Is the blown diffuser still allowed? http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/03/14/red-bull-rb8-exhaust-blown-diffuser-diagram/
The FIA tried to get rid of the blown diffuser by regulating the exhaust exit. But the teams found a way around it, making use of flow properties of hot gases on specifically shaped surfaces in order to get the exhaust gases down to the diffuser. It's not as effective as last years solution where the exhaust was pointing directly underneath the diffuser, but it still works in a similar way. The teams just can't unlearn what they have learned.
Is Vitaly supposed to have a pig on his helmet ? FP1 has ended and first blood has gone to Button FWIW... A lot of people have predicted a very close season and maybe some freak results especially in those first overseas GPs. Let's hope for that !
Yeah, I preferred the Australian GP when it was earlier. I prefer to watch it at 4 in the morning than at 7. It's just a much more natural time for a late Saturday night Anyway, here are my thoughts on the race: 1) Amazing performance by McLaren. They appear to be as strong as Red Bull was at the beginning of last season. 2) Good performance by Vettel who got the max out of his car. Catching Lewis was a great feat given his material. Will be interesting to see how Red Bull evolves this season. 3) Alonso once again manhandled his Ferrari into heights it had no business being in. The less we talk about Massa the better. 4) Terrible showing from Mercedes. But still hard to judge. Michael was on his way to a 4th place IMHO (I don't thing he could have held off Vettel past the first pitstop), so the car might not be as bad as it now looks. I think Nico generally had more problems with his set up, not being able to go the pace of Schumacher who also claimed that he had no tire problems whatsoever when his gearbox went south, Nico was unlucky with the safety car and then had an unlucky crash in the last lap where he was on his way to finish 6th. I hope Mercedes can still improve their car and I’m looking forward to high speed courses. 5) Force India is in a similar situation as Mercedes, only further down field. They did worse than expected, however they couldn’t show everything with Hulk crashing out in the first lap and Di Resta appearing to have more problems squeezing the car. We’ll have to wait till Malaysia to get a better picture, but still, I’d have expected better. 6) Sauber has finally lived up to the pre-season hype and delivered a great performance. Also, Williams has done much better than expected. Both had a great race pace, very close to the top teams. 7) Lotus is also the real deal. Räikkönen had a very good race, starting so far back.
I'm a family man, so DVR and not checking the "internets" allow me to enjoy the race almost as if it was live, sans commercials...
I don't think it made any difference. No way Sauber was going to take the win off Ferrari. And Perez will 100% replace Massa next year (maybe even earlier).
You think this because Perez would not be able to do it or because he was not going to do it? I feel bad for Massa, he has never been the same after losing the World Title to Lewis in Brazil... But that's part of the life of being a F1 driver..
I think more important was the decision to pit Perez one lap after Alonso. Without that, I'm sure Perez would have won. The pace of the Sauber was really impressive, both on intermediate and slick tires.
I'd have taken the win if I was Perez. My contract would be with Sauber, and a win for them would be superb. If Ferrari decided against hiring me because of that, then they're a load of w__kers not worth joining. Good to see Senna getting some points.
I'm not buying the conspiracy thing, a win is too important for a team and even if Ferrari withdrew their support to Sauber because of that they would have some public explaining to do, wouldn't they ? The thing is I remember a similar occurrence at Spa 1998(?) when Jean Alesi was in third behind both Jordans and the team radio asked him to stay put. Points are mighty vital for smaller teams and I think I saw some other drivers erring on the wrong side of that corner. It's always tricky in these conditions or was Vettel being part of a conspiracy when he slipped outside the dry line in the last lap of the Canadian GP last season... As for Pérez, his pace was so fast with inters that he might have wanted to capitalise on that while Alonso had to do an out lap on cold slicks but it turned out not to be the right choice but hey, nobody could know what would be the respective pace of both front runners for the final laps. Still, a refreshing result that doesn't hide the current problems of Ferrari but in terms of damage limitations, it is almost perfect ; should the F2012 spec B prove competitive, we might see Fernando contend to the end. As for Pérez, a nice day for Mexico and it might weight in the balance for a Mexico GP return (maybe at Cancun) as well as for Checo's nascent F1 career. That said, for all his talent under tricky conditions and his tyre saving credentials, is Sergio a complete driver and a racer ? These are the questions some team principals might wonder. Hopefully for the young Mexican, he may have other opportunities to shine given this Sauber genuine quality under certain circumstances as spotted by some observers during the pre-season tests. Usually such claim don't really stand as the season unfolds but we might have a case in hand yet I think the car is definitely taking advantage of its tyre preservation qualities which plays in Pérez' hands but may hamper racer Kobayashi...
Finally after 57 years, Mercedes wins and wins big.... They could have been 1-2 if not for a failed pitstop for Schumi... It looks like it is going to be a very even year, with Mercedes, McLaren, RedBull and probably Ferrari (only because Alonso's talent) sharing victories... I do believe that with the aerodynamics of Webber's car Vettel would be fighting for the pole and the race... Wlliams and Sauber look racy and it is still difficult to make an opinion on the Lotus although Grosjean placed sixth. But the main question is this: Now that it has been deemed legal, when the other teams include (because they will) the "super DRS" where will Mercedes be?
It was an amazing race and it looks that we're going to have a very exciting season.. Yes, Lotus needs to be listed up there with RB, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari (probably the weakest of the bigger teams). 18 drivers have earned points... There's only 20 points between 1st and seventh in the standings and all the World Champs except Schumi are in the top of the list.... And see what I told you about Vettel reverting to the configuration used by Webber in Shanghai?
Didn't get to watch the race until this morning. Nearly brought a tear to my eye to see a blue and white car take the checkers. First win for Williams since 2004 saw Montoya win in Brasil. Podium goes Williams - Ferarri - Lotus. Welcome back to the 90's folks!
We should ask FIA to freeze the regulations on this year and made them permanent... Man, what an amazing season... 5 races, 5 winners, 5 teams, 18 drivers scoring points , 7 teams being competitive and passing all over the place...
So, after a thrilling season the F1 Circus lands in the US for the first GP there since 2007 and more importantly the first race at the brand new Circuit Of The Americas near Austin, Texas. Who would have thunk not so long ago that a completely new track built to the most modern FIA specs would happen ? Thankfully, part of the States want to rejoin the global culture when it comes to sports and hopefully, F1 will find its place amongst the open minded petrolheads even if it would be a delusion to think that it can seriously challenge Nascar and the core of the Nascar crowd. Drove it with GP4 and provided that the track was accurate my impressions are that the track is rather frustrating and tricky ; that's not what I would call a fun lap...Even if the pseudo Becketts S section is nice and the turns 16 to 20 is quite enjoyable. For me, the trickiest corner seems to be turn 7 where you really need to brake and turn on the right line. Turn 12 may catch some drivers too ; it's obviously a heavy braking tight corner and probably the best opportunity for overtaking but the exit is traitorous... Apparently not the kind of track that rewards the all out attack but rather slaps you if you get it wrong...So the satisfaction will likely come from producing neat and tidy laps. As for the racing quality, it's a bit the unknown and I'd be curious to see how it fares there. The best racing is usually when drivers fight without zooming past with the DRS but given the layout it looks like it will be the case before turn 12... We shall see.
In the end, the Austin crowd were treated with a nice race. Paradoxically, it's Pirelli's conservative tyre choice combined with a smooth brand new tarmac on the track resulting in lack of grip and sizeable performance delta through the laps that helped to get some good racing. Good première then ; hopefully it bodes well for F1 in the US and even in the Americas with talks of a GP in Southern California and in Mexico (Cancun ?). Would be cool to have one in Argentina ; there have been glimpses of a project in Mar del Plata but nothing more. The Potrero de los Funes track is nice too but not really up to F1 standards duer to lack of run off areas. Roll on the Brazilian Finale !!
