The F1 Thread 2012 Season

They sure do like fireworks out in Singapore.
 
I'd say Hamilton's chances are now slim to none, best he can do is not think about it anymore and just try and win a few races.

It's Vettel vs Alonso again and I fancy its Alonso's season.
 
Gutting for Lewis. Think he's driven really well this season and has been very unlucky in certain moments.
 
Leg-End said:
I'd say Hamilton's chances are now slim to none, best he can do is not think about it anymore and just try and win a few races.
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Wouldn't say that. Mclaren has a very quick car and all it really takes is another retirement for Alonso and its back on.

Ferrari need to get some pace back though. Can't keep having Alonso just fighting for "best of the rest" every weekend. At some point he'll have to go out there and win a race.
 
Was looking at the highlights, in fairness to schumi you can see him get on the brakes early as the tyres lock up and he tries to slow down but the car clearly had something up with it like he said in the interview afterwards.
 
Well he's been given a penalty. Which means they couldn't prove from the telemetry that there was something wrong with the car.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
Well he's been given a penalty. Which means they couldn't prove from the telemetry that there was something wrong with the car.
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he admitted it was his fault, this is from the BBC.

A stewards' statement said: "The driver acknowledged that the collision was his error due to failure to anticipate braking performance of the car with lower tyre grip following a safety car period."
 
Red Bull’s Mark Webber has been penalised by the Singapore stewards for gaining an advantage by going off the track while battling Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi during Sunday’s Marina Bay race.

The Australian was handed a drive-through penalty after the race, which meant 20 seconds was added to his overall race time, dropping him from 10th to 11th in the final results and losing him a championship point, which instead went to Sauber’s Sergio Perez.

Webber’s team mate Sebastian Vettel also came under the stewards’ scrutiny thanks to his near miss with McLaren’s Jenson Button as the pair weaved to warm their tyres and brakes under the safety car. Vettel was cleared of any wrongdoing.
 
And under proposals discussed by FIA president Jean Todt and Ecclestone, the entry fee for the teams would be increased from 309,000 (£245,630) euros to 500,000 (£397,418) euros plus 7,000 (£5,564) euros per constructors' championship point.
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That's ridiculous, it's like the changes they made to the super licences.

Ecclestone is a twat.
 
Basically. The super licences are done the same way now, I think it came in from 2008, there's a basic fee and then so much per WDC point. They were even worse though because if I remember right it went from like a 500 euro flat charge to something like 10,000 basic plus 1,000 per point.

Edit: I was slightly wrong on how it worked previous but the increase was still insane:

In 2007, the basic Super License cost €1690 plus €447 per point scored in the previous year's championship, while in 2008 the prices went up to €10000 and €2000 respectively, increases of 500% and 350%.
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I hope Brawn can build a great car for him next year, we all know what a petulant child he can turn into when things are not going his way.
 
Well I guess he'll be the clear number 1 driver there. Who will McClaren replace him with? Don't think others are good enough at this stage.
 
To be honest it is going to be disappointing for sure but these days I have more faith in Button than in Hamilton. Clearly they want to move a new direction with Button at the helm. It will be interesting.
 
I'll be interested to know the specific reasons for this breakdown in relationship. Not that I think we'll find out for a long time.

If it's purely down to money then I think he'll end up regretting it. There was a feeling amongst some, myself included, that Hamilton was losing focus on what was really important when he hired Simon Fuller as his manager. Leaving McLaren just because Mercedes will pay you more seems kind of stupid at face value. We always hear how he's 'just a racer', well if all he's concerned about is winning races then this move makes no sense.

It's a great move for Perez, however, and I'm chuffed to bits for him. I hope he has a successful career.
 
He is probably frustrated by mcclaren. He probably just has more faith in Ross Brown. According to these sites, difference between the salary isn't that much.
 
We'll find out eventually I'm sure. But favouring Mercedes over McLaren in terms of who you think will give you more chance of winning doesn't make much sense to me.

As an aside, I wonder if Hamilton will insist on having an FIA delegate in his garage to make sure McLaren don't tamper with his car. hehe.
 
Perez to McLaren. Hamilton to Mercedes. Not sure this is a great move from Hamilton but as we're moving into the Turbo Era it may prove very smart.
 
I think it may turn out to be a good move, McLaren have lacked that killer instinct in recent years. Brawn will sort out Hamilton strategy wise and the technical team of Aldo Costa, Geoff Willis and Bob Bell will pay dividends eventually. Bit sad he's leaving a team who he's been with for so long but F1 isn't a place for sentiment.
 
Indeed. Alternatively, maybe they have noticed that and are looking to Button to be a 'leader' as such, nurturing Perez for the future WDC.
 
The move itself makes F1 stronger, looks like Merc are going all in for the next few years and adding Hamilton makes them a very strong pairing, Rosberg is no mug.

I truly believe the writing was on the wall for this for some time. Right now based on performance this looks like a backwards step but you look past 2013 with the regulation changes and new engines, being in a manufacturer backed team with Ross Brawn sounds like a good idea.
 
Changes to engines in a year and a bit could be important. And as we all know, things change quickly in F1. One year you have the best car by a long way and suddenly next season you're not nearly as strong - and vice versa. Mercedes haven't been too successful since they returned to F1 but they've put in money and work. Chances are they'll get it right. McLaren, meanwhile, have regularly been a part of the top teams - but only once in 2008 they managed to put it all together for a title winning season. Short term, staying in McLaren was an easy decision. Longer term, not so much.
 
Real shame that, enjoyed the Button/Hamilton partnership there and I liked the way he had been with the team so long. I worry about simon fuller's influence in this as he will be far more motivated by money and sponsorship deals.
 
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