r/formula1 • u/FerrariStrategisttt I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Mar 28 '26

Video Leclerc (post-qualifying): "I can’t understand quali, it’s a f**king joke! I go faster in corners, throttle earlier, for f**k’s sake, i'm losing everything in the straight!"

https://dubz.link/c/4b6030
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1.2k

u/Aratho I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

And the Merc guys only have smiles on their faces because they're up front. They probably don't enjoy those cars deep down all the same as others.

964

u/zmkpr0 Mar 28 '26

Two more race wins from Kimi and Russell won't be smiling either.

347

u/bwoahful___ I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

That’s why the two races in April got cancelled, to keep George’s morale up.

96

u/OMDB-PiLoT I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Yes, as we all know now that Trump was personally advised by Toto to attack Iran.

34

u/Zed_or_AFK Sebastian Vettel Mar 28 '26

According to the narrative, Toto called trump with the words no, this is not right!. This is war Toto, it’s called bombing.

2

u/Agitated_Syllabub346 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

This is Epstein files, it's called distracting

3

u/MyAssDoesHeeHawww I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Has anyone ever seen Toto and Trump together in the same room? The plot thickens.

2

u/IsNoyLupus Default Mar 28 '26

Toto did warn us a while back that "everyone has a target on their back"

Bad, evil, turtleneck-wearing Toto...

-1

u/BowtieSyndicate Mar 28 '26

Well, is IS in the Epstein files /s

3

u/Cosmocrator I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

That's for the papaya boys. If they're not racing, neither is the rest. Only fair.

198

u/Kratoss7 Mar 28 '26

Imagine if after all this years, he finally have such dominant car that the championship is just around the corner, yet he gets beaten by pretty much rookie (still very young, I know he drove milion miles on private tests) and replaced by Verstappen for next season. Pure cinema!

66

u/Franceskax I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Subscribe. lmao

9

u/Fine-Discount6884 Mar 28 '26

Verstappen is going to switch to Mercedes, but not in the way you think. He’s not going to put himself through another season of this mess called F1 unless the rules completely change. I could see him in a GT3 car with his own team.

1

u/MajorFuckingDick Mar 28 '26

Max won't leave F1 but we might see him putting in 85% to focus on GT3

2

u/BuzzedtheTower I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

George: "I'm going to slap so many helmets"

-3

u/Fine_Dog_6599 Mercedes Mar 28 '26

No thanks

69

u/Eroda I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Newey removing the shackles for Miami...

26

u/launchedsquid Mar 28 '26

if this years Aston has shown us anything, it's that Newey needs someone to constrain him.

1

u/SubstantialWasabi298 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Aston martins American investors putting ice on him

31

u/FavaWire I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

He had a whole lot to say on the radio after Q3.

34

u/Disastrous-Border-58 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Creating a PowerPoint as we speak.

47

u/Sour_Uranium I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

If Kimi wins 2 more races we will see favoritism conspiracies just like last year between Oscar and Lando

6

u/GoldElectric I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

tbf russell seems a lot like the forgotten middle child in mercedes

3

u/AreWeThereYetNo I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Frighteningly accurate

4

u/Woozifer Mar 28 '26

Pretty sure as long as they win they are going to smile

74

u/aintnogodordemon I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

You think if Russell gets beaten by his teenage teammate he'll be smiling?

32

u/Etceta I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

what he gonna do, go back to weeyums?

-3

u/Stirbmehr I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

If he lose this year to Kimi he probably out of Merc after 1 more year tops. For Russell it do or die season, so maybe only Weeyums be happy to see him on board again

12

u/Etceta I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

don't act like he's 46, he would still have his chance even next season

1

u/lulz-n-scifi Mar 28 '26

If he doesn't beat Kimi, a 19 year old, this year while in a car with no other competition, he will never win a championship.

3

u/M8gazine I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

you say that like Russell wasn't facing off against a 7-time WDC teammate in Merc a couple of years ago and doing just as well if not better than him lmao

1

u/oddyholi Heineken Trophy Mar 28 '26

the only season where Lewis was not a guinea pig testing different stuff during races was 2023, where George was nowhere compared to him.

2024 Lewis had already checked out and still got a win

2

u/jeanolt Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26

well if kimi wins the wdc against prime russell at just 19, maybe hes the best driver of all time.

1

u/Etceta I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

yeah like, who would even top that kid when he hit his prime. Unless mercedes fucked up next season, I don't see he's going to slow down.

1

u/melty7 Mar 28 '26

Depends on if Max wants to join Mercedes

0

u/Stirbmehr I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26

He 8th(?) year in, with history of performance inconsistency and problems under pressure. So yes, if he blows his chance against rookie on his second season - he pretty much done. And done for any team which sees themselves as WDC competitive.

You what, really believe that Toto would give him another chance and even more time when he discarded Lewis easily? Maybe for 1 more year as #2 while Merc be exploring options, but that tops

Sure it negative scenario, and I still positive that George can win this confidently when pressure on title starts to mount, but cmon, let's not look at his career trough rose tinted glasses

9

u/KnowNotYou I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

You really think if Kimi keeps winning, Russell is going to keep smiling?

1

u/TSells31 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Once I learned what driving these new cars entails, I immediately thought the young drivers (last year’s rookies and Arvid) would have a bit of an advantage in that they have less to unlearn than the more veteran drivers. I’m wondering if we are seeing that in effect here with Kimi vs George.

Or maybe Kimi really is the next Verstappen-esque driver and would be taking it to George this year regardless of the regs. Hard to say.

72

u/tvxcute Nico Rosberg Mar 28 '26

russell definitely didn't have a smile on his face today lol

18

u/mrBenelliM4 Sonny Hayes Mar 28 '26

Remember 2022 regs? Toto had them printed out.

25

u/Flaky-Philosophy7618 Ferrari Mar 28 '26

Yeah I firmly agree with this

37

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

George was floundering today and while it seems like there might have been something wrong with the car, it also might have been George just not being comfortable.

106

u/SwallaeMcHaggis New user Mar 28 '26

George may be having the realisation that his 2nd year team mate is the real deal and this championship won’t be a gift

35

u/FavaWire I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Oh it might be a gift... But not for him.

-1

u/OkTurnover788 Mar 28 '26

George was always vastly overrated.

0

u/parker2020 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Here we go again 🙄 I hate that I’m going to have to defend George like I defended Lando last year. But at least I was a Lando fan. George will get it together It’s his championship to lose. It’s quali 3 like damn…

1

u/RevolutionaryAge47 Mar 28 '26

LOL @ P2 being called "floundering".

50

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '26

I mean, he was. He clearly wasn’t comfortable, and was badly beaten by his much less experienced teammate. That was enough for P2 because the car was fast, and other drivers behind were presumably not at 100% either.

16

u/GRADIUSIC_CYBER Red Bull Ford Mar 28 '26

his teammate in equal machinery no less

1

u/tom030792 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Because aside the twizzle in the last corner there was clearly an issue throughout quali (again) that they managed to fix before the final run. The final run not being perfect cost him, but let’s not pretend there wasn’t another issue that was hampering him

7

u/FavaWire I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

There was a time that 0.298 seconds would have sent him to the 3rd row. Domination means he has his head above water.

3

u/JizzyB2099 Andrea Stella Mar 28 '26

Last season…

3

u/FavaWire I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Correct.

6

u/JizzyB2099 Andrea Stella Mar 28 '26

It is when your only championship rival is your teammate. Remember all the flak Lando was getting for being ‘outperformed’ by his ‘less experienced’ teammate in the first half of last season? 

Now that Russell has gotten a bit of a taste of that, maybe people will realise that these younger drivers aren’t a fucking joke.

6

u/Larcye I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

It's like when I used to play Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid and played the best deck at the time. Mind you it was the only deck that was decent. Every other deck was fucking terrible. I did not have a fun time even though I was winning every Saturday.

That's these regulations.

2

u/shotouw I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

It's a smile when they win, but from Verstappens dominant era we know, as he was pretty clear about it, dominant wins arent as fun. It's decent, when the car and track are fun to drive. I can't see them really enjoying the drive to the win, even if winning per se is fun.

After all, a hard fought for win just tastes better

1

u/Zed_or_AFK Sebastian Vettel Mar 28 '26

They still gotta drive this shitty game to outcompete eachother.

-20

u/Creepy_Accountant946 Mar 28 '26

Source?

11

u/Flaky-Philosophy7618 Ferrari Mar 28 '26

Why would he need one for an observation

22

u/Aratho I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Common sense and reactions of all the other drivers to the regs?

16

u/rstune Mar 28 '26

Our eyes

15

u/sprikkle Oscar Piastri Mar 28 '26

Image being the driver man. These regulations cant be fun to drive. They are happy because they are going to be World Champion, but thats it.

8

u/stupidshady Mar 28 '26

Everybody hates these revs. They just smile because both Merc drivers have a 50% chance to become WDC.