Vettel
 

So, I guess we now know that Seb doesn't walk on water, now don't we? Ricciardo is handing him his a$$ this year. The Red Bull must have been a helluva car the past 4 years for Seb to have made it look so easy. Not being a Seb fan, this new driver order makes me very happy :)

Because you're not a Vettel fan, you obviously don't know that vettel always starts the season slowly.
Only time he lead the WDC points in his first championship was after the last race.
No one finishes the season like Vettel, so I would right him off just yet.

BTW: Red Bull could have had Hulk, Kimi, or almost any other driver (perhaps even Alonso), so Richardo was chosen because RB thought he was the best available.
Why are you surprise to see him do well?

I don't think he's surprised by the result! :D

Ever since my prediction that Lew was going to fall on his face when he went over to Merc, it's obvious to me that I know nothing about F1 anymore...
Therefore, my hat is off to Daniel Ricciardo, and Lew (and Massa) for their early successes this season.

Well, Kimi turned them down, so I guess he wasn't available. I don't think Alonso was ever a possibility.

Ricciardo is a good value, which is probably more to the point. He only costs something near a tenth of what Alonso does.

I've always said tha Vettel would not do as well in a car not suited to him. Trust that Red Bull will give him the car he needs in pretty short order. Marko will hold his breath and stomp his feet until it is so.

JR

I'm a fan of Vettel because he has a respect for the history of F1.

At one of the later races last year, during the cool down lap of a race he had just won, he said something over the radio to his crew--something along the lines of "We have to cherish these days, because there's no guarantee they will be here tomorrow." For a guy who had just won his 4th championship in a row, I thought that was a surprisingly humble thing to say.

As much of a fan that I am of his, I'm glad he isn't dominating this year as he has done in the past. It's good to see him have to work and to worry a bit.

DR is proving to be one helluva racer, that is clear. And I don't think anyone will be calling him "The Finger" either.

if vettel sucked so badly, than why didnt webber eat him up? webber might not have been a dogfighter, but he was/is certainly faster than riccardo.

the simple fact of the matter is this: riccardo has everything to prove, vettel doesn't.

You say this as if Riccardo is trailing Vettel in quali. If not for the DQ then who would be leading RBR in points? Not saying that Vettel sucks. Rather, Daniel is proving to be a very skilled race driver.

I noticed the body language in the post-quali briefing. Seb is a small guy, but he looked really small. Seb mentioned about the dry/wet gap, so it was kind of funny when Lewis answered the question about the forecast for race day by saying, "I was told it is going to be a good day tomorrow – I don’t know if it’s going to be the same for you guys?" with a sly smile. Hope that does not come to bite him in the rear.

You know this how? They never raced head to head in equal equipment on a long term basis.

JR

Not that it really matters in this conversation but "You know this how?"

Well, he doesn't drive for them, so it's likely he didn't accept their offer....

JR

Or they made him (Kimi) an offer commensurate to his perceived abilities and while he was thinking they (RB) opted for Danny. I really didn't read anything about Kimi turning anything down. My guess is that Kimi was holding out for a better offer and RB moved without him.

I read something in the past that offered some details of what he was supposed to get and it was in line with Vettel's contract. What is being reported as his salary this year is, I think, not entirely accurate.

Then, Kimi does have a little money already and may have been just as interested in "less PR bull****" so the final dollar figure might not have been the deciding factor. It could also be his driving style and how that might have not meshed with a car he knew was going to be tailored to Vettel.

JR

The most common criticism of Vettel was that he was only successful because of a great car. (Of course, Webber had a car from the same team, so that only goes so far.) However, my understanding is that Vettel has been able to adapt his driving style to optimize the needs of the car. That's a very different thing than having a car that suits a particular driving style. If indeed that's the case, then Newey and team have been able to work well with Vettel over the years because he methodically figures out what the car needs and can adapt to make the best use of the car. It isn't just because Vettel happens to be driving the best car in the field at this particular point in time. It will be very interesting to see if Vettel can un-learn and adapt and, if so, how long it takes. Kudos to Ricciardo so far, but we're still in the early days of this whole new platform that requires different technology and different driving techniques.

If you look back at Vettel's worst season ever (2008) you'll see what Seb was capable of at the ripe old age of 19.
For the first half of the season, Sebastien Bourdais was handing Vettel his *ss and then (half way through the season) STR built a car suited to Vettel's style. Not only did he finish all but one race in the remaining season but in doing so, he scored points in all but 2, he won his first GP and single-handedly out scoured the entire Red Bull team. That team had Adrian Newey designing and Webber and Coulthard driving.

Since his departure from STR, they haven't come close to the Vettel season.

There is no way of telling what this season has in store for any one competitor but to gauge 4 time world champion, Sebastien Vettel's driving skill on these few races is silly in the extreme.

Nice pass by Riccardo on Vettel., who was a bit of a pr*ck there.

"Tough luck". Yeah, once again he shows his true colors. I wonder when Horner will grow a pair and lead the team...

JR

Regardless of the dynamics between Vettel and Riccardo, non-Merc teams are going to have a near impossible task in bridging the gap in engine efficiency and max power. The design to which Mercedes committed itself is a brilliant interpretation of the rules that other manufacturers likely cannot adapt to mid-season. Its a question of basic architecture that Merc got more right than Renault and Ferrari.

If the estimates of 12 mph difference in straight line speed with similar drag are accurate, its going to be a long season for anyone not running the Merc power plant. The Mercedes works team will make improvements to mechanical grip and aero at about the same pace as everyone but possibly Red Bull, who have the A. Newey card. I just don't think that's enough to beat Mercedes, given the advantage that will likely exist for more than half the season.

Here's a pretty good explanation of Mercedes genius:

Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website