321 replies to this topic

[MortenF1]

Felipe Massa and Ferrari, perhaps very much as expected on pole position. Massa has always been strong here, and for the final attempt in Q3, Räikkönen was three tenths off. He may have been affected by running close behind Alonso though.

-McLaren have looked even quicker than they did in Spain, where it was clear they had improved. Front row for Kovalainen, well done! All in all a good days work from McLaren, as Hamilton managed third.

-BMW have perhaps got a couple of laps more fuel than those infront, but it could just as well be the result of some issues with getting the set-up right in practice. A bit further down the grid than earlier this year - fifth for Kubica, ninth for Heidfeld who turns 31 today.

-The RB4 has run well here, and Webber slammed his car in fifth position. A very convincing effort from DC in Q2, but he had to settle for tenth in Q3.

-One happy camper and one angry bastard at Renault; Alonso seventh and Piquet 17th.

-Again this weekend, Toyota seem to have lost out a wee bit to their direct competitors. Glock has looked quicker than Trulli this weekend, but sadly a problem at the front-end prevented him from qualifying in the top 10. Trulli managed eight.

-Rosberg managed to turn things around between him and Nakajima for qualifying, but 11th and 16th is a little dissapointing for Williams.

-Honda expected to be more competitive here as the track is smoother, but that has not come to fruition. 12th and 13th for them, Barrichello ahead.

-Vettel got clean runs in qualifying this time, and did well to put it 15th on the grid. Bourdais 18th.

-Force India has slipped a little bit behind it seems. Sutil will start ahead of team-mate Fisichella thanks to the latter three-place penalty.

With the track temperature increasing as qualifying progressed, the track became a little slower. It appeared to be little or no difference between the compounds, as it seemed a good few prefered the hard today.
Nice slides from several drivers as the grip decreased.

Are we in for a serious fight between Ferrari and McLaren tomorrow? How far off are BMW?
-Please discuss!

[Yellowmc]

Just seen a replay of Raikkonen right behind Alonso on his hot lap.

That could explain the time loss he suffered but what were they doing close to each other? A penalty?

[Atreiu]

Why should BMW be heavier?


I didn't expect the Mclarens to split the Ferraris. Raikkonen better hopes he gets a good start so he can fight Massa.

Hopefully this will be a better race than Bahrain or Spain.

[OSX]

So Raikkonen on a heavier fuel load perhaps than he top three or did he make a mistake? Didn't see the Q.

[primer]

Felipe has the pole, but I just do not have the confidence that he can finish where he started. I wish him well, but he'll either have another Massa moment, and / or lose positions to the Mercedes cars during pitstop(s).

Same for Heikki, I think he too will finish behind Lewis.

Kimi seems to be having another one of his "off" weekends.:

Glock seemed decent for once, but then something went wrong(?).

[gaston_foix]

The problem for Kimi is on the dirty side of the starting line. Its likely that Kubica will jump him. Same problem for Kova and Webber. So will be 3 duels, Ham-Kova, Kub-Kimi, Webb-Alonso.

[nja]

Here's a strategy question - If DC is fuelled up to the gills (which seems pretty obvious - he was a whole second behind 9th), then why waste 3 laps worth of fuel doing that run at the end? He was never going to improve from 10th.....

[airwise]

Bizarre decisions by Hamilton and Mclaren. Once Hamilton had decided on the hard tyre, surely it made sense to use an extra lap of race fuel to have a shot at pole? All weekend the hard as been quicker on it's second lap. Along with a lap less fuel one would imagine that pole position was there for the taking.

Excellent performance from Webber again. A real star this year and confirming the progress we saw from RB in Spain. KR will jump at least one Mclaren on the way to T1 but it must be Massa who starts favourite to reduce the points gap. Was Kimi held up on his hot lap by Alonso?

BMW slightly off the pace here. It seems they can't use their traction advantage but no doubt they will be back on the pace in Monaco.

[DriveFastLiveSlow]

I believe Kimi was slowed down by Alonso in his fast lap. Kova could have a great race if he gets a good start, since he might have more fuel than Lewis.

Excellent lap by Massa, maybe a cruise to victory?

[Yellowmc]

Yes. Hamilton's decision was quite odd and I fell, he could have challenged for pole if he tried it.

The problem was, on the harder tyres, the car was very unstable through turn 8.

[Josta]

Originally posted by Yellowmc
Just seen a replay of Raikkonen right behind Alonso on his hot lap.

That could explain the time loss he suffered but what were they doing close to each other? A penalty?

It was Massa, and Massa was on his out lap.

[Ploert]

Disappointing quali for KR. Tomorrow will be about damage limitation!

[Yellowmc]

Yeah, just caught the replay again. Sorry for being so hasty.

[Atreiu]

Originally posted by gaston_foix
The problem for Kimi is on the dirty side of the starting line. Its likely that Kubica will jump him. Same problem for Kova and Webber. So will be 3 duels, Ham-Kova, Kub-Kimi, Webb-Alonso.

Say that again.
Alonso went from 4th to 6th at the start last year and Hamilton from 2nd to 3rd. As long as Massa leads the first lap and Raikkonen isn't 2nd, all Massa will need is to pound some fast laps on the first stint and fuel for a long second one.

[kar]

Lewis not looking so cool in the PC for Qualifying. He looks like someone just kicked him in the balls!

[Rambazamba]

Originally posted by gaston_foix
The problem for Kimi is on the dirty side of the starting line. Its likely that Kubica will jump him. Same problem for Kova and Webber. So will be 3 duels, Ham-Kova, Kub-Kimi, Webb-Alonso.

Doubt that, I think it´s likely that Raikkonen might jump Hamilton, maybe even Kova at the start.

[GiancarloF1]

5:0 for Kubica this year. He is clearly better than Heidfeld now.

[Digitaldrug]

Interesting session. Lets hope the Mclarens can overtake Massa at the start so we see a good race. Kimi disappoints once again unless hes heavy. Great stuff from Alonso to match BMW in qualifying, and hopefully hes not light. Hamilton looking flustered.

[jokuvaan]

If Massa leads after first lap and Kimi is behind 1-2 Mclaren then Massa wins.

Hopefully Heikki overtakes Massa at the start.

[Digitaldrug]

Originally posted by GiancarloF1
5:0 for Kubica this year. He is clearly better than Heidfeld now.

Hes looking good and he needed to be, although Im still waiting for him really to impress me in races. Dont forget Nick is usually close to him there and finished right behind him at Bahrain.

[airwise]

Originally posted by kar
Lewis not looking so cool in the PC for Qualifying. He looks like someone just kicked him in the balls!

How often do you see drivers admitting to mistakes?

[kar]

Originally posted by jokuvaan
If Massa leads after first lap and Kimi is behind 1-2 Mclaren then Massa wins.

Hopefully Heikki overtakes Massa at the start.

Hopefully not, and thankfully not likely given the superiority the Ferrari enjoys off the start line.

I just hope Kimi can blitz Hamilton off the line and hustle Heikki over the first stint. If Kimi has more fuel than Massa we could see an almighty battle in the second stint to the final stops.

[dawg_7529]

What a venomous hatred posts. Not one here congratulates heiki for outqualifying lewis, putting his mac on the front row.

Well done heiki!!!

[pasadena]

Congratulations to FM and McLarens (they far exceeded my expectations- I was obviously wrong!). Congratulations to HK, great lap!
I'm of course curious about the strategies but I would like KR's lap was compromised and he is not heavier. NH is very far behind, FA was quite good, as usual.

[as65p]

Originally posted by kar
Lewis not looking so cool in the PC for Qualifying. He looks like someone just kicked him in the balls!

After we get to know the fuel levels tomorrow, it might become apparent that someone just has...

;)

[GiancarloF1]

Originally posted by Digitaldrug


Hes looking good and he needed to be, although Im still waiting for him really to impress me in races. Dont forget Nick is usually close to him there and finished right behind him at Bahrain.

It's the same situation as the one between the RBR driver or last year the Toyota drivers. I prefer racers to qualifyers, but IMHO Kubica has a better racecraft than Heidfeld. He needs to improve his strategies and consistency though.

[GiancarloF1]

Originally posted by kar


Hopefully not, and thankfully not likely given the superiority the Ferrari enjoys off the start line.

I just hope Kimi can blitz Hamilton off the line and hustle Heikki over the first stint. If Kimi has more fuel than Massa we could see an almighty battle in the second stint to the final stops.

And you're surprised people don't like your favourite.

Oh well, Heikki for the win tomorrow.

[DiStefano]

Alonso didn't slow down Kimi, it was Massa and they showed them talking about it on the internet stream guess they cut it on tv. Massa talked about it too in the press conference.

[Nicklaus]

Originally posted by GiancarloF1
5:0 for Kubica this year. He is clearly better than Heidfeld now.

he has clearly less fuel again.

[mowaru]

Originally posted by Yellowmc
Just seen a replay of Raikkonen right behind Alonso on his hot lap.

That could explain the time loss he suffered but what were they doing close to each other? A penalty?

It was Massa and Alonso ... both in their outlaps ...

sorry mate ...

[Yellowmc]

Autosport - Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton took second and third for McLaren, but championship leader Kimi Raikkonen could only manage fourth in the second Ferrari after getting caught behind Fernando Alonso on his last lap.

[ForMules]

tomorow will be between kova rakko and alonso can fight for the podium!

he's one of the "heavy" fuel !

[mowaru]

Originally posted by airwise


Oh **** off!

How often do you see drivers admitting to mistakes?

Webber yesterday ?

[SirSaltire]

Originally posted by nja
Here's a strategy question - If DC is fuelled up to the gills (which seems pretty obvious - he was a whole second behind 9th), then why waste 3 laps worth of fuel doing that run at the end? He was never going to improve from 10th.....

I thought the same but I suppose its always worth going out in case someone who is running lighter runs off or balls up the lap?

[MikeTekRacing]

Originally posted by Yellowmc
Yeah, just caught the replay again. Sorry for being so hasty.

the man already admitted the mistake, pleaase read this appology before you all reply him again

[Schumeister]

Massa Great Lap
Kovi came back strong after Barca crash, I'm confident he has more fuel than Hamilton.

Ferrari 1-2 still possible if Kimi get's past Hamilton at the start.
Should be a good race.

[ForMules]

Originally posted by Yellowmc
Autosport - Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton took second and third for McLaren, but championship leader Kimi Raikkonen could only manage fourth in the second Ferrari after getting caught behind Fernando Alonso on his last lap.

autosport are reporting itv BS anyway!

it was Massa!

[as65p]

Originally posted by Yellowmc
Autosport - Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton took second and third for McLaren, but championship leader Kimi Raikkonen could only manage fourth in the second Ferrari after getting caught behind Fernando Alonso on his last lap.

This goes the same route as Bahrain. First: if in doubt, blame the evil spaniard. Later: reality check followed by slow and half-assed retraction.

[giddyup409]

thank G'd for kimi's 4th. will make the race initially more interesting. no worries, ferrari 1-2 is a lock, just kimi will have to work for it. ferraris are 4mph faster than any on the back straight. overtaking benz should be a breeze for kimi then ;)

webbo/redbull/renault these guys are getting stronger and stronger and more threatening by each race.

i hear bstone durability is questionable. lewie tire management storm watch for tomorrow?

[mowaru]

Originally posted by Schumeister
Massa Great Lap
Kovi came back strong after Barca crash, I'm confident he has more fuel than Hamilton.

Ferrari 1-2 still possible if Kimi get's past Hamilton at the start.
Should be a good race.

Kova has outqualified Hami with more fuel in at least 2 races this year ... nothing new under the sun ...

[Yellowmc]

Originally posted by ForMules


autosport are reporting itv BS anyway!

it was Massa!

I'm confused now. It doesn't matter anyway, it's happened and the situation stays the same.

Congratulations to Heikki.

[pasadena]

The slow motion showed on TV at the end of the qualifying showed FA and KR. Maybe FM was somewhere there as well but was not shown.

[Dragonfly]

http://vbox7.com/play:a1893465

[Sébastien]

Interesting qualy, Massa very impressive if he wins tomorrow he will really "own" the Istanbul track.

Good to see the Macs challenging and congrats to Kova for putting one over Hamilton.
Kimi disappointing in 4th, did he hit traffic, was he a bit heavier or will he just have an off weekend where damage limitation is the name of the game?
Maybe a good start and clever pitstopping can put him in front of the Macs.

Alonso did very well to put that car in 7th.
Also I have the impression that the BMW's are losing ground to the two top teams.

Too bad the Williams cars are so far down the grid.
Force India must be the team that regrets losing Super Aguri the most, now they are back to dead last once again.

[Yellowmc]

Originally posted by Dragonfly
http://vbox7.com/play:a1893465

Thanks, so it was Kimi and Alonso.

[HoldenRT]

Originally posted by Nicklaus


he has clearly less fuel again.

Nick made an error in S3, his S3 time on his final lap was 25.0.. he lost at least 3 tenths. His other sectors were the same as Kubica.

[mowaru]

Does anybody know if Piquet had any problem during Q1?

He's 17th ...

[Josta]

Force India must be the team that regrets losing Super Aguri the most, now they are back to dead last once again.

It was largely down to them and Williams that caused the situation. If customer cars were allowed, Aguri would have had no problem selling the team.

[SeanValen]

Originally posted by primer
Felipe has the pole, but I just do not have the confidence that he can finish where he started. I wish him well, but he'll either have another Massa moment, and / or lose positions to the Mercedes cars during pitstop(s).

Bahrain and Turkey are his best tracks, I'm expecting a win, then him being dissapointing in Monaco, Monaco is a track where has tp prove his critics wrong, and win on tracks he hasn't won on yet.

Kimi is either on a fuel load higher or either way facing a tougher weekend on a track Massa is strong at, Bahrain and Turkey are problems for Kimi as Massa is strong on then, so far it looks like a repeat of last year for Kimi. Although I'm hoping Kimi is tanked up and tyre strategies may play a part. But these tracks are not on Kimi's top list, I know he won it in 2005, but Montoya wasn't a reference for the track most likely either.

[AFCA]

Hamilton says he's dissapointed, also choosing the wrong tyres in Q3.