Chinese GP 2012 - Shanghai

[myurr]

Last 25 laps of that race were thrilling though, and watching Webber overtake Vettel had me laughing out loud

Yes it did rather turn overturn stereotypes:

- Rosberg can't win races
- Hamilton is the master overtaker
- Button can't scrap
- Webber doesn't have the talent to be a team mate to Vettel

Errr why did it show Hamilton isn't the master overtaker? He pulled off a string of great overtakes throughout that race including several that weren't reliant on DRS.

[Richard]

Didn't he take a while to get past Massa and Vettel compared to Button?

[myurr]

Didn't he take a while to get past Massa and Vettel compared to Button?

Don't particularly recall that. He'd had to come past a couple of other cars as well, such as Webber, and had slightly older tyres so seemed to be suffering with more understeer through the high corners when he was in another cars wake.

Throughout the race as a whole he certainly made more overtakes than Button and didn't get caught behind any one driver for a long period.

[Hangaku]

Indeed, at one point Lewis was 2 or 3 places behind Jenson, and considering that he finished just behind him, implies that he was in fact doing as good a job if not possibly better.

[ell66]

Didn't he take a while to get past Massa and Vettel compared to Button?

no, not particularly, he made as many passes as anyone, so your comment makes no sense at all.

[Pup]

I do think that prior to last year, Hamilton would have taken some more risk in those passes. He seemed really gun shy to me at times. Of course he made those passes eventually, so there's an argument that patience was the better strategy.

[SiLo]

His patience and steadiness reminds me of 2007 and 2008. Both when he almost/did win the championship.

[Ferraripilot]

Last 25 laps of that race were thrilling though, and watching Webber overtake Vettel had me laughing out loud

Yes it did rather turn overturn stereotypes:

- Rosberg can't win races
- Hamilton is the master overtaker
- Button can't scrap
- Webber doesn't have the talent to be a team mate to Vettel

Well said Mr Leeds. All true. Shame about Michael though as I was very curious to see his setup on medium fuel stints with soft and medium tires vs Nico.

Bahrain should be very good for Mercedes as well with essentially 3 straights.

[beelsebob]

Didn't he take a while to get past Massa and Vettel compared to Button?

Probably because he was being rather careful of that particular customer, knowing Massa's magnetism towards his car.

[Richard]

You've all latched onto Hamilton's patience (I'm sure I can remember the commentators saying he was being more cautious than Button when they were both passing Massa and Vettel at the end but that could be my memory).

Anyway, IMHO the biggest overturning of stereotypes was Webber finishing ahead of Vettel.

[myurr]

You've all latched onto Hamilton's patience (I'm sure I can remember the commentators saying he was being more cautious than Button when they were both passing Massa and Vettel at the end but that could be my memory).

Anyway, IMHO the biggest overturning of stereotypes was Webber finishing ahead of Vettel.

It just seemed like an unnecessary, and somewhat curious, bash of someone who had just completed more overtakes than any other driver in that race, many of which were not DRS assisted, who has history with both those drivers.

The other points are true though and it was indeed very very telling that the team didn't call Webber off from overtaking Vettel. The Sky crew were even joking about that after the race. I would imagine that didn't help Vettel's mood at all.

Another interesting thing that was raised in Ted's report was that it wasn't a solitary call over the radio where Vettel was bitching about Red Bulls straight line speed but rather was a stream of comments. I would imagine his thoughts on the matter weren't helped by his own team mate getting past him.

[NonNewtonic]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQZ0LQZ ... ure=relmfu[/youtube]

A very good comparison indeed the only difference between the 2 drivers is that Rosberg is more aggressive in tackling the kerbs while Michael made a few mistakes that cost him a few tenths

[Pup]

IMHO the biggest overturning of stereotypes was Webber finishing ahead of Vettel.

Is that really a stereotype? Or rather, did the race really change that? I think Webber performed about to my expectations: awful start, good tire management, tricky at times but never a real threat. If either was a surprise, to me it was Vettel. Maybe his strategy flattered his performance, but I didn't expect him to finish as high as he did.

But then I'm one of those who thinks that Vettel is a lot like these tires - narrow operating window - so it doesn't surprise me when Webber beats him.

[prince]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQZ0LQZ ... ure=relmfu

A very good comparison indeed the only difference between the 2 drivers is that Rosberg is more aggressive in tacking the kerbs while Michael made a few mistakes that cost his a few tenths

Fantastic video!!! Thank you @NonNewtonic. Few things to point out.
1. By watching the video, its hard to belive that one driver is 43 and the other is 26.
2. This year is a great evidence to silence all the critics of Schumi. I hope they watch this video. There was all sort of non-sense that in Michael's dominant age, there were no talented drivers like Vettels, Hamiltons and GOD-KNOWS-WHOs. Schumi has lost it and just does not belong here anymore blah blah blah. The great man is still on par of all these young farts. I remember a month back Eddie Irvine said, "Schumi is just selling sub-standard product". Really? A number 2 can atleast should think, if not drive, like a number 1.
3. Keeping away from Kerbs is a good way of driving, especially in the age of Pirellis.
4. Finally, the evidence of a good racing car, NO LATINO REAR. Completely planted at corners while on attack.

[Paul]

This race again highlighted the difference between mentality of Button and Hamilton.

Button is the ultimate "DRS overtaker", he plans out his whole lap to give him the best possible opportunity to overtake in the DRS zone and often leaves no chance to his opponent. I don't think anyone does that better than him.

Hamilton, on the other hand, still relies on his previous instincts, he likes to jump on opponents in places they don't expect it, and risks losing time and not being close enough to exploit the DRS advantage.

As a result sometimes he overtakes half a lap earlier than Button would, sometimes it takes him an extra lap.