F1 2010: Return of the Chaos

[Boz]

Mar 12, 2010 17:34:10 GMT -5 The Stig said:

I also use a very unambiguous title for the thread, so people who don't care about F1 know to stay away from it.

DAMMIT, STIG!!!

I thought this was a discussion of the F1 key. You know, how it's supposed to be the universal "Help" key, but if you actually use it in Windows it stands more for "Here you go, hackers! Welcome to my computer and all that lies therein!!"

;D

[PhillyHoya]

Jul 27, 2010 12:20:45 GMT -5 thebin said:

I'll look for them on youtube or other sites from time to time and if I get lucky and they are still up I'll watch them but I don't know squat about torrents if they've been taken down already. I asked because only a few days ago I couldn't find their revew of the merc e63 vs the camaero ss from this season.

A few sites have tried streaming TG this season as well but they're all down already sadly. FinalGear usually has .mpg and .avi downloads within an hour or two of the episode airing.

[The Stig]

Well, F1 has reached the now-traditional mid-season break. The series takes almost all of August off. Not only do the teams not race, they close down the factories and send everybody on vacation. Tough life!

The break interrupts what has become an absolutely fascinating championship fight. For the first 10 or so rounds the battle seemed to be between Good Red Bull and Bad Red Bull. Red Bull's RB6 chassis is clearly the fastest car on the grid through the corners, which is everything in Formula 1. However, the team has developed a tremendous talent at throwing away race wins. Of the season's first 12 races, Red Bull should have won 11, but they've thrown away 5 of them, plus numerous other high finishes. The team has also become embroiled in bitter internal fight between its two drivers, veteran Australian Mark Webber and young German hotshot Sebastian Vettel. The row began when Vettel crashed into Webber while battling for the lead in Turkey, then blamed Webber for it. The team's Austrian owners clearly favor Vettel, but Webber has some strong loyalists within the team.

The primary beneficiaries of Red Bull's mistakes have been McLaren. Like Red Bull, they have two very competitive drivers, with 2009 World Champion Jenson Button and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton. However, unlike Red Bull they've been able to maintain team harmony. The McLaren chassis is no match for the Red Bulls in the corners, but it's very fast in a straight line, giving it an advantage on high-speed tracks. The team's consistency allowed them to take the first 2 spots in the Drivers' Championship at the midpoint of the season, but their latest car upgrade did not work well, and they struggled in the past 2 races.

Ferrari, led by the famously irritable 2005 and 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso, won the first race of the season, but then dropped off the radar. Their first car upgrade of the season failed to work right, allowing Red Bull and McLaren to leave them in the dust. However, their second round of upgrades transformed their rather average car into the 2nd best car on the grid, well ahead of the McLaren and sometimes as fast as the Red Bull, depending on the track. The first two races in the improved car were disasters thanks to awful luck, but in the German Grand Prix they finally became the first team to beat Red Bull in a straight fight this season. Unfortunately, they marred the victory by ordering their very popular Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, who was leading the race, to move over and let Alonso take the win, as Alonso needed the points to fight for the championship (Massa was effectively out of contention). The team orders, although relatively common in F1, are illegal, and provoked a fury of criticism from fans and the media. The team were fined and ordered to appear before the World Motor Sport Council in September, who could give them additional penalties (possibly including disqualifications and race bans).

However, Alonso's win and subsequent 2nd place finish in Hungary (aided by another Red Bull mistake) have put him firmly in contention for the Drivers' Championship. He is still 5th in the standings, but within striking distance of championship leader Webber. Webber's position at the top of the standings is surprising, considering his unpopularity with his team bosses. In the most recent race in Hungary the team gave him an awful strategy, but he put in a superb drive to win the race anyways. Hamilton lies 2nd in the championship, having lost the lead due to a rare McLaren car failure in Hungary. Vettel would be leading the championship had he won in Hungary, but a stupid mistake earned him a penalty, which dropped him back to 3rd in the race, which is now also his position in the standings. Early season championship leader Button has been uninspiring at best in the past 3 races, dropping him back to 4th in the standings, but still within easy striking distance of the lead.

So with 7 races to go, there are still an astonishing 5 drivers with a real shot at the World Championship. Red Bull should be the clear favorites, just like they should be dominating the season. However, their infighting and ability to shoot themselves in the foot has kept the season interesting, and could open the door for Alonso or one of the McLaren drivers to sneak in and take the championship.

The end of August can't come soon enough!

[The Stig]

Well, it's finally the last week of the 2010 F1 season, and there's still plenty of drama ahead of us. The season finale will take place in Abu Dhabi this Sunday, and for the first time ever (I think), there's 4 drivers who can still win the World Championship going into the final race.

Standings:
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari): 246 points
Mark Webber (Red Bull): 238
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull): 231
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren): 222

Points breakdown:
1st: 25 points
2nd: 18
3rd: 15
4th: 12
5th: 10
6th: 8
7th: 6
8th: 4
9th: 2
10th: 1

Tiebreakers: Most wins, followed by most 2nds, most 3rds, and so on. Alonso has 5 wins, Vettel and Webber have 4, Hamilton has 3.

Thanks to his 8 point advantage, Alonso wins the title no matter what if he finishes 2nd or better. Meanwhile, Hamilton needs to win the race with all the other 3 not scoring. It's a long shot indeed for Hamilton, but in this strange season anything seems possible.

The biggest talking point is the Red Bull team. They have the fastest car, and they finished 1-2 in Abu Dhabi last year. However, they also have some major intra-team troubles. Webber is ahead in the standings, but Vettel is the faster driver and the team's favorite son. While Ferrari threw its full support behind Alonso months ago, Red Bull and McLaren have both insisted that they follow a policy of strict equality between their drivers. At McLaren it's worked fine - the drivers get along well and have clearly gotten equal treatment. However, at Red Bull things haven't gone so smoothly. Vettel is clearly the favorite son, and the outspoken Webber has publicly accused the team of favoring Vettel on several occasions. The drivers also crashed into each on the track earlier in the season. In short, they don't get along.

Why are Red Bull's internal troubles such an issue? Because many people expect the order near the end of the Abu Dhabi GP to be Vettel leading, with Webber in 2nd and Alonso in 3rd. If they finish in that order, Alonso wins the title for Ferrari. However, if Vettel lets his teammate past, then Webber wins the championship. Red Bull have publicly said they will not order Vettel to let Webber past, leaving it up to Vettel to choose what to do. Normally a Formula 1 driver in that situation would be expected to let his teammate past, but given Vettel's relationship with Webber, his friendship with Alonso, and the fact that Vettel knows the Red Bull team will support him if he chooses to deny Webber the championship, there's a distinct possibility that Vettel could refuse to let Webber past.

There's another twist to the tale: Ferrari have had reliability trouble all season, and many people believe that Alonso will have difficulty making it to the finish at Abu Dhabi. If Alonso drops out, then Vettel can take the World Championship for himself by winning the race. In other words, if Vettel lets Webber past, and Alonso then drops out, Vettel would have just handed *his own* championship to Webber. And there's not a snowman's chance in Abu Dhabi that Webber would hand it back if that happened!

So in true Formula 1 fashion, it will probably be a soap opera on and off the track in Abu Dhabi. I know most people here don't watch F1, but it might be worth tuning into Speed Channel at 8am this Sunday to see how things play out....

EDIT: Here's an article that's worth reading describing what we might see in Abu Dhabi (see page 2): formula-one.speedtv.com/article/buxton-f1s-greatest-season-wholl-blink-first/P1

[SirSaxa]

Congratulations on a GREAT F1 season TheStig.
I am sure you are basking in the glow of today's race and Seabastian Vettel's victory which let him come from behind in the overall standings to win the 2010 F1 title over Fernando Alonso (7th today, 2nd overall) and Vettel's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber (8th today, 3rd overall).

Exciting Stuff!
Almost as exciting as finally learning that YOU are really Michael Schumacher!

Sebastian Vettel is youngest F1 champ

[The Stig]

On the contrary, as a Ferrari fan I'm gutted by today's result :-(

Ferrari made a tactical error today, although putting myself in their shoes at the time they made the decision, I can't really fault them. With Vettel in the lead, Alonso had to finish 4th or better. He was running 4th, but Webber was right behind him in 5th. Webber pitted for fresh tires, and came out well back in the field. However, on his better tires he turned in a fast lap, and Ferrari immediately pitted Alonso to make sure he came out in front of Webber. It worked - he was in front of Webber. But in doing so, Ferrari dropped Alonso behind a ton of cars. Most of them had to pit again, but 2 of them didn't. One of those two was the Renault of Vitaly Petrov, who is a mediocre driver at best. However, the Renault is very fast down the straights, and passing is impossible in the twisty sections at Abu Dhabi. Alonso caught Petrov immediately, then spent the last 2/3 of the race stuck behind him, unable to pass.

Speaking of Schumacher, he was nearly decapitated today on the first lap. Ironically, his crash set in motion the chain of events that cost Alonso the title.

But even as a Ferrari fan, I can't deny that Vettel deserved the title. He was the fastest driver in the fastest car, and he drove superbly today. He's a true superstar, and he'll probably be around the sport for a very long time and win a lot more championships.

Amazing stat: Vettel had never led the World Championship in his *entire career* until he crossed the finish line at Abu Dhabi.

[The Stig]

At the end of season gala, the FIA always puts together a nice video montage for the end of the season. It's usually pretty awesome, but this year they really went above and beyond.

I've seen a lot of F1 video montages, but this may be the best I've ever seen:

Watch it quick, because Bernie Ecclestone's mafia will probably take it down soon!

[SirSaxa]

Dec 15, 2010 0:01:53 GMT -5 The Stig said:

At the end of season gala, the FIA always puts together a nice video montage for the end of the season. It's usually pretty awesome, but this year they really went above and beyond.

I've seen a lot of F1 video montages, but this may be the best I've ever seen:

Watch it quick, because Bernie Ecclestone's mafia will probably take it down soon!

Very cool TheStig.
It captures the speed and excitement of F1 in a way one rarely sees. Excellent production.
Thanks!

[PhillyHoya]

Couldn't find a newer F1 thread but what a crazy fantastic race in Montreal today.

[The Stig]

Jun 12, 2011 18:47:12 GMT -5 PhillyHoya said:

Couldn't find a newer F1 thread but what a crazy fantastic race in Montreal today.

Indeed. Made those 2 hours shivering in the pouring rain totally worth it.

It was one hell of a drive from Button, but I'm still ticked at him for nerfing Alonso off. It wasn't intentional, but it was clearly Button's fault (Alonso gave him room, Button just understeered).

It was also nice to see Schumacher back in old time form. It was a shame he couldn't hold onto a podium spot, because he really deserved one.

F1 has been a bit of a paradox this year. The championship is the least exciting we've had since Schumacher's dominant days, but the individual races have been awesome.

It's not an exaggeration to say that the actual racing in F1 in 2011 is the best that it's ever been. I thought the Malaysian GP was great, and then China was so much better. Monaco was pretty much as good as it gets until Petrov ruined it all just as it was about to get even more exciting. Then came Montreal, which showed that rain still adds lots of excitement to an F1 race, even if we don't need it to make a race exciting anymore.