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Shadow Concept

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The first real race this season. A bitter battle for the first position for gobs & gobs of laps. Vettel was phenomenal despite lacking DRS on the straights.

Excellent drive by Hamilton too. There's not much to choose between RBR & Macca during race day.

Jenson did well to recover lost ground.

Don't know how Webber faded away.

Alonso flattered to deceive, but I guess Ferrari's once again ahead of Mercedes.

Schumi acquitted himself decently. His car couldn't have come higher (lower!) than 6th. He did well to rape his car to the maximum extent & keep his transsexual teammate at bay for 66 laps running.

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Enjoyable race...

Props to Vettel - he's still damn fast. Nice move from the pit wall making Alonso blink with the early second stop - that won it for Vettel.

Hamilton - great to watch him fighting to the end. Never had quite enough in that Macca, but he wrung it's neck - always nice to see.

Button - the first race this season where we can see his tyre preservation really making a difference. Smooth driving making the 3 stopper pay off.

Webber - got to be gutted with that start. From there he was on the back foot all the way - should really have caught Button for third though.

Alonso - might have done better to stay out instead of pitting when Vettel did on that 2nd stop, but saying that I don't think the Ferrari ever had the legs to beat that RB.

Schumi - well done for holding Rosberg at bay during that last stint. He should be happy - great start and he took advantage of it.

Rosberg - will be a little dissappointed because he knew he was faster than Shumi at the end, but his start was poor and that's his fault.

Heidfeld - Brilliant race form last to 8th. Props to him. He deserves credit on the few occasions he pulls one out of the bag. Similar to Webber a few races back - nice to have a whole garage full of fresh tyres.

Perez & Kobayashi - fair race - putting the Sauber where it can be.

Petrov - Awful. I really don't know why the Poochie pit thought it a good idea to leave him out for half the race on the same set of hard tyres. What did they expect? They screwed up the first stop and then he screwed himself with a mistake towards the end. But hey guys - give the guy a strategy, not a kiss of death.

Di Resta - beat Sutil again. Well done lad - you'll make that team yours if you carry on like that. Just watch out for any champagne glasses headed your way.

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Enjoyable race...

Props to Vettel - he's still damn fast. Nice move from the pit wall making Alonso blink with the early second stop - that won it for Vettel.

Hamilton - great to watch him fighting to the end. Never had quite enough in that Macca, but he wrung it's neck - always nice to see.

Button - the first race this season where we can see his tyre preservation really making a difference. Smooth driving making the 3 stopper pay off.

Webber - got to be gutted with that start. From there he was on the back foot all the way - should really have caught Button for third though.

Alonso - might have done better to stay out instead of pitting when Vettel did on that 2nd stop, but saying that I don't think the Ferrari ever had the legs to beat that RB.

Schumi - well done for holding Rosberg at bay during that last stint. He should be happy - great start and he took advantage of it.

Rosberg - will be a little dissappointed because he knew he was faster than Shumi at the end, but his start was poor and that's his fault.

Heidfeld - Brilliant race form last to 8th. Props to him. He deserves credit on the few occasions he pulls one out of the bag. Similar to Webber a few races back - nice to have a whole garage full of fresh tyres.

Perez & Kobayashi - fair race - putting the Sauber where it can be.

Petrov - Awful. I really don't know why the Poochie pit thought it a good idea to leave him out for half the race on the same set of hard tyres. What did they expect? They screwed up the first stop and then he screwed himself with a mistake towards the end. But hey guys - give the guy a strategy, not a kiss of death.

Di Resta - beat Sutil again. Well done lad - you'll make that team yours if you carry on like that. Just watch out for any champagne glasses headed your way.

:thbup:

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I think Button's moves on Webber & Alonso are the best overtakings of the day.

You did'nt see the great overtakes from Vettel in one lap that determined the outcome as winner??? oh I forgot, VETTEL CAN'T OVERTAKE, this race proves that!!!

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You did'nt see the great overtakes from Vettel in one lap that determined the outcome as winner??? oh I forgot, VETTEL CAN'T OVERTAKE, this race proves that!!!

Er, I never said anywhere that Vettel can't overtake. Anyway, Vettel did make a very good start yep. But I did miss his other overtakes as I was in the kitchen making pasta.

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Er, I never said anywhere that Vettel can't overtake. Anyway, Vettel did make a very good start yep. But I did miss his other overtakes as I was in the kitchen making pasta.

:nono1: You see, that's something you can never do, there is absolutely no cooking during a race except for coffee, I am fixing a chocoflan today but that didn't interfere with me watching the race, in fact today we have an airshow in my nearest AFB, that's Andrews with the Thunderbirds and I missed it because I won't jeopardize the race not even for this and I really love airplanes.

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Er, I never said anywhere that Vettel can't overtake. Anyway, Vettel did make a very good start yep. But I did miss his other overtakes as I was in the kitchen making pasta.

There is a general belief from certain ppl, however daft, that Vettel can't overtake and just wins from pole. You should'nt be making pasta when watching F1, just be glued to the screen as you missed 2 balsy overtaking manouvres by Vettel :P

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There is a general belief from certain ppl, however daft, that Vettel can't overtake and just wins from pole. You should'nt be making pasta when watching F1, just be glued to the screen as you missed 2 balsy overtaking manouvres by Vettel :P

agree

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The race at Barcelona is usually a snoozefest - this one was anything but, though more because of the tyres than the DRS (which seemed about as effective as in Australia). The fact Red Bull still hasn't sorted their KERS out played its part too. Great to see two WDC's battling for victory and driving so well, Vettel's defensive driving and overtaking in particular was superb today; his race craft really paid off for him on a day when Macca's race pace was threatening.

Other points of interest include Schumi's strong drive; Alonso's unbelievably good and deceptive start; Massa's continued underperformance; Di Resta beating Sutil (again); the Sauber boys doing a good job; Button making a three-stopper work, and Heidfeld's performance from last on the grid.

It's a shame for Webber but his run to the first corner, and getting bottled up for too long behind slower cars, really ruined his day.

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Pretty much everthing was already said about the race. My personal nuances on what is basically the same view:

1) For once, the Argentinian commentators made a good point: "Tires should be important, but no more important than the cars themselves or the drivers. That is not happening right now when the tires aone amount to 1 to 2 secs a lap". Simply put, we didn't see a dominat car. We didn't see dominant drivers, all we saw were a few precious second of tires more or less balanced, and fireworkish overtakes when the tire strategies started to divert. With all due respect to the Buttonites (Jens did have a great race, possibly one of his best this year), his overtaking moves on Alonso and Webber (which I bet will be considered among the best overtaking moves by Planet F1 :P) were nothing but a car on fresh tires overtaking two sitting ducks. Much better were his overtakes at the beginning, when things were more confusing and those had a subtler but deeper impact on his final standing.

2) I sually play down Alonso's races and talk up the other guys to compensate for my own bias. As I bet this race most people will go that way, I decided to let it go and let my nias take full control :P Alonso had a magical start. Before the race started I said to a friend (a partisan Alonsophile...him, not moi) "Don't be deluded, that 4th place at the starting grid might have costed him more than all the other 5th places tohether". After the start I said again "He will be fighting for 5th, with any luck". Yeah, it amazed even me that my predictions were that accurate, maybe I'm getting the hang of al this chaos! In any case, 5th was both the best and the worst he could do as his car was condemned to be much slower than the other 4 and at the same time faster than anyone else behind. He might have caught Jens, but Jens was superb as well. But, beyond that, he drove a brilliant, magical first part of the race, as much as Hamilton had a brilliant second part. Alonsoc couldn't have gotten much more than what he got, but he did it wonderfully.

3) Vettel showed a lot more this race for a change. First race I actually enjoyed watching him race. Lewis was magical too (along with Alonso, the two godlike performances at the top). Vettel and Webber were great, except that Webber as usual had to recover from a poor start. It's not good to go backwards one step every race and then show that you were at the same level as the rest of the top if you do it everytime. But the battle against Alonso was gripping. Jenson (like Vettel) found himself out of his comfort zone and delivered masterfully. The top 5th places were great each one whithin their own possibilities. A rare spectacle if you come to think of it.

4) Many other drivers were great or had great strategies. Heidfeld comes to mind with a mix of both. Schumi still looks like he has more aces under his sleeve that peoople thinks, but his style stil seems outdated. Too many locked wheels gave him away. He is no Hamilton. He should look more at Nando or Button to remember what is the piece missing in his old bag of tricks.

5) Massa has all the bad luck of a number 2 driver. But even giving him that, he still is a waste of space, a waste of fuel and a waste of oxygen. Ferrari would have got moe points and money out of this race if they had sold Massa's car for scrap metal, fired Massa paying his whole contract and given Felipe's tires to Alonso's car. Whether it is true that Nando would accept anybody even slightly more competitive than FM or not, Ferrari needs it and needs it fast. I'd rather bring back Kubica in his present condition.

6) Petrov had an awful pit strategy. Other than that, he performed rather well while it lasted.

7) In short, drivers of the day: The top 5, plus Heidfeld for me. Underperformers of the day: you got the hint, right? :D

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You did'nt see the great overtakes from Vettel in one lap that determined the outcome as winner??? oh I forgot, VETTEL CAN'T OVERTAKE, this race proves that!!!

what!? with new tyres he was 3 sec faster than his rivals, they didn't have a chance. that wasn't overtaking, that was going around them.:nono1:

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Pretty much everthing was already said about the race. My personal nuances on what is basically the same view:

1) For once, the Argentinian commentators made a good point: "Tires should be important, but no more important than the cars themselves or the drivers. That is not happening right now when the tires aone amount to 1 to 2 secs a lap". Simply put, we didn't see a dominat car. We didn't see dominant drivers, all we saw were a few precious second of tires more or less balanced, and fireworkish overtakes when the tire strategies started to divert. With all due respect to the Buttonites (Jens did have a great race, possibly one of his best this year), his overtaking moves on Alonso and Webber (which I bet will be considered among the best overtaking moves by Planet F1 :P) were nothing but a car on fresh tires overtaking two sitting ducks. Much better were his overtakes at the beginning, when things were more confusing and those had a subtler but deeper impact on his final standing.

2) I sually play down Alonso's races and talk up the other guys to compensate for my own bias. As I bet this race most people will go that way, I decided to let it go and let my nias take full control :P Alonso had a magical start. Before the race started I said to a friend (a partisan Alonsophile...him, not moi) "Don't be deluded, that 4th place at the starting grid might have costed him more than all the other 5th places tohether". After the start I said again "He will be fighting for 5th, with any luck". Yeah, it amazed even me that my predictions were that accurate, maybe I'm getting the hang of al this chaos! In any case, 5th was both the best and the worst he could do as his car was condemned to be much slower than the other 4 and at the same time faster than anyone else behind. He might have caught Jens, but Jens was superb as well. But, beyond that, he drove a brilliant, magical first part of the race, as much as Hamilton had a brilliant second part. Alonsoc couldn't have gotten much more than what he got, but he did it wonderfully.

3) Vettel showed a lot more this race for a change. First race I actually enjoyed watching him race. Lewis was magical too (along with Alonso, the two godlike performances at the top). Vettel and Webber were great, except that Webber as usual had to recover from a poor start. It's not good to go backwards one step every race and then show that you were at the same level as the rest of the top if you do it everytime. But the battle against Alonso was gripping. Jenson (like Vettel) found himself out of his comfort zone and delivered masterfully. The top 5th places were great each one whithin their own possibilities. A rare spectacle if you come to think of it.

4) Many other drivers were great or had great strategies. Heidfeld comes to mind with a mix of both. Schumi still looks like he has more aces under his sleeve that peoople thinks, but his style stil seems outdated. Too many locked wheels gave him away. He is no Hamilton. He should look more at Nando or Button to remember what is the piece missing in his old bag of tricks.

5) Massa has all the bad luck of a number 2 driver. But even giving him that, he still is a waste of space, a waste of fuel and a waste of oxygen. Ferrari would have got moe points and money out of this race if they had sold Massa's car for scrap metal, fired Massa paying his whole contract and given Felipe's tires to Alonso's car. Whether it is true that Nando would accept anybody even slightly more competitive than FM or not, Ferrari needs it and needs it fast. I'd rather bring back Kubica in his present condition.

6) Petrov had an awful pit strategy. Other than that, he performed rather well while it lasted.

7) In short, drivers of the day: The top 5, plus Heidfeld for me. Underperformers of the day: you got the hint, right? :D

Agreed. Except point 5. No. No Felipe´s part, only Ferrari´sa part. Ferrari needs Newey or someone like him. When you have a guy wining with so many team the key are not the drivers, is him! So bye Aldo and Tombraider (or something like that with less tits) And then let Kamui be the 2nd driver! Banzai!

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Agreed. Except point 5. No. No Felipe´s part, only Ferrari´sa part. Ferrari needs Newey or someone like him. When you have a guy wining with so many team the key are not the drivers, is him! So bye Aldo and Tombraider (or something like that with less tits) And then let Kamui be the 2nd driver! Banzai!

I agree that the problems with Ferrari are (in this order)

1) Imagination. They are sticking always to the more conservative approaches. Those will only bring them to the most conservative places. They safest bet is a 3rd place in the WCC and a 5th place average for Nando and a 6th for Massa. And currently that's all they got, minus Massa. And all this, assuming they don't **** up more than the RBRs or the Maccas. RBR, even with the KERS problem, looks much more professional this year and Macca is a very professional team with a tidied up Hamilton and a slowly growing Button as an added bonus this year. And if any of the other teams rises up their game just a little...

2) The lack of key guys at developing the car. They have improved but even if Alonso's infamous 6/10ths actually existed and had he brought it to the team, they still are at least half a second behind the Maccas and the RBRs. A fired up Nando and tweaked strategies are helping a lot, but those are barely enough to keep them from falling behind further. Upgrades are merely patches. They need a whole better basic concept.

3) Massa. Sorry, but lets assume that he can be as good as he hinted to be in 2008. He needs a car perfectly suited for him, better strategies and his motivation just as high. Then maybe he would be the next big thing, greater than Nando and even greater than Vettel, Hamilton, Schumacher and Mr.Incredible. The problem is, nobody is willing or able to give him that much. So in the end it is irrelevant if his dismal performances are due to internal (morale) or external (mechanical, political) factors. The result is the same. Massa is useless so either they give him all he needs to see if he is better than god or put him out of his misery. The Felipe we see now does not help the team, does not pushes Alonso and cant even help himself. Better bring in a cheaper, easier to motivate guy for that role, give him the same crappy car that Massa has, make him polish Nando's toenails everyday and he will still deliver more than Felipe does.

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3) Massa. Sorry, but lets assume that he can be as good as he hinted to be in 2008. He needs a car perfectly suited for him, better strategies and his motivation just as high. Then maybe he would be the next big thing, greater than Nando and even greater than Vettel, Hamilton, Schumacher and Mr.Incredible. The problem is, nobody is willing or able to give him that much. So in the end it is irrelevant if his dismal performances are due to internal (morale) or external (mechanical, political) factors. The result is the same. Massa is useless so either they give him all he needs to see if he is better than god or put him out of his misery. The Felipe we see now does not help the team, does not pushes Alonso and cant even help himself. Better bring in a cheaper, easier to motivate guy for that role, give him the same crappy car that Massa has, make him polish Nando's toenails everyday and he will still deliver more than Felipe does.

well, he has sex b4 every race, maybe he should curb his enthusiam for after. He could perfrm better on the track then

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Not a bad race, good battle between Vettel & Hamilton, Button & Webber also having a good scrap! Good race from quick Nick! Kovalainen unfortunately crashed out at his favourite corner & Massa had a mare of a race! So it looks like Vettel & Hamilton for the title & Red Bull for WCC.....yawn!

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R.I.P. F150º Italia.

I agree with Andrés but I don't think one of Ferrari's problems is Massa, Ferrari's problem this season is Ferrari.

Maybe in September we can talk about the drivers but now the car is what Ferrari should ammend ASAP.

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3) Massa. Sorry, but lets assume that he can be as good as he hinted to be in 2008. He needs a car perfectly suited for him, better strategies and his motivation just as high. Then maybe he would be the next big thing, greater than Nando and even greater than Vettel, Hamilton, Schumacher and Mr.Incredible. The problem is, nobody is willing or able to give him that much. So in the end it is irrelevant if his dismal performances are due to internal (morale) or external (mechanical, political) factors. The result is the same. Massa is useless so either they give him all he needs to see if he is better than god or put him out of his misery. The Felipe we see now does not help the team, does not pushes Alonso and cant even help himself. Better bring in a cheaper, easier to motivate guy for that role, give him the same crappy car that Massa has, make him polish Nando's toenails everyday and he will still deliver more than Felipe does.

Massa reminds me a little of Rubens when he was in the last couple of years in the Ferrari... has the capability to go fast and occasionally pulls one out the bag but really is mediocre and falls into the shadow of his team-mate.

I see a bright future for Massa (not) in a middling team....

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Smoke and mirrors this one, for me. All this talk that Red Bull are almost being beaten by Hamilton's McLaren; I still think Seb had plenty in reserve. They are toying with Woking, making them think that the development required to topple them is minimal. It may well be that Red Bull's race pace is not as good as McLaren's, but I don't think that's the case. One could be led to think this is true, with Webber in his now customary position of making up the numbers behind the three super stars, but his result was more a consequence of the bad start compounded with wrong tyres at wrong times, relative to the guys in front.

In summary, it's still going to take some effort from the others to stop Vettel and his utter dominance. It seems like Lewis is emerging as the only likely candidate. Both him and Sebastien were excellent.

Schumacher gave a good impression that he has found some pace. If only it were true. He made a great start and managed his tyres early on. Some advantage must come from his intricate knowledge of the track too. But by mid race, he was only hanging on. Nico's pace was more than a match. Had Michael not got in front at the start I believe Nico would have been thirty seconds down the road by race end. At least we saw some good in and out laps from Michael, finally emulating some of the pace that made him so good in this area before. Difference now is that he can only do this by keeping some of the tyre performance in reserve for when it's needed.

Massa must have felt sea sick - he was all out at sea. I was going to make a joke about being full of the joys of spring, but that would be a bit sick.

DRS zone ill placed, but not a bad Spanish GP for once. Still no 1996, but until Bernie turns on the sprinklers and Michael drinks thirty cans of Red Bull before the start, we won't be seeing that again...

edeeted 4 spellin

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This season it looks like we are going to have to watch the races themselves for the excitment rather than watch the championship develop throughout the year. It already looks like Vettel is in a championship winning positon and he can afford to pick up the 2nd and 3rd places without damaging his title aspirations for 2011. Glad the races are exciting. At half distance of the race you really can't predict what the final standings will be. That was not the case in seasons past.

I was surprised to hear the criticism of the DRS zone in the Spanish GP not being effective in the race, especially as this criticism came from the same people who said that the DRS zone was too helpful and made overtaking too easy in the Turkish GP. My understanding is that the DRS zone should provide the driver with possibility of getting in position to challenge for an overtaking move, but not guarantee the overtake is successful. I thought it was great watching Vettle and Hamilton in the final 15 laps battling. Vettle knew where he had to be quick and did that to perfection. It was up to Hamilton be more inventive and wrong foot Vettel, if possible, in order to get himself in position to make a pass. In the end it didn't happen but it was still gripping watching them battle. I thought Vettel dealt with the backmarkers better than Hamilton in the race which was interesting to observe, as that could of been the joker in the pack that would of benefited Hamilton.

Button did a solid race using a 3-stopper. He was never going to challenge for the win with that strategy which makes you wonder why he employed it. Has he accepted that he is the number 2 driver at McLaren and that he will go a different route in race strategy hoping that Lewis further up the road will run into trouble of some kind and he'll be able to steal the points later in the race?

Quali did for Alonso. The fact that both he and Massa used up a set of options during Q1 unnecessarily cost him in race. He still wouldn't of won the race, but he would of been with Button and Webber and probably ahead of them.

Heidfeld showed once again what an advantage having brand new tyres available to you can be. If the race lasted a couple of more laps he would of had the Mercedes pair. Rosberg was good considering his DRS didn't work, Schumacher was solid and didn't drive into anyone for a change, but he did give Rosberg a squeeze during the race at one point.

I wonder how the tyre strategy will play out in Monaco if you've got a car in front on primes and a gaggle of cars behind on options. On a racetrack the options have so much more grip that the driver can take far tighter lines without losing speed on the exit and then nip past. I imagine Mirabeau should be interesting viewing.

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DRS zone ill placed, but not a bad Spanish GP for once. Still no 1996, but until Bernie turns on the sprinklers and Michael drinks thirty cans of Red Bull before the start, we won't be seeing that again...

For me they had the DRS zone just about right this week. I liked seeing the chasing cars keeping touch, but still requiring the driver to do some work for the pass and the difference in tyres making most of the passes happen. Rather than being down to only DRS a lot of passes today came down to a combination of tyres/DRS/driver - which is what I want to see. Perhaps tyre degredation was a little severe, but teams need to get the hang of calling better strategy than some did (read Poochie for Petrov - grrr).

I can live with fewer passes than Turkey, but more than last year - a happy middle ground suits me fine - today was just about that.

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Something for us all to ponder, uliminating the truth that erases our ignorance, and gives way to wisdom...

"They both switched to new hards for the final phase. Lewis was there. Right there. The critical zone was the braking area for T1. Lewis would flatten his wing, gain momentum, feint to the inside….and Seb would brake absolutely as late as the Brembos would let him. Without a mistake or even a bobble. Not one. It was spellbinding racing – and there was not a pass to be seen. Indeed, Seb, not Lewis, had been responsible for the aggressive passing much earlier in the race (after his first pit stop), when he had scythed past Jenson Button and Felipe Massa without RFA (on a circuit on which historically it has been almost impossible to overtake) and then Nico Rosberg at the end of the straight (with RFA).

No, the Seb-Lewis duel in Spain was a classic example of brilliant motor racing without the passing; as a spectacle it far surpassed the wholesale place-changing in Turkey, and before that in China. Both drivers were superb in every way – were stunning to watch either as individuals or as a pair. Lewis extracted all there was to extract from a McLaren at Barcelona; and Seb Vettel, the World Champion, was exemplary in both attack, defence and mechanical sympathy. This, in my view, was his best win to date: he never allowed Lewis the room he needed at T16 – and he was faultless, as I say, under heaving braking into T1."

Peter Windsor

Could'nt have said it better myself Peter, could'nt have said it better :D

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Best Spanish GP for many a long day, superb by Vettel and Hamilton. It is great to see so many battles for the victory right down to the wire.

Schumi scraped past Rosberg, but he admitted he had poor balance, maybe if he gets sorted in that respect he can give a genuinely strong showing.

Massa is on borrowed time, an embarrassing performance

Webber needs to pull out another Monaco weekend like he did last year.

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