F1 Most liked posts in thread: F1 - 2013

[edit] According to wikipedia, a fuel bowser is a tanker. Huh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowser_(tanker)

Too bad about the grid penalty though. It's not going to be fun munching through the back-markers to get to a mid-field finish. The times for pole were all awfully close.

 

According to this article at Autosport, it's mostly if not only Red Bull complaining. This article was written after Malaysia, partially quoted below.
Pirelli says Red Bull's Formula 1 tyre complaints are wrong - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

RACE SPOILERS FOLLOW




RACE SPOILERS FOLLOW




RACE SPOILERS FOLLOW




It's OK to feel that having tires that wear out so quickly is bad. I get that, but Red Bull certainly seemed to figure out how to use that short life to their advantage, as Vettel's epic final stint proved. He was able to eat up a 14 second gap in 5 laps and nearly, NEARLY took third, missing by only a few hundredths of a second. Most races are really boring in the last 10 laps or so, but my heart was pounding as that run happened, and that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

Granted most teams got 6 or 7 laps from the softs this race. Button got 26 from his mediums and most of the other teams got 20 or so, so the concern about those degrading too quickly is clearly in question. McLaren did a two stop race and finished pretty well considering their car this year.

Red Bull did what I thought they should. They figured out how to best manipulate the situation to their advantage, and turned the usual end of race parade into a heart-stopper.

 

No, it isn't, but at least it wasn't like 2011, when it was Vettel in the lead by 25 or more seconds nearly every single race, then long gaps to 3, 4, and 5, with the announcers showing us the "battle for 13th" because nothing else happened. I'd much rather watch a fight for third than for someone outside the points. Besides, the race for second was by no means a foregone conclusion. They were very close for some time.

By mid season they'll have worked it all out and we'll see the teams getting more from the tires. That's what they always do.

And yes, Alonso drove the bejeebus out of that car!

Also, I'm kinda disappointed in Checo so far this season. I mean some of it's the car, but his driving yesterday wasn't winning any fans. Especially Kimi.

 

I agree with you, I like watching someone carve thru the field too....

And I had to wonder if they'd called Vettel in one lap earlier, could he have caught and passed at least the Haminator?

That was fun stuff!

But the race was already over at that point, what would have really made it interesting is if Vettel would have been chasing down Alonso!

 

Just wait until next year. I saw the Pirelli is really going to mix it up.
Red=P Zero Nero, Yellow=P Zero Rossa, White=P6 Four Season, Orange=Winter Sottozero
No need for rain tires. Maybe we'll even get Bernie's sprinklers on track.

Not only will tire management and strategy be important but we get to enjoy something closer to tires we understand and are directly related to real cars.

 

While I love watching someone come from the back of the pack, all to often if it is a member of one of the top few teams it seems as though they get a free pass from just about everyone else as they move through the field. There was some very interesting videos of Seb basically being given the pass-by by just about everyone he passed in a late season race last year (forget which one). I wonder if Bernie has had a hand in making sure the other teams know to let the "front' runners easily pass when such a situation happens to one of "his" drivers......

 

OK I thought of more serious tire idea.

What if Pirelli brings one set of each compound to use for qualifying and the race. The teams would have to use at least 2 compounds during the race. You could see the lower teams using the super soft to try and get out of q1. Some teams would choose hards to go most of the race they slam on softs or super softs for a last couple of lap sprints.

 

That might be a cool idea. I was thinking about Red Bull's strategy again, and realized that they were really only able to pull it off because Seb didn't set a time in Q3, so he got to start on the longer life Mediums, and switched to fresh Softs at the time he had the least amount of fuel. If he had qualified on the Softs, it would have been a very different strategy.

Now call me crazy (I won't mind) but I kind of think it now looks like it might be beneficial for the teams NOT to set Q3 times, so they can start on fresh primes and keep the options for the final push. That'd make for a pretty gross rules abuse (if they're not required to go out), but might make the end of the race more hectic.

Also, tangentially, I read that Button spent much of the second stint nursing his tires on the assumption that they wouldn't last. Then he was told to start fighting for spots, and on an old set of Mediums he started improving 2 seconds a lap, and the tires held in and he got 26 laps from them. So the Mediums at least are not as bad as everyone seems to think.

And finally, It appears Pirelli has re-allocated tires for Bahrain. They went from Hard/Soft to Hard/Medium - so it sounds like they are listening to the concerns. It's a hot track with sand and other abrasives on it, so it makes sense to move to a more durable setup. As long as the racing is competitive, I don't mind how it goes.

 

Of course Kimi's cool with the tires

Lotus F1 Team - Exclusive content right from the heart of the F1 action :: Kimi Räikkönen on the Bahrain Grand Prix

 

I respect Sir Stirling, but when I read his quote all I thought was "Old Guy Says Something That Proves He Grew Up In The Past." and let it go with that kind of embarrassed shake of one's head that we reserve for people who say things that reflect a bygone era.

I, for one, welcome the likelihood that women will compete in Formula 1, and hope it comes sooner rather than later. Still, I think it's a few years off. There's such a glut of deserving drivers waiting now, and there's still the fact that some team has to be the one to step up and actually do it. I'm betting Williams will be the first team.

 

What's this I hear about Webber leaving RB and F1 for a five year deal with Porsche in 2014?

 

Porsche says it's only a rumor. Which means their are in talks about money.

 

Nothing to say about Bahrain then?

Moving on.

 

Sorry, I had a MINI shop day at my shop and haven't recovered completely yet!

I thought this was a fun race to watch, true enough Vettel drove off over the horizon again and the rest of the race happened behind him, but what did happen was fun!

Pez sure answered the bell didn't he? Came out swinging, and didn't care who he hit! And good for him (except for hitting his teammate - that's a no-no!)

RoGro must feel vindicated in asking for a new car (as his old one was "undriveable" ) after using the new one to carve thru the field to third place.

Kimi showed that the Lotus is still easier on tires than almost anything else, but since he only stopped twice to the winner's three, doesn't that mean his car is at least 30 sec slower than the Red Bull over a race distance?

Poor Massa, if it wasn't for bad luck.........

I don't know if Alonso could have run with Vettel at the front or not, but I do know he would have given it one hell of a shot! Too bad he had "issues"....

The Spanish GP should be interesting, as all the teams will have their new pieces there - that should set the tone for most of the rest of the season then - either they'll have it, or they won't. Big Mac - I'm looking at you!

 

I found it to be an entertaining racing from start to finish. At least there was enough action from P3 thru P10 to keep my interest at the later stages of the race.

Couple of interesting comments caught my attention:
Kimi to Red Bull rumour - Can't imagine Kimi wanting to be #2 guy

Seb's comments after the race - Did anyone else catch what Seb said when Coulthard was asking him to lift his foot up to saw the lucky charms on his boots? I could have sworn that he said "I can't raise my leg any higher, I'm not a woman". Maybe I heard it wrong, just seemed like an interesting comment to make after commenting on the female member of the team being there to accept the manufactures trophy.

 

I mostly enjoyed being able to watch it live without setting the alarm for 2 am...

 

I was pretty happy with all the wheel to wheel action that was happening, and it was nice to see Checo really go at Jenson. No team orders there, apparently!

Still, I find the races that don't have Seb running away for miles and miles more interesting. Seems Red Bull has fixed their tire issues.