Di Resta says Singapore was his season highlight

38 comments on “Di Resta says Singapore was his season highlight”

1. 

   Zubair (@zubair380)
   22nd December 2012, 1:12

   Surprised to see Raikkonen voted as the top over-taker of the season with 40% of the vote.
   Can someone please explain why? (honestly out of interest.. not in a bad way)
   1. 

      Bosley (@)
      22nd December 2012, 1:18

      It would go down to popularity I think.
      1. 

         Chris (@tophercheese21)
         23rd December 2012, 3:48

         +1
   2. 

      electrolite (@electrolite)
      22nd December 2012, 1:34

      I voted Sergio Perez!
      1. 

         Beto (@chebeto0)
         23rd December 2012, 17:30

         +1
   3. 

      George (@george)
      22nd December 2012, 1:35

      He missed a few opportunities, but he also did some of the best overtakes of the year (Spa, USA and Brazil) that got me on the edge of my seat.

      As Bosley says though, it’s also down to popularity. You’re bound to remember more good moments from drivers you like. It’s not like I watch every race with a clipboard writing down all the best overtakes and then tallying them up for the vote.
      1. 

         Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
         22nd December 2012, 1:43

         You’re bound to remember more good moments from drivers you like.

         On the other hand, there’s always the dedcated fanbase that will always vote for their favourite driver regardless of what they actually did. I remember back in 2010 when Robert Kubica would up with about 80% of the vote for a move he made on Jenson Button at the European Grand Prix. And while it certainly was an impressive move, suspicious were aroused when over thee thousand votes were cast (compare that to this year’s poll, which currently has 626 votes). Someone did a little digging and found that the poll had been posted on a Polish fansite, where everyone was encouraged to vote for Kubica. In the end, Keith had to reset the votes so that the poll was fair. I think that was also the episode that led to users needing to register in order to be able to vote in polls.
         1. 

            Mike (@mike)
            22nd December 2012, 13:55

            So…. it’s unlikely to be biased this time?
   4. 

      andae23 (@andae23)
      22nd December 2012, 8:56

      Probably because he made two good overtakes and people didn’t bother to look beyond those two.
   5. 

      Neel Jani (@neelv27)
      22nd December 2012, 10:24

      For me I was more impressed with Seb’s move on Nico in Melbourne. I think it was lap 2 so the tire wear wasn’t too high and Seb pulled of a great move on Nico. It’s been Nico’s Achilles heel and I seldomly remember Nico doing great in a wheel to wheel battle. If it was Fernando or Lewis or even Michael, Seb wouldn’t have dared pulling it off.
2. 

   Spinmastermic (@spinmastermic)
   22nd December 2012, 1:24

   The Race of Champions had 500 people in a 50,000 capacity stadium. Were the tickets too expensive or no event promotion?
3. 

   Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
   22nd December 2012, 1:36

   Sorry, Robin, but I can’t agree – I always thought the pre-2009 cars were ugly, what with all the bulky design and winglets and fins and all the aerodynamic bells and whistles attached. People criticise the post-2009 cars for having front wings that are too wide and rear wings that are too tall and too narrow, but I think the cars look cleaner and sleeker now.
   1. 

      Kingshark (@kingshark)
      22nd December 2012, 1:41

      @prisoner-monkeys
      I have to disagree here. The post-2009 cars look like someone stole a front wing another car and stuck it on this one, they look so disproportional. Seems more of a lawnmower than an F1 car to me.

      At least the pre-2009 cars had wings that looked like they were actually on the right cars.

      Lastly, I actually quite liked shark fins. I don’t know what people had against them.
      1. 

         Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
         22nd December 2012, 2:00

         I always thought that shark fins made the cars look like semi-trailers. Particularly when Red Bull anchored their shark fin to the rear wing.
         1. 

            Maverick_232 (@maverick_232)
            22nd December 2012, 9:31

            I agree to an extent. However, a side view of the 2010 mclaren still has me dribbling. I was very disappointed with the shape of cars post-2009 but that mclaren changed my mind. I still love the pre-2009 cars. Someone once described them as “fighter jets with wheels” and I definately agree.
            I just wonder what sort of racing we’d get if they bolted on kers and drs to those cars?
            1. 

               Neel Jani (@neelv27)
               22nd December 2012, 10:26

               +1. The MP4-25 was a beauty!
   2. 

      nackavich (@nackavich)
      22nd December 2012, 2:00

      @prisoner-monkeys
      Agreed. I couldn’t really stand the majority of the cars post 2007 to pre 2010. Sure there were a few I liked but now I like the way they look much simpler. Much sleeker lines -especially the tidy rear end of the cars now. The broken nose was a tad off putting at first but I’ve gotten used to it. Too many winglets/fins on those 2007-2009 cars and I couldn’t stand the horrible wheel covers they’d have on some of the cars! Uck!
   3. 

      Bob (@bobthevulcan)
      22nd December 2012, 4:55

      I personally prefer the 2004-2006 era cars, which struck a nice balance between proportion, sleekness, and futuristic aerodynamic appendages, without going overboard in any area.
      1. 

         Joanna Bessey (@bernie-ecclescake)
         22nd December 2012, 6:09

         Agreed, 2003-2006 F1 car is the perfect balance between aerodynamic,power and beauty. I still remember when Ferrari start to introduce the coke bottle sidepod and Sauber massive undercut sidepod, very elegant compared to the old box shape sidepod of 90’s.
   4. 

      andae23 (@andae23)
      22nd December 2012, 9:00

      I think he didn’t mean ‘dream car’ to be a pretty car: it is a Sauber F1 car and his dream would be to drive one of them.
   5. 

      verstappen (@verstappen)
      22nd December 2012, 9:13

      I wonder what other F1 cars has Robin seen from up close? Maybe he’s more in awe with the beast he seas, than with this particular car.
   6. 

      Chris (@tophercheese21)
      23rd December 2012, 3:52

      Agreed, I really like the look of the post 2009 cars. The stepped noses have kind of grown on me, but it’s clear from Mclaren that not having them looks much better.
4. 

   roberttty (@roberttty)
   22nd December 2012, 1:38

   I guess di Riesta is one of those driver who thrive and do well in the Singapore circuit. Glock and Maldonaldo are the other two who come to mind.
   1. 

      Kingshark (@kingshark)
      22nd December 2012, 1:42

      Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel also generally go well around there. Rosberg too.
   2. 

      Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
      22nd December 2012, 7:05

      Or it can be said, what for them is an exception (one circuit wonders), for others is a norm.
5. 

   yafa
   22nd December 2012, 1:46

   South africa mentioned in twice in the round up along with jody sheckter..feels pretty kewl. Remember meeting juan pablo montoya in 2001 winter testing..and I live around the corner from we’re the westmead race track would be. Its a shame we don’t have any grand prix down here anymore, as there are car enthusiasts at every street corner. Especially in durban. The recent top gear show was a sell out..the lil A1 gp was a success so there definatley is no crowd problem. On a side note…I don’t care much for sheckter..he may be our only f1 world champ and race winner, but he hasn’t done much to promote f1 in south africa. On the other hand we have rory byrne and gordan murray(durban born;) ) who have been fantastic.
   1. 

      Suvan Naidu (@serv)
      22nd December 2012, 6:40

      I’m formerly from Durban and now travel between Durban and Melbourne. Boy, it would be beautiful to see a race in Durban. I reckon even people who don’t watch F1 will come for it. Weren’t they thinking of bidding for a grand prix last year?

      I guess we also gotta take into the account the fact that so much of the country is in poverty. The govt. can’t be seen spending so much money on hosting a GP and not taking care of it’s people. One day maybe…one day!
6. 

   mantresx
   22nd December 2012, 2:53

   From the Ferrari article:
   “By the time he had signed for McLaren, Mexico’s Sergio Perez had already left the Academy”
   I don’t believe that, at the time it was never mentioned he had “left” the Academy before signing and actually I remember Baldisserri saying that he was too aggressive bla bla bla, so he must’ve been involved one way or another at the time.
7. 

   Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
   22nd December 2012, 3:24

   Sergio Perez has made his Mclaren debut!
   1. 

      Neel Jani (@neelv27)
      22nd December 2012, 10:31

      awesome!
   2. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      23rd December 2012, 19:09

      nice!
8. 

   AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
   22nd December 2012, 6:31

   Hembery makes an interesting point: how did they afford all these things those days? Apart from testing in South Africa, there used to be T-cars, unlimited (or at least more) tyres, engines, and gearboxes, not to mention unlimited in-season testing. Is it just that F1 teams employ more people? It anyway makes me suspect that F1’s cost cutting rules, especially the irritating gearbox-penalty rules, are not particularly effective.
   1. 

      david d.m.
      22nd December 2012, 7:08

      Well back then they didn’t have as much wind tunnel or CFD development and of course there was tobacco sponsorship but I think mainly there has been a shift like you say to have more and better prepared people to design the cars properly from day one specially now that there’s no testing, the days where the teams ran last year’s car for example are a thing of the past
   2. 

      F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
      22nd December 2012, 14:14

      well, sponsorship money was flowing more freely back then. and for all but the big 3, the number of employees has come way down. a couple years ago frank williams said “we could do testing as long as it doesn’t require a second team (of employees)”.

      i know of 2 effective cost-cutting measures in f1, and i’m doubtful of many others:

      years ago, teams would blow up a dozen engines on the track. now, with a fixed cost and minimum standards of lifespan, engine builders test a dozen motors, pick the best 1 and melt the rest. the cost is shifted to the engine builder and they’ll operate at a profit or loss (i’m guessing “loss”) as they see fit and the customers are spared the agony.

      for 2013 (2014?) teams will be limited to very few possible gear ratios, to be selected prior to the start of the season. the previous limit was about 30, and before that teams were buying boatloads of different gears with many not being used at all. the very definition of diminishing returns, but that’s how you reach the tenth 10th of performance. still, enforcing the same ratios at monaco and spa doesn’t sit 100% well with me.

      1 area i suspect has been ineffective is the testing ban. this creates the situation where a team will front-load a lot of spending, then scramble to spend their way out of mistakes or shortcomings. i don’t think this would produce very different running orders since the already quick cars would also get quicker. an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so let’s have some more track sessions already. what other sport forbids practice, any way? nonsense.
      1. 

         Brace (@brace)
         22nd December 2012, 15:48

         Imagine if football teams were allowed just few hours of practice day or two prior to a match. It would be ridiculous.

         Some of the things that really bug me with F1 these days are lack of testing and too much standardization. As you point out, gear ratios limitations are going overboard.

         In his unfortunate outburst of wisdom, Schecket touched on one other thing that I disagree with. That’s gerbox and engine penalties.
         While I think it’s complete nonsense to penalize just team in constructors and not move drivers back, I think the rule itself really needs to be reviewed completely.

         All those clowns who are running this sport really need to start earning their keep instead of just going to fancy events.

         Case in point is Brasil this year.

         Here’s how I think the whole debacle over the yellow flags could have been avoided:

         I’d imagine race control has a track layout on some screen with cars going round like dots. So if those flag-light posts are automated, then shouldn’t race control have them as part of the system too? Marshals can have a simple gadget with GPS (to show their location on the track) where they press one of few buttons that signalize the kind of flag they are waving at a certain point in time. That way, if driver passes other car in the yellow flag zone, race control would automatically receive alarm message on their screen or whatever. They can then just double check with a marshal via radio and have a clear situation in just few seconds.
         1. 

            F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
            23rd December 2012, 0:54

            a system similar to what you describe has been in place at every race for a while. i think the bbc showed it off at the first singapore race.

            the fact is, they wouldn’t overturn a mid-season result for a clearly illegal hole in the floor, and for anything less than bloody murder there was no way in hell officials were going to call an early end to the title fight. if it were a mid-pack runner passing under yellow, race control would come down on them without hesitation.
            1. 

               F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
               23rd December 2012, 0:54

               maybe it was itv, not bbc
9. 

   BasCB (@bascb)
   23rd December 2012, 19:10

   A very nice birthday to all of you who had theirs on the 22th!

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