Grand Prix 2010 European Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Ok, Ladies and Gentlemen, hold on to your hats because its the big one. The race that we've all been waiting for. Yes, its that time of of year when the F1 circus goes to Valencia for a series of demonstration laps in front of the world's press.

This year could be different of course with the lack of re-fuelling, the rise of the F-duct and the increased problem of overtaking back markers giving the drivers plenty to think about.

Another major factor that could affect the racing here is the fact that most teams are planning a second batch of aero upgrades. Trying to predict who will be fastest this weekend could prove extremely difficult. In an interview with Autosport, Button predicts that McLaren will struggle to be as quick as they were in Canada and that it will be a lot closer at the front. Obviously, Alonso, being on home ground and coming off the back of an impressive turn around in performance in Canada will be looking to capitalise on this. Could we see the strongest performance by the Italian squad since the season opener in Bahrain?

Further down the field, Williams are hoping that their F-duct work will enable them to race with the Force India's and halt their slide towards the back of the field. Another driver to watch out for this weekend will be Vitaly Petrov who lives in the Valencia region and knows the track really well. Petrov has shown signs of real pace this season and with a bit more knowledge of the track than he has had at other venues so far this year he could be giving his team mate a run for his money.

The Virgin cars will be looking to turn around their fortunes given that this will potentially be the first weekend when they get to run their cars in full spec'. Hopefully they can now put the disastrous start to the season behind them. HRT and Lotus continue to steadily improve but the big question for these teams will be have their improvements increased their pace or just maintained the gap to the next group of cars in front.

With the level of dust and rubbish on the track its going to be well into the weekend until we get a true idea of the respective paces of the cars. So the question is, are we going to see a turn around in Valencia's reputation or are we set for the continuation of the annual snoozefest of Bernie's folly??
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Well here's a turn up for the books, Ferrari claiming an FIA bias for another team.

"Pot this is kettle, Colour check, over......"

Its a funny world isn't it, the former FOCA lawyer and man who hounded Balistare out office was the biggest supporter that Ferrari could have ever wished. Now on the other hand, when they actually have a former team manager in power and a legend within the Ferrari camp, the whole situation seems to have shifted away from them.

It will be interesting to see how Todt reacts to any of this if at all but I have a suspicion that its all piss and vinegar from Maranello and maintaining a dignified silence would be the best option for the FIA at this time. Its much easier for them to dig their own hole that way.

We can stand by for another raft of ridiculous rule demands coming out of Maranello between now and the British GP though. I wonder what they will ask to be banned next ? Bless them, its only taken them a couple of years since they last won a championship to sink back towards the pit they found themselves in during the 80s.
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

I missed the race chat since they showed the race 4 hours delayed in the USA.

The controversy aside, it's a shame the penalty prevented Hamilton from going after Vettel. I think there would have been an interesting race there.

Also I've got to believe McLaren is looking good for Silverstone given how fast the car was at Valencia before the upgrades such as the blown diffuser.
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

That is interesting footage. Perhaps Fernando was fuming because Lewis went through but because he wasn't allowed to gain an unfair advantage like Hamilton did.

I thought Lewis was hesitant at first (this is probably the case) but Hamilton isn't stupid and was maybe trying to get just ahead of the SC before it crossed the line while in the mean time trying to hold Alonso up.

If the shoe was on the other foot I don't really have any doubt that Fernando would have done the same thing. I wonder how much noise Ferrari would be making had they been the ones to (effectively) get away with it.

Anyway, that's maybe just my sceptical side...
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

On the regular broadcast we saw the Ferrari's leaving the pits, and then the SC meandering around the final corner. But for some reason I keep hearing (not necessarily on this board) that the Ferrari's trailed the Safety Car around for the full lap.

They obviously didn't, and we never saw where they were waved by/passed the SC. The onboard feed was with Massa however, and we now know that they were released around Turn 12, and Alonso tried to salvage the situation, sprinting away from his teammate in a dash to the pits.


Then the Safety Car let everybody else past as well, and some of them raced by the Ferrari's while they were exiting the pit lane.

Ideally, the SC should have picked up the cars that hit the pits right after the Safety Car boards went out. After that, the leading pack would have hit the pits, retaining their top 4 positions. The SC would then have waved the pack who pitted, led by Button, around to catch up with the leaders. Then everybody would have caught up with the SC, and the race would have restarted.

As for Schumacher, and why he didn't pit with everybody else right after the SC boards were being displayed, well Sutil's onboard shows pretty clearly that he wanted to, and was trying to get in before Adrian boxed him out. Although it looks like it was a last minute decision for Michael to try and dive in.

 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Great stuff Keke as always.

That certainly fills in some of the blanks.
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Keke the King of Ferrets!

Expert exploration, deduction and analysis mi amigo. :thumbsup:
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Brogan said:
So Jean Todt shows his true colours

A spokesman for F1's governing body, the FIA, has confirmed there will be no disciplinary action in the wake of Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's post-Valencia outbursts.

FIA to take no action against Ferrari outbursts

I disagree, I think this is the right thing to do. Its clear to me that Ferrari are spoiling for a fight with the FIA. Their outbursts have been seen by the whole world for being just what they are which is childish and petulant. Why drag it on and risk blowing it out of proportion. A less confrontational FIA is the very thing we've all been asking for. By letting Ferrari blow off steam it defuses the situation while making Ferrari look pretty silly.

If Ferrari want to go down the line of "we're being picked on and its the English mafia and its not fair " then the exact reaction that would sum up those very sentiments is for the FIA to come down on them like a ton of bricks. On this occasion I think it makes far more sense for the Jean Todt stay out of this one.
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

I think the FIA should do something about it.

Ferrari are so used to having their own way with the FIA thanks to their favoured position and special relationship that they think they can throw accusations like this around with impunity.
Unfortunately it would seem they can.

At the very least it's libellous and the FIA should stamp this behaviour out.

Put it another way, would Lewis Hamilton, Ron Dennis and McLaren have got away with saying this 2 years ago?
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Looking at that first video, I wonder what Alonso's sector times were after the safety car released him and Massa as he goes off like the proverbial "bat out of hell" and is out of site from Massa's onboard very quickly.
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Despite Ferrrari's obviously angelic history, it is worth pointing that Alonso was just holding on to the back of a McLaren with a damaged front wing, they were both falling away from the Red Bull - Which Lewis managed to catch up with immediately he had his wing changed at the pit stop.

So I wonder which battle they thought they were going to win anyway...
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Alonso apologises to the FIA.

"Obviously, in the clear light of day, I am much calmer than I was in the moments immediately following the race," said Alonso in his diary column on the official Ferrari website.

"At the time, I reacted emotionally and in that situation, it is all too easy to adopt a tone and say things that can be interpreted wrongly, giving rise to suspicions, something which I had no intention of doing.

“Sure, I understand that the stewards have a difficult job to do and they have to take decisions that are not easy. What I meant was that those drivers who, like us, respected the regulations, unfortunately, in this situation, suffered much more than those who broke them, even though they were given a penalty.

However, the apology is not worth the paper it's printed on because of this:
“And I am not referring to any of the drivers in particular: it’s a general matter and I think we should talk about it together in a calm way, to ensure that things like this do not happen again."

As we all know this is complete horlicks.
Alonso first of all radioed his team to get Charlie whiting on the case and then once Hamilton had served his penalty he asked which position he came back out in.
In addition, he never mentioned the other 9 drivers initially and was only concerned with Hamilton's transgression.

I think we all know now that the rubbish Alonso has spouted over the last 2-3 years about not bearing a grudge is just that, rubbish.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84896
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

I don't know that Fernando does bare Lewis a grudge, I do know that he is afraid of him and the lead he has in the Championship.
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Alonso issues an apology

FIA announce that no action will be taken against Ferrari.

All rapped up neatly and tied with a pink (or should that be scarlet) bow.
 
Re: 2010 European GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Just when you though it was all over after Alonso's non-apology, in wades the Italian motorsport body.

"The success of a sport is measured by its ability to be credible and above all understandable to the general public," said CSAI (Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana) president Angelo Sticchi Damiani. "What happened on Sunday ... damages the credibility of the category; I don't think anyone, whether in the grandstands or in front of televisions around the world understands what has happened.

"A driver who passed the safety car got on the podium, while others, taking advantage of the same situation, also had an advantage over their rivals. But others - those who respected the rules - were the victims. Perhaps some of the regulations about behaviour in Formula One must be investigated and evolved so that they do not create more uncertainty and confusion."

"We would like clarification about the penalties ... and on what criteria they were given," he added, suspecting that a "degree of subjectivity" was applied.

So once again they are accusing the FIA of being biased and fixing the result.
How long is Jean Todt going to sit on his hands over this?

http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/21911.html
 
Re: 2010 Valencia - Practice, Qualifying and Race Discussion

Brogan said:
So once again they are accusing the FIA of being biased and fixing the result.

I suppose I've accused the FIA of being biased and fixing results.

  • 2006 when Ferrari had Renault's key component banned mid-season on spurious grounds
  • 2007 when Ferrari had McLaren almost thrown out by giving them Ferrari data
  • 2007 when McLaren's similar appeal against Renault was ignored totally
  • 2008 when the FIA invented rules on the fly to stop Lewis Hamilton winning the Drivers' Championship, and hence aiding Felipe Massa of Ferrari to win it (ultimately unsuccessfully)

Get the idea...
 
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