Temporarily returning to the subject of the race... Kovalainen has been handed a five-place grid penalty for Sepang after overtaking before the safety car line (source).
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Temporarily returning to the subject of the race... Kovalainen has been handed a five-place grid penalty for Sepang after overtaking before the safety car line (source).
Yes he has. A disappointing start for a team everyone thought would be fighting for 8-10th.
According to Whitmarsh, the Maccas' race pace was compromised due to a mistake on the fuel calculations, which made Button and Hamilton switch to a severe fuel-saving mode. So perhaps they would have been considerably faster than Red Bull if they hadn't had this problem, don't you think?
Did they? I, for one, absolutely expected them to have been exactly where they were in Melbourne.Quote:
Originally Posted by N. Jones
What happened to the pace of the Mercedes? Is their qualifying pace mostly down to their disputed DRS system?
They were about equal.Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
Button had a better start than Hamilton but the gap was about 3s before the first round of stops.
Seb lucked into P2 during SC.
Poor restart from Seb but gap again was about 3s.
Looks like they have same problem as last year: tyre management. On a positive note they can mix it in top 3 but can they get a podium at the finish?Quote:
Originally Posted by Brown, Jon Brow
Pretty good race, Jenson, wow, who would have thought he would make hamilton look slow... This has to be a big blow to Lewis' confidence. Another race like this and it will be back to disgruntled LH.
Grojean, had a feeling he wouldnt finish well, not totally his fault but he kinda put himself in harms way.
reb bull, obviously not as fast as mclaren but still very quick.
schumacher, feel bad for him, had a top 5 in the bag and possibly podium 3rd but just a stupid mistake letting vettel pressure him off the track. unlucky that it damaged the gearbox. considerable blow to his confidence and mood. rosberg, not impressive, doesnt seem to be aggressive enough. mercedes goes from a nice high after qualy to surely pissed and annoyed.
ferrari, told you so, alonso delivered, great job from him. massa, hes horrible. if kubica can regain his health maybe him for 2013. if not im sure they will find someone else. this has to be massas last year if he can even last the whole year. another handful of races like this and they might just yank him.
kimi, impressed but he made up a lot of positions because of cars dropping out etc. good bit of luck in his finish position.
safety car was not necessary
Just a note, but Michaels gearbox broke going into the corner, which caused the off, not the other way round
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Guys, i'm searching photos from race in high resolutions (1920x1080). Maybe you know where i can find them :)
Oh, well, I guess... they (speed channel usa) were trying to point out something with his gear changes going into the corner but also could it be case of michael using an excuse? To me it just looked like vettel pressured him to brake too late and he went off the same way others did only his car really bounced and dug into the grass / ground. personally i think that is what screwed his gear box and he doesnt want to admit it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Robinho
also, replace nico rosberg with keke rosberg might see better results LOL, and to that extent i wonder if ralph schumi would have done a whole lot worse than michael the last few years!? I mean i am a big michael fan but he has really disappointed me. i never in a million years thought nico rosberg would beat michael schumacher so much. im thinking michael should have never tried a comeback now. its tainted his greatness reputation in my mind now. nico is really failing to deliver as well. i was pumped for mercedes after qualy but seems it was just a fluke, car not so great in race and drivers still lackluster making too many mistakes. =/ in reality when you look at results nothing has really changed much from 2010 or 2011... (the whole f1 running order)
Turn one is a 3rd gear corner and Schumacher said on the radio that 3rd gear had gone. So it makes sense that losing 3rd gear in that corner would result in a mistake.
Schumy said after the race, he was losing drive and he went off to avoid a spin.
A few journos were talking up how they thought Caterham was poised to score points.Quote:
Originally Posted by BDunnell
I was hoping they would finally take the next step; but I guess they still aren't ready.
True, they were.Quote:
Originally Posted by N. Jones
Well the Caterhams were about 2.7sec per lap off the pace in the race, which ain't bad. They've cut the gap to the front by at least 1sec I think.
btw did anyone notice that Petrov was beating Kovalainen on merit in the race?
It's not really that bad. At this level you get punished for small errors.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevincal
On a positive note Button & Vettel weren't able to romp away with huge margins. The 10s deficit to Button was because of being caught out by Perez.
He wasn't, Heikki didn't have KERS, DRS started working only on lap six and he also had a steering issue all through the race which lead to his retirement in the end.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjbetty
Lewis certainly was not slow, but he did look disgruntled and understandably so. McLaren appear to have a quick car which could be a championship winner and yet, like last season, Jenson appears (early days) to have the upper hand.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevincal
I was watching a documentary about Alain Prost at the weekend, and he was talking about how McLaren was his team before Senna arrived. I'm not comparing drivers but the generally accepted view is that this is Hamilton's team, or at least it was until Button came along. JB has, by his personality and performances, made himself very much a part of McLaren. That must have had an effect on Lewis, as well as being beaten by a team-mate, which he's not used to.
Interesting times at Woking :eek:
And does Button not do quite a lot of the set-up work?Quote:
Originally Posted by ArrowsFA1
L.Hamilton is faster over a single lap than J.Button, that's a fact. J.Button is consistent, smart, and lucky in difficult situations and high attrition races
Good analyzed, even if this first race didn't give an entirely clear picture of how good the teams really are (as you said) .. it will be interesting to see next weeks race when the conditions are quite different..Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
That McLaren and Red Bull were on the topp in Australia was not any big suprise for any one - I think .. The biggest negative thing was Mercedes but I think they will be back already next race .. and Ferrari really is a big question mark - and Felipe ?? I can only imagine how it would be without Alonso - their situation shows that money is not everything ...
When looking something positive and surprising (anyway for me) it was Lotus and Crosjean but also Kimi who gave an clear message that he is back in "the business".. Promissing was also that so called midfield looks this year bigger than ever - but even here - how big it really is can we see first after a couple races - I believe also that Caterham is closer the others if/when everything works for them .. Congrats to Button - :beer:
I thought Mercedes had fair race pace. In my pub Pickems I had the Shoe down as 3rd (Shhhh, don't tell ioan) and he would have done it as well I think if not for a uncharacteristic gearbox failure.
what happened to Rosberg on the last lap, I saw a replay of him passing someone, then he was cruising on the exit of the fast chicane?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robinho
Australia Sunday quotes: Mercedes - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.comQuote:
Originally Posted by Nico Rosberg
I don't think Schumacher would have finished 3rd, RBRs were much faster and would have passed sooner or later. Alonso was also faster at this stage of the race, but Schumacher went out before he got caught. And as we remember, Maldonado was even faster than Alonso... So at best Schumi would have finished 5th with his good defending, but even then he would have had a train of cars behind him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Knock-on
He might do something funny in Monaco, though :DQuote:
Originally Posted by jens
He's got to have some bad luck for what he and slime bag did in Singapore 2008.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mia 01
Everyone? Not everyone that is in their real mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by N. Jones
More context for you: Heike started the race on softs, Vitaly on mediums. I'm not sure which tire either had after that. Vitaly was on Kova's gearbox for the first 15-odd laps (for a while they were both held up by Timo Glock), pitted later, got out in front, and eased away from the Finn from that point until his retirement.Quote:
Originally Posted by DexDexter
After beating Mr. '6 tenths' in his rookie year he is constantly overshadowed by a guy who used to be a journey man, he sure didn't expect it. Heck I didn't expect it either.Quote:
Originally Posted by ArrowsFA1
But the biggest issue is that Lewis has troubles digesting this situation.
Maybe he used to be a journeyman in your eyes, but not those of many others by whose views on such things I would set rather more store.Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
Ah ok - glad to hear it! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by DexDexter
I just KNEW when I typed it that I shouldn't have made assumptions!
Ok so that maybe means Heikki was about 0.7sec or LESS than the guys in front like di Resta - and Massa...
Hehe that's what I thought. What is happening these days with Alonso is like payback for Singapore, Hockenheim 2010 and for he and Flav screwing Trulli and Fisi, for which Flav is also now paying, and everything else!Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
Quote of the race:
"Is his nose damaged or does it just look like that?"
-Bob Varsha
Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
Yes, it looks like he needs some Neuro-Linguistic Programming or something to give him a structure for mentaly dealing with setbacks. After making one mistake (the start) he was just unlucky with the safety car to lose a place to Seb but still looked a bit shellshocked at his third place.
He is quicker than Jenson in terms of raw pace over a single lap but his apparent inability to psychologically deal with a setback (ie,petted lip) still gives me concerns.
I guess the Singapore will be the real test of how he deals with this psychological blow to determine if he has the mental strength required for a WDC run.
A make or break season for Lewis?
Yep. Petrov had Kers and DRS working the whole race. Heikki's problem (in addition to KERS and DRS) was apparently the steering column, he had to steer in the opposite direction to keep the car straight. That's what he said.Quote:
Originally Posted by keysersoze
I don't really understand where you get this impression or come to the conclusion that he is being overshadowed. Just because Button managed to beat him last year and Lewis had issues in Oz doesn't by any means suggest that will continue to be the case. To me he seems to be dealing with the situation very well and I have found him to be very pragmatic, almost too much so if anything. For example, whenever Button beats Lewis, Lewis just holds his hands up and says it. When it's the other way around, Button always has some old excuse about the car not being set up correctly or some crap. I like Lewis because he's honest and is willing to admit when he has been beaten. I can't say the same about Button. Button beat Lewis fair and square on Sunday. I would be surprised if that continues.Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
Button is a prime example though of hard work paying off. He has worked for his place in McLaren and deserves it. He will never have the natural talent Hamilton has but is making up for it through hard work. I really can't wait to see how this season pans out. I think the Button challenge will make Hamilton a better driver in the coming years as he will learn from Button and if he applies himself in a likewise fashion then he'd be unstoppable in a decent car.
:laugh: Too right :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by BDunnell
I have had many a discussion with ioan on this in the past but as per usual, he ignores all the evidence and sticks to his baseless opinion regardless.
I remember the old days where Fizz and I were trying to point out just how good Jenson was and he ignored it. I pointed out that the only reason JPM was bought into the Williams tem was that they signed the contract before realising just how good Jenson was and still he ignores it. Jenson wins the WDC in a car that although arguably the best on the grid for the first half of the season, still necessitated beating the highly rated Rubens who had demonstrated his mettle by fairly beating the great Schumacher on occasions (when allowed) and still he ignores it. He goes to McLaren and races against arguably the fastest driver on the grid and still comes out shining.
Yet he's a journeyman in ioans opinion :laugh:
I think you'll find that in previous races Button isn't particularly happy at finishing behind Hamilton.Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
Give Jenson a 'poor' car let alone dog of a car he leaves a lot to be desired.Quote:
Originally Posted by Knock-on
In the second half of 2009 Rubens was the better driver in that situation of getting the best out of tyres when BGP lost their superiority, nor could he reach the 2010 season finale as McLaren were faltering.