To finish or not to finish? Why did they fail?

Speshal

World Champion
Valued Member
I think he's always been a racer Jen, just if you qualify and pole and have the best car which keeps you at the front for most of the race it's very easy to think he can't overtake. He may not be as aggressive as, say, a Lewis Hamilton but look where that often leaves him, up in front of the stewards or parked by the side of the track watching everyone else whizz by.

14 DNFs for Vettel and 9 for Hamilton to date :p
 
It should read 15 DNFs for Vettel = 9 with Torro Rosso 6 with Red Bull

It makes a big difference, and no disrespect to Torro Rosso, they are not the most reliable package around. Of the 6 RB retirements, a few of those were last season, Australia, Turkey and Korea?
 
It should read 15 DNFs for Vettel = 9 with Torro Rosso 6 with Red Bull

So, Mr Speshal, how many down to mechanical failures and how many due to cocking up an overtake? Vettel got it wrong in Turkey and Belgium 2010 and Australia '09 (?), can't think of many others.
 
So, Mr Speshal, how many down to mechanical failures and how many due to cocking up an overtake? Vettel got it wrong in Turkey and Belgium 2010 and Australia '09 (?), can't think of many others.

Aus, Korea were defo mechanical failures.
 
Seb should really have at least 1 more DNF, while Lewis should have 2 more.

Vettel spun off at Malaysia 09 and the car stalled.

Hamilton crashed out at Italy 09 and had a rim failure at Spain 10.
 
Also, Vettel had a lot of mechanical failures in 2009, ones spring to mind, Valencia and Germany, may be a few others nicking around there.

Another thing, Vettel in the Toro Rosso in 2008 was in a car at the back of the field (start of the season) and didn't finish the first three races, so he was bound to get into a tangle back then, unlike Hamilton who has been at the reliable McLaren (ever since 2007).
 
Alonso's last two retirements have involved walls and water (Canada this year, Belgium last). There were 3 in 2009, of which one was a collision in Brazil which was not his fault. There was another crash at Canada amongst his 3 retirements in 2008. In 2007 there was only his wall-ouch at Fuji. There were two retirements in 2006 (both mechanical) and the two North American rounds in 2005.

9 of his retirements came in the PS01 in 2001.
 
Alonso's last two retirements have involved walls and water (Canada this year, Belgium last). There were 3 in 2009, of which one was a collision in Brazil which was not his fault. There was another crash at Canada amongst his 3 retirements in 2008. In 2007 there was only his wall-ouch at Fuji. There were two retirements in 2006 (both mechanical) and the two North American rounds in 2005.

9 of his retirements came in the PS01 in 2001.

Spa 2010 was bad, I don't think he recovered from the lap 2 shunt from behind.

2008 was an unreliable car in the first part of the season, and 2009 was a hopeless car.

The 2005/2006 DNF's were much like that time, you can have a good car but mechanical problems were always a realistic possibility.
 
The 2005/2006 DNF's were much like that time, you can have a good car but mechanical problems were always a realistic possibility.

The most important point is that Alonso had 3 DNFs in 2 years. That explains his titles - especially against the car killer Raikkonen. Thats ignoring Indy, of course.
 
The most important point is that Alonso had 3 DNFs in 2 years. That explains his titles - especially against the car killer Raikkonen. Thats ignoring Indy, of course.

I was pretty much leaning towards that point, and good old DC has spoken of how you could not bank on finishing a race at that period, due to the fact that cars were not bulletproof like now, back then the least amount of DNF's won the title, nowdays, even Seb with a number of DNF's and poor finishes can win 7 races and the title. So it is a combination of reliability and a very talented drivers field.
 
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