Button had the first pitcrew for the last 2 years...

Anyway, big thankyou to Pirelli (and FIA) for making the tires the way they are so that multiple strategies are possible again.
Awesome race by Webber, I think he found his motivation again after this race.
My heart hurts when I look at the Williams performance, at least both cars finished this time.

Quote from JPeace :

I thought it was a thrilling race with 5 drivers in contention of winning, Massa at one point had the opportunity, I mean what the hell! where did that come from! anyway, great drive from Hamilton, but Webber clearly demonstrated how quick Red Bull can be when they get it right, even without KERS..

Yea, and remember what DevilDare said? He said Webber didn't have a chance....


FFT : Vettel made more than one change of defensive position at the start of the race, where is HIS penalty??? And he almost made contact with Hamilton, yet again he proves that he lacks race craft, no wonder Di Resta beat him in Euro F3. He's not that good, he's just in the best car. In the same car as everyone else, he'd not even make the points.

Best dry race in ages. Looks like the changes this season are actually working as intended.

Quote from JPeace :

The moving penalty does not count at the start of the race - apparently.

Seems kinda unfair if you ask me.

And no I'm not a Hamilton fan.

Also, I have to agree with Intrepid, DRS just seems to enable cars to get close, the way I see DRS is basically just a tool to help slipstream/drafting. In past years it's been somewhat inexistant unless you were substantially better through the previous corner exit.

Quote from JPeace :

It is unfair yes, but the FIA have a point - there is so much movement at the start anyway, trying to govern it all is near impossible.

Well they penalized Hamilton after the race had finished, with no warning of investigation. I guess they still have a while to make a decision on Vettel, but it was very close to being an accident, and when Hamilton was moving around, it wasn't going to cause an accident...

Quote from TypeRacing :

I'd like to see Webber on the podium. He can do it. Epic start and good strategy is the key.

Quote from Zdenek CZE :

I am disappointed that Vettel didn't win.

Champions dosen't need to win all of the races.
Remember 2001. WRC season when Richard Burns won the championship. He won only one race in that season

Quote from TypeRacing :

Yep, DevilDare thought otherwise. Wonder were he is now...

Video of Vettel's pole lap on-board:

http://www.multiupload.com/B1V0X1UQPN

Good race and was worth getting up for. Webber getting a podium was a suprise, I expected him to catch everyone but be unable to catch Vettel or the McLarens and maybe the Ferraris also.

As for the start, I agree with what the FIA said about it being impossible to punish anyone due to everyone moving around but I think Vettel should of been punished. The FIA said they were going to be more strict and while it was at the start Vettel wasn't in the pack and was only defending against Hamilton and was weaving to keep him behind.

Lewis's new tyres from yesterday worked. Am shocked, as that's probably the first time he's been kind to tyres. Gutted he won though. His overtakes weren't all that special - new tyres and KERS meant he could just drive past them. Don't understand why people thought they were impressive.

Jenson had a bit of an off day didn't he!! Couldn't manage the rear tyres, wrong pitbox, and a tenth or two off Lewis

Vettel did quite well given the car he had.

Webber, even though he had a huge tyre advantage, still did a wonderful Grands Prix - far and away the driver of the day by some margin. Rosberg and Di Resta closest rivals.

Great drive by RBR as well as Mclaren.
Though, what will happen to Alonso, he used his DRS when he shouldn't.

His move on Vettel lap 1 and Button were proper full blooded overtakes. My kinda overtakes The rest were tyre/KERS related I'd give you that. I am not sure what you've been watching, but Hamilton hasn't been all that hard on tyres for a while now, so it really isn't anything to be shocked about. Malaysia was about flat spotting tyres in qualifying + strategic error more so than actual tyre wear rates. Australia he was good... and numerous occasions last year.

His strategies tend to be more aggressive definitely, but in relation to then how he nurses the tyres to said tragedy, he's been solid. Certainly not a specialist in that field, but solid.

Vettel did quite well given the car he had? He had the fastest car out there, and it was only a botched start & Hamilton capitalising that cost him victory.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Lewis's new tyres from yesterday worked. Am shocked, as that's probably the first time he's been kind to tyres. Gutted he won though. His overtakes weren't all that special - new tyres and KERS meant he could just drive past them. Don't understand why people thought they were impressive.

Jenson had a bit of an off day didn't he!! Couldn't manage the rear tyres, wrong pitbox, and a tenth or two off Lewis

Vettel did quite well given the car he had.

Webber, even though he had a huge tyre advantage, still did a wonderful Grands Prix - far and away the driver of the day by some margin. Rosberg and Di Resta closest rivals.

Your full of shit, no matter what Lewis does you'll never actually admit he drove well but as soon as he makes a mistake your bringing it up 3 years later...

Lick Buttons arse all you want but 9 times out of 10 Lewis will have him in his back pocket. I can't help but get the feeling your dislike towards him is because of something he can't change...

Quote from BlueFlame :

Yep, DevilDare thought otherwise. Wonder were he is now...

Hi there. Missed me? Awwww, how sweet.

Did you forgot to read my post last night where I said, "maybe I should have bolded, "epic start". And I was right, the start from Webber was nothing special. He gained 1 place.

But yeah, it was an epic drive from him. You got to give him that.

The race overall was phenomenal. Absolutely stunning all down the field. Schumi I though had some great scraps.

I love McLaren. That was some victory. Man it felt good watching that "moose" power through the field. Some overtaking as well from Hamilton.

This season has been nothing but amazing so far. Love Pirelli.

Bring on Turkey!

Quote from tristancliffe :

Lewis's new tyres from yesterday worked. Am shocked, as that's probably the first time he's been kind to tyres. Gutted he won though. His overtakes weren't all that special - new tyres and KERS meant he could just drive past them. Don't understand why people thought they were impressive.

Jenson had a bit of an off day didn't he!! Couldn't manage the rear tyres, wrong pitbox, and a tenth or two off Lewis

Vettel did quite well given the car he had.

Webber, even though he had a huge tyre advantage, still did a wonderful Grands Prix - far and away the driver of the day by some margin. Rosberg and Di Resta closest rivals.

You really are biassed against Hamilton. Don't bother having an opinion on him at all, seriously, Hamilton wasn't that impressive? He won in a slower car.

Vettel did quite well given the car he had? You mean, the best car by a big margin?

You really are unbelievably obvious with your hatred for Hamilton. It's pathetic.

I agree with Pearcy, you obviously hate him for something he can't change, IE, being better than you will ever be, or being black. You really need to grow up Tristan, it's getting old. As are the digs you constantly give to Intrepid, maybe that's why you don't like Hamilton, because HE does?

Yep, Tristan is racist... But seriously, he is full of sh*t..

FFS can't you see that 2 pitstops was the worst strategy that could have been done? Webber with the proper strategy finished 7 seconds behind super Hamilton and that is starting 17th, still stuck 15th after 15 laps btw, without KERS. Wake up.

During which stint Hamilton had to nurse the tires exactly? None. 3 pitstops and his extra set of softs gave him the chance to do what he does best. Drive flat out. 10-13 laps on brand new softs is nursing ? 18 laps on hards at the end of the race is nursing? Don't think so. Vettel did 24 on them and they still hadn't gone off the "CLIFF".

This wasn't a tire management race. We'll see more and more of that. You don't nurse the Pirellis, gives you nothing since brand new tires are so fast. Vettel learned that today. We won't see anyone trying that sort of strategy for a while.

Quote from PhilS13 :

This wasn't a tire management race. We'll see more and more of that. You don't nurse the Pirellis, gives you nothing since brand new tires are so fast. Vettel learned that today. We won't see anyone trying that sort of strategy for a while.

You do have an interresting point, but one of the reason why 2 stops didn't work was also because Shanghai is an overtaking-friendly track, and because DRS was probably more efficient than some would've thought. If the same situation occured at a different track where overtaking remains difficult and risky(Silverstone, Hungaroring, etc), things would've been pretty much different.

Just remember of Melbourne 2010. A nice example of how track position can win over pace.

Vettel didn't lose by much. Only by a few seconds. And the difference between the McLaren and the Red Bull doesn't seem to be that big in race conditions. So that strategy wasn't totally useless IMO, just wrong place wrong time to pull it.

Well you say there wasn't much difference, but if Vettel used the same strategy as Webber, surely it wouldn't have finished the same.

The RedBull do seem faster, Vettel just chose the wrong strategy.

Funilly enough this is the 2nd race in a row where if Webber had a half decent start he could of won, easily the driver of the day.

These new Tyres are giving the real racers a massive edge as now overtaking is extremely important to a good finishing position.

Despite what you saw in the race its clearly showing Redbull are the fastest car by miles, the amount Webber caught up to Hamilton from where he was on the first pitstop proves it, the 2 stop strategy was around 15-30 seconds slower over a race distance compared to a 3 stopper approx which shows how much time Vettel would of lost.

Also don't forget that Webber made the interresting choice of taking hards on his first stint, and this is a big difference between him and the leading group. It payed off since he wasn't going to take any benefice out of softs in his first stint, being stuck in the traffic. This allowed him to have softs in his last stint and to catch up at an amazing pace on the leading group.

If Vettel knew that the McLaren were going to be up front by T1, taking hards might've been the best solution IMO, no matter with 2 or 3 stops. I mean, he lost a lot of time by staying behind the McLaren. Softs probably were the best choice if he was set to be up front at T1, as he probably would've had the pace to pull away if he was on his own. Anyway, should he had started on hards, he probably would've stayed within the chasing group in his first stints, not so far from the McLarens, and would've re-passed them in the last stints with softs.

Vettel could of done anything if he had a 3 stopper and would of won, in the end that was the only reason why he was 2nd.

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

You do have an interresting point, but one of the reason why 2 stops didn't work was also because Shanghai is an overtaking-friendly track, and because DRS was probably more efficient than some would've thought. If the same situation occured at a different track where overtaking remains difficult and risky(Silverstone, Hungaroring, etc), things would've been pretty much different.

Just remember of Melbourne 2010. A nice example of how track position can win over pace.

Vettel didn't lose by much. Only by a few seconds. And the difference between the McLaren and the Red Bull doesn't seem to be that big in race conditions. So that strategy wasn't totally useless IMO, just wrong place wrong time to pull it.

Yup. But if the FIA properly sets up the use of DRS we will barely see any driver suffering of poor track position caused by an early pit. A faster driver will always get through and will always be able to make the best use of fresh tires. You do not have anymore the need to compromise your own strategy over track position. Its each on his own, making the best use of the sets of tires he has.

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

Also don't forget that Webber made the interresting choice of taking hards on his first stint, and this is a big difference between him and the leading group. It payed off since he wasn't going to take any benefice out of softs in his first stint, being stuck in the traffic. This allowed him to have softs in his last stint and to catch up at an amazing pace on the leading group.

If Vettel knew that the McLaren were going to be up front by T1, taking hards might've been the best solution IMO, no matter with 2 or 3 stops. I mean, he lost a lot of time by staying behind the McLaren. Softs probably were the best choice if he was set to be up front at T1, as he probably would've had the pace to pull away if he was on his own. Anyway, should he had started on hards, he probably would've stayed within the chasing group in his first stints, not so far from the McLarens, and would've re-passed them in the last stints with softs.

I do believe we'll see more and more of that. Midfielders starting off on hards knowing they'll be horrible for 10-15 laps but still climbing their way back through the field on softs as soon as you are able to get the hards off the car. It wasn't possible to climb your way back on the track with overtakes before DRS.

LOL Webber did it without KERS...

Brilliant race, got up early to watch it and was wide awake for the whole thing. The last time I got that excited about a race it was Rossi VS Stoner at Laguna Seca in the MotoGP.