I dont think so, otherwise in the past people injured in qualifying would have been replaced rather than a car less start.
Maybe the rules have changed. I dont know
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So let's see, how the race turns out. Actually I am thinking Räikkönen might beat Vettel here. He is usually relatively stronger in race than in qualifying and qualified very close to Seb. Also won in 2013 from 7th on the grid.
I think it really depends on the start., Kimi on the clean side,. If this car is really suited to Kimi's style, that in and of itself only means to me that it is also probably well suited to Seb, as he likes a similar setup. But If the car is really an Allison special, than Kimi could be in with a shout. If anyone could put the as*-whippin' he got from his teammate last season behind him it is Ice. I wish him good luck, but I'll bet 1,000.00 USD to any and all members that when they add the points up at the end of the year Seb will have more, but I could be wrong.
Are they really as far behind as everyone is saying?
Button managed a 1.31.422 in the Mclaren Honda
Last year in Q1 he managed a 1.31.396 in the McLaren Mercedes.
Assuming that the chassis is better than last years, and ignoring different track conditions/tyres, considering the amount of mileage they have done they are exactly where you'd expect them to be.
In terms of potential of the package, they might actually be in a better position than the Renault powered teams. They have gone backwards in some aspects.
Patience lads.
Mark Webber's been part of the local broadcast over here. He's been outstanding, and made Alan Jones completely irrelevant. Which may not surprise. The insight has been outstanding.
I thought the opposite. Webber, while obviously knowledgeable, is a poor commentator. He struggles to coherently express his thoughts, talks too much when he should shut up, repeats himself too often (I lost count of the times he said the word "brutal") and gets halfway through a sentence before realising he has nowhere to go with it. He can certainly add something to the broadcast but needs to be used in much smaller doses than he is being used at the moment.
His positives outweigh his weaknesses. He's carrying the broadcast. And I didn't even like him as a driver.
Jesus. These blokes disbelieving of Raikkonen! Last year was only one **** year. He was extraordinary for the previous two.