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/
 
So then why is it a harsh penalty? They BOTH put people's lives in danger, they should be penalized. He was told there were yellow flags so he should have known. Saying he may not have heard or he may have thought the track was clear doesn't excuse him as that is then still his fault isn't it? Same goes for Perez. It's their own fault and a grid drop makes more sense and hurts them more than some stupid fine.
If anyone should feel harshly treated it's D'Ambrosio as he got a heavier penalty than Perez and Hamilton!

What about the green flashing light?
vERY BRIGHT
The 900 marshalls ......700 of whom are Indian....must be inexperienced & may have been wrong....the green lights are very bright.

LH would not have compromised himself in a practice session........why would he?.

In P2 39.37 a marshall is waving a green flag..........when everyone else is in a Red Flag mode

There has maybe been a mistake....by an inexperienced marshall......not in Perez' case...because Maldanado's car was still being moved. But when Lewis got there, the car had gone....& the green light was flashng.
 
It was a touch harsh, given that there were grounds for confusion, with a green light showing at the same time. However, where a rule is in place for the safety of competitors, marshals and spectators sanction has to be applied every time it is broken, you may find that the grounds for confusion were why they both only got 3 place grid drops rather than the more standard five.
 
Its harsh because greens and yellows were going at the same time!

So? Drivers should pay attention to both. There's also the fact that he (and Perez too most likely although we didn't hear this) was told there were yellows which you seem to conveniently ignore.

This was first pracatice not quali.

So risking the lives of marshal's is not as bad in first practice as it would be in qualifying? Are you serious?

You think three drivers deliberately ignored waved yellows?

No.
If they deliberately ignored them I would like to see them kicked out of the race as there really is never a place or time for deliberately putting other peoples' life at risk in any form of motorsport.
 
What about the green flashing light?
vERY BRIGHT
The 900 marshalls ......700 of whom are Indian....must be inexperienced & may have been wrong....the green lights are very bright.

LH would not have compromised himself in a practice session........why would he?.

In P2 39.37 a marshall is waving a green flag..........when everyone else is in a Red Flag mode

There has maybe been a mistake....by an inexperienced marshall......not in Perez' case...because Maldanado's car was still being moved. But when Lewis got there, the car had gone....& the green light was flashng.

Hamilton said he had no argument with the stewards' decision.
"I was engaging the DRS (overtaking device, which boosts straight-line speed) when the yellow flags were on and you're not allowed to," he said
"I went in there and put my hands up and said I accept whatever penalty I get and they gave me one.
"I don't have any feelings. It is what it is. I'm a bit frustrated with myself as it's my fault - as usual.
"I just have to do what I can from wherever I qualify tomorrow. I have less hopes of pole - but tomorrow could be a different day."
Asked why he was being so self-critical, Hamilton replied: "I have no-one else to blame do I? There's only me driving."



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/formula_one/15489950.stm
 
Its harsh because greens and yellows were going at the same time! This was first pracatice not quali. You think three drivers deliberately ignored waved yellows?
If there is any yellows, you have to slow down, regardless of other signs. There may have been lives in danger due to drivers not slowing down and paying attention to an incident. Drivers and marshals can still get injured/die in free practice, so the same stringent safety rules and penalties should still apply - whether broken by accident or not.
 
LH accepts the penalty...as usual...but he doesn't say....that he saw & ignored the waved yellows......

At Belgium he crashed out courtesy of Kobayashi....he didn't even know which car the incident was with. But he was blamed & he took onboard 100% of the blame.....that had been loaded on him by the BBC commentators. At the next race Coulthard showed the incident in slow mo.....how Kobi turned into LH.....DC said it was not Lewis' fault.
Mind games are a very dangerous part of unsporting behaviour.
 
No penalty for Alguersuari after he was summoned to see stewards for yellow flag infringements. They noted 'significant reduction' in speed.

/unsubscribes from thread...
 
Re. the grid place penalties.
All drivers have a responsibility to look out for flags / display screens all the time they are on the track.
I would expect there to be some level of heirarchy along the lines of:
Radio calls - irrelevent; these are for team / driver information.
Display Screens - a support for flags but because they are powered are not the primary warning.
Flags - the primary warning as these can be deployed by the marshalls immediately and in all situations (except when the flag holding marshall has been run over).
This is my simplistic expectation and there will be marshalls on this forum who will hopefully explain what does happen.

Hamilton, Perex and everyone else has a responsibility to notice and react to hazard warnings.
 
No penalty for Alguersuari after he was summoned to see stewards for yellow flag infringements. They noted 'significant reduction' in speed.

/unsubscribes from thread...

Just for the full story:

The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was suspected of having not reacted to yellow flags that were being shown at Turn 9 during the afternoon session.
After he and a team representative spoke to the stewards, and presented telemetry evidence, it was found that that Spaniard had slowed down enough to escape a sanction.
A statement from the stewards said: "The Stewards noted that the telemetry indicated there had been significant reduction in speed by the driver."

Which is fine.
 
So? Drivers should pay attention to both. There's also the fact that he (and Perez too most likely although we didn't hear this) was told there were yellows which you seem to conveniently ignore.

So risking the lives of marshal's is not as bad in first practice as it would be in qualifying? Are you serious?
I have not "conveniently ignored" anything. I posted the radio transcript telling Lewis where the green and yellow lights were:rolleyes:
WILL YOU PLEASE STOP SUGGESTING I AM HAPPY TO PUT MARSHALL'S LIVES AT RISK. That is a disgusting suggestion.
 
Calm down everyone, calm down!

FP1 is over, Hamilton and Perez will drop 3 places on the grid, Lewis admitted it was his mistake, the marshals were pathetically slow in removing Maldonado's car given that it was but a few yards from the escape road, and they waved yellow and green flags simultaneously. The WDC has been crowned, the race is now for second place and there are more important things in the world to get mad about.
 
WILL YOU PLEASE STOP SUGGESTING I AM HAPPY TO PUT MARSHALL'S LIVES AT RISK. That is a disgusting suggestion.

That's not what I was suggesting at all. You said "This was first pracatice not quali." which suggests that drivers should not be punished as harsh in free practice as they would in qualifying. Which is quite ridiculous.
If that's not what you meant you need to be more clear.
 
Its not what I meant.I meant the drivers wouldnt even contemplate gambling an unclear flag condition and risk a penalty in free practise. Its common pracatise to aknowledge a flag by waving or lifting in quali. In free practise you've nothing to gain and everything to loose.
 
Its not what I meant.I meant the drivers wouldnt even contemplate gambling an unclear flag condition and risk a penalty in free practise. Its common pracatise to aknowledge a flag by waving or lifting in quali. In free practise you've nothing to gain and everything to loose.

Err, okay? They clearly did risk it, though? I'm not really sure what you're trying to say, sorry.
 
In free practise you've nothing to gain and everything to loose.

Precisely so. As well as Hamilton taking responsibility, McLaren's Jonathan Noble has been quoted as saying the penalty was 'fair'. And he would have had access to the telemetry and could have offered an Alguersuari-style defence, if one had been possible.
 
Changing the topic, I am quite pleased with how they have widened the track going into some corners, leading to (potentially) better racing. And the second sector has a nice flow to it - turns 5/6/7 the best. It is also good to see that turns 6/7 haven't been filled with tarmac run-off, providing a challenge to the drivers.

Why can't the drivers be consulted every time a circuit is designed?
 
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