Murr Posted March 19, 2012 Posted March 19, 2012 Was a great race yesterday. I'm all about McClaren but as you may remember from some of my posts last season, I have a soft spot for Sauber for some reason, so was really pleased to see both drivers scoring points. For some reason I had this feeling that Lewis wouldn't hold onto P1, although I had expected him to last a bit longer than the first corner before dropping first. Kimi had a brilliant race. There was a lot of battles going on throughout the whole race,.. Oh and Maldonado so unfortunate... really felt bad for him and Williams. Had he finished he would of got as many points for Williams in one race as Williams did combined last season. Promising signs though for them. Was really quite nice seeing Williams battling Ferrari As for coverage... BBC for me, and it felt like any normal BBC F1 event, albeit just shorter introduction. Looking forward to the first BBC live race.
Emerald Emblem Posted March 19, 2012 Posted March 19, 2012 Thing is Williams looked strong in Melbourne last season too, Rubens was in 6th place himself when he got a bit too overtake happy. Malaysia will be the deciding factor whether Williams have gone forward a big amount.
Retro_Link Posted March 19, 2012 Author Posted March 19, 2012 Thunderstorms are again looking likely for Malaysia this weekend!
Goron_3 Posted March 21, 2012 Posted March 21, 2012 Right, finally got round to posting on here! Been busy with other commitments but here we go... We are in for possibly the greatest season in F1 history, no doubt in my mind about that. Australia was a fantastic race and it's set the scene beautifully; Jenson beating Lewis on outright pace again, Alonso pushing the limits, Mercedes (SCHUMACHER) are back, the RB's have fallen behind and the midfield is SO tight. Can't wait for malaysia where the long sweeping corners and the few 2nd gear corners will give us a better indication of where everyone is. As for the Aussie GP, it was fantastic! One of the best for years with an incredible last lap. I've got to admit, I'm loving Jenson Button now! Always thought he was over rated even after he won his championship but he is just performing on another level right now. Rarely makes a mistake on track and he's found a set up window that suits him perfectly. Lewis may be quicker over one lap but Jenson matches Lewis' pace for more laps..Defo my pick for the title. Bring on malaysia!
Emerald Emblem Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 Kimi is going to get a 5 place grid penalty, had to change his gearbox. Let's hope this spurs Kimi to a top 10 qualifying position.
Retro_Link Posted March 23, 2012 Author Posted March 23, 2012 Kimi is going to get a 5 place grid penalty, had to change his gearbox. Let's hope this spurs Kimi to a top 10 qualifying position.Very frustrating!!I wanna see him up there fighting with Alonso and Hamilton! Still, he won in Malaysia 2003 from 7th, so there's a chance! :p
gaggle64 Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 This from Jalopnik, reporting on Kamui's twitter activity: This could be a bit of translation gone awry, but I think not. The all-knowing Wikipedia tells us he is "named after Kamuy, divine being in Ainu mythology, and the letter of the name imitated the sound citing three Kanjis from the sentence "Enabling great dream(s)." This + Snookie Baby = The End Is Nigh. Anyway, 1-1 for Lewis, fingers crossed his stars have finally aligned for the first time in a while.
Emerald Emblem Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 1 Hamilton, Mclaren 2 Button, Mclaren 3 M Shumacher, Mercedes 4 Webber, Red Bull 5 Vettel, Red Bull 6 Grosjean, Lotus 7 Rosberg, Mercedes 8 Alonso, Ferrari 9 Perez, Sauber 10(P) Raikkonen, Lotus 12 Massa, Ferrari Great Qualifying, Q2 and 3 in particular, the difference between Qualifying for the top 10 shoot out and the pole position shoot out was so tight. It bodes well for the race tomorrow, Vettel is the only one on the hard tyres in the top 10 so that in itself could be interesting. Hamilton has looked quick all weekend and that time was done on on his first run as well as making a small mistake on it as well, just like Vettel did a few times last year. Shame Raikonnen had that penalty, starting 5th would have been much better, let's see what the Iceman has in store for us tomorrow.
-Dem0- Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 Just caught the qualifying in time, was very interesting. The Mclaren team are on top again. with Hamilton taking pole and Jenson in 2nd, with roughly a 10th of a second between them. even though Hamilton had a lock-up, he still came in with the quickest time. EDIT: You were fast there Emerald
Emerald Emblem Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 Just caught the qualifying in time, was very interesting. The Mclaren team are on top again. with Hamilton taking pole and Jenson in 2nd, with roughly a 10th of a second between them. even though Hamilton had a lock-up, he still came in with the quickest time. EDIT: You were fast there Emerald I had my PC on before qualifying, as soon as the final timing boards went off I was upstairs typing it up. Though you're standings had the times which probably slowed you down.
Retro_Link Posted March 24, 2012 Author Posted March 24, 2012 Gah... 5th place, clean side, would have been great for Kimi! 10th place.. dirty side... not so much!... But still hopeful of something! Very good job by Lewis again!! Hopefully he'll hold it down into turn one this time and make it a fight with Jenson during the race. Great seeing Gary Anderson fully explaining Mercedes unique rear wing, I didn't really understand exactly what was going on there before. And nice to see Webber out-qualify Vettel again! Bring on the race!!
Goron_3 Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 I'm surprised that none of you have commented on the big story so far, that being Michael Schumacher IS BACK BABY! God damn only a tenth away from a pole position and by the looks of it they've actually set the car up significantly for the race, with the double DRS used in qualy to give negate the extra downforce added. Can't wait for tomorrow. Interesting to see that Ferrari and Red Bull are the slowest cars in a straight line..could be a hard day for them tomorrow.
Retro_Link Posted March 24, 2012 Author Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) The Merc is a rocket off the line isn't it!?... From P3 on the clean side, he's actually got a chance of leading into the first corner. The car just needs to hold on to it's tyres. Edited March 24, 2012 by Retro_Link
Emerald Emblem Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) Red flag out on lap 9. The rain has shuffled the pack right up. Well done to Kartikayan though, the wet tyre bet certainly paid off, sure he wouldn't mind taking half points right now, half a point is more than he'll likely get all season and it may help pip Marussia, more money the better as far as HRT are concerned. Grosjean the only retirement and he sure messed up Shumi's race taking him out when he spun. Also Perez in 3rd right now, maybe Sauber will stay ahead of Ferrari for a further 3 weeks. Edited March 25, 2012 by Emerald Emblem
Emerald Emblem Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) 1 Alonso, Ferrari 2 Perez, Sauber 3 Hamilton, Mclaren 4 Webber, Red Bull 5 Raikkonen, Lotus 6 Senna, Williams 7 Di Resta, Force India 8 Vergne, Torro Rosso 9 Hulkenburg, Force india 10 M Shumacher, Mercedes Some Superb Drives today, Congratulations to Alonso pulling that dog of a car onto the top step, but then he probably shouldn't have won, Perez had an almighty drive today, the team let him down not pitting him when Alonso pitted, then he made that mistake when he had caught him back up afterwards, he's a talent and you could see him replacing Massa next season. Hamilton managed to save 3rd again, no wonder he is dejected on the podium, in normal conditions he might have done much better, but there were fights all over the field, Button, Massa and Vettel had very forgetful days in the end. The drivers championship is looking mighty tasty right now, no-one would have thought a Ferrari would be leading it. What a great season so far and now a 3 week wait. Edited March 25, 2012 by Emerald Emblem
gaggle64 Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 Wow. Okay. Yes. Holy shit. That all happened. More on this later.
Retro_Link Posted March 25, 2012 Author Posted March 25, 2012 Kate Walker Kate Walker @F1Kate Woohoo! @Lotus_F1Team have just handed out Magnums in the press room. #icecreamlove BadgerGP.com @BadgerGP Little but of fun from @Lotus_F1Team before the race - ice creams handed out to all media, with a little note from Kimi! Adam Cooper @Adamcooperf1 #F1 Lotus is giving the media free ice creams - on the third anniversary of Kimi's infamous TV moment here... Adam Cooper @Adamcooperf1#F1 Message from Kimi: "Please enjoy this ice cream. I hope this leaves you refreshed and ready to enjoy the Malaysian GP" #raikkonen Great race!! Perez was being talked about as taking Massa's seat beforehand, but that was Perez's own version of Vettel/Monza. Very good drive! Sauber played the conditions perfectly! Massa can't have long left! Just wish some other teams had read the conditions as well! *cough* Lotus! There pitstops are too slow and they're too slow to react, it's hurting Kimi at times. But I'm SO impressed by his comeback!! 2 years out, no experience of the Inter/Wet tyres and starting 10th today... 5th was a good result! Plenty of incidents today to spice things up!! Schumi was very unlucky! Grosjean has to sort his race craft out! Jenson/Karthikeyan, Vettel/Karthikeyan. But I thought Vettel was a bit of an ass tbh, both on track (he didn't really give any room/cut back in too quickly) and during his post race interview. We've had an amazing two weeks though!! Undoubtedly gonna be one of the best seasons!
Goron_3 Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 Can't believe it. Just incredible from Alonso. He's up their with Clarke, Senna, Prost, Fangio and Michael in my book, undoubtably. Perez drove a stormer and if they pitted him on the right lap and he didn't make that mistake, he would have got the win. Either way, he was sensational. Also very poor race from Jenson, Rosberg, Massa and Vettel. There's a test in Mugello before we head off to Spain (i think...?), GET MASSA OUT! Also I wanted to punch grosjean after he hit Michael. Argh dammit, I just want a normal dry race for Michael to show what he has.
Retro_Link Posted March 25, 2012 Author Posted March 25, 2012 Yeah Ferrari could very well do with replacing Massa in time for that week of testing. It just becomes more and more apparent that Rosberg doesn't have what it takes. He never seems to fight for places and gives in too easily it feels like. Mercedes should get another decent chance in China with some very long straights there to use there Rear Wing.
gaggle64 Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 That was almost historic and will still be long remembered - Perez getting the win was the only thing that could make it even sweeter and that was always going to be unlikely. As is, it was an epic performance from both Sergio & Alonso, we have to assume they'll be teammates in 2013. I honestly think Sergio is a bona-fide genius, I'll be amazed if he isn't Champion sooner or later. Hamilton seemed a little happier which was nice to see, another tough race after doing all the hard work in the first stint and frankly I don't think his pit crew did him too many favors. Still, two poles and two podiums out of two races leaving him second by 5 points is not a shabby start to the year. He's got all the speed, still looking for better luck. As for Vettel & Button's incident with the HRT, I think Karthikeyan was pretty blameless in both of those - Jenson seemed to simply run wide with him and Vettel clearly misjudged where the HRT front wing was. I agree with you Retro, at this rate it's going to be another superb season. I really feel we're in a Golden Age of F1 not seen since the classic years of the glamorous 1960s. Roll on China!
Ganepark32 Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 Didn't catch the highlights on BBC (I really am missing not having the races live there) but will do later on as it sounds like the race was brilliant. Will say, though, that I'm loving how open it is with the top 10 so far. 9 different teams making it up this time around shows just how competitive the races will be this season. Hopefully that can be maintained right through to the end as it'll mean that the really talented drivers will have to pull everything out to stake a claim at the championship. Also happy to see Sauber are doing well, even if it is early days yet. Perez is clearly one to watch this season, perhaps not as a title contender but as someone showing just how good a driver they can be.
Emerald Emblem Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 Very good drive! Sauber played the conditions perfectly! No they didn't, they got him in a position to get the win sure, but then didn't respond to Alonso pitting, had they responded, Perez would have had a much better shot at winning the race. Interestingly if Perez had won the race he would have been second in the drivers championship one point behind Hamilton. But it was still a great result for them so they'll take away the positives and it certainly helps their constructors ranking come the end of the season. Almost perfect from Sauber but just not enough.
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