The 2012 Season

[Josephiah]

Strange Horner doesn't see Webber as a threat

To be fair, he was asked which driver apart from Webber (according to JA on F1 this morning).

 

[FB]

Thanks for the clarification Josephiah

 

[steveg]

So Horner thinks Button is the biggest threat. Fine by me - let them ball watch while Hami sticks it in the back of the net !!

 

[Slyboogy]

let them ball watch while Hami sticks it in the back of the net !!

Of Raikkonens Lotus in the pitlane.

Sorry couldn't resist

 

[Mephistopheles]

For those wishing to look forward - some punts for 2012:

Vettel still the man to beat
Hamilton will return to form with a fast Mclaren out of the box, take the WDC - just, stick 2 fingers up at Whitmarsh, and saddle up with Brawn
Alonso to have a storming second half of the season as Ferrari finally find the missing link in their revolutionary new car - but it won't be enough
Kimi - a couple of podiums
Martin "lets talk about Jenson" Whitfarce will once again want to ermmm talk about Jenson
Eddie "George McCartney" Jordan will still talk bollocks
Dark Horse - Lotus
and for the romantics - Schumi will bag a win with a much improved Merc - but still finish behind Ross and retire

If any of that happens I'll put on a wig call myself Jemima puddle duck and say quack....

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Eddie "George McCartney" Jordan will still talk bollocks

If any of that happens I'll put on a wig call call myself Jemima puddle duck and say quack....

how much do wigs cost?

 

[Mephistopheles]

Hello cookin, Eddie talking bollocks isn't a prediction it's a given.

 

[steveg]

Of Raikkonens Lotus in the pitlane.

Wonder if he's heard "red light spells danger" by Billy Ocean.

Don't think he'll do that again in a hurry.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Meph, maybe Eddie will lend you his wig

 

[Mephistopheles]

 

[RasputinLives]

So Horner thinks Button is the biggest threat. Fine by me - let them ball watch while Hami sticks it in the back of the net !!

Don't you think maybe Horner said that to get the exact reaction you've just had? Whenever anyone asks anyone who their biggest threat is they don't give the real answer they just give the answer they think will wind up their actual opposition the most in order to throw them off the game. Why do you think Alonso said Hamilton was his biggest rival at the end of last year? to piss off Vettel and Button. Same reason he said Schumacher was his biggest threat in 2010.

Don't for a second think that Horner is sitting in the Red Bull garage telling everyone to just ignore Lewis.

I hate this PR crap

 

[Kewee]

For those wishing to look forward - some punts for 2012:

Vettel still the man to beat
Hamilton will return to form with a fast Mclaren out of the box, take the WDC - just, stick 2 fingers up at Whitmarsh, and saddle up with Brawn
Alonso to have a storming second half of the season as Ferrari finally find the missing link in their revolutionary new car - but it won't be enough
Kimi - a couple of podiums
Martin "lets talk about Jenson" Whitfarce will once again want to ermmm talk about Jenson
Eddie "George McCartney" Jordan will still talk bollocks
Dark Horse - Lotus
and for the romantics - Schumi will bag a win with a much improved Merc - but still finish behind Ross and retire

I don't understand the anti Martin Whitmarsh sentiment. Every time Hamilton had a problem with other drivers and the stewards last year, who stood by him and defended him to the hilt, Martin Whitmarsh. Just because he gets on well with Button doesn't mean he doesn't support and help Lewis.

 

[Josh]

I don't understand the anti Martin Whitmarsh sentiment. Every time Hamilton had a problem with other drivers and the stewards last year, who stood by him and defended him to the hilt, Martin Whitmarsh. Just because he gets on well with Button doesn't mean he doesn't support and help Lewis.

I think that for most people it's more of a joke rather than anything serious.

 

[Kewee]

I think that for most people it's more of a joke rather than anything serious.

Thanks Josh. I'm a Kiwi so I guess the humor got lost in translation. I have a tendency to leap to the defense of people I like and I think Martin Whitmarsh is doing a great job of leading McLaren.

 

[steveg]

Does anyone think that a big part of Hamilton's problems last season was the degradation of tyres ? Take Singapore where his initial 2 stop strategy was compromised when he inadvertently found himself stuck behind the two Mercs and having to race hard to get past them. After passing them his engineer was on the radio telling him "well done we're half way thru our window keep it up". Two laps later and
he's in the pits having to change tyres and everythings down the swany.

For 2012 we have more compounds that are closer together and will possibly degrade even more. Theres no doubt that Hamilton will be fast in quali but I'm worried that the tyres will always spoil everything in the race. What I'm pinning my hopes on is that Vettel was quick last year and the tyres didnt hamper him and that was because the RB was good on its tyres - but then Webber suffered badly so maybe not.

I guess what I'm trying to say is for tyre management - how much is down to car and how much is down to driver and most importantly can Hamilton adapt his style slightly if he has to, stay consistently fast in races and do the business?

 

[Andyoak]

Does anyone think that a big part of Hamilton's problems last season was the degradation of tyres ?

I guess what I'm trying to say is...
... can Hamilton adapt his style slightly if he has to, stay consistently fast in races and do the business?

Short and sweet today...
I think Hamilton got too distracted by stuff outside the racing last year.
Comments from McLaren and on here seemed to show that Hamilton was not significantly harder on tyres than Button. My gut feeling is that the car set-up has more impact on tyre degredation than the driver.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Absolutely agree. His biggest problem was tangling with other drivers. I think there were equal occasions where Lewis was just as good or better on his tyres and Jenson. I think ending up back in the pack on too many occasions may have made Lewis' tyre wear look worse than it was at some times as he was having to drive aggressively to move forward.

 

[steveg]

Sounds like positive stuff. Just hoping that Hamiltons aggressive driving doesn't hinder him too much as I love to see him throw his car through those corners. I'm guessing that all cars will be running with less downforce this year which in itself will degrade the tyres faster regardless of compound - including Vettel who probably benefitted most last year from RBs massive downforce and subsequent less tyre wear (and the fact he was nearly always in clean air) so everyone is in the same boat. Cheers guys.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

If thier car is quick enough, Lewis especially has the advantage of maybe saving more fresh tyres through qualli too. If you are quick enough then there is a compound effect where all sorts of other advantages come to you.

 

[RasputinLives]

Hamiltons aggressive driving

We all talk about Hamilton's aggressive driving style but I wondered if he really is that aggressive compared to everyone else. I know his style differs from Button's Granny in the back stick to the line style but he's just as quick on the slower circuits that require that sort of thing. I just wonder if their is a way we can a driver is driving more aggressivly than another stats wise.