Alguersuari and Senna shine in wet qualifying

32 comments on “Alguersuari and Senna shine in wet qualifying”

1. 

   F1andy83
   27th August 2011, 21:32

   Way to go these two.
2. 

   sozavele (@formula-1)
   27th August 2011, 21:33

   Senna showed his true colours.
3. 

   Ben Everard
   27th August 2011, 21:34

   Senna’s performance has certainly made me rethink my previous opinion of disliking him being brought into the car.

   Yet, Spa and Monza are the circuits that will allow midfield teams to mix it a bit, so perhaps his performance may be exaggerated a tad… good qualifying though by Senna (and Alguersuari) though, we’ll see how he gets on.
   1. 

      unocv12
      28th August 2011, 6:28

      Yes, a wet Spa is probably one of the easiest to get a great result on team debut…. perhaps a raining Monaco would be better?
      1. 

         Mike
         28th August 2011, 8:23

         I wouldn’t say easiest…
   2. 

      Nick Hayes
      28th August 2011, 10:29

      I agree. Am I crazy for thinking that having watched the moving/powerful “Senna” documentary he became to believe/realize that there may be a deeper source of focus/talent/will inside himself that we wasn’t tapping?
   3. 

      Fixy (@)
      28th August 2011, 18:26

      My exact feeling. Though after the turn 1 accident this has changed…
4. 

   Steph (@)
   27th August 2011, 21:34

   Senna seemed on it all weekend (apart from the brief time when he was in the barrier). It was wonderful to watch him. I kept thinking “oh, he’s doing quite well” but at the end of the day I expected Petrov to out qualify him by a couple of tenths so that was a great surprise. That Renault must be a dream compared to the HRT too.

   Jaime was very good as well. It’ll be interesting to see how he and Buemi do in the race if they’ve gone for very different set ups.

   The saddest thing about today was what happened with Michael. What a way for his anniversary weekend to go but hopefully he’ll give us a cracking race tomorrow.
   1. 

      OEL F1
      27th August 2011, 22:11

      Yeah, shame about Schumi, but on the other hand it gives him the opportunity to do something really special tomorrow.
   2. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      28th August 2011, 9:06

      I was really gutted for Schumacher. Remember what happened to Barrichello last year for his 300th Grand Prix? Spa is cursed!

      Let’s hope he has a better race. Can’t go much worse.
5. 

   BasCB (@bascb)
   27th August 2011, 21:39

   Fully agree with that assessment Keith.

   I must say I have been very sceptical of Senna’s speed indeed, but he has already shown he deserves a chance. But it surely means either their car likes the cold temperatures, or Renault has found something to get back on the pace.
   And Alguearsuari proves once again, that he can do the job if he puts his heart into it. Didn’t he have his last best grid position after a wet/damp qualifying as well?
   1. 

      Enigma (@enigma)
      28th August 2011, 0:05

      I think his best was in Shanghai, where he qualified 8th (or somewhere around 8th), which was dry, but a crazy session nonetheless.
6. 

   slr
   27th August 2011, 21:52

   It’s interesting to see the top Mercedes engine powered car is only sixth in through the speed trap. Real shame for Schumacher, I really think he could have got well into the top ten today.
7. 

   sato113 (@sato113)
   27th August 2011, 21:54

   wow a 26kph speedtrap difference between KOB and PER! interesting…
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      27th August 2011, 21:57

      It was a lot drier in Q3, it’ll just be that I reckon. Still it does suggest Perez had a good run through Eau Rouge on his lap.
      1. 

         sato113 (@sato113)
         27th August 2011, 22:02

         ah yes of course. Also just so people know, 300kph is nowhere near the top speed at the end of the kemmel straight this year. we’re talking more like 325kph+ which is 200mph+
         1. 

            Mike
            28th August 2011, 0:36

            Which makes me wonder… Who won’t be able to pass because the rev limited kicks in this year?
      2. 

         Sush Meerkat
         28th August 2011, 11:05

         Also of note, in 2009 Luca Badoer was fastest through the Eau Rouge speed trap, he just didn’t carry the speed through… as evidence by him being a bit rubbish.

         That nickname article Keith did a while ago, some journalists were calling Luca Badoer “Look how bad you are”!

         This is why we can’t have nice things.
8. 

   sharmin. (@spartle)
   27th August 2011, 21:54

   The Toro Rossos always seem to be strong in the wet for some reason. It’s nice to see them mix it up with Saubers and even get ahead of Force India.
   It’s odd seeing Fernando qualify 8th. To be honest, he’s almost been invisible this weekend. Haven’t seen much of him at all. I wonder if it’s got something to do with the car or is it just that Spa isn’t exactly his favourite track?
   Tomorrow seems like it’s going to be an exciting race, I hope we see someone different on the podium!
   1. 

      Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
      28th August 2011, 6:43

      I too hope we see a different podium result than usual, Massa and Rosberg both stand a great chance of making it there, and who knows, an unpredictable race could give the likes of Senna and Alguersuari a chance too!

      As far as Alonso’s poor form, I think he just struggles at Spa. It’s something he needs to fix if he wants to be truly counted among the all time greats.

      Schumacher, Senna, Clark, Fangio, Prost, Lauda, Raikkonen are all multiple winners at Spa.

      Alonso’s best result was 2nd in 2005, nearly 30 seconds behind Kimi.
9. 

   sato113 (@sato113)
   27th August 2011, 22:17

   You’re my hero schumi!
   http://www.formula1.com/wi/597×478/sutton/2011/d11bel1121.jpg
10. 

    Palle (@palle)
    27th August 2011, 23:10

    I didn’t expect Bruno to be better than Nick, but I’m glad he surprised us;-) Comparing his sector times and speed trap of 81.64 m/s with Petrov’s sector times and speed trap of 79.31 m/s and also comparing with those around him, it is evident that Bruno and his race engineer has got something right, to exploit the potential of the Renault. Can’t wait to see him race tomorrow.
    Hopefully Schumacher will move up through the field, to where he supposedly should be, without any accidents – it is his anniversary after all.
11. 

    Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
    28th August 2011, 0:44

    To be fair to Petrov, he probbly did the least running of anyone on the field after he had that steering problem in FP2. So for him to make Q3 at all was a pretty good effort.
12. 

    Rui
    28th August 2011, 0:44

    Maybe the time and tricks he learned at HRT are working now..
13. 

    maxthecat
    28th August 2011, 2:01

    Senna surprised me actually, so much so it makes me wonder just how fast the Renault really is.
14. 

    fordsrule (@fordsrule)
    28th August 2011, 4:16

    So happy for Senna, it seems most people are changing there opinions of him now. Hopefully he can have a clean race and score some points. Maybe my race prediction is possible. :)
15. 

    Rahim.RG (@rahim-rg)
    28th August 2011, 8:16

    Looking at Kimi’s performance on a track like spa..i wonder why isn’t he counted in the greats…whereas alonso who’s not yet won on a real driver’s circuit is..??
16. 

    Hoshi
    28th August 2011, 8:16

    How slow is Ricciardo…

    i am amazed no one is saying anything about this guya while Narain has been labelled “slowest driver on the grid”, this guy is even slower..!!!
    1. 

       F1 98
       28th August 2011, 8:51

       He is slow but narain is worst I can beat both of them blind folded
    2. 

       AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
       28th August 2011, 9:10

       Ricciardo has next to no experience next to Narain.
17. 

    AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
    28th August 2011, 9:10

    I’ve missed these articles. Great analysis.
18. 

    Daniel
    28th August 2011, 10:56

    People seem to have forgotten that Bruno had his career interrupted for almost 10 years, after Ayrton’s death, during his critical early days in karts.

    What he achieved so far (runner-up in GP2, one year in F1 generally beating his team-mate) is remarkable in itself, given his deep lack of experience when compared to any other driver of his age.

    I always thought he had plenty of raw speed and natural talent, things that shine brighter in conditions like those in Spa yesterday.

    My only concern about him, that I still have, is that these “lost years” might lock part of his true potential, in terms of delivering consistent results, slowing his development until he reaches an age when he’ll be too old for Formula 1.

    Apart from that, I’m sure his capable of one-off brilliant performances like these, or even of winning a race if given the right car. Far from sure when it comes to winning a WDC, for the reasons said above…

    If he keeps delivering results beyond expectations, Renault will be deeply sorry for not putting him on the car since the beginning of the year…

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