Japanese Grand Prix 2011, Suzuka Circuit - Race 15/19
- Thread starter Glaucus
- Start date
it would have been good to see how it would have ended if there wasn't a safety car.
button had to stop immediately after finishing the race. without those 4 or so laps following the SC saving fuel i wonder how button would have been in the last 5 laps. i think alonso would have won with vettel 2nd.
some good can come from hamilton and massa colliding
I dont know for sure - but isnt suzuka one of those tracks where a safety car is practically gaurenteed?
Saying that I was surprised that small amount of debris caused a safety car at all (I realise there were two areas, 7 & 16 think, but even so it was surely doable under yellows?)
Ive seen much more debris cleared up before under yellows rather than a safety car
Have a private wager with a mate that he'll beat Button, which I also hope comes true
Well if the common philosphy that in most seasons everything evens out - Hammy should get two mechanical breakdowns to even things up a little before the end of the season.......
its impossible to prove "skill" between two people - its completely subjective
considerng the whitewash LH was meant to give JB upto now when it was first announced they would both be at McLaren , if anything its been exactly the opposite way round (taking into account the whole team was centred around Lewis undisputably when JB arrived)
I have to say I was getting really ******* off with everyone saying "since Canada JB has really stepped up a gear in his performances" (which seemed to be said quite a lot over the weekend) - Australia , China and Turkey particularly weret possibly as good performances as they should have been (even one of those was a 4th place) and Valencia he had the KERS issue for 1/2 the race - but apart from that the whole season JB has been driving brilliantly in an average McLaren. The wheel literally coming off after the pitstop at Silverstone and the German hydraulics failure cost the viewers an even more exciting end to the season
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Soldato
Hopefully his team has filled him in by now on why he was slow. I.e. the puncture in the first stint compromised the rest of his race. As it meant he was pitting 2-3 laps before everyone else for each stint AND he had to make his final stint tyres last an extra 2-3 laps.
even given that he was still dropping back in relation to those around him throughout the race (he gained 10 seconds from the safety car period, and he was still 15 seconds or so behind JB at the end), so he effectively lost a pitstop anyway
I seem to recall (although Im happy to be told otherwise) that just after the early pitstop he was RIGHT up with the leaders in 4th , and given he had to get 3 laps more from his remaining sets after the early pitstop Im not sure why they didnt ask him to stay out one extra lap per set to lessen the loss at the end...... (although admittedly a slow lap on the softer tyres would probably be worse than a slow lap on the prime)
The other thing to note is (according to a passing comment by Brundle I believe) that last season JB's engineer was changed TWICE during the season (ie three different people) - but no explanation for this was given , whether it was JB's choice, the team's or personnell issues in general (ie private /family for those concerned) but seeing as it takes any driver time to acclimatise to the engineer on the pitwall and vice versa, I think that puts an even better light on JB's first season at McLaren
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Soldato
I was simply saying that I thought he probably deserved a penalty for being a dozy pillock on Sunday, whereas at Monaco he was wrongly penalised for a passing move that didn't pan out due to overly robust defending from Maldonado (i.e. turning in six miles before the apex).
Have to agree with all of that.
I'm just hoping we see a return to form for the last few races. I think if he can get a few good results at the end of this season it will stand him in good stead for next year.
Do we know where the debris at turn 7 came from? Surely as it brought out the safety car we should be having a massive thread discussing why the driver that caused that didn't get a penalty?
I thought it was the webber incident (cant think who with) but commentary seemed to say this was a while before the safety car
Soldato
It was only a couple of laps before. I think the comment was more to clarify that Webber and Schumacher weren't fighting for position whilst the safety car was deployed.
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Come back to the UK Lewis!
I think that Hamilton's father recently alluded to a lack of support for Hamilton (and quickly retracted his comments), perhaps suggesting other issues in his life.
Hamilton appears also to be considering leaving McLaren which has pretty much been his home for years now. I wonder how Ron Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh compare in avuncular terms?
It certainly seems that Hamilton is less happy / focused than he has been in the past - perhaps he should consider not being a tax dodger in Switzerland?
Thanks for that, an interesting analysis
I think that Hamilton's father recently alluded to a lack of support for Hamilton (and quickly retracted his comments), perhaps suggesting other issues in his life.
Hamilton appears also to be considering leaving McLaren which has pretty much been his home for years now. I wonder how Ron Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh compare in avuncular terms?
It certainly seems that Hamilton is less happy / focused than he has been in the past - perhaps he should consider not being a tax dodger in Switzerland?
I have decided, I really despise Dany Bahr.
They didn't win the fight to get the Team Lotus name (rightly so), so instead have taken a tactic of making everything confusing for fans (all other Formula Lotus Cars backed teams run in green and yellow) and muddy the waters so that Fernandes has no choice but to drop the name.
Its Ok though, when Bahr drives Lotus Cars into bankruptcy in a few years and thye pull out of F1, Fernandes can call his team Caterham Team Lotus.
Oh, and the first person to say "isn't it great to see black and gold Lotus' back on the grid" gets a punch in the face.
They didn't win the fight to get the Team Lotus name (rightly so), so instead have taken a tactic of making everything confusing for fans (all other Formula Lotus Cars backed teams run in green and yellow) and muddy the waters so that Fernandes has no choice but to drop the name.
Its Ok though, when Bahr drives Lotus Cars into bankruptcy in a few years and thye pull out of F1, Fernandes can call his team Caterham Team Lotus.
Oh, and the first person to say "isn't it great to see black and gold Lotus' back on the grid" gets a punch in the face.
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Next time I go to his house I will kick him in the shins for you
The whole saga has been a farce & with Fernandes coming out after battling through numerous court cases etc only to decided he wasn't sure if they really were "Team Lotus" ground my biased Norfolk gears.
Soldato
Won't take long given Bahars plans to position Lotus as a Ferrari/Porsche rival
They've already dropped several of the multitude of 'vapourware' models which were announced a few years ago haven't they?
Won't take long given Bahars plans to position Lotus as a Ferrari/Porsche rival
They've already dropped several of the multitude of 'vapourware' models which were announced a few years ago haven't they?
Yeah, I think they announced 5 new models, and have canned at least 2 of them.
Whist I am a massive fan of Lotus' cars, I can't help thinking trying to take on Ferrari and Porsche is just a disaster waiting to happen.
You never know though, we could all be pleasantly surprised.
Yes. The Esprit, Elite, Elise, Elan and Etern. As far as I know the Elan has been canned, the Esprit put on hold, and either the Elite or Etern exists as a concept with no solid production plan.
Soldato
^ It is indeed.