Clark, Rindt, Villeneuve, Senna all were champions who the sport was ever the worse for their loss. One guy who I practically worshipped was Mark Donohue. I saw this guy race in Can Am and Trans Am. He was an American hero, much like Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti. Was killed in Austria 1975. I grieved for months over that. Same for Peter Revson, another amazing American driver who was killed in South Africa driving the Shadow. There are also the sad stories of Phil Hill, an American, winning the world championship in at Monza in 1961, only to see his teammate Von Trips die there. Same thing happened to Mario Andretti, when in 1978, he won the world championship, only to see his teammate Ronnie Peterson die at the final race at Monza. What a coincidence. Our two world champions, crowned champions at Monza, only to see their teammates die there. Thank God nobody has died since Senna in 1974.

 

It looks like Qualy will B wet while Sunday is expected to B dry. So this sets up a dilemma for the teams: if set up for Qualy is for wet conditions, they will compromise Sunday and visa versa. So look for some very poor Qualy times for the top teams with a significant number of offs for I think they will all B focused on Sunday's dry conditions. This means some of the lower teams will look for glory in Qualy only to B run over on race day.

Later, Ken

 

That was a car water slide...getting out there first was determinant...not very satisfying/true test of man and machine...the race will B dry so can C them all stretch their legs.

Later, Ken

 

^Ken, the conditions were absolutely horrific, weren't they? The cars were hydroplaning on the straightaway and they had to tippy toe through the corners. Wasn't much fun to watch. I was hoping that Schumi might get the pole, but Alonso dug deep and pulled off an amazing lap. Seb was right there too. Will be interesting to see what happens weather wise.

 

What the hell is this?: http://www.pitpass.com/46890-Red-Bul...irregulatities ...so RB has apparently crossed the line...but wait, it doesn't end here...RB appeals and even though stewards still do not buy it, FIA says, no problem: http://www.pitpass.com/46893-FIA-tak...on-on-Red-Bull ...Vettels pic seems rather appropriate..."Whew, just squeeked by that one!" ...

Later, Ken

 

I and Kobay would like to thank Vettel for his faux pass on Button raising Kobay from fifth to 4th....once again it came down to tire wear as the determinant of midfield with Sauber cleaning up on Merc, TR and FI...When Vettel came out of the pits, i.e., on cold tires and just flew by Kobay said something about the acceleration differential between Sauber's car and RB. Also, Maldenado behaved himself ...backed off when he had to and did not force it...maybe something is coming through to this guy...that said, his other crash buddy, Grossjean exhibited his antics on and off the track....Hami got screwed/eat the carbon fiber bits and pieces, to no fault of his own, and paid the price.

What is interesting, with the exception of the top two at the end of the race, Qualy position means nothing/has little to no advantage...rather the tire wear and driving style seem to B quite significant...proof U ask?...few of those that made it to Q3 were in the top ten at the finish.

Later, Ken

 

In my opnion, you're comparing apples vs. oranges Ken. Qualifying in the wet for a dry race, or vice versa, always mixes things up, because you've got a lot more variety in set-up strategy than when they qualify in same/similar conditions as what the race should be. For example, it's pretty obvious that the McLarens sacrificed their qualifying position for a dry weather set-up after seeing how much speed both cars displayed in the race. So....there's no doubt that tire wear and/or driving style play a big part in the results this season, but there's no question that you ALWAYS want to qualify towards the front if you want the best odds of winning in F1. Pretty sure guys like Vettel and Alonso would agree with that.

 

Pretty decisive victory by Alonso. He showed why he is number one in Formula 1. He masterfully held off both Vettel and Button. Too bad Seb got penalized for his pass on Button late in the race. Poor Lewis seems to have continual bad luck. That flat tire not only deflated his chances, but his ego as well. Anyone hear him say that the race was over when he got the flat tire? Sounded like he wanted to just call it a day.

Really good battles between the Saubers, Force Indias and Williams. Schumi looked pretty racy at the beginning, but as has so often happened, he fell back and struggled to finish where he did. Onward to Hungary. Unless something happens to Alonso along the way, I think this season belongs to him, which I hate to say, but I have to truthful.

 

Agreed on Alonso. Very meticulous strategy on scuderia ferrari's part and its paying off.

As for Vettel, that was a BS pass and he knew it. I saw the moment after the race where he met button and said he wasn't sure if he was there so he left room. No one buys that crap.

I think the stewards decision was sound. Kimmi deserved that place but also I wanted to see Schumi on the podium. He's doing much better than how he started though so I'm happy with that.

 

Well, as I said for the front runners, like RB,Ferrari and McLaren, this is true but not so sure about all the rest...this year is different due to the uncertainty of tire wear...The higher priced spread like McALaren just this last weekend were filming the tires from under the car just to get a visual aspect of what is going on with these tires dynamically...the lower teams cannot afford to do such R&D and suffer as a result...that said, if my recollection is accurate, it seems that the positions of the 4-10 finishers were always less than their respective positions in Qualy...if true, this means the ultimate performance of these cars under race conditions, full fuel load and long stints, R more a determinant of their final positions at the end of the race than their qualy positions.
One final caveat, another reason/advantage of being at the front of the grid at the start is to avoid the mayhem of crashes and crazy moves of the other drivers desparate to impress their teams bosses and new contracts for next year...despite these advantages, it still appears that Qualy position for those indicated above is less important this year than previous ones.

Later, Ken

 

^ I don't know Ken. I still believe that the qualifying position and tires are the ultimate decider in a race. We have seen that for the most part, qualifying position determines how well a driver finishes. About the only exception to that might be Alonso at Valencia. The top cars seem to be so evenly matched, it is very difficult to pass anyone. Tire management is paramount and we saw Alonso fall into the grip of Maldonado at Spain because his tires fell off. Drivers like Kimi, Schumi and Lewis have all felt that the Pirelli tires are hampering their driving. As I stated earlier in the season, it is a shame that races are being decided by who has the best tire management. Tire management works great at LeMans in a 24 hour race. Not so good in a sprint race as used in F1.

 

I'd be happy to see Alonso take the it, he really deserves it so far, winning in not the best car, and has finished in the points in every race this year. He deserves more than just 2 championships.

 

Bro, that will be hard for me to swallow, but I do feel he is the best driver in F1. Period. I actually detest the guy immensely. When he won his first two championships, he beat Schumi soundly. I had respect for him. Then, he went to McLaren and I lost all respect for him. Sounded whiny, churlish and juvenile. Worse, I was a Ferrari fanatic until he joined the team. Then, I found myself rooting for Red Bull and of course, Massa. Given how Seb has emulated Alonso from 2007, I have found myself rooting for McLaren as Button gained a lot of respect in my eyes for his smooth driving style andI like Lewis because he is a charger like Kimi.

Credit goes to Team Ferrari for making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The car looked horrible at the beginning of the year, but they have persevered and made the car competitive. But, it is Alonso's amazing driving skill that has put him into a commanding lead for the driver's championship. His qualifying and race wins have been almost other worldly. He has this ability to dig deep and push himself, especially when he has not qualified well or his car or tires are off. He deserves the championship no doubt about it.

 

Yeah, that sucked. If you watch DTM @ Hockenheim, they go wide through the hairpin all the time. But, unfortunately in F1 them's the rules. Personally I'd like to see the rules revised to allow passing with 4 wheels off the track, as long as you're not cutting the corner. I.e., it'd be ok to go around the outside of a turn or pass off-track on a straight.

At the rate things are going it does look like Alonso will take the championship. Vettel and Hamilton have both dropped too many points due to inconsistent driving, whereas Alonso has been near perfect. Wouldn't surprise me if the championship came down to the points Vettel lost in Malaysia and Germany due to nobody's fault but his own.

l8r)

 

Yes, it is true...It would appear that I have sunk to another all new low by quoting myself...but this was done to make a point...specifically, the FIA last year banned blown diffusers within the 2012 regs...however, apparently their words were not explicite enough and it seems RB met the letter of the regulation but not the spirit of the regulations...the other teams and the stewards R mad as hell because if they don't "clarify"(lawyer talk for "fix") the current regs all the other teams R going to have to spend additional $$ to catch up/match which some just don't have.

As a result, there is going to B a meeting today or tomorrow by the FIA to probably change the rules to force RB to get rid of their current DD setup/cheat and changes in the reg's R expected...even Horner NO's its coming: "The (current) regulations are clear, so there could well be further technical directives that are designed to try and further clarify those regulations," Horner NO's he is using lawyer talk to hid his obvious attempt to use a method banned by the FIA.

Now what RB is doing is not pushing the "technical envelope" but rather taking advantage of a loophole/vagueness in regs to get an advantage...others herein have said that this is perfectly within their right and is part and parsel of F!...However, I disagree...this move by RB is out and out cheating bc they knew that the FIA wanted to eliminate blown diffusers yet they persisted. This move by RB is in stark contrast to that of Lotus who tried earlier this year to install a movable brake system in their car...this attempt was new and innovative but found to B against one of the FIA reg's...Lotus tried to come up with an advantage by development of a new innovation while RB's approach was to use a loophole in the regs forbiding blown diffusers to gain a step up on the competition....this is wrong but will apparently B corrected in time for the Hungary GP...RB is now on my sh**!t list.

Later, Ken

Later, Ken