Webber and Vettel both have 17 laps of fuel??? That can't be right.

... and Lewis with enough fuel for a one-stop race.

Alan

 

What can't be right about that?

They both weighed in at 651.5kg, which is heavier than the Brawns. That's 46.5kg of fuel, the laps depend on your kg/lap figure. I'm using 2.7 kg/lap.

 

Well, since there is only one pit crew either:
1) Webber weighs (one lap of fuel) more then Vettel
2) They are going to stack them for the first pit stop
3) Someone is carrying extra fuel for fun in qualifying

The answer is 1) - Mark mentioned he was lighter than Sebastien during the post race interview.

Alan

 

I didn't see Webber in 3rd coming, I'm not sure how that happened. That was really stupid of Ferrari running out of gas like that (or threatening to).

It looks like my fuel calculations were a bit off, they used more like 2.3kg/lap, but th safety car throws off the calculations a bit.

 

I didn't either, but Vettel was getting held up badly byh the Ferrari, so it was a good call to change Webbers strategy slightly to get around them. He jsut kind of drove around quietly and then in the last stint, he comes out in 3rd. I'd really like to see him win one this year.

That was great watching Alonso get the bit between his teeth and run down Massa.

I think Monaco is going to be very interesting this year!

 

Word going around on the Jens / Rubes battle is that strategy was changed to allow Button to win, shades of red perhaps ?

My take is this:

Button radioed Rubes that he needed to pick up the pace

Button said after quali - "Rubes is faster on lighter fuel and me on heavier"

Thus they changed the Pit strategy to allow Rubes the lighter car and Button the heavier car, the fact that Rubes got second was only due to his inability to go faster

 

Rubens said there was something wrong with his third set of tires and he just wasn't able to go as fast. The cynical F1 fan in me would say that the softs that he got on his second stop (third set of tires when you count the ones he started the race on), weren't at the same pressures as the ones that he'd been going faster on. Perhaps the team screwed him on that? Perhaps it was just a flucke bad set of tires? Fare or unfare/on purpose or on accident, I felt bad for Rubens.

 

I got this email from F1 Racing magazine, asking for my opinions. It's possible that it will register your opinions, too. Worth a shot:

F1 Racing Reader Panel



Dear F1 Racing Fan Survey reader, As a recent respondent to the F1 Racing Fan Survey we'd like to hear from you - your opinion matters. Please take a minute to share your views on the current state of F1.

So far this season the action on the track has been terrific. The formbook has been turned on its head with teams such as Brawn GP and Red Bull taking the spoils, while last year's championship challengers Ferrari and McLaren have been struggling.

But off-track there has been a lot of drama too. In the past few weeks Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and Toyota have said they would not compete in Formula 1 next year if the FIA's controversial £40million budget cap and 'two-tier' system is introduced. Under the proposals those teams that agree to the budget cap will have much more technical freedom than those that don't.

We would like to know your opinion of the current state of F1 at the moment and whether you believe the quit threats from the teams are a good thing for the sport.

All you need to do is click on the link below and answer the questions (one response per person). Please be sure to fill out all the details otherwise your question won't be eligible. If it's selected, you might appear in the pages of F1 Racing.

Just click here to complete the short survey.

We're looking forward to hearing from you,

Hans Seeberg

Editor F1 Racing

 

LOL, did it yesterday.

On a side note, anyone's questions for the "you ask the questions" segments ever make it into the magazine? They asked my question to Ron Dennis a couple months ago. I was pretty stoked...it made him laugh. lol.

 

does anyone listen (well in the past) or go to formula pod? there's a live chat there. we should go on there. i think i'll be on this weekend for monaco unless i fight the crowds at indianapolis...undecided on the 500 still

 

Forgot to mention--guess what I wrote in the comments about what would be an improvement? I said it would be for Bernie to retire!

 

Monaco guess:

1) Vettel - got a feeling
2) Hamilton - Hamster is super quick here
3) Alonso - Monaco is the NASCAR race where the pitch levels, he's always good here
4) Button - He's got the hot car but has admitted slow/high down force hurts
5) Webber - He's just not Vettel but the car will be under him
6) Toyotas- well hard to say
7) Williams - If the team can do the job Nico or Kazu will do well

And unknown to me, the Big Red Ones might be anywhere on here, assuming they get out of Q1 Massa will end up getting the best result

I promise you, Lewis, Kimi, Felipe and Heikki all got a good taste of how much their skills depend on the car. Next year will see their return to the top

 

I think Rubens is pissed about Barcelona and is going to show his real quality this weekend. At least I hope so. Being at the top of the time sheets in 1st Practice helps. It would be a great result for him to win Monaco.

I hope Alonso does well. And I like seeing the Red Bull cars go well.

 

Does anyone know why they practice on Thursday in Monaco?

 

I though its so the town isn't closed for 3 days in a row.

 

This is one course that I can "feel" as they run it. Last year we drove it the weekend before the race, along with a zillion of exotics (we were in a rental Alfa). It amazed us how short a lap is--easy walking distance in a short time, and we drooled over the yachts in the harbor, too. As far as we could tell, the barriers are left in place all year 'round; at least we couldn't find any marks on the bolts. I think they just erect the advertising and the stands. They were doing that while we walked.

If you ever get a chance, go there! And there's nothing like doing it alongside a Ferrari, if you can time it. Of course, there is regular traffic so you can't take racing lines, but still. Just take a boatload of money, and don't plan on staying there...

 

I'm looking at the starting weights again, the number of laps the drivers have is something like this:

1. Jenson Button 18
2. Kimi Raikkonen 17
3. Rubens Barrichello 19
4. Sebastian Vettel 12
5. Felipe Massa 17
6. Nico Rosberg 16
7. Heikki Kovalainen 17
8. Mark Webber 18
9. Fernando Alonso 21
10. Kazuki Nakajima 27
11. Sebastien Buemi 28
12. Nelson Piquet 30
13. Giancarlo Fisichella 38
14. Sebastien Bourdais 41
15. Adrian Sutil 28
16. Nick Heidfeld 33
17. Robert Kubica 40
18. Jarno Trulli 36
19. Timo Glock 42
20. Lewis Hamilton 18

Its difficult to tell exactly as I'm not sure how much fuel per lap they use, given its such a short lap. The race is 78 laps, so the guys at the back do seem to be going for a 1 stopper, except Hamilton who looks set to be overtaking off the line, especially with KERS (he is running KERS?)

 

How about the BMW-Saubers with the "Happy Birthday MINI" ads?

 

LOL, my wife and I were talking about that. Originally, we were like, "Who is Mimi?" And then when they wheeled Kubica into the garage we were like, "Ooooohhhhhh, lol."

 

I saw the thread in General talk so I was looking out for it, I ran a few bit slow to get a better look. Unfortunatly the best view was when they were wheeling Kubica into the garage.

The link article mentions the wing saying "MINI turns 50", but I only saw the usual Petronas on it.

 

I gotta say, last year was much more exciting than this year. Sure the top teams have toppled and there are new ones in their place. But honestly, the racing reminds me of when Schu dominated, I like Button but I'd rather see him really battle for the lead rather than the cruise control button.

At this point it looks pretty bleak for another down to the wire championship

 

I don't personally get excited about either championship. All I really care about is good racing and strategy during the races themselves. I don't even care much whether one driver is out ahead on cruise control most of the time as long as there's some fun happening somewhere on the track.....that is, IF they actually show it.

I've seen dicing in every race (though Monaco was about as boring on that count as it always is) and aside from Brawn the order wasn't only reshuffled but it keeps changing as the season progresses.

It's all down to what draws you to watch races -- i.e., personal preference -- but on the whole I think I'm at least as entertained so far this year as last.

 

I agree with Kurvhugr, there have been some pretty good scraps this year, most of them in the mid-pack.

I do hope that, for the sake of a decent title fight, that Red Bull have made a big step forward with their new octuple diffuser....that's right, there are diffusers in one. Seriously though, Monaco is such a bad place to introduce anything because it's such a one-off track. I think if Red Bull made a good step, Turkey will be a good yardstick for how much progress they've made. That and Ferrari and Massa have never lost in Turkey.

The fact that Turkey is a great track helps too. So I think there are all the ingredients for a great race.

 

Has anyone heard about Ferrari, et al, for next year? They only have until the 29th to decide if they'll run.

I did find these:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/270520...-williams.html

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/260520...ours-spin.html

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/260520...tch-talks.html

Or is this just a scam to boost viewing?

 

For the last two years there's been plenty of "scraps" from front to back, that's how it should be. The diffuser should have been declared illegal and then the field would have been evened out a bit more.

Brawn says that its not the whole reason why they're fast so maybe they would get hurt too much by losing it, whatever, by the end of the season things will get closer though Button may already have the WDC