The 2012 British Grand Prix Discussion Thread

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 06 Jul 2012, 10:23

eurobrun wrote:
Wizzie wrote:Man, I'm loving Lotus' sense of humour more and more ever since that muppet Bahar left. Kimi mumbled like three words on the radio and they, and I quote, "Completely understand"

I agree, I actually quite like the team now.

GO GROSJEAN!

What?! He's turning!

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 06 Jul 2012, 10:33

AdrianSutil wrote:
eurobrun wrote:
Wizzie wrote:Man, I'm loving Lotus' sense of humour more and more ever since that muppet Bahar left. Kimi mumbled like three words on the radio and they, and I quote, "Completely understand"

I agree, I actually quite like the team now.

GO HWNSNBM!

What?! He's turning!

Fixed

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 06 Jul 2012, 10:43

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 06 Jul 2012, 10:47

AdrianSutil wrote:Only just noticed your back!

Hello!

If we do get a wet qualifying session tomorrow, I expect Grosjean to take pole, spin off on the first lap, give a Senna performance while its wet, and when its drying, he'll pull a Fangio! Only difference is he won't be able to pass Perez who wins, in accordance to Jamie and Enoch's prediction :lol:

Post by **mario** » 06 Jul 2012, 12:43

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:Only just noticed your back!

Hello!

If we do get a wet qualifying session tomorrow, I expect Grosjean to take pole, spin off on the first lap, give a Senna performance while its wet, and when its drying, he'll pull a Fangio! Only difference is he won't be able to pass Perez who wins, in accordance to Jamie and Enoch's prediction

Given that the rain has continued coming down throughout the day and is expected to last through tomorrow and into Sunday, Perez could well feature quite strongly in the race given his performance in Malaysia. He seemed reasonably happy with the balance of his car during the first practise session, so he may well be there or thereabouts in terms of pace should there be rain during the race.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 06 Jul 2012, 12:47

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:Only just noticed your back!

Hello!

If we do get a wet qualifying session tomorrow, I expect Grosjean to take pole, spin off on the first lap, give a Senna performance while its wet, and when its drying, he'll pull a Fangio! Only difference is he won't be able to pass Perez who wins, in accordance to Jamie and Enoch's prediction

Where were you in Malaysia? He lasted four corner in the rain before he spun. And then another 4 laps before he beached it in a nearby gravel trap :lol:

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 06 Jul 2012, 12:50

Remember who almost got half-a-point the last time it rained?

This is HRT's race. 8-)

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 06 Jul 2012, 12:54

GwilymJJames wrote:This is HRT's race.

Im also expecting big things from our heroes.

LellaLombardi · Post by **LellaLombardi** » 06 Jul 2012, 13:08

I think today illustrates perfectly why I won't pay hundreds of pounds for a ticket for the British Grand Prix when no-one can even get into the bathplugging track.

And now for an unpopular f1 opinion (wrong thread I know): I don't see why Silverstone is even on the calendar, they clearly do not have the logistics in place in spite of the massive investment. Ditch it and keep Spa.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 06 Jul 2012, 13:15

AdrianSutil wrote:
eurobrun wrote:
Wizzie wrote:Man, I'm loving Lotus' sense of humour more and more ever since that muppet Bahar left. Kimi mumbled like three words on the radio and they, and I quote, "Completely understand"

I agree, I actually quite like the team now.

GO GROSJEAN!

What?! He's turning!

I think the Grosjean avatar I made him wear has finally got to him. :mrgreen:

Post by **mario** » 06 Jul 2012, 13:33

LellaLombardi wrote:I think today illustrates perfectly why I won't pay hundreds of pounds for a ticket for the British Grand Prix when no-one can even get into the bathplugging track.

And now for an unpopular f1 opinion (wrong thread I know): I don't see why Silverstone is even on the calendar, they clearly do not have the logistics in place in spite of the massive investment. Ditch it and keep Spa.

Most of the UK has received the equivalent of a third of the normal rainfall for July within 24 hours, and the area around Silverstone has been issued with an official flood warning from the Environment Agency, so it should be borne in mind that we are dealing with freak conditions (which has, in turn, caused problems with the roads being flooded).

As for Spa, it should be borne in mind that the proposal for Spa to alternate with another circuit was put forward by the owners of Spa, not from FOM - they were trying back in the mid 2000's to find a way to share the race with either Hockenheim or the Nurburgring, and part of the reason for the circuit owner going bankrupt in 2005 was that the Hockenheim and Nurburgring circuit owners rejected Spa's offer to share the race. FOM itself don't seem especially keen for Spa to alternate - they have offered Spa a short term extension as a permanent fixture from 2013 to 2016, with the fee being reduced by around 10% and the deal with sharing the event with Paul Ricard seemingly abandoned.

Warren Hughes · Post by **Warren Hughes** » 06 Jul 2012, 13:35

A couple of my mates have gone to Silverstone for the weekend. I just texted one of them who's watching at Becketts. He's wet.

Sauber010 · Post by **Sauber010** » 06 Jul 2012, 13:58

A 'young' Mr Metcalf just got a mention on Sky F1 by Allan McNish.... could it be?

S951 · Post by **S951** » 06 Jul 2012, 13:59

BRUNO!!!!!!!!

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 06 Jul 2012, 13:59

RED FLAG, Senna in the wall.

Post by **tommykl** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:01

I know it absolutely doesn't count, but Clos and Pic were outside of the 107% for FP1

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:03

tommykl wrote:I know it absolutely doesn't count, but Clos and Pic were outside of the 107% for FP1

To be honest I really doubt that Dani Clos is going to manage to qualify for this race.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:07

GwilymJJames wrote:
tommykl wrote:I know it absolutely doesn't count, but Clos and Pic were outside of the 107% for FP1

To be honest I really doubt that Dani Clos is going to manage to qualify for this race.

Really? I'd say he'll pull something special out of the bag from seemingly nowhere and start the race on Sunday. They say his sporting role model is Hans Heyer after all.

As for Senna, why did this clown get given a drive in the first place? Even bringing back Heidfeld would have made more sense.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:09

kostas22 wrote:
GwilymJJames wrote:
tommykl wrote:I know it absolutely doesn't count, but Clos and Pic were outside of the 107% for FP1

To be honest I really doubt that Dani Clos is going to manage to qualify for this race.

Really? I'd say he'll pull something special out of the bag from seemingly nowhere and start the race on Sunday. They say his sporting role model is Hans Heyer after all.

As for Senna, why did this clown get given a drive in the first place? Even bringing back Heidfeld would have made more sense.

Alex Wurz should replace him, he's involved with Williams, and he's not shite.

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:09

kostas22 wrote:why did this clown get given a drive in the first place?

1 Timothy 6:10

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:22

Bruno Senna there, not helping his chances to stay in F1...

And has Clos replaced Karthikeyen for Silverstone or just FP1?!
Edit: Nope.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:26

Glock just passed Vettel on track, I know it's practice, but YES!

EDIT: Kovalainen 7th in FP2.

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:38

I asked this question for Valencia too, just because it's so hard to get a straight answer online - what's the UK start time to the race, please, so I can work it out for chicago and get up at the appropriate time.

Post by **mario** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:41

redbulljack14 wrote:Glock just passed Vettel on track, I know it's practice, but YES!

EDIT: Kovalainen 7th in FP2.

Curiously, Vettel was on the intermediate tyre at that point, as was Alonso, even though Anderson reckoned that the lap times needed to be closer to the 1m52 bracket for intermediates to be viable (as evidenced by the fact that Alonso was around 3s a lap off the pace, with Vettel similarly struggling at that time).
I can understand that the team would want to have as much information as possible about the transition point, but it was a fairly sizeable risk to take given that Bruno Senna had been caught out by that standing water not that much earlier (as it was, Alonso was lucky that he only damaged his front wing when he span near the end - although he has just written off what was a brand new wing that Ferrari had brought for this weekend).

fjackdaw wrote:I asked this question for Valencia too, just because it's so hard to get a straight answer online - what's the UK start time to the race, please, so I can work it out for chicago and get up at the appropriate time.

At 1pm, GMT.

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:45

GwilymJJames wrote:
tommykl wrote:I know it absolutely doesn't count, but Clos and Pic were outside of the 107% for FP1

To be honest I really doubt that Dani Clos is going to manage to qualify for this race.

I'd say it was impossible, considering he won't be taking part in the qualifying session or the race!

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 06 Jul 2012, 14:47

mario wrote:
fjackdaw wrote:I asked this question for Valencia too, just because it's so hard to get a straight answer online - what's the UK start time to the race, please, so I can work it out for chicago and get up at the appropriate time.

At 1pm, GMT.

Phew, brilliant, thanks. It used to be 2pm - 8am where I currently am - which would have meant I missed it as I have to start work at 9.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 06 Jul 2012, 16:14

Are we expecting conditions today to remain all weekend?

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 06 Jul 2012, 16:32

AdrianSutil wrote:Are we expecting conditions today to remain all weekend?

Rain tomorow and rain with some sunny spells on Sunday.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 06 Jul 2012, 16:49

CoopsII wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:Are we expecting conditions today to remain all weekend?

Rain tomorow and rain with some sunny spells on Sunday.

So the first dry running they will probably have is the formation lap. Maybe. Should be interesting.

Row Man Gross-Gene · Post by **Row Man Gross-Gene** » 06 Jul 2012, 17:22

fjackdaw wrote:I asked this question for Valencia too, just because it's so hard to get a straight answer online - what's the UK start time to the race, please, so I can work it out for chicago and get up at the appropriate time.

I think the race is on Fox which means it won't be live anyway.

Ferrim · Post by **Ferrim** » 06 Jul 2012, 17:27

AdrianSutil wrote:
CoopsII wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:Are we expecting conditions today to remain all weekend?

Rain tomorow and rain with some sunny spells on Sunday.

So the first dry running they will probably have is the formation lap. Maybe. Should be interesting.

Marussia for the win!

(Won't happen, but would be so epic...)

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 06 Jul 2012, 18:25

Just curious but is anyone actually on the Red Bull car from here? I donated and got a photo on there, just wondering if anyone else did too!

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 06 Jul 2012, 18:33

AndreaModa wrote:Just curious but is anyone actually on the Red Bull car from here? I donated and got a photo on there, just wondering if anyone else did too!

Not this year but did it a few years ago

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 06 Jul 2012, 19:12

I'm thinking Caterham will score points this weekend if it rains.

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 06 Jul 2012, 19:38

redbulljack14 wrote:I'm thinking Caterham will score points this weekend if it rains.

Bollocks. Obviously if there's going to be a team in the back of the grid that scores points, it's going to be HRT.

At least that's my theory anyways.

However, my full predictions are (as everybody elses) on the Predicament Predictions thread.

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 06 Jul 2012, 19:56

AdrianSutil wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:Just curious but is anyone actually on the Red Bull car from here? I donated and got a photo on there, just wondering if anyone else did too!

Not this year but did it a few years ago

my picture should be there somewhere.......

Post by **mario** » 06 Jul 2012, 20:19

JeremyMcClean wrote:
redbulljack14 wrote:I'm thinking Caterham will score points this weekend if it rains.

Bollocks. Obviously if there's going to be a team in the back of the grid that scores points, it's going to be HRT.

At least that's my theory anyways.

However, my full predictions are (as everybody elses) on the Predicament Predictions thread.

Caterham are in an interesting situation - statistically, they have been just as reliable, if not more reliable, than Marussia or HRT, but at the same time they are trialling a lot of upgraded or new parts, including new engine maps (according to the BBC's commentary team at least - they noted that the exhaust note of the Caterham was markedly different compared to previous races). They might edge a little closer to the tail of the field, but bringing in multiple upgrades at once also increases the chance of a mechanical failure: in conditions that are this waterlogged, though, it is almost more pot luck whether or not you are unlucky enough to aquaplane off the circuit or not (I feel a little sorry for Bruno Senna in that regard after the last practise session).

Merely getting to the end of the race, therefore, could be enough to score a point - the last time that the conditions were comparably bad would probably be the 2008 British GP, where there were only 13 finishers. Given that several drivers today were struggling at times, combined with the potential for the teams having to press on with slightly worn wet weather tyres, there well could be enough attrition for a few surprisingly high finishers.

On another note, there have been a few terse exchanges between Hembery and some members of the press over the current limit of three sets of wet tyres in the regulations leading to a relative lack of cars wanting to drive on Friday, with teams keen to save their tyres in case the next few days are wet. Although Hembery did mention that Pirelli's logistical centre could bring more wet tyres to this event (their main distribution centre is in Didcot), he then went on to defend the current allocations by pointing out that, in the current waterlogged conditions, the wet tyres should be fairly durable (reckoning that each set should be good for 60 laps) and sufficient for qualifying and the race itself.
Furthermore, asides from pointing out that bringing additional tyres would increase logistical costs for what is a relatively rare occurrence, he then went on to criticise the teams for complaining about a lack of tyres, pointing out that even when Pirelli brought more wet weather tyres to events last year, the teams still remained reluctant to go out on track and preferred to stockpile their tyres instead. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/100969

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 06 Jul 2012, 20:39

WeirdKerr wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:Just curious but is anyone actually on the Red Bull car from here? I donated and got a photo on there, just wondering if anyone else did too!

Not this year but did it a few years ago

my picture should be there somewhere.......

Do you get any clue as to where your picture is? Im not suggesting its a con ("Yeah mate its, er, down the back there somewhere. I think") but Id expect to get notification of where to look for me.

Post by **Londoner** » 06 Jul 2012, 22:02

Sadly knowing what this country is like, I wonder how long it will be until some numpties blame the Silverstone organisers for the torrential weather? :roll:

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 06 Jul 2012, 22:08

East Londoner wrote:Sadly knowing what this country is like, I wonder how long it will be until some numpties blame the Silverstone organisers for the torrential weather?

The irony is it's (some of) the British public's fault, for deliberately driving to the track without tickets. What is the fecking point of that? What is it with people in this country and not having any goddamn sense? It's much like this M6 Megabus nonsense, some person panicked because they saw a wee bit of vapour escaping from a bag and did the least possibly logical thing by calling in the police. Why are people so brainless in the UK? God, these people make me so fecking mad sometimes.