Crown

People who are aware of F1 history shouldn't be surprised by Ferrari's slump. Between the 1979 title (Scheckter)  and the Schumacher era, Ferrari accomplished very little in spite of having the best funded team and some of the best drivers of the time  (Villeneuve, Arnoux Mario Andretti, Mansell, Prost) racing for them. The Italian team's main weakness has been bad organisation and in-fighting among management.

"Napoleon" aka Jean Todt, managed to eradicate this illness of internal quarrels for a period of time but it seems we've had a recurrence after a few years of immunity. Todt left his post as CEO at the end of 2007 and his legacy also won Ferrari their last title, Constructors 2008.

Even Dietrich Mateschitz, a drinks entrepreneur with no motorsport background managed to set up a top F1 in record time, whilst Ferrari rest on their laurels as a mythical team

--

"Form follows function"

Interesting Q in Malaysia!

McLaren does seem to have the best car but RBR will be though competition at all times i suspect.

So happy to see Schumi in 3rd, Mercedes could be the 3rd top team this season? Rosberg 4 places behind, that must be a first. I truly hope Mercedes can have some more reliability and raw pace in the race to pull at least their respective Q places home for some points.

Lotus really does seem to be team #4 this season, leaving the Ferraris, Saubers and Williams behind
This is good for Lotus and Williams, but very bad for Ferrari!

Force India seem to have lost their 2011 competitiveness somewhat being in the lower mid pack along with Toro Rosso.

Should be a great race tomorrow, hoping for some rain action, but no red flags because of it...

reginos:

People who are aware of F1 history shouldn't be surprised by Ferrari's slump. Between the 1979 title (Scheckter)  and the Schumacher era, Ferrari accomplished very little in spite of having the best funded team and some of the best drivers of the time  (Villeneuve, Arnoux Mario Andretti, Mansell, Prost) racing for them. The Italian team's main weakness has been bad organisation and in-fighting among management.

"Napoleon" aka Jean Todt, managed to eradicate this illness of internal quarrels for a period of time but it seems we've had a recurrence after a few years of immunity. Todt left his post as CEO at the end of 2007 and his legacy also won Ferrari their last title, Constructors 2008.

Even Dietrich Mateschitz, a drinks entrepreneur with no motorsport background managed to set up a top F1 in record time, whilst Ferrari rest on their laurels as a mythical team

--

"Form follows function"

Even though you are making some valid points, I think you are being overly harsh as a critic.

First of all, Ferrari enjoyed great success in the early '80s winning the Contructors Titles in 1982 and 1983. After that though, they had a dismal decade and a half, untill 1999 when they won the Title again. Infighting and a bad structure were parts of the problem. They also had to deal with some unfair competition though, as in the early 90's for example, Williams got their active suspension software for free by none other than British Aerospace and McLaren took theirs from McDonnell Douglas! Of course Ferrari could not compete against the know-how of aviation and airspace conglomerates!  

Then, the glory years came, where they absolutely demolished competition and re-wrote the record books! 

Nowadays they seem to be in the wilderness again.  Their current predicament can be explained though. Ferrari was traditionally an engine specialist. Since engine development is frozen, this advantage of theirs has been neutralised. Also, they were relying heavily on track testing. Testing is virtually banned now and that has set them back considerably in relation to other teams that were relying more on simulation technology.

The sad truth though is that Ferrari, after the departure of Rory Byrne and Paolo Martinelli, are not strong enough in the technical department. Nikolas Tompazis does not seem good enough to design a winning car and Pat Fry has never shown brilliance in his previous teams either. Combine this lack of prowess on the chassis side, with the frustrating ban on engine development and the lack of testing and you have a stambling horse instead of a prancing one. 

By the way Easy, Lotus is clearly ahead of Ferrari, which brings the Scuderia to the ignominy of being the 5th team. One has to go many years in the past to find Ferrari being 5th.  Frankly I don't even know when was the last time that had happend...

--
FERRARI RULES!!!

Yes, Ferrari is behind Lotus - which is what I posted previously 

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

I posted this before qualification today ...

McLaren
Mercedes, Red Bull
Lotus, Ferrari
Williams, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham
Marussia, HRT

Just to clarify, teams listed next to each other are in the same group but within each group, they are in order of performance over both qualification and the race 

But it's overall just a 'guesstimate' and just my opinion 

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

The only revision I would make is to swap Force India and Toro Rosso around :)

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

I pray for rain :D

There is no try. Just do.

easy_rider911:

I posted this before qualification today ...

McLaren
Mercedes, Red Bull
Lotus, Ferrari
Williams, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham
Marussia, HRT

Just to clarify, teams listed next to each other are in the same group but within each group, they are in order of performance over both qualification and the race 

But it's overall just a 'guesstimate' and just my opinion 

Don't be fooled by their respective strategies. I suspect teams are currently aligned as such ...

McLaren, RBR
Mercedes, Lotus
Ferrari, Williams, Sauber
Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham, Marussia
HRT

Atzporsche:

easy_rider911:

I posted this before qualification today ...

McLaren
Mercedes, Red Bull
Lotus, Ferrari
Williams, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham
Marussia, HRT

Just to clarify, teams listed next to each other are in the same group but within each group, they are in order of performance over both qualification and the race 

But it's overall just a 'guesstimate' and just my opinion 

Don't be fooled by their respective strategies. I suspect teams are currently aligned as such ...

McLaren, RBR
Mercedes, Lotus
Ferrari, Williams, Sauber
Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham, Marussia
HRT

I am afraid you are right. 

REALZEUS:

reginos:

People who are aware of F1 history shouldn't be surprised by Ferrari's slump. Between the 1979 title (Scheckter)  and the Schumacher era, Ferrari accomplished very little in spite of having the best funded team and some of the best drivers of the time  (Villeneuve, Arnoux Mario Andretti, Mansell, Prost) racing for them. The Italian team's main weakness has been bad organisation and in-fighting among management.

"Napoleon" aka Jean Todt, managed to eradicate this illness of internal quarrels for a period of time but it seems we've had a recurrence after a few years of immunity. Todt left his post as CEO at the end of 2007 and his legacy also won Ferrari their last title, Constructors 2008.

Even Dietrich Mateschitz, a drinks entrepreneur with no motorsport background managed to set up a top F1 in record time, whilst Ferrari rest on their laurels as a mythical team

--

"Form follows function"

 

Even though you are making some valid points, I think you are being overly harsh as a critic.

First of all, Ferrari enjoyed great success in the early '80s winning the Contructors Titles in 1982 and 1983. After that though, they had a dismal decade and a half, untill 1999 when they won the Title again. Infighting and a bad structure were parts of the problem. They also had to deal with some unfair competition though, as in the early 90's for example, Williams got their active suspension software for free by none other than British Aerospace and McLaren took theirs from McDonnell Douglas! Of course Ferrari could not compete against the know-how of aviation and airspace conglomerates!  

Then, the glory years came, where they absolutely demolished competition and re-wrote the record books! 

Nowadays they seem to be in the wilderness again.  Their current predicament can be explained though. Ferrari was traditionally an engine specialist. Since engine development is frozen, this advantage of theirs has been neutralised. Also, they were relying heavily on track testing. Testing is virtually banned now and that has set them back considerably in relation to other teams that were relying more on simulation technology.

The sad truth though is that Ferrari, after the departure of Rory Byrne and Paolo Martinelli, are not strong enough in the technical department. Nikolas Tompazis does not seem good enough to design a winning car and Pat Fry has never shown brilliance in his previous teams either. Combine this lack of prowess on the chassis side, with the frustrating ban on engine development and the lack of testing and you have a stambling horse instead of a prancing one. 

F1 needs a strong Ferrari Team, like the English Premier Division needs Man Utd. (if you follow football).

I remember in the golden years of Schumacher & co many people around the world, non-hardcore motorsport enthusiasts up till then, turned to F1as their main spectator sport, followed races on TV, were discussing results etc. This enthusiasm has withered now to an extent. Other big  teams generate fan interest for sure, but SF generated passion then

"Form follows function"

easy_rider911:

Yes, Ferrari is behind Lotus - which is what I posted previously 

It will be another lost season for Ferrari.

The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Massa's race engineer, Rob Smedley, was saying to Massa over the radio that he was 0.3 seconds behind Alonso which was a 'good effort' ... so matching Alonso doesn't even enter the equation. Limiting the gap is all that Massa and his race engineer think is realistically achievable.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Atzporsche:

easy_rider911:

I posted this before qualification today ...

McLaren
Mercedes, Red Bull
Lotus, Ferrari
Williams, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham
Marussia, HRT

Just to clarify, teams listed next to each other are in the same group but within each group, they are in order of performance over both qualification and the race 

But it's overall just a 'guesstimate' and just my opinion 

Don't be fooled by their respective strategies. I suspect teams are currently aligned as such ...

McLaren, RBR
Mercedes, Lotus
Ferrari, Williams, Sauber
Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham, Marussia
HRT

McLaren has a clear edge over RBR in qualification. I think there is a smaller difference in the race but there is still nonetheless a difference. So I don't think they are on par at the moment. It will be fascinating to see how things play out tomorrow :)

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

easy_rider911:

Massa's race engineer, Rob Smedley, was saying to Massa over the radio that he was 0.3 seconds behind Alonso which was a 'good effort' ... so matching Alonso doesn't even enter the equation. Limiting the gap is all that Massa and his race engineer think is realistically achievable.

That pretty much says it all. And Alonso loves this track, he has had incredible performances with Renault here, but I don't think he will be able to pull another race like in Australia, unless there are some DNF's in front of him. All the 8 cars in front of him are faster than his, and one behind due to a penalty...unbelievable.

easy_rider911:

Atzporsche:

easy_rider911:

I posted this before qualification today ...

McLaren
Mercedes, Red Bull
Lotus, Ferrari
Williams, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham
Marussia, HRT

Just to clarify, teams listed next to each other are in the same group but within each group, they are in order of performance over both qualification and the race 

But it's overall just a 'guesstimate' and just my opinion 

Don't be fooled by their respective strategies. I suspect teams are currently aligned as such ...

McLaren, RBR
Mercedes, Lotus
Ferrari, Williams, Sauber
Toro Rosso, Force India
Caterham, Marussia
HRT

McLaren has a clear edge over RBR in qualification. I think there is a smaller difference in the race but there is still nonetheless a difference. So I don't think they are on par at the moment. It will be fascinating to see how things play out tomorrow :)

I agree with Easy. If what we saw in Australia is any indication, the McLaren driven by Button was unreachable during the race by any RBR. hey are very close, but McLaren has the edge. It can qualify in front, allowing a first stint with open road, and also has a great race pace without chewing out the tires. If Button or Hamilton make no mistakes, I don't think Vettel or Webber can challenge them. That said, Vettel sacrificed his qualifying time so as to use the harder compound so maybe they know that and are making a gamble on race strategy to try to gain an advantage that way.

So judging by the above McLaren should come in 1st and 2nd no problem
 

Atzporsche:

So judging by the above McLaren should come in 1st and 2nd no problem
 

Notice the big IF I said... if the drivers make no mistakes 

I suspect a McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes on the podium this race

Carlos from Spain:

Atzporsche:

So judging by the above McLaren should come in 1st and 2nd no problem
 

Notice the big IF I said... if the drivers make no mistakes 

Exactly. The car is just equipment. Having the fastest car just gives you the potential to win. You still have to go out there and perform.

Webber had the fastest car in 2011 but didn't take advantage of it. Vettel did and became champion for the second time.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

We need some rain to mix this up nicely! 

Mercedes will probably be forced to 4-stop, due to tyre degradation,.... but if it rains - then all could change..

"Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out."

+1

If it rains, it's anyone's guess who will win.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Atzporsche:

I suspect a McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes on the podium this race

Thats what Ferrari is praying for the podium to look like, the more spread out the points are in the first races between different drivers, the more bunched up together they will be, and the easier it will be for them to catch up when they get their car in order to compete for the title... thats their theory, however I doubt the Ferrari will catch up along the season, they haven't had the skills to do so in the last two seasons, and on this one even Lotus has passed them, they will be lucky if they don't go down further...

As I said before I PRAY for rain :D

There is no try. Just do.

easy_rider911:

+1

If it rains, it's anyone's guess who will win.

Hmmmm...

1º Hamilton
2º Kimi
3º Alonso

My only fear with the rain is that if it rains, they are such pu$$&€$ in F1 nowdays that with just a little stanting water Charlie will stop the race over and over, in case one of those divas behind a wheel breaks a finguernail or something I guess, and the event may not even reach the end of the race 

--

Carlos is right. I share his lack of optimism at Ferrari's ability to turn the situation around quickly enough to be able to salvage the situation and challenge for titles.

Consistency is key ... Ferrari can't afford to lose so many points and still maintain their challenge.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

reginos:

REALZEUS:

reginos:

People who are aware of F1 history shouldn't be surprised by Ferrari's slump. Between the 1979 title (Scheckter)  and the Schumacher era, Ferrari accomplished very little in spite of having the best funded team and some of the best drivers of the time  (Villeneuve, Arnoux Mario Andretti, Mansell, Prost) racing for them. The Italian team's main weakness has been bad organisation and in-fighting among management.

"Napoleon" aka Jean Todt, managed to eradicate this illness of internal quarrels for a period of time but it seems we've had a recurrence after a few years of immunity. Todt left his post as CEO at the end of 2007 and his legacy also won Ferrari their last title, Constructors 2008.

Even Dietrich Mateschitz, a drinks entrepreneur with no motorsport background managed to set up a top F1 in record time, whilst Ferrari rest on their laurels as a mythical team

--

"Form follows function"

 

Even though you are making some valid points, I think you are being overly harsh as a critic.

First of all, Ferrari enjoyed great success in the early '80s winning the Contructors Titles in 1982 and 1983. After that though, they had a dismal decade and a half, untill 1999 when they won the Title again. Infighting and a bad structure were parts of the problem. They also had to deal with some unfair competition though, as in the early 90's for example, Williams got their active suspension software for free by none other than British Aerospace and McLaren took theirs from McDonnell Douglas! Of course Ferrari could not compete against the know-how of aviation and airspace conglomerates!  

Then, the glory years came, where they absolutely demolished competition and re-wrote the record books! 

Nowadays they seem to be in the wilderness again.  Their current predicament can be explained though. Ferrari was traditionally an engine specialist. Since engine development is frozen, this advantage of theirs has been neutralised. Also, they were relying heavily on track testing. Testing is virtually banned now and that has set them back considerably in relation to other teams that were relying more on simulation technology.

The sad truth though is that Ferrari, after the departure of Rory Byrne and Paolo Martinelli, are not strong enough in the technical department. Nikolas Tompazis does not seem good enough to design a winning car and Pat Fry has never shown brilliance in his previous teams either. Combine this lack of prowess on the chassis side, with the frustrating ban on engine development and the lack of testing and you have a stambling horse instead of a prancing one. 

F1 needs a strong Ferrari Team, like the English Premier Division needs Man Utd. (if you follow football).

I remember in the golden years of Schumacher & co many people around the world, non-hardcore motorsport enthusiasts up till then, turned to F1as their main spectator sport, followed races on TV, were discussing results etc. This enthusiasm has withered now to an extent. Other big  teams generate fan interest for sure, but SF generated passion then

You don't have to convince me mate. 

As you may know, I am an ardent Ferrari enthusiast. I used to follow F1 closer than Bernie himself back in the Ferrari golden days. Nowadays I just follow the lap times, the races on the telly and read only the Ferrari stories on the websites. In a disillusioned way if I may add. 

I think the good news of this season is that we wont see too much the worldwide famous finger winning sign of Vettel !!! That is indeed GOOD NEWS !!!!

Superb work from Mclaren and specially from Mercedes team, they obviously did something important, watching Schumacher avoiding journalist to photograph their car, they have something to hide !

I am also quite surprised with Grosjean and Kimi's results with the Lotus.

Talking about Ferrari, its such an embarrising result. All the hype about the F2012, a revolution in their design and bla bla blaa.....Stefano Domenicali and some other head team members should have gone last year !!!!

Without Alonso,  Ferrari would be in the middle of the table results, or even worse. Although I am also starting to think about Alonso's bad luck since his last championship title, I have mixed feelings....obviously he has achieved excellent results so far, starting 12th finishing 5th, but I really expect MUCH MUCH more from him, may be that is the problem, I expect from Alonso to deliver far more, even do the impossible.  I hope Ferrari detects the problem quickly, but from previous experience as a f1 fan, this wont happen in the next races, I already see this season already lost for ferrari struggling to shave some seconds in the next 3 months.....too bad !

I am starting to like the style of Pastor Maldonado !!

Here's a fascinating technical details image prior to the race, hope you enjoy

15 min till the flag drops and its just pissing in one part of the GP

I apologize to rennteam members... My prayers were too intense :D

I am sooooooo sad for Schumi... Bad luck again :(

There is no try. Just do.