I still think Button was just lucky last year and is really just a mid-field driver. As to Masssa, I still think he is one of the best #2 team drivers ever..
It should be interesting to see how the race goes tomorrow. Virgin, Lotus, and HRT will be lucky if they make 15 laps before being lapped.
I doubt LdM would put up with those sorta nonsense from Alonso. Plus, Alonso made it very clear that he's more matured now. Better live up to his word OTOH, awesome quali session. The new section of the circuit is seriously bumpy as hell, look at how the drivers head whack the sides of the car when they go thru there, especiallt Vettel and Button. Pressure's on Button now. MS, well, I can't even remember when was the last he did a Q3 quali with fumes. I'm expecting him to gather some momentum tomoro, and hopefully a podium. Really happy for the red cars.
One thing's for sure. It'll be an interesting race tmrw. Can't wait for it. Whatever happens, as a Tifosi I sure hope both Ferrari drivers rake up as many points as possible as this is one very long season. We need all the points we can get
Are you looking at results from last year? Only the top 3 are within a second. Which is expected this early in the season.
Agreed. Fred doesn't like being #2 and we saw how he reacted at McLaren when this happened. I think Massa is vastly under rated and will be a contender for WDC.
I don't care how fast the qualifiers are going. If they can't save their tires with heavy fuel loads they are all hosed. It appears Mercedes has a heat issue with their tires causing balance issues, so I fear for them after the first sector. No real news about anyone else.
He did pretty well in the post-qual press conference, compared some of his past excesses, although it's early yet. Of course, no driver likes not being first, and he still doesn't hide his disappointment well. But then, "Third is okay". I think the season is far from over. Much as I like Felipe, Fernando did pretty well for his first outing in a new team. I don't think there's a clear advantage, either way, between the two Ferrari drivers. We're used to Q3 being slower than Q2, but that used to be because of a heavier fuel load. Now, Q3 is also on low fuel. But Massa was the only driver to run quicker in Q3 than Q2. Maybe the others were trying to protect their tires a bit more?
Nice to see 2 Fcars in the top 3 on the starting grid. Never did that one time last year. Also, nice to see Massa beat Alonso. great for his confidence and great for the team. Looks like F1 2010 is going to be good for the Tifosi. Forza Ferrari. May the best Fcar win!
I am not particularly a Massa fan (don't like him)(whiner), but I think he is better with his tires then Alonso (don't like him)(crybaby), if he can be close to Alonso speed wise, I think he will beat him over race distances. This is also where Button may have an advantage over Hamilton, he has always been smooth and good with his tires whereas Hamilton seems to be one of the harder drivers on their tires. How the different cars are with their tires is something else and we will see how that plays out tomorrow.
To me, the biggest surprise was the differences in times amongst the top 10. 1.5 seconds or more ; I'm wondering if alot of the teams backed off in q3 to conserve tires for the race. If that's the case, then q3 qualifying is going to be very anti-climatic this year. This is going to be a very interesting race. Kevin
I don't like Alonso, but i would be surprised if he doesn't overtake Massa tomorrow. I'm 99% sure he will.
I would actually say that it looks like the Mercedes (along with Ferrari) save their tires better of the front runners. Red Bull and Mclaren's where all over the place on their second hot lap on the options with some fuel in the car.
We heard over the off season that the Ferraris were bad on fuel efficiency and supposedly the Mercedes were very good on it. Supposedly the Sauber is very easy on it's tires. All of these factors will play into the race but won't show up as factors in quali. Tomorrow will be interesting.
+1 However, I don't think this rumored disparity in economy is significant enough to, well, be significant (!) Even if they're 10% heavier at the start, that's about 15kilos - Maybe 0.1 to 0.2 seconds per lap - Not enough for an overtaking move IMHO. Someone posted that the Lotus tank isn't big enough, which would be entertaining...... Anyone know if they're allowed to refuel on the grid after the out lap? Cheers, Ian
+1 and many here forget THE over-taking move in 08.....Felipe took on LH at turn 1 in Budapest from 3rd....Felipe is a very very capable driver. Just ask Kimi....
Ferrari doing surprisingly well considering all the design flaws the car has according to the 'experts'
I withdrew my statement based on new information: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=139425092&postcount=102
