Formula One ( F1 )

ahh there you go then
Cheers

Bad luck for Schumey. I think he was on for a podium.

And mikec, clearly you fell out with F1 for a while? :-)

Yeah, and now Mercedes is heading for a wrist slapping

Lovely battle watching Kimi ahead of Alonso. There must be a little needle there.

Sebastian who?

You were saying? What a finalé

This is like Superbikes; overtaking central.

\o/

Best race ever? Certainly best race I've ever seen.

I could've got up at 9 instead of 7

Just imagine if they'd actually put Shumacher's wheel on properly.

Best race I've seen since the Mansell-Senna days. Well done to Nico. His dad must be chuffed to bits.

Mercedes have shown that they have the real package. They will be very hard to beat from now on. Great points for Williams. The resurgence continues.

What. A. Show!!!

Ross Brawn..........he's the daddy.

Amazing race! Proper wheel to wheel racing!!

Well done Mercedes and Rosberg! He was pretty untouchable.

Gutted for Kimi. Nice one Grosjean finishing and in the points.

Great result for Williams!

Oh yes, Hamilton now leads the championship, but I think it will be the Mercedes drivers that will dominate the points from now.

Nice to see Webber pulling ahead of Vettel on points. Is it now that the team needs maximum points, both cars are equal, and Vettel is no longer being favoured? I thought Red Bull treated Mark very shabbily in the past, so it's just desserts..... IMO.

Mark Webber - F1 wheelie king

http://youtu.be/8qSJOXLfEi0

Mark Webber - F1 wheelie king

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h403/timgriddell/ScreenShot2012-04-15at153024.png

http://youtu.be/8qSJOXLfEi0

And before that, it was this:

http://racingaccidents.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/webber.jpg

And before that, it was this:

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/CLRflip2.jpg

So, I guess no one was surprised when we heard about this:

http://www.etravelblackboard.com/article/120526/qantas-ambassador-mark-webber-from-f1-to-flight-cockpit

On the Mercedes note, absolutely gutted that Schumacher couldn't fight for the win, or even a podium. But make no mistake, McLaren are still the team to beat, and I reckon Mercedes will struggle to find another win this season. I'd absolutely love for Schumacher to get a win, but i'm not so sure it'll happen.

Great race though, fantastic to watch. Not quite as nail-biting as 3 weeks ago, but an awesome race.

.....On the Mercedes note, absolutely gutted that Schumacher couldn't fight for the win, or even a podium. But make no mistake, McLaren are still the team to beat, and I reckon Mercedes will struggle to find another win this season. I'd absolutely love for Schumacher to get a win, but i'm not so sure it'll happen......

I wish this could be true, but Mercedes version of the DRS system is so superior, that the advantage over everyone's elses is quite significant. No-one will be able to copy it, till possibly next season, as its an all-car design, and not an add-on. This, plus their very good engine, that McLaren also uses, is very powerful. Their tyre wear was supposed to be their chink in their armour, but this race showed that they have sorted that out, and now their tyre wear could be better than most competitors.

McLaren will need some major updates to catch up, or keep up. I want Lewis, or Jenson to win (but I am more Grenadian that British, so you'll guess where my allegiance most closely lies).

I predict Schumey winning a few races. I don't see Mercedes easily falling back, now they are ahead. Ross Brawn has worked hard to get them where they are, and it will be one hell of a battle to see who can beat them. I don't mind being wrong on this one - if fact I am hoping I am.

Indeed the front wing stalling device can't be retrofitted without compeltely redesigning the chassis, and they have got the best engine on the grid. The tyre wear wasn't an issue for them as they work their tyres harder than most other teams. This is an advantage when it's cold as it gets the tyres in their operating window while everyone else is left with less grip and wear their tyres out quicker. However as we've seen previously they work their tyres too hard in average-warm temperatures and struggle to manage them.

As with Ferrari last time out, I think this is more the unusual conditions playing into the favour of the team. If Mercedes do take another win, i'd be betting it'll be at Spa. The weather there is often quite cold and it's a track that suits a more low downforce setup. Both of these will play into the hands of Mercedes and Schumacher is quite handy around there too.

If I were betting on the WCC now, i'd be saying it's McLaren's to lose. As an Alonso and (to a lesser extent) Ferrari fan, that's not great to say. Red Bull look to be recovering and Ferrari should be back up in contention somewhere between Spain and Canada. Until then McLaren can look to extend their lead and make it a hard job for the others to catch up.

I'm hoping Webber can stay ahead of Vettel also, it'd be great to keep him at the sharp end of the grid for a few more seasons.

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

Fascinating.

Also, Ross Brawn appears in pt. 2

I wouldn't say you'd need a complete chassis redesign to incorporate the front wing DRS system, in simple terms it's just some tubes going from the rear wing end plates through the bodywork to the front wing. If teams can develop F-ducts and EBDs and get them on the car within a season then this can certainly be done and I'm sure will be done. Of course Merc have the upper hand as they designed their car around it, much like Red Bull and the EBD. But other teams will/are definitely looking at doing it. I think the main reason Lotus and others filed that official protest was simply to get the green light to develop their own system.

I agree with mmccarthy - I reckon Mercs got on top of the tyre wear in China due to the low temps. Could be a whole different story in hot races like Bahrain. But we'll see.

I love that fact we've had 3 different winners in 3 races and it's looking very close with little mistakes making massive differences. This is already a fantastic season!

Button.

Also, about Mercedes' front wing F-Duct. Just remember, Rosberg didn't get to use it to pull away from the pack at all. I'm not even sure he used it during the race.

If i remember right he would've been able to use it passing back markers.

Yep, you remember right.

Wasn't sure if the rules allowed that or not, but the point stands that he was able to pull away from the grid and get quite a huge lead on everyone without using it. As there are quite a few (namely everyone who works for Lotus and Red Bull) who believe it was soley down to the front wing F-Duct.

They can use it all they want in quali, which goes some way in explaining the huge gap Rosberg put between himself and the rest in that, but also Rosberg's lap was pretty much faultless. Sky did a good comparison between his and Schumi's lap and it really showed!
But in the Race you're right, as he was in front for most of it he could only use it when passing back markers but then they'd get the blue flags as well. He did pull away very well without it but it helps being in front anyway 'cos you get all that clean air.

Merc have certainly upped their game and Rosberg is on one so I think they're well placed for more great results.