The Official Summer Break Thread 2011 ***SPOILERS***
Discussion
So at just over halfway through the season how does everyone think it has been?
Who have you been impressed with?
I have been very impressed with Perez. My prediction is that he will be at Sauber next year until Massa is out of his contract and then he will have a number 2 Ferrari seat next to Alonso for a year or two before becoming number 1 in the team. I rate Di Resta more now, than I did at the start of the year and I can quite easily see Eddie Jordan's prediction coming true of Di Resta and Sutil at Force India next year with Sutil going to Williams.
Unfortunately, unless Vettel has an incident/incidents that put him out for 4 races, the championship is his. I think the constructors championship is still quite open though. Mclaren seem to have made a step forwards to be faster than Red Bull in the race and a lot closer in qualifying. I think Alonso is just creating headlines by saying that McLaren will be helping him win the WDC. He needs to win more races to do that. Nice to see Massa have some pace again. I hope it continues and he can get another win before the start of next season when it will be back to normal "Ferrari equal status" in the team.
One team that I think will spring a surprise in the next two races is Mercedes. They are in a similar position to Force India a couple of years ago. They fundamentally lack downforce, but they have very little drag. Their DRS system is widely acknowledged as the best out there. I think they will spring a surprise at Spa and Monza, infact I might even place a cheeky bet on a Schumacher win in Belgium.
Over to you guys. Keep it clean and friendly in this thread, it's a long time to wait with nowhere to chat about nothing in particular.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the season so far and the last couple of races have spiced things up for those behind Vettel.
Great to see Perez fighting with Alonso, especially after the former's accident in Monaco.
As you say, unless Vettel has mechanical/technical issues, then the championship is his, but, nothing is guaranteed and half the season to go.
A few events are the "hot" ones (Singapore, Japan, Korea, India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil) and am very much looking forward to Spa-Francorchamps, 26-28 August.
Hamilton is 88 points behind Vettel and I think McLaren have improved in terms of performance?
Great discussion thread.
Great to see Perez fighting with Alonso, especially after the former's accident in Monaco.
As you say, unless Vettel has mechanical/technical issues, then the championship is his, but, nothing is guaranteed and half the season to go.
A few events are the "hot" ones (Singapore, Japan, Korea, India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil) and am very much looking forward to Spa-Francorchamps, 26-28 August.
Hamilton is 88 points behind Vettel and I think McLaren have improved in terms of performance?
Great discussion thread.
This year WDC is Vettels to lose! As long as he stays inthe points in each race then there is no way anyone can catch him. But said that if Vettel had a runs of Webbers bad luck and 2x DNF then a 40 point gap can is something that other drivers may be able to work on.
I cant wait for Spa at the end of August. Have weekend tickets to the GP and cant wait!
I cant wait for Spa at the end of August. Have weekend tickets to the GP and cant wait!
Graebob said:
Me and Mrs Graebob are going to Spa. First time we've ever been to F1. So I will mostly be spending my summer break vibrating with excitement.
Mrs Graebob should enjoy that. 
Enjoy Spa, if you've never been you won't believe how steep Eau Rouge is the first time you see it!
Life Saab Itch said:
Graebob said:
Me and Mrs Graebob are going to Spa. First time we've ever been to F1. So I will mostly be spending my summer break vibrating with excitement.
Mrs Graebob should enjoy that. Enjoy Spa, if you've never been you won't believe how steep Eau Rouge is the first time you see it!
if you get there early to spa, you can definitely get onto the track and start scribbling stuff - they open up a lot of the access roads through the forest. a couple years back, i was able to drive the old spa loop and then come back onto the track on the nice right-hander which is now an access road, before the town, then round up and up eau rouge, and pop off the track again at the top back onto the public roads 
and drive round the actual new circuit too (but not at any speed as there were lots of people working on it) - that was on a wednesday tho.
i think vettel is going to a button of the brawn era - not going to make life especially easy for himself but he's so far ahead, he just needs to keep finishing inside the top 10.
and drive round the actual new circuit too (but not at any speed as there were lots of people working on it) - that was on a wednesday tho.i think vettel is going to a button of the brawn era - not going to make life especially easy for himself but he's so far ahead, he just needs to keep finishing inside the top 10.
vonuber said:
I've been impressed with Di Resta and Force india as a whole. I think they may beat be in for a shout of 5th in the constructors (don't think they will beat the Mercs, but probably the Renaults).
Not a chance. Force India are 40 points behind Renault and they only have 26 points at the moment. If they get to Renault's current score I think they'll be reasonably happy.Williams are having a pitiful season, only four points. They could really have done with Maldonado getting to the finish in Monaco. Been mildly impressed with the way Mal'do has upped his game, in the first few races it looked like he'd never get out of quali 1.
Mr_Thyroid said:
Williams are having a pitiful season, only four points. They could really have done with Maldonado getting to the finish in Monaco. Been mildly impressed with the way Mal'do has upped his game, in the first few races it looked like he'd never get out of quali 1.
I agree.Williams have disappointed me this season. They have a conceptually brilliant design, but they obviously can't make it work. Barrichello is a superb development driver, so I am sure that he is getting the most out of the car, Maldonado seems to have upped his game too. I think it is just the car. :/
I hope that the loss(gain) of losing Sam Micheal and the gain of Mike Coughlan for next year will see the team further up the grid.
I think that not letting Adam "I know f
k all about F1" Parr anywhere near a microphone or a camera would be a good move too.Vettel - He might not be able to compete when in the pack and his performances in changeable conditions have been woefull but he still has bucketloads of raw pace and as long as he's got a car capable of putting him on the front row he won't be losing much sleep. Something needs to go badly wrong for him to lose this one now.
Webber - Still one of the best Teir 2 drivers, still can't start for toffee but has the machinery to win a race here and there (as long as he doesn't put it on pole )
Hamilton - Has cost himself alot of points that he didn't need to, but on the positives he seems to be learning from it and it should make him stronger for next year. Still an overtaking genius and can be mesmerically fast when he is in the right frame of mind.
Button - Easily the most "mature" of the drivers in any of the top three teams. He continues to impress not just with his pace but with his thinking-mans approach. Peerless in changeable conditions. Needs to be more consistent in qualifying if he wants to be winning races in the dry.
Alonso - I'm no fan but god damn the boy can pedal an F1 car. Using his head more and more but needs a small miracle from here to take the championship.
Massa - He's not the man he was before the double blow of the accident and Germany '10 and to be honest he wasn't really top drawer then IMO. Still capable of having a great weekend and picking off a win (as long as Fernando isn't anywhere nearby) but the qualifying score of 10-1 speaks volumes.
Schumacher - seems to be getting the hang of his second time around but a couple of silly mistakes have cost him what would otherwise have been some cracking results. Proving himself a real first lap specialist but you can't help but think he'd be better off sorting his qaulifying out and making his life a bit easier.
Rosberg - Has got great pace but to me he sometimes looks like he can't be bothered on a Sunday.
Heidfeld - Had a solid opening to the season but seems to have faded. He still seems to be a canny customer when battling in the pack but appears to have completely forgotten how to qualify. Sadly I think that with elements of the team seemingly against him that it's going to be downhill from here.
Petrov - Improving all the time, really seems to have got the hang of defending a position from a faster car, watching him fend off Button in Germany was fascinating.
Barichello - The car seems to flip flop between bad and worse, so it's difficult to tell how he's doing. He'll stay where he is for next year because in the 2012 market what exactly are the alternatives?
Moldonado - So much meh.
Sutil - Sutil has always had promise, you couldn't help but feel that this year was his chance to show it. Unfortunately he has been shown up by DiResta - if he doesn't step up and soon then I see a Virgin/HRT/Lotus in his future.
Di Resta - One or two clumsy moments but otherwise massively impressive.
Kobayashi - Still fast and tenacious, feels like he deserves a better car but do the top teams view him as too mercurial?
Perez - seems fast and mature for his age, very easy to forget he is a rookie.
Buemi - He's not that fast, he's not reliable, what's this guy's USP again?
Alguersuari - Untill very recently he looked to be filling out dole forms but seems to have had a kick up the arse from somewhere and has turned in a couple of decent drives. Needs to sustain this though or he'll soon be asking me if I want fries with that.
Kovalainen - He might not be getting much glory but it looks like he is doing a stellar job down at Lotus.
Trulli - Much has been made of his PAS issues, allegedly sorted now he had a better weekend in Hungary. Needs to keep it going.
Karthikeyan - He was slow last time he was in F1 and if anything I think he was slower this time. Can't say I expected anything else really.
Liuzzi - Like Rubens it's hard to say how he is doing given the car but I wouldn't imagine any of the higer teams have him on their radar right now.
Glock - Doing a solid job, worthy of a seat at Sauber/Force India when one of their boys moves on surely?
d'Ambrosio - Gaz said it all "a few rookie mistakes but fairly solid in an awful car."
Teams:
RedBull - Numerous pitstop errors, and senior management blunders but they have such a good car that they are getting away with it.
Mclaren - Best driver line up bar none and the technical team have really pulled some impressive improvements out of the bag to bring the car up to scratch. Think they are running out of races though.
Ferrari - If they had remembered to set their alarm in time to turn up for the first half of the season then they could have been in a strong position. As it is I think it's too little too late.
Mercedes - Are the redunancies they had to make during the 2009 season still causing them pain? Once again the car looks to have fundamental downforce issues and is shredding rear tires left right and centre. They need to have something seriously good in the works for next year or the head honchos at Merc are going to get very shouty methinks.
Williams - you knew the car was pretty rough from day1 but once Sam Michael went you knew that the year was a write-off. As some who remembers the heyday fondly it makes me sad to see them like this
Team Lotus - the only new boys that look like they might just take that step into the midfield. I don't think it will happen this year but maybe next.
Lotus Renault - they tried someting clever on the exhaust front and while it showed early promise they seem to struggle to maket the car work consistently. Boulier can mumble about Kubica all he likes but as good as Robert is I don't think he'd have been winning races in that car.
Webber - Still one of the best Teir 2 drivers, still can't start for toffee but has the machinery to win a race here and there (as long as he doesn't put it on pole
)Hamilton - Has cost himself alot of points that he didn't need to, but on the positives he seems to be learning from it and it should make him stronger for next year. Still an overtaking genius and can be mesmerically fast when he is in the right frame of mind.
Button - Easily the most "mature" of the drivers in any of the top three teams. He continues to impress not just with his pace but with his thinking-mans approach. Peerless in changeable conditions. Needs to be more consistent in qualifying if he wants to be winning races in the dry.
Alonso - I'm no fan but god damn the boy can pedal an F1 car. Using his head more and more but needs a small miracle from here to take the championship.
Massa - He's not the man he was before the double blow of the accident and Germany '10 and to be honest he wasn't really top drawer then IMO. Still capable of having a great weekend and picking off a win (as long as Fernando isn't anywhere nearby) but the qualifying score of 10-1 speaks volumes.
Schumacher - seems to be getting the hang of his second time around but a couple of silly mistakes have cost him what would otherwise have been some cracking results. Proving himself a real first lap specialist but you can't help but think he'd be better off sorting his qaulifying out and making his life a bit easier.
Rosberg - Has got great pace but to me he sometimes looks like he can't be bothered on a Sunday.
Heidfeld - Had a solid opening to the season but seems to have faded. He still seems to be a canny customer when battling in the pack but appears to have completely forgotten how to qualify. Sadly I think that with elements of the team seemingly against him that it's going to be downhill from here.
Petrov - Improving all the time, really seems to have got the hang of defending a position from a faster car, watching him fend off Button in Germany was fascinating.
Barichello - The car seems to flip flop between bad and worse, so it's difficult to tell how he's doing. He'll stay where he is for next year because in the 2012 market what exactly are the alternatives?
Moldonado - So much meh.
Sutil - Sutil has always had promise, you couldn't help but feel that this year was his chance to show it. Unfortunately he has been shown up by DiResta - if he doesn't step up and soon then I see a Virgin/HRT/Lotus in his future.
Di Resta - One or two clumsy moments but otherwise massively impressive.
Kobayashi - Still fast and tenacious, feels like he deserves a better car but do the top teams view him as too mercurial?
Perez - seems fast and mature for his age, very easy to forget he is a rookie.
Buemi - He's not that fast, he's not reliable, what's this guy's USP again?
Alguersuari - Untill very recently he looked to be filling out dole forms but seems to have had a kick up the arse from somewhere and has turned in a couple of decent drives. Needs to sustain this though or he'll soon be asking me if I want fries with that.
Kovalainen - He might not be getting much glory but it looks like he is doing a stellar job down at Lotus.
Trulli - Much has been made of his PAS issues, allegedly sorted now he had a better weekend in Hungary. Needs to keep it going.
Karthikeyan - He was slow last time he was in F1 and if anything I think he was slower this time. Can't say I expected anything else really.
Liuzzi - Like Rubens it's hard to say how he is doing given the car but I wouldn't imagine any of the higer teams have him on their radar right now.
Glock - Doing a solid job, worthy of a seat at Sauber/Force India when one of their boys moves on surely?
d'Ambrosio - Gaz said it all "a few rookie mistakes but fairly solid in an awful car."
Teams:
RedBull - Numerous pitstop errors, and senior management blunders but they have such a good car that they are getting away with it.
Mclaren - Best driver line up bar none and the technical team have really pulled some impressive improvements out of the bag to bring the car up to scratch. Think they are running out of races though.
Ferrari - If they had remembered to set their alarm in time to turn up for the first half of the season then they could have been in a strong position. As it is I think it's too little too late.
Mercedes - Are the redunancies they had to make during the 2009 season still causing them pain? Once again the car looks to have fundamental downforce issues and is shredding rear tires left right and centre. They need to have something seriously good in the works for next year or the head honchos at Merc are going to get very shouty methinks.
Williams - you knew the car was pretty rough from day1 but once Sam Michael went you knew that the year was a write-off. As some who remembers the heyday fondly it makes me sad to see them like this
Team Lotus - the only new boys that look like they might just take that step into the midfield. I don't think it will happen this year but maybe next.
Lotus Renault - they tried someting clever on the exhaust front and while it showed early promise they seem to struggle to maket the car work consistently. Boulier can mumble about Kubica all he likes but as good as Robert is I don't think he'd have been winning races in that car.
Life Saab Itch said:
Mrs Graebob should enjoy that.
Enjoy Spa, if you've never been you won't believe how steep Eau Rouge is the first time you see it!
I have enclosed a picture of the circuit... nothing new I hear you say but if you look closely you will see that it includes the altitudes of the track in metres so you can see the gradients for yourself... for instance the climb from the bottom of Eau Rouge to the top of Kemmel (Les Combes)is 90m/270 feet. Enjoy Spa, if you've never been you won't believe how steep Eau Rouge is the first time you see it!
We been going there for over 20 years- now attending LMS instead of the GP but the advice will always be: bring your hiking boots to enable you to see the whole circuit... and bring RAIN GEAR - it will rain sooner or later
Last year we looked like polar explorers - this year it was too hot with dust everwhere
you can experience three seasons in one afternoon- I am yet to experience snow...
Life Saab Itch said:
What banners are people making for Spa?
All I have come up with is: "Bernie, stop blue-SKY thinking."
I wonder if some really keen fans could get access to the track at night and write some large visible chalk messages on the tarmac just like at the Nordschliefe...
Good idea. Although getting on the track is tricky at Spa. All I have come up with is: "Bernie, stop blue-SKY thinking."
I wonder if some really keen fans could get access to the track at night and write some large visible chalk messages on the tarmac just like at the Nordschliefe...
Hows about "Sky is NOT Free!" Bernie has always said F1 will remain free to air. Grrr...
MSTRBKR said:
Gaz. said:
Glock - I'm astonished this chap just extended his contract - is Virgin really the best this guy can do?
I agree, he's a great driver but where on earth would he go next season? As someone on the BBC team said last week, the 2012 market is actually very small.Did we ever find out what happened with Brendan Hartley quitting the test driver role at RBR? It seemed very hushed up at the time, then daniel ricciardo gets an F1 drive with HRT.
I agree with the above posters about the Torro Rosso drivers though. Time for a new line up. I wonder if they would have the balls to run Daniel Ricciardo and someone from another race series...someone totally new...someone who will have a home race next year...someone that Red Bull could put a lot of promotion in to...someone with a famous racing name...
Marco Andretti.
I agree with the above posters about the Torro Rosso drivers though. Time for a new line up. I wonder if they would have the balls to run Daniel Ricciardo and someone from another race series...someone totally new...someone who will have a home race next year...someone that Red Bull could put a lot of promotion in to...someone with a famous racing name...
Marco Andretti.
Forums | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff