What did you think of the Chinese Grand Prix? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:
Rate the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix out of ten
- 10 (48%)
- 9 (38%)
- 8 (10%)
- 7 (3%)
- 6 (1%)
- 5 (0%)
- 4 (0%)
- 3 (0%)
- 2 (0%)
- 1 (1%)
Total Voters: 882
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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’
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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
driftin
17th April 2011, 9:43
Absolutely amazing race. Battles everywhere, no one was comfortable, lots of tension in the strategies, loads of late braking, a battle for the lead and a battle for the last podium position right at the end and that was Webber who started in 18th!!! Massively enjoyable and all that without rain or many cars coming into contact hugely. Best race since Spa last year.
I slightly disappointed that there are two RBRs on the podium instead of two McLarens, but it’s impossible to be too disappointed considering how huge a task Mark Webber had. Probably the best driver of the day.
Also, great comment by Coulthard. ‘The only way that message could be any scarier would be if it was delivered in the dark’.
9/10, very close to a 10/10. Ah, screw it. 10/10
Damon (@damon)
17th April 2011, 9:50
Haha, yeah, that was awesome!
A brilliant race it was indeed. A 9.5 from me.
And it was the lack of grip that made it so, not the stupid DRS.
It was also very exciting for me as I got all of my top-5 prediction drivers in the top-5! Huh!!
BTW. Am I the only one who feels like listening to Jackie Stewart hearing Coulthard?
SparkyJ23 (@sparkyj23)
17th April 2011, 9:56
Indeed – it was all about the tyres – the DRS is proven somewhat artificial by the passes happening elsewhere.
RIISE (@riise)
17th April 2011, 10:00
The DRS was a bit of a slow burner at the start but turned out to be a brilliant addition to a brilliant race.
I questioned the line positioning of it but it was in a perfect place.
S.J.M (@sjm)
17th April 2011, 10:32
agree, everything that could have made the race what it was actually came together perfectly. Excellent race, easily the best since Canada.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 18:02
I think having the DRS just about as active as in Melbourne was fine. It only allowed clearly faster cars to pass. For the others it helped them keep in touch and put pressure on the car in front.
That 2 lap battle between Vettel and Hamilton for the lead. And the multiple lap battle between Rosberg and Webber. How much action all over the track. Great stuff.
After the first pitstops I feared it would be over. Especially with the dry weather. Then it suddenly turned out I had underestimated what oppertunities the tyres offered. China can give interesting racing without the rain after all!
A great race. Vettel smacking everybody with going over 7 tenths faster in Q3. Rosberg being in the mix, to add some flavour. Ferrari having Massa do an impressive race. Hamilton thinking ahead on saturday, McLaren getting the strategy right and Hamilton making a great start and gutsy overtakes to get by in the last laps.
Webber making the most of starting in the back by going for an alternative stragegy altogether, almost going underwater in hiding only to pop up on the podium in the end. And very nice fighting between Schumacher and Alonso all race.
Patrickl (@patrickl)
17th April 2011, 17:29
I think that DRS was just set up right for this race. It allowed some form of overtaking when otherwise it would have been impossible, yet it didn’t make it too easy (which could have ended essentially good battles prematurely).
Andy W (@andy-w)
17th April 2011, 11:37
Great race and DRS helped make it the race it was…. Its just another tool the drivers can use… Maybe this race didn’t ‘need’ it but it was part of it.
One of the great races in my book, maybe not for a single drivers race but as a race as a whole…. and the season is still young…
Just wonder how the Pirelli’s are going to deal with turn 8.
Solo (@solo)
17th April 2011, 12:36
The DRS was good in this race because they took the wise decision of limiting it this morning. In Malaysia the DRS ruined the race for me. It was too strong. It was like a super button.
On this race though it help a little without being the main tool to pass someone.
We may have found the perfect distance for DRS use. About 700meters might be the ideal from now on.
Andy W (@andy-w)
17th April 2011, 14:33
it will vary from track to track, but it seems the stewards might be getting on top of it… they certainly did here.
SparkyJ23 (@sparkyj23)
17th April 2011, 10:00
Who the Hell was the guy voting 1? Is that you Alonso?
RIISE (@riise)
17th April 2011, 10:01
It’s the internet, what do you expect?
robbiepblake (@driftin)
17th April 2011, 10:01
Someone below who said a McLaren win is an automatic 0, I reckon.
Damon (@damon)
17th April 2011, 13:32
Or someone who didn’t bother to read “1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’” and thought “1” was the best score.
(A “1” is the best grade in German schools.)
elliotstan (@elliotstan)
17th April 2011, 10:35
i loved it as well. Great drive by all the top runners. Button should be unhappy though, could have done better than that.
Nin13 (@)
17th April 2011, 10:46
8/10 very very good race.
Jonathan
17th April 2011, 11:07
Best dry race since 2005.
The BBC website describes every race as “thrilling”… but this race really was thrilling.
dennis (@dennis)
17th April 2011, 11:12
Brilliant. Lewis wins a race, suddenly best Grand Prix ever. Quite predictable.
Seriously good race, but it was hardly a “battle” in the end.
8/10 certainly. MAYBE 9, but people overreact by the fact that Lewis finally managed to keep his tyres together and Vettel had radio problems, which means he was stuck on the 2 stop strategy.
matt90 (@matt90)
17th April 2011, 11:14
That isn’t why he was on a 2-stop strategy.
dennis (@dennis)
17th April 2011, 11:21
That is what Helmut Marko said afterwards.
jake
17th April 2011, 11:38
@dennis, i find it’s best to ignore every word that comes out of Marko’s mouth.
Lewis didnt have any strategy advantage when he fought his way up past Button and Rosberg. And there’s still no certainty Seb would have got past Rosberg and won on a 3 stop.
matt90 (@matt90)
17th April 2011, 11:51
Horner didn’t though. It’s a poor excuse anyway, they still had use of pit boards.
Mark Hitchcock (@mark-hitchcock)
17th April 2011, 11:41
Everyone loves a race, someone comes along and says it’s all because of Hamilton bias. Quite predictable.
It didn’t matter who won this race. It’s the fact that there was a fight for the lead (and every podium spot for that matter) which got people so excited.
Solo (@solo)
17th April 2011, 12:53
@dennis Don’t make me describe what i think of your words. Btw that’s a strange name for a Lewis hater, lol.
As Mark correctly says it’s not because Lewis won. I highly doubt we will have been less excited if Webber, Rosberg or Button won. Maybe a little less if Vettel won because it will be too predictable but other than that the reason the race was awesome was because every element for a grade race was there.
Clever strategies from the teams, fights all over the field and more importantly overtaking and fighting for the first three positions and not just down the field. Awesome wheel to wheel racing from the drivers and a winner that really worked for it, along with a guy coming from the back. Clever fight on how to use KERS between the drivers too. And of course the fighting was going on until the last corner.
Also DRS was a lot better used that in Malaysia and actually helped racing instead of being a super button.
What more do you need? Hell if you add to that a few crazy incidents like wings flying, a tyre deciding to go racing by itself, Button going to the wrong pit crew and the winner almost not making it to the grid, then really there is nothing left.
Guimaraes
17th April 2011, 18:39
The fact is: there is a extremely strong correlation between the outcome of a race for McL/Lewis and its racing in this site. It has been showed many times before and the figures can’t be denied.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
17th April 2011, 18:56
I don’t agree there is such a correlation. One of the lowest-rated races was one Hamilton won at this track three years ago.
The highest rated races tend to be the one that are unpredictable and that have a lot of overtaking. The lowest rated races had few changes of position and the outcome was not in doubt. There’s your correlation.
jake
17th April 2011, 22:54
@ Keith. A correlation I have noticed however is that when we get these unpredictable races with lots of passing, Lewis more often than not comes out on top. Fuji 07, Monaco 08, Silverstone 08, Canada 10, Belgium 10, China 11 are the ones I can remember.
Does this say something about the brilliance of Lewis Hamilton?
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 18:05
For me it would have been even better had it been Rosberg to win, or Massa. Button winning would have been just as good. And just imagin Webber making it a few spots further up.
What was the last time we had several real overtakes for the lead of the race?
Added bonus of this giving a better perspective for a nice title fight as well.
Picasso 1.9D FTW (@picasso-19d-ftw)
17th April 2011, 21:14
Agreed, seeing Nico win would have been so sweet, but I still gave it a 9 (gotta keep something in reserve!) because I have to rate the race not the result. In any case, I’m happy with any result that comes from determined, skilled driving and sporting behaviour, which we had in spades today. Great drivers battling desperately hard but respectfully, with all of 5 WDC winners on track showing their best sides. Whilst the best of the rookies (& sophomores) perhaps didn’t fare quite as well as in the last couple of races we have a good clutch there who still give plenty of entertainment, and of course Webber’s charge was thrilling. But for a few laps I dared foolishly to hope that Rosberg would break his duck at last. Damn shame. As for Hamilton, a superb drive and the overtakes really put him out of Jenson’s reach today. A deserving winner.
alexf1man (@alexf1man)
17th April 2011, 15:40
Are you referring to Japan 2005, a VERY good race due to many drivers being out of position?
Unlike then, only Webber was out of position out of the big guns (Red Bulls, McLarens) but even then action all through the field, not just down the long straight.
Getting better as it goes on, Turkey next (how will Red Bull try to avoid 2010 and get on top of KERS) hope Spain doesn’t let us down again like it did a few years ago!
Fixy (@)
17th April 2011, 12:54
9/10. The race was awesome, but the strategic errors by Ferrari and Vettel caused three drivers to miss the final battle where Massa would have been nearer to Vettel.
Macca (@macca)
17th April 2011, 13:06
Well said Solo
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 18:06
A bit strange Ferrari didn’t try a 3 stopper at least for one of their drivers. By the way I think Massa did have a great race, just a shame about the strategy.
RIISE (@riise)
17th April 2011, 9:43
What a race, what else can I say? I’ve seen many races and this was the best I have ever seen.
Scribe (@scribe)
17th April 2011, 10:31
It was incredible huh? We got everything! First 10 since Canada last year, result in doubt till about 5 laps to go.
Adrenaline, I LOVE F1.
Mike
17th April 2011, 14:17
I was a mates place, they all think I’m nuts.
Just fantastic, one of, if not the best races I’ve ever seen. It had everything, strategies created the most exciting race… just incredible.
Crucially, it’s also easily the best completely dry normal style race I’ve seen. The reason we could have this has two names. DRS and so much more so Pirelli.
Thank you Pirelli! Thank you!
We owe you!
Todfod (@todfod)
17th April 2011, 10:46
Personally, I wouldn’t rate it as the best I’ve ever seen, but it is the best race I’ve seen since the 2008 season.
David BR
17th April 2011, 15:07
I’d agree with that. Also must be the best early season dry race I’ve seen. Though the ‘puddles’ of rubber round the circuit are almost like a wet weather race! DRS and KERS may be artificial, but I guess the lesson is that even if overtaking is easier, the best still can do more overtaking and it becomes just as much a question of overtaking quickly and cleanly (Hamilton looked like he was trying to do his final overtaking without stepping into the rubber bath, for example). Actually worth staying awake until 6 in the morning! (Brazil time)
Movement (@movement)
17th April 2011, 10:46
I think Malaysia was slightly better…more battles. having said that, this was a great race. an 8 maybe nine. but malaysia was still better, save for the lack of fight for 1st place.
d1sciple (@)
17th April 2011, 10:56
I disagree completely, this had my adrenaline pumping much more. With the different strategies at the front it felt tense the whole way through.
RIISE (@riise)
17th April 2011, 10:57
But Barrichello is about half a second slower from last year. Lack of fight? There has enough defending from Vettel until taking wrong lines would’ve cost him more than losing 1st place.
But of an ignorant comment.
George (@george)
17th April 2011, 17:12
Malaysia was about equal in my opinion, but I gave that one a 10 since it was one of the best dry races I’ve ever seen, this makes it two in a row :).
d1sciple (@)
17th April 2011, 10:47
Think I might be in agreement with you. Very few races in my memory have had quite so much action, throughout the field, right until the last lap!
Lachie (@lachie)
17th April 2011, 9:44
WHAT A RACE!
10!
TommyB (@tommyb89)
17th April 2011, 9:44
100/10
Goodbye Suzuka 2005. Chinese Grand Prix 2011 is now the best Grand Prix of all time.
Himmat S.
17th April 2011, 9:49
Suzuka 2005 was an epic. Taking nonthing away from this, it’s my second-best race ever. At best. 9.5 if possible.
Mack41 (@mack41)
17th April 2011, 9:58
I can barely believe it. Someone pinch me there is no way that the CHINESE Grand Prix was that good. No way.
Webbah is a flippin beast. It’d be nice if RBR could show some fairness and professionalism and get BOTH cars working.
10/10
(Looking at what I just watched I would not be against Bahrain if everything works out over there to allow for it. If the Chinese Grand Prix can be that awesome I am going to want a 20th race)
Jonathan189 (@jonathan189)
17th April 2011, 11:12
If anyone is still alive in Bahrain by the end of the year…
soundscape (@)
17th April 2011, 12:22
Poor taste Jon.
Joseph94 (@joseph94)
17th April 2011, 10:07
Sorry, but the Chinese track will never live up to the stunning Suzuka circuit.
The race today was ‘ok’ I give it a 7, would have been nice to see more of the mid-field on camera like the Renaults.
matt90 (@matt90)
17th April 2011, 10:11
Not when there’s so much action at the front.
Gustav (@gustav)
17th April 2011, 10:14
A 7?!?! What is the definition of a good race according to you? This was by far the best dry race I’ve ever seen – I didn’t catch Suzuka ’05, but I reckon this can’t be far off.
Gustav (@gustav)
17th April 2011, 10:15
Screw it: It was probably the best race I have ever seen… Wet and dry put together!
Bigbadderboom (@bigbadderboom)
17th April 2011, 10:29
It’s certainly up there with the best modern race. As we can’t rate in halfs I rounded up to a 10, Drama even befor the start right to the end.
d-d
17th April 2011, 10:39
Can’t find anything to rate it less than 10/10.
There was much of action, overtakings weren’t meaningless, the battles were numerous and exciting, the strategies were well visible, fight for the win till the very end, no controversial judging, tv transmission pretty good. More of the same, please.
d-d
17th April 2011, 10:41
Just ot precise – it’s still not the same level as golden days of Senna vs Prost, but it’s about drivers that made a difference. Besides the show has all it needs.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 10:58
No offence, but why are people so hung up on this? I’m re-reading Senna v Prost at the moment and every race is “Senna won by 32 seconds” “Prost won by 15 seconds”, etc.
On the live blog at the end of Abu Dhabi last year I predicted this year would be one of the best ever. If we have more races like this, with different winners, it will be.
d-d
17th April 2011, 11:14
Maybe because those days more was dependent on the drivers.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 13:41
Again, another fallacy. They might not have manual gearing but they have KERS, DRS, brake balance, etc. etc.
People just see what they want. I bet 30 years ago people would have had the exact same complaints, well maybe not, as we are a very negative couple of generations.
Piffles
18th April 2011, 0:59
People get “hung up” because it really was absolutely fantastic. Over the past year, I’ve rewatched all the races from ’85 to ’93. It’s impossible not to be blown away by the sheer intensity and determination of Senna, Prost and Mansell. Watch them for yourself, and make your own opinion; you won’t regret it. Don’t rely on tributes, documentaries, movies or what people say.
Anyhow, this race was great. The guy who won, won by overtaking the guy who finished second, on track.
I’m looking forward to seeing more strategies playing out in the last laps with guys on fresher rubber scrambling through to the front in the dying moments. I expect, and half hope, we’ll see some really desperate defending when the Championship starts shaping up.
silverstone89 (@)
18th April 2011, 13:40
I remember those golden days very clearly- And we knew at the time it was a golden era- not just Senna V Prost but add Mansell and Piquet into that. It was around 86 that I began to love this sport for that reason.
However, I struggle to think of many races that match up to yesterday. Most of Senna’s wins were lights to flag, and Prost, while a brilliant champion, was not the greatest racer ever by a long shot.
I’m not sure its realistic to say it was more down to the driver then- think about 88- if you didn’t have a McLaern you had no hope. If you did you had nothing to fear from even the second best team, let alone 2 or 3 other teams. A slight mistake is quali then would have meant slipping back to second on the grid and the gaps between the front and midfield was huge!
Make no mistake- we are in middle of a golden era at least as special as Senna v Prost.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
17th April 2011, 12:06
Big, big call there TommyB. I’d say on par though. Just wow.
DavidS (@davids)
17th April 2011, 9:44
Absolutely brilliant race.
mantolwen (@mantolwen)
17th April 2011, 9:45
10/10 genius race and Vettel couldn’t hold it together. The lead changed hands several times; Kovalainen finished ahead of (penaltied) Perez and rubbish Maldonado. Amazing from everyone.
Scribe (@scribe)
17th April 2011, 10:37
Maldonado is just pants, bet they regret loosing Hulkenburg now.
TFLB
17th April 2011, 10:49
Maldonado is actually closer to Barrichello in pace than Hulkenberg was at this time last year.
LosD (@losd)
17th April 2011, 11:14
Ah, but Barrichello was actually driving properly last year.
Now, some of it is the car, which of course transfers to more driving mistakes trying to keep it together, but Barri seems like a shadow of himself.
d1sciple (@)
17th April 2011, 10:49
Neither Maldonado or Barrichello are driving well, they made a big mistake losing Hulk. The car is rubbish too.
S.J.M (@sjm)
17th April 2011, 10:37
That race will be remembered as a classic, im sure of that.
Its either going to be a good or bad thing, as its either a sign of what will come later or (hopefully not) be the seasons most exciting race coming way to early in the season.
Prateek727
17th April 2011, 9:45
*give
Kingshark (@kingshark)
25th April 2011, 1:52
Why do I always see this comment at the bottom?
sw6569 (@sw6569)
17th April 2011, 9:45
What a race. What more needs to be said?
Stephen Jones (@aus_steve)
17th April 2011, 9:45
best race i have ever seen!
action all the way through!
Pinball - roadography.com (@)
17th April 2011, 9:51
I agree. Fantastic race.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
17th April 2011, 11:25
Not sure that it was the best I’ve ever seen, but it was right up there! First battle for the lead in nearly a year coupled with countless overtakes in the midfield makes for some pretty good viewing if you ask me! What didn’t this race have?
hutch (@hutch)
17th April 2011, 11:58
All the more impressive that it didn’t need a spectacular accident or two to make it so dramatic!
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 18:27
Nor did it need even a drop of rain!
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
17th April 2011, 12:07
a safety car! not that that detracts at all
mike77 (@mike77)
17th April 2011, 21:05
what was the best?
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
19th April 2011, 16:31
Well, Belgium and Brazil ’08 were just incredible. It’s too hard to pick one race and say it was the best. They’re all good for different reasons.
liedra (@liedra)
17th April 2011, 9:46
Best race I’ve seen. That was fantastic! I was gasping and yelling at the TV with excitement (particularly as a Webber fan!).
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
17th April 2011, 12:11
yep, that was me too! Fantastic. Another lap or two and he’d have been on the second step!
Solo (@solo)
17th April 2011, 12:59
He only needed one more lap. Hell even i half might have done it. Too bad it didn’t happen it would have made the race even more epic.
Travis (@)
17th April 2011, 9:46
Best race in years!
10/10
Scalextric (@scalextric)
17th April 2011, 9:46
Will this sell more tickets in China next year?
Himmat S.
17th April 2011, 9:51
Don’t impact the Chinese people, I would believe!
graham228221 (@graham228221)
17th April 2011, 9:46
absolutely fantastic race, exactly what we hoped for from the 2011 season :D
matt90 (@matt90)
17th April 2011, 9:46
Who’d have thought China would ever produce such an amazing race, especially in the dry.
JohnTheMan96
17th April 2011, 9:58
Well, 2010 was very good, although wet.
This was the best dry-weather race ever IMO.
10
Scribe (@scribe)
17th April 2011, 10:41
2nd, Suzuka was best but this was incredible. Amazing awesome race. Hope the papers don’t complain today.
Martin Rasmussen (@floptickle)
17th April 2011, 9:46
This was absolutely amazing! Suspense all the way through, and what a finish! 10/10 from me.
Andy92 (@andy92)
17th April 2011, 9:46
Best race I’ve ever seen. Drive of Hamilton’s life, and probably the best drive from any driver I’ve ever seen!
Mack41 (@mack41)
17th April 2011, 10:00
Webber’s drive was out of this world. Hamilton’s was nothing compared to him.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th April 2011, 10:08
Webber came out of nowhere, I thought I’d seen the last of him after Perez passed him :P
Joseph94 (@joseph94)
17th April 2011, 10:10
I TOTALLY agree. Hamilton drove a medioka race.
Bigbadderboom (@bigbadderboom)
17th April 2011, 10:31
???? Really ?????
Ellsbury
17th April 2011, 10:53
i think that’s why you rate 7
boris the one-eyed hamster
17th April 2011, 10:55
Webber was fantastic, but you cannot take away from Hammy’s drive (speaking as a fellow hamster I cannot praise it too highly).
skodarap (@skodarap)
17th April 2011, 10:12
Wouldn’t say Hamilton’s drive was nothing compared to Webber. They both had amazing race, but as far as the driver of the race goes Webber is clear favorite.
Mack41 (@mack41)
17th April 2011, 10:19
Hamilton had a great race, his pass on Vettel was spectacular, but no one was comparable to Webbah today. He was the Webbah who won at Spain, Monaco, Silverstone, and Turkey. This is a preview of what is to come in Europe. Now lets see if he learned from last year and can carry this momentum into the end of the season.
Erik
17th April 2011, 10:50
The Webber that won in Turkey? That’s the Webber who collided with Vettel and ended in 3rd place.
Krit
17th April 2011, 14:02
Spectacular? Please… Both him and Vettel acknowledged the fact it was too easy, tires were shot for Vettel.
TheBrav3
17th April 2011, 23:08
Fantastico!!! 10/10 :)
geo132 (@geo132)
17th April 2011, 9:48
Last 2 races have been simply great. Better than most races from last year!
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
17th April 2011, 9:48
Astounding. Real racing all the way, and not all the ovetaking due to the flippy floppy wing! Beautiful.
Trenthamfolk (@)
17th April 2011, 9:48
a superb race… magnificent from Hamilton, and supreme from Webber. Man of the race for me…
Enigma (@enigma)
17th April 2011, 9:48
Who cares about track character, this was awesome. Halfway through there were 6 drivers in contention for the win, we had awesome fights. Fantastic, nearly a perfect race and I can’t rate it with less than a 10.
irishlad (@irishlad)
17th April 2011, 9:48
Dont often give a nine, but what a cracker of a race. Racing throughout for the lead and everywhere else. Great job from Pirelli.
BBT (@bbt)
17th April 2011, 9:49
9/10 Great race.
Get rid of DRS and it would of been 10/10
Adrian J (@adrian-j)
17th April 2011, 10:01
I don’t think you can make it that clear cut. Who’s to say that without DRS the race would have been ask good?
I think all the ingredients we have are coming together to provide the good racing. Take one of those away and it might not be the same story…
bpacman (@bpacman)
17th April 2011, 10:09
I think DRS did help – even where there were passes elsewhere, the DRS allowed cars to close on the back straight and set up an overtake on the next lap.
Mack41 (@mack41)
17th April 2011, 10:14
EXACTLY!!!! The DRS keeps the cars close when without them the dirty air would normally cause the trailing car to fall back after a few laps. With the DRS the trailing car is allowed to make up for the aero restrictions on the racing. Its not a push to pass, its a way to give the trailing car some much needed help
Journeyer (@journeyer)
17th April 2011, 10:50
But the car in front can’t use DRS – and that just makes it unfair for me. I’d be able to live with it if the guy in front can use it too.
I agree with BBT – 9/10 for me.
Blog Raider
17th April 2011, 17:39
Once you are passed, you have the opportunity to use DRS to regain position…how is that unfair???
Joseph94 (@joseph94)
17th April 2011, 10:12
I agree.
Sam
17th April 2011, 9:50
Brilliant race..absolutely brilliant. Lewis was…wow
Anatoly Nechaev (@mr-prayer)
17th April 2011, 9:50
9 out of 10.
Very exciting race. Plenty of fighting in front and in the back.
Wish TV coverage gave some time to fighting of FInd, Sau & Ren.
Was watching for Petrov’s race thanks to Soft Pauer’s app.
Would give 10 if it was more exciting start.
Anatoly Nechaev (@mr-prayer)
17th April 2011, 9:54
And HUGE thanks to Pirelli.
How much more exciting races became without one-stop-absolutely-not-decrading-tyres…
Oliver
17th April 2011, 9:50
Phenominal race. Fantastic. Mclaren won the race at the start and forced Redbull into a 2stop strategy. Great drive by Webber. Used all his new tyres to great effect. Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
georges10099 (@georges10099)
17th April 2011, 9:51
what a race!!!! no race is perfect, thats why i gave it 9 rather than 10.
To think, all of that could have been taken away from us had Hamilton not started… What a drive. Fantastic, superb, incredible! About time someone other than a Red Bull won too!
mateuss (@mateuss)
17th April 2011, 9:51
11+!!! Fighting up and down the field and for the win.
budchekov (@budchekov)
17th April 2011, 9:51
Awesome, what a drive, the kid’s special.
Mark was outstanding too.
Gave it a 9, should have given it a 10.
At last, a real RACE.
Hyoko
17th April 2011, 9:52
A macca win is always a 0. No points for macca would be a nine. Black flag for both maccas, a perfect 10.
robbiepblake (@driftin)
17th April 2011, 9:55
Hmmm.
I hate Alonso more than anyone else on the grid today but if Alonso had won that one I still would’ve given it a 9 or 10/10.
Lachie (@lachie)
17th April 2011, 10:27
Agreed, if Vettel had held out I still probably would have given it a 9, though i’d have been mightily peed off! :)
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th April 2011, 10:01
Why so bias?
This race was better than Suzuka 2005 or Brazil 2008 IMO.
It
Was
Awesome
10/10, I wish I could give it a 20.
Laranja Mecanica
17th April 2011, 11:40
Yes, it was not as bad as Brazil 08, the worst race in F1 history. But barely.
Icarus
17th April 2011, 10:07
You shouldn’t be watching F1
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
17th April 2011, 10:11
No true F1 fan could come out with a line like that.
AndresM (@andresm)
17th April 2011, 11:02
As a Ferrari and Alonso fanatic I consider this comment as BS. As much as it can hurt both Lewis and the McLaren wall have done a superb race.
Stephen Jones (@aus_steve)
17th April 2011, 11:26
i think he’s having a laugh.. go easy
Mark Hitchcock (@mark-hitchcock)
17th April 2011, 9:53
9/10
Only reason it’s not a 10 is because I got slightly lost after the first round of stops (bit like Button).
Expect more “F1 is too confusing” articles from hack journalists tomorrow.
Amazing race though. Looks like fiddling with the rules has finally paid off.
gnvour (@)
17th April 2011, 9:53
Fantastic race! Had no idea who would be on top until the checkered flag!! 9/10 for me, would have been 10/10 but we still have 16 races to go!!
UKfanatic (@)
17th April 2011, 9:53
Despite early tactical and pit problems from vettels opponents seems like redbull made a mistake and what a drive by Ham and from Web trying to overtake opponents with less 80bhp on one of the slowest cars on top speed bad luck again for ferrari not a great start neither pit stop and strategy nice race a bit too much about tyre fresheness and drs
bosyber (@bosyber)
17th April 2011, 9:53
Great race, had to give it a 10, I don’t know what more a race can have – no big mayhem or rain, and still a race without any boring moment. Just perfect, and that in China, really great stuff.
Great drive by HAM, Webber a great save, Vettel also doing all he could, defending really well and keeping his 2nd spot; Massa also a very good drive, I think he got the most he could out of that Ferrari today, Nico Rosberg showing that Merc is indeed in the mix if they get everything working; MSC showing good pace, and having a fighting race with Alonso, Webber, and others. Renault show that teams really need to keep working in this environment to not drop behind, but showing they are there to fight another day. Very good.
explosiveface (@explosiveface)
17th April 2011, 9:54
I take it back, China can stay on the calendar forever now.
10/10.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
17th April 2011, 9:54
Shockingly brilliant!
davey (@djdaveyp87)
17th April 2011, 9:54
Absolutely fantastic Race! Beats Canada last year. Action from start to finish. And Hamilton won! YES!
davey (@djdaveyp87)
17th April 2011, 10:14
P.s. I voted 10 (but only because I couldn’t vote 1’000’000!)
mrgrieves (@mrgrieves)
17th April 2011, 9:54
Brilliant race.
Action everywhere, Even Lewis’s Engine before the race o to of everything. Have to say it would be equal to Suzuka 2005 except for Alonso at 130R, Cant match the drama of Brazil 2008 but that can never be beat!
still
10/10, Think this has to take the record!
infy (@infy)
17th April 2011, 9:54
Very good race. Well worth an 8/10. Had Webber taken Vettel at the end, it would have been a perfect race!
Good drive by Hamilton. Not an exceptional drive, considering his tires were 6 laps newer, but a very good strategy and good drive nonetheless.
Ferrari could have done better if they had done a three stop, and I think Alonso needs to seriously work on his start. However we all know how Massa shines in first few tracks of the year but struggles on the rest, where as Alonso is consistent throughout.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
17th April 2011, 9:56
10/10 for excitement.
11/10 for excitment at a venue the fans hate.
10/10 for proving that Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel can be beaten.
1/10 because my live feed crashed a lap before Hamilton passed Vettel and I never got it back.
LosD (@losd)
17th April 2011, 11:20
Ouch.
Oliver
17th April 2011, 9:56
Huge chunk of rubber off the inner right tyre of Hamilton. I can see the canvas.
Ben Curly (@ben-curly)
17th April 2011, 9:56
I did not expect that. Did I just watch Shanghai in the dry? Damn, that was amazing race!
Malibu_GP
17th April 2011, 9:57
Ok Fanatics, this one had it all! Kers, drs, and tire degradation all added to this incredible race. We saw Lewis ( contrary to popular belief) masterfully manage/preserve his tires, Webber storm thru the field, Filipe truly returning to form and Schu showing why he’s won seven titles. I am very curious to read the complaints of the incessant naysayers… I say, Bravo! This one is a classic to be remembered in the annuls of F1 lore. PERFECT 10…
Drarckula (@drarckula)
17th April 2011, 9:57
that is on par if not better with canada 10… heart was pounding all the way through as a die hard hamilton fan =P martin brundell got it perfectly: “that is a drive of a world champion…” 10/10
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 9:57
Easily easily easily easily the best race in 6 years and arguably the best since the Nurburgring 1999.
Very deserving of the first 10 I’ve ever given on F1F. I’m usually very strict about rating races highly, but wow. Wow wow wo.
rblv
17th April 2011, 9:57
best race ever
Oliver
17th April 2011, 10:00
Button in conversation with Redbull. :-)
SoLiDG (@solidg)
17th April 2011, 10:00
Great great race!
And A winner who had to pass the top 4 to get there!
So much excitement, I love it. And a great track layout for racing.
Younger Hamii(Formerly Younger Hamilton)
17th April 2011, 10:11
Echoes of Germany 2008
daniyyel (@oji)
17th April 2011, 10:02
as a Ferrari fan all I can say is brilliant race and brilliant win. Congratz to McLaren and Hamilton, well deserved.
Great race, 9/10 from me.
Bren
17th April 2011, 10:48
i agree. as a ferrari fan too.
but also as a ferrari man i want to know where their brain cells have gone.
again they blew it by crazy strategy and slow stops on fernandos side.
i dont how they can keep doing messing up. its not that hard to work out
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th April 2011, 10:02
Who said F1 was boring?
This
Race
Was
Awesome
10 out of 10 for me.
Damon (@damon)
17th April 2011, 10:10
One drop doesn’t make an ocean. F1 is boring. This race was awesome.
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
17th April 2011, 10:14
But at the rate F1 is dripping, we’ll soon have one.
Scribe (@scribe)
17th April 2011, 10:55
If you think F1’s boring, what are you doing here?
a_flying_muffin (@a_flying_muffin)
17th April 2011, 10:02
Absolutely amazing race!!!
Great job Lewis!
OUTSTANDING Job Webber (18th to 3rd)
10
adamf184 (@adamf184)
17th April 2011, 10:03
Great race all I need to say, enjoyed every lap.
DRS zone was perfect size too so glad it got shorted, the longer zone would have seen way too much easy obvious moves.
GeeMac (@geemac)
17th April 2011, 10:04
No Vettel finger after the race…that alone deserves a 9/10!
AndresM (@andresm)
17th April 2011, 10:31
No finger and no stupid philosophical yahoo’s after. Happy day eventhough Fernando was not there
mingmong
17th April 2011, 10:39
he he spot on bro… H still fetched plenty of excuses though. Don’t hear him telling us how much he loves his life now!
Nige
17th April 2011, 12:29
I hate that f***ing finger
GeeMac (@geemac)
17th April 2011, 14:54
You and me both pal…
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 18:58
And by the end of Malaysias race last week about 2/3rds of us, I guess!
Pink Peril
18th April 2011, 1:22
No finger, now that’s what I’m talking about !
BasCB (@bascb)
18th April 2011, 6:38
LOL @Pink Peril
bpacman (@bpacman)
17th April 2011, 10:05
Wow. What more you could you ask for in a race?! Incredible driving from all of the top 5, brilliant overtaking, battles all the way down the field, different strategies – it had everything. Also – it was great to see overtakes all over the circuit, and not just in the DRS zone.
No need for the spinklers Bernie, just stick with Pirelli tyres!
xanathos (@xanathos)
17th April 2011, 10:05
Amazing race, 9/10 for me (saving the 10 for something really special or if a driver I like actually wins something :D)
Additionally, 23 drivers finished, only one retirement due to a sleeping mechanic…And all the racing without crashes, these guys are really the best drivers in the world!
verstappen (@verstappen)
17th April 2011, 10:05
9 out of 10 for me. And I have to admnit, that’s only because I’m biased (my only good prediction was pole)
If I think objective, it should be 10 out of 10, suspense wise.
What a race, what a season!
Although I’m beginning to warm to DRS, some overtakes looked a bit too easy. I guess the overtakers were faster anyway, so now it fits with the Reduce Drag purpose.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th April 2011, 10:05
The current race average: 9.4846
Wow :O
narboza22 (@narboza22)
17th April 2011, 10:06
It was a good race, but I think it showed that DRS really needs to go. There were plenty of passes that did not need artificial assistance and the ones that were the result of DRS were fake. Take the Renault for example: in a straight line it was faster that almost all the cars that tried to pass it on the back straight until the overtaker popped their wing open and sailed on past. That is not fair as the Renault is a faster car. Additionally, DRS is supposed to compensate for the dirty air in the wake of the cars that prevents overtaking. In this race it was compensating for cars that lacked straight line speed.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 10:09
You mean like all the fake defending in the years gone by simply because of aero wake?
Damon (@damon)
17th April 2011, 10:12
I’ve never known that the aero wake only hindered the chosen ones…
narboza22 (@narboza22)
17th April 2011, 10:13
I’m not saying that a lack of overtaking because of the aero wake is a good thing. If it was up to me, they would go back to ground effects or something to solve that problem, but since that’s not the case, I don’t want to see the problem solved by DRS. Get rid of it, and leave it to Pirelli to create the overtaking. The tires are a legitimate way of creating overtaking, DRS is not.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th April 2011, 10:13
I think we probably saw more overtaking at Turn 5 than Turn 14 :)
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th April 2011, 10:14
We probably had more overtaking at Turn 5 than Turn 14 :)
ketu (@ketu)
17th April 2011, 10:07
Absolutely best race in a long time! 10!
wezza
17th April 2011, 10:08
fantastic race, the best I have seen for quite a while..
Hamilton & Webber
Slr (@slr)
17th April 2011, 10:10
I gave Malaysia a 9 as there was no battle for the lead. This race gets a 10 for having such a great battle for the lead.
Younger Hamii(Formerly Younger Hamilton)
17th April 2011, 10:10
10/10 Fabulous Race,The Most Dramatic and EPIC Grand Prix i’ve ever watched
Katy (@katy)
17th April 2011, 10:11
Absolutely amazing race. I felt so uncomfortable watching it as I was so excited and nervous! Non stop action so 10/10 for me :)
matt88 (@matt88)
17th April 2011, 10:12
9/10
a quite boring start, but after 10 laps it got really exciting. seeing Ferrari suffer in the end was terrible, and i didn’t enjoy the race at full, but it’s been absolutely thrilling.
robk23 (@robk23)
17th April 2011, 10:13
If that race had finished 5 laps earlier I would have correctly predicted the podium! Still, what a great race and it’s probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. 10/10!
Stubie (@stubie)
17th April 2011, 10:14
uhm… wow!
I am speechless.
10/10
Turkey cannot come soon enough
what a season so far!
Njack (@njack)
17th April 2011, 10:14
9/10. Some poor camerawork not focusing on the right cars at the right times & DRS zone is a bit long IMO but other than that, fantastic race.
Lantec
17th April 2011, 10:15
Fantastic race! Finally someone other than Red Bull winning. McLaren really fought hard to be there.
Jared404 (@)
17th April 2011, 10:17
Great race – the DRS has changed the racing. I can remember a time when the only way to pass after the first corner was with a fast pit stop. Those times will now be refered to as “the bad old days”
mingmong
17th April 2011, 10:22
Tyres as well. They are perfect!
mingmong
17th April 2011, 10:19
9.5/10… My boy Webbster punished them in the middle when running 38s & pulled some ripa moves… AUSSIEGRIT!
Cryptowillem (@cryptowillem)
17th April 2011, 10:19
Long time reader, first time commenter. Just an amazing race to watch! Drama at every turn. I gave it a 9/10, but only because I expect to see something even more spectacular come Canada this year!
soundscape (@)
17th April 2011, 10:20
The result may not have been perfect, but it’s hard to ask for a better race. Bloody amazing.
Ral (@)
17th April 2011, 10:24
Positively amazing race.
The only thing that was a shame for me, was exactly how much Mercedes short-fuelled Rosberg. A shame he didn’t have enough fuel to keep his foot down.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th April 2011, 10:25
Mercedes probably weren’t expecting Rosberg to challenge for the win ;)
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
17th April 2011, 10:28
They were really incredible today… held up Ferrari early, but then passed Ferrari later.
I think that Pirelli deserves a lot of credit for this race.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
17th April 2011, 10:25
Yeah it was… but I still gave a 10 race a nine cause I’m a very mean man :P
Damon
17th April 2011, 10:25
Vettel still as the fastest car, if it wasn’t for the start he would have won this race. Great drive by Lewis I really didn’t expect him to win especially after the first stop. Redbull are still the team to beat. 9/10
LosD (@losd)
17th April 2011, 11:28
I don’t think so… with the rate Hamilton catched him in the end, he’d still win 2-3 seconds more adrift.
But of course all the race dynamics would have changed, so we will never know.
hey (@hey)
17th April 2011, 10:25
No rain. No safety car. Only one retirement.
One of the greatest races ever.
hey (@hey)
17th April 2011, 10:26
That I’ve seen at least. Lol
Erik
17th April 2011, 10:26
Simply the best race I’ve ever seen (although I have only been watching since Brazil 2007).
10/10.
What. A. Race.
bpm (@bpm)
17th April 2011, 10:26
F1 fantastic!!!
awesome race, i thought DC’s comments at the end sum up the season so far really well.
Thank You Pirelli!
AM (@am)
17th April 2011, 10:26
Awesome race, great results, although I would’ve liked to see battle Vettel and Lewis both on fresh tires (at least same state of tires) for the real race pace and skills. Nevertheless, Lewis proved he still could provide us with a show by taking it on against Button and Rosberg. Also a phenomenal result by the Ozzie.
Randy
17th April 2011, 10:29
Quite disappointed in that last lap, not much going on there. First 55 were pretty good though, give it a 9.
The clag was snowballing on the back straight in the second half of the race. Chunks of rubber the size of golf balls shooting thirty feet into the air. Crazy!!!
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
17th April 2011, 10:29
Well, I have to say the 3 people who voted the race a 1 were clearly voting based on the result not the race, also only 21/238 people have not voted this race at least a 9 with 138 voting a 10.
I voted a 10, because we had excitement the whole way through,intense racing by Mark through the field, massive podium battles, a battle for the lead. All exactly what a good race needs.
Also, my vote goes to Webber for driver of the day, simply phenomenal.
Kerflunk (@)
17th April 2011, 10:30
This race defies logic.
How on earth did Webber get to the podium – starting 15-16 places behind guys like JB/NR/the Ferraris… Had there been a couple more laps he would even have taken Vettel.
Getting the strategy and tires right makes an enormous difference -Imo Ferrari and RBR (for Vettel) should’ve seen the 2 stopper strat being ineffectual quite early, if they had followed Webber’s progress, and switched accordingly. That cost Vettel the win, and as for Ferrari – I’d say Force India has a chance to take them in the near future, that’s how rubbish Ferrari has become.
Himmat S.
17th April 2011, 10:45
Wonder if Alonso’s gonna follow Kimi’s footstep out of F1 next, or maybe jump to Red Bull. Surely, no chance of him going back to McLaren. Or is there?
LosD (@losd)
17th April 2011, 19:51
Maybe, but I think that McLaren is very happy about their current line-up with two superb racers.
Alonso might drive a bit faster than Button, but he is bad news for teamwork.
soundscape (@)
17th April 2011, 12:35
It’s all well and good to see what others are doing and change your strategy, but you simply cannot change if you haven’t got the tyres. The other guys spent their tyres qualifying.
Oliver
17th April 2011, 12:54
They only did one hot lap of qualifying the front runners, so they had relatively fresh tyres.
Palle
17th April 2011, 22:18
Difficult to copy a strategy of someone starting on the other tire, than You. That was why Webber struggled in first stint, and I thought his bad weekend was just continuing. But he turned it around. We had already joked about next race he would enjoy a Cafe Latte while everyone else was Qualifying, and then Webber joked that he would sit out on Quali next race. Vettel showed that he could come back and overtake, but his 2 stop strategy was wrong. Great race, nice to see that it has become more unpredictable this year. Way to go, Pirelli!
Mlracing (@mlracing)
17th April 2011, 10:31
great race, gave it a 9. DRS zone was perfect imo, much better than the easy malaysia overtaking.
Ritesh (@rits)
17th April 2011, 10:33
The ‘aussie_grit’ lives up to his name yet again.. what an incredible drive! What an incredible race! And finally, we have someone break the annoying Red Bull dominance. Very satisfied except for Force India not scoring a point.
Bren
17th April 2011, 10:38
Great race, great drive by lewis and webber.
and michael drove well too.
ferrari pit stops screwed alonso again, it was 5.2 seconds, when he pitted he was right on massa and rosberg tail. but cos of the stupidly slow pit stop it left him behind michael. then they left him out too long. race over. ferrari are really all over the place at the minute. he spent the whole race on the wrong tyres. alonso wasnt slower than massa the strategy shocking
massa drove very very well tho. but it was good moves on his pit wall that made it. but fair play.
Vettel should of had a penalty for his 4 moves on the start. i know they say its hard to judge the start BUT 4 is to many and should of in current climate been penalised but as we seen so far red bull dont get pens. a great race but that lack of consistency again is a huge let down
Randy
17th April 2011, 11:05
Agreed Bren, fully expected Vettel to be penalised after the start. Two races in a row now. I like Vettel but considering Lewis’ penalty in Malayasia there needs to be more consistency in this area.
NathanBradley92 (@nathancabopino)
17th April 2011, 13:17
Before the race began on the BBC coverage, Jake and Martin were discussing this and Martin said the stewards told him that because of all the movement at the start, it would be impossible to enforce that rule,(there would be so many investigations) so they simply ignore the rule at the start; it becomes active sometime after the first corner.
I think that’s wrong, if you weave, you weave, but I’m just repeating what Martin Brundle said the stewards told him.
Great race, so exciting! 9/10 if only for the fact that I don’t want to commit myself to a 10, in case we have something better later in the year (hopefully!)
Nathan
Bren
17th April 2011, 13:38
yeah its madness i agree. they have a video recorder. they can check these things.
id understand it if they said you could only move twice at start. vettel was all over the place and if it hadnt been for lewis amazing reactions. there could of been a big accident.
you either give them a penalty or not. id rather not. but they need to be consistent. to me it seems like the FIA dont want to make hard work for themselves. so dont bother with the start.
Randy
17th April 2011, 14:06
Thanks for the info Nathan!
xtophe (@xtophe)
17th April 2011, 10:42
8/10
I’m keeping my 9’s and 10’s for when the F1 circus hits the tracks that were already great with Bridgestone’s everlasting tyres.
If Red Bull hadn’t put SV on a 2-stop strategy, the race might’ve been less exciting at the very front of the pack. The anticipation of LH and JB chasing SV for the win really had me shuffling ever more closely to the edge of my seat.
If’s and but’s aside, there was a decent amount of overtaking. The best overtaking for me wasn’t a result of DRS however, but mostly due to the state of the tyres. If the ultimate Tilkedrome produces this kind of racing, I’m dying to get to Silverstone and the likes.
Roll on Istanbul! Let’s see how Pirelli handles turn 8!
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
17th April 2011, 10:43
BEST RACE EVER! MERCEDES LEADS, WEBBER ON PODIUM FROM 18th. LEWIS PASSES VETTEL. CONFUSION WITH BUTTON IN PITLANE. TERRIFIC PERFORMANCE FROM MICHAEL. AWESOME DRIVING BY ROSBERG. WICKED STRATEGIES FROM EVERY DRIVER. THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD’VE MADE THIS RACE BETTER WAS EXPLOSIONS ALL OVER THE TRACK!
10/10.
robbiepblake (@driftin)
17th April 2011, 10:53
Caps lock is usually obnoxious but I laughed at that.
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
17th April 2011, 18:03
:D Sorry. I was excited. :D
Antranik (@antranik)
17th April 2011, 10:46
This was such a great race! The best race for years! But unlike many of you here, in my opinion Suzzuka 2005, Brazil 2003 and Brazil 2008 were all still better races than this was! I doubt any race will ever match the amount of excitement and dissapointment the 2008 Brazil GP… When people ask me who truly is the 2008 WDC I still say Massa, because he truly deserved it after that race… Anyway, back on topic, Webber delivered an absolutely stunning drive! It was so brilliant that I can only compare it to the time Raikkonen started from the very back of the field and still finished on podium, or when Schumacher stalled his engine back in 1998 (or was it 1999, cant remember that well) and did everything he could to fight back from the bottom end of the field (his car broke down later on, but still that was an amazing drive up to that point). Hamilton performed masterfully, but I still believe anybody who says Hamilton was Driver of the day and not Webber is an obvious fanboy. Massa seemed to be back to his old self, delivering the best that he could get out of that Ferrari finising about 15 seconds infront of Alonso! All in all a perfect 10/10!
PS: LOL at Button, did he have a small mental shutdown there or something? I bet he was thinking in his head “Im gonna win this race….(thinks for a while) holy crap I’m in the wrong pits!”
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
17th April 2011, 10:46
9/10.
A fantastic battle for the victory, lots of overtakings, suspence, different strategies. Yeah, this is probably the best race i could have hoped for in China.
AndresM (@andresm)
17th April 2011, 10:47
9/10 absolutely amazing race.Big big HATS OFF to Aussiegrit, the hero of the day, a real racer not like other finger-pointing single lap driver.
(Swallowing and taking air first)Great job by Lewis, superb, superb race. Patient and taking care of the tyres excellent.
For Ferrari and Fernando well it will be another day :`(
BROOKSY007 (@brooksy007)
17th April 2011, 10:47
Webber you rule!! Nice to see someone else win!! Ha ha, bit cheeky webber!! Awesome drive by hamilton aswell. If button hadn’t got the pits confused and got out infront of vettel – webber might have caught vettel! When was the last gp that someone from 18th got 3rd?
Himmat S.
17th April 2011, 10:48
Guys. Just wondering. What was going on in Button’s head in the pits?
Kenny (@kenny)
17th April 2011, 10:58
Nothing. Classic case of brain fade.
Randy
17th April 2011, 11:13
I’m wondering if the late afternoon low level light caused a glare in the pit lane. Just guessing, it’s the only excuse I can think of.
Did Button sacrifice a podium to Webber so he wouldn’t have to explain it in the post race interview. I would’ve.
soundscape (@)
17th April 2011, 12:36
Haha great comment (@Randy).
McG (@mcg)
17th April 2011, 10:50
C’mon… who voted the race 1 and 3. Get a life.
One of the best races ever. 10
JUGNU (@jugnu)
17th April 2011, 11:24
Hamilton and Mclaren haters. Definately a 10 out of 10 race.
xivizmath (@xivizmath)
17th April 2011, 10:51
I’m not as enthusiastic as everyone else, and I give it a 6/10
I simply cannot rate 2011 races much good, because I hate DRS, and I don’t like cars overtaking each other on the straights. It was a bit like watching NASCAR: you got everything in the race that you would like to see: passes for the lead, fights in the middle of the grid, pit stop drama, but you feel that unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth.
sam
17th April 2011, 11:05
did you not watch Hamilton overtaking everywhere except on the main straight ?? you need to re watch some of the dry races from the past few years and then you’ll realise how well the DRS is working
Bren
17th April 2011, 11:25
with the tyres as they are DRS isnt needed actually.
but im not against it either. i thought all in all it worked out well today.
it didnt make overtakes easy. if it had alonso would of breezed passed michael but he didnt.
BROOKSY007 (@brooksy007)
17th April 2011, 10:51
Expolsions all over the track – r u jeremy clarkson?
By the way I think that would be awesome!
Tom M in Australia
17th April 2011, 10:52
I honestly thought Nico was on for the win during his second stint. Brilliant move from McLaren to switch to 3-stops (I’m sure they started on a 2-stopper). Just brilliant.
10.
wigster (@wigster)
17th April 2011, 10:53
I gave it a ten. I’m not sure what a better dry race would look like. Action and tension even before the race, with Lots of overtaking, not just due to DRS. Variations on strategy meant interest and action from start to end.
Great race from Hamilton, lots of overtaking and got himself upto Vettel when no one else did and brave enough to try that overtake on JB at the 1st corner.
Great race from Webber to come from the field, would never have guessed he could get on the podium before the start.
Good midfield battles too, though we didn’t see much due to all the action at the front.
Overall a superb race showing Red Bull can be beaten.
d1sciple (@)
17th April 2011, 10:53
When will Vettel get penalised for weaving off the line, it was dangerous today. Move, double move, push Hamilton to the grass … getting a bit ridiculous.
wigster (@wigster)
17th April 2011, 10:57
The stewards allow the weaving at the start of the race. Though I agree Vettels defending at the start is a bit much.
Bren
17th April 2011, 11:26
tho its the once place it should be stamped on cos if they touch they are going to be rammed by 22 other cars.
chaostheory
17th April 2011, 10:57
That was an amazing race, from lap 1 to last. And it was first time I really wanted Hamilton to win and I almost jumped in triumph when he got past Vettel, a great driving by LH. And by Webber. If I could (and wasnt too lazy to register) I would vote it 11 or at least 10+.
oweng (@oweng)
17th April 2011, 11:00
Gave it a 9. Absolutely fantastic to have such an exciting race in the dry with no safety cars.
Hats off to Pirelli for giving us the kind of racing strategy I was hoping for when refuelling was banned. Bridgestone really mucked up with their everlasters.
In an ideal world there wouldn’t be a ‘tyre cliff’ but rather a greater difference in performance and durability. But you can’t have everything.
Great to see some real on track overtaking.
rapidfire (@rapidfire)
17th April 2011, 11:01
what a brilliant race. 10/10
sam
17th April 2011, 11:02
9/10
great overtakes from Hamilton, but he got passed Vettel a bit too easily, it was slightly too inevitable to make it really really nail biting.
DRS works perfectly, tyres are working perfectly, single diffusers are allowing the cars to follow much closer through the corners.
The race really got exciting when it became apparent that the strategy was going to mix things up when Vettel came out behind Rosberg in the first stops.
All in all a brilliant race
F1_fan
17th April 2011, 11:06
MARK WEBBER was AWESOME!
So many million knockers chew their caps
Mel Hutchinson
17th April 2011, 11:07
Wow! This was the best race in several years. We had six leaders, six! I look forward to a season of close racing like we saw today. Lewis Hamilton and Mark Weber drove phenomenally! I suspected that the McLarens were quicker on low fuel but I think Mark Weber showed us the Red Bulls were up to the challenge. Webber’s late charge through the field as well as his fast lap of 1:40.571 was incredibly impressive. Nico Rosberg drove well and for a while appeared to have control of the race but it wasn’t meant to be. He finished fifth, three spots ahead of his legendary teammate Michael Schumacher. I’m shocked that Felipe Massa blew away his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso by 15 seconds. We have to wait until the race officials make a decision about both Ferrari drivers, Massa crossed the white line early while exiting the pits and Alonso deployed his DRS in a non DRS zone. Mark Webber passed Jenson Button late in the race, perhaps Jenson should have saved his KERS for the long straight and driven defensively on the remaining portion of the race track. Oh well, should of could of and there’s still no guarantee that Button would have been able to hold off the extremely quick Weber. The Red Bull on light tanks and fresh soft tires is fermentable. Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren appeared to have to start from the pit lane with only 2 minutes to go but his team was able fix the race care and the typical McLaren reliability showed itself. Lewis was special today. He will always try to make up for the mistake he and the team made during his rookie season at the Shanghai International Circuit. Today was a little bit of retribution and his emotion showed at the drivers weigh in after the race. Was there something to Mark Weber starting on the hard compound tires? For the majority of the drivers, the first stint was less than 25% of the race and Weber was able to hold serve on the hard tires. On tracks where passing is possible, maybe qualifying isn’t as important as it’s been in the past. The season will be very interesting and tire strategy will play a major role. Would Sebastian Vettel have still finished second had he made one more tire stop? What effect on the outcome did his inability to initiate or respond to team communications have? On one hand he might have won the race, on the other hand he might have finished further down the grid than second. We have three weeks until Turkey and I can’t wait.
Bren
17th April 2011, 11:28
other drivers crossed that line early too, i dont know how the rule stands. i thought u couldnt touch it at all.
fernando was fighting with one arm behind his back. as before his first pit he had passed lewis.
shows how badly ferrari messed it up for him. pathetic performance from that side of the garage slow pits, wrong tyres. butts need kicking big time cos that was a joke and not very funny one.
Barry
17th April 2011, 11:08
I love this site.
Great race, but in my opinion, restricting the lead car in the use of the DRS makes the whole system like allowing the weaker side to take a gun to a knife fight. I’d like it (DRS, not a gun ) to be at the drivers descretion, and then glandular fortitude or skill would prove the deciding factor.
I have long thought that bringing ground effect back with minimal secondary aerodynamic aids is the answer.
I appreciate Pirelli’s efforts, but I think any more than 2 pitstops in any one race is taking the focus away from design and driving talent, and pushing it more toward gambling and a shot in the dark bet.
However, under the present circumstances, this was a great race. It’s a shame that more of the residents of the local community couldn’t afford to ATTEND IT.
Don’t you think somethings wrong here?
soundscape (@)
17th April 2011, 12:39
More than 2 stops is too many, and less (1) is boring…
So every team should have EXACTLY 2 pit stops? Seems counter-intuitive when tackling boredom if you ask me.
xpres1000 (@xpres1000)
17th April 2011, 11:13
This is why we all love F1!! So many drivers really put in a shift today. As a Hamilton fan, its great to see him win in the style that we know he’s capable of. But driver of the day goes to Webber. Very close though. :-)
JUGNU (@jugnu)
17th April 2011, 11:18
10/10 no question. Andwe hav yet to see a safety car. what will be the intrest (and confusing) level then
Dan_the_McLaren_fan (@dan_the_mclaren_fan)
17th April 2011, 11:19
Awesome race! It had almost all the good things you’d expect from a GP : pressure building form the beginning (with Hamilton’s problem), a great start, teams battling with two valid strategies, excitment going crescendo, lots a overtaking, many battles, awesome overtaking moves (like the Hamilton-Button one), total unpredictiability about the winner (one moment, I thought Rosberg had a real chance to win it), and constant change at the top!
And when your favourite team wins all this, you’re a very happy man!
Close to perfection : 9/10
sunnyside
17th April 2011, 11:22
Tyres tyres tyres. Yawn.
Trenthamfolk (@)
17th April 2011, 12:23
Those rubber based things that get glued to the wheels? Your point is?
ROb
17th April 2011, 12:30
reatard
mild7nick
17th April 2011, 11:27
10/10 – bloody awesome race. That was alot more like canada last year!
sdtaylor91 (@sdtaylor91)
17th April 2011, 11:28
that was absolutely incredible, better than most wet races!!!!
great driving throughout the field, overtaking and action from the beginning to the end, pirelli have given us something great, more of this and 2011 will easily top last year.
Mads (@mads)
17th April 2011, 11:36
10/10! When they can replicate the excitement and unpredictability of a wet race on a bone dry circuit you just know they are on to something. Before i didn’t like the circuit, but this was a classic race! absolutely brilliant. Loads of overtakes and the DRS did just what it had to, and it did by no means make it too easy to overtake. It was just right.
Herman
17th April 2011, 11:45
Wow. Just wow. I’m so happy I decided not to have a lie in now. 10/10 for me. I still prefer 2008 Brazil, but this is almost as good as. Thank goodness Bridgestone have left the sport! DRS and KERS helped contribute to the result, but without the Pirelli tyres we would have had another snore-fest imo.
Boyracer
17th April 2011, 11:54
Great stuff from start to finish. Drive off the day to Webber by a country mile. After 15 laps or so he was back where he started, but he definitely has the goods.
Got to agree with a previous post that gambling on stragedy is taking over from driver skill but it definitely makes for exciting watching.
In regards to the manufacturers catching up with the RB7 it should be remembered their kers is still a dead weight for the majority of the races it has been on the car, when they get that working the gap will widen again.
Great to see Filipe back in form and also a strong performance by the Mercs this season is going to get better and better.
andy.price (@andy-price)
17th April 2011, 12:00
I loved it, start to finish. Everything happened. One of the best races during over 40 years of watching. Anyone who complains about that should take up another sport!
Daniel Thomas (@iamdanthomas)
17th April 2011, 12:10
fantastic race from start to finish, especially for McLaren fans. was interesting to note the prominence of the tyres in deciding the final result.
I write a race report after each race, and when I can, after qualifying. Find it here, tell how you think I can improve.
http://iwishmydadmademedocarting.blogspot.com/
LocustGP (@locustgp)
17th April 2011, 12:15
10! bloody brilliant drive from Webby. Happy for Hamilton (being a Mclaren fan) but drive of the last few years was Webber for sure. Almost that of Baricello’s maiden win!
btw was anything said about Alonso’s DRS working when not in the zone when chasing down Schumacher?
Rahim.RG (@rahim-rg)
17th April 2011, 12:20
What a race
Maciek
17th April 2011, 12:23
boo-hoo : ( so gutted: had to bring my girlfriend to the airport 10 laps from the end; I even set a screen video capture for the stream on my computer, but I shut it down wrong later so I couldn’t even watch it now… outside uk so no BBC, no highlights videos anywhere… boo-hoo, sniff, sniff.
Oh well, what I did see of it gets at least a 9, though. Some really great stuff all around.
Palle
17th April 2011, 22:40
A VPN solution can help You out.
BasCB (@bascb)
18th April 2011, 7:02
Poor you!
I only watched a recorded race from the Czech TV. Quite a lot of add time and the commentator was just so boring, It really hurt the race. And I missed part of it between the commercials, for example the Ham on Button passing.
I will have to watch the BBC next week when visiting my brothers (he has it recorded). Well worth it I think.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
17th April 2011, 12:30
Well done to Pirelli and the FIA.
KERS (I swear I’m the only fan of it) and the DRS, mixed in with the tyres have proven that we can see some competition this season.
For a dry race with one retirement (due to a loose wheel), it was a fantastic race!
mccalk90 (@)
17th April 2011, 12:34
Little more you can ask for!
xabregas
17th April 2011, 12:42
9 for the race and 10 for pirelli tires.
It´s been a while since the last time we saw such an exciting race.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
17th April 2011, 12:43
9/10, best Chinese GP I’ve seen.
Alexi
17th April 2011, 12:47
Nothing like a Hamilton win to push scores up.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
17th April 2011, 12:57
Instead of presuming what other peoples’ opinions are, without even apparently doing them the courtesy of reading what they’ve said, how about telling us what you thought of the race?
schooner (@schooner)
17th April 2011, 12:48
I had to get up at 3 AM to watch this race, and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep myself awake for the whole thing. I needn’t have worried! Brilliant race!
kondi2111 (@)
17th April 2011, 12:50
Only 9.9 from me :)
It can’t be a 10 if Kubica is not driving :)
Other than that it was perfect!
sednihp (@)
17th April 2011, 13:14
If you’re not giving it a 10, I’d love to know how it could have been improved upon.
There was close racing all through the field, a new winner, Webber driving through the field, loads of overtaking and it was unpredictable right to the end. It’s probably the best dry grand prix I’ve ever seen in 15 years of watching the sport.
Absolutely fantastic, races like that are the reason I watch F1.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
17th April 2011, 14:08
I couldn’t quite give it a 10:
The battle for the lead was great to see, and
Hamilton’s and especially Webber’s drives were brilliant.
But the track is very average. It is nowhere near as good as the previous race which had a couple of good spots for overtaking and it doesn’t have the wow factor of the next with those amazing corners. But hats off to Pirelli who have done a brilliant job to overcome the Shanghai shortcomings.
Overall I gave it 9 rubber chickens.
Daniel
17th April 2011, 13:32
Fantastic race. It seems that all these changes – kers, adjustable rear wing, Pirelli tyres – turned F1 into something spectacular. Good to see someone has eventually beaten RedBull. Good to see Mercedes making notable steps forward. Fantastic race for Webber. Fantastic start for Michael.
F1_Dave
17th April 2011, 13:33
didnt think the race was that great.
passing became far too predictable when you had a car on used tyres up against one on fresh tyres.
the fight between lewis and vettel at the end for example was quite poor because it was clear that lewis would definately make the pass because he was 2-3 seconds a lap faster on his fresher tyres and had kers.
the performance gap on tyres was such that vettel stood no chance whatsoever of doing anything about it.
i don’t want to go into a situation where you know a pass is definately going to happen because the car infront has nothing to fight back with.
like webber said post race-
“sometimes the overtaking moves are not that genuine because the guys your racing really have nothing to fight back with.”
mags (@mags)
17th April 2011, 13:47
Couldn’t agree more. After about 20 laps it was easy to tell who was going to get past and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have done, considering the amount of moves and the outcome. There was loads going on but very little tension when anyone got close to someone in front.
adamf184 (@adamf184)
17th April 2011, 14:41
I see your point but disagree with the Vettel Hamilton example. He was never 2-3 seconds a lap quicker. That was Webber. Hamiltons best lap was only 1sec quicker than Vettels this was generally the max gain when he was catching.
I think if Hamilton hadnt made the move stick in the first few laps his tyres may not have had enough left to get by and as he said he had to surprise Vettel as he was defending well at the normal overtaking points. I dont think it was as straightforward as your making out.
dragon
17th April 2011, 13:37
100/10, I think it’s a mark of how good it was that both my parents were screaming at the TV – and they don’t watch F1. Of course, being Aussies, we’re all strongly behind Webber, so that caused much of the excitement, I was shaking for a good ten minutes afterwards.
Absolutely brilliant drive from Lewis, and Seb’s defending on shot tyres was impressive while it lasted – put the car in all the right places and used tactics I don’t see from other drivers, like delaying his throttle to make sure Lewis couldn’t either when he had better exit speed. Went some way towards proving (to me) he’s got what it takes to tangle. But oh, Mark Webber, thank you for a great night’s entertainment.
I think the most exciting part for me is that the race was not goverened by track or weather conditions – it was the Pirellis and the DRS that contributed to such great racing. For me this shows there could be a few cracking races to come through the season. Qualifying pace, while not rendundant, becomes far less important now if you have no fresh rubber to finish the race.
Not sure how the right front tyre will cope with Turkey’s turn 8, but every minute’s wait for the start of this European leg is going to be pure torture.
God bless F1!
maxthecat
17th April 2011, 13:58
Awesome race, Shanghai lends its self to such though, Turkey will be a little more ‘follow the leader’ i think.
10/10 race though, 10/10 for Action mans (coulthard) comment and 10/10 for Webber basicly saying ‘I’m glad Lewis beat you’ to Vettel!
brum55
17th April 2011, 14:02
I’m surprised at how many people think this was the best race ever!! I thought Aus, Canada and Korea last year were better let alone races like Belgium 98, Japan 05 and Hungary 06.
The tyre situation adds interest but seeing cars overtake ones that are 1-2 seconds slower just has an air of inevitability about it and lacks the tension of overtakes from previous years. It wasn’t a case of CAN Hamilton overtake Vettel but WHEN he will overtake Vettel.
That isn’t to take anything from Hamilton or Webber who made the most of their respective strategies.
I’d give it an 8.
fufi_fufa (@)
17th April 2011, 14:08
i think that the DRS should be used anywhere in the track by any following car otherwise its practically useless and just another excuse to give penalties to drivers
StefMeister
17th April 2011, 14:21
I don’t really know what to make of the new look F1 to be honest.
Like some comments above say I did find passing a little bit too predictable when you had 2 cars on different strategies with tyres at different stages of wear.
When we see 2 (or more) cars on different strategies with tyres at different stages of wear we see far too much Catch-&-Passes at the expence of good racing with one car having to really work to find his way past.
Going back a few years, We had Alonso Vs. Schumacher at Imola in 2005/2006 fighting for the win over the final laps. Those were 2 great fights for the win, The car behind both years was faster but it was never clear if he would get past or not.
Today in a somewhat similar situation, It was predictable what the outcome would be as soon as Lewis started catching Vettel & I didn’t find it as exciting.
-A- (@a)
17th April 2011, 14:22
Very interesting race from in front of my screen. What was clearly noticeable was that the tyres do and will continue to play a much bigger role in the outcome of the races this year than having or not having a (fully functional) KERS or how often you’re able to use the adjustable rear wing.
Nice to see McLaren react to the troubles they had at Malaysia with a much better strategy this time. Although I’m thinking that with a three-stop strategy, Vettel would have had a good chance of staying in front.
One should not underestimate Mark Webber’s race today, in my opinion. I would assume he really had to push this car as far as possible to catch up from way back where he started, and to narrowly achieve a podium even after such a drive is impressive.
Horacio
17th April 2011, 14:40
To me, it was the best race that I can remember of in several seasons. To see Hamilton and Webber moving through was a delight.
BUT
I still consider that the thrill is still artificial: tires that vanish in few laps, KERS and DRS or whatever its name is and its ridiculously complex rules, the ridiculous norm of using two different tires in a race.
9/10
Doance (@doance)
17th April 2011, 14:48
Each driver finished in a deserved position. Who cares if it is more chaotic getting there? It’s exactly what we want!
th13teen
17th April 2011, 14:50
Excelent drive Lewis, a strategy that worked! Also well done to Mark! How is it possible to start in 18th and make it to 3rd?! Made the race a very intense and excitable race!
The only thing that would have improved the race would have been rain, but the actual racing was the best that I have seen, also it was good to see Vettel work for his just deserts!
taurus (@taurus)
17th April 2011, 14:55
I gave it a 9, and I think I may have made a mistake. Best race for a long, long, time. Pirelli should never change these tyres.
peto4000 (@peto4000)
17th April 2011, 15:01
What more could you want?
marcello
17th April 2011, 15:32
I must say if theres a driver I dont like its Hamilton.
Having said that, I am a proper die hard F1 fan and man enough to admit that his drive today was sensational, infact the best drive of his life in my opinion. He has showed a maturity this season about his driving.He overtook Alonso, Button, Vettel, Rosberg, infact just about anyone in his way, and after the very tricky problems in the pits i think thats reamrkable. Of course, Alonso and Rosbergs tyres were shot, as were Vettels, Button didnt put up much of a fight and incredibly was very happy with 4th (he quoted in the post race interview). That takes nothing away from Hamiltons superb drive from start to finish. Driver of the day HAS to go with Webber though, who climbed from a disastrous 18th to reach the podium, and another few laps would have got him in second place. After 15 laps he was still 15th with all to do and, yes he did have new options available from qualifying, but he was taking shark bites of time off the rest of the field, mostly with no KERS, and his overtaking was sublime. My man Alonso was terrible off the start as usual and had a very poor weekend. Thats the down side of him, if he feels he doesnt have a competitive car he gives up. Rosberg was impressive, some say Massa drove well, I personally think it was more down to Alonso driving poorly (and I am a Ferrari fan)!!! Vettel had a dreadful start that pretty much wrecked his race (KERS them right)!As for Button, what can I say, I simply cannot believe he pulled up outside red bulls garage by accident!!! I have watched every race for the past 20 years and dont recall that ever happening. I tend to think that what the Red Bull mechanic was stating to the BBC in the F1 Forum (about Button trying to slow Vettel down) was more like it. in fact I dont think that Red Bull mechanic was “joking”, as Jake Humphrey was saying (trying to poor water on the fire).
Great race though, the best for some time, shame there went a few more retirements and comings together so I’ll give it a 9
Alzarius (@alzarius)
18th April 2011, 6:28
I think in the post-race coverage, someone mentioned that last year a Toro Roso pulled up in the Red Bull pitbox too. I can see how that mistake can happen. Jenson really must have been daydreaming there.
Renzo
17th April 2011, 15:43
really a great great race, but now please remove the stupid DRS!!
StrFerrari4Ever (@strferrari4ever)
17th April 2011, 15:51
Incredible race throughout.
Close first stint with the top 3 closing on each other with every lap and Button pitting in the wrongbox was rather funny.
Superb drives from Lewis, Mark, Nico & Felipe. They surprised us pleasantly and it was just incredible to watch.
Red Bull’s strategy cost Vettel 7 extra points but he showed maturity by not bashing Lewis off the track or being upset by missing out on the win, his maturity could be the key to him getting a 2nd title this year.
Thank you Pirelli, KERS & DRS. We’ve seen the potential and this is just the start, bring on Turkey!
Poul
17th April 2011, 17:05
Haven’t voted as I have no idea how to vote this. As boring as it was back when overtaking was almost impossible I think we are starting to get the clear picture that this is not the right way. Even with the shorter DRS zone it seems that anyone who has pace to catch up with someone else will just drift right past the DRS-less driver in front.
Plenty of “overtaking” but to me it is starting to seem more rally car time trials as the cars have little interference with each other due to DRS. we see very few real battles in which the equipment of two or more cars at the particular stage of the race are equally matched and it becomes a true battle of the drivers.
I still think aero should be limited to the point where no artificial aides are need to drive close behind another car.
However, nice to see a race not won by Vettel and what a great race from Webber – only seven seconds behind the winner. Imagine how far ahead he could have been starting from the front.
I also have to applaud Pirelli for bringing back the strategic aspect to F1 big time. To see how close Hamilton and Vettel ended up finishing on two different strategies says that Pirelli are getting it just right.
Overall a decent race but nothing like a real super thriller of the past in my opinion!
Jeffrey Powell
17th April 2011, 22:36
Great to see Lewis win ,but that’s because I am a big fan. But is this really Grand Prix, I know it’s entertaining, but to watch drivers being passed with no chance of real resistance leaves me a bit cold.
Spree
17th April 2011, 17:06
Overtaking-Check
Differing Strategies-Check
Battle for the lead in closing laps-Check
What more could you want? 10/10
Lemon (@lemon)
17th April 2011, 17:13
crashes?
Patrickl (@patrickl)
17th April 2011, 17:36
There was some small collisions. Does that count?
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 18:28
Several Sauber wings flying and ALG losing his wheel – check!
David BR
17th April 2011, 17:34
I think one of the plus points of DRS is proving to be the bunching it generates. We saw two front groups of three (and several others behind) as drivers get within a second, use DRS and pull up close without being sufficiently faster to make a pass. That sets up for closer racing and overtaking later in the race and some tense (and intense) pit stops – as Button showed! Combined with the fast tyre wear, marbling and the need to go off line to overtake, it adds a little bit of wet weather magic in the dry. I’ve gone from being disillusioned last race to actually fairly hopeful the rule changes can keep real racing while adding to the excitement.
ukk (@ukk)
17th April 2011, 18:45
A race very easy to judge:
1) started with a drama – a car cruising with less bodywork than expected
2) then for 1.5 hours I could not find a place to rest on the sofa, but could not leave the sofa either – in order not to miss a pass and re-pass
3) Most important: those at the front were definitely not there by chance, but by racing
4) Also important: those behind were also not so far behind and fighting really hard, even when missing parts of bodywork (noses, wings) and with occasional KERS or DRS problems
5) The summary articles after the race on the top sites (f1fanatic, autosport, gpupdate, etc) have good 500+ words packed with action and still cannot cover all that happened!
And all this without rain or other randomizing factors, so multiply the above 5 by 2 and we get 10/10 :-)
Mattfd
17th April 2011, 18:46
Stunning race not much more to say has to be a 10!
Roll on Turkey more of the same please :D
Neil Davies (@neil-davies)
17th April 2011, 19:38
Epic.
I don’t care if Vettel wins the championship half way through the season if it’s a season of races like that!
I think this year could well be full of races like that, and so could be one of the greatest years, purely because of the uncertainty of strategy the Pirelli tyres have provided. Come next year the teams will most likely have all the data and the unknown will be known. I hope for this year the big teams continue to choose different strategies that gives us the kind of race we got today.
Also because of what Webber achieved today, there could well be some brave choices made, by the teams out o the top ten if not all through the field.
Pinball
18th April 2011, 4:02
Regarding tyre data for next year, it would be interesting if the FIA mixed up the order of the grands prix to ensure that they were in different seasons than the previous year. Maybe move a typically middle of summer grand prix to the start of spring, or the end of autumn, and vice versa. With different track temperatures etc, the all the different teams tyre data would become useless.
mename2332 (@mename2332)
17th April 2011, 19:43
By my calculations, the current average rating is 9.28
That means that we rate it more than the 2008 Brazilian GP
JohnTheMan96
18th April 2011, 0:28
I think the score of Brazil 2008 was hurt by Ferrari fans voting it a 1.
Elliot Horwood
17th April 2011, 19:49
Brilliant Race!
Brilliant Result!
Best Race since Brazil 2008!
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
17th April 2011, 20:53
Couldn’t vote for anything less than a 10 for this race. Kept me guessing until the last few laps, brilliant stuff!
Racer Norriski (@)
17th April 2011, 23:05
Better if Weber or Massa or Nico R. would of been a winner but a most interesting race for a very, very long time … especially a race with no rain. R & R
neracer (@neracer)
18th April 2011, 1:04
Fantastic win by Lewis, would’ve loved to see Rosberg on the podium though and even better that finally, I don’t have to watch Vettel win another race. Webber was superb and proved, to me, that he is a better racer than Vettel.
It was so good to see Hamilton use the tyre situation to his advantage, letting him do what he does best as well as having to nurse his tyres.
I was against the tyre degradation manipulation at first but after today, it does seem to keep the drivers guessing which means they are always in race mode and also gives the lower teams a chance for their drivers to shine. However, ideally I would love to see just plain and straightforward wheel to wheel racing using tyres that will last the distance.
Well done Hamilton and Webber!
Pink Peril (@pink-peril)
18th April 2011, 2:18
Absolutely epic race, I just didn’t know which battle to follow on screen, there was just so much happening. A definite 10 from me. One of the best races I have seen, ever. And what a drive from Webber ! So many had already written him off for this season, just goes to show that there is life in the old boy yet.
Seyr (@seyr)
18th April 2011, 4:31
Has to be the best race I’ve ever seen since following the sport since 2007. Had adrenaline pumping from the grid walk to the flag.
Maybe not a “perfect” race, but near as makes no difference, 10/10.
Alzarius (@alzarius)
18th April 2011, 6:24
Wow, one of the best races I’ve ever seen! I think the different tire strategies between the teams really helped contribute to the excitement. Both Hamilton and Webber were able to storm up the field because their tires were significantly fresher than those ahead of them. Yeah, the tires this year seem to make for more exciting races when different strategies are used.
Alzarius (@alzarius)
18th April 2011, 6:40
I think a lot of us must have seen the potential end coming a bit after Vettel’s 2nd stop. He put on the primes, and it was pretty clear Red Bull wanted to do a 2 stopper for him…. and we all know staring at the telly that perhaps by lap 50 or so, if that plan didn’t work out, he would lose a lot of pace and the field would catch up to him. And that was exactly what happened. And all that anticipation of the inevitable showdown between Hamilton and Vettel made this race a truly exciting one for me.
box this lap (@sebashuis)
18th April 2011, 7:07
In needs to mentoined in this comments, don’t if it somewhere here but!
I love tha fact that Hamilton took the lead by overtaking, not by DRS!
Russell
18th April 2011, 8:47
I seem to have missed out on the stuff that most of the people on this discussion have been smoking or drinking, who, in almost unanimous delusional agreement, believe that on Sunday they witnessed the best Formula One race this year/decade/ever (circle appropriate time period depending on how much you have smoked/drunk).
Sorry to be the party pooper, but this is Formula One we’re talking about here. Not an episode of East Enders with some ratings-chasing lesbian love seen. Not a roller-coaster ride at a new theme park that promises to bring up more of your breakfast than any other previous known roller-coaster ride.
Unfortunately, it seems most of the people commenting here have been suckered into the ‘improving the show’ mantra to the extent they now believe it’s true and have forgotten what Formula One has historically been about.
Perhaps it’s me who’s out of touch, but I always believed Formula One was about being the pinnacle of motor sport. The Championship was a product of the best people coming together with the best technology.
So can someone please explain to me why 95% of voters in this poll rate Sunday’s race an 8 or higher when:
The tyres use technology in a perverse way to actually make them totally useless after just 80 km?
The energy recovery system (KERS) bears no resemblance to anything any road car is using or is likely to use and is artificially constrained in both its power output and duration?
The adjustable rear wing (DRS) has not relevance to any road-going vehicle and is, again, artificially constrained in both its characteristics and duration?
The race was so driven by pit-wall strategies that at times even Brundle and Coulthard were confused as to who was where (so heaven help the ordinary viewer).
Let’s not be under any illusion here: the race was ‘exciting’ purely as a result of a raft of technical features that were all specifically designed to ‘dumb down’ the whole experience.
I’m all for a design environment that imposes constraints on the excesses of Formula One, both financial and environmental. But let’s make them truly relevant to the real world, by, for example, a simple cap on the total fuel consumption during a race. Then let the engineers be free to optimise the resulting engine and car. The winner of such a contest would be truly worthy of the Formula One accolades.
Unfortunately, on its current course Formula One is rapidly ceasing to be about engineering excellence in the hands of the best driver and more about damage limitation in the hands of the pit-wall strategists.
If we don’t wake up soon to this truth, we’ll soon begin to see the best engineering brains and drivers desert Formula One in search of another form of motor sport that values the continued pursuit of engineering excellence over the emerging experience of Ecclestone’s entertainment extravaganza. If the best engineering talents on the planet really want to devote their energies to increasing the brain’s transient output of dopamine then they can go and work for Disneyland. But I suspect their motives are more pure and sincere.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
18th April 2011, 9:09
OK I’ll have a go:
1. Why should it matter if the tyres are, in your words, “perverse”? It’s the same for all the drivers and it’s clearly more challenging than it was for them (and their teams) last year.
2 & 3. There are cars with hybrid propulsion systems (Prius, Civic Hybrid, others) and movable wings (Veyron, MP4-12C) which may not match their F1 equivalents exactly but are in the ballpark.
But I doubt many viewers are that interested in road relevance when they’ve tuned in to watch a motor race.
4. People like races that are unpredictable.
Jeffrey Powell
18th April 2011, 17:23
I think DRS. is a neccessary evil, something had to be done to enable overtaking, but this tyre nonsense is just plain stupid. F1 is about the fastest driver on the day in the fastest car on the day having the greatest chance of winning the race. His equipment should give him the best chance of driving at 10/10ths for as long as possible. Most of the overtakes in Sundays race were carried out by drivers in slower cars passing normally faster cars hobbled by useless tyres. I am a great Lewis fan but he obviously coasted past the pole sitter like a back marker.
I know I am a voice in the Wilderness but real grand prix dices are between virtually equal drivers in similar cars .DRS is the perfect tool to allow the faster car to catch and pass the slightly slower one, thus giving a real incentive to long spectacular challeges to the leader. We here so many times Brundle saying only 14 laps to go and at this rate the second place driver will be on the leader within say 8 laps,without DRS the end result is the catching driver sits behind the leader for a few laps and then gives up ,with DRS he is cofident of a real chance and pushes harder. With the current tyres if he pushes at 10/10ths for 8 laps his tyres will be jelly molds and totally useless.Drivers need tyres they can race on .
TdM
19th April 2011, 16:08
Don’t forget the moveable wing on the VW Corrado!
Also for this ‘fake’ overtaking, There was lots of real overtaking as shown by Hamilton and Webber especially but throughout the field.
Hamilton V Vettel – yes I will agree that it was basically ‘inevitable’ but Vettel defended very well making life incredibly difficult for Hamilton. The reason Hamilton got passed in the end wasn’t purely down to tyres it’s because he PERSONALLY as a RACER thought through where he had strengths and the red bull had weaknesses – saved his KERS from where you would usually use it and used it’s grunt in the right place to make the pass. I realise that this isn’t squabbling in the braking zone but it’s still racing – it’s still one man’s tactics against another and those drivers still made the difference.
Vettel’s defence was great – Hamilton’s overtaking was great, Schumachers defending was great, Webber had a great race it was close it was fighty the technology didn’t get in the way or create a ‘fake’ result people were able to overtake and defend throughout the field – I don’t understand why some people are so up on their high horse about the technology. Watch the race again – the technology is working! It’s giving us a race with fair and level playing fields.
The only place the DRS *looks* silly is when you have a McLaren passing something like a HRT then the speed difference is ridiculous but all this means is that we won’t be denied the racing we want to see between equals because they are stuck behind a car that is a second a lap slower and can’t get past like last year. It’s just better!
Neil Davies (@neil-davies)
18th April 2011, 10:25
I do agree to some degree with these points (I don’t think KERS is well thought out and DRS does feel too artificial) but rather than taking the approach that these things are damaging to F1 on a historical or technological level, I think they improve it as an appreciation of driving talent and teamwork. Yes, F1 should be the technological pinnacle of motor sport but it should also be a showcase for the greatest drivers in the world driving for the greatest teams in the world. When cars couldn’t get close enough to fight, or the tyres meant everyone did one stop and ran in formation to the flag, arguably the ability of the drivers and pit teams are barely tested. While I’m still not 100% on board with KERS or DRS, they undeniably provide more overtaking opportunities.
Perhaps the gradient of pace drop-off due to the tyres was too high this race, as it meant drivers were largely defenceless when a rival made a move to overtake – but then if the drop off was less, they might not have been caught in the first place. As long as the drop-off is different each race (which it likely will be as it will depend on track conditions, temp etc etc), it’ll mean unpredictability, a range of strategies and genuine racing excitement.
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
18th April 2011, 10:06
I never vote ten out of ten for anything. But for this race – genuinely and without weather intervention, messed up qualifying or anything else to “make” it happen, this was an amazing race. Strategy, great driving, and a guy chasing down and overtaking to grab the win in the dying moments. What else can you possibly ask for?
MacLeod (@macleod)
18th April 2011, 10:50
I really hate that 5 rounds before the end i have almost my prediction there then Hamilton catches Vettel Weber caughtes Button so i have only poleposition as point very dissapointing.
But the race was good 9/10 from me.
phildick (@phildick)
18th April 2011, 12:42
9/10. Close to chaotic, but constantly changing seems to be a better description – nice relief from processional racing. I even start to like DRS, if only we could abandon KERS, though…
PJA (@pja)
18th April 2011, 12:45
A great race, I rated it a 9.
sid_prasher (@)
18th April 2011, 16:35
Another brilliant race. Great driving from Hamilton and Webber.
A bit disappointed by Ferrari – they had looked better at the start.
Still feel the DRS rule needs to be tweaked – there should be a greater challenge in using it…
sato113 (@sato113)
18th April 2011, 16:40
not a 10. 9 is fine!
Sidney Vianna
18th April 2011, 18:08
Sorry for the slight change in topic, but why is the attendance so low in China? Those huge stands circling turn 14 only displaying signage. I believe they have been empty since the first Chinese GP. The Chinese should have used CGI to “fill up” the stands just like they did with the fireworks over the bird nest stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.
And why isn’t Speed TV broadcasting the race on HD, now that the feed is in HD?
marsht (@marsht)
18th April 2011, 21:01
6 people rated this race 1/10 :-/…
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
19th April 2011, 5:02
If this race don’t get 9 no race will ever be.
Rusty
19th April 2011, 10:51
It was eventful but I’m not entirely comfortable with the use of the word ‘overtaking’ -in the motor-sport sense- when one car drives past another car which is limping round on worn out tyres…
Poul
19th April 2011, 17:29
…and pushing a few square feet of extra air!
Kingshark (@kingshark)
25th April 2011, 1:51
Current average: 9.248
WOW
@HoHum (@hohum)
29th April 2011, 19:24
To late to matter but, 8/10, 9 if the powertrains were more varied and 10 if someone had come from the back and won both the race and the WDC.
Holly (@)
4th May 2011, 21:10
The Grand Prix was awesome. Especially when Lewis overtook Sebastian round that bend. But that’s why Hammy is so good.
fyujj
14th May 2011, 2:13
The link in the first page to rate the Turkish GP leads here.
Doance (@doance)
16th May 2011, 7:24
9.245 average. thats the highest ever