[Praetor Lupus]

(11-23-2014 01:26 PM)NilNisiOptimum Wrote:  

Mission accomplished by F1 this year, complete dismantling of Red Bull and Vettel.

Which is pretty much the reason why I started watching again this season, because Vettel winning all those years in a row was a turn-off. It was interesting to watch Ricciardo do better than him in the same car, though.

I'll definitely be tuning in next season to see if Mercedes can do it again.

[Foolsgo1d]

(11-23-2014 01:41 PM)porscheguy Wrote:  

I'm not really a fan, but Hamilton deserved the championship without a doubt.

Why is he wasting his time with Nicole Scherzinger? Isn't she pushing 40?

They had a split for a while. Hamilton slayed it across the world whenever he could I reckon. Top notch bitches in every country he went too.

I reckon he got bored of it or someone told him he needs to keep a steady image to keep in the money and fame. So that singer is who he came back too.



Or she sucks dick better than anyone he knows.

[porscheguy]

Every time they've taken a break, she's run straight to the carousel.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Congrats to Lewis. He showed yet again that he is among the top 2 drivers in the circuit.
Never liked Nico. Despite having a beast of a car, he couldn't cope with the pressure of being in the spotlight. He's a good driver at best.

Regarding Vettel dominating F1 the past few years, I don't agree. In 2010, him winning the title was the most unlikely scenario. Webber got treated like a bitch by the RB team in favour of that young German. This was evidenced specially in the last race in Abu Dhabi where Webber was in front of Vettel in the standings with Alonso leading the charts. Red Bull going for the younger instead of the more experienced driver was a big factor. Also the fact that Dominicalli got all the tactics wrong in the race where he thought, wrongly that RB were pushing Webber for the title and thus, as soon as Webber did his first pit stop. Ferrari brought Alonso in. Which proved to be a fatal mistake as when Alonso got back from the pit, he was way behind in the ranks behind the Russian driver from Renault, whose name escapes me at this time.

in 2011, was probably the only year where RB were clearly head and shoulders above all the rest and they totally crushed the competition.

In 2012, yet again, Vettel won the title with the biggest luck in the world. Alonso, being the class of the circuit, was comfortably leading the charts en route to his 3rd world title. Only to have Grosjean in Spa crash into his car in the first turn of the GP. At the end, Alonso lost the title by only the skin of his teeth.

Last year, again, same story, Vettel being lucky all year long and winning it at the end by the tightest margins possible.

Vettel is a talented driver but the main reason he's been winning has been due to him being given blatant favouritism by the RB team management and him having the best car by far. We saw this year how he fared while not having the best car anymore. This is why, in pure raw talent, he is not in the same category as pure drivers as Hamilton or Alonso, with the Spaniard being the best and most complete driver in the paddock.

Will be interesting to see how Vettel will fare next year with Ferrari and how competitive will the McLaren be. Give Alonso a half decent car and watch him do wonders. If McLaren gives him a competitive car, then Alonso will be favorite next year. Depsite the Mercs having the best car.

One thing I enjoyed this season was the re-emergence of Williams as a competitive team again. It was a shame over the past 2 years to see one of most historical and legendary F1 teams being rotting in the bottom of the grid. Good on them to have gotten their acts together! Very happy to see Massa being at the front again!

Looking forward for next season already!

[brick tamland]

I was addicted to F1 in my late teens. And that's despite missing the Senna years, during which I was a bit too young for it. Started following it seriously in 1996.
Nowadays I watch 3 or 4 races a year at most. I can't be bothered with F1 lately for many reasons (betrayal of fans' expectations; dumb rule changes every year; nepotism etc). Well done to Lewis. He showed mental strength and determination when it mattered most and it seems he has an intangible trait missing in the likes of Button, Rosberg, and Raikonnen. No debate here - Alonso is one of the greatest drivers ever. Others may go on to win more races and titles though. I'm not a fan of his but I really hope he has a late career surge with Mclaren-Honda (he'll certainly be paid well to do it at an estimated 25 million GBP per year).

[Irish]

Just stumbled upon this thread

Yeah I am a big F1 fan and delighted with Hamilton's win. Him and Alonso are head and shoulders above everyone else in the field in my opinion, although there have been some exciting new rookies this season.

Love the way Nicole Scherzinger only ever shows up when he's winning. Bet that wasn't the only Hamilton-helmet she kissed that night (I am sure the other one wasn't splattered with flies neither)



On another note, quality photobomb by the dude in the backround

I have been to 3 Grand prix: Malaysian and Singapore in 2013, then Singapore again in 2014. This year was an absolute godsend as one of my chicks on the rotation scored VIP tickets to the Sky Lounge (from an orbiter trying to get into her pants). Normally goes for $8,000 for the weekend but she offered me for free. Got slaughtered on champagne cheering on Hamilton's pole and win. Game gets you more than just laid my friends

[bojangles]

Well done to the lad, done us proud.

[rudebwoy]

So have we seen the last of Jenson Button? I hope so...

[bojangles]

Looks like it, he might be joining Webber in that series.

[kmhour]

as the username implies, yeah big fan. travelled to a few races over the years.

I didn't hate the Red Bull dominance although I admit last year it started to get a bit tiring. But F1 is often about these mini periods of dominance. Ferrari did it with Michael Schumacher when I started watching.

I don't know how anyone can't rate Nico after this year. He's put (an admittedly aging) Schumacher in the shade and this year he took Hamilton - perhaps the rawest driving talent on the grid - to the final race for the championship. I would rate Lewis and Alonso as the top two drivers but the lack of respect Nico gets is surprising by this point.

As for Vettel, I'd rate him similarly to Rosberg. Very good but not quite great - not after this year with Ricciardo. I'm not quite sure if the blown diffuser suited his style perfectly, or he was able to adapt his style to suit it perfectly. But either way, he and the blown Red Bull worked perfectly in concert.

Latest gossip suggests neither Magnussen nor Button will stay and McLaren's junior star Vandoorne may move up to partner Alonso. Could be an interesting development. Button is not a bad driver and with his prior relationship with Honda would be natural to keep around, but I'm not sure his time hasn't come and gone.

And Bottas is going to be a star.

[Bad Hussar]

(11-23-2014 06:42 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

Congrats to Lewis. He showed yet again that he is among the top 2 drivers in the circuit.
Never liked Nico. Despite having a beast of a car, he couldn't cope with the pressure of being in the spotlight. He's a good driver at best.

...

Rosberg lost my respect when he intentionally scuppered Hamilton's chance of bettering his qualifying time during this year's Monaco Grand Prix by parking his car on a corner just before the qualifying period ended, thus ensuring he got pole on a circuit where overtaking is near impossible. May have got away with it, but it was low move.

[bojangles]

(11-24-2014 12:39 PM)kmhour Wrote:  

as the username implies, yeah big fan. travelled to a few races over the years.

I didn't hate the Red Bull dominance although I admit last year it started to get a bit tiring. But F1 is often about these mini periods of dominance. Ferrari did it with Michael Schumacher when I started watching.

I don't know how anyone can't rate Nico after this year. He's put (an admittedly aging) Schumacher in the shade and this year he took Hamilton - perhaps the rawest driving talent on the grid - to the final race for the championship. I would rate Lewis and Alonso as the top two drivers but the lack of respect Nico gets is surprising by this point.

As for Vettel, I'd rate him similarly to Rosberg. Very good but not quite great - not after this year with Ricciardo. I'm not quite sure if the blown diffuser suited his style perfectly, or he was able to adapt his style to suit it perfectly. But either way, he and the blown Red Bull worked perfectly in concert.

Latest gossip suggests neither Magnussen nor Button will stay and McLaren's junior star Vandoorne may move up to partner Alonso. Could be an interesting development. Button is not a bad driver and with his prior relationship with Honda would be natural to keep around, but I'm not sure his time hasn't come and gone.

And Bottas is going to be a star.

I don't rate Rosberg because he had to use underhand tactics to even stay in contention till the final race - Monaco, Canada and Belgium are the ones that stick in mind.

[Praetor Lupus]

(11-24-2014 12:44 PM)Bad Hussar Wrote:  

Rosberg lost my respect when he intentionally scuppered Hamilton's chance of bettering his qualifying time during this year's Monaco Grand Prix by parking his car on a corner just before the qualifying period ended, thus ensuring he got pole on a circuit where overtaking is near impossible. May have got away with it, but it was low move.

Monaco is an appalling choice for a racetrack because it is a glamour event, not a race. For this reason it will stay, that one event in the calendar where people jerk off over the scenery while forgetting that an actual spotting event is on. The only grace is that it's too early in the season to really affect anything.

[Irish]

One of my highlights of the season:

Turn 3 in Russia, what a corner...

[NilNisiOptimum]

Crazy start to the season last night. Only 11 cars finished. Vettel looked real good for Ferrari. Too bad Mercedes looks set to run away with things again.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Boring race. Only thing intesting is to see how the new rookies will perform this year. I like these young guys coming in, hungry and talented. Nasr, Sainz and co will be fun to watch.

Pity to see McLaren so slow this season. Alonso must be kicking himself for having left Ferrari who are looking decent again. Had he stayed, he would have a shot at winning the title with them. Now it will be Vettel who has a shot at it.

The Teuton is very hungry especially after last season as he was forbidden to win. He will be very hungry!

Hoping to see Honda provide MCLaren with a half decent car so that we can see the best of the best and most talented driver in the paddock, Alonso.

Also very happy to see a legendary team as Williams competitive again! And very happy to see Massa shinning again after being treated like a bag of potatoes by Ferrari in the end.

Loved at the end seeing the Terminator interview the top 3 drivers. Was cool seeing how amazed Lewis was at talking with such an icon as Arnold!

Great stuff!

Looking for a much more fun race in Sepang in a forth night!

[kmhour]

(11-25-2014 06:16 AM)bojangles Wrote:  

I don't rate Rosberg because he had to use underhand tactics to even stay in contention till the final race - Monaco, Canada and Belgium are the ones that stick in mind.

Monaco is something that people evaluate based on how they feel about Rosberg v Hamilton. The stewards evaluated his telemetry and saw no reason to punish him, so I don't think there was anything blatantly underhanded by definition. Lewis claiming it was 'obvious' was just as likely him playing out the championship in the court of public opinion.

I don't remember any serious conflict in Canada. If you mean going into the first turn side-by-side and Nico pushing Lewis wide, that was a racing incident at worst.

Belgium is obviously going to stick out as a turning point in the championship. I thought it showed a bit of killer spirit in Rosberg that I had questioned being in him up until that point. Until then Lewis had full confidence he could slam the door and Nico would back out to preserve both cars. Hamilton had taken advantage of him before that year - notably in Bahrain - with the expectation Rosberg would back out for the good of the team, to prevent a collision, etc.

Unfortunately for the championship, the public backlash had the opposite effect and it basically set the path to Lewis winning the championship.

Anyway, I have been a long time F1 fan and I was excited leading up to Melbourne as every year, but seeing a field of 20 become 18, dwindle to 15 before the lights went out, and a further 2 cars retire on the first lap leading to only 13 cars in contention, all the while you had Mercedes easily picking up where they left off, was not the excitement I'd hoped for.

I'm happy for Sauber after last year. The rookie drivers - Sainz, Verstappen, and Nasr most notably - have all acquitted themselves extremely well thus far. Lotus must be thanking their lucky stars they're no longer dealing with the shitbox Renault motor that apparently has somehow gotten even worse!

It would be interesting to see Audi buy the Red Bull team and Renault buy Toro Rosso, but I think it's just posturing from Red Bull trying to win political points. I do feel a bit of sympathy considering the rules were changed several times to reduce their domination (blown diffusers anyone?) while Mercedes is set to enjoy continued domination. It's very different legislating the power units, but I saw a suggestion that the development tokens could be given in inverse order of engine manufacturer success which seemed like a way to narrow the gap without too much artificiality.

[DjembaDjemba]

Lewis Hamilton matches Senna's record today with 41 wins.

Still a solid season. Looking forward to the last few races.

[Ethan Hunt]

Used to a big fan a few years ago. Tuned out after the same drivers keep winning year on year. It's not been as good as it was in late 90s early 00s. My granddad absolutely despises Eddie Jordan. They used to race against each other before the opportunity arose to purchase a small Jersey based team. Eddie had more money than my grandfather so ended up with the racing team. That team ultimately formed the Jordan F1 team.

[rudebwoy]

I like Senna's driving skills, but I don't like some of his tactics.

Crashing into Prost twice to win titles in Japan, isn't what a legend does.

[floor7]

F1 ratings have fallen worldwide as fans are leaving the sport. Conversely it has done better in the US Year-over-Year. I used to follow F1 quite a bit, but haven't watched a race in two years.

[Saweeep]

F1 is just a little lost at the moment.

They don't quite know where to go as on the one hand the fans would really like to see cars not neutered by ludicrous rules but on the other a free for all would result in only 3/4 teams being competitive (even by today's standards).

It's a difficult one, no doubt.

[NilNisiOptimum]

Haas F1: Making America Great Again!

[Irish]

What about that Alonso crash tho, jeez...

[NilNisiOptimum]

That crash is why I'm always amazed by the safety engineering of race cars. More so with open cockpit cars. The fact Alonso went into the wall head first and walked away unscathed is impressive.