2018 Car Reveal and Pre-season Testing

It’s pretty obvious that Mercedes still has a car capable of squeezing out those extra tenths of a second during a qualifying lap compared to Ferrari or Red Bull. In today's era, where nailing pole position on most tracks basically puts one hand firmly on the trophy, that's a massive red flag for both the Scuderia and Red Bull.

Honestly, looking back, that sheer dominance in qualifying last season is exactly what left Vettel trailing so far behind Hamilton—though if you ask me, I think it was just as much about reliability issues. But hey, we'll see how it plays out; I'm still pulling for the Scuderia.

RB takes the lead 👋

A Hartl on the same tires and still outpacing Alonso...

As much as I hate to admit it, it looks like McLaren is in a complete freefall. There’s still a tiny glimmer of hope that things might look different during the first practice session in Australia, but honestly, that's just pure wishful thinking at this point.

I’m really hoping Alonso calls it quits before we hit Spain, just so I don't have to suffer through watching all of this. Once he's gone, maybe I can finally make the psychological shift over to Max. I can't deal with this while Fernando is still in the mix.

Honestly, I don't think we even realize just how much Ferrari is going to shake things up once they hit the track in Australia.

Timothy Castillo6 said:If anyone’s over in the States, can you wire me this?

Who’s taking the driver's title? No one, it’s gonna be Vettel.
Who’s grabbing runner-up? Nobody, Ricciardo takes second.
Which team is winning the championship? No single team wins it, but Mercedes is walking away with the constructors'.
Is Alonso hitting the podium? Nope.
Ric vs. Max—who comes out on top? Ric, obviously.
Where does Toro Rosso land in the standings? They’ll mostly just be ahead of whatever junk McLaren is running.

Looking for a 4/6 system if that's doable.
5-10-15 BUCKS, I'LL PAY YOU VIA BANK TRANSFER IN US DOLLARS.
__________________

There... sending the ticket via mail. Paid at the Hill. Minimum 456... max 83,723 USD

Just screw him over and don't send his money 🙄

swifttiger75 said:There... sending the ticket via mail. Paid at the Hill. Minimum 456... max 83,723 USD

Just verify the ticket and hit my PM. And obviously, I'm paying if the guy actually paid me.

Vandoorne is taking off this morning. I’m really hoping McLaren finally puts together an efficient day without any setbacks. It's pretty clear this car has the raw speed.

Did you catch that pit stop drill? It was a total disaster. They looked completely lost, like they didn't have a clue what they were doing.

steelmaker83 said:Did you catch that pit stop drill? It was a total disaster. They looked completely lost, like they didn't have a clue what they were doing.

It’s nonsense. Everyone aims for those 2.5 to 3-second stops, yet they still manage to botch it a couple of times every single season.

It’s nonsense, really, but it perfectly captures the lack of focus, the stress levels, and the general mental state of the team right now....

They swapped out the rear wheels, and now this thing is pushing them backward... absolutely pathetic...

Vettel 1.18.666 on the red tires under much harsher conditions than yesterday—track temps sitting at about 54 degrees Fahrenheit🙂

This is exactly my point. Ferrari clearly has the raw pace, they're just running their own specific agenda

Update 1.18.414🙂. The prophets are out in full force now, acting like this is some miracle, yet those hard compounds are actually performing better than when Ricciardo was out there yesterday with the asphalt at 54 degrees. What do you think, Tibac He He? Let's go, Seb, let's go

When you factor in all the variables—the rubber, the track state—this looks like a significantly better lap time

1.18.079 currently in the US
The pace on softs and mediums is either absolutely non-existent or they’ve been hiding his true speed all along...

mellowtiger83 said:Vettel 1.18.666 on the red tires under much harsher conditions than yesterday—track temps sitting at about 54 degrees Fahrenheit🙂

This is exactly my point. Ferrari clearly has the raw pace, they're just running their own specific agenda

Update 1.18.414🙂. The prophets are out in full force now, acting like this is some miracle, yet those hard compounds are actually performing better than when Ricciardo was out there yesterday with the asphalt at 54 degrees. What do you think, Tibac He He? Let's go, Seb, let's go

When you factor in all the variables—the rubber, the track state—this looks like a significantly better lap time

Based on a sample size of only four laps.

Let me clarify this once more for those who seem to be struggling to grasp the concept: we are talking about the hard compound paired with track temperatures sitting at a cool 50 degrees Fahrenheit!

Bottas's 27-lap stretch on the medium tires: 24.0 – 23.0 – 22.9 – 23.7 – 23.2 – 22.6 – 22.4 – 22.9 – 22.6 – 22.4 – 22.4 – 22.3 – 22.4 – 22.2 – 22.1 – 22.9 – 22.3 – 22.7 – 22.3 – 22.6 – 22.4 – 22.2 – 22.3 – 22.5 – 22.2 – 22.4 – 22.0

Based on everything I've seen so far, McLaren might actually take the world title this year

Everything up to this point has just been growing pains for a massive, legendary machine—one that’s going to go down in history right alongside the MP4-4

Mark my words.

Back in February '88, McLaren went through some absolute nightmare testing sessions too, and we all know how that story ended

Fernando Alonso is going to become a 3x WDC by this fall

Just listen to what ruggedhawk20 said

Sebastian Vettel clocked a 1.17,6 on the hyper soft, which puts him over a full second ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne (1.18,8) in the McLaren using those exact same tires. It looks like McLaren will be fighting just to make it into Q3 in Melbourne, and honestly, I don't see them doing much more than that.

My parlay is going straight to hell if things keep playing out like this, it’ll wreck three of my combos immediately. 🤣