Chinese GP 2011 - Shanghai

[tok-tokkie]

Some of the informed comments here that have struck me:

1. 3 stopper was definitely an advantage here. But at previous 2 races several drivers advanced though being on a 2 stopper. It is track & conditions dependent.

2. Webber showed that it is worth getting the hards out of the way on the first stint especially if you then have new softs to run on. Preserving softs is very benificial (see #3 also).

3. Hamilton suffered in Malaysia through tyre strategy but benefited here. He was particularly pleased to have a set of new softs saved for the race.

4. The revised tyres have really increased the importance of having a good race strategy. It is no longer just a sprint race in qualifying followed by a sprint to the first corner then control the race from the front. F1 is much enhanced by the revised tyres.

[volarchico]

During the press conference he said:

Congratulations to Lewis. It's good that someone finally, um... of course it's... Seb on the same team, but uh... He's been on a phenomenal run and we're all here fighting for victory, so uh... Shame McLaren won in a way, but it's also, we can't let Seb get to far away. So it was a good day for the racing, I think.

It's even funnier to read than it was to watch!

[marcush.]

To time your stop with the quickest car ,as Button did was a good move-stopping in front of the RB guys surely not...cost him track position no doubt.

Aligning your startegy for rosberg and Alonso is just useless for Vettel.All he had to do is make use of the speed of the car instead of wasting time behind cars.
(Heidfeld ,Petrov did the same ..not even for them it paid off).
So as soon as you lose track position -as Vettel did - you change to a strategy giving you air to breath and extract performance not use up your guns in fighting.

early stop for new softs ...wait for the rest to pit and put the hammer down.Rosberg very finely executed this sort of strategy.

[andrew]

During the press conference he said:

Congratulations to Lewis. It's good that someone finally, um... of course it's... Seb on the same team, but uh... He's been on a phenomenal run and we're all here fighting for victory, so uh... Shame McLaren won in a way, but it's also, we can't let Seb get to far away. So it was a good day for the racing, I think.

Webber has got to be the plonker of the paddock. Yet again shooting his mouth of and as soon as he does looking like regretted it. Vettel looked like he was only half listening and had a look of "say what now?" and Hamilton looked more "oh s**t...."

I know it was meant to be a joke but there some things that are not the wisest to say.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Webbo shoots from the hip, I applaud him for that.

What did you make of Vettels crazy gesture then Andrew? You go doing stuff like that, then you open yourself up to comments like the one Webber made.

[andrew]

I didn't like the crazy gesture either but that can be explained to some extent as being in the heat of the moment. Webber really had nothing to complain about yesterday at all.

[komninosm]

To imagine - if Hamilton hadn't gotten that car repaired in time, we would've had an RBR 1-2, amazingly. 2nd place from 18th would have been candidate of drive for the year.

I reckon it's got to be drive of the year already anyway, 18th to 3rd is the kind of stunt Shuey used to pull occasionally! Frankly I dont remember any other drivers managing this sort of feat in recent seasons.

Didn't Hamilton or someone else do something similar a year or two ago?

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

I didn't like the crazy gesture either but that can be explained to some extent as being in the heat of the moment. Webber really had nothing to complain about yesterday at all.

No? Team sending him out on the wrong tyre, persistant KERS issues and other problems that dont seem to be hurting Vettel. I think Webber knows its his last year at Red Bull, he doesnt care whose feathers he ruffles and again, I applaud him for speaking his mind.

And hes right, Who wants to see Vettel scamper off into the distance other than WhiteBlue.....

[andrew]

I didn't like the crazy gesture either but that can be explained to some extent as being in the heat of the moment. Webber really had nothing to complain about yesterday at all.

No? Team sending him out on the wrong tyre, persistant KERS issues and other problems that dont seem to be hurting Vettel. I think Webber knows its his last year at Red Bull, he doesnt care whose feathers he ruffles and again, I applaud him for speaking his mind.

And hes right, Who wants to see Vettel scamper off into the distance other than WhiteBlue.....

Oh here's the Red Bull conspiracy theory again. Did you not see yesterdays race? Vettels KERS was not working either, in fact both drivers had dodgy KERS units in Malaysia and China, and he was one the wrong strategy whilst Webber was. I think Webber has very little to complain about. Webber is lucky to still sit in an Adrian Newey car considering some of his comments last year.

[Just_a_fan]

Regardless of the reason that Vettel got past, the end result was he got past, and after the 1st round of stops, Vettel was ahead of the MacMercs; what Tumbarello is saying (I believe) is that they should have just mirrored the McLarens' strategy, but it seemed like they were afraid Rosberg and Massa would 2 stop, and the fresher tyres might not be enough to make up the 18 or so seconds lost in the stops

At that stage it was looking increasingly like the McLarens were going to be lucky to get near the podium, let alone on it, so it was probably not an unreasonable position for RBR to take (if it's actually what they did).

What appears to have happened is that McLaren played a bit of a blind side shuffle on the field and their drivers were able to turn up the wick when they needed to. Hamilton appeared to be 3 to 5 tenths off Massa's pace in S2 for several laps in the middle stints but suddenly came alive almost like someone flicked a switch. It was most strange to watch the timing screens and seeing it unfold. I doubt they'll get away with it in future. RBR will be concentrating on McLaren for the next couple of races - this might actually allow Ferrari (and Mercedes?) to steal some extra points as has happened in the last couple of seasons.

[Just_a_fan]

What did you make of Vettels crazy gesture then Andrew?

Which gesture? After the race?

[i70q7m7ghw]

God, all you seem do is complain Andrew...

[Boost]

To imagine - if Hamilton hadn't gotten that car repaired in time, we would've had an RBR 1-2, amazingly. 2nd place from 18th would have been candidate of drive for the year.

I reckon it's got to be drive of the year already anyway, 18th to 3rd is the kind of stunt Shuey used to pull occasionally! Frankly I dont remember any other drivers managing this sort of feat in recent seasons.

Didn't Hamilton or someone else do something similar a year or two ago?

Kimi Raikkonen managed last to first at the Japanese GP in 2005.

[djos]

What did you make of Vettels crazy gesture then Andrew?

Which gesture? After the race?

The "crazy" finger gesture after Vettel retired trying to drive his car thru Webber's while Webber was leading the race at Turkey last year.

[xxChrisxx]

God, all you seem do is complain Andrew...

True dat.