Crown

Surely in this last flyaway race before the European races begin, Red Bull will still be quickest, followed by Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes etc.

I can imagine Webber must be rueing the fact that Vettel got past him in Malaysia.

I also wonder how much longer Alonso will tolerate Massa being in front of him if that situation arises again.

Schumi was badly outshone by Rosberg - let's see if the 7 time former champ can fight back.

Hamilton's drive in Malaysia really showed us what he is capable of and IMO he had a much stronger race than Button did.

Hoping for an exciting race - although Shanghai races can be rather like those in Bahrain.

 
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easy_rider911:

Hoping for an exciting race - although Shanghai races can be rather like those in Bahrain.

Overtaking is already quite hard with the DD, but now, with drivers (or at least certain drivers) allowed to wave like crazy on the straights to prevent overtaking manouvers, is going to be almost impossible.

Friday 1st Practice and 2nd Practice lap times

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/results/8498685.stm

Rosberg faster than Schumi in both sessions again

 
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easy_rider911:

Rosberg faster than Schumi in both sessions again

Yes!

BTW, what happened to Alonso? 

And have you seen this...

The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Buemi goes bang... 

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The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

It's incredible how strong these cars have become

Rossi:

BTW, what happened to Alonso? 
 

His engine broke down again   only 5 engines left for the rest of the season

Carlos from Spain:

Rossi:

BTW, what happened to Alonso?   

His engine broke down again   only 5 engines left for the rest of the season

Can't he borrow some from Massa?

Could become a major problem for Ferrari.
 

The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Didn't they re-use his engine from Bahrain? It must be that one that failed today ...

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8625019.stm

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

It seems both Massa and Alonso have three engines each. Alonso's Malasia engine blew up, another one was for practice sessions and is the one that lasted 6 laps in today's Friday session. So the one he has left is the one he used in Bahrain and so it seems he sill have to not only race with this one, but also do all the practice sessions and the qualifying 

This means he will have to stretch out the remaning 5 engines along the GP's of the season for a few more Km than expected. But so far it seems he is still withing the "expected" life expectancy limit of the engines if he evenly distributes the Kms well, but if he blows another one he will be in serious trouble. Personally, I think two blown engines in just 3 weekends raises concerns about engine reliability, and it will likely happen again sooner or later...

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The Ferrari engines are said to run very hot and be less efficient than their rivals´. From my understanding one can use different engines for practice and qualifying & race so that would reduce the operating times on the relevant engines.

Ferdie: From my understanding one can use different engines for practice and qualifying & race so that would reduce the operating times on the relevant engines.

Indeed, thats exactly the plan.

Could it be Alonso's driving style is tougher on engines than other drivers?

Same way Hamilton is on tires.

Alonso's style has never been though to be tough on the mechanics in the past, so doesn't seem like that would be the case now.

I think its a comon Ferrari engine issue because in Melbourne they had to replace both Alonso's and Massa's engines before the race because of suspiscions on the reliability of the engine for the race, and on last GP there were a couple more Ferrari engines from other teams that did not finish the race either.

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I'm glad nobody got hurt but boy that was funny

Also I am not a huge fan of Alonso but I hope he will get a fair chance this year so Ferrari better find a way fast to keep those engine cool

There is no try. Just do.

Im pretty sure Ferrari is in big trouble having only a handful of engines left. Except them to run 10 spots behind in the final races....

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

Saturday Practice lap times

www.formula1.com/results/season/2010/827/6721/ 

 
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Red Bull has the front row in Q3!

Button qualified faster than Hamilton - not what I expected given how much quicker Hamilton was in previous practice and qualifying sessions.

Again Rosberg (1m 34.923s) is 0.723 secs faster in Q3 than Schumi (1m 35.646s).

Also, Rosberg was 0.581 secs faster than Schumi in Q2 and 0.532 secs faster than Schumi in Q1.

Surely Schumi is no longer the same driver he once was.

Vettel, Alonso and Rosberg have established themselves as de facto faster drivers in each of their respective teams.

Such a difference between Liuzzi (out in Q1) and Sutil (10th in Q3).

Force India is using di Resta to keep Liuzzi and Sutil on their toes. The threat of losing your drive at any time during the season really focuses the mind.

Barrichello really does have the measure of Hulkenberg.

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The Red Bull cars are on another level, its clearly the fastest car on the grid, so fast that even a mid-pack driver like Webber can beat all other cars with the RedBull. The Ferraris, McLaren and Mercedes look very similar amongst themselves.

Alonso has to settle for third place in the grid once again, and Massa down on 7th place, he is having trouble qualifying this year. I just hope that this time there will be no incidents causing Alonso to be stuck once again behind Massa during the race he has lost too many points already because of that.

I wonder how Hamilton is taking being behind Button on the grid, will be interesting to see how he attacks Button's position to the first corner. Hamilton must be desperate, he is two places behind Button in the championship and I bet he has a lot of pressure to do better than him.

MS has less and less space for excuses, its the fourth race and qualifies half a second behind his teammate in Q2 and Q1? the problem is not only that MS's performance is not what it used to be anymore and what was expected of him, but also that Rosberg seems to be doing a great job this year making that lack of performance from MS more obvious. By now there should be no doubt anymore who driver #1 in the Merecedes box is.

My bet is on Vettel for this race, and he deserves a win. Hopefully there will be no mechanical problems for any of the front drivers.

And lets pray for some rain to spice things up! prediction says 90% cahnge of rain during the race

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Hamilton though he could get pole and beat the Red Bulls? what is he smoking? he may have been faster in practices but it is known by now that the RedBulls don't show their cards during the weekend until the Q1 of qualifying, when they come out 10/10 and dominate. I think he should concentrate on beating his teamate first...

Lewis Hamilton (6th, Q3 - 1m 35.034s)
“I’m a little disappointed - we wanted to get pole today, and thought we could - and I don’t really know where the time went in Q3. The tyres felt fine - pretty much exactly the same as in Q1 and Q2, when the car felt great - but in Q3 the car started moving around a lot more, and it felt like the front was bottoming. We’d been quick all weekend, but sixth was the best I could do in Q3. I think we ought to have been further up the grid - but we’ll fight our way as far up the field as we can tomorrow. I’m sure it will be a good race.”

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Qualification results

www.formula1.com/results/season/2010/827/6722/ 

 
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Vettel has lost the most points if anything. Hope he takes this one with dominance! 

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

"Vettel has lost the most points". It's interesting you put it that way. Alonso and Button would say that nothing's in the bag till you cross the finish line i.e. you haven't "lost" something you never had. But it's just a question of perspective I guess 

 
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Not to mention that its not true that Vettel "lost the most points", Alonso has "lost" exactly the same number of points as Vettel for the same reasons

Both Vettel and Alonso:
- won one race
- had a "did not finish" due to mechanical failure
- made a 4th place, one becuase of mechanical failure and the other because he was hit by another car.

Hence they both have the same 37 points.

And on top of it Vettel has the advantage of enjoying the faster car of the two so by that logic

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Carlos from Spain:

Hamilton though he could get pole and beat the Red Bulls? what is he smoking? he may have been faster in practices but it is known by now that the RedBulls don't show their cards during the weekend until the Q1 of qualifying, when they come out 10/10 and dominate. I think he should concentrate on beating his teamate first...

 

Lewis Hamilton (6th, Q3 - 1m 35.034s)
“I’m a little disappointed - we wanted to get pole today, and thought we could - and I don’t really know where the time went in Q3. The tyres felt fine - pretty much exactly the same as in Q1 and Q2, when the car felt great - but in Q3 the car started moving around a lot more, and it felt like the front was bottoming. We’d been quick all weekend, but sixth was the best I could do in Q3. I think we ought to have been further up the grid - but we’ll fight our way as far up the field as we can tomorrow. I’m sure it will be a good race.”

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He's the biggest mouuth in F1, when he's not the fastest it's always because there is something wrong with his car, there can't be any other reason. I guess that just adds some spice to the weekends, like, for instance, calling all your fellow drivers whingers does:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE63G08I20100417?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Carlos from Spain:

 

And on top of it Vettel has the advantage of enjoying the faster car of the two so by that logic

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"...to finish first, you first have to finish."  At the end it comes to that.  Does not make sense to argue back and forth. Technical issues are part of the game, same applies to race accidents. Otherwise someone could argue that someone may lost points because of his weak starts...

The season is long, way to go...so many opportunities. Vettel is fast and young, he has all to mark a new era! 

Carlos from Spain:

 

And on top of it Vettel has the advantage of enjoying the faster car of the two so by that logic

! 

 

Is that how derive the better driver? What about Alonsos titles lol.

You're just hoping Vettel will crash because Alonso is not expected to compete seeing as Vettel is in the best car anyways You're forgetting one thing, Vettel now has the momentum back. I can see the end of the season. Vettel having fixed their unrealiability, they had it better last year, and Alonso starting 10 spots back for consequtive races because he will run out of engines before it's summer here.

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

kashmir:

 

"...to finish first, you first have to finish."  At the end it comes to that.  Does not make sense to argue back and forth. Technical issues are part of the game, same applies to race accidents. 

Thats the point I was making along with Easy, neither Vettel has "lost" any points (he just didn't win them) and even if you use that logic its not true that Vettel "lost" the most points either.

gangajas:

Carlos from Spain:

Hamilton though he could get pole and beat the Red Bulls? what is he smoking? he may have been faster in practices but it is known by now that the RedBulls don't show their cards during the weekend until the Q1 of qualifying, when they come out 10/10 and dominate. I think he should concentrate on beating his teamate first...

 

Lewis Hamilton (6th, Q3 - 1m 35.034s)
“I’m a little disappointed - we wanted to get pole today, and thought we could - and I don’t really know where the time went in Q3. The tyres felt fine - pretty much exactly the same as in Q1 and Q2, when the car felt great - but in Q3 the car started moving around a lot more, and it felt like the front was bottoming. We’d been quick all weekend, but sixth was the best I could do in Q3. I think we ought to have been further up the grid - but we’ll fight our way as far up the field as we can tomorrow. I’m sure it will be a good race.”

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He's the biggest mouuth in F1, when he's not the fastest it's always because there is something wrong with his car, there can't be any other reason. I guess that just adds some spice to the weekends, like, for instance, calling all your fellow drivers whingers does:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE63G08I20100417?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

 

+1 I really don't like the unprofessional comment from LH lately. Goes to show at the level his character is truly at. Calling your guys out on the radio about the tire strategy will not do anything for anybody. I know he gets frustrated and whatnot, but suck it up and perform! You're getting the millions for it. Some of these past two champoins still need to really prove themselves IMHO....

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

Atzporsche:

Carlos from Spain:

 

And on top of it Vettel has the advantage of enjoying the faster car of the two so by that logic

Is that how derive the better driver? What about Alonsos titles lol.

Nobody is talking about the better driver. I said that Vettel has the advantage of the faster car right now, so following your logic about Vettlel's lost points becacuse of incidents, then that would imply that Alonso would deserve the win more because he lost the same points and has to race with a slower car. But its senseless to continue this logic since it doesn't make sense, this is racing and mechanical probs, race incidents, slower/faster car, etc are part of racing... neither deserve a win because of that.

You're just hoping Vettel will crash because Alonso is not expected to compete seeing as Vettel is in the best car anyways

Let me quote what I just said a few post above yours...

Carlos from Spain:

My bet is on Vettel for this race, and he deserves a win. Hopefully there will be no mechanical problems for any of the front drivers.

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