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

James Collins said:Look, I’m definitely no F1 expert or anything, so I was just wondering what you guys think... is it actually possible that Lujin's car is just straight-up faster than Bottas's?
Post 1. Because if it isn't, then man, Bottas is just incredibly slow.
Post 2. And if he really is outrunning the competition like that, it definitely makes Hamilton's results look pretty bad.

First off, this track is so short it's basically impossible to run a clean lap. Whoever actually pulls it off is gonna end up a few tenths faster than everyone else just by luck of the draw. Second, right now the gap between first and last is 1.5 seconds, but on a standard circuit, 1.5 seconds is where the guy starting sixth usually sits. So, on a track like this, everyone looks fast because there's zero room for Mercedes-Benz to pull away—the lap isn't long enough to make a gap meaningful. It’s just a weird, atypical track and a weird situation. We'll see what happens tomorrow, and even more so the day after.

This is true Ferrari caliber

David Lewis24 said:2000 Season: 10 wins for Ferrari, 7 for McLaren
2001 Season: 9 wins for Ferrari, 4 for BMW, 4 for McLaren
2002 Season: 15 wins for Ferrari, 1 for BMW, 1 for McLaren
2003 Season: 8 wins for Ferrari, 4 for BMW, 2 for McLaren, 1 for Jordan, 1 for Renault
2004 Season: 15 wins for Ferrari out of 18 races.

So, summing it all up, 2002 and 2004 definitely crushed the competition, but they weren't even close to what Mercedes has been doing over the last few years.

So let's go Mercedes!

2014: they have 16 wins, 3 for Red Bull
2015: they have 16 wins, 3 for Red Bull
2016: they actually have 19 wins, 2 for Red Bull
2017: they have 12 wins, 5 for Ferrari, 3 for Red Bull
2018: they have 11 wins, 6 for Ferrari, 4 for Red Bull
2019: they have 15 wins, 3 for Ferrari (though there’s some suspicion
that they might have played a little dirty), 3 for Red Bull
2020: they have 13 wins, 1 for Red Bull, 1 for RP, 1 for AT—though this season, others were winning mostly because of mistakes made within Mercedes.

Looking at all of this, Ferkan with Schumi, if we're talking about pure dominance, is just a kitten compared to Mercedes. And it was all proven yesterday when a master who hadn't even scored a point sits in a Mercedes and would surely win if his guys at Mercedes hadn't messed things up for him.

Sure, he hasn't snagged a point yet, but he did sweep the GP3 Series and FIA F2 over the last four years. Plus, he absolutely crushes his teammate on the track.

Sounds like you just woke up from a long nap yesterday, doesn't it?

Casey Hill57 said: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.

If it isn't meant to be, it isn't meant to be. Why bother fighting it?

What an absolute clown show from Russell. Honestly, I can't believe my eyes. The kid actually thinks he earned that win. What a complete disaster.

Gary Palmer8 said:Sure, he hasn't snagged a point yet, but he did sweep the GP3 Series and FIA F2 over the last four years. Plus, he absolutely crushes his teammate on the track.

Sounds like you just woke up from a long nap yesterday, doesn't it?

And let's not forget he's been testing for Mercedes since 2017. It was actually his very first time ever getting behind the wheel of a real race car. Honestly, it's almost like a Cinderella story unfolding in small steps.

BREAKING NEWS: Reddit just dropped a massive bombshell—turns out Formula 1 is actually a constructors' championship, meaning the fastest car wins regardless of who’s behind the wheel.

More details coming your way soon...

Still nothing on the scoreboard 🤣

Nicholas Newman2 said:Toto's decisions with Russell have basically dragged the whole Williams crew down with him.😂😂😂😂😂

Just a quick correction on that—he actually picked up the crew from Ferrari. I mean, Williams is still doing okay-ish in that department, I guess.

wiredfalcon2 said:First off, this track is so short it's basically impossible to run a clean lap. Whoever actually pulls it off is gonna end up a few tenths faster than everyone else just by luck of the draw. Second, right now the gap between first and last is 1.5 seconds, but on a standard circuit, 1.5 seconds is where the guy starting sixth usually sits. So, on a track like this, everyone looks fast because there's zero room for Mercedes-Benz to pull away—the lap isn't long enough to make a gap meaningful. It’s just a weird, atypical track and a weird situation. We'll see what happens tomorrow, and even more so the day after.

Yeah, but it’s pretty telling when a guy jumps into a car for the first time—no prep, tight cockpit and all—and somehow strolls through practice sitting in P1.

If he had stayed in that Williams Racing car, which he knows inside and out, he’d be sitting somewhere around 15th or 20th. This isn't about the car at all. Honestly, I feel bad for Bottas.

Oh my God 🤦

Kenneth Cruz67 said:And let's not forget he's been testing for Mercedes since 2017. It was actually his very first time ever getting behind the wheel of a real race car. Honestly, it's almost like a Cinderella story unfolding in small steps.

Not exactly high-level testing if he's having to ask Valtteri Bottas what half the buttons on the steering wheel actually do... or what P0 means, or whatever else he's asking him.

Amy Castillo4 said:Yeah, but it’s pretty telling when a guy jumps into a car for the first time—no prep, tight cockpit and all—and somehow strolls through practice sitting in P1.

If he had stayed in that Williams Racing car, which he knows inside and out, he’d be sitting somewhere around 15th or 20th. This isn't about the car at all. Honestly, I feel bad for Bottas.

I guess you could say there isn't much left for him to learn here, because Russell has already spent so much time behind the wheel of this car, not to mention his previous stints driving for Mercedes-Benz and the models before that. Even during his time at Williams Racing, he was essentially chasing the same Mercedes engine performance, so I suppose there really isn't anything truly unknown to him. It probably helps quite a bit that the regulations haven't seen any major shifts over the last five or six years, either!

Back in the old days of Formula 1, I guess teams would only manage to clock about 30,000 kilometers during their testing sessions, whereas nowadays, it feels like you can wrap up a few days of testing and head straight into the season opener!

Well, it’s finally Friday, so I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how everything unfolds during qualifying and the race itself!

ruggedhawk20 said:Props to Mercedes. They’ve basically proven they’re the top dogs with the best car—seven seasons straight now. Honestly, the greatest feat in Formula 1 history is building a machine so dominant that even a total amateur could hop in and cruise to a win without any prep work at all.

I feel for Lewis. This whole situation just casts a massive shadow over his entire legacy.

Aside from that one back in 2008—which he basically stumbled into because his only competition was a mediocre Felipe Massa driving a subpar Ferrari.

He’ll forever be remembered as the guy whose car did all the heavy lifting for his career achievements.

hahahahahahaha. loooool, I mean, Mercedes can barely even crack the top 10 these days without Lewis...

I honestly don't get why everyone is acting so shocked by how quickly Russell has settled into the Mercedes-Benz seat.

Look at what Nico Hülkenberg pulled off with RP; he hadn't even touched a Formula 1 car for months before that. These guys are pros. That’s literally why they’re in the paddock and why their paychecks are so massive. Mind you, driving a Mercedes is probably a hell of a lot easier than wrestling a Williams.

And while nobody is actually debating whether Russell is a huge talent—we already knew that long before this race—he’s clearly one of the frontrunners to step in for either Bottas or Lewis Hamilton, assuming Lewis is the first one out the door at Mercedes.

George, check out this interview right after Free Practice 2: https://streamable.com/tjdrkl

Those two idiots just got soaked at the arena.

Gary Palmer8 said:Sure, he hasn't snagged a point yet, but he did sweep the GP3 Series and FIA F2 over the last four years. Plus, he absolutely crushes his teammate on the track.

Sounds like you just woke up from a long nap yesterday, doesn't it?

I mean, none of these guys just fell from the sky. I'm definitely not trying to downplay Russell's talent or what he brings to the table, but we were really just talking about how much that dominant race car played a part here...

Amy Castillo4 said:Yeah, but it’s pretty telling when a guy jumps into a car for the first time—no prep, tight cockpit and all—and somehow strolls through practice sitting in P1.

If he had stayed in that Williams Racing car, which he knows inside and out, he’d be sitting somewhere around 15th or 20th. This isn't about the car at all. Honestly, I feel bad for Bottas.

Look, if you’re pulling a tenth of a second on someone, you aren't just "strolling," but whatever. Ocon is usually faster than Ricciardo during practice, yet when it actually matters in qualifying, Ricciardo beats him 14 times out of 15. An experienced driver knows points aren't won in practice sessions, so there's no point chasing a personal best just for the hell of it. Let's just wait for qualifying and the race before we start acting like experts. Besides, Bottas actually had a faster lap, but they deleted it.

Patrick Newman5 said:Oh my God 🤦

...you've gone and picked the wrong Senna