[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by hdnivara

What do you mean by inters (I don't know what it is!)?
Tires with treads (for wet surface)?

Inters--> Intermediates. Intermediate option between dry and wet tires for conditions seen today where it was dry at some parts and wet at the others. Also used when very light rain falls on the circuit.

[SilentEngine]

BTW, why is everyone surprised about the last lap radio message to webber? It was no way close to what we saw last year from ferrari. In most of the teams there is an unspoken rule that team mates don't race after the last round of pit stops, so I was surprised that webber even attempted that.

[ashok_lat]

Great drive by Alonso. But i am most impressed with Schumi. Great drive. I wondered what place he might have finished if he not had the penalty and accident.

[Zensi]

Superb Race!!!

Alonso obviously was the star of the race for me. Webber caught napping yet again at the start and then people wonder why he isnt getting more billing than vettel (more on that later)

Lewis did an awesome race, some fiery laptimes and battles all around - shows his fangs as soon as he is given an opportunity to race! Definitely increases the entertainment factor for the viewers and Im sure sooner than later he will look for greener pastures if McLaren continue to fail to win races and Championships.

Button was lacklustre compared to his team mate and though he did overtake Massa his overall pace was lacking compared to the front 4 guys one of them his team mate.

Rosberg has not been spectacular in the last couple of races but has managed to stay out of trouble and score points, Schumi has shown some of his old genius but still isnt performing to anywhere near his best.

Finally the last few laps. The problem is not that RBR gave team orders - the problem is when you shout from rooftops against someone who uses team orders (Ferrari) and then do the same - you end up looking pretty silly. Vettel has a lot to prove now. His wins come only from Pole when he rushes away to victories - he hasnt had any wheel to wheel action or any on track overtaking! His reputation has definitely taken a HUGE hit. i for sure would like to see him in the same equipment as a Hamilton or Alonso.

Massa needs to up his game or Ferrari need to look at someone more seriously as his replacement - Maybe Rosberg? Alonso drove beautifully and the car worked well.

However with the blown diffuser ban now scrapped - expect the Bulls to be back on pace from the German GP. They were clearly affected the most.

all in all the most exciting GP of the year for me, Canada was good too but the delay in Montreal was way too long.

[mgh]

Pit stop bungling has become all too common at Force India, when they have chance at a good number of points.

[rajchetan]

Cant understand how Force India lost out... :(

Great Drive by Alonso.. He was a class act. I think even without the Pit stop error he would have been close to Vettel and tried to overtake him. As he had started to close down on RedBulls and was setting fastest laps after fastest on a worn out tyres. Which proved that the Race pace Ferrari have been showing since Canada is actually true pace.

WOW! Red bull Honner himself had to come online and give clear maintain gap commend to Webber. I think with Vettel so far ahead in the championship they don't need to be worried.

Great Drive from Schumi, made so many moves.. It was fun to watch. Sure if he had not calculated the breaking distance wrong he would have been much higher up again. Hope to see more of this Schumi whom we all love to see.

Finely Massa... Whats wrong... ? Why is he not pushing.. forget the gap just keep pushing man... He lost out on a position just because he was sleeping. had he kept the pressure up he would have easily overtaken Hami..

How did Maclaren Miss calculate fuel when they actually drove 10laps at a lower pace, Instead they should have had excess fuel left with them. Great Defensive drive from Hami though.. Loved to see how he kept Vettel san KERBS at bay for almost 10laps.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

BTW, why is everyone surprised about the last lap radio message to webber? It was no way close to what we saw last year from ferrari. In most of the teams there is an unspoken rule that team mates don't race after the last round of pit stops, so I was surprised that webber even attempted that.

Whether close or not, it's a team order plain and simple. Standards apply equally to everybody whether Ferrari or Hispania Racing.

Christian Horner on July 2010 - Christian Horner accuses Ferrari of team orders | Formula 1 | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

Two months after that he suddenly sees reason - Italian Grand Prix: Christian Horner admits he may impose team orders – Telegraph Blogs

Now he is "surprised" - Christian Horner surprised Mark Webber ignored team orders | F1 News - ITV Sport

F1 is a team sport and FiA was right in making team orders legal when they had no realistic means of controlling "unspoken rules".

I was only surprised that RB after making such a fuss of Ferrari doing it and took the moral high ground - and now do not see any solution but to resort to team orders.

Drive on,
Shibu

[gtonsing]

What a horrendously disappointing team performance from Force India and especially when Di Resta looked poised and fast enough to finish much before 10th place. Wonder what they will do now. What a lost opportunity.

Thrilling super amazing race throughout!! Especially the last few laps were amazing!! Truly gripping!!

[julupani]

Well well, a surprising race, with many errors and some spirited drives.

But overall, I am surprised how quick Ferrari are now. What would the season have been like if their wind tunnel was functioning properly from the beginning.

But even with the diffuser rule staying as it was at Silverstone and the rediscovered pace of the Ferrari, I think Vettel is going to have it easy for the rest of the season. We will need the RBR to have some really rotten luck for the Driver's Championship to slip out if Vettel's grip. For RBR to lose the construction, it will take nothing short of a disastrous 2nd half of the season for them.

Ferrari have shown some serious pace. I expected even after the pit stop bungling, Vettel would be challenging Alonso by the end of the race. But instead we saw Vettel having to cool off to the extent that Webber caught him.

Overall the kind of pace that the Ferraris have shown in the past couple of races, I think we can expect a few more wins from Alonso and also quite a few podiums from both Ferraris.

[Kartik Krishnan]

Great work by Alonso, the race was definitely much more interesting than what everyone was getting used to.

But Red Bull would surely come back harder in the coming races!

Originally Posted by rajchetan

Great Drive from Schumi, made so many moves.. It was fun to watch. Sure if he had not calculated the breaking distance wrong he would have been much higher up again. Hope to see more of this Schumi whom we all love to see.

^^Schumi did well, without the penalty, it would have surely been a couple of places higher for him


But for Force India, nothing much to say. I just wish them luck!

[sanjeev.d]

Good performances that made for a great time yesterday
Hamilton was awesome, great driving!
Schumi is also showing that he still has it in him!!
Its a good thing that Alonso took this one, Vettel shouldn't overestimate himself and should keep his consistency

[deetjohn]

I thoroughly enjoyed the race. So Ferrari is the faster car in race trim with the off-throttle Exhaust Blown Diffuser ban. But Ferrari didn't have to use the hard tyres at all and that helped the team massively. The car doesn't like the hard Pirellis and would have lost a chunk of time like in the Catalunya otherwise.

Originally Posted by julupani

But even with the diffuser rule staying as it was at Silverstone and the rediscovered pace of the Ferrari, I think Vettel is going to have it easy for the rest of the season.

The off-throttle Exhaust Blown Diffuser ban was only for Silverstone. The off-throttle EBD will be back for Germany and will continue for the rest of the season. The teams, however will not be allowed to change their engine settings between qualifying and the race. So in short, the regulations will be like that in Valencia for the rest of 2011. So, I reckon both the championships are for RBR to lose.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I thoroughly enjoyed the race. So Ferrari is the faster car in race trim with the off-throttle Exhaust Blown Diffuser ban. But Ferrari didn't have to use the hard tyres at all and that helped the team massively. The car doesn't like the hard Pirellis and would have lost a chunk of time like in the Catalunya otherwise.



The off-throttle Exhaust Blown Diffuser ban was only for Silverstone. The off-throttle EBD will be back for Germany and will continue for the rest of the season. The teams, however will not be allowed to change their engine settings between qualifying and the race. So in short, the regulations will be like that in Valencia for the rest of 2011. So, I reckon both the championships are for RBR to lose.

There is a small condition for the off-throttle EBD to return for the rest of the season and that is that all the teams are to be in unanimous agreement for it. I doubt either Ferrari or McLaren would agree to this. If there is no unanimous agreement, of which there is none yet, the FIA's decision of the ban stands. Check out this news article.

Yes, Alonso had a slight advantage when he didnt have to use the hard compund, but I think over the period of the race that wasnt so much, because the Ferrari wasnt too happy with the inters either. Vettel had a massive lead over both Alonso and Webber when he pit to put his first set of softs.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by julupani

There is a small condition for the off-throttle EBD to return for the rest of the season and that is that all the teams are to be in unanimous agreement for it. I doubt either Ferrari or McLaren would agree to this. If there is no unanimous agreement, of which there is none yet, the FIA's decision of the ban stands. Check out this news article.

Yes, Alonso had a slight advantage when he didnt have to use the hard compund, but I think over the period of the race that wasnt so much, because the Ferrari wasnt too happy with the inters either. Vettel had a massive lead over both Alonso and Webber when he pit to put his first set of softs.

AFAIK, all the teams have now agreed to use the off-throttle EBD for the rest of the season. Even Ferrari and Sauber have agreed. So I guess thats the end of it.

And don't get me wrong. I am really happy to see a Ferrari win at last. Lady luck takes turns. Ferrari were very very fast in race trims at Monaco and Montreal but couldn't convert to them to wins. And without the off-throttle EBD, Ferrari have the fastest car on Sunday. But we will have to wait and see how it unfolds in Germany. Usually, Ferrari is very strong towards the end of a season and the 150° Italia has beautiful mechanical balance. So, they can build on that and they will.

Edit: Found this very amusing picture of Vettel' helmet during the FP featuring images of all his mechanics.

Picture courtesy: F1 Fanatic – The Formula 1 Blog — F1 Fanatic – The Formula 1 Blog with F1 news, pictures, video, comment and analysis

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Whether close or not, it's a team order plain and simple. Standards apply equally to everybody whether Ferrari or Hispania Racing.

Agreed. But how is it relevant now?

Christian Horner on July 2010 - Christian Horner accuses Ferrari of team orders | Formula 1 | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

Two months after that he suddenly sees reason - Italian Grand Prix: Christian Horner admits he may impose team orders – Telegraph Blogs

Now he is "surprised" - Christian Horner surprised Mark Webber ignored team orders | F1 News - ITV Sport

First article is after German GP last year, where we know what happened. At that point in time, team orders were banned. So Horner was right in criticizing Ferrari.
But subsequently, FIA gave indications of team orders becoming legal in future. Also the punishment Ferrari got was some $100k, which is a small change by F1 standards. Once a precedent is set, you can't blame others if they do the same.

F1 is a team sport and FiA was right in making team orders legal when they had no realistic means of controlling "unspoken rules".

I was only surprised that RB after making such a fuss of Ferrari doing it and took the moral high ground - and now do not see any solution but to resort to team orders.

Drive on,
Shibu

As of 2011 season, team orders are legal. So basically the game and rules have changed. So it's a bit funny that you expect Red Bull to play the game with old rules. .