Bahrain Grand Prix (Outer Loop) | December 4-6, 2020

ruggedhawk20 said:"Exciting" isn't exactly how you rank drivers.

Felipe Massa, Kevin Magnussen, that guy from Venezuela, etc.—they're all "exciting" drivers too.

Well, if you ask me, it totally is! Since my own perspective and my specific criteria are the only ones that truly matter to me—while the rest of you are essentially just a collection of tiny black pixels against the white background of my monitor—I suppose I'll just have to stick by my own opinion.

1. Helmut Marko
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Max Verstappen

Those are, in my humble estimation, the three best drivers on, in, and around the grid.😁

It’s honestly kind of sad when Bottas gets fired up and has to show the rookie exactly who’s boss on the track.🙂

The pig is in trouble

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Well, that isn't actually his total career earnings. If you take the time to add up all those massive sponsorship deals—and honestly, if you just look at his deal with Nike alone—😁

The estimates for him are somewhere around two billion dollars and change, I believe. 😁

Kobe Bryant pulled in about 700 million, while LeBron James is sitting at around 500 million, so they aren't even remotely close to the GOAT.

I don't know why you're shooting yourself in the foot, man. Sorry everyone, my mistake—Lujo took him 2 to 1. Enough said. Button is the world champion.🙂

Check out this contrast.

The whole Alonso and Lewis Hamilton situation is wild. Imagine walking into your seat only to find some guy sitting right next to you who’s already sitting on two major headlines. After a season filled with tension, they ended up tied in the points. But honestly, does that even matter? People are saying the result is basically meaningless because one driver was clearly being favored while the other was getting the cold shoulder from the pit wall. Is it even a fair fight when the team is playing favorites?
A summary of Lewis Hamilton.☕

So you’ve got a situation where George Russell is stepping in because Lewis Hamilton is out with COVID and stuff like that. Basically, Lewis isn't even around, so there’s absolutely nothing relevant to compare him to right now. Yet, somehow, people are still reading headlines claiming it's finally "obvious" that Lewis was a fraud all along. Isn't it funny how those headlines just hand those narratives to people on a silver platter?😵
A summary of Lewis Hamilton.☕

Everyone loves to parade around acting like it all comes down to the car. But does it really?🙂It’s wild when you think about it. It turns out other champions were basically winning titles with a GP2 Engine.

stormybadger8 said:This isn't just embarrassing for Bottas; it’s a massive blow to Lewis Hamilton too...
Because looking at today's data, it's hard to tell who's actually suffering more. 🤦

The fact that some rookie who barely even qualifies for Formula 1 jumps into a car he can barely fit in and immediately outpaces Bottas by 0.3 seconds? It’s freaking insane. 🤦
And yet, Bottas still managed to grab 15 pole positions and 9 wins while driving alongside Hamilton...
What can I even say? This is just ridiculous. 🤔

Man, I was totally hinting at that with my last sentence.
George Russell would probably be fighting for scraps against that influencer-wannabe pretty boy 1000% of the time.
That’s exactly why they never pair him up with anyone who actually gives them a run for their money!

ruggedhawk20 said:Perez is a beast.
Definitely the strongest driver in Formula 1 right now
He’s heading to Mercedes next year

You know that isn't even out of the question, especially paired with Russell. 👍 👍

That would be one hell of a team. 👍 👍

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Well, there you have it! I honestly feel like there isn't even any real need to keep this discussion going further at all. 👍

"But just a little bit"

Toto Wolff is in for a world of hurt right about now.😁
If Russell doesn't find some serious horsepower under the hood, this whole thing is going to be a disaster...

hahahaha.

Gary Palmer8 said:"But just a little bit"

It’s kind of like how people say about football here in the States—that our national team and their national team are basically playing on the same level, maybe even within a five-point spread, 😁

Look, the silver lining for George Russell is that absolutely nobody has ever raced on this track before, so we’re all basically starting from zero.

Oh, just send me a private message, will you?

bluepuma9 said:Look, Lewis competed against three different world champions while driving for the same team—without any team orders in play—and overall, he came out on top. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation anymore. From his karting days all the way through Formula 2, where everyone is in identical cars, he proved he had the goods.
Compare that to someone like Michael Schumacher. He had teammates basically acting as water carriers, drove the best (or maybe questionable) cars for years, so people don't question his stats nearly as much.🤷

Probably because even Schumacher's race car wasn't anywhere near as dominant as the Mercedes...
And talking about legality is just mindless noise. Who's to say this Mercedes isn't "illegal" anyway?🙂

A race car is legal until they find something wrong and disqualify the crew.☕
As far as I know, Schumacher's cars were never disqualified or ruled illegal, so they're just as legitimate as the Mercedes...

Regarding Lewis, yeah, he's sitting in the most dominant machine ever made, but you still need consistency and you have to stay at the top to win.
Every title he grabbed was absolutely earned. Anything else is just fairy tales...

Saying "anyone could do it" is just pure nonsense...
In that car, pretty much anyone on the grid would win a race or two during a season, sure. But winning a championship is a different beast entirely, and winning them back-to-back is on a whole other level...
There are way fewer drivers who could snag a title than there are who could grab a single win—honestly, I doubt half the grid could do it. And as for those who could win consecutive titles? I'm not even sure there are three or four of them on the entire grid.
One guy I'm certain wouldn't be in that group is Kimi, whom I personally love, but he definitely wouldn't be winning titles in a series... he'd be too busy getting hammered after his first win. There are plenty of drivers whose mental game would just crumble under that kind of fame...

But honestly, the "GOAT" talk is also a stretch. A true GOAT wouldn't have choked in a single race or qualifying session, let alone against the relatively mediocre competition of Nico Rosberg...
He also dropped a mountain of PP's (45!!! 🤦) and wins (31 🤦) against Valtteri Bottas and Rosberg... who are supposedly equals, except for the fact that the boss tells the media Bottas is the "perfect wingman," and James keeps telling him to move out of the way at Turn 12 so Lewis can pass, and then he actually does it at Turn 12 so Lewis doesn't ruin his tires overtaking... and we're supposed to believe they're equals? 😍

With Rosberg, things were somewhat obscured, but with Bottas, it's not hidden at all. It's obvious, loud, and public: he's the Number 2 driver.
At the end of the day, it's clear enough that his talent doesn't even come close to the level of that car; he was brought in as the Number 2, and that's his ceiling. Honestly, there are plenty of drivers out there significantly better than him.☕

It’s wild that even looking at the stats, Rosberg and Bottas have twice as many poles as multi-time champs like Alonso, yet they're basically mid-tier Formula 1 drivers... I mean, Rosberg is definitely better, but it's not even a huge gap...
Hamilton alone has 22 PP's over his long career, while Bottas & Rosberg have 45 PP's🤦 even though their win counts are identical...

Based on some of the posts I’ve been reading from other folks on these forums, you’d honestly think we just witnessed a full-blown race today rather than just a practice session! 😂

Today was an absolute disaster for Mercedes-Benz 🙂

stormybadger8 said:Probably because even Schumacher's race car wasn't anywhere near as dominant as the Mercedes...
And talking about legality is just mindless noise. Who's to say this Mercedes isn't "illegal" anyway?🙂

A race car is legal until they find something wrong and disqualify the crew.☕
As far as I know, Schumacher's cars were never disqualified or ruled illegal, so they're just as legitimate as the Mercedes...

Regarding Lewis, yeah, he's sitting in the most dominant machine ever made, but you still need consistency and you have to stay at the top to win.
Every title he grabbed was absolutely earned. Anything else is just fairy tales...

Saying "anyone could do it" is just pure nonsense...
In that car, pretty much anyone on the grid would win a race or two during a season, sure. But winning a championship is a different beast entirely, and winning them back-to-back is on a whole other level...
There are way fewer drivers who could snag a title than there are who could grab a single win—honestly, I doubt half the grid could do it. And as for those who could win consecutive titles? I'm not even sure there are three or four of them on the entire grid.
One guy I'm certain wouldn't be in that group is Kimi, whom I personally love, but he definitely wouldn't be winning titles in a series... he'd be too busy getting hammered after his first win. There are plenty of drivers whose mental game would just crumble under that kind of fame...

But honestly, the "GOAT" talk is also a stretch. A true GOAT wouldn't have choked in a single race or qualifying session, let alone against the relatively mediocre competition of Nico Rosberg...
He also dropped a mountain of PP's (45!!! 🤦) and wins (31 🤦) against Valtteri Bottas and Rosberg... who are supposedly equals, except for the fact that the boss tells the media Bottas is the "perfect wingman," and James keeps telling him to move out of the way at Turn 12 so Lewis can pass, and then he actually does it at Turn 12 so Lewis doesn't ruin his tires overtaking... and we're supposed to believe they're equals? 😍

With Rosberg, things were somewhat obscured, but with Bottas, it's not hidden at all. It's obvious, loud, and public: he's the Number 2 driver.
At the end of the day, it's clear enough that his talent doesn't even come close to the level of that car; he was brought in as the Number 2, and that's his ceiling. Honestly, there are plenty of drivers out there significantly better than him.☕

It’s wild that even looking at the stats, Rosberg and Bottas have twice as many poles as multi-time champs like Alonso, yet they're basically mid-tier Formula 1 drivers... I mean, Rosberg is definitely better, but it's not even a huge gap...
Hamilton alone has 22 PP's over his long career, while Bottas & Rosberg have 45 PP's🤦 even though their win counts are identical...

There's just no end to it... can't you at least try to stay composed when you're sitting in that position?

Well, people call MJ the G.O.A.T., but let's be real—he didn't really find that massive team success until he had Scottie Pippen by his side.

Does Sebastian Vettel have any family, friends, or even casual acquaintances left? Someone needs to give him some well-meaning advice about retirement. At this point, he’s just embarrassing himself.

Pure chaos at this disaster 🙏

Kenneth Cruz67 said:I don't think Lewis Hamilton actually made a mistake there; it honestly feels more like Felipe Massa was just on a mission of his own! 😁

I guess I have to wonder, are we actually attempting to provide some sort of objective value judgment here, or are we all just cheering for our favorites?

I guess if we aren't going to beat around the bush, I’d love to hear what you think, because I honestly find myself wondering who you would personally pick as the superior driver and the more successful competitor in the world of Formula 1?

I find myself constantly weighing this one in my mind, though I suppose there isn't really a single right answer, is there? If you're asking me whether I'd rather see Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton take the glory, it’s such a tough call! On one hand, you have the sheer, effortless brilliance of Lewis Hamilton, which is just staggering to watch, but then you have Jenson Button's incredible finesse and that smooth style that always seemed to make racing look so easy. It’s a bit of a toss-up for me, I guess, depending on what kind of driving you personally find more captivating!

No joke, Button was the better driver, but Hamilton's got the better resume. ☕
Man, that sounded absolutely ridiculous. Seriously, how could you say something so goofy?

Jenson Button snagio je himsku titulu u bolidu koji, kad se pogleda onog trenutka kada je podigao pehar, nije bio ni blizu najbržeg na startnoj liniji.
He was absolutely dominant during the first half of the season—Jenson Button really milked that for everything it was worth—but by the end? It was a total disaster. Not dominant at all.
So, Jenson Button took the title anyway. Whatever.
I’m absolutely convinced Lewis Hamilton wouldn't have grabbed a title in the 2009 Brawn GP season. Honestly, he wouldn't have won it under any circumstances.
Some people would probably write an entire epic poem about Rubens, acting like he’s some legendary driver who's just talented enough to occasionally hold his own against Lewis Hamilton.🙂

Look, even when he had a totally dominant car, Hamilton couldn't just steamroll his way to a title every single year. It’s not like he was winning everything in style, especially considering there was actually some decent competition out there. He just didn't.
Even with the best race car on the grid, he didn't sweep every title. That 2008 championship was basically a lucky break combined with a brutal beatdown, even though he had a massive advantage. He just happened to have Felipe Massa, Heikki Kovalainen, and a totally out-of-it Kimi Räikkönen running against him.
I honestly can't remember a more pathetic championship win in all of history than that 2008 mess.
Honestly, it’s basically a carbon copy of the last race...
George Russell deserved that win and the title. Meanwhile, Lewis spent the whole race embarrassing himself like Bottas—who honestly didn't even deserve to be in the same zip code as Russell's victory.

Does anyone feel like going over to Bottas and telling him this is just a practice session rather than an actual race?
Poor guy is really stressing himself out over nothing, but he just won't listen.