He was nowhere near in Spa, but if you lose both wings and get air you make up a lot ground in the braking zone.
No more so than China and Malaysia respectively where displays of their ability. It's probably in their heads at the moment. It can't be a co-incidence how Mark's performance has dropped off a cliff since Multi21-gate and Button has sounded so down all weekend as well. I think they both need a boost, like the one Perez got in Bahrain to turn his performance around.
If by everyone you mean the backmarkers that Gutierrez has a chance of getting anywhere near then probably!
They're the two most experienced drivers on the grid though. Surely they have been through worst, especially considering they spent most their years fighting down at the back end of the grid. Button is supposed to be leading the team and if he struggles to perform compared to his team mate because of 1 bad race and a disappointing weekend then that is worrying.
He was 4/10ths off Vettel's lap in Australia and three places behind in the race, and 2.6 seconds slower in Malaysia qualifying so it's not like he was any better before that happened.
Also I don't see any issue with Button. That's the first time he's been outqualified in five races isn't it?
Quite true, AG. Then again, this 'first time' immediately follows the momentous battle where Perez successfully landed a telling blow to Button's head doesn't it? Balance is a state of mind and is most important at the top of the tree. Perez is shaking the McLaren tree and sensing his rival wavering. It will now be part of his mind-set to capitalize on this moment so as to inflict lasting damage. He will see this as his best chance to promote himself to the 'BIG Time' – and it is. Right now, Button is on the defensive. To avoid further indignation, he needs to get his head together – and fast!
I don't think it's likely to have affected Button, it's almost certainly given Perez a lift but Button shouldn't be criticised for his team mate upping his game. Monaco and Montreal are unique and unusual so I don't want to predict who'll have the upper hand there, but I'd expect Button to be back in control by Silverstone and generally on top throughout the season. I think today was just a blip, time will tell.
Mainly because it happened in Q2 and Webber made it to Q3 anyway, but also because Massa had nowhere to go and moved out of the way as soon as he was able to. Webber only lost a small amount of time. Here's a comparison to Vettel: Q1, Lap 1: Webber 0.184 slower than Vettel Q2, Lap 1: Webber 0.233 slower than Vettel (this is where Massa supposedly blocked him) Q2, Lap 2: Webber 0.116 slower than Vettel Q3, Lap 1: Webber 0.533 slower than Vettel IMO the penalty would be completely justified if the incident happened in Q3 or stopped Webber getting into Q3
You should punish the crime not the consequence. If drivers can get away with it they'll be more complacent.
Yes. Despite losing a battle, I still expect Button to win this war. I have simply tried to present things from what I believe is present thinking. Actually Forza, I do not agree that Webber "lost only a small amount of time". Up to that point, it was Webber's best lap by far. Massa's lack of awareness in seeing the need to either back off sooner (before the left-hander begins) or to keep his speed up until able to move aside at a safe place, cost Webber a huge chunk of time – easily more than half a second and probably closer to a full second!
I can't see beyond Kimi winning tomorrow. As i said this morning, my main focus was to see how highly the Lotus could qualify, and they've outperformed my expectations, leaving Kimi in perfect position to win. And i apologise to Nico, i called him average last season. He's easily had the measure of Hamilton on 1 lap pace this season, so it turns out the guy is pretty nimble.
If Mercedes can get 1-2 out of the first corner they have the chance to control the pace of the race thourgh S1 & S2 and give themselves a good gap in S3 so no one can get them on the straight. If Brawn is the tactical genius from Benetton & Ferrari that he is supposed to be, he should be able to orchestrate the drivers to make sure Mercedes win.
If Mercedes can get 1-2 out of the first corner they have the chance to control the pace of the race thourgh S1 & S2 and give themselves a good gap in S3 so no one can get them on the straight. If Brawn is the tactical genius from Benetton & Ferrari that he is supposed to be, he should be able to orchestrate the drivers to make sure Mercedes win.
The Mercs owned sector 3 today, usually a good sign of who goes well in Monaco (Thats them jinxed ) [TABLE="class: raceResults, width: 715"] [TR] [TH="class: Sectors, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, colspan: 4"]Sector #3[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TH="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Pos[/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]No[/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Driver[/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Time[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]1[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]9[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Nico Rosberg[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]27.738[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]2[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]10[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Lewis Hamilton[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]27.795[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]3[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]1[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Sebastian Vettel[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]28.097[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]4[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]6[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Sergio Perez[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]28.100[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]5[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]2[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Mark Webber[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]28.216[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Perez right up there to!
Mercedes definitely have championship winning potential this year. Three poles in a row, if you look at the gaps to the nearest non-Merc, 0.277 in China, 0.254 in Bahrain and 0.336 here, that's almost 3/10ths of raw pace the others need if Mercedes sort their tyre wear out. And it's not like they need to find Lotusesque tyre management, if they keep putting it on pole it will be easy to conserve in clean air. In Monaco they should lock out the front row with the one lap pace and mechanical grip, tyre wear's easy there and overtaking's tough so if it stays dry and they keep it clean they should bring home a 1-2. They're definitely in the hunt for both championships if they don't do a BMW and stop developing it.
I don't think they can win the WDC but looking at the way their competitors are struggling to get two cars to have good results a WCC may be on the cards (but still a long way and a lot of work off).
