F1 Column - 2010 German GP Review

  • Thread starter Thread starter Synwraith
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interludes
He did - but not until this year.
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How do you know? We're also assuming here that Renault would have even given him the drive, its pretty clear they were going to go for a pay driver considering Petrov is there and the other tipped drivers were also pay drivers.

BlacqueJacques
Does anyone think Jacques Villeneuve will ever get another F1 seat?

Or will he be content to drive at Le Mans or Nascar?

Or just sing songs!

Any young Canadians on the horizon?
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No, it was only Stefan that would have considered him, and you can't get lower than that.
If he comes back to F1, it will be with a looney team like Stefan.

Then again, I think most of us expected Badoer and De La Rosa never to return...
 
Ardius
Nick Heidfeld, the unsung hero of F1. He is so unbelievably under-rated, I really don't understand why people forget about him.
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Nice vids Ardius, I especially enjoyed the Goodwood clip 👍 It's interesting how many of those overtaking moves in the second vid were:

a) a result of major differences in tyre compound/condition
b) pulled on Fernando Alonso
:lol:

interludes
Nick Heidfeld was the architect of his own demise. He had his heart set on the #4 Mercedes GP drive alongside Nico Rosberg and wasn't really talking to anyone else.
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From what I had read, I got the impression that while the Mercedes drive was his desired destination, Nick had also spoken to Sauber and Renault at least. Every other seat that got filled, there was a story behind it. I didn't get the impression that Nick was anyone's first choice, which goes back to him being so underrated.

BlacqueJacques
Any young Canadians on the horizon?
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I thought Robert Wickens was coming along nicely at some point, but not sure where he's ended up off the top of my head.

All the best
Maz
 
Synwraith
From what I had read, I got the impression that while the Mercedes drive was his desired destination, Nick had also spoken to Sauber and Renault at least. Every other seat that got filled, there was a story behind it. I didn't get the impression that Nick was anyone's first choice, which goes back to him being so underrated.
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Spoken to them - but he hadn't entered actual, serious negotiations with them. Not until after Schumacher was confirmed at Mercedes.
 
Synwraith
I thought Robert Wickens was coming along nicely at some point, but not sure where he's ended up off the top of my head.

All the best
Maz
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Formula 2, he was ok last year. Lacked consistencey though.
 
daan
Wooh! An on topic post! What does Kimi and Nick have to do with the Australian GP? Why don't you start up a thread about your blog instead of taking the GP thread off topic?
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Hi Daan,

I'm not sure if I follow you. This thread is about my blog, and the Nick and Kimi subject was due to my posting of articles relating to them. I also wasn't aware of any off-topic conversation in this thread.

Have you maybe confused this post with the main Aus GP thread? This could be because I change the title of my thread every time I post a new article.

All the best
Maz
 
I voted yes, I also have found it disappointing that Red Bull are so quick to play the blame-game on their suppliers. Remember the past 2 years with "oh, the Renault engine is the problem", first with "they're down on power" and then "they need to sort out reliability"? Now they happily blame sparkplugs and brake disc failures and point out they don't make those parts, in contrast to say Ferrari or McLaren who would say something like "its look like x but we will look into it" and then just sort the problem out with their supplier co-operatively. I wonder if Red Bull are being a bit harsh with their suppliers, rather than sorting it out behind closed doors? Burning bridges and so on.

Reliability is constantly a problem it seems at RBR and depite Toro Rosso using a similar chassis and Renault using the same engine, they manage to have more problems and still blame anyone but themselves.
Its also odd that a lot of failures happen on Sebastien's car. One wonders if Red Bull and Vettel in particular are pushing their car too hard when it comes to engine temperatures, etc? There's only 2 or 3 brake disc suppliers in F1, so maybe they are playing it dangerous with the number of brake pads they putting on the car?
Food for thought I guess.
 
Ardius
I voted yes, I also have found it disappointing that Red Bull are so quick to play the blame-game on their suppliers.
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I also voted yes (:lol:) and I think Vettel will miss those points come the end of the season. Yes it looks ominous for everyone else because so far Seb's been fastest in Qualifying and should have wrapped up both races as winner so far. If the car can be made reliable then it's easy to suggest that he'll walk the rest of the championship.

However I expect Ferrari and McLaren to close the gap to Red Bull, and with wins rewarding a 7 point advantage over second place, this was a real opportunity to steal a march on the chasing pack who were sure to take points off each other.

All the best
Maz
 
Yeah, in that respect, Red Bull have again made the mistake they made last year - they let Brawn take a huge advantage which made it difficult to take away at the end of the year.
 
Two bad races have clearly left an impression on people. Out of 16 votes, 68% believed that Red Bull's reliability would cost Vettel this year's title. Have to say I voted yes too, but possibly a little prematurely.

http://f1column.blogspot.com

All the best
Maz
 
I agree, its hard to say for certain, but you could make a case for Vettel not winning the championship last year due to reliability.

On that token, its entirely possible that it could happen again, there is certainly evidence for it so far.
 
I don't think either of the RBR drivers are out of the competition.
If Alonso had won the Austalian GP that would be a different story, but the amount of points and the amount of drivers that have pace, it's still way too far away to make a claim such as that.
Last season, we saw Button with a lead over Vettel of at least 30 points, 6 races into 17, with only a chance of 10 poins a race. That percentage is a lead of 75 points or 3 wins, is still reachable at this early stage.
 
^Ah, but the question isn't "are they out of it already?" but "will reliability ruin their title chances". Which you have to agree, they did lose a lot of points in Bahrain and Australia which may come back to bite them later in the season.

Button won the title last year precisely because he took full advantage of the Brawn superiority while it was there, so when the rest caught up (including his teammate) he maintain a points gap. This is true of all motorsport series - if you have an advantage you make the most of it as soon as possible, otherwise it leaves the championship wide open.

I still think despite today's result that Red Bull will fail to claim the championship because of reliability - and partly because of the first two races. It won't be the only factor though, Red Bull have been weak with strategies in the past and Webber can be very inconsistent at times. Vettel's chances won't be hampered too much by his teammate I don't think, perhaps at the occasional race like last year.
Ferrari and McLaren are going to catch up eventually, and they are still ahead of Red Bull in the championship. Red Bull have to win the following races if they are going to mount their title challenge, otherwise its going to be an uphill struggle. I think reliability is still going to be an issue, especially since its plagued them before this year and they still haven't completely sorted it.

They aren't "out of it" and I don't think they ever will be this season, the point is their dominant car isn't looking like its being run by a dominant team and the championship isn't going to be easy for them.
 
At first glance the points system seems unfairly biased against the lower point scorers, though as the season has progressed, the likely contenders have all been able to snare a reasonably even share.
This is comparative with the previous system. When comparing last season with the 2 systems, the only stand out differences where from the middle order. As discussed here.

The teams are showing a good amount of tenacity so far, Ferrari are not showing how strong they are and should be probably leading, but are well in the hunt. McLaren have stepped up and are looking the likely ones to chase. Red Bull should be ruing missed opportunities, even though the unreliability issues have been with only 1 car and been quite unusual occurrences. Mercedes have been strong and are getting faster, Nico will win this season, at one track or another. Michael just needs more time behind the wheel. It does looks as though he is struggling, but I am completely confident we shall see that enormous chin on the podium, more than once this season. Renault have been solid, and the mechanical grip is very good, as is Force India.

With the next round bringing the return of the European tracks, new parts for aero and who knows what they have in mind, will mix the dynamics of the championship. For the better we hope. Not that it's too shabby at the moment.
 
To add to your excellent blog post again Synwraith, it has since emerged that Button had no dash-readout on his steering wheel since lap 3 in that race, so was having to shift by ear alone and couldn't carry out any changes his team requested on the ECU (as I've described in the "steering wheel explained thread", the steering wheel allows the drivers to access a menu of options and requires button combinations to change the parameters of these various options).
So Button was having trouble keeping away from the rev limiter and maintaining power, as the power drops off quite considerably if you short shift. It also contributed to his bad pit stop, as he had trouble engaging the clutch and also didn't change down enough gears, so pitted in 2nd gear, got wheel spin leaving and changed up to 3rd slowing him down further.

Thats not to say he couldn't have been more aggressive against Schumacher, although thats debatable because Michael had all the lines covered and it would have required a banzai move to get past, which was too risky. This is how Button won the championship last year though, not taking too many risks, always scoring points.

I voted Massa will never challenge Alonso, his form has been pretty bad so far and I never rated Massa above Alonso at any point in his career. Massa can be terribly inconsistent and prone to errors and I think the continuous pushing that Alonso does will always keep him ahead. So far the Monaco practice times agree too and we will probably see further confirmation at "Massa's track" (Istanbul).
The past few years with Kimi flattered Massa a little, as Kimi seemed to lose his pace until Massa was out of it last year. Massa has definitely improved since his Sauber days, I'd always rank him among the top drivers, though he's pushing the boundary between the best and just "good". I think he will continue to have a place in F1 but I fear his time in top seats may be over soon, he will certainly earn a place at a midfield team though.
 
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You're absolutely right Ardius, I remember hearing Jenson talk about his readout issue during the F1 forum on BBC. Thanks for adding that mate, it does definitely bring another dimension to his difficulties, similar of course that Alonso was struggling with in Malaysia trying to pass Jenson himself.

Cheers again mate :cheers:

I also completely agree with you regarding Alonso vs Massa, and it really does put into context the level at which Kimi was probably operating for much of last year. It may be premature to think this way, but I also started to think there was a bigger gap between Fernando and Kimi than was ever before apparent.

All the best
Maz
 
I think Kimi on his day could beat Alonso quite easily. I can't explain why "his day" didn't happen very much though. Neither could Ferrari or anyone else it seems. If we think back to 2005, Kimi was considered one of the best drivers out there, on pure pace the best.
 
Sorry to break up such a nice, cosy conversation, but I'd just like to tell yu guys that you are writing off Massa wwaaayyyyyyyyy too soon. Common mistake, and whenever it concerns Massa, it has become almost an habit.

The truth is Kimi and Massa are both top drivers and I may be mistaken but schumi's neck just saved him the trouble of being Badoerized, or Fisichellized last year. And I stress the Fisichella case because he went from 2nd place at Spa in a Force India to a disatrous show at Monza in Massa's car.

Those two drove the pitiful F60 like few others could.

Granted, Alonso is one of the best of not THE best F1 driver at the moment. But Massa is - in his "kind guy" approach that doesn't earn him any fans - clearly one of the best also. The UK guys will call out heresy, but between Kimi, Massa, Hamilton and Button you have the last 3 WDC. And the best driver of them all is probably the title-less one.

So, I voted YES. By the end of this season we will see if I was right or wrong.

And I think Rubens Barrichello is probably the guy that knows best about F1 fans when he says "in F1 you are as good as what your last GP weekend was". Last poll in F1 Column asked us if Schumacher would finish the season, wasn't it? Well, this one asks us if Massa can challenge Alonso ... Maz, I know you are die-hard Alonso fan, I just hope for your idol's sake that your polls aren't jinxed! :D
 
Hmm, predictably I disagree Hun. Over his whole career, he has never suggested to me "super talent" alongside Hamilton or Raikkonen (comparisons with Button are a bit more close). I'd like to hear why you think he is better than Lewis or Kimi.
I realise Massa has his "thing" for not doing well at the start of a season, and this happens to be one of his best starts to a season. But this isn't about 2nd chances, if you want to be the best, you cannot have a slouch at the start of the season - Alonso never has slouches.

Massa's raw pace is not good enough in my opinion (against Alonso that is, its good enough otherwise) and like I said, he is prone to mistakes possibly more than most. I sometimes wonder what would happen if Smedley wasn't there either....
Its interesting you bring up Barrichello too - another driver I rate quite highly..but not with the best for the same reasons as Massa. Rubens had his chances like Felipe has, and he has thrown it all away. Barrichello is more weak psychologically though rather than particular mistakes. I'd probably rate Rubens higher than Massa because of his long career of distinction, and he was looking like a super-talent before Ferrari.

If we are to wait for anywhere, Istanbul will indicate the rest of the season, as its his best circuit.
 

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