F1 2012 Championship Thread

[Geckothan]

You can't build a good car and then skimp on the engine.

[Lonemagpie]

Schumi has announced his retirement, I see. Damn shame it had to that way cos of Lewis and not his own choice

[MacLeod]

I don't think he should have come out of retirement. Don't get me wrong he is one of the best drivers.

[Geckothan]

Anyone else staying up to watch FP1/2?

[MacLeod]

Erm, no.

[Geckothan]

And you call yourself a fan? Maybe it's a bit easier for me, being able to stay up for three days at a time whenever I feel like it.

[Lonemagpie]

Geckothan wrote:

---

And you call yourself a fan? Maybe it's a bit easier for me, being able to stay up for three days at a time whenever I feel like it.

It's a bit easier for people who have the Sky F1 channel - which a lot of us don't!

I see the BBC's highlights slot is 2 hours tomorrow instead of 90 minutes... I suppose it's too much to hope that means 90 minutes of racing rather than 50 or so... But I bet it's just to squeeze in a 30-minute Schumi tribute or something...

[Geckothan]

Lonemagpie wrote:

---

It's a bit easier for people who have the Sky F1 channel - which a lot of us don't!

I see the BBC's highlights slot is 2 hours tomorrow instead of 90 minutes... I suppose it's too much to hope that means 90 minutes of racing rather than 50 or so... But I bet it's just to squeeze in a 30-minute Schumi tribute or something...

Find somebody with Sky who will let you use their account for Sky Go, or get a Freesat receiver and some dish, and point it at 19.2e.

[Holdfast]

Watched the extended highlights; really delighted that Kobayashi got a podium in his home race.

Also glad that the Championship has tightened up nicely. I'm not much of an Alonso fan, so would be happy with A.N.Other challenging him, and Vettel looks to be the man to do it this year. His car was just perfectly hooked up today; you could hear how delighted he was with its performance. That bodes well for the next races.

Roll on Korea!

[Geckothan]

As long as Vettel shouts 'OMG ASDFSDAFAF THANK YOU BOYS' and sticks his finger up every time he wins a race or goes on pole, and sticks his bottom lip out and whines like a child every time he doesn't get his own way, I'll never take him seriously.

Alonso is just as annoying, but I'd rather him win the championship than grant Vettel the hat trick. Surely nobody believes that Vettel is worthy of three titles?

He never lead the table at any point in 2010 (despite being in a top car) until he was gifted a win at the very end through no merit of his own, and his 2011 dominance was almost 100% due to having a ridiculous rule-bending (not to mention wing-bending) car.

If the title were decided purely on driving merit alone, Hamilton or Alonso would be running away with it, leaving LOLVETTEL behind to scrap with Karthikeyan for last place.

[junxon]

so why didn't hamilton win today then if it was pure driving merit? the red bull isnt exactly the best car this year.

it's like when schumacher won his first titles in the 90's and everyone was bitching on him for winning.

[Geckothan]

Red Bull had the best car on the grid for this particular weekend, and that's why Vettel won.

Also, you can hardly compare Vettel to Schumacher, in terms of driving ability and style.

Sure, Schumi did win most of his titles in dominant cars (a few of those seasons were a lot closer than most people remember them to be, though), but his performances in not-so-great cars (such as the ones he drove in his first few years with Ferrari, for example) were some of his most impressive.

Vettel, on the other hand, rarely impresses, let alone wins, unless he's in the fastest, most rear-planted (complete opposite of what Schumi seems to prefer, btw) car on the grid, and it just so happens that in the last few years, more often than not, he has in fact been in the fastest, most rear-planted car on the grid.

Vettel just isn't as great a driver as the results suggest, and his insufferable mannerisms just make him look like a bit of a spoilt brat (maybe he's actually a nice guy, but his two default settings of 'cocky asshole' and 'sulky whiner' sure make it seem otherwise). Considering the number of quality drivers on the grid today, he's hardly the most deserving of a title, let alone three consecutive ones.

[Holdfast]

Geckothan wrote:

---

As long as Vettel shouts 'OMG ASDFSDAFAF THANK YOU BOYS' and sticks his finger up every time he wins a race or goes on pole, and sticks his bottom lip out and whines like a child every time he doesn't get his own way, I'll never take him seriously.

To me, he comes across as young & boyish for sure but in a nice & enthusiastic way. I don't see any malice in him and I don't think he's particularly sulky either (Hamilton surely takes the biscuit on that score, with Raikonnen not far behind ).

In terms of overall driver ability, I'd definitely put both Hamilton and Alonso ahead of him, but Vettel is one of those guys with incredible speed who's unbeatable when everything hooks up right for him. He's fantastic in qualifying and when out in front.

I don't think he's anywhere as good a racer as Hamilton, he's not as mentally strong as Alonso or Schumacher (in his prime), not as smooth as Button, and not as persistent as Raikonnen. But he's a very fast driver who, when given a great car, uses that car to dominate races in a way a lot of other drivers can't. Should he have 3 titles? I never think of sport as a "should" game; I prefer to let history sort out that side of things. Each year's championship can stand on its own merits.



On another note, I see Webber has called Grosjean "a nutcase" for crashing antics. The BBC have put together a highlight (lowlight?) reel of all Grosjean's first lap crashes; it's pretty funny. At least, until you see the one where Alonso almost got decapitated. I'm far from convinced Grosjean should keep his F1 licence...

[Geckothan]

Johnny Herbert really had it in for Grosjean, too. He seems like a nice guy, and he's quick enough, but he clearly doesn't have enough awareness of the cars around him in a pack or at the start. Granted, some of his accidents haven't been entirely his fault, but he's still a liability. Maldonado has gotten away with much worse (though he seems to be learning his lesson now).

[Mr Pointy Ears]

this is one race which is actual live in australia,but didnt watch it until later in the evening,had the great race to watch(bathurst)to watch first(6&half hours of racing)