2012 Formula One Season Thread

[absinthe_888]

^^ Nice to see Shumi at 3rd, ang tagal na nyang hindi nakakapasok sa Top 3. Sana tuloy-tuloy ang development sa Mercedes.

[Kopite]

yessssss! Schumi!!!!

[Fallschirmjager]

Hammy doesn't look confident even if he took pole. I guess he's concerned about tire usage again.

Finally, P3 for Schumi. I thought he had P2 in the bag. But, I'm still overly cautious about the Merc's race pace. Given his demeanor during the post qualifying interview, he's still hinting about the Merc's tire degradation issues. But that Merc really has a whopping top speed. Too bad there's no unlimited DRS during the race.
Rosberg didn't put up a tidy lap in Q3 despite looking strong in FP3.

Webber got the better of Vettel. Vettel, interestingly, is starting on the harder compound while the others in the top 10 are on mediums.
I wonder what Horner is planning.

Kimi will be starting 10th after his 5 grid penalty. Grosjean will start 7th. Alonso and Perez round up the top 10.

[Fallschirmjager]

Disaster for Schumi courtesy of Grosjean.

Race suspended due to rain. If the four hour time limit is in effect, is a night race possible? It's getting dark out there.

I hope they don't terminate the race after only 9 laps.

Coz' if they do, Narain Karthikeyan will score points for HRT!

Meanwhile, ice cream break time for the Iceman!

[absinthe_888]

After 56 laps:

Alonso
Perez
Hamilton

Peter Sauber can't hide his tears

[LOLOLOLOL]

massa is so useless.

[honeysenpai]

Im afraid that hanggang sa Qualifying lang pwedeng mag-excel ang Mercedes because of unli-DRS. Kitang-kita during the race that they are really having tire and downforce issues.

Perez should have won this race. But credits to Alonso, grabe ang poise despite the pressure and kitang-kita ang inexperience ni Perez, mukhang naover-eager makuha yung lead kaya na-overshoot. But good job pa rin for Perez and Sauber.

Biggest disappointments, Schumacher, Rosberg and Vettel.

[Fallschirmjager]

Sergio Perez in the drive of his life! Definitely the drive of the day for me. Without that mistake, he could have won the day. I think his race engineer just jinxed it a bit for him. Sauber should have pitted the same time as Alonso on the final stop too, instead of doing an extra lap on worn inters. (Some are saying that there was a TO in Ferrari's favor though)

There goes my "Kamui Kobayashi: Ferrari 2013" campaign. Sergio's rehearsal drive for Ferrari is difficult to top.

Congratulations to Alonso. A morale-boosting win for Ferrari and the tifosi.

Hamilton got clear of any trouble but poor pitstops by Mclaren cost him. Button, on the other hand, couldn't get his tires to work all day and a mistake involving an HRT had him finishing 14th.

Webber got the better of Vettel this time. What's up with RBR and Vettel toward the end? First they told him to Box (pit), then "stay out" then an "emergency stop" later on. That was weird.

Lotus should keep lots of ice cream at hand for the Iceman! P5.

Senna, di Resta, Vergne, Hulkenberg, Schumi round up the top 10.

Gutted for Mercedes AMG again. Their trick wing is just offering false hopes. They qualify strong only to suck in the race. They were just awful to watch today. Schumi and Rosberg were fighting for grip all throughout. The ninja move by Kobayashi on Schumi proves the Merc has no race pace at all. A car that's inefficient with its tires can't perform well in changing conditions.

Mercedes is just 1 point ahead of Marrussia, Caterham and HRT. C'mon, Mr. Brawn and co. Time to shape up!

On a final note, it is just me or is F1 "sissified" these days? When can we have a proper wet race? Charlie Whiting should ease off the red flags and let the drivers race. The race suspension took a little too long, imho. I remember a decade ago, the races don't usually get red-flagged even in near torrential conditions.

[LOLOLOLOL]

On a final note, it is just me or is F1 "sissified" these days? When can we have a proper wet race? Charlie Whiting should ease off the red flags and let the drivers race. The race suspension took a little too long, imho. I remember a decade ago, the races don't usually get red-flagged even in near torrential conditions.

what happened to alonso in 2003 might have had a hand in that.

[Fallschirmjager]

what happened to alonso in 2003 might have had a hand in that.

This somewhat proves my point. Brazil 03 was a race of attrition in mixed conditions. Alonso made a mistake of not noticing yellow flags hence his massive crash then. But he wasn't injured.

I remember that race. Schumacher spun off together with Montoya and a few drivers in the same corner prompting Steve Slater to comment on the world's most expensive parking lot.

Nowadays, we don't see these kinds of races anymore. ( e.g. Spa and Silverstone '98) If the FIA could blowdry the track today, they would, I think. I had the same gripe about Canada last year.

I know these guys risk their lives for the sake of our entertainment, but legends and heroes are born when we see them on a knife's edge in the rain.

[guessst]

dapat na talaga [alitan si massa... nice win by alonso... sana naman mag improve ang ferrari... napag iiwanan na sila ng maclaren at redbull

[LOLOLOLOL]

dapat na talaga [alitan si massa... nice win by alonso... sana naman mag improve ang ferrari... napag iiwanan na sila ng maclaren at redbull

alonso won, which is a good sign

[Fallschirmjager]

Are we still on Massa-bashing mode? Maybe he'll blame his "new" chassis for the incredible gap to his teammate. He was 15 places and about a lap down on Alonso.

Speaking of blame, Vettel just called Narain Karthikeyan a "cucumber", with Narain also meriting a penalty from the FIA.

In fairness to the Cucumber, I think it was more of Vettel's fault rather than the former. Vettel invaded the HRT's racing line too soon as he went passed. Button, otoh, admitted it was his fault, absolving the HRT driver.

Vettel is going from confident-flamboyant to borderline cocky-arrogant already. I think I also saw him give Narain the one-fingered salute after that incident.

Grosjean meanwhile had the gall to blame Schumi for his retirement when replays show otherwise. Two races down and he's looking more of a rookie than a GP2 champion. I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes Bourdais 0.5.

[rocqG]

for me, i'll let the Mercs slide for now just because of the mix conditions...*during practices, their doing all these weird stuff and then do well in quali. i think their pace is somewhat artificial...*

the tribute made by Ferrari was enough for SuperSic(rip) to smile down on them and give that extra push all the to the podium.... still great drive for Teflonso and Checo!!!

[LOLOLOLOL]

Are we still on Massa-bashing mode? Maybe he'll blame his "new" chassis for the incredible gap to his teammate. He was 15 places and about a lap down on Alonso.

lol or maybe he'll come to his senses and admit that he's really useless.

[doc_ama]

Good for Ferrari! With an aero heavy circuit like Malaysia, they would have been lucky to be in the points if the conditions had been dry. Ferrari needs to have lady luck on their side until they get their car updated. No way could they challenge for the championship with their current chassis.

But drivers of the day for me: Perez and Kimi...Perez for his amazing pace all around and Kimi for carving up the field from P10 to down P17 after the red flag and finishing 5th, with the string of fastest laps at the end.

[LOLOLOLOL]

could kimi/alonso work? massa just flat-out sucks

[schiller]

there goes lady luck for alonso and scuderia ferrari.

great win!!

What's up with RBR and Vettel toward the end? First they told him to Box (pit), then "stay out" then an "emergency stop" later on. That was weird.

and this all happened in the final lap of the race. what gives?

[Fallschirmjager]

^^ just my opinion. I think they were trying to save the car. Engine and all. It was a 12th place finish anyway, a non-scoring finish. But with Vettel being a title contender, 12th place is better than being classified further down the order. It could be pivotal in a close championship race.

On Kimi: That was indeed a great drive. And he even admitted that he didn't have experience driving on Pirelli's full wets and took it easy a bit. Just goes to show the amount of talent he has.

On Sergio: Being a Kamui fan, I've underrated this guy. Looking at the lap times, he was really the quickest driver in Malaysia. Sergio's driving style further enhances the characteristic of the Sauber of being easy on its tires. He also went on long stints in Australia.

On Kimi-Alonso pairing: It can happen. Kimi, afair, is contracted for this year and has an option for the next. But, I think it will depend on Ferrari's situation. Also, with Sergio's audition drive, the young kid has the inside track on Kimi for Ferrari's second seat.

Red Bull and Mercedes are also likely destinations for the Iceman.

[renz_reggy03]

Bohooyeah Ferrari! Gratz Alonso.

Sergio, Kamui or Kimi-- for Massa.