Formula 1 2012

[Formaldehyde]

Let the pre-season speculation begin!

The 2012 Formula 1 winter testing schedule offered teams an unusual one-week break between the opening sessions at Jerez and action resuming at Barcelona - giving an opportunity for those who had troubled starts to work hard back at base before hitting the track again, but also giving those who shone at Jerez plenty of time to process their data and make further gains.

A chilly week at Barcelona's Catalunya circuit therefore began to give us a clearer picture of where the field stands and how the picture is chagning as the season-opener in Melbourne approaches.

Pos Driver Team Best time Total laps
1. Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.312s 244
2. Maldonado Williams 1m22.391s + 0.079s 240
3. Hulkenberg Force India 1m22.608s + 0.296s 209
4. Perez Sauber 1m22.648s + 0.336s 151
5. Vettel Red Bull 1m22.891s + 0.579s 183
6. Di Resta Force India 1m23.119s + 0.807s 184
7. Alonso Ferrari 1m23.180s + 0.868s 162
8. Button McLaren 1m23.200s + 0.888s 229
9. Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.384s + 1.072s 178
10. Massa Ferrari 1m23.563s + 1.251s 187
11. Hamilton McLaren 1m23.590s + 1.278s 234
12. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.618s + 1.306s 126
13. Webber Red Bull 1m23.774s + 1.462s 182
14. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m23.792s + 1.480s 170
15. Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.843s + 1.531s 221
16. Senna Williams 1m25.711s + 3.399s 97
17. Bottas Williams 1m25.738s + 3.426s 117
18. Kovalainen Caterham 1m26.035s + 3.723s 101
19. Glock Marussia 1m26.173s + 3.861s 108
20. Petrov Caterham 1m26.448s + 4.136s 139
21. Grosjean Lotus 1m26.809s + 4.497s 7
22. Pic Marussia 1m27.343s + 5.031s 229

Looks like some great sandbagging by the leading teams, and low-fuel stints on soft tires for some of the drivers of the also-rans...

And Bernie is doing his best to do some pre-season rabble rousing:

Formula 1: Hamilton Could be Turfed Out by McLaren Says Bernie Ecclestone

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says Lewis Hamilton may leave McLaren at the end of the season if he struggles to mount a serious title challenge.

Hamilton, whose contract expires at the end of the season, won the world title with the British team in 2008.

But he has since finished no higher than fourth in the world championship.

“I think if he doesn’t perform this year he’ll be looking maybe to move on, and the team may also be looking for him to move on,” said Ecclestone, 81.

[Takhisis]

I think we can safely count out Toro Rosso and Caterham for the championship.

Ah, and phirst.

[Formaldehyde]

McLaren, Schumi fastest in Australia practice session 1:

http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-185425.html

1 3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.560 11
2 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.805 0.245 14
3 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:28.235 0.675 17
4 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:28.360 0.800 21
5 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:28.467 0.907 21
6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:28.683 1.123 22
7 16 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:28.908 1.348 23
8 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:29.41 1.855 16
9 9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1:29.565 2.005 8
10 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:29.722 2.162 26
11 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:29.790 2.230 21
12 12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:29.865 2.305 17
13 11 Paul Di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:29.881 2.321 18
14 19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1:29.953 2.393 21
15 15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:30.124 2.564 22
16 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:30.515 2.955 16
17 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1:30.586 3.026 16
18 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:30.743 3.183 11
19 17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:31.178 3.618 17
20 21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1:31.983 4.423 8
21 24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1:34.730 7.170 8
22 25 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1:40.256 12.696 11
23 23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth No Time 3
24 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth No Time 0

Welcome back to the Iceman!

The cars are certainly going to take a lot of getting used to. Someone took their ugly sticks to all but one constructor with the new rule that requires lower noses to protect from driver compartment intrusions in case of T-bones.

[Takhisis]

Apparently my formerly attractive Presidentess of the Argentine people wants F1 to be back to Argentina from 2013 onwards. Any chance of that happening?

[Formaldehyde]

How much money does she have to bribe Bernie? From a logistical perspective it shouldn't be a big deal given the Brazilian GP, other than perhaps extending the season too far.

[Formaldehyde]

Well here it is. Qualifying for the first race of the season:

Hamilton
Button
Grosjean
Schumacher
Vettel
Webber
Rosberg
Maldonado
Hulkenberg
Ricciardo

Alonso 12th
Massa 14th

The big shocker has to be Grosjean in the Lotus. It is the first time Lotus has been in the top 3 since 1988...

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Fantastic qualifying session . Please please please let this be a portent of things to come this season .

On another matter , I'm sure the "top 20 drivers in history" thing has been done to death , but the BBC does this kind of thing better than most . It will be completed over the course of the season . Hopefully Sir Jack gets his rightful place near the pointy end .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17299158

[Formaldehyde]

Their first pick for the #20 slot is Jochen Rindt:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17319968

Jochen Rindt (1942-1970)
Grands prix: 62
Pole position: 10
Wins: 6
World champion: 1970

Rindt was killed in a crash during practice for the Italian GP in 1970 that led to him being the first posthumous champion. It was the final straw for friend Jackie Stewart which prompted him to demand huge improvements in safety measures.

[Takhisis]

Originally Posted by Formaldehyde

How much money does she have to bribe Bernie? From a logistical perspective it shouldn't be a big deal given the Brazilian GP, other than perhaps extending the season too far.

It's not bribery when you pay Bernie, it's a completely legal fee.

[Formaldehyde]

Seeing that King Bernie isn't even directly involved anymore, I think there is reason to suspect that everything which occurs quite possibly isn't completely above board. If nothing else it is always a good idea to be in his good graces, just as it is with any other extremely powerful bureaucrat.

But getting back to more mundane issues, grats to Jenson Button.

Button
Vettel
Hamilton
Webber
Alonso
Kobayashi
Raikkonen
Perez
Ricciardo
Di Resta
Vergne
Rosberg
Maldonado
Glock

Everybody else retired.

This has the makings for a great season. There are at least 6 teams which have a shot at legitimately winning races.

[Dell19]

Mercedes race pace was pretty disappointing although never got to see what Schumacher's pace would have been like as the tires wore down.

Watched the race on the BBC and I'm not convinced by the replacement for Brundle which puts me off watching and since it was highlights it didn't seem to flow quite right.

[Formaldehyde]

Schumi didn't complain about that but Rosberg and Ross Brawn did:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98153

Nico Rosberg: 12th: "I had a perfect start today and was able to gain three positions, however unfortunately we weren't able to maintain that pace, and the race did not turn out as we had hoped. The end was particularly unfortunate with Perez when we touched on the straight, causing a puncture which took away a points scoring finish. We have a lot of work to do to understand what went wrong, and how we can use the full potential which our car definitely shows. I'm still positive as Malaysia is a completely different track so I'm looking ahead to next weekend now."

Michael Schumacher - DNF: "It was an unfortunate end to my race when I lost drive going into turn one. I was trying different gears and occasionally the drive came back, but in the end, I had to go onto the grass to avoid the risk of the car being forced into a spin. It was especially unfortunate as we have not had this problem during the winter tests and were very reliable. This is why I am not concerned, as I know things like this happen in racing, and our reliability is not in question. I believe I could have had a good race this afternoon, and I can still take some positives out of the weekend as we have seen our car was confirming our feelings, and is definitely a clear step forward. We can now build on that and start improving further."

Ross Brawn: "After a very encouraging weekend, today was not a good result for us. Despite excellent starts, both Michael and Nico had difficulties from the start of the race with their tyres. With the development of the circuit and the track temperatures, we fell out of the working window, and struggled with degradation. However, we remain positive as both here and over the winter tests, we have demonstrated that we have a fundamentally quick car and we have a lot to build on. So we need to look at what happened today, unravel the problem and work out where we need to improve."

[Darth_Pugwash]

So frequently the winner of the first race goes on to win the championship - good omen for Jenson Button? I think Red Bull will be more competitive in Malaysia though.

[Dell19]

Only a week has gone by so I would expect McLaren to have a similar advantage although Vettel still finished second in the last race so they aren't that far behind.

Will be interesting to see how Massa does as his performance in Australia was poor and last season wasn't exactly great for him either.

[classical_hero]

So who performed best out of all the drivers?

[Darth_Pugwash]

Massa will be out of Ferrari at the end of the year IMHO, kind of a shame but yeah his performances in the last season or two haven't been great at all.

[Formaldehyde]

Originally Posted by Dell19

Only a week has gone by so I would expect McLaren to have a similar advantage although Vettel still finished second in the last race so they aren't that far behind.

Will be interesting to see how Massa does as his performance in Australia was poor and last season wasn't exactly great for him either.

The difference in qualifying was fairly substantial though. And during the restart after the FCY, Button created another lead without any real difficulty. I'm really surprised that Vettel beat Hamilton. Apparently, he got really hurt by the last FCY.

And poor Filipe. He just doesn't seem to be the same since his accident. Ferrari seeming to be really struggling at this stage doesn't help matters. I think Alonso finishing where he did was despite the car.

Originally Posted by classical_hero

So who performed best out of all the drivers?

I think it is clear that it was Button's race. He had a superb start and managed to gap everybody at all the critical times. Kobayashi had another spectacular race and Raikkonen even showed that he can't be counted out after screwing up qualifying. Schumacher and Rosberg also showed they have the potential to be spoilers. I expect both of them to be on a few podiums this year if Mercedes can get their act together. And Vettel showed why he has been the champion the last two years.

Originally Posted by Darth_Pugwash

Massa will be out of Ferrari at the end of the year IMHO, kind of a shame but yeah his performances in the last season or two haven't been great at all.

I think Massa needs to show that he can run with Alonso. If he doesn't it may very well be his last year with Ferrari.

I also think that Webber needs to finally figure out how to do F1 starts. I really don't see how he can continue to screw that pooch so much without any repercussions. He clearly has a lot of talent, but giving up 4-6 positions with so many starts must be driving the Red Bull management crazy.

[Dell19]

Yeah the safety car and Hamilton having to do an extra lap on the first run helped Vettel but he wasn't that far behind and Hamilton and Button are more likely to take points off each other than Webber off of Vettel.

Mercedes did a similar thing last season where they would be quick in qualifying and at the start of races so I get the impression that they are going to have the same problem this season as well although they are closer to the other teams this year.

[Formaldehyde]

Schumacher in particular is far more competitive this year. I think the new car is much more to his liking and he likely had far more input to its development.

[Formaldehyde]

Another great and exciting qualifying session.

http://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-186229.html

1 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.813 1:37.106 1:36.219 14
2 3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.575 1:36.928 1:36.368 14
3 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:37.517 1:37.017 1:36.391 14
4 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:37.172 1:37.375 1:36.461 19
5 9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1:37.961 1:36.715 1:36.461 13
6 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:38.102 1:37.419 1:36.634 14
7 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:38.058 1:37.338 1:36.658 14
8 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:37.696 1:36.996 1:36.664 14
9 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:38.151 1:37.379 1:37.566 16
10 15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.933 1:37.477 1:37.698 17
11 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:37.789 1:37.589 14
12 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:38.381 1:37.731 15
13 19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1:38.437 1:37.841 13
14 11 Paul Di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:38.325 1:37.877 15
15 16 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:38.419 1:37.883 14
16 12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:38.303 1:37.890 13
17 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.372 1:38.069 12
18 17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:39.077 7
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1:39.306 9
20 21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1:39.567 6
21 24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1:40.903 8
22 25 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1:41.250 8
23 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1:42.914 4
24 23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:43.655 6

The Kimster joined Grosjean in the top 10 which shows that Lotus is a force to be reckoned with this year. Massa almost didn't get out of Q1. He had to use a set of soft tires to do so but eventually got within .3 of Alonso during Q2. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite fast enough to make Q3.