[E90SLAM]

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[johanness]

Vettel baby!

[UltimateBMW]

My recent memory of all of the times we thought another team was tipped to grab pole this season, RBR ends up at least 0.5s even farther out ahead. It's almost like they just hold it back most of the time unless they are under direct pressure.

Just ridiculously quick. Even Hamilton and Button were just laughing at it.

[Echo M3]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

My recent memory of all of the times we thought another team was tipped to grab pole this season, RBR ends up at least 0.5s even farther out ahead. It's almost like they just hold it back most of the time unless they are under direct pressure.

Just ridiculously quick. Even Hamilton and Button were just laughing at it.

It was an interesting qualifying, but a disappointing result. If we needed another example of Red Bull's dominance...well, this is it. Let's just hope that the race is more interesting (it usually is, in any case).

[Zoli007]

What an epic save vettel had in the ascari corner! Hope he doesnt walk away with it. Here is an article from autosport.com that is interesting talking about the speeds each car had.

"Sebastian Vettel's hopes of winning the Italian Grand Prix will almost certainly depend on him being able to make a clean break at the front of the field in the early stages of the race, reckon his main rivals.

Although Vettel caused a surprise by qualifying on pole position by almost half a second, his rivals are optimistic that the fight for victory is far from over because of the gear ratio choice that the German has taken.

Onboard footage and straight-line speed figures from qualifying suggest that Vettel has almost certainly opted for a shorter gear ratio than his main opposition - which could leave him exposed if he comes under threat from rivals in the DRS zones.

Vettel was slowest of all through the Monza speed trap before the first corner – with his 327.7 km/h figure comparing to Fernando Alonso's 342.2 km/h, Mark Webber's 336.1 km/h, Jenson Button's 333.1 km/h and Lewis Hamilton's 332.7 km/h

The maximum speed that is measured just before the finish line, shows Vettel is already slower than his rivals there – with him recording 316.6 km/h in qualifying, compared to Michael Schumacher's 323.5 km/h, Alonso's 321.3 km/h, Button's 319.4 km/h and Hamilton's 318.4 km/h.

Those figures have delivered encouragement for his rivals, who believe that Vettel will not only face a hard time defending the lead if he does not build up more than a one-second cushion at the DRS zone, but also that he will be unable to make the best use of DRS to overtake his rivals if he is behind.

Ferrari technical chief Pat Fry said: "Vettel is running on the limiter for 400-500 metres. So he has a very short gear, and if you look at the overlays, he is a match to us before he hits the limiter.

"That is the choice you make. When you are not using the DRS you will have a better gear ratio choice, and by the look of it Mark has got a longer gear in the car."

Button said: "I think if you look at the two cars of Mark and Sebastian, I think you see the one who was confident going into qualifying.

"I think Seb expects to lead from the front and not have the issue of trying to overtake anyone. If he is in the DRS zone then he will be on the limiter for the whole straight because he is at 327 km/h the whole straight.

"It is a gamble, especially as we are behind him, and I think he will be quick in the race. But if we can get the jump on him, then I think it will be tough for him."

Hamilton is even more encouraged by the situation, reckoning that McLaren has the chance of scoring a 1-2 finish in the race if they can put some pressure on Vettel.

When asked why he felt like that, Hamilton said: "It is just optimism. It is because clearly we have been strong all weekend, we have clearly had quite good long run pace and Jenson is in P3 and I am in P2, and there is only one step for both of us to do.

"I think starting here from pole isn't the best place to start from, I think we are in the best position because it is such a long run down to Turn 1, and we have a strong team behind us and we are quick. There is no reason why tomorrow we cannot compete with the Red Bulls."

Hamilton insisted, however, that he would not be taking any big risks in the race – because he felt he was still in contention for the title.

"We are still fighting for the championship," he said. "I don't want to take any chances. Hopefully we will get a good start, we are in the best position to still fight but again Jenson started quite far back in the last race and showed it is a long, long race and lots can happen.

"Regardless of whether we get the best start of not, we will still be in a fight until the end, so that is the plan."

[gary88]

Vettel is unstoppable.

Anyone see when Jenson made Lewis almost crack up during the interview

[johanness]

Originally Posted by pman10

It was an interesting qualifying, but a disappointing result.

Disappointing for who? Seems the top people are where they should be

[EINSER M]

19/53 what a race so far!!!!!!

[EINSER M]

first win for VET @ monza in his RBR. today is a good day.

[E90SLAM]

Bulletproof RB7 and Vettel. A great way to celebrate his first ever win here back in 2008.
I'd say the gear box rev limiter screwed Hamilton.
Solid and control driving from Button.
Fantastic start from Alonso.
Are we seeing the good old Schumi return? He did a great defending racing against Hamilton. Although a bit over the limit and pushing the boundaries a few times. Great racing!

[E90SLAM]

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[E90SLAM]

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[Echo M3]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

Bulletproof RB7 and Vettel. A great way to celebrate his first ever win here back in 2008.
I'd say the gear box rev limiter screwed Hamilton.
Solid and control driving from Button.
Fantastic start from Alonso.
Are we seeing the good old Schumi return? He did a great defending racing against Hamilton. Although a bit over the limit and pushing the boundaries a few times. Great racing!

Agreed, that was a fun race to watch.

It's really frustrating to see Alonso get these amazing starts and then end up (relatively speaking) nowhere - Ferrari need to do something to get themselves out of this hole.

That battle between Hamilton & Schumacher was awesome stuff - real classic defending from Schumi, and controlled aggression from Hamilton. That Mercedes had a great race setup that allowed him to counterattack every time Hamilton passed him.

And a funny side note - my DVR recorded the entire grand prix without audio, so I didn't have to listen to the horrible ramblings of the Speed guys! Amazingly, it was almost easier to follow without audio.

[Echo M3]

Also, anyone else feel that the BBC can be a bit overly biased at times?

If it had been Hamilton or Button defending Schumacher, they will would have called it 'brilliant' or 'inspired' defending. But they seem to suggest that Schumi was being a bit reckless or breaking the rules (which I disagree with).

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by pman10

Also, anyone else feel that the BBC can be a bit overly biased at times?

If it had been Hamilton or Button defending Schumacher, they will would have called it 'brilliant' or 'inspired' defending. But they seem to suggest that Schumi was being a bit reckless or breaking the rules (which I disagree with).

As always, they are a bit bias towards the McLarens and harsh on the new teams (HRT, Virgin, Lotus). Don't forget most of them has a bit of a sour grape from Schumi in their F1 past...

As for Schumi "pushing" Hamilton to the grass, well, when Vettel passed Alonso, he was squeezed to the grass too!
No one said a word about throwing Alonso to the stewards. Of coz, throwing your fellow racers to the grass in Monza could be quote dangerous in 200 mph...but they know what they are doing!

Hamilton and Schumi was total classic and yes, some moves by schumi are a bit borderline that's why Charlie Whiting warned Ross Brawn don't do it again. No need to make a big fuzz out of it.
I think a warning is sufficient, a reprimand and penalty is not necessary. Unless he pushed the other driver to the wall like Hungary last year.

[EINSER M]

was this this the first time VETTEL was emotional on the podium? what a pass on ALONSO after the restart! long live the RBR and VETTEL era.

[E90SLAM]

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[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by kirkx5m

was this this the first time VETTEL was emotional on the podium? what a pass on ALONSO after the restart! long live the RBR and VETTEL era.

Maybe it was Abu Dhabi last season...=)

[M_Six]

Liuzzi gets a 5 grid spot penalty for the 1st turn wreck. That is rich. Give the traditional last place qualifier a 5 grid spot penalty.

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

As for Schumi "pushing" Hamilton to the grass, well, when Vettel passed Alonso, he was squeezed to the grass too!
No one said a word about throwing Alonso to the stewards.

I think the main difference is that Vettel still ended up pulling the pass off, where as Hamilton was forced off the throttle and then eventually lost a place to Button because of it.


Overall, not a bad race. Some great action. I'm still sick of seeing (we actually didn't even see much of him) Vettel just ride off into the Sun. As good of a driver he may be, that is all car/setup. And his pass on Alonso was because of surperior grip, being able to ride the outside of the corner around and still on 2 wheels.

Did anyone else notice Lewis' front tire pressure being maybe a bit too low? The tires were rippling under the high speed straights. I feel that was probably hurting his top line speed.

[UltimateBMW]

This looks like an F1 Destruction Derby.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

This looks like an F1 Destruction Derby.

The carnage...