2011 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX: RACE *** SPOILERS ***

i think this car just suits Vettel a lot more.

 

I agree. I don't think Mark has as much at his disposal as Vettel. The obvious support and favoritism must make it a lot harder to focus.

On a side note well done Lewis. What a great drive. It's nice to see he and Alonso trying to patch things up.

 

No reason to do that. Vettel is enough faster than Webber on his own without needing Webber to be handicapped.

Also, the closer you are to the front, generally the more TV time you get, which helps immensely with sponsors. RBR wants both of their drivers to be running right at the front on every race.

 

So the team wants to punish him just because he hid some injury stuff last year? Well, IMO, webber consistenly punishes himself at the start of every race, with his moon walking skills as Ian calls it.

 

Just finished watching the race. Man, what a magnificent track. And I don't mean the track design, but the opulence of the place; just incredible. Did anybody here attend? Must be nice, especially on a yatch .

Well, Vettel already had a substantial lead by the 2nd turn, when supposedly a broken suspension piece punctured the tire, and forced him to retire. The bright side is Koby scored a point . MS and Webbo could have done better (as usual), and the mad man brought the trophy home, as expected. Uneventful race, but the pics (on another site) were awesome. Would have been nice to see a Ferrari win, but as FA admitted, even if they haven't botched the pit stop and came ahead of LH, it'd have been hard to maintain the lead. Oh well, but a well deserved 2nd. Looking forward to next season already. Have a good one folks.

 

Fair enough.

Or is it that Vettel is just that good.

 

Hahaha cool them.

 

Yes he's that good.

 

I agree, Webber is a good driver, but Alonso, Hammy and Button are (IMO) all a class ahead of him. Button in particular appears to be really taking advantage of his smooth driving style and using his head to get regular podiums.

 

He's saying he's not ready to hang it up - From Autosport;

Interesting times indeed at Williams......

Cheers,
Ian

 

I still want to see him fight his up through the field though, we were robbed of that this year, because he is so damn good at qualifying, in that crazy fast always seem to squeeze more out of it Bullcar..

 

Well I like Rubens, just not got that killer ruthless racing instinct IMO.

 

Alonso said he now has a trophy from every racing circuit he has raced in the last 10 years. Impressive.

Regarding Rubens, he is as good as any driver, save the top 5. In a great car he can win, just like any above average driver. I don't think he needs to retire because of his race pace, but because he is at the end of his carrier. I would replace him with a rookie.

 

Like the old Chinese curse?

 

You're right he needs a handicap.
What say we make him do LeMans starts?

 

+1

My first thought when I saw him limping round was I *really* hope he can get back, grab a new set of rubber and return at the back - Then we'd have seen what he's like in traffic - Which I agree, is the one area there's still a question mark on IMO. I'm starting to think he'd be fine, but passing (not lapping) slower cars gets frustrating, and we know where that leads.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

+1 Cool!

+1, but if he's still got the pace, why should he be "at the end of his career"?

I beg to differ - Williams have enough problems right now without also trying to bring a rookie up to speed. It may indeed be time for him to retire, but they need someone with experience - Kimi, or even Quickish-Nick spring to mind.

I don't think anyone is even "considering" Nick anymore though (?) Not sure why, he wasn't that bad!.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Maybe Rubens shouldn't have threatened to walk away so many times from pretty much every team he ever raced for, the instant he felt criticized or someone pointed out he was getting his ass kicked by his teammate.

I don't think he's a very good driver at all, and if I was an F1 team owner, there is no way I would want him driving my car.

 

A driver who isn't on the podium regularly has to have at least the potential for improvement.
Mid field drivers with no prospect for growth (unless they bring big bucks) have no place in F1.
There is just too much young talent these days to tie up a spot with a placeholder.

 

He has 11 wins with 68 podiums, 17 fastest laps and 14 poles.

Regarding Kimi, hell yeah I'd prefer him to drive for Williams over a rookie, but I ain't holding my breath.

 

All of those wins, save 2, were when he was driving for Ferrari. In that same period, his teammate scored 39 wins. He got smoked, and then some.

And the 2 wins outside Ferrari were at Brawn, where his teammate for 6 wins, and again Rubens got smoked.

I don't think there is anything to suggest he's beyond a low to mid-pack driver. I certainly would not pay him to drive my car... he was never great, and he can't possibly think he's gotten anything but worse over the years, if even due to age.

 

Of all people on here you would be playing the Age card?

Funny.

 

Somebody should probably check my math, but I believe Vettel has a trophy from every circuit he has ever raced on in F1, save France and USA. Both are very impressive.

 

+1.