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We need a compilation video of all the slides, the slow motion cameras actually have a use now rather than watching a Ferrari bounce over curbs in super slow motion.
#77 - J.B.
Quote from hyntty :
Did you happen to see his q2 (and practice) runs? Compared to them, the actual pole lap was unbelievably stable and balanced.

Exactly. I think his style of learning is to chuck the car around to see what works and what doesn't and then when it's time to get serious he keeps it all neat and tidy. He wasn't very happy with his lap anyway but I don't understand how you can use the fact that he put in a faster, cleaner lap than anyone else against him.
I expect he is one of those people who would say he wasn't that great even if he won 10 world titles in a row and cured cancer using a toothpick and some cotton wool. A few things that everyone will have noticed from this session...

Hamilton looks calmer and more relaxed with the new regulations.

BMW are even faster than they expected to be, and Kubica is faster than his team mate.

Ferrari seem too arrogant, and failed to dominate like they have done in the past.

Ferrari have once again had mechanical failures wreck their chances in the first race.

Honda are still slow.

Torro Rosso are faster than expected, the new driver line up looks great.

Renault are slow, and their new rookie driver is taking his time to get up to speed.

Williams are a bit slower than everyone hoped.
Quote from ATC Quicksilver :I expect he is one of those people who would say he wasn't that great even if he won 10 world titles in a row and cured cancer using a toothpick and some cotton wool.

Oh for goodness sake. I'm sure he's a good driver, but what else would you expect in F1. But that's not the point. It's unlikely that he learned to drive the track perfectly just before his last attempt. Either he wasn't driving as fast as possible, or the car is extremely good with a heavy fuel load. Could be either, but we can't know for sure.

The greatness of a driver is purely subjective. Yes, I don't especially like Hamilton, and I'll be crying myself to sleep tonight because of Kimi, but I'll still have to recongnize his achievements. If I couldn't do that, I wouldn't be in a position to comment these things.
Quote :
A few things that everyone will have noticed from this session...

Hamilton looks calmer and more relaxed with the new regulations.

BMW are even faster than they expected to be, and Kubica is faster than his team mate.
.
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Honda are still slow.

Heidfeld is and will always (=for now) be faster.

Honda has improved. It's a good thing.
I think you are trying to draw conclusion from a qualifying session that aren't actually there to be drawn. But I think (and hope) that God Hamilton Who Can Do No Wrong Even When Lapping The Monkeys At The Back will struggle in the race with his lairy driving style.

Kimi will hopefully make a decent race out of it, and will probably beat Massa. By miles.

I predict Heidfeld to win
IMO they should turn Q3 into a low-fuel, one-lap shootout in reverse order, i.e. the driver who qualified tenth (just making the cut) in Q2 would go out last in Q3 when the track is generally at its best and fastest. The man who was fastest in Q2 would go out first when the track is slower, so it would encourage the fastest cars to lap closer the cutoff point rather than going as fast as possible. This seems like it would tighten Q2 and Q3 times significantly and make it easier for midfield teams to upset the front-runners.

Get rid of having to carry race fuel into Q3 - just put in enough to do an outlap, a hotlap and and an in-lap. Afterwards all teams can put in whatever fuel they like for the race.


EDIT:


After watching quali...

Hamilton will either win it or bin it.

One BMW will be on the podium, one will have a mechanical failure. I'll say Kubica in second. Hamilton wins and Räikkönen third.

Piquet and Glock will move up through the field and challenge the points.

So will Vettel.
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(Lateralus) DELETED by Lateralus : double post
Quote from Tweaker :I don't know why, but I have this god awful feeling someone is going to get in a bad accident [possibly fatal] by way of sliding out of control with the lack of TC...

I had similar thoughts regarding that one corner with the bumpy run-up that had most of them going off. It would be terrible if someone were to spin into the gravel and get nailed by another racer making a similar mistake. But as has been said repeatedly with each session, the track is still a bit "green" and most of the other circuits shouldn't be as tricky.
Yay for Hamilton & Kubica!!! I hope tomorrow the same things gonna happen!
Quote from deggis :F1 has become totally DORIFTO, I freakin' hate it







not really

I bet you wouldn't see this kind of sliding with proper slicks?

Oh my I think I shed a tear. This is going to be a great season. I feel a bit bad for Alonso though. Even worse for Kimi.
Quote from Mattesa :Oh my I think I shed a tear. This is going to be a great season. I feel a bit bad for Alonso though. Even worse for Kimi.

Kimi will bounce back. As much as I dislike Ferrari's ethics, they've produced good cars for a very long time and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Yesterday's clap-out was due to their laziness, not technical ability. Kimi certainly has the ability to bounce back.

Kubica was incredibly good, but risked too much in his all-or-nothing lap. He admitted he took too much risk, and would have learned from it. If he survived Turn 1, he should finish strong.

Hamilton was great as usual.

Disappointing for Alonso. Renault need to dig real fast to get of this mess.

Piquet Jnr, lol. He will get bollocks from Flavio, and some from his own dad I think. Piquet Snr is a demanding man, and will not be pleased that his son has utterly made a tart of himself, especially after all that I'm-gonna-challenge-Alonso swagger pre-season.

Vettel was impressive. Wunderkind, alright!

Heidfeld: quiet and quick as usual.

Honda: better than expected.

Williams: slower than expected, but still good.

Toyota: same old.

Suger Aguri: lack of pre-season testing is really showing.

Force India: looked good, but was slow in the real-deal.

Hekki: Solid start with a new team. Quite impressive!

Red Bull Racing: Faster than expected, but reliability problems again! DC's experience helps him. Webber's luck fails him - again!
Kubica and Hamilton at the front again.... Get Rosberg in there and it's the skool of 2000 back
Quote from Lateralus :IMO they should turn Q3 into a low-fuel, one-lap shootout in reverse order, i.e. the driver who qualified tenth (just making the cut) in Q2 would go out last in Q3 when the track is generally at its best and fastest. The man who was fastest in Q2 would go out first when the track is slower, so it would encourage the fastest cars to lap closer the cutoff point rather than going as fast as possible. This seems like it would tighten Q2 and Q3 times significantly and make it easier for midfield teams to upset the front-runners.

Interesting idea...

It would probably work in the lower formulee or WTTC or BTTC etc, but i don't think F1 should go down that route. F1 has always been and should always remain, the fastest cars wins, It'd be odd seeing the fastest driver/car combo driving artificially slow in order to get a good starting slot just for qualifying. If F1 ever went down the Mickey Mouse route in order to pander to the viewers then it'd loose all credibility in my eyes. You might as well do away with qualifying all together and have the grid decided by a lottery draw, or a viewers phone vote or something.

Quote from Lateralus :Get rid of having to carry race fuel into Q3 - just put in enough to do an outlap, a hotlap and and an in-lap. Afterwards all teams can put in whatever fuel they like for the race.

I certainly agree with low fuel/fastest possible lap time in Q3, but i don't think allowing the teams to fuel up to whatever level for the race is such a good idea. Imagine what would happen at the street circuits Monaco, Valencia, Singapore. Pole sitter would be filled to the brim, lapping really slowly and no one could pass him (bit like the good old days).
Superpole same as some bike racing FTW!
#89 - J.B.
Quote from Intrepid :Kubica and Hamilton at the front again.... Get Rosberg in there and it's the skool of 2000 back

Probably one of the reasons Rosberg didn't want to go to McLaren: he knows what it's like to have Hamilton as team mate.
Quote from samjh :
Kubica was incredibly good, but risked too much in his all-or-nothing lap. He admitted he took too much risk, and would have learned from it. If he survived Turn 1, he should finish strong.

I've actually got him on a little each way bet at 8/1 today. I doubt he'll win, but a podium postion is a got chance. Also but a left over quid on D.C. to win.......well I can only hope.
Brilliant comment from Coulthard with ITV Louise Goodman.

"I will kick the shit out of him." @ Massa after contact on T1.
#92 - SamH
I think Coulthard was at fault, from what I could see.. there was plenty of overlap, and Massa was committed to that corner. I don't think he DID see Massa.
dirty ferrari ....dirty, kimi runs wide massa parks his car in a silly spot hoping for a sc
Quote from BigDave2967 :Brilliant comment from Coulthard with ITV Louise Goodman.

"I will kick the shit out of him." @ Massa after contact on T1.

"If he doesn't come and apologise, I'll kick 3 colours of sh*t out the little b*stard."

I lol'd big time!

As for the incident, I think Massa was at fault. He did dive down from a long way back and Massa should know what the vision out the side of those cars is like. But oh well..
#95 - SamH
Quote from andybarsblade :dirty ferrari ....dirty, kimi runs wide massa parks his car in a silly spot hoping for a sc

That's how I'm seeing it too.
Rather ironic that Coulthard said something like "Always like talking to u, but hopefully u wont see me till after the race"
Then he closes the door too late and starts swearing on TV for something that was his own fault. :bananadea
#97 - SamH
I'm going to watch the re-run this afternoon, just to see if they bleep him
wish they could bleep all of james allen, or just mute him
Quote from andybarsblade :wish they could bleep all of james allen, or just mute him

:iagree:

Bring back Murray Walker!
James Allen is pants. Murray and Martin.. perfect team

Skiddy Kimi! I thought this guy was Finnish!?

Melbourne GP *Spoilers*
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