FIA Formula 1 World Championship 2013 Discussion Thread

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Yeah, kinda saw that coming.

[Coffer]

"It is estimated, with the aforementioned 0.25 second deficit, that the 2007 world champion lost 9.75 seconds due to the rearranged nose, which resulted in a bit too much understeer “destroying the front tyre”."

Long story short, taking DRS into account, Perez may well have cost Raikkonen the win. Now I'm really baffled by the stewards' decision not to punish him.

[Northern Goblin]

Between the start and Perez, Raikkonen should have had that race. See previous post about Grosjean vastly underutilising what is a brilliant car.

[Coffer]

Between the start and Perez, Raikkonen should have had that race. See previous post about Grosjean vastly underutilising what is a brilliant car.

Which brings me to another point - what the hell was up with Raikkonen in Malaysia? He had all the upgrades, Grosjean had none, yet he was destroyed that weekend.

This lack of consistency is not what Lotus need right now, especially considering they definitely have a good enough car to fight for the championship.

[Northern Goblin]

Which brings me to another point - what the hell was up with Raikkonen in Malaysia? He had all the upgrades, Grosjean had none, yet he was destroyed that weekend.

This lack of consistency is not what Lotus need right now, especially considering they definitely have a good enough car to fight for the championship.

They caught Lotus for an interview and the half heartedly muttered something about rain. I'm personally content to scratch that off as "everyone has a crap weekend" if he finds form for the rest of the season.

Bahrain next week will be hell on tyres. Expecting a lot of 2 stops.

[kidsafe]

"It is estimated, with the aforementioned 0.25 second deficit, that the 2007 world champion lost 9.75 seconds due to the rearranged nose, which resulted in a bit too much understeer “destroying the front tyre”."

Long story short, taking DRS into account, Perez may well have cost Raikkonen the win. Now I'm really baffled by the stewards' decision not to punish him.

Because you don't punish people for innocent racing incidents no matter the hypothetical circumstances?

[Coffer]

Because you don't punish people for innocent racing incidents no matter the hypothetical circumstances?

Innocence stops mattering once a certain level of incompetence is reached.



Plus, don't forget that the FIA's explanation for Grosjean's 1-race ban back in Spa was because of his interference with the championship. Raikkonen is looking very likely to challenge for the title this year, so the fact that Perez got away scot-free reeks of inconsistency, especially considering it DID cost Raikkonen the win.

[Deleted]

Perez just cant drive. Crashing all the time

[warpath2k]

"It is estimated, with the aforementioned 0.25 second deficit, that the 2007 world champion lost 9.75 seconds due to the rearranged nose, which resulted in a bit too much understeer “destroying the front tyre”."

Long story short, taking DRS into account, Perez may well have cost Raikkonen the win. Now I'm really baffled by the stewards' decision not to punish him.

Perez may of been swerving all over the track before hand. But in this instance Perez took the racing line that he was entitled too as he was a full car infront. DC even said it was the normal racing line.

The lotus tried to pass on the outside and he was squeezed out of the racing line. Maybe not nice but again he held the racing line thus not really punishable. If he had forced him wide off the racing line on a corner then different story.

[Coffer]

But in this instance Perez took the racing line that he was entitled too as he was a full car infront.

He wasn't a full car in front, Kimi had a full wheel inside his car length. The rules dictate that, if the car behind is a certain amount inside your car length, you must leave enough space. It's not his fault that Perez can't brake worth a shit (just look at how many times Raikkonen actually hits him).

Plus, tell that to Vettel in Monza last year.

[warpath2k]

EDIT- rewatched the video. The lotus did have a tyre ahead but was not alongside as I believe the rules are. The Maclaren held its racing line still. Perhaps a 50/50 situation but seeing as how the Maclaren was infront he has the right to take the racing line as they were not side by side.

Thus it becomes a racing incident. As said before I am not a Perez fan his weaving earlier was dangerous, but this was simply a case of not enough room on the outside and you can't expect a car infront to yield just becuase you have a wheel on the outside of their car. Which is why I believe it was still a racing incident.

[Coffer]

Even if that was the case (Come the breaking zone the lotus was behind)

Kimi was only behind in the braking zone because, just prior to that, he hit Perez and was forced onto the grass. Perez's early braking caused them to make contact yet again.

then Perez left him all the room on the inside which was where the Lotus was.

Nope, he went from the inside to the outside. You can even see Checo run over the kerb in Kimi's onboard view, and by the time Perez started switching to the outside Raikkonen was already marginally inside his car length, on the outside.

He did not go defensive he held the line.

He covered two lines, one of which was already taken while he was on the first one.

The lotus got a wheel ahead, breaked earlier (Hence he was not behind as you can see in the video)

Raikkonen didn't brake until after he got on the grass, and he couldn't brake hard enough there, not to mention that Perez still started braking earlier than he did (hence the second hit).

Hence the stewards and commentators saw it that way.

You do realize the stewards can be and have been quite incompetent at times, right? Their word isn't gospel. Not in the slightest.

[kidsafe]

Your quote splitting and absolutism annoy me. You feel compelled to not only get the last word, but EVERY word as you try to blow up your ego. As hot as you want to believe your shit is, as wrong as you think the officials are, the stewards and broadcasters have more expertise on the matter than you. My opinion is Raikkonen could not have made a clean pass against Perex on the outside in that corner and he was doing so at a huge risk. Perez pinched him (it's his right,) thinking Raikkonen would break harder, and and there was minor contact. Emphasis on minor, the fact that both cars were able to continue is significant.

In addition, this is a move made by countless drivers on race day. Michael Schumacher made his name doing a more deliberate version of it in his best seasons. He'd take the inside line into a corner and then swerve out wildly just before the turn-in to force his challengers to brake far too early.

[Deleted]

You're delusional if you think Raikkonen and Hamilton are better than Vettel.

Hardly. I'm really not sure how anyone could actually like Vettel either. Honestly if his arrogance was oil we'd have invaded him by now.

[Bigbazz]

I don't think Raikkonen and Hamilton are better than Vettel, but they are definitely as good.

[shise]

The 3 best drivers (currently) in F1 on the podium, I'd say that's a good day

The 3 best driver are Vettel/Hamilton/Kimi. Followed close by Alonso and probably Hulkernberg.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Coming up this weekend is the Bahrain Grand Prix. It was called off in 2011, last year it went ahead, but some teams didn't participate in some of the training sessions, and Force India team members got caught in the cross-fire between rioters on their way back to their hotel from the track. Let's hope it stays peaceful this weekend, but I personally don't believe it will be. Thousands of cameras are in the country and this would be a first rate platform for some groups to project their message world-wide.

In other news, Pirelli is changing the tyres supplied for Bahrain. The soft tyre that degraded so much in China will not be deployed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22167807

[Coffer]

Predictions for the race? I know it's too early, considering we haven't even gone through FP2 yet, but it's worth a shot.

Massa has usually been mighty here, and it was the first track on which he matched Alonso last year (faster than Alonso on race day, only reason he lost out was because the team did not allow him to go past Alonso while he was on the options and Fernando on the primes). Considering the F138 is the outright best car at the moment, I'm going to nominate him for a podium at the very least, with Alonso losing out to him.

Fully expect Mercedes to drop back here due to the heat. Lotus will shine, McLaren will continue their recovery, Ferrari will falter a little, Red Bull will be back on top.

Vettel for pole, Raikkonen to win from Vettel and Massa.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

The BBC is reporting that Heikki Kovalainen has re-signed with Caterham as their reserve driver for the 2013 season.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22180895

[Coffer]

The BBC is reporting that Heikki Kovalainen has re-signed with Caterham as their reserve driver for the 2013 season.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22180895

Alexander Rossi has promptly been moved (or, rather, promoted) to GP2 as a result, with Ma Qing Hua losing out.