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[Jensonb]

I'm not talking specifically about Monza. I was merely pointing out to sennasational that Vettel did well in a car that wasn't the best on the grid. He had a very good season in 2008, drove very well and for his first full season he pulled off some very smart - and often, exciting - overtaking moves throughout the year. I think everyone knows from the number of times I mentioned it last year, he's not a guy I particularly like, but it frustrates me that people claim he's average and it's all down to the car when, to be fair, he is a good driver. It's just as irritating as the claims that Button could only win a championship because the car was so good. I'm sure that's something you can relate to.

Disputing the obviously incorrect insinuation that he's average* is one thing, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Vettel is not a once-in-a-lifetime talent. He's a great driver in a field of great drivers. Just like in Hamilton's early seasons, the thing about Vettel that most annoys people who are not his fans is that he is being treated as an unique and indisputable talent on a plane significantly above his contemporaries. It's a patently absurd claim, one which is provably and demonstrably false.


*As I've said too many times to count, only great drivers win the World Championship, unless they're cheats.

[spankyham]

Some pics from Friday

[Hammer278]

Historically, it does bode the long weekend for the competition when Vettel sets the pace in P1.

I think F1 could become boring, I really hope China can throw some sort of excitement in the mix

Depends on your perspective, dunnit? For about five years, you knew if that Armstrong chap showed well in the prologue of the Tour de France, the race's outcome was certain. Some fans enjoyed watching anyway because they recognised they were witnessing a history-making performance. Others would just as soon have spent the next three weeks on holiday at seashore and tuned back in once the race finally had got to Paris.

To me, when it's the same driver repeatedly who can't be caught, I'm not watching something boring, I'm watching something breathtaking. I do not number among those who believe Vettel is an ordinary driver who benefits from a car a chimp could win in. To the contrary, the exceptional driver elevates the station of his team. I think we are seeing a symbiotic relationship between F1's most genius designer in years and an extraordinary driver whose talents are perfectly suited to the nature of the competition in this era of über-fragile cars.

Uh-huh...You know, uh, he's only human.

We are who we are. Vettel is who he is; an idiot. I need to see him do well in a car that isn't the best on the grid to have any belief in his driving ability, last year certainly proved that his overtaking leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, every time he raises that finger and gets that gormless smirk on his face i get this weird urge to punch him.

Haha thats funny...I felt the exact same way for another driver who was using a lot of his fingers when he was winning quite often, the time when Ferrari and McLaren forgot how to build reliable cars.

[Jensonb]

Gap from Red Bull to McLaren again about two tenths in Practice 3. Looking like the actual gap will probably be in that sort of ballpark - Button and Vettel's laps were done at pretty much the same time with both on the Options. Of course Red Bull could have little in reserve, but the point is this: all those howls of "TWO SECONDS?!"? Yeah...Not so Genre Savvy.

Webber meanwhile has some problems with his equipment. It's cost him setup time. Seems to be brakes & KERS related. Hamilton seems to be struggling a bit with the tyres, but it's possibly just him pushing them as far as he can in Practice so he knows the limits for Quali & the Race.

Meanwhile, Alonso is struggling with his setup, continuing to make changes to it into the dying fifteen minutes of the session. Finally managed to clock a time just faster than Massa, so he may have solved whatever issue he had.

[Bubbie]

Thanks for the pics Spanky.. Need more of cute little Asian chicks... Oh, and some of the cars too.

[F1er]

People called me crazy when I suggested RBR is sabotaging Webber

Do you still not believe it?

[darwin dali]

:wavey:
People called me crazy when I suggested RBR is sabotaging Webber

Do you still not believe it?

Nope, why would they shoot themselves in the foot re. WCC?

[bud]

:wavey:
People called me crazy when I suggested RBR is sabotaging Webber

Do you still not believe it?

What happened I missed watching Q was he on the wrong tyres?
Another pole for Vettel nothing can stop him right now!

[darwin dali]

:wavey:
People called me crazy when I suggested RBR is sabotaging Webber

Do you still not believe it?

What happened I missed watching Q was he on the wrong tyres?
Another pole for Vettel nothing can stop him right now!

KERS = CURSE for him...

[darwin dali]

WTF? JB and LH in red overalls? I just did a double take to see whether FM and FA were somehow promoted to second and third and therefore are in the interview...

[Hammer278]

Gap from Red Bull to McLaren again about two tenths in Practice 3. Looking like the actual gap will probably be in that sort of ballpark - Button and Vettel's laps were done at pretty much the same time with both on the Options. Of course Red Bull could have little in reserve, but the point is this: all those howls of "TWO SECONDS?!"? Yeah...Not so Genre Savvy.

Webber meanwhile has some problems with his equipment. It's cost him setup time. Seems to be brakes & KERS related. Hamilton seems to be struggling a bit with the tyres, but it's possibly just him pushing them as far as he can in Practice so he knows the limits for Quali & the Race.

Meanwhile, Alonso is struggling with his setup, continuing to make changes to it into the dying fifteen minutes of the session. Finally managed to clock a time just faster than Massa, so he may have solved whatever issue he had.

For the ones 'howling' about 2 seconds, Im quite sure they (we) knew that the actual GAP wasn't 2 seconds, but it had the potential of turning out to be a significant gap. What McLaren fans are hoping for of course, is for the team to match the REdbull in terms of pace.

When you see a TWO second gap in practice, you know Redbull are still at front, and maybe pulled ahead a bit, thus, the cause of dissapointment. The gap in China is 0.7 seconds, when it was a tenth in Malaysia.

You might want to visit that link you posted and read up again sparky.

[Denthúl]

15, 16 and 18.

Really not my day.

However! Di Resta getting in to the top ten will surely be worth something for my fantasy team, right?

Overall, I found that to be a fairly average session, but it was nice to see Petrov looking strong up until his problem, Di Resta qualifying well and Toro Rosso having what I imagine is their best qualifying session for the last couple of years. Also nice to see was Button outqualifying Hamilton, perhaps overall this year things will be much closer than they were last year.

A gap of 0.7 between the first two spots doesn't look good, though.

[Hammer278]

WTF? JB and LH in red overalls? I just did a double take to see whether FM and FA were somehow promoted to second and third and therefore are in the interview...

There was a shot of Lewis in the car ready for his lap from a top view, and I was like HUH?? Whats a Ferrari driver doing in a McLaren!??

[vlad]

Oh, yeah, 7 tenths of a second!

[Hammer278]

I only hope Lewis gets past Jenson at the start or we're in for one boring race....Jenson will be thinking of saving tyres for a tyre beauty contest after the race, and Lewis will be stuck behind, with Vettel sleep-driving his way to another victory.

Dissapointing lap by Lewis.