F-1 Season predictions

[ric baribeault]

he's a fast boob. No fear and no brains are hardly mutually exclusive.....in fact, usually just the opposite. also i think formally fast-matt is more appropriate until you put your butt back in a car

[Cole Morgan]

He's a boob. He can drive - but he and Webber don't have half a brain between them.

Fast Freddie for President......

You only like Alonso because he is the President of the whiners club. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure you're the VP Matthew...

At least Vettel and Webber didn't need anyone to pullover so that they could win this year.

Lets not forget the points gained with the "Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm that you understand this message?" stunt that Ferrari pulled.

The red team are all a bunch of crooks and whiners.

[Tom Valet]

I wonder if Vettel would cope in say a Force India or Virgin car. He'd be back in 18th I suspect.

My 2 bobs worth.

LOL, right, and Webber would still be winning races? It took Webber eight years to win his first GP race and eight years to get his first pole. If he was such a talent why didnt he finish up front when he was in a less competitive car?

[Charles Warner]

If he was such a talent why didnt he finish up front when he was in a less competitive car?

Hmmmm . . . .

First race - Australia 2002 - finished 5th in a Minardi.

[Tom Valet]

Hmmmm . . . .

First race - Australia 2002 - finished 5th in a Minardi.

Yes that is impressive, there were only 8 finishers with 14 drivers retired and he finished 2 laps down.

My only point is that if anyone is dependent on superior equipment for success it's not Vettel, its Webber. Vettel had a pole and a win in his first full season (driving for what was the former Minardi team BTW). Webber had zero poles, zero wins and 2 podiums in his first 8 years.

[Jnovak]

I do not think that there is any question that Vettel is a major talent. However this does not take anything away from Webber's accomplishments this year at all. More wins & points than Vettel. That is what it is all about.

I think that Webber has the best chance to be WDC this year.

Thanks ... Jay Novak

[Ted Idlof]

Whiting says they're going ahead even though serious doubts remain about the suitability (curing) of the asphalt. Bridgestone shrugs and says, "wait and see".

I'm wondering how many red flags we'll see for asphalt or other track problems at Korea. Would 5 or 6 be too low?

[Ted Idlof]

I'd have to put my money on Webber. He's in the driver's seat unless Vettel sabotages him. Seabass is more likely to hurt before he helps, so if Vettel has a choice, Webb will have to not only beat Fred but dodge a bullet from his teammate. Cynical? yeah, you bet; I have no choice.

Of course this is based entirely on Fred's run of points coming to a screeching halt or at least a huge slowdown. Fate, or Bernie or his engines could all cause that to happen.

Macca? Naw, they're out of tricks. Nice try guys.

So, we're down to 3 with 2 to go. What other opinions are rattling around in the peanut gallery?

[Stan Clayton]

I'm sticking with my picks in post 154.

Webber = WDC.

[dereklola]

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns22764.html

[Cole Morgan]

I said it all year. VETTEL VETTEL VETTEL!!!!! That kid is amazing.

[Evl]

Woohoo! What a great race/season!

[Jnovak]

Woohoo! What a great race/season!

What an amazing race seaon & Vettel certainly proved he is the champion!

Jay Novak

[KevinFirlein]

Alonso couldnt get it done when he started +8.......life is good.

[mmi16]

Alonso couldnt get it done when he started +8.......life is good.

FA was 40 laps behind Petrov and couldn't figure a way by....then has the gall to say he should have moved over for him....if Petrov had and FA had become WDC it would have been the least deserving WDC - EVER!

Congrats Seb!

[KevinFirlein]

hey I am just waiting for those who put Hamilton on blast for pissing away 07 and nearly 08 to admit that Alonso did the exact same thing.( *cough* Matt * cough*)

Had to laugh when I read Alonso complain Petrov raced him to aggressively. You got to be kidding . The camera was basically on then the entire 2nd part of the race and I am not sure Alonso ever had a look at him, though he ( Alonso) did manage to drive clean off the road 4 times.

Also noticed in parc ferme , Hamilton had congrats for Seb , Button had congrats for Seb while his Highness just walked on past and said nothing.

I am still laughing at the outcome.

[Daryl DeArman]

I was fingers crossed that Hammy would have pulled it off some how....since that didn't happen I am SO thrilled that it was anybody but Alonso. Can't stand the tool. Also happy that one of the most overrated drivers in F1 (MS if it wasn't obvious) was outperformed by his teammate time and time again.

[VehDyn]

Great season. Heres to hoping Kubica and Rosberg get good cars next year and get their chance to show what drivers they really are.

[racer27]

Great season, boring race (In terms of racing/passsing). After the Ferrari Monza tactics, I really wanted anyone to win but Fernando. I did not think Vettel was going to do it. The Red Bulls were fastest cars all season, should never of been this close. I figured it would come down to a RedBulls 1-2 in this race, wiht Alanso missing out due to Rosburg, Hamiliton, Kubica, Button comming in between.

Most impressive drivers this season:
Rosburg - all year beating Schumacher
Kubica
Sutil at begining but he lost it towards end

[Evl]

Great season. Heres to hoping Kubica and Rosberg get good cars next year and get their chance to show what drivers they really are.

Rossberg had exactly the right car this year to show what kind of driver he really is. He was really cool with the press at the start of the year: "sure, MS can have the #1 (red bar) car"... people said he should stand up to MS, but then he ust put his nose down and drove.

Here's hoping that Kubica gets a winning car soon.

[iamuwere]

Very exciting championship. I just can't stand the stupid "#1" gesture that SB gives after every qualifying. Really just comes off as extra-dorky.

[Frank C]

Vettel was not my favorite, but he won the championship by winning the race. For dorky, consider this picture from Brazil!
http://en.espnf1.com/PICTURES/CMS/7500/7560.jpg

- Frank C

[flat broke]

An insane amount of money was spent on this track. Four drivers had a realistic shot at the world title. Yet on race day, the track left little or no opportunity to overtake?

Yes, SB put his car on pole. His team got HIM in the pits at the perfect time and out quickly enough to put Kubica between himself and Hamilton. Absolutely deserved the win.

But how can they continue to spend all that money on tracks where passing is near impossible? Why have those long straights if they are going to include mickey mouse chicanes that discourage drafting/outbraking? The quickest lap seemed to encourage driving completely off the track?

Granted it was an exciting conclusion to the season but that was dispite, not because of the track.

Yes the track is probably the greatest "spectacle" in motorsport. But for all the wrong reasons.

[Hardingfv32]

The guys building these tracks know exactly what they getting or designing for. Their criteria just does not match your requirements. I am sure it satisfied the owner of the track.

I like Pirelli's race tire idea: They want to provide a tire that they KNOW will cause serious grip and/or wear trouble. Some of the best races this year when there was a CHANGING damp track condition or the tires provided were not completely suitable for the track.

Is Pirelli's idea to contrived for the purist out there?

Would wetting the track be farther out of line?

Brian

[Brad Smith]

I've said it before and stick to it. Alonso is the best. Some people don't like his personality, but who cares, winners are not usually that likeable. He is a multiple GP winner this year in not the best car and made one mistake all year, in Monaco practise. He then stormed the race passing people left and right. He was royally screwed in Valencia by Hamilton and the safety car and probably would have been 2nd or 3rd there and would have won the WDC with the rest of the season being the same. But so what. He was defending Ferrari loyally after the race even though he knew he had been defeated by the teams' strategy. He tried like hell to pass Petrov, nearly hit him once under braking and was trying different lines to get an advantage. The Renault was 8kmh faster in the speed traps according to the TV data, so he could never get close enough to really outbrake him. Webber couldn't get by in the best car either, so that just confirms it. The track layout and the wake characteristics of F1 cars worked against him and Webber.
That said, Vettel was just as deserving and is a good champion; after all, he had the best car. Ferrari should be offering Adrian Newey a billion dollars to work for them!

[Daryl DeArman]

Alonso is the best. He is a multiple GP winner this year in not the best car and made one mistake all year, in Monaco practise.

I guess ones' biases can certainly cloud their perception. Mine included of course.

Bottom line is Alonso wasn't hungry enough. He was waiting for it to come to him. When it was getting to crunch time and he didn't force the issue, it's all on him. "S... or get off the pot" It wasn't like doing nothing was going to ensure him the Championship.

I can understand waiting until a few laps from the end, just to see if something happened to Vettel...especially with Hamilton chasing and being in a must win situation. However, once it was apparent that those chances were slim it was up to Alonso to get after it. Crashing out would have cost him the Championship but so did sitting there with his thumb up his arse waiting for Petrov to move over.

Heck, Paul Tracy would have taken no more than 2 laps to get around Petrov or crashed them both out trying. At least, he would have got after it, which Alonso clearly can't.

[Steve Demeter]

I think the idea of making tires that either have to be managed or changed frequently is a great way to put some more excitement back into F!.

Pirelli is on the right track.

Now using a fire hose on the track.....

[mmi16]

The guys building these tracks know exactly what they getting or designing for. Their criteria just does not match your requirements. I am sure it satisfied the owner of the track.

I like Pirelli's race tire idea: They want to provide a tire that they KNOW will cause serious grip and/or wear trouble. Some of the best races this year when there was a CHANGING damp track condition or the tires provided were not completely suitable for the track.

Is Pirelli's idea to contrived for the purist out there?

Would wetting the track be farther out of line?

Brian

How many times this year did we hear the comment 'The Option tires will only last 5 laps (or some other very small number), only to see one or more drivers make them last almost the entire race distance.

I want to watch on track racing...not contrived motorized entertainment.

[racer27]

Want to increade pssing:
Lengthen brake zones. Do this by going with harder tire, one that dies not produce as many marbles off line. If they have a saftey car, vacume/sweep up marbles in select corners. Use less exocitc brake materials.


Get rid of all the wake causing aero stuff that does not allow you to follow

[VehDyn]

I think the idea of making tires that either have to be managed or changed frequently is a great way to put some more excitement back into F!.

Pirelli is on the right track.

Now using a fire hose on the track.....

I wonder if that plays in the hand of a guy like Button. He has shown in several races this year that he may not have the same pace on a given lap, but he is so smooth that he keeps his tires under him and has one less stop. Just like Sunday where he went like 38 o 39 laps on the option tire.

[Rick Kirchner]

Too bad they got rid of refueling - because the one vs two stop strategy really plays to Button. I'd like to see them get rid of the mandatory option tire change. Let someone gamble on lap time degradation vs a stop.

They guys that should know (F1 engineers quoted in Racecar Engineering) have been saying that aero has little to do with the current no-passing situation. Nobody passes where aero has the biggest influence unless they have a much bigger head of steam coming off the corner - it has to do with 3 things:
1) too much mechanical grip - high speeds even in slow corners reduces margin
2) carbon brakes - when you out-brake someone by 10% and it amounts to less than half a car length then you need less brakes - again, to give more margin
3) sequential paddle shifters - removes the possibility of missed gears, blown engines, and other humanly mistakes

These guys are pros - given everything relatively equal they make damn few mistakes - and the cars are so well designed and built there are few failures (from the "more cars at the end of the show makes a better show" camp)

I'm with Daryl - surprised that not a single one of the contenders came back with just the steering wheel in his hand. Would have been different I'm sure if Kobayashi was one of the four!

[Jnovak]

Too bad they got rid of refueling - because the one vs two stop strategy really plays to Button. I'd like to see them get rid of the mandatory option tire change. Let someone gamble on lap time degradation vs a stop.

They guys that should know (F1 engineers quoted in Racecar Engineering) have been saying that aero has little to do with the current no-passing situation. Nobody passes where aero has the biggest influence unless they have a much bigger head of steam coming off the corner - it has to do with 3 things:
1) too much mechanical grip - high speeds even in slow corners reduces margin
2) carbon brakes - when you out-brake someone by 10% and it amounts to less than half a car length then you need less brakes - again, to give more margin
3) sequential paddle shifters - removes the possibility of missed gears, blown engines, and other humanly mistakes

These guys are pros - given everything relatively equal they make damn few mistakes - and the cars are so well designed and built there are few failures (from the "more cars at the end of the show makes a better show" camp)

I'm with Daryl - surprised that not a single one of the contenders came back with just the steering wheel in his hand. Would have been different I'm sure if Kobayashi was one of the four!

The reason the braking zones are so short is the AERO. The F1 car are decelerating at between 5 & 6 g's from top speeds. That mean that there is little didtance in which to make an overtakeing move.

Reduce the max grip to 2 g's & all bets are off. Little aero Df, Big HP & lots of machanical grip is the way to go.

Thanks ... Jay Novak

[Dick R.]

What level of cornering, braking, and forward acceleration G's are these cars capable of in wet but not hydroplaning conditions on full rains or intermediates? I assume aero has a huge influence on the wet grip also.

Also, how "sticky" are the dry tires compared to typical club racer tires?

Dick

[racer27]

In racing, with near equal cars you pass when:

1. Car in front makes mistake (Does not happen often at this level, in particulair with sequential shifters)

2. You get out braked by car behind (very difficult to do because of the short braking zones)

To pass in either senerio, you need to be following closely, and we hear time and time again that you can't follow closley thru corners (aero wash) for driver to capitialize on a small mistake or outbrake.

They can have committie after committie look at this, it still boils down to being able to allow cars to follow closely. Only then will you get more racing action.