Turkish Grand Prix of 2011 - Official Thread

[gloomyDAY]

Wow, only a few hours before P1 and nobody has setup the thread?

Wake-up people! This may be the last time we see this racetrack in F1. :(

http://www.istanbulparkcircuit.com/upload/6874/EN-GB/IMG9_Large.jpg

http://www.ausmotive.com/F1/2010/RBR-Turkish-GP-crash.jpg

Watch F1 Turkish Grand Prix 2011 Live Stream Online - Istanbul GP here. There have only been five Turkish Grands Prix but Felipe Massa has dominated three of them with pole position and victory.

http://www.sportsbun.com/turkish-grand-prix-2011-live-stream-formula-1-istanbul-f1/

[AndyL]

FIA technical delegate Joe Bauer was having a good look at Vettel's crashed car this morning apparently, I wonder if he saw anything interesting!

[pino]

Pos Driver Team Time Laps

1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.670s 13
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m40.072s + 1.402 14
3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m40.132s + 1.462 18
4. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m40.338s + 1.668 9
5. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m40.401s + 1.731 10
6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.421s + 1.751 16
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.697s + 2.027 14
8. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.094s + 2.424 18
9. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.178s + 2.508 22
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m41.347s + 2.677 16

Source : http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91141

[Ranger]

FIA technical delegate Joe Bauer was having a good look at Vettel's crashed car this morning apparently, I wonder if he saw anything interesting!

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52563000/jpg/_52563139_vettel_crash.jpg

That's an impressive beating!

Would be an incredible job if he were to win on Sunday, given FP2 was a write-off thanks to this error.

EDIT: It's amazing how much Mercedes has now upped their game as well.

[pino]

1. Jenson Button (GB/McLaren) 1:26.456
2. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1:26.521
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:27.033
4. Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes) 1:27.063
5. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault) 1:27.149
6. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1:27.340
7. Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Lotus-Renault) 1:27.517
8. Paul di Resta (GB/Force India-Mercedes) 1:27.725
9. Sergio Perez (MES/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:27.844
10. Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:28.052
11. Fernando Alonso (SPA/Ferrari) 1:28.069
12. Sebastien Buemi (SVI/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:28.153

[555-04Q2]

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52563000/jpg/_52563139_vettel_crash.jpg

That's an impressive beating!

Would be an incredible job if he were to win on Sunday, given FP2 was a write-off thanks to this error.

EDIT: It's amazing how much Mercedes has now upped their game as well.

OUCH!!!

[Sonic]

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52563000/jpg/_52563139_vettel_crash.jpg

That's an impressive beating!

Would be an incredible job if he were to win on Sunday, given FP2 was a write-off thanks to this error.

EDIT: It's amazing how much Mercedes has now upped their game as well.

That'll buff out. :p

May I also add; COME ON NICO!

[Sleeper]

I must congratulate Vettel on successfully bending all 4 corners.

Looks like Button is having a good start to the weekend. Anybody else notice how incredibly bumpy the braking zone into turn 12 is?

[christophulus]

Anybody else notice how incredibly bumpy the braking zone into turn 12 is?

They showed some slow-mo footage in FP2 and the cars were being shaken to bits. Doubt the track owners care if they aren't holding the race next year..

If the race is wet then we're going to see a few accidents, not many people got through the puddle at turn 11 without going off.

[steveaki13]

Yes the bumps ino Turn 12 was amazing, don't remember it being that bad last year, but could be wrong.

Pastor Maldonado had a poor day today, 3 or 4 spins damaging the car a couple of times.

Looks like Mercedes upgrades have been pretty good thus far.

Disapointing turn out for Practice again unfortunatley.

[gloomyDAY]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PORwExZ7OKI&feature=player_embedded

[Ranger]

FIA technical delegate Joe Bauer was having a good look at Vettel's crashed car this morning apparently, I wonder if he saw anything interesting!
http://www.motorsport-total.com/bilder/2011/110506/z1304674827.jpg

The wires protruding from the bottom of the front wing are electrical?

[Sonic]

http://www.motorsport-total.com/bilder/2011/110506/z1304674827.jpg

The wires protruding from the bottom of the front wing are electrical?

DAMN! Those are some eagle eyes you've got there!

That said I doubt the FIA would have missed something as obvious as a movable wing.

[Zico]

DAMN! Those are some eagle eyes you've got there!

That said I doubt the FIA would have missed something as obvious as a movable wing.

It wouldn't necesarily have to be moveable itself, softening it by means of a heating element, as I suggested previously in the movable wings thread, would suffice.

What other possible reasons could these wires be there for?

[Ranger]

It wouldn't necesarily have to be move itself, softening it by means of a heating element, as I suggested previously in the movable wings thread, would suffice.

What other possible reasons could these wires be there for?

Sensors maybe?

[Zico]

Sensors maybe?

Its possible, Im just wondering what sensors they might be and why that fragile location?

[Sonic]

Kobay.....nooooo!

[Sonic]

Jayzus! Renault has some pace

[Rollo]

Yo F1 and FIA,

I think that it would be handy in P1 to display what the current 107% of the fastest lap is on your captiony thingo... I'm just sayin'

[Rollo]

Kobayahsi isn't going to set a time in P1, so does everyone think that is Sauber applied to let him into the race starting 24th, that the other teams would agree to it?

[Sonic]

Yeah he'll be in the race. Not last either. One of the Virgin's got a penalty I think.

[Ben 'Benjy P' Perrott]

They need to move the 'driver standings' icon further to the side of the screen, it's blocking the view.

[Rollo]

Magic Paddle Michael... Magic Paddle Down!

This is the tagline for a new Mercedes GP movie. Coming to a cinema near you. This is the story of a man facing impossible odds...

[Sonic]

Up sh*t creek without a magic paddle!

[ioan]

MS in Q3 for the first time this season, Mercedes' odds are getting better and better.

[Sonic]

Everyone can go home. Vet's gone. Boom.

[Sonic]

POW! take that Michael. Nico blew your doors off.

[ioan]

MS scrappy in the last run. :\
Leaving the only run so late might not be the best thing to do, unless you drive a RedBull.

[Sonic]

Massa saving tyres?

[ioan]

Massa no time in Q3?!

[ioan]

Massa saving tyres?

Looks like that.

[Sonic]

YUCK! I really hate the McLaren overalls. They look terrible.

[F1boat]

Well done RBR!

[Sonic]

Looks like that.

Smart move!

[Nikki Katz]

I missed Q1, has Kobayashi DNQ'd then, or will they let that go because of better practice times? I thought they needed consent of the other teams if that was the case...

[steveaki13]

He will be let in as he was on the pace all weekend.

[Spanish]

The F150 is the worst Ferrari I've ever seen!

[ioan]

The F150 is the worst Ferrari I've ever seen!

It's a Ford F-150 in disguise, that's why Ford protested! :D

[ioan]

I missed Q1, has Kobayashi DNQ'd then, or will they let that go because of better practice times? I thought they needed consent of the other teams if that was the case...

And who would be against it? Unless they are sure they will never be at the receiving end of such consent need all of them will agree.

[keysersoze]

Massa no time in Q3?!

Felipe admitted he made a significant mistake on his only flying lap in Q3, so he backed off to save his tires for the race. The Brazilian has made some great starts this season so perhaps it's not as bad as it looks.

Hmm, and look at my boy Petrov .3 up on Nick. Let's keep it on the road tomorrow Vitaly--this is one your better circuits!

[Sonic]

F150 the worst you've seen? You cant have seen many then! They've built some dogs over the years.

[Mia 01]

Congrats to both Seb and Mark today, heres hope to an ever brighter day tomorrow.

[Sonic]

^^^^ I doubt Mark is celebrating. 4 tenths off the pace might as well be a lifetime when your team mate has been parked in the garage for the whole of Friday.

Getting that Monkey off his back sure has made Seb quick!

[steveaki13]

F150 the worst you've seen? You cant have seen many then! They've built some dogs over the years.

Yer 1992 and 1993 for me were the two worst Ferrari's since I started watching.

[CNR]

Q1 107% Time 1:33.103

Kamui Kobayashi has set a time in Practice 2 and Practice 3 with a time better then the 107% so he will race
Practice 1
1:40.421
Practice 2
1:29.637
Practice 3
1:27.976

[Rollo]

Depending on if it's a dry race or not, then perhaps Kobayashi will be the one to watch. He'll have the benefit of not burning any tyres at all during qualifying, so he could very well charge through the field; as we've seen in the past, he's not afraid of overtaking people.

[DexDexter]

The F150 is the worst Ferrari I've ever seen!

Really? 2009 wasn't good either. 0.8 off the pole is actually not that much, I've seen Ferraris that are 3 seconds of the pole :)

[Mark]

Some of the Ferraris In the 80s and 90s sucked big time.

[Rollo]

For some strange reason the very first camera views into the first corner of Istanbul Park very much reminds me of Magny-Cours, and I sware that there's another bit that looks like something in the Hungaroring.

[Mark]

Unsafe release by Ferrari?

[ioan]

Unsafe release by Ferrari?

Looked like that. But hey no surprise anymore.

[BDunnell]

F150 the worst you've seen? You cant have seen many then! They've built some dogs over the years.

Indeed. It is a shame that the modern-day 'fan' often has no historical perspective whatsoever.

[ShiftingGears]

Schumacher reaped what he sowed with that Petrov incident. He was moving all over the braking zone.

[Mark]

Schumacher crash again. Why doesn't he just go?!

[BDunnell]

Schumacher crash again. Why doesn't he just go?!

This is a truly embarrassing performance, isn't it?

[Ranger]

Great pass on the grass by Kobayashi! :D

Schumacher, uh...

[ioan]

Petrov and Sutil both run into Schumacher and it is still MS' fault? Some people need new glasses.

Meanwhile the prime ties are slower and don't even hold longer than the options. Pirelli chewing gum quality.

[ioan]

Webber is really not up to the game.

[Rollo]

Can anyone suggest a Live Streaming site?
One HD in Australia has totally failed for the fourth time this year. I saw 9 laps before the whole thing went black.

I hope that Murdoch buys F1 now. I still won't be able to watch any of the races live, but that's no different to now.

If anyone at One HD can read this... YOU ARE A JOKE

Edit: - Heh heh heh, I found a proxy to watch the BBC Coverage! Bye bye One HD!

[ioan]

And another crappy stop by Ferrari for Felipe, 6.5 seconds, just for comparison RBR does it in 3.1 seconds!

[AndyL]

Hooray for Pirelli. How many years did Bridgestone deny us racing like this, with their conservative tyres?

[BDunnell]

Hooray for Pirelli. How many years did Bridgestone deny us racing like this, with their conservative tyres?

Or, you could say, with their tyres that were not deliberately designed with extra degradation in mind.

[ioan]

And another crappy stop by Ferrari for Felipe, 6.5 seconds, just for comparison RBR does it in 3.1 seconds!

And they went one further with a 9.3 second wheel change! Crappiest team when it comes to pit stops.

[ioan]

Hooray for Pirelli. How many years did Bridgestone deny us racing like this, with their conservative tyres?

You call this tire lottery racing?! Get a dictionary.

[Ranger]

Hooray for Pirelli. How many years did Bridgestone deny us racing like this, with their conservative tyres?

They produced what they were contracted to produce.

Likewise Pirelli are producing what they were told to.

[BDunnell]

And they went one further with a 9.3 second wheel change! Crappiest team when it comes to pit stops.

Yes, ioan, we get the picture, thank you.

[ioan]

Or, you could say, with their tyres that were not deliberately designed with extra degradation in mind.

Or maybe you can say that Bridgestone knew how to make a racing tire unlike Pirelli who should move to making chewing gum.
Half way through the race there were more marbles on the track then at the end of the 2007 Canadian GP.

[ioan]

Yes, ioan, we get the picture, thank you.

Don't like it? Don't read it. Or did you become the master of the universe and decide who should post what, and we missed your moment of greatness?!

[BDunnell]

Or maybe you can say that Bridgestone knew how to make a racing tire unlike Pirelli who should move to making chewing gum.
Half way through the race there were more marbles on the track then at the end of the 2007 Canadian GP.

Because Pirelli have been instructed to produce tyres that degrade much more. I am surprised that you aren't aware of this.

[truefan72]

what is this bloody race director doing?

he is not covering any of the crucial battles
decides to stay on rosberg for an entire lap and then shows brawn in the pits before finally cutting to the webber alonso fight

then cuts away from alonso trying to pass back no the next lap to show vettel cruising

this is about the worst F! coverage I have seen in a long time

[BDunnell]

Don't like it? Don't read it.

One might say the same about you and F1. Don't like it? Don't watch it.

[ioan]

Because Pirelli have been instructed to produce tyres that degrade much more. I am surprised that you aren't aware of this.

These comments about how they were instructed to produce chewing gum first surfaced after the test showed that the tires were crappy and drivers and teams were complaining left, right and center.
Then Pirelli first said they are going to bring further improved tires and the next step Pirelli and the FIA were declaring that they were contracted to produce fast degrading tires, so much about keeping the costs low politics of the FIA.

So I am really sorry for not believing all the crap they are trying to feed the fans.
You are free to believe what you want but stop biting me gratuitously, will ya?

[truefan72]

bad move by massa, should be a penalty

[ioan]

One might say the same about you and F1. Don't like it? Don't watch it.

I like it, now give me a break, unless you have fun trolling the forums today, then be my guest have more fun.

[ioan]

bad move by massa, should be a penalty

Right.

[BDunnell]

These comments about how they were instructed to produce chewing gum first surfaced after the test showed that the tires were crappy and drivers and teams were complaining left, right and center.
Then Pirelli first said they are going to bring further improved tires and the next step Pirelli and the FIA were declaring that they were contracted to produce fast degrading tires, so much about keeping the costs low politics of the FIA.

So I am really sorry for not believing all the crap they are trying to feed the fans.
You are free to believe what you want but stop biting me gratuitously, will ya?

It was said last year that Pirelli had been prevailed upon to produce tyres that would degrade far more, surely? So, well before the test you refer to.

[ioan]

Congrats Vettel. Way to go.

Great race by Alonso too. The rest were scrappy to say the least.

[AndyL]

Or, you could say, with their tyres that were not deliberately designed with extra degradation in mind.

I would say that when their "soft" tyre could do an entire race distance, that means they were too conservative.

[AndyL]

You call this tire lottery racing?! Get a dictionary.

How is it a lottery? Everyone has the same number and type of tyres. Racing doesn't have to be a procession.

[Hawkmoon]

You call this tire lottery racing?! Get a dictionary.

Maybe you should take a look at that dictionary. There's no lottery in what Pirelli have done. It's the same for everyone. The winners get it right, the losers don't. What Pirelli have done (and the FIA for asking for it) is produce tyres that promote racing. This is a good thing.

You want to have a whinge about something? Have a go at the DRS. They didn't get it right here.

[BDunnell]

What Pirelli have done (and the FIA for asking for it) is produce tyres that promote racing. This is a good thing.

I'm not sure about that. To me, it's another artificial element just like DRS. I view KERS slightly differently, but only slightly.

[ioan]

How is it a lottery? Everyone has the same number and type of tyres. Racing doesn't have to be a procession.

The tires are impossible to predict. How is normal that a set of hard compounds degrades as fast or sometimes faster than the softer ones, on the same car?
Why use the harder compounds at all then?!

[ioan]

I'm not sure about that. To me, it's another artificial element just like DRS. I view KERS slightly differently, but only slightly.

KERS does indeed add a welcome technical aspect to F1 (would be better if not for the limited use of it), DRS and the Pirelli chewing gum only subtract from F1's value. But then again some people also like to watch WWF wrestling and who are we to tell them what is real and what not?

[ioan]

You want to have a whinge about something? Have a go at the DRS. They didn't get it right here.

Already done, check the DRS thread.

[Rollo]

If you were in Australia, out of the 1hr 30mins 17secs of race, then you would have only seen 46mins 30secs because all of the adverts on One HD.
If you were watching the "Live Streaming" then you would have missed out on laps 9 through to 38 because their servers failed.

Watching F1 in Australia is a total ****ing joke. A friend of mine is in Sudan visiting relatives, and I think that he saw more of the race than we did.

[BDunnell]

KERS does indeed add a welcome technical aspect to F1 (would be better if not for the limited use of it), DRS and the Pirelli chewing gum only subtract from F1's value. But then again some people also like to watch WWF wrestling and who are we to tell them what is real and what not?

I don't mind watching certain other forms of racing which involve gimmicks such as reverse grids, weight penalties and so on, but I would never deem any of this acceptable in F1.

The big question is whether many types of motorsport have reached a point where, without artificial means of spicing things up, they are boring. I'm afraid F1 had reached that point for me, as I in no way find a form of motorsport that is 'impressive' in terms of attributes like technical innovation or speed exciting. I want to see a high level of competition. What is sport without that? Dull. But neither do I want to see that high level of competition brought about through artificial means. I would prefer retrograde steps to be taken in terms of the technology than seeing anything like DRS being perpetuated.

[AndyL]

If you were in Australia, out of the 1hr 30mins 17secs of race, then you would have only seen 46mins 30secs because all of the adverts on One HD.

That is terrible. You have my sympathy. I'm just praying the Dirty Digger doesn't end up sticking us in the UK with the same thing :(

[Rollo]

I've just had this tweet which I thought was pure gold:

"Instead of KERS in China, Webber was running OneHD as an iPad app"

[ioan]

I don't mind watching certain other forms of racing which involve gimmicks such as reverse grids, weight penalties and so on, but I would never deem any of this acceptable in F1.

The big question is whether many types of motorsport have reached a point where, without artificial means of spicing things up, they are boring. I'm afraid F1 had reached that point for me, as I in no way find a form of motorsport that is 'impressive' in terms of attributes like technical innovation or speed exciting. I want to see a high level of competition. What is sport without that? Dull. But neither do I want to see that high level of competition brought about through artificial means. I would prefer retrograde steps to be taken in terms of the technology than seeing anything like DRS being perpetuated.

The problem with F1 is that the governing body has given in to the commercial rights holder for too long, and this should change.
F1 has become a show more than anything else. And on top of it the commercial rights were given away to those who can only sleep well if they post double digit financial growth every year. Which in turn meant that F1 has become nothing less than an advertising billboard, a very expensive one. Then again they need growing viewing figures in order to justify asking for that kind of advertising money, don't they? So the next step was to cater to the masses of occassional viewers who wouldn't watch F1 if it wasn't for the spectacular/extraordinarily impressive overtaking moves that happen on a straight at over 300km/h.
And then KERS and after that DRS happened in order to satisfy the needs of the masses.
Then again if I think about some of the ideas that Bernie and Briattore have mentioned in the past I am afraid that the whole thing will only get worse with time.

[steveaki13]

I enjoyed the race, I thought Vettel was again superb and I see it being hard for anyone to beat him this year in the Championship.

Early days though I suppose lets wait and see.

[ioan]

I enjoyed the race, I thought Vettel was again superb and I see it being hard for anyone to beat him this year in the Championship.

Early days though I suppose lets wait and see.

After 4 races he's got 34 points over 2nd place Hamilton.
Looks like this season is what 2009 and 2010 have prepared us for.

I wonder how long before Bernie will be begging the FIA for a knee jerk move against RBR.

[Ranger]

After 4 races he's got 34 points over 2nd place Hamilton.
Looks like this season is what 2009 and 2010 have prepared us for.

I wonder how long before Bernie will be begging the FIA for a knee jerk move against RBR.

In perspective thats 14 points in the 10-8-6 system. It's not a huge lead... yet.

[steveaki13]

I don't mind watching certain other forms of racing which involve gimmicks such as reverse grids, weight penalties and so on, but I would never deem any of this acceptable in F1.

The big question is whether many types of motorsport have reached a point where, without artificial means of spicing things up, they are boring. I'm afraid F1 had reached that point for me, as I in no way find a form of motorsport that is 'impressive' in terms of attributes like technical innovation or speed exciting. I want to see a high level of competition. What is sport without that? Dull. But neither do I want to see that high level of competition brought about through artificial means. I would prefer retrograde steps to be taken in terms of the technology than seeing anything like DRS being perpetuated.


The problem with F1 is that the governing body has given in to the commercial rights holder for too long, and this should change.
F1 has become a show more than anything else. And on top of it the commercial rights were given away to those who can only sleep well if they post double digit financial growth every year. Which in turn meant that F1 has become nothing less than an advertising billboard, a very expensive one. Then again they need growing viewing figures in order to justify asking for that kind of advertising money, don't they? So the next step was to cater to the masses of occassional viewers who wouldn't watch F1 if it wasn't for the spectacular/extraordinarily impressive overtaking moves that happen on a straight at over 300km/h.
And then KERS and after that DRS happened in order to satisfy the needs of the masses.
Then again if I think about some of the ideas that Bernie and Briattore have mentioned in the past I am afraid that the whole thing will only get worse with time.

I really enjoyed the last two races, but I have on the whole enjoyed every race for almost 20 years, but I do agree with both of you in a way.

I really wonder if F1 can have races like this every weekend and not make the avid longer term F1 fan feel a bit uneasy.

While I quite like these softer tyres, I think the hards are wrong and need to last a reasonable period, it seems crazy they only last as long as the softs. They may as well drop compulsary stops and let everyone race on softs.
So some work still needs to be done.

[steveaki13]

After 4 races he's got 34 points over 2nd place Hamilton.
Looks like this season is what 2009 and 2010 have prepared us for.

I wonder how long before Bernie will be begging the FIA for a knee jerk move against RBR.

In 2003, the rules were changed to stop Germans in red cars winning. Now they need to stop Germans in Blue and Yellow cars winning. :p :

In neither case to I think rules need to be changed when teams are just doing a better job than the rest.

F1 pre 2003 was classic, normal, historic F1.

F1 post 2003 has been a little too tampered with.

[BDunnell]

I really enjoyed the last two races, but I have on the whole enjoyed every race for almost 20 years, but I do agree with both of you in a way.

I really wonder if F1 can have races like this every weekend and not make the avid longer term F1 fan feel a bit uneasy.

The amount of overtaking in the race today would have been super had it not resulted from the artificial means used. The simple question is: would it be possible to come up with a set of technical regulations that permit such racing without the introduction of gimmicks, and, if so, what would they involve? Maybe this is a topic for a separate thread.



F1 pre 2003 was classic, normal, historic F1.

F1 post 2003 has been a little too tampered with.

I don't quite see it like that. I would never class 2002 as 'classic F1'. It was far too dull to be bracketed with many earlier seasons. To me, 'classic F1' actually involves racing.

[steveaki13]

Sorry when I said Classic I mean't by the same basic layout as F1 over many years before. ie.

No I agree that year wasn't classic in terms of the racing, but I never felt (others obviously will disagree) it totally fair to change the regs just because one team is working harder and better than the others.

I always thought Mclaren and Williams needed to do better rather than penalize Ferrari. Only my opinion.

[BDunnell]

Sorry when I said Classic I mean't by the same basic layout as F1 over many years before. ie.

No I agree that year wasn't classic in terms of the racing, but I never felt (others obviously will disagree) it totally fair to change the regs just because one team is working harder and better than the others.

I always thought Mclaren and Williams needed to do better rather than penalize Ferrari. Only my opinion.

My apologies. I agree with all of that.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Sorry when I said Classic I mean't by the same basic layout as F1 over many years before. ie.



The layout has always been changing. The only thing that changed in 2003 was the points system and qualifying.

[Mia 01]

Not one mistake today, congrats Seb and Mark.

And Fernando, the Ferrai in your hands is good come the race day.

[BDunnell]

The layout has always been changing. The only thing that changed in 2003 was the points system and qualifying.

I take your point, though I can see what aki13 means. That was the first time F1 regulations had been altered with the express purpose of spicing things up.

[steveaki13]

But after that change every season major changes came to Qualifying. Two One lap sessions, then combined Qualifying then the current format and also all the tyre regs.

Where as Quali was the same for quite a few years before, since the early 90's. And you had no forced tyre changes or moveable wings.

Just get out there and race.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I take your point, though I can see what aki13 means. That was the first time F1 regulations had been altered with the express purpose of spicing things up.

What about banning driver aids and introducing refuelling in 1994?

[BDunnell]

Just get out there and race.

Preferably with cars that can actually do so.

[steveaki13]

true

[BDunnell]

What about banning driver aids and introducing refuelling in 1994?

Fair point, especially about refuelling. But I still think there has been a change since then in the reasoning behind rule changes.

[keysersoze]

Petrov and Sutil both run into Schumacher and it is still MS' fault? Some people need new glasses.

If Michael makes the left turn, and with his left-front hits Petrov's right-rear, that's all Schumacher's fault. How the heck you conclude Vitaly hit Michael shows just how biased you are when it comes to MS. He knew VP was all over him, so he moves left to protect the inside. Petrov gets completely alongside him anyway and Michael tries one of his intimidation moves. It was nearly a carbon copy of the crap he pulled on JV back in '97.

[BDunnell]

No doubt ioan will now take it all back immediately, as Schumacher, as much as he ever can, has admitted being at fault: 'I guess I was responsible myself to have the result that I had because with Petrov I guess it was mostly my mistake, what happened there.'

[keysersoze]

No doubt ioan will now take it all back immediately

That's not his style.

[truefan72]

No doubt ioan will now take it all back immediately, as Schumacher, as much as he ever can, has admitted being at fault: 'I guess I was responsible myself to have the result that I had because with Petrov I guess it was mostly my mistake, what happened there.'

The silence is golden. As good as an apology imo ;)

[BDunnell]

The silence is golden. As good as an apology imo ;)

Either that, or he is trying to think of a way of blaming it on the Ferrari pit crew instead.

[Hawkmoon]

Either that, or he is trying to think of a way of blaming it on the Ferrari pit crew instead.

Well the Ferrari pit crew made Massa run wide in turn 8 so it stands to reason that they were also responsible for Schumacher hitting Petrov and Button being on the wrong strategy. They also kick puppies. Evil *******s. :)

[BDunnell]

Well, quite. I shudder to think what would be made of this Ferrari pit-work — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-eYwZwXwuw

[F1boat]

Well I have to say that I prefer that "artificial" races than the parades in last year, even if the championship seems pretty one-sided. At least when you watch it is fun and something is always happening. Last year you were just waiting for a drivers mistake, safety car or a car failure. Now it's fun racing all the time. That's not bad.
Besides, in the end the best guys are winning.

[Ranger]

Well, quite. I shudder to think what would be made of this Ferrari pit-work — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-eYwZwXwuw

You obviously haven't remembered Nurburgring '99 then!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEiW0xPhXdg&feature=related

4:00 in.

Salo's pitstop = 38 seconds.

A minute later, WDC contender Irvine's pitstop = 28 seconds.

Ridiculous.

[SGWilko]

You obviously haven't remembered Nurburgring '99 then!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEiW0xPhXdg&feature=related

4:00 in.

Salo's pitstop = 38 seconds.

A minute later, WDC contender Irvine's pitstop = 28 seconds.

Ridiculous.

That would be better with the Steptoe & Son soundtrack over it....

Stan & Ollie got their piano delivered quicker than that!

[Big Ben]

Petrov and Sutil both run into Schumacher and it is still MS' fault? Some people need new glasses.

What kind of twisted logic is that?The fact that one driver keeps being involved in incidents it's proof that the others are at fault?
:laugh: that makes a a lot of sense :laugh: