The third race of the season will see a return to cooler temperatures following the humid heat of Malaysia. Will that also mean Red Bull regain the huge performance advantage they enjoyed in Australia?
The RB6s locked out the front row of the grid in Shanghai last year. Although the RB6 was strongest in quick corners it was in the final sector of the lap, with its enormous 1km straight, that Sebastian Vettel won pole position.
But this year Red Bull know they will be exposed if they can’t get their problematic Kinetic Energy Recovery System working for that long haul from turns 13 to 14.
They didn’t run it in Melbourne and Mark Webber’s unit failed in Sepang (Christian Horner later revealed Vettel’s had not, contrary to reports during the race).
But Shanghai also has plenty of Sepang-esque long corners in which the RB7 can make its downforce advantage count.
It’s hard to see anyone keeping a Red Bull from pole position. Lewis Hamilton came very close in Sepang – just a tenth of a second away – but his challenge faded in the race.
The driver who’s best equipped to take on Vettel is, naturally, his team mate. But Webber has started the year on the back foot. He’s had some misfortune with unreliability and has needed one more pit stop than his team mate in both the races so far.
The midfield
One team which has successfully pursued a different approach in terms of strategy is Sauber.
They’ve used fewer stops than their rivals to finish in the top ten on the road in three occasions. The exception being Sergio Perez’s retirement, through no fault of his own, last Sunday.
Williams head into this weekend’s race looking for their first finish of 2011. Rubens Barrichello will run a new exhaust in practice as the team also look for more performance following Pastor Maldonado’s elimination in Q1 last week.
And Lotus are aiming for a place in Q2 after cutting the gap significantly between the first two races of the season.
Tyres
Ferrari have been around a second adrift in qualifying but they looked much better in race trim in Malaysia. It’s too much to expect a turn-around in their one-lap pace in the week that’s passed since Sepang, but they certainly have the pace to finish on the podium.
This is just one example of how the teams and drivers all still getting used to the new Pirelli tyres. Hamilton’s strategy in Malaysia proved over-ambitious. Others have simply failed to get the tyres working – Lotus in Melbourne and Jaime Alguersuari in Sepang.
Drivers have recently become more vocal in their concerns about the rubber ‘marbles’ generated as the tyres wear down. Among their complaints was the claim they might inhibit overtaking, though there was little sign of that in Malaysia.
As in the previous two races the drivers will have the choice of hard and soft tyres.
DRS – and rain
Although the longest straight at Shanghai is larger than it is in Malaysia, the portion of it on which the drivers can use their DRS during the race is a similar length.
The hope is it will allow drivers to attack into the braking zone for turn 14 without making overtaking too easy. We will wait and see.
However the drivers won’t be able to use their DRS in the race if we get a third consecutive wet Chinese Grand Prix.
Since 2009, when the race was moved from the end of the season to the beginning, we’ve had a pair of rain-hit races.
Vettel gave Red Bull their maiden win in the first of those. They’ve won almost half the races since then – 17 out of 37. The chances are good they’ll make it 18 this weekend.
Which team do you think will be strongest in Shanghai? Can Webber get on terms with his team mate? Have your say in the comments.
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2011 Chinese Grand Prix
Images © Red Bull/Getty images, Ferrari
RIISE (@riise)
13th April 2011, 15:54
It would be refreshing to have a different pole sitter this weekend, just to see Vettel racing through the field. We don’t want to see a a Vettel domination each weekend, well apart from Red Bull fans anyway.
Webber will still be 3 tenths or so behind Seb but hopefully won’t have the same problems as in Sepang. Going to be a hell of a Quali again.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:15
That would be because Red Bull and the “Good Doktor” have given him a chassis with a terminal fault. Mark will never be given the same equipment as Vettel. Especially after what happened at Silverstone last year.
RIISE (@riise)
13th April 2011, 16:53
Keep telling yourself that.
Dolph Lundgrenade
14th April 2011, 1:38
Webber’s car DID have a fault… he doesn’t have to “tell himself” anything as Marko did so for him… I’m not saying that it would have made Webber faster than Vettel somehow, but Webber is a fantastic driver and is not nearly a second slower in the same car. My guess is they are within .200 of one another.
mateuss (@mateuss)
14th April 2011, 10:41
If you are referring to the rear suspension part in Australia, then that only failed in middle of the race.
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 16:58
It’s posts like this that make me want Vettel to keep on winning from pole, just to pump out more claims from the Webber fans.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 17:02
Well, Benetton did that to jos verstappen, johnny herbet and others. What makes you think Red Bull wouldn’t do the same to Webber?
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 18:06
Herbert and Verstappen were inferior drivers to their teammates. Not to the same extent as Webber to Vettel, but you should have got it by now.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 17:42
Well it doesn’t do any good to vettel’s reputation does it? Him winning from pole?
And I am no Webber fan.
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 18:05
I don’t think Vettel or his fans are concerned about what you think. He’ll just rack up the wins, and people like you will continue to moan.
Ads21
13th April 2011, 18:12
Yer my opinion of him as a driver has gone right down, if only he could avoid winning or starting on pole, then I’d think he was a great driver….
Mads
13th April 2011, 18:19
So a driver is better when he makes a mistake and finds him self long down the field and has to climb back up again then the driver that just sticks it on pole, wins from there. Job done.
I don’t really see the logic in that.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 18:19
And people like David A and one Mr Eddie Jordan( who I believe has lost it completely) will continue singing praises of how “Quick” Vettel & what a great champ he is.
In Vettel’s own words, he needs to put his trousers down and win from mid field & then I’ll accept that he’s got “it”.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th April 2011, 19:45
Spot on Mads.
Let’s face it. We all assume Vettel will get pole until proven otherwise. Now that’s a reputation.
Mike
13th April 2011, 21:38
Come to think of it. Most of us do seem to assume that…. Wow…
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 21:41
Who is better: the guy who screws up in qualifying and has to recover from there, or the guy who gets it right in the first place and wins the race? The former is certainly more entertaining, but there is a difference between being entertaining and being good.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
14th April 2011, 9:34
He does get the pole and wins. How does that tarnish his reputation?
Monk.who.sold.his.RedBull
15th April 2011, 16:57
2001, 02, 04 Schumi won with a car that sometimes had an advantage of 2 secs over rest of field.But I dont see u calling HIM any less a 7-time champion.
Rule No.1 – Get Pole
Rule No.2 – Win Race
Rest dont matter for the driver. If Seb can win from midfield,then great. But that’s not the only parameter to judge his skill – That’s only another feather in the cap.
Get over ur ‘I-hate-Seb-No-Matter-What-He-does’!
F1Lover
13th April 2011, 22:18
Posts like this are great when it’s the opposite that happens.
Todfod (@todfod)
13th April 2011, 18:00
I really do not know how much longer it will take Webber fans to acknowledge that Vettel is just better than Mark. Vettel is quicker in quali & on race pace, and is apparently even better on his tyres. Seb didn’t race brilliantly last year, and lost over 60 points due to mechanical problems, and yet he beat Mark in the WDC. Mark had his chance last year but blew it in Korea, and now there is no way he will ever match Seb. If there was something wrong with Mark’s chassis, he would have run his mouth all over the world’s media.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 18:06
Even the ‘Good Doktor’ acknowledges the fact that Webber has a damaged chassis. But they have done nothing about it so far.
Link
Maybe time has come for webber to build his own chassis?
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 18:28
Ok, now where’s the excuse for the other 28 times (out of 37) that Vettel outqualified Webber?
DVC
14th April 2011, 7:13
Do you want the ones where he was recovering from a major accident and operation in the off season, the ones where he had cracked ribs (though Webber himself never complained about either of those), or the one where Vettel broke his own wing and so got to use Webber’s?
David-A (@david-a)
14th April 2011, 14:25
DVC, as I said, those are excuses.
World championships and qualifying battles are won 28-9 with quick driving, not excuses.
Wobblebottom
14th April 2011, 8:08
Totally agree mate. Webber is decent enough and deserves his spot at Red Bull but he’s simply not as good as Vettel. Plain and simple
DavidS (@davids)
14th April 2011, 5:45
Marko has nothing to do with building the cars, tactical and strategic decisions or the day to day running of the team. That’s why you don’t see him in team kit and you don’t see him pouring over telemetry. His job is to be the “company man” for Dietrich Mateschitz, and head of the Young Driver Program.
Suggesting that Marko had something to do with Webber having a chassis fault is ludicrous.
F1iLike
14th April 2011, 9:59
Yeah and last year Webber’s car did break down all the time and Vettel’s car didn’t and Webber did go ahead and win the title anyway! Oh, wait, are we getting the names mixed up? hmm
Last Pope Eye
14th April 2011, 10:13
I agree with Guitar Bob. Am not a Webber Fan but I think of it now… poor Mark with Marko around..
Alistair
13th April 2011, 17:30
When have we ever seen ‘Vettel racing through the field’? He must have made fewer overtakes than any other driver in a competative car. Vettel only wins, and thus look fantastically quick, because his car is the class of the field and his team-mate is Mark Webber. It’s been all too easy for him. Even so, he and his team have made it harder than it should have been.
Todfod (@todfod)
13th April 2011, 18:14
I’m sick of people saying that Vettel cannot overtake. OK.. he did screwed up in Turkey last year and at Spa as well, but I think its hard to call him a useless overtaker just because of those two incidents. Jenson pulled off 2 fluke calls in Australia and China last year, and all of a sudden he became a master strategist. Thats just a load of BS..
Vettel overtook Jenson pretty easily at Australia this year, and pulled another easy overtaking move in Malaysia on Massa. These were the only two overtaking moves he NEEDED to pull so far this year and he did it with ease. Just because Vettel is not often found in a situation where he has to race through the field, doesn’t mean he cannot do it.
And I’m not a Vettel fanboy btw
einariliyev
13th April 2011, 18:46
yep, he did. illegally. with four wheel off the tracks and all of the marshalls snoozing over amth else. what an overtake!
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 18:50
This.
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 19:28
This.
Todfod (@todfod)
13th April 2011, 22:01
Bending the rules without breaking them. Guess Vettel is a little more talented than you imagined..
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
14th April 2011, 9:37
Hrmmm… enother of der Vettele can’t overtakers fan club.
Why would you want to overtake if you already have pole?
Last Pope Eye
14th April 2011, 10:20
Vettel is simply not a brilliant driver… He is just a not bad driver with a superior car…
Klaas
13th April 2011, 18:53
I remember Vettel winning with a Toro Rosso (that wasn’t even close of being a competitive car). I also rememeber very well when he overtook a certain Hamilton at the Brazilian GP 2008 (again in a Toro Rosso) and that almost cost Lewis his title. So please stop talking BS about him winning only because of the car and his inability to overtake.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 19:02
That Toro Rosso was a good car with a powerful Ferrari engine & he again had the luxury of not being in the spray of other cars.
That was hardly an overtake, Lewis slid wide and he just went through.
Mads
13th April 2011, 19:29
But he had to stick it on pole. to put a Torro Rosso on pole when no one else could certainly is a great accomplishment. And then to drive it to the flag. If you won’t define that as hard i don’t know what would. flying to the moon on a dead tortoise maybe.
And funnily enough Ferrari also had a powerful Ferrari engine, and McLaren had a powerful Mercedes engine.
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 19:37
And Toro Rosso were only the B-team of Red Bull, whose drivers failed to win or take pole in 2008.
TommyC
14th April 2011, 1:36
I’m about as big a webber fan as anyone, but seriously, Vettel is awesome. There’s no denying that. At all. I think to suggest that he is dominating only because of the car is absolutely dilusional. Sure, he’s still young and made a few mistakes last year but from Japan last year to now he has been as bulletproof as Schumacher in 2002 and 2004. And remember, he’ll only mature and get better. I’m just grateful that Webber has shown to be as close to vettel as he has been for the last 2 years but I certainly accept that Vettel will remain the dominant driver at RBR, it’s Webber’s job to give him a run for his money, and he’s been doing a fine job of that.
boris the one-eyed vole
14th April 2011, 2:26
Not competitive??? Even Sebastian Bourdais could put it on the 2nd row in qualifying at that race. Safety car start, Ferrari engine and a Newey chasis – it was a doddle.
quick_kill
14th April 2011, 3:28
+1
it could’ve been 1-2 for toro rosso
now if it wasn’t for a defective car/chassis
we also should’ve seen a great battle
from Vet & Lew.
David-A (@david-a)
14th April 2011, 14:31
BS. Pre-2009, the Red Bull Newey chassis wasn’t in the hunt for any race wins.
boris the one-eyed vole
15th April 2011, 2:32
So it won a race that it wasn’t in the hunt for? Impressive!
3 out of top 4 on the grid were Newey chasis – bloody quick for a car that had no chance.
So BS yourself, David A.
David-A (@david-a)
15th April 2011, 3:45
To claim that it was a doddle is rubbish. It is acknowledged by most as a superb drive. Webber, Bourdais and Coulthard didn’t even get any higher than 8th on race day. The Newey chassis in 2008 wasn’t usually good enough to win races, yet Vettel took a win and scored points regularly (more than either Red Bull or driver in fact).
So I refer you back to my last comment.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th April 2011, 19:11
I very much agree, a bit of change in that aspect is needed, just to make it less one sided for the championship and provide new themes for the race folding out.
Katy (@katy)
13th April 2011, 21:03
Vettel started 15th in Brazil 2009 and finished 4th.
Pulled some overtakes include a great one on Barrichello.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
13th April 2011, 21:48
In addition to all of these comments I find that Vettel probably has the most “overtaking” experience of anyone this year with all the cars he has lapped! ;)
Last Pope Eye
14th April 2011, 10:28
hahaha, yes true… but he is pretty ordinary driver. IMO, but the car is great!!!
BasCB (@bascb)
14th April 2011, 9:37
Exactly what I would like to see him doing in China. He is very fast so he does not have to overtake that often now, that’s a shame.
Best would be a mistake on his side to end up somewhere lower. A KERS failure like Webber had would present an opportunity to see some nice moves from Vettel on track as well.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
14th April 2011, 9:41
Yeah, I think he could pull that off.
*Comment is in no way is referring to Vettel’s remarks about dropping your trousers.
Pedal to the Vettel (@pedal-to-the-vettel)
14th April 2011, 10:01
(Being out of the points, then into points after race:)
VETTEL:
2007: 17th to 4th, China
2008: 19th to 5th, Monaco
19th to 8th, Canada
10th to 5th, Belgium
9th to 6th, Japan
2009: 15th to 4th, Brazil
LEWIS:
2007: None
2008: None
2009: 12th to 7th, Malaysia
17th to 3rd, Brazil
9th to 6th, China
2010: 11th to 6th, Australia
20th to 6th, Malaysia
Who says vettel can’t work his way up the grid? seems to me he can do it just aswell as Lewis when put into the same situations with not having a front runner car.
But the 19th to 5th at Monaco is most impressive if you ask me.
Oh! and lets not forget the people who might be saying Lewis is better at taking the win from pole posistion than vettel…..well infact he isn’t since the 17 poll posistions vettel has got over his career he has succeded in 9 of them including last weekend. Lewis on the otherhand has had 18 pole posistions and has succeded in 9 of them, so 50% for Lewis while vettel is at 52%.
*dusts hands* good day to you all…
Last Pope Eye
14th April 2011, 10:24
Vettel is simply ordinary driver with a superior car. He is no Alonso or Hamilton my friend believe me. :)
BasCB (@bascb)
14th April 2011, 12:12
My comment was however moer about how long ago its now been to see Vettel do that, and your statistics show exellently, how he didn’t drive from the back since 2009, over a year ago.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
14th April 2011, 12:36
All except 2010 had fuel strategies so it’s largely irrelevant (and an excellent case for having no refuelling).
I’m not sure how many people are saying Vettel can’t work his way up the grid. But when it comes to taking on Alonso, Button, Hamilton and Webber, he’s crashed into two of them and IIRC never overtaken the other two. Of course, those situations are rare for any driver, but his record is not great even considering.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
14th April 2011, 12:56
That was quite an argument! :O
matt90
14th April 2011, 22:09
The last point has more to do with vettel having poor reliability than anything else though. You’d be better looking at percentage of total wins which came from pole (rather than percentage of poles which lead to a win).
JamieFranklinF1
13th April 2011, 15:56
It would be hard to imagine Red Bull not winning this weekend in the hands of Vettel. Unless of course McLaren’s upgrade can really diminish the deficit in downforce, or Red Bull’s KERS fails to be reliable again.
I also think that with the cooler temperatures, Massa will struggle again, and Sauber will score some more points.
Oh, and Webber will struggle to keep the pace of Vettel, because his rear tyres will degrade much quicker.
Luke A
13th April 2011, 15:57
I’m pretty sure McLaren should be as close in China as they were in Malaysia. Hamilton, if he hadn’t of locked up a little on the last 2 corners, would have taken pole. There is no reason why he can’t take pole at China, especially as they may run an newer improved exhaust system and floor. Plus, it is not certain that Red Bull will run KERS – if they do not, then McLaren will almost certainly take pole.
In the race, I think Jenson matched Seb during the final stint and Hamilton during the two opening stints. They both had problems with traffic or setup, so I think if you saw a clean fight between McLaren and Red Bull in the race then it’d be very close.
All in all, I think it’s too close to call.
Shiro
14th April 2011, 10:42
I don’t think so myself. If you look at his best sector times and combine them he still wouldn’t’ve grabbed pole.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
13th April 2011, 15:59
Just to add to that, Jenson is clearly better on strategy I think. So I think he will remain Seb’s closest challenger. Maybe not always on raw pace, but still close.
It’s also interesting that the 3 front runners (not including Webber, he’s not very good this season) were the last 3 winners of this race.
jake
13th April 2011, 17:19
I think there are far too many people writing Hamilton off because of what happened in Aus. Very foolish if you ask me. The only reason Hamilton struggled was that he damaged a set of tyres in qualifying. His first stint on the hards was a reasonable stint, he was only slow at the end as he was the only one to go onto used tyres.
With a clean weekend I can see Hamilton winning the race, and possibly on pole, definately if the RBs don’t run KERS.
Alistair
13th April 2011, 17:37
Write Hamilton off at your peril. He was going excellently well, in a comfortable second place, until he made his third pitstop. After that, he put on a set of used hard tyres which were awful: he couldn’t use another set of softs, not because he’s hard on his tyres, but because he’d damaged a set in qualifying. His hards were worn; and he left the circuit, which is very rare for Lewis. He then had to pit, and, of course, was clobbered by Alonso. Then demoted by the ever impartial and sensible stewards. All in all, a terrible race. But he still picked up valuable points.
If RBR harbour any hope of winning in China, they must use KERS. Without KERS, they will qualify behind both Mclarens, certainly behind Lewis. Then, at the start, they will be swamped by inherently slower cars who will hold them up for a massive chunk of the race: imagine being behind a Sauber with its tyre wear!
jake
13th April 2011, 17:50
not sure it will be too much of a problem on china’s short pit straight that they would end up behind a Sauber, but it will almost certainly put them beghind the mclarens if they qualify ahead, if not behind a ferrari, renault or both.
F1Lover
13th April 2011, 22:27
I read on a motorsport website that Alonso damaged Hamilton’s floor when he hit him. Don’t know if it’s true but that’s what i read…
Wobblebottom
14th April 2011, 8:11
Another county heard from…
the edge
13th April 2011, 16:05
For the first 2 predictions I put Vettle down for pole and win, I might be a McLaren fan…but I’m not stupid (others might disagree)
I gotta a funny feeling this thime though…I think Lewis has got what it takes and he’s gonna pull it off.
He was closing-in in Melbourne till his floor fell off and nearly on the money in Malaysia but got the tyre strategy wrong.
Isn’t it funny after all the pre-season concerns about McLaren, it’s actually Red Bull with the reliability concerns?
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
13th April 2011, 16:10
It wasn’t that he got the tyre strategy wrong. It was more that he couldn’t make it work. Both him and Jenson were on the same strategy, but Lewis couldn’t keep his tyres in good enough condition.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:19
I’ll tell you a shocking fact. Its was not at all Lewis’ fault. It was a huge huge huge blunder by mclaren. They apparently put on Jenson’s tyres with insufficient tyre pressures on hamilton’s car. Pity no one knows this fact and mclaren have not made this info public because they would be ridiculed. I can confirm this.
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 16:21
How one earth could you know this but the FIA don’t?
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:28
FIA didn’t bother because it worked out against Lewis and McLaren, didn’t it? And I have photographic evidence of this cock up.
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 16:51
It is AGAINST THE RULES to mix up the drivers tyres, whether it hindered LEwis or not if the FIA know about it they would have taken action.
Is this some sort of wind up?
RIISE (@riise)
13th April 2011, 16:52
It seems like he is the all knowing one around here.
You do realise that if McLaren had put Jenson’s tyres on Lewis’s car the FIA would’ve called Hamilton in straight away to replace them again.
They don’t just think, “Oh his race has gone bad anyway, let’s allow to it to slide”.
Idiotic theory.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:59
No it ain’t. Just have a look at these photos.
The T-cam colours and the Tyre markings colours don’t match on either cars.
This is jenson’s tyre after the race and it doesn’t match either
McLaren committed a monumental cock up & casual fans such as yourself just didn’t notice it.
Am not saying McLaren did it on purpose to hinder Lewis, but they are famous for outsmarting themselves time and again.
RIISE (@riise)
13th April 2011, 17:06
Neither of those images prove anything, for a start the markings for Jenson’s car match each picture.
I’m not sure how this is proving that Lewis had Jenson’s tyres on.
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 17:06
If you find a picture of the McLaren tyre warmers you’ll find that Lewis’ name is printed on them in Yellow, and Jensen’s in Red.
So no, they didn’t mix the tyres up.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 17:08
yes it proves they had mixed up the tyres.
Burnout
13th April 2011, 17:11
Guitar Bob, what are you on about? The lead driver gets tyres with green markings. That’s how Sauber do it as well.
And as everybody else on this thread has said, if McLaren did mix up the tyres Lewis would’ve been called into the pits immediately or disqualified.
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 17:11
It doesn’t! See my previous comment.
If they had been mixing the tyres up all weekend the FIA would have taken action!
Lewis’ tyre covers have his name in yellow, Jensen’s have his name in red. The tyre markings and tyre covers match, they are the correct tyres.
End of.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th April 2011, 20:58
What makes you think the camera and the tyres have to have the same colour markings?
The tyres are coded so the FIA can tell if a team has put the wrong tyres on the car – that’s how Force India got caught doing it last year.
Bernard (@bernard)
13th April 2011, 17:36
If he couldn’t make it work then it stands to reason that the strategy was wrong.
Soft (new), Soft (new), Hard (new), Hard (used)
vs
Soft (new), Soft (new), Soft (new), Hard (new)
The strategy was asking too much.
RIISE (@riise)
13th April 2011, 19:47
What a great chart.
Siv
13th April 2011, 22:28
+1!
Clearly Hamilton was faster than Button until the 3rd pit stop. His 4th set of tyres seemed to be junk!
jake
13th April 2011, 17:46
they were on different strategies because lewis damaged a set of softs in qualifying. nothing to do with conserving tyres at all, lewis was the only person to use a used set of primes so we have no idea whether lewis was harder on tyres than anyone else.
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 18:13
It was clear when Lewis was on his first set of hards that he was getting the most out of them, I don’t think he was ever more than a second of Vettel’s pace. I was said all weekend that the expected gap between option and prime was a second or so per lap.
The “used” primes presented a problem as he had to back off to preserve them and make them last, and they were already pretty worn from them being driven to the edge during Qualifying.
If he hadn’t flatspotted a pair of options in Quali he would likely have been a close second to Vettel if not first.
butterdori (@butterdori)
13th April 2011, 16:17
I’ve also put Vettel on pole for the first two races.
At the moment, I think he’s the best bet for Shanghai as well. But the law of probability dictates that the likelihood of a third consecutive pole position is very slim, so I am hesitant.
With Vettel’s pace in 2011 and in 2010, it’s really difficult to imagine someone else on pole
Meander (@meander)
13th April 2011, 22:10
If you flip a coin 10 times and the first 9 are heads, the 10th still has a 50% chance.
Snow Donkey
14th April 2011, 6:08
The 10th still has a 50% chance when taken as an individual event, but when put in the context of the series of 10 tosses, the chances of tossing that tenth head are extremely small. That said, it’s sort of like a loaded coin when you factor in the car advantage.
Andrew81 (@andrew81)
14th April 2011, 9:30
That just doesn’t work, flipping a coin is an independent event each time. The chances are always 50% no matter what has gone before.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
14th April 2011, 10:04
There we go talking about Vettel and tossing (flipping) again.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
14th April 2011, 10:31
It isn’t so much as they got the compound choice wrong. That was all they had. It was that they brought him in too early for his second and third stops, particularly the latter, especially considering his tyre issues.
Paddy
13th April 2011, 16:07
I think the renault team still have the ability to keep the Ferarris behind them. Hopefully a strong qualy will see them ahead and I think that the car is very strong on the straights making it difficult to overtake.
And I hope Webber mixes it up at the front. Although I admire Vettels skill in qualy and controlling a race, it gets an awful lot more interesting watching him on the backfoot or at least being put under pressure.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:11
Yes I think Petrov has what it takes to keep Alonso behind him. He is a decent driver. And the Renault is a fantastic car. I don’t think even for a second that Kubica would have done any better than Petrov had he been driving. But thats my view.
Paddy
13th April 2011, 16:16
I think Petrov has it in him to be fast I just don’t think he’s consistent. The opposite is true for Heidfeld, consistent but not fast (especially fast).
I think Kubica has shown he can do both when the car suits him. That said he’s had bad seasons before so I don’t think the ‘what if Kubica was in the car?’ argument holds.
Meander (@meander)
13th April 2011, 22:12
I hope Heidfeld does something really awesome soon so we can all stop discussing his would-be lack of speed.
Fixy (@)
13th April 2011, 16:11
I hope Felipe is confident and he can be on the podium (in first place hopefully), closely followed by Alonso if the pair of them don’t hit trouble.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
13th April 2011, 21:53
Now that would be a result to shake up the championship and bring a smile to my face!
But for all I care Alonso can crash while Felipe goes on to win.
Meander (@meander)
13th April 2011, 22:01
Meh. I’m over Massa.
alonsodz
13th April 2011, 16:12
Alonso to stop Vettel’s vectories @ China (H)
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:15
Yes! By crashing into him. I’ll cheer for Alonso then.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th April 2011, 16:18
Australia was an event of a stop-and-go track + cool temperatures, Malaysia was an aero track + high temps and China looks like another aero track + cool temps. Interesting to see if we get another shift in the power of balance once again.
Overall I think the cooler temperatures may play on the hands of Red Bull against McLaren again. As far as I know the long straight is against them though. We will see.
Because of the back-to-back weekends I don’t see teams making huge developments on their own. The difference to Malaysia is definitely going to be characterised by the cooler temps. If natural strengths are to change then it’s is probably going down to this circumstance.
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 16:20
Given the return to cooler temperatures (like in Austrlia) surely it’s more likely that Ferrari will struggle again? They seemed to have problems in Aus with warming their tyres, which coupled with their overall downforce problem caused them serious problems. The higher track temperature in Malaysia helped them recover a little but I expect to see them struggle again this weekend… unless Maranello has created a miracle over the past couple of days.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:27
I personally think the new Ferrari 150th Italian has very little scope for development, unlike our McLaren moose-mp4-26.
The 150th is a step below the Red Bull and will never be able to overhaul the Red Bull unless Pat Fried has carried the 26’s secret( not ruling it out) to Maranello. Its a steady car fully optimized to suite the needs of its number one driver, who at best can bring it home at 4th or 5th.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th April 2011, 17:02
I don’t agree and not because I’m a Ferrari fan.
Come on the 150° Italia don’t have the Renault-esque exhausts, the flexible front-wing and the pull rod suspension. (It could be push rod I tend to mix these up. Anyway it’s not what the other teams are using bar Sauber.)
This three factors can be accountable for almost a second per lap and only the pull rod suspension requires a B-spec car IMO.
So all they need is a quick and efficient development plan. Two out of these tree things should be ready for Spain if they want to have the slimmest hopes of titles.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th April 2011, 17:04
three
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 17:10
You were right, Ferrari use push-rod, not pull-rod like most of the rest of the teams.
I think the potential is there for a good car (as shown in testing) but something has gone wrong somewhere. It would be foolish to completely write Ferrari off after only 2 races.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 17:53
Sadly they don’t have Rory Bryne or Ross Brawn anymore. Don’t you think its too much of a ask to expect Aldo costa,Pat fry and Nicholas Tombazias to turn around this car?
No doubt they are all highly efficient people,but I doubt they are as good as Newey and his aero staff.
McLaren on the other hand have gone a completely different aero concept that is still in its infancy & everyone down the paddock believes that there is more potential awating to be unlocked from the 26 compared to the RB7 or its clone F150th italian.
I think only way Ferrari can compete with Red Bull and Mclaren is to do what they do best i.e. complaint to FIA on the flexi wings and get them banned to make Red Bull go slower. As for McLaren, they can again charge them with espionage and get them bannned from the WCC.
Good luck Ferrari.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th April 2011, 18:11
Again I think you are biased.
The F10 also had an agressive development program which was able to catapult them to the diffusor of the Red Bulls up until Brazil where they went down again.
The F60 also – after Hungary Raikkonen scored a lot of podiums with a car which was only able to be a regular point scorer with Massa before Hungary.
This was achieved with the same outfit even without Pat Fry.
I can see it happen again, they just have to copy Red Bull. You are wrong if you say this car in this state is already a copy because it’s a far cry from it as it stands.
And don’t start it again but espionage did happen so the charge was legitimate. Ferrari just happened to be involved. McLaren would have done the same in a reverse situation.
As for flexi wings – they can’t complain anymore they have to make their version, no holds barred.
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 18:18
You’ve forgotten that Ferrari were rapidly falling off the pace compared to Mclaren and Red Bull mid season last year, only for the upgrades around Silverstone onwards to propel the F10 back into title winning contention. At the same time, Mclaren slipped behind Ferrari as most of their upgrades were ineffective or difficult to set up.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th April 2011, 18:23
I remember. They are capable of screwing it up of course. I just said that the reverse is also true and we shouldn’t write them off.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 18:30
There lies the problem. Copying can get you nowhere. Especially in the long term. RB7 is a Newey brain child. So he alone will know how to take the design process further. Even a 100 % copy clone of Rb7 will not make the 150th as fast as the RB7.
Maybe Ferrari can take a cue from McLaren and do something completely different for 2012. Its worth the risk ain’t it? before the major rule change in 2013. Even if it fails, it will be only a year’s agony for the tifosi.
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 19:30
@ Atticus, I know you remembered ;)
I aimed my comment at Guitar Bob’s claims that Aldo Costa can’t turn around a losing car.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
13th April 2011, 21:57
I fail to see how the Italia is a Redbull clone. It is a very different car from Newey’s design. It has more simple and strong forms and lines to it, the wing is different, the sidepods are different, the airbox is differen’t. The closest car to a RedBull clone is the W02, and it isn’t performing well at all.
Further evidence that the Italia, the 26, and the R31 can compete with RedBull whilst offering up different designs.
Palle (@palle)
13th April 2011, 22:36
So maybe Heidfeld will not make it to Q3 again. He notoriously have had problems getting heat into the tires in the past. Driving to politely, maybe.
rfs
13th April 2011, 16:31
Whether it was his or Mclaren’s fault, I really hope Hamilton doesn’t have another race like Malaysia. But if he can’t challenge Seb then I want to see how far Vettel can take this winning streak. What’s funny is if Vettel had won in Korea last year, he’d have 6 straight wins now. Its amazing how consistent he’s gotten since that accident in Spa.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th April 2011, 17:07
Yeah I also took notice.
I really like drivers who can constantly get the very best out of their packages without making major mistakes not matter how low are they on the pecking order.
That’s why I was fond of Webber 2004, Raikkonen 2005 (all the way), Schumacher 2006 (second half), Raikkonen 2007 (second half), Hamilton 2007 (most of the season), Alonso 2010 (second half).
And now Vettel.
I really like these attitudes.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 17:10
Is it a surprise that neither Hamilton or Raikkonen have 3 wins in a row?
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th April 2011, 18:24
Well, I think that is also due to the cars they had, and the competition in the year their cars gave them lots of wins. This year as for most races last year, the Red Bull in Vettel hands has just been a lot faster than the others.
But it is quite impressive. I sometimes wish I’d admire it more, but I just find it a bit annoying to see no fights for the lead thanks to him. Maybe with hindsight I’ll be glad to have seen him do it :-p
BasCB (@bascb)
13th April 2011, 19:17
I fully agree with that bosyber!
TommyC
14th April 2011, 2:17
“I sometimes wish I’d admire it more, but I just find it a bit annoying to see no fights for the lead thanks to him. Maybe with hindsight I’ll be glad to have seen him do it ”
I feel exactly the same about the schumacher era. I tuned out a bit when i should really have appreciated how lucky i was to be around to witness potentially the greatest ever sporting achievment. I’m now desperately trying to find full races from 2000-2005 with no luck unfortunately…
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
13th April 2011, 22:18
Agreed Atticus. Especially Raikkonen in 05.
What I find amazing is the statistic Keith pointed out, RedBull winning 17 out of the past 37 races! That is huge. Nearly 50 percent of the races in the past 2 years.
Lagavulin
13th April 2011, 16:34
I don’t think the “sepang-esque corners” will be so important. In Shanghai there is more to come from traction and braking, and probably McLarens will be faster than red bulls for 2/3 of the track. The only question mark is if they will be good to make tyres work on single-lap setup.
Hamilton on pole for me
alexf1man (@alexf1man)
13th April 2011, 16:35
As much as I don’t think he’ll win this weekend, Vettel was number 5 last year and is looking for a high 5 of consecutive wins, however Webber, Hamilton, Button and Alonso (Red 5) will try to stop him (with anyone else who happens to be in contention).
Who thinks the top 5 in quali will still be VET-HAM-WEB-BUT-ALO? Or will it finally change due to KERS problems for Red Bull?
ROSSI
13th April 2011, 16:53
PLEASE, dont call poncho alonso “red 5” , there will only ever be one “red 5” , and that my friend,is our very own nigell mansell !!!
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 17:06
Yes the Tifosi have more respect for Il Leone than the petulant Spaniard. Remember, Mansell was the last hand picked driver by Enzo before the died in 1988.
McLarenFanJamm
13th April 2011, 17:03
I’d much rather Vettel’s KERS fails at the start of the race than before then. Whether he was on pole or not, it’d be great NOT to see him leading into the first corner.
KazeXT (@kazext)
13th April 2011, 16:37
Am I right in thinking that McLaren continued with the titanium diffuser/rear floor because the drivers weren’t happy with the carbon fibre version? If this is the case, it will be interesting to find out whether finally getting the carbon versions on the car will make a significant difference.
Guitar Bob
13th April 2011, 16:43
Yes. They are bringing a new diffuser and floor to China. So I expect McLaren to perform better than they did at Malaysia.
The most important thing is for Lewis to remain calm. he just needs to get into his winning rhythm and when he does it, not even Vettel can stop the moose.
Palle (@palle)
13th April 2011, 22:49
Lewis did look very unhappy after Sepang – it hasn’t done a lot of good to his confidence. But maybe it has made him even more determined, and taught him to look more after his tires than desperately trying to get on Pole.
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th April 2011, 18:26
They themselves say they went back because they weren’t entirely sure of reliability, and the difference in performance wasn’t enough to risk it. Might both be true I suppose, although drivers sticking to what works sounds like a smart move.
Eggry (@eggry)
13th April 2011, 16:43
I hope no Redbull front row.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
13th April 2011, 17:17
Well if I’m being greedy, I hope for Vettel to not get pole, get overtaken at the start and then retire with a terminal car, with Webber, Hamilton and Button making the top 3. That would open the championship up in time for Europe.
Realistically I think we’ll see another close battle for pole position and Vettel will fight for the win. And probably get it, at which point I’ll become thoroughly bored just in time for the 3-week break and then Barcelona ;)
Burnout
13th April 2011, 17:23
That’ll be a difficult slump to get out of. 3 weeks of no F1 followed immediately by the most thoroughly studied track of all!
Enigma (@enigma)
13th April 2011, 17:55
The next race is in Istanbul actually.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
14th April 2011, 1:07
Something to look forward to then
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
13th April 2011, 22:23
What would really open up the Championship would be a Massa, Heidfeld, Petrov podium with Button and Hamilton close behind, and Alonso, Webber and especially Vettel failing to score any points.
It’s probably about as likely as an HRT winning, but it’s a result I’d love to see!
Palle (@palle)
13th April 2011, 23:16
Keep on dreaming, but I think the HRT winning has even worse odds.
If Vettel don’t run into mechanical problems he is likely to control this race as he did the 4 past races.
Vettel is at the top of his game now, very much helped by the equipment supplied by Newey and RBR.
Newey is Merlin and Vettel is Young Arthur, recently crowned. Looks like the pair will dominate F1 for some seasons to come, so we might just as well get used to it.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
14th April 2011, 10:09
What, no Alonso in the mix?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
14th April 2011, 10:28
These are guys in cars that can actually compete for the wins on pace.
Burnout
13th April 2011, 17:22
How abrasive is the surface at Shanghai compared to Sepang? Will the track be littered with marbles by the end of the race again?
Also, how many support races are they running this weekend? It’ll be interesting to see how the track rubbers in.
Keith, is there any word on what the teams are going to do about all those DRS failures we saw at Sepang?
Bernard (@bernard)
13th April 2011, 19:50
Regarding DRS, the failures don’t pose any safety risk so I guess it’s just down to the teams to fix. The performance loss alone should spur them on.
Burnout
13th April 2011, 20:10
Yeah, I was thinking about the performance deficit. Also what was the nature of the failures that the drivers experienced? Problem with the mechanism in the car? Problem in relaying the DRS armed signal to the car by the FIA?
Bernard (@bernard)
13th April 2011, 20:22
Apparently the Ferrari issue was caused by tyre debris affecting the mechanism.
This also ties in with your track abrasion question as the pirelli rubber doesn’t appear to stick to the track rather it just litters the surface with sizable chunks.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
14th April 2011, 10:12
Hmmmm… Teflon might be the answer.
smifaye (@)
13th April 2011, 17:37
I can’t see anything but Vettel on pole and Vettel winning. I think the race victory isn’t as set in stone as the pole position though, as teams can maybe go in a different direction on strategy and make it work.
I’m hoping that Vettel doesn’t win, not that I don’t like him, but as Button said, it is good for the sport to have someone different winning. I mean I was a big fan of Button in the 2009, as it was good to see him finally doing so well, but after a while I was hoping for someone else to win so it was worth watching the race!
Going to be an exciting race, and probably going to rain, at least in quali!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/1713
davey (@djdaveyp87)
13th April 2011, 17:52
As a Lewis Hamilton fan, it is really hard for me to stomach that Sebastian Vettel will probably be a two times world champion before Lewis. Lewis is clearly a cut above the rest and McLaren have let him down. He has had a fast car the last couple of years but Macca just haven’t been able to bring it to the very front.
Wobblebottom
14th April 2011, 8:14
No he isn’t. He’s slightly behind Alonso and slightly ahead of Vettel
Mads
14th April 2011, 19:23
Where do you get those facts from? It is speculations and very subjective. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but they are not in the same car so we don’t know who would outperform the other in equal equipment under equal conditions.
RandomChimp (@randomchimp)
13th April 2011, 18:07
Imagine if a Renault could get into the top five in quali.
Guaranteed P1 after the first lap!
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th April 2011, 18:28
At least that would mean a fight for the lead – I would like to see that; I had to be grumpy with them for having a good start to get to second, but not good enough start to stop Vettel zooming away while they held up others behind them. So yes, that would be great to see.
Now again Petrov’s turn to do better than Heidfeld you think, or will Heidfeld do it again?
spezza
13th April 2011, 18:35
Nick is too slow.
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th April 2011, 18:30
I would really like Vettel not to lead at the end of the first lap, and then have to fight for the win, with a really though race instead of imaginary toughness because his car was only quickest by a small margin so he had to keep pushing. I have little doubt he is favourite for pole and the win though.
spezza
13th April 2011, 18:34
If it will be another no problem weekend for Bull, it will be another walk for Seb. RBR is just to fast and Mark is to slow:(
DaveW
13th April 2011, 19:56
Looks like someone here has struck a chord.
Probably no one will stop Vettel again. But Vettel has so far walked two races because his main pursuer, Hamilton, had the car get wierd on him while looking very strong in the race. Third time could be a charm for Lewis.
Since Whitmarsh found a second in the motor home seat cushions for Australia, why doesn’t he find another for China? I hope they don’t try to bring back the Octopus though. Newey was mocking them for “copying” the RBR exhaust just to goad McLaren into bringing back the Octopus and ruining the car.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th April 2011, 20:01
Well…I hope the race is more entertaining than alot of the above comments. So much negativity. Can’t we all just be friends again?
Aside from that back straight this track has RB7 written all over it. If Webber or Vettel stick it on pole it’s hard to imagine they could lose that position providing they make that first corner their own.
I can’t imagine the order changing from the first two races to be honest, particularly up front.
I’m hoping for another strong show from Sauber, a better challenge from Mercedes and Renault keeping Ferrari from the podium. Not that I dislike Ferrari, I just think it’s entertaining ;)
Oh and keep it on the ground Petrov please!
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
13th April 2011, 22:26
Haha, I accept your offer of friendship and share your sentiments that Petrov keep it on the ground, despite how exciting his kerb carrier launch may have been!
Well said Sir!
wigster (@wigster)
13th April 2011, 20:44
For the win I’m predicting it’ll be close between Hamilton and Vettel. I think mclaren may improve again again this weekend connsidering that they’ve now got 4 race distances under their belts to learn and refine race setup and they got no race distances in pre season. And I think they’ll have learnt from last weeks tyre issues.
I also think both renaults are fast enough to finish in front of both ferraris, as ferrari seem to be daignosing their issues still where as renault are working on improvements.
In the midfield I’d like to see a lotus finish in front of a torro rosso, though if str get on top of their tyres it probably wont happen.
What id REALLY like to see happen is Vettel to make a mistake in qualy, start the race about 7 or 8th, have numerous collisions, then retire due to an engine blow up after around 40 laps. Thats both for the good if thr championship and because im stating to get sick of the constant success and praise (some of it justified) of him and his team.
wigster (@wigster)
13th April 2011, 21:15
I think that sounds a little more anti red bull then I intended. meant to say i’d like Vettel to not have a good race as I’m a litte bored of Red Bulls domination of late, and certainly this season we havent seen how Vettel can go when under pressure and we dont know if 6 seconds advantage per race advantage is all he has or not. And that i’d like him to have a bad gp for the sake of the championship and for someone else to take the headlines for a change.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
13th April 2011, 21:27
I don’t understand that some of you want Vettel’s engine to blow and things like that. Surely, it would be much more satisfying for the team or driver you support to actually beat Seb and Red Bull based on pure merit, rather than mistakes and bad luck. I know I would anyway.
Personally, I would love to see how the inters and wets work this weekend. I would also love to see Sauber do well here. They’ve really turned their team around, and deserve a lot of praise for designing an efficient and reliable car.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th April 2011, 21:47
Apart from the failure they had with Perez at the weekend ;)
But yes, their car is good on the whole it seems.
BasCB (@bascb)
14th April 2011, 9:41
That was no car failure Andrew. It was a part of debris (apparently balast from another car shot into his nose cone and got stuck in the electronics just inches from his seat, lucky he did not get hurt) that flew around either from the STR in front of him or just from that car running over it.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
14th April 2011, 10:33
Well I said I’d like them to beat him on merit, then have his engine go to make the championship close.
sunnyside
13th April 2011, 21:45
Now, without a hint of shame, the F1 circus rolls into China. Since the Chinese have completely crushed all dissent F1 faces no embarrasing protests so feels fine to race there. The message is clear – crush your dissidents or we won’t show. How sickeningly hypocritical.
Palle (@palle)
13th April 2011, 23:29
How would You expect it to be any different? F1 is not a democratic sport. We fans don’t have any way of voting about anything. Max Mosley seemed to have Nazi sympathies and Bernie is quoted for saying that it was much easier to conduct a race in a state with a firm leadership.
I’m afraid all international sport is somewhat like this.
I think fans should have the possibility to join a fan member club for a small fee, and then have a vote about certain issues within the sport, like who is to head FIA, is it acceptable to conduct F1 races in non-democratic states, where demonstrators are put down violently etc.
But You can start with yourself: Identify all products You buy and use from states without democracy and then chose otherwise! Not an easy task, I can tell You.
sunnyside
14th April 2011, 2:22
F1 did try to project a “different” image just a few weeks ago by boycotting Bahrain though.
THOMF1S
13th April 2011, 22:52
You say Webber has started on the back foot, but his results in the first two races of 2011 are in fact his best when compared to the first two races of previous seasons. This time in 2010 he had an eighth and ninth position to his name, and 2006 a twelth and a sixth. In fact 2011 is the best start to a season he has had, with this comparative, i’d say it is looking bright for him!
David-A (@david-a)
13th April 2011, 23:03
Massa had his best start ever last season. Nuff said :P
Icthyes (@icthyes)
14th April 2011, 12:37
Webber challenged for the championship last year. Massa didn’t ;)
Burnout
14th April 2011, 14:41
I think that was David’s point. A good start to the season means nothing if you can’t keep the momentum up for the remaining races.
wigster (@wigster)
13th April 2011, 23:49
Its not that i have anything in particular against seb… Apart from his philosophical ramblings.
Its just that I feel hes had more good luck then some others on the grid (eg. start at malaysia, and button pass in oz) and I’d like to see a battle for 1st place rather then a vettel pole to flag victory which may be unlikely in the near future if the form continues as it has.
Scott
14th April 2011, 0:37
Why are people so harsh on webber :( hes a 6″ 2, 74kg aussie, ill admit vettle is a faster driver but vettle is probly the best driver going round and redbull is built around vettle. (i have alot of respect for vettle)
I dont like how people trash webber so much, he did a really good job in sepang. pulled some classic overtakes without kers. So did vettle and webbers had 2 mechanical problems in 2 races. Give him a break.
Have u noticed webber has changed how he speaks to the media… Anyone else noticed?
phil
14th April 2011, 6:40
Redbull will not dominate in China. Melbourne and China are two different circuits. In sepang they ran a different front wing to Australia, one which flexed very little. They cannot afford to run the Australia wing in china as the straights are two long and the extra downforce generated would create to much drag. I am predicting a three team battle Ferrari, Mclaren and the Bulls. The bulls will quali well and the Mclaren will get them in the race on the first lap on the long straight. Merc HP will get them there. Come mid race the Ferrari will get the bulls or the mclaren as there tyre life over a race is better. If they fix there front wing issue they may resolve there one lap quali issue.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
14th April 2011, 7:39
I very much doubt that will happen. For starters, it’s unlikely that in one week, Ferrari would have sorted out their tyre warming issues, meaning that their race performance will be closer to what it was in Australia.
I definitely think that McLaren will challenge the Red Bull’s during the race (if once again, they get beaten in Quali), but I wouldn’t necessarily say on the first lap.
The main thing McLaren have to do is just make sure that they get the best start possible, and not lose any positions. As I’m sure they can both get on the front two rows. At least that way, they will have a clear run at (most probably Seb’s) Red Bull.
HounslowBusGarage
14th April 2011, 8:21
Seb has won the last four GPs, and China could make his fifth. What’s the longest unbroken streak of victories? I’m sure the record is held by that other German fella – what’s his name? Shoesmith or something.
Whatever. How many races is the longest winning streak in F1?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
14th April 2011, 8:23
Alberto Ascari won nine in a row in 1952/3. That did not include the Indianapolis 500, which counted towards the world championship, which Ascari did not enter.
Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, part of a streak in which he won 12 out of 13.
HounslowBusGarage
14th April 2011, 8:51
So it’s all the way back to the early Fifties, eh? Thanks Keith.
In a way I’d like to see the record broken, but I don’t think I could stand the irritation of seeing Vettel’s raised finger at every race from here to Valencia!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
14th April 2011, 9:00
There’s a bit more on Ascari’s record it in On This Day in today’s round-up:
https://www.racefans.net/2011/04/14/144/
ecclestoned
14th April 2011, 10:03
Well if you’re so keen on seeing the record get broken,I’m afraid you’ll have to sit that finger out,unless he starts celebrating his victories by sticking up his thumb of course!
GameR_K (@gamer_k)
14th April 2011, 16:53
Last season it was how rubbish Vettel was because he can’t convert his poles to wins. Now that this season he is doing it suddenly everything seems so dull for people. If he is to qualify low and win races then you will call him a poor qualifier. If he qualifies low and doesn’t win then he is a poor driver who can’t win with a superior car.
One question, if Hamilton has 2 victories at this point will you still be thinking that the championship is boring? Hell No, you will be singing praises of Hamilton, how he single-handedly broke the Red Bull dominance and how better a driver he is.
You don’t get a good car all the time. You don’t have your best form all the time. But when both happens and you are not in a position to make the most of it, then you have lost. Why blame Vettel for doing just that? You might have your own preferences, but doesn’t mean you have to make your opponent look weak to glorify your favorite driver. Because then, your favorite drivers accomplishments become weak.
Seriously a Vettel engine/mechanical failure is what you want to see this weekend? Is that the only way your favorite driver can win? Stop calling the Red-Bulls a dominant car because I’m yet to see a Silverstone ’09 like drive from Vettel. Now go ahead and call Vettel a rubbish driver because he didn’t do a driver like that since ’09.