Formula 1 In 2011

[PomPui]

And now the timing to show how far ahead Vettel is.

Edited March 26, 2011 by PomPui

[ignis]

107% may or may not be used this race, if it was/is used is that 4 or 5 cars that would not start ? If you have a spin or go off = under 107% in that session. ?

It has happened before so could happen again.... out goes the back markers/slower cars, then comes rain unexpected, what then happens to the 107%... say 16 cars are slower then then the ones that went out early, because of the rain = Race start with just say 8 cars ??

It is 107% in each of the 3 sessions.

Not clear + cannot remember the old rules of years ago on the 107%, is it used in bad weather?

[dominique355]

Has anyone installed the new Formula 1 app, which is available for iPhone and Android?

I installed it on my HTC (Andoid) and it worked fine until mid Q2 and from then on screwed up. Was that my phone or did other experience the same problems?

If it works, it's great, though. I used to run my laptop to view the life timing on www.formula1.com while watching TV.

Was the weather too cold for the Ferrari? But I am proud that 2 Swiss (well, 1 Swiss driver and 1 Swiss car) made it into Q3.

[QED]

107% may or may not be used this race, if it was/is used is that 4 or 5 cars that would not start ? If you have a spin or go off = under 107% in that session. ?

It has happened before so could happen again.... out goes the back markers/slower cars, then comes rain unexpected, what then happens to the 107%... say 16 cars are slower then then the ones that went out early, because of the rain = Race start with just say 8 cars ??

It is 107% in each of the 3 sessions.

Not clear + cannot remember the old rules of years ago on the 107%, is it used in bad weather?

It would only be the two HRT (Hardly Ready Team) cars that would be excluded in this race, FIA being typically vague in that they may or may not apply the 107% rule - can't find anything on the official F1 website.

They have a get out clause that they can override the 107% rule, so in the scenario you depict above that is what they would do.

[ignis]

107% may or may not be used this race, if it was/is used is that 4 or 5 cars that would not start ? If you have a spin or go off = under 107% in that session. ?

It has happened before so could happen again.... out goes the back markers/slower cars, then comes rain unexpected, what then happens to the 107%... say 16 cars are slower then then the ones that went out early, because of the rain = Race start with just say 8 cars ??

It is 107% in each of the 3 sessions.

Not clear + cannot remember the old rules of years ago on the 107%, is it used in bad weather?

It would only be the two HRT (Hardly Ready Team) cars that would be excluded in this race, FIA being typically vague in that they may or may not apply the 107% rule - can't find anything on the official F1 website.

They have a get out clause that they can override the 107% rule, so in the scenario you depict above that is what they would do.

It is confusing, as re the so say rules, 2 cars in Q2 would also be out ? quote: 107% in each of the 3 Q sessions.

Guess will have to wait and see

[rixalex]

Awesome lap from Vettel. Terrible lap from Webber - and his body language and whole demeanour didn't look good. Hope not the start of things to come. Would be good to see both RB drivers fighting it out, because if it's Vettel on his own, and his car is as good as it looked yesterday, he could run away with things.

That said, i do question his and the team's tactics. That could be his downfall, if he's not careful. I believe he could have set a time on the hard tyres that would have seen him at the front. To have not only set his time on the softs, but to have come out a second time when he was already miles ahead with his first run, seem unnecessary to me. My suspicion is that he felt he wanted to really rub it in and show how dominant he is. As it was though, he couldn't better his first lap, so why waste a set of tyres? All that pit to car nonsense he said at the end about "we do our own thing... we are who we are"... could it be things are going to his head?

[soihok]

Just watching a F1 promo on tv and Sebastien Vettel is shearing a sheep, saying how he likes to get close to nature.

F1 driver?

Edited March 27, 2011 by soihok

[wackysleet]

What i stupid idea, how can anyone even guess at this stage. Remember what teams such as Virgin and Red Bull sprung on us from nowhere. We just have to give it a few races before making any concrete guesses like this.

Please refresh my memory, I am aware that Red Bull Racing won the constructors championship which was not so much of a surprise,but Virgin,didn't they come last?

As for my suggestion being a stupid idea I prefer to think of it as an educated guess and nothing more than a bit of fun. I will leave my comment at that as you sound like a miserable self opinionated p--t..

[Mosha]

Tsk tsk Dave. You should know in some parts of America. There are virgins who are virgins cos they can out run their cousins

[Mosha]

A few observations, and feel free to comment especially on the grid size. Commentators tend to ram down our throat about not predicting the season on the Australian GP result. Bernie thinks 24 cars is too many, so why not disqualify the 23rd and 24th qualifiers. If more than 2 teams fail to set a time decide on the toss of a coin.

[wackysleet]

A few observations, and feel free to comment especially on the grid size. Commentators tend to ram down our throat about not predicting the season on the Australian GP result. Bernie thinks 24 cars is too many, so why not disqualify the 23rd and 24th qualifiers. If more than 2 teams fail to set a time decide on the toss of a coin.

Mosha, maybe the more cars the closer the racing, look what happened to Jenson trying to get past Massa and Alonso closing him down fast perhaps it would inject closer racing and a little more skill being shown, after all do we really want to see the top teams disappear into the horizon without any real toe to toe racing like the Australian race, not for me anyway, bring on the backmarkers as it would be a better way to bunch up the field than the safety car doing it .

[ignis]

It would only be the two HRT (Hardly Ready Team) cars that would be excluded in this race, FIA being typically vague in that they may or may not apply the 107% rule - can't find anything on the official F1 website.

They have a get out clause that they can override the 107% rule, so in the scenario you depict above that is what they would do.

Yes you were correct, but fail to understand why, 107% in each session,

How can a no lap time be in the 107% ? 'Rubins' went off, yet somehow was in the 107% rule

[QED]

It would only be the two HRT (Hardly Ready Team) cars that would be excluded in this race, FIA being typically vague in that they may or may not apply the 107% rule - can't find anything on the official F1 website.

They have a get out clause that they can override the 107% rule, so in the scenario you depict above that is what they would do.

Yes you were correct, but fail to understand why, 107% in each session,

How can a no lap time be in the 107% ? 'Rubins' went off, yet somehow was in the 107% rule

The way I read it is, that the 107% rule applies to each qualifying session, but only after qualifying finishes. ie, if you are knocked out in Q1 or Q2, your time will be compared the the best time from Q3, not to the best time in each session.

Also the 107% rule is only applied to your BEST lap, so going off on one lap will not necessarily affect you.

[rixalex]

Mosha, maybe the more cars the closer the racing, look what happened to Jenson trying to get past Massa and Alonso closing him down fast perhaps it would inject closer racing and a little more skill being shown, after all do we really want to see the top teams disappear into the horizon without any real toe to toe racing like the Australian race, not for me anyway, bring on the backmarkers as it would be a better way to bunch up the field than the safety car doing it .

Agreed.

I actually always found it a little too mean and harsh to be excluding these small struggling outfits from racing on race day anyway. Life is hard enough for those guys at the back of the grid as it is, and if the front running team is setting out-of-this-world sort of times it really does make getting to within 107% extremely difficult, especially when you are on a fraction of the budget.

[H2oDunc]

I am against the 107% rule. How can you let a team spend a shed load of maoney getting to a race meet and then after all that effort and expense tell them they cannot race. So they are a bit slowerthan the top guys ? So what ! A good driver should be able to easily pass them and they also have track marshals assistance to ease this with the blue flags.

I also notice the Sauber team got their points taken from them for their rear wing being a few mm to big. Even though they admit they had no speed advantage through this they still applied the exact rule. A shame really as a team like that getting into the points the first race can be a great boost for the rest of the season.

[powderpuff]

Mosha, maybe the more cars the closer the racing, look what happened to Jenson trying to get past Massa and Alonso closing him down fast perhaps it would inject closer racing and a little more skill being shown, after all do we really want to see the top teams disappear into the horizon without any real toe to toe racing like the Australian race, not for me anyway, bring on the backmarkers as it would be a better way to bunch up the field than the safety car doing it .

Wrong. Backmarkers should be shown the blue flag to get the hell out of the way of guys racing for points & podiums.

[rixalex]

Mosha, maybe the more cars the closer the racing, look what happened to Jenson trying to get past Massa and Alonso closing him down fast perhaps it would inject closer racing and a little more skill being shown, after all do we really want to see the top teams disappear into the horizon without any real toe to toe racing like the Australian race, not for me anyway, bring on the backmarkers as it would be a better way to bunch up the field than the safety car doing it .

Wrong. Backmarkers should be shown the blue flag to get the hell out of the way of guys racing for points & podiums.

Backmarkers shouldn't obviously be weaving all over the track, stopping front runners from getting by, but why should they be made to slow down and pull over to make it easy? It should be easy enough as it is for a driver in a car three or four seconds a lap faster to get by, if he has any sort of racing credentials.

[ignis]

The way I read it is, that the 107% rule applies to each qualifying session, but only after qualifying finishes. ie, if you are knocked out in Q1 or Q2, your time will be compared the the best time from Q3, not to the best time in each session.

Also the 107% rule is only applied to your BEST lap, so going off on one lap will not necessarily affect you.

Many thanks..

So on another point, I would have thought that cars would have been tested before the main race ? they have been testing at the race track for 3 days before the main race, feel sorry for 'Peter' and his 2 cars being disqualified after the race.

[wackysleet]

Mosha, maybe the more cars the closer the racing, look what happened to Jenson trying to get past Massa and Alonso closing him down fast perhaps it would inject closer racing and a little more skill being shown, after all do we really want to see the top teams disappear into the horizon without any real toe to toe racing like the Australian race, not for me anyway, bring on the backmarkers as it would be a better way to bunch up the field than the safety car doing it .

Wrong. Backmarkers should be shown the blue flag to get the hell out of the way of guys racing for points & podiums.

Not wrong at all, a blue flag is waved to indicate that a faster car is approaching and to allow that driver to pass when it's safe but with your view why don't we just remove the teams that are not performing like the RBR,Maclarens and Ferraris so you don't get that scenario, the racing is becoming more of a procession each season.

[rixalex]

Not wrong at all, a blue flag is waved to indicate that a faster car is approaching and to allow that driver to pass when it's safe but with your view why don't we just remove the teams that are not performing like the RBR,Maclarens and Ferraris so you don't get that scenario, the racing is becoming more of a procession each season.

I think the blue flags should be abolished, but with the understanding that as with all circumstances, whether it be cars being lapped or cars racing against each other, that excessive weaving and blocking is not allowed. The blue flags basically oblige drivers to help the car behind get passed. I don't think they should be given that amount of help - it makes things too easy. Just a bit of protection in the rules would be sufficient without flag waving. Might mean there being the odd incident from time to time with race leaders tangling with back-markers, but i don't have a problem with that. The better drivers would use their skills to avoid a coming together.

As far as racing becoming more processional is concerned, i agree that it is pretty bad, but actually if anything, i would say there has been a slight improvement over the last five years or so. Only slight, but better than 10 or so years ago in the Schumacher era. Things are a little less predicatble too. Still a long way to go, but creaping in the right direction.

[wackysleet]

Not wrong at all, a blue flag is waved to indicate that a faster car is approaching and to allow that driver to pass when it's safe but with your view why don't we just remove the teams that are not performing like the RBR,Maclarens and Ferraris so you don't get that scenario, the racing is becoming more of a procession each season.

I think the blue flags should be abolished, but with the understanding that as with all circumstances, whether it be cars being lapped or cars racing against each other, that excessive weaving and blocking is not allowed. The blue flags basically oblige drivers to help the car behind get passed. I don't think they should be given that amount of help - it makes things too easy. Just a bit of protection in the rules would be sufficient without flag waving. Might mean there being the odd incident from time to time with race leaders tangling with back-markers, but i don't have a problem with that. The better drivers would use their skills to avoid a coming together.

As far as racing becoming more processional is concerned, i agree that it is pretty bad, but actually if anything, i would say there has been a slight improvement over the last five years or so. Only slight, but better than 10 or so years ago in the Schumacher era. Things are a little less predicatble too. Still a long way to go, but creaping in the right direction.

Rixalex, I was in London a couple of weeks ago and watched some F1 featuring Hunt the shunt and I have to say I thought the racing a bit closer and more entertaining than of late and it seemed to me that there were more characters around the paddock in the 60s and 70s than there are now and a lot less camaraderie between the present crop of drivers.

[rixalex]

Rixalex, I was in London a couple of weeks ago and watched some F1 featuring Hunt the shunt and I have to say I thought the racing a bit closer and more entertaining than of late and it seemed to me that there were more characters around the paddock in the 60s and 70s than there are now and a lot less camaraderie between the present crop of drivers.

Agreed Wacky. The slight general improvement in racing to which i refered was in comparison with ten years ago, when Ferrari and Schumacher's domination, though impressive, did make for the most boring racing - of my life-time anyway. No doubt F1fanatic would disagree.

Speaking of whom, hope she puts in an appearance on this thread sometime soon.

[Mosha]

Bernie are you listening?

http://sport.uk.msn.com/f1/news/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=156841620

[rixalex]

Bernie are you listening?

http://sport.uk.msn....entid=156841620

He should be.

Slater, who seems to get more irritating just when you thought he couldn't get any more, was getting really excited about seeing DRS in action, as Button closed on Massa coming up to the straight, and was telling us all how we were about to witness its wonderful benefits in aiding over-taking. Then, when Button failed to get past, and failed, and failed, and failed again, he then did a full about turn and said actually how happy he was that DRS hadn't allowed him to get by because then it would be too easy and we don't want to see that now do we?! So if DRS hasn't made it any easier for drivers to overtake, why have they introduced it for goodness sake?!

To me, it all seems a bit too gimicky. Formula One should be a pure and simple fight of the best drivers in the world using their skills to win. What are we going to have next? A button drivers can press to release an oil slick to scuper the drivers behind perhaps?

[wackysleet]

http://sport.uk.msn....entid=156841620

He should be.

Slater, who seems to get more irritating just when you thought he couldn't get any more, was getting really excited about seeing DRS in action, as Button closed on Massa coming up to the straight, and was telling us all how we were about to witness its wonderful benefits in aiding over-taking. Then, when Button failed to get past, and failed, and failed, and failed again, he then did a full about turn and said actually how happy he was that DRS hadn't allowed him to get by because then it would be too easy and we don't want to see that now do we?! So if DRS hasn't made it any easier for drivers to overtake, why have they introduced it for goodness sake?!

To me, it all seems a bit too gimicky. Formula One should be a pure and simple fight of the best drivers in the world using their skills to win. What are we going to have next? A button drivers can press to release an oil slick to scuper the drivers behind perhaps?

Rixalex

Why keep altering the regs anyway, to what ends, those teams with the most money even if the budgets are fixed will always come out in the top places while other teams will not have the sponsorship to reach that point anyway.

Kers, hmmm is it such a wonderful innovation after the revelations that RBR didn't have it and surely the benefits will be negated if all teams have it {those that can afford it} and the DRS how can they introduce something like that when it appears that it is quite ineffectual in doing what it was "designed" to do {wonder who the designer was, hope it was not the same man that designs all the wonderful new boring tracks.

I believe that what goes around comes around so hopefully in my lifetime I will see some true skill being shown in close encounters with opponents as shown in previous decades.

Edited April 3, 2011 by wackysleet

[rixalex]

Rixalex

Why keep altering the regs anyway, to what ends, those teams with the most money even if the budgets are fixed will always come out in the top places while other teams will not have the sponsorship to reach that point anyway.

Kers, hmmm is it such a wonderful innovation after the revelations that RBR didn't have it and surely the benefits will be negated if all teams have it {those that can afford it} and the DRS how can they introduce something like that when it appears that it is quite ineffectual in doing what it was "designed" to do {wonder who the designer was, hope it was not the same man that designs all the wonderful new boring tracks.

I believe that what goes around comes around so hopefully in my lifetime I will see some true skill being shown in close encounters with opponents as shown in previous decades.

Agreed mate.

And you hit the nail on the head as to the the crux of F1's problem. Has nothing to do with the cars. Everything to do with the tracks.

[rixalex]

Pretty sad to see Mr Lollipop racing trucks. Was he really F1 WC only a few years ago? How the mighty fall.

http://news.bbc.co.u...ne/12948866.stm

What next? Racing ice-cream vans perhaps might suit.

Edited April 3, 2011 by rixalex

[wackysleet]

Pretty sad to see Mr Lollipop racing trucks. Was he really F1 WC only a few years ago? How the mighty fall.

http://news.bbc.co.u...ne/12948866.stm

What next? Racing ice-cream vans perhaps might suit.

Rixalex.

Impossible, if he was in an ice cream van he would have to smile for the kids and that would never do.

[Mosha]

Imagine Slater trying to make this exciting.

http://sport.uk.msn.com/f1/news/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=156864951

Oh and Ferrari getting disqualified for using pedal power

[wackysleet]

I'm hoping this weekends race will be a scorcher weather wise as I believe that will induce the tyres to degrade at a faster rate as per design and certainly faster than Australia which could throw the doors wide open for a win based on tactics and not out and out speed.<br><br>Could be that Jenson with his style of driving may come good and at least get on the podium, I hope so but it promises to be a more exciting race than last weeks.