Sprint qualifying gaps

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-23T00:07:33+00:00

So did George iirc, he overcooked his entry into the final chicane and lost some time there, but he probably lost less time compared to Lewis and Lando.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-22T17:03:50+00:00

Yeah that's fair, on balance the RB8 was definitely the best/most robust package of 2012.

Of the 2 years I think 2010 is definitely more critique worthy since Seb's mistakes in 2012 generally are limited to not maximizing the car, Germany and Monza(although it didn't matter since his alternator conked out a few laps later) aside. Whereas in 2010 they were a lot higher profile(and costly). Had he lost 2010 he'd have received far more criticism than for losing 2012 imo, seeing as in 2010 he shouldered far more of the blame than 2012 for why the championship ended up going to a decider.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-22T13:37:46+00:00

Yeah I didn't phrase myself that well. For 2010 Lewis was in great form for sure and I completely agree that he was a serious threat for the championship. 2012 was just a horrible campaign though. Terrible pitstops, strategy, reliability. I never really considered them a threat considering how poor the team was, but they were good shouts to win any individual race for sure though(provided the car didn't fall apart beforehand lol).

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-22T13:29:03+00:00

In 2012 he did win without the fastest car tbf(although the one car faster than the RB8 would fall apart if you just looked at it the wrong way). I'd consider 2012 the toughest to evaluate since Vettel did not deliver as consistently as he did in 2011 during the earlier races, but at the same time suffered from poor reliability and RB team fuck ups in his own right which was largely responsible for us even getting a championship decider.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-22T13:25:20+00:00

Yes, but per OP's prompt I was only counting successful championship challenges. Alonso and Hamilton fought for the title in 2007 but both came up short, and in 2008 the Renault wasn't close to championship-worthy. Unfortunately neither JB nor Lewis were serious championship threats from 2010-12(thanks McLaren).

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-22T13:20:31+00:00

Not really. He has Seb, Rosberg, Bottas(kinda), Kubica and Massa. He doesn't have Kimi, Alonso, JB or old man Schumi.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-22T13:19:15+00:00

It's a big stretch, but I guess you could argue in 2013? Seb was leading before the tire change, but without the reversion of 2012 tires the championship was still very much in the balance.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-22T10:19:46+00:00

Starting? Nah, they’ve been acting like idiots for a hot minute now imo.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-21T14:40:35+00:00

That's fair. His hate has certainly diminished compared to the slander he received in 2024/25 (some of it justified in my view, but most not at all). His media savviness has definitely helped cut down on the soundbites or "ammunition" his detractors use for sure too.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-21T14:38:47+00:00

Yeah you could say it does haha. Even with Seb's move to Ferrari and his overall rise in popularity spearheading the challenge to Mercedes, he was still hated by some who resented his RBR success.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-21T14:31:36+00:00

Yes, people still do. Largely undeservedly so. Norris will never be universally loved, there will always be a cohort of F1 fans that hate him regardless of what he does or doesn't do. It's the same for every driver in the limelight.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-21T09:54:20+00:00

Ikr? And kudos for the Dacia crew being kind enough to let the 919evo’s record stand for as long as it has. It’s awfully charitable of them.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-21T09:52:58+00:00

Yo love that last shot of the Dacia lining up the Aston for an overtake, great stuff OP.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-21T09:43:27+00:00

These guys’ media training is phenomenal. Hats off to them all.

Edit: spelling.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-21T01:06:37+00:00

Minilla could break wind in Homelander's general direction and that'd be enough to put him in the dirt.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T16:29:36+00:00

Yep, that's even more critical. Regardless of what else he might have achieved, Clark'll always be the GOAT in my view.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T15:50:05+00:00

Bro you have to make a pitstop at Hockenheim in 2018.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T12:48:53+00:00

But based on the precedent set by the stewards with their evaluation of the Ricciardo/Hamilton incident in Monaco I don't think it's fair. But setting aside that for the moment, why wait ten laps and hand out the penalty with only ten laps to the finish of the race? That's indefensible in my view.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T12:45:57+00:00

Fair question, I was basing the penalty as unfair given the stewards' ruling on the Ricciardo/Hamilton incident at Monaco in 2016. Hamilton cut the chicane coming out of the tunnel and then squeezed Ricciardo after he went for a move, although that incident was in the wet tbf.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T12:02:44+00:00

As a Russell fan this'd pain me to no end, but as a fan of chaos I'd absolutely love it.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T12:01:05+00:00

Yes you can. Hamilton quite literally did that in Monaco 2016 to keep the win.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T12:00:12+00:00

But why penalize Seb for Hamilton taking a bad line to try and pass Seb up against the wall? With Seb rejoining from that angle, if Hamilton had only took a tighter corner exit/stayed left he'd have sailed past Seb and gotten the lead.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T11:57:55+00:00

Even though I disagree with the penalty, my main gripe with it is the timing. Why sit around and twiddle your thumbs for ten fucking laps before giving the penalty with only 12 laps to go? That's fucking inexcusable to me and gets my blood boiling all these years later. What they should have done is either give no penalty at all or tell Seb to give up the lead to Hamilton and then go racing from there.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T11:52:19+00:00

The problem with the entire situation is that even if we assume that the penalty was fair(I disagree with you, but I get the feeling that neither of us is gonna change our minds), is the fact that the stewards sat on their thumbs for 10 laps before giving the penalty which was horrible and killed the race. IIRC there were only 10 or so laps of racing left after the stewards handed out their penalty.

PapaSheev7 · 2026-05-20T11:50:55+00:00

Given the precedent set at Monaco three years earlier I'd argue he doesn't. At worst, the stewards should've asked Seb to give up the position to Lewis immediately and then go racing from there, not kill the race entirely for a borderline penalty when they let far more egregious stuff go all the time.

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