2012 US GP - Circuit of the Americas

[myurr]

Well, a wing that flex but pass the tests is between the rules
a cheeky change of the gearbox is between the rules.
Love it. What would be next? =D> =D>

Whilst I wish Ferrari didn't need to do this, fact is unless something happens to Vettel or Alonso fails to make up a further 3 places then the championship is over. At least they are doing this in a pretty desperate position and not early on in a dominant season. When things are as desperate as they are for Ferrari right now I can understand team orders.

It does also tickle me that those people denouncing this move are the same ones who prance around quoting compliance with the FIAs tests as definitively meaning obviously flexing bodywork is perfectly legal, despite those very tests being caveated in the rules to say that they can be changed at will if the FIA suspects the teams are employing flexing body parts. Neither case is very sporting, neither is in compliance with fair play or the spirit of the rules, yet both are technically legal within the framework governing the sport.

[Gaara]

What is break the seal? opened the gearbox? or Massa will get a new gearbox?

There are stickers on the gearbox to prevent teams opening the gearbox without the FIA knowing about it. When such a sealing sticker is opened, the FIA knows the gearbox was looked into by a team member, and this in essence triggers a 5-place grid penalty.

Thanks admin

F1doc is against this move, no wonder, FIA won't renew his deal for next year.

[Steven]

I remember a few years ago a team (toyota?) spoiled some oil on the grid before their car, they were cleaning it like crazy because they didn't want to spoil their start. From that I conclude that they could be allowed to "improve" the track-surface.

Doesn't explain why they don't routinely do this though. The teams employ a lot of incredibly smart people and spend hundreds of millions of dollars each to go racing a few weekends each year. Were the suggested kind of modification allowed and beneficial then the teams would have been doing it all year. So either they're not allowed, or it isn't beneficial to an F1 car.

There's also a difference between wiping up an oil spill, even if they used a solvent, and spraying glue all over the track.

On top of that, it would not be sufficient to clean up a few meters. The car is of course also travelling a few meters, and by the time they're out of the starting acceleration zone, the tyres will be dirty as well. Ideally the track needs to be cleaned in its entire width, and even then it would be hard to cover the rubber put down on the racing line and the difference in surface wear for the brand new tarmac.

[Sombrero]

Felippe your gearbox is less reliable than Fernando's...

[CHT]

Just finished re-watching the qualifying session, and there were just no marbles (or clag) on the track. I wonder how much the tires won't degrade today? And how long will they make the mediums last? Drivers are having some struggles finding the limit on their tires, and there might be some spins today... maybe even safety car periods. Once the circuit rubbers in after those races next year this is going to be a great, technical circuit for the drivers.

Presuming they all get away cleanly, this race could come down to who can pit at the right time to get a tyre advantage on the hard tyres, as they'd probably be able to do not far off a complete race distance on those tyres. At some point the worn medium and new hard tyres will cross over in performance and that's when the front runners will need to pit.

I wonder if we could see Hamilton pitting early and either forcing Vettel to respond and move on to the tyres that in practice looked like the McLaren had an advantage with, or risk letting Lewis get the undercut. As long as Lewis can stay just about in touch during the first stint we could still be on for a very interesting race.

If LH pit early RBR will monitor LH timing before making any decision, they wont jump in like alonso did at abu dhabi in 2010. My guess is LH will eat up his tyres faster than vettel because LH will over drive it.

[CHT]

Well, a wing that flex but pass the tests is between the rules
a cheeky change of the gearbox is between the rules.
Love it. What would be next? =D> =D>

Whilst I wish Ferrari didn't need to do this, fact is unless something happens to Vettel or Alonso fails to make up a further 3 places then the championship is over. At least they are doing this in a pretty desperate position and not early on in a dominant season. When things are as desperate as they are for Ferrari right now I can understand team orders.

It does also tickle me that those people denouncing this move are the same ones who prance around quoting compliance with the FIAs tests as definitively meaning obviously flexing bodywork is perfectly legal, despite those very tests being caveated in the rules to say that they can be changed at will if the FIA suspects the teams are employing flexing body parts. Neither case is very sporting, neither is in compliance with fair play or the spirit of the rules, yet both are technically legal within the framework governing the sport.

I think everyone is expecting team order but to do it before the race start and demote your team mate by 5 slots and still not getting a new gearbox. That I think is a total lack of sportsmanship.

[Ray]

I just realized that Pirelli brought the two hardest compounds to a brand new track where the temps are pretty cold. What an extremely stupid decision. Why not bring the soft tire to help rubber the track in quickly? Who's the moron who made that decision?

[myurr]

I just realized that Pirelli brought the two hardest compounds to a brand new track where the temps are pretty cold. What an extremely stupid decision. Why not bring the soft tire to help rubber the track in quickly? Who's the moron who made that decision?

Is it? Bear in mind why they're in F1 - it's to sell tyres. Given all the unknowns do you really think they would gamble on bringing too soft tyres and have them disintegrate in front of a market as large as America?!

[Redragon]

Whilst I wish Ferrari didn't need to do this, fact is unless something happens to Vettel or Alonso fails to make up a further 3 places then the championship is over. At least they are doing this in a pretty desperate position and not early on in a dominant season. When things are as desperate as they are for Ferrari right now I can understand team orders.

It does also tickle me that those people denouncing this move are the same ones who prance around quoting compliance with the FIAs tests as definitively meaning obviously flexing bodywork is perfectly legal, despite those very tests being caveated in the rules to say that they can be changed at will if the FIA suspects the teams are employing flexing body parts. Neither case is very sporting, neither is in compliance with fair play or the spirit of the rules, yet both are technically legal within the framework governing the sport.

I think everyone is expecting team order but to do it before the race start and demote your team mate by 5 slots and still not getting a new gearbox. That I think is a total lack of sportsmanship.

IMO you don't get the idea that myurr and I are expressing here, to have at the beginning of the year before championship starts a wing that flex but it is legal because pass the test. It is exactly the same spirit of sportsmanship that getting gearbox change before race to gain positions. Both are cheeky and between the rules to gain positions and try to win over others.

Also, I think is a political war between Dominacelli and Horner, as after Abu Dabhi based on Spanish press, Dominacelli was fume furious and complaining to the FIA about the flexi wing, as how easy Vettel passed Toro Rosso twice and why they didn't further investigations on what happened with Vettel engine on qualifying. Promise to post link

[Harvey]

I just realized that Pirelli brought the two hardest compounds to a brand new track where the temps are pretty cold. What an extremely stupid decision. Why not bring the soft tire to help rubber the track in quickly? Who's the moron who made that decision?

It's apparently colder than they were expecting it to be.

[Jersey Tom]

I just realized that Pirelli brought the two hardest compounds to a brand new track where the temps are pretty cold. What an extremely stupid decision. Why not bring the soft tire to help rubber the track in quickly? Who's the moron who made that decision?

What if I told you that on brand new pavement, hard tires have better "grip" than soft ones?

[myurr]

Fair play to Ferrari for manning up and saying it was deliberate, rather than trying to lie to the public. Makes it easier to swallow.

[Redragon]

Here is the link about Dominacelli visiting and complaining to the FIA after Abu Dabhi

http://www.marca.com/2012/11/14/motor/f ... 07544.html

[Lastonedown]

Haha Ferrari cheaters!
They want to make a gearbox change so Felipe gets a 5 place penalty and Alonso can start on the clean side of the track...

[Ray]

I just realized that Pirelli brought the two hardest compounds to a brand new track where the temps are pretty cold. What an extremely stupid decision. Why not bring the soft tire to help rubber the track in quickly? Who's the moron who made that decision?

Is it? Bear in mind why they're in F1 - it's to sell tyres. Given all the unknowns do you really think they would gamble on bringing too soft tyres and have them disintegrate in front of a market as large as America?!

If they disentegrate on a brand new track in cold weather, yes. If Pirelli can't make a tire stay together in 40F weather on a brand new track I hope they would lose face. There's absolutely no reason to bring the hardest tires to a slick/new track. It's a stupid decision. The track has a noticeable lack of grip due to almost no rubber being laid down.