Sport The Formula 1 Thread

[JPR]

What's this all about?

Failing to slow down for a yellow flag, other two where Webber and Alguersuari.

[myoozikk]

The only way to 100% retard an engine is to put it in a HRT

[makkuwata]

Well deserved BAFTA for the BBC coverage. Been a few wobbles this season, but it's astonishing to think how good we have it compared to ten years ago. And ten years ago we still had Murray!

Actually, come to think of it, 9 years ago we didn't. Can't believe its been a decade without him.

[Sidewaysbob]

Bugger me. It's a Spain race with passing.

Right, it’s just a quick one this week as I knackered after selling loads of junk to unsuspecting punters at the Farnborough car boot sale. Which meant I missed the race and had to watch it later so now I’m tired .... and there is no wine in the house which is a cardinal sin in my book.

Okay, so Spain then. Plenty of over taking this time round and a much better race for it too. I do think we’re kind of losing the qualifying excitement though. As drivers opt to save tires rather than going out and making a fist of it, anyone not in a Redbull doesn’t feel the need to get in the way of the Vettel-Webber fight for pole so it’s all a bit of an anti climax once those two have done their Q3 run.

After qualifying everyone though the Redbulls were going to just disappear off into the distance with their second a lap advantage. Webber had managed to get his act together long enough this time out and piped Vettel to the top spot, but Vettel kept saying he had a problem with his KERS unit and it was no biggy that he wasn’t on pole. The grumpy Australian didn’t look too convinced, though he didn’t look all that happy either. Looking far happier was Alonso who hadn’t ended up in 5th as usual, but was in 4th for his home GP. With a 6 year contract in his back pocket he felt things had turned a corner and the car was going to give him the chance to fight for the win this time out.

The race on Sunday however was all about Lewis and Vettel.

Off the line and Alonso got a flier and Webber got blitzed by the Ferrari and Vettel hardy har har. Hamilton slotted in behind and those four took off into the distance. Button who had started in 4th ended up in 10th after a horrendous start.

This year it’s all been about the teams calling the right strategy not just as the race unfolds but all weekend. Alonso had used too many tires getting his 4th on Saturday, so as the race went on he didn’t have enough nice new soft tires to stay with the Redbulls. He had to pit earlier and couldn’t make the tires last long enough to give him a shorter run with the hard tires at the end. He spent too long racing the afternoon away with Webber who after his bad start kept his eyes on Alonso and not on what Vettel was up to.

Button after the bad start looked after his tires and the team guided him through the chaos with a three stop strategy that worked for him. They realised that Alonso didn’t have the tires for the fight so they reacted to what he did and went after the third spot he should have got. When Alonso ran out of grip at the end Button was able to leapfrog the Ferrari and Webber who missed the bigger picture.

Hamilton just spanked the car all day and drove the bollocks of it like the driving God he is. Oh yes indeed.

So then Vettels 4th win and fifth podium of the year. He’s starting to look unstoppable. He kept Hamilton behind him for 10 laps at the end when the likes of Webber or Alonso would have taken them both off. He did all that with a KERS system that worked some laps and not others. So you have to give him that credit. Worryingly for Redbull though the McLaren more than had the legs of the Redbull in the tight twisty stuff, so they might well struggle at places like Canada and Valencia.

Another 2nd for Hamilton. That’s it lad stop the German getting too smug with that bloody finger of his. And he got the fastest lap, result.

Button does another super smooth job for 3rd, making the three stopper work this time out. I think the smooth strategy is risky one to go for, it only needs a lap or two stuck behind a Renault or a Merc for it instance and it all ends in tears. That and I like my drivers to go for it a bit more. Still, he’s picking up the points and keeping the score board ticking over.

Webber, once again shows he chokes when he’s on the front row. 4th is all he gets after not making the most of a pole and letting Alonso take the lead on the first lap. He seemed to be on the back foot after that and spent too long messing around trying to get past the Ferrari. Vettel didn’t look too fussed about not getting pole on Saturday and you fell right into his trap. That sound Mark, is the sound of your world championship chance exiting on platform 5 bound for HRTville you’d better run for it.

Alonso should have got more than 5th, but he used too many soft tires on Saturday and couldn’t make two sets of hard tires last long enough at the end. Maybe he’ll go better in Monaco next week. The Ferrari is there or there abouts, it’s certainly where that Ferrari should be in 5th so they can’t feel too hard done by.

A solid 6th for Schumacher who has a much better weekend after his nightmare in Turkey last time out. He didn’t bother to contest Q3 deciding to save tires and accept a 10th place spot. It paid dividends in the end when he got a flier off the line at the start of the race taking Nico into the bargain. He made his Merc very wide all afternoon and gets a creditable 6th for his troubles. Is this the return of the old master .. I sincerely hope not.

Rosberg is a disappointing 7th. Must try harder next time lad.

Heidfeld has a barnstormer from the very back of the grid to 8th spot. He turned his engine into moving BBQ on Saturday morning practice so missed qualifying entirely as they rebuild the car. So with a full complement of tires and a few timely moves he kept his head down and drove back though the field to get some valuable points. In days gone by the Renault could be counted on as one of those cars that could be developed to stay in the game. These days and Mercedes have passed them now, while Ferrari, Redbull and McLaren are distant memories. Okay he’s 8th from the back of the grid but Petrov started in 6th and ended up 11th as the Saubers went past him. Things are looking grim for the Renault.

Perez makes it to 9th, and gets the “was he in the race” prize. I’m still to be convinced he’s the second coming, but others are talking about him taking Massa’s seat .... I have as yet, no idea why.

Finally Kobayashi finishes 10th after getting a puncture and pitting on the first lap. Another good race from him and it also confirms that the Sauber is a tasty little car with more than one upset in it.

That’s that then. It’s a fast turnaround for Monaco now, more on that when I get round to writing it.

Alastair 'Agent L' G,26

Andy Daniell,26

Joffy Chinnock,24

Rattlehead,23

Matt O'Brien,21

Bradlay Law,21

Duane Weatherall,21

Steve Allen,21

Neil Carter,19

Charles,17

Oliver,17

James Roberts,17

Petey Stevens,14

Charlie Bowdidge,14

Blu3Flame,14

Matthew Leach,13

kiroquai,13

MrPogo,13

Captain LeChuck,13

Stephen Rose,12

Chris Bush,12

Danster,12

Tomox,11

[Cheeko]

Barcelona makes for an interesting debate on the DRS, if the zone for activating it was at the start of the start/finish straight then I think Webber would've gotten past Alonso, Rosberg would've gotten past Schumacher and, more importantly, Hamilton would've gotten past Vettel. I always hate seeing a car stuck behind another one when it's faster, but then that's where the racing is I guess.

There was still plenty of overtaking and Button showed that the tyre advantage can be enough to get you by when he took Webber and Alonso in the same lap.

[reani_]

There were some comments which suspect that Ferrari has some sort of spying going on against RB. Apparently Ferrari where evidently acting on commands from the RB stand. No comment from Ferrari.

[mexos]

I think we are going to see this as a trend throughout the season - tracks where DRS is waaaay to effective and others where it isn't. Too many variables, it's not an exact science. Next year should be better, as long as the tyres don't change radically.

[mexos]

There were some comments which suspect that Ferrari has some sort of spying going on against RB. Apparently Ferrari where evidently acting on commands from the RB stand. No comment from Ferrari.

They all do it. They have spotters trackside, in the pits, everywhere. And photographers briefed to get specific shots for analysis, all part of the game. It's accepted.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if they (the top teams) had long lenses tracked on the pitside guys, with lip readers relaying info back to the team.

[wev]

Something I overheard before they went out onto the podium, and not sure if its been mentioned here, but Jenson was asking Lewis if he was losing massive amounts of downforce when he was behind someone.

[Dudley]

They all do it. They have spotters trackside, in the pits, everywhere. And photographers briefed to get specific shots for analysis, all part of the game. It's accepted.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if they (the top teams) had long lenses tracked on the pitside guys, with lip readers relaying info back to the team.

There was a story, maybe apocryphal that all the teams had people to wonder up pit lane and spy on the other teams from there.

What actually happened is they would always all just get together for lunch and give each other the information you could have got that way, without any of them having to actually bother doing it.

I really hope that's true and I really wouldn't be surprised if it was.

[reani_]

They all do it. They have spotters trackside, in the pits, everywhere. And photographers briefed to get specific shots for analysis, all part of the game. It's accepted.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if they (the top teams) had long lenses tracked on the pitside guys, with lip readers relaying info back to the team.

It suggests that Ferrari is listening to the RB team radio somehow. Not much detail so far...

[Sidewaysbob]

I though all radio traffic was open these days. Certainly Charlie whiteing can hear all the pit wall to car radio chatter.

[JPR]

8.7 Driver radio :

Other than authorised connections to the FIA ECU, any voice radio communication system between car and pits must be stand-alone and must not transmit or receive other data. All such communications must be open and accessible to both the FIA and, where appropriate, broadcasters.

Why we have things like the magic paddle, as they often say in the commentary the teams will have people watching it to get information from, not everything Ferrari does is evil and illegal and it's nothing others won't be doing.

[MrPogo]

I was wondering about that yesterday. Pressumably the transmissions are encrypted these days?

[wev]

I though all radio traffic was open these days. Certainly Charlie whiteing can hear all the pit wall to car radio chatter.

Thats the impression I get when Brundle and Coulthard are discussing radio chatter, that the teams can hear everything but TV only really gets whatever the director chooses to broadcast...

[MrPogo]

I though all radio traffic was open these days. Certainly Charlie whiteing can hear all the pit wall to car radio chatter.

That doesn't necessarily mean open to everyone though, just that he and the "F1 Broadcasting Team" (or whatever they're called) can hear them. I assume they're encrypted and select people get the key.

[Dom B]

They use codewords because they don't know which transmissions will be broadcast on TV. Not because all transmissions are broadcast to all teams. Surely?

There's obviously nothing wrong with other teams watching the telly for the same info that we at home get, with it's long 30+ second delay as well. What's being suggested here is that Ferrari are getting all of RedBulls radio conversations immediately, and for that they need a spy in the FIA don't they? I can't believe the FIA allow broadcasters access to everything.

Edit: Or a spy in the Red Bull team, obviously.

And thinking about it, the broadcasters don't get to hear any more than we do. Remember LieGate in Aus a couple of years ago? Everyone on TV was in the dark on that until the FIA released the full transmissions to the public after their investigation.

[Agent L]

Pretty graphic example here of what a big lock up or spin will do to the new tyres.

[morcs]

That tyre must've been almost done anyway surely? Look at the state of it!

[Sidewaysbob]

Get on the glad rags we're off to Monaco.

Well Wednesday has rolled round pretty quick hasn’t it !

Okay then, Monaco it is I suppose.

Firstly, if you’re updating your predictions, you need to do it before midnight on Wednesday. As, for some reason connected with making lots of money and poncing around in sharp suits and stuff, they close the circuit down on Friday to swank around. That means the first practice is this Thursday and as we don’t want the clued up getting to big an advantage, predictions close on Wednesday night before said practice.

You have been warned.

Right that’s the housekeeping out of the way. Monaco is a strange sort of place. It’s not really a circuit that the super fast can win at, nor the super smooth. She takes no prisoners does the Lady Monaco, She and Lady Luck have a riotous old time here. Staying out late at night there’s enough champagne for both of them to get thoroughly razzed up, before rewarding those brave souls that want to flirt with their more dangerous bumps and curves. For a very select few there’s also the long dark slippery tunnel to play around in.

Monaco requires a driver to concentrate 100% for two hours as he threads the car through the narrow tunnel of concrete and armco. He has to be millimetre perfect lap after lap, wheels just brushing the metal skirts and shiny curbs because this place is no respecter of legend or losers. No matter how great the driver is in his own lunch time, if he drops his concentration for a second he’ll be smearing his very expensive carbon ride down the armco before he can think up any excuses as to why he shouldn’t get fired.

The belief that Vettel can’t overtake comes in a large part from this race, he doesn’t like it. Oh he came second last year you cry, but he was never close to Webber and it was only the fact that he had a car that could cruise to the front of the grid that kept him at the front all day. He’s never liked the place and will say so more than once during the weekend.

Hamilton on the other hand glories at this place. He loves, no adores Monaco and seems to feel he has a God given gift to spank the tarmac. The first year he came to Monaco in an F1 car, he just flew around the circuit, drifting the car in total control through the swimming pool complex and round the casino. If you want to thrill at what a car can do when the driver has a hand full of its hair and isn’t worried about getting her a little sweaty, go and find onboard Youtube videos of Hamilton driving a lap of this place. It’s pure petrol heaven.

Webber also likes this place, last year he arrived after a win in Spain and totally dominated the weekend to get his championship run well and truly motoring. This year he blew the race in Spain and hasn’t looked as comfortable as Vettel at all. If he wants to make Vettel work for his championship (because honestly right now it’s Vettels alone to lose) this is where it has to start.

Ferrari also needs to get their act together. They had an opportunity presented to then at the start of the race in Spain and contrived to lose it. I doubt they could have won, but there was a podium there for the taking. As usual with Ferrari when things need calm, mature even headed responses, they reorganise the company and fire a couple of people. First to go is Ferrari's technical director Aldo Costa, who’s going to have “new responsibilities” before this weekend; presumably these responsibilities are cleaning the windows and emptying the bins.

Will this help them get to the front of the grid ? Not a chance. Consistency is how you win championships, not firing all and sundry when it doesn’t go to plan.

At this point in time the FIA are saying there will be DRS on the start finish line during the race, but no DRS in the tunnel for the practice and qualifying. I’m not sure it’ll make too much difference as I don’t think it’ll be a factor.

Fancy go faster buttons and flappy rear wings are not what this place is about, it’s car control and mechanical grip. It wouldn’t surprise me if Redbull don’t even bother to fit their narcissistic KERS system this race just to teach it a lesson.

Meanwhile Pirelli are talking up their tires this weekend with a suggestion that a two stopper might just be possible ..... No I don’t think it’ll happen either. There will be just as many marbles off line to catch the HRT’s and Virgins out as normal. But you never know, the car that can do the fewest stops stands a chance, so maybe the likes of Perez or Di Resta might have a punt at the longs runs to make up a few places. Certainly the Sauber can look after its tires so anything could happen.

[marsh]

Good point well made bob, drifting off line in the tunnel onto 30 laps of shite is going to end up in cars arriving sideways at the chicane.

This might be a race that could rival the five laps of senna vs mansell in 92.

[kimble]

That tyre must've been almost done anyway surely? Look at the state of it!

It's down to the construction which is far beyond where you would be at the end of a normal run.

[Sidewaysbob]

Indeed, i can see Perez or kobayashi taking a flier with 10 laps to go.

[wev]

I can see Kobayashi being either absolutely spectacular or dumping it in a wall, either way I can't wait! (I've given him a 7th place on the predictor... )

[kiroquai]

What you don't need before a Monaco GP: a truck exploded out on circuit (no one hurt thankfully) and completely melted the tarmac into the braking zone for St. Devote!

[Stingo]

quick question: BBC One HD -> is the picture quality upscaled or native 720p?

I mean does it look "awesome" or only slightly better then yesteryear?

(thinking of buying satellite)

[Dom B]

Oh it's native, and does look noticably better. Whether it looks 'awesome' is up to you (I think it does, others seem not to notice), but it is definitely proper HD.

[Froettmaning]

1080i, I think.

[Stingo]

OK THANX

[JohnC]

Broadcast HD is generally 1080i, but I saw something during the week about how BBC is shifting a load of stuff to 1080p and all Freeview HD boxes are mandated to be able to handle the switch between i and p seamlessly, though it appears some TVs are having momentary sound dropouts or something. I don't know if that includes F1.

Speaking of HD racing, those Le Mans and Grand Prix BDs I mentioned a bit back arrived today. Not properly watched them yet, but had a quick look. The start of a race in Le Mans and the first lap of Monaco in Grand Prix. Grand Prix seems to look better than Le Mans, but it's still great to see them roaring around.

Funny seeing people walking around the track during a race in Grand Prix too. Seemed to be all officials rather than public, but still, you would never see that now.

Watched Love the Beast at the weekend too. At the end they said he was going to rebuild the car. It's been a couple of years, so has he rebuilt it, or at least made a start on it?