The 2010 Formula One Season

[F1fanatic]

Thanks for that Ignis, I feel a bit happier.

I know Schumi's old and been out of it for 3 years, but even so - I don't consider Rosberg a 'great' driver, so was a bit worried when Schumi qualified behind Rosberg again. And yes, I know Rosberg tends to qualify above where he ends in the race - but even so.... Worrying for a Schumi fan.

[H2oDunc]

I'm hoping tomorrow isn't anything like the last race. If it turns out to be a procession then I think the FIA need to have a quick rethink on the ban on refueling. Fans watch F1 for the racing. If that is missing they will not. I know I will give the next race a chance but if it is another parade then they will not be getting any of my cash again. NO Malaysia.

Shame Webber couldn't have got on pole for his home GP. Fingers crossed for him race day

[rixalex]

Somebody (in the UK) told me that Schumi was called in to be weighed and didn't have the chance to put in a late lap on hard tyres.

Does anyone know if this is true?

Yes, just watched it live on TV... The hard tyres take 3 laps to warm up so there was no time for more than 1 lap.

Why didn't he go out on the softs?

[ignis]

Somebody (in the UK) told me that Schumi was called in to be weighed and didn't have the chance to put in a late lap on hard tyres.

Does anyone know if this is true?

Yes, just watched it live on TV... The hard tyres take 3 laps to warm up so there was no time for more than 1 lap.

Why didn't he go out on the softs?

Q3 is the shootout of the quickist 10 cars.. These 10 cars MUST start the race on the same tyres as used in Q3 [unless in is a wet race]

The hard tyres last longer + ALL car now must start with full tanks so cars are heavy.. ALL cars must use both hard and soft in the race, so cars using both hard and soft in Q3 would have the option on which ones they start the race on.

[rixalex]

Q3 is the shootout of the quickist 10 cars.. These 10 cars MUST start the race on the same tyres as used in Q3 [unless in is a wet race]

The hard tyres last longer + ALL car now must start with full tanks so cars are heavy.. ALL cars must use both hard and soft in the race, so cars using both hard and soft in Q3 would have the option on which ones they start the race on.

Thanks ignis. Must admit i've given up trying to commit to memory the rules cos as soon as i do, they go and change them.

[Donnyboy]

wahooo what a race so far!!!

heaps of drama from the start

nice bit of rain always helps

[Donnyboy]

safety car looks a nice bit of kit

[Mosha]

We need a dry Sepang race to see if it wasn't the weather that allowed Jensons tyre strategy to work to his advantage.

Webber you plonker. Spoiled a really exciting finish.

[rixalex]

Webber you plonker.

Indeed.

Great race though. What a contrast from the last one!

Vettel seems plaqued with bad luck. He deserved to win again.

Alonso recovered brilliantly from the start and held on very well at the end.

Button deserves praise for taking a gamble with the tyres. It paid off.

Lewis showed why he's one of the best in changeable conditions and made great progress through the field - think he would have got past Alonso and Massa without the intervention of the Australian, who seemed to have lost his head in front of the home crowd.

Schumi looked completely out of it. If this continues with him being beaten by his team mate, don't think he'll be around long.

[Donnyboy]

I felt for Vettel as well, he was doing well,

as for Webber, hmmmm

did anyone hear Hamiltons frustrated comment over the team radio asking why he was told to pit for tyres?

It may have been a 1-2 for Mclaren if he stayed out, who knows.

[JimShortz]

What a great race - it's restored my faith in F1!

[Mosha]

Anyone else pick up on the comment about the cars could flip over if the front spoiler came away? I thought they were trying to make it safer? There was another stupid Slaterism in there too, but after a few beers I forgot what it was.

Daft question of the day must have been Schumi's when after being told his front spoiler was loose asked "Do I need to pit?" It should be mandatory IMHO, especially in light of my 1st sentence.

[soihok]

Why did the two Virgin Cosworth cars retire?

I can't get any info around the sites.

[rixalex]

Daft question of the day must have been Schumi's when after being told his front spoiler was loose asked "Do I need to pit?" It should be mandatory IMHO, especially in light of my 1st sentence.

To be fair i think Schumi said that the visibility was so bad that he couldn't see what had happened to the front wing so didn't appreciate the extent of the damage. Had it been minor, as with Lewis's, it might not have warranted a change.

[b19bry]

I felt for Vettel as well, he was doing well,

as for Webber, hmmmm

did anyone hear Hamiltons frustrated comment over the team radio asking why he was told to pit for tyres?

It may have been a 1-2 for Mclaren if he stayed out, who knows.

Vettel was unlucky but it may be the additional fuel loads are affecting reliability ?

Thought Webber provided quite some entertainment though admittedly the wheels utlimately fell off his race !

Unfortunately that's the other side to Hamilton, he can be a petulant pratt at times, whiner of Mansell-esque proportions

Button simply outsmarted the opposition and would even have got past Vettel but for his small 'off'

[WarpSpeed]

Why did the two Virgin Cosworth cars retire?

I can't get any info around the sites.

They would have retired by default as their gas tanks are too small to finish some races including this one until May when they'll have a new car..

[Donnyboy]

I felt for Vettel as well, he was doing well,

as for Webber, hmmmm

did anyone hear Hamiltons frustrated comment over the team radio asking why he was told to pit for tyres?

It may have been a 1-2 for Mclaren if he stayed out, who knows.

Vettel was unlucky but it may be the additional fuel loads are affecting reliability ?

Thought Webber provided quite some entertainment though admittedly the wheels utlimately fell off his race !

Unfortunately that's the other side to Hamilton, he can be a petulant pratt at times, whiner of Mansell-esque proportions

Button simply outsmarted the opposition and would even have got past Vettel but for his small 'off'

button had a bit of luck too, he even said he doubted his decision to pit on driving through the pit enterance

im hoping the Red Bulls get their reliability sorted before the next race, a bit of rain in Sepang would be good too

[Donnyboy]

Why did the two Virgin Cosworth cars retire?

I can't get any info around the sites.

They would have retired by default as their gas tanks are too small to finish some races including this one until May when they'll have a new car..

it makes it an expensive test drive weekend then

[WarpSpeed]

What a great race - it's restored my faith in F1!

Great! Yeah, as the other commentator said "Bernie should just install sprinkler systems on all the courses which they can turn on at random"..

On the aero topic though I say let the people who are paid to know best on every team (the aerodynamacist) solve the problem, eliminate all rules regarding front end stability and wings within reason, only regulate the rear end and see what happens?

^Yep, that's about it, just getting track time and exposure for your sponsors..

Edited March 29, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[Donnyboy]

Daft question of the day must have been Schumi's when after being told his front spoiler was loose asked "Do I need to pit?" It should be mandatory IMHO, especially in light of my 1st sentence.

To be fair i think Schumi said that the visibility was so bad that he couldn't see what had happened to the front wing so didn't appreciate the extent of the damage. Had it been minor, as with Lewis's, it might not have warranted a change.

suppose he needs driving glasses soon then

[WarpSpeed]

Anyone else pick up on the comment about the cars could flip over if the front spoiler came away? I thought they were trying to make it safer? There was another stupid Slaterism in there too, but after a few beers I forgot what it was.

Daft question of the day must have been Schumi's when after being told his front spoiler was loose asked "Do I need to pit?" It should be mandatory IMHO, especially in light of my 1st sentence.

Had to put my LOL in behind your "stupid Slaterism" term, good one, guess I'm not the only one who's skin he gets under, what a twit, he does come up with some outer space comments. There is not nearly enough front end mass to provide enough lift to flip one of those cars minus the wing, it would go completely off the road way before it took flight and the front suspension etc. all provide down force in their design and weight as well, it ain't gonna happen, he thinks it's a Leman's sports car or something .. He should just stick to being the color and historical commentator and leave the fact commentary to those who understand what they are talking about. I'm not a real big fan of Alex Yoong but he did use to call Slater on his faux pas comments all the time..

What Alex showed though was why he never really moved ahead when he was a driver as he contradicted Buttons call on the tires and missed it badly, the top driver and teams roll the dice and win.

The other commentator was also off the mark when he was saying that Algeshwari (spl?) should have moved over for Michael Shumacher, but he was racing for position not being lapped, he has absolutely no obligation to move for anyone, they have to pass him like any other competitor and it was good to see him making it difficult for Michael and not intimidated by his persona. In that case Slater corrected his colleague and rightfully so as he was thinking too much like a team engineer ..

Edited March 29, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[Donnyboy]

There is not nearly enough front end mass to provide enough lift to flip one of those cars minus the wing, it would go completely off the road way before it took flight ..

ok not 2010 but it can happen

[WarpSpeed]

No it can't.......Had absolutely nothing naught to do with aero, he ran up on the rear tire of the car in front and that launched him and that can and will still happen and once it is at a certain point then the wings become more lift and no down force but still that would not have happened as dramatically without the front wing to help it lift in this case quite the opposite would have happened.... Edited March 29, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[rixalex]

Unfortunately that's the other side to Hamilton, he can be a petulant pratt at times, whiner of Mansell-esque proportions

As the race unfolded and it became apparent that he was one of the few stopping twice, he expressed shock and surprise as to how they were doing that and if they were, why he wasn't. That's it. Quite how you interpret that as being petutance i don't know. Actually i do. No chance to knock him (all the better if you can squeeze in a Mansell knock too) goes unmissed.

[b19bry]

Unfortunately that's the other side to Hamilton, he can be a petulant pratt at times, whiner of Mansell-esque proportions

As the race unfolded and it became apparent that he was one of the few stopping twice, he expressed shock and surprise as to how they were doing that and if they were, why he wasn't. That's it. Quite how you interpret that as being petutance i don't know. Actually i do. No chance to knock him (all the better if you can squeeze in a Mansell knock too) goes unmissed.

Hey rixalex, It's not like I want to start a fight, but Hamilton undoubtedly finds it difficult when things don't go his way, I just feel he could have been a little more discrete with his dissapointment rather than spitting his dummy out so publicly. He knows he will outscore Button over the year so what's the big deal ?

Admittedly Mansell was never a favourite of mine cos he was undoubtedly a whiner which Colin Chapman told a great story about ! However I can still respect anyone's love of him and the sport.

Edited March 29, 2010 by b19bry

[rixalex]

Hey rixalex, It's not like I want to start a fight, but Hamilton undoubtedly finds it difficult when things don't go his way, I just feel he could have been a little more discrete with his dissapointment rather than spitting his dummy out so publicly. He knows he will outscore Button over the year so what's the big deal ?

Spit the dummy?! The team messed up tactics - that was clear for everyone to see. Lewis stated it and expressed his frustration. Don't see the problem.

Admittedly Mansell was never a favourite of mine cos he was undoubtedly a whiner which Colin Chapman told a great story about ! However I can still respect anyone's love of him and the sport.

The whinning thing was something the British media played up to the max. Knocking successful sports people down once they reach the top is their usual habit as we all know. Had much more to do with his boring monotone speech than with what he was actually saying. To a lesser extent they did the same thing with Kimi.

[F1fanatic]

With the benefit of hindsight, its possible that Hamilton would have fared better not stopping again.

However, Martin Whitmarsh says that his tyres weren't good enough for the remainder of the race. Perhaps, perhaps not but either way its entirely understandable that Mclaren would hedge their bets by leaving one driver on old tyres and giving fresh tyres to the other driver. Let's not forget that Hamilton was 2 seconds a lap faster on fresh tyres than the front runners - he caught them up in no time. Mclaren also didn't know whether the front runners were going to pit again for new tyres.

Once stuck behind Alonso for a while we all heard the radio message from LH saying that his tyres were gone.

Yes, he tried an overtaking move (when Webber took him out), but it didn't look as if it was going to succeed. Overtaking wise, on poor tyres things weren't about to improve.

What makes people think he would have fared better on even older tyres?

[Mosha]

Damned if they do, Damned if they don't. Was it China the other year when they called him in late and he crashed entering the pits?

[rixalex]

With the benefit of hindsight, its possible that Hamilton would have fared better not stopping again.

However, Martin Whitmarsh says that his tyres weren't good enough for the remainder of the race. Perhaps, perhaps not but either way its entirely understandable that Mclaren would hedge their bets by leaving one driver on old tyres and giving fresh tyres to the other driver. Let's not forget that Hamilton was 2 seconds a lap faster on fresh tyres than the front runners - he caught them up in no time. Mclaren also didn't know whether the front runners were going to pit again for new tyres.

You make some good points and at the end of the day, one will never know for certain what would have happened had he pitted only once. However, from the shocked tone we heard from Lewis on the car to pit radio concerning the fact that most other drivers weren't going to be stopping again, it seems that the one stop strategy wasn't seriously discussed between Lewis and the team. It obviously should have been.

Yes, he tried an overtaking move (when Webber took him out), but it didn't look as if it was going to succeed. Overtaking wise, on poor tyres things weren't about to improve.

Perhaps my recollection fails me of the incident, but it was my impression that Lewis had the line going in to the corner and looked favourite to come out ahead of Alonso when Webber came piling in from behind.

You are right about his tyres having gone off, but even so he was obviously quicker than the Ferraris.

[rixalex]

Damned if they do, Damned if they don't. Was it China the other year when they called him in late and he crashed entering the pits?

2007 i think. Lewis's debut year when the title looked sewn up. It started raining and they didn't call him in immediately. I think the team was too focused on trying to win that race when all Lewis needed was a few points to wrap things up. By the time he did come in the track was very slippery and he took the pit lane corner too fast. It cost dear.