Japanese GP 2009 - Suzuka

[Miguel]

If they cancel the times set under yellow in Q2, how many drivers will have no time at all?

Just the two Brawns, I think.

By the way, how come everybody was having issues at Degner? Are the kerbs there particularly high?

[JamesS]

Weights just appeared: http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1 ... eights.pdf

[zgred]

Maybe more than two Brawns.

Drivers summoned by Stewards for ignoring yellows

At least five drivers have been summoned to appear before the stewards and may face penalties for ignoring yellow flags during Saturday's qualifying session at Suzuka.
(...)

UPDATE

Five drivers given grid penalties

Championship leader Jenson Button, team-mate Rubens Barrichello, Renault driver Fernando Alonso, Force India's Adrian Sutil and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi were given five-place grid penalties after the session.

That was not the way Alonso wanted. "He who lives by the sword will die by the sword".

[dave34m]

Wow thats funny, Alonso getting punished for not lifting, very good.
Didnt he say that he was sure he would be starting well up the grid after all those who cheated got a penalty.

I do think that the Brawns deserved a bigger penalty than 5 places. They gained a lot more by making it into Q3 on that lap so their penalty should be greater.

[JamesS]

1) Vettel 658.5
2) Trulli 655.5
3) Hamilton 656.0
4) Heidfeld 660.0
5) Raikkonen 661.0
6) Rosberg 684.5
7) Kubica 686.0
8) Sutil 650.0
9) Barrichello 660.5
10) Alguersuari 682.5
11) Button 658.5
12) Fisichella 661.5
13) Kovalainen 675.0
14) Buemi 665.4
15) Nakajima 695.7
16) Grosjean 691.8
17) Alonso 689.5
18) Liuzzi 682.5
19) Glock N/A
20) Webber N/A

(Penalties taken into consideration)

[ESPImperium]

Fuel adjusted drid:

1] Vettel
2] Trulli
3] Barrichello
4] Raikkonen
5] Hamilton
6] Button
7] Heidfeld
8] Sutil
9] Kovalinen (No time recorded, but still better placed than Buemi)
10] Buemi (No time recorded)

My provisional Grid:

1] Vettel
2} Trulli
3] Hamilton
4] Heidfeld
5] Raikkonen
6] Kovalinen
7] Rosberg
8] Alonso
9] Sutil
10] Barrichello
11] Kubica
12} Button
13] Alguersuari
14] Button
15] Fisichella
16} Nakajimma
17] Grosjean
18] Liuzzi
PIT] Webber
PIT] Glock

Glock & Webber change survival cell so they can choose strategy and setup on day of race, as they start from the pit lane due to survival cell change.

[dave34m]

Alguersuari in 10th and Fisichella in 12th. Those penalties certainly shake up the grid a bit.

[Confused_Andy]

Ignore me...

[ESPImperium]

My data (with new and improved section):

[modbaraban]

I do think that the Brawns deserved a bigger penalty than 5 places. They gained a lot more by making it into Q3 on that lap so their penalty should be greater.

That's a ridiculous rule. Nobody deserves a penalty for driving not politically correct. That's what it is in reality. Loosing a few tenths in that sector wouldn't make it any safer. If the stewards wanted safety they'd get the red flag out. Otherwise they should stick it up their

At the end of the day, safe speed is the speed that allows you to avoid accidents. That's what traffic rules say (where I live at least).

That crap about not improving your sector time has nothing to do with safety and is utter formal BS

/rant

[ISLAMATRON]

I used to think like you, until I saw Alonso slam into Webber's debris in Brazil a couple years back, they have to slow down and take caution or somebody is really really gonna get hurt.

But yes they should have red flagged it, so that the drivers could not finish their laps and thus had no incentive to blast thru the yellow zone. The drivers had plenty of time before his accident to bank in a lap, but they chose to sit back.

[ESPImperium]

Im shure if the FIA wanted to, they could have a thing put thrugh the ECU where it is connected to the RPM limiter where drivers going thru the yellow flag section get their RPM maxed to arround 12000rpm in the maximum gear of say 4th gear, limiting them to a maximum of 150Kph to 200Kph for example.

We have the ability now, why the hell dont the FIA use it???

[WhiteBlue]

I would not be astonished if the Brawns started from 5 or 10 places futher down the grid, same with Heidfeld and anyone else that gained when the Bueni yellow was out.

That note about Heidfeld was completely opposite to what actually happened. Heidfeld was setting a fastest time (pink) in sector one and a personal best in sector two but he slowed ten seconds down in sector three where Buemi's debris had caused the yellow. So he was massively disadvantaged actually by being very cautious while others were flying by.

[modbaraban]

I used to think like you, until I saw Alonso slam into Webber's debris in Brazil a couple years back, they have to slow down and take caution or somebody is really really gonna get hurt.

I see your point. But going 95% of the speed is not really slowing down anywhere near enough. It just doesn't work for safety.

Throwing a red flag immediately would let everyone go slow enough.

BTW, why did the marshals let Buemi drive his car back to the pits and then get penalty for that?

Im shure if the FIA wanted to, they could have a thing put thrugh the ECU where it is connected to the RPM limiter where drivers going thru the yellow flag section get their RPM maxed to arround 12000rpm in the maximum gear of say 4th gear, limiting them to a maximum of 150Kph to 200Kph for example.

We have the ability now, why the hell dont the FIA use it???

Imagine going for a hot lap and then suddenly someone starts shifting gears mid-corner for you. I guess it would be a spectacular telemetry induced concertina effect crash feast -> multiple yellow flags everywhere

[timbo]

Anyone else thinks that there should be additional flag meaning "debris on track"?
Today yellow flag is out for the whole range of different situations and sometimes it is clear that drivers need to lift, but sometimes they only need to drive with caution. Moreover ahead of a blind corners yellow flag doesn't tell whether there's a problem there that may require you to change trajectory.