Brazilian GP

[herr_oberst]

Now THAT was a qualifying session. Rain, drying track, unexpected results at the front!!

Totally looking forward to the race; it reminds me a of few years ago when Vettel suddenly appeared at the sharp end of the grid.

[nostatic]

Awesome stuff. I'm going to watch it again later tonight.

[TheMentat]

That was a very well deserved pole too...

[Joeaksa]

Nice to see Williams finally back out front, if even just for a while.

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Awesome stuff. I'm going to watch it again later tonight.

You do realize that it will end the same right?

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Nice to see Williams finally back out front, if even just for a while.

Until turn 1, only. But congrats on a great qualifying, regardless.

[URY914]

And the Red Bulls check out....

[Noah930]

Alonso leads by 8 points. So he can afford to finish 2nd next week and still win the title. If he finishes lower than that, then it depends...

[legion]

Red Bull has the best car this year, just like Braun had the best last year. Technology has trumped driver ability for the second year in a row. That's not to say the Weber and Vettle aren't good drivers, they just aren't the best. Just like Button and Barichello weren't the best drivers last year.

What I've learned is that Alonso and Hamilton are serious competitors in second-rate cars. If this were a spec series, all championship battles would be between them. (Or a three-way with Raikonnen if he was still around.)

I'm going to regret saying this, but I would almost prefer to see Alonso win the WDC.

If I were Weber, I'd be looking for a new ride next year...

[Henry Schmidt]

Red Bull won the championship with style. They played by the rules (no team orders) and I hope they are rewarded for good sportsmanship as well as building a great car.
Next week, when Fred's engine explodes (wishful thinking) we can watch Vettlel and Webber battle it out with the best driver in F1 (Vettlel) going home with the gold.

[DaveE]

What race was it that Vettel has some mysterious engine trouble that let Weber past, then Vettel mysteriously set the fastest lap a few laps later?

[s_wilwerding]

I agree that Red Bull has the best cars this year, and that's why Webber is up there - if he moves to another team, he'd better hope they have a better car, because he is definitely not the top driver. I'd be happy to see Alonso take it this year - Webber been such a whiny little b**ch - people don't move over for me, my teammate should let me by, etc. Champions drive, pass, and win, they don't whine. I'd love to see Vettel take the title, but that's probably not in the cards.

[Henry Schmidt]

I don't remember that one but you are probably right. My problem is I remember the last race and the ones that got away. I do remember Vettel and Webber in a bundle after racing for the lead.
I remember Vettels drive through penalty from first in Hungary.
I also remember a freak brake rotor explotion while Vettel was running away.
Reb Bull dominated the track all year and for them to lose the DC seems out of sorts. I watch F1 because I want to see the best perform at the top of their game.
It's hard for me to say Fred was the cream of the crop.

[Noah930]

I understand your sentiment as Alonso and the Ferrari have not nearly been as dominant season-long as the Red Bulls. RBR have been fast all year.

But Alonso has been able to take a car that hasn't been the fastest, and brought it back to championship contention. It's possibly the best-rounded car out on the field, now. That's part of being a champion, too--developing something the engineers didn't get right the first time, and making the proverbial silk purse out of the sow's ear. He won 3 out of 4 recently (now 3 out of the last 5, which is impressive). He never lost that fighting spirit, even when the championship seemed far out of his grasp about 6 races ago. And his on track performance shows how he can really drive the car better than the average F1 driver. Like Hamilton can and Vettel can, too.

In the end, the driver's championship goes to the guy who amasses the most number of points throughout the season. And (barring Germany--depends how you feel about team orders), if FA is that guy, he's the champion.

[Henry Schmidt]

I would agree with most of your statement.
I am especially impressed by the way Fred won in Korea. The way he set up that Ferrari to dominate the rest of the field.
There was no way Vettel /Red Bull could have surpassed that excellent development work.

Red Bull could have put Webber within ONE point of Fred but chose to let their drivers race to the end. Bravo!

[Henry Schmidt]

One more thought:

Originally Posted by Noah930

snip... And his on track performance shows how he can really drive the car better than the average F1 driver. Like Hamilton can and Vettel can, too.
...snip...

If track performance is the key, Massa at least in Germany, deserves to be on that list.
Wouldn't it be sad if Massa's last (we never know) F1 victory was stolen so that
Fred could finish 3rd in the WDC.

[LeRoux Strydom]

So you don't like Alonso? (BTW, who's Fred? )

The WDC goes to the most consistent driver, who manages to make points in every race. The one-day wonders who cannot hold a car together for a race or make rookie driver errors and crashes out, should not be rewarded with the WDC.

If Alonso wins the WDC this year, it will be richly deserved.

I think RBR threw away the WDC because they are not a true team - Webber should have been allowed to win in Brazil to give RBR a better chance at securing the WDC in addition to the constructor's championship. They blew it.

[Zeke]

Fred is an Americanism for Fernando. You should have caught that.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by LeRoux Strydom

[COLOR="Green"]
I think RBR threw away the WDC because they are not a true team - Webber should have been allowed to win in Brazil to give RBR a better chance at securing the WDC in addition to the constructor's championship. They blew it.

RBR has rallied behind Seb since day one. Webber was hired as his number two. RBR's stubborn allegiance to Seb has cost Webber a championship, but RBR still reaps the massive rewards of a constructors championship.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by LeRoux Strydom

So you don't like Alonso? (BTW, who's Fred? )

The WDC goes to the most consistent driver, who manages to make points in every race. The one-day wonders who cannot hold a car together for a race or make rookie driver errors and crashes out, should not be rewarded with the WDC.

If Alonso wins the WDC this year, it will be richly deserved.

I think RBR threw away the WDC because they are not a true team - Webber should have been allowed to win in Brazil to give RBR a better chance at securing the WDC in addition to the constructor's championship. They blew it.

I find it awkward discussing F1 with a person who equates team work with breaking the rules. We can agree to disagree on that. I would call it a matter of integrity.

No I don't think very highly of a driver who cried because his rookie team mate thrashed him on the track. I don't think much of a driver who would blackmail his team principle to further his career. I think he (Alonso) is a cry baby. He most likely will win the WDC but if Vettel wins the last race and Fred finishes 5th Vettel will be the well deserved WDC. We saw this same scenario in Brazil a few years back when Massa missed the WDC because Timo couldn't hold his line.
If the Red Bull is on form, they will run 1 & 2 . If Webber wins, with Vettel second Webber is the WDC.