f8vr993

WOW...Ferrari-Vettel!
8.5 second gap was what Vettel had when ROS & Hammy pitted. And that's how they finished...Impressive! Not sure if Alonso would have done the same.
Is anyone annoyed about Rosberg's WDC credentials?
1)He yield that first corner to Vettel like a girl.
2)During communication with his team, He keep asking, "Tell me what to do?" WTF?!
There comes a time when you as driver have to make a decision during the race and Nico seems a bit lost during those moments...IMO.

multi21

Yes, he is quite fluent. He lived in Italy during his time with the former Minardi team turned Toro Rosso.

As a Ferrari fan, today almost brought a tear to my eye as it reminded me so much of the Schumacher/Ferrari days of old. I know it's short lived as the Mercs have more outright speed than the Ferrari's and things fell into place nicely, but there is hope for at least a couple more races like this this year.

The Ferrari strength lies in the fact they have always been better on traditional race tracks rather than street circuits and tracks with medium to high speed corners. The fact that they are better on tires and saved 25 seconds in the pits with Vettel taking 1 less pit stop than the Mercs may not happen again until very hot races like Hungary and Signapore, but it's a great start.

The most encouraging thing was that the Mercs were finally forced to go 100% and not save their engines which really showed that the Ferrari's speed was real. The fact that they were stressing and arguing amongst themselves on the radio was icing on the cake on how they handle pressure.

China will be the real test as there is no doubt MBF1 will review everything that happened and adjust, but China is also a traditional track with long straights and Ferrari may have a good chance.

Coochas

I think Rosberg needs a good sports Psychiatrist. His confidence appears to be weakened. If this happens again, Hamilton might need one too.

The brake dust was really impressive and it happened throughout the race. I was surprised that the cars finished the race.

consolidated

Ferrari is a different team altogether this year. Maurizio Arrivabene's short interview made an impression, he seemed a-political, grounded, fairly soft spoken and looking forward already.

After Vettel took the checker he didn't crack a smile, just stayed on the radio like wins happen every day, taking care of business. And only then congratulated his crew.

paradisenb

Finally some competition at the front. The only reason last year looked like there was some competition was because LH had so many issues with his car. Rosberg is not his equal in the car. NR already knows he is the clear #2 and said as much on the podium with his comment about chasing LH next race.
Lewis did not take the bait on the podium. He held his tongue about tire strategy and showed he has become a class act. Neither did Vettle regarding last year's car saying RB had a good car but he could not get the performance out of it.

What a great feeling for Vettel. 2 races - 2 podiums - one win. Winning in a Ferrari must be something really special. He was overcome with emotion on the podium.
Vettel and Kimi jell together and with the team. You can see and sense the enthusiasm and excitement in the Ferrari garage. Now, if they continue the development throughout the year, this will not be a shoe-in WCC no WDC for Merc.

The young, new drivers are really impressing so far.

What's happening with Williams?

LuigiVampa

What?! Vettel was almost crying about the win. I think you have this completely backward.

consolidated

Confusing grammar on my part, I was talking about Arrivabene. Yeah, Vettel was clearly NOT hiding his emotions, which was fun to watch.

Larry Herman

I believe that he was still talking about Arrivabene, not Vettel.

perfectlap

Had MB made the right tire call we would have had perhaps one of the best race finishes in years.

MB should listen to their #1 driver more.

p.s.
Kimi drove the wheels off that car. SB better be ready for him.

ilko

MB had the wrong tire strategy for the race from the get go. They believed the hard tire was better in the race and especially as the surface temps were supposed to drop later in the race. Problem is, that didn't happen, I think track temp was still 58-60ºC at the end.

If you remember they used up their sets of mediums in qualifying. They even started Q1 on the medium compound. They just wanted to burn them out so they can have fresh hard compounds for Sunday. When Lewis asked for the medium compound after the last pit stop yesterday, they didn't have any to give him, they were all used up.

Leica356

Very interesting race but the NBC camera crew managed to miss most of the relevant developments or the commentators were minutes late reporting them! Unbelievable!

Barely any mention of Kimi going from 18th to 4th, in the interview he was like yeah I didn't win so a crappy race.

JustinL

The camera is directed by the F1 guys and we all get the same feed. If you can watch the BBC feed, the commentating is WAAAYY better than what those NBC buffoons can do.

rockitman

Exactly...with two laps left, the F1 cams were focused on the Williams fight...they almost forgot to show Vettel on his last lap and a half.

LuigiVampa

Sure, that makes more sense and I am in agreement with you. I think arrivebene played it too cool. Where is the famous Italian emotion?

333pg333

Ricci had brake problems early on and was told to let Kvy past. Going to be a long and frustrating season for RBR. Good to see some of the new young guns racing hard.