What a race we had today!

Kimi's comments had me in stitches

Seb proved today why he is going to have 3 WDCs on a trot !

agree jab vettel was just brill today, defo be world champ again but kimi was amazing even got seb swearing lol

Vettel drove well, but the two safety car periods helped close the gap. I'm sure Hamilton would have won if the car had not stopped. Kimi's reply to his engineer was spot on.

Yep cracking race, sooooo happy that Kimi won and it sure was good to see Seb come from the back to finish in 3rd and, with a front wing change thrown in too :clap:

Indeed Vettel drove well, was helped along a little.

Alonso must be thinking what he needs to actually win a 3rd title as it seems to have slipped away from him again this year, I'm not in the slightest a fan of his or Ferrari but I actually think on getting the most from what he has at his disposal he has been the best driver over the past 3 years,

Great racing all round by lots of drivers.

Vettel spoilt it for me on the podium with the F word and the juvenile drenching of Coulthard while he was interviewing Raikonnen. Vettel showed a true lack of respect to Raikonnen and Coulthard. It was cringeworthy stuff. Not what F1 should expect from the World Champion.

I have the feeling Coulthard wanted to chin him!

Vettel had a lot of luck to get him where he was tbh, seriously flustered in the first phase of the race, poor move on senna lead to his wing damage. He did manage to pull it back later on though. I think the poor performance of the Ferrari and the fact Alonso is still as close as he is shows who would be where if they were in the same car. In fact, if Vettel does move in 2014 it`d be a great comparison.

Kimi is an utter legend, he had me in stitches with his radio messages, especially the 'yes yes yes I know what I`m doing' under the SC. Was a shame for Lewis, I think he`d have had a easy win if it wasnt for the car stopping. Also impressed how Nico & Kart walked away from the fairly big smash. Felt for Webber a bit, he hasnt had much luck, yes his Maldonado pass wasnt the best but the Massa incident wasnt his fault (Massa looked a little silly though) nor was the incident that took him out the race. Bit of silliness from Perez.

Still, onwards to Texas, hopefully it`ll be as exciting as that race!

Can't wait for the USA GP!

I do not expect much from F1 drivers, these guys are not the sharpest tools in the shed, spent their lives on various trucks surrounded by mechanics etc. Still was bit surprised by Vettels behaviour...

I still think he showed masterclass first battling with Grosjean and then Button. Bad move on Senna And then rather childish mistake when he tested the mantle of a polystyrene board

I am expecting quite a show from Austin!

From DWC point of view I think it was all wrapped up today, unless an accident or mech failure takes Alonso out Vettel got it in the bag.

I was for a change impressed with Hamilton's maturity after his lamentable mechanical failure!

Indeed Vettel drove well, was helped along a little.

Indeed, all the way back from Qualifying, has a "mechanical problem" but then runs out of fuel! This then allows a choice of tyres and other things. In fact, I reckon that then Seb hit the wall in qualifying, he damaged his rear suspension and the team felt they couldn't/didn't have time to replace. He would have had ZERO chance of winning with the car as it was, it was a good alternative to get him completely out of qualifying.

Then the rest of the field just happend to have a complete and utter high amount of crapness yesterday - everyone expect the decent drivers all forgot how to drive! Mainly Senna in a Williams RENAULT, Grosjean in a Lotus RENAULT, Webber in a Red Bull RENAULT. The running out of fuel was a genius play. And I'm in no doubt it was a play.

Kimi was golden though.

Mainly Senna in a Williams RENAULT, Grosjean in a Lotus RENAULT, Webber in a Red Bull RENAULT.

Kimi was golden though.

See that and raise Kimi in an Enstone Renault, Seb V in a Red Bull Renault and Pastor in a Williams Renault.

Also, just how does this race manage to be so much less c@rp to look at than the Singapore race?

@Coops - I like your conspiracy theory, slick!

@KenoNeill - It was a great race indeed! Singapore put me to sleep within 30 mins lol - hard to find that spot when you dozed off when you rewind lol

Vettel was lucky - the "free" first pitstop at the first safety car and then a catch up again at the second safety car. I suspect that saved him 30sec to a minute. He did drive well but would have been further away had it not been for the two safety cars.

I also notice that because he got disqualified from qualifying they were allowed to change tyres and fiddle with the set up.

Anyway good to see Kimi win.

Chuffed to bits for Kimi getting the win and was golden as usual. Good contrast when you compare his return to Schumacher's

I'm calling shenanigans at Red Bull. Vettel clipped the wall and only got 3rd in quali, so obviously struggling. So they stop him with a "problem", find there's not enough fuel and stick him in the pitlane. The precedent was set when they did it to Lewis but because they got to start from pitlane it meant they could put a longer top gear on. He was more than 10mph faster on the straights so passing the lower cars should be straightforward. He's no "driving god" some make him out to be, safety cars helped too. So many have blinkers on. Compare that to when Jenson won from the back in Canada he did it in less laps, same gearing as he has for qualifying and was several seconds a lap faster than Vettel. THAT was a great drive

I also notice that because he got disqualified from qualifying they were allowed to change tyres and fiddle with the set up.

That doesn't seem right to me. As he was disqualified from qualifying, why should the team be allowed to change his setup (including gear ratios)? He should have been made to start on the setup they had gone for in qualifying like the rest of the teams.

Anyway good to see Kimi win.

Agreed!

That doesn't seem right to me. As he was disqualified from qualifying, why should the team be allowed to change his setup (including gear ratios)? He should have been made to start on the setup they had gone for in qualifying like the rest of the teams.

The car initially breached Article 6.6.2 of the regulations in not being able to supply enough fuel for a sample (the reason Seb was allegedly stopped on track for), the FIA deemed he could, however, start from the back of the grid.

The team obviously made a conscious decision that for Seb to make any progress in the race, a different setup would be needed - there was talk that he wanted a longer top gear. Therefore article 34.5 comes into play which states:

If a competitor modifies any part on the car or makes changes to the set?up of the suspension whilst the car is being held under parc fermé conditions the relevant driver must start the race from the pit lane

Back of grid, pit lane?? Hmm not much difference but a much different setup.

Chuffed to bits for Kimi getting the win and was golden as usual. Good contrast when you compare his return to Schumacher's

I'm calling shenanigans at Red Bull. Vettel clipped the wall and only got 3rd in quali, so obviously struggling. So they stop him with a "problem", find there's not enough fuel and stick him in the pitlane. The precedent was set when they did it to Lewis but because they got to start from pitlane it meant they could put a longer top gear on. He was more than 10mph faster on the straights so passing the lower cars should be straightforward. He's no "driving god" some make him out to be, safety cars helped too. So many have blinkers on. Compare that to when Jenson won from the back in Canada he did it in less laps, same gearing as he has for qualifying and was several seconds a lap faster than Vettel. THAT was a great drive

Jenson's drive was amazing but also a very lucky one as well. He crashed twice (once when Ham squeezed him against the wall lol), sped in the pit lane earning himself a 10 sec stop and go penalty (or was it drive through?) and then had a moment of brilliance and went on supersoft slics giving him 2 secs advantage per lap over everybody else. Admittedly he wasn't playing the system like Red Bull were...

All I am trying to say here F1 is a very complex sport involving some increadible cunning, working around the rules (Jenson's title won on a back of that double diffuser Brawn car almost 2 secs quicker per lap than competition) and huge amount of luck.

Vettel was extremely lucky not to completely wreck his car when he run into the side of Senna, then went asleep and almost run into TorroRoso. Then battled beautifully with Grosjean and Jenson (who was on shot tyres but still).

So yeah, not a driving god by any strech of imagination (look at Ayerton's first title won in Japan, think it was 1988?) but still, played the cards he was dealt (including that spare ace from the sleave in a form of changed setup) rather well and made the drivers championship race even more exciting.

All I am trying to say here F1 is a very complex sport involving some increadible cunning, working around the rules (Jenson's title won on a back of that double diffuser Brawn car almost 2 secs quicker per lap than competition) and huge amount of luck.

It is indeed very complex, and nobody ever knows the real story apart from those in the teams themselves (who don't usually talk about it).

Jensons title came about from a car that had been developed with Honda money, had a Merc engine "bodged" into it, and then they rocked up at the first test and found they were 2sec up on everyone. Jenson did what he had to do and banked the big points while he could, as he knew Brawn had little cash for further development and they would inevitably be caught. By mid season other teams had caught up and by the end Brawn was behind, but Jenson kept scoring as much as he could to hang on for the title, and it was enough. It wasn't the easiest of titles, Prost just had to turn up and drive in 1993 such was the Williams advantage, and Shueys titles at the height of his Ferrari days were equally straightforward. But there you are, right driver + right car + right time = WDC

Edited 22 November, 201213 yr by Mike Wrightson