Chinese GP 2009 - Shanghai

[djos]

Congratulation Sebastian Vettel! He is a true example of a champion. He had only 1 chance to qualify in Q2 and Q3, yet he snatch top spot from Webber. Remember, both cars had identical weights and performance. It is only down to driver and the better driver took the poll.

Sure... Webber is keeping Vettel honest but from what I can see, Vettel thrives under pressure and the win in Shanghai says it all!

I really want to see Vettel taking the championship this year.

Actually, Webber had 1 lap more fuel in his car!

Webber is alot better than people know... he just has terrible destiny... I dont think you will see Vettle dominating Webber in any way this year. Webber seems pretty damned determined to come back from the horrendous injuries he suffered this winter, and he's got alot of character as well. He's obviously a leader in the team and amongst the drivers.

If for any reason they are favoring Vettle it most probably is due to contract realities... Vettle could almost have any ride he wants next year whereas, Webber is pretty committed to the team.

Well put mate, I could not have said it better! =D>

I don't think Webber had always had bad luck. A lot of times he causes his own problems. I mean... why did he had to ride a bicycle so dangerously and injure himself? I do a lot of cycling myself so I know how much risk you can take before losing it.

Webber got hit by a 4WD coming around a blind corner on a dirt road, he was not riding dangerously at all! Causes his own problems?? seriously have you even been watching F1? Webber has had mechanical issues or other cars take him out on 98% of the occasions he has had a competitive car and rarely has he been at fault (08' British GP last year is one of these exceptions).

The reason why you and other's (who dont pay enuf attention) think that Webber is only a good qualifier is due to the fact that he keeps dragging crap cars into grid positions that they have no right to be in and is then swamped in the race.

Thankfully this year he has a great car and will be able to show the "doubters" what he is really made of!

Btw, if you want to see a race where Webbo actually had a good car and was going to land a podium with a quality drive, look back to the 06' Monaco GP and watch him battle Raikonen (Macca) and Nando (Renault) with more fuel onboard than the both of them only to have his Williams catch fire on lap 48 of the race (Kimi's Macca failed only 2 laps later as well).

[Giblet]

Remember his CLR Mercedes car?

What driver other than Mark Weber could be given a Mercedes that inverts.

He had two kinds of luck that day. bad for the crash, good he lived.

[PlatinumZealot]

I just want to state:

Bourdais, Nakajima and Piquet.. Are little boys and need to be kicked!

Good job to Vettel and Webber..

I was glad that a Brawn did not win again.

I enjoyed:

Hamilton's Passing the same people twice =D>
Webber and button fighting
Kubica writing off Trulli's car. (BMW mounting the Toyota)
piquet skidding around like a clown in the pitlane
Buemi doing good

[djos]

Remember his CLR Mercedes car?

What driver other than Mark Weber could be given a Mercedes that inverts.

He had two kinds of luck that day. bad for the crash, good he lived.

Shows the kind of Balls he has when the next day he went back out in his rebuilt car and flipped it again - I can just imagine the conversation when he got back to the pits; "Guy's, the car has an Aero problem!" and then when one of his team mates did the same thing "I See I told you the F'N car has an Aero problem!!!".

[ISLAMATRON]

BAlls of Unobtainium!

Of course its Webber's fault when he gets hit by semi-teammates like Vettle ramming him up the back in Fuji, behind the SC no less!

Or the several occasions when Rosberg took him out when they were teammates.

Aside from the the black cloud that follows him, if I were a team manager I would choose Webber as my #1 driver over at least 1 WDC in the field(KIMI) and possibly over Alonso since he would come much cheaper.

[lkocev]

I think that Mark Webber is an excellent driver and is only an asset to any team he is employed by. At this stage of his career he would have an absolute wealth of knowlege about setting up cars and working with engineers. Sure he may have some bad luck and may appear to have a black cloud following him around alot of the time but its obvious if the guy was no good, then no team would employ him. Its not like there is financial incentives for a team to have him, there would be no way that Mark could be as marketable as Vettel or Rosberg for example, so he obviously has something that is usefull to teams.

My top 3 performances of the Chinese GP 09;
1. Sebastian Vettel - He had an answer for everyone, and simply was in a class of his own.
2. Mark Webber - Fought hard for his 2nd place and had some nice battles with Button.
3. Heikki Kovalainen - Faultless race, in true professional style.

[vasia]

Congrats to RBR, they were certainly the fastest on this track and in these conditions.

Driver of the day for me though had to be Glock. He started at the back from the pitlane and finished 7th. At several points in the race he was lapping faster than Webber and close to Vettel.

Horrible day for BMW as well as Ferrari. It's looking to be a horrible year in general for BMW and Ferrari. Dissapointing race from Renault, they certainly did not have the pace in the wet. Very dissapointing for Trulli, struggled with his car then was knocked out.

Now hopefully we can see a dry race in Bahrain.

[andartop]

Mark Webber is an excellent driver, and he has been proving that since his first race in F1. However, his luck can only be compared with the great Carlos Sainz. Unfortunately, to become a WDC in F1 you need quite a lot of luck as well, so I'm afraid we might never get to cheer for him as much as we'd like to.

For all the people who are already talking about conspiracies within RBR, just remember that regardless of the fuel loads it's quite usual for the pit stop strategy to favor the guy in front, it's common practice and common sense, so I wouldn't bet on it just yet.

After this race as well, LH must be on his way to setting a new record: The Guy Who Managed To Get Off Track And Back On Without Having To Retire.
Yes, a good drive, but would have achieved a much better result if he wasn't mowing the lawn for half the race. And if you think how many times he's had a lucky escape and then went on to score serious points (ie Monaco last year anyone?) you'll agree with me on what I said about Mark Webber!!
Now people will start arguing that he goes off so often because he is pushing hard and so on.. You could argue both ways about it, but this is not what I'm talking about here, I'm talking about being lucky enough to be able to continue the race like nothing happened AFTER having a field trip..

And I never liked NP either, but please, when talking about "clowning" in the pit lane both LH AND the whole Ferrari team should have the first word..

[Richard]

Yep, the same exact turns he was 3 wheeling in was his demise. No way he could be competitive by going through those turns any slower. He put on a good fight with the stiff car in that condition though, even passing some drivers 3 times. I wonder what result would he have got had he not spin the first time? the 2 stop would have definitely put him on podium.

He never mastered that last corner into the pit straight. He mounted the apex on every quali lap and ended up boucing over the right hand kerb as a result. the only time he cleared the apex, was the only time he didn't mount the right hand kern on the exit, which was his fastest time.

The same happened in the race, all his spins were at that point. The onboard cameras showed LH fully mounting that apex which flung him wide to spin off at the exit of the corner. Meanwhile Button's onboard camera showed that he barely tounched the apex. Interestingly, it's the same bit of track wehre he took too much speed into the pit entrance gravel in the rain in 2007.

Post race, Button mentioned that bit of track had more water. I wonder if there is something about the layout/surface at that point that means LH struggles to judge his speed/position?

However, one guys who needs some serious wet weather practice is Kimi! He goes from race winner in the dry to liablity in the wet (monaco 08, belgium 08 etc etc?)

[donskar]

BAlls of Unobtainium!

Of course its Webber's fault when he gets hit by semi-teammates like Vettle ramming him up the back in Fuji, behind the SC no less!

Or the several occasions when Rosberg took him out when they were teammates.

Aside from the the black cloud that follows him, if I were a team manager I would choose Webber as my #1 driver over at least 1 WDC in the field(KIMI) and possibly over Alonso since he would come much cheaper.

[ISLAMATRON]

BAlls of Unobtainium!

Of course its Webber's fault when he gets hit by semi-teammates like Vettle ramming him up the back in Fuji, behind the SC no less!

Or the several occasions when Rosberg took him out when they were teammates.

Aside from the the black cloud that follows him, if I were a team manager I would choose Webber as my #1 driver over at least 1 WDC in the field(KIMI) and possibly over Alonso since he would come much cheaper.

Laugh if you want but I'd much rather a hard charger like Webber(minus the black cloud please) than a drunk imbecile like KIMI. Especially with the price difference... KIMI makes what? 30 million more a season?

[donskar]

BAlls of Unobtainium!

Of course its Webber's fault when he gets hit by semi-teammates like Vettle ramming him up the back in Fuji, behind the SC no less!

Or the several occasions when Rosberg took him out when they were teammates.

Aside from the the black cloud that follows him, if I were a team manager I would choose Webber as my #1 driver over at least 1 WDC in the field(KIMI) and possibly over Alonso since he would come much cheaper.

Laugh if you want but I'd much rather a hard charger like Webber(minus the black cloud please) than a drunk imbecile like KIMI.

[DaveKillens]

Once again, an Adrian Newey designed car has amazed the racing world. The guy is a geniune genius. It may have taken time, but Dietrich Mateschitz's plan is coming true.
For any team to score a 1 - 2 is amazing, and for a first time, even more so. Congratulations to all involved in Red Bull.
The rain screwed up some people's strategies, especially Alonso's. I know he was low on fuel at the start and had to refuel, but still, to qualify 2nd and wind up pretty well dead last when the green flag flew... amazing and discouraging. It appears the very tip of the nose section is cheap styrofoam, considering how that part disappeared under contact.
Both Mclaren and Ferrari started their respective seasons almost on par, with maybe Ferrari having the edge on testing. But pre-season testing means little when the actual racing starts, because this is a horrible start for Ferrari. Meanwhile Mclaren although having to deal with the same obstacles as Ferrari, have stayed true to their goals, and have come away with a few points. For the fans who remember Ferrari before the heady days of Michael Schumacher, it all seems so familiar. A team with fantastic resources, but somehow in dissaray. I feared that when the dream team left Ferrari that they would unravel.
Buemi has put the boots to his teammate, because for now, his star shines much brighter than Bourdais. Buemi has a great future, while Bourdais better start lining up a ride in the IRL for next year.
The rain made it a tough race, and many drivers shone through. But sadly, some drivers and teams were disappointments. I cannot express how disappointed I am in Ferrari.

[Metar]

With regards to pit-lane canoodling, Hamilton reserves the gold medal, followed by Ferrari and, guess who, Webber - who almost planted it in the gravel in Saturday's qualifying, but managed to keep going and escape.

Come on, with all his opinions, don't you secretly long to see ISLAMATRONF1 at the back of the grid?

[Richard]

a drunk imbecile like KIMI

About time the scrutineers did breath tests to encourage responsible driving.