Formula 1 2012

[Retro_Link]

 

 

PREPARING JENSON’S CAR FOR QUALIFYING… ███████████░░░░░░░░░░░ 45% DONE… Balance error. Failed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:p lol, poor Jenson

Edited June 21, 2012 by Retro_Link

[gmac]

have no idea why the BBC chose Valencia as one of their races this season

 

Qualifying was incredibly tight, especially in Q2, was hoping Di Resta could have held together his flying lap in Q3 but lost it in the final sector and ended up 9th

[gaggle64]

Interesting quali, looks like someone's going to get a double tomorrow though. Hoping Lewis has a Canada repeat and manage his tyres better then Vettel can in his Red Bull.

[Ganepark32]

Hope that given the closeness of quali yesterday, the race should give us some good fights for positions. But then again, this is Valencia and it really is a horrible track (not in terms of location as it looks beautiful but the track layout just gives nothing to the drivers or fans watching).

 

Was sort of glad to hear that it won't be run every year now, though with a timeshare thing with Barcelona. What'd then be the European GP I don't know, although the idea of one in London really doesn't appeal to me.

 

Oh and did anyone else enjoy Kobayashi's interview in the buildup where rather than talking about the weekend ahead he was talking about how much he loves Valencia oranges and orange juice

[Goron_3]

What an INCREDIBLE race this has been! Alonso has been just amazing with all those overtakes and Vettel retiring was the icing on the cake.

 

Come on Schumacher!

[Emerald Emblem]

Maldonado and Hamilton coming together again, revenge for Monaco last season you think? I doubt Goron minds since it helped Shumacher get the podium.

[Goron_3]

Maldonado and Hamilton coming together again, revenge for Monaco last season you think? I doubt Goron minds since it helped Shumacher get the podium.

 

Pastor deserves a race ban for that. Williams have a great car this year but the drivers can be a mess.

 

But yes. SCHUMACHERRRRRRRRRRRRRR! So happy to see kimi, alonso and michael on the podium together, what an incredible day.

 

So happy Great to see Alonso celebrating in front of his fans too.

[MadDog]

I'd guess that Maldonado is getting a penalty. Hamilton had the track position, stayed on the line, and Pastor had 4 wheels off the track.

[Retro_Link]

Great race wasn't it!

 

Stunning drive from Fernando, simple brilliant, some great overtakes!

Everyone kind of lucked into their positions today, but that didn't mean the race wasn't a great one, there was some fantastic racing throughout! (not Maldonano)

 

Maldonano's becoming a fucking menace!... I was gutted, but glad Kimi decided not to try and take him on off the line because that fucker will put you in the wall!

 

Was dissapointed for Lewis, but again McLaren put him there with their pit stop.

Also a great drive from Webber to come from that far back.

 

@Goron_3 The podium felt really powerful/emotional somehow, with Michael, Kimi and Fernando, all champions and all Ferrari drivers! It was also the Class of 2003-2006!

I'm sure these 3 must have been on the podium together before, but I can't remember it/it's been a long time!

 

---

 

Anyone interested in the Silverstone charity fun run?

I'd be interested in going if anyone else is... [could do but] don't really want to go by myself.

 

[i won't be running it thought, I can't run that far!]

Edited June 24, 2012 by Retro_Link

[Murr]

The race really changed after the safety car.

 

When Vettel slowed down/ retired my phone was going mental with texts from F1 friends / fans going along the lines of "hahahha Vettel."

 

Kinda disappointed that there wasnt an 8th in 8 races. When Raikenon took Hamilton I thought this is it. But Alonso kept the distance.

 

Oh and Maldonado... wow. Was happy for him when he got his maiden F1 win, but now... Wow what a douche

[Retro_Link]

 

[Gizmo]

Great race wasn't it!

 

Stunning drive from Fernando, simple brilliant, some great overtakes!

Everyone kind of lucked into their positions today, but that didn't mean the race wasn't a great one, there was some fantastic racing throughout! (not Maldonano)

 

Maldonano's becoming a fucking menace!... I was gutted, but glad Kimi decided not to try and take him on off the line because that fucker will put you in the wall!

 

Was dissapointed for Lewis, but again McLaren put him there with their pit stop.

Also a great drive from Webber to come from that far back.

 

@Goron_3 The podium felt really powerful/emotional somehow, with Michael, Kimi and Fernando, all champions and all Ferrari drivers! It was also the Class of 2003-2006!

I'm sure these 3 must have been on the podium together before, but I can't remember it/it's been a long time!

 

---

 

Anyone interested in the Silverstone charity fun run?

I'd be interested in going if anyone else is... [could do but] don't really want to go by myself.

 

[i won't be running it thought, I can't run that far!]

 

[gaggle64]

That was pretty boring until the final third when suddenly everything just hit the fan all at once. Absolutely gutted about first Grosjean's breakdown then Lewis getting punted out after having fought so hard all race with 2 laps to go. I screamed in rage when Mclaren failed his pitstop at a crucial moment yet again, they probably pissed away another win right there. I just hope Vettel's outrageous pace doesn't represent a new domination for the rest of the season. Bravo Alonso, Ferrari have obviously improved but with the car they've had he richly deserves a 3rd championship already. Nice to see Schumi finally get his podium too.

 

Also:

 

Edited June 25, 2012 by gaggle64

[Goron_3]

Lol, literally love Kimi!

 

@Retro, when is the silverstone charity thing? Can't believe it's that time of the year again! Really hope we see some cold/wet weather so the Red Bull's don't walk away with it because Vettel's opening stint yesterday was truly dominant, around 1s faster per lap.

 

Still grinning from yesterdays result Not just for Schumacher but Alonso has undoubtedly proved he's up there with Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Clark and Fangio...just so fast and consistent. In the last 20 races he's finished outside the top 5 just twice, just incredible.

 

I'm seeing some comments about him along the lines of 'he fluked into the win' but I completely disagree. The win yesterday should have been Lewis' or Kimi's following the retirement of Grosjean and Vettel but it was Alonso who made all those overtakes (including that race winning one on Grosjean) and he got himself into that race winning position.

 

To quote Murray Walker 'to finish first, first you have to finish'.

[Retro_Link]

Cool, thanks! I wonder if this was the only other time it happened... or maybe it was just because it was the same order.

 

@Goron_3 The Silverstone track run thing is literally tomorrow now. :p

 

EDIT: Here...

 

http://www.silverstone.co.uk/princes-trust/?id=&utm_campaign=SLV+168+Princes+Trust&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&epslanguage=en

 

Can walk/run the track as many times as you like between 5.00pm and 8.30pm.

 

I'm seeing some comments about him along the lines of 'he fluked into the win' but I completely disagree. The win yesterday should have been Lewis' or Kimi's following the retirement of Grosjean and Vettel but it was Alonso who made all those overtakes (including that race winning one on Grosjean) and he got himself into that race winning position.

 

To quote Murray Walker 'to finish first, first you have to finish'.

No way did he fluke it.

It's easy to overlook/forget that he did have 3 new sets of tyres to use in the race, which certainly helped him push and get on with his overtakes... but I don't take anything away from him, you've still got to pull them off! It was a fantastic drive, especially given the tight nature of the circuit! There was an amazing pass around corners 2/3/4 I think.

One of his best ever drives I think!

 

Also what was with Hamiltons pace at the start of the race and holding everyone up?

The radio message 'Pace is good Lewis' or whatever made it sound like it was part of a plan to do less stops, and yet he came in before Vettel!

Edited June 25, 2012 by Retro_Link

[BowserBasher]

Quite enjoyed the race Sunday, Vettel going out really did make the race, if it weren't for that, I could have seen another run away victory. Some great over takes, and there was that huge battle around lap 20 (I think) where you had about 10 drivers all in a long train. Had some great moments there, and took about four laps before there was any kind of incident between them all.

 

Anyone use Google Earth might want to check this out. Over the weekend I have created a F1 2012 tour showing all the tracks in the calender. You should be able to just download this file, and open it in Google Earth, highlight the folder called 'F1 2012 tracks' then press play tour.

 

A few notes:

Unfortunately, the US track does not show in Google Earth yet. But I have set a 'path' which I took from photos to show the track.

For the street circuits I have included a 'path' for the track.

I used the historical imagery option to select a past view of Sazuka as the current one is half covered by a cloud.

[Retro_Link]

Well the 2012 silly season is upon us, and reporting that Vettel has agreed a 3 year deal with Ferrari starting 2014... and that Massa or Webber could make up the 2013 Ferrari stop gap seat.

 

This has probably come from Ferrari themselves though in an attempt to stir up the pit lane and unsettle other drivers.

 

I think Vettel would think more than twice about leaving the Newey cars behind.

 

But let's just play along for now...

 

It would also leave Hamilton a bit up in the air, given that he needs to agree a new contract somewhere for next year. I highly doubt he could get just one year out of McLaren for a 2014 move to Red Bull. I guess he'd have to hope Webber moves to Ferrari next year and get himself in alongside Vettel for one year!

 

Where Hamilton goes next is pretty huge.

 

Will Schumi race on next year?

I'm not sure Hamilton could rely on Mercedes to deliver him a title winning car, but then McLaren haven't reliably been doing that for him either.

 

I'd love to see Kimi/Vettel at Red Bull in 2013, and then Kimi/Hamilton from 2014... though Kimi/Hamilton at McLaren would be my preffered option.

[Ganepark32]

Must say that I agree with what Eddie Jordan said on the BBC in the build up to Sunday's race (or was it mentioned on Saturday... can't remember exactly), in that Ferrari should take on a younger driver and develop him rather than take on an older, experienced driver.

 

Alonso will want to hold on to his seat at Ferrari for as long as he can which gives them one of the best drivers around but that second seat, I feel anyway, could be better served by bringing in a younger driver and building them up. It's worked well for other teams bringing in and developing younger drivers (Red Bull for instance, although not keeping on Buemi and Alguesuari this year in the Toro Rosso is still a mistake in my eyes) and is an area where Ferrari are lagging a little behind.

 

Obviously, there's been a lot of talk linking Perez with Ferrari and taking Massa's seat but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Di Resta got a shot at it. Certainly proven himself and perhaps more consistent. Certainly be the area of most interest with regards to that extra seat at Ferrari next year but think it's going to be an excruciatingly long wait before we hear anything.

[Retro_Link]

I think the thing with Ferrari is that so much rides on them trying to win the constructors/drivers titles. Every year they're under major pressure; and two experieced drivers should give them the best chance of doing this.

 

They did use to take on younger drivers... Massa was rubbish at Sauber from what I can remember, but they took him on as a test driver for one year and then promoted him to a race seat (although Massa is still always older than I think he is). Perez is from their driver academy right?... and they also have a couple of young reserve/test driver... but the lack of a third car or customer cars means these drivers either go to other teams or don't get a chance/do other motorsport.

 

But when it comes to the two Ferrai seats they don't want to take the risk.

Vettel would be a good choice for them because he is young and experienced, he could be the future of Ferrari.

 

I agree though it would be nice to see other drivers outside of the established ones get a look in/consideration.

 

I'd like to see Alguersuari given a go personally.

 

 

Yeah Toro Rosso are looking pretty stupid right now with Vergne in that car over Alguersuari.

Didn't Vergne say last year something like 'Give me Webbers car and I'd be doing a better job than him' :p

[Goron_3]

I've got a feeling Webber will end up doing 1 year at Ferrari before he retires before Vettel goes there in 2014. Really hope we see Lewis take on Seb at Red Bull too.

[Retro_Link]

[Emerald Emblem]

Probably been covered already, but what do we think of a London Grand Prix? Bernie has backed it and plans for it should be unveiled later today.

 

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7845820/Ecclestone-backs-London-GP

[Retro_Link]

Well I definately prefer it over using the Olympic Stadium.

 

Could be great... I guess it would be the new 'European' Grand Prix?

 

Tbh it's about time the UK got more love and a second Grand Prix, what with the vast majority of the teams being based over here, celebrating this fact in the capital would be a nice idea; and a second event all the workers could attend with their families.

 

But what landmarks should it include...

 

Tower Bridge would be awesome to race over, and past the London Eye, but maybe that's a much more difficult part of the city to close off?

 

Would 24 cars screaming past Buckingham Palace really get approved?

 

Just kidding, but they could make it an Oval circuit! :p The F1 equivalent of Mario Karts Baby Park!

 

Round the Buckingham Palace Roundabout

 

 

Down the Mall

 

 

Through the Arch

 

 

Round Trafalga Fountain

 

 

and then back up again! :p

Edited June 28, 2012 by Retro_Link

[Murr]

Through the arch.... stay away from Maldonado.

[Will]

I would love a London GP, used to love driving round the city in the early hours of the morning when there was very little traffic around. Would be an amazing sight to see F1 cars heading around there. If it happens I'd be super tempted to move back and try to live along the planned route.