Chinese Grand Prix 2010, Shanghai - Race 4/19

McLaren has chartered a personnel and cargo flight directly to Spain. And has invited any other teams to use up any space left on their flight.

This flight leaves on Wednesday.

Seems a lot of teams are going to skip returning to base and proceed directly to Spain. Then use road transport to deliver the new parts to the cars.
 
AcidHell2 said:
any reason why?

Several airliners sent test flights up yesterday with no problems, although they are still being analysed.
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Cos the ash cloud is still there. A few planes flying a few hundred miles is irrelevant. A PR stunt, politics.

There are some 16,000 flights per day disrupted? What if on a normal schedule the ash would cause problems for just one in a thousand. On those numbers of cause a few test flights would be fine - but on a regular day 16 planes would be affected. If it's not essentially 100% safe, the ban stays, even if 99.9% of flights would be just fine.
 
sunama said:
You never know, the team may have told both drivers to "bring it home" and switch their cars over to more conservative/safter settings. The problem is that Hamilton doesnt know the meaning of "take it easy". Button knows this and was probably doing whatever he could to stay in front of Hamilton.

If we reach a stage where 1 McLaren driver is favourite to win the title, I'm sure McLaren will ask the other driver to support him and not try and overtake/fight for position.

At this stage, Hamilton and Button are both fighting for supremacy at McLaren. Neither of them want to back down.
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If it was a dry race I would agree with you - but considering the tricky conditions with worn tyres at this point in the season I personally dont think the team would want to risk NOT getting a 1 - 2 by potentially one car ending up in the wall/gravel
 
FrankJH said:
... considering the tricky conditions with worn tyres at this point in the season I personally dont think the team would want to risk NOT getting a 1 - 2 by potentially one car ending up in the wall/gravel
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I 100% agree with you. But given Hamilton's "racer's mentality", do you honestly believe he would slow down and refrain from overtaking someone, if he was told over the radio?

I would liken Hamilton to Mansell or Senna - giving these drivers team orders which suggest that they should yield/slow down, is pointless.
 
sunama said:
I 100% agree with you. But given Hamilton's "racer's mentality", do you honestly believe he would slow down and refrain from overtaking someone, if he was told over the radio?

I would liken Hamilton to Mansell or Senna - giving these drivers team orders which suggest that they should yield/slow down, is pointless.
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I would generally agree, but after last years Italian GP (where Lewis binned it whilst holding 3rd with a lap to go IIRC) I'm sure the team would have 'clarified' matters to him.
It would have hurt him hugely if he either DNF or he had taken out Jenson/both DNF.

On a dry track with decent tyres then yes, I would expect Lewis to sucumb to the urge and go for it, but not in yesterdays conditions.
 
clv101 said:
Cos the ash cloud is still there. A few planes flying a few hundred miles is irrelevant. A PR stunt, politics.

There are some 16,000 flights per day disrupted? What if on a normal schedule the ash would cause problems for just one in a thousand. On those numbers of cause a few test flights would be fine - but on a regular day 16 planes would be affected. If it's not essentially 100% safe, the ban stays, even if 99.9% of flights would be just fine.
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Pretty much. The actual scientists flying with refined sensor equipment are saying no way.
 
FrankJH said:
Im sure someone has been penalised crossing the white lines going INTO the pits in the last 2 - 3 seasons, although I cant remember where
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Really? Didn't know that. Haven't heard of any occurences of that. It's only 2-3 seasons so it shouldn't take you that long to find out which driver at which GP. ;)
 
Pretty sure its only an issue on the exit line and not entry, as most tracks are single width entry. If they didn't want two cars going in, the left bit should have been coned off.
 
MarcLister said:
Really? Didn't know that. Haven't heard of any occurences of that. It's only 2-3 seasons so it shouldn't take you that long to find out which driver at which GP. ;)
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Yur having a laugh :)

I have actually done a few google searches and practicaly first 10 pages are all Hamilton/Vettel, even including historical etc the only actual incident I can find is Hiedfeld/Barrichello in quali on pitlane exit

I could have sworn something happened on pit entry not long ago though

Duke said:
Pretty sure its only an issue on the exit line and not entry, as most tracks are single width entry. If they didn't want two cars going in, the left bit should have been coned off.
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Surely the fact that it IS single width entry implies FIA dont want two cars racing down the entry /crossing the white line


edit

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8629477.stm

Interesting tyre wear comparison

(Ferrari's currently the best (along with JB's McLaren) - Red Bull's currently amongst the worst (along with Lewis)...this is on similar tracks to Shanghai/Barcelona , on shorter duration corners RB's are likely to become a lot better)

Have McLaren been caught out again (post race one of the lead engineers catagorically denied JB's tyres where any worse -mini edit sorry meant better - than LH's in the past)........
 
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FrankJH said:
I could have sworn something happened on pit entry not long ago though
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Drivers have been fined for doing it during free practice in the past. Not sure anyone ever did it in a race before.
 
Hmm, this is not so good...

According to the Indepedent one of Schumacher's former team-mates was 'shocked by what he saw'.

"I can tell you, he was always very vulnerable when he lost, whenever I beat him; it was as if he needed a cuddle afterwards," the source said on conditions anonymity.

"You can see his head has dropped after four races in which Rosberg has been quicker; he just isn't used to that. He is the kind of guy who even when we were at the Madonna di Campiglia pre-season skiing publicity event with Ferrari in the old days, he had to be the fastest. And if he wasn't, he would keep demanding another go until he was. That's how driven he used to be. After the beating he got on Sunday, in conditions in which the old Michael Schumacher excelled, I don't think he'll ever come back to his old level."
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:(:(
 
Well, that's no surprise. A lot of people think that for someone of 41, who has been out of the sport for 3 years, taking a beating at the hands of Rosberg, isnt a big deal. For any other driver in F1, this would be true.

For MS, this is a HUGE deal - simply because he hasnt ever taken such a beating.
 
Oh, for crying out loud sunama....

One race this season, Schumacher has been comprehensively outperformed by Rosberg with no extenuating circumstances. Bore-rain - they finished only 4 seconds apart. Australia - car was damaged at turn 1. Malaysia - car broke.

And then we get to China. That car looked awful in his hands, the rear end just wouldn't keep still, the front end kept washing out far earlier than the other cars on the track, and he wore his tyres out a lot quicker than Rosberg in the sister car. And yet despite all that he held off The Messiah™ in a far superior car for several laps.

He hasn't forgotten how to drive. He just needs to get the Merc engineers in a room and beat them with sticks until they give him a car that is up to the task of bringing him back up to the pointy end of the grid. And I can't imagine that Mercedes are sitting back and doing nothing to that car.

We're four races in. We haven't even started the European leg of the championship. It's his first year back after three seasons out. It's no shock that Rosberg is leading him right now.

If I were you, I'd be more worried about Lewis Hamilton. Four races in, he's been outqualified three times and is 11 points behind the guy that half the world said in the run up to the season he would annihilate. He hasn't even led a lap yet and Jenson already has two wins on the board. Lord knows I'm far from being a fully paid-up member of the Lewis Hamilton Worshipping Society™, but I would have thought that he'd have at least led a lap by now.

Anyway, most cars are going to see some changes for the Spanish GP (wing wirrors moving inboard at the very least!). Barcelona is such a well-pounded circuit that no-one should find many surprises no matter what the weather is. Maybe we'll get a clearer picture of how everyone stacks up by the end of that weekend.
 
I agree with everything you have just said JRS, what would worry me is if by Montreal or say 3/4's distance MS still doesn't have a car to his liking. He knows Barca well so should be a good indication.

Personally I'm starting to think this format will just not suit him. The heavy cars. He liked the grooved tyre, loose front end cars that came about from 98 more than just about anyone.

It reminds me of JV when the format changed, he just couldn't get to grips with the grooves and narrow cars. MS seems to be struggling the same in a different way.

The Merc seems to be struggling with the back end and has a nose that is solidily planted, anyone whose watched MS over the years will know this is the last thing he would want, which is why he's clearly not got a car to his liking YET.
 
Sumanji said:
Hmm, this is not so good...



:(:(
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Not giving the rest of the drivers enough credit imo, in virtually every sport that ever existed athletes have improved each generation.

Even back in 05/06 when Schumi had no excuses Alonso beat him to two world titles and now even he is struggling.

I like this quote:

Fangio on Nuvolari, his idol:

"... when I saw him going round [...] and being beaten by me and the other young drivers, I felt a great sadness. The sight had such an effect on me that there and then I promised myself that I would never be reduced to such a state, and that I would give up racing as soon as younger drivers began to go faster than me... The Nuvolari I saw [...] was not the man I had idolized [...] It was a great blow to my illusions".
Fangio and Carozzo, My Racing Life, p. 271.
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