Formula One Gran Premio De España Santander 2011

[Matti_Dude]

That was definately the best Spanish grand prix I have seen. It's just a shame Hamilton couldn't get passed Vettel towards the end. The DRS was spot on in my opinion, the majority of overtakes were elsewhere on the circuit from what I saw and that just goes to show what a good job the tires are doing to spice up the races. Heidfeld had a great race to get to 8th position, and had there been a couple more laps it could have been sixth!

 

[CarolinaBlue704]

Great start by Alonso. It's a shame the 150° Italia is such a tank. Good to see both Saubers finish in the points.

But what a horrible job the race director did (yet again). Kept cutting away from the action.

 

[N99GT]

haha did anyone else hear the the comment 'like a box of smarties on the steering wheel'?!

cracking race though! Goooo Mclaren!

 

[granturismite]

It appears that Red Bull and V are a potent combination...

I do have to say, well done Seb and Lewis. they both drove the wheels off their cars. (but unlike 2010, Hamilton's stayed on!)

Webbers race was ruined by camping behind Alonso, which allowed Button to slip into 3rd. RBR should have differed Webber's stops to Alonso's, at least given him the chance to pass the Ferrari in the pits

 

[F1 fan]

That's it. I'm done watching F1.


WTF did Vettel just say?

Suit yourself. Stop watching because your favourite isn't winning? That's pretty sad.

But seriously... How can you say anything bad about Vettel after this? Excellent maneuvering in the first lap. Excellent overtaking for position between pit stops to maximize his advantage. Excellent defense, especially that last bit where he tried to squeeze Hamilton behind Karthikayen. He drove the nuts off that car, and he deserves that win, definitely.

Agreed, although I am a bit biased.

Hamilton was driver of the day though.

For what? Vettel and RBR outsmarted everyone else on strategy and withstood the pressure from Hamilton with his Kers and DRS? If anything Vettel was the driver of the day. Although, I watched on TSN which for some reason was using speed's commentary until about half distance, then switched to the BBC commentary. Thank god, I was getting fed up hearing Renault pronounced Re-Know. Damn, I miss BBC. Normally, TSN will show ads but will still show the F1 in a tiny window. This time, the coverage was strange with the commentary changing and ad breaks with no split screen. Did I miss something? If not, then Vettel gets my vote. And this doesn't come down to bias.

I was working at the time, so I had a few interruptions from customers and the aforementioned ad breaks may have caused me to miss something special, but if not, then Vettel gets my vote.

Bring Monaco next.
Hope it'll be wet.

I'm hoping for a wet race of attrition. Last years Monaco grand prix was great. So many safety cars and the incident between Trulli and Chandhok. As Webber said, it was like fate was conspiring against him. He just dominated.

WTF are you saying that for?

Did we just watch the same race?

I'm as puzzled as you.

See you in the next GP thread.

. 👍

How are we going into round six without a single safety car this entire season??

It's surprising to be honest. Thinking of organizing a competition on GTP but...

Next up, i'm pretty sure.

This seems a safe bet.

Vettel gets more annoying everytime he wins. I just want someone to kick his ass on track again, and let's see if he's RING DING DINGing again.

Yawn. Not everyone shares your opinion. Some people like him for exactly the same reasons you don't. Have you ever heard of a sore loser? Because that's exactly what you sound like right now.

Great job for Hamilton (didn't I tell you he was suspicious?) and if only he had fresher rubber he'd definitely be on pole

You mean he'd have won the race? Pole (as I'm sure you're aware) refers to first place on the grid.

Any GTPer who live there would help.Haha.

They'd also be infuriatingly rich.

But what a horrible job the race director did (yet again). Kept cutting away from the action.

Bad choice of words. The race director is Charlie Whiting who is in charge of safety, race starts, technical delegation etc.

Shame Alonso ended up a lap down after such a promising start to the race. I can't imagine he's happy right now. He'll be having words with the team.

 

[Peter.]

I wasn't actually going to stop watching F1, you know, but i've had enough of Sebastian Vettel Racing winning all the time. Don't matter who wins at this point to me just as long as it isn't Vettel anymore, for now. He needs to take a break.

 

[PeterJB]

That was easily Vettel's best race. He's shown that as well has having an unreachable speed, he can make the moves when they count, and defend when it counts, even without KERS for most of the race. 👍

 

[The Outlaw]

He said to our local TV that his gearbox failed, it just went into neutral and promptly refused to engage any other gear. Massa's biggest problem this year is lack of enthusiasm, as DiMontezemolo already said they'll be just honoring the contract, doesn't sound like a motivational speech does it?

With the way Felipe has performed since his return, he should feel lucky & honored that he even has a contract for next year to begin with (especially with a team of such high caliber/prestige). I like Felipe a lot as a person, but the honest truth is that his lack of talent is continually being exposed... and in this dog eat dog sport, his time is running out. I don't know why DiMontezemolo needs to be ciriticized either, as Felipe has no one to blame but himself 9 times out of 10 when he underperforms relative to his teammate in equal machinery (which is likely the thing that is really killing his confidence and self belief).

All the excuses are getting old IMO, especially when so many are trying to point the finger away from Felipe...by trying to claim that it is the teams lack of support which is causing him to underperform. I find the double standards when it comes to criticizing drivers to be quite annoying. So many get off on harping on Schumacher (being dismissive to any outside excuses) whenever he underperforms...yet whenever Felipe underperforms by a country mile there are so many waiting to fall back on the "blame Ferrari" excuse

He said to our local TV that his gearbox failed, it just went into neutral and promptly refused to engage any other gear. Massa's biggest problem this year is lack of enthusiasm, as DiMontezemolo already said they'll be just honoring the contract, doesn't sound like a motivational speech does it?

Oh yeah, and kudos to Hamilton which honestly is my favourite F1 driver, his performance today just shown that if there is someone who might compete head to head with Vettel, Hamilton is this man.

I wouldn't quite call it head to head, given the difference in machinery (especially when the RB7's KERS is working)

That was easily Vettel's best race. He's shown that as well has having an unreachable speed, he can make the moves when they count, and defend when it counts, even without KERS for most of the race. 👍

I agree...its was a great race for Vettel, and one that earned him a fair bit of merit in my book 👍 But "unreachable speed" is as usual (by his fans), giving him a bit too much credit IMO. It seems unreachable to Webber at the moment...but who knows if his speed would be "unreachable" for the other tops drivers in F1 (particularly Hamilton and Alonso), if they were all put in RB7's.

 

[F1 fan]

I wasn't actually going to stop watching F1, you know, but i've had enough of Sebastian Vettel Racing winning all the time. Don't matter who wins at this point to me just as long as it isn't Vettel anymore, for now. He needs to take a break.

I think he would disagree. As a Vettel fan, I disagree with you.

That was easily Vettel's best race. He's shown that as well has having an unreachable speed, he can make the moves when they count, and defend when it counts, even without KERS for most of the race.

👍

 

[Akmuq]

I think he would disagree. As a Vettel fan, I disagree with you.

Umm.... You do know it was a joke right?

Anyways I was wrong about the DRS zone being to easy.
It seemed the only way to overtake today was when the tyres were superior.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I'm sorry but other teams need to up their game quickly. All cars bar the first four got lapped, and Webber finished 47 seconds behind Vettel, despite his qualifying dominance. When you look at battles between 2 cars, sure then the season has been exiting so far. But when you look at a complete top 8 or top 10, this season is growing more and more boring by every race. RBR and Mclaren are so far ahead of anyone I'm not even bothered putting Alonso up as a potential title candidate. Don't even get me started on Massa's performance.

 

[F1 fan]

Umm.... You do know it was a joke right?

Going by his tone, he seemed serious.

 

[Alex.]

I'm sorry but other teams need to up their game quickly. All cars bar the first four got lapped, and Webber finished 47 seconds behind Vettel, despite his qualifying dominance. When you look at battles between 2 cars, sure then the season has been exiting so far. But when you look at a complete top 8 or top 10, this season is growing more and more boring by every race. RBR and Mclaren are so far ahead of anyone I'm not even bothered putting Alonso up as a potential title candidate. Don't even get me started on Massa's performance.

I see you removed Felipe Massa from your signature.

 

[Akmuq]

Going by his tone, he seemed serious.

He was laughing......

 

[Alex p.]

Vettel gets more annoying everytime he wins. I just want someone to kick his ass on track again, and let's see if he's RING DING DINGing again.

Oh God that made me laugh so hard.

 

[GM]

Today was the first time I wasn't annoyed at Vettel winning this year, because he showed some great overtaking on his outlap, even if it was on fresh tyres being able to overtake 3 top drivers in half a lap is great. Then he did a good job holding Hamilton off for however long..

 

[Anghammarad]

On the other hand you could argue that Vettel was unable to pass a car (Alonsos Ferrari) that was at least a second per lap slower, at a time in the race where Vettel's DRS and KERS was working.

 

[Danny]

Great racing all through the field, and a deserved win from Vettel (though I still don't like him). I am absolutely gutted for Alonso. I thought Ferrari might have finally got some of their form back. Massa can't have long though. He's struggled since his accident at Hungary. I know he's been 'confirmed' for next year, but Ferrazza must surely be looking at alternatives too. There are much quicker guys out there, but he's got a stay of execution for now.

 

[lmanion]

Apart from the start I cant see a problem with Webbers race here at one stage after his last stop when he got some clear air he was putting in laps faster than the front 2. It seems like he probably conserved the car a bit for the last 10 laps or so with not much chance to get near Button.

Vettel showed he was actually able to defend a position today and pick up a few places when he had to, but the Red Bull is quite obviously slower down the straight by a long way. The lack of straight line speed almost cost Vettel the win and probably cost Webber the podium. I can't believe the TV coverage actually moved away from Alonso and Webber as Webber tried to make a move on him and that sort of rubbish happened all through the race.

Massa showed what a hack he is and the sooner he gets the boot for someone like Kobayashi the better. Also the Ferrari is a bit of a dragster, very fast in a straight line but don't bother showing it a corner.

My favourite race next absolutely love Monaco!

 

[THOMASBARNES]

wonder why no one has mentioned anything about Michael Schumacher yet 6th and beating his teammate after what happened in Turkey he needs some big 👍 IMO

 

[Akira AC]

Alonso lapped,lolololololololol

See how overrated Alonso is,Vettel has some good luck factor besides of great driving,while Webber has great driving with bad luck,great performance by Mclaren and is good to see the teams closing up between each other.

Its a shame thought that Vettel is wining everything,it makes F1 a bit boring,but it seems that is more down to luck, specially when you consider Webber,Hamilton and even Button's performance.

Looking forward to the next race.

 

[The Outlaw]

Alonso lapped,lolololololololol

See how overrated Alonso is,Vettel has some good luck factor besides of great driving,while Webber has great driving with bad luck,great performance by Mclaren and is good to see the teams closing up between each other.

Lay off the Haterade you're sippin on...it's making you look like a senseless fool. Nm...keep going, it's rather amusing really

 

[UK-Gamer]

Well done Seb Vettel, I have never really thought he was that good of a driver. I always knew he was a great driver but I didn't think he was there with the Alonso's and Hamilton's.

He proved me wrong, great race by him.. Lewis still got robbed of course

 

[Danny]

See how overrated Alonso is,

Are you serious?

 

[F1 fan]

He was laughing......

Oh God that made me laugh so hard.

He wasn't laughing at first akmuq.

On the other hand you could argue that Vettel was unable to pass a car (Alonsos Ferrari) that was at least a second per lap slower, at a time in the race where Vettel's DRS and KERS was working.

At the same time, you could bring up Alonso and Petrov from Abu Dhabi. Petrov was too fast on the straight to pass, but his pace was quite slower than Alonso would have been able to achieve in clean air. You also seem to forget the possibility that Vettel could have been getting the fuel management stage out of the way before going for the undercut. I'm not saying he definitely did, I'm just saying it was a possibility. The fact is, you can laugh at Vettel all you want, but you're just being immature. And like the example I gave, Alonso has had some difficulties passing Petrov. Don't forget Turkey last year, where he had to resort to contact to get past.

If you're going to make fun of other F1 drivers, remember that there is ammunition on all of them. No one has been flawless.

Massa showed what a hack he is and the sooner he gets the boot for someone like Kobayashi the better. Also the Ferrari is a bit of a dragster, very fast in a straight line but don't bother showing it a corner.

As a Massa fan, it has been difficult to watch his decline. He has showed better form on occasion this season, but this whole weekend has been quite poor from him. I expect him to do better, but If he can't deliver, he should maybe go somewhere else. I would love to see Kobayashi get a shot at a top team. It all really depends on Mark Webber. If Ferrari drop Massa, Ferrari may try and tempt Webber. While it would be good (and 5 years ago, would have been totally unexpected) to see Webber at Maranello, I really want Kobayashi to get his chance. I can't see Red Bull being tempted by Massa if he underperforms at Ferrari, and would stick my neck out and say Red Bull may not promote one of the Toro Rosso drivers. Buemi and Alguersuari are fighting for their drives. Unless one of them can consistently perform well, it's unlikely any of them will be promoted. Mclaren are satisfied with their lineup and Mercedes seem intent on either an all german lineup, or one German and a Mercedes protege (Di Resta).

Is it too early to open a speculative 2012 driver transfer thread? I was going to bump the 2011 driver transfer thread as I think this is an area which warrants much discussion.

wonder why no one has mentioned anything about Michael Schumacher yet 6th and beating his teammate after what happened in Turkey he needs some big 👍 IMO

That is true. Was a good race for Michael, although there was a point when Nico was dancing all over the back of him. No team orders there, but I wonder what Nico's pace would have been like in clear air.

Its a shame thought that Vettel is wining everything,it makes F1 a bit boring,but it seems that is more down to luck, specially when you consider Webber,Hamilton and even Button's performance.

What about his performance has been luck? Last year, he was the World Champion despite some mistakes, a lot of poor reliability and the occasional brain fade. This season, he has upped his game and is walking away with the championship for now. Out of the first five races, he was won four and taken a second place (and that was only the strategy that cost him the win).

So far this season, he has stepped up his game to levels the others are finding hard to cope with, he has shown incredible speed, better racecraft and is utilizing strategies well. More to the point, other than a practice crash at Turkey (which he bounced back from), he has not made a single mistake and is generally a class above the field. He has shown that he can overtake and defend.

So having said all that, I await your response as to where he has been lucky.

Are you serious?

It seems so...

 

[sems4arsenal]

Great race (for that track yes).Some talking points.
ALonso's start is one of the best I have seen Stunning right foot control there .
Seb just proved how great he is Mark Webber really needs to step it up (lose some weight as well)Same goes for Massa (dreadful yet again).COngrats to shumi and the Saubers.Nick heidfiled proved yet again that Quali isn't important these days as it was.The Hard Compounds were agonaisngly slow but did keep us entertained.

Bring on Monaco (if Seb wins that as well than we need a miracle )

 

[Terronium-12]

You mean he'd have won the race? Pole (as I'm sure you're aware) refers to first place on the grid.

Look, I was half conscious when I wrote that...leave me alone.

 

[F1 fan]

Bring on Monaco (if Seb wins that as well than we need a miracle )

Hope he does. 👍

Look, I was half conscious when I wrote that...leave me alone.

Me too. Same time zone. Was thinking maybe it was an American thing. j/k

 

[Bram Turismo]

I see you removed Felipe Massa from your signature.

I never had him in my signature.

I've always been a Massa fan, I'll admit, but to be honest I'll be surprised if Massa's going to drive for Ferrari for much longer. In a perfect world Rosberg would take the seat since it's obvious the current Mercedes car is going nowhere, and Kobayashi would then take Rosberg's seat.

 

[The Outlaw]

At the same time, you could bring up Alonso and Petrov from Abu Dhabi. Petrov was too fast on the straight to pass, but his pace was quite slower than Alonso would have been able to achieve in clean air. You also seem to forget the possibility that Vettel could have been getting the fuel management stage out of the way before going for the undercut.

This is true, particularly with the fact that there are a lot of variables when it comes to overtaking. Ferrari were running a relatively low DF package (Vettel was down ~8 kmh in the traps IIRC), so it was always going to be particularly difficult to overtake a car which was only a second off pace but had a rather handy trap speed advantage...especially with the layout of this track and where the DRS zone was placed.

If you're going to make fun of other F1 drivers, remember that there is ammunition on all of them. No one has been flawless. ...

How was he making fun of Vettel?

What about his performance has been luck? Last year, he was the World Champion despite some mistakes, a lot of poor reliability and the occasional brain fade. This season, he has upped his game and is walking away with the championship for now. Out of the first five races, he was won four and taken a second place (and that was only the strategy that cost him the win).

So far this season, he has stepped up his game to levels the others are finding hard to cope with, he has shown incredible speed, better racecraft and is utilizing strategies well. More to the point, other than a practice crash at Turkey (which he bounced back from), he has not made a single mistake and is generally a class above the field. He has shown that he can overtake and defend.

Although I certainly agree with most of what you have said, stating that he is "generally a class above the field" is again a bit much IMO. If anything, the RB7 is the only thing that is arguably a clear class above the field. Again, Vettel is superb...I just get rather irritated with how supporters continue to hype up his ability (as being a level above)...seemingly to forget that the other top dogs of the sport (Hamilton & Alonso) are in far inferior equipment on the whole. People need to step back and take a better perspective on things. And no...I'm not dissing Vettel in anyway.