Of that I have no doubt, and I'm glad Alonso set all the internet rumors to bed with the conference. I'm more disappointed in McLaren once again trying to conceal a car's problem when they have a wreck. That doesn't help anyone. I'm sure that Alonso told them that the steering had a problem, and they went with the wind story anyway. I'm also kind of surprised and annoyed to see an Alonso/McLaren conflict before he's even raced.
Holy crap, Manor actually have their engine running in the paddock! We might just see them on the track this weekend! Good news for McLaren? :wink: McLaren, meanwhile, appear to be planning to use the first practice session to do some more testing.
An even bigger surprise, both Manor drivers clocked timed laps and, if it had been quali, Stevens would have even made it under the 107% wire. Merhi was about a half second outside. Quali will be a bigger challenge, obviously, but given these are the first laps they've run I think it's pretty impressive.
The Sky feed commentators were saying that Manor will get a pass if they aren't too far out of the 107% limit.
Speaking of liveries, I don't understand why so many people are giving Sauber crap for theirs. Most common putdown I heard was one version or another of (spoken with a snide or contemptuous tone) "What were they thinking? It looks like a GP3 livery." I like it.
I do too. It's the most distinctive while racing. I can barely tell the McLarens from the Force India cars this year, and there's four Red Bulls out there as usual, so they tend to get muddy while watching as well. I mean, most look fairly nice while sitting still, or in photos, but when they're moving I want to be able to pick them out quickly.
you might be onto something here. If F1 really wanted to control costs, they would no allow advertising on the cars. Then the only way F1 teams can make their budgets is if they spin off their technology for consumer use (sell cars?) or make the races interesting enough such that fans actually watch the races.
It's nice to see Vettel back to his old qualifying form again.......the Mercedes is still fast as hell, but it was nice to see the boys in the red jammies giving them a good fight. Now if it rains tomorrow........
Yup, Vettel splitting the Mercs in only the second quali actually means something. No way to know how much yet, particularly because it was rain effected, but good signs. Hopefully it means we'll see some good stuff tomorrow, even if it's just Raikkonen mixing it up from the middle of the pack. The grid is a bit mixed up already which always helps.