Formula One ( F1 )

button fucked up

Alonso in first,

Perez in second.

Mad.

Come on Perez!

Much prefer my Edwards/Coulthard feed to Croft/Brundle.

Perez?

Eh?

C'mon my son!!!

It looks like Alonso will take it, but if that happens, it will highlight the absolute gulf between him and Massa. Then it will be Bye-Bye Massa. He should jump before he is pushed. In fact, Massa has been so appalling, he should consider hari-kari.

EDIT:
Ferrari win. F*ck me, Well done. its a funny old game. (dragging the cliches out)

Good drives by this lot:

5 K Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus
6 B Senna (Brazil) Williams
7 P Di Resta (Great Britain) Force India
8 J Vergne (France) Toro Rosso
9 N Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India

What was all the "STOP NOW EMERGENCY!" stuff on Vettels radio right at the end that he seemingly ignored?

My guess is that it might have been electrical, and possibly their KERS system. They had problems with it before, and if the car was live, as has previously happened, then Vettel could have been killed.

I can't think of anything else that would be an emergency that needed him to stop right away. Oh yes, there is the old wheelnut-coming-loose, or the fuel-leak-from-punctured-tank, but I still think it might have been the KERS.

From the internetz

some tyre fragments got caught in the cooling duct of his rear tyre and they had serious concerns as the temp spiked. It then dropped as he slowed, but then got much worse again. Horner said it was irrelevant because Vettel couldn't hear a thing from lap 10 onwards.

I prefer the almost-killed-by-wonky-gubbins theorem. Over heating is a bit lame, no? :-)

Admission of bad engineering would never be accepted.

2 hours till first practise of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Looking forward to this one.

I predict Lewis will take pole again, then get dropped to 5th for his gearbox replacement penalty.

Kimi should finish in the top 10, and maybe the top 8. I have high hopes for him.

Massa will remind us of Acrington Stanley.

Jesson could win the race, as I predict superior tactics from him.

Vettel will chuck all of his teddys far out of his pram, and will crash into someone, then sulk, and not remove his helmet.

If the weather is good, then I don't see Alonso finishing above 6th.

So Jean Todt says we're off to Bahrain. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything.

Quali 1 has just started.

Good morning folks.

Morning!

New to this thread but not new to F1. Just getting on board.

Loving this season so far!

Great quali session!! Superb P1 lap from Rosberg! And Kobayashi!! Those Saubers are looking quick!!

I reckon then after Lewis' penalty, the Mercs will drop back in the race with tyre management issues and without so much double DRS as per usual and I think the good battles at the front could well be the Saubers, Kimi, Button and Webber with Hamilton coming along to join in too... Gonna be a fascinating first lap and should be a fantastic race!

Sebastian who?

Well excited!

^^^^^^^^ This is what we like, a real enthusiast. Welcome!

Well, I must admit, that I am very, very excited about the race to come.

Qualifing positions
1 N Rosberg 1:35.121
2 L Hamilton 1:35.626
3 M Schumacher 1:35.691
4 K Kobayashi 1:35.784
5 K Raikkonen 1:35.898
6 J Button 1:36.191
7 M Webber 1:36.290
8 S Perez 1:36.524
9 F Alonso 1:36.622
10 R Grosjean 1:35.903

This shows considerable one-lap pace from Mercedes, and especially from Rosberg. With the BBC analysis of race strategy showing that there is almost no difference between a 2-stop and a 3-stop strategy, then even Mercedes' poor tyre management so far, may not inhibit them as much, and they look good for the win. Rosberg has bottled it before though, when under pressure, but Schumey won't. There is no chance of that whatsoever. Button really has his work cut out for him

Race start positions
1 N Rosberg 1:35.121
2 M Schumacher 1:35.691
3 K Kobayashi 1:35.784
4 K Raikkonen 1:35.898
5 J Button 1:36.191
6 M Webber 1:36.290
7 L Hamilton 1:35.626 [Penalty - Gearbox changed]
8 S Perez 1:36.524
9 F Alonso 1:36.622
10 R Grosjean 1:35.903

Alonso shows that Ferrari isn't as cack as we first thought, but he will do well to finish in the top 5 or 6. Kimi, could do well, as his break away has reinvigorated his enthusiasm, and I expect him to be very strong. Hamilton will need pit stops to help him reach the top 3, if its possible. Kobayashi and Alonso are notoriously difficult to overtake, and I envisage someone getting into to bother when trying a passing more on Kobayashi. I think Hamilton will post the fastest lap of the race. I'm not confident of him making the podium though; he'll need a bit of luck, and an inspired and aggressive drive to do it. Can hardly wait.

Nice.
I'm looking forward to seeing if Grosjean can do more than a few laps! I don't fancy the Mercs' chances for the win though but Rosberg definitely has one a long time coming!
Actually can't wait for the battles between Raikkonen and Kobayashi and the others around them. I think Kimi should make a good start and hopefully get right up there in the first or so laps.. and keep going...
The McLarens will be pretty strong in the race I think.

Love this new order going on. So much more interesting than the finger just romping into the lead from start to finish. Looks like it could be a close and varied battle all the way through the season too.

Alonso just showing his talent getting a sub standard car into positions it doesn't really deserve. And what the hell is Massa doing in that car anyway??

Very excited about tomorrow. Damn it's going to be good!

Bring it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xbB1qwhKaaE

Super start! Especially for Button.

Are there rules for the minimum amount of fuel you must start with?
I just heard they start with about 200 litres. Couldn't you start with about 30, accelerate like a maniac away from everyone, especially if you were starting in say 3rd or 4th, hope to get to the front and then come in for a quick stop once you have a nice distance?

Refuelling isn't allowed in the 2012 season