Motors The Official bit-tech F1 2011 Thread

Great qualifying. Well done to Kobayashi. Pity about Hamilton.

 

Only just Vettel, only just and we don't know what Hamilton would have done because both he and Schumi were being moronic.

Yes, winning is winningm but 0.009 is literally nothing and tomorrow is going to be very entertaining.

 

And Webber. But considering they all stacked up behind Hamiltons car with just few seconds till line, i must say this time Hamilton should not have said anything about Schumacher (or Webber) - he was the one blocking the other cars in the last chicane. I won't be even surprised if he gets a fine for blocking a car in qualifying.

 

Indeed! Looks like the RB's are running far less wing than the Macs. Chances are that'll translate to a better race setup for the Red Bulls though, with the tyre deg at ridiculous levels and teams talking about 6-stop strategies being plausible it's all about tyre deg tomorrow.

faug: No-one should get penalised for that, Webber and Schu had plenty of time to get past if they needed to on the outlap, diving around him wouldn't have cost them much time, quite honestly they left it far far too late, even though Webber got over the line it was a compromised lap because he pushed his tyres too hard on the outlap.

 

Now wouldn't it be interesting if we had a little rain tomorrow

 

I didn't said they have to, i said i wouln't be surprised. The reason is that blocking in qualifications are usually penalized, and this was on borderline of what we can call blocking. It was not on quick lap, but Hamilton pretty much made impossible for another two drivers to make any useful laps.

 

I don't see it that way. In order to get a lap in, all three would have had to blitz the last corner and rush to get over the line. It didn't look to me as though Hamilton deliberately blocked anyone - Webber got through easily enough and was able to start a fast lap before the flag came down.

From the Senna-Prost days, we know it's hard enough to get 2 cars through that chicane without any contact. Therefore I say it's good driving all round. No penalties due.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow now.

Here's another tit-bit i've had saved for months, watch in 1080p full screen.

 

Another question for you, what's the menu song played in the background of the points table in the 14th minute of this Quali program?

Suzuka Qualifying BBC iPlayer

I think it's an ambient mix of a recent pop song from the singles chart but because it's got no lyrics in it and it's been altered, I can't put my finger on it.

 

On first listen it sounds like Paradise by Coldplay.

edit - Yeah I think it is, linky.

 

It is, thank you very much. That was bugging me all through watching quali

I shazam'd that track in the car as early as yesterday but it wouldn't come to me I am knackered, going to be a day of sleep tomorrow once the GP is over!

Rep

 

Get up at 6am or get up at 7am and watch the pre-show on iPlayer?

 

Get up at midday and watch them both on Sky+

 

Noooo. I've watched every race live for the last god knows how many years. Foolish? Yes. Pointless? Probably. But I intend to carry it on as long as possible. Being an insomniac helps bizarrely, it's quite easy to stay up an extra two to three hours instead of getting up an earlier five or six.

Well until next year at least

Anyway, predictions? I think it's got the possibility for one of the greatest first laps in a long time. Vettel and Button are next to nothing apart on raw pace as quali showed and Button has been starting like a boss most of the year and has nothing to lose, everything to gain. On the second row we have Hamilton and Massa side by side, that could prove to be very entertaining.

Looking forward to this one more than any in quite a while.

 

Not commenting first row.
Second and third row : Hamilton and Massa side by side, that means they will crash or at least push each out, while Alonso overtakes them. Webber will activate his superpowers (slow start), and drop behind Schumacher.

 

Who'd have thought it. Hamilton & Massa came together again. IMO it was Massa's fault for being where he shouldn't have, so that's why no action from the stewards.

Well done Vettel and Button.

By the way, in the early stages the race order was Vettel, Button, Alonso, Massa, Hamilton, Webber. To me, this was pretty much how I'd rank them on sheer skill, perhaps swapping Hammy & Massa.

 

Woo for Button

While Seb is clearly a good racer, I do believe he did the button thing of winning on part as a result of a brilliant car. But winning is winning, so grats to him

 

Good race and a great win for Button. I don't think it can be denied that Vettel deserves the championship, hopefully next year the other teams/drivers make him work even harder for it.

I thought Vettel was a little... forceful at the start but he was ahead at the time so I'd agree with the stewards. To me the Massa/Hamilton incident looked like Hamilton just didn't notice him in time. I was expecting Massa to go apeshit after that.

 

I partly agree with you Bogo - the car has been totally dominant this year, but Vettel has had to drive it well too. Look what Webber has done with the same machinery this year, and it's night and day.

Absolutely cracking race, good to see Button win in such style, and the deserved champion has won.

Totally agree with all the stewards' decisions this race, Vettel was fair on Button at the start with a clear line to cut him off. Hamilton/Massa again, probably didn't deserve a penalty but it did look a bit like Hamilton turned in on him, he must have known he was around.

 

Stunning race. Button and Alonso deserve the most props. Best of the season, I reckon.

Re: the incidents, I don't think either of them were resolved badly. Vettel seemed to get that he had pushed Button too far at the start and swerved away immediately, while Lewis said (honestly, I think) that he just didn't see Massa to his left.

I was just really glad to see Alonso up there, even if he didn't seem too thrilled by the race himself