I can't believe that Maddocker didn't start this thread already,,, or maybe we were going to dovetail it into the 2011 thread.. But here it is: You're 2012 F1 thread. I'm not the most informed guy that watches F1 every weekend,, but it looks to be a lot more competitive this year. I don' know if its because of the new exhaust rules, but its the first time in a long time we didn't see RBR in the front row. Have at it Tibbers.
So good having the racing back on and a nice race to start the season. Thoughts so far... Mercedes seem super fast, McLaren look to have a good package, Redbull didn't seem as dominant but still have a car capable of winning races, Alonso is a super driver in an average car, Lotus looked good, Force India seem to have improved, Williams seems to have stepped up, HRT is still shit, Torro Rosso in for a good season and really good to see Daniel do well and beat his teammate. Shaping up to be a great season with heaps of battles going on.
Great second race. Good to see Fernando get a win and an excellent result for Perez/Sauber. Have to wonder if it was team orders that sent Perez wide though... Never know. Not a great weekend for the Aussies. DR out qualified his teammate again but couldn't put it together for the race. Hopefully he gets up there again in Shanghai
Loved the Shanghai race. Was nice to see a new kid win a race, and even though he didn't get much airtime because of the battle for 2-10th behind him. It was amazing to watch Kimi drop from 2nd to 12th in two fucking laps. And I was screaming at the TV for Hamilton to pass Vettel. Even though Vettel got 4th place (and was in 3rd with a couple laps to go) that's gotta be a better weekend than he expected. Especially not making it out of Q2. Shit, he barely made it out of Q3, I was laughing like an idiot watching him shit is pants as he almost didn't make it after putting up the 3rd best lap then hitting the pits. Please don't cancel Bahrain.
Did anyone else watch the Bahrain GP? What a great race! Now that I have satellite TV at home, I can watch some F1 again. Raikkonen looked very, very quick - that Lotus will be a strong contender this year. Grosjean was also excellent, considering his inexperience.
Thought it was a good race, I was pissed off that Mclaren can't seem to get Hamilton in and out of the pits in a decent amount of time this year. Its cost him in multiple races. I'm kinda rooting for Lotus. Grosjean has had some good qualifying this year, but in the first two races has only completed a couple laps or so... It seems like he's got some talent. Its looking like a great, competitive year for a bunch of constructors. RBR seems to be getting its shit together, Mclaren Mercedes is right there, Mercedes AMG is gonna be tough with that double DRS in qualifying, Lotus is good with both experience and a young fast guy,,,,, and lest we forget the Scuderia crew and Sauber guys. Whats the over/under when Ferrari shitcans Massa? And does anyone believe that Perez is actually gonna turn them down if they come calling in the middle of the year?
I'm not sure about Ferrari shitcanning Massa. Coulthard seemed to think the Ferrari was a dog this year, so it will still be poor regardless of who is driving it. With Hamilton, the commentators seemed to think it was a cross-threaded wheel nut that was being the problem? Still, it was sloppy and cost Hamilton points. Schumacher did well in the opening laps, getting to 13th I think, and then got not further. I'd love to know what sort of problem he had, because he was clearly much faster than the cars around him at that stage.
I retract my previous statement about Massa - he was fucking awful yesterday in qualifying. 17th on the grid, which is horrendous considering Alonso got 3rd. I think Massa might be done in F1 after 2012. He doesn't seem to be the same driver after that awful injury he had. Also: motherfucking WILLIAMS 2nd on the grid! Maldonado drove a stormer and was only beaten to pole by Hamilton, who was impossibly quick and no-one got close to him in Q2 or Q3. Maldonado's pace yesterday shows just how rubbish Bruno Senna is. Williams need to find a better driver than Senna ASAP, since this is obviously a great car to be able to out-qualify both Red Bulls, both Ferraris and both Mercedes'. I'm fucking pumped for this race. I will be wearing my Williams cap for this one!
Spoilered for those who have not yet seen the race. Spoiler Button was awful, but Hamilton was fucking brilliant. To start from last place and finish in the points is an outstanding achievement. I'd thought he was on pole based on his fast time - there must have been some illegality about him stopping on the track on his in-lap. Possibly a weight/fuel issue there? Both of the McLarens seemed to be struggling for grip during the race - I saw Hamilton slide at least 3 times, and Jensen complained numerous times about understeer, particularly in traffic. Their recent aerodynamic modifications seem to not have helped. First Williams win since 2004 and Montoya. Holy.shit.. Congratulations Pastor Maldonado. 1st win in just 24 starts. A remarkable achievement. Alonso and Ferrari looked good too. A pity about Kimi's poor timing for his pit stops - if he'd stopped a lap or two earlier he might have been able to catch Alonso. That Lotus will win at least one race this year. Another good drive from Grosjean for 4th - the more inexperienced guys seem to be showing up the previous Champions at the moment. Roll on Monaco! Also, what was going on at Red Bull? Nose cone changes for both cars? Webber was worse than Button and Vettel only started to make upward moves in the final 10 or so laps. I'd love to know what that issue was, but I am too lazy to use google-fu. I'm just bummed I couldn't find my Williams cap - it was a Villeneuve one from the 1997 San Marino G.P..
Finally Hamilton. Even though the pit stops were still horrible. And what the fuck is going on with Button? I was happy for everyone on that podium. Great race.
Sergio Perez is looking like a great prospect for a bigger team. Some great driving from him yesterday. I think he'll be Massa's replacement at Ferrari. Grosjean is making Kimi look a bit slow, isn't he? Why are McLaren's pit crew so horrid at pit stops? It's their only job! They nearly fucked Lewis over again. Button looked wretched - I don't think this car suits him much. Vettel's last ten laps... outstanding. To go in to the pits that close to the end of the race, change tyres and still get 4th??!! Alonso must've felt a right tit for not doing the same thing. Those Pirellis seem to go off very quickly.
I don't know how you watch races (I watch mine on the Speed Channel), but I thought I heard a snippet from the announcers that Paul Di Resta was raising a few eyebrows at Ferrari. Don't hold me to that though, I could be imagining it. Grosjean is looking tight when he actually gets to stay in a race. He's had a bunch of accidents right? Two weeks ago in Monaco on the first lap or so, and then the (I think) the first couple of races as well. And he's seventh in points. Imagine how much he'd be out shining him without those accidents. Shit. I just looked it up, and he hasn't started any lower than fucking 10th in any race yet this year. He's definitely out qualifying Kimi. Speaking of another dude not finishing races. Shumi. What in the jesus tits is going on with him? He's only finished 2 races!
Exciting race to say the least. Although I'm not happy with the results. Fucking Maldonado. Fuck him. Hamilton had the racing line, Pastor was off the grid, and then WHAT THE FUCK? I know Hamilton's tires were spent, which makes it even more perplexing. Why didn't Pastor just wait till he could have opened up the fucking wing in the DRS zone to take third? Because of such, he didn't finish in the points (from what I understand was given a 20 second penalty) and knocked Hamilton out of the points as well. Its sucks because with Vettel not finishing, Hamilton could have made up tons of ground on him. Instead Alonso gets the win and moves well ahead in points. Speaking of such. As much as I despise Ferrari, Alonso is a great fucking driver. Jesus is he good. No one gave Ferrari a chance this year, which just tells you how much skill and acumen he's got. Also, I feel bad for Grosjean. Dude is performing this year, and has little to show for it. Edit I forgot: Another nice pit stop for Mclaren. 14.9 seconds. I'll repeat. 14.9 seconds for 4 tires.
Were you watching the race? Maldonado's nose was IN FRONT of Hamilton's on the slow-mo replay. By the race rules, Hamilton should have given way, but did not and then had the nerve to push Maldonado off the track and then look surprised when Maldonado t-bones him. Hamilton took what should, by race rules, have been Maldonado's road. Hamilton, as much as I like him, occasionally drives like a dickhead, and this was one of the times. He KNEW his tyres were fucked. He should have given way to Maldonado, who, unlike Lewis, was NOT a swerving danger to other cars on the road. Alonso did exactly this in Canada, and I'm pretty certain at least one of the times he was passed was not in or near a DRS Zone. Also, I think Hamilton might have hit Maldonado wherever he tried to pass, due to the badly worn tyres making the car unsafe for all around him - Hamilton's car was squirrelling from side-to-side under acceleration and braking for three corners before the accident with Maldonado. EDIT: Here's what Pastor Maldonado has to say about it.
Before I retort, I'll say this. The only thing you are correct on is that Hamilton should have conceded the position. He had inferior tires, and in no way could challenge Pastor. That said. Pastor had the lead up till they went into the turn, and then Hamilton re-took the lead as he had the line..... Which forced Maldonado off the grid. At that point, Hamilton held his line, and when Pastor tried to re-enter the grid he crashed into Hamilton. You can't re-enter the grid by forcing the leading car to move over. Pastor should have got behind him and overtook later. Which he would of. I think that fault lies with both drivers being too aggressive. Hamilton didn't have the tires, Pastor did. Both should have backed off. Pastor should have realized that he had the faster car and would be able to open the wing in the DRS zone and not challenge Hamilton at that point. Hamilton should have realized that there was no way that he was going to hold him off to retain a podium finish, and should have let him pass. Both were stupid, and it cost them both points. I'm so fucking pissed that Hamilton didn't get any points in that race. And I would have been fine with Pastor getting third. Its a clusterfuck of stupidity. On both parties.
Pastor actually had the lead going into the corner... watch the slow-mo replay this time. The Williams' blue nose is clearly ahead on the outside, from the camera angle over the nose of the two cars as they entered that tight right corner. The problem is that Hamilton wouldn't back off. Yes, Hamilton had the line because he forced Maldonado wide because he (Hamilton) would not concede the position and Maldonado stayed wide to avoid a collision. Hamilton was then slow getting away from the corner due to the tyre degradation and could not get out of the way - DC said as much yesterday in the race commentary. Hamilton being there made the space Maldonado had made by going off simply evaporate. This whole incident was reckless and Maldonado should have just turned in on him there and then, and it would have most likely been written off as a racing incident with Hamilton the guilty party, since he was driving recklessly due to tyre degradation. I'd love to hear NettData's take on this, because I *know* he was watching yesterday too. EDIT: Forgot to add earlier I was really sad for Grosjean going out of 2nd.
Pastor is at fault, no doubt about it. Doesn't mean that Hamilton couldn't/shouldn't of avoided the crash though. What Pastor did was stupid, completely off the track and then slammed back into the side of Hamiltons car coming back. He should of given way but Hamilton threw away points by not budging. Haven't posted in the thread for a while but what a season!! Glad to see Webber in touch with the lead and Ricciardo beating his teammate.
What you really want to see is the shot before that first photo, where Maldonado was *in front*. I'm now going to scour the internet looking for that shot.
Sorry about the poor quality video, but there it is. 6 minutes 16 seconds. Maldonado in front of Hamilton.1 lap before Hamilton did EXACTLY the same thing to Raikkonen, and Maldonado was using DRS as it was at the end of the DRS zone. Hamilton drove Maldonado off the road and then drove directly across Maldonado's nose and cut him off and left Maldonado nowhere else to go. Hamilton should have been penalised for this incident, no question in my mind. He knew his tyres were off but he did not give way. He deserved to crash out.