Italian Grand Prix - Monza

[sleepyhead]

Like I said, rain is the great equaliser and it wasn't like it was a tenth of a second, he was MILES off the pace. The race will be fun!

Oh and the commentators voice over during Q2 adds to the hilarity.

[staffsMike]

The commentating was so bad today, it was like Dodgeball if you take my meaning lol

In all fairness most of the leading times were made right at the start, it looked near impossible to do much after, apart from massa who did pretty well given the circumstances.

[sleepyhead]

The disappointing thing is...F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor racing yet...please shoot the commentators...it is not a comedy!

I think Massa is really coming into form and even though there are fan boys around here (and yes I would like a brit to win) I believe Massa will bag a bunch of points, especially where all his rivals are.

Heiki is doing blooming well at last. Please let his quali performance carry over to the race.

[staffsMike]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead

Heiki is doing blooming well at last. Please let his quali performance carry over to the race.

I thought that might have been just because he was out there at the start of the session in Q2 but he's doing well now as well so yeah, very good. Chances of him doing well in the race though, well, his past performances are against him.

[sleepyhead]

Wow....the 21 year old Vettel is on pole!!!! Fantastic!!! This is unbelieveable!!! Another young gun on the rise.

That was almost an embarresment...I forgot Heiki still hadn't crossed the line...lol.

[staffsMike]

He's done very well yeah, can't help but think he has compromised his race to get there though.

[sleepyhead]

Don't steal the boys thunder mate I'm happy for the guy. I'd suspect he'd finish in the top 8 but doubt a podium during the actual race but I'd love him to prove me wrong.

[staffsMike]

Lol I'm not trying to steal his thunder, just a feeling that he's as likely to make that a podium finish as Button is

I'd love to proved wrong though.

[sleepyhead]

It would make things so much more fun if the top 3 podium spots are not fulfilled with the typical winners.

I mis-read your post StaffsMike - I was typing while watching. My bad.

Just noticed Webber is third A driver who never achieved the potential he has.

[this_is_gav]

As most are expecting dry weather tomorrow, surely McLaren have put a full dry setup on Hamilton's car or something, with Heikki going a bit softer.

Perhaps more of the same at Ferrari, with Kimi softer than Massa.

I've a feeling Hamilton will go for an aggressive 2 stop strategy tomorrow, rather than taking the obvious route. Do what everyone else does, and he'll struggle more to overtake them, probably finishing 5th or 4th. Go aggressive and he'll slice through the field while those at the front are squabbling for 2nd place (Heikki ought to win easily enough).

Zonta showed what a poor car can do with a lighter fuel load in 2000. He was hurt by the race being only over about 40 laps or something in the end (with the medical personnel on the track and debris from the 2nd turn accident), but he'd have faired better if it was over the original distance. Surely a car many feel is the fastest here can win or at least lose minimal points by doing the same.

//edit: may have misread that weather thing. Most others seem to think it'll be wet. We'll see.

[staffsMike]

I thought they said it would be dry actually.

If it's dry Kimi and lewis have the setup advantage surely.

If it's wet, again they have the time to tinker with their cars and fuel load as well as there being the obvious unpredictability that wet races rarely fail to deliver

I don't doubt both Kimi and Lewis will do well or at least have the chance to do very well tomorrow, Kimi almost certainly will in the dry, lewis perhaps in the wet as Kimi does seem to struggle with the new cars in the wet.

[ACiD303]

Originally Posted by staffsMike

He's done very well yeah, can't help but think he has compromised his race to get there though.

For both cars to start front and second rows, for an outfit like Torro Rosso, they have little to lose, and all to gain. Chances of them winning are slim, always have been, but I hope they can capitalise on this (as I'm sure everyone is!). Anyway, Berger said that Vettel's car was set up for the dry, so they probably haven't compromised much (if any).

It doesn't really matter what they do tomorrow, they've already set history not just in terms of qualification, but being able to beat the traditional Scuderia stable on Italian grounds. Vettel, now youngest ever driver to score pole (he was the youngest ever driver to score a point when he drove for BMW briefly), is fast becoming my favourite driver.

I'm interested in what kind of team tactics there will be tomorrow - if any, with neither Kimi or Heikki subscribing to 2nd fiddle. The championship battle are at different ends and this could be a pivotal point for the season (as are many races, I'm sure).

Thinking back to this time last year, McLaren and Hamilton made quite a few errors - maybe history will repeat itself - I wouldn't be surprised either way. The tendency for Hamilton and McLaren to overdo it again is there and they may get desperate.

[digit]

Originally Posted by staffsMike

I thought they said it would be dry actually.

If it's dry Kimi and lewis have the setup advantage surely.

If it's wet, again they have the time to tinker with their cars and fuel load as well as there being the obvious unpredictability that wet races rarely fail to deliver

I don't doubt both Kimi and Lewis will do well or at least have the chance to do very well tomorrow, Kimi almost certainly will in the dry, lewis perhaps in the wet as Kimi does seem to struggle with the new cars in the wet.

On the subject of kimi though he seems to be struggling whether the conditions are in his favor or not. I'd say personally Massa would be the one to watch out for tommorow. As much as I like Kimi I don't think he is the one to get the results needed to lead / win the championship.

[staffsMike]

Well he did very well in the last race until the rain came and in fairness both he and lewis were having offs, although his seemed a bit worse and a bit more frequent.

It's a shame he stuffed it in the end because otherwise it was almost back to normal for him.

The thing about Kimi, as a self confessed Hamliton fan, is that whenever lewis is leading it doesn't matter where Kimi is, he is still so threatening. That's what makes him great in my eyes, he's always ready to pull something out of his sleeve.

[this_is_gav]

Originally Posted by digit

On the subject of kimi though he seems to be struggling whether the conditions are in his favor or not.

Have to say he's only really been this poor in the past 2 seasons, so I suspect it's the car more than the driver.

I've a rather boring theory on this.

The Ferrari has a longer wheel base than the McLaren, possibly even abnormally long for a modern F1 car. Taking all other unequals out of the equation (which is wrong, but not much more we can do), the McLaren ought to be more nimble generally. That shorter wheel base will make the McLaren far more edgy as a car than the Ferrari, yet it will allow the drivers to get a feel for conditions earlier. You'll see lots of short, controlled slides from the McLaren, whereas the Ferrari will tend to have fewer slides, though when they do slide, they'll be big ones, possibly resulting in a spin. I think this is what we're seeing with the Ferrari drivers this year. Look at Silverstone. They didn't have many more moments than any other driver, yet when they did, the car just went around. Spa was the same. It is a confidence thing, but it's the confidence the raw nature of the basic dimensions car gives or doesn't give the 4 drivers.

All very circumspect, but it's the only thing which makes sense to me, from the very limited numbers we do have.

[staffsMike]

Last 2 seasons eh.. Didn't he win last season? Though admitedly not by much.