2012 Santander Italian Grand Prix

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I hate the stupid gearbox rule. Just have like 8 gearboxes before you get penalties. Like the engines.
 
Anghammarad
No penalty apparently since the gearbox that broke was a "practice unit".
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What does that even mean...was it made by Fisher-Price? What a load of horse poop.
 
They are only required to run the same gearbox in qualifying and race.
 
Pupik
Here's a clue...why don't you do it?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7xN0nauWpQ">YouTube Link</a>

Just for that, you get old Monza.
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No need for that.... I was asking because I couldn't get it to work, for your information....
 
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SilverArrow
Liuzzi started last at Monza last year and still managed to take out Rosberg and Petrov, if there's anyone who can accomplish something similar to this, it's Pastor.
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Ah yes good point, I forgot about how slow the first corner is. :nervous:

Anghammarad
No penalty apparently since the gearbox that broke was a "practice unit".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19516762
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How do they keep getting away with stuff like this? I've never heard of such a thing only 5 place grid penalties. Hamilton had a gearbox problem before he even got to China and he was given a penalty. :confused:
 
I assume that this was a gearbox that had run its five event cycle earlier in the season and is now used only for practice. Much in the same way the teams use high mileage engines in the Friday practice sessions later in the season and keep the fresh ones for quali and race.
 
Because it's not the same things, a gearbox must live 5 GP, apparently the one Alonso had lived longuer than that.
 
RX-7_FD3S
Because it's not the same things, a gearbox must live 5 GP, apparently the one Alonso had lived longuer than that.
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No. He was just not using the same gearbox that he will use tomorrow in practice, qualifying and the race.
 
Centura
No. He was just not using the same gearbox that he will use tomorrow in practice, qualifying and the race.
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Yeah it's broken so he wont be using it :P

To be more precise and after I looked for it, here's pat fry answer taken from autosport.com :

Autosport
Was that quite a high mileage engine? And what about the gearbox, do you get a penalty for that?

PF: Gearboxes are free on Friday obviously and the engine was obviously a Friday engine at high mileage.
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Peasantslayer
How do they keep getting away with stuff like this? I've never heard of such a thing only 5 place grid penalties. Hamilton had a gearbox problem before he even got to China and he was given a penalty. :confused:
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Button had a gearbox change at Canada. But received no grid penalty for the same reason Alonso didn't.
 
Danny
Then I realised how stupid I'd been. Facebook sent me an advert and it was clear there was only one man destined to take the victory in Italia.


karthikeyan.jpg
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One can only dream...
 
Simon Pagenaud has NOTHING on the flight time Kimi Raikkonen got in practice 2 lolol.
 
Would the teams had to have prepared the Monza aero kits before Spa?

Jerome D'Ambrosio is killing it down these straightaways. Is he that confident? Quickest in the speed traps by some 3mph.
 
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Almost certainly. They could be shipped directly from the factories to the circuit after the Belgian Grand Prix, but the physical parts would have to be prepared before the race.
 
Looking forward to this, FP1 & 2 have been quite interesting.

Are RedBull really that slow? Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari all look fast with Mercedes looking suspect with tires.
 
priesty_lfc
Are RedBull really that slow?
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I found it odd that they were down in the middle of the time sheets, but I have a suspicion that they'll be farther up in P3 on Saturday morning. I would be a bit surprised if they suddenly top the charts, but I don't expect them to stay in the middle.
 
priesty_lfc
Are RedBull really that slow? Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari all look fast with Mercedes looking suspect with tires.
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And here's why.

ScreenShot2012-09-08at10750AM.png
 
priesty_lfc
Are RedBull really that slow?
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They have been in the past. They were some of the slowest through the speed trap at Monza last year, but they were so competitive because the car makes up for it in the corners. I don't think they're going to have any such luxuries this year, though.
 
I wouldn't still say that RB is going slow this weekend. Those times are from friday, where it's possible to set things up for the actual race. Today practise should be preparation for qualifying so that's where I think we see the real speed comparison.
 
Tzun
Jerome Dambrosio or Kimi Räikkönen will win. :)
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D'Ambrosio will definitely not win the Italian Grand Prix. He is not good enough to compete with the top drivers.

daan
For someone who has made it to the pinnacle of motorsport, he has a very poor record in lower formulae.

They printed his history in Autosport today and, apart from winning the Belgian Formula Renault (1.6 litre) championship and the International Formula Master series*, he hasn't done much. He's only won one GP2 race in 49 attempts.


* which are hardly high profile series.
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+1

I totally agree.

He is like a hero in Belgium (read it on Belgian sites) but I guess that I'm the only Belgian who gave a negative comment about him. There are more talented drivers whom deserve this change. But I guess money is the deciding factor, not talent.
 
kikie
But I guess money is the deciding factor, not talent.
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Actually, I'd say time would have been the major constraint. There was just a week between the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, and considering that they raced at Spa on Sunday and had to be set up at Monza on Thursday at the latest, there wasn't a whole lot of time to turn things around. Since d'Ambrosio was already the team's testing and reserve driver, he already had a seat fitted for the E20 as he tested at Mugello. He was already in the team, was readily available, and Lotus didn't have a whole lot of time to make a decision. Perhaps if Grosjean had been banned from the Belgian Grand Prix for an incident in Hungary, the team would have had more time to make a decision. They would have had five weeks to find someone and arrange a seat fitting. There would have been no pressure to find someone now.

Of course, that just leaves the question of who would be a more-suitable candidate for the seat than d'Ambrosio. So here's another hypothetical: if you were Eric Boullier and you had the luxury of a month to decide on who would replace Romain Grosjean, who would you take?
 
The fact that he is test driver for Lotus means that he has a lot of cash to become test driver in the frist place. So, I'm still convinced that money is the deciding factor in this case.

I'd definitely not choose for D'ambrosio if I was Eric Boullier.
 
kikie
The fact that he is test driver for Lotus means that he has a lot of cash to become test driver in the frist place. So, I'm still convinced that money is the deciding factor in this case.

I'd definitely not choose for D'ambrosio if I was Eric Boullier.
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Stop beeing hypocrit we're talking about F1 here, where most drivers are here because they have money and can drive. Actually in most racing series you need to bring money to compete.
 
If I were Eric Boullier and I had plenty of time on my hands, I would have asked Frank Williams if I could borrow Valterri Bottas for the weekend.

It seems inevitable that Bottas will race for Williams, but the team has been very reluctant to drop one of their regular drivers and put Bottas behind the wheel (if I were Frank Williams, Bruno Senna would have been shown the door months ago). Lending him to Lotus for the weekend would give them the opportunity to assess him as a driver and give them that little bit more extra information about his performance.

At the same time, Lotus stand to get something out of it, too: they need a competitive driver. Right now, they're locked in the heat of battle with McLaren and Ferrari over second, third and fourth place in the World Constructors' Championship. They need someone who can help secure a good points haul, because otherwise they run the risk of losing touch with McLaren and being overrun by Ferrari. Bottas, while untested in race conditions, is highly-regarded by Williams, and Nico Hulkenberg - Bottas' predecessor as Williams' Next Big Thing - is still very well-rated in the paddock. He also has more experience that any other driver not currently engaged to race with the 2012 cars and tyres.

So Williams get a chance to test their new boy, while Lotus get someone who represents the best chance at securing points.
 
I agree PM, one week isn't enough to prepare a test driver for a grand prix. Anyways the team knows it and they are only expecting him to progress on every session.
 
prisonermonkeys
(if I were Frank Williams, Bruno Senna would have been shown the door months ago)
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Well IMO, I think that it would only harm Williams to drop Senna too early in this season.

Yes he may not be the most talented driver out there, but as seen with other teams (like Lotus in 2011), it will cost at least some time for both the new driver to get accustomed with the car and the team (esp. in racing conditions), which would cost them dearly in a competitive season like this.

Give Senna at least a whole season to prove himself to everyone (and to the team), so that at least the excuse of him not having a chance in a competitive car for a whole season would not spring up anymore. After all, it's a bit too early to judge things at only around halfway through the season.
 
I'm impress how fast Alonso is in the parabolica. He's always taking time to both mclaren. His line is so impressive in that corner.
 
Senna thread is here, this is the Italian grand Prix thread.

On topic, the Mclarens are looking good for another win, my money would be on Button.
 
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