The Motorsport Thread 2011

JJLehto wrote: James wrote: You believe he actually had a gearbox issue? Pfft. What else can I say that hasn't been about the Vettel topic? Some sh*t along the lines we all wanna believe what we want and you are insufferable, so I wont bother....unless I just did I was never a fan of Maldonado. Unfair perhaps and not like Williams was a good ride but w/e I just don't really care for him.

Perhaps I was being facetious?

The commentary team were even talking about it.  Before the race started they posited the idea whether Vettel would let Webber win.

Then at the end of the race they mentioned several people had Tweeted in saying it was a conspiracy and that Vettel let him passed and there was no gearbox issue.

Then Christian Horner pretty much admits to it in a post-race interview.  Although you could also read what he said any way you liked, of course.


Edited by James - November 27 2011 at 19:52

Anything is possible.

Actually, I'm inclined to agree with you.

Hamilton, Di Resta and Senna also had gearbox issues.  I just think maybe it wasn't as big an issue as they were making it out to be.

He was still doing fastest laps and extended the lead over Alonso and Button even with the dodgy gearbox.

^You should have seen him with the stick on mustache at the start of the BBC coverage!

James, Hulkenburg will almsot certainly be racing for Force India next year, probably teamed with Di Resta. Given that it now seems the deal between Kimi and Williams has fallen through at the eleventh hour, I reckon Sutil and Senna are going to be fighting it out for the lead driver role there. Maldonado will almost certainly stay as he brings a lot of money from Venezuala (I've heard figures of £29mil in sponsorship from PDVSA).

James wrote: Sutil in a Williams?  That's actually going backwards! Hulkenberg in a Force India though is great. But Maldonando is just average.  I don't care if he's bringing money in, he's just not very good! Any idea whether Gary Paffett or one of the other reserve drivers may get a drive? Oh and I forgot to say that Morrussia have signed a 21 year old Charles Pic and replaced D'Ambrosio.  A bit random but I guess they don't have the money to bring in anyone with more experience.  Glock has signed a new contract, apparently. And as I'm sure you'll know already, Patrick Head has stepped down from Williams in terms of F1.

Pic's a very decent driver from a very wealthy family. He'll be no better or worse than D'Ambrosio or Di Grassi but I cant see the point in running a rookie every year and then throwing him away.

Williams might be going backwards, but unles he wants to go to HRT he doesnt have much choice, everybody else is full up.

Sadley Paffet's chance went when Prodrive couldnt get on the grid in 08.

obligatory

KoS wrote: obligatory

I think he's had a sense of humour transplant:

sleeper wrote: Big news, Kimi has just signed to race for Lotus/Renault next year. I dont know where that came from and I now have no idea who will be in the second car there next year (Petrov, Senna or Grosjean) but it means we have 6 champions on the grid now.

Wow! Crazy stuff, will be great to see Kimi again.
Guess now the fun begins, seeing how everything shakes down!

Also revel in the season that was, I enjoyed it. The lack of title fight obviously isn't as exciting as recent years but there was some good racing, year after year of aerodynamic changes and various rules...finally hit on some things that yielded better racing results.


Now that it's over just taking a step back to analyze
Vettel: Wow, what can you say? 19 races, 18 finishes (all top 4), 17 podiums, and 11 wins. 15 poles. A Grand Chelem, which only Schumi has managed one in recent times, and a win at Monaco. Still doubtful he would've he would've made it to the end on those ancient tires but hey...the result is what it is.
What a year.

Button: I always try to be fair including eating crow if needed, and I will fully admit Button impressed me this year. I still stand by his title being a weak one and never really seemed like a "champion" driver but this year I saw it. That drive I just never felt.

Webber: Almost forgotten about, he is the new Rubens I almost felt like it was a bad year, that's how far behind Vettel he was! Of course this is not so and while he only got 1 win, 18 of his 19 races were top 5s. Very solid, consistent season.

Alonso: Considering this was the 150th year of Italy pretty sad Ferrari had an off year. Thought Alonso raced damn well given that, and was pretty much on pace with Webber (1 point behind, both had 10 podiums and win) On Red Bull or McLaren he would've grabbed #2 overall and stolen a few wins from Vettel without doubt.

Hami: What happened bloke? Expectations on this guy are so high this feels like a bad year when it really wasn't. Did have his...."incidents" and was clearly outpaced by Button but it was a good year, looks like he is human after all.

Oh Felipe....yet again the unquestionable 6th of the top 6. Maybe unfair given the off pace Ferrari, goes to show the skill of Alonso. Rosberg is again the best of the rest, he's really developed into a solid, consistent driver. Schumi is a mere mortal, while his car isn't top notch he's been, at best, even with his team mate. Still never thought I'd see the day when I'm pulling for him to win and upset he couldn't do it!

Decent year from Sutil. Petrov had to live with a Renault that clearly didn't live up to expectation. My boy Kam started off great but seemed to fade a bit as Toro Rosso came on over the second half.
Finally, farewell Rubens! I'll miss ya.

Here's to 2012 chaps




Edited by JJLehto - December 01 2011 at 06:16

It's good to see Kovaleinen in your list.  As I said before, he's outperformed the car this year.  It'd be fantastic to see him with a better drive next year.

My list:

Button
Sutil
Kovaleinen
Rosberg
Vettel

Yes yes, Vettel is 5th.  Put him in a worse car and he won't be as good.  I'm basing my decision on the car as well and Vettel obviously had an advantage over almost everyone else here.

Button for me has definitely been the best.  He's proved his doubters wrong and is the first person to ever do better than Hamilton in the same team.  I personally think this years drive was better than his championship winning one.

Undoubtedly Vettel has had an amazing season and that shows with the records he's broken.  However, the good car helped.  Obviously Webber was supposedly in an even car but somehow I think his car was not that even at all.

Hey James and I agree on something! As I said in my other rambling post, I was impressed with Button's drive this year and absolutely thought it was stronger than his title drive. He even had that "moxy" that drive I gave him flak for never showing. Where has this Jenson been!?

The only drive more impressive was Alonso's and like him or not have to admit what he did with that Ferrari was something else. Still think he would've grabbed another win at Monaco. How on Earth those tires were going to last, (and if they did how did he expect to keep pace or not slip up?) were beyond me. Not a knock on Button but we know how insane it is to pass there and Alonso is no pushover. If those rubbers gave up the ghost that would've been a W for Alonso.

Yeah, I was thinking while obviously they'd drop the old guy over Petrov, Heidfeld did actually perform better.
6 point finishes in 11 races, while Petrov managed 8 in 19. He ended up 3 points behind Petrov despite missing 8 races. Clearly he was superior during their time as teammates. I do believe Renault wasn't as good as expected as well, though Vitaly did underachieve but he's also young, I'll give him a pass.

Toro Rosso just isn't very good, though the car seems to have improved as both drivers scored a lot later on. Alguersuari seems quicker. Really, I think they all have talent. Time will sift em out, in the mean time...an established driver should be given a chance, Nico! I used to think he sucked too, but he's matured as a driver.