2011 Australian Grand Prix

Yeah Perez was running a 1Stop lap hence why he managed to get his Sauber up to 7th in his first ever Grand Prix.. EPIC result for the young Mexican :)
 
The best part of Perez' race is that it wasn't strategy! They had never planned to do that, Perez had simply managed to make the tyres last. Perez even said that he didn't try to save the soft tyres when they put them on, he was actually pushing very hard expecting to stop again!

Like I said earlier, this says a lot about the potential of the Sauber. It also alludes to what daan said about the whole field not really going flat out because they are all worried so much about tyre wear like Bahrain 2010.
Perez started on the hard tyre which is how he managed all this (and why Kobayashi didn't manage it - he started on worn soft tyres that he had used from Q2 as well as Q3).
 
The best part of Perez' race is that it wasn't strategy! They had never planned to do that, Perez had simply managed to make the tyres last. Perez even said that he didn't try to save the soft tyres when they put them on, he was actually pushing very hard expecting to stop again!

Like I said earlier, this says a lot about the potential of the Sauber. It also alludes to what daan said about the whole field not really going flat out because they are all worried so much about tyre wear like Bahrain 2010.
Perez started on the hard tyre which is how he managed all this (and why Kobayashi didn't manage it - he started on worn soft tyres that he had used from Q2 as well as Q3).

Which makes the decision involving Sauber even more of a heartache as far as I'm concerned. :indiff:

I have to say despite this being the season opener, Sergio is already off to a better start than Hulkenberg; he had his short moments but he didn't really shine (or upset) until Brazil. If he can keep this up throughout the season he'll definitely be on the road to a title soon enough.
 
Well, lets see how the season plays out before comparing, but yeah the signs are good. Although, I think Perez has a better car than Hulkenburg did, and a slightly easier teammate (beating Barrichello is not easy!).
That said, Hulkenburg clearly did possess some talent, enough to deserve a drive. With several rookies doing well this race, it does make you wish Hulk was still in the Williams mixing it up further.
 
Do you see Rubens ever wanting to contend for the title again, or is he content just being competitive and offering up his experience to better Williams?
 
People said that way before 2009 ;). I think its pretty clear Rubens never gives up, just look at 2007 and 2008 - pants car but he was still pushing, still trying to beat his teammate and achieve good results.
If Williams had a championship car, there is no doubt from me that Rubens would be hungry for it still after all these years. And most importantly, he is still capable of it. I think he is content as long he is in F1, otherwise he would have given up in 2008, but "content" is the wrong word, it suggests he isn't bothered to try hard which isn't the case.
 
We also saw Vettel do something he's often picked up on for not doing today: overtaking. Button's mistake but a good clean move.
 
We also saw Vettel do something he's often picked up on for not doing today: overtaking. Button's mistake but a good clean move.

Yes. I was quite surprised at the maneuver he made on Button, but I'll reserve all judgment until we've gone past Shanghai, Spa, and Turkey. He is looking better than last year but things are just getting underway. Honestly, I hope his racecraft has improved because I'd like nothing more to be able to give him more of a compliment than just having outright pace.

People said that way before 2009 ;). I think its pretty clear Rubens never gives up, just look at 2007 and 2008 - pants car but he was still pushing, still trying to beat his teammate and achieve good results.
If Williams had a championship car, there is no doubt from me that Rubens would be hungry for it still after all these years. And most importantly, he is still capable of it. I think he is content as long he is in F1, otherwise he would have given up in 2008, but "content" is the wrong word, it suggests he isn't bothered to try hard which isn't the case.

I want Rubens to go at the title because he's incredibly talented, and in fact I reckon he would have already been at least a two-time (perhaps a double) world champion had it not been for the circumstances we're all aware of. He was really close in '09 but ultimately lost out to Button (in addition to the Ferrari's catching up). If it came to it I'd want him to be a champion more than I want Webber to be one.
 
Wow, that DRS was an epic idea!!

/sarcasm

Hmmm... Shame for the Saubers, Perez in Particular. I'm a bit gutted Quick Nick didn't do more.

Crazy move from Rubens!

Congrats to Seb Vettel for another commanding performance.
 
Mixed feelings for the season opener's results, but could've been much worse. Adrastian Newettel was always gonna win in that car, but what a feat of brilliance from Lewis, simply to keep up with the Red Bull, and bring the car home cleanly. Lucky about the broken floor not being worse! Great drive from Petrov too, I've always rated him well.

GUTTED for Sauber - silly sods! Perfect start for Perez! Rotten luck for Obi-Wan, Williams and Merc.
 
Mixed feelings for the season opener's results, but could've been much worse. Adrastian Newettel was always gonna win in that car, but what a feat of brilliance from Lewis, simply to keep up with the Red Bull, and bring the car home cleanly. Lucky about the broken floor not being worse! Great drive from Petrov too, I've always rated him well.

GUTTED for Sauber - silly sods! Perfect start for Perez! Rotten luck for Obi-Wan, Williams and Merc.

I'd wager that vettel was taking things easy. Plus he never had Kers. I think a lot of you vettel haters forget his performances in 07 and 08 when he never had a good car. You're also keen to forget lewis running at the back of the field at the start of 09... Don't kid yourself into believing that he took that car to a win. He didn't come close to a win until it had been massively upgraded. Hamilton surely should have been disqualified due to excessive wear of the plank. It's in the rules so why hasn't it happened? The one bad thing about the f1 of today is hamilton-mania.
 
The one bad thing about the f1 of today is hamilton-mania.
I don't understand it either. I don't like the kid or how SpeedTV shows his girlfriend in the pits ALL THE TIME. It seems things were handed to him in 2007.
 
We also saw Vettel do something he's often picked up on for not doing today: overtaking. Button's mistake but a good clean move.

You mean the overtake when Button was on old tyres and made a mistake in the corner?

Yes. Great overtake Seb! 👍
 
But the Pirellis are crap.

Perez was pushing the whole time and only stopped once. How is that crap. If anything, I'd like them to wear even faster, but I don't understand how you can say they are crap.

Rossticles
I don't understand it either. I don't like the kid or how SpeedTV shows his girlfriend in the pits ALL THE TIME. It seems things were handed to him in 2007.
You mean 2008?

KobayashiFan
Because as ridiculous as this may seem, maybe his plank was actually within the regulations.
It was dragging along the ground for a large number of laps... Sometimes going over a kerb too roughly can cause the plank to be worn too much. So I doubt it was ok after dragging on the ground for as long.

Only_in_f1
You mean the overtake when Button was on old tyres and made a mistake in the corner?

Need I remind you that Vettel was on cold tyres? Look at what happened to Chandok and Massa on cold tyres.

Rossticles
Exactly. I believe the wooden plank is further back than that.
I don't think so. It is in the rules to ensure the ride height stays above a certain level.

If it was too far back, then the front ride height could be lowered without effecting the plank.
webber.jpg

See how far forward it was on the rb6?
 
No. I mean what I said, 2007. It's the year he was given the seat at McLaren. What's that dark area of the plank? I think that's what's measured. There's no point coming up with a conspiracy theory that the FIA is going to overlook anything awry on Hamilton's car. That's ridiculous to even think that they have chosen a driver that can get away with anything. If Lewis is this special driver that the FIA will let do what he wants, why was he penalised at Spa when he cut the chicane and didn't let Raikkonen back through? Come on people...the FIA doesn't care who wins the championship nor do they help a certain driver win it. That's absurd.

If Hamilton's plank was worn down he would have been disqualified. He wasn't disqualified, therefore his plank wasn't worn down so much as to break the rules.
 
Actually, you mean when Hamilton was penalized for overtaking Raikonnen when the latter had a brain-fart and messed up in the corner right after Hamilton let him back through? :lol:
 
Ahhhhh!

If that's how you see it. I'm just trying to show that a Hamilton conspiracy is completely far fetched. It blows my mind that people think the FIA would simply overlook any rule breaker.
 
No. I mean what I said, 2007. It's the year he was given the seat at McLaren. What's that dark area of the plank? I think that's what's measured. There's no point coming up with a conspiracy theory that the FIA is going to overlook anything awry on Hamilton's car. That's ridiculous to even think that they have chosen a driver that can get away with anything. If Lewis is this special driver that the FIA will let do what he wants, why was he penalised at Spa when he cut the chicane and didn't let Raikkonen back through? Come on people...the FIA doesn't care who wins the championship nor do they help a certain driver win it. That's absurd.

If Hamilton's plank was worn down he would have been disqualified. He wasn't disqualified, therefore his plank wasn't worn down so much as to break the rules.

The whole plank is meant to be of a certain thickness at the end of the race. Micheal Schumacher was penalised because of this at spa in 94. Why hasn't Hamilton? If you are seriously suggesting that the plank can drag along the ground but still meet the thickness requirements then there isn't much hope for you. If I was to walk down the street for half an hour dragging a plank along the ground, it would be pretty worn at the end, never mind being subjected to it while dragging under an f1 car.

Edit: the rules are there in black and white. So why aren't they being followed? A statement from the fia would be nice.
 
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Perez was pushing the whole time and only stopped once. How is that crap. If anything, I'd like them to wear even faster, but I don't understand how you can say they are crap.

They flat spot at the slightest hint of lock-up. The qualifying pace vs race pace difference is pretty darn huge.

Edit: the rules are there in black and white. So why aren't they being followed? A statement from the fia would be nice.

From what I have seen the measurements are most likely taken more towards the back of the plank, so it could still have been legal. Even if it wasn't "legal" it still seems like common sense to allow it, since the plank was damaged by some sort of incident.
 
They flat spot at the slightest hint of lock-up. The qualifying pace vs race pace difference is pretty darn huge.

Which will make things more exciting. Or would you rather have tyres that made the racing boring.

ROAD_DOGG33J
From what I have seen the measurements are most likely taken more towards the back of the plank, so it could still have been legal. Even if it wasn't "legal" it still seems like common sense to allow it, since the plank was damaged by some sort of incident.

How is it fair allowing wear to the front of the plank? Someone could have a similar accident causing wear to the rear of the plank and be disqualified. The rule is there in black and white. If they're not going to penalise Lewis for wear to the front of the plank, then it would be highly hypocritical to penalise someone else for wear to the rear of the plank due to damage to the car. It sets a dangerous precedent. The rules will be devalued if they don't apply to everyone.
 
Which will make things more exciting. Or would you rather have tyres that made the racing boring.

I didn't really have a problem with the previous tires, so boring it is.

How is it fair allowing wear to the front of the plank? Someone could have a similar accident causing wear to the rear of the plank and be disqualified. The rule is there in black and white. If they're not going to penalise Lewis for wear to the front of the plank, then it would be highly hypocritical to penalise someone else for wear to the rear of the plank due to damage to the car. It sets a dangerous precedent. The rules will be devalued if they don't apply to everyone.

It has to do with the way they measure the plank to my understanding. They only measure it in certain places.

Either way I see no dangerous precedent as the damage didn't help the car's performance and the FIA made a good decision for once.
 
I wish the BBC commentators didn't make it seem like it was Petrov who replaced Kubica. &%$#
Accidental wrong use of words, and also, media groups should not send people to these events unless they actually know plenty about F1, otherwise they make an ass of themselves on television, and I read how Kubica beat Petrov "in every qualifying session and race in 2010", again &%$#.

I was going to update my avatar but I will wait a bit for a more winning pic. :sly:
 
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Very sad about the Sauber DQ. Perez drove an excellent race, even if he did get a bit lucky with that strategy working out for him, and Kobayashi put in a solid run too. It's good to see that they're in a position where they may be able to score decent amounts of points with both drivers for the season though.
 
It has to do with the way they measure the plank to my understanding. They only measure it in certain places.

So it's a case of wear the plank in the right area and it's ok, but in the wrong area, it's against the rules? Rules are there to make it fair for everyone. The dangerous precedent is that if someone is penalized for plank wear, they can mention how Hamilton got away with it and get off scott free.

The same technique is used by lawyers all over the world to get cases thrown out. If you're going to let one person off for wear to the plank, then you might as well remove it from the rules.

You can't pick and choose who to punish. If the rule is broken, they deserve to be punished. I don't know how anyone can call this fair. Especially when you consider why the sauber's were disqualified.
 
So it's a case of wear the plank in the right area and it's ok, but in the wrong area, it's against the rules? Rules are there to make it fair for everyone. The dangerous precedent is that if someone is penalized for plank wear, they can mention how Hamilton got away with it and get off scott free.

The same technique is used by lawyers all over the world to get cases thrown out. If you're going to let one person off for wear to the plank, then you might as well remove it from the rules.

You can't pick and choose who to punish. If the rule is broken, they deserve to be punished. I don't know how anyone can call this fair. Especially when you consider why the sauber's were disqualified.

It was the bib at the front of the car that was dragging on the ground.

How do YOU know that the plank has worn too much and they have got away with it? Are YOU there? Did YOU measure it?
 
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