multi21

The only problem with those theories is that you will need to have more pit stops with the softer compounds, giving to the probability that someone in the pit box will screw up.

Red Bull right now seems to have the best, ie quickest pit stops up and down the grid. Ferrari is good, but not has good as RBR.

paradisenb

The pits may be the saving grace for the good teams that are not going to enjoy race manipulation (everyone except Ferrari).

Will they give them enough sets of the junk to finish the race?

Ray S

This is an interesting point. I can't believe that we're over half way through the season with Ferrari and McLaren still consistently slower than RB on pit stops.

My993C2

Even Red Bull is susceptible to a bad stop.
A bad stop cost Vettel the lead at the British GP which he could not recover from.

Problem with the super-softs is they only have a limited set of them to work with in the entire race weekend and if there is no rain they will burn through their allocation of softs and super-softs rather fast which will lead to a dull qualifying session.

multi21

Yes and no. This track is pretty much all straights broken up by chicanes and two big sweepers on each end of the track (Lesmos and Paribolica) and no off camber turns or elevation changes. There *Should be* less wear than other tracks.

RajDatta

FA
LH
SB

multi21

I'm wondering if it was a "coincidence" that Maldonado got a 5 grid place penalty after the incident where he and Hamilton were both deemed to be at fault after Q2, but Hamilton was not penalized, but only repremanded????

I'm also wondering if it was a "coincidence" that Hamilton placed blame on Kobi for his crash during the race, but later took 100% blame, but no penalty was given? Although Hamilton DNFed, Kobi got screwed during the safety car period immediately there after and finished 12th.

Sorry, as much as you guys belly ache about Ferrari, the British bias is worse....

consolidated

Buemi for third, I like your style, rooting for a 10 car pile up in front of SB.

Flying Finn

Pete, no question, there's British bias although in these particular cases, I think the "refs" got it right.

My993C2

Even though I think they offer excellent coverage of F1 races, the BBC is horrible with their bias views of the sport.

Land Jet

Vettel FTW.

the flyin' scotsman

I watched Silverstone when in Scotland this summer; its way worse over there.....the CDN feed is way much better

which got me thinkin' of next year and Sky tv.....new thread.

John H

Vettel. Webber. ___________ (doesn't matter)

multi21

Alonso lauds Vettel's 'remarkable qualities'

As Sebastian Vettel speeds towards what looks all-but certain to be a second consecutive F1 drivers' crown this season, Ferrari star Fernando Alonso insists his Red Bull Racing rival would fully deserve it

Fernando Alonso has echoed David Coulthard in springing to the defence of Sebastian Vettel in the wake of recent criticism of the runaway F1 2011 World Championship leader, arguing that his Red Bull Racing rival is 'a great champion' with 'remarkable qualities'.

As Vettel speeds towards what looks inevitably to be a second consecutive drivers' crown this season – with a 92-point advantage in the title standings and only 175 remaining up for grabs – there are still those who claim he is only dominating in such a fashion due to the fact that he has the best car at his disposal in the shape of Adrian Newey's all-conquering Red Bull RB7. Put him in a situation where he has to fight his way through traffic, they contend, and he goes to pieces.

Former RBR ace Coulthard, however, has rejected notions that Vettel is merely 'an average racing driver', countering that the 24-year-old could just be on his way to becoming 'the best driver ever' in F1 as he 'continues to sweep all before him'. Alonso – whose tally of two world championships the young German stands to equal this year – broadly agrees.

“I don't understand the criticism about him, that he is not a real racer,” the Ferrari star told German publication Auto Bild Motorsport. “He is a great champion about to win his second title and he has remarkable qualities, a lot of speed. Yes, he has the best car that gets a good place on the grid, but you need to be able to get the most out of it at every race and Sebastian does that very well. Even in difficult moments or when he makes a mistake, he is always fighting for the win. That is proof of his great qualities.”

The Spaniard did acknowledge, however, that Vettel would not have achieved the tremendous success that he has done in the top flight were it not for the team behind him, and specifically Red Bull's chief technical officer Newey, arguably the greatest designer in F1 history.

“They have played to the regulations better than us and the others, and this year they have a great car,” he reflected. “Adrian Newey is obviously the key person, but behind him is a strong team. Ferrari attracts drivers but also technicians, so if Newey wants to come to us, it would be a pleasure to drive his car...”

Meanwhile, the 27-time grand prix-winner conceded that he will remain at the Prancing Horse until he has lifted the laurels for the third time in his F1 career – as a minimum.

“It's very important to me,” he confessed. “I will not stop my career until I am champion with Ferrari. If it doesn't come by 2016 (the end of his current agreement with the Scuderia), then I will stay in F1 until 2021 – for 20 years like Michael [Schumacher]!”




"... to dream, the impossible dream....."

multi21

THE VIG IS IN..... BUT IT'S McLAREN WHO LIKES IT!!!

McLaren confident as Pirelli modifies tyre cambers
7 September 2011Pirelli has confirmed that it is modifying its tyres for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The Milan-based manufacturer, which is about to enjoy its first home race since returning to the sport, saw a number of runners suffer blistering at the last event in Belgium and as a result has modified the camber angles of its tyres.

With ‘camber’ referring to the slight sideways angling of the cars’ front wheels, the interior sides of tyres came under higher strains than anticipated at high-speed Spa.


“At all events we will work with Pirelli to optimise the car performance following their recommendations - optimising durability, lap time, grip, degradation, etcetera,” Phil Prew, head Race Engineer for McLaren, explained to the official F1 website during a Vodafone Phone-In. “That’s part of the normal development testing work we do over a race weekend.

“We’ve done some work to look at some options that the camber constraints may impose on us. We have solutions which minimise the impact on our car, so hopefully we are prepared and we will test and work with Pirelli on Friday to have a better understanding of the constraints and have a successful race.”