Are the wheels coming off Sebastian Vettel?
Discussion
Following on from the trend where it seems that if a driver has a bad weekend or two then it must be time for him to retire... 
Seb Vet has been having a tough season what with the breakdowns he's suffered etc, and quite often he puts on a really glum face after the race when things haven't gone his way.
Now I don't have a problem with that, show me a good loser and i'll show you a loser etc. But watching today's race i was wondering what he was going to look like afterwards, because now it's not a case of breaking down or he and/or the team not getting the strategy right or whatever - now it's a straight case of him not being as quick as his team mate, and that was *never* in the script.
Button has had some flack for not being as quick as his team mate, but despite that he's still won two races and has been well ahead of him in the championship, and besides, his team mate is Lewis Hamilton and not Mark Webber, whilst at Mercedes Schumacher is now at least getting to grips with his team mate.
However it doesn't seem long ago that just about everyone was telling me that Sebastion Vettel is better than Lewis Hamilton, but that really isn't looking to be the case right now. Seb is being out-quallied and comfortably out-raced and certainly out-paced by a driver who has only been highly regarded by a very few.
I really am wondering how he's going to address this situation. I was thoroughly expecting mark Webber to be getting the kicking of his life by a much fancied mini-Schumi this season, but it isn't happening. Right now MW is quicker, and that's got nothing to do with Seb's breakdowns or brake problems or whatever, it's just about downright speed.
Should he call it quits soon?
Seb Vet has been having a tough season what with the breakdowns he's suffered etc, and quite often he puts on a really glum face after the race when things haven't gone his way.
Now I don't have a problem with that, show me a good loser and i'll show you a loser etc. But watching today's race i was wondering what he was going to look like afterwards, because now it's not a case of breaking down or he and/or the team not getting the strategy right or whatever - now it's a straight case of him not being as quick as his team mate, and that was *never* in the script.
Button has had some flack for not being as quick as his team mate, but despite that he's still won two races and has been well ahead of him in the championship, and besides, his team mate is Lewis Hamilton and not Mark Webber, whilst at Mercedes Schumacher is now at least getting to grips with his team mate.
However it doesn't seem long ago that just about everyone was telling me that Sebastion Vettel is better than Lewis Hamilton, but that really isn't looking to be the case right now. Seb is being out-quallied and comfortably out-raced and certainly out-paced by a driver who has only been highly regarded by a very few.
I really am wondering how he's going to address this situation. I was thoroughly expecting mark Webber to be getting the kicking of his life by a much fancied mini-Schumi this season, but it isn't happening. Right now MW is quicker, and that's got nothing to do with Seb's breakdowns or brake problems or whatever, it's just about downright speed.
Should he call it quits soon?
team underdog said:
The key for the Red Bulls is qualifying, because of their "after you sir" team orders on pit stops. Webber's taken 3 poles in the last 4 races and is clearly getting on top of his qualifying form.
It's gonna be a close battle between them for the rest of the year.
Last race Webber was well ahead down the road while Seb couldn't even keep pace with while still seeming to wear his brakes out.It's gonna be a close battle between them for the rest of the year.
This race, from the start and after each SC period, Mark pulled out a lead. None of this has anything to do with qually or pit stops.
Maybe MW has finally fully recovered from his really bad leg injuries and was never really that bad afterall?
When MW first entered F1 I remember saying (to myself) there's a future WDC contender/winner, based on his quali pace, but he never got it together in the race. Like a few drivers in the past and present (thinks Trulli as a quali specialist, only). He often messed up in the races. But a win can transform a drivers self-belief and with that their composure. How often in the past have you seen a driver be not so great for years but then win his first race in one season and be serious contender in the next, regardless of the opposition? Mansell and Hakkinen immediately spring to mind. Once they break that barrier it seems they never lose it either...
For some drivers proving their self-belief to themselves - confidence - is everything. Others, like Vettel, seem to have it from the start.
When MW first entered F1 I remember saying (to myself) there's a future WDC contender/winner, based on his quali pace, but he never got it together in the race. Like a few drivers in the past and present (thinks Trulli as a quali specialist, only). He often messed up in the races. But a win can transform a drivers self-belief and with that their composure. How often in the past have you seen a driver be not so great for years but then win his first race in one season and be serious contender in the next, regardless of the opposition? Mansell and Hakkinen immediately spring to mind. Once they break that barrier it seems they never lose it either...
For some drivers proving their self-belief to themselves - confidence - is everything. Others, like Vettel, seem to have it from the start.
Sometimes you are on a high, sometimes on a low. You see it all the time in other teams, so why not Red Bull?
Right now the two drivers are even on points, even on qualifying form, and even on race form. The only difference is that Mark has one more GP win. There are still 13 more races to go. As Murray Walker used to say, anything can happen in Formula One, and it usually does.
Right now the two drivers are even on points, even on qualifying form, and even on race form. The only difference is that Mark has one more GP win. There are still 13 more races to go. As Murray Walker used to say, anything can happen in Formula One, and it usually does.
Edited by Jungles on Monday 17th May 13:14
Mazda Baiter said:
mattikake said:
Maybe MW has finally fully recovered from his really bad leg injuries and was never really that bad afterall?
It wasn't the broken leg that was the big problem. His broken clavical (collarbone) was the major problem for him.They have by far the quickest car and it seems to be like the Brawn dominance of last year with the younger Jenson up against the older Rubens BUT Webber just seems to be the better driver at the moment with the cooler head - can also race from behind wheras Vettel only seems to perform when leading.
Problem is that Brawn slowed down after race 6-7 last year wheras Redbull have an F-Duct on the Horizon and just dont seem to be getting any slower so unless they have a run of bad luck with reliability then i think it could be a two horse race with the un-fashionable Webber taking it.
Bookies now have Vettel as Favourite. Webber as second with Alonso 3rd,Lewis 4th.
Problem is that Brawn slowed down after race 6-7 last year wheras Redbull have an F-Duct on the Horizon and just dont seem to be getting any slower so unless they have a run of bad luck with reliability then i think it could be a two horse race with the un-fashionable Webber taking it.
Bookies now have Vettel as Favourite. Webber as second with Alonso 3rd,Lewis 4th.
mattikake said:
Mazda Baiter said:
mattikake said:
Maybe MW has finally fully recovered from his really bad leg injuries and was never really that bad afterall?
It wasn't the broken leg that was the big problem. His broken clavical (collarbone) was the major problem for him.heebeegeetee said:
We saw mods to brake cooling on the Rbs at this race - does anyone know if both cars were modified or just Seb's?
In generally, modifications are done to both cars unless explicitly stated otherwise. All the tech talk about the change of brake cooling for the RB6 pertain to the car in general, rather than Vettel's car in particular.toovo1985 said:
During yesterday's race we heard Webber's engineer telling him to be careful with the brakes. So it's a problem affecting both RB6s
All teams had to be careful about brake temperature at Monaco. Hamilton was warned by his engineer about his front brakes during the race (I loved Hamilton's reply: "What the hell?!").Edited by Jungles on Monday 17th May 13:26
Jungles said:
Hamilton was warned by his engineer about his front brakes during the race (I loved Hamilton's reply: "What the hell?!").
You missed the best bit - do you want me to race these guys or not?!?! As poor old Seb - I bet he's gutted - I understand that he doesn't like losing to Webber.... But it just means he is going to try harder which makes the game more fun for us..
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