2009 European Grand Prix

Well, Sutil just topped the third and final session. I have to say though, that it came under less-than-ordinary circumstances, much like that time in Monac; I wonder how everything would have played out had Vettel not had his problems?

Speaking of Vettel, I think that unless he's already found his race setup, his championship bid is pretty much over. Red Bull had their most dismal day this year, I think; Vettel stopped on the circuit while Webber was at the bottom of the timing sheets. All it's going to take is one good result from Button and they're going to need a gargatuan effort to stay in the hunt.
 
Do you race?
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Alonso's lap yet.

Okay, it was a PR stunt for the home crowd. Alonso says they weren't running on fumes,...
Click to expand...
Did he not say that exact same thing after his last pole position, followed by a stop on lap 12... 💡

Anyway, yay for Sutil. Although practise times don't mean much, it's never bad to be fastest.

I wouldn't jump on Badoer for the same reason. Wait until after qualifying to see if we can jump on him...
 
daan
Did he not say that exact same thing after his last pole position, followed by a stop on lap 12... 💡
Click to expand...
Myabe, but when I think of running on fumes, I'm thinking of a car that has a scheduled stop within the first five laps.
 
Woah... the end of an AFL (Australian Football League for those of you playing at home) match was cut for F1 qualifying here in Adelaide. I never thought such a thing would happen in my life time. :dunce:
 
daan
I wouldn't jump on Badoer for the same reason. Wait until after qualifying to see if we can jump on him...
Click to expand...

Qualifying 1
1st - 19th = 1.394s
19th-Badoer = 1.488s
 
Jump away...
 
Jackington
Woah... the end of an AFL (Australian Football League for those of you playing at home) match was cut for F1 qualifying here in Adelaide. I never thought such a thing would happen in my life time. :dunce:
Click to expand...
Oh, they care about it now that an Australian has a chance at being World Champion. Here in New England, the AFL has only just begun (and I'm glad they didn't interrupt SERENITY - my favourite film in the hisory of ever - for it).
 
Very strong showing by McLaren. I thought Badoer put in one of the worst performances by an F1 driver I've seen in a good few years.
 
I want to put money on Badoer being lapped within 20!!

C.
 
Hamilton on Pole. Nuts to that.

Still, Button is ahead of Webber and while he's just behind Vettel, he's got the racing line on a circuit that is notoriously dusty off-line.
 
Lewis and Heikki should be pretty clear in to T1, hopefully Kimi can jump Button at least.

Webber's title shot might come to an abrupt end here... Red Bull will have to declare a #1 driver after this race if they have any ambitions for the driver's title.
 
Badoer's performance tells me exactly why Schumacher backed out of his comeback. He didn't want to look stupid and therefore used a neck injury as an excuse. Of course his neck injury may have been a genuine reason to quit, I just don't believe it to be so really since he only backed out of the comeback after it was confirmed that he wouldn't be allowed to test this years car.

Now we await the start weights, and unless they are running light, a one-two for McLaren.
 
mipuumal
Lewis and Heikki should be pretty clear in to T1, hopefully Kimi can jump Button at least.
Click to expand...
Doubt it. Kimi's on the dirty side, and even if he uses KERS, he still has to deal with the other cars. Besides, the Brawn has been faster than the Ferrari all weekend. Kimi might get Button into the first corner, but if Button can hit back quickly, Kimi might not stand a chance.
 
Well, at least Vettel is ahead of Button.
 
Tired Tyres
Badoer's performance tells me exactly why Schumacher backed out of his comeback. He didn't want to look stupid and therefore used a neck injury as an excuse. Of course his neck injury may have been a genuine reason to quit, I just don't believe it to be so really since he only backed out of the comeback after it was confirmed that he wouldn't be allowed to test this years car.

Now we await the start weights, and unless they are running light, a one-two for McLaren.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but you can't compare the guy who holds the record for most races without a point (48) with the guy who has scored the most points in the history of the sport.
 
crooky369
I'm sorry but you can't compare the guy who drove his entire career in the backmarker teams with the guy who has had a car capable of finishing in the points in every race.
Click to expand...

Fixed that a bit for you. Given the Benettons and Ferraris, and an unquestioned position inside the team, any "above average" driver would have taken at least four or five championships. Simply put, if he was as good as is said, how come Häkkinen and Alonso both beat him twice in a row? If you're going to say "superior cars" think twice before it backfires on you.

Alonso has beaten Schumacher, Räikkönen has beaten Alonso and Schumacher has zero experience on the 2009 cars compared to Räikkönen. Anybody genuinely thinking that Schumacher would have competed for victory in the pile of 🤬 also known as the F60 has very bright (and probably opaque) red glasses on.
 
Yeah!!! BMW has a chance to turn things over and get back to heir own form... But still long way to go... BMW made it back to Q3 after it has been a while now and I think that they have a chance to score some points...

Badoer did owkey after 10 years of no racing... Romain did a pretty solid job should I say... Alguersuari needs to do better but whatever happen, congratulations to Lewis Hamilton :)
 
Weights
01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 653.0
02. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 655.0
03. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 662.5
04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 654.0
05. Button Brawn-Mercedes 661.5
06. Raikkonen Ferrari 661.5
07. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 665.0
08. Alonso Renault 656.5
09. Webber Red Bull-Renault 664.5
10. Kubica BMW-Sauber 657.5
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 677.0
12. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 672.5
13. Glock Toyota 694.7
14. Grosjean Renault 677.7
15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 688.5
16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 692.5
17. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 702.0
18. Trulli Toyota 707.3
19. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 678.5
20. Badoer Ferrari 690.5

As revealed here

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_5507778,00.html
 
Alonso again light. Renault clearly know something we don't.

All the rest are not really surprising, good effort by Barrichello though 👍

Oh, and now poeple are really grilling Badoer :lol: but if I was him I would have the same attitude - who cares what people think, he gets his dream drive, he didn't expect to be anywhere and merely wants to finish.
I'm not so sure Marc Gene or even Schumacher could have done that much better with that little preperation and not knowing the track or car. Perhaps they wouldn't be a full second and more off the pace of everyone else, but they would still be at the back of the grid.

I'm glad Badoer gets his chance (regardless if it makes him a laughing stock) but I do think Bourdais was more of a sensible choice.
 
As poor as his showing was today, I honestly feel awful for Badoer. I can't imagine its a fun feeling having the entire F1 world laughing hysterically at you.
 
That is Luca's first time racing the F60 on any other track besides Fiorano, cut him some slack. Luca hasn't raced in years, but others like Alguersuari were fresh minded. He has never even raced at Valencia in his life. Maybe when h gets to a track he used to race on like Spa, we can really start to judge his performance properly.
 
So how many races do you guys think Badoer will last for? I cant imagine him making it to Singapore..
 
I think he will see out the year, it would make even less sense for Ferrari to get rid of him after letting him race. At the very least he can serve as a test driver and do their in season testing at races (which is probably why they picked him in the first place). Clearly they picked someone who could race while Massa couldn't, which means until the end of the season if necessary.
 
It looks like I might have overestimated the role of the two grade tire split. Umm....oops

The Brawns are back on pace. Though the race might be decided on the first corner. Any chances for rain?
 
No way lol, rain very unlikely.
BBC prediction:
Sunny
Max: 36°C
Min: 21°C
Wind: SE 8mph
 
Tired Tyres
Weights
01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 653.0
02. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 655.0
03. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 662.5
04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 654.0
05. Button Brawn-Mercedes 661.5
06. Raikkonen Ferrari 661.5
07. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 665.0
08. Alonso Renault 656.5
09. Webber Red Bull-Renault 664.5
10. Kubica BMW-Sauber 657.5
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 677.0
12. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 672.5
13. Glock Toyota 694.7
14. Grosjean Renault 677.7
15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 688.5
16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 692.5
17. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 702.0
18. Trulli Toyota 707.3
19. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 678.5
20. Badoer Ferrari 690.5
Click to expand...
I expeted Hamilton to be light, but the lightest on the grid? When was the last time someone won fom pole after being the first to pit?
 
2 kilos lighter than Kov isn't that much, how many kilos of fuel would 1 lap be?
 
Wow, lol at those who think Schumacher would also be at the back of the grid. You can't even compare the two drivers.
 
Back