Ste
13th July 2010, 11:41
Since I've started writing these reviews after a race, I thought I'd do another, despite being at Silverstone for the race.
Before the weekend
Coming up to this weekend, I think the team were pretty optimistic. We took our new, Red Bull style exhaust system and diffuser to Valencia and our pace was very close to theirs. It turns out however, that it isn't the finished product. Further changes to the system were ready for Silverstone - slightly different positioning of the exhaust and various other small changes, as well as a new front wing, quite different from the previous one. Due to various events in Valencia, we ended up not having a chance to fight for victory, but at least we knew our pace was good and that we could challenge the Red Bulls.
So, with further updates I think we expected to be right up there, challenging for the win.
On Practice
In practice one we were testing the car with and without the F-Duct. I'm unsure of the reasoning behind this. I would have thought Silverstone was one of the tracks where it was vital with it having two very long straights. We ended up quite low down, but it was obvious we weren't showing our true pace.
I was watching Practice from a couple of different places and it was clear to see the Red Bull was extremely fast. The grip through Maggots and Beckets was just mind-blowing and out of Luffield they were on the power about 10m before anyone else.
Still, Alonso and Massa looked quick. This season I've come to realise that if Massa is quick, then we will be on the pace. Usually Alonso has 4 or 5 tenths over Massa.
Qualifying
To sum up Qualifying, Red Bull were utterly phenominal, Button failed badly, Alonso was brilliant and Massa was poor.
In Q2, Red Bull had a few tenths over Alonso, but nothing too big, Massa was only a few hundredths behind Alonso and so was Hamilton.
Both Ferrari's were first out in Q3 (finally we decide not to sit in the garage for half the session!), Alonso put in a stunning lap, improving by 3 tenths over his Q2 time. All was pretty rosy until Webber came out and went 7 tenths quicker, followed by Vettel who went quicker still. Alonso improved slightly on another lap but the Red Bulls were on a totally different planet. Alonso definitely got the most out of the car, not able to improve much on further runs showed us that. Massa, who held onto Alonso in Q2 was nowhere, way down in P7. Couldn't believe where his pace had gone. Still, P3 on the grid was a good result.
Our starts have been usually good, so I was optimistic of taking Webber down Hangar straight or even before.
Red Bulls secret system
I read an article saying Red Bull have managed to be so quick in Qualifying due to them supplying the diffuser with a constant air flow from the exhausts - even if the throttle isn't being applied. Essentially, this would give them far more downforce than the others in the slower corners. If this is true, then thats an incredibly intuitive system. How that works with the Standard ECU I don't know, but it might go some way to explaining those 8 or 9 tenths they have over everyone else. They certainly don't show that kind of pace in practice - which leads me to believe this system is certainly in place.
The Race
I was surprised when Alonso bogged down off the line, blaming his poor start on the clutch (as did Vettel). Hamilton got past, as did Rosberg and Kubica. Vettel got tagged by Hamilton and ended up with a puncture. I wonder when Vettel will get some good luck!
There was contact going through Maggots/Beckets with our two drivers. Alonso was forced slightly wide but Massa was amazingly optimistic, braking far too late and diving up the inside of Alonso, and making pretty heavy contact. This caused a puncture for Massa who ended up last apart from Vettel. That cost Massa any chance of a good race.
Webber and Hamilton went off into the distance, while Alonso was held up behind Kubica and Rosberg.
Schumacher pitted early from P7 (I think) to try and get past the cars infront. I was surprised to see him doing PB's on his in and outlaps - thats the Schumacher we know - but then he ran wide out of the arena section and cost himself a certain extra position. Ended up losing further positions and was stuck behind Kobayashi.
Alonso was then battling with Kubica, got a great run through Stowe, pulled to the right, out-braked him and went around the outside into Vale. Kubica ran him out of road and Alonso had to take to the run-off. He didn't give the position back.
Initially, I sat in my seat and said to Hayley he should give it back, but then watching the replay, he was already ahead going in and had no choice but to use the run-off otherwise there would have been contact between him and Kubica. It's always safer to give the place back, but Alonso wouldn't have been thinking that. Alonso then pulled a very large gap in the following couple of laps. The call came for Alonso to give the position back, but by that time Kubica had retired. Even if Alonso had given it back immediately, he would have been ahead 2 laps later, so a penalty was surely out of the question. Alonso got the penalty though, avoided the pits for one lap and then the Safety Car came out. Unable to serve the penalty during the SC, Alonso pitted straight after and was then at the back of the pack.
Webber was brilliant upfront. Faultless all race and he thoroughly deserved the win. Hamilton did a good job in P2, even though I hate to say it. Button was excellent, as was Rosberg.
Massa had a ridiculous moment out of Luffield, mounting the curb and half spinning, nearly into the pit wall, had to pit for tyres with the team obviously not ready, putting him to the back. Alonso then got a puncture from contact with a Force India, putting him further back still. P14 and P15. What a ridiculous race!
The Penalty
Once again the FIA and Stewards make a shocking call. They took 20 laps or so to make a decision in Valencia and they did it again at Silverstone on Sunday. How can it possibly take so long to make a call as easy as that. Either you give the penalty or you don't, pretty obvious really. Then they decide to make the call 1 lap before the SC comes out. I'm sure there is no co-incidence there but it just shows what shocking luck we have. Everything appears to be conspiring against us at the moment. Nigel and co really need to get their acts together!
Massa
Another poor weekend for Felipe. I'm a big Massa fan, but I'm starting to believe that he's not got what we need. There are two scenarios I can think of. One is that in '08 and '09 he out-shone Kimi, driving brilliantly and was our best driver. The second is that Kimi was actually so poor that he made Massa look that way when really the car could be driven quicker. This year, there are also two scenarios. Either Massa isn't at the top of his game, or Alonso is just driving the pants off the car. I think the both of those points are true. Alonso is surely driving the wheels off the car, but Massa isn't driving well. Either that or he's under so much pressure from Fernando being quick that he's started driving erratically again.
While we have Fernando able to challenge at the front, Massa always seems to be down in P6 or something. I was monitoring the gap to the cars around both of our drivers. Alonso was always hounding the car infront, trying to move forward, attempting overtakes, while Felipe was unable to even get close enough for a look - and then he made the error and nearly put the car in a wall. I really don't want Massa to be replaced, but he's signed a new contact and I don't think Ferrari will put up with him being half a second or more behind Fernando at every race. We need to be picking up as many points as possible for the Constructors. We have Fernando with so much bad luck its un-real, he's been denied 2 further wins this season and a shot at P2/P3 in another 3 races. Then we have Felipe who simply seems to put himself further down for whatever reason.
Massa on Alonso
I was also surprised with the comments from Felipe after the race. Talking about the contact with Alonso that caused his puncture, he seemed to imply it was Alonso's fault. How he gets that idea I don't know, it was a poor move that could have put both cars out of the race and it was only Massa's doing. I think he was probably just frustrated with another poor result.
Alonso's Incredible Optimism
I read the comments from Alonso late last night and also his radio transcripts this morning and thought they were fantastic. "We will still win the titles". That really sums up Fernando's attitude. He knows the car is capable of winning, he knows he's on the top of his game, we just need this bad luck to be behind us and we can catch up, overtake and win the titles.
Can we still win?
Of course! We're only just over halfway through the season, fourty-odd points down on Hamilton (nearly 2 races of full points) but there is a long way to go. Just think, if we hadn't have had this bad luck we'd probably be sitting pretty at the top of the championship.
Bahrain - Win
Australia - Contact with Button, to the back of the field, still P4 at a track where you 'can't overtake'. Certain P2 or win.
Malaysia - Had no clutch for the entire race, utterly incredible drive. Fought right through the field, overtook Button and was in for a great result. Then his engine expired due to him having to change gear using the engine rather than the clutch. That was probably another certainly P2 or win.
China - Jump start. Penalty. Still P4. Certain P2 or win.
Spain - P2
Monaco - P6, despite starting from the back of the grid, at a track where it is nigh on impossible to overtake. Was 100% on for the win that weekend.
Turkey - P8
Montreal - P3. But a certain victory robbed from him because of awful backmarkers. Definite, and comfortable win here.
Valencia - P8. Fighting for victory, quickest man on track. SC comes out, Hamilton cheats, Alonso way down. Would have fought for victory here.
Britain - P14. Webber was pretty un-touchable. But, P3 was up for grabs after the poor start.
So, lets not say he would definitely have won the races where we think he would have. Lets say he would have taken P2 in Australia, P2 in Malaysia, P2 in China, P1 in Monaco, P1 in Montreal, P1 in Valencia and P3 in Britain.
That is another 83 points. Add that to Fernando's current points tally and you have him on 181 points, ahead of Hamilton in P2 on 145. Then include taking away points to those who would have finished lower down. This really shows how far Fernando should be ahead.
Obviously this is pretty un-realistic, but it definitely gives an insight into what the championship should look like. I think we could and certainly should have an additional 50 points to what we are currently on - realistically.
The fans at Silverstone
Mostly McLaren, Hamilton and Button fans but most were very good sports. I love the banter you can take and also dish out at a race weekend. Putting a Ferrari cap on a McLaren fan was a particular highlight, as well as draping a Ferrari flag over a group of them. All took it well, nobody annoyed, all good fun.
:-D
Before the weekend
Coming up to this weekend, I think the team were pretty optimistic. We took our new, Red Bull style exhaust system and diffuser to Valencia and our pace was very close to theirs. It turns out however, that it isn't the finished product. Further changes to the system were ready for Silverstone - slightly different positioning of the exhaust and various other small changes, as well as a new front wing, quite different from the previous one. Due to various events in Valencia, we ended up not having a chance to fight for victory, but at least we knew our pace was good and that we could challenge the Red Bulls.
So, with further updates I think we expected to be right up there, challenging for the win.
On Practice
In practice one we were testing the car with and without the F-Duct. I'm unsure of the reasoning behind this. I would have thought Silverstone was one of the tracks where it was vital with it having two very long straights. We ended up quite low down, but it was obvious we weren't showing our true pace.
I was watching Practice from a couple of different places and it was clear to see the Red Bull was extremely fast. The grip through Maggots and Beckets was just mind-blowing and out of Luffield they were on the power about 10m before anyone else.
Still, Alonso and Massa looked quick. This season I've come to realise that if Massa is quick, then we will be on the pace. Usually Alonso has 4 or 5 tenths over Massa.
Qualifying
To sum up Qualifying, Red Bull were utterly phenominal, Button failed badly, Alonso was brilliant and Massa was poor.
In Q2, Red Bull had a few tenths over Alonso, but nothing too big, Massa was only a few hundredths behind Alonso and so was Hamilton.
Both Ferrari's were first out in Q3 (finally we decide not to sit in the garage for half the session!), Alonso put in a stunning lap, improving by 3 tenths over his Q2 time. All was pretty rosy until Webber came out and went 7 tenths quicker, followed by Vettel who went quicker still. Alonso improved slightly on another lap but the Red Bulls were on a totally different planet. Alonso definitely got the most out of the car, not able to improve much on further runs showed us that. Massa, who held onto Alonso in Q2 was nowhere, way down in P7. Couldn't believe where his pace had gone. Still, P3 on the grid was a good result.
Our starts have been usually good, so I was optimistic of taking Webber down Hangar straight or even before.
Red Bulls secret system
I read an article saying Red Bull have managed to be so quick in Qualifying due to them supplying the diffuser with a constant air flow from the exhausts - even if the throttle isn't being applied. Essentially, this would give them far more downforce than the others in the slower corners. If this is true, then thats an incredibly intuitive system. How that works with the Standard ECU I don't know, but it might go some way to explaining those 8 or 9 tenths they have over everyone else. They certainly don't show that kind of pace in practice - which leads me to believe this system is certainly in place.
The Race
I was surprised when Alonso bogged down off the line, blaming his poor start on the clutch (as did Vettel). Hamilton got past, as did Rosberg and Kubica. Vettel got tagged by Hamilton and ended up with a puncture. I wonder when Vettel will get some good luck!
There was contact going through Maggots/Beckets with our two drivers. Alonso was forced slightly wide but Massa was amazingly optimistic, braking far too late and diving up the inside of Alonso, and making pretty heavy contact. This caused a puncture for Massa who ended up last apart from Vettel. That cost Massa any chance of a good race.
Webber and Hamilton went off into the distance, while Alonso was held up behind Kubica and Rosberg.
Schumacher pitted early from P7 (I think) to try and get past the cars infront. I was surprised to see him doing PB's on his in and outlaps - thats the Schumacher we know - but then he ran wide out of the arena section and cost himself a certain extra position. Ended up losing further positions and was stuck behind Kobayashi.
Alonso was then battling with Kubica, got a great run through Stowe, pulled to the right, out-braked him and went around the outside into Vale. Kubica ran him out of road and Alonso had to take to the run-off. He didn't give the position back.
Initially, I sat in my seat and said to Hayley he should give it back, but then watching the replay, he was already ahead going in and had no choice but to use the run-off otherwise there would have been contact between him and Kubica. It's always safer to give the place back, but Alonso wouldn't have been thinking that. Alonso then pulled a very large gap in the following couple of laps. The call came for Alonso to give the position back, but by that time Kubica had retired. Even if Alonso had given it back immediately, he would have been ahead 2 laps later, so a penalty was surely out of the question. Alonso got the penalty though, avoided the pits for one lap and then the Safety Car came out. Unable to serve the penalty during the SC, Alonso pitted straight after and was then at the back of the pack.
Webber was brilliant upfront. Faultless all race and he thoroughly deserved the win. Hamilton did a good job in P2, even though I hate to say it. Button was excellent, as was Rosberg.
Massa had a ridiculous moment out of Luffield, mounting the curb and half spinning, nearly into the pit wall, had to pit for tyres with the team obviously not ready, putting him to the back. Alonso then got a puncture from contact with a Force India, putting him further back still. P14 and P15. What a ridiculous race!
The Penalty
Once again the FIA and Stewards make a shocking call. They took 20 laps or so to make a decision in Valencia and they did it again at Silverstone on Sunday. How can it possibly take so long to make a call as easy as that. Either you give the penalty or you don't, pretty obvious really. Then they decide to make the call 1 lap before the SC comes out. I'm sure there is no co-incidence there but it just shows what shocking luck we have. Everything appears to be conspiring against us at the moment. Nigel and co really need to get their acts together!
Massa
Another poor weekend for Felipe. I'm a big Massa fan, but I'm starting to believe that he's not got what we need. There are two scenarios I can think of. One is that in '08 and '09 he out-shone Kimi, driving brilliantly and was our best driver. The second is that Kimi was actually so poor that he made Massa look that way when really the car could be driven quicker. This year, there are also two scenarios. Either Massa isn't at the top of his game, or Alonso is just driving the pants off the car. I think the both of those points are true. Alonso is surely driving the wheels off the car, but Massa isn't driving well. Either that or he's under so much pressure from Fernando being quick that he's started driving erratically again.
While we have Fernando able to challenge at the front, Massa always seems to be down in P6 or something. I was monitoring the gap to the cars around both of our drivers. Alonso was always hounding the car infront, trying to move forward, attempting overtakes, while Felipe was unable to even get close enough for a look - and then he made the error and nearly put the car in a wall. I really don't want Massa to be replaced, but he's signed a new contact and I don't think Ferrari will put up with him being half a second or more behind Fernando at every race. We need to be picking up as many points as possible for the Constructors. We have Fernando with so much bad luck its un-real, he's been denied 2 further wins this season and a shot at P2/P3 in another 3 races. Then we have Felipe who simply seems to put himself further down for whatever reason.
Massa on Alonso
I was also surprised with the comments from Felipe after the race. Talking about the contact with Alonso that caused his puncture, he seemed to imply it was Alonso's fault. How he gets that idea I don't know, it was a poor move that could have put both cars out of the race and it was only Massa's doing. I think he was probably just frustrated with another poor result.
Alonso's Incredible Optimism
I read the comments from Alonso late last night and also his radio transcripts this morning and thought they were fantastic. "We will still win the titles". That really sums up Fernando's attitude. He knows the car is capable of winning, he knows he's on the top of his game, we just need this bad luck to be behind us and we can catch up, overtake and win the titles.
Can we still win?
Of course! We're only just over halfway through the season, fourty-odd points down on Hamilton (nearly 2 races of full points) but there is a long way to go. Just think, if we hadn't have had this bad luck we'd probably be sitting pretty at the top of the championship.
Bahrain - Win
Australia - Contact with Button, to the back of the field, still P4 at a track where you 'can't overtake'. Certain P2 or win.
Malaysia - Had no clutch for the entire race, utterly incredible drive. Fought right through the field, overtook Button and was in for a great result. Then his engine expired due to him having to change gear using the engine rather than the clutch. That was probably another certainly P2 or win.
China - Jump start. Penalty. Still P4. Certain P2 or win.
Spain - P2
Monaco - P6, despite starting from the back of the grid, at a track where it is nigh on impossible to overtake. Was 100% on for the win that weekend.
Turkey - P8
Montreal - P3. But a certain victory robbed from him because of awful backmarkers. Definite, and comfortable win here.
Valencia - P8. Fighting for victory, quickest man on track. SC comes out, Hamilton cheats, Alonso way down. Would have fought for victory here.
Britain - P14. Webber was pretty un-touchable. But, P3 was up for grabs after the poor start.
So, lets not say he would definitely have won the races where we think he would have. Lets say he would have taken P2 in Australia, P2 in Malaysia, P2 in China, P1 in Monaco, P1 in Montreal, P1 in Valencia and P3 in Britain.
That is another 83 points. Add that to Fernando's current points tally and you have him on 181 points, ahead of Hamilton in P2 on 145. Then include taking away points to those who would have finished lower down. This really shows how far Fernando should be ahead.
Obviously this is pretty un-realistic, but it definitely gives an insight into what the championship should look like. I think we could and certainly should have an additional 50 points to what we are currently on - realistically.
The fans at Silverstone
Mostly McLaren, Hamilton and Button fans but most were very good sports. I love the banter you can take and also dish out at a race weekend. Putting a Ferrari cap on a McLaren fan was a particular highlight, as well as draping a Ferrari flag over a group of them. All took it well, nobody annoyed, all good fun.
:-D