ltc

I disagree. It is what makes F1 unique.
Combine the talents of Adrian Newey, a driver like Vettel, and a team under Horner and you get something spectacular... the whole time trying to outsmart the FIA at their own formula.

Clever design, the ability to maximize results from a car (especially on cold tires on opening/out laps) and a well organized team ... it doesn't get any better.
It sets the bar against which all other teams are measured and should aspire to.

You want contrived parity, watch NA$CAR... or pro wrestling, same thing.

Larry Herman

Just relaying what Matchett said. With carbon fiber it is totally possible to weaken a part internally with no visible cracking, and then have it fail under high stress (like the torque involved in a standing start) but that is just speculation on Matchett's and my part. We probably will never be privy to the real reason for the failure, but it was interesting that they did check the rear of Weber's car at the first pit stop.

chris walrod

Bingo, if it were believed to be purely a puncture, Weber's first stop would have been a few seconds quicker.

To properly check composites for cracks or inclusions, one much inspect ultrasonically. We do this a lot (A and C scans) these days for the aerospace composites we mfg these days.

paradisenb

Whatever broke on Vettel's car concerned the team enough to take a few extra seconds to check Mark's car before letting him continue. I'm sure all pieces on both cars will be new before Brazil.

Not a very interesting race. If it weren't for MW's late race and futile charge there would not have been anything worth watching the last 15 laps. The DRS zones and KERS are worthless on that track.

And Alonso! Wow! The greatest ever. Even LH thinks so and we know how humble he is. He would definitely believe someone else is better than him. (yeah right!) But what really sets FA apart from the rest is his unquestionable moral superiority and team loyalty. F1 is so fortunate to have such a steady compass to lead other young drivers to new heights of personal character.

Turb-OH Brad

Team loyalty is not a quality to be admired in Formula 1. You don't get to F1 by being loyal (unless you are Lewis), you get to F1 by being good. We know winning is mostly about the chassis, so I guarantee if anyone on the grid was offered a paid drive at Red Bull with Adrian Newey on board, they would jump at the chance.

Nobody is loyal when money and victory is on the table. Even if you are running a regional series in the PCA, if Kumho makes a faster tire than Hoosier, you had better be on Kumhos, even if you have been running Hoosiers for 20 years. Competitive edge...or as Mark Donohue put it, the Unfair Advantage.

Nizer

Sans the arrogance and on-track BS, thankfully.


http://en.espnf1.com/abudhabi/motors...ory/64327.html

Horner lauds Vettel reaction
ESPNF1 Staff
November 14, 2011

Red Bull Christian Horner said that Sebastian Vettel is a "sponge for information" after he stayed behind to follow the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the Red Bull pit wall.

Vettel's race came to an end on the first lap when a puncture caused him to spin off the track at turn two. He returned to the pits but was unable to continue, so set about trying to work out what had caused the failure. After that he joined the team on the pit wall for the duration of the race to see how the strategies panned out and learn how the race was controlled from outside the car.

Horner said that it showed Vettel's desire to understand as much as possible, and that he tried to help the team deliver the maximum result for his team-mate Mark Webber.

"I think it is part of who he is," Horner is quoted by Autosport. "He is like a sponge for information. He saw an opportunity to help his team-mate with the benefit of his experience and also an opportunity to experience what the pit wall is like, and to see how we make decisions in the race.

"He is like a sponge for that kind of thing. He is keen to understand and offer any advice and help he could. He was offering the benefit of his experience and what he would be feeling. He was interested to see how the pit wall worked, and hear how the strategies unfold."

Horner also praised Vettel's performance before his retirement, saying that his qualifying lap was "one of the best laps of his career".

"The whole team was frustrated because we were in a great position to win the race. Seb did a superb job in qualifying, one of the best laps of his career I think to nail that pole position. He had done everything right, he had done the start, made it comfortably into the lead into the first corner and it was cruel luck really to be forced to retire in the way he did.

"So of course he was disappointed, but he didn't rush to leave the circuit. He hung around to help the team and try and help his team-mate. But he is determined to finish the season on a high and I am sure we will bounce back in two weeks in Brazil."

Still searching for the cause of the puncture:

http://en.espnf1.com/abudhabi/motors...ory/64311.html

Phokaioglaukos

Not until I saw the Top Gear episode did I become a Vettel fan. I still like Hamilton, and more now that some of the drama has left him, but Vettel's wit and personality shone brightly in that episode. It is well worth watching, for his lap in the reasonably priced car but more for his winning personality. Impressive!

arrivederci

Did anyone read Martin Brundle's BBC article?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/form...e/15723626.stm

What's with the story of Massa giving up his front wing for Alonso?

My993C2

I have now thanks to your link.
Mr Brundle is pretty much saying the same things he said in the post race forum on TV.

Say it ain't so. Favoritism is alive and doing very well in F1.

"Massa had had to give up his new front wing when Alonso damaged his own (sounds familiar)" - Martin Brundle

Land Jet

I was a Michael Schumacher fan and I like a dominant champion, not some "Danika" type racer.

Adam@Autometrics

I thought Montreal was the best race of the season, does that mean I like "Danika" racers? Whatever that means?

multi21

A certain Rennlist pundit, that shall go unnamed, lamented the fact that a certain RBR driver got his teammates wing when he damaged his. It seems shocking to me that this same pundit would not answer accusations of a similar fashion when Alonso was the beneficiary of his teammates wing.....

ltc

One has been MIA since the end of last season
One left right after the mid point of this season
One is still around, but spends most of his time contributing to Politics & Controversy and the Audio forums.

paradisenb

Pete, you must be speaking rhetorically because I seriously doubt this shocks you. It is exactly what he has taught us to expect.
To spin an infamous president, "It's not illegal if Alonso does it." "Would you crash for me."

The ball washers have been out in force in this thread. If LH would have crashed or had a mechanical and FA won, I bet the other 2 sissys would be posting and telling us how great 'The One' is, bla, bla, bla.

Where are you guys? Come on out! Defend your posistion.

edit: "Alonso will get more wins than Vettel in the 2nd half of the season." How's that working out for you? Have you got your bottle yet?

multi21

No bottle, no apology, no "mia colpa", and I'm not expecting a Christmas card either.

I agree with you Randy, if Alonso had managed to win that last race, this thread would have been 12 pages filled with drunken diatribes on how "THE ONE" schooled everyone. Heck, even a solid 2nd place didn't bring any of the old guard Alonso washers out, but as Lewis says, they're used to 2nd place by now....