Donkey of the Race - Oz 2013

[steveaki13]

Pirelli super softs for one.

[donKey jote]

for giving kimi the win? he didn't seem to mind them :andrea:

[Koz]

Pirelli takes the cake.

Grosjean, nowhere. Although I suspect they may have put him on a wet setup.

McLaren, overall.

[rjbetty]

Pastor Maldonado - got stroppy after being beaten by his team-mate, then dumped it in the gravel. Looks like he's getting rattled already, and was nowhere the whole weekend.

But most of all McLaren - for messing up my FGP. :(

[Robinho]

McLaren salvaged a couple of points with a suspect car, hopefully they will improve, but I don't think they did much wrong today, it was the last couple of months that burnt them. I think Grosjean, 10th when his team mate won the race, Maldonado binned it so has to be up there, but for an opening race everyone drove well and was pretty well behaved

Sent from the moon using a shoe

[Dave B]

Webber for wasting a great front row with that awful getaway, Pic for almost taking out Alonso while being lapped, and McLaren generally for mucking up their qualifying strategy and doing nothing of note during the race.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Pirelli it is - Most people couldn't run more than 5,6 laps on those joke tires. Absolutely ridiculous.

[Robinho]

I saw Pic move off line for Alonso and Alonso go in too and nearly collect Pic, harsh to blame Charles for that one I think

Sent from the moon using a shoe

[Garry Walker]

Webber for making a mess of his start and Hulk's car's fuel system fault.

[rjbetty]

Webber for making a mess of his start and Hulk's car's fuel system fault.

Yeah, I think it's gonna be all downhill for Webber from here, in what may be his last season at Red Bull.

[steveaki13]

Webber - A shocking start again.
Grosjean - A teammate winning and 10th.
Maldonado - Only driver t lose it
Mclaren - Pace. What Pace.

[EuroTroll]

Would have liked it to have been Alonso, for taking out Pic. But alas, it was not to be. :( :p

So, I'll go with Vettel, for not winning in a car that's 1 sec/lap faster than anyone else's. :p

[Ranger]

Yeah, I think it's gonna be all downhill for Webber from here, in what may be his last season at Red Bull.

Yawn. People have said that every year since 2008. :\

[rjbetty]

Also, I have to say Williams.

For all their talk over winter testing, it turns out they were full of it. :(

In other words, pretty much how it has been every season in recent times apart from last year.

Oh, and definitely Caterham. Shame that Tony Fernandes lost interest and looks to have effectively quit.

[rjbetty]

Yawn. People have said that every year since 2008. :\

But I've NEVER believed Webber would be finished there and retire. But this year could be different. I think he is talking and acting like someone who's past his peak...

[Garry Walker]

But I've NEVER believed Webber would be finished there and retire. But this year could be different. I think he is talking and acting like someone who's past his peak...

Well, Webber has confirmed he didnt have KERS for the first half of the race. So that explains a lot. Pacewise he was quicker than his teammate today, at least at the end. But of course he was stuck in traffic.

[rjbetty]

Well, Webber has confirmed he didnt have KERS for the first half of the race. So that explains a lot. Pacewise he was quicker than his teammate today, at least at the end. But of course he was stuck in traffic.

Oh that's good news for Mark! I'm hoping I'll be wrong about him. It would be amazing if he could beat Seb this year, just to see Marko's reaction. Wow KERS issues again, the same as for many races in 2012. When was the last time Justin had KERS issues...? :(

[Ranger]

But I've NEVER believed Webber would be finished there and retire. But this year could be different. I think he is talking and acting like someone who's past his peak...

He has never gone well in Melbourne. In 2010 he made a bit of a fool of himself and took out Hamilton after starting on the front row, and everyone was on the retirement bandwagon - then he very nearly won the title.

He didn't have KERS for this entire race, for one thing.

[DexDexter]

Grosjean is the real donkey, the guy finished 10th while his teammate comfortably won the race after taking it "easy".

[TheFamousEccles]

No KERS, again? :eek:

Crap start, again? :mad:

These two issues are happening too often - shenanigans!!!!!! Something isn't right, IMO. Surely even a "monkey" like Webber can follow a launch procedure? I can't imagine this issue not having been given some considerable scrutiny over the past, oh - 3 years? Curious...

[pino]

rybetty for missing the race after stayed up all night to watch it :crazy: :p :

[N4D13]

I think it's rather harsh to name Grosjean as donkey of the race, since he's said that something wasn't all right with his car. I'd rather have Maldonado as the donkey - he was nowhere in qualifying, spun off and, to top it off, he was beaten by his rookie teammate. Not a very promising way to start the season, is it?

[gm99]

Webber - yet another botched start.
Grosjean with an utter lack of pace compared to his team-mate.
Maldonado for being overshadowed by his rookie team-mate and binning it in the race.

But the overall donkey are the super soft tires lasting all of four laps - WTF?

[Zico]

"Webber lined up on the front row alongside team-mate Vettel, but a terrible start dropped him to seventh following an ECU (electronic control unit) failure which automatically shut down his Kers power boost. His race was subsequently ruined when he was stuck behind Button after his first pit stop."

BBC Sport - Australian GP: Kimi Raikkonen wins ahead of Fernando Alonso (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21819227)




Could someone clarify if its likely to have been a Kers and/or ECU issue that ruined his launch?

[rjbetty]

Yeah, I think it's gonna be all downhill for Webber from here, in what may be his last season at Red Bull.

In light of recent news, I would like to retract this statement, and nominate Red Bull.

Now I normally don't like to be childish and gripe about conspiracies; I always try and accept that a driver I like just isn't as good, if that's what the truth is, hard as it can be; but Webber's constant KERS failures are getting a bit too convenient for my liking.

Is it really so paranoid delusional to consider the possibility that all is not fair at Red Bull and these occurances (sp?) are helping to ease Mark out of the door without losing face, since he's never been part of Marko's agaenda? It may be wrong, but it's getting to the point where the evidence says this is happening too much. Am I getting this wrong?



These threads look like they're very good for gleaning new information on events of the race.

[kfzmeister]

Would have liked it to have been Alonso, for taking out Pic. But alas, it was not to be. :( :p

So, I'll go with Vettel, for not winning in a car that's 1 sec/lap faster than anyone else's. :p

Unfortunately for Vettel, qualifying pace does not equal race pace.
My vote for Donkey is different Red Bull driver, Webber, for that God-aweful start. What a way to waste P2 in the 2nd fastest (?) car than anyone else. :D

[N4D13]

Unfortunately for Vettel, qualifying pace does not equal race pace.
My vote for Donkey is different Red Bull driver, Webber, for that God-aweful start. What a way to waste P2 in the 2nd fastest (?) car than anyone else. :D
According to Chris Horner, it was not Mark's fault, but an ECU issue. Horner was rather quick to point the finger at McLaren, by the way.

[gloomyDAY]

Webber - Using reverse gear at the start of every race.
Maldonado - Forgot how to drive and binned it.

McLaren - Terrible qualifying and equally bad race.
Williams - Didn't these guys win championships?


According to Chris Horner, it was not Mark's fault, but an ECU issue. Horner was rather quick to point the finger at McLaren, by the way. :o hplease: Christian is just making excuses. I've been really off-put by his arrogance this entire weekend, and it's as if he's expecting wins to come to Red Bull a little too easily. Mark needs to sort these starts out because it's really hampering his ability to add points to the constructors tally. Simple as that!

[anthonyvop]

Can we just save time and give the Donkey of the year trophy to Webber as we all know he will mess up even more starts this year.

The man has sat in was is universally regarded the best car for the last 3 seasons and has finished 3rd place in the Championship twice and 6th. I am surprised that RBR resigned him.

[truefan72]

Clear donkey is Webber for yet another pathetic start and overall race. 4 pit stops right? This was his home race and instead of shining, provided us with a real stinker of a race. His poor tarts are becoming legendary

followed by Ferrari for screwing up Massa's race strategy, I do believe he was on a 2 stop strategy, and on for the race win or podium before they changed it to help alonso. Because on raw pace massa had the measure of alonso, nevermind beign ahead of him in the race. His real feelings were made clear right after the race, but now has had to backtrack his comments and provide a contrived answer to the situation, because yeah, the whole world didn't see what happened but would rather believe the pr speak, lol

[zako85]

Can we just save time and give the Donkey of the year trophy to Webber as we all know he will mess up even more starts this year.


I wouldn't be so pessimistic yet. It's just one race. It does seem logical that if Webber continues this way, he will be replaced. With a resurgent Massa, Ferrari won't be leaving any points on the table like in the last few years. Ferrari now has a real shot at taking constructor's title away from RBR this year.



The man has sat in was is universally regarded the best car for the last 3 seasons and has finished 3rd place in the Championship twice and 6th. I am surprised that RBR resigned him.

Mark was smart to sign his current RBR contract at the time in 2012 when he was at his peak form. About that time he was leading the driver championship (or at least ahead of Vettel in points), and I believe had two wins to Vettel's one. It wasn't clear if anyone from RBR's "academy" could have possibly done better.


Incidentally, we might also see Button leave F1 some time soon. Together with Webber, they're the oldest drivers on the grid. Did Button sign up only until the end of 2014 or longer? More and more new evidence is showing that McLaren's troubles run pretty deep. Slow car that can't win races (according to Button), lost title sponsor, lost Hamilton to Mercedes, may lose its technical director to Mercedes, etc.

[TheFamousEccles]

Who builds the RBR KERS system - is it Renault or is it designed/built in-house?

Reading comments from the Renault techs post race, they seem to think they had a good race with few issues!

Thierry Salvi, Renault: “It was quite a smooth race from our point of view, because we were relying on tyre behavior. Engine-wise we didn’t have any major concerns – it was quite cold, which makes it easy for the engine. Our main job was focused on the fuel consumption, which we have to manage, but it all went fine. There was a podium for us which is a good start to the season and we look forward to the next race.” Infiniti Red Bull Racing

[dj_bytedisaster]

In light of recent news, I would like to retract this statement, and nominate Red Bull.

Now I normally don't like to be childish and gripe about conspiracies; I always try and accept that a driver I like just isn't as good, if that's what the truth is, hard as it can be; but Webber's constant KERS failures are getting a bit too convenient for my liking.

Is it really so paranoid delusional to consider the possibility that all is not fair at Red Bull and these occurances (sp?) are helping to ease Mark out of the door without losing face, since he's never been part of Marko's agaenda? It may be wrong, but it's getting to the point where the evidence says this is happening too much. Am I getting this wrong?

These threads look like they're very good for gleaning new information on events of the race.

I think you're getting a wee bit too paranoid there. Mark didn't have a KERS problem to begin with. His Engine Control Unit packed in on the parade lap and it shut down his KERS system. The ECU is a spec part, built by McLaren, that all teams use. And why should RBR deliberately deprive themselves of points by sabotaging Mark to ease him out the door? If they wanted him out, they simply could have not resigned him last year without losing face, because that would have been a normal business decision.

BTW. Vettel had two alternator failures last year to Marks one, so it isn't like Mark has all the problems ;)

[henners88]

The only Donkey's I can think of were Webber for yet another appalling start, the jinx of Melbourne continues!! And secondly Maldonado for throwing a strop in the morning over Bottas and ditching his car at turn one. I know even the greats (Alonso) have done this in recent years but he also went off after missing his breaking point earlier in the race. His head wasn't in it this weekend.

[zako85]

I think we're judging Webber a bit too harshly, now that his formation lap ECU problem is known.

[wedge]

Maldonado - for being rattelled by Bottas and then ditching it.

[Tazio]

I think we're judging Webber a bit too harshly, now that his formation lap ECU problem is known.Not what you would call a Webber fan but I quite agree.
We all know that the new 2014 ECU is generating a lot of glitches. That's why it is being field tested and introduced this year ahead of the V6 turbo introduction. Webber fared better than Rosberg who lost the ECU during the race and had to retire. And I suspect that Hulk's fuel problems were also ECU related. The FIA experienced a complete black out of their marshalling system as a consequence of the ECU glitches.

If MES are not fault it seems odd that are they are expressing regret for the problem. :confused:
McLaren Electonics Systems managing director Peter van Manen said:

“There was an issue with Mark Webber’s data system in the garage during the formation lap. The ECU on the car was fine.

“We regret any disruption caused to Mark’s preparations for the start of the race and will continue to work with the team to prevent any recurrence.


If the MES supplied telemetry system made Red Bull go blind on Webber's car all kind of secondary system problems can be attributed to this glitch. I think it would be fairer to take it on the chin and admit that they are having teething problems.
If it was MES' or RB's technical failure it should exonerate Webber this time. Perhaps I can dig up some telemetry and get to the bottom of this :bulb:

[AndyL]

And I suspect that Hulk's fuel problems were also ECU related.

From what Ted Kravitz said Hulkenberg's fuel problem was rather more fundamental, he reported seeing fuel coming out of the car.

[Tazio]

From what Ted Kravitz said Hulkenberg's fuel problem was rather more fundamental, he reported seeing fuel coming out of the car.Thanks bro I wasn't aware of that :bulb:

[gloomyDAY]

If it was MES' or RB's technical failure it should exonerate Webber this time. Perhaps I can dig up some telemetry and get to the bottom of this :bulb: Yeah, Horner blamed MES and its ECU, but it was Red Bull's mistake.

McLaren claims there was nothing wrong with Webber's ECU - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106136)

[AndyL]

I wonder if it was MES's fault in the same way it was Renault's fault when Seb's car was short-fuelled in Abu Dhabi.

[Tazio]

@ Glue. I think "claim" is the operative word there, and I could be wrong, but the teething problems apear to be real, and I reiterate why would MES issue this statement:

We regret any disruption caused to Mark’s preparations for the start of the race and will continue to work with the team to prevent any recurrence.
if they didn't want to accept some of the responsibility?
Never the less the point is that it apears to not be a Webber screw up this time.

[Tazio]

I wonder if it was MES's fault in the same way it was Renault's fault when Seb's car was short-fuelled in Abu Dhabi.May well be! I suppose it could be something as simple as wind and rain causing RB's electrical issues. :bulb:

[N. Jones]

Mark Webber - he must of always been last in any sport that requires a standing start when he was a youngster...

[Tazio]

The electronic units themselves ran without incident in Melbourne, but there was a software-related issue that meant that Mark Webber's Red Bull Racing car's garage data system had to be re-started during the formation lap. That disrupted his preparations for the start of the race, for which Mark and the team has our apology. We are working together with them to prevent any recurrence.
http://www.phttp://www.pitpass.com/48642-McLaren-issues-statement-re-ECU

Not really a big deal as teething problems are bound to occur with a new system targeted at a completely new lump. :bulb:

[donKey jote]

a bit harsh Jack... calling Webber a lump :p

[Tazio]

a bit harsh Jack... calling Webber a lump :p
;) ;) ;) ;)

[Whyzars]

Edited: Link to McLaren apology posted earlier...