Chinese GP 2010 - Shanghai

[Giblet]

Someone brought up that the guys in the slow cars are doing a great job at getting out of the way of the leaders and that's a great point. I haven't noticed a single instance of a slower car even slightly holding up a faster car or cars. So they are doing a fantastic job so far. =D> Let's see how they do in Monaco though. They also seem to fall out on the first few laps so that has to do alot with it too.

I find it funny that Max wanted a two tier series with the 40 million cap and more technical freedom.

Everyone fought tooth and nail, almost had a breakaway series, and what do we have?

A two tier series.

[Shrieker]

I know I am adding fuel to the fire, but realistically what did LH expect Vettel to do in the pits? Pull over and let him by? I dont see what LH was hoping to gain by trying to challenge Vettel for position in the pit lane. Even if he did manage to get past him I can only assume that he would receive a stop and go for his actions. Personally I hope no one receives any penalties next round. If they are to hand out penalties they better tag one onto Button for that reckless restart. Blatant brake checking is not allowed. Perhaps everyone will just get a smack on the wrists.

They all got a light telling off (a reprimand) from Alex Wurz, the former McLaren test driver who investigated the actions of the current McLaren drivers who both drive for the team which he used to test for. So no conflict of interest there then...

So last time it was "Herbert the Brit" , and this time "Wurz, the ex McLaren employee" saving Lewis' butt, right ?

Right. I wonder what excuse you're gonna bring up if Hamilton gets involved in something 'punishable' by 'your' standards.

Geez... Is that you calling Hamilton a whiner ?

[Giblet]

X-)

Double post.

[Giblet]

I know I am adding fuel to the fire, but realistically what did LH expect Vettel to do in the pits? Pull over and let him by? I dont see what LH was hoping to gain by trying to challenge Vettel for position in the pit lane. Even if he did manage to get past him I can only assume that he would receive a stop and go for his actions. Personally I hope no one receives any penalties next round. If they are to hand out penalties they better tag one onto Button for that reckless restart. Blatant brake checking is not allowed. Perhaps everyone will just get a smack on the wrists.

They all got a light telling off (a reprimand) from Alex Wurz, the former McLaren test driver who investigated the actions of the current McLaren drivers who both drive for the team which he used to test for. So no conflict of interest there then...

So last time it was "Herbert the Brit" , and this time "Wurz the old McLaren Employee" saving Lewis' butt, right ?

Right.

I agree. 1 of 4 stewards, why does everyone seem to act like he can hand out penalties or not entirely on his own? I doubt the three others are meek kids getting bullied or awed byt the former race car driver. If anything they will take what he says with a grain of salt.

Besides, Wurz's most recent loyalties lie with Merchonda, and prior to that a year at Williams. He hasn't been associated with Macca for almost 4 years now. Why would he care about a team that never gave him the race drive he felt he deserved?

If anything, I would think Wurz would be keen on giving them penalties, assuming he is biased, which is a ridiculous assumption.

[ringo]

Button tactics 101:



pattern: rain, pit at right time, overtake lesser car struggling for grip, cruise home.

Nice way to win a race, very easy and straight forward. Wonder how long it will go this way?
Anyhow anybody who wants results will find the easiest way possible, and if it works they'll keep doing it if the weather permits.

It's a far cry from the typical race, but better get while the getting is good.
Hamilton is probably looking at this race as an incentive to watch the sky more and notice how the track is treating the tyres.

Big ups to Heiki for holding 6th place, and for finishing ahead of the williams of hulkenberg. The lotus is looking like a better car than the sauber as well.

[Hangaku]

They all got a light telling off (a reprimand) from Alex Wurz, the former McLaren test driver who investigated the actions of the current McLaren drivers who both drive for the team which he used to test for. So no conflict of interest there then...

Since being a test driver for McLaren, and running in one race in 2005, he's been employed by Williams, Honda and Brawn GP. I see no reason why he'd give anybody from McLaren any special treatment.

[Giblet]

Ringo, that graph looks like a joke

So easy to follow in the first 10 laps.

[Ray]

Button is just getting lucky is all, We saw that same luck when he won his first race and the last two. He knows he can not win on speed/pace so he just plays the alternate strategy trying to get the results... It will fail more often than not. Plus Rosberg threw away what could have been his first win. I personally would not be surprised if Button did not win again all year

He may be lucky. I don't know. But he has two wins this year when everyone was saying he'd get blown in the weeds by Lewis, and so far that hasn't really happened. I know if I was in his position, I wouldn't be complaining about what's going on with his driving. So far he's shown grace under fire and has kept the pointy end forwards. That's admirable in my book, and he's got the race wins and he's got the championship lead and 11 points on his teammate. NO ONE thought that would happen at the beginning of the year, especially me. I figured Lewis would absolutely destroy him and he'd be back in the midfield like he's always been. He proved almost everyone wrong. I would be surprised if Lewis doesn't beat him with his superior talent and skill though.

[Ray]

holy triple post batman!

[Ray]

triple post

[Terrible3]

He may be lucky. I don't know. But he has two wins this year when everyone was saying he'd get blown in the weeds by Lewis, and so far that hasn't really happened. I know if I was in his position, I wouldn't be complaining about what's going on with his driving. So far he's shown grace under fire and has kept the pointy end forwards. That's admirable in my book, and he's got the race wins and he's got the championship lead and 11 points on his teammate. NO ONE thought that would happen at the beginning of the year, especially me. I figured Lewis would absolutely destroy him and he'd be back in the midfield like he's always been. He proved almost everyone wrong. I would be surprised if Lewis doesn't beat him with his superior talent and skill though.

The fact remains that pace wise LH is faster. However like I stated before, JB has proved that speed is not everything. After JB first win this year I shrugged it off as him getting extremely lucky. Seriously LH made him look stupid when he passed him in the opening laps of the race. In turn JB went for tires on a whim and in return was handed a win. When this happened again at this race well I had to admit that JB was making calls on more than just blind luck. Its those kinds of calls that will allow him to come out on top of LH despite being slower. I have been a harsh critic of Button but I cant ignore the fact that for the second time this year his intuition on tire selection has paid off.

Anyways with that being said I think JB will return to #2 the moment we return to the races where the conditions are more constant, nulling pit strategy. Just look at the prior race were LH drove brilliantly up the field and JB failed to make any real progress. In normal conditions I am pretty sure will see LH out driving JB week in and week out.

I know its far too early to make assumptions but I fell this years WDC will come down to Vettel and LH. Realistically Alonso has already gone through too many engines and it will inevitably threaten his titles chances. As mentioned before its pretty clear in normal race conditions LH will probably outdive JB. I also think that Webbers title charge is fading as Vettel is clearly setting the pace. As for the rest of the drivers, I just don't see their teams being able to develop the car at the same rate as Mcl and RBR. It will be fun when I am eating my words in a few months time....

[WhiteBlue]

And here the main results from China with their impact on WDC odds. All details as usual in the separate thread.



Quite a bit of movement in the WDC table but actually a lot of that does not impress the betters significantly.



In the driver odds Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton keep the lead although they do quite a bit of swapping with other drivers in the WDC standing. This is why I think that the betters do a fairly good job of anticipating the order in the next few races. Rosberg finally makes a jump forward as the punters gain more confidence that his results so far aren't a flash in the pan. In reality Rosbergs relative improvement has a lot to do with Massa and Webber loosing support. That's it for the China update.

[nipo]

It was really sad that MSC look like a back marker out there. That was my greatest worry when he announced his comeback plans. Now it seems like it is reality. I want to think that it is something about the car that doesn't work well with him, but I remember Brawn's comments about Michael being able to hide defects of cars with his superb skills. There is no excuse.

Very happy to see Button on top of Hamilton. Buttton definitely benefitted from a relatively straightforward race today, thanks to better decisions from the pit. With Lewis we are seeing the usual fighting spirit again - his was a very convincing drive. Having said that, I still remember some of Button's wins last year - those were very convincing ones as well (despite everyone thinking it was only down to the outright pace of the BGPs). The McL duo might produce a good fight.

It is a bit disappointing to see Reb Bull lacking the power to fight. This here is the first race where Vettel didn't seem to have the equipment to fight for the win. Personally I still have question marks about Seb - whether he is on par with Hamilton/Alonso. We can be sure of his lightning speed over one lap but so far we haven't seen him pulling off a string of passing moves like the way Hamilton or Alonso (or the old Schumacher) do all the time.

Nico continued to impress, and so did Kubica. These two guys just know how to bring points home, don't they? They deserve their current positions in the standings, but I think they'll eventually be let down if their teams don't catch up quickly on car development. Oh, and Petrov was not bad, too.

Finally on the pit incidents. Hamilton's move on Vettel is fine. Alonso's on Massa is NOT. Simply put - you just don't pull that off against your teammate in wet conditions!!

Let's see what they have to say about it after the race:

The passing move on Felipe? If he was not my team mate, there wouldn’t be so much talk about it and for me it was a normal move and it definitely won’t compromise our relationship.

As for the passing move Fernando made, I ended up on a puddle of water coming out of the hairpin and slightly lost control of the car: he managed to get inside me, passing me going into the pit lane. I lost some places because of it, as I had to wait for his stop to be finished.

As for the passing move involving Felipe and Fernando, we only saw it afterwards on the television replay and I think it was just a racing incident and there is absolutely no problem between the two drivers: when you are always racing to win, you can have moments like this.

What they are really saying:

Fernando - It's normal for me to not want to sit behind my teammate waiting for a pit service. I have already done that earlier in the race and I won't let that happen again because it feels like being treated as the #2 driver. As for Felipe, he's MY teammate for God's sake he knows this would happen. So he'll absolutely be fine with it.

Felipe - Yeah fxxk that.

Stefano - Huh? What? Oh! You mean Fernando overtook Felipe at the pit lane entry? Oh... I didn't realize that cos I was only watching TV. I might as well have been watching another channel when that happened. Yeah but I'm sure, yeah, Felipe knew there would be moments like this so that's fine.

I am at the verge of declaring I am not a Ferrari fan anymore.

[andartop]

Thanks to FLC who pinned it down, check the rules @sporting regulations, appendix L, chapter 4, article 4.

I guess it is relevant to all incidents at the pit lane entry!

[Bling30]

I don't know how anyone can say there should have been no penalty for any driver. Alonso did jump the start and hamilton overtook vettel in pitt lane, then proceeded to push Webber off the track while under a safety car.....

if anything alonso was hard done by coz hamilton should have got at least one penalty....