Spanish Grand Prix

[Quiet One 15]

So, they practiced.

Tomorrow, they will qualify, and on Sunday, they will race!

That's what I think, at least. Feel free to disagree.

Source for those assumptions?

Please provide a link.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Source for those assumptions?

Please provide a link.

Here's some kind of source

http://www.gptoday.c...aks_his_camera/

[radical-one 0]

Harder tires and hopefully better and will last more laps - we'll see

[Massa 0]

RBR, Ferrari and Lotus all look strong, another cracker of a race on Sunday!!!!

I agree.

Source for those assumptions?

Please provide a link.

Err...umm...I...uhh...the bullies on the bus...they...took my Works Cited page, you see...and...uhh...ermm...yeah, you got me, I was just making stuff up.

Here's some kind of source

http://www.gptoday.c...aks_his_camera/

What a misleading headline! That's not assault...

...it's battery.

Harder tires and hopefully better and will last more laps - we'll see

I guess the positive, for those of us who like the soft tires, is getting to see where everyone stacks up in a "normal race."

I remember the German Grand Prix in 2012. The tire element was really taken out of it in that race, both with the compounds, and the fact everyone used the same strategy. As it happens, all the top runners (Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren) were all running with almost no separation, all looking competitive. It was a very good race even without the tires playing a role.

Still, I like the strategy, and if you hold too much constant, you might run into fewer opportunities for cars to make up positions. We'll see. I'm excited for this one.

[Quiet One 15]

Here's some kind of source

http://www.gptoday.c...aks_his_camera/

Ah, yes...I semm to remember some other drivers that used to lose the patience in public...one was Montoya with the cameram and then there was this other guy...with a child asking for an autograph...whatshisname...Kiwi? Kiri?

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Ah, yes...I semm to remember some other drivers that used to lose the patience in public...one was Montoya with the cameram and then there was this other guy...with a child asking for an autograph...whatshisname...Kiwi? Kiri?

thats nowhere near!

[Massa 0]

Now, now:

(Not that it makes it right. It just means that the "little kid" Vettel is the only one mature enough not to commit assault and battery, you see. )

[The Shadow 0]

Yeah. As if we watch these guys because of their warm personality and potential to win the Akzo-Nobel peace prize.

Interesting to see the relative performances between RBR and Ferrari. In the past it looked like Ferrari had the edge on tyre wear, but Vettel in Bahrain showed that the RBs can manage their tyre wear well in clean air.

Anyway, which corners in Catalunya are the best for overtaking? From what they say in the FPs the final corner kinda ruins most chances of cars following closely and doing a DRS overtake. So at this track, whoever gets pole and gets away cleanly gets first dibs.

In a way I sort of wish there was a JM Ballestre to change the pole position to the dirty side, just for fun

[Massa 0]

Yeah. As if we watch these guys because of their warm personality and potential to win the Akzo-Nobel peace prize.

Yeah, agreed...

...but Brad asked for it

[Quiet One 15]

Yeah. As if we watch these guys because of their warm personality and potential to win the Akzo-Nobel peace prize.

Interesting to see the relative performances between RBR and Ferrari. In the past it looked like Ferrari had the edge on tyre wear, but Vettel in Bahrain showed that the RBs can manage their tyre wear well in clean air.

Anyway, which corners in Catalunya are the best for overtaking? From what they say in the FPs the final corner kinda ruins most chances of cars following closely and doing a DRS overtake. So at this track, whoever gets pole and gets away cleanly gets first dibs.

In a way I sort of wish there was a JM Ballestre to change the pole position to the dirty side, just for fun

Last time a driver won this race from a position other than first row? Schumi, 1996. And he started from 3rd, so not too far back. To find another example you have to go back 32 years to a win from 7th place by a certain Gilles...

Of, course, that was Jarama.

[LabradoRacer 2]

Looks set to be a very close battle. Hope Kimi can qualify in the top 5.

Can't really fault Alonso for losing his cool. It's tiring to be treated like a zoo exhibit. Makes me wonder though, why didn't the photog have a good zoom lens? Could have saved this drama.

[Quiet One 15]

Got bored of the qualy before Q3. I think races are just fine as they are only needing some tweaking, but I feel qualy is what needs a reworking, IMHO. I feel no tension, no last minutes rushes or changes in tacticts, merely teams sticking to their pre planed strategies to the end. Maybe it's me.

[LabradoRacer 2]

Interesting grid. Expect both Mercs to fall back as usual, with Lewis finishing ahead of Rosie.

Happy that Kimi's starting 4th. A real chance of victory.

Nice to see Massa on virtually the same pace as Alonso. Expect the latter to finish on podium.

Delighted with Perez qualifying ahead of Button.

[LabradoRacer 2]

Got bored of the qualy before Q3. I think races are just fine as they are only needing some tweaking, but I feel qualy is what needs a reworking, IMHO. I feel no tension, no last minutes rushes or changes in tacticts, merely teams sticking to their pre planed strategies to the end. Maybe it's me.

Indeed. It's very boring, save for the last 5 minutes. Maybe each quali section should be just pared down to 5 minutes.

[Massa 0]

A Mercedes front row does seem to indicate all that talk of "whoever wins pole will win the race" isn't going to apply this year. I am thankful to Mercedes for their ability to steal poles from the cars with more overall race pace.

I watched Q3. Not how I remembered it, but I also don't care. I'd rather the racing be good and the qualifying be dull, and I think that good races and good qualifying are almost always mutually exclusive. I remember a time when I actually wished they'd eliminate the race and just award the points based on qualifying, because qualifying was the one that was so much fun to watch. I was stupid and 12 years old, or something like that, but whatever. I thought it.

I think Vettel's the favorite from third. It will be fun to see how he, or anyone else, gets to the lead (or if Mercedes can somehow prove us all wrong). It'll be a good one.

[Quiet One 15]

Saw the results and indeed an intriguing grid for tomorrow. I doubt Alonso will be able to get higher than 3rd but I think Kimi might just pull something out of his sleeve. And no, it won't be a vodka bottle for George's sake.

[The Shadow 0]

That's the best grid scenario possible. Though I really hope Mercedes are in the hunt all the way to the flag.

And Perez is the new Lewis. Even Rosberg is the new Lewis. Who'd have thunk it..

[gtbred 0]

Man,Mercks are really bad. Hammy said : I can't drive any slower!

[Massa 0]

Pretty good race, though not much happened after the final stop. It was interesting to try to figure out if Räikkönen could beat Alonso, though it became apparent in his third stint that he wasn't going to be able to. Cool strategy, though, and he continues to be a contender for the championship.

Tough day for Mercedes. Yikes. Steve Matchett gave a good explanation of what he believes to be their camber issues. Nice for people like me who don't understand anything beyond all the shiny cars going way too fast.

Alonso's overtake (was he using KERS in turn three? I didn't think physics would allow that; it seemed like the kind of thing a lot of us do in F1 2012 but no one would ever try in real life. Awesome) at the start was neat, and Vettel's overtake on Rosberg for second (after Alonso had gotten him with the DRS) was also pretty special. Massa had a nice race again; he's cursed to only run well when Alonso runs well to overshadow him. Any time Alonso is out of contention, Massa will do worse. If he could do what he does when Alonso does well, when Alonso doesn't do well, he might be a race winner. So be it.

Still hard to tell which car is the best. I like that.

[Quiet One 15]

Lack of action in the latter stages of the race was somewhat compensated by the tense battle of management and strategy by Kimi and Alonso (and to some degree Massa!)

Finally a car won from further back than 3rd, although Alonso was for all purposes starting third as the two Mercedes are nothing but Caterhams that are good at qualy.

Watch Vettel, god were against him yet he stayed afloat. Great race for Gutierrez, a guy I don't like but I think he was unfairly penalised during qualy,. McLaren again "proved" that they have no number one driver policy...right until Perez caught up with Jenson.

A great race for a Spanish GP. Too little air time for Nando's girlfriend, though. She desrves more

[Ikyrotz 0]

Alonso was the DOD, no one could match his speed today. I'm not sure the strategy Lotus chose (one less pitstop and most of the race on mediums) was the right one, but I doubt Kimi could've finished any higher anyway, Ferrari seemed to be in the league of their own today. Gotta wonder what Mercedes is doing.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

Fairly boring race but good win by Alonso. Nice to see Kimi on podium again. and Massa what has happened to make him faster?!

[JHS18 0]

Pretty boring.

That wasn't a motor race. It was cars preserving tyres and not pushing.

I was a big fan of Pirelli when they came into the sport, because they spiced up the racing. Certainly, I don't want the sport to go back to the later years of Bridgestone where you could essentially do a race distance on one set of tyres, but man...there's got to be a happy medium. Let the drivers race.

The worst part was the cars actually looked slow today at several corners, just because they couldn't push to the limit.

Hopefully Monaco is a bit more eventful.

[LabradoRacer 2]

Fantastic drive by Alonso. His double-kill overtake of Hamilton & Kimi was superb.

Good show by Felipe too.

Kimi continues to be consistent. It should stand him in good stead in what's going to be a tight battle for WDC.

A relief not to see an RBR on the podium. A strange off day, or a true sign that Lotus & Ferrari are surging ahead? Let's see.

Mercedes...sigh. Lewis's frustrated reactions during and after the race say it all.

The race was pretty boring after the first pit stops. I actually got up during the 50th lap to make pasta & didn't bother to snatch even a glimpse until I finished cooking.

[Massa 0]

Great race for Gutierrez, a guy I don't like but I think he was unfairly penalised during qualy,. McLaren again "proved" that they have no number one driver policy...right until Perez caught up with Jenson.

Too little air time for Nando's girlfriend, though. She desrves more

Yeah, Gutiérrez deserves some credit. Good call. Ricciardo wasn't bad, either.

McLaren has to figure out what it wants from Pérez. Okay, well, there are a lot of other things that need to be figured out before that, but still. They give Pérez a new role every week. They've directed him to be more aggressive, they've directed him to play it cool, they've directed him to do it all. I realize that, situationally, you can differ from an over-arching goal. It just comes across to me, though, and maybe I'm reading too much into it, that they don't really know what Pérez is supposed to do for them. I don't understand hiring Pérez if you want to turn him into someone more passive; just hire someone more passive in the first place. I don't know. I'm definitely overreacting, now that Pérez has finally excited me.

She didn't get airtime because only the brave are willing to approach her with any kind of camera equipment. They substituted her with Mrs. Massa, and I have to say I'm confused how she was holding Felipe at the finish line there. Who was driving the car?

Fairly boring race but good win by Alonso. Nice to see Kimi on podium again. and Massa what has happened to make him faster?!

I will always be fascinated by, and never be able to understand, Massa's inconsistency. Yes, yes, everyone is inconsistent. That's human. I accept that. Anyone can have an exceptionally good or bad day. I still don't think that goes deep enough in explaining why Massa in particular has outliers every weekend. His "norm" is everything but.

That wasn't a motor race. It was cars preserving tyres and not pushing.

What is a motor race, other than cars within the rules trying to complete either the same distance in the least time or the longest distance in the same time?

Is a motor race ALMS running 14 minutes behind a safety car because one car went off?

Is a motor race NASCAR without ever lifting the throttle, changing gears, or turning right, piling into massive wrecks every thirty minutes before the race distance is extended because the officials didn't like how it ended the first time, then having everyone commit assault and battery in the infield post-race?

Is a motor race IndyCar, hitting a push-to-pass button while the other driver isn't allowed to defend and must give you the line?

Is a motor race BTCC, dumping the driver in front to get the position?

Is a motor race WEC, using an ever-changing "Balance of Performance" on the cars to keep them from getting too far apart?

My point isn't to discredit ALMS, NASCAR, IndyCar, BTCC, WEC, etc. I've enjoyed all at some point, and still do find some redeeming things about IndyCar mostly.

It's simply to say that every race in the world can be framed in any light you want it to be. You can define "real racing" in whatever way you like, including whichever series and excluding whichever series at will. Go ahead, do that, but realize you're creating a massive abstraction in doing so. There's no inherent definition of a motor race that says it can't include conservation, strategy, or periods in which no passing is occurring. There's no inherent definition to say it can't include rules that allow for/disallow for contact, that allow for/disallow for blocking, that allow for/disallow for green-white-checkered or safety cars or alternative fuels or spec cars or engine sizes or DRS or KERS or whatever it is we're discussing.

I think it's just easier to say, "I didn't enjoy that one" than to try to say it falls outside of whatever arbitrary definitions we like to come up with to feel right about our opinions based solely on emotion. It's not to say "every race is the best one ever! I love everything!" That's unrealistic, and silly if you don't actually feel that way (and few do). I simply mean that trying to say "it's not a sport" or "it's not a motor race" or whatever every time it doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat is sort of dishonest. It actually was a motor race, complete with its own attributes, positive, negative, and downright silly, just like any other form of racing has. This "pure" ideal that keeps getting done to death doesn't exist. It's grounded in nothing.

Of course, that, too, is just an opinion. One I've obviously been bottling up for a while, but still an opinion.