Grand Prix 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

You are obviously reading the motorsport news which means you must also have read that there was a problem with Alonso's car. It was down on top speed and they are trying to find the cause.
Kimi's better result was through improving the front braking not an aero issue. Not quite sure why you would want to criticise Rory Byrne, he designed all the Championship winning cars during Schumacher's years at Ferrari and has been the only designer considered to be Newey's equal.

I checked Alonso's speed at the sector timing points over the three sessions:


S1 S2 S3 (Finish line)



Q1 240 259 283


Q2 240 260 286

Q3 (last flyer) 239 260 282



Kimi for comparison clocked 242/262/285 in his Q3 efforts. For what it's worth, these speeds don't support the claims of PU problems.
 
Slyboogy ......

Alonso said he was four tenths slower in Q3 when he was carrying less fuel than he was in Q2 and doesn't know why. He said possibly the floor was damaged and they were going to investigate to see if they could find the reason.
 
Slyboogy .....

I'm sure you realise there's a lot more to lap times than outright top speed. Red Bull was frequently down on top speed in past seasons but still managed a constant stream of pole laps.
 
I find it hard that Merc are going to let Lewis and Nico race. With so much information given by the team and telling the drivers how much fuel to save they are in control of their drivers speed. At best they will have a few laps of proper racing without interference before tyre/fuel management kicks in.
 
Just like Ferrari let Schumacher and Barrichello race, Mclaren let Hakkenien and Coulthard, Williams let Mansell and Pratese and Prost and Hill..........oh hang on!

I'm being a touch naughty as I do believe Nico and Lewis will be allowed to race. However I am under no illusions there will rules to what they allow. Most likely that they are racing until the final third of the race and then holding station with an option of being told to cool it if the wheel banging gets a bit over the top.

On another point Mr Bottas has had some great starts the last 2 races and could very well mug at least one of the Mercs off the line. Due to the nature of the long straights and thevdominance of the Merc I'm sure he won't stay there for long but it will probably be enough to give one Merc driver the advantage they need.
 
I think he's a bit more humble now. Consecutive world titles can go to your head. I'm sure Vettel will be embarrassed by his actions in 5 years time when he's still a quadruple World Champion.
 
Slyboogy .....

I'm sure you realise there's a lot more to lap times than outright top speed. Red Bull was frequently down on top speed in past seasons but still managed a constant stream of pole laps.

His final sector was his quickest I think, and Ferrari haven't reported a problem.

In saying that though, Raikkonen's PU has got changed just before the race, maybe both cars are having some issues.

I don't see Ferrari getting much of a result, they're down on top speed compared to those around them, and not good on the mediums.
 
Found this interesting. This is the mid-points of expected points totals for each driver by Sporting Index. The markets obviously anticipating a pretty quick revial from Red Bull when you consider the fact that Vettel is already 28 points behind Rosberg. They also expect Kvyat to beat Vergne. Hulkenberg to double Perez's points. Alonso to thrash Raikkonen and Vettel to thrash Ricciardo.

Hamilton 257
Rosberg 242
Vettel 210
Alonso 175
Button 135
Magnussen 132
Raikkonen 128
Ricciardo 124
Hulkenberg 116
Bottas 99
Massa 90
Perez 57
Grosjean 43
Maldonado 40
Kvyat 24.5
Vergne 22.5
Sutil 14
Gutierrez 9
Bianchi 8
Kobayashi 2
Chilton 2
Ericsson 1
 
So Sky shows a film about the 1973 season just before the bore fest that will be the 2014 Bahrain GP. Well done them, just to make us realise what we could have.
 
Jeez. Why is everyone always so fucking cynical about F1. We get this every season. The tyres are too good, the tyre aren't good enough. The overtaking is too easy, the overtaking is too hard. The racing is too artificial, the racing is too boring and we should engineer it to make it more exciting.

We have every reason to believe this is going to be a great race. Hulk, Alonso, Vettel and Ricciardo are all out of position and Rosberg is ahead of Hamilton, so at some point they will surely be wheel to wheel.
 
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Because F1 is predictable, sterile and too much about the technology than the driving. It broke my heart to hear Rosberg talking about "getting the correct settings on the steering wheel" before starting his pole lap. Take away the drivers ability to adjust things in the cockpit and let them get on with driving. Too much, too much, too much.

I'd also love to see a driver with personality being allowed to express themselves. Vettel has been called to the headmaster's office for using bad language? Give me a break, if people are offended by the occasional expletive they should use the cost of their Sky subscription to buy some ear plugs as they will hear much worse walking down any high street.
 
FB but it just sounds like you are picking and choosing what level of technology you believe is correct for testing a drivers skill. It's like amish logic. The correct level of technology was 1973 and everything invented afterwards is artificial. Driving has changed. Being able to set up a car correctly is just as important as picking the correct line and balancing the brakes and throttle correctly. If we didn't have all this technology F1 would be a dinosaur.

Also, the challenges for the drivers has increased this year compared to the last 10 years, so how are you still watching the sport if the technology annoys you?
 
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