Grand Prix 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

So it all comes down to the final race. The prancing horse versus the charging bull. The passionate Catalan versus the efficient German. Red versus Blue. Enough of the clichés, Vettel has a 13 point lead over Alonso going in to the race between the lakes so only has to finish in front of the Spaniard to claim his third title in a row. All the pressure will be on Ferrari and Alonso to give the Spaniard his third title and they probably need something to go wrong at Red Bull to stand any chance of winning, if their pace in the USA was anything to go by.

After his victory in the USA Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to leave McLaren on a high note. Lotus, surely, would love a second victory in 2012 but as fast as the car is it can't compete with the top 3 teams. Felipe Massa is starting to regain some of his old form and will, without doubt, be required to ride shotgun to Alonso. Mark Webber will be looking to win again at Interlagos but I doubt Vettel will suffer similar "brake" problems as he had last year.

The constructors championship is all sown up with Red Bull champions again. McLaren could steal 2nd place from Ferrari but a stronger performance from Jenson Button is needed in Brazil. Last year he was 3rd, two McLaren men in the top 4 could win them a few extra millions from FOM.

The final factor to build in is the weather. Brazil is notorious for changeable weather conditions and a sprinkling of rain could turn things Alonso's way. So tune next Sunday for the final event of 2012, but before then feel free to express your opinions below and don't forget to check out the circuit write up.

http://cliptheapex.com/pages/autodromo-jose-carlos-pace-interlagos/

 

[mnmracer]

Beautiful Helmets from both Lewis and Michael

 

[gethinceri]

I thought both were a bit cheesy really "Oooh, thanks McLaren" and "Hey man, kiss the sky".

 

[sushifiesta]

Greenlantern101 Yeah, what I've just looked at seems to suggest the thunderstorms starting at 6pm on Saturday, and then the rain continuing right through all of Sunday.

 

[Brogan]

Sigh...
Am I the only one who hates wet qualifying and races?

Especially with the new system of starting behind the safety car or red flagging the race.
What's the bloody point?

 

[Greenlantern101]

Hate safety car starts. Love wet races.

 

[mnmracer]

Greenlantern101
Amen to that.
It's just a shame that with parc fermé rules, and thus cars more susceptible to standing water, we hardly ever get to see real races like in the old days. Not the driver's fault, purely rules.

 

[Westy]

Sigh...
Am I the only one who hates wet qualifying and races?

Especially with the new system of starting behind the safety car or red flagging the race.
What's the bloody point?

I love wet races, but I agree that starting behind the safety car is pathetic. I have said it before, these guys are supposed to be the best drivers in the world. Why can they not handle some water? If it is too dangerous to start a race on wet tires then let's become just like American motorsports (I.e. NASCAR) and not race in the wet.

Just think of the starts we would have been robbed of in the past had we been forced to start behind the safety car; my favorite start comes to mind Donnington '93. I rest my case.

 

[downforce]

Looks like a dry race puts Vettel first or 2nd to Hamilton and champion either way.

Wet race - err yeah, safety car.

 

[Josh]

Brogan No, I like them from time to time but for this race I'm really hoping it's going to be dry.

 

[sobriety]

Maybe if the race is declared wet then parc ferme should be removed and the start pushed back 30-40 minutes to allow engine map/suspension changes to be made then?

 

[Viscount]

Westy If they did start a wet race without the safety car, talent won't really matter much if the drivers can't see. If say the guy in P6 stalls or even just has a slow start there could be a massive pile up when other cars reach him unsighted. Check out the spray and lack of visibility in Malaysia as the drivers were following the safety car, somewhere in that picture there are 25 cars.

 

[Jen]

May I suggest, that should it be wet, that everyone (drivers, management and stewards) finds their balls and just get on with it. Life is even tougher on the streets!

 

[racecub]

Yeah. No shouting to the stewards to stop it, get out there, get on with it!!

 

[mjo]

Jen Apart from the Sauber team principal .

 

[snowy]

Monisha has bigger cojones than most team principles I know.

 

[sushifiesta]

snowy I'm not sure whether or not I envy your job as travelling GP for the F1 circus, but your revelations about Monisha's gender come as a shock to me.

 

[snowy]

McLaren have split their drivers setups again like they did in Spa. Lewis is on the high downforce and Jenson is on the low. Anyone who knows Interlagos will tell you it is a high downforce circuit especially when rain is forecast.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'll post a picture of mine in a minute.

And what design does yours have on it?...

 

[racecub]

@snowy Lewis was quite a bit faster even without the rain. I wonder why they even bothered with the low downforce setting?

 

[GeoffP]

I used to hate wet races, but these days those are the only conditions where the tyre can outlast the required session on the car and therefore the driver can have an impact.

I was delighted at Pirelli's cock up in Austin as I personally believe the removal if this artificial impediment to driver capability is what gave us the best race of the season - wet races are the only place we're likely to get that luxury in the future