This isn't based on today but based on the last 4 races. It is now obvious that Mclaren and Ferrari are performing on the same level as the Red Bulls if not better and today showed Mclaren have clearly made a step forward. This to me seems that without Newey on board at Red Bull they will struggle in the future in developing their car. It makes me wonder if they have enough brains over than Newey in the team to make the car even better or are they relying too much on him to give them perfection. They are lucky that Vettel has performed brilliantly this season and has not made the mistakes we had seen him make last year or else the constructors and drivers championship will be very much alive. The next two races are interesting because they are tracks which suit the Mercedes powered cars, i.e Mclaren and the Ferrari so we may see Red Bull struggle especially with the cold conditions that usually occur at Spa. Lets hope we see more great races like today.
agree, but if lewis wins every race from now on & if vetell would only comes 3rd in each of these he would still beat lewis to the title (354 to 346). with the bahrain gp included, lewis would only with by 2 points if based on the model above. futhermore, if the race points where shared out based on the last 3 grand prixs, where most say vettel has fallen, he would still win the world champship. lewis has only average 0.3 more points a race in the last 3 races. only alonso (with 19.3) has more, ye
Mclaren and Ferrari will surely be praying for good weather at the next 2 grand prixs, with their straight line advantage. Next month will be the stand off of both McLaren and Ferrari if they are serious about nailing seb at the end with the remaining 6 races afterwards. If Seb wins 1 of them or gets podium on both Spa and Monza, well.... you know the rest.
What's the most frustrating thing is the championship is almost dead and buried already! McLaren are the same every year, start slow then improve half way through when the upgrades come along! If only the had that car from the start!
I thought last year they had a good car and it was only a puncture with 2 laps to go in Catalunya that cost Lewis the title, unfortunately . Agree though that next season if they improve their aerodynamics, downforce and probaly strategies then the car could be on par with the Red Bulls.
please don't give me that. vetell, MW & JB all had non-driver related problems. but if you said that if lewis finshed both the Singapore/Italian gp's with good points that would be a different story. same with mark webber in Valencia/Korean both of which were somewhat driving mistakes. same with alonso in spa & the failure to overtake the (Vitaly Petrov) Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. so massa should have won the wc 2008 (Hungary) & lh in 2007 (china) accorring to your statement. also based on your name, its seems your a bit bias towards lh.
This ^^ It is a shame that the championship is dead and buried. Lets hope for a good fight to second place. My money is on Alonso as he seems to be good with the luck at the moment.
Pretty much agree, although my view is that last year Vettels didn't so much win the championship instead Alonso, Webber and Hamilton lost it. This year Ferrari and McLaren have left it too late and if Button, Hamilton and Alonso keep trading race wins then Vettels has it. In my mind it's over this year. A combination of a great car from RB and the rules from the last few years hampering in season development have made sure of that.
i wonder wheather red bull have done mclaren a favour in wanting the off throttle blowning's ban to be overturn. becasue at silverstone th mclarens looked poor.
Renault said Seb had engine trouble through the race, also considering he had brake problems, 2nd was a great result. Be very interesting what package Newey thinks up to use at Spa and Monza. Horner pretty much saying RBR gunning for both more then the other Gp's knowing if they do well here it's game over.
I can't see how red bull could get on the podium in either of the next 2 races. Spa and Monza historically favour teams with good low downforce setups. That's why i'm tipping mercedes to put in a strong showing in spa, and to win in Italy. Don't discount Force India either. Their performance today was incredible, given that they usually struggle on high downforce circuits. They seem to have now developed a genuinely good car.
Last year Mclaren had the car to win the championship! The issue for them is that Button will always pinch a couple of wins a year and finish infornt of Lewis several times meaning that valueable points are lost for the WDC. I didnt see Mclaren telling Button to hold statio today and rightly so and if JB hadnt of had those 2 mechanical failures he would be clear second in teh WDC! Redbull should take a leaf out of the Mclaren book, make the championship more interesting and make Vettle earn his title on merit - something that he is more than capable of doing! Here's to an excellent end of the season - cheers!
Vettel is earning the title on merit. He's been the best driver this season, so he deserves his lead. Button or Alonso should be second in the championship though, not webber.
The drivers title has gone, but with Button and Hamilton Vs Vettel and Webber I believe McLaren can steal the constructors title an therefore have more money for development next year and for the future rules. (hopeful)
It would take something pretty catastrophic for Vettel to lose this title. However, what RBR should be worried about is the momentum that McLaren could take in to next season. I don't imagine RBR having it this easy in '12.
Points in the last four races : Vettel : 73 Webber : 55 Hamilton : 61 Alonso : 76 Button : 33 Massa : 46 Source : myself
Cheers Red Bull = 128 McLaren = 94 Ferrari = 122 McLaren need to up their reliability if they want to pip Red Bull to the WCC post.
I really wish Button had not had them two DNFs because he would of been second in the driver standings and with Spa and Monza coming up would of had a chance to put a bit of pressure on Vettel, but that is F1. Despite Vettel being 99.9% on for winning the WDC I think the rest of the season could still be exciting with Mclaren, Red Bull and Alonso fighting it out for the race wins, and as BLS said Red Bull have not won the WCC yet.
