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[Lince]

Well done Massa, keep shuting the haters up. If he was the one over reving the Ferrari like Alonso did, people would be all over him for being an idiot. In the end he drove with his head and manage to get a few points.

I'd love to see Massa driving the Ferrari with a broken clutch, I appreciate the guy and stuff but he's nowhere as good as Hamilton, Vettel or Alonso.

 

[subzero9285]

.

 

[navanman]

Speaking of Sauber, most disappointing team of the year so far.

 

[subzero9285]

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[Lince]

Yet he matched Kimi, when people were expecting him to be blown away and took the 2008 championship to the wire against Lewis. He's improved greatly over the past few years, he's not the chubby, erratic, crash prone driver he was at Sauber.

fair enough, then again Kimi was nothing out of the ordinary IMO, only great with the fastest car of the grid.

 

[Steppenwolf]

Rosberg: I heard some crackle noises during the last few laps.
Vettel: That must have been the easter eggs in your engine.

:lol

 

[DrM]

Major props to Kubica and Sutil. Renault and Force India are very very good in terms of race pace and also hard to overtake.

What happend with Michael's car? Rear suspension failure?

Also, STR is becoming overtaking nightmare. Schumacher had problems with them in Australia and today they managed to keep Alonso, Massa and Button behind them for whole first stint.

 

[Steppenwolf]

What happend with Michael's car? Rear suspension failure?

A wheel nut was lose. Similar problem that Vettel had in Australia.

 

[Aegus]

fair enough, then again Kimi was nothing out of the ordinary IMO, only great with the fastest car of the grid.

You mean like last year where he was doing brilliantly in a championship contending car...... oh wait.

 

[Dibbz]

Was an awesome race today especially for me since I picked Alguersuari as my driver Hopefully I can get some good points today.

The fight between Hamilton and Petrov was heated. Shame Petrov had problems and didn't finish the race since he was doing really well. Button was struggling with Alonso and it was only a matter of time before he was gonna get taken by him.

Finally RB finished and got what they deserved. The next race should be really with Kubica and Rosberg doing really well at the moment as long as Mclaren and Ferrari don't make a massive screw up in quali again.

 

[Steppenwolf]

I'm glad that the drivers drive the cars more on the limit now and produce more action. Bahrain hopefully only was an exception because everybody was way too conservative.

 

[navanman]

I'm glad that the drivers drive the cars more on the limit now and produce more action. Bahrain hopefully only was an exception because everybody was way too conservative.

I think the opposite actually. If you look objectively at the last 2 races; the same issues were present but masked by weather in Australia and fucked up grid today.
As the season progresses, the new teams will get faster and generate more downforce and hence dirty air and be harder to overtake.

Hamilton, Alonso, etc.. were 1-2 seconds quicker than car ahead but unable to get near enough for an overtake. The wake and dirty air off the well developed top 5-6 teams is too much for a mistake not generated by driver error.

 

[thechemist]

Still, things are not looking good. The reality is that Vettel should have 75 points by now. Once they figure their car out, it's gonna be a boring season if your not German, unless Ferrari can step up a bit.

Isn't there rumours of a Ferrari B spec car being developed?

 

[Steppenwolf]

I didn't looked like all cars were strolling around the track for a cozy sunday walk like it was the case in Bahrain. There were also overtake maneuvers between team who drive on a similar level. So i see it a bit more positive now then i did after the first race.

 

[avaya]

fair enough, then again Kimi was nothing out of the ordinary IMO, only great with the fastest car of the grid.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Jinjo]

Well done Massa, keep shuting the haters up. If he was the one over reving the Ferrari like Alonso did, people would be all over him for being an idiot. In the end he drove with his head and manage to get a few points.

Still, things are not looking good. The reality is that Vettel should have 75 points by now. Once they figure their car out, it's gonna be a boring season if your not German, unless Ferrari can step up a bit.

Except Vettel doesn't have 75 points by now and what makes you think the rest of the teams will be sitting on their ass while they gently let Red Bull fix their reliability issues? The situation last year was a lot more 'boring' as the championship was concerned. We had one guy winning 6 out of the first 7 races, but it still came down pretty close in the end. The season is long, don't underestimate the other teams' ability and potential to catch up (and Red Bull's ability to fuck up). I don't see how things are 'not looking good' for the championship when we have 7 drivers within 9 points of eachother. That's only two points more than the difference between first and second.

 

[The Bookerman]

I'm sorry, but I'm can't take Force India seriously.

 

[avaya]

no refuelling = cars become tanks.

dull dull dull

Fernando was unlucky. WTF was Webber doing at the start?

 

[Lince]

:lol :lol :lol

yeah, I've always seen him as too bland for a F1 driver, he lacks the spirit, not questioning his driving skills and blistering pace when it mattered (his fast laps when he needed to jump Massa in the pits). I remember Hamilton overtaking him plenty of times last couple of years and Kimi just did nothing (Monza :lol)

 

[Rody]

Go, Massa!!!

 

[jey_16]

has no refueling actually improved things? seems like it was a waste of time

 

[avaya]

yeah, I've always seen him as too bland for a F1 driver, he lacks the spirit, not questioning his driving skills and blistering pace when it mattered (his fast laps when he needed to jump Massa in the pits). I remember Hamilton overtaking him plenty of times last couple of years and Kimi just did nothing (Monza :lol)

yes Raikkonen's only issue was that we was lazy. In terms of pure pace, when he was on it, he was the fastest on the grid.

 

[navanman]

Alonso had an amazing race when you see what he had to do:

Fernando Alonso labelled the Malaysian Grand Prix as the hardest race of his life after having to cope with gearbox issues before retiring.

The Ferrari driver lost his clutch before the start of the race and was forced to step on the throttle on corners in order for the gears to engage.

Despite that, Alonso battled with team-mate Felipe Massa and McLaren's Jenson Button, before an engine failure forced him out with two laps to go.

The Spaniard looked set for ninth position, which would have helped him keep the championship lead. As it was, however, Alonso is now tied in second place, two points behind Massa.

"From the start things went wrong," Alonso told Spanish television. "On the formation lap my gearbox broke and I had no clutch during the race, so I had to brake in a weird way.

"I had to first gear down and then push the throttle hard so it would engage the gear for that corner.

"So it was probably the hardest race of my whole life in terms of driving, because I had to improvise for every corner. But even so we were going to get a few points, which in the end was not possible because of the engine.

"But if the gearbox and then the engine are going to break, it's better than in happens when you are ninth than when you are leading and you lose 25 points."

He added: "A tough weekend. Sometimes it's us, sometimes it's other. You have to take the opportunities."

Source

 

[DrM]

Hm, if Fernado gearbox is damaged beyond repair, will he get 5 grid penalty in China? Isn't there a rule that gearbox must last for 4 races?

 

[Igo]

Hm, if Fernado gearbox is damaged beyond repair, will he get 5 grid penalty in China? Isn't there a rule that gearbox must last for 4 races?

I don't think so because he got a DNF.

 

[Dibbz]

Thought it was the engine that had to last 4 races. Maybe it's both, not sure. The problems Alonso had really puts his performance into perspective though. Button really did have a horrible race since he was barely able to keep a car with no clutch at bay on his own.

 

[DrM]

Button pitted way too soon. He should waited for atleast 5 more laps.

Gearbox stuff :

Each driver may use no more than one gearbox for four consecutive Events in which his team competes. Should a driver use a replacement gearbox he will drop five places on the starting grid at that Event and an additional five places each time a further gearbox is used.

Any replacement gearbox must be fitted with the same gear ratios that were declared under d) below and will only be required to complete the remainder of the Event in question. Any change to the gear ratios declared under d) below will incur a further five grid place penalty. In either case a new four race sequence may start at the following Event.

Unless the driver fails to finish the race (see below) the gearbox fitted to the car at the end of the Event must remain in it for three further Events. Any driver who failed to finish the race at the first, second or third of the four Events for reasons which the technical delegate accepts as being beyond the control of the team or driver, may start the following Event with a different gearbox without a penalty being incurred.

 

[tirant]

Alonso had an amazing race when you see what he had to do:



Source

"From the start things went wrong," Alonso told Spanish television. "On the formation lap my gearbox broke and I had no clutch during the race, so I had to brake in a weird way.

"I had to first gear down and then push the throttle hard so it would engage the gear for that corner.

"So it was probably the hardest race of my whole life in terms of driving, because I had to improvise for every corner. But even so we were going to get a few points, which in the end was not possible because of the engine.

Impressive race by Alonso!

 

[subzero9285]

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[Lince]

well he got a warning for that aggressive weaving, but it wasn't blocking, Petrov wasn't that close... Lewis was just trying to get Petrov out of the slipstream and Petrov happily followed him, anyway had Michael done that everyone will be asking for blood here :lol

 

[Dead Man]

Dangerous or acceptable by Lewis? You decide.

http://i43.tinypic.com/1zp2tld.gif[IMG][/QUOTE]
I think even if you ignore the stuff at the start of the straight, he clearly makes 2 moves in the braking zone. One to the right (from his pov) and then back to the left. He probably should have caught a penalty. I am not very upset since I think the blocking rules are a bit stupid anyway, but if the rules are there, they should probably be enforced.

 

[DrM]

I just do not buy that Alonso statement. It is almost impossible to drive so fast as he did after pitstop without working gearbox.

 

[Dead Man]

I just do not buy that Alonso statement. It is almost impossible to drive so fast as he did after pitstop without working gearbox.

I don't know, his car sounded sick as hell when downshifting.

 

[scarybore]

Dangerous or acceptable by Lewis? You decide.

http://i43.tinypic.com/1zp2tld.gif

I'm in the "Hamilton is a dick" camp but I don't really see anything wrong with that. As far as I can tell, wasn't so much Hamilton defending an immediate overtaking maneuver but rather Petrov really wanting to stay in the slipstream and copying every move Hamilton made. If Hamilton swerved in front of Petrov just before the corner where Petrov committed to an overtake, that I would take issue with.

Either way, wasn't a bad race. Had a few moments but I have to agree with navanman that the problems seen in Bahrain are very much still there and had all the fast cars started near the front, the race probably would be viewed very differently.

 

[Dilly]

I just do not buy that Alonso statement. It is almost impossible to drive so fast as he did after pitstop without working gearbox.

It was fairly obvious listening to the engine.

 

[subzero9285]

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[DrM]

It was fairly obvious listening to the engine.

Well, thaks to our broadcaster it is almost impossible to hear any engine sounds due to very loud comentators. And now they started blocking TV programs from other countires during F1 race or Champions leauge in football.

Vettel escapes yellow-flag penalty

Sebastian Vettel has escaped a penalty for overtaking backmarker Jarno Trulli under yellow flags in the closing stages of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing driver was leading comfortably two laps from home when he came up to lap the slowing Lotus at Turn 4 - just as the yellow flags were out for Fernando Alonso's stranded Ferrari.

Vettel overtook the Lotus on the inside of Turn 4 –a move which was in breach of the regulations that bans car from overtaking each other when yellow flags are out.

The stewards spoke to Vettel after the race and, after also viewing video and telemetry data, they decided that since he had made 'a large reduction in speed through the yellow flag area and that he understood that Car 18 was slowing with an obvious problem' it was decided that no penalty would be applied.

Former grand prix driver Johnny Herbert was acting as the drivers' advisor on the stewards panel in Malaysia.

Autosport

 

[subzero9285]

.

 

[Steppenwolf]

I just do not buy that Alonso statement. It is almost impossible to drive so fast as he did after pitstop without working gearbox.

Schumacher drove almost a whole race in 5th gear in the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix and finished second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xazImNY0hNg

 

[Dibbz]

Dangerous or acceptable by Lewis? You decide.

That was one of the highlights of the race imo :lol Reminds me of racing online in GT5p except add another 4 cars following Hamilton's line.

 

[StoOgE]

fair enough, then again Kimi was nothing out of the ordinary IMO, only great with the fastest car of the grid.

Kimi would have been a what 3 time champ if his McClaren didn't blow up?

 

[curls]

That was one of the highlights of the race imo :lol Reminds me of racing online in GT5p except add another 4 cars following Hamilton's line.

Indeed, best part of the race. :lol Stupid rule anyways

Well done Red Bull - I was expecting some sort of failure.

 

[moojito]

Aye, in that gif you can clearly see Han

Spoiler

(Lewis)

shooting

Spoiler

(moving)

first.

 

[ElyrionX]

Yet he matched Kimi, when people were expecting him to be blown away and took the 2008 championship to the wire against Lewis. He's improved greatly over the past few years, he's not the chubby, erratic, crash prone driver he was at Sauber.

He matched Kimi mostly only when Kimi didn't give a shit.

 

[Pterion]

RBR are like Brawn last year but with poor reliability. They scored so well at start of year before rest of teams got their shit together that they won on that basis.

I know its early in the season yet, but RBR have blown their chance at pulling a Brawn and will be caught.

Let's hope so, otherwise the championship will be pretty lame, aka lead on the 1st lap and win the race. Boring GP if it weren't for the overtakers at the back. Hoping for rain in China, and not during quali this time plz k thanx.

 

[kikanny]

He matched Kimi mostly only when Kimi didn't give a shit.

So you knew when Kimi gave a shit and when he didn't give a shit? Seriously, Kimi fans are some of the worst (not you specifically).

 

[Steppenwolf]

lol this picture screams for a caption

 

[Deadman]

"Stop doing the number 1 sign or I'll break your fingers."

 

[Steppenwolf]

"Please follow me, Your Highness. Don't be afraid."

 

[navanman]

"Pull my finger"