June 30, 201313 yr Incredible race. I still don't get why they needed the safety car after "that" breakdown, nor why it took that long to get it off the track. Amazing race nonetheless.
June 30, 201313 yr Author Wild and wooly just doesn't seem to cover it! I think it was 1986 when catastrophic tire failures decided the championship in Australia. I can't quite remember all the details but IIRC, Mansell had the championship in hand until a rear tire flew apart on the last lap. I think I still have a VHS of that race laying around here somewhere. Man, is Pirelli on the hot seat or what? They are very lucky that none of the drivers were hurt. But what a race from so many of the drivers! Of course, Webber and Alonzo were spectacular but Massa and Hamilton cut through the pack like nobodies business, and Lewis could have made the podium with a little luck. And even though I'm pissed that Pirelli and the FIA could let this sort of thing happen (not allowing in season testing with current cars is insane!), this is the kind of race that really shows what the drivers and teams are made of and makes me proud to call myself an F1 fan!
June 30, 201313 yr I couldn't have said it better myself Steve. Except Vettel getting a DNF just made me smile sooo big.
July 1, 201313 yr Indeed. Sun. In England. That was the shocker... Man, is Pirelli on the hot seat or what? They are very lucky that none of the drivers were hurt.very true - even if one almost took Alonzo's head off..Great driving by the great drivers... when they are given new treads and don't have to worry about fuel, they kick ass.
July 7, 201312 yr Another entertaining race. Not that I liked the final result, but it could have been way worse.
July 8, 201312 yr Lotus is looking like the real deal. But it's going to be difficult to stop the Red Bull freight train. Ferrari? Who?
July 8, 201312 yr As the season is progressing, it'd be cheaper for Ferrari to fire Massa and hiring a decent driver, than keeping him summing 0 points every race. This time he didn't total the car
July 10, 201312 yr Author This race I took advantage of the delayed presentation on NBCSN and just watched qualifying live. I didn't notice any editing of the race like ESPN and Speed used to do with their "encore" showings so that was cool. It used to really bug me when they'd cut to commercial then come back with 15 laps run! I was worried that Ferrari had made a terrible mistake with their whole tire strategy but it wasn't too bad. I don't like to see a team making big decisions as a "reaction" . I guess that the "new" tires is almost like starting the season over for some teams. I hope it's settled by the next race. Seems like Webber made the right choice. The reshuffling of drivers should be very interesting.
July 14, 201312 yr As the season is progressing, it'd be cheaper for Ferrari to fire Massa and hiring a decent driver, than keeping him summing 0 points every race. This time he didn't total the car Perhaps Ferrari stayed with Massa this season to avoid training someone up for one season in the current cars as Alonso's co-driver. Maybe Massa brings a lot of money to Ferrari. To my mind, Hulkenberg would have been a great choice as Massa's replacement this year. At least Hulkenberg knows the current cars. Who knows, maybe Hulkenberg will be going to Ferrari next year. Edited July 14, 201312 yr by fordgtlover
July 14, 201312 yr Author My evil twin was wishing that Ferrari would hire Webber for the #2 drivers spot! Talk about incentive to develop a machine that would beat RBR! They could promise to pay any fines that Webber incurred for breaking "non disclosure" info about the details of Red Bull designs. But seriously, I do think that there's a bit of heart involved with keeping Massa. After all, he came so close to winning the championship in Brazil and then to have that spring come close to killing him! And even though Fiat is majority shareholder, all the decisions come from a family that's used to taking things like loyalty seriously.
July 28, 201312 yr Good solid strategy/skill racing this week... Kimi just keeps on coming on. and congrat to Lewis
July 29, 201312 yr A most enjoyable race. A really determined drive by Lewis giving him the result he deserved. Kimi really is a star, and despite holding up Vettel during the race, I would be surprised if he doesn't get picked up by Red Bull for next year. It was nice to see Vettel having to race rather than driving off into the distance. Mark had another good recovery drive. Sadly, Ferrari are still off the pace, but Alonso still manages to stay in touch with the faster cars.
July 29, 201312 yr I will be highly surprised if Kimi ends up at Red Bull next year. I doubt that young Mr. Vettel wants that kind of competition from a team mate in similar equipment. And Lotus has shown they can run at the front, so why leave? But, I am frequently wrong. Good race overall, but Ferrari might as well start diverting resources to next year's car as I don't see a way forward for them given their current pace. Unless Grosjean can keep running fast and start running into Vettel on a regular basis.... Summer break now, then to my fave two races of the year - Spa and Monza.
July 29, 201312 yr Ferrari needs to learn why the changes they test at the factory never end up working on the car at the races. If they can't get simulations right they're not going to have a competitive car ever. They need a better second driver too. I agree with Mike, I don't think Vettel, nor his Austrian patron, are ready for a challenging non German partner like Kimi. Or they can fuck up the car as they seem to regularly do with Weber's. I had that warm feeling when his car started to get hot... Vettel is really lucky, when Grosjean tried to overtake him at the race start, I saw the race ending for them both. Had it been Fernando, Kimi or Lewis, they'd have ended off the track Maybe at Spa hehehe.
July 29, 201312 yr Author I agree. I seriously doubt that Kimi will be the final choice to replace Mark. I can see how the decision is a difficult one though,.. Kimi has always been one of those drivers who takes a very active part in the development of the car and every team he's driven for has been the better for it. And fans (including myself) love him! One the other hand, can you imagine him as a mentor for Vettel? What a PR disaster that could be! Not saying it would happen, but it certainly could. Red Bull is a new type of team that was born out of the modern marketing. I think if the 'racing" decision was obvious, they would already know who their new driver will be. At this point, I would imagine that it's become a board room decision. Just trying to point out that there's a lot more in play here than how the two drivers are going to work together.
July 30, 201312 yr Agreed Steve. The dynamics behind the teams these days are so complex with sponsors, driver sponsors, manufacturers etc., it's amazing any decisions get made. Unless you're Ferrari and then it's just the Italians making decisions. Wrong decisions, but decisions none the less.
August 2, 201312 yr If Kimi is out of the picture, does that leave Daniel to replace Mark? Or does anyone think there is an option C?
August 4, 201312 yr My best guess would be Riciardo (sp). He's young, will do what his bosses say and won't buck Vettel. Sounds like exactly what they want as long as Vettel keeps winning.
August 23, 201312 yr Summer break is over and the next two races are my favorite of the year. Spa #1 and Monza #2. Let's see if Ferrari can pull its thumb out.
August 23, 201312 yr I try not to watch FP2 much anymore (gets to be a long weekend), but I might have to for these..
August 24, 201312 yr Spa is one of my favourites as well. Qualifying was very interesting. With rain expected for the race, we should be in for some excitement.
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