Driver of the race: Round 18 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

frostie500

So was the driver of the day?

Sparks43

Mark Webber

Vettel From back to front to back to front

Winged it for a bit but at least we didnt see that bloody finger

Max_Charger

Mark Webber

As much as it pains me, it has to be the finger kid.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

I went for Kimi,as he did very well,he pulled away from Alonso enough.

And just for the way he spoke to his race engineer over the pit to car radio,live for the whole world to hear.

"I know I know I know,now leave me alone."

And then how "excited" he was when speaking to Coulthard on the podium after the race.

Kimi for the win.:D:D

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

Sparks43 wrote: »

Vettel From back to front to back to front

Winged it for a bit but at least we didnt see that bloody finger

Litterly.....twice;):D

Darkglasses

Nico Hulkenberg

I imagine everyone will go for Vettel and Kimi, so I've gone for Paul Di Resta. After the 1st corner incident I didn't think he had a hope of a points finish, so well done him.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

Hamilton handled himself very well in his interview.

he could have spat the dummy,but he didnt.

Kudos.

Kimi. Vettel had the most luck in an F1 race since Alonso in Singapore in 2008.

af_thefragile

Mark Webber

Vettel really proved today its not just the car he has which wins him the races and championships.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

Deleted User wrote: »

Kimi. Vettel had the most luck in an F1 race since Alonso in Singapore in 2008.

I dont think that racing wheel to wheel,wing to wing,flying up through the field and then overtakling Greojean (twice actually) and Button was just "luck".

That was race craft and driver skill.;)

Technoprisoner

Mark Webber

has to be vettel in the flying bull....great race and proved to all the haters that he is truely a legend in the making

freestyla

Romain Grosjean

Vettel fcucked it up at the end LOL

vectra

af_thefragile wrote: »

Vettel really proved today its not just the car he has which wins him the races and championships.

He sure did.
He proved today that the safety car matters as well :pac:

Voted for Kimi. Good controlled race from the start.

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

Gonna go with Kimi, with Vettel as a close second. The few mistake from Vettel is why I didn't pick him, like crashing with the Williams, & the benefit of the safety cars & other incidents helped him a lot too. Still though, it was a close second. I don't know how Webber gets up in the morning with Vettel as a teammate

Kimi's incredible start, his racecraft & control meant he's my driver of the day

Frank Bullitt

Romain Grosjean

vectra wrote: »

He sure did.
He proved today that the safety car matters as well :pac:

Voted for Kimi. Good controlled race from the start.

Controlled from Hamiltons retirement you mean.

I give it to Kimi as well, for the radio messages alone.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

EnterNow wrote: »

I don't know how Webber gets up in the morning with Vettel as a teammate

Id say millions upon millions of euro would do it allright.:pac::D

Bullseye1

Mark Webber

Solid drive from Kimi and Alonso but drive of the day goes to Vettle.

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

paddy147 wrote: »

Id say millions upon millions of euro would do it allright.:pac::D

Yeah, that might help alright

I didn't think he represented himself well at all today.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

EnterNow wrote: »

Yeah, that might help alright

I didn't think he represented himself well at all today.

He has a great race,and then he seems to have a shyte race.

Hes a sort of "on off" driver at the moment.

Romain Grosjean

Vettel did okay but to be perfectly honest he was helped a lot by safety cars and clumsy people crashing into each other, limping back to the pits with punctures etc. He had a few clumsy moments himself.

Not to take anything away from him but in the history of F1 there are spectacular drives where someone cuts through the field from the back and I don't think this was one of them.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

Deleted User wrote: »

Vettel did okay but to be perfectly honest he was helped a lot by safety cars and clumsy people crashing into each other, limping back to the pits with punctures etc. He had a few clumsy moments himself.

Not to take anything away from him but in the history of F1 there are spectacular drives where someone cuts through the field from the back and I don't think this was one of them.

Button in Canada a few years back.;)

Max_Charger

Mark Webber

Deleted User wrote: »

Vettel did okay but to be perfectly honest he was helped a lot by safety cars and clumsy people crashing into each other, limping back to the pits with punctures etc. He had a few clumsy moments himself.

Not to take anything away from him but in the history of F1 there are spectacular drives where someone cuts through the field from the back and I don't think this was one of them.

But you voted for Kimi, and by your logic,was helped a lot and only won the race because Lewis retired? I don't understand all this talk of "luck with safety cars", he still had to bring the car home in one piece, which as you said, a lot of people failed to do today.

paddy147

paddy147 wrote: »

Id say millions upon millions of euro would do it allright.:pac::D

If Red Bull just want to pay someone to lose to Vettel they could save themselves a few quid and get me in.

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

Max_Charger wrote: »

I don't understand all this talk of "luck with safety cars", he still had to bring the car home in one piece, which as you said, a lot of people failed to do today.

Well the safety cars kept nullifying the front runners lead over Vettel, it got reset, twice. Also with half the field crashing into each other {:p} it did somehow play into his hands. Your right though in that he got the job done, nobody can take it away from him, but you can't ever deny two safety cars don't help the car which is on a charge from the rear

EnterNow

EnterNow wrote: »

Well the safety cars kept nullifying the front runners lead over Vettel, it got reset, twice. Also with half the field crashing into each other {:p} it did somehow play into his hands. Your right though in that he got the job done, nobody can take it away from him, but you can't ever deny two safety cars don't help the car which is on a charge from the rear

Expecially with the pit stop/safety car timings. He didn't actually make that many overtakes.

Deleted User

Romain Grosjean

Deleted User wrote: »

Expecially with the pit stop/safety car timings. He didn't actually make that many overtakes.

Yeah he passed plenty of back markers. I didn't see too many passes on front-runners except for Jenson. A lot of the mid-field guys were too busy crashing and limping back to the pits so he didn't have to pass them on track.

Like I said, im not trying to take anything away from him, he got the job done. But on paper going from the pit lane to 3rd sounds like an epic drive whereas in reality I thought he was a bit clumsy at times and lucked in to a lot of it.

ottostreet

Romain Grosjean

Kimi, and Kamui Kobayashi!

Technoprisoner

Mark Webber

EnterNow wrote: »

Well the safety cars kept nullifying the front runners lead over Vettel, it got reset, twice. Also with half the field crashing into each other {:p} it did somehow play into his hands. Your right though in that he got the job done, nobody can take it away from him, but you can't ever deny two safety cars don't help the car which is on a charge from the rear

emm the first safety car did him no favors ...he had to start from the rear for a second time...he had to overtake most people on track twice. the guy is a legend in the making and far more disciplined than the rest

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

Technoprisoner wrote: »

emm the first safety car did him no favors ...

Seriously though, the only person a safety car does no favours to is the leader of a race.

he had to start from the rear for a second time...

His own fault, I think he took his eye off the Torr Rosso there. The wing damage was also his own fault with the Williams collision. Personally I think he cost himself the win with those errors

he had to overtake most people on track twice.

Did he though? Didn't he overtake the back markers & middle runners twice, something that car should be well able to do. He didn't overtake the leaders twice.

the guy is a legend in the making

No arguments there, he's incredibly talented.

and far more disciplined than the rest

Hmm, not quite yet there. His hiccups today were his own fault, he has a while to go before he is as disciplined as the likes of Button or Alonso

Technoprisoner

Mark Webber

he easily out drives both of them....he over took button today!! If the race had of went on another 5 or so laps he probably would of took 2nd and possibly 1st. The mistake with the torro rosso could of happened any the drivers and has caught out others before including button and hamilton. even under a rolling start condition there is still at least a 10 second if not more difference between paddy last and the leader. It was truely outstanding to see him on the podium after starting from the back ....twice. How many times have any other drivers did that?

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

And also remember the 1st safety car (Rosbergs spectacular crash) did Vettel no favours as it was out of the pitstop window for all the drivers.

Vettel did it the hard way.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

EnterNow wrote: »

. His hiccups today were his own fault, he has a while to go before he is as disciplined as the likes of Button or Alonso

Well my money is firmly on him for 3 titles in a row..regardless of "discipline"...:pac::D

I bet Button and Alonso would swap "discipline" in a heartbeat for an F1 world champions title.;)

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

paddy147 wrote: »

I bet Button and Alonso would swap "discipline" in a heartbeat for an F1 world champions title. a Reb Bull

Fixed

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

paddy147 wrote: »

Vettel did it the hard way.

Being allowed to change your car setup, gear ratio's etc to make your car faster than Quali is hardly the hard way in fairness either, his car was so much faster than everyone elses its a wonder he didn't win the race, I think he should have.

The penalty really shouldn't allow for such advantageous changes to be made to the car. But anyway, again, he drove as I expected him to & deserved the podium

christy c

Felipe Massa

EnterNow wrote: »

Being allowed to change your car setup, gear ratio's etc to make your car faster than Quali is hardly the hard way in fairness either, his car was so much faster than everyone elses its a wonder he didn't win the race, I think he should have.

The penalty really shouldn't allow for such advantageous changes to be made to the car. But anyway, again, he drove as I expected him to & deserved the podium

But can't anyone pull their car out of parc ferme and change whatever they like and then start from the pit lane? By that logic should everyone start from the pit lane?

Andrew76

Mark Webber

Vettel got my vote too. From last place, twice, to third easily makes him driver of the day. Kimi did nothing spectacular, a good start, failed to take advantage of Lewis going wide on cold tyres and was then gifted the lead. His radio messages were brilliant though.

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

christy c wrote: »

But can't anyone pull their car out of parc ferme and change whatever they like and then start from the pit lane? By that logic should everyone start from the pit lane?

Yes true, but this isn't about strategy, its about a fitting punishment for breaching the rules...quite simply, if you breach the rules in Quali as in this case, your car should remain in par ferme & instead a time penalty applied to ensure your at the back, but still unable to benefit from having no parc ferme. Its nit picking on my part for sure, because I still think Vettel would still have done well, just maybe not as well.

Sheeps

Romain Grosjean

Voted for Kimi, but Vettel needs some respect for how he performed.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

EnterNow wrote: »

Being allowed to change your car setup, gear ratio's etc to make your car faster than Quali is hardly the hard way in fairness either, his car was so much faster than everyone elses its a wonder he didn't win the race, I think he should have.

The penalty really shouldn't allow for such advantageous changes to be made to the car. But anyway, again, he drove as I expected him to & deserved the podium

Even with the taller gear change,how long did it take him to pass Button again???;)

He actually had to rely on out braking Button into the corner and then taking a chance around the outside for the next corner.

So the pass had nothing to do with a taller 7th gear.

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

paddy147 wrote: »

Even with the taller gear change,how long did it take him to pass Button again???;)

He actually had to rely on out braking Button into the corner and then taking a chance around the outside for the next corner.

So the pass had nothing to do with a taller 7th gear.

Jesus I'm not trying to take anything away from him He drove like I'd expect a double world champion to drive, but I definitely think he'd have been in with a chance of the win had he been a bit more careful

christy c

Felipe Massa

EnterNow wrote: »

Jesus I'm not trying to take anything away from him He drove like I'd expect a double world champion to drive, but I definitely think he'd have been in with a chance of the win had he been a bit more careful

I hear what you're saying, I think your earlier comment saying it was't the hard way or something like that is what we may have taken issue with.

I think you'll probably agree that it was still hard but being able to change the car didn't make it the hardest way?

paddy147

paddy147 wrote: »

So the pass had nothing to do with a taller 7th gear.

It very much did, if he'd stayed in quali spec he would've gotten nowhere near Button.

paddy147

Romain Grosjean

EnterNow wrote: »

Jesus I'm not trying to take anything away from him He drove like I'd expect a double world champion to drive, but I definitely think he'd have been in with a chance of the win had he been a bit more careful

Im not argueing with you.:)

All I was saying that he didnt exacly "fly past" Button.

He really had to work hard to make the pass and the taller/longer gearing didnt do it for him,as being stuck behind Button for a good few laps showed.

He did it the old fashioned hard way....(outbrake,drive around the oustide of the corner and put some faith in the other driver too).

Myrddin

Romain Grosjean

christy c wrote: »

I think you'll probably agree that it was still hard but being able to change the car didn't make it the hardest way?

Absolutely, but such drives are well within his capability...I don't think anything less was ever on the cards really, & I've said as much before the race. I heard EJ etc predicting 8th etc, but I knew in my heart & soul Vettel would be able to do well better than 8th.

He's in my top three drivers on the grid, he's in arguably the best car in Formula 1 by quite a huge margin compared to at least 8 of the other teams {16 cars}, & the track itself lent itself to the RB. There was no way in hell he was ever gonna finish lower than 4th/5th in my mind, I tipped a podium in fact so wasn't really that surprised by it.

My point about the Quali penalty & parc ferme isn't really directed at Vettel, more a general observation that despite the penalty, a team is still able to gain an advantage from a disadvantage, all on the back of breaking a rule. The penalty should carry more weight, but as I've said a few times now, I think Vettel would still have scored heavily in such a case.

Again I must reiterate, he drove like the champion he is, cunning, animal instinct & got the result he deserved. I do feel though, he was in with a chance of the win had he have just a tad bit more refined racecraft...he'll get there though, & god help them when he does!

Rascasse

Mark Webber

I think there is a lot of overstating the supposed advantage he got by changing the ratios. This suggests he gained 9kph on the straight, but would have had sub optimal gearing for the rest of the track. Starting from the pit lane also means you can't move until the last car passes you, and when it does its going 150mph so you are instantly several seconds behind 23rd. He also had to pit to change his front wing which completely wipes out any advantage. The only reason he got up to 3rd was the safety car. Without it he would likely have finished, as EJ predicted, around eighth just like Hamilton did in Barcelona.

It just seems to be a bit too much asking for the rules to be changed because of one result in the probably 30 years parc ferme regulations have been there.

Rascasse

Rascasse wrote: »

It just seems to be a bit too much asking for the rules to be changed because of one result in the probably 30 years parc ferme regulations have been there.

You too young to remember Sunday morning practices?

christy c

Felipe Massa

EnterNow wrote: »

My point about the Quali penalty & parc ferme isn't really directed at Vettel, more a general observation that despite the penalty, a team is still able to gain an advantage from a disadvantage, all on the back of breaking a rule. The penalty should carry more weight, but as I've said a few times now, I think Vettel would still have scored heavily in such a case.

!

I know what you mean but it's still a hefty penalty, yes being able to change the car lessens it a bit but if he and Alonso had equal points going in to the last race Alonso would be very happy if Seb got the same penalty. In my opinion it is severe enough

Rascasse

Mark Webber

Deleted User wrote: »

You too young to remember Sunday morning practices?

But they weren't really practice sessions were they, just warm up laps. Parc ferme rules still applied, the car you qualified is the car you race.

Rascasse

Rascasse wrote: »

But they weren't really practice sessions were they, just warm up laps. Parc ferme rules still applied, the car you qualified is the car you race.

Sure about that? I thought the whole point was to let the teams go from quali set-up to race set-up.

donspeekinglesh

Mark Webber

Parc Ferme after qualifying only came into the rules in 2004. Before that drivers could make any changes right up to the five minute marker, ever swap to the T car.

Tea 1000

Mark Webber

EnterNow wrote: »

Being allowed to change your car setup, gear ratio's etc to make your car faster than Quali is hardly the hard way in fairness either, his car was so much faster than everyone elses its a wonder he didn't win the race, I think he should have.

The penalty really shouldn't allow for such advantageous changes to be made to the car. But anyway, again, he drove as I expected him to & deserved the podium

Ridiculous statement to be fair, if that was the case why bother with quali at all and just set it up with race gear ratio and according to you, just walk away with it from the back?
He had a fantastic drive, around lap 22 he was 20th, and came to third, overtaking a Lotus along the way, which is hardly a mid-field car as was shown by the winner. Overtook Button too, which was the fastest car in qualifying as shown by Hamilton.
There's a lot of Vettel hate on here, but that was a great drive. Kimi did well, but he needs to get some of his racing edge back for next year.