Italian GP 2010 - Monza

[Tim.Wright]

WhiteBlue, what happened to your boy??

Tim

[Morteza]

Red Bull were really weak in qualifying. Alonso lap did surprise me, fantastic result for Alonso in his first Italian GP with Ferrari. Rosberg also did for Mercedes ending up ahead of Kubica. Have you noticed the time difference between Kubica and Hulkenberg? It's 0.002s!

[raymondu999]

Tell you guys what. Alonso taking a win, Button staying 2nd, and Vettel going to 3rd with Hamilton and Webber non-scoring would be the best outcome for this championship. It'll keep it alive and much more interesting

[Shrieker]

My prediction: Hamilton, Button, Alonso.

Hamilton again showing his overtaking flair, this time against his chief rivals all in one race.

[Goran2812]

Hamilton ending in 1st...? Don't think that's gonna happen with his setup and no f-duct. He said ih himself that he made a mistake opting not to run with it...
Unusual circumstances are the only thing that can put him on P1 at the end of the race...

[marcush.]

Hamilton can still hope for a podium ,my bet is on Button bagging the win.mayve Mclaren 1-2?
but on second thought my doubt rise..the rising temps cost hamilton in terms of grip and Buttons topspeed is almost as bad as the HRTs.....it willl be a entertaining race.

[ringo]

He can still win.
Knowing that he has a top speed advantage and looking on q2 times, i'm not taking him seriously.
How could hamilton start fifth and not at least overtake 2 people?

Another thing that will make his life easier is that the track will rubber in.

I'm more interested in what Vettel is thinking about. He's going to fall back in the standings if all his rivals are ahead.


My predicitions:

Alonso holds onto to P1 on lap1.
Massa jumps Button and holds up the field.
Hamilton jumps Webber.
Vettel and Webber fight.

Lap 2 will be interesting, will Hamilton take on Button?

[Shrieker]

Having said that, I have serious doubts about Hamilton even making it out of the first corner in one piece. Webber will give no quarter to him, and Vettel - oh well...

[ringo]

Vettel wont give Webber a chance to attack Hamilton.

Hamilton's setup is not as bad as he makes it out to be. He just had a bad q3 with traffic. Judging from Q1 and 2 the car looks like it's as fast as Button's setup. He may be flying past some of the front runners on the straight.

[Giblet]

Considering the race pace has been generally better all year for Mclaren then their quali, they might be in a decent position tomorrow. The Ferrari has been hard on the tires, and Alonso and Massa who will be defending him (without tema orders of course they are illegal!!) might not be in a very good spot in the latter half of the race.

[andrew]

Having said that, I have serious doubts about Hamilton even making it out of the first corner in one piece. Webber will give no quarter to him, and Vettel - oh well...

First corner bang between Hamilton and Webber you reckon?

[KPGS]

He can still win.
Knowing that he has a top speed advantage and looking on q2 times, i'm not taking him seriously.

What top speed advantage? 2km/h in S1, 2km/h in S2, 1km/h in S3, or 3km/h on speed trap?
*compared to Ferrari (S3 compared to ALO only, cause Massa is faster)

[PlatinumZealot]

He has a 15kph over Button. But also note that:

1. his car is less affected by dirty air. His downforce will lessen but not as much of a percentage as the full DF cars. So in turns his car will get slightly more difficult but if he can keep it together he should be able to keep a consistent lap time even in dirty air.

2. Other cars cannot follow him closely. That is, the air pressure behind is car is greater.

3. He can draft more effectively.

So there are some advantages. The best way for him to make use of these is to get on pole position, which he did not do - or Pass as many cars as possible in the first few laps. Good calculated turn extis will be required because his brake distance will increase slightly.

[Miguel]

Today was one of those very rare instances where Hamilton botched both Q3 laps. I was really surprised when I saw him not backing up enough in the backstraight before the parabolica. From then on, his last lap was compromised. Maybe he was too close to the corner and had no chance actually of going at full speed down the straight had he braked more?

How could hamilton start fifth and not at least overtake 2 people?

Ermm.... what about trying to turn in at the first corner and being hit by Rubens? What about being pushed off the track by Webber?

Anyway, I can't see Button ending in the same position after two laps. He's got a traction advantage and a clear speed disadvantage. The tiniest mistake on the first two laps will make him a sitting duck for the driver behind.

[KPGS]

He has a 15kph over Button. But also note that:

1. his car is less affected by dirty air. His downforce will lessen but not as much of a percentage as the full DF cars. So in turns his car will get slightly more difficult but if he can keep it together he should be able to keep a consistent lap time even in dirty air.

Makes me wonder, why then he ended up behind Webber in Q3. Can't keep it together?
IMHO, overtaking for Hamilton will be very hard, at least Variante Ascari / Parabolica will be difficult for him to keep up.