It irks me that the rulebook allows tire changes, or even any work on the cars at all. If they restarted on their old tires chances are we'd be looking at Alonso or Button on the top spot of the podium.

If the race is red flagged all the teams should be allowed to do is hook up the necessary cooling fans to keep the cars from overheating. When the race goes back to a safety car condition then you can pit to change tires or repair damage...

As for Hamilton... Definitely. He is great fun to watch, thats for sure.

ATX June 17th!!!!!!

Formula 1? - The Official F1? Website

Wow. One year to build the track. They will be cutting it close.

wooooooooow! formula 1 finally in Bahrain... 28 29 30 October!

Awesome! Can't wait for the USGP!

I'm on my phone so I am not caught up with all the F1 news, but I guess they fit Bahrain into the calendar this year? That is great if so.

Woo! Finally caught up with the races I missed and I can read the thread again. :)

They moved the Indian GP to put Bahrain in it's position... but I bet you $10 that Bahrain will be pulled this year. WMSC voted to put it back on the calendar but the teams do not want to go because of the political situation. I would have been PISSED if I had Indian GP tickets and they moved the race.

Also: SEE YOU ALL NEXT JUNE 17! We should have a US GP party. :)

edit: OH HEY http://planet-f1.com/driver/18227/69...tion-applauded

it has already been reported Bahrain is off again

Bahrain Grand Prix Cancelled, Again | Motorward

oops. I should have read the link you added ...

THAT was a finish!
 

....just switched over from Pocono, to see what was a GREAT F1 finish -- Vettle seemed to get just a little into the wet stuff, and Walla, a McLaren #1! Wow, what a fantastic finish!

That was an awesome finish!

Even with all the problems -- extended rain delay, extended safety car laps, it ended up a great race. And, I agree. The end was exciting.

Vettel normally displays driving masterclass in wet conditions (see Monza 2008), so I was surprised he didn't pull this one out. That goes to show you what one lapse in concentration does in F1. I have to say, I saw a mistake coming, with the way Button was applying intense pressure to Seb to keep a cool drive on the last lap. But credit to Button for drawing the mistake and taking advantage. Seb is still killing it in drivers standings, and as long as he stays consistent, he should be taking another driver's crown come Brazil this year.


On a side note, which of the McLaren drivers was in the wrong earlier in the race?

Re: Vettel -- his tires were shot anyways. Whether he lost it there or not Button was still going to fly by him down the straight with the DRS. I don't know about you guys, but I feel like the DRS gives the chasing driver too much of an advantage... it virtually guarantees a successful pass.

Re: McLaren drivers -- I think it was a racing incident. You could say Button shouldn't have come down and you could say that Hamilton should have backed off, but at the end of the day it was hard racing and you know that both Lewis and Jensen have no ill-will towards one another.

I totally agree with you on the DRS. Overtaking should be entirely up to the prowess of the driver, not the car aiding him:




And regarding McLaren, I think Jensen was positioning his car for the correct line in that corner, but he had to know his teammate was behind him. Lewis probably should have let off to let Jensen get his line, but I think he was under the impression his team mate would have given enough space between the cars. Who knows, but you can imagine the Paddy Lowe was facepalming when this was all going down.

I think it was Button's fault - I don't think he needed to move to the outside that far from the corner, and I thought the next real corner was to the left?

I don't think DRS is too much of an advantage - if you are faster than the car behind you, you should be able to pull too much of a gap for DRS to be effective. Otherwise, you can just pass him again next time around using your DRS. It only works for the driver behind if he can pull out more than a second a lap after passing - in which case, he shouldn't have to be held up - that's what got F1 it's train/no pass reputation.

He very well could have been moving over then to ensure he had the inside line for the first corner so hamilton couldn't get by. Either way, I chalk it up to good, hard racing.

The "F1 Supremo".
Bernie Ecclestone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Off topic, it's nice to have a very rich daddy like Bernie!
U.K. Heiress Buys America's Most Expensive Mansion - Yahoo! Real Estate

Man what a great race. I jumped up and cheered when Vettel nearly spun. I only wish Schumi could have finished in 2nd. :)

The SC start was lame... and so was the restart. They kept it out way way too long. I don't understand what they were thinking in keeping the SC out long enough for everyone to go to inters. I'm with Brundle in thinking that F1 is becoming too health and safety conscious.

Nice Race. Vettel #1 again, but a good 2nd by Alonzo for Ferrari

I cannot stand Vettel, he looks like a pansy a$$, tippy toe fairy!

Most boring race this season.

Kind-of what was expected of Valencia. :)

That the only reason you can't stand Seb? Because of his looks? The sport is about driving, and winning, and Seb does that pretty well. Not sure where all the animosity towards Seb is coming from...

He's a damn impressive driver that's for sure... I'm not sure what it is that bugs me about him... I think it's that crooked finger. :)

I would much rather see Vettel dominate than see Hamilton pay Glock to win.

I am with you about Glock - Massa should have won that year.

If only the whole season was more like Suzuka, was nice to see that Red Bull wasn't sandbagging on Friday and the McLarens really were faster! Too little, far too late but the fight for 2nd should be interesting and it'd be nice to see Team Lotus score their first points, both finished on the lead lap this weekend!

WTF Batman: New Jersey too?
Formula One coming to New Jersey in 2013

So Seb isn't THAT hard to beat.........as long as he goes out in the first 5 sec of the first lap with a terminal tyre puncture.........<grin>