F1 2011 - The Official Thread

[Rob2012]

Only possible decision, took their time though.

[gotosy]

Ferrari rename their 2011 Formula One racing car for the second time

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/04032011/2/ferrari-rename-f1-car-avoid-confusion-truck.html

"In order to avoid the slightest risk of anyone confusing a Formula One car with a pick-up truck... the men from Maranello have decided that the car will lose the F that precedes the number 150 and which stands for Ferrari,"

[gotosy]

Pirelli has announced the colours that it will use to distinguish the six different types of tyre to be used during the 2011 season.

Each tyre will carry its own colouring on the Pirelli and PZero logos affixed to the sidewall.

The six colours are as follows:

Wet - orange

Intermediate - light blue

Supersoft - red

Soft – yellow

Medium – white

Hard – silver

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90008

[Rob2012]

That looks very confusing when you first see it, but actually it's not.

Essentially, as long as it's not raining, the hard "prime" tyre will be a white/silver colour, whilst the soft "option" will be red/yellow.

Good work Pirelli - the cars on the faster tyres will stand out well with that system. Bridgestone's were never that well marked imho.

[gotosy]

Vettel will start from pole Sunday in Formula One's season-opening

AUS GP Qualifying:

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.529s

2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.307s

3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m24.395s

4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.779s

5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m24.974s

6. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m25.247s

7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.421s

8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m25.599s

9. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.626s

10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m27.066s

11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m25.971s

12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.103s

13. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.108s

14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m26.739s

15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m26.768s

16. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m31.407s

17. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth

18. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m27.239s

19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m29.254s

20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m29.342s

21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m29.858s

22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m30.822s

107% time: 1m31.266s

23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m32.978s

24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m34.293s

[Rob2012]

Decent enough race for a first run out of the new season.

Stars of the show, in no particular order were Perez, Petrov, Hamilton and Vettel.

Hamilton and Vettel we know all about, so not much needs to be said about them. But for Petrov to dominate his teammate over the whole weeknd and get a podium, when people (including me) were questioning his place at Renault, was incredible. And Perez, in that Sauber doing only 1 pitstop on his deubt was fanatastic. I think I'm going to enjoy watching Sauber this season with him and his crazy Japanese teammate.

The less said about Barrichello, Webber, and Heidfeld the better. Crashy, slow and non-existent respectively.

[gotosy]

as expected Vettel won, great race for Petrov and Perez.

a very interesting race

World Championship

1. Vettel 25

2. Hamilton 18

3. Petrov 15

4. Alonso 12

5. Webber 10

6. Button 8

7. Perez 6

8. Kobayashi 4

9. Massa 2

10. Buemi 1

[gotosy]

Sauber drivers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi were disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday for technical infringements

Sauber to appeal against GP exclusion

[arwebb]

Have to say I thought the race today was a bit dull. Vettel showed that he and Red Bull are, as they have been since mid-2009, the team to beat. However, I think the team with most to be pleased about tonight have to be McLaren.

[gotosy]

Sauber has elected not to appeal about the decision to exclude Segio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi from the opening round of the F1 season in Australia.

The pair had crossed the line in seventh and eighth before being thrown out of the race when it was found that that a rear wing element on the two cars contravened the regulations.

Although the team initially looked like it would appeal, the decision has now been taken not to push ahead with the planned appeal despite its insistence that it hadn’t benefitted from the irregularity.

“It did not bring us any performance advantage, but the fact is that it was a deviation from the regulations,” technical director James Key said. “We take note of the stewards’ decision.

“We have since found that there was an error in the checking process for the relevant dimension on this component. We have already put measures in place to ensure that nothing of this kind occurs again in the future.”

...

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/29032011/23/sauber-elects-against-appeal.html

2011 drivers' World Championship

1. Vettel 25

2. Hamilton 18

3. Petrov 15

4. Alonso 12

5. Webber 10

6. Button 8

7. Massa 6

8. Buemi 4

9. Sutil 2

10. Resta 1

[gotosy]

Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying:

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m34.870s

2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.974s

3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m35.179s

4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m35.200s

5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m35.802s

6. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m36.124s

7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m36.251s

8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m36.324s

9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m36.809s

10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.820s

11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m37.035s

12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m37.160s

13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m37.347s

14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m37.370s

15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m37.496s

16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m37.528s

17. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m37.593s

18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m38.276s

19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m38.645s

20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m38.791s

21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m40.648s

22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m41.001s

23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m41.549s

24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m42.574s

[gotosy]

second season's win for Vettel in Sepang

1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h37:39.832

2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 3.261

3. Heidfeld Renault + 25.075

4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 26.384

5. Massa Ferrari + 36.958

6. Alonso Ferrari + 37.248

7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 49.957

8. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:07.239

9. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:24.896

10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:31.563

11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:41.379

12. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap

13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap

14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap

15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap

16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps

17. Petrov Renault + 4 laps

Championship:

1. Vettel 50

2. Button 26

3. Hamilton 24

4. Webber 22

5. Alonso 20

6. Petrov 15

7. Heidfeld 15

8. Massa 12

9. Kobayashi 8

10. Perez 6

11. Schumacher 2

12. Buemi 1

13. Di Resta 1

[Rob2012]

So, both Alonso and Hamilton receive 20 second penalties for the best bit of racing of the day. Is there any point me getting up early next weekend for the next "race"?

[Faster]

I usually love Malaysia, this race was boring. I am happy Vettel won, but it would be nice to have more exciting races.

[gotosy]

China GP qualifying: despite Webber's poor qualifying performance, no surprise...

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m33.706s

2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.421s

3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.463s

4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m34.670s

5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m35.119s

6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m35.145s

7. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m36.158s

8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m36.190s

9. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m36.203s

10. Vitaly Petrov Renault No time

11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m35.874s

12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.053s

13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.236s

14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m36.457s

15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m36.465s

16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m36.611s

17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m36.956s

18. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.468s

19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m37.894s

20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m38.318s

21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m39.119s

22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m39.708s

23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m40.212s

24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m40.445s

107% time: 1m41.941s

[Rob2012]

Well, Di Resta in 8th and both Torro Rossos in the top 10 is a bit of a shock. As is Rosberg up in 4th. Lots of intrigue in that grid. Button also outqualifies Hamilton, a rare thing.

[Rob2012]

Best race of the season by a long shot this morning, and the best race I can remember for a long while!

Hamilton shows why he's such a great racer. That was a properly hard earnt victory with three or four great overtakes to put him in a position to challenge. You have to be a brilliant driver to do what Vettel did in the last two races, but there's something a bit more special about winning a race when you've not lead the whole way. I still question whether the young German's quite got what it takes to drive a race like Hamilton did today.

[gotosy]

yep Hamilton was fantastic!

great race

1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h36:58.226

2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 5.198

3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 7.555

4. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 10.000

5. Rosberg Mercedes + 13.448

6. Massa Ferrari + 15.840

7. Alonso Ferrari + 30.622

8. Schumacher Mercedes + 31.206

9. Petrov Renault + 57.404

10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.273

11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:08.757

12. Heidfeld Renault + 1:12.739

13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:30.189

14. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:30.671

15. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap

16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap

17. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap

18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap

19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap

20. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps

21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps

22. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

World Championship standings, round 3:

Chamiponship:

1. Vettel 68

2. Hamilton 47

3. Button 38

4. Webber 37

5. Alonso 26

6. Massa 24

7. Petrov 17

8. Heidfeld 15

9. Rosberg 10

10. Kobayashi 7

11. Schumacher 6

12. Buemi 4

13. Di Resta 2

14. Sutil 2

[arwebb]

We shouldn't forget Webber's magnificent drive from 18th to third either, but Hamilton's win has really got this season going now. The first two races left you fearing a bad season like in the years of Ferrari dominance.

[Rob2012]

How good is this photo?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9461867.stm

[4gamesandcounting]

Webber my driver of the day, also great to see Massa getting some form back!

[Bezzi]

Australian GP

Qualifying

#07 - Rosberg - 1:25.421 (Q3)

#11 - Schumacher - 1:25.971 (Q2)

Race

RET - Rosberg - 22 laps

RET - Schumacher - 19 laps

Malaysia GP

Qualifying

#09 - Rosberg - 1:36.809 (Q3)

#11 - Schumacher - 1:37.035 (Q2)

Race

#09 - Schumacher - +84.8

#12 - Rosberg - +1 lap

Chinese GP

Qualifying

#04 - Rosberg - 1:34.670 (Q3)

#14 - Schumacher - 1:36.457 (Q2)

Race

#05 - Rosberg - +13.4

#08 - Schumacher - +31.0

I think this is the last year of the great Schumacher in F1. He can't even pass to Q3.

[Rob2012]

I don't think that's quite fair. Q2 in China was basically a one lap scramble after Petrov's car broke down. You can't judge any driver on that session because it was ridiculous (but great fun to watch). Besides which, he finished 8th in the race and was fighting with Alonso all race.

[Rob2012]

It is seventeen years ago this weekend that Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenburger were killed. RIP.

[gotosy]

already 17 years! it seems so long ago but have all events in my memories...

RIP Senna and Ratzenberger

on the anniversary of Senna' death, a horrific crash at Imola today. thanksfully all the drivers walked away unhunt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJTApioaUdU&feature=youtube_gdata_player