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Formula 1 2012 Season <<<SPOILER>>>

55K views 293 replies 12 participants last post by  jonathan2263 
#1 ·
This thread tapered off this season, I think do to the monotonous inevitability at the end of the season. Macca was coming on strong, but it was too little too late. Hope there's better competition in 2012.

The big news, Kimi's back. There'll be 6 WDC's on the grid next year. Hope it makes for some good wheel to wheel racing at the front half of the race.

And as always...GO REDS!
 
#92 ·
At first sight, $28.99 seems like a lot for an app. I almost never download any pay apps. But then again, I am an obsessed F1 fan, the app adds more info to the races, and after all, in a season with 20 races, it's only $1.45 per race. Not so bad after all.
 
#93 ·
WOW, after Australia and the first two practice sessiona of Malaysia, it sure looks like McLaren has it all together.



:thumbup:
 
#94 ·
WOW, after Australia and the first two practice sessiona of Malaysia, it sure looks like McLaren has it all together.

:thumbup:
Yeah they do. And Redbull seems to be struggling for grip. So far, this looks like it could be an intriguing year.

Merc looks fast in qualifying trim, but they're eating their tires. I bet Alonso beats them both in the race just because, if it doesn't rain, he'll stop one less time than them.

Too bad about Kimi taking a grid penalty, but then again, it should be fun to watch him charge through the field.

I'm predicting that Perez steps into the #2 seat at Ferrari after the summer break...
 
#95 ·
Very exciting qualifying, especially compared to last years snooze fest. I can't help it to cheer for Schumi, at 43 he's top 3 in qualifying, wow. Also very happy for Kimi, he's a breeze of fresh air this year. Having said that, go Jenson!

I feel sorry for Alonso, he deserves a better car.
 
#96 ·
That was a flawless drive by the master. Like him or not, you just can't deny Alonso's skills. Dragging what is realistically only the 9th or 10th fastest car on the grid up to a win is incredible. And for the first time in years, the team worked flawlessly, made all the right calls, and certainly looked to be firing on all cylinders.

But Massa, well, what can you say ?

Perez had an amazing drive too. If it wasn't for his one slip, he had the faster car and looked to have every chance to take the win. I'm sure he'll be the next Ferrari driver, if not this year, then certainly next.

Hearing the confusion over Vettel's radio at the end was priceless. I know there's three weeks to China, and time to fix things, but RBR certainly looks to have lost their edge.

And why can't Ham convert poles to wins? He's got the car, but a couple more races like the last two and we'll be seeing mopey boy again.

Nine different teams in the top ten, a Sauber driver on the podium, an unlikely win, Alonso leading the championship and RBR on the back foot... Looks to be a vintage year.
 
#102 ·
Yeah, it's exciting. I was surprised that Lewis didn't look dejected, but I think he understood that it was a crazy race and not reflective of the true order of things currently. If it's dry in China, I would look for Kimi to pull off the upset. His car looks pretty good, he seems to be getting his touch back, and all he needs is a bit of luck to fall his way. Here's hoping...

But only two races in and so far, it's been great.
 
#103 · (Edited)
This from www.planetf1.com

Driven Alonso makes his point
As much as anything else, this was a victory for Fernando Alonso's response to his winter of adversity: dignified, resolute, determined. And calm. No tantrums, no accusations, just the repeated insistence that he still believed in his team, still believed in their ability to right a ghastly, malfunctioning wrong. Stay calm he did. And stay calm he duly did when the opportunity for the most unexpected of victories suddenly loomed out of the Malaysian GP gloom.

Keep calm and just carry on. He's done it before and he'll do it again.

That the Spaniard required a slice of luck along the way is not in argument. Above all else, he needed the rain to cloak the deficiencies of the F2012 and there's no doubt that even Alonso would have been left high in the dry. But opportunism is a skill in its own underestimated right and it required a drive of sustained excellence, transcending the wretched F2012, to turn opportunity into full disguise of Ferrari's opprobrium. There is only one good thing about the new Ferrari and it's the Spaniard who has to sit in its ****-pit.

The great pity will be if Alonso's victory is remembered for the victory that wasn't and the naivety of Sauber's ambiguous - but definitely misjudged - radio message to Sergio Perez shortly before the young Mexican fell off the track in gut-wrenching fashion. For what can't go overlooked is that at the critical stage of the race, when Alonso maximised Ferrari's fortune at the first round of ********s to build a ten-second lead over McLaren and what proved to be just enough of an advantage to withstand Perez's charge, he was consistently three to five seconds quicker than Felipe Massa lap after sustained lap. Three to five. Massa is not a great, but it takes a great to make him look this ordinary.

"I don't think it changes anything," Alonso, still preaching the virtue of patience, said afterwards. "We are still in a position we don't want to be in."

Yet it's a victory that changes everything and nothing; nothing because the F2012 will still be binned in May and Alonso will still be to required to dig deep for every last ounce of his brilliance to make it pay points before then, and everything because it is on days like this that Alonso's special type of true brilliance is made plain.

In a field of excellence, Lewis Hamilton may still be the quickest, Jenson Button may still be the foremost forerunner and Sebastian Vettel may still be the supreme winner, but it's Alonso who still reigns supreme as the expert driver.

edit: on a side note, it's kind of funny what words or phrases the forum chooses to auto-censor.
 
#108 ·
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/03/28/ferraris-front-pullrod-suspension/

An interesting article on what's wrong with Ferrari's front suspension. One of the points they made was that due to the positioning of the dampers, it takes more time to make setup changes in the garage. I have noticed that in the practice sessions at Australia and Malaysia, Ferrari always seemed to get not quite as many laps as the other front runners. I wonder if this has something to do with it.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the "B-Spec" version of the chassis. Seems they need to move the exhaust ports, and I would guess they'll incorporate a DRS / F-duct device, but will they drop the pullrod front, or will it be a case of sticking with The Devil You Know ? Either way, it sure looks like they violated the KISS Principle in a major way.
 
#109 ·
According to scarbsf1 there is nothing wrong with the front pull-rod suspension the geometry is just as good as pushrod. Also Ferrari had a ask questions session on twitter and they said they aren't changing the suspension because there's nothing wrong. They also said the chassis is staying the same no new crash test or anything. The main difference will be they will go back the the original exhaust setup because as they said was the most beneficial. So I don't think the car will change dramatically.
 
#110 ·
That's a shame. It seems like they need a dramatic change. I wonder if they can get the DRS/F-duct fitted without any chassis change. Until it gets banned next year, that is the current fashionable trickery.

There will be new parts on line for China, and again when they get to Spain. Hopefully that will add some speed . They've really got nowhere to go but up and I don't think it will rain every sunday from now until November.

Meanwhile, it sounds like there are unhappy rumblings coming from RBR. I'm not surprised, being so used to winning, the start of this year must feel very unfamiliar to them. But I said in the past, Adrian Newey's history is two championships in a row, then fading. I do hope they put up a good fight this year though, I'd like to see four or five teams winning instead of just one or two. Keeps things more interesting...
 
#113 ·
Newey's cars have won many championships for many teams. Way more than any other car designer.
 
#114 ·
That's true, but it seems like he wins two in a row, then the others catch up. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with in 2014. With new engine regs and other changes, we may see yet another show of Neweys genius. Or maybe, someone new will step up to become the new design master.
 
#118 ·
I'm hoping they cancel the Bahrain GP. But the political / human rights aspect is just a cover... one less race before the test and major upgrade at Mugello could only help Alonso. It might rain in China, but I'm pretty sure it won't in Bahrain.

Meanwhile, 5 spot grid penalty for a gearbox change for Hamilton. If he starts losing ground to Button early, I can see his season quickly falling apart.
 
#120 ·
Lotus lodged an official protest with the race stewards. If they determine it to be legal, then I guess it's legal for the rest of the season. I'm sure after all the other teams spend millions to develop their own version, next year, the rule will be clarified and it will no longer be legal. So much for cost saving...
 
#123 ·
Vettel out in Q2 (almost out in Q1). His start to the season has been a swift fall from the top. Could be Kimi's best opportunity of the year. And maybe another Sauber on the podium. I'm really enjoying this unpredictability.
 
#124 ·
This is the most mixed up season I've ever seen and its been only 3 races. Can't wait for this Sat and Sun.
 
#127 ·
All Mercs appeae to be looking good again.
 
#128 ·
I don't think anyone will have any idea of who is going to win before half way thru the race.
 
#129 ·
Looks like even the primes are degrading after not too many laps. I would be surprised if anyone can win on a two stop strategy. Three stops should be the norm. I'm sure we'll see if the Mercs have really sorted their tire wear issue.
 
#131 · (Edited)
Agreed.
I'm no fan of Redbull, but it's good to see yet another team threatening to win this weekend. When was the last time we had four different teams win in the first four races? It's just too interesting this year.

That was a pretty interesting qualifying session. I'm not surprised that Alonso and DiResta didn't go out in Q3. I'm sure they'll be starting on primes and hoping for some long stints. From the sounds of it, the options will go off very fast. The first ten laps should be pretty wild with some reasonably quick cars catching some very fast cars due to degradation. The passing could get out of hand.
 
#132 ·
Don't expect Seb to run away with this one. My money's on Lewis.
 
#135 ·
It appears Nico's head grew several sizes since China--helmet must have been pinching terribly,or he thought he was Michaael of olf and could get away with anything after winning a race. SB DQ'd.

Good race for Kimi--nice to see him on the podium again.

Too bad McLaren can't get Lewis out of the box. Could have been a much different result.
 
#136 · (Edited)
It appears Nico's head grew several sizes since China--helmet must have been pinching terribly,or he thought he was Michaael of olf and could get away with anything after winning a race. SB DQ'd.

Good race for Kimi--nice to see him on the podium again.

Too bad McLaren can't get Lewis out of the box. Could have been a much different result.
I still haven't seen any results of the stewards inquiry into Rosberg's incidents. He just should have been given a drive through on his second offense.

I was really rooting for Kimi. He only seemed to get one chance at Vettel, to bad he couldn't get it done.

McLaren had a disastrous race. They really dropped the ball in these first four races. They started with the best car, but were only able to win one race, Button had two no-points finishes, and Ham went backwards in every race. I think as this season goes on, they might seriously regret the lost opportunities.

I know you guys will hate me for this, but after the first four fly away races, I would say the driver and team that got the most potential out of their package is Alonso and Ferrari. Given how uncompetitive their car is, to come away with one win, in the points at every race, in fourth in the drivers standings and only 10 points behind the championship leader is amazing. Due to mistake free driving, excellent team work, and some luck , Alonso is ahead of drivers with cars that are clearly faster than the F2012.

The Mugello test is next on the schedule. Ferrari is supposed to be bringing a major upgrade. It will be interesting to see if it is enough to get them on the podium on a regular basis. And will McLAren get on top of their troubles to get Hamilton back out in front? And how about Lotus...have we seen their best or do they have the funds to continue development this year?

After four races, I would say this season has been great. I hope it continues.

Edit: Rosberg escapes any penalties. How did that happen?
 
#137 ·
He was nowhere near the front, but Schumi actually had a really good race, coming all the way into the points from near the back.

I really thought Kimi was going to reel in Vettel... he was so close at one point.

I wonder if we'll ever find out exactly what the deal was with Lewis' left rear... I wonder if the crossed-thread speculation was accurate?
 
#138 ·
McLaren is saying it was two seperate problems that both affected the same wheel. First was a problem with the locating pins on the hub not properly lining up with the holes in the wheel, second was a cross threaded wheel nut. The left rear gunman is on suicide watch...
 
#140 ·
http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7719342/-Webber-to-Ferrari-as-Perez-stop-gap-

Well this comes as a surprise. Although, Webber would probably be a good fit. He's not quite good enough to threaten Alonso's ego, and he does qualify and race well. If he could only learn to get off the line quickly, he just might help the Scuderia get back up there in the constructors standings. And then, I guess for 2014, Perez would step in.

I wonder if it's true ...
 
#141 ·
http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7719342/-Webber-to-Ferrari-as-Perez-stop-gap-

Well this comes as a surprise. Although, Webber would probably be a good fit. He's not quite good enough to threaten Alonso's ego, and he does qualify and race well. If he could only learn to get off the line quickly, he just might help the Scuderia get back up there in the constructors standings. And then, I guess for 2014, Perez would step in.

I wonder if it's true ...
Doubtful, I think. Everybody seems to be happy at RBR at the moment.
 
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