97 replies to this topic

[V8 Fireworks]

Well...

Maldonado... first win
Perez... first podium
Grosjean... first podium

Alonso... leading championship despite one of the worst Ferraris they have built

Marko considers "transcending" vital to promotion to Red Bull team.

Do these wacky tyres make it easier for skilled drivers to transcend the car, or it just random lottery and the performances mean nothing (even though Vettel's toro rosso was indeed the best car on the day too)?

[Skinnyguy]

Yes, but it´s mostly down to even field more than tyres. Now you can have a chance for a race in 14 of the 24 cars on the grid. It was usually 4 cars before.

[PretentiousBread]

Well...

Maldonado... first win
Perez... first podium
Grosjean... first podium

Alonso... leading championship despite one of the worst Ferraris they have built

Marko considers "transcending" vital to promotion to Red Bull team.

Do these wacky tyres make it easier for skilled drivers to transcend the car, or it just random lottery and the performances mean nothing (even though Vettel's toro rosso was indeed the best car on the day too)?

I'd say the tyres make everything more wacky (great for the show!) but this doesn't mean the driver can more easily transcend his car - rather, this is even less possible these days because the tyres constrict you to a pace and you can't do more than that. If you heard Webber's interview with the BBC after today it very much backs this up. I like to call them Pirelli straight jackets.

[theglove008]

These tires SUCK!!! All of the awesome technology in the cars and all of the driver talent amount to NOTHING!!, because the tires are a roll of the dice! It makes it nearly impossible for the engineers to make adjustments to the cars and the drivers end up driving out onto the course and find out whether their car will run or suck - and there is little or nothing they can do about it.

This is the worst thing F1 has done in years - and with the Emperor in charge of the sport - that is quite an achievement! I wish everyone would boycott Pirelli. Then they would change their stupid sucking tyres immediately. Nobody can say that any car has superior technology, no driver can rate his performance -- all anybody can say is that they won the tyre lottery.

CHANGE THE STUPID TYRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BillBald]

Yes, but it´s mostly down to even field more than tyres. Now you can have a chance for a race in 14 of the 24 cars on the grid. It was usually 4 cars before.

The puzzling thing is that the field is not really closer than before, not in the races anyway.

Bahrain you had RedBulls and Lotuses pulling out a big gap on the rest of the field, Barcelona it was a Williams and a Ferrari, with Lotuses still there but Webber a lap down.

[ryan86]

Though in China that wasn't the case, and , 2nd to 14th(?) ran around nose to tail for the last 15-20 laps.

[tifosi]

Alonso... leading championship despite one of the worst Ferraris they have built

Although I am forever a Ferrari fan, this is very perplexing. I think some of it is circumstances, such as in Spain with Hamilton's qualifying blunder and some of it is due to good drivers can best take advantage of opportunities and unusal circumstances.

I coach a fastpitch softball team. We play lots of older teams that, by rights, should outhit us or outpitch us. But what we do very well, because we have very good players, is take advantage of every opportunity. A mistake by the opposition will often to lead to 2 or 3 runs and is usually enough to end it. I think we see some of that in the current Formula. Where good teams with good drivers manage to take advantage of every opportunity and press whatever their advanatge they can to the maximum.

And FWIW, although I quoted the Alonso line because I root for Ferrari, I don't mean to imply that Ferrari hold exclusive rights to being able to seize opportunities. Obviously Williams did a bang up job in Spain, and others have done so when they had the chance.

Edited by tifosi, 14 May 2012 - 00:21.

[fieraku]

Yes, but it´s mostly down to even field more than tyres. Now you can have a chance for a race in 14 of the 24 cars on the grid. It was usually 4 cars before.

How's the field "even"?One race X driver finishes 40 seconds behind,the next one he's on the lead,the one after he's being lapped.

Whilst others (JB/NR/SV) win outright in dominating fashion,then are nowhere next,whilst Mark Webber 5th in the standings only 13pts behind the leader was just lapped?

The field is NOT ''even'' it's organized chaos ;)

Edited by fieraku, 14 May 2012 - 00:23.

[dweller23]

I have no idea why people are ruling out the possibility that top 7 teams are very close to each other. And we always had situations like "this team copes better with those weather conditions, while that team with other". Only now it's not 2-3 teams, but 7. The only bigger factor now is that any screw up can cost you very, very much.

How's the field "even"?One race X driver finishes 40 seconds behind,the next one he's on the lead,the one after he's being lapped.

Whilst others (JB/NR/SV) win outright in dominating fashion,then are nowhere next,whilst Mark Webber 5th in the standings only 13pts behind the leader was just lapped?

The field is NOT ''even'' it's organized chaos ;)

Remember that behind top4 Kovalainen held up everyone after 1st pitstop phase, making them lose something around 3 seconds per lap. And since he had buffer in Senna behind him, unable to pass the Finn, then others couldn't do it with Senna, because of DRS train. Simple as that. Add fact that Webber's problems with front wing costed him some 10-20 seconds on track plus a pitstop out of the window (and a change of front wing) what resulted in him getting in the traffic. And RBR isn't the best car when it comes to straight-line speed...

For me it's perfectly clear why Webber was lapped today and it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the tyres.

Edited by dweller23, 14 May 2012 - 00:40.

[AlexS]

Sometimes the field is separated by 1 or 1.small sec between 1st and 15th. In past this was sometimes the distance between 1st and 4th... With differences like that it is enough a small difference to make a big change in running order.

[Aubwi]

I don't think so. Pit strategy and set up have increased importance. Not much the driver can do if the bosses and engineers are making poor choices that don't get the most out of the tires.

[fieraku]

I have no idea why people are ruling out the possibility that top 7 teams are very close to each other. And we always had situations like "this team copes better with those weather conditions, while that team with other". Only now it's not 2-3 teams, but 7. The only bigger factor now is that any screw up can cost you very, very much.


Remember that behind top4 Kovalainen held up everyone after 1st pitstop phase, making them lose something around 3 seconds per lap. And since he had buffer in Senna behind him, unable to pass the Finn, then others couldn't do it with Senna, because of DRS train. Simple as that. Add fact that Webber's problems with front wing costed him some 10-20 seconds on track plus a pitstop out of the window (and a change of front wing) what resulted in him getting in the traffic. And RBR isn't the best car when it comes to straight-line speed...

For me it's perfectly clear why Webber was lapped today and it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the tyres.

And the other 4 races? And how could a 4 second a lap slower Caterham hold up anyone let alone an RB8? The field is not even due to car performance but tire.Give them all 2010 Bridgestones and you won't ever see a Williams,Sauber or any other midfielder in sight leading or holding up anyone with the DRS now.


It's even artificially.

[Wander]

^Speculation. You have no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the Williams and Sauber cars wouldn't be fast on Bridgestones as well.

[Cenotaph]

Alonso is tied in the lead of the WDC with Vettel, followed by Hamilton and Raikkonen.

Seems like the good drivers are indeed rising to the top. Weird.

Edited by Cenotaph, 14 May 2012 - 01:04.

[Pilla]

These tires SUCK!!! All of the awesome technology in the cars and all of the driver talent amount to NOTHING!!, because the tires are a roll of the dice! It makes it nearly impossible for the engineers to make adjustments to the cars and the drivers end up driving out onto the course and find out whether their car will run or suck - and there is little or nothing they can do about it.

This is the worst thing F1 has done in years - and with the Emperor in charge of the sport - that is quite an achievement! I wish everyone would boycott Pirelli. Then they would change their stupid sucking tyres immediately. Nobody can say that any car has superior technology, no driver can rate his performance -- all anybody can say is that they won the tyre lottery.

CHANGE THE STUPID TYRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The tires are good - it adds an extra elemnt of skill that is required from the drivers and adds to the racing. Who cares if they can't push the whole time? Managing tires actually requires more skill from the driver and leads to lots of interesting strategies, push hard and pit more, or nurse the tires and pit less.

The Williams has consistantly been very good to its tires all season, and has had very strong and consistant race pace. It's not a lottery they just did a better job with exactly the same tires that were available to everyone.

If it was a lottery the tires would be random, which is unlikely with the quality control in F1.

[Menace]

The tires are good - it adds an extra elemnt of skill that is required from the drivers and adds to the racing. Who cares if they can't push the whole time? Managing tires actually requires more skill from the driver and leads to lots of interesting strategies, push hard and pit more, or nurse the tires and pit less.

The Williams has consistantly been very good to its tires all season, and has had very strong and consistant race pace. It's not a lottery they just did a better job with exactly the same tires that were available to everyone.

If it was a lottery the tires would be random, which is unlikely with the quality control in F1.

Spot on!

[HP]

Alonso... leading championship despite one of the worst Ferraris they have built

Don't believe it. Initially it looked as if the Ferrari is a horrible car. But seeing ups and downs from other teams as well suggest that the Ferrari is a decent enough car. What's difficult is to make tires work. Massa struggles IMO with the tires, the car is being less predictable. Also there is this issue of the fuel having to last for the entire race, which adds to balance problems. Those drivers that can handle this well rise on top, others have their weakness exposed. Also I'd say the team had to get to grips with this issue with preparing the car at the track as well. For tire evaluation, the pre season tests have become less meaningful, because they are more sensitive to temperature changes.

When those comments about the Ferrari being horrible came out, let's not forget that the comparison was the car they built the previous year. But they need to compare it with this years field.

Button for example complains now that the McLaren has problems, because for the last 2 races he deals with under and oversteer at the same time. Hamilton isn't bothered by this, Button looses his feel. Did Mclaren build a horrible car too?

IMO it's mostly drivers and setup. For those that need a predictable car to be good, invent the "F1 on rails" competition and let them compete there. Drivers like Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel and anyone else not being too much bothered by how the car feels should stay on in current F1. And let's rest the idea of teams building horrible cars.

[Mauseri]

The tires are good - it adds an extra elemnt of skill that is required from the drivers and adds to the racing. Who cares if they can't push the whole time? Managing tires actually requires more skill from the driver and leads to lots of interesting strategies, push hard and pit more, or nurse the tires and pit less.

Exactly. These tyres add a strategy element, which cannot be precisely calculated. The drivers just have to adapt and make best out of the situation whatever arises. There is more things to go wrong, which makes winning harder, but also gives more chance of winning for those driving a tenth or two slower car. Even though it's more difficult even for them to avoid the mid pack. It's good that it's difficult, it places more demand on skill and less on routines.

Edited by Mauseri, 14 May 2012 - 23:18.

[fieraku]

^Speculation. You have no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the Williams and Sauber cars wouldn't be fast on Bridgestones as well.

Evidence?How about using logic? Will/Sau started the season about one second behind.There's no way in F1 hell they closed that gap and found a second.

It's never happened as far back as I can remember,teams just don't pop out of nowhere and win races,in NASCAR maybe but not in F1.
F1 always had a pecking order and development progress varied by 1-2 tenths of a second per race and 5races into the season Williams would NEVER win.

Except on the Pirellis,they haven't for 8years.They didn't just suddenly became geniuses and outsmarted everyone out of the blue. Not in F1 and not unless they implemented some new trick or gizmo that no one has and gives massive advantage.

[ryan86]

It happened in 2009 didn't it?

Brawn and Red Bull were consistent throughout the season, but Force India only went well on low-downforce tracks, the opposite of Williams. The Ferrari only seemed to work for a month during late-summer. McLaren improved towards the end of the season, but even that seemed slightly track dependent IIRC. BMW started the season off well, went completely to pot during Europe and then had random moments of competitiveness towards the end of the season, Toyota only seemed to perform outwith Europe, Renault seemed poor, but there was races when Alonso seemed to be genuinely quite competitive (random Hungary pole)

[BellisEndis]

The tires are good - it adds an extra elemnt of skill that is required from the drivers and adds to the racing. Who cares if they can't push the whole time? Managing tires actually requires more skill from the driver and leads to lots of interesting strategies, push hard and pit more, or nurse the tires and pit less.

The Williams has consistantly been very good to its tires all season, and has had very strong and consistant race pace. It's not a lottery they just did a better job with exactly the same tires that were available to everyone.

If it was a lottery the tires would be random, which is unlikely with the quality control in F1.

you post contains to much logic for this forum, be careful you may break it!!!!!!

[PorcupineTroy]

It happened in 2009 didn't it?

Brawn and Red Bull were consistent throughout the season, but Force India only went well on low-downforce tracks, the opposite of Williams. The Ferrari only seemed to work for a month during late-summer. McLaren improved towards the end of the season, but even that seemed slightly track dependent IIRC. BMW started the season off well, went completely to pot during Europe and then had random moments of competitiveness towards the end of the season, Toyota only seemed to perform outwith Europe, Renault seemed poor, but there was races when Alonso seemed to be genuinely quite competitive (random Hungary pole)

Good post, 2009 was probably the tightest F1 grid I have ever seen. Maldonado's win today was predictable compared to Fisi's drive at Spa. Mind you, some strange quali results like Alonso's pole in Hungary were also helped by having a lighter fuel load.

To me the difference in 2012 is that nobody seems to be performing consistently (barring the new teams), expect for perhaps Lotus. It also seems a little wack that Senna, who had been pretty level (if not better than) Pastor through the first 4 races was absolutely nowhere this weekend. Then again, it was similar between Fisi and Sutil at Spa 2009.

I'm still not sure whether these seemingly fluke performances are down to an incredibly tight field, or a particular driving nailing a set-up with these seemingly finicky Pirelli's.

[fabr68]

Alonso is tied in the lead of the WDC with Vettel, followed by Hamilton and Raikkonen.

Seems like the good drivers are indeed rising to the top. Weird.

Exactly. Some people here speak as if backmarkers, midfielders and top teams are randomly getting pole positions and wins. Top teams/drivers are consistenly getting pole positions and top finishes. Like you said, the top 5 drivers in the WDC table are the same guys over the last few years.

This year is just harder to cruise to wins with the fastest car of the grid. That is all.

[RealRacing]

Don't believe it. Initially it looked as if the Ferrari is a horrible car. But seeing ups and downs from other teams as well suggest that the Ferrari is a decent enough car. What's difficult is to make tires work. Massa struggles IMO with the tires, the car is being less predictable.

Yeah. At the beginning of the season some might have thought Ferrari had a pretty bad car because McLaren and others had better performances in the first race or two. But then everyone started to realize that the performance gaps between races and in different temperatures were really due to tyres mainly. Of course the perception that Ferrari was much worse than it really is was helped by Massa's poor performance in general and by Domenicalli's and Alonso's constant saying so (which, to some extent seems even strategic to me). So now, after today's race, should we say the McLAren is a bad car and Lewis overdrove it, that the Red Bull is a bad car, that the Mercedes is a bad car? Knowing what we know after the first races of the season, it is very difficult to say where the cars really are, but the Ferrari is not as bad as they wanted us to believe and the McLaren is not as good as we thought...

[ray b]

not so much the tyres
as everybody gets the same tyres
what changes is the set up
but guessing the set up to make the car as fast as it can be
BUT allowing the tyres to live a little longer is the key

or just getting the balance right

add in timing and temperatures
number and place in the race of the stops
and just dumb luck

[velgajski1]

Racecraft, strategy, pitwork, tyre managament now all play a lot bigger role than they used to. There are no drivers overdriving their cars, Alonso/Vettel/Hamilton are just capable of getting a lot of pace from their cars, and Ferrari/RBR/McLaren are all good cars.

For those that feel its all bad luck I wonder how come that we have Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi leading WDC fight?

Edited by velgajski1, 14 May 2012 - 06:20.

[pUs]

To me the difference in 2012 is that nobody seems to be performing consistently (barring the new teams), expect for perhaps Lotus.

Tires.... nobody is performing consistently because you can't be consistent on them! Lotus are perhaps closest, but to me they appear to lack outright pace instead.

Edited by pUs, 14 May 2012 - 06:29.

[SirRacer]

THOSE TYRES ARE GREAT!

I never enjoyed so much watching F1!

[pUs]

not so much the tyres
as everybody gets the same tyres
what changes is the set up
but guessing the set up to make the car as fast as it can be
BUT allowing the tyres to live a little longer is the key

or just getting the balance right

add in timing and temperatures
number and place in the race of the stops
and just dumb luck

That "same for everyone" excuse is just getting worse after every race. The operating window is so narrow that it is now impossible to stay there or even close with any sort of consistency, that's what causes these totally random results. Is it good just because it's equally bad for everybody?

[pUs]

THOSE TYRES ARE GREAT!

I never enjoyed so much watching F1!

I'm enjoying Kimis successful comeback, but at this point I really hate these tires with a passion. For me it's not entertainment seeing half the field in Q3 not even attempting to run. They are too bad at the moment., There has to be a balance between what we have now and what we had in 2010 for instance.

[SirRacer]

I'm enjoying Kimis successful comeback, but at this point I really hate these tires with a passion. For me it's not entertainment seeing half the field in Q3 not even attempting to run. They are too bad at the moment., There has to be a balance between what we have now and what we had in 2010 for instance.

I prefer a boring Q3 than a boring race!!!

Race is what it is really about!

[rr0cket]

Transcend the car, limited by the tire.........they finally found a way to make all the cars equal. Just use tires that reach their performance limit well before the slowest car reaches it's own limit. The drivers' performance is limited by tire not the car, they are essentially racing tire vs tire.

Edited by rr0cket, 14 May 2012 - 06:52.

[jbarokF1]

The tires are good - it adds an extra elemnt of skill that is required from the drivers and adds to the racing. Who cares if they can't push the whole time? Managing tires actually requires more skill from the driver and leads to lots of interesting strategies, push hard and pit more, or nurse the tires and pit less.

The Williams has consistantly been very good to its tires all season, and has had very strong and consistant race pace. It's not a lottery they just did a better job with exactly the same tires that were available to everyone.

If it was a lottery the tires would be random, which is unlikely with the quality control in F1.

If you don't like the races because of the tyres then all you need to do is not to watch.

[Abranet]

I would say it's more a case of the tyres equalising the drivers and cars.

Mid field drivers/teams more used to playing the long game in a race are now finding the faster teams are having to control their pace more now which is bring them back into the reach of the mid field teams.

[Abranet]

I would say it's more a case of the tyres equalising the drivers and cars.

Mid field drivers/teams more used to playing the long game in a race are now finding the faster teams are having to control their pace more now which is bring them back into the reach of the mid field teams.

[Donka]

^^^^^^

Is it good just because it's equally bad for everybody?

That quote will probably sum up the year!

Well done

Edited by Donka, 14 May 2012 - 06:52.

[pUs]

If you don't like the races because of the tyres then all you need to do is not to watch.

And if you don't like a reply, then all you need to do is ignore it..

Really, try discussing a subject instead of just mouthing off those stupid one-liners. They don't add anything to the show, and we all know that the show and the entertainment is all that matters!

[frogmaster]

Yes, but it´s mostly down to even field more than tyres. Now you can have a chance for a race in 14 of the 24 cars on the grid. It was usually 4 cars before.

At least in Spain, I think the results showed exact drivers' and teams' performances.
Lotus team misjudged when to use soft rubber, I think they should use it in a last stint, and lost victory.
Maldnado could wel-maintain the tire performance till the end and got a victory.
Fernando used tire performance in a chase of Williams at the last stint and lost performance slightly in the end.
Hamilton succeeded in 2 stop strategy to climb back.
Janson I don't really know the problem of him.

I can enjoy this.

[ForzaGTR]

I don't think the Ferrari is as bad as Massa makes it look, Massa is just crap. That said it had no place winning a race so it really was a phenomenal effort from Alonso in Malaysia

[wewantourdarbyback]

And the other 4 races? And how could a 4 second a lap slower Caterham hold up anyone let alone an RB8? The field is not even due to car performance but tire.Give them all 2010 Bridgestones and you won't ever see a Williams,Sauber or any other midfielder in sight leading or holding up anyone with the DRS now.

So you're saying he would not have stuck it on the front row?

[SirRacer]

But seeing ups and downs from other teams as well suggest that the Ferrari is a decent enough car.

Or that the other teams screwed up many times, like McLaren, while the Ferrari team did a better job in managing what they have.

Or that Alonso is just a phenomenal driver who is getting 100% out of the 4th best car (which is what the WCC says) in every race, while others have their ups and downs.

[dweller23]

And the other 4 races? And how could a 4 second a lap slower Caterham hold up anyone let alone an RB8? The field is not even due to car performance but tire.Give them all 2010 Bridgestones and you won't ever see a Williams,Sauber or any other midfielder in sight leading or holding up anyone with the DRS now.


It's even artificially.

Senna was behind Kovalainen and noone was able to overtake anyone else due to DRS train and the fact that Senna was unable to take Kovalainen.

[noikeee]

I think there is an argument to be made either way. I certainly do understand those frustrated that there is no clear pattern and that this is not the racing they've grown up with. That this isn't full blown pedal to the metal all race long, everyone pushing the boundaries. I get that. But today I've read an article by James Allen claiming just the premise of this thread - that these tyres open up possibilities for more drivers to show their worth - and I think he's right.

One thing I don't think people fully realize is that the gap between driver abilities is minimal and different guys will be slightly quicker on different days. Including the guys in the midfield. I think this is most obvious to who follows the feeder series, particularly the spec series. With equal cars, very rarely do you see a driver dominating it every race. The cream rises to the top however - the difference between the very best and the alright is mostly consistency and how high the peaks are. Because every driver has peak performances.

Those who have followed GP2, World Series by Renault, F3 know that Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean are capable of very special things on their day. Yesterday was Pastor's glory day so let's focus on him. I was one of the most vocal in these boards against it when he was appointed to replace Nico, because Nico had beaten him in GP2 and it was obviously all about money. I dislike him because of that, and because he can be a very reckless, dangerous driver. But there's no denying he can be supremely quick, and has always had that gift. His problem is his hot head, and regardless of that one bad season in GP2, he's proven himself higher than Nico afterwards in F1. I guarantee you that if he was a team-mate of Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton, in a season with "normal" tyres, he'd give them a very serious challenge on pace. He wouldn't be anywhere near on points because he isn't consistent and makes plenty of silly mistakes, but he'd be a menace on his day.

There is no question there's an element of lottery with the Pirellis, all it means however is that certain cars will click better on different days. The intra-team battles are still genuine. Alonso is still always miles quicker than Massa. Kimi is consistently slightly better in the races than Romain. Etc etc. All this is doing is giving opportunities to different drivers on certain days, but they still have to fight hard and outpace, outsmart the other guys who have a strong car too that day, starting by their team-mate. To people like me who watch F1 more for the competition between drivers than the competition between teams, this is great. I realize some people prefer technology races between teams, but consider that there's a reason Red Bull and McLaren are still upthere in the WCC, because they've built the better, more consistent cars and are being rewarded for it. Likewise look at the WDC standings and the stars are there for a reason.

I agree with the majority that this isn't a perfect situation. The tyres are a little too wacky for my taste, I've said since the beginning I don't think 3 pitstops per race is right. The narrow temperature window is too extreme. The rules of qualifying are clearly messed up too. But come on, every era of F1 always had something wrong with it, be it lack of competition, lack of safety, daft rules, whatever. Right now we consistently have some extraordinary races, so why not lay back and enjoy them. I don't want to use the expression "suspension of disbelief" because for all the gimmicks, this isn't a Hollywood production since the races aren't scripted. But it's the most fitting one. Suspend your bitterness, your cynicism for a while, lay back and have some fun watching it. At the end of the day, whatever your views on F1, we all watch it to have fun. Enjoy the good things about this era while it lasts.

[icecream_man]

I don't think so particularly, I just think setup is far more critical and that's what's making the difference, along with the much tighter field thanks to the current rules meaning that small errors pay a much bigger penalty

[icecream_man]

every era of F1 always had something wrong with it, be it lack of competition, lack of safety, daft rules, whatever. Right now we consistently have some extraordinary races, so why not lay back and enjoy them.

Completely agree with that bit, and lets face it we all have a different idea of what we'd ideally like to see so there will never be the perfect situation anyway

[Atreiu]

No. They actually mask cars' deficiencies since they spend as little time as possible on the limit.

[F1ultimate]

It's a lottery. Whoever happens to get lucky with tyres wanting to work with the car will do well.

[Snic]

I think there is an argument to be made either way. I certainly do understand those frustrated that there is no clear pattern and that this is not the racing they've grown up with. That this isn't full blown pedal to the metal all race long, everyone pushing the boundaries. I get that. But today I've read an article by James Allen claiming just the premise of this thread - that these tyres open up possibilities for more drivers to show their worth - and I think he's right.

Good post noikee

My take is that current Formula One actually concentrates the racing and thus lets drivers display their skill, which is what F1 is all about. We've already had more pound for pound racing, overtaking and heroic drives in a handful of races of 2012 than in entire seasons in the early 2000's. The counter-point is that small mistakes- whether it be errors in set-up, bodged quali laps or mistakes in the race can also spell doom, whereas in the past it didn't matter so much. personally I love that knife edge of perfection that requires maximum performance from the drivers AND engineers every race.

It's a bit like the advent of Twenty20 cricket. By distilling the game, at first everyone was repulsed that the game had become 'inpure' and that it would punish players schooled in the old ways of cricket. But in fact over time the best batsmen in the World adapted their technique, and then thrived. Like you said the cream always rises to the top.

And it's not a lottery between team-mates, which is very important. Drivers are able to still differentiate themselves, like always, to show that there's consistency within the chaos. Fernando is still faster than Massa. Hamilton is showing he's still a faster qualifier than Button. Kimi is showing he is an absolute master in the race, same as ever, and Grosjean is showing he is still prone to mistakes. Getting to see individual drivers styles and techniques was becoming impossible with Bridgestones, but now real driving is back.

And of course the drivers complain because now they're being punished for their mistakes. If Webber hadn't been knocked out of Q3 and had got a podium I doubt you'de have heard a peep from him regarding Pirelli's. The fact is he hasn't been able to adapt to the new era and that is more a sleight on his driving style than on Pirelli in my eyes. Funny you don't hear Hamilton and Kobayashi complaining about the tyres, even though their driving styles completely conflicts with Pirelli, they just adapted and got on with the job.

Edited by Snic, 14 May 2012 - 12:15.

[Enzoluis]

I would say it's more a case of the tyres equalising the drivers and cars.

Mid field drivers/teams more used to playing the long game in a race are now finding the faster teams are having to control their pace more now which is bring them back into the reach of the mid field teams.

No, there is no car/driver equalization, because as was mentioned in each race you have agroup of runners leading by a good margin and the a big second group. What changed is that at each truck you have different leaders. Is like in the seventies when you didn´t have a dominant car hat won all the races of th championship. It is all about the set up and exploit the relative strenghts of each car. In China the speed in the straight of the mercedes allowed Rosberg to win easy, yesterday Maldonado get the set up to go full throtle the sector 3 without destroy his tires. And we are going to see more of this magic setups this year. Interesting also in the seventies tires were crap.

[Snic]

No, there is no car/driver equalization, because as was mentioned in each race you have agroup of runners leading by a good margin and the a big second group. What changed is that at each truck you have different leaders. Is like in the seventies when you didn´t have a dominant car hat won all the races of th championship. It is all about the set up and exploit the relative strenghts of each car. In China the speed in the straight of the mercedes allowed Rosberg to win easy, yesterday Maldonado get the set up to go full throtle the sector 3 without destroy his tires. And we are going to see more of this magic setups this year. Interesting also in the seventies tires were crap.

Yeh but people didn't complain so much in the seventies