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

ruggedhawk20 said:Pure empty rhetoric

This is just as sensible as responding to the endless empty rhetoric that’s been swirling around, which really spiked after Practice 1.
To be clear, this massive surge in nonsense is just a direct reaction to all the built-up frustration.

If it weren't for Pirelli's "Michelin Man" appearing on this PDF, we'd be witnessing a level of chaos even a Roman Emperor would be ashamed of.😁

A lot of things become much clearer once you look at how people voted in the poll at the top of the thread.🤦

Max Verstappen is probably going to have a mental breakdown at this rate. He’s been getting picked apart all season—first Lance Stroll got him in Turkey, and now he’s losing out here by less than 0.06. He's always right there, yet he just can't seem to close the gap.

Valtteri Bottas leaned on his experience to pull it off, but George Russell really stepped up when it counted, too. Honestly, this kid will probably settle in over the next few races and start snatching wins just like Lewis Hamilton does. For the fans, it’d be much better if we had both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton on the grid next race.

Nicholas Newman2 said:This is just as sensible as responding to the endless empty rhetoric that’s been swirling around, which really spiked after Practice 1.
To be clear, this massive surge in nonsense is just a direct reaction to all the built-up frustration.

If it weren't for Pirelli's "Michelin Man" appearing on this PDF, we'd be witnessing a level of chaos even a Roman Emperor would be ashamed of.😁

A lot of things become much clearer once you look at how people voted in the poll at the top of the thread.🤦

Well, we’re going even harder than that—if only George Russell had actually won.

Because he proved anyone can win in that car. But more importantly, he proved Mercedes will do absolutely anything—even screw themselves over for extra points they don't even need—just to keep up the illusion that Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT.

Anyone with half a brain sees that Russell didn't just finish eighth yesterday; Mercedes practically shoved him into eighth place. And they did it twice. Russell—who is a totally mid driver—could have won in the most dominant car in Formula 1 history despite one intentional pit stop blunder. They literally had to mess up twice just to pull him in.

See, Russell has given us plenty of proof to realize that Lewis reached all those records simply because he's driving the most dominant car ever and gets absolute preferential treatment from the team because he's good for marketing. He's a handsome, well-spoken guy who dominates the media and social feeds effortlessly. Of course, they're going to let him dominate the track, too. Lewis is indeed the GOAT—but not for his driving, for his influencer game. He's the best influencer among drivers and the best driver among influencers. He's leagues above a Handball player, but barely reaches the ankles of Niki Lauda.

So yeah, we've got more than enough reason to go wild. And we'll be doing it for a long, long time. You can read it or you can ignore it—whatever. Your call.

Nicholas Newman2 said:That was a bold move by Charles Leclerc and Ferrari.

Final thoughts after qualifying.
George Russell👎
Unfortunately, he’s performing below expectations. He lost out to Valtteri Bottas—it was only by a tiny fraction, but still, losing to Bottas is tough.🤦

At the end of the day, it comes down to the car. You can't expect this kind of performance from a driver sitting on the front row.

🤦
Look, Bottas has actually beaten Lewis Hamilton five times in qualifying this season. We're talking an average gap of about 0.15s in favor of Hamilton. Meanwhile, Russell jumped into a car yesterday that wasn't even tailored to his style, and he still managed to stay within 0.026s. Honestly, you can't argue with those numbers; if Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen were in that same car, they would have left Bottas in the dust.

Something I totally missed while watching the broadcast—and honestly, this was the absolute highlight of the race—was how Valtteri Bottas sat in the pits for 37 seconds only for them NOT to change all his tires before sending him back out 🙏 I mean, even Ferrari couldn't pull off a mess that bad 🙏

Check it out: https://streamable.com/1meknp

Man, they didn't even swap out a single 🤦 🤣 They take off the hards, slap on new mediums, then rip off the mediums and just shove those same used hards right back on 😂

E2: The craziest part of this whole circus is that neither Russell nor Bottas even needed to pit in the first place.

graniteharbor502 said:But if that were the case, how much of an advantage would Max Verstappen have? Would we be looking at a full second difference?

It’s kind of like Charles Leclerc (talking about qualifying here). Honestly, I think Charles Leclerc is probably the fastest guy on a single lap in Formula 1, and even back in Formula 2, he was still the king of pole positions—he had seven in a row, though they broke his streak at eight, otherwise it would've been nine! And seeing this kind of dominance from Max... it reminds me of how Sebastian Vettel used to roll. It’s rare to see anything like it. And let's be real, Seb definitely wasn't pulling a Nicholas Latifi during qualifying...

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIiB5zMj...on_share_sheet

Gotta mention that Kimi spin too. Just one of those things, totally unforced, just bad luck. Even Sebastian Vettel's spin was basically nothing compared to that, according to Daniel Ricciardo.

copperdrifter26 said:🤦
Look, Bottas has actually beaten Lewis Hamilton five times in qualifying this season. We're talking an average gap of about 0.15s in favor of Hamilton. Meanwhile, Russell jumped into a car yesterday that wasn't even tailored to his style, and he still managed to stay within 0.026s. Honestly, you can't argue with those numbers; if Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen were in that same car, they would have left Bottas in the dust.

To sum it up: if Bottas outclassed Lewis five times, then Lewis isn't exactly a superhuman driver, is he?🙂
The reality is that George Russell is the best of that trio.
He was looking pale as a ghost, getting into the cockpit for the first time, dealing with a tight fit and all sorts of issues.
What do you think would happen once he actually gets comfortable? Imagine what he'd do compared to Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen.🍿

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention that Sebastian Vettel would be right up there with those speedsters too.😁

ruggedhawk20 said:Well, we’re going even harder than that—if only George Russell had actually won.

Because he proved anyone can win in that car. But more importantly, he proved Mercedes will do absolutely anything—even screw themselves over for extra points they don't even need—just to keep up the illusion that Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT.

Anyone with half a brain sees that Russell didn't just finish eighth yesterday; Mercedes practically shoved him into eighth place. And they did it twice. Russell—who is a totally mid driver—could have won in the most dominant car in Formula 1 history despite one intentional pit stop blunder. They literally had to mess up twice just to pull him in.

See, Russell has given us plenty of proof to realize that Lewis reached all those records simply because he's driving the most dominant car ever and gets absolute preferential treatment from the team because he's good for marketing. He's a handsome, well-spoken guy who dominates the media and social feeds effortlessly. Of course, they're going to let him dominate the track, too. Lewis is indeed the GOAT—but not for his driving, for his influencer game. He's the best influencer among drivers and the best driver among influencers. He's leagues above a Handball player, but barely reaches the ankles of Niki Lauda.

So yeah, we've got more than enough reason to go wild. And we'll be doing it for a long, long time. You can read it or you can ignore it—whatever. Your call.

That bolded part is just plain wrong. I think ruggedhawk20 got a little carried away with his own creativity there.
There’s definitely some driver error involved in this one, for sure.

ruggedhawk20 said:Well, we’re going even harder than that—if only George Russell had actually won.

Because he proved anyone can win in that car. But more importantly, he proved Mercedes will do absolutely anything—even screw themselves over for extra points they don't even need—just to keep up the illusion that Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT.

Anyone with half a brain sees that Russell didn't just finish eighth yesterday; Mercedes practically shoved him into eighth place. And they did it twice. Russell—who is a totally mid driver—could have won in the most dominant car in Formula 1 history despite one intentional pit stop blunder. They literally had to mess up twice just to pull him in.

See, Russell has given us plenty of proof to realize that Lewis reached all those records simply because he's driving the most dominant car ever and gets absolute preferential treatment from the team because he's good for marketing. He's a handsome, well-spoken guy who dominates the media and social feeds effortlessly. Of course, they're going to let him dominate the track, too. Lewis is indeed the GOAT—but not for his driving, for his influencer game. He's the best influencer among drivers and the best driver among influencers. He's leagues above a Handball player, but barely reaches the ankles of Niki Lauda.

So yeah, we've got more than enough reason to go wild. And we'll be doing it for a long, long time. You can read it or you can ignore it—whatever. Your call.

I'm praying to the heavens. 🙏Nicely written (the whole thing). I can't agree with everything you said, though.

wiredseal7 said:Max Verstappen is probably going to have a mental breakdown at this rate. He’s been getting picked apart all season—first Lance Stroll got him in Turkey, and now he’s losing out here by less than 0.06. He's always right there, yet he just can't seem to close the gap.

Valtteri Bottas leaned on his experience to pull it off, but George Russell really stepped up when it counted, too. Honestly, this kid will probably settle in over the next few races and start snatching wins just like Lewis Hamilton does. For the fans, it’d be much better if we had both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton on the grid next race.

Oh, please. We'd be colonizing Mars before that actually happens.
We absolutely CANNOT jinx the LM totem!

Alex Barnes93 said:Something I totally missed while watching the broadcast—and honestly, this was the absolute highlight of the race—was how Valtteri Bottas sat in the pits for 37 seconds only for them NOT to change all his tires before sending him back out 🙏 I mean, even Ferrari couldn't pull off a mess that bad 🙏

Check it out: https://streamable.com/1meknp

Man, they didn't even swap out a single 🤦 🤣 They take off the hards, slap on new mediums, then rip off the mediums and just shove those same used hards right back on 😂

E2: The craziest part of this whole circus is that neither Russell nor Bottas even needed to pit in the first place.

a) Don't underestimate the chaos of Ferrari's pit crew!

b) This is so bizarre I’m starting to think the whole thing is rigged.

Does anyone know what time the race starts tomorrow and which sports channel will be broadcasting it?

Thx

Alex Barnes93 said:Something I totally missed while watching the broadcast—and honestly, this was the absolute highlight of the race—was how Valtteri Bottas sat in the pits for 37 seconds only for them NOT to change all his tires before sending him back out 🙏 I mean, even Ferrari couldn't pull off a mess that bad 🙏

Check it out: https://streamable.com/1meknp

Man, they didn't even swap out a single 🤦 🤣 They take off the hards, slap on new mediums, then rip off the mediums and just shove those same used hards right back on 😂

E2: The craziest part of this whole circus is that neither Russell nor Bottas even needed to pit in the first place.

Actually, there was plenty of reason to pit. There really was. 🙂, if you read ruggedhawk20's post, you'll understand exactly what kind of necessity we're talking about.
Even if we aren't talking about Russell, it's about securing third place for Racing Point.

Jamie Howard3 said:Does anyone know what time the race starts tomorrow and which sports channel will be broadcasting it?

Thx

Arena Sport 2 hr

Alex Barnes93 said:Something I totally missed while watching the broadcast—and honestly, this was the absolute highlight of the race—was how Valtteri Bottas sat in the pits for 37 seconds only for them NOT to change all his tires before sending him back out 🙏 I mean, even Ferrari couldn't pull off a mess that bad 🙏

Check it out: https://streamable.com/1meknp

Man, they didn't even swap out a single 🤦 🤣 They take off the hards, slap on new mediums, then rip off the mediums and just shove those same used hards right back on 😂

E2: The craziest part of this whole circus is that neither Russell nor Bottas even needed to pit in the first place.

Of course not. 🤣

Ferrari needs at least one long weekend to actually get their act together.
It’s like they just want to strip the tires, slap on a new set, then pull them right back off again. As if that's somehow going to save them more time... what a joke.

Besides that, it’s a ton of work. They'd probably decide halfway through that they needed a break to grab a coffee, duck into the pits for a quick espresso, and then get right back at it. 🤣
Then they’d realize they managed to lose those first four tires somewhere along the way, and that's when the real panic sets in. 🤣

Nicholas Newman2 said:To sum it up: if Bottas outclassed Lewis five times, then Lewis isn't exactly a superhuman driver, is he?🙂
The reality is that George Russell is the best of that trio.
He was looking pale as a ghost, getting into the cockpit for the first time, dealing with a tight fit and all sorts of issues.
What do you think would happen once he actually gets comfortable? Imagine what he'd do compared to Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen.🍿

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention that Sebastian Vettel would be right up there with those speedsters too.😁

Mecca has at least a 0.3 to 0.5-second advantage in car pace over RB, and they’re sitting a full second ahead of Ferrari. But you have to look closer—if you compare Mecca's second driver (whether it's Valtteri Bottas or George Russell today) against the other drivers at RB and Ferrari, like Alexander Albon and Sebastian Vettel, you start to see the real story of where those secondary drivers actually land compared to their lead teammates.

George Russell finally sat in the car yesterday, and get this—he went from having the absolute worst car on the grid straight into the best one. It took him exactly three hours of practice to end up just 0.026 behind Valtteri Bottas, who’s been tearing it up at Mecca for four seasons now. Honestly, it makes you wonder how good George would be if he could just spend three or four race weekends in a row at Mecca, or maybe even an entire season? I really think he’d blow past Bottas. If you followed the junior formulas, you know the kid was incredible; he was absolutely dominating Alexander Albon and Lando Norris back then. Sure, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen are the top tier right now, but they've had time to mature. I bet if George got a seat at Mecca, he’d be giving Bottas a much harder time than Lewis Hamilton does these days.

I honestly think having Valtteri Bottas around gives Lewis Hamilton such a massive boost. If you look back at how Lewis was driving during that 2015-2016 era, he was on a completely different level—just lightyears faster than the driver we’re seeing today.

shadowmarlin22 said:If you’re going to log off, please just stay offline—it’s better for everyone involved.
@Nicholas Newman2 👍 This link explains everything perfectly.

But hey, go ahead and keep living in your own little bubble. That one line—“Mainly because of all those places worse than first”—pretty much proves you don't get how this sport works.

Coming in second is just being the first loser.

And then there's this new brand of mathematical gymnastics: claiming someone won more points outside of their victories 🤣 damn math, right? 🙏🙏🙏 Trying to compare total points when the number of races isn't even the same—that's some pretty weak early-morning mental gymnastics.
Hamilton averaged 14.44 points in races where he finished but didn't win, while Rosberg sat at 14.54. It's basically the same thing—one point difference over ten races. And most importantly, what kind of logic is it to discount wins? Wins are the whole point of motorsports.

For your own good, maybe try using your brain and some basic math instead of swallowing the garbage these so-called journalists serve up...
Logged in or not, whatever. ☕

And yeah, because this link "explains everything"...🙏

It explains how some reporter is clearly obsessed with Lewis Hamilton, so they hide the actual stats under percentages that don't mean a damn thing...
That link is literally cherry-picking stats to favor Lewis Hamilton while burying the facts that show why Rosberg actually won...

That trash link only shows this:
Podium Finishes: 17 LH vs 16 NR, then some percentage...
Top 5 finishes: 18 LH vs 19 NR, then some percentage...

But here is what actually matters:
Rosberg:
5 x 2nd place
2 x 3rd place
2 x 4th place
...
159 points

Hamilton:
3 x 2nd place
4 x 3rd place
1 x 5th place
1 x 7th place
...
130 points

Those 9 races for Rosberg were pure damage control against Hamilton's 9 wins, and Hamilton's 9 races were damage control against Rosberg's 9 wins...
And there’s the main difference—that massive 29-point gap that was apparently enough for Rosberg to take the title despite having one fewer win...

But sure, after reading that crap, you guys think those bolded numbers above showing podiums, Top 5 results, and total points are all the same thing...
Not surprising, considering the garbage you lot swallow from links like that...

Statistically, if you only look at the percentage of podiums per season, it looks close since both have 7 podiums bolded...
But there's a huge difference between grabbing more 2nd or 3rd places, and that Top 5 finish count—finishing 5th or 7th isn't the same as finishing 4th twice...
And when you add it all up, it's a significant 29-point difference...

But hey, the "expert" journalist doesn't write that...
He just writes percentages to make it look like they're almost identical. 🙂

Then he throws in some random guesswork by adding a "race performance" column, which he probably dreamed up while sitting on the toilet this morning, rounding it to two decimal places just to look smart. 🙏
And you guys look down and see the percentage where Lewis Hamilton is supposedly "drastically better," and suddenly it's all Malaysia's fault. 🙂
No wonder you talk such nonsense when you're busy reading and believing absolute garbage. 🤦

Charles Leclerc ? how ?, how did he actually pull that off?

Pure driving genius! It’s a shame he’ll be getting jumped tomorrow, but seeing him absolutely dismantle Sebastian Vettel while using the exact same car is just surreal.

Come on, seriously, how could points even matter right now?

copperdrifter26 said:Mecca has at least a 0.3 to 0.5-second advantage in car pace over RB, and they’re sitting a full second ahead of Ferrari. But you have to look closer—if you compare Mecca's second driver (whether it's Valtteri Bottas or George Russell today) against the other drivers at RB and Ferrari, like Alexander Albon and Sebastian Vettel, you start to see the real story of where those secondary drivers actually land compared to their lead teammates.

George Russell finally sat in the car yesterday, and get this—he went from having the absolute worst car on the grid straight into the best one. It took him exactly three hours of practice to end up just 0.026 behind Valtteri Bottas, who’s been tearing it up at Mecca for four seasons now. Honestly, it makes you wonder how good George would be if he could just spend three or four race weekends in a row at Mecca, or maybe even an entire season? I really think he’d blow past Bottas. If you followed the junior formulas, you know the kid was incredible; he was absolutely dominating Alexander Albon and Lando Norris back then. Sure, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen are the top tier right now, but they've had time to mature. I bet if George got a seat at Mecca, he’d be giving Bottas a much harder time than Lewis Hamilton does these days.

I honestly think having Valtteri Bottas around gives Lewis Hamilton such a massive boost. If you look back at how Lewis was driving during that 2015-2016 era, he was on a completely different level—just lightyears faster than the driver we’re seeing today.

That’s an understatement.😉

copperdrifter26 said:Mecca has at least a 0.3 to 0.5-second advantage in car pace over RB, and they’re sitting a full second ahead of Ferrari. But you have to look closer—if you compare Mecca's second driver (whether it's Valtteri Bottas or George Russell today) against the other drivers at RB and Ferrari, like Alexander Albon and Sebastian Vettel, you start to see the real story of where those secondary drivers actually land compared to their lead teammates.

George Russell finally sat in the car yesterday, and get this—he went from having the absolute worst car on the grid straight into the best one. It took him exactly three hours of practice to end up just 0.026 behind Valtteri Bottas, who’s been tearing it up at Mecca for four seasons now. Honestly, it makes you wonder how good George would be if he could just spend three or four race weekends in a row at Mecca, or maybe even an entire season? I really think he’d blow past Bottas. If you followed the junior formulas, you know the kid was incredible; he was absolutely dominating Alexander Albon and Lando Norris back then. Sure, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen are the top tier right now, but they've had time to mature. I bet if George got a seat at Mecca, he’d be giving Bottas a much harder time than Lewis Hamilton does these days.

I honestly think having Valtteri Bottas around gives Lewis Hamilton such a massive boost. If you look back at how Lewis was driving during that 2015-2016 era, he was on a completely different level—just lightyears faster than the driver we’re seeing today.

I'd add Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen to that list.🤣

copperdrifter26 said:Mecca has at least a 0.3 to 0.5-second advantage in car pace over RB, and they’re sitting a full second ahead of Ferrari. But you have to look closer—if you compare Mecca's second driver (whether it's Valtteri Bottas or George Russell today) against the other drivers at RB and Ferrari, like Alexander Albon and Sebastian Vettel, you start to see the real story of where those secondary drivers actually land compared to their lead teammates.

George Russell finally sat in the car yesterday, and get this—he went from having the absolute worst car on the grid straight into the best one. It took him exactly three hours of practice to end up just 0.026 behind Valtteri Bottas, who’s been tearing it up at Mecca for four seasons now. Honestly, it makes you wonder how good George would be if he could just spend three or four race weekends in a row at Mecca, or maybe even an entire season? I really think he’d blow past Bottas. If you followed the junior formulas, you know the kid was incredible; he was absolutely dominating Alexander Albon and Lando Norris back then. Sure, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen are the top tier right now, but they've had time to mature. I bet if George got a seat at Mecca, he’d be giving Bottas a much harder time than Lewis Hamilton does these days.

I honestly think having Valtteri Bottas around gives Lewis Hamilton such a massive boost. If you look back at how Lewis was driving during that 2015-2016 era, he was on a completely different level—just lightyears faster than the driver we’re seeing today.

I finally get what you mean.☕