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

In a case of after the lord Mayor's show, we are back to square one after Valencia served up another placid race with the same result - A Sebastian Vettel victory. Some people reckon that the championship will be decided at Silverstone as if Red Bull still win despite the EBD ban, that is the championship over and done with for this season, and it's hard to argue with that considering Vettel has only dropped 14 points so far this season after 6 wins and 2 second places, not even Schumacher in his 2002/2004 pomp started a season like that.

So we go to a circuit where 3 drivers hold as their home grand prix, lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Paul Di Resta, but the Mclaren pair go into their home race in low spirits after their update package failed to get them closer to Red Bull on a circuit where Red Bull were supposedly weaker at than other tracks, a feeling that has been reflected across the paddock with Alonso admitting that the championship was virtually over and it would be more productive to focus on 2012 and 2013.

Silverstone has recieved a massive redevelopment as part of the 17 year contract it recieved when Donnington couldn't come up with the goods to stage a British Grand Prix and the new addition this year is the pit lane complex which looks stunning and has really elevated Silverstone into the 21st century as one of the elite grand prix facilities, (and certainly one to show off to the other countries when they come here ;) )

With the rule changes this could be the most unpredictable race of the season however, as we saw in Valencia, if anyone can adapt to rule changes, it's Red Bull, Adrian Newey has often been able to pull a rabbit out of a hat when the chips are down so don't be surprised to see Vettel take his seventh win of what has been a remarkable season for the young German who has swept all before him and is now walking towards his second World Championships and joining the select few who have won back to back Championships.

It's been a curious couple of weeks for Ferrari, off the pace and then suddenly back on it in Valencia and once again (like Turkey) they are the second fastest team again when the car is in the hands of Alonso (although Massa didn't exactly have a bad race himself)

Further down the grid at Toro Rosso, Alguesari has proven a point to his critics after a points finish at his home race and his second points finish in a row, and if he wants to keep his race seat there, he needs more of where that came from as Ricciardo is no slouch and will want the second seat at Toro Rosso next year. Even Sutil in the Force India shrugged off his critics to beat his team mate to claim a handful of points to relieve the pressure on his shoulders, albiet for only a short while.

For Galahads superb circuit write up see here http://cliptheapex.com/pages/silverstone-circuit/
 
I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Vettel came second and extended his lead because he was lucky to have a slow pitstop which lost him the lead in the race? This is a silly conversation. I'm bailing.

How can you call it bad luck when the overall result from the race was Vettel extended the lead which the next best thing after not winning the race

Plus compare Mclaren and Red Bull again on bungled pitstops

One team's mistake meant their driver retired and possibly lost a podium.

All that happened with Vettel was he still managed to extend his lead by 3 pts
 
its still 4 wins before anyone can overtake him

What's that got to do with wether it is lucky or unlucky to have a bad pitstop? Getting a bad pitstop, which compromises your race is unarguably bad luck so I don't understand why you are arguing the contrary. Il_Leone. You really need to drop this one.
 
Apparently McLaren asked the BBC not to broadcast Lewis' interview where he joked about having a Platinum pass to the stewards room, and how he automatically goes there after a race, etc. :D

The BBC ignored McLaren and broadcast it anyway.

It's comments like this and Lewis' response that make him likeable. It's a fine line though and if it's crossed can have the opposite effect. He got it right this time.
 
Apparently McLaren asked the BBC not to broadcast Lewis' interview where he joked about having a Platinum pass to the stewards room, and how he automatically goes there after a race, etc. :D

The BBC ignored McLaren and broadcast it anyway.

The BBC are not in the business of taking sides. How ever we look at it, everything on TV is about either reporting the news or entertainment.

The license paying public are tuning in more to F1 due to the drama's off track as well as the action on track, any comments by any driver which add's to those drama's are going to be broadcast no matter the consequences to the parties involved.

If anyone doesn't want certain comments broadcast maybe they should think what they say when in front of a camera or a microphone.
 
He just couldn't get past? We know that. The question is surely why? I think the responsibility for that failure lays solely with the driver.

The answer is in two parts and i'll write it only this one time here:

1. Vettel is driving to get his big points without crashing...without risking a DNF at this stage. That's the intelligent thing to do. Hamilton and all the others (including Alonso, Webber, Button, Massa) need to attack at maximum at this stage because they all have less to lose than Vettel has right now. It's Vettel's title to lose. Under such a scenario, a driver will (or should) always take a measured approach as opposed to 'do or die'. Marko is a wise old head and has taught the youngster well, IMO. That and the idea that Vettel obviously learned from his Turkey/Belgian mistakes from a year ago;

2. The only other thing - other than taking on that extra risk (from point 1 above) - that made it easier for Hamilton to pass Alonso / Alonso to pass Hamilton / Massa to pass Hamilton, etc. was the tyres and the tyres working differently on different cars at those stages of those over-takes. Otherwise it wasn't going to be easy. If Lewis is a Top 3/World Class driver - which he undoubtedly is - then that will make it harder still. Hamilton is a great driver and was never going to make it easy, was he? I'm sure he would also have kept Point 1 (above) in mind.

I don't think Vettel will take unnessessary risks with his WDC prospects for the forseeable future. He shouldn't. Not yet.

Some of us on here who have favourite drivers who Vettel is beating in the WDC for the 2nd year in succession will, no doubt, use it as some sort of 'proof' to suggest that Vettel has "no balls", "no skills", etc...

Cheers.
 
Please read the rules Ray regarding the use of the term fanboy.

Understood and noted! :)

On another note. It was right of Webber to keep fighting to the end as long as he didn't risk a tangle.

Similarly, it was probably the correct thing for RBR to ask Webber to leave it alone on the last lap. From what we know, however, Webber was told '4 or 5' times to not attack...so the suggestion didn't only come for the final lap but for probably 3 laps before the end.

Vettel handled it well. He said they were racing. So I don't think there's much else to say on the subject.

It's clear that Webber has now gotten to grips with the Pirellis which were his Achilles Heel in the first bunch of races. From Spain - inclusive - Webber is giving Vettel a good challenge. I don't see anything bad about that. As long as Webber's pushing hard, Vettel will remain on his toes...and that's a good thing. It keeps Vettel sharp and it keeps Webber motivated. You can see that RBR don't have an advantage in race trim anymore and both Vettel and RBR will need Webber to be his very best to shave points off Alonso and the McLaren drivers if needed.

It was good to see Webber snapping at his team-mates heels.
 
The answer is in two parts and i'll write it only this one time here:

1. Vettel is driving to get his big points without crashing...without risking a DNF at this stage. That's the intelligent thing to do. Hamilton and all the others (including Alonso, Webber, Button, Massa) need to attack at maximum at this stage because they all have less to lose than Vettel has right now. It's Vettel's title to lose. Under such a scenario, a driver will (or should) always take a measured approach as opposed to 'do or die'. Marko is a wise old head and has taught the youngster well, IMO. That and the idea that Vettel obviously learned from his Turkey/Belgian mistakes from a year ago;

2. The only other thing - other than taking on that extra risk (from point 1 above) - that made it easier for Hamilton to pass Alonso / Alonso to pass Hamilton / Massa to pass Hamilton, etc. was the tyres and the tyres working differently on different cars at those stages of those over-takes. Otherwise it wasn't going to be easy. If Lewis is a Top 3/World Class driver - which he undoubtedly is - then that will make it harder still. Hamilton is a great driver and was never going to make it easy, was he? I'm sure he would also have kept Point 1 (above) in mind.

I don't think Vettel will take unnessessary risks with his WDC prospects for the forseeable future. He shouldn't. Not yet.

Some of us on here who have favourite drivers who Vettel is beating in the WDC for the 2nd year in succession will, no doubt, use it as some sort of 'proof' to suggest that Vettel has "no balls", "no skills", etc...

Cheers.

We can all twist the facts and make them mean what we want them to. Some of us can even articulate our perversions in Ronspeak hoping that the eloquence of our statements adds weight to thier validity. Others of us, articulate or otherwise, just say it as it is.

Vettel could not get past the slower McLaren. Hamilton's defence was simply better than Vettel's attack. If Vettel could have managed to pass then he certainly would have done. He can however be commended for realising that he wasn't up to it and choosing to pit and get some clear air so that he could pass Hamilton without having to try and steal a piece of tarmac from him. He knew that he needed to take the driver out of the equation and hand it over to the car, which is exactly what he did.
 
Ok, I saw this race

The biggest excitement was Lewis streaking through the field, then it was when Lewis and Jenson took Alonso and Massa. Then the Mclarens faded as it got dry, and then Jenson disappeared

Then it became painfully obvious that the Mclarens were painfully slower and had less traction than Red Bull, and most definitely Ferrari

The Ferrari in Alonsos hands was the fastest thing out there by a country mile, unbeatable when he got going

Vettel tried EVERYTHING he could to pass Lewis, he did not have the guile or gumption, we all expected him to pass lap after lap. No one in the crowd would have expected Vettel not to pass, he was all over him and was like a kid with too many options going for the wrong ones
Didnt look like he was tactically thinking of championship points and been intelligent guys, he wanted past lewis and wasnt gonna let Webber past either

Webber also looked faster than Seb, he looked like he was all over him, I understand he was called off by the team

I would say that Seb has mysteriously lost that magical ability to suddenly pull a lap to get out of trouble, he needs team orders now to stay ahead of Webber? Lets hope he gets it back if OTEBD is allowed back and he can vary the off throttle setting near 100% once in a while

Everyone loved Lewis' move on Massa, it was like 'yeah go on, show him whos the man!'

Surprisingly good show after all though,
 
With all due respect Ray. Don't call me a fanboy. Thank you and iminant apology accepted.

Sorry old chap! Cheers! ;)

PS. I still disagree with your conclusion. Vettel drove conservatively in the final
'DRS Stint' of the Canadian GP too.

He increased his points lead there...and he's done it again today. That's the only thing he cares about. He's on his way to becoming the youngest double World Champion in history. You probably don't like that...but, hey, i'm sure he couldn't care less what you think.

Again, sorry for calling you a Fan-Boi, Extreme...and have a good evening, mate! :)
 
Webber got ordered to stay back but didn't listen. So Vettel held him off on merit.
I actually didn't love Lewis' move on Felipe so stop speaking for everyone, please. I would have liked Massa to take the place...
 
I know, I'm very sad :(

Btw, I didn't see too much mention of it here, but what happend to Renault? They just disappeared into the midfield it seems.
A casualty of the rule changes?
 
On another note. It was right of Webber to keep fighting to the end as long as he didn't risk a tangle.

Similarly, it was probably the correct thing for RBR to ask Webber to leave it alone on the last lap. From what we know, however, Webber was told '4 or 5' times to not attack...so the suggestion didn't only come for the final lap but for probably 3 laps before the end.

So it was about 3 or 4 laps before the end that the orders came: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93028
 
Webber got ordered to stay back but didn't listen. So Vettel held him off on merit.
I actually didn't love Lewis' move on Felipe so stop speaking for everyone, please. I would have liked Massa to take the place...

Everyone on the terrace I was on, I am assuming that was a microcosm of the whole audience of 100,000 people

Anyway we already ascertained on the Lewis Hamilton thread exactly what your motivations are regarding Hamilton, so its likely that speaking for everyone is not going to include you in a month of Sundays no matter what
 
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