Garden Shovel

@_allthatglitz Elkann dude you got Barilla on your hands for even remotely considering this driver pairing

okay the gif is random but why is the quality this shit

@effonecasualfan undercut's been historically quite weak around Mexico, and with the cars running old Softs easily fending off Medium-shod ones further down the field, I can understand why they didn't bother with it at all.

In the end it's always a compromise; Mexico tends to be won and lost on the opening lap, so in a bid to hang onto a 1-2, they made the sensible choice to start on Softs (RBR assumed a shit start, thus Mediums). Max's unexpectedly good start likely gave them a huge migraine.

@12Shakur Verstappen > Antonelli = Alonso >= Hamilton > Norris The middle three feel similar enough (maiden titles won on sheer consistency if not outright pace) that I can't really decide, and while Lando's a worthy champion, I think 2025 shouldn't have gone down to the wire.

2021 was the first time Max had championship-contending machinery at his disposal, and it's not stressed enough how, with the exception of Hungary where he finished P9 despite sustaining severe damage on Lap 1, he never finished below P2.

@_allthatglitz the SF-25 being woefully uncompetitive papered over the fact that having two intensely competitive No. 1 drivers was always gonna boil over the moment they could both fight for the win in competitive machinery Jean Todt and Ross Brawn are probably facepalming so hard rn

Todt and Brawn almost cried when they saw the current state of Scuderia Ferrari HP

nighttime aeropress coffee with no milk available was a huge mistake jfc 650ml of concentrated everything balanced out by copious amounts of sweetener

the wheeze I let out when that bum got a slow stop on top of getting the wrong compound bolted on his car lmfao those were the days

"why have we put the hards on? why have we put the hards on? they're shit!"

@regontrack @mandarthalorian we def can't make it through Mexico, Brazil and Vegas on our current allocation irrespective of what happens abt the last 2 races of the year so we'll pretty much have to yea

considering Mekies said they were intending on eating an engine pen back in Sepang if they didn't prove to be competitive, which thankfully wasn't the case

@mercsogyny He never finished in P2 for all of 2023, only recorded 2 other podiums throughout the year, and one of them was because Charles and Lewis got disqualified blud might be the greatest of some time

and of course the other one was after trading high-speed lockups with Charles and giving their team and the tifosi three migraines and a heart attack for P3

@maxsbulls genuinely a travesty that McLaren ended 2005 securing neither title ngl; they won more races than Renault but Newey's MP4-20 and its Mercedes engine was just a tad too breachable and explosive

and, well, the other driver just HAD to be Jean-Paul Montoya

@mandarthalorian 8 tenths a lap slower than his teammate who was born yesterday with a PB lap that was a tenth slower than Alonso with a cracked sidepod and missing LHS bargeboard

if it actually gets worse for him in Mexico what the actual fuck dude

Ultimately if cost wasn't a concern to F1 management at the time, the only real fix for a properly functioning tire war was to have more than 2 if there's 11 teams on the grid; the ones supplying fewer teams just have a disproportionate advantage.

which is, well, its own can of worms. can 100% understand why they picked the path of least resistance and went with just 1 supplier.

@RJWDickinson tbf Bridgestone was sole supplier for 2 years before Michelin entered the scene, and since Michelin's tires immediately appealed more to McLaren and Williams, they made the arguably reasonable decision to go all-in on working with Ferrari, the last top team using Bridgestones.

The only other teams who took their tires were midfielders and backmarkers, so it quickly became apparent to them that their best and easiest way forward to both compete and gain marketing clout was to help Ferrari win races and championships, other teams be damned.

@_allthatglitz Once the visors come down they both just have an innate understanding that the other guy is the only one who could match their freak, so they can inadvertently make a no-holds-barred fight to the death look like a well-choreographed tango

Meanwhile idk whenever Lewis and Max see each other in their mirrors it's like their immediate instinct is to beat each other to death with hammers

@mandarthalorian the last two times a Merc driver clinched a title here were also two races Max won dominantly after starting P2 btw

just uh ignore how in both cases his teammate either got exploded (2017) or exploded (2018)

Atp some of the shit the FIA decides to ban just baffles me tbh; I sorta-kinda get doing it for things like Merc's DAS (nuts) but the j-dampers could've directly addressed a major flaw in the GE cars rather than simply offering just a performance benefit which is so bizarre

@mandarthalorian just found out clasico's starting at the literal same time as the fucking race so my weekend's ruined

fucking shoot me dude

@verstoppen3 atp I can't even tell what gimmicks (if they even are gimmicks) they can pull out of their ass especially with their PU rumored to still be operating below its peak output so I'll believe any "development crisis" when they get a double Q1 exit in the season opener

"Car is presumed to be a rocketship unless proven to be a boat" -Don Rennis, 1715 USSR GP (probably)

NVM IT'S STILL ON LAMIIIIIIIIIIINE

nvm the game's gone

I’m aware it's the soil underneath, and this kind of BS is exactly why I turn off replies under all my tweets. I also mentioned bringing back J dampers for the cars, which you’ve conveniently ignored.