Formula 1 - The 2011 season

Discussion in 'Automotive' started by benztown, Jan 31, 2011.

  1. dapip

    dapip Member+

    Sep 5, 2003
    South Florida
    Club:
    Millonarios Bogota
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    Well, last weekend looked like a re run of the last 3 weekends...

    Vettle got the pole. From there he never looked back.
    Webber went of to a poor start, but raced his way back to the podium.
    Button quietly but surely climbed to second place.
    Hamilton almost crashed someone in the qualys, then went to a poor start of the race, crashed into same one who he clashed with the day before.
    Alonso looked racy but with older tires and less fuel was easily surpassed by Webber.
    Massa finished well below his team mate.

    Perhaps the only notorious events were the great result by the Force India cars and the poor overall weekend performance by the Renaults...

    Chances are that Vettel will be officially crowned in Japan.
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Bingo !

    Congrats to him for making F1 history being the youngest double champ ever. What a flawless season for the young German !

    I'm not a fan but I must say he doesn't bother me for the time being. And I love to see the Mc Laren army of fanboys fuming over his success ! :D



    Hammy clashed into Massa...Again :confused:
     
  3. dapip

    dapip Member+

    Sep 5, 2003
    South Florida
    Club:
    Millonarios Bogota
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    Maybe he wants to be a Bull, sees Red and charges towards it... :confused:
     
  4. benztown

    benztown Member+

    Jun 24, 2005
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    When did McLaren become so popular anyway?

    I actually used to be a McLaren fan (and I still like the team in general), but I'm appalled by some of the fanboys that are popping up everywhere.

    In my case, it has two reasons:
    1) My F1 socialization took place in the late 1980s which was when we had the epic battles between Prost and Senna at McLaren. So from early on, I had a soft spot for the team.

    2) I've always been a Mercedes fan, so when McLaren became the de facto Mercedes works team, they also became my #1 team.

    Now that Mercedes has its own team, I moved on, but as I said, I still like McLaren.

    I guess that the McLaren team is just the go-to team for most Anglo-Saxon F1 fans, simply because it's the best British team. The same people probably supported Williams in the 1990s (if they were old enough that is).
     
  5. benztown

    benztown Member+

    Jun 24, 2005
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    As the season comes to an end, let me update my ranking once more:

    ---------------------
    –1. Red Bull
    –2. McLaren
    –3. Ferrari
    ---------------------
    –4. Mercedes
    ---------------------
    –5. Lotus-Renault
    ˆ7. Force India
    ˇ6. Sauber
    ---------------------
    –8. Toro Rosso
    –9. Williams
    ---------------------
    –10. Team Lotus
    ---------------------
    –11. Virgin
    –12. HRT
    ---------------------

    The first four teams seem to have settled in their relative positions. McLaren has come very, very close to Red Bull though and with Red Bull now focusing on testing for 2012, we may see them dropping back.
    Ferrari seems to be gaining performance as well. Of note is their good performance on the harder compound in Suzuka. That was something they have struggled with all season and only seem to have solved it now.

    Mercedes is probably also focusing on 2012Their car has just some fundamental flaws that cannot be fixed.

    Places 5-6 are really close. I still put Lotus-Renault ahead of the others but only barely. In fact they seem to move backward fast. Suzuka was slightly better than the races before and that's the only reason why I didn't put both Force India and Sauber ahead of them. I think their driver strategy is particularly bad. They now have two pay drivers. On the other hand, look at Force India who have two top notch drivers (although I think Sutil also brings in sponsor money) and who make much more out of their car. Dropping Heidfeld was a bad decision for Lotus-Renault if you ask me.
    Sauber is also consistently bringing in decent results with two great drivers.

    Behind that, the status of Williams is still depressing. Again I think in part it's their driver selection. The sad thing is of course that Barichello is doing worse than the pay driver Maldonado. I guess he's just past it. Williams should have kept Hülkenberg instead...and his salary would probably have been cheaper as well...

    In the back, Team Lotus is now solidly ahead of the other two new teams, while Virgin has put a small gap between themselves and HRT again, after HRT looked like they could make up in performance.
     
  6. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
  7. HardHatMike

    HardHatMike DOOOOOOOOM!

    Traktor Nebraska
    Aug 31, 2005
    Lincoln, Nebraska
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not Formula 1, but...

    English IndyCar driver, 2005 and 2011 Indianapolis 500 Winner, and 2005 IndyCar Champion Dan Wheldon was lost during a horrific 15-car accident on lap 10 of the Las Vegas Indy 300 this afternoon.


    Wheldon's car is the one that goes airborne near the end of the crash.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVu7iTf59SQ"][HD] IndyCar 2011 - Las Vegas Big Crash - YouTube[/ame]
     
  8. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    I tried to watch that race but I arrived on the aftermath of the crash only to learn about that sad news.

    RIP Dan

    There will be some controversy about this race given that many drivers have voiced their concern prior to the start.
     
  9. Qwaszx1234

    Qwaszx1234 New Member

    Jul 15, 2011
    München
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Vettel is brilliant. With more than double the points and the championship sealed up, I think he will be the driver to beat for the next few years.
     
  10. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    A little preview of F1's newest track, the Buddh International Circuit. Yet another Tilke-drome.


    [​IMG]


    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpn7FEbEXts"]Lap of the New India F1 Track in F1 2011 by Codemasters - YouTube[/ame]
     
  11. benztown

    benztown Member+

    Jun 24, 2005
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    One short comment about the last race:
    The big surprise was Toro Rosso with a terrific performance. Apparently they finally figured out the blown diffuser. Better let than never I guess, even though it won't be allowed next year. But it shows the potential the Toro Rosso would have had this year...

    I really wonder why Tilke is the go to guy for all these new circuits. His designs are mediocre at best...is there nobody else?
     
  12. HardHatMike

    HardHatMike DOOOOOOOOM!

    Traktor Nebraska
    Aug 31, 2005
    Lincoln, Nebraska
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    From zero US F1 races in 2011 to two in 2013?

    New Jersey set to host F1 race

    ESPNF1.com

     
  13. The Double

    The Double Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 11, 2002
    Denver
    Whoa, be interesting to see the actual circuit.
     
  14. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France

    Let's say they are lifeless and clinical. They are circuits made by a very professional architect, like buildings that are made by very pro architects...

    You can read his intentions on the lay out : some tricky corners for the drivers there (like the snails in Malaysia and China); long straights followed by heavy braking zones to allow overtaking and some fast curves to test the cars ability. His new trend being adding pseudo street circuit sections like the final sectors in Korea and Abu Dhabi.

    The ingredients are there, the notes are there but it's not enough to have a good meal or music.

    As for why it's always Tilke, I suppose he's contracted by Bernie and the FOM every time a new country wants a GP so that there are no bad surprises and the organisers don't have the fuss of dealing with that. A kind of package...

    I can't remember when was the last time Tilke wasn't involved in a new circuit. Even Fuji and Hockenheim re-configuration are his work...I'm not sure about the new Silverstone.

    Damn, if France had been able to foster a brand new track, it wouldn't have been a Tilke track. I don't think he responsible for the Paul Ricard HTTT version layout which is close to what was the older (long) track.
     
  15. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    From an European perspective, qualy and races in America are aired in early evening time which is all good. They can bring bring Argentina and/or Mexico as well.
     
  16. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
  17. Samiun

    Samiun New Member

    Oct 29, 2011
    Im excited to watch live tomorrow on ESPN, I'm rooting for kamui koyabashi
     
  18. benztown

    benztown Member+

    Jun 24, 2005
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    I have to admit, Tilke seems to have learned a bit. The Indian track looks great from on-board cameras and the drivers seem to love it as well.
    Let's see how well the track works come the race. The best tracks are those that allow for more than one racing line through corners, we'll see how well the Indian GP will work in that regard.
     
  19. Samiun

    Samiun New Member

    Oct 29, 2011
    I had watched the highlights on YouTube today. The drivers look like they had some sort of trouble adjusting to the track. The guy from Russia and Spain both went out of the track and sebestian v. braked too early and lost a bit of control
     
  20. dapip

    dapip Member+

    Sep 5, 2003
    South Florida
    Club:
    Millonarios Bogota
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    It was a combination of factors:

    1. It's a new track with not a lot of rubber on it, but plenty of dust, that makes hard to get good grip in some sections..

    2. Pirelli opted for the soft tires and the pundits agree that supersoft was probably the best compound for the race..

    3. Although the teams and pilots run simulations and try to learn the track and adjust the cars for the track conditions, there are some subtleties that cannot be simulated. It is a learning process and there is not a lot of data on a new track like this.


    I thought that there was going to be a lot more of passing given how wide this track is, but I guess that the overtaking areas were not as favorable as they looked..

    And yet, one more clash between Massa and Hamilton... I'm developing a theory of why is this happening so much.. I have the feeling that they see each other as a guy that should be lower in the tottem order, you know, something like Hamilton thinks "Hey, I'm a world champ I should be upfront with the others" and Massa thinks "This spoiled rolling wreck brat is trying to get by me again"...

    They need to work it out, I know that rigth now they do not have any respect for each other, but FIA should make it clear, one more incident between the two of you and BOTH of you will be blackflagged and/or suspended for a few races...
     
  21. Pedro's greasy do

    Nov 7, 2008
    London
    Club:
    Glasgow Rangers FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    Or they are both about the same speed this season?
     
  22. dapip

    dapip Member+

    Sep 5, 2003
    South Florida
    Club:
    Millonarios Bogota
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    Well, that they're almost always positioned one after the other is a result of being about as fast as the other, but the lack of respect for the other is what leads to the ongoing crashing...
     
  23. Pedro's greasy do

    Nov 7, 2008
    London
    Club:
    Glasgow Rangers FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    Well they are always going to try and pass each other.
     
  24. benztown

    benztown Member+

    Jun 24, 2005
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    As for the Massa/Hamilton crash, I think the penalty for Massa was a little bit too harsh.
    The TV pundits in Germany immediately said that it was Hamilton's fault more so than Massa's. I'm not sure I agree, but I certainly don't think the penalty was in order.
     
  25. dapip

    dapip Member+

    Sep 5, 2003
    South Florida
    Club:
    Millonarios Bogota
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    But how and when they do it and how they defend the position is what causes the wreckages...
     

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