SPOILERS: Chinese GP

[legion]

Good job to Lewis for winning. I still don't think the McLaren is as fast as the Red Bull, but the combination of Webber's poor qualifying and Vettle's radio problems (and an apparent mechanical problem with his car) handed him the win. That's not to say that Hamilton didn't work hard, as he had to make a LOT of passes to win. Still, it looked like he was going to be a DNF before the race even started. McLaren's mechanics did a great job getting the car back together ON THE GRID.

Speaking of passes, Webber was amazing. Starting 18th, finishing 3rd, KERS broken. Amazing drive.

And what would one of my posts about F1 be without discussing Ferrari favoritism? Alonso, caught on camera illegally using the DRS outside of the DRS zone. No penalty.

[imcarthur]

It was a very entertaining race & a solid win by Ham. And as you said, Weber certainly proved that he can drive.

Did you notice all of the rubber marbles off the line? Those Pirellis are really shedding - as per ordered.

Ian

[nostatic]

Awesome race. Webber certainly manned up. He could have been a pouty little ponce but instead he put his head down and drove the best race of anyone on the grid.

[legion]

One more thing. Aside from Hamilton's great driving (though not as good as Webber's), he won because he had excellent tire strategy...and that started in qualifying.

I think Red Bull will be on-board with a similar strategy next race, and most other teams the race after that.

It's been interesting watching tire strategy evolve over the past two years. Bridgestones degraded very slowly, but teams would generally change tires when they refueled because there was no time penalty for doing so. Last season, Button proved that doing long stints on tires was preferable to spending time in the pits. This season, with the Pirrelli's degrading very quickly and the performance drop-off being very sudden, we are back to keeping the tires in their optimal sweet-spot being preferable. And having enough tires to make that happen starts in qualifying.

[nostatic]

It also is putting a lot more pressure on the drivers. It is reinforcing the "racing is tire management" philosophy.

[legion]

Interesting:

Conclusions From The Chinese GP | Planet F1 | Formula One | Features | Race Features...

All credit to the newbies for delivering precisely what was asked of them. Their tyres are perfect because their perfection has a distinct limit which is then immediately followed by a sharp drop-off. The result is wonderfully varied racing.

The only downside is a potential exploitation made particular obvious by the details of Mark Webber's charge from 18th to 3rd, which highlighted how little a driver can lose from a disastrous qualifying session so long as he has a fast car and has kept plenty of new tyres in reserve. Having only used the standard number in Friday's practice sessions and then just one set of prime tyres in Qualy One, the Aussie was able to blitz through the field on Sunday propelled by three different brand new set of options. Had the race carried on for a couple more laps, he might even have won.

Tellingly, the majority of Webber's passes were not made in the DRS zone but in other areas of the track where his fresh rubber offered such a grippy advantage. Fresh tyres are the current king of 2011 and a host of teams - but particularly Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes - must all now be wondering whether they would be better off not running in Qualy Three in order to keep back another set of tyres, or sets, for Sunday's race. The gain achieved from fresh tyres currently far exceeds grid position.

That type of exploitation was also half the story of Hamilton's weekend, with the Englishman only making one run for pole position in Qualy Three so that he had one more set of new tyres for the race than either Vettel or Button. In the final reckoning, that strategy was probably a decisive factor in his win.

Whether such a loophole is good for F1 is debatable. It certainly isn't good for Saturday's spectacle. One topic that ought at least to be discussed during F1's upcoming three-week sabbatical is whether an extra set of option tyres should be set aside for the ten cars that make it through to the final round of qualifying. Otherwise, it could literally become a non-event

[Hawktel]

I think qualifying should be a none event compared to the race.

[jyl]

KERS, DRS, and Pirellis are definitely amping up the action, in no small part because the teams are struggling to figure out the options and technology. Granted that it feels a touch artificial, but a race as cool as this one is reward enough. Hats off to Webber, hell of a bloke.

FYI I subscribed to the Joe Saward e-zine, and it is not bad - worth the cost which isn't that much.

[MFAFF]

Originally Posted by legion

And what would one of my posts about F1 be without discussing Ferrari favoritism? Alonso, caught on camera illegally using the DRS outside of the DRS zone. No penalty.

Not sure about that....as I understand it the FIA control the software that enables/ disables the DRS on the car at each track and during the race...

So Alonso was jabbing the button.. but the FIA actually control it being activated.. if their stuff F's up should the driver be penalised?
We don't know who else is jabbing that button and when do we.. it might just be FA.. or they are all doing it..

Anyway.. great race for Lewis and Webber.
Lewis is becoming a better driver with each race and with his 'racing' skills and aggression looks more at ease with each race.

Hats of to Webber for getting such a good result... he might not have gone much better had he started higher up...

[MotoSook]

But did you catch Webber stating how good it was that Lewis won and not his teammate "again?" Webber hates that Vettel is younger and faster!

Webber is still an average driver in a great car...and his tires made his drive, not necessarily his talent. The RB cars with fresh tires are 1.0 second faster than the field as Vettel proved in qualifying. In the race that equates to what 3-4 seconds?

[David]

Originally Posted by legion

And what would one of my posts about F1 be without discussing Ferrari favoritism? Alonso, caught on camera illegally using the DRS outside of the DRS zone. No penalty.

Not to mention Massa crossing the blend line on pit exit.

[Scott Watkins]

Button's snafu was the highlight of the race

Button: Wrong switch, wrong pitbox | Planet F1 | Formula One News

[nostatic]

Personally I don't understand the DRS limitation. If you put it on the car, why not leave it up to the driver as to where/when to use it?

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by legion

And what would one of my posts about F1 be without discussing Ferrari favoritism? Alonso, caught on camera illegally using the DRS outside of the DRS zone. No penalty.

That was explained somewhere (BBC maybe?) as a glitch, where the Ferrari never got the signal to enable DRS on the straight that lap and got it a few corners later, where it triggered. Since no advantage was gained, in fact Alonso lost out a bit, no penalties. Also I think he overtook schumi a few laps later, not on that lap where the DRS opened by mistake.

I got nothing for Massa's pit exit infraction though....

Good to see someone beat Vettel, and what a drive by Weber. Still, this tire thing makes it really hard to figure out what's what at times, Weber was still 17th or something 1/3 thru the event and somehow he ends up 3rd ? Methink Pirelli might have gone too far down the tire lottery path.

PS: Found it:

A glitch within the system has been blamed as the reason why Fernando Alonso's DRS was used outside of the designated area during the Chinese Grand Prix.

TV footage showed Alonso's rear wing opening when he was running behind Michael Schumacher coming out of the hairpin mid-way through the race, with the area where the system could be used being found on the back straight prior to the hairpin itself.

According to the BBC, an error with the system meant the Spaniard's DRS didn't start working until 300m before the end of the back straight on the lap where the incident took place, with the DRS zone having started 750m before the hairpin turn.

On exiting the corner, the system then became available again for a short period of time although Alonso wasn't able to gain any advantage in his fight for position.

No penalty was handed out but the FIA is now set to investigate the cause of the error to ensure there is no repeat. The DRS device is enabled for a driver to use by the governing body when a car is within the DRS zone and within a second of the car in front.

China marked the second race in a row where Alonso's DRS has had an issue, with the system having stopped working in Malaysia a week earlier.

[Scott Watkins]

FIA investigating Alonso's DRS | Planet F1 | Formula One News

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by legion

..........snip............And what would one of my posts about F1 be without discussing Ferrari favoritism? Alonso, caught on camera illegally using the DRS outside of the DRS zone. No penalty.

Why no penalty for Button's errant pit encroachment that impeded Vettel's stop?

[sammyg2]

Ah yes, .............

the close racing, the tire degradation by design, the outcome of races decided by pit strategy and luck of the draw, all the reasons why I love NASCAR so much.

Hoppefully next year F1 cars will be equipped with big heavy bumpers so the drivers can bang around on the track without wrecking. And that whole "open wheel" thing needs to go away, not practical.

After all, rubbin is racin ..............

[MattKellett]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

Why no penalty for Button's errant pit encroachment that impeded Vettel's stop?

Maybe there's no rule about it, but perhaps by next year there will!!

It's one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen happen in a F1 race, that's for sure. At least he didn't stop and Red Bull try and put on tyres, that would have been interesting.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Scott Watkins

Button's snafu was the highlight of the race

Button: Wrong switch, wrong pitbox | Planet F1 | Formula One News

That was a good one.

Originally Posted by nostatic

Personally I don't understand the DRS limitation. If you put it on the car, why not leave it up to the driver as to where/when to use it?

The way I see it is that it is not something that is used equally between all cars like KERS (if they have it and it works). It does give the driver behind an advantage. It's all for the show, I'm sure. I haven't heard, but the drivers and teams must hate it.

I know I would. If I've worked my way past you I'll be damned if I want to give you something extra to pass me. I know, I get my chance at it if you do pass me, but what is this, a merry go round?

[legion]

Re: DRS

I get it. Many a race has been ruined by a single car holding up most of the grid behind it. The fast cars can't get ahead to duke it out with the other fast cars.

If the two cars really do have a differential in speed, the faster car now has an opportunity to get by. If two cars are pretty evenly matched, they should be passing each other lap after lap. We haven't seen that yet.

I do like the way Hamilton used DRS to pass Vettle and win the race. Hold on, let me explain before you correct me. Hamilton knew that just the existence of DRS and a "DRS zone" on the track had built an expectation by Vettle on when and where he would be attacked. Hamilton expertly used this expectation to attack Vettle where he least expected it and where he was most comfortable. Had DRS not existed, Vettle would have vigorously defended the whole lap and Hamilton would have probably ended up in second. Lesson learned for Vettle.