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

Racking up the air miles now

Going into the third race of the 2012 season and it is still unclear where everyone lies in true race pace over a normal dry race without the intervention of a safety car apart from that McLaren have done the best job of the teams with Red Bull and Mercedes not too far apart but Mercedes seem to be struggling with higher levels of tyre degradation compared to the other front runners.

Despite all the highly publicised problems at Ferrari, Fernando Alonso currently leads the Championship after a 5th place in Australia and an against the odds victory in Malaysia where the rain early on managed to put Alonso in the lead when the others struggled. However this doesn't mean things are rosy in Maranello as when the track dried up Alonso started to fall back and was being hunted down by none other than Sergio Perez in the Sauber who was closing in rapidly on the Spaniard only to make a minor mistake with a couple of laps to go which ruined his chances of a maiden victory, but he was understandably delighted to finish in second place. Lewis Hamilton showed that he is a more rounded driver than he was in 2011 with a second consecutive third place showing he has the maturity to make the best of a bad job when circumstances were against him when he was caught out by the pit stops (like he was in Australia) to not make any mistakes and bring the car home in third place for 15 points which could be crucial at the end of the season.

On the other hand, team mate Jenson Button had a characteristically poor race after running second early on, but after outbraking himself he broke his front wing trying to overtake an HRT who was running there on position after an early gamble for wets paid off as when the red flag fell, Narain was running in 10th place which shocked fans worldwide. The red flag was also (im)famous for the introduction of gazebos all down the grid, something previously pioneered by Mercedes in Canada last season.

2012 has seen (so far) probably one of the most competitive midfields in many seasons with Force India, Sauber, Williams and Toro Rosso all pushing the top teams for points and Sauber have already claimed a podium through Perez and it could be said that on pure one lap pace, most of these teams are as quick as if not faster than Ferrari, certainly faster than Felipe Massa who is really coming under pressure for his seat after 2 mediocre performances so far while Alonso continued to drag the car to places where it shouldn't really be.

Looking ahead to China and it has been a track which has favoured McLaren in recent years with Lewis Hamilton winning in 2008 and 2011 and Jenson Button winning in the rain affected 2010 race. Hamilton should have won in 2007 but famously threw it away in the pitlane after running wide on very used tyres when he was in a position to win the Championship, something with now Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen took advantage of to win the race and eventually steal the Championship in Brazil.

China will also be an importunity to be the first true comparison of Sky and BBC as it is the first race that will be shown live on BBC and it will certainly be very interesting to see where the two broadcasters shape up over a full race weekend and it will show to people in their own minds which one is better and it is pretty clear that it certainly won't be a clear cut thing and will be down more to personal preference than the overall package compared to the other.

For Galahad's brilliant circuit write up, see here http://cliptheapex.com/pages/shanghai-international-circuit/

 

[Josh]

To refresh your memories, the race edit and onboard lap from 2011 are here: http://www.formula1.com/video/race_edits/

Let's not forget also that Hamilton made it to the grid with just 35 seconds to spare after his car was overfilled and flooded in the garage.

Webber started from 18th and finished third.

Button stopped in the wrong pit box

Right! I remember again! Thanks

 

[teabagyokel]

I can't agree with you there Galahad, the last three Chinese Grands Prix have been awesome; last years stands as one of the best dry races ever in my opinion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/13108629 if you're not registered to F1.com

 

[Slyboogy]

Like this track, has some great corners, tricky ones aswell, the ting that kind of ruins it, is ye atmosphere like Turkey.

Turn 1/2 is a place where can lose time significantly, and can take various lines into aswell.

Turns 5/6 you have to take a real tight line to get the best speed out of, do they take it flat out these days? Not sure they do, take the wrong line and you have to lift.

Turns 7/8 are like the turns in Malaysia where Massa went off in 2008 and Petrov leaping like a frog, can easily spin going into 7.

And the last turn is great, it's similar to turn 4 in Hungary.

Edit: I might have got the turns mixed up in China since they have supposed turns that aren't actually turns

 

[downforce]

Yeah its interesting to see without the use of a flexi wiing or a trick diffuser Red-Bull aren't getting 1-2 every saturday and sunday.

And Webber has outqualified his teammate twice.

If the whole race weekend is dry and Hamilton finally completes his practice programme and gets a good start and there are no safety cars, it should be his race.

 

[teabagyokel]

And, of course, Turn 13 is one of the greatest corners for overtaking, because it is banked and thus allows drivers to get a better run out of there and down the long straight to the hairpin. Where now, of course, there is a Drag Reduction System in place.

 

[The Artist.....]

And, of course, Turn 13 is one of the greatest corners for overtaking, because it is banked and thus allows drivers to get a better run out of there and down the long straight to the hairpin. Where now, of course, there is a Drag Reduction System in place.

And therein lies the formula for good overtaking- a banked turn onto a long straight- the key thing with the banked turn is that the cornering speed is no longer aero limited, but is instead aided by gravity!!!

 

[Kamui-FastestChefInTheWorld]

I'd like to see the DRS on the exit of Turn 3 (I think) into the hairpin. Because hopefully there'll be overtaking there, not only on the main straight.

 

[mjo]

DRS in unusual overtaking places is the way to go!

 

[riskitall]

hopefully lewis will win in china,but jenson outqualified him there in 2010 and 2011,so its going to be close.

 

[Abnash24]

But Lewis almost got pole in 2011 but made a mistake in the last corner and had to wrestle the car into line, if not for that he would have been on pole

 

[Bill Boddy]

But Lewis almost got pole in 2011 but made a mistake in the last corner and had to wrestle the car into line, if not for that he would have been on pole

If, if, if, if. But Hamilton did make a mistake, no-one forced him into it.

If I had been born Bernie Ecclestone's son I would be very rich now.

 

[RasputinLives]

If, if, if, if. But Hamilton did make a mistake, no-one forced him into it.

If I had been born Bernie Ecclestone's son I would be very rich now.

I'd have been the greatest Brad Pitt lookalike in the world if only he'd looked more like me.

 

[Il_leone]

interesting China is considered not a great Tilke circuit like Turkey or Sepang but with its long straights provide great overtaking opportunities

I am expecting the Red Bull to struggle as they will be sitting ducks down the straights again..this was one of the few races where Mclaren, Ferrari and Mercedes were on their pace

 

[Westy]

If the whole race weekend is dry and Hamilton finally completes his practice programme and gets a good start and there are no safety cars, it should be his race.

Bill Boddy hit the nail on the head. There seems to be an awful lot that has to go Hamilton's way for him to succeed. If he is as good as people say he is he should be able to overcome adversity. Button was the driver to beat in Australia, and the conditions in Malaysia played into the hands of Alonso and Perez. Hamilton didn't win either race, let's move on with our lives and look forward to what I hope will be an amazing GP.

 

[Kewee]

Bill Boddy hit the nail on the head. There seems to be an awful lot that has to go Hamilton's way for him to succeed. If he is as good as people say he is he should be able to overcome adversity. Button was the driver to beat in Australia, and the conditions in Malaysia played into the hands of Alonso and Perez. Hamilton didn't win either race, let's move on with our lives and look forward to what I hope will be an amazing GP.

The only way the weather played into the hands of Alonso or Perez was to even out the playing field a little, but there should have been enough skill knowledge and experience within the McLaren and Red Bull camps to keep Alonso back in 4th or 5th, but they both made mistakes. Alonso and Perez didn't.

 

[Bill Boddy]

The only way the weather played into the hands of Alonso or Perez was to even out the playing field a little, but there should have been enough skill knowledge and experience within the McLaren and Red Bull camps to keep Alonso back in 4th or 5th, but they both made mistakes. Alonso didn't and Perez made only a minor one.

Just for the record.

 

[Kewee]

Just for the record.

Thanks Bill. I thought about that when I typed it but didn't acknowledge the mistake Perez made as it didn't impact on his position with regard to Lewis or Webber. I stand corrected though.

Bill you correct me in the nicest possible way, unlike some who love to try and tear me to shreds.

 

[johnnoble1990]

I'd have been the greatest Brad Pitt lookalike in the world if only he'd looked more like me.

I'm stealing that and passing it off for my own.

 

[johnnoble1990]

The only way the weather played into the hands of Alonso or Perez was to even out the playing field a little, but there should have been enough skill knowledge and experience within the McLaren and Red Bull camps to keep Alonso back in 4th or 5th, but they both made mistakes. Alonso and Perez didn't.

I think that is a bit of an over-simplification. It is certainly true that wet weather makes skill more important, which is the main reason Alonso won, but it also resets what is fast. Although being fastest in the dry makes it more likely for a car to be fastest in the wet, it is not a certainty and it appears both Mclarens struggled with their tyres at the last race in the wet.

I also don't think Mclaren can be accused of making a mistake with Lewis. They cannot predict pit stop traffic, and Jenson's mistake was his own.

 

[Kewee]

I think that is a bit of an over-simplification. It is certainly true that wet weather makes skill more important, which is the main reason Alonso won, but it also resets what is fast. Although being fastest in the dry makes it more likely for a car to be fastest in the wet, it is not a certainty and it appears both Mclarens struggled with their tyres at the last race in the wet.

I also don't think Mclaren can be accused of making a mistake with Lewis. They cannot predict pit stop traffic, and Jenson's mistake was his own.

The tyre situation was probably compounded by the timing of pit stops more than anything. The point I was making was Alonso was flawless, the competition wasn't. Lewis's situation was difficult to figure, normally he would have hunted down lesser cars, especially in the wet, yet I haven't heard anything from the McLaren camp regarding problems with their wet weather set up or tyres.