2012 People's Republic of Texas Gran Prix discussion thread

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:23

It's official: Mercedes and Caterham has dropped to the rock bottom!

macherone · Post by **macherone** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:24

Long live Marussia! 18 and 19.

How close was Rosberg to get out on Q1?

Post by **Londoner** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:27

Wow, the W03 is shite around here. How Rosberg didn't lose it through those esses will be a mystery of the ages.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:27

Wait a second. Did that fat guy on Sky Sports that remotely looks like Johnny Herbert just imply HRT isn't trying their best? I wish I could hate him to death. At least Hill saved that mess.

Minardi Man · Post by **Minardi Man** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:35

Klon wrote:Wait a second. Did that fat guy on Sky Sports that remotely looks like Johnny Herbert just imply HRT isn't trying their best? I wish I could hate him to death. At least Hill saved that mess.

I know, I'm starting to prefer EJs ramblings to JHs derogatory shots at the strugglers on the grid (Grosjean before this as well)

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:36

That Mercedes is such a slowpoke compared to Alonso...

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:37

Minardi Man wrote:
Klon wrote:Wait a second. Did that fat guy on Sky Sports that remotely looks like Johnny Herbert just imply HRT isn't trying their best? I wish I could hate him to death. At least Hill saved that mess.

I know, I'm starting to prefer EJs ramblings to JHs derogatory shots at the strugglers on the grid (Grosjean before this as well)

Wait, that is actually Johnny Herbert? Oh my, he got old. Speaking of "getting old": that looks like another meeting with the stewards for Schumi, there.

Post by **Londoner** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:39

Vettel 1.35.9. May as well call game, set and match right now.

Another McLaren reliabilty problem? WTF! :evil:

Post by **Ataxia** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:40

Well...VettelWinsLOL.

Probably.

Minardi Man · Post by **Minardi Man** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:41

Round of applause for Mclaren please, proud winners of ROTY

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:41

East Londoner wrote:
Another McLaren reliabilty problem? WTF!

Another reason why McLaren should be given 3rd on the Reject podium. Maybe 2nd if this continues.

Ferrarist · Post by **Ferrarist** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:44

BaconLettuceNinja wrote:Well...VettelWinsLOL.

Probably.

Like this?

Post by **Londoner** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:44

Blimey, Schumacher got that shitbox Merc into Q3. :shock:

Post by **mario** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:48

East Londoner wrote:Vettel 1.35.9. May as well call game, set and match right now.

Another McLaren reliabilty problem? WTF!

Especially since Vettel can put in the lap times as he pleases, whereas everybody else is struggling to get remotely close. As for Button, that throttle problem seems to be terminal - yet again, it looks like McLaren's reliability will cost it dearly (and you could hear the frustration in Button's voice there).

Shizuka wrote:That Mercedes is such a slowpoke compared to Alonso...

In Rosberg's hands, yes, but it looks like it is much more to Schumacher's liking given that he edged Alonso out in that session.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:50

mario wrote:
Shizuka wrote:That Mercedes is such a slowpoke compared to Alonso...

In Rosberg's hands, yes, but it looks like it is much more to Schumacher's liking given that he edged Alonso out in that session.

Schumacher surely drove 110% this time around. Rosberg is literally striving to be the deadbeat of the race, if this keeps going on tomorrow!

S951 · Post by **S951** » 17 Nov 2012, 18:56

caterham what a massive fail

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 17 Nov 2012, 19:02

massive pole battle hamilton missing it by ONE TENTH they were so close

Post by **Londoner** » 17 Nov 2012, 19:04

The start of tomorrow's race is gonna be an utter farce, if all the cars in the even-numbered grid spots can't get a good start.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 17 Nov 2012, 19:07

V
_E
__T
___T
____E
_____L
______W
_______I
________N
_________S
__________L
___________O
____________L

Post by **mario** » 17 Nov 2012, 19:13

Shizuka wrote:
mario wrote:
Shizuka wrote:That Mercedes is such a slowpoke compared to Alonso...

In Rosberg's hands, yes, but it looks like it is much more to Schumacher's liking given that he edged Alonso out in that session.

Schumacher surely drove 110% this time around. Rosberg is literally striving to be the deadbeat of the race, if this keeps going on tomorrow!

An impressive job to get 6th place in the end - effectively 5th once Grosjean takes his grid penalty - which I wasn't expecting to see. Credit where it is due, that was one of the stand out performances of the session given where the W03 has been for much of this season.

nome66 wrote:massive pole battle hamilton missing it by ONE TENTH they were so close

That was closer in the end than I expected given that Vettel looked so comfortable throughout most of that session. Mind you, I doubt that Vettel will be that concerned - seeing Hamilton in 2nd means that there is an extra competitive car between himself and Alonso, making it that bit harder for Alonso to stay in contention (especially since Alonso starts on the wrong side of the track as it were).

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 17 Nov 2012, 19:21

What Alonso is doing!?

He wants to lose the title already?

Pamphlet · Post by **Pamphlet** » 17 Nov 2012, 19:23

Good. Now Vettel just needs to avoid Hamilton at the start...

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 17 Nov 2012, 19:54

Webber could be in trouble here!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104324

I don't know what the penalty, if any, is for this situation.

macherone · Post by **macherone** » 17 Nov 2012, 20:06

Alonso is very confident he can reduce the gap to SV... is he betting for a huge crash á la Suzuka 1990 from Hamilton?

Post by **Londoner** » 17 Nov 2012, 20:08

Shadaza wrote:Webber could be in trouble here!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104324

I don't know what the penalty, if any, is for this situation.

What is the point of conducting weight checks during qualifying itself? There's plenty enough time after quali has finished to do so. :roll:

macherone · Post by **macherone** » 17 Nov 2012, 20:14

East Londoner wrote:
Shadaza wrote:Webber could be in trouble here!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104324

I don't know what the penalty, if any, is for this situation.

What is the point of conducting weight checks during qualifying itself? There's plenty enough time after quali has finished to do so.

This. But then, you're talking about the same people who brought the gearbox penalty...

Post by **mario** » 17 Nov 2012, 20:59

macherone wrote:
East Londoner wrote:
Shadaza wrote:Webber could be in trouble here!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104324

I don't know what the penalty, if any, is for this situation.

What is the point of conducting weight checks during qualifying itself? There's plenty enough time after quali has finished to do so.

This. But then, you're talking about the same people who brought the gearbox penalty...

It is more of a legacy of the endemic cheating that went on in the earlier years of the sport, especially during the 1980's, when it was not unknown for components to be switched for lightweight versions during the qualifying sessions. Doing so meant that the teams could technically run cars that were underweight during the qualifying session, but by the time the cars were handed over to the stewards, they would have the heavier components bolted back onto the cars to ensure that the cars were officially recorded as being at or above the minimum weight limit.
Because of the potential for cheating, therefore, the FIA normally treats missed weight checks during qualifying quite seriously - I believe that drivers have been stripped of their times in the past for that offence, so the potential ramifications for Webber are considerable.

macherone wrote:Alonso is very confident he can reduce the gap to SV... is he betting for a huge crash á la Suzuka 1990 from Hamilton?

I don't think that is especially likely given that starting on the left hand side of the grid is expected to be a major disadvantage (they have talked about starting from an even numbered slot as potentially costing you around three places at the start). Hamilton will probably drop some way back at the start from Vettel and would therefore probably not present that much of a threat, Kimi is likely to drop back in the opening stages for similar reasons and Webber's starts this season have been shockingly poor (especially his most recent start in Abu Dhabi).
The reason why Alonso might be feeling more confident about the race is the fact that the team have been concentrating quite hard on their race set up, at the expense of their single lap form. Alonso perhaps feels that he has the race pace to challenge because of that fact - even so, it'll be a hard ask for him given how Ferrari's pace has slipped (something that Alonso is reportedly increasingly unhappy about).

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 17 Nov 2012, 21:33

Klon wrote:Seeing Barrichello out there is bemusing me: he should be driving for HWNSNBM's sake!

Hear hear!

And congratulations to Pedro and Narain for qualifying within 107%. I didn't think they would pull it off, but they did. Really good job.

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 18 Nov 2012, 12:20

Both?

Ferrim · Post by **Ferrim** » 18 Nov 2012, 13:16

It's just been announced that Massa will change his gearbox.

This is a good move from Ferrari, as now both their cars will start from the right side of the grid (7th and 11th). It helps Alonso to move forwards at the start, and Massa won't be too punished (if the average loss of starting on the dirty side is 2 places, he should be 9th instead of 8th by the first corner). It probably won't change the final result, but it's possible that the championship won't be decided today because of this.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 18 Nov 2012, 13:36

lol Mark Webber

AussieGrit: At a VIP dinner last night an American woman asked me"where are you from?" I said Australia, she said "wow your English is amazing"

Post by **mario** » 18 Nov 2012, 14:08

Ferrim wrote:It's just been announced that Massa will change his gearbox.

This is a good move from Ferrari, as now both their cars will start from the right side of the grid (7th and 11th). It helps Alonso to move forwards at the start, and Massa won't be too punished (if the average loss of starting on the dirty side is 2 places, he should be 9th instead of 8th by the first corner). It probably won't change the final result, but it's possible that the championship won't be decided today because of this.

Do you happen to have a source for that rumour? It doesn't seem as if anybody else is reporting that Massa will have his gearbox changed, or at least not within the more reputable motorsport journals.

Post by **tommykl** » 18 Nov 2012, 14:23

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:lol Mark Webber

AussieGrit: At a VIP dinner last night an American woman asked me"where are you from?" I said Australia, she said "wow your English is amazing"

Instant sig material.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 18 Nov 2012, 14:27

tommykl wrote:
Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:lol Mark Webber

AussieGrit: At a VIP dinner last night an American woman asked me"where are you from?" I said Australia, she said "wow your English is amazing"

Instant sig material.

It's like that video on Youtube that's done the rounds of that Aussie TV bloke asking Americans questions...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAWe7Xk5e4A

Name a country beginning with 'u': Yugoslavia, Utah, Utopia... :lol:

pi314159 · Post by **pi314159** » 18 Nov 2012, 16:54

Ferrim wrote:It's just been announced that Massa will change his gearbox.

This is a good move from Ferrari, as now both their cars will start from the right side of the grid (7th and 11th). It helps Alonso to move forwards at the start, and Massa won't be too punished (if the average loss of starting on the dirty side is 2 places, he should be 9th instead of 8th by the first corner). It probably won't change the final result, but it's possible that the championship won't be decided today because of this.

If they really do that, that would be a new dimension of team order. If I were Massa I would have left Ferrari at the end of 2011.

Post by **mario** » 18 Nov 2012, 17:14

pi314159 wrote:
Ferrim wrote:It's just been announced that Massa will change his gearbox.

This is a good move from Ferrari, as now both their cars will start from the right side of the grid (7th and 11th). It helps Alonso to move forwards at the start, and Massa won't be too punished (if the average loss of starting on the dirty side is 2 places, he should be 9th instead of 8th by the first corner). It probably won't change the final result, but it's possible that the championship won't be decided today because of this.

If they really do that, that would be a new dimension of team order. If I were Massa I would have left Ferrari at the end of 2011.

Adam Cooper is now reporting via his blog that the story appears to be true - he is claiming that Ferrari have broken the FIA's seal on Massa's gearbox (although the gearbox itself hasn't been changed), therefore earning him a five place grid penalty. http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/11/18/alon ... x-penalty/
If true, it is something of a desperate move by Ferrari in some ways if they are trying such moves to get both cars onto the cleaner side of the grid and move Alonso that little bit further up the grid (let us not forget that, whilst Ferrari will be fighting for the WDC given the WCC is effectively over, they will still be keen to at least beat McLaren in the WCC for the extra cash that comes with that - so it isn't in their interests to ruin Massa's race that much).

Post by **Londoner** » 18 Nov 2012, 17:16

Let the shitstorm commence.

Ferrarist · Post by **Ferrarist** » 18 Nov 2012, 17:29

I'll give kudos to Ferrari for coming up with creative ways to help their No.1 driver. I actually wondered why no one came up with something like that in the first place.

QuickYoda41 · Post by **QuickYoda41** » 18 Nov 2012, 17:32

This decision is so Ferrari. I can't think of a more established adjective.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 18 Nov 2012, 17:33

Ferrarist wrote::lol: I'll give kudos to Ferrari for coming up with creative ways to help their No.1 driver. I actually wondered why no one came up with something like that in the first place.

I agree, if anything it could benefit Massa