The Official Formula One Thread

[AintNoSin]

I'll point out that Vettel was won a race for STR and RBR before they were dominant. Clearly it's more than just the car.

Webber is obviously a good driver, but for reason he just seems to be crap on the first lap. He'll start on the poll and wind up fifth by the third turn.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by AintNoSin

I'll point out that Vettel was won a race for STR and RBR before they were dominant. Clearly it's more than just the car.

He was the cream of the crop among the Sebastians (neither Bourdais nor Buemi has come close to replicating Vettel's success, or even potential, for that matter) and Vettel did win the 2008 Italian Grand Prix in the rain, so clearly, he does have skill. However, I think it's a case of everything coming together for him and the team that weekend because it was the only podium finish he had for 2008. It wasn't until the third race of 2009 that his race-to-race results were achieved with greater consistency, but his teammate Mark Webber kept pace with him as well, in terms of representation on the podium, and the discussion shifted from Vettel's talents to those of Adrian Newey, whom I believe was a far more integral component to RBR's success in the past two seasons than just the drivers themselves. (Just my opinion, of course. I like Vettel, but a part of me wonders if he can replicate those results from the past two seasons without Newey's involvement)

[dag]

I read earlier today that rain is forecast for Istanbul this Sunday, and might make things interesting.

[Trace17]

Originally Posted by dag

I read earlier today that rain is forecast for Istanbul this Sunday, and might make things interesting.

Initially it was, but I think they backed off the forecast and now it's just a slight chance. Hopefully it does, but I'm not betting on it.

Qualifying wasn't as exciting as last race, but RBR got their first 1-2 of the season. Interesting too, as they both set one time on one lap in Q3 then parked it and essentially said, "alright, good luck beating our times." Lot of confidence in your machinery and drivers. Or big balls.

Mercedes showing good pace too. Schumi had a bad lap so is stuck in the back half of the top 10 but he has a pretty close pace to Rosberg. McLarens look a bit weaker. Ferraris...well, they haven't really changed.

Also, Kobi didn't set a time so starts 24th. Then Jerome got a penalty for ignoring a yellow flag and goes to 24th, so Kobyashi goes to 23 and has already passed someone before the race started.

[Shin-Ra]

Petrov pushing team-mate Nick Heidfeld into the pit lane.


(sitting with N.Heidfeld, V.Petrov front right)

What crazy stunt will he pull next?!

[steve1971]

That was a great race. Nice to see Alonso on the podium. BUT I think Vettel and Red Bull are just to damn good. Simply dominant and thats all there is to say.

[PrivatePixel]

Not a bad race in Turkey, but I was hoping for a bit more drama. At this point, despite what the commentators say, I don't think McLaren, Mercedes or Renault (okay, I'll include Ferrari as well ) have what it takes to compete with the Red Bull Racing team, at least not consistently. The absence of a reliable KERS system hasn't hindered their performance or results; if the kinks are ironed out, they will be damn near untouchable. Webber's start to the season has been shaky, but his ride can overcome just about any hurdle once the race is underway. I don't want the drivers' championship sealed at the season's halfway mark, but Vettel has the potential to accomplish this. What concerns me is that everyone else on the grid is just vying for second place.

All I can hope for is a bit of a shake-up (in qualifying and on the podium) when the Spanish Grand Prix rolls around in a couple of weeks.

[Trace17]

Well, Webber got pole from Seb, who didn't use KERS in the Q lap. Hopefully Mark can have a good start and hold Seb off.

Also, tyre strategy will be even more interesting since Pirelli made the primes last longer but they are about 2 seconds slower, so nobody wants to use them.

[steve1971]

Another great race today and congrats once again to Vettle. This kid never seems to amaze me. I havent seen domination like this since Schumi dominated in the 90's, he's that damn good. Lucky Red Bull has him and I sure wish Ferrari did right now because it was another dismal race for my team. Now its onto Monte Carlo and that looks to be another good one for F1 and Vettle.

[Trace17]

Originally Posted by steve1971

Another great race today and congrats once again to Vettle. This kid never seems to amaze me. I havent seen domination like this since Schumi dominated in the 90's, he's that damn good. Lucky Red Bull has him and I sure wish Ferrari did right now because it was another dismal race for my team. Now its onto Monte Carlo and that looks to be another good one for F1 and Vettle.

This is why I find it boring. This annoying boy wins over and over and over. I'm not saying he's not good, but it's just boring. Not to mention that only FOUR cars finished on the lead lap.

If this keeps up I'm going to stop getting up at sunrise to watch these races, I'll just see if Seb wins or not and if it's worth watching. If he had KERS for his Q lap, or had a second lap, he would have taken pole EASILY. Then he might have actually gone lights-to-flag for the win.

Oh and DRS today was virtually useless. They should scrap it. It's either too much or not enough.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Trace17

This is why I find it boring. This annoying boy wins over and over and over. I'm not saying he's not good, but it's just boring. Not to mention that only FOUR cars finished on the lead lap.

I thought that Hamilton was in a position to overtake him (possibly) during the remaining ten laps, when he had reduced Vettel's lead to ~0.6 seconds, but the Red Bull's acceleration off the corners erased any possibility of that happening, even with DRS and KERS engaged on the McLaren. When Vettel kept scooting off during the final corner lap after lap, I knew Hamilton was relegated to second.

Maybe I'm delusional, but I'm holding a sliver of optimism that McLaren, at some point during the season, may be competitive enough to run neck-and-neck with the Red Bull chassis. I'm hoping that a combination of ongoing developments from the McLaren camp and persistent issues with the KERS system at Red Bull will translate into closer results, so that it isn't a one-man show.

Oh and DRS today was virtually useless. They should scrap it. It's either too much or not enough.

DRS works, even though its deployment during the race is severely limited by F1's rules. It makes little sense to use it unrestricted during practice and qualifying and not during the actual race. If F1 wants to encourage more overtaking during the race, then the same conditions should apply throughout, i.e. the driver is free to engage/disengage at his discretion.

[Trace17]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

I thought that Hamilton was in a position to overtake him (possibly) during the remaining ten laps, when he had reduced Vettel's lead to ~0.6 seconds, but the Red Bull's acceleration off the corners erased any possibility of that happening, even with DRS and KERS engaged on the McLaren. When Vettel kept scooting off during the final corner lap after lap, I knew Hamilton was relegated to second.

Hamilton never had a realistic chance. The RB7's acceleration is just too much out of the corners for the McLaren to handle. Had Seb lost his KERS he might have had a chance but the acceleration out of the chicane was killing him.

Maybe I'm delusional, but I'm holding a sliver of optimism that McLaren, at some point during the season, may be competitive enough to run neck-and-neck with the Red Bull chassis. I'm hoping that a combination of ongoing developments from the McLaren camp and persistent issues with the KERS system at Red Bull will translate into closer results, so that it isn't a one-man show.

At this point I don't care who it is, anybody. I'm just sick of the repetitive bore. It's certainly possible that they could find something to turn the tide, but I'm a pessimistic person, so I don't see it happening.

DRS works, even though its deployment during the race is severely limited by F1's rules. It makes little sense to use it unrestricted during practice and qualifying and not during the actual race. If F1 wants to encourage more overtaking during the race, then the same conditions should apply throughout, i.e. the driver is free to engage/disengage at his discretion.

Look at the ease of DRS overtakes in Turkey. There were several times when they absolutely FLEW by the person in front, e.g. Webber over Rosberg. It was absurd how much DRS worked. Then you get today's race where DRS was virtually useless, but that may be derivative of the track's layout and the last turn. China was a legitimate good "spectacle" but that's the only GP I've seen where I thought DRS was a genuinely good addition.

Keep in mind though that starting in Montreal the FIA said they will likely have TWO DRS zones per track. I might even hate that even more because there will only be ONE detection zone, so if the ease of overtaking is similar to Turkey, the driver defending will be in trouble, as the person will have one straight to overtake and the second straight to use DRS to widen the gap. This is just speculation, but they better tread carefully, as it could make or break the concept.

[Hatter]

Great win by Vettel. All the suspense died with the red flag but nevertheless very entertaining and impressive tyre management.

Lewis Hamilton played the race card for the penalties he incurred today. Pretty sad on his part regardless that he was joking. I'm sure if David Coulthard said jokingly it for example he'd be fired immediately. Apparently plowing into cars is okay in his book. I hope he goes and reviews the race to realize Di Resta got a penalty for doing the exact same thing at the hairpin several laps earlier.

Here's the interview

YouTube - ‪F1 2011 Lewis Hamilton Interview Monaco Grand Prix - After Race‬‏

[Trace17]

Originally Posted by Hatter

Great win by Vettel. All the suspense died with the red flag but nevertheless very entertaining and impressive tyre management.

Lewis Hamilton played the race card for the penalties he incurred today. Pretty sad on his part regardless that he was joking. I'm sure if David Coulthard said jokingly it for example he'd be fired immediately. Apparently plowing into cars is okay in his book. I hope he goes and reviews the race to realize Di Resta got a penalty for doing the exact same thing at the hairpin several laps earlier.

Here's the interview
YouTube - ‪F1 2011 Lewis Hamilton Interview Monaco Grand Prix - After Race‬‏

Well, you can say impressive tyre management, but we'll never know for sure if it had been truly amazing. We had an epic finish on our hands, 15 laps left with Seb possibly ending on bald tyres and holding off two world champions. Then the red flag KILLED the end of the race. They need to change those regs. Don't let the teams change tyres during red flag. It's completely meaningless when they do. Lady Luck was on Seb's side all day. He had that slow pit stop and Horner said they put on the wrong tyres and he went with it. Kudos to him for being able to handle that on the fly, but between that and the red flag, he is oh so very lucky. I was really looking forward to what would happen in those last 10 laps. Shame we'll never know.

I'm not an Alonso fan, but it would have been cool to see him win and be the first driver to win for 3 different teams. Oh well.

As to Hamilton, yeah, he was driving as a jerk today, but I chalk it up to how ridiculously frustrating his weekend has been. He didn't get a Q lap because of Perez crashing (the one lap he did do went wrong and was thrown out), then he gets shunted by Schumi which almost ruined his race there, got stuck behind drivers he was much faster than, and just got really frustrated. It was bad on his part, but in the heat of the moment, I'm not really surprised. I probably would have been incredibly frustrated, knowing I could give the Red Bulls a really good run but being stuck that far back in Q and the race.

As to the Ali G thing, I don't know. He was joking, yeah. I mean, you gotta realize he is so incredibly frustrated at that point, even if it was his fault. Not to mention he's completely exhausted. But his demeanor in that video is not great. To be honest, I'm more skeptical about his calling other drivers stupid than his Ali G reference.

Admittedly, I do like it when a driver speaks his mind. It's a refreshing change of pace from the boring crap they're told to spew out.

[Hatter]

If your going to change red flag regs than no work should be allowed at all. If your going to ban tire changes than there's no way you should be allowed to take apart a rear wing and put in back together either.

[dobyblue]

Just jotting up my TO DO list before I get up next Thursday at 5am to head to Montreal for my 10th Grand Prix du Canada.

Even without 2 DRS zones Canada is always one of the best and most exciting races of the season, this year should be no different and perhaps one of the best ever with lots of passing zones.

Hamilton has always raced well at Canada in terms of raw pace, even if he has made one or two boneheaded moves like smashing into the back of Kimi stopped at a pit lane exit red light, haha.

I think Red Bull will be in tough next week-end. Weather is shaping up here to be gorgeous, had 91 degree F weather in Southern Ontario earlier this week.

Drinks at McKibbons after Practise 2 anyone?

Originally Posted by Trace17

If this keeps up I'm going to stop getting up at sunrise to watch these races

I've been PVR'ing F1 since 2006, I get up to watch it when I wake up and not a second before, lol.

Originally Posted by Hatter

If your going to change red flag regs than no work should be allowed at all. If your going to ban tire changes than there's no way you should be allowed to take apart a rear wing and put in back together either.

There should be no work done under red flag, I agree. The teams should be able to come out and fan their drivers and that's it.

We were totally robbed of a great finish. I would love to have seen Seb fighting Alonso and Button as his tyres went off the cliff, like Schumi fighting off Hill at Spa on slicks in wet weather, brilliant stuff.

[dobyblue]

I think it SUCKS that India is now the finale. I know the idea of a new track to finish is exciting as no driver knows the track, but most of these new tracks are BORING.

Brazil always makes for a great season finale especially when it comes down to the wire.. They got shafted.

As for Red Bull, Brawn were looking like this in 2009 and it came down to the wire, there's still time for teams like McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes to see some serious upgrades and push to make the second half of the season exciting. Button looked like he was walking away with it after several races too.

Jenson won 6 out of the first 7 races and had double the points of second place Barrichello; Seb has won 5 out of the first 6 and does not have twice Lewis' points.

I would make a prediction for Canada, but it is as unpredictable as Monaco. Just look at previous podiums, 2008 Coulthard 3rd; 2007 Heidfeld (Sauber) 2nd and Wurz (Williams-Toyota) 3rd; 2004 Button (BAR-Honda) 3rd; 2000 Fisichella (Benetton-Playlife) 3rd.

[Shin-Ra]

Final lap, Vettel runs wide two corners before...



Slipping the back end out, letting Jenson Button past who's been lapping 1-2 seconds quicker towards the end of the race.



Jenson Button WINS the Canadian Grand Prix, building up from 21st (last place), having pitted six times!

[Trace17]

What.

A.

Race.

I don't even know where to begin. So many things, starting under SC (at the time) was rubbish, let them race. Then the downpour was absurd. I actually took a nap during the red flag to recoup some sleep from watching Le Mans. Lot of "racing incidents" too, poor Di Resta was looking at a great finish right before the end. Would have been nice to see Schumi back on the podium, but it wasn't meant to be. Felipe's pass over Kob at the last possible second was brilliant!

And Button, what a rollercoaster for him. Two accidents, I believe 6 pit stops (including a drive through penalty) was last at one point and came flying up at the end. DRS seemed really overpowered for some cars on the straight before the chicane, but Button was running down Seb regardless. I guess Seb just folded under the pressure, a slight error that cost him the race.

A thing to note though, as of right now, Button is still under investigation, so this win may be temporary.

Shin - I hear the Beebs decided to not do the forum, did they say why? I usually enjoy, uh, "finding" it later in the week to watch.

[Shin-Ra]

It's just they're running so late already with the 2 hour rain suspension.