Spanish GP 2012 - Barcelona

[Hail22]

My Final order for the race finish (Top 10):

1st: Alonso
2nd: Raikkonen
3rd: Webber
4th Button
5th: Hamilton
6th: Grosjean
7th: Perez
8th: Vettel
9th: Michael Schumacher
10th: Rosberg

[banibhusan]

Don't the teams have to qualify on the fuel load they are going to start the race with? Or is that just the tires?

No. It's just the tyres. Race starts with a full tank, i.e. around 160kgs of fuel. Q3 always happens with the minimal amount of fuel for a single lap run, i.e. Out lap-flying lap-in lap.

[multisync]

I think if MW had called the stewards as LH stopped and told them why he failed to return to the pits they may have got off lighter. The error is trying to dupe the stewards by calling the stop a technical fault. He had 1.3L of fuel left when he stopped. 2L per lap means he would have struggled to get back with sufficient fuel (1L)for the test. Perhaps he would have been better to try to get back on tick over in 6th gear and hope for the best...
I don't know if the stewards drain out all the fuel and take a 1L sample or just draw off 1L and test that. If it's the former it makes the stopping/fibbing out on track even more stupid, if it's the latter then it may have been worth the risk

The punishment isn't for low fuel it's a message to them/all. Do what you want, but don't lie to us.

[jdlyon]

I don't remember this - how many hot laps did Hamilton do in Q3? Maybe that was one more than Mclaren expected? I can't believe that so experienced team could do so basic mistake. Again...

I doubt it was a mistake. The FIA told them (everyone) to knock it off and McLaren thought they were bluffing. The fact that Lewis had a 6 tenth gap is irrelevant. What if a college student gets caught cheating on their exam? Do you not follow the class policy to fail him out of the class because he would have passed even with a 0 on this particular exam? What if this student had already been caught cheating before and let off with a warning?

McLaren let Lewis down. It happens. Maybe the fuel guy made a mistake, either way McLaren dropped the ball. The FIA have to draw the line somewhere otherwise 10 cars will be towed in after every qualifying.

The punishment isn't for low fuel it's a message to them/all. Do what you want, but don't lie to us.

Did McLaren try to hide that they stopped for fuel reasons? Of all teams I would think they would know not to lie to the stewards.

[feni_remmen]

No one here claims Mclaren was innocent!

Problem is the fairness.

People who thinks penalty was right, what's your thoughts on last race winner Vettel's stopping right after the finish line???

Please...

just as side note, I am rooting for Raikonnen this year.

Okay, well the 2 issues are unrelated. First off, what McLaren did is explicitly against the rules, so Lewis should have been penalized. And I think it was probably correct to let the teams know that following on with this strategy will not be tolerated.

As for comparing stopping after the race to stopping after qualifying: Think through why these situations should arise...
In both cases the teams must judge how much fuel is needed for the given number of laps.
The teams can gain an advantage by fueling the cars with the lowest amount possible for those laps.
In both cases they need a sample amount to remain in the car afterwards.

However in qualifying the teams will be able to gain a small advantage by fueling for 1 lap less. They can do the same in the race, but as the race is far longer the teams will not be able to measure the advantage they will gain with anything like the same accuracy. It may in fact limit their performance. The teams already account for some fuel saving during the race to allow them a lighter car for racing.

If the teams are allowed to stop immediately after qualifying finishes, then it is probable (or at least possible) that every team will follow that procedure and all the cars would be lined up at the end of the main straight, out of fuel, with their fuel sample ready to go. This will never happen in the race, because the teams are not able to accurately calculate their fuel consumption to such a fine extent. It would be a worry to any team if they are unable to complete a slowdown lap after a race, as the teams would consider this to be too fine and exposes the car to actually running out of fuel in the race (though the measuring equipment the teams have would allow to manage this).

So, in summing up, as harsh as the penalty appears, Lewis, through no fault of his own, broke the rules and he should have been disqualified. And their should be no link drawn between stopping after a race and after qualifying.

(PS. I don't really like Lewis, but he is fantastic and he deserved to be on pole. I'd have loved to see him starting there...)

[Mestrades]

This is how the sky is in Montmelo right now.


Weather
14:00 PR 43% AT 21º CC 100% H 71%
15:00 PR 47% AT 22º CC 100% H 73%
16:00 PR 51% AT 21º CC 100% H 76%

PR: Probabilities of rain
AT: Air temperature
CC: Cloud cover
H: Humidity

[elFranZ]

I'm reading there's still a 50% chance of rain, and a significative drop in temperatures. This will affect tyre's behaviour for sure, maybe letting longer stints on options.

[wunderkind]

I'm not going to watch the race today out of sheer anger of the McLaren team. But I do hope Hamilton will charge up the field similar to the races when McLaren let Raikkonen down and win.

McLaren knew the rules and they were too smart for their own good. I'm glad the FIA did not accept McLaren's interpretation of force majeure. They were right to be penalized. I pity hamilton, he drove his heart out to qualify the car on pole.

[AnthonyG]

Rain radar spain
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/ ... &SLP=0&W=0

satelite
http://www.weathercast.co.uk/satellite- ... rared.html

Tbh, I'd be very surprised if it would rain.

[elFranZ]

I'm not going to watch the race today out of sheer anger of the McLaren team. But I do hope Hamilton will charge up the field similar to the races when McLaren let Raikkonen down and win.

I understand, but angry Hamilton starting last is just sufficient to sit down, have a fresh beer and enjoy what I believe will be a very nice race

[quizeye]

Just a quick thought on the subject of whether the penalty was harsh given the inherent performance advantage of the McLaren: the FIA International Sporting Code paragraph 58 says: "If a car is found not comply with the technical regulations, it shall be no defence to claim that no performance advantage was obtained."

[myurr]

I'm reading there's still a 50% chance of rain, and a significative drop in temperatures. This will affect tyre's behaviour for sure, maybe letting longer stints on options.

I hope that this happens and that McLaren are smart enough to start Lewis from the pits. They can then make significant changes to the cars setup, slap on a new gearbox, and send him out with a car dialed in to the conditions. Given how fast the car was yesterday that should lead to a very exciting race.

[multisync]

I'm not going to watch the race today out of sheer anger of the McLaren team. But I do hope Hamilton will charge up the field similar to the races when McLaren let Raikkonen down and win.

McLaren knew the rules and they were too smart for their own good. I'm glad the FIA did not accept McLaren's interpretation of force majeure. They were right to be penalized. I pity hamilton, he drove his heart out to qualify the car on pole.

You might to get your life back in order. We are talking about a sport not the Nuremberg trials...

[Mestrades]

The sun is appearing in the middle of the clouds!

[Teechnical]

The only scenario that I hope doesn't happen is a start behind the safety car. That plain pisses me off.