F1 2011: Belgian GP.

[Ferry_vO]

Interesting start of qualification on a wet track with more rain coming!

Q1 results:

18: Di Resta
19: Trulli
20: Glock
21: D'Ambrosio
22: Liuzzi
23: Ricciardo
24: Schumacher

Schumacher (20 Years after his debut) drove out of the pits and lost a rear tire on the long straight after the Eau Rouge!

[Ferry_vO]

Red flag in Q2 after Sutil crashed his Force India in the Eau Rouge at 250 kph..

[Ferry_vO]

Q2 results:

11: Buemi
12: Kobayashi
13: Button
14: Barrichello
15: Sutil
16: Maldonado
17: Kovalainen

Maldonado got in the way of a faster Hamilton, they touched at the Bus stop chicane and had more contact on the downhil straight towards Eau Rouge with a bit of damage; this will probably not go unpunished..

Bad timing for Button, but a great job for Senna in the Lotus Renault! :applause:

[Ferry_vO]

Q3 Results:

1: Vettel
2: Hamilton
3: Webber
4: Massa
5: Rosberg
6: Alguersuari
7: Senna
8: Alonso
9: Perez
10: Petrov

[wombat666]

Alguersuari, Senna, Perez and Petrov were impressive, we'll see how they are if it's a dry race.
As for Maldonado, all the usual suspects are crying foul and are of the opinion that he should be 'sent home'......... what a crock, put him at the rear of the grid and under 'observation' for the next three rounds.
He was stupid, but I've seen far more stupid drivers do worse.:173go1:
The PC crowd are really irritating at the moment.

Perhaps Nick Heidfeld can see why his services have been dispensed with, he should never have had a drive anyway.
Muppet!
:kilroy:

[Ferry_vO]

Hamilton got a warning (How many is that already?) and Maldonado a five-place grid penalty.

[Wing_Z]

Maldonado got off extremely lightly I thought.
Sure Lewis was a bit rude, barging by in the corner and banging wheels.
But to cruise up on the straight, and with malice ram a car (the pole-sitter no less)...this isn't karting y'know.
Actually if it were, they'd have had his licence.
Pastor presumably brings a great deal of Venezuelan money to the F1 circus.

To call Senna's performance impressive is the understatement of the year.
His first F1 drive in ...how long?
He's never raced the Pirelli's, let alone at Spa.
His performance was in a totally different league from what we've seen before.

And Button... like a yo-yo. If it was indeed the team that called him in, stranding him in 13th, McLaren needs to do a little soul-searching.

Still a brilliant race track, despite efforts to dumb it down over the years.
Weather always a factor, looking forward to a great race.

[Panther_99FS]

Maldonado got off extremely lightly I thought.
Sure Lewis was a bit rude, barging by in the corner and banging wheels.
But to cruise up on the straight, and with malice ram a car (the pole-sitter no less)...this isn't karting y'know.
Actually if it were, they'd have had his licence.
Pastor presumably brings a great deal of Venezuelan money to the F1 circus.

.

You said it correct.

[wombat666]

The usual suspects off at turn one and more or less the same on the podium!
Button, bloody great drive.
:applause:

Maldonado redeemed himself (more or less) with a steady run but he was very lucky to get off lightly.
Hamilton was a bit stiff but passing Kobayashi is always fraught with danger.
:173go1:

One down, in an hour it's off to Indy for three hours of MotoGP action.
Good thing I can sleep all day Monday.

[Panther_99FS]

How many has Vettel won this year?

[Cazzie]

Except for Schummy's drive - YAWN!

F-1 is more boring than NASCAR or IRL even this year.

Caz

[Ferry_vO]

How many has Vettel won this year?

Seven out of twelve. The other five races had three different winners but Vettel finished on the podium on four of those five. He has an average of over 21 points per race now, with 25 points for a #1 finish..


Hamilton was a bit stiff but passing Kobayashi is always fraught with danger.


Another bonehead move by Hamilton; moving back to the racing line with a car already there isn't going to end well.. It was a bit opportunistic by Kamui but he had every right to be there!


Maldonado redeemed himself (more or less) with a steady run but he was very lucky to get off lightly.


Five points for Williams in twelve races.. What a dramatic season!

[Panther_99FS]

Except for Schummy's drive - YAWN!

F-1 is more boring than NASCAR or IRL even this year.

Caz

The problem with F1 these days is that the rules have become so restrictive so that now, we're not seeing the variety of manufacturer & designer innovations that we used to see in the past......So it's actually becoming more like NASCAR each time F1 restricts the rules....:icon_lol:

[Cazzie]

The problem with F1 these days is that the rules have become so restrictive so that now, we're not seeing the variety of manufacturer & designer innovations that we used to see in the past......So it's actually becoming more like NASCAR each time F1 restricts the rules....:icon_lol:

If that were the case, there would be more wins by other drivers than Red Bull and McLaren.

[Panther_99FS]

If that were the case, there would be more wins by other drivers than Red Bull and McLaren.

Rules aren't that restrictive yet.....:running: (no templates, etc..)

[Wing_Z]

Interesting how grid position doesn't have that much effect on the outcome!
What a drive by Schumacher...24th, up to 5th!
And Button...13th to 3rd!
And Bad Boy Maldonaldo..21st to 10th.
Shows what a little motivation can do, eh?

Some brilliant racing, a pleasure to see the level of professionalism in some of those high-speed overtaking manoeuvres.
Webber and Alonso at 200mph through Eau Rouge, with maybe a playing card thickness between their wheels...breathtaking moment.

Of course, as mentioned, Hamilton needs to regain a little focus, perhaps a new manager and personal trainer.
Does he have a grudge against Allianz?
It certainly seemed that way, he demolished their entire promotion in one run!

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

[demorier]

One of these days our man Webber will learn how to start a race - may be not?..seems to mess that up a often.

[Ferry_vO]

Some brilliant racing, a pleasure to see the level of professionalism in some of those high-speed overtaking manoeuvres.
Webber and Alonso at 200mph through Eau Rouge, with maybe a playing card thickness between their wheels...breathtaking moment.


:applause: That was great to watch indeed! But don't forget Vettel overtaking Alonso (I think?) through the Blanchimont!

As for Lewis: His comment for the BBC says enough; he didn't know what happened or who he overtook before the crash.. Compare that to Alonso or Vettel who are discussing their strategy (And that of others!) With their engineers while racing at full speed.

Button did great too (Good for my F1 manager game!), almost a repeat of his race in Canada. Shame Senna threw away his chances (And those of Alguersuari and almost Alonso) in the first corner.

Webber seems to have really bad starts this year, which is odd because these cars use a form of 'Launch control'. All he has to do is push a few buttons, put his foot down and release the clutch when the light goes green. Something for the team to work on!

[wombat666]

This is real racing.
Casey Stoner at Indy.
Over 200MPH on two wheels.
And next year the bikes are going to be faster.
:applause:

47015
MotoGP World Standing

Rider Standings After Race 12 of 18

1. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 243
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 199
3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 174
4. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 130
5. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 125
6. Valentino Rossi Ducati ITA 124
7. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 105
8. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 84
9. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 80
10. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 77
11. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 62
12. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 49
13. Karel Abraham Ducati CZE 46
14. Toni Elias Honda ESP 46
15. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 39
16. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 29
:kilroy: