I agree again. There going to be moving chicanes out there...

I think the problem with Virgin is the car was only ever tested in CFD, never in the tunnel, and the other two didn't even make it to a single test. Of course there gonna be way off the pace... None of them will even make the checkered flag, they'll be lucky to go half distance on Sunday.

 

Moving chicanes! Haha, I like that. And I'm sure they're the kind that will move to the wrong place at the wrong time even more frequently than Romain Grosjean.

 

F1 may have evolved alot in the past 20 years, but it was only 1990 that 35 cars showed up for raceday. The field had to be culled.


"This year there were a record of 35 cars listed, but as FIA rules do not allow more than 30 cars in the official practices it was necessary to create a way to select them. They created a pre-qualifying section with nine cars, whose team were not into thirteen places in the last half of the previous season. Of course all new teams were obligated to take part of it. Almost all the year teams like Life, Eurobrun, Coloni, AGS, Lola Larrousse and Osella have to decide who will take part at qualifying sections. For the races, only the 26 fastests cars will take place on the grid."

http://www.4mula1.ro/history/article/article15.html


Also, it was not that long ago that the sporting regulations required all runners to be within a certain percentage of the pole positions time to be allowed to race (those teams could still participate in all practices/quali). This was the kick to the **** that pushed and drove Minardi so hard.

EDIT: The rule was the "107% rule" discussed on Planet F1 today

http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6...k-the-107-rule

Just trying to point out that perhaps those who have only been fans for the past ~10 years (or less) might not understand how F1 used to be prior to total commercialization and Bernie's control.

 

And let us not forget the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix where Alan Prost won the race with a margin of over 20 seconds over second place.

Think about that.... a 20 second margin of victory. Over a small field where almost everybody was on a turbo.

Might have also been the year that the McLaren-Hondas won 15 of 16 races and the constructors championship with 199 points to Ferrari's 65.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Monaco_Grand_Prix

 

I saw that in the couple minutes of practice I watched when I was home for lunch, one WW Evo X.

 

My comment was relative to last year. Specifically, in the 2009 season, tire wear was not that much of an issue; fueling determined the pit stops by and large whereat the tires could be replaced as well. This year, however, fuel is not an issue (unless some are going to run short assuming a "safety car window") but rather the length of time they can run on the prime tire leaving the very short lapping soft tire for a sprint to the end. This is why the driver (and car) that can extend the long stint and still stay ahead is so important. So tomorrow even the fastest car may not be the overall winner in the race on Sunday if they cannot get the highest number of laps out of each tire type and stay at the front.

Later, Ken

 

I hear you... I think I was refering to the fact that you can't tell who has the pace on friday anymore due to the unknown as far as fuel load/weight each car is carrying. Its like trying to read into times from testing... you really can't.

 

Well the guessing game is over regarding who has the fastest car/driver combo running on vapors. That said, the next real test will be the race itself. Only Sutil ran on prime while the leaders ran the super soft. How well the latter will hold up on full fuel loads is another question in terms of creating a significant lead for some early laps before jumping in for the prime tires. Sutil may have the edge here if he can keep in contact with the front. Rest of field should be running prime tires and hope to catch up and then perhaps make a run on the super soft tires at the end.

Happy for Massa...he had to placate to Schumi while at Ferrari, then Kimi, then the accident and now Alonso but still edged the latter in Qualy...he is a bulldog with heart and a class act when giving his concession speech at the end of '09' season.

Also, Schumi and Button sucking wind....can they catch up to their team mates?

It appears that McLarens wing and snorkle wing stall as well as Brawn/Merc DD amounted to little relative to Newie's magic.

Later, Ken

 

Wow, that was a very telling round of qualifying.

The Ferrari's and Red Bull's sure do look fast.

I think today started to prove that Button is not as good as everyone started thinking he was last year.

karun chandhok running the first every lap for his car during qualifying is pretty much the definition of last minute effort.

I really think MS will only get better from here, The car seems to have characteristics that are worlds away from how his Ferrari used to be set up.

 

They could have started him from the pits and forgone quali..... Something tells me there would be some upset drivers if they had to put their lives on the line to drive race-speed on the same track as somebody kicking tires..... At that point, why not put the pace car in for points?

 

No they couldn't have, you have to at least take part in one practice session, qualifying is considered one of those sessions.

 

Yeah it's funny how all these things have happened here and there, rule changes etc... and the Redbulls which were the fastest cars at the end of the year are right back in front. Word. Go Vettel.

Looks like there was some serious sandbagging going on during the practice and test sessions. Good for them.

 

It helps to have the best aero guy in the world working on your car!


Im not so sure if it was sandbagging as much as full fuel testing

 

oh no!!! where was Jensen Button? what happened Jensen Button?

Carlos

 

Sucks for Vettel, but that's racing and its happened to so many people in the past.

Looks like Ferrari is starting strong this year and will be the force to beat.

Schumi, not a bad un-retirement, but don't expect him to be so mediocre for the rest of the season. I've never seen a driver as determined as him, so watch your mirrors kids.