Rate the Drivers - Marina Bay

[Saint Devote]

Definitely driver of the session was Vettel. The quickest man in F1 since 2009 and his laps were definitive, confident and super quick.

Versus Hamilton who definitely looked at sixes and sevens with his McLaren. Lewis was all over the kerbs and the slowest of the top five contenders.

Webber has HUGE problem in the form of an on-form Vettel and if Seb puts it all together - looks as if he will be difficult to beat. Mark has to demonstrate that it was not Vettel's problems that has allowed him to be ahead at RBR.

Jenson thrives on a track that is constantly changing, and with his smooth style and precise driving was only beaten by the RB06's.

Since Monza, Jense has had the upper hand at McLaren and is the quicker driver at McLaren - at least until qualifying tomorrow!!!

The technical changes since Monza appear to have suited Jense better than Hamilton - no doubt there will be frantic effort over night by the Hamilton side of the garage to rectify the situation.

Since Monza, this is not an experience that Hamilton is used to - and when he gets flustered he crashes.

Alonso I think has destroyed the morale of Massa. He has now gotten the team behind him and is a political manuverer and leader that Ferrari have been yearning for since Schumi left.

Whether Massa likes it or not, it is plain that Ferrari, pushed by Alonso, have made the choice, and this could be the strategem that wins Ferrari and Alonso the WDC title.

Vettel 10/10
Jense 8/10
Alonso/8/10
Webber 7/10
Hamilton 6/10

[Tazio]

SD that is a reasonably good assessment, however as much as I admire him, Kettle is a 9 at best. Having watched all of FP2 attentively The MP4/25 still looks stiff even in Bunsens hands, though I think he got all it was worth in that session. You're under-appreciating the Boss and under-grading Fred. The former deserves a 7 and the latter a 9. An 8 for Webbo is about all he earned but then again this was practice and we really don't know all the programs the teams were running. I expect a lot more out of Mark, and the Boss
But:
As Fred admitted he was not as fast as the Bulls, but he didn't get a single S3 on the options in FP2.
On his only lap that he ran on the options he was S1 28.9 and S2 41.5
Vettel best was S1 29.0 S2 41.4 We don't know the fuel loads so any comparisons are speculative.
However:

After reversing back onto the track, the double F1 World Champion's F10 then suddenly stopped – what was initially suspected to have been a stall, but transpired to be a gearbox gremlin – curtailing his running on the spot. That consigned the Oviedo native to fourth position at the close, with Massa – never quite on the same pace as the former Singapore Grand Prix-winner, who was fearsomely fast in sector three in particular – three places further back in seventh.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/24092010/23/ferrari-difficult-first-day-re-pace.html

So I'm thinking maybe SV (and the Bulls in general) have less in hand over Fred and to a lesser degree Massa, (who was complaining about set-up problems that will very likely be sorted out by Quali) and The Boss then the final FP2 times indicate! JMHFO

[Saint Devote]

SD that is a reasonably good assessment, however as much as I admire him, Kettle is a 9 at best. Having watched all of FP2 attentively The MP4/25 still looks stiff even in Bunsens hands, though I think he got all it was worth in that session. You're under-appreciating the Boss and under-grading Fred. The former deserves a 7 and the latter a 9. An 8 for Webbo is about all he earned but then again this was practice and we really don't know all the programs the teams were running. I expect a lot more out of Mark, and the Boss
But:
As Fred admitted he was not as fast as the Bulls, but he didn't get a single S3 on the options in FP2.
On his only lap that he ran on the options he was S1 28.9 and S2 41.5
Vettel best was S1 29.0 S2 41.4 We don't know the fuel loads so any comparisons are speculative.
However:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/24092010/23/ferrari-difficult-first-day-re-pace.html

So I'm thinking maybe SV (and the Bulls in general) have less in hand over Fred and to a lesser degree Massa, (who was complaining about set-up problems that will very likely be sorted out by Quali) and The Boss then the final FP2 times indicate! JMHFO

And something rarely seen with Jense - he was sliding the rear of the car around - oversteer at I think it was turn 5 - to get it going through the corner.

WHewre was Lewis?? He was slow all session. And his complaint against the redone chicane lost credibility because he was very rough over those kerbs.

I am not saying that he will not get the job done - Lewis can never be underestimated - but considering that he usually goes extremely well at Marina Bay, this was for him well below par. I think he is feeling pressure from Jense and has done since the Monza weekend.

Usually the fuel loads and tyres practiciing for the race is during the last 30 mins and Jense was still consistently quicker than Lewis.

But your ratings are fair - this is after all rather subjective :s mokin:

[Saint Devote]

I don't think we've seen the best of the Mclarens yet and Lewis being the fastest driver in sector three is a promising sign. Ferrari appear to have setup problems much like Mclaren, but its only practise so we can read into it as much as we like and know nothing.. :)

As far as Lewis and Alonso are concerned I cannot disagree with you.

[AndyL]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/24092010/23/ferrari-difficult-first-day-re-pace.html

So I'm thinking maybe SV (and the Bulls in general) have less in hand over Fred and to a lesser degree Massa, (who was complaining about set-up problems that will very likely be sorted out by Quali) and The Boss then the final FP2 times indicate! JMHFO

Here are the "theoretical best times" from FP2 - i.e. the drivers' best sectors added together. It looks better for Fernando, but scarcely so for Massa or the McLarens.



Sebastian Vettel 1:46.620
Fernando Alonso 1:47.066 +0.446
Mark Webber 1:47.215 +0.595
Lewis Hamilton 1:47.595 +0.975
Jenson Button 1:47.611 +0.991
Rubens Barrichello 1:47.945 +1.325
Felipe Massa 1:48.100 +1.480
Nico Rosberg 1:48.649 +2.029
Nico Hulkenberg 1:48.710 +2.090
Michael Schumacher 1:48.767 +2.147
Robert Kubica 1:48.807 +2.187
Kamui Kobayashi 1:49.180 +2.560
Adrian Sutil 1:49.261 +2.641
Vitaly Petrov 1:49.536 +2.916
Vitantonio Liuzzi 1:49.540 +2.920
Nick Heidfeld 1:49.543 +2.923
Jaime Alguersuari 1:49.943 +3.323
Sebastien Buemi 1:50.581 +3.961
Heikki Kovalainen 1:51.685 +5.065
Timo Glock 1:51.812 +5.192
Lucas di Grassi 1:53.029 +6.409
Jarno Trulli 1:53.526 +6.906
Bruno Senna 1:54.668 +8.048
Christian Klien 1:55.218 +8.598


Go Rubens :)

[Tazio]

Here are the "theoretical best times" from FP2 - i.e. the drivers' best sectors added together. It looks better for Fernando, but scarcely so for Massa or the McLarens.



Sebastian Vettel 1:46.620
Fernando Alonso 1:47.066 +0.446
Mark Webber 1:47.215 +0.595
Lewis Hamilton 1:47.595 +0.975
Jenson Button 1:47.611 +0.991
Rubens Barrichello 1:47.945 +1.325
Felipe Massa 1:48.100 +1.480
Nico Rosberg 1:48.649 +2.029
Nico Hulkenberg 1:48.710 +2.090
Michael Schumacher 1:48.767 +2.147
Robert Kubica 1:48.807 +2.187
Kamui Kobayashi 1:49.180 +2.560
Adrian Sutil 1:49.261 +2.641
Vitaly Petrov 1:49.536 +2.916
Vitantonio Liuzzi 1:49.540 +2.920
Nick Heidfeld 1:49.543 +2.923
Jaime Alguersuari 1:49.943 +3.323
Sebastien Buemi 1:50.581 +3.961
Heikki Kovalainen 1:51.685 +5.065
Timo Glock 1:51.812 +5.192
Lucas di Grassi 1:53.029 +6.409
Jarno Trulli 1:53.526 +6.906
Bruno Senna 1:54.668 +8.048
Christian Klien 1:55.218 +8.598


Go Rubens :)
Like I stated above FA recorded his best s1 and s2 times on the same lap and didn't record an S3 on options at all. As the article I quoted said, Alonso was very fast in s3 on primes. I'm suggesting he may be even closer than .446. As for Massa I think he be much closer to Fred than times have indicated to this point Massa was .4 slower in s3 on options than FA was on primes!