiny little crybaby🤷

Amanda Kelly said:Just a quick take on my Ferrari today:

Alonso was absolutely brilliant! 🙏
1. In qualifying, he was just two-hundredths behind Sebastian Vettel; everyone else was basically swept aside. A half-second gap in qualifying is a massive advantage.
2. At the start, if it wasn't for a poor launch and Sebastian Vettel's stupid, aggressive behavior, he would have taken the lead immediately. If that had happened, the gaps would have been even wider. Besides, Vettel couldn't do anything against Massa anyway.
3. Once things settled down after the pit stops, he was visibly faster than Massa.
4. One serious attempt at an overtake showed just how lacking Massa's situational awareness was. Alonso let him through. Smart move. Very smart.
5. After Massa laid down the law, he cruised to the finish.

Basically, a great weekend overall and a well-earned win.

I wasn't exactly thrilled by the post-race drama (based on what I'm reading here). I didn't watch much of it, but to me, the whole thing felt like excessive luck and over-the-top celebrating.

Massa drove a great race; I'm glad he managed to snatch those crucial points away from Sebastian Vettel.
Still, I find the misunderstanding of the situation baffling. We could have finished this without all the chaos.
I feel for him on a personal level, but if he can't grasp how things work, then he shouldn't be there.

All in all, a Luxury Ferrari performance.
We need another result like this—or something similar—to prove we're actually making real progress.

only a massive fan of 🙏🙏🙏👍
could ever say something like that...

Amanda Kelly said:I can totally see why everyone is venting right now, especially over in the McLaren camp.

Like you said, McLaren is leading in basically every category, yet you've suddenly dropped to having only the third-fastest car. That's a weird way for things to turn out.
Now that Ferrari pulled off that 1-2 finish, McLaren is suddenly sitting there with just one decent car for the whole championship.
But when you guys were dominating with those 1-2 finishes, you were bragging about that exact same car.
And all this time, you've been constant critics of Ferrari's tech, their organization, and everything else.

Now that you actually have nothing but the third-best car, it’s no wonder you're all spiraling.
One thing people are glossing over here is how much ground Ferrari gained today.

Alonso ended up finishing 25 seconds ahead of Hamilton. If he hadn't been held up, it probably would've been another 10 seconds on top of that.
Being 35-40 seconds ahead over 67 laps means they were faster by more than half a second per lap. That’s huge. Honestly, I’d be worried too.

I think the real issue here is simply how much each specific track suits a particular chassis. Because of that, the advantage is going to shift back and forth between teams. A lot of it will also depend on when each team decides to roll out their new technical package and how effectively those upgrades actually perform.

It feels to me like McLaren has two much more consistent drivers, though I'm not sure how much more Massa will actually be in a position to assist Alonso. Perhaps we might see more helpful contributions from Bridgestone and their tire choices for individual races.😉

Amanda Kelly said:I can totally see why everyone is venting right now, especially over in the McLaren camp.

Like you said, McLaren is leading in basically every category, yet you've suddenly dropped to having only the third-fastest car. That's a weird way for things to turn out.
Now that Ferrari pulled off that 1-2 finish, McLaren is suddenly sitting there with just one decent car for the whole championship.
But when you guys were dominating with those 1-2 finishes, you were bragging about that exact same car.
And all this time, you've been constant critics of Ferrari's tech, their organization, and everything else.

Now that you actually have nothing but the third-best car, it’s no wonder you're all spiraling.
One thing people are glossing over here is how much ground Ferrari gained today.

Alonso ended up finishing 25 seconds ahead of Hamilton. If he hadn't been held up, it probably would've been another 10 seconds on top of that.
Being 35-40 seconds ahead over 67 laps means they were faster by more than half a second per lap. That’s huge. Honestly, I’d be worried too.

Hmm, I doubt we were ever bragging about the car at McLaren—it was always pretty obvious that Red Bull had us beat. We were bragging about our drivers' smart driving, and honestly, today was no exception; the guys pushed it to the absolute limit.

Right now, we are indeed the third car on the grid, but let's not forget that even Ferrari was third—if not worse—during those first few races after they introduced the new diffuser, failing to score a single point in some of them.

Like I said before, during those first couple of races while we wait for the diffuser to settle in properly, it's purely about damage control. Today, we handled that perfectly, and Hamilton actually widened his gap over third place. As for Button, I'm not losing any sleep over him; I wouldn't be any happier or sadder if he took the title.

Ferrari looked incredibly strong today, but I suspect it comes down to the track configuration and the fact that they were over half a second faster than McLaren in the third sector.

We have another tough weekend ahead in Canada. That race will likely be another exercise in damage control—just trying to extract as much data as possible regarding the car and the diffuser. If we execute that well, we shouldn't lose our grip on either championship.

It's a shame Hamilton wrecked the car, and the rain didn't exactly help us when it came to testing the diffuser and dialing in the setup.

It is interesting to note that we were better than Webber today, whereas in the last race, Lewis couldn't even get close to him.

Regarding all the chatter about whether Alonso's wins were actually deserved:

What I was getting at is that Alonso was clearly faster, and honestly, I think he would have overtaken Massa.
I can't say for sure, but that's my gut feeling.

To those who don't buy it—you aren't going to convince me that Massa could have definitely held off Alonso's attacks either.

What actually happened was just a rational way to handle the situation and squeeze out the best possible result for the team. I’m not exactly thrilled about it, but the fallout from any kind of collision would have been catastrophic. So, as far as I'm concerned, it's all straightforward.