^ yeah that was definitely the best race I've seen at Bahrain since they added it to the calendar, really wanted Kimi to win, he was so close!

 

Another great race. Everything at the moment is so unpredictable. Seb really asserted himself today, but I was kind of hoping for Kimi to pull off a win. Grosjean is looking pretty sporty these days as well. I am kind of surprised by how poorly McLaren is doing in the pits. They look like a bunch of amateurs, which is definitely not par for the course. I loved the battle between Alonso and Rosberg. Onward to Spain and hopefully, a 5th different winner.

 

Yep, another fun race to watch. This season is definitely looking to be spectacular. RB and Lotus on the podium? Would have never predicted that on Friday.

- So, WTF was up with Rosberg's blocking? No penalty, really? With Rosberg driving like he's asleep at the wheel, I think it was the stewards that were asleep... Gotta love Alonso's tweet after getting the news about no penalties: "I think you are going to have fun in future races! You can defend position as you want and you can overtake outside the track! Enjoy!"
- In comparison to Rosberg, Vettel's defense against Kimi looked text-book clean. Perfectly timed and executed, IMO.
- Someone at McLaren hit the self-destruct button ... One of the more spectacular implosions I've seen during a race.
- Booo! @ Schumi for criticizing the tires.
- Kimi finally got the podium he could have had all year.

Looks like RB is on the rise again and Lotus finally put all of the pieces together. I think we're in for a 4-way (maybe 5-way if Ferrari can get their act together) battle for the rest of the year. Could be epic.

l8r)

 

Yes exactly!! I was so pissed about that, he can't just run people off the track because they are going to pass him, hopefully his win didn't go to his head or something cause both of those moves were ridiculous. And then it pissed me off even more when he radioed in to the team saying that Hamilton passed him off track, well no **** he passed you off track! you pushed him there /rant

 

We all know that maintaining good health is most important, now more and more popular sports, the sports shop is the hottest, you know? There are many types of sports, such as: tennis, golf and so on. Many superstars come more often. Variety and low prices, good quality, is the best choice, do not miss: http://www.todo-color.com/

 

As Ludi has noted Schumi is now a bit upset about the Pirelli deg: "Everyone has to drive well below a driver's and, in particular, the car's limits to maintain the tyres,...I'm not happy about the situation,...I just question whether the tyres should play such a big importance...They should last a bit longer, and that you can drive at normal racing car speed and not cruise around like we have a safety car," While this is true, it is really the uncertainty about same that is vexing all the teams...this from Vettel: "It is almost impossible to predict in advance how the different tyre compounds are going to behave on race day...You have an idea, but nothing more." and Button: "It's very difficult to understand where the pace is and why we didn't have it around here,...We were really struggling with oversteer and all the way through the race we were taking front-end out of the car, but we just didn't have the pace here and we don't know where it's gone." with McLaren's Whitmarsh saying: "We didn't lose 50 points of downforce from yesterday to today - clearly we are beating the tyres much too hard here."
Now it may B argued that we R not seeing the fastest racing with these Pirelli's but what is clear, everyone is in the same boat and no one has a handle on these tires from track to track coupled with prevailing weather conditions. So Schumi's comments and observations will B heard by others in future that have a bad race day but for us fans, this is heaven!

Later, Ken

 

Well, U have written them off...again...but don't forget they got a podium this year...U cannot take that away...the question is, can they do it again?...I NO UR answer but the good old Pirelli's throw a monkey wrench in all the races and Sauber could, yes a long shot, get it right again

Later, Ken

 

Regarding Schumacher's comments about the Pirellis, I must say that I agree with him. Tire degradation was introduced for the "show", not to produce better racing. If you read the boards on Speed, Sky Sports and ESPN, the comments overwhelmingly support Schumacher's statement. I think that Kimi's rapid decline in China supports this. Tire degradation definitely seems to be hurting the "chargers". Should F1 be about tire management or about who is the fastest? I would much prefer a tire that does not fall off rapidly and maintains consistency through its race life. Gimmicks should be for NASCAR, not F1.

 

Personally I like that the tires have been difficult to manage. IMO F1 is about engineering as much as it is about the drivers and with the continued clamping down on technological innovations, the tires are one of the few remaining areas where the engineers are earning their keep. The racing this year has been much more entertaining than in years past, so a big thumbs up to Pirelli from me.

l8r)

 

A few races late, but here are some pics from Malaysia which I got to go to last month.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/omarcac...7629882876999/

And regarding the tire deg, it kind of pisses me off especially since teams already have a tire strategy that starts at qualifying. As a fan, being at a race and having the last few cars not doing a hot lap in Q3 is pure bull****. I think the drivers that make it to Q3 should get another set of new tires so everybody could push for P1 w/out having to worry about sacrificing a set of new tires.

Don't get me wrong, I like the passing. But I think that's already achievable with DRS and KERS and different tire strategies like PDR's 2 stop race.

Overall a great start to the season!

Also, I'm pretty sure RBR is working on the super/double DRS at the factory. To get Seb back to the pole position consistently will undoubtedly help them in trying for a triple world championship. Get him out front, and he'll usually stay there til the checkered.

 

^ Woah awesome pictures , what camera??

 

Martin Brundle on SkySports F1 had a good take on the tire situation. It would seem that the races are boiling down to the tires. As was mentioned by sabrinaEvo, the teams do not want to push things in Q3 to save the tires. And, Brundle's comments are very cogent to what is happening:

"On the journey home I was talking with two F1 drivers, a world champion and a multiple race winner, and they had very similar concerns to Michael in that they can't push the cars anywhere near their limits. 'Physically my granny could drive the race' quipped one to underline how far away from the limits they are.

Pirelli have done a great job for F1 and judging by audience figures and comments the fans love this style of unpredictable racing. But it does become confusing when we have drivers popping up out of the blue with a fast but unrepeatable lap time in a session, and fancied runners simply disappearing backwards in the race. We need to see pure skill, speed and pace win through too, and not simply just applaud those who could tip toe the best or find the right set-up sweetspot on the day. There is room for both."

I do agree that the racing has been pretty good. I just wonder how much better it might be if the tires were to be more consistent for a longer period of time? Do we want all the races to boil down to who conserves their tires the most? Where then is the driving skill and technological advantages that make F1 interesting? Sorry, but I want to see the best driver win through superior driving skill.

 

Wasn't going to say it ... but I told you so. ... It's mostly about the tires this year. At least in the past, when Bridgestone was the sole tire supplier for F1, the wear & degradation was predictable and fast drivers could push the cars to limit without having to pit in 6 laps or less (joke). The tires also didn't grain as much, which had a positive effect on overtaking when offline. Also, the method of bringing Pirelli's up to operating temps to get the fastest lap is hilarious.

I think that they should at least have Qualifying Tires be separate from Race tires. That way all the drivers can push to the fullest during qualifying and not worry about saving them for the race. The Race can then have a different tire strategy. I don't mind the unpredictability of the degradation but drop off is too huge and sudden. I sometimes wonder if it is even necessary with KERs and DRS.

 

^^^ There is now talk of altering Qualy to preclude drivers/teams from even attempting to go for Q2 and Q3...this from yallaf1: "At circuits where tyre degradation is higher than usual, such as Sakhir, or the Hungaroring, we now face the very real probability of drivers opting to not bother with qualifying and to save tyres right up to the last stint of a race. The FIA could do better than to mandate drivers to do a set amount of laps, or to change the qualifying format completely in order to ensure that we get drivers going for pole position instead of protecting what they have. Start with a qualifying change, and the rest will sort itself out." I agree with this...something should B done to Qualy...the question is what would B appropriate.

Later, Ken

 

The fastest cars R not F1 cars...the cars that run salt flats R the fastest...Nasty cars go fast but for their beloved ovals...all racked for left or right turns...F1 cars don't have either of these but rather the twistys and limited straights...in short, they R designed for extreme changing conditions from near stop turns to full throttle straight line speed. My point is, we accept chicanes and turns and straights which slow F1 cars down on average so what is different about having tires that do same? It raises the engineering bar that much higher as well as test the driver's skills further. Isn't the winner of any GP today the result of getting all those things right? From a driver perspective, this is why Hami is having soo much trouble...he has learned to drive hard with complete disregard to tires while Button is a smoother driver and has had a better performance record. Also, if the tires were indestructable we would be C'ing only the top big money teams winning like last year...is this what we all want?...I think not...so IMHO the Pirelli's R good for F1 although some tweaks as per last post R probably needed...now let the spitballs loose..incoming!

Later, Ken