Formula 1 2012

Was interesting for sure. I don't think we've seen the full picture yet.

The main things I found were:
Vettel managed to make his softer tyres last longer than the mclarens harder tyres. That's a worry.
The Mercedes are under investigation because of a potentially illegal rear wing system that gives them more advantage when the DRS is open. This is making them mighty in qualifying but not helping them in the race.
The Ferrari is awful. I don't like the guy, but alonso is driving his socks off. If anyone ever says F1 is only about the car, point to Massa vs Alonso. Same car. One driver 5th, the other practically last.

Should be interesting next week. Malaysia is about fast straights. I expect the Mercedes to be awesome in qualifying but based on today, it could be mclaren in front of red bull come the end.

Bring it on :)
 
cruciate said:
Was interesting for sure. I don't think we've seen the full picture yet.

The main things I found were:
Vettel managed to make his softer tyres last longer than the mclarens harder tyres. That's a worry.
The Mercedes are under investigation because of a potentially illegal rear wing system that gives them more advantage when the DRS is open. This is making them mighty in qualifying but not helping them in the race.
The Ferrari is awful. I don't like the guy, but alonso is driving his socks off. If anyone ever says F1 is only about the car, point to Massa vs Alonso. Same car. One driver 5th, the other practically last.

Should be interesting next week. Malaysia is about fast straights. I expect the Mercedes to be awesome in qualifying but based on today, it could be mclaren in front of red bull come the end.

Bring it on :)
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Not sure about your tyre wear comparison between RB and McLaren, then again, as someone who lives with retired parents on a limited income, we can't justify Sky subscriptions so I only saw BBC highlights. Otherwise, I agree, though I think Massa is underperforming as he has for a year or so now, so, for my money, the true pace of the Ferrari is somewhere between the two.
 
chrisbell said:
Not sure about your tyre wear comparison between RB and McLaren, then again, as someone who lives with retired parents on a limited income, we can't justify Sky subscriptions so I only saw BBC highlights. Otherwise, I agree, though I think Massa is underperforming as he has for a year or so now, so, for my money, the true pace of the Ferrari is somewhere between the two.
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Both mclarens and vettel all came in roughly the same time for their first stop.
The mclarens both went out on the harder tyre. Vettel went out on the soft option.
When Lewis and Jenson were complaining about the hard rear tyres going off, vettel was catching them and putting in fastest laps with soft tyres the same age.
Therefore vettel made his softs last longer than the mclaren hards.

Not sure if the tyre choice for the second stint was mentioned on the bbc. :)
 
cruciate said:
chrisbell said:
Not sure about your tyre wear comparison between RB and McLaren, then again, as someone who lives with retired parents on a limited income, we can't justify Sky subscriptions so I only saw BBC highlights. Otherwise, I agree, though I think Massa is underperforming as he has for a year or so now, so, for my money, the true pace of the Ferrari is somewhere between the two.
Click to expand...

Both mclarens and vettel all came in roughly the same time for their first stop.
The mclarens both went out on the harder tyre. Vettel went out on the soft option.
When Lewis and Jenson were complaining about the hard rear tyres going off, vettel was catching them and putting in fastest laps with soft tyres the same age.
Therefore vettel made his softs last longer than the mclaren hards.

Not sure if the tyre choice for the second stint was mentioned on the bbc. :)
Click to expand...

Was Button moaning about his tyres? BBC only included Lewis's radio transmission. It seemed as though Button was managing his tyre wear quite well.
 
Maybe. Although if he was managing well, I would've expected them to leave button out and then give him the later laps with a set of options when seb would've been forced to use the harder tyres.
The normal for the race leader is to try to cover the chasing pack. The fact that button went in the pits before vettel makes me think he needed the tyres then.
 
cruciate said:
Maybe. Although if he was managing well, I would've expected them to leave button out and then give him the later laps with a set of options when seb would've been forced to use the harder tyres.
The normal for the race leader is to try to cover the chasing pack. The fact that button went in the pits before vettel makes me think he needed the tyres then.
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Possibly, though I don't think McLaren are particularly good on the strategic side of things, so I wonder if over-analysing the strategy is necessarily going to provide much of an insight. Given how pleased Button was post-race, I doubt he's too worried about it.
 
I think Vettel was lucky the safety car came out when it did otherwise it would have been Mclaren 1-2. Button complained about a vibration from the tyres at one stage but he seemed to drive through it and it wasn't an issue. To me the Mclaren looked like it had a lot more grip than any other car. It will be interesting to see how the Williams performs in the upcoming races, so unlucky to go off on the last lap.
 
I was most disappointed for Maldonaldo - he can be a bit over-aggressive at times, in the mould of Giles Villeneuve - but he was driving nicely and it was sad to see him drop it coming of that kerb on the final lap.
 
Missed all of Melbourne except the results. Having seen the grid for tomorrow morning, I reckon that the first half of the season at least, while teams continue to adapt to the new regs, should make for some great races and varied podiums.

...but secretly, I just want Button to take the title for McLaren...
 
Ken T M said:
...but secretly, I just want Button to take the title for McLaren...
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I'm with you there.

Could be an exciting race tomorrow, I think we will really see who can look after their tyres, although there is always the chance of some rain to mix things up a bit.
 
Button:

Good at looking after tyres? Check

Good in the wet? Check

I hope he runs his own team one day. He's got an excellent, cool strategic and tactical head on his shoulders, he knows he's only as good as the people working under him, and people seem to develop very loyal, long-term attachments to him.

Button Racing for the constructor's championship in 2032!
 
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