2012 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix

[Thomas Dougherty]

It feels great to see the mid pack teams doing well now. I'd take a Mercedes or Sauber pole/win over a any of the top 3 any day. That was one crazy qualifying session. I couldn't help but laugh when Vettel didn't make Q3.

The thing is about the Mercedes is how hard the car is on the tires. Hopefully their engineers can think of some sort of strategy to keep Rosberg and Schumacher in the front.

And I was damned impressed by Kobayashi. Hopefully he can make a result from his position. Those Saubers were flying.

This race is going to be epic. The Mid Packers finally got their ish together.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Also, Nico was only at 313km/h at the end of the straight - and Coulthard actually said that the Saubers touched 320 there. So maybe the DRS advantage has been overstated up to now.

The duct system allows them to run more downforce.
With the duct in addition to DRS flap you will reach your top speed even quicker as well.

Not sure why people are surprised about Mercedes. They have in every race this season had a quick car in Qualifying.
What was surprising was Nico´s perfect lap.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Also... we are forgetting once big thing here....

Kobayashi starting third tomorrow. Now that is impressive.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Also interesting to note.

Nico´s delta time was at 0.000 during for second to last corner. Out of that corner he gained over 4 tenths which made the difference.
He was quick all through the lap but by a tenth or two only to loose it somewhere then gain some slightly.

He was 4 tenths clear on the back straight then during braking he lost it all only to take it back out of the hairpin.

 

[Jordi Casademunt]

Yeah, shame they didn't get him in the post-qualifying press conference. (I mean Kobayashi)

Rosberg's lap was really impressive, the kind he wouldn't be able to repeat even if he did another 1000 laps. Hamilton keeps doing his job, Kobayashi was a surprise, and Räikkönen finally got a normal qualifying session. Vettel out of Q3 was a surprise too, but the fact is, the field is really tight this year, so the tiniest mistake can get you to the back of the grid. Also, Massa seems to be closing the gap with Alonso a bit (1 second in Australia, around 4 tenths in Malaysia, a bit less than 3 tenths here), so at least he's showing some improvement. And HRT is closer to Marussia (2s in Malaysia, 1.2s here).

For tomorrow's race, well, it's hard to do any guess, but I expect a fun race.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Yea Kobayashi will be interesting.

Button said that not only was his gridspot impressive but Mclaren has noticed the Sauber is actually pretty good on race pace.

Anyone tipping Koba for the win tomorrow?

 

[Lorenzo Gabbiani]

Qualification results

 

[Chris Preston]

My prediction if dry:
1st - Rosberg
2nd - Kobayashi
3rd - Raikkonen

My prediction if wet:
1st - Alonso
2nd - Button
3rd - Perez

No offense, but have you watched F1 before the Malaysia race? Alonso and Perez aren't wet driving geniuses, they had good race strategies that paid off. Perez was impressive sure, but one podium finish doesn't make you the next World Champion. He also showed that he can make rookie mistakes if pressured like he did when he finally caught Alonso. Also this race is going to be dry, no projections for rain.

The dry race results also seem a little off I guess is the world I'll use. I'd love to see Rosberg finish first, but I just can't see it yet. Schumi might almost be the better pick because they're times (apart from this quali) are very similar and with the experience Schumi has and the advantage of DRS, if he stays on Rosberg's tail for the first three laps or longer, will allow him to pass him and pull away. The merc car will also have to improve drastically in races since they won't have the constant help of their DRS system. I'd also pick Perez over Kobayashi if one of the Sauber's were to finish on the podium again. Lets also not forget Weber, Button, Hamilton, and Alonso are right behind the surprise finishers.

To be honest I couldn't even come up with predictions for the race, With the two Merc cars battling it out either one of them could easily be top three or continue their bad luck and drop out of the top 10. Hamilton will be the wild card in this race, starting in 7th he will have to march his way through the field and is very capable of doing so. Weber has shown impressive pace this weekend and could easily move up into the top 3. The game plan for Merc will be pull away from Kobayashi and Raikkonen and have them hold up the big guys behind them until they're out of the picture. If I had to put for what I think my top three will be I'd probably have to say (in no particular order) Hamilton, Webber, and either Schumi/Rosberg, however I'm just playing the best odds.

 

[Diego Lopez]

No offense, but have you watched F1 before the Malaysia race? Alonso and Perez aren't wet driving geniuses, they had good race strategies that paid off.

really? wonder then how Alonso managed to stick close enuough to Vettel @ Korea 2010, Alonso is just as good in Wets as the people you might claim, even last year @ the Candian GP he was testing Vettels nerves in that pouring rain...... take no personal offense man, just saying

back to the Chinese GP...i missed out on Q while working the graveyard shift at my IT lab...but when i watched it on my DVR i gotta say Im mighty happy how the grid is formed, yes we love the top teams competiting, but its also good to see the "midfielders" ending up on Q3. This is gonna be one hell of a season. Redbull still trying to work around their ld ebc concept, no point in it, scratch that car start from new. Ferrari, you shouldnt have fired your old technical director, at least his design made it easily to the Q3 (sry Fry).
I wonder if Kimi has a good chance of being on the podium, unless Mercedes have finally somewhat fixed their super degradation on their tyres.

so far all good, im happy to see Mark Webber outqualifying the #1 driver. LoL, bet it brings joy to many, especially our australian rd members

to be honest, even though having the fastest car out there can win you championships, the part thats also going play a crucial role in the WC, is gonna be how consistant the drivers are with the points, especially with the grid being this mixed up (if it stays that way).

 

[Chris Preston]

really? wonder then how Alonso managed to stick close enuough to Vettel @ Korea 2010, Alonso is just as good in Wets as the people you might claim, even last year @ the Candian GP he was testing Vettels nerves in that pouring rain...... take no personal offense man, just saying

Sure, but we can all agree this Ferrari car isn't like the one's he's had in previous years. Also, even though I might not necessarily agree with some people on this, Hamilton is also in the mix as well as Button who are good wet drivers as well and have a faster car. Schumacher has also out qualified them all, so if I had to pick one of those "good" wet drivers Alonso wouldn't be my first pick.

P.S. I never thought Vettel was any good in the rain lol.

 

[Kevin Cordice]

Good job to may of the teams

4tenths on Just 2 corners:eek:! darn-nabit. Did track temp play a key role in final session of Q3? or was it pure driver skill/car?
For Mercedes needed something like this as there are a manufacture team with not to pretty looking points on the board, for Sauber hats off to them thumbs up guys

Smiley contribute to Drivers success today

NR Cocky but i like it
LH Good job even with the +5 penalty
MCS Always drive his hardest
KK What can i say awesome! awesome!, he had to prove himself from the last race. good job
KR Showing the world that he has the qualifying buzz in him
JB Baffling on the performance from him buy did he sacrifice it for race pace or was he off it
MW Making the best out what tools he was given
SP Seem to struggle a bit today but got the job done:oops:
FA As he predicted a few weeks age, Ferrari not up to par right now
RG Just probably got caught out due to drop in temperature :oops: green smiley because he always happy

This season has already been knock on the head so far, many different comes to what i was expecting, from Froce India last year to performance of Sauber step up to the plate, struggles of Ferrari and under performing Massa, Toro rosso boy blasting at RBR second driver and thinking his teammate is a push over. So much more can be said and it is only Round 3 season so far

Magnificent!

 

[My993C2]

So far this season Mercedes has been fast in practice and qualifying. But the advantage they have over everyone else in qualifying is lost in the race since the opportunity to open up their wing in the DRS zone is lost on most race laps. Nico Rosberg usually out performs Schumacher in the races in the three seasons they have been teammates. But Nico does not have the experiences Michael has leading the field and we will have to wait to see how he handles the pressure of being up front. Kobayashi and Raikkonen are within striking distance if the Mercedes does not have the race pace and both drivers are hard charging racers. I came into this weekend thinking "Oh McLaren will run away with another race". But while Hamilton has been consistently lapping fast and would be right up there without his grid penalty, Button has not been as fast as his younger teammate. Is this because Button's car is setup for race pace or is something else at play? Webber and Perez will also be hungry looking to prove that their improved results this season are no accident and of course one can never count out Alonso who will also be looking to charge forward in the field. I think Vettel is a good wet race driver, but Vettel's best chance to improve upon his less than ideal starting position is for a dry race. If the race stays dry Vettel has unused soft option tires that the others ahead of him do not have (the options are a good 1/2 second a lap faster than the primes). I don't see Vettel winning this race, but if it stays dry, he should move up in the field.

Yes this will be a very interesting race. This could be a race like none other that we have seen in a long time. The guys up front want to win their first races (Rosberg and Kobayashi) or win their first races after leaving the sport and then coming back (Schumacher and Raikkonen). But they will all be chased by some hard chargers (Hamilton, Button, Webber, Alonso and Vettel) who have won before and want to win again.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

4tenths on Just 2 corners:eek:

Sort of. He gained around 4 tenths just by accelerating out of the hairpin.
Then as he crossed the line i think the delta stood at 620 or so.

 

[Kevin Cordice]

I think if i watch this race i'll start biting my finger nails and i never did that before oh oh are you guys thinking what i'm thinking that many of the teams coming with some serious new car at testing, mostly F-Duct technology. Will the be band next year, the F-Duct?

 

[James Maskell]

i thought it was the W-duct?

 

[Metalfreaky]

Sort of. He gained around 4 tenths just by accelerating out of the hairpin.
Then as he crossed the line i think the delta stood at 620 or so.

Can you tell me please where you get those information? Would really like to look that up for other races, but I cannot seem to find a source.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

i thought it was the W-duct?

Call it whatever you want it´s just a duct and some call it the super-DRS etc.

F-duct (mclaren) is from my understanding a word made up by Media.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Can you tell me please where you get those information? Would really like to look that up for other races, but I cannot seem to find a source.

I´m watching F1 in the "free" way right now so i watched the Sky Sports broadcast
(i do pay for F1 on swedish TV so hold your horses all you anti-pirates)

Georgie and Ant goes through his onboard lap and you can see his delta increasing and decreasing depending on where he is on the track.

You should be able to see the pole lap on F1.com in high resolution and you should be able to spot the delta there.

 

[Metalfreaky]

I´m watching F1 in the "free" way right now so i watched the Sky Sports broadcast
(i do pay for F1 on swedish TV so hold your horses all you anti-pirates)

Georgie and Ant goes through his onboard lap and you can see his delta increasing and decreasing depending on where he is on the track.

You should be able to see the pole lap on F1.com in high resolution and you should be able to spot the delta there.

Thanks, but I can't find the pole lap on f1.com.
There is no china lap uploaded yet and the other two from Melbourne and Malaysia are from Hamilton and Schumi, so the laps aren't necessarily pole laps. Or am I looking in the wrong place (f1.com/video -> onboard)?

 

[Ivan Mills]

Georgie

mmmm....some wicked curves on that one(Tilke must examine closely for next project )...i just hope Sky get her to face the onboard screen completely next time..