The F1 Thread 2012 Season

Temperatures really played around with the performance today, Vettel's time would have actually put him in 5th on the grid in Q3 factoring in Hamilton's grid penalty and Webber would have been 15th in Q2 with the same time. It seem Mercedes do well in the cooler temps but they have a small operating range for the tyres, Hamilton seems to be ok regardless and Button likes it when it's warmer but struggles to get any grip in the front end when it cools down. Will be very interesting to watch tomorrow.

Also how close is the grid these days :eek:
 
Yeah thats was about as close as quali has been in recent memory, just a shame Q3 was an anti-climax.

Mercedes DRS system definately gives them a quali advantage, race pace I still think they will struggle to win on outright pace right now. Should be a decent race though, its great seeing Kobayashi up there on merit.
 
Mercedes need to remain ahead at the front in order for them to stand a chance. They just don't have the same race pace as they do in quali. I predict Button, Kimi or maybe Hamilton if he manages to avoid any issues
 
Zarlak said:
Predictions

1.) Button
2.) Raikkonen
3.) Hamilton
4.) Alonso
5.) Vettel
6.) Rosberg
7.) Webber
8.) Schumacher
24.) Massa
Click to expand...

Think Sauber will be right up there imo. Koba got 6th (13th in quali) in the first race and retired and Perez got 8th (17th in quali) and 2nd (10th in quali). Now they've qualified well i can see them surprising people if they have a clean race.
 
Zarlak said:
Predictions

1.) Button
2.) Raikkonen
3.) Hamilton
4.) Alonso
5.) Vettel
6.) Rosberg
7.) Webber
8.) Schumacher
24.) Massa
Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol:

I reckon it will be something like

1.)Button
2.)Hamilton
3.)Raikkonen
4.)Vettel
5.)Alonso
6.)Schumacher
7.)Rosberg
8.)Webber
.
.
.
.
DNF) Massa

As good as Mercedes can be in quali I think their race pace is too weak, I would be shocked if they can hold it together for a few laps tomorrow in the lead.
 
Assuming a clean first lap I still think Hamilton is favorite, he's been fast all weekend on the supposed race fuel with an eye on race setup. I think the Merc's will be tough to pass on track but if they continue their trend of basically eating tyres then they will be sitting ducks at the end of stints.

Still its a step forward for them, they can eventually get on top of tyre issues, just don't think they are ready to win yet.
 
I think it's a lottery tomorrow, all down to track temps. The race begins at the same time qualifying ends, it was literally a case of cloud cover costing drivers a few tenths today:

Martin Whitmarsh said:
“It was a peculiar qualifying session, in which the to-ing and fro-ing of grip levels was abnormally unpredictable. During Q3, the air and track temperatures cooled rapidly as the sky overhead became suddenly overcast, and the circuit became appreciably slower as a result."
Click to expand...

Hamilton does seem happier in the various conditions but 7th isn't a brilliant starting position.
 
How is it that Mercedes do so well in qualifying but fail to convert that performance to the race? Why is their car so unreliable?
 
RDCR07 said:
How is it that Mercedes do so well in qualifying but fail to convert that performance to the race? Why is their car so unreliable?
Click to expand...

A mixture of them absolutely raping their tyres and a system which they have on their car which gives them extra pace when they use DRS, which can be used freely in quali, but is restricted during the race
 
RDCR07 said:
How is it that Mercedes do so well in qualifying but fail to convert that performance to the race? Why is their car so unreliable?
Click to expand...

Tyres and their DRS F-Duct. No one completely understands the tyres yet, they tested them in cool conditions and all the races so far have had vastly differing conditions throughout the weekend. Also Mercedes' DRS F-Duct system allows them to run more downforce then other teams whilst reaching the same top speeds, remember the DRS system can be used throughout qualifying making it much more useful. On a circuit with a massive back straight like China it is very useful indeed.
 
Kobayashi is the interesting one for me
Not really sure if 2/3 stops is expected here, he could make things if he does one of those races where he does a stop less than everyone else
 
RDCR07 said:
How is it that Mercedes do so well in qualifying but fail to convert that performance to the race? Why is their car so unreliable?
Click to expand...

Their tyres get fecked with full fuel is the reason why they dont have the performance in the race.
 
R_Kelly said:
I'd absolutely love to see Raikkonen back on the podium tomorrow
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Let's have a Hamilton, Schumacher, Raikkonen podium, that way more or less 4 of the regular posters in this thread will be happy.:lol:
 
Impressive to see it so full in the stands there considering how they said yesterday that it's not really that close to the city and is a fair distance to get to
 
Love buttons reply there:lol:

DC: are you going on the inside or outside for the start?

JB: (pointing at kamui) whichever way he dosnt go...

:lol:
 
Wow rosberg got away well there and button went round the outside of kimi wonderfully
 
Wow, the first race this season where this wasn't any crash drama down to turns 1 and 2. Nice strategy from Mercedes. They are working together well. Hopefully they don't push their tires too much too quickly.
 
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