I'm hoping for a Ferrari victory, but not because I hate Red bull or anything, more because I'm always rooting for the underdog. Truth be told though, If Hamilton were still in the running I'd be ecstatic if he got the championship. In any event, I'd like him to do well for his last McLaren race. As for Vettel, well, he's a hotshot to be sure. Petulant sometimes too. But after the phenomenal drive (lucky or not) he had at Abu Dhabi this year, I will never doubt his racing ability again.
Oh yeah... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr3OFkhIdF4]McLAREN TOONED Episode 11 SIDE TRACKED (FULL HD) - YouTube[/ame]
Here's a snip from a current (at the moment) write-up on weather for the finale at Interlagos: "Now, to the main event that we have been discussing since Saturday. A cold front is already forming across central Argentina this afternoon. It will intensify over the next 24 hours or so and then begin a slow trek north-eastwards. The latest projection is that the front will be slower moving than first thought and this has a huge potential impact for Sunday’s race. Saturday’s forecast (as a result) now changes a little, because the focus of the rain has shifted foward by one day. It will be dry for much of the morning, extending into the early afternoon. Mainly cloudy conditions are expected for final practice, as outlying cloud from this front moves in over the region. Qualifying is on a knife-edge just for the moment, but with the projection moving forward timewise, we are now looking at a drier scenario for the knockout session, with just a slight chance of showers. Air temperature will peak at 33 Celsius and this could produce a thunderstorm or two by late afternoon. The fun now begins on Saturday evening, with showers crossing the region overnight and into Sunday morning. Race day will start off overcast with some light showers around, but throughout the day these will intensify, with the worst of any rainfall now set for Sunday afternoon. Rainfall totals on Sunday range from one to two inches and the race is looking set to be wet, with some particularly heavy bursts at times. Air temperature will drop considerably to a maximum of 25 degrees Celsius. To summarise, the worst of the rain is now predicted between midday and midnight local time on Sunday."
A couple 2013 silly season reports. Kobayashi is out at Sauber, to be replaced by Esteban Gutierrez. That's two new drivers for Sauber since Hulkenberg is replacing outgoing Perez. No word on Kobayashi's future. Pic moving from Marussia to Caterham, replacing Kovalainen. No word on Kovalainen's future, though he has already stated he refuses to be a pay driver. That may mean he's done in F1.
Weather forecast update - wow! "Saturday is expected to dawn dry with some sunny spells around for final practice, but throughout the break and towards qualifying, clouds will build and it may become overcast by the end of the knockout session. A further slowing of the front now means that rain is now less likely during qualifying. The latest timeframe for showers to arrive over Interlagos is just after the session has concluded, but then conditions will deteriorate at quite a rate. Air temperature will top out at 31 Celsius. Light mid-afternoon showers will become much heavier during the evening, as the front begins to cross Sao Paulo and its environs. Showers and longer spells of rain will continue overnight, leading into a wet start for race day. Sunday will obviously start damp, with a continuation of the showers. However, there could be worse to come, based on today’s rainfall projection. Heavy showers will merge into a sustained period of intense rain, between the hours of approximately 06:00 to 18:00 local time. Clearly, this encompasses the race window and we are looking at enough rain to produce safety cars, red flags and possible issues with standing water etc. Air temperature will only scrape up to 21 Celsius, as the colder airmass moves in behind the first wave of showers. Winds will be light to moderate at times from the south-east."
Quali spoiler alert: . . . . . . . Alonso not surprised by eighth place on the grid (AutoSport.com) Massa qualified 5th, Alonso 8th. Will Buxton claims Massa told the Italian media "If they tell me my gearbox is broken, I'll race with a broken gearbox." :lol:
Another Quali spoiler alert: . . . . . . . Full qualification results here. Alonso promoted as Maldonado is penalised (GPUpdate.net)
Weather forecasting is an inexact science...keeps changing all the time. "Showers will continue to feed in from the south-west this evening and overnight, becoming increasingly frequent, as the cold front continues to push its way through south-east Brazil. Air temperature will dip to 17 Celsius. Title Decider Race day is expected to dawn wet with overcast conditions and a few light, scattered showers around. From here, there are two schools of thought – even at this late stage. The widely-used GFS model is leaning towards just one or two scattered showers after 09:00, while local sources are continuing to roll out a fully wet scenario, frequent showers throughout the day, the guarantee of 71 wet laps and everyone finishes the season with a race to remember. Which way do I think it will go? Probably a mixture between the two. The most likely scenario is that there will be a few showers during the course of the morning and early afternoon, but there will also be some lengthy gaps, allowing the track to dry out somewhat. You won’t go far wrong if you are thinking along the lines of the 2008 race with a couple of sprinkles within the race window to spice things up."
I saw them trying to call Maldonado to the scales... It was right in the middle of the qual session. How can they try and impound the car when the session isn't over yet? I think there was 5 minutes left, or at least that is when they showed the clip, I assume it was live.
I don't know the exact process but I do know it's not meant to end a driver's session. The car goes on the weighbridge and then is released to get back to business. Apparently the strange thing in this case is they waved him in mid-session. The rules allow it (see below) so you'd think the teams and drivers would expect and be watching for it but apparently they usually do it as the Q1 and Q2 sessions end, much like they do for Q3. "In addition to scrutineering, cars are also weighed during the Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they comply with minimum weight requirements (640kg). Cars taking part in Q1 and Q2 are called in at random to be weighed, while all cars participating in Q3 are weighed after the session. Classified finishers are weighed again after the race."
Thats very interesting. With the way that teams time everything down to the least second, you would think they would go ballistic if you detained the car for even the shortest amount of time, mid session. I totally get detaining the vehicle between sessions, but right in the middle just doesn't seem right.
Thirded. I thought it was a bit weird. All the speculation notwithstanding, certain things are inevitable. I will be watching the race live with a fresh cup of coffee and a stack of home made pancakes. When it's all over, there will be some discourse in House of Jinky. Wife being a Vettel fan and me rooting for 'Lonso. At least she has a big heart and will make the aforementioned pancakes.
WOW! And I can't think of anything else I could say that wouldn't spoil something for those who haven't watched.
I managed to watch it in fits and spurts, as the live stream was dodgy this time. Still, very exciting, even if I did have to read tweets instead of watching.
Even that ^^^ is a bit of a spoiler...in a way. :biggrin5: For anyone who didn't watch and forgot to set a DVR (and who have Speed TV): First (of many, I suspect) re-airs today at 4:30p E / 1:30p P & 11p E / 8p P. Folks at Speed say to ignore your channel guide and add an additional 30 mins of recording time to the end. I assume that's to include their extra segment on Speed's years of F1 coverage?