Webber on pole. Hamilton alongside him. Vettel and Alonso behind them. Overcast, cool and damp conditions with a chance of real rain at some point. Bring it on!
Formula One 2011
- Thread starter Zulu Romeo
- Start date
This is turning into an almighty scrap between Hamilton, Alonso and Webber.
We'll we've had two great races on the trot now, and the last 4 races have seen 4 different winners, notably only one of those has been by a Red Bull Driver.
So have the other teams caught up with Red Bull, and if they have what can Red Bull do to keep ahead.
Overtake of the Day: Hamiliton on Alosno on the outside of turn 2
Force India did well to get to 6th place, which you would have to say is about 5 places above where you would expect them. After the big 5 teams. Red BUll, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes. So they did very well today, it's just a shame that Heidfeld hit DiResta in turn 3 on the opening lap, which for some reason was never shown.
Roll on Hungary in 1 weeks time, a circuit that McLaren have done well on over the last 7 or so years.
But a couple of questions.
1.>Why was Lewis so much faster than Jenson
2..>Will Ferrari be fined/repremainded for running out of Fuel? After the issue came up in Canada last year with Lewis.
So have the other teams caught up with Red Bull, and if they have what can Red Bull do to keep ahead.
Overtake of the Day: Hamiliton on Alosno on the outside of turn 2
Force India did well to get to 6th place, which you would have to say is about 5 places above where you would expect them. After the big 5 teams. Red BUll, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes. So they did very well today, it's just a shame that Heidfeld hit DiResta in turn 3 on the opening lap, which for some reason was never shown.
Roll on Hungary in 1 weeks time, a circuit that McLaren have done well on over the last 7 or so years.
But a couple of questions.
1.>Why was Lewis so much faster than Jenson
2..>Will Ferrari be fined/repremainded for running out of Fuel? After the issue came up in Canada last year with Lewis.
What a great race we had,if vettel can finished off the podium a few more times or have a couple of dnfs then the championship fight can go on to the last race of the season and any of the top drivers can win it.
Absolutely. Even better was that the great overtake occurred outside of a DRS zone.
The action did trail off a little after the penultimate pit stop round for options, but then we did have an intriguing scrap between Vettel and Massa, including a last-lap pitstop duel between Ferrari and Red Bull, which Vettel won (perhaps inevitably, given the alleged treatment of Massa at Ferrari
).Is it just me, or is every victory that Lewis Hamilton celebrates considered, in his opinion, his "best ever"? Maybe it's a mark of how watchable his driving is in general.
I think the trend of Red Bull vs. Everyone Else in these last few races could be a combination of Vettel having an off-day in this case, and in particular advances made by McLaren and in particular Ferrari. I was completely astonished at Hamilton's qualy pace here, although I suspect the McLaren does better under overcast and cool conditions than most other cars. Also, in the post-race analysis on the BBC, it was noted that Silverstone and Nürburgring were believed to have been considered by Ferrari as their "worst two" circuits, yet Alonso won one race and came second in the other. This is ominous indeed.
I wonder if Jenson's hydraulics problem that led to his enforced retirement had something to do with it? All I know is that because of his DNF, McLaren have actually lost some relative ground in the Constructors Championship against Red Bull and Ferrari this weekend, despite Hamilton's win.
One can only hope.
Did you hear Alonso saying after the race that 'we' (meaning Ferrari) need McLaren to continue their competitive streak? It's not often you get rival teams overtly ganging up on another one. D'you get the impression that everyone's tired of Red Bull rubbing everyone's face in it?
It's a very intriguing situation right now, D. It may well be a feeling of weariness over Red Bull. On the other hand, who knows what mind games Ferrari are playing with McLaren, especially as the momentum right now seems to be with both of those teams.
Thinking of my last post further, I'm also intrigued and delighted at Mark Webber's pace at this last GP. Maybe it's because it was at a circuit where he has enjoyed success before, or maybe his car's setup was more favourable than Vettel's. But I hope it's a positive sign for the rest of the season.
Thinking of my last post further, I'm also intrigued and delighted at Mark Webber's pace at this last GP. Maybe it's because it was at a circuit where he has enjoyed success before, or maybe his car's setup was more favourable than Vettel's. But I hope it's a positive sign for the rest of the season.
Maybe Webber felt he could have won this race, as some things, such as his poor start from pole position, and also his late pitstop for prime tyres (thus making him lose more time on worn-out option tyres - admittedly in hindsight a bad decision) may have contributed to that. Certainly, the way the pitstops went with his rivals in terms of in-laps and out-laps, he may well have stood a chance.
He was also probably frustrated with Red Bull's performance in comparison to McLaren and Ferrari.
He was also probably frustrated with Red Bull's performance in comparison to McLaren and Ferrari.
The pitstop decisions were key - McClaren came in too late for their first stop, so Hamilton lost the lead - but they got their timing right with the final stop. As Brundle and Coulthard said on their commentary, they pitted Hamilton immediately after he told them his tyres were losing grip - Ferrari and Red Bull thought they could push a little longer and make it work. They were wrong.
And as for Hamilton's pace - I think it was a combination of the new aero package working out for them, hitting the sweet spot with Hamilton's setup, and the mild conditions being right for the McClaren. Button's side of the garage couldn't quite find the right balance, it seems.
And no wonder Webber was downbeat - a poor start, competitive rivals and pitstop strategy not quite working makes for a glum Aussie. But a happy me.
And as for Hamilton's pace - I think it was a combination of the new aero package working out for them, hitting the sweet spot with Hamilton's setup, and the mild conditions being right for the McClaren. Button's side of the garage couldn't quite find the right balance, it seems.
And no wonder Webber was downbeat - a poor start, competitive rivals and pitstop strategy not quite working makes for a glum Aussie. But a happy me.
Absolutely. Even better was that the great overtake occurred outside of a DRS zone.
The action did trail off a little after the penultimate pit stop round for options, but then we did have an intriguing scrap between Vettel and Massa, including a last-lap pitstop duel between Ferrari and Red Bull, which Vettel won (perhaps inevitably, given the alleged treatment of Massa at Ferrari
Is it just me, or is every victory that Lewis Hamilton celebrates considered, in his opinion, his "best ever"? Maybe it's a mark of how watchable his driving is in general.
I think the trend of Red Bull vs. Everyone Else in these last few races could be a combination of Vettel having an off-day in this case, and in particular advances made by McLaren and in particular Ferrari. I was completely astonished at Hamilton's qualy pace here, although I suspect the McLaren does better under overcast and cool conditions than most other cars. Also, in the post-race analysis on the BBC, it was noted that Silverstone and Nürburgring were believed to have been considered by Ferrari as their "worst two" circuits, yet Alonso won one race and came second in the other. This is ominous indeed.
I wonder if Jenson's hydraulics problem that led to his enforced retirement had something to do with it? All I know is that because of his DNF, McLaren have actually lost some relative ground in the Constructors Championship against Red Bull and Ferrari this weekend, despite Hamilton's win.
One can only hope.
Whilst Button is a good driver, I think at times his performances drops when the car isn't working right, be it the set-up or that the car might have a slight over/under steer in it's design. Whilst Lewis seems better able to handle anything like that.
Maybe it was the hydraulics, but he was over a second slower in quali, but as Jenson said himself he couldn't get the setup right.
And yes it does seem as if the McLaren suits cooler conditions better than say the Red Bulls. But looking ahead at the Calander I think there might only be a few more opportunitys to see cooler conditions
Belgium: We've seen rain quite a few times at Spa and Lewis was supreme there in 2007 when it rained (only to be robbed of the victory by a clarification in the rules. Don't mind the clarification but the fact that they applied it retrospectively to that race was wrong. It should have been going forward)
Korea and Japan might also be cooler
India is an unkown
Italy, we know the McLaren is fast in a straight line, so it might perform well at Monza but will the higher tempatures impact on that?
I would expect Singapore and Abu Dhabi to be warm.
Which leaves Brazil, which might suit the McLaren if it's cool.
If McLaren and Ferrari have indeed caught up with Red Bull and those drivers along with Webber start to mix up the front of the grid. With Vettel starting from the 2nd/3rd row more, how much of a risk can Vettel afford to take in trying to overtake people, after all a couple of DNF's and his lead in the championship will be erroded. After all he's only 77 ahead of Webber, 81 ahead of Lewis, 85 ahead of Alonso. Two DNF's and a couple of races finishing behind those people could see his lead down to a handful of points.
The audience is at a 10-year high because the broadcast went back to the BBC. The audience for the Sky broadcasts will plummet and after a season the whole argument about public service broadcasting will rear its irritating head again. Hopefully the BBC will have the ammunition to either buy out Sky or argue that it's a national sporting event. F1's advertisers will lose out big time in the meantime and may put pressure on for full BBC coverage again, since it's a pure gift for them.
This is a fucking joke. Radio Five Live??? Fuck off 
This is a terrible terrible idea. I am sure I remember hearing Ecclestone just recently saying that public broadcasting was absolutely essential to the future popularity of the sport. What the hell are they thinking?
This is a terrible terrible idea. I am sure I remember hearing Ecclestone just recently saying that public broadcasting was absolutely essential to the future popularity of the sport. What the hell are they thinking?
@MBrundleF1 via Twitter said:
Here's hoping Mr. Brundle and other BBC talent don't follow their bank accounts and join the BSkyB payroll as a result of the shift of live TV coverage.
Sky took live cricket from terrestrial TV. I had always hoped they wouldn't touch F1. This is terrible news.
There's the half full...
...and there's the half empty.
And you could both be right...