2013 Canadian GP Thread

[steveaki13]

I know Alonso and Hamilton had a tussle in the closing stages.

Yer you should watch those few laps. The sad thing was that it only lasted a few. DRS gave Lewis no chance, which made me mad. I really wanted Lewis to hold on, but he had no chance.

That could have seen a battle for 20 laps instead of 4.

[djparky]

I've been watching F1 since 1970 something (aside from the mind numbing mid 2000's)

so it's a choice of having drivers go flat out and having a race as dull as Canada or drivers - managing the equipment to make sure they finish and having something happen (something that used to be part of an F1 driver skill)- give me the latter any day. Canada is what happens when the tyres are more durable- I hope all those who have moaned endlessly about tyres that are pleased that they got the equivaelent of a Bridgestone era race- which was about as stimulating as paint drying with Seb several seconds a lap quicker than everyone else and the result not in doubt after the first 10 laps

[steveaki13]

and the result not in doubt after the first 10 laps

To be fair after 10 laps, I didnt know Alonso would get 2nd, Vergne would get 6th, di Resta get 7th. Or that Massa would pass so many cars.

I enjoyed the race

[dj_bytedisaster]

I've been watching F1 since 1970 something (aside from the mind numbing mid 2000's)

so it's a choice of having drivers go flat out and having a race as dull as Canada or drivers - managing the equipment to make sure they finish and having something happen (something that used to be part of an F1 driver skill)- give me the latter any day. Canada is what happens when the tyres are more durable- I hope all those who have moaned endlessly about tyres that are pleased that they got the equivaelent of a Bridgestone era race- which was about as stimulating as paint drying with Seb several seconds a lap quicker than everyone else and the result not in doubt after the first 10 laps

The last sentence in your post rendered your whole point invalid. You think the race was boring, because you don't like the winner. But the race was everything but. Somehow you must have missed Alonso going from 6th to 2nd using on-track overtaking moves - something that we didn't see in the Bridgestone era. Somehow you missed di Resta moving from the arse-end of the field to 7th. The only thing that was wrong with the Canada race was the winner - at least in the eyes of some people.
What Canada was, was a race that was decided on track, not in the Pirelli laboratories and some people don't like it, because the RB is still by far the best car out there. But instead of calling a good race boring, because you don't quite fancy, who won it, how about Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and others get their shyte together and build a car that can challenge the lemonade tins, instead of hoping that Pirelli will stunt their pace enough for the others to keep up. This is F1, not some non-competitive Waldorf school scheme.

[henners88]

I do think this race put to bed the silly theories that Red Bull had produced the third or fourth best car. It was in a class of its own and proved how important pole position can be if you have the car to make the difference. I just hope this is a one off and we see a closer battle for the rest of this championship. Its true Mercedes and Ferrari need to find answers and fast! Nobody wants to see the same driver dominating year after year even if its your favourite driver. I wouldn't want to see Lewis win every year because I like an underdog and would most likely more my support elsewhere. Right now its exciting to see the challenge and the journey to the front, but its also nice to see good healthy competition too. I know there are many Vettel fans who love the thought of him racking up the stats and winning as many championships as possible, but there must be a fair chunk who would also like to see him racing on the television against other drivers, not the odd snippet of him taking corners as he cruises to the end of the race on fuel mix 2.

[dj_bytedisaster]

I know there are many Vettel fans who love the thought of him racking up the stats and winning as many championships as possible, but there must be a fair chunk who would also like to see him racing on the television against other drivers, not the odd snippet of him taking corners as he cruises to the end of the race on fuel mix 2.

Are you sure there even is something like Vettel fans? I thought they're all hidden away in hangar7. Faster69 must have escaped somehow...
Of course F1 would be more exciting with a different winner every year, but you can hardly blame it on Vettel. What is he supposed to do? Forfeit races deliberately? The fact is that for the last 3 or 4 years, Ferrari and the others failed to build a car that can take the fight to the lemonade cans, but that's their fault not the one of RB or Vettel or Horner. I consider myself a somewhat neutral observer of F1, but of course I'm not going to weep if a compatriot wins a race. The only thing I'm thoroughly sick of is the vitriol that's directed at RB and Vettel out of sheer frustration. If you read the stuff on the BBC website or whenever Gary logs on with a nasty bout of logorrhea, you'd think RB and Vettel have a habit of murdering children.
Also, the tendency to call every race boring, whenever one or both of the RB's disappear into the distance, is very disrespectful towards the other drivers. Canada wasn't nailbiting stuff, but in comparison to Monaco and Barcelona it was miles better entertainment. Calling the race boring means disrespecting the great performances of people like Vergne, di Resta and Alonso.

[DexDexter]

A lot of discussion about how exciting the race was. I don't know. Maybe it was because the race was in the evening and I was already a bit tired, so I couldn't deepen into it as much as usual and analyze everything. : But I didn't find the race as interesting as, say, Monaco.

I don't know, for me it is not very interesting if the gaps are so big you can measure them with a calendar. P6 got already lapped. IMO competition is paramount in F1. Drivers may be able to "push", but if there is nothing to fight for, it is not very interesting to watch. Nobody made me as excited as Pérez did at Monaco with his opportunistic driving.

So from that point of view the race reminded a bit of a standard race from 2011, when the midfield was well below the top teams and usually got lapped. This time the main difference is that Mercedes has replaced McLaren in the Top3.

There were a few more interesting moments like the opening laps or some battles (Alonso-Hamilton), some stuff in midfield. However, even the Alo-Ham battle seemed like a foregone conclusion, because Ferrari was notably faster at that stage and there were two DRS zones. I don't think I will ever understand, why do they have two DRS zones there, making overtaking way too easy.

My thoughts exactly, although people think I found it boring cause Kimi and Valtteri didn't do too well.

[henners88]

Are you sure there even is something like Vettel fans? I thought they're all hidden away in hangar7. Faster69 must have escaped somehow...

Well thankfully this forum isn't over ridden with them frothing at the mouth like other places. It reminds me a little when Chelsea suddenly had money, hardly anybody supported them outside of London, and then they reached a boom. F1 drivers experience that too in certain scenario's.

Of course F1 would be more exciting with a different winner every year, but you can hardly blame it on Vettel. What is he supposed to do? Forfeit races deliberately?

I didn't.

The fact is that for the last 3 or 4 years, Ferrari and the others failed to build a car that can take the fight to the lemonade cans, but that's their fault not the one of RB or Vettel or Horner.

I made that point in my last post.

The only thing I'm thoroughly sick of is the vitriol that's directed at RB and Vettel out of sheer frustration. If you read the stuff on the BBC website or whenever Gary logs on with a nasty bout of logorrhea, you'd think RB and Vettel have a habit of murdering children.

Also, the tendency to call every race boring, whenever one or both of the RB's disappear into the distance, is very disrespectful towards the other drivers. Canada wasn't nailbiting stuff, but in comparison to Monaco and Barcelona it was miles better entertainment. Calling the race boring means disrespecting the great performances of people like Vergne, di Resta and Alonso.

Well someone must have had a word with the BBC because from the beginning of 2010 up until the time Jake left, its been very pro Red Bull. Obviously Coulthards consultancy job and the fact Red Bull is not too far from London play a hand in that. Red Bull are also one of the best teams for opening up their PR so the BBC have long played up to this. I think there is a little more balance now and the Beeb are taking more notice of the other British teams like McLaren and Mercedes, so undoubtedly you'll get some of the presenters voicing their own opinions. DC will always be very pro Red Bull and Gary will give his own opinion. They publish both and I have no problem with that. Gary is critical of Mercedes more often than not and although I follow Hamilton, its nice to see an in depth analysis from a technical perspective. I personally think Gary Anderson is the BBC's best asset and can't for the life of me understand how he slipped under the radar whilst we were stuck with that smug idiot Kravitz for so long.

Anyway to the second of your points regarding calling 'every race boring, whenever one or both of the RB's disappear into the distance, is very disrespectful towards the other drivers'. I see that very differently. I see as recognising that their is a gulf between certain teams performances, not necessarily the driver. For instance Alonso and Hamilton put in very good performances on Sunday and that was recognised. Their input was worth watching but the disappointment regarding the race winner is the question mark. Vettel is no doubt a very good driver, one of the very best and his team are doing the job. It can just be frustrating for viewers when it becomes too predictable. That is not Red Bull's fault, its the fault of the viewer but we vote with our mouths and our remote controls.

[rjbetty]

I personally think Gary Anderson is the BBC's best asset and can't for the life of me understand how he slipped under the radar whilst we were stuck with that smug idiot Kravitz for so long.

I have to say I agree with this.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Gary is critical of Mercedes more often than not and although I follow Hamilton, its nice to see an in depth analysis from a technical perspective. I personally think Gary Anderson is the BBC's best asset and can't for the life of me understand how he slipped under the radar whilst we were stuck with that smug idiot Kravitz for so long.

Just to avoid misunderstandings - the logorrhea-ridden Gary I was referring to is our Gary in this forum, who logs on every race sunday, releases his I-hate-Vettel fatwa and buggers off until the next race. And the vitriol on BBC is not so much by the BBC, but in their comments. Take the time to read the (allegedly moderated) comment sections there and you'd think the place is mainly frequented by under-educated people with tourette syndrome.