Grand Prix 2011 Indian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Is the season over yet?

Unfortunately the answer is no as the F1 circus rumbles onto India for a brand new track, but after problems with the construction of the track, there is a degree of hesitation as not everyone is overjoyed about the prospect of a race there at the current moment in time. Added to the fact that it is another Tilke track, many fans aren't optimistic for an exciting race, but we've been proven wrong before. After all, we thought 2011 would be a close championship!!

Red Bull reasserted itself as the best car on the track after a dominant win in Korea with Vettel taking yet another win as he continues to rewrite the record books in the same way as Schumacher used to, just not as controversially as the elder German. Mark Webber had his strongest races recently pushing Hamilton very hard for second place, perhaps showing that he still has it for next season.

Hamilton put a long list of poor races behind to finish second in Korea after taking his first pole position of the season and it turned out after the race that he was running with tyre bits in the front wing which was costing a good couple a tenths a lap, something which would surely have cost him a true crack at a third race victory of the season, but at the very least it shows that he's getting back to his best, but a split with his partner might explain a less than happy mood recently.

Ferrari are constantly lingering as the team behind the top 2 and they are almost in a race with themselves as they are far quicker than Mercedes but not quick enough (mainly Massa) to challenge the Red Bulls and Mclarens for victories, particularly on a consistent basis after the problems with the EBD after Silverstone.

In the midfield there is a serious log jam as Mercedes, Renault, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso fight over points and championship places as a lot of money is at stake for 4th-8th in the championship and it's probably the best place to see action at the moment as the racing has been close and extremely well fought with different cars being better at each different circuit with none having the best all round package of the 5 teams. Now even Team lotus is getting involved in the action as they are starting to beat some of these cars on pure pace which will no doubt please the owners, and Kovalainen beating Petrov on pure pace in Singapore would particularly have pleased the team after the rows with Group lotus this season.

No-one knows what to expect from the Indian track, but early reports indicate it's better than previous Tilke tracks, but then it can't be worse than Bahrain and Abu Dhabi really.... We hope so anyway.

For Galahad's superb write up, see here http://cliptheapex.com/pages/buddh-international-circuit/
 
It would appear the circuit is being plagued with power cuts.

The teams are that concerned they are doing a full power test tomorrow, switching everything on at once, as would be the case during the race.
 
That's not good, I'd imagine the race would be instantly red flagged in the event of a power cut, due to the loss of the flashing boards around the track/pit lane signals/radio/compressed air for tyre changes (although this would be slower to drop off and assumes that the compressors are electrically powered)
 
Ah you just beat me to it Bro! Was about to post that.

You know, I kind of like the track layout but really? This many problems 1 day before practice? And commentary booths without windows? That's just stupid. I expect we'll be hearing a fair bit about this during commentary and a lot more from Ted in the pits.

Let's hope they can fix these issues for next year...

EDIT: Toro Rosso tweeted there was a bat in the media centre... Just looking through all the tweets now for more silly things.
 
A picture of the local electricity junction to the circuit...;)

wires_gone_wild.jpg
 
Seems they are also embroiled in red tape regarding taxes to be paid for importing the freight. Apparantly the Indian government see F1 as entertainment and not sport and therefore both divers and teams are required to pay huge taxes. I think a compromise has been reached after Whitmarsh speaking on behalf of the teams said the race would not happen if it didnt get sorted out.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...-ruining-opportunity-to-host-Formula-One.html
 
That issue was resolved in September.

http://richardsf1.com/2011/09/15/tax-dispute-threatening-indian-gp-now-resolved/
Organisers of next month’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix have finally confirmed fears that the race would be called off, when concerns raised that – of all things – a hefty tax bill applied to the teams would dissuade them from showing up.
Up until recently, the national government had refused to cede its demands that the grid’s twelve teams be slugged a hefty customs tax to import their freight, which lead Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) chairman Martin Whitmarsh to threaten that the F1 circus would boycott the event.

Thankfully, the race’s organisers Jaypee have stepped in overnight, revealing that they have secured an “in principal approval” for an exemption to the import duties, or that they will foot the bill themselves if the exemption is not granted.
“If required, as per the law of the land, [Jaypee] will pay customs duties and taxes,” a statement reads in the Press Trust of India.
Under Indian law, customs exemptions can be granted to sporting events of national significance – certainly a curious position given how much this coverage this event will give to the subcontinent.
 
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