F1 2010 Season

[Danqazmlp]

I agree, I don't think anybody is effectively out. Button is struggling a little at the moment and on raw pace I don't think he can win, but he is consistent and can pick up the points when others drop out. The same goes for Webber, who really does seem to be in the driving seat at the moment. They are the two I would prefer to win the title, Webber because he really has put so much into the sport and been there for so long without really having much to his name. Button is just a great guy.

 

I'm really not a fan of Hamilton and I don't really want him to win. I don't mind Vettel and Alsonso, but out of the four, they are not my favourites.

[Rafftank]

Interesting start to the Japanse race weekend.

Red Bull seem to have some mad pace, and if we get a dry quali and race they should be on pole, and possibly lock the front row, and have good enough race pace to be very dominant, although alot can happen in a race.

The obvious ace in the pack so far is the torrential downpours that have managed to cancel qualifying for Saturday, and forced them to be postponed to Sunday Morning, 5 hours before the race. This is annoying for me because I was up at 5am hoping to see some qualifying action, especially with rain, it could thrown a very interesting grid order, unfortunately there was way too much for F1 cars, even the safety car was starting to drop it on some corners at low speed! :wall:

 

The general idea now, is that it will be damp for the start of qualifying with rain continuing into the night, and no cars or sunlight to clear the track of the dampness, but it is expected to be cleared and that there won't be any more rain on Sunday. I have been looking on several Japanes weather forecasting sites for Suzuka, and the idea I get is that the conditions are very changable, and therefore it is very difficult to perdict, but there could well be early morning showers, with more in the afternoon during the race.

 

Considering the outlook for the weekend, it will be a massive dissappointment to me if the rain holds back, and red bull dominate the proceedings, as I will feel somewhat robbed of a potentially exciting weekend, but time will tell...

[Danqazmlp]

Ouch, do you think you will get up to watch tomorrows quali and the race too? Probably better to go to bed now or to not go to bed at all.

 

Was quite disappointed for quali to be cancelled, but It was obviously too much for the cars to drive in. I have never seen that happen before.

 

Points of interest:

 

• 
   
  
• Will drivers have the stamina to do qualifying and then racing a couple of hours later?
  
• Pretty fun watching the presenters have to fill the gap of the program. I bet the woman presenting the BBC coverage for the first time (forgot her name) was wishing she had stuck to the interviews and small pieces instead of the full presenting.
  
• Also funny watching how the drivers and staff bide their time, they really were at ends as to what to do.
  
• I want to see a video of the story Martin Brundel said with him spinning out in a race and hitting a marshal so hard his bone came out of his leg.
  

[BloodAngel]

Well I'm glad I didn't get up at 6am to watch the qualifying :lol: Think I'll give the re-arranged qualifying a miss too, as much as I love F1 I'm not willing to stay up until 3am and then get up at 7am :P

Could make it interesting though with Qualifying and the Race being on the same day, wonder if it will effect any decisions the teams have to make or not, like maybe running less laps. Looks like it's going to be a RBR walkover though. Also to make it even better for Lewis Hamilton, he's been given a 5 place grid penalty after a gearbox change because of his crash in practise yesterday.

 

@Dan: I forgot Jake wasn't presenting this weekend, I think it's Lee McKenzie covering for him isn't it?

[DarkDude]

Yep, Lee McKenzie who did a good job.

 

I saw FP3 last night too before Qualifying (and watched both practices the night before).

 

Always been a huge fan of this track and will be interesting to see how the weather is for qualifying, hopefully it's still at least a little wet, more fun that way.

[Rafftank]

Wow, I think im a hardcore F1 fan O_o

 

I'm staying up for the quali, going to bed, watching the race then going to concert all day, getting back later, and have school in the morning O_o. And on top of the that I have been at a party for the last 5 hours >.<

I am gonna be worn out on Monday, but for F1 it's worth it ;)

[BloodAngel]

Now that's dedication :P

 

Pretty boring race in my opinion, RBR were never going to be caught and although Alonso finished close to the pair of them they showed in the last two laps that they could have gone quicker if needed. Hamilton is having no end of bad luck at the moment, the gearbox that cost him 5 grid places cost him another (possibly more as he was gaining on Alonso). Hero of the hour has to be Kobayashi, all of his overtaking manoeuvres were incredible although not something he would get away with in a top team.

Shame about Kubica, I reckon he could have challenged for the win if his tyre hadn't fallen off.

 

On a side note: Lee McKenzie is a much better presenter of the BBC's coverage than Jake Humphrey in my opinion and calling Martin Whitmarsh Martin Whittaker was great :lol:

[Danqazmlp]

I didn't manage to see Lee Mckenzie's presenting. Couldn't watch it yesterday so I spent all that day and today making sure I didn't hear the result. I player only had the race, none of the pre-race coverage unfortunately.

 

Such a shame about Kubica, he really had a good chance. He really could have shown what he is made off if his wheel didn't fall off. honestly, it happens to Rosberg too, you can half expect it after a pit stop, but the two were both after a fair amount of laps. Both incredibly unlucky, but Kubica will be back!

 

Koboyashi really is fun to watch, he really went Banzai on those passing moves.

 

 

I think the Mclarens now need a miracle to win the championship. They are both more than a win away from Webber, meaning they need him to basically not finish or have a terrible race for all the rest. I honestly cannot see it happen.

[Danqazmlp]

Double post but oh well.

 

Very intense last few laps of qualifying. I didn't think anybody would beat Alonso's time but Webber and Vettel struck at the end, and the distance between the two was so close. Was something like 0.068. Button and Kubics don't look as if they will stand a chance in the race and I think Hamilton will struggle too. This means the championship will be down to three drivers. Unfortunately Webber is starting on the dirty side of the grid so he needs to be very lucky off the line.

[BloodAngel]

Annoyed I could have had an extra couple of hours in bed this morning since the race started so late and wasn't really a race for a further 20 or so minutes. It was an interesting race though I wouldn't say it was particularly exciting as there wasn't a great deal of overtaking after the first few racing condition laps but it was by no means the most dull race of the season. Nothing to say about Webber really, pushed his car too hard upon recovery and threw it into a wall then Rosberg. Vettel, as much as I dislike him, drove the perfect race although once on Inters he wasn't so dominant but he must be devastated even though he put on a brave face. I'd personally say it's now a two horse race between Alonso and Webber for the title and possibly Hamilton at a push, I can't see Vettel or Button closing the gap enough although stranger things have happened in F1 (2007 WC for example).

 

Fantastic drives by Schumacher, Liuzzi and Barrichello and I was rather hoping we might see Schumacher on the podium this weekend with him looking so good but it wasn't to be. I found it quite funny that all the drivers were saying it was far too dangerous to race except Hamilton who was eager to get on with it, even seeing the track was dry enough for Inters. Good to see someone actually willing to go out their and earn their money :thumbup:

[Danqazmlp]

Ugh, the delay also made the BBC mess up. I watched the first part on iplayer, up to around lap 40, went to watch the second part but they hadn't put it up. They had the forum which was done after the second part up already, just not the actual end of the race. Had to watch it today.

 

I feel for Vettel and Webber, they both could have pulled some good points out of that race. I was so shocked to see Webber crash, this season he has been Mr consistency. I fear they both may be out of the championship race now. They need Alonso and Hamilton to have DNF's. Button is effectively out now for sure.

 

Happy to see Schumi doing well, he was my favourite driver when younger, and I still think he can do well.

[BloodAngel]

Nico Hulkenberg on pole by almost a second, I'm pretty certain nobody saw that coming. Sure showed the title contenders how to drive :lol:

Not sure what to expect tomorrow, if it doesn't rain then RBR have it in the bag I feel unless Vettel does something astronomically stupid (which is quite likely). If it does rain then it's anyone's game, doesn't look like Alonso is going to be winning the title this weekend though.

The battle between Webber and Vettel should be interesting though, especially given Mark Webber's comments at the start of the weekend about how RBR emotionally support Vettel.

[Danqazmlp]

My god where did those laps come from? I can't even think of a reason such as low fuel for giving him the speed as They don't refuel any more. He just seems to have raw pace. I think he could really throw a spanner in the works if he manages to get around the first few laps unharmed tomorrow. With red bulls so close I agree it could be a fire fight out there. Should be an incredibly interesting race.

[topham]

Jenson Button is a lucky man. Glad he's ok after his car was shot at by an armed gang on his return to his hotel last night.

 

Link to report on the express website

 

I didn't manage to see qualifying however I was following it online, and I'm surprised at the time Hulkenberg put out, amazing pace.

Also, I really wanted to see Webber win this season, as he's the only one of the 3 drivers that I like thats in with a chance. Hopefully he'll have a good race and finish ahead of Vettel, but I don't like how RBR are favouring Vettel.

[Danqazmlp]

Wow, I'm surprised they didn't mention that on the program.

 

Red bull have won the constructors finally. It was inevitable, they definitely earned it with the fastest car all year. Disappointed with Webber only making second, but Next week is now basically a three horse race, but my word are they close.

[BloodAngel]

I can't believe it has taken RBR so long to win the Constructors Championship, just goes to show that speed isn't everything in F1. I'm not saying this because I hate Vettel but letting him win this race was a mistake by RBR. All Alonso needs to do is finish second to win the championship which given RBR's poor reliability is quite likely especially with Abu Dhabi being more favourable to Ferrari than Brazil. Vettel or Webber basically have to win at the weekend assuming nothing goes wrong for Alonso.

Didn't see the race, but doesn't sound like I missed much.

[Danqazmlp]

The first few laps were very tense seeing Everybody try to get past Hulkenburg. But once they did, it was obvious as to who was fastest and who would win.

[BloodAngel]

I see that Vettel has suggested he might help Webber out if he himself is not in a position to win the Championship during the race next weekend, I assume by "help" he means he'll crash into Alonso or maybe "accidentally" hit Webber like he did in Turkey.

 

I am a bit worried that the race next weekend will be determined by qualifying because as far as I remember, Abu Dhabi isn't a great place for overtaking, I could be wrong though.

[Danqazmlp]

It isn't great for overtaking but it certainly isn't the worst, it has some good long straights with hairpins at the end which should lead to some good racing. I remember Webber and Button at the end of last year, in the last few laps having a good duel. It will be a much better race than for example, Valencia.

 

I have to admit I laughed at your definition of Vettel's help, but I wouldn't put it past him. He is a funny guy, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't have the maturity to control himself in most races which really harms the team.

[topham]

Very interesting race. Petrov was absolutely essential in that race and drove incredibly. I did not like what Alonso did following the race, was incredibly childish in my opinion. I think Webber was smart for not pushing up and trying to take Alonso for most of the race.

 

This season has been absolutely incredible.

[BloodAngel]

I was so hyped for this race, expecting a battle to the wire and instead the result was determined after about 10 laps. This race actually gave Bahrain a run for its money as the worst race of the season. After the first lap I don't recall a single overtaking manoeuvre except for Hamilton and Kubica on Kobayashi. Fair play to Vettel though, he didn't get stuck behind a Renault and wasn't screwed over by poor team call. Great drives by Kubica and Petrov though to keep far faster cars behind them for most of the race.

Congratz to Vettel though, not the most deserving Champion ever but he and his team did what was needed when it mattered and that's what counts. Hopefully it wont go straight to his head though.

I can see Ferrari parting ways with Massa, he's been a waste of space for them this season. I thinking he should be replaced by Kubica.

[DarkDude]

I didn't find that race boring at all so I have no idea what you're talking about there. Was very surprised they bought Alonso in but I guess after Massa got stuck behind and couldn't "interfere" with Webber's race they didn't have much choice. Well driven by Vettel, he's had an unlucky season and only made a couple of mistakes all season, much less than Alonso and Hamilton.

 

I'm really glad Alonso didn't win it to be honest, never been a huge fan of him. Despite what he did after the race his post race interview was good and fair play to him for what he said.

 

I'd rather Webber have won the championship but I'm happy with Vettel getting it. Will be interesting to see what happens at Red Bull next year, I'm not sure how Webber will be there next year as it'll almost certainly be Vettel's team.

 

I can't wait until next season, why does it have to 4 months away? :(

[BloodAngel]

Well Alonso was understandably frustrated though it doesn't really excuse his anger at Petrov since he should really have been able to pass one of the worst drivers in the field.

I'll admit the race got interesting when it looked like Button might challenge Vettel but other than that there seemed some inevitability that neither Alonso or Webber would get past Petrov. Even Kobayashi was subdued this race, even allowing himself to be out-breaked twice.

That being said it has been a fantastic season, 5 different leaders of the championship and 4 people in contention for the title in the last race (though Hamilton wasn't really in contention). Really can't wait for next season, it will be interesting to see if RBR continue their dominance in terms or speed or if McLaren and Ferrari and possibly Mercedes will catch them. There will also be 5 world champions in the field next season all most likely to be in very competitive cars, an exciting prospect.

[Danqazmlp]

I don't know if it was a lack of sleep or the race itself, but I did find the race hard to stay awake during. It had it's short flurry's, but for the main part it was a very straightforward race. The only exciting part of the race was how close Schumacher came to having his head taken clean off by a Force India tyre. It was a bit of an anti-climax, but I don't think any race could have seemed as big as the championship had been this year.

 

As for the Championship, of all three main title hunters, Vettel was who I least wanted to win. He is incredibly fast but so far he doesn't have a very wise head on him. This does make him an incredibly good driver and a very fast one, but he doesn't think through things enough. Vettel had the brawn, Alonso the brain, Webber the wisdom. I still wish Webber had won, he is just such a likeable guy who has been in the sport for so long he deserves something for it. He had definitely been the most consistent guy this year. I definitely hope he stays next year and is in a good car.

 

Now we have a long wait until next year, and we will have even more world champions starting.