Vettel fastest in damp first session

29 comments on “Vettel fastest in damp first session”

1. 

   TommyB (@tommyb89)
   12th November 2010, 10:36

   I would sell my soul for the race to finish like that.
   1. 

      Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      12th November 2010, 10:42

      You can expect Ferrari to be competitive in the second session. Most of the teams prefer to run one driver light and one heavy between the first two sessions. Normally this isn’t a problem for the top teams, becuse theyre fast across the board. Ferrari, on the other hand, like to run both heavy in the first session and both light in the second. I’m guessing it’s because they like to see where everyone else is before showing their hand. The F10 is a very good car when light, but not so great when heavy.

      If Ferrari are on the pace all weekend, then I hope that the McLarens are’t going to get in the way of Webber’s championship bid.
      1. 

         Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
         12th November 2010, 10:43

         PS: Soul-selling can be arranged.
         1. 

            David BR
            12th November 2010, 11:03

            lol, you’ve got Lucifer’s email address?

            Could see the pressure mounting on Webber if Ferrari and McLaren are closer to Red Bull. But I don’t get all the ‘what ifs’ in favour of Webber’s cause. They’ve got the fastest car, he just needs to prove he’s the best and stick the car on pole, then win the race. Then hope Vettel delivers second. If he can’t do at least the first, Alonso or Vettel or even Hamilton would be more deserving of the championship surely.

            Or put it another way: I hope whoever wins the race also wins the championship, whatever the combinations needed.
      2. 

         Patrickl (@patrickl)
         12th November 2010, 10:45

         Besides, Alonso is severely hampered on friday engines, so he will suffer there.
         1. 

            Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
            12th November 2010, 10:53

            I think you’ll find he’s hampered by engines full stop.
            1. 

               BBT
               12th November 2010, 11:12

               Not really, his race engines has done zero racing miles
            2. 

               Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
               12th November 2010, 11:21

               If they’ve done zero miles, why doesn’t he have any fresh ones? Keith had a graph shortly before Singapore: all of Alonso’s engines have done at least one race and some have done two. His early engine troubles like Malaysia threw the balance of the whole thing out.
            3. 

               Scribe (@scribe)
               12th November 2010, 11:38

               Alonso’s race engine isn’t as much of a factor as some have made it out to be. It’s on it’s third race which is pretty much the standard. However the two races it’s served before now were Monza and Brazil but while it’s been hardworked, again thats all within what it’s built to cope with. The chances of a faliure are very small, especially considering the rock solid reliability of the Ferrari’s since Spain.
      3. 

         Stretch (@stretch)
         12th November 2010, 10:48

         I hope that the McLarens are’t going to get in the way of Webber’s championship bid.

         Lewis was quoted that he wouldn’t mind Webber winning the WDC.
         1. 

            Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
            12th November 2010, 10:52

            But if he thinks there’s a chance he can get it? What if the running order is Vettel-Hamilton-Webber-Alonso going into the final laps? If the gap is close enough, Alonso could slip through.
            1. 

               DeadManWoking
               12th November 2010, 10:55

               No need, with that order Alonso wins!
            2. 

               Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
               12th November 2010, 11:01

               Not if Webber gets through. If Vettel wins and Alonso is fifth, Alonso wins. But if Vettel and Hamilton were to let Webber through and block Alonso, Webber wins. My concern is that if the front-runners are strung out and everyoe has to slow down to let Webber through, Alonso will be able to sneak up on everyone and get through to second.
            3. 

               Adrian
               12th November 2010, 11:06

               But that running order would give Alonso the WDC anyway by 2 points from Vettel…and even if Hamilton and Webber switched positions, all that would do is put Webber and Vettel equal on points unless the 2 RBR drivers then switched positions.

               …Hamilton can only win it if Alonso doesn’t score, Webber finishes 6th or lower and Vettel finishes 3rd or lowest.

               Personally if I can’t have Hamilton win it then I want Webber to win it with the top 4 drivers finishing in the following order:

               Hamilton: 1st
               Vettel: 2nd
               Webber: 4th
               Alonso: 9th

               Which would give a final points tally of:

               Webber: 250
               Vettel: 249
               Alonso: 248
               Hamilton: 247

               Now that would be a pretty close finish!!
            4. 

               DeadManWoking
               12th November 2010, 11:09

               OK, I see what you are worried about, but if you really want to worry try this:

               http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/11/11/alonso-should-have-pace-to-take-on-red-bull-in-abu-dhabi/comment-page-1/#comment-473429
            5. 

               Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
               12th November 2010, 11:17

               But that running order would give Alonso the WDC anyway by 2 points from Vettel…and even if Hamilton and Webber switched positions, all that would do is put Webber and Vettel equal on points unless the 2 RBR drivers then switched positions.

               No, what I mean is everyone moving aside for Webber to win. If the order is Vettel-Hamilton-Webber-Alonso and both Vettel and Hamilton move over to let Webber through, there’s a chance that Alonso can sneak through, especially if it’s done very late in the race and the top four are spread out a bit. I suppose the best way for it to happen would be for Hamilton to let Webber through, and then run some interference against Alonso to give Webber the opportunity to catch Vettel, who would let him through a lap or two later. Hamilton would block Alonso as much as possible, but if Alonso got through, then hopefully the Red Bulls would be far enough ahead to prevent Alonso from catching them, or if he does catch them, then Vettel can let Webber through and hold Alonso off for the rest of the race.
      4. 

         giorgio
         12th November 2010, 11:08

         The F10 is a very good car when light, but not so great when heavy.

         I thought its the other way around.. Their qualifying performance is not that great, but they do perform well in races.
         1. 

            Scribe (@scribe)
            12th November 2010, 11:40

            I don’t think thats true at all, the F10 is an excellent all rounder, it’s proven it can it can qualify well, stay with the Redbulls on race pace, and look after it’s tyres better than any other car. Which would seem to point to it being a damn fine car when heavy.
   2. 

      Icthyes (@icthyes)
      12th November 2010, 10:45

      Flanders can sort you out there!
      1. 

         Alex Bkk
         12th November 2010, 11:22

         Too many variables for me to comprehend! I’m getting dizzy just reading this post!
2. 

   PT
   12th November 2010, 10:44

   Wow, damp track in Abu Dhabi!
   1. 

      Scribe (@scribe)
      12th November 2010, 11:41

      Wonder what’ll happen when it rains in Bahrain.
   2. 

      Kosmit
      12th November 2010, 13:17

      Maybe the local sheikh decided he wanted some wet racing, so they arranged for some sprinklers around the track? ;)
3. 

   wdf2
   12th November 2010, 11:11

   If Vettel is mathematically out and Webber can still win it, he’ll let Webber pass. But there is no way *Hamilton* (or anyone else) is going to “let Webber through and block Alonso”! Can you imagine the uproar if Hamilton refuses to race Webber because he’d prefer Webber as champion over Alonso??
   1. 

      Mike
      12th November 2010, 11:49

      I can’t see Hamilton moving over either, why would he?

      But in theory, if he did move over, I don’t see why there would be an uproar? maybe from the Alonso quarters, but as long as no one has ordered him to move over, I don’t see any problem with it.
4. 

   Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
   12th November 2010, 11:39

   It remains a complete mystery to me why Lotus persist in running Fairuz Fauzy. It was a bit of a novelty, a bit of nationalism and patriotism when he ran at Sepang, but now it’s beyond funny. From what I hear, he was out of his depth in Formula 3, and it shows in his practice times. It’s bad enough when one Hispania is a second and a half slower than the other Hispania; that it is a Lotus that is nearly two seconds slower than the Hispanias is just unbearable. At elast when Virgin put Jerome d’Ambrosio in di Grassi’s car or Force India have Paul di Resta do a little bit of running, they can keep up. Lotus waste an hour and half putting Fauzy in the seat, ninety minutes of running that could be better spent with Kovalainen/Trulli (whoever he is replacing) getting data for the team. I doubt this will cost them tenth place in the World Constructors’ Championship (as that will most likely happen from a race of attrition), but at the same time, it’s poor form. Fauzy is making Alex Yoong look good.

   It’s a dark harbinger for Renault next season if Group Lotus have indeed bought into them. I’ve heard that Fairuz Fauzy is a prodigy of Danny Bahar, who controls Group Lotus, and is driving for Lotus Racing as a part of Lotus’ deal to use the name. But if Bahar have bought into Renault, there’s a chance that he’ll push to get Fauzy into a race seat. Now, as much as I back Vitaly Petrov, even I’ll admit that the Russian is erratic at best, crash-happy at worst. But if Renault (under a Lotus name) replace him with Fauzy, they won’t so much be shooting themselves in the foot so much as they are shooting themselves in the head.
   1. 

      lettucefolk
      12th November 2010, 11:57

      Top-notch post, there, PM!
   2. 

      jake
      12th November 2010, 12:15

      http://www.marca.com/2010/11/07/motor/formula1/1289160661.html?a=b681944565f1034783822600a91ddde7&t=1289251686

      move faces on top row to the bottom row,to which ever position, found this very handy.
5. 

   wasiF1 (@wasif1)
   13th November 2010, 1:29

   Surprise to see that Mclaren is up there in the top 3, I think that may be some of the other team is running on heavy fuel.

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