FIA Formula 1 World Championship 2013 Discussion Thread

[laffling]

Yea the tires have been terrible all weekend, it's gonna be even more drama at the end when Vettel and Button have to use the soft tires.

Anyone else think DRS is too good atm?

[Aure]

DRS may be too good, but i think the overtakes have more to do with the difference between new and old tyres.

Once again, i love the fact kimi is still running with the damaged front wing.

EDIT: ALO, fastest laps in a row. Engineer says to him that he doesnt need to push and ALO answered "i'm not pushing at all..."

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

If the finish line were 50m further down the track Vettel would have edged it.

[Deleted]

Holy shit, those last two laps with Hamilton and Vettel. Very intense.

[Northern Goblin]

Oh my days that final lap. A couple of bad wheel locks just cost Vettel a podium finish, but how Raikonnen held 2nd with that wing is brilliant.

[Xanjori]

Good for the championship though those 3 finishing above Vettel. Alonso was pretty class that race, always is when in a good car, I'd say he has proved himself over the past few years to be the best driver on the track probably.

[laffling]

How close do you think Kimi would be to Alonso if he didn't botch that start up?

[Shakadam]

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

How close do you think Kimi would be to Alonso if he didn't botch that start up?

Sounded like an apology from Lotus to Kimi on the teamradio regarding that at the end, so it might have been some kind of glitch? I'm sure the press conference will clear it up though. He probably could have challenged Alonso if that and the collision that damaged his front wing wouldn't have happened.

[Northern Goblin]

If Kimi didn't have wheel trouble at the start, that entire start could have been different. He had the pace on Hamilton this weekend and could have built up a good lead, he wouldn't have had that collision to damage his wing and tear the nose either.

[Coffer]

The most boring race since India, easily. Vettel's botched stop cost him P3, but Red Bull never really had the car to challenge today.

Alonso doing what he has to do. Should make for a great championship fight.

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

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

[Deleted]

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

Alonso in previous years has out performed what the car was expected to do. On occasions Hamilton has as well, as has Raikkonen has had the consistancy, commitment and aggression to fight throughout the last season.
THIS CURRENT season vettel hasn't impressed me, previous seasons his one lap qualifying, and a strong car has been whats won him championships, his skill unknown. Rarely if at all has he had to outperform the car , because the car has been up at the top which is the designers work not Vettel's.

[laffling]

He did say currently which prob is true.

[Wilian]

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

In Vettel-land, everyone else better is a delusion.

[Coffer]

Alonso in previous years has out performed what the car was expected to do.

No, he hasn't. The F2012 was better than the RB8 in at least 8, if not 9 races last year: Malaysia, Spain, Monaco (debatable), Canada, Silverstone, Germany, Monza, Abu Dhabi, Brazil. Its poor qualifying pace and Alonso's mistake in qualifying in Australia, as well as the severely decreased importance of qualifying (see the countless times someone who was knocked out in Q2 made it very high up) and Massa's sheer suckiness in the first half of the season made people think that he was some sort of legend.

Newsflash - he wasn't.

On occasions Hamilton has as well

On occasions. Doesn't make up for his underwhelming championship year, his mistakes in 2010 and his poor state of mind and horrible driving in 2011. He may be the fastest, and he may have been the best driver last year, but overall he's still not the best. I'd put him marginally below Alonso, but that's about it.

as has Raikkonen has had the consistancy

Raikkonen's "consistency" was helped by the Lotus never failing and being very good in warm conditions. He was impressive, considering 2012 was his return season, but Grosjean showed more promise in the first half (even though he promptly threw it away by crashing so much).

THIS CURRENT season vettel hasn't impressed me

His only bad race so far was in Australia. He had the best pace in Malaysia (better than Webber, as confirmed by Red Bull) and the strategy didn't work here.

You seem hard to impress.

Rarely if at all has he had to outperform the car

It wasn't this trait that won Button the championship in 2009, was it? The likes of Vettel and Button are good at the exact opposite - driving a nigh-perfect car. Guess which gives you more wins? If Alonso had been driving the RB8, he would've lost in 2012 either to his Ferrari self (similar misfortune) or to Hamilton (no misfortune).

Genuine question - is this mentality typical of British culture? I've also noticed in various soccer discussions that you people seem to value hard work more than sheer skill, which honestly puzzles me.

and a strong car has been whats won him championships, his skill unknown

You've been proven wrong once for 2012. Let's do 2010 now.

because the car has been up at the top which is the designers work not Vettel's.

Then where was Webber? Where was Alonso when the F2012 was better than the RB8?

---------- Post added 2013-04-14 at 12:41 PM ----------

In Vettel-land, everyone else better is a delusion.

Too bad the vocal majority isn't always right.

[Wilian]

Too bad the vocal majority isn't always right.

ITT the Vettel fan going far and beyond the call of duty.

[Deleted]

Glad to see Hamilton doing well at Mercedes. It was an intense last few laps with Vettel on his tail.

[Coffer]

ITT the Vettel fan going far and beyond the call of duty.

If that excuse works for you even when presented with facts then good for you. Just don't expect to be relied on in any sort of evaluation work.

It's also amusing to see you call someone with a Hamilton avatar and sig a Vettel fan. Whatever works for you, man.

---------- Post added 2013-04-14 at 01:04 PM ----------

In other news, Webber has a three-place grid penalty for Bahrain, while Gutierrez has a 5-place penalty. No word on Perez or the yellow flag incidents yet.

[Deleted]

Why is everybody arguing about who's better? it's almost impossible to prove due to the difference in cars. Put Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton or whoever in a Marussia-Cosworth and watch them finish at the back of the pack.

Skill does have a big effect on results obviously but the cars are the main thing, you could be the best driver in history but if your driving a Skoda then you wont beat a Ferrari.

[Coffer]

Webber will be leaving F1 at the end of this season.

[Aure]

After how RB is handling Vettel and Webber, leaving F1 or at least that team was kind of expected.