'08 British Grand Prix Preview, Predictions and Discussion
07-05-2008 | 05:09 PM
#31
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: Florida
. This Germans must be undoing things on his car
ouch!
It is amazing that they can spent millions on this sport and car is not ready to complete qualifying. 
07-05-2008 | 06:30 PM
#34
Rennlist Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 25,152
Likes: 87
Very weird, unless it wasn't bad planning/time getting away, and something... I guess... broke while it was in the garage - hey, its happened to me.
07-05-2008 | 09:23 PM
#35
Formula One Spin Doctor
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 20,448
Likes: 0
From: RPM Central
Qualifying analysis - Kovalainen on the brink?
f1.com
After playing second fiddle to McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton for much of 2008, Heikki Kovalainen has his best chance yet of a maiden Formula One win on Sunday, following his spectacular qualifying performance at Silverstone.
However, with changeable weather predicted, the grid for the British Grand Prix may yet prove academic. After three sessions of qualifying in which rain spots and heavy crosswinds played significant roles, this is how it was formed…
McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 21.049s, P1
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 21.835, P4
McLaren had the pace to get both cars on to the front row, but first and fourth places still make them statistically the team that starts with the strongest chances. Kovalainen reported his MP4-23 to be all over the place on his first run in Q3 thanks to the crosswind, but put a sweet lap together on his second run to take the first pole of his F1 career. Hamilton went off the road at Priory on his first run, and admitted that he was more cautious through there on his second try. Some of the gap between them may be explained by respective fuel loads, but the truth is that the Finn has been very hooked up all weekend. Will this be his big breakthrough?
Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 21.554s, P2
David Coulthard, 1m 20.174s, P11
Everybody was surprised to see Webber plant his Red Bull RB4 second on the grid, even the Australian himself. This is almost certainly the car in the top four with the lightest fuel load, but it was still a good performance that bodes well for a strong race from this emergent team. Coulthard was disappointed with 11th, and blamed the engine oil leak that lost him valuable track time to finish setting up the car in the morning.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 21.706s, P3
Felipe Massa, 1m 23.305s, P9
Raikkonen was much happier with his Ferrari than he was on Friday, but still felt that it was not as good as it had been in the previous week’s test due to changes in the track conditions. He is one driver for sure desperate to know the fuel loads of his immediate rivals. Massa looked good all through practice, but suffered a problem with the right rear wheel nut on his Ferrari during his final tyre change, and never made it out for his second run.
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 21.873s, P5
Robert Kubica, No time, P10
BMW Sauber were another team damned by ill fortune towards the end of Q3, when Kubica’s car suffered a mechanical problem at the rear which kept him in the pits when everyone else was doing their second runs. Heidfeld, however, was back to his old self with a strong run to fifth place, having run Kubica very close in Q2 when the F1.08s picked up a serious amount of pace.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 22.029s, P6
Nelson Piquet, 1m 22.491s, P7
Alonso said his sixth place was a satisfying result for Renault in the changing track conditions, and looks forward to a strong finish. Piquet was also pleased with his best qualifying performance in taking seventh, on his illustrious team mate’s tail. He was happy with his R28.
Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 23.251, P8
Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 20.531s, P13
Vettel has looked good all weekend, and eighth on the grid showed that Toro Rosso are really getting to grips with their STR3. He was really happy with its balance and thus able to really lean on it in the fast stuff. Bourdais did a great job to leap to sixth place after the rain shower in Q1, and was relatively happy with the compromise set-up his crew arrived at on his car after struggling throughout practice. But he admitted that qualifying 13th was not satisfying.
Toyota
Timo Glock, 1m 20.274s, P12
Jarno Trulli, 1m 20.601s, P14
After Magny-Cours, Toyota came down to earth with a bump at Silverstone. Glock said he was mystified why things didn’t work out better than 12th place for him, while Trulli continued to struggle to get his TF108 decently balanced.
Williams
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 21.112s, P15
Nico Rosberg, 1m 21.668s, P18
Williams were in trouble again on their home track. Nakajima got through to Q2 while struggling for grip, but Rosberg was a faller in Q1 as he blamed the way his FW30 jumped ‘around all over the place’ in the corners.
Honda
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 21.512s, P16
Jenson Button, 1m 21.631s, P17
Barrichello admitted honestly that 16th and 17th places were a reflection of Honda’s potential on such a quick track, and both he and Button were unfortunate that their final Q1 runs came just as the rain fell. Resultant lack of tyre temperature killed their slim chances of making it through to Q2.
Force India
Adrian Sutil, 1m 21.786s, P19
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 21.885s, P20
Sutil and Fisichella were encouraged by how close they got to the Hondas, but the former struggled with graining front tyres. Fisichella had a problem with his VJM01’s engine cover, and his chances of going quicker were frustrated when he spun in the complex on his final Q1 run.
After playing second fiddle to McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton for much of 2008, Heikki Kovalainen has his best chance yet of a maiden Formula One win on Sunday, following his spectacular qualifying performance at Silverstone.
However, with changeable weather predicted, the grid for the British Grand Prix may yet prove academic. After three sessions of qualifying in which rain spots and heavy crosswinds played significant roles, this is how it was formed…
McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 21.049s, P1
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 21.835, P4
McLaren had the pace to get both cars on to the front row, but first and fourth places still make them statistically the team that starts with the strongest chances. Kovalainen reported his MP4-23 to be all over the place on his first run in Q3 thanks to the crosswind, but put a sweet lap together on his second run to take the first pole of his F1 career. Hamilton went off the road at Priory on his first run, and admitted that he was more cautious through there on his second try. Some of the gap between them may be explained by respective fuel loads, but the truth is that the Finn has been very hooked up all weekend. Will this be his big breakthrough?
Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 21.554s, P2
David Coulthard, 1m 20.174s, P11
Everybody was surprised to see Webber plant his Red Bull RB4 second on the grid, even the Australian himself. This is almost certainly the car in the top four with the lightest fuel load, but it was still a good performance that bodes well for a strong race from this emergent team. Coulthard was disappointed with 11th, and blamed the engine oil leak that lost him valuable track time to finish setting up the car in the morning.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 21.706s, P3
Felipe Massa, 1m 23.305s, P9
Raikkonen was much happier with his Ferrari than he was on Friday, but still felt that it was not as good as it had been in the previous week’s test due to changes in the track conditions. He is one driver for sure desperate to know the fuel loads of his immediate rivals. Massa looked good all through practice, but suffered a problem with the right rear wheel nut on his Ferrari during his final tyre change, and never made it out for his second run.
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 21.873s, P5
Robert Kubica, No time, P10
BMW Sauber were another team damned by ill fortune towards the end of Q3, when Kubica’s car suffered a mechanical problem at the rear which kept him in the pits when everyone else was doing their second runs. Heidfeld, however, was back to his old self with a strong run to fifth place, having run Kubica very close in Q2 when the F1.08s picked up a serious amount of pace.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 22.029s, P6
Nelson Piquet, 1m 22.491s, P7
Alonso said his sixth place was a satisfying result for Renault in the changing track conditions, and looks forward to a strong finish. Piquet was also pleased with his best qualifying performance in taking seventh, on his illustrious team mate’s tail. He was happy with his R28.
Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 23.251, P8
Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 20.531s, P13
Vettel has looked good all weekend, and eighth on the grid showed that Toro Rosso are really getting to grips with their STR3. He was really happy with its balance and thus able to really lean on it in the fast stuff. Bourdais did a great job to leap to sixth place after the rain shower in Q1, and was relatively happy with the compromise set-up his crew arrived at on his car after struggling throughout practice. But he admitted that qualifying 13th was not satisfying.
Toyota
Timo Glock, 1m 20.274s, P12
Jarno Trulli, 1m 20.601s, P14
After Magny-Cours, Toyota came down to earth with a bump at Silverstone. Glock said he was mystified why things didn’t work out better than 12th place for him, while Trulli continued to struggle to get his TF108 decently balanced.
Williams
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 21.112s, P15
Nico Rosberg, 1m 21.668s, P18
Williams were in trouble again on their home track. Nakajima got through to Q2 while struggling for grip, but Rosberg was a faller in Q1 as he blamed the way his FW30 jumped ‘around all over the place’ in the corners.
Honda
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 21.512s, P16
Jenson Button, 1m 21.631s, P17
Barrichello admitted honestly that 16th and 17th places were a reflection of Honda’s potential on such a quick track, and both he and Button were unfortunate that their final Q1 runs came just as the rain fell. Resultant lack of tyre temperature killed their slim chances of making it through to Q2.
Force India
Adrian Sutil, 1m 21.786s, P19
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 21.885s, P20
Sutil and Fisichella were encouraged by how close they got to the Hondas, but the former struggled with graining front tyres. Fisichella had a problem with his VJM01’s engine cover, and his chances of going quicker were frustrated when he spun in the complex on his final Q1 run.
07-05-2008 | 09:37 PM
#36
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 85,814
Likes: 1,657
From: As you can see, I'm right here.
I seriously doubt that Ferrari would want Massa where he is on the grid right now. They want the 1-2 finish.
Or conversely, Fred needs to learn how to scoot around the track mid-pack without dropping oil all over the line and taking out actual competitors for the WDC. 
Webber is on one of Fred's "fumes only" loads that will end up amounting to nothing. Heiki has a real car and a real team. If he comes in 2laps sooner than Kimi and Hammy, he could still be in the race.
I think the only team orders that there are this year are "Finish 1-2 dammit!". Ferrari, as a team, has no vested interest in Kimi finishing ahead of Massa. Especially not to the point of purposely sticking Massa back in the grid where he will start tomorrow.
I think his car wasn't fully sorted after being pieced back together at the track. We'll see what his pace is like tomorrow.
2. Alonso did not take out massa, Massa needs to learn to drive on a little oil .
.
3. Kimi and hammy are on a heavier load than webber and Heiki , last year this was the better strategy to win with , long first , short second stint .................Hammy did the light fuel , pole position thing last year and fell way back after his second stop.
I think his car wasn't fully sorted after being pieced back together at the track. We'll see what his pace is like tomorrow.
07-05-2008 | 09:45 PM
#37
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41,906
Likes: 1,753
From: All Ate Up With Motor
07-05-2008 | 11:01 PM
#38
Thread Starter
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 17,303
Likes: 3,605
I don't know what happened in the BMW garage, but they seemed content to simply go out and do 1 or 2 laps with Kubica's car. From looking at the world feed, they appeared ready to send him out, when a rear flap was loose and the entire team started to scramble. Very unlike the methodical BMW. I suspect they saw something that caught them out by surprise and couldn't fix it in the 4 minutes left in the session, but I can't find anything in the news reports on what it might have been. Perhaps Peter Windsor will ask about it and we'll see, but with Fox showing the race and no 1/2 hour pre-race, it might be scraped.
The McLaren's are definitely faster than the Ferrari's and have been all weekend. I too suspect the McLaren's are running significantly less wing because the McLaren's are faster during the 1st part of the circuit where the Ferrari's are quicker on the back half. The only way I see the Ferrari's winning is if it rains during the start of the race and they're heavy (especially Massa) on fuel.
I don't know if Hamilton is as heavy on fuel as what others believe. He had that significant off during Q3 and rather than go into the pits to change out to a new set of option tires, he stayed out and didn't improve. Those tires are only good for a golden lap. He's also on the dirty side of the track to start the race.
If someone would have predicted the top ten qualifiers today, I would have said they're mad. Tomorrow should be a great race.
The McLaren's are definitely faster than the Ferrari's and have been all weekend. I too suspect the McLaren's are running significantly less wing because the McLaren's are faster during the 1st part of the circuit where the Ferrari's are quicker on the back half. The only way I see the Ferrari's winning is if it rains during the start of the race and they're heavy (especially Massa) on fuel.
I don't know if Hamilton is as heavy on fuel as what others believe. He had that significant off during Q3 and rather than go into the pits to change out to a new set of option tires, he stayed out and didn't improve. Those tires are only good for a golden lap. He's also on the dirty side of the track to start the race.
If someone would have predicted the top ten qualifiers today, I would have said they're mad. Tomorrow should be a great race.
07-06-2008 | 04:26 AM
#42
King of Cool
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 14,218
Likes: 8
From: Miami Beach, FL
I seriously doubt that Ferrari would want Massa where he is on the grid right now. They want the 1-2 finish.
Or conversely, Fred needs to learn how to scoot around the track mid-pack without dropping oil all over the line and taking out actual competitors for the WDC.
Webber is on one of Fred's "fumes only" loads that will end up amounting to nothing. Heiki has a real car and a real team. If he comes in 2laps sooner than Kimi and Hammy, he could still be in the race.
I think the only team orders that there are this year are "Finish 1-2 dammit!". Ferrari, as a team, has no vested interest in Kimi finishing ahead of Massa. Especially not to the point of purposely sticking Massa back in the grid where he will start tomorrow.
I think his car wasn't fully sorted after being pieced back together at the track. We'll see what his pace is like tomorrow.
Or conversely, Fred needs to learn how to scoot around the track mid-pack without dropping oil all over the line and taking out actual competitors for the WDC.
Webber is on one of Fred's "fumes only" loads that will end up amounting to nothing. Heiki has a real car and a real team. If he comes in 2laps sooner than Kimi and Hammy, he could still be in the race.
I think the only team orders that there are this year are "Finish 1-2 dammit!". Ferrari, as a team, has no vested interest in Kimi finishing ahead of Massa. Especially not to the point of purposely sticking Massa back in the grid where he will start tomorrow.
I think his car wasn't fully sorted after being pieced back together at the track. We'll see what his pace is like tomorrow.
These "Ferrari team order" guys are a riot, I assume Ferrari screwing with Kimi's wheel at Monaco and then Kimi's broken car & letting Massa win in France were somehow team orders that benefited Kimi also...
If there would be team orders in F, they could've pitted Massa extra long, or one more time or ]report brake broblems and slowed Massa down but they didn't because they don't have team orders. Saying that they wanted Massa qualify poorly or that they do this in order for Kimi to win is just ridiculous.
Congrats for Webber (must be light though), Vettel (WTF?!) and of course for Heikki! After last couple of races I though he had lost his "mojo" after the chrash becasue he seemed to struggle but this quali performance was pretty damn strong.
Silverstone usually is a good race and it seems this won't be different, should be cool!
07-06-2008 | 03:25 PM
#43
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 85,814
Likes: 1,657
From: As you can see, I'm right here.
What a schlockfest! There is no good way to predict results in the rain.
Watching Kubica and Massa both stink it up and not finish in the points was painful, but there was still a BMW and a Brazillian on the podium. Not many would have guessed that.
Watching Kubica and Massa both stink it up and not finish in the points was painful, but there was still a BMW and a Brazillian on the podium. Not many would have guessed that.
07-06-2008 | 04:16 PM
#44
Formula One Spin Doctor
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 20,448
Likes: 0
From: RPM Central
LOL Hamilton gave all a driving lesson today ......
1. Hamilton hands of god drive should now shut the unbelievers up. This kid is in a class by himself . When he wins or when he FU no peers on all occasions ........
2. Ferrari has 2 ranking amateurs PROOF POSITIVE ...AGAIN.
3. Was that a Honda and a Renault running in front of Ferrari LOL..... Haaaaaa both Kimi and Heiki lapped by Hamilton ......
4. I guess Ferrari is very happy with their driver lineup
5. Last year Alonso finished 40 seconds ahead of Hamilton , this year Heiki got lapped by Hamilton that makes Alonso.
Hmmm, less see -4~, then carry the warp factor ratio / + the square root of infinitum = 20 times better than Heiki HAAAAAAAAAAAAA FINN where are you,Finland was schooled today .....
Hey Finn ! the SPIN FINNS sucked goatballs soap today
They both got lapped .....
1. Hamilton hands of god drive should now shut the unbelievers up. This kid is in a class by himself . When he wins or when he FU no peers on all occasions ........
2. Ferrari has 2 ranking amateurs PROOF POSITIVE ...AGAIN.
3. Was that a Honda and a Renault running in front of Ferrari LOL..... Haaaaaa both Kimi and Heiki lapped by Hamilton ......
4. I guess Ferrari is very happy with their driver lineup
5. Last year Alonso finished 40 seconds ahead of Hamilton , this year Heiki got lapped by Hamilton that makes Alonso.
Hmmm, less see -4~, then carry the warp factor ratio / + the square root of infinitum = 20 times better than Heiki HAAAAAAAAAAAAA FINN where are you,Finland was schooled today .....
Hey Finn ! the SPIN FINNS sucked goatballs soap today
They both got lapped .....