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

Hulkenberg outpaced Stroll in qualifying during the second race and finished just one spot behind him in the main event. Sure, he needs some time to adjust, but it’s really not that big of a deal...
Hulk was already making it into Q2 during the first race—just three days after getting into the car—and he was only 0.065 slower than Stroll. There isn't much of a "preparation" excuse here, especially if we're believing the hype that anyone could win in a Mercedes GP if they had 90% of the grid's talent behind them.

Anything less than second place or a podium finish is just a total fail.☕

Now we'll see if Bottas can actually prove he's more than just mediocre once his teammate isn't some GOAT running circles around him. Only Lewis or Max can pull that kind of stunt—making their own teammate look completely incompetent just to grab the headlines.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:It honestly seems like an energized George Russell really just highlights how incredibly composed Lewis Hamilton is, since he's driving at precisely the right pace to stay ahead of the game😁

And, I suppose, it also goes to show what a total disappointment of a driver Valtteri Bottas can be sometimes

Honestly, it's so obvious. Lewis could probably drop his lap times by a full minute if he actually felt like pushing—I’m talking sub-48 second laps at a place like Spa—but he just doesn't want to. He’s really just doing the bare minimum to get the job done, you know? Like, why even bother going full throttle if you don't have to? There's just no point in overdriving when you're already cruising. 404 mileslol if 350 is actually enough... maybe? idk man. 👍

darkmarlin16 said:Well, yeah, but let's not forget his teammate is literally the unluckiest driver on the grid this year. They're actually neck-and-neck in the standings.

Man, he just went and slammed right into the wall in Russia on his own accord. Seriously. That’s way more of a disaster than any of those DNFs Max has had lately—and let's be real, none of those were even his fault! Or look at Perez... man, that guy is just cursed this season. It's like he's haunted or something.

I'm not even going to mention Valtteri Bottas or Lewis Hamilton. Honestly, why would I rub salt in your wounds? 😁
And look, I’m actually in a damn good mood for once 🤣

But man, Mercedes absolutely wrecked Russell. It's like they borrowed their strategists and pit crew straight from Ferrari 🤦

stormybadger8 said:Aha, so winning the first PP and a race counts as zero progress...
I guess that's just a tiny little detail that any random team on the grid could pull off easily.
🙂
Double DRS and FRIC, which have been in development since 2012, aren't important either... totally irrelevant.
And I suppose Lewis developed the motor himself during the break between the last race of 2013 and the first race of 2014, since his Twitter wasn't working so he had nothing better to do than mess around with the motor...🙂

🤦

I mean, I guess Lewis was already chasing after the Mercedes' motor even before the Mercedes team truly existed as we know it today. 😵

Honestly, anyone stepping in should be looking at a Top 10 finish—it's a fair expectation. But let's be real, the track is gonna be a complete mystery to everyone, so last weekend's data basically means nothing.

If Valtteri Bottas were actually on Rubens Barrichello's level, we would have known that a long time ago.

It’s honestly a total joke how they're treating Russell😵
What they did to the guy is just brutal.
At the end of the day, though, there's only one Lewis Hamilton.🤣

I don't see how those blunders in the Mercedes pit lane actually changed anything today.
Not a damn thing, if you ask me.

Everything was pretty much set in stone before that even happened. You can't just erase 60 laps of Russell dominating the field. Or, to put it another way, those final 20 or 30 laps—and the eventual result—don't change the fact that Russell was absolutely crushing it all weekend long.
With a Mercedes car this good, you could drop in some rookie who hasn't scored a single point in his last 35 races and he’d likely take the win. He’d be paid about what a benchwarmer on a bottom-tier MLS team makes. Give him a day or two to get used to the seat, and he's golden.

Mercedes really screwed Lewis over. Not specifically today, though. They did that the moment they decided someone else was stepping into his seat for this race. You could see how that test would play out from the very beginning.

Lewis shouldn't have let himself get too comfortable with the crown. A pro at his level really should have seen that coming.

ruggedhawk20 said:Honestly, anyone stepping in should be looking at a Top 10 finish—it's a fair expectation. But let's be real, the track is gonna be a complete mystery to everyone, so last weekend's data basically means nothing.

That is, assuming they don't end up hitting the wall like Grosjean did one day (bless his heart), or something along those lines.

Either way, someone is getting a shot at Lewis's car—it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you just can't pass up.

🍿

Joseph Flores15 said:Is it actually possible for Valtteri Bottas to be such an absolute disaster? 🙏

Sadly, yeah. And George Russell isn't exactly elite either—just an average driver. Like, maybe slightly better than a crate.

If Fernando Alonso was driving that Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton wouldn't have seen a single title in his life.

shadowmarlin22 said:Hamilton has more followers and fans than all the other drivers combined. A zero is only fitting for the GOAT.

I can't help but get the feeling he might actually be talking about Valtteri Bottas instead of Lewis Hamilton, if I'm being honest.🤔

I guess I’m just a little confused by some people claiming that Perez didn't deserve his win today. It seems a bit strange to say he was undeserving when he was sitting all the way back in 18th place after the first 😁

wiredfalcon2 said:If Hulk actually grabbed a podium at this stage of his career, it’d be just like Goran Ivanišević pulling off that miracle run at Wimbledon in 2001.

We're hunting for that win.

Good grief, did Sergio Perez actually take third? 🙏 🙏 🙏

Kenneth Cruz67 said:And it’s almost like Max is somehow superior 🤣

He isn't exactly playing it safe just because he's realized that no matter how wild he drives, he can't outrun a Mercedes. If he actually caught a break to go for it, I suspect he’d still be charging headfirst into a wall. I don't think he's learned his lesson at all, 👍

Look, Max is hands down the best driver on the grid right now in every single way. That whole "head through a wall" thing... I mean, maybe someone would do that in a video game, but anyone who thinks he'd actually pull that stunt in real life clearly isn't watching Formula 1.

And just to set the record straight—I'm a Mercedes fan through and through when it comes to the team. As for the drivers? Honestly, I don't care who's behind the wheel as long as Mercedes is pulling in the kind of results they usually do (though definitely not this current clown show we're seeing lately) ☕

Kenneth Cruz67 said:🤦

I mean, I guess Lewis was already chasing after the Mercedes' motor even before the Mercedes team truly existed as we know it today. 😵

Maybe someone should give you a bigger stick so you can actually make an impact...

What does a Mercedes engine in a McLaren from 2007-2013 have to do with the Mercedes V6 Power Unit from 2014 to now?

mellowtiger83 said:Anyone who has ever shared a cockpit with Valtteri Bottas would absolutely smoke him on track.

Care to make it interesting? 🙂

Sergio Perez is absolutely killing it 🙏

And let’s not forget the crew—they’re destroying the competition with those lightning-fast pit stops 🙏

The perfect race for all those armchair conspiracy theorists and people who don't have a clue what they're talking about.

Amanda Kelly said:I don't see how those blunders in the Mercedes pit lane actually changed anything today.
Not a damn thing, if you ask me.

Everything was pretty much set in stone before that even happened. You can't just erase 60 laps of Russell dominating the field. Or, to put it another way, those final 20 or 30 laps—and the eventual result—don't change the fact that Russell was absolutely crushing it all weekend long.
With a Mercedes car this good, you could drop in some rookie who hasn't scored a single point in his last 35 races and he’d likely take the win. He’d be paid about what a benchwarmer on a bottom-tier MLS team makes. Give him a day or two to get used to the seat, and he's golden.

Mercedes really screwed Lewis over. Not specifically today, though. They did that the moment they decided someone else was stepping into his seat for this race. You could see how that test would play out from the very beginning.

Lewis shouldn't have let himself get too comfortable with the crown. A pro at his level really should have seen that coming.

What a mess! 👍

Congratulations to Sergio Perez! Driver of the Day!