Vettel is fine if he's in the fastest car and at the front, he'd be terrible if he didn't have the fastest car, he had to resort to ramming two cars out of the way last season to overtake them even in a car with almost 2s per lap over the one he was trying to pass...

 

he wuddn't do **** if he's qualified anywhere below p5

 

Dude, when you have the right car, anything is possible against anyone and talent is not as important. Speaking of Finns, you guys should have never disposed of Raiikonnen. He might have had as much personality as toenail clippings, but he was a great asset to Ferrari and F1 in general. Fscking Santander.

What's the buzz in Italy these days re: Ferrari, anyways? Are they growing impatient with Stefano Domenicali or are they placing blame at the feet of El Banco?

 

need i remind u guys what a bunchy of cheeky bastards ferrari are?

 

Raikkonen was great, i was thinking about hakkinen as the main schumacher opponent. There weren't other threats at the time
Ferrari is outsourcing most of his production cars work to concentrate on f1...Domenicali is useless there, speaking of toe nail clippings really.
Alonso is a top driver but lacks the car, Massa should be supported in a different way, not ignored. He's still capable of keeping button at bay in the end.

 

Point taken, but it was also on a track where it was very difficult to pass. Lets be honest its not easy to pass everywhere. Alonso vs Petrov anyone?

At least Vettel passed his opponent. Does that mean Vettel is better than Alonso?

 

...or adjust the testing method.....

 

Which is still a change to the rules!
Their rulebook is so detailed that even the testing procedures are described in detail!

 

They could change the rule to saying the front wings are not allowed to flex more than 1 degree during a race. Then they could use the camera pictures to verify that the cars are conforming to the rule.

That way they would eliminate the flexiwings directly. If that is what they want to do.

 

Camera pictures could still be subjected to some debate unfortunately. Camera angles, track inclination, braking etc all play a role so the rule would be too complex.
Fixing a camera at the end of the straight would be enough though

anyway i'd like to know to what extent that wing really helps, 0.1",0.3",0.5", 1" per lap?

 

There was a debate about the front wing flexing on the Red Bull & Ferrari last year. The method of the testing was changed and both still passed.

 

http://www.onestopstrategy.com/daily...n+2012%27.html
Briatore tells Ferrari to 'focus on 2012'

Flavio Briatore has advised Ferrari to write off 2011 after this year's 150 Italia car struggled in Melbourne last weekend.

The Italian team, featuring Fernando Alonso as its lead driver, is currently investigating why the new car was not as good in Australia after a promising winter test campaign.

"It may sound absurd, but I think Ferrari should focus on the 2012 car now," Briatore, the ousted former Renault boss and Alonso's manager, is quoted as saying by Finland's Turun Sanomat.

"Ferrari, of course, have all the engineering skills and resources that you need, but the half-second difference to Red Bull is an eternity," he added.

Briatore said that gap cannot be closed in two months, by which time Sebastian Vettel could be unassailable "If Red Bull maintain their condition and he (Vettel) keeps the same lead on Mark Webber".

The flamboyant Italian also reinforced his criticism of Michael Schumacher's continuing F1 comeback.

"I've always been against it -- a 40-year-old can never be the same as someone who is 20. Michael is half-retired already and his great career is having a nasty end," said Briatore.

Meanwhile, former ten-time GP winner Gerhard Berger agrees with Briatore that Red Bull is unlikely to be caught by its rivals this year.

"Why should there be a big change?" the Austrian told Bild newspaper. "All the same people will all keep working, so I don't foresee a turning point."

 

It's too early for McLaren & Ferrari to give up. While he may end up right, Briatore is a douche and I won't pay any attention to what he has to say.

 

They could just use massa to crash during every race...
Seriously though, 0.5" of difference, as shown by mclaren, can be recovered with just 1 week of good development by a top team!

 

Briatore is so full of it. Last year Ferrari sucked. And then suddenly they had a really fast car and were catching up to red bull quickly.

Obviously the title race is still entirely open.

 

http://www.onestopstrategy.com/daily...20Whiting.html

Red Bull wing flex not illegal - Whiting

Charlie Whiting has dismissed fears Red Bull could fall afoul F1's rules prohibiting flexible aerodynamic components.

As was the case in 2010, the dominant team has again been accused of running a car whose front wing extremities bend to the track -- so much in Australia that mechanics were constantly repairing damage to the endplate undersides.

But FIA technical delegate Whiting told Germany's Bild newspaper: "We have found nothing unusual. The car is in order."

The real issue for Red Bull's rivals is the overall laptime gap witnessed particularly in qualifying, although it is suggested Sebastian Vettel sandbagged en route to Melbourne victory.

"Between us and Red Bull is a big gap," admitted McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who finished second at Albert Park.

Added Mercedes' Norbert Haug: "The last time we saw a car so superior was a long time ago."

He told Sport Bild: "Even without our problems, we would only have admired Red Bull from afar."

I think this can open the floodgates as to which team can emulate Red Bull Racing's flexing front wing the fastest. As much as I hate RBR and Vettel in particular, he is the real deal and have proven time and time again he can squeeze every last ounce of performance out of the car he is paid to drive. Couple that with perhaps the best chief designer, (Adrien Newey) the sport has seen in the last 20 years - this could be the ultimate combo that every team envies to have, but your opposition would despise.

 

I'm pretty sure I know what's happening with the front wings of the Red Bulls. They're reinforcing them with the same material batman uses in his cape, that becomes hard with an electric charge. That's how they pass the tests but maintain flexibility on the track.

You think I'm crazy now but just wait until their secret is found...

 

McLaren copied us - Newey
read more @ http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsp...ory/44746.html

 

yea right ******* and you copied our f-duct! f1's been all about copying for years lol get over it newey

 

That was rather petty of Adrian to say. All the teams study each other, especially watching those with an edge in pace. All year, every year. Spying and in the open.

Paul.

 

And not, if you're ferrari or mclaren

 

Hush you!

 

I love vettel...
http://www.formula1.com/news/intervi...1/4/11886.html

no kers and v12 as his dream. Yay!

 

Well, V12 is every boys dream no? Whats sexiest a whining straight 4 or a roaring V12?

 

http://www.itv.com/formula1/news/201...d-finish-4994/
Virgin admit finishing only goal

Virgin team boss John Booth admits that the best his team can hope for in Malaysia next weekend is to reach the finish and gather some more development data.

The squad have not managed to make the jump they had hoped for over the winter, and trailed all bar the troubled Hispania team in Melbourne.

Virgin are working on a major development package, but this will not be ready until the Istanbul race in May.

"This round of long-haul races means there are few developments we can bring to the car until the next significant upgrade for Turkey," said Booth.

"Our focus for now is on gathering as much data as possible to plough back into the development cycle to ensure we can go on to make those bigger steps through the season."

He pointed out that Virgin had at least conquered the reliability issues that were so costly in early 2010.

"This time last year we were struggling with reliability issues that were preventing us from finishing races," Booth said.

"This year we've demonstrated that we are on top of that and that is a much better starting point to build upon.

"We know what we have to do, so whilst that work is taking place behind the scenes, the best job we can do is to keep bringing cars home and focusing on smaller incremental steps."

Booth said Virgin's best hope for Malaysia was for a monsoon to hit and shake things up.

"The monsoon-type downpours that we see - and which we have stopped races in the past - also represent a good opportunity as they displace the usual order and turn things into a bit more of a lottery - good for us and good for the fans," he said.


This is some disturbing news from Virgin Racing. This should have been their goal last year!