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wombat666
March 15th, 2012, 03:04
Not written by me but very close to my own thoughts!
:kilroy:

Marussia – Name change over the winter switching from Virgin Racing to Marussia after the Russian car manufacturer took a larger stake in the team. It has been a very strenuous winter for the team after failing the new crash tests. The new test imposed mean that teams have to pass prior to attending pre-season tests.
Marrusia were unable to do this and only completed a few laps on a filming day on demonstration tyres. The team recently announced María de Villota as test a reserve driver but this appears to be more about marketing than ability.
Timo Glock is retained for a further season but it may be his last. Since leaving Toyota it has been nothing but pain for Timo. A very accomplished driver striving for more but is not getting it. His dedication to the team has to be admired.
Charles Pic is promoted from the Barwa Addax Team in GP2 up to a full race driver. After impressing throughout the GP2 season and the young driver test, Pic looks to continue his upward rise. Pic secured three pole positions in 2011 but his race consistency may need work. After a serious lack of preparation for the season, Pic may struggle early on while he adapts.
Overall verdict: The team now receive wind tunnel support from McLaren but it is unlikely that Marussia will do much again this season. It will take a lot for them to bounce back and it may not be until the in season test when they start to make any sort of in roads.

HRT – Suffered the same fate as Marrusia in failing crash tests meaning they were also only able to do laps on demonstration tyres. HRT will be looking for early data in Free Practice 1 at Melbourne. The team move to a new home in May.
After being based in Valencia they now have a new facility in Madrid.
Pedro de la Rosa – Seasoned peddler with a wealth of experience and knowledge and knows how to develop a car. Unfortunately Pedro has to do this in race trim and a testing environment would have suited him better. At 41 years old it has to be questioned why this comeback and now.
Narain Karthikeyan – Great to have an Indian on the grid, but it should be Karun Chandhok. Karthikeyan has improved over the past few years but is still not Formula 1 material. Well-placed rupees have helped him to that seat.
Overall verdict – Some serious work needed for this team. Finances are rather questionable still at this stage and have the weakest line up on the grid. Expect them to fall behind Marussia this season.

Caterham – The second team to go through a name change in the winter season after agreeing a deal with Lotus-Renault. Caterham went in the winter very happy after scoring tenth place in the constructors creating extra revenue. Caterham are another team in transition in mid-season as they move to the Leafield factory.
Promising start to the season as the first team to launch their car and has put in good mileage in pre-season.
Heikki Kovalainen – Retained for another season after greatly impressing last year with the car ever improving, Heikki looks to move up the order and start to challenge the mid-field. If Heikki plays this year right, there could be a few top line drives available to the Finn next season.
Vitaly Petrov – Replaces Jarno Trulli for 2012. The Russian brings Russian investment in to the team amongst and steady rise in performance last year. A great podium in Melbourne then was met with interesting races, especially 'flying' in Malaysia. A steady pair of hands but Heikki will look to lead the team.
Overall verdict – Mike Gascoyne has worked many wonders in his time in F1 and we may just start to see another. The team is gaining in strength and appear to be gaining financial stability but in their third season need to start producing the results.

Williams – A team decorated with success over many moons but with financial constraints, engine disputes and driver changes, Williams look set to find 2012 difficult once again. Renault engines are likely to be the most positive point for the start of the Williams season. An increase in revenue recently. Lacking desire, heart and direction the team are trying to galvanize themselves together with South American investment. It is going to be a tremendous task for the team to really crack the mid-field this season.
Pastor Maldonado – Retained for a second season by Williams. Impressed in a few races last year, namely Monaco where he unfortunately had a coming together with Hamilton but had little else to offer throughout the year.
Some quarters stating the Venezuelan money just about held the seat down.
Bruno Senna – The Senna-Williams combination haunting us all returns to the grid for a full season. After having solid success in the lower categories, Senna is yet to emulate his Uncle. Senna is his own man though and will do things his way. This is a staggeringly good opportunity for the Brazilian to stamp his mark on Formula 1 this year.
Overall Verdict – Drafting in Alex Wurz as a driver mentor clearly shows Williams’s concerns with its drivers, or is it actually a very clever ploy and will help them in their development? Time will only tell but they need the car to really help them out.

Toro Rosso – The team went through a significant shift after replacing Alguarsuari and Buemi. Some very impressive laps turned in pre-season and appeared to be one of the most consistent cars throughout the winter season. As the Red Bull junior team they are looking to progress the drivers and in doing so have created a solid mid-table team.
Daniel Ricciardo – Moves back from HRT to in to the Toro Rosso where he was always going to end up. Out qualified his more experienced team mate last season in a very average car and has shown glimpses have some great raw speed.
Jean-Éric Vergne – Runner up in World Series by Renault, product of the Red Bull Young Driver programme and rather arrogant. The Frenchman very boldly stated that ‘he could beat Webber’ in a Red Bull. Let see if his arrogance can be backed up on track.
Overall Verdict – As long as the two drivers do not squabble between them the team could potentially start knocking on the door of the top teams but it will be a tall order for the two young men.

Sauber – Stability, gained great stability over the winter break. The only significant change was James Key’s departure but all signs lead to a strong season. The Sauber in Barcelona set some great times on the soft compound rubber where other teams had been on super-soft. A very encouraging sign for the Swiss based team and times of old returning.
Kamui Kobayashi – Heads in to his third season with Sauber after a turbulent 2012. Racing seemed not an issue but a few qualifying sessions left questions of the one lap speed. If resolved, Kamui could be on far a very good year as he a great racer.
Sergio Pérez – The young Mexican in his second year will hope to build on an encouraging first year other than his shunt at Monaco. A wonderful debut at Melbourne last year along with sterling drives throughout the year allowed him to build on his experience. His confidence is starting to show with some great times coming out of winter testing.
Overall Verdict – Quiet assassins they could really shake the Top 10 if they match maintainable tyre wear with raw speed. Sauber have a lot of potential and hopefully they will show their wealth of knowledge and depth on track.

Force India – Questions have surrounded the team due the financial issues Kingfisher are having, Vijay Mallya’s airline. It would appear that it is only that side of his wealth that is struggling and as of the moment not affecting the team. Sahara India Pariwar, became co-owner of the team with an investment of $US 100 million. The team since has been renamed Sahara Force India. This could be vital the teams longevity. Force India has had an encouraging winter test with some very competitive times elevating them in to the dizzy heights of top of the tree on a few days and tyre degradation seems solid on the VJM05.
Paul di Resta – Enters his second season of Formula 1 have an impressive opening campaign. Coming off the back of solid races and beating his more experienced team mate at the time, along with qualifying sixth at Silverstone, it was a great 2011 for the Scot. 2012 is di Resta’s time to really shine. Now knowing all the tracks, the team and what he wants from the car he will have to lead this season.
Nico Hülkenberg – He had a testing period at Williams even after a sensational pole position in Brazil in wet conditions. Hulkenberg is set to rise again this year, and will give di Resta a run for his money.
Overall Verdict – Positive signs after uncertainty with finances and with two very sharp and quick drivers they could boost each other to push themselves to the echelons of the big three. Quietly confident, Force India.

Lotus – Just one Lotus name and livery for fans to contest this year thankfully. Working out of the factory at Enstone, the Lotus team sprung a wonderful surprise in bringing back 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen. This is a massive coup for the team and from winter testing can clearly see it has fully motivated and galvanized the squad after the Briatore era. Huge issues surrounded the car at the second test where the mount points for suspension had damaged the chassis.
This required the team to close the doors and fly the chassis back to England. Much speculation surrounded if the problem was worse but the team worked flat
out and got it back for the final test. Very impressive times coming from the team and a real prospect for making Ferrari sweat in the early races.
Kimi Räikkönen – The Iceman returns to Formula 1 after a couple of years driving a Citroen in WRC. There is no doubt he is straight to the point with the media but his honesty makes him an incredible character to have around the paddock. A driver that has quite an aggressive style and likes to express himself more on the track than off it. Good thing.
Romain Grosjean – GP2 champion graduates back to the big time and ironically back to the same team. Under the Briatore era, Grosjean did not fit in well and the time away has done him a world of good. He is very happy about being back in Formula 1 and has good speed that could challenge Raikkonen.
Overall Verdict – The driver pairing are likely to spur each other this season and want to impress from the outset. With drives coming up in 2013, Raikkonen will want to put himself in the shop window if an opportunity arises. Boullier appears to have created a solid team around him at Enstone and will want to make sure development continues throughout the season.

Mercedes – Now with the AMG brand joining them the German outfit will want a big improvement on last season. Both drivers are retained but another season like the last and they may not be around long. They have gone through significant personnel changes bringing in Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis to name but two. Ross Brawn has clearly set out his intentions for this year and it is apparent to see that the team are making strides. Some stunning times in pre-season has left Red
Bull and McLaren more than looking over their shoulders. Initial times indicate that Mercedes has the quickest car but gets through its tyres rapidly.
Michael Schumacher – No longer the oldest man on the grid and a man striving for success. Troublesome two years has led to Michael’s final year of his contract without a win or a podium. His current demeanour suggests that he is a kid a Christmas. He believes he may have the tools to be able to push for podiums this year and this excites him greatly, along with many fans.
Nico Rosberg – The most points man without a victory. Successive years of great qualifying, stuttering race pace at times and pretty boy looks has left many questioning him. Rosberg was significantly better in qualifying last year but was often close if not beaten by Schumacher. His consistency in 2012 needs to be lifted before he sees the top step of the podium. He has more to prove yet.
Overall verdict – Mercedes are oozing potential but they really have to kick off the season well and give Schumacher and Rosberg a car that they can translate into results. The management, drivers, all now fit together. The race results are the biggest key for this season. Get it right, they will challenge Red Bull. Get it wrong, they could fall to the clutches of Lotus.

Ferrari – Something has gone very wrong at Ferrari. Success with Todt/Byrne/Brawn/Schumacher has led to the Maranello team questioning the staff’s ability and whether they have got the radical design right. Testing would indicate not. Flashes of speed met with unknowns of why the car is behaving badly. Ferrari just seems to be all at sea. A pointless media blackout in Barcelona did not help their cause in an age where the media need their kick for the week.
Fernando Alonso – Will start to wonder why he signed such a long deal. He fits the team perfectly but the people around him are letting him down, big time. He is arguably still the best all round driver on the grid, closely matched now by Vettel. He deserves another shot at the title but is has to be questioned if he will get one any time soon.
Felipe Massa – Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall. Even the least knowledgeable Formula 1 fan realises that he is out at the end of 2012 and it is a chance for him to put himself in the shop window for 2013. The master class of 2008 is gone and no matter what people say since his accident in 2009, has not been the same driver. The end is nigh.
Overall verdict – Too many issues surround Ferrari. They are not well prepared and can not give the drivers any sort of opportunity in the first race, unless they pull off a 'McLaren' and have miraculous two week turn around. Ferrari does not have to come from as far back as McLaren did but the unknown factor of how the car will develope is the worry.

McLaren – Got about winter testing in a very purposeful and professional manner. Went a little quicker than they would have liked to of at one stage and threw the anchors out so as not to show their real pace. A different design philosophy for the MP4-27 which sees the monocoque to nose section dropped. It would appear this has not been a hindrance as times indicate the McLaren is quick and good on tyres.
Jenson Button – No-one expected him to do what he did last year but he proved it to a lot of people including himself. Has the abilities of being world champion again and his driving style will suit the Pirelli tyres even more so this year. Stable surroundings, unlike his team mate.
Lewis Hamilton – Frustratingly wonderful, a contradiction. It is fantastic to see Hamilton’s speed and ability on track. His whinging and whining off track lets him down . We all look for someone special in our lives but there is no need to make it as public as he did. The winter hopefully has re-focussed his mind and we will see the Hamilton of old and his raw, tenacious talent.
Overall Verdict – It could get a little spicy between the two Brits this year. The car looks to have the speed to challenge the Red Bull. A lot of hope and promise for McLaren but for some reason an overwhelming feeling of tedium surrounds the team. Some vigour is missing, Hamilton may re-light it.

Red Bull – Adrian Newey, enough said. It is hard to look beyond his design capabilities and see where anyone can challenge them. The ban on the blown diffuser has certainly closed up the pack but he usually finds a way around certain obstacles. The only boundary that Red Bull may have to overcome is complacency after a great amount of success in the past two seasons.
Sebastian Vettel – Proved many doubters wrong last year with his overtake on Alonso at Monza. He has become the full product of a quality racing driver and is a very cool, calm and collected individual all at 24 years old. He has achieved a lot and it will be whether his hunger and desire is still enough to guide the team again, however, he may see a few more cars around him this year.
Mark Webber – Quite simply has to do better than last year. Has come to winter testing with a spring in his step and feels good. He has to put together a good season to stay in Formula 1. It is likely the Aussie is gone from Red Bull at the end of 2012 so will want to show through his performances he can cut it with a top team.
Overall Verdict – Favourites for both Championships but must guard against complacency. All signs indicate that they have the speed of Mercedes but have better tyre degradation allowing them to run longer. Spend a lot, get a lot.

:kilroy:

demorier
March 16th, 2012, 00:48
Slippery slide practise session Friday in pissing down rain....hope that improves.

wombat666
March 16th, 2012, 02:58
Wet indeed.
Probably damp on Saturday morning but should be fine for qualifying and the race.
The cars are even uglier 'in the flesh' than I expected, the only one with any aesthetic class [in 21st Century form] is McLaren, despite the aweful 'Chrome' paint job.
:kilroy:

Ferry_vO
March 16th, 2012, 05:40
Apparently Mercedes/Brawn have engineered another 'wunderwaffe', a passive F-duct coupled to the rear wing DRS system. Red Bull's Christain Horner already commented that other teams need to copy the Merc's rear end.

My printed F1 preview magazine summarized Maldonado as "Big balls, small brain" btw. :icon_lol:

Wing_Z
March 16th, 2012, 15:14
Pretty good sum-up I'd say, Wombat...


Apparently Mercedes/Brawn have engineered another 'wunderwaffe'Well it worked for Brawn back in the day, it will take 6 months for the others to catch up.
Schumacher did look rather quick.
But they didn't learn too much in the conditions, the race should be dry.

As to the "look" of the cars, I thought the McLaren wing looked as if someone had built a model train set on it.
Most of the cars have these strange little sprouts growing all over the show.
It was surprising last season, how well some of the cars went after a shunt knocked them all off!


http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/CHARL_photos/SOH/mclaren.jpg

The smooth profile does look better than the ones with the broken nose though.

demorier
March 17th, 2012, 01:36
I heard on the news tonight my time that there may be a protest against Mercedes after qualifying day...something technical I think ??

Ferry_vO
March 17th, 2012, 03:01
No news on the protest yet, but it seems Lotus want to protest against the passive F-duct rear wing of the Mercedes.

First qualifying of the year is over, and the best looking car is the fastest, with Hamilton way ahead of the rest. Grosjean surprised with third while his team mate 'the Iceman' is stuck in P18!
Good show for Mercedes too, with Schumi scoring his best qualifying result since his return to F1. Red Bull have a bit of work to do in P5 and 6, but not nearly as much as Ferrari in P12 and P15! Looks like the team is going back to the position it was in before the golden years with Brawn and Schumacher..
Maldonado good in P8, but to me it mainly proves what a POS the Cosworth engine really is.. Heavy, thirsty and unresponsive at lower RPMs according to the Williams engineers. Solid performance by the two Toro Rosso rookies in 10 and 11. Sauber disappointing as is Force India. Not the improvement yet both team had hoped for. Hulkenberg did a good job though with P9. No surpirses in the back; Caterham in 19 and 20 still a second off the pace of the cars ahead, Marrusia two seconds behind them and two DNQs for the HRTs another two seconds behind them.


<tbody>
Pos
No
Driver
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Laps


1
4
Lewis Hamilton (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/828.html)
McLaren-Mercedes (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2972.html)
1:26.800
1:25.626
1:24.922
14


2
3
Jenson Button (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/6.html)
McLaren-Mercedes (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2972.html)
1:26.832
1:25.663
1:25.074
15


3
10
Romain Grosjean (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/838.html)
Lotus-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2983.html)
1:26.498
1:25.845
1:25.302
21


4
7
Michael Schumacher (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/7.html)
Mercedes (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2975.html)
1:26.586
1:25.571
1:25.336
18


5
2
Mark Webber (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/21.html)
Red Bull Racing-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2973.html)
1:27.117
1:26.297
1:25.651
17


6
1
Sebastian Vettel (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/822.html)
Red Bull Racing-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2973.html)
1:26.773
1:25.982
1:25.668
18


7
8
Nico Rosberg (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/809.html)
Mercedes (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2975.html)
1:26.763
1:25.469
1:25.686
16


8
18
Pastor Maldonado (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/869.html)
Williams-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2979.html)
1:26.803
1:26.206
1:25.908
20


9
12
Nico Hulkenberg (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/840.html)
Force India-Mercedes (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2976.html)
1:27.464
1:26.314
1:26.451
18


10
16
Daniel Ricciardo (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/857.html)
STR-Ferrari (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2978.html)
1:27.024
1:26.319
No time
16


11
17
Jean-Eric Vergne (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/870.html)
STR-Ferrari (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2978.html)
1:26.493
1:26.429

12


12
5
Fernando Alonso (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/30.html)
Ferrari (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2974.html)
1:26.688
1:26.494

12


13
14
Kamui Kobayashi (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/837.html)
Sauber-Ferrari (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2977.html)
1:26.182
1:26.590

12


14
19
Bruno Senna (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/845.html)
Williams-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2979.html)
1:27.004
1:26.663

16


15
11
Paul di Resta (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/851.html)
Force India-Mercedes (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2976.html)
1:27.469
1:27.086

16


16
6
Felipe Massa (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/18.html)
Ferrari (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2974.html)
1:27.633
1:27.497

16


17
15
Sergio Perez (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/867.html)
Sauber-Ferrari (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2977.html)
1:26.596


11


18
9
Kimi Räikkönen (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/12.html)
Lotus-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2983.html)
1:27.758


9


19
20
Heikki Kovalainen (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/813.html)
Caterham-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2980.html)
1:28.679


7


20
21
Vitaly Petrov (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/864.html)
Caterham-Renault (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2980.html)
1:29.018


8


21
24
Timo Glock (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/791.html)
Marussia-Cosworth (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2981.html)
1:30.923


10


22
25
Charles Pic (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/890.html)
Marussia-Cosworth (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2981.html)
1:31.670


9


DNQ
22
Pedro de la Rosa (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/26.html)
HRT-Cosworth (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2982.html)
1:33.495


6


DNQ
23
Narain Karthikeyan (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/driver/2012/805.html)
HRT-Cosworth (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/results/team/2012/2982.html)
1:33.643


6




Q1 107% Time

1:32.214




</tbody>
Note - Perez qualified 17th but dropped five places as penalty for a gearbox change. De la Rosa and Karthikeyan did not qualify after failing to meet the Q1 107% time.

wombat666
March 17th, 2012, 03:11
I heard on the news tonight my time that there may be a protest against Mercedes after qualifying day...something technical I think ??

Typical Brawn/Schumacher tricks [again!], it seems the 'S-Duct' has returned in the form of a device activated via the DRS which stalls the front wing, or so it seems as the 'Brawns' are considerably quicker in a straight line than the rest.
Conjecture perhaps, but it runs along the lines of "Without blown diffusers the cars lack considerable rear down force [from the amount of oversteer we've seen that would be an understatement!] and with the DRS open it becomes critical, especially in faster corners. The solution seems to be less front downforce and Brawn appears to have applied a 'questionable' soloution in the form of a device that stalls the front aero."
If a protest has been lodged I believe it has come from RBR, that was the hot goss when we were leaving the circuit.
Same old same old first round bitching.
:kilroy:

Ferry_vO
March 17th, 2012, 07:11
Still trying to figure out how it works.. Here's a photo of the Mercedes' rear wing, taken on Friday. Note the thicker section in the wing end plate, and the teardrop shaped at the end of the wing's upper plane (Left of the 'P')

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/F1-2012/Merc_aus_wing1.jpg

Same wing seen from behind; No reason for those thicker sections unless you somehow channel air through there:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/F1-2012/Merc_aus_wing2.jpg

Here's the wing on the straight, with DRS wide open as you can tell by the almost horizontal upper plane:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/F1-2012/Merc_aus_wing3.jpg

Let's take a closer look:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/F1-2012/Merc_aus_wing4.jpg

Right where the tear drop plate was when the wing was closed, there's now a gap opened up in the rear wing end plate! Since the air is rushing by very fast here, the pressure inside the end plates is lowered. Somehow this affects the front wing like Wombat mentioned!

If we look here: http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2011/863/913.html

It seems likely they've found a way to activate the front wing F-duct by opening the rear DRS!

Panther_99FS
March 17th, 2012, 13:49
Well,
I must admit it's great seeing Schumacher up in qualifying - also, great performance by Grosjean! :jump:

Sunny9850
March 17th, 2012, 14:45
I agree with most of the first posts summaries, the few items were my views differ are not worth the ink to type it up here.
As a loooooooong time Schumacher fan it was indeed very nice to see him finally competitive again. And it proves what I had been saying all year long last season. The car simply did not suit his style and any attempt at making it so only worked for a limited time because it ate it's rear tires. From talking with him many years back, when I met him at the vintage car race weekend at the Nuerburgring, I know he prefers a car that is oversteering rather than understeering. I hope that it will be better on tires than last years, then he will have a good chance at the top step.

The new duct system will be challenged of course, and a certain crowd ( of so called F1 fans ) will add it to their long list of Michael/Ross cheats. In the end I believe the FIA will declare it conforming to the rules and everyone else will try to duplicate it one way or the other.

Cheers
Stefan

Wing_Z
March 17th, 2012, 15:19
Well,
I must admit it's great seeing Schumacher up in qualifying - also, great performance by Grosjean! :jump:
Absolutely!
Especially Grosjean - where did he get that from??
Err... welcome to F1 Kimi. Did you imagine it was going to be easy?
Guess not, but then there's no telling with Kimi, he could be having a really good day, and still look as if his piles are giving him hell.
Still, it is really embarrassing to be shown up quite so badly on day one.

Ferry, that's a good link.
The other teams will be in the wind tunnel as we speak...
Problem is, it may be an intrinsic part of the Mercedes aero package, not just an addon which is easy to copy.
Although I suspect it is not quite perfected, that car looked mighty twitchy at the entrance to the main straight.

2012 does look as if it will provide some real competition.
EDIT: Of course, there is a huge unknown: the tyres.
Pirelli has hinted that this year will require careful strategy and good tyre management...

Ferry_vO
March 17th, 2012, 15:31
Three laps, that's all the soft will do before the drop-off starts! Those in front might have a tyre problem tomorrow.. Guys like Raikkonen in the back might have it a bit easier, and we've seen the speed the Lotus is capable of in the hands of Grosjean..

wombat666
March 18th, 2012, 02:42
Good race for a change, Button dominated, both Brawns failed, RBR showed great 'Race Pace', as did the Williams and both STR cars, while the 'Iceman' put in a solid drive through the field.
And Alonsa carried the FIAT into P5 [epic drive], an evil looking race car if ever I saw one!!
Both the sauber drivers provided entertainment+++.
:applause:
Off to our post race evening bash.


<tbody>
Pos
No
Driver
Team
Laps
Time/Retired
Grid
Pts


1
3
Jenson Button

McLaren-Mercedes
58
Winner
2
25


2
1
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull Racing-Renault
58
+2.1 secs
6
18


3
4
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren-Mercedes
58
+4.0 secs
1
15


4
2
Mark Webber
Red Bull Racing-Renault
58
+4.5 secs
5
12


5
5
Fernando Alonso
Ferrari
58
+21.5 secs
12
10


6
14
Kamui Kobayashi
Sauber-Ferrari
58
+36.7 secs
13
8


7
9
Kimi Räikkönen
Lotus-Renault
58
+38.0 secs
17
6


8
15
Sergio Perez
Sauber-Ferrari
58
+39.4 secs
22
4


9
16
Daniel Ricciardo
STR-Ferrari
58
+39.5 secs
10
2


10
11
Paul di Resta
Force India-Mercedes
58
+39.7 secs
15
1


11
17
Jean-Eric Vergne
STR-Ferrari
58
+39.8 secs
11



12
8
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes
58
+57.6 secs
7



13
18
Pastor Maldonado
Williams-Renault
57
Accident
8



14
24
Timo Glock
Marussia-Cosworth
57
+1 Lap
20



15
25
Charles Pic
Marussia-Cosworth
53
+5 Laps
21



16
19
Bruno Senna
Williams-Renault
52
+6 Laps
14



Ret
6
Felipe Massa
Ferrari
46
+12 Laps
16



Ret
20
Heikki Kovalainen
Caterham-Renault
38
+20 Laps
18



Ret
21
Vitaly Petrov
Caterham-Renault
34
+24 Laps
19



Ret
7
Michael Schumacher
Mercedes
10
+48 Laps
4



Ret
10
Romain Grosjean
Lotus-Renault
1
Accident
3



Ret
12
Nico Hulkenberg
Force India-Mercedes
0
+58 Laps
9



DNS
22
Pedro de la Rosa
HRT-Cosworth






DNS
23
Narain Karthikeyan
HRT-Cosworth





</tbody>
Note - Perez qualified 17th but dropped five places as penalty for a gearbox change. De la Rosa and Karthikeyan did not qualify after failing to meet the Q1 107% time.

Panther_99FS
March 18th, 2012, 08:06
Interesting start for the season - that's for sure!
I wonder where this Mercedes clarification of the rules (by the other teams) will end up...

Wing_Z
March 18th, 2012, 13:25
Interesting start for the season - that's for sure!
I wonder where this Mercedes clarification of the rules (by the other teams) will end up...
Based on this race performance, I'd say the teams will be insisting Merc keeps the configuration, exactly as is!

A great season opener, Kamui put the Banzai back in Kobayashi, Kimi showed he's got a little experience, and wow! Williams back from the grave.
Well, until maestro Pastenado broke it - was it the very last corner, with an assured 6th place in sight??
Button looked totally relaxed and in control, great to see McLaren back in form.
Alonso is one of the Racing Greats... to take that POS to 5th was masterful.
Felipe showed what it really is worth.

Next week: Sepang.
Wonder who has the straight-line speed?

Panther_99FS
March 18th, 2012, 13:55
I know it's too early to say much but Red Bull did look awful good in race trim & at this stage, **appear** to be better on the rear tires than both McLaren & Mercedes.
Yep - definitely a great season coming up! :jump:

wombat666
March 18th, 2012, 19:05
I agree with most of the first posts summaries, the few items were my views differ are not worth the ink to type it up here.
As a loooooooong time Schumacher fan it was indeed very nice to see him finally competitive again. And it proves what I had been saying all year long last season. The car simply did not suit his style and any attempt at making it so only worked for a limited time because it ate it's rear tires. From talking with him many years back, when I met him at the vintage car race weekend at the Nuerburgring, I know he prefers a car that is oversteering rather than understeering. I hope that it will be better on tires than last years, then he will have a good chance at the top step.
The new duct system will be challenged of course, and a certain crowd ( of so called F1 fans ) will add it to their long list of Michael/Ross cheats. In the end I believe the FIA will declare it conforming to the rules and everyone else will try to duplicate it one way or the other.
Cheers
Stefan

This season the 'Brawn' [it is as much a 'Mercedes' as the Renault is a 'Lotus'] has been built around Schumacher, a longer wheelbase being the most noticable point to suit his taste for a less twitchy oversteer transition. A style he demonstrated with great effect in Adelaide 1994.
:173go1:
As for the questionable aero, it does smack of the Schumacher/Brawn/Todt/FIAT school of 'design'.
Perhaps the time spent on this would have been put to greater use on the mechanical side of the car, Schumacher retired with failed Hydraulics and it appears that Nico suffered the same fate.
FTR, I'm one of that 'certain crowd', as I regard today's 'Formula 1' as show business, and rather lost my enthusiasm around the time 'Mikka the Flying Finn' retired.
However, I do like a decent race, be it Formula Ford or Formula 1.

demorier
March 18th, 2012, 19:28
I wouldn't like to be in Massa's shoes these days...can't be far off getting the bullet I would think.

wombat666
March 18th, 2012, 23:58
I wouldn't like to be in Massa's shoes these days...can't be far off getting the bullet I would think.

The paddock rumour mill has him being replaced at the end of the season with one M. Webber, which wouldn't be a bad move.
Silly season starting early this year!!!
:173go1:

Ferry_vO
March 19th, 2012, 05:56
They'll try Kubica first to see if he can still drive an F1 car, and if he can't then maybe Sutil?

Of course if they can't improve the car vastly ,they might as well get Maldonado and Chavez' money... :kilroy:

wombat666
March 19th, 2012, 07:11
According to the grapevine it's more about what is in Webber's head re RBR ferry.
:kilroy:

Ferry_vO
March 19th, 2012, 07:20
Second driver in the Newey RBR or second driver in a team that appears to be slowly slipping back to it's eary nineties pre-Schumacher/Brawn/Byrne form..? Not a hard choice unless Ferrari is willing to pay a lot more!

Panther_99FS
March 19th, 2012, 08:39
Not written by me but very close to my own thoughts!
:kilroy:
Toro Rosso – Jean-Éric Vergne – Runner up in World Series by Renault, product of the Red Bull Young Driver programme and rather arrogant. The Frenchman very boldly stated that ‘he could beat Webber’ in a Red Bull. Let see if his arrogance can be backed up on track.

:kilroy:


Well...Round 1: Vergne was beaten by his team mate.....