Formula 1 2011

Worth noting that the safety car gave Vettel a free pitstop which outweighed the usual disadvantage of the cars getting bunched up. Not sure if he still would have won without the safety car although Alonso fell away badly at the end whilst Webber would probably have needed to overtake Vettel through pitstops.

Button got a double advantage from the same safety car as like Vettel he was close to a pitstop (at least as far as I can tell) and meant that the gap closed to the front runners. A great drive but I think other drivers have shown that qualifying low down the grid can be quite a positive as they then have fresher tyres for the race.

I felt sorry for Alguersuari who did nothing wrong on the first corner but got taken out by Senna who really should have taken the start easier as it ruined his own race as well when both had pulled off impressive qualification spots.
 
True. The safety car helped both of them.

And Alguersuari did get screwed at the start when Senna locked them up after getting past Webber. But so did a number of other drivers. And Alguersuari could have stayed out a bit wider himself, although in this particular it it probably would not have mattered. The start at Spa is particularly perilous.


Link to video.
 
Yeah watching again it still seems like he left whoever would be on the inside enough room to turn in but Senna seems to lose control and ends up sliding left. I find it a bit weird as I would have expected the team to tell Senna to not take too many risks in the opening lap as it was a great chance to pick up points in his debut in a decent car.
 
Monza. Incredible start by Alonso and Schumacher. Liuzzi ended up with a 5 grid spot penalty at the next race for the carnage at T1.


Link to video.

Predictable result once Vettel got back into the lead in what is one of the most spectacular passes I've ever seen. Watch it before Bernie has it removed from Youtube:


Link to video.

Really surprised Schumacher didn't get penalized for blocking Hamilton, but glad he didn't because it actually made the race far more interesting for a bit. Interestingly, Schumi used essentially the same move to pass back Hamilton the first time he got by at the end of the front straight.

Interestingly Button got right by him at Variante Ascari after Hamilton got balked at Curva Grande:


Link to video.

The McLarens were using way too much rear wing compared to everybody else. It is really surprising they did so well in the race finishing 2nd and 4th.
 
Formaldehyde said:
The McLarens were using way too much rear wing compared to everybody else. It is really surprising they did so well in the race finishing 2nd and 4th.
Click to expand...

The lap times weren't bad, as they were able to get through the curves faster. Their setting just made it very difficult to pass, especially when going against Schumacher's "Rear wing? What rear wing?" setting.

It was interesting to see that DRS didn't make much of a difference. Especially compared to Spa, where the pass was almost guaranteed, once you got close enough.
 
Not that terribly surprising given how little difference it made with the cars with virtually no wing, and the straight line speed difference in the McLaren compared to everyone else. They really need to work on their downforce created by other means. Rumor has it that the new blown exhaust rules impacted their cars far more than the competitors. I think the difference in wing size at Monza really shows that was no doubt true.

And Vettel had no difficulty still making it through the turns much faster than the others, even with close to no rear wing. He qualified over a half second faster, and once he got past Alonso he was gone and simply coasted to another easy win. That chassis is simply amazing. Adrian Newey seems to be substantially ahead of everybody else yet again.
 
I wonder if they will alter the tyre rules for qualification as Alguersuari kept the run going of drivers being eliminated in the first round of qualification but still picking up points. Admittedly he did benefit from the Liuzzi crash and a general high number of retirements.
 
They definitely need to do something. The paucity of cars on track during qualifying sessions is ridiculous. Spa was so much better when it was raining during qualifying because there were actually cars to watch.
 
For the last season of F1 on free to air TV its a bit of a shame that there hasn't been a closer fight for the title.

Singapore was a good race for Force India whilst Hamilton had another mixed day, making a lot of overtakes but tarnishing it by crashing into Massa and the radio question wasn't exactly clever.
 
Yeah. Singapore is another big yawn, as usual. Street courses like that aren't exactly known for their great racing, even if they are at night. I don't know why F1 insists on holding them with so many great road courses from which to choose. It should be more a matter of competitive racing than marketing and revenue to King Bernie and his associates.

And I agree that kudos are well deserved for Force India, especially Paul di Resta.

Too bad Hamilton didn't qualify on the front row instead of being stuck behind yet another lousy start by Webber. Things may have turned out quite differently if he had.

What comment did Hamilton make on the radio? I missed that or the US feed was doing a commercial when it occurred.

And Massa certainly let his feelings be known after the race:


Link to video.


Link to video.

It looks like it may even be sparking a witch hunt:

F1: Drivers Ask For Hamilton Discussion At Suzuka

Formula One drivers have asked to discuss Lewis Hamilton's recent driving during a meeting ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

That is the claim of Italian specialist magazine Autosprint after the McLaren driver's latest run-in last weekend in Singapore, where Felipe Massa physically confronted the Briton.

Ferrari's Massa sarcastically suggested 26-year-old Hamilton should call upon his father for help, while Anthony Hamilton blamed a failure of support by his son's new management led by entertainment agent Simon Fuller.

Former driver Hans-Joachim Stuck, meanwhile, has suggested Hamilton needs a "therapist," while David Coulthard thinks he needs a wise manager like Martin Brundle.

"It doesn't have to be a manager necessarily," the Scot wrote in the Telegraph, "but you need someone to be able to sit down and talk to you with complete honesty, to tell you you're being an idiot."

Autosprint claims Hamilton's rivals have asked FIA race director Charlie Whiting to allow a conversation about his overly-aggressive driving style during the Suzuka briefing.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh acknowledged 2011 has "not been a good season for Lewis Hamilton" but said the tone of the latest criticism "is wrong.

"Lewis is still a young guy, he is learning and he will learn from all of this. He will win races and I am sure he is going to win more championships," he added.
Click to expand...
 
Hamilton asked his engineer what he was racing for which is kind of a sensible question but it sounded like he was asking whether there was any point in continuing.
 
Ah. That must have occurred during a commercial interruption. The announcers did discuss how the race engineer told Hamilton to hang in there, since there was inevitably a FCY during the race. And he was right. Without the Schumacher incident, he would have likely never have gained enough ground to get into the points.
 
Yep plus it was one less car to overtake although it did look as if he could still pick up 1 or 2 points even without the safety car.
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...told-Felipe-Massa-destroy-Lewis-Hamilton.html

Felipe Massa was urged to 'destroy' Lewis Hamilton prior to their collision in last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.

The instruction, which appears in the official video edit of the race, came from Massa's engineer in the build-up to the incident on lap 12.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ssa-destroy-Lewis-Hamilton.html#ixzz1ZjWQkcAu

Hold Hamilton as much as we can,' Rob Smedley, who hails from Middlesbrough, told Massa in what appears to be the opening stages of the grand prix.

'Destroy his race as much as we can. Come on, boy!' added Smedley
Click to expand...
Could be Massa took the corner slower to "destroy his race" and with the close racing Hammie misjudged.
 
I really don't think thats what implied by the comment. Its far more likely they meant that by holding Hamilton up, Alonso would have a better chance of getting on the podium.
 
I also don't think Massa set out to collide with Hamilton, or that he was told to do so. But I do think it's very possible he took some corners slower than he could have, or blocked him more. Which is all part of the game of course, but could have led to Hamilton misjudging their relative speeds.
 
Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for winning the championship. No surprise there given his commanding lead.

What is somewhat more surprising is that he came in 3rd behind Button and Alonso. I hope this is a sign of better competition ahead instead of Vettel assuring he would get the championship this weekend.

And Schumacher led an F1 again, albeit briefly.

I am going to miss Suzuka. I think it is the second best track on the schedule behind Spa, and many of the drivers seem to agree. But it does seem a bit dated now.
 
Why does it seem dated? Because of the gravel traps that catch the drivers out if they make a mistake, as to the parking lots on other tracks which give you a get out of jail card each time you run off track?
 
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