"[The] start is sixty or seventy percent of result"

...So sayeth The Fernando.

So his last several starts are extremely puzzling, in that he repeatedly displays all the urgency of an old man easing into a hot bath.

Then he days "hopefully we can have a start like at Hockenheim last week and take some positions", which falsely misstates both his start there and the means by which he gained first position.

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/240170/start-is-sixty-or-seventy-percent-of-result-alonso/

 

No, he's right.

Let's have a start like the last GP where Massa was the first one to come out of turn 1.

 

He was squeezed by Vettel in Hockenheim, that's why he lost the position. Massa had a clear track ahead and shot in front, no mistery.

 

Uhhhhh, he never gained that posiotion in order to loose it.
I hope same thing happens tomorrow. Webber squeezing Alonso and Massa passing through to chase Vetel.

 

Then how about Hamilton shooting 200 feet in the air and landing on top them..

 

Massa reaped the rewards of Vettel squeezing Alonso end off.

 

Exactly. You said it better than I was able to.

 

"That's racin'!"

[What came later was a sham, but that's F1, rightly or wrongly IMO - I can argue it both ways....]

Cheers,
Ian

 

Hamrocket ftw!

 

Has anyone done the math and figured out just how directly pole position translates to win?
It must be high given the paucity of passing these days.
I imagine an even stronger indicator would be leading at the end of the first lap.

 

True

LOL..

No I'am going to bed.. tell you in the morn..

 

The strongest indicator of a win is leading at the end of the last lap.

 

Regardless that his lackadaisical start allowed Vettel to own him, he didn't take any positions on the start and it's not how he "won" the race.

 

He's right....despite the faster RBs he came second which is where he was after the first lap...track is a joke in terms of passing chances-like Monaco without the buildings...

 

Mmmm..... Alonso started on the dirty side of the track, got alongside vettel who swung over to the right hand side of the track to squeezed him to the wall after making an appalling start, and yet on the exit, Alonso still came out ahead of Vettel, that's how I seem to recall the start.

Yes, he was still in second place but he did pass Vettel despite the attempted block. I would call his start from the dirty side of the track anything but "lackadaisical".

As for how he "won" the race, personally, I don't really care!, as Bruce Forsyth (google the name) used to say:

Bruce: “Points make prizes – what do points make?”

Audience: " PRIZES!"

By the way, how was your start in the German GP?, did you make up many places off the grid?, and where did you finish?. I watched the race and I've checked the results but somehow your name appears to be missing!.

 

oddly enough... thats what the commentators said

 

No worse than yours.

 

Sadly, I was unable to make the start in Germany, but I'm pretty sure Alonso made a better start from the dirty side of the track than I could ever dream of making, even if I started from the clean side of the track.

Come to think of it, he wasn't too shoddy off the line in Hungary either!. I Guess he must practice more than I do!

 

The start is so important because on most tracks, overtaking is still a major problem and can only be done safely with the cooperation of the slower cars.

Time and time again, we see faster cars catching other competitors and being unable to overtake because of turbulences.

It's about time the FIA do something about restricting aerodynamics, rather than wasting time on side issues like movable wings, KERS and other gimmicks.

 

+1, Totally agree. I'd still like to see the rear diffusers banned, I think that would cause a massive difference in the cars ability to follow one another closely straight away. It would also mean an end to blown diffusers sucking some cars onto the track more than others.

 

As King Canute couldn't hold back the tide, more regulations won't stop aero progress. In no time (but after great expense) we'll be back to square one with some new tech that the rule makers couldn't have dreamed of.
Let the designers come up with the solutions. Its what they're good at.

 

In principle I agree. The problem is though, is that the diffusers are not only designed to suck the car onto the track, their secondary function is to deliberately create turbulent air to prevent the car behind from geting too close and having a chance to overtake. This is the very reason why a car can catch the one ahead by a second a lap but once it is within @ 0.6 secs behind, it struggles to get any closer.

And before anyone says it, yes, I am aware that it was this very phenomenon that helped keep Alonso ahead of Vettel for so long, but for the sake of better racing, I'd rather see it gone.

 

My assumption is that given design freedom and not obliging them to waste time adapting to new rules every season, the designers will devise ways to make passing easier. After all it is in their interest to do so.

 

real aero design would be where the wings rotated so the car "flys" over the car in front

 

Rules that force F1 cars to have open wheels, but allow wings to compensate are just plain daft in the 21st century.

The definition of a GP car has to be redrawn.

Most of the present aerodynamic advantage would be erased AT ONCE if a minimum ground clearance was imposed and strictly enforced, and if the bodywork becam 'a continuous flow line' from the from to the rear'.

In not so many words, front and rear wings would be part of an inunterrupted bodywork, and nore mere appendages at each end of the car.