OMG - what's with Michael? 10th place - well hopefully there some sort of strategy behind that. But what a run from Kimi then by Alonso. It's too bad that Kimi has to start from 12th position. Great for Rubens to be on row three. It's good to see Button back among the front runners. It has the promise to be a VERY interesting race. The question will be, can Kimi come thru the pack, pass JPM and then challenge Alonso? I think the answer is a definite yes. Until tomorrow morning . . . Carol
It is not looking good for Ferrari this weekend lets all hope for another "Whacko on the tracko" to scramble things up I honestly think that Renault put less fuel into Alonso to allow for him to pull away while Kimi is slicing thru the pack.
That made me laugh - whacko on the tracko!! I wonder too about Alonso and perhaps less fuel, but look how fast he's been before and like the energizer bunny - he just kept on going when others pitted for fuel. But, I think your assessment is right on especially with Kimi having to contend with traffic. This is beginning to look like a football game - will the defensive blockers take their position on the field? Trulli for Alonso and Montoya for Kimi? Carol
Please make it rain tomorrow! Michael Schumacher ran wide at Stowe. One gets the feeling that he maybe pushing too hard. He lost about half a second due to that. Rubens put in a decent lap to get P6 (now P5). Hopefully they can both end up up in the top 5 tomorrow. If Jenson Button or Montoya do not keep up with Alonso tomorrow. It will be hard for anyone to catch him through strategy. What I do not understand is the huge difference between Alonso and Fisichella's times? (A little over 1 second) It could mean that they are on different setups or strategies but there has to be more to it. I know most people consider Alonso to be quicker than Fisichella but a whole second is a little too much.
He ran wide into the dirt at Stowe during his hotlap. Also the Ferrari's are way off the pace of the front runners through Sector 3 (around 0.3s off). It's the slowest section of the track, so I suspect they're lacking in mechanical grip. I'll have to look at onboard footage of MS and RB during qualifying to confirm that though.
Is it McLaren's strategy blowing off Kimi's engine? Yes, very sad with both Ferrari qualification positions.
I would think that would have to wait until the first pitstop. OTOH I was stunned about the helicopter tape the Minardis used in qualifying at France. They removed it for the race and that to me is changing the car, yet it was not deemed illegal. So maybe adjusting tire pressure is ok. Dunno. But even if it was allowed, I don't think that'll make up for a full second.
Here's what the F1 guys say. Whilst the cars are under parc ferme conditions a limited number of team personnel may carry out certain routine work on them, but only with permission from the FIA. No other work of any kind will be permitted unless deemed absolutely necessary by the FIA Technical Delegate. Fuel may only be added to the car before Sunday mornings qualifying session. Minor front wing adjustments are also allowed. These regulations mean that a team cannot make significant changes to the set-up of a car between qualifying and the race. http://formula1.com/insight/rulesandregs/13/504.html (Obviously, since the rules change, the Sunday qualifying fuel rule is out.) If you can adjust the front wing, don't you think a tire pressure change would be allowed? And, is it possible that Ferrari misjudged track temperature, because qualifying conditions started cloudy, turned sunny, and that may have resulted in higher track temps, and higher tire pressure? Just a question from an untrained amateur.
Ithink the teams are allowed to make changes to tire pressure before the start of the race. They cannot change the Aero setup, fuel, tires (unless it rains), Ballast location, Engine. Changing Kimi's engine make possible sense as it get them back into sequence with the rest of the teams. The only reason thought that Mclaren would do is if they are confident that Kimi can work his way up to the front.
If Michael had not gone wide at Stowe he would have not lost 0.5 secs. That would have put him in somewhere P5 or P6 (similar time to Rubens). This has to be one of the worst years for F1 rules. I have spent a good 15 minutes scanning the FIA copy of the F1 rules for 2005. Absolutely nothing mentioned about the tyre pressure changes. I do not understand why a driver who suffers engine failure is penalized 10 spots on the starting grid but a driver that suffers a broken aero component or faulty electronics does not suffer any penalties? For example: David Coulthard also suffered problems in the last session before qualifying. His mechanics repaired the car with new electrons etc. NO PENALTY. Kimi on the other hand 10 spots panalty on the starting grid. These rules are absolute junk. Might as well hand the teams a SACK sanctioned by the FIA. That will minimize expenses to zero!
Damn Mercedes engine!@#% I wanted to see a FA vs KR battle right from the beginning. Hope Montoya will come out strong.
We should be on the lookout for Kimi taking this one, got 12th this time and has the speed to catch what's his name, oh ya Fernando. I see the start tobe entertaining: Fernando pulling away(no fuel on board) Button being smart and following, Whining Pablo trying to cut off Button and yes Fernando's buddy Mr. Trulli trying to hold the pack back..Rubens has a shot as long as Kamakazi Sato doesn't try to take him out, and maybe Schumi will come focused on the race.. But keep an eye on the 2010 F1 Champ Christijan Albers to finish in the top 5 (GO Minardi GO)
Are you talking about the first 5 cars to take the checker flag??? Also save the hard stuff for a Ferrari Victory because the only F1 championship Albers will take is on his playstation
Albers deserves to be in F1 for the years to come. He is the better driver him, Friesacher , Karthikeyan and Monteiro.
I agree, albers has outpaced his teamate the great majority of the time, and he has been able to outqualify the jordan's in some occassions. but the minardi sadly cannot compare to the jordans..... and these are the backmarkers....
I find he is better than PF, NK and TM. Proof? What proof do you want? I don't focus to much on Minardi but I noticed that Albers is doing a good job. Qualifying at Montreal was good + sometimes he's faster than a Jordan in qualifying + seems more aggressive than Patrick. I heard some teams saying that they like what they're seing from Albers.
I'm not sure how you can compare teammates between two different teams, especially since all the drivers you mentioned are rookies in F1. To me, in order for any driver on Jordan or Minardi to stand out they need to utterly dominate their teammates. Albers has not done that. Karthikeyan is the only one even close to doing that. However, his teammate wasn't even that great in CART, so arguably Karthikeyan should be *crushing* a "wasn't even that great" teammate. He has not been "crushing" Monteiro.
