Regarding the pressure to change from V8 to the Power Units – As I recall the situation, the FIA considered that the lack of engine suppliers posed a threat to the future of the sport. They therefore wanted to encourage other engine manufacturers to involve themselves in F1. The FIA set up a working group to discuss the future and they persuaded “outsiders” to join the committee and gave them equal voting rights. One of them was Audi. There were also two other “outsiders”. The “outsiders” insisted on making F1 more relevant to their road car business by changing to the current format. Once Audi had got their way they promptly pulled out of the committee and boasted that F1 was totally irrelevant to road cars. I actually like the current format and noise. So thank you Audi.
Sebastian Vettel got the fastest lap. I can not see why people are impressed by Sebastian Vettel going from 15th to 4th. I looked at the speed and lap times of the Red Bull compared to the rest of the field, prior to the race, and 4th was exactly where that car belonged irrespective of who was driving it. That is why I predicted that result on the thread that asked for our predictions.
It's the fact that he went from 15th to 4th not that the Red Bull cars are the 3rd and 4th best on the grid.
The lack of overtaking opportunities the track contains made it impressive. The moves he pulled off were also aggressive but fair, he deserved 4th.
I was more impressed because he had hardly any practice compared to the majority and that the car was nowhere near dialed to 100% his liking. Barcelona a hard track to overtake on plus slow top speed.
Your biased opinion is irrelevant. What is it with YOU people. Credit where it is due. Vettel was the best driver today. FACT!
Overtook car 20 on lap 1 stuck behind car 22 from laps 2 – 11 then pitted lap 15 overtook car 17 lap 16 to 27 stuck behind car 19 lap 28 car 19 pitted laps 28- 32 stuck behind car 8 car 8 pits lap 34 stuck behind car 19 lap 36 overtakes cars 19 and 20 laps 37 to 52 stuck behind car 14 car 14 pits lap 56 overtakes car 7 lap 63 overtakes car 77 gets4th The Red Bull is faster than any other car aprt from the Mercedes.
I think Button is trying to plant the seed that a top team is better with 2 experienced drivers. i.e. he knows Ron is after Alonso or Vettel for 2015 so by stating that a team needs 2 experienced drivers he is hoping to keep his seat next year. Don't get me wrong I like Button and he is good when he has a car that he likes but when the car doesn't behave to his liking he can't drive round the problem like Alonso or maybe Hamilton.
The issue i have with that idea is why on earth would Alonso or Vettel want to leave their infinitely superior teams. The only driver that makes any sense would be Hulk, but using Perez as a benchmark he looks like a step sideways from Button to me anyway.
Totally agree , Lewis set up in P2 was awesome he was hitting some serious race pace times but for some reason the team added bits to Lewis's car after that according to Ted Kravitz on his notebook show on Sky.
I thought Vettel put on some good moves today. Some real aggressive lunges but always looked in control. He made the strategy work and did at least what you would expect a 4xWDC to do.
Well vettels overtakes were all pretty much in DRS. Red bull have also made a step up and are way ahead of the 3rd and lower teams. It's like a Rosberg recovery drive from the last race. I wish the cars were all closer together. This year is getting very frustrating....
Just want to add a few things here GramP: A very calculated drive, he was patient and when given the chance to make the overtake over 1 lap, he did it 2/2 times on both Grosjean and Alonso because he made his prime stint count earlier by keeping up with the guys on the option in front.
I like to see drivers given the opportunity to show their race craft sometimes. Vettel got his opportunity today and he did it well. He had nothing to lose, so he did what he had to do and that was go as fast as he could on a three stopper. I would have preferred him to qualified closer to Ricciardo though, so we could really see how they stacked up against each other and how they will handle the competition. It will be interesting to see how Rosberg handle the battle in the next race. He has to make a serious comeback and stamp his authority from FP1. He can't give Hamilton and space, not even in FP. If he does Hamilton will break him. I think Rosberg had Hamilton a little shaken this weekend, and it showed in his tone on the radio. The problem is, when Rosberg has the better setup he isn't taking advantage and losing out to Hamilton, and when Hamilton gets the setup right he crushes Rosberg. Rosberg needs to turn that around quickly. Hamilton has to keep winning because he could win the majority of races and still lose the championship if Rosberg continues to be consistent. Another observation most people the were questioning Hamilton's mental strength and his ability to race under pressure, must be convinced now that he could handle pressure. Today he was a little flustered but he didn't give an inch, he fought til the end. Withe four wins out of five races he is still only like three points in the lead so he has to keep winning.
