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

So the moment when the 2010 World Drivers Champion is crowned edges ever close and it's still a 5 way battle for the top. They say that fortune favours the brave however this year it's more about not making any mistakes. Ferrari will be looking to this weekend on a high after back to back wins and have to be the team to beat.

At Red Bull, it's now time for Webber to show what he's made of if he's to stay out in front. This must be his best and possibly only opportunity to win the title so it's all about composure and performance. Bumping into Lewis showed neither two weeks ago and it was lucky for him that it came off and not so lucky for Lewis.

Vettel, Hamilton and Button are all waiting in the wings and any one could be centre stage at any time. Hamilton's priority this weekend is to find the sweet spot with his car and restore some confidence. Yes he's not had lady luck on his side but neither has he done himself any favours.

A DNF for any of the top 5 while not leaving them out of the game all together would just pile the pressure on.

Being this close to the end of the season it's only natural that the focus will shift away from the middle of the field and towards the sharp end. Renault, Mercedes and Williams will once again be hoping to spoil the party of the front three and could well have an effect on the way the championship pans out during the final few races. Petrov will be interesting to watch as his performance picked up a little during the last race and he's still fighting for his spot next season if rumours are to be believed.

With nothing to lose there are several drivers in the mid field that may now take a few more risks that earlier in the season they wouldn't have done, especially those drivers who haven't yet got a signature on a contract for next year. These last few races are a chance to show what they can do. Kobayashi on home soil has to be an exciting prospect and it would be no shock to see him among the points this weekend.

And finally to the back of the field where the usual three suspects are to be found. Virgin are pushing harder and harder for that 10th place WCC finish and the money involved. Lotus have stopped all work on this years car some time ago and are now looking as though they are heading into a difficult of season that could see the inside of a court rather than the inside of a garage. At HRT they just seem relieved to turn a wheel at each race and while they limp towards the seasons end their only thoughts must be on how to keep going.
 
Thanks CaT

cider_and_toast said:
Vettel, Hamilton and Button are all waiting in the wings and any one could be centre stage at any time. Hamilton's priority this weekend is to find the sweet spot with his car and restore some confidence. Yes he's not had lady luck on his side but neither has he done himself any favours.

McLaren keep on telling us they are moving forward, they create an air of expectation in the lead up to each race of recent, yet then don't seem any closer to the Red Bulls on the day and Ferrari seem to have out developed them. Come on McLaren, make this package WORK and give our boys the legs to challenge for the win!

Jonathan Neale said:
- Original article - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87215 -

"The remaining four races are circuits where we feel we should be very competitive. Everybody is going to be pushing very hard and we're doing exactly the same. We expect to get in and win some of these races."
~
"I certainly hope all the upgrades make a big difference. We're taking a reasonable sized package to Japan, we've got front wing upgrades, we've got a new rear wing, there are some aerodynamic details and some of the engine modes. What we've got is a big test package for Friday."
~
"We're throwing everything and the kitchen sink at it. We will be pushing very hard. If we can pull a modification forwards, even if we've only got limited components, I'd rather have the drivers to have that fraction of a second in lap time, than delay until we've got a comfortable set of spares. We are running on the very lean edge of what we've got."
 
They had something that they couldn't use at Singapore for "reliability issues" and a front wing they didn't use in Singapore.. for whatever reason. If the two are linked, doesn't that hint at them going down the flexing route once again?

Still, I think McLaren will be there or there abouts, if they can have a good qualifying session then with their drivers they can achieve something at the start.
 
Enja said:
Still, I think McLaren will be there or there abouts, if they can have a good qualifying session then with their drivers they can achieve something at the start
That's great, as long as that 'Something' doesn't involve contact with anyone else. :whistle:
 
Grizzly said:
Alonso on Webber or Webber on Alonso?????

I think Webber and Alonso will both go for each other and Vettel is going to have to get in between them to break them up.
 
well, we know that Vettel generally has the better qualifying performance, as does Alonso. I reckon it will be a toss up between Alonso and Vettel on pole, with the other second and Webber in third. The add Hamilton into the mix around 4th and maybe Button or Massa 5th or 6th.
 
Grizzly said:
Alonso on Webber or Webber on Alonso?????

Webber will think he's Kimi and can take Alonso on the outside.

Then he falls back down to earth and realises he's just Mark Webber.

He'll punt Alonso out of the race, whereupon a piece of Alonso's rear wing will fall onto the track, resulting in Sebastian Vettel getting a significant puncture that rips his suspension to shreds. He can't control the wildly handling car and thus spears into Jenson Button, Robert Kubica, Michael Schumacher and a local deer crossing the track.

Lewis Hamilton and Kamui Kobayashi (who qualified 7th in this scenario) pick up the pieces and continue to dominate the race 1-2.

/dream mode


Back to the serious stuff :

I do genuinely believe one of the top 5 will have another DNF here. No idea who it is but I hope it's borne out of a racing incident rather than something mechanical. I really want to see these guys racing hard, fair, cleanly and without accident but I've had the feeling all year that there seems to be immense pressure on all of them, more so than normal. I just think one of them will go all El Desperado somewhere along the line and fluff it all up.
 
Enja said:
Grizzly said:
Alonso on Webber or Webber on Alonso?????

Webber will think he's Kimi and can take Alonso on the outside.

Then he falls back down to earth and realises he's just Mark Webber.

He'll punt Alonso out of the race, whereupon a piece of Alonso's rear wing will fall onto the track, resulting in Sebastian Vettel getting a significant puncture that rips his suspension to shreds. He can't control the wildly handling car and thus spears into Jenson Button, Robert Kubica, Michael Schumacher and a local deer crossing the track.

Lewis Hamilton and Kamui Kobayashi (who qualified 7th in this scenario) pick up the pieces and continue to dominate the race 1-2.

/dream mode

In the spirit of fairness, and in keeping the title battle tight, Lewis secures a 4th consecutive DNF when, lapping Sakon Yamamoto, the HRT loses it into the 2nd Degner and punts Lewis into the wall.

Cue Kobayashisteria, as Sauber's favourite driver holds Nico Rosberg off to win the race, thus also embarrassing Mercedes. Nick Heidfeld is third, thus embarrassing Mercedes.
 
Oops he did it again.

Hammy, Hammy, Hammy :givemestrength: Why do you do it to us every season? Looks like nothing is going to get in the way of the Red Bulls this weekend. Hopefully he will get it together and get some points on the board but there are going to be some tricky conditions on saturday.
 
F1Yorkshire said:
Looks like nothing is going to get in the way of the Red Bulls this weekend.

Only the weather. As predicted by all the hardbitten cynics, Red Bull retain a big downforce advantage, and their wing is still flexing massively. Time to accept Horner was telling the truth?
 
Brogan said:
Did I miss anything?

After weeks of less than 6 hours sleep a night I decided FP1 and FP2 are less important now :D

I only caught the highlights this morning when I was having brekkie, it seems the Red Bulls are going to be on top, Ferrari may have been sandbagging and Hamilton is renewing his love for circuit walls.
 
teabagyokel said:
It is Red Bull's to lose. Which, of course, means they probably will!

Fingers crossed...

I don't care who Vettel / Webber spear off the track this race so long as its not Lewis or Jenson, I think those two have had their fair share of torpedo attacks the last few races...

Enja said:
It looks like Saturday might be a total wash out. Huge amounts of rain predicted.

I would love to see a wet quali to level the playing field for the top 5
 
Grizzly said:
I would love to see a wet quali to level the playing field for the top 5

But is it worth getting up at 5 to watch live? At least we'll have Lee Mckenzie to look at first thing.
 
Redbull front wing :(
vettelonboard.gif
 
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