I'm not so sure that the STRs are running light. I got the feeling watching qualifying that most everyone in Q3 was running intermediate to allmost heavy fuel loads, since fuel load did not seem to make much difference in times over the first two sessions when the track was soaking wet.


I agree that Heikki will do well, but I wouldn't hand the race to him. He has not done very well this year on starts, and could very well lose a few positions at the beginning of the race with everyone on the first 3 rows gunning for him.

My opinion on fuel loads is the same reason I posted before that neither Hamilton nor Raikkonen will make it into the top 6, barring any wrecks/accidents of course.

 

Hamilton is now in P2 from P15 and is running a full second quicker than the race leader. He hasn't stopped for fuel though and most of the other teams have.

Seal.

 

What, Toro Rosso wins and everyone is so down that they aren't posting.

Congratulations to Toro Rosso and Vettel.

 

1st non factory-backed ferrari to win a grand prix.............
great job STR & VETTEL

 

Way to go Vettel! I have some brazilian ties so I allways pull for Massa. That is why I am more critical of him than the other drivers. That being said, Hamilton has solidified himself(in my mind) as the best driver in F1, regardless of whether he wins the championship or not.

Massa and Raikonnen have been big dissapointments(I know where they stand in the championship so don't remind me) and Alonso doesn't have the equipment to compete.

I'm glad I was right on my race predictions since I had a side bet going with a friend of mine.

 

Congrats to Seb Vettel!!! Personally I didn't think the guy was deserving of all the hype the past couple of years, but man what a race he drove today. Too bad he's going to Red Bull next year, where the same type of drive will net him 6th - 8th at best.

Random thoughts:
Hamilton's 1st stint was nearly epic...if only he could have gotten around Kimi and Fisi sooner, podium?

I don't know why but everytime Kimi runs a crap race, only to put in fast lap right at the end I want to hurl.

Massa looked pretty proficient in the wet again today, not rainmeister good but solid.

2nd race in a row where BMW snatched a podium with a strategic call... Hmmm, I thought Ross Brawn went to Honda

 

I went to church and missed the end of the race. I've avoided my computer until now and have just seen the replay. Good race and congrats to Vet and Toro Rosso.

Seal.

 

Once again, Hamilton was Jesus in the rain. I knew he would do well, but not that well. If the rain had continued, I think he would have won. Another thing: Raikkonen has stated many times that the car seems to work better with hot ambient temperatures. This was proved when the track started to dry up and he was setting fast lap after fast lap. This is probably a known compromise that the engineers made since there are more dry races than wet. I bet Hamilton knows this as well...that's why he's always praying for rain when he cant catch a Ferrari.

 

There haven't been too many times this year when Hamilton couldn't catch anyone.

 

Drivers not happy with Hamilton's on-track behaviour
http://www.f1technical.net/news/10472

Lewis Hamilton's driving style is back under fire after yesterday's Italian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver did some 'unnecessary movements' as some of his victims declared. Among them are Timo Glock, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber.

Not only the drivers disagreed with Hamilton's on-track behaviour, but also some of the fans believe that the Briton deserved a punishment. While overtaking Timo Glock, Hamilton simply pushed the German's Toyota in the grass and he repeated the manoeuvre when he was fighting with Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber.

Timo Glock said: "I do not know what he was thinking. I was right next to him but he left me no room. Sometimes he drives as though he is completely alone on the track. The next time I am with him, I will behave with him in exactly the same way."

Alonso agreed with Glock: "There was some unnecessary movements he made. It is his way of racing."

While fighting with Mark Webber, Hamilton made a manoeuvre which deserved a penalty. The McLaren driver pushed Red Bull's Webber so far to the side ahead of the turn 1 that he made contact with the Australian. The stewards decided not to take action against Hamilton and rumours are already whispering that the stewards did not opt for a penalty after having penalised his already at the Belgian Grand Prix.
...........................................
Favoritism toward Hamilton?

 

I just am not a big McLaren fan, especially Hamilton. It's gotten to the point where I am mute out the race commentators if they go on a big Hamilton praise-fest. I understand that he is the #1 driver on a team where every decision is made to favor him, but give him a Force India or Honda chassis and motor and see how well he does.

 

Of course they're not happy. He is making them look bad.

 

Glock and Webber, especially Webber, don't need his help.

 

Are you saying Webber sucks? Have we been watching the same season?

 

Damn You Ike , You Made ME Miss Sunday's Race, and you damaged my home. any ways, any site where i can watch sundays race .

 

IMO Webber has to step it up now. He needs a front row start and a couple of podiums at least. If he doesn't end the season in a very strong way, then Vettel will certainly come in to RBR as the #1.

 

i wouldnt say webber sucks. but i wouldnt say webber has done really well this session.

 

Wow, I want some of what you are smoking. Webber has out qualified his team-mate by a HUGE margin, outscored him by 20 points to 6, etc etc. The best comparison that we have is with his team mate, and he has schooled the **** out of him.

 

You have to remember that the STR is faster than the Red Bull now because of the higher horsepower. Any track that highlights horsepower will have Vettel outpacing Webber. Basically, the last three races will have Vettel in the points assuming nothing bad happens (Singapore looks like a high downforce track, so this shouldn't be an issue there). It will be an interesting team battle next year though: Webber, the fast driver with the bad luck of always switching to a slower team, vs. Vettel, who people are now calling "Baby Schumi."

 

Hamilton did do a stupid push against Webber at the entry of the first chicane. Webber had caught up with Hamilton by breaking later and still he was bumped off track.

The Glock incident was just Glock who didn't know when to back off. He had lost that duel and was just clinging on to prolong a needless fight.

 

Well spoken. Hamilton is quite aggressive and all his moves are not always proper. The best drivers are always walking that fine line.

I am a Hamilton fan but the Speed commentators do go on excessively about him sometimes and their bias was shown when they stressed Vettel's growing gap to Heikki was due to clear vision and hadn't dwelt on that when Lewis did similar in other races.

Lewis is something special and anyone who can't see that is blind but there are other talented special drivers out there as well. Is he the best of the field? We will see.

Seal.

 

If BMW continues to improve their car and Alonso signs with them, we may have the most tightly contested championship in over a decade next season.

 

A lot of if's in that statement. Don't depend on if's.

 

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headline...17140331.shtml

Max Mosley said he would like to see each Formula One team use the same engine.

The FIA President told the French sports daily L'Equipe that the move to a common engine would put a lid on costs and also make F1 teams' research more road-relevant.

Mosley, calling teams' current spending on technology "irrational," also said Wednesday he is in favour of the introduction of standard suspensions and gearboxes.

F1 teams are currently in the midst of a mandatory 'freeze' on engine development, with some like Renault complaining that they have fallen behind as their rivals sidestep the spirit of the rules.


"It is not conceivable that we are penalised for another three years," said team boss Flavio Briatore, who is campaigning for a remedy to the situation.

"We will discuss it in FOTA and look for a solution," he confirmed to the Spanish sports daily Marca.

© CAPSIS International
Source: GMM

 

A girl can dream, can't she?