If that did happen, from a scale of 1-10 I'll be on planet Zargon Y+ and would have invented a new element with how ****ed off I would be.
Yes BiL, I did. I agree that there is little to choose between them in terms of outright pace. However, the Red Bull has better traction – and I expect this to be a significant factor in terms of tyre wear tomorrow (as I've explained above). In fact for me, that is what made Hamilton's lap so outstanding. I seriously believe most of the other front runners were numbed by it, especially Vettel and Button. It was a lap that on paper looks out of reach and unachievable. But the race will be different… I believe Hamilton will have to go flat out with three sets of SuperSofts and one set of the harder compound, whilst Button, Vettel and Alonso may well stop just twice. Maldonado will probably be mirroring Hamilton's three stopper. Also, watch out for a long-distance Mercedes (or two?) coming through the field. I expect both Mercedes drivers to be the last from the top ten to stop, which could well give them the all important track position later on when a similar number of stops to their competitors may remain. The worst thing for Mercedes would be an early Safety Car, which could nullify their trump card. Also, one of the Force Indias may try just three stints. All of this leaves Hamilton with an awful lot to do, unless I'm wrong about him needing three stops. The thing is, I just can't see his tyres surviving with fewer. This is why it should be a particularly fascinating race for anyone interested in strategies.
Yes, AG. I was impressed with him on Friday. In fact I think I commented somewhere (not sure if it was this forum) that he was driving far more accurately than Senna during both of Friday's sessions. Good luck to him. I have been one of Karthikeyan's harshest critics, but his performance is all the more impressive here because this circuit is far from being one of the easiest to drive. I wish him every success.
I love strategic races but they tend to be boring these days because they all respond to each other; a driver (probably Hamilton) will pit early for a three stop, the others will respond like sheep,everyone will three stop and they'll end the race pretty much in the order they started. I'd be very surprised if any of the top eight two-stop, I think Rosberg and Hulkenberg will start on primes and maybe try a two-stop, the others will start on options and mostly three-stop. Perez will start on options and one-stop.
Really hoping Pastor does not f*** up tommorow at the start but it was a great performance by both him and Lewis as I thought Vettel was a dead cert for pole Beginning to get really frustrated with Kimi's quali performances, clearly the Lotus is starting to get left behind but he was just outright slow compared to Grosjean who eased into Q2. Unless he has a Bahrain like race then I think his championship hopes maybe over for the season
To be honest i'm not sure he was ever really in it. I mean he's stuck around near the top through his consistancy (and fair play to him for that) but he's never going to rein in Fernando that way and the race winning pace just isn't there.
You may be correct, AG but I expect at least one of the top six to try something different. Copying the leader's strategy at a circuit where overtaking is difficult is unlikely to yield anything other than a predictable result. Hamilton's achilles heel at this circuit is tyre wear, and as such, it would seem daft for others not to try to take advantage if possible. Bearing in mind that Red Bull appear to be easier on their tyres, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see at least one of their drives trying something different. I'm certain of one thing: following Hamilton's strategy - assuming he retains the lead until his first stop - would not be my plan if I was trying to beat him across the line!
I would imagine both the Mclaren and RBs will split their strategies with Button and Webber most likely going o th harder tyres and banking on a safety car.
I think that's a good call, Smithers; although I'm not sure about Button this time. The difficulty for him is that this low grip circuit is not especially kind to the McLaren* and despite his near legendary ability to optimise tyres, I find myself wondering if his best bet might also be to go for three stops. The down side of that (from his perspective) is that it pretty much guarantees remaining behind Hamilton, unless the latter has a problem. *I'm unsure about whether the McLaren cars are utilising similar set-ups. Button's car looked only marginally softer, but I'm really not sure. It is possible that Button has gone for a more compliant set up, but unless he has, he may well need three stops as well! Having said all this, I will probably be found out when the Hamilton side of the garage decide his lead is sufficiently safe to flex back to two stops! …
Lewis,Lewis,Lewis Lewis......It isn't his driving that is impressing me this year since it was always there, it's his attitude, his mindset and in general his new found diplomatic skills with other drivers. While Seb is going around like an elephant being hunted because of being the double world champ Lewis has taken the same approach as Alonso by sticking under the radar by playing it safe and "working with other drivers" to help him get the best result and cause little ripples. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19687980 From 0:59 onwards is what I'm really impressed by Lewis, never expected that kind of direction from Lewis of boosting up a driver like Pastor to maybe make him think twice going crazy into the first corner. If it really works Pastor will be kind and Seb could be the one suffering into turn 1 if it works. Lewis would be the last driver I would expect to do something like that! This isn't a new "Lewis Hamilton" this is a much older and smarter Lewis Hamilton which I didn't expect until he was hitting on 30ish. If Lewis keeps going like this into next year I would have to put him higher than Alonso as the most complete driver on the grid. *Yup you can quote me on that if he repeats it next year.*
Dunno, it shows storms on the F1 website, but are there any gp2, gp3 races going on? So we can have a glimpse there.
Funny video I came across which gets the pulse going for me lol! [video=youtube;6UacUOtJSX4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UacUOtJSX4&feature=share[/video]
He has talent, unfortunately he is very aggressive. But I hope to see him mature, and in a better team with that. Montoya Mk2.
He does remind me of Montoya. It's kind of ironic that a driver known for crashing should make such a cracking quali lap on a tricky track surrounded by walls. I really hope he can get a result today.
