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Formula 1 2014: Round 4 - Chinese Grand Prix
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Ok not the most exciting of races but good result. 1, 2, 3 on podium... 1, 2, 3 in championship0
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Doesn't seem right in a way that Rosberg is still leading the championship, the mechanical failure for Hamilton in Australia is the difference between being 4 points behind Rosberg and potantially 28 points ahead of Rosberg. A 32 point swing!
Should three seconds and one first outweigh three firsts?0 -
Quite a whack Rosberg at Bottas! Williams 10 points for chassis strength0
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Haven't seen the race yet, so I can't comment on specifics, but this was a crucial race for both Hmailton and Rosberg. Lewis needed to win to keep the momentum going and Nico needed to win to take back some control of the championship.
Looks like an easy title for Lewis now.0 -
One thing I will say is that Vettel is being shown for the driver he is. I have said it a few times that Vettel is not that good a racer to have won 4 world titles and now that he hasn't got the best car it's being shown! Have always said that Hamiliton and Alonso are better drivers than Vettel and Rosberg is a very good racer as well!0
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Doesn't seem right in a way that Rosberg is still leading the championship, the mechanical failure for Hamilton in Australia is the difference between being 4 points behind Rosberg and potantially 28 points ahead of Rosberg. A 32 point swing!
Should three seconds and one first outweigh three firsts?
Didn't Bernie Ecclestone call for some form of gold, silver and bronze medal system to replace the points system and was roundly told it was an awful idea.0 -
Terrontress wrote: »Didn't Bernie Ecclestone call for some form of gold, silver and bronze medal system to replace the points system and was roundly told it was an awful idea.
As far as I'm concerned there's only 2 logical systems. Most wins = championship or best average finishing position. Everything else involves opinion on what spots are worth what.0 -
Terrontress wrote: »Didn't Bernie Ecclestone call for some form of gold, silver and bronze medal system to replace the points system and was roundly told it was an awful idea.
Yes in 2009 - inspiration from the 2008 Olympics - thankfully it was ignored, Jenson Button would have been champion mid season if the idea had gone ahead.0 -
I know that credit has to go to Mercedes for developing such an impressive car but they are ruining the entertainment with their dominance.0
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Frankie Lee wrote: »I know that credit has to go to Mercedes for developing such an impressive car but they are ruining the entertainment with their dominance.
But it's only four races in with new regs. I'm very glad to see a different team than Redbull at the front
Also glad to potentially see two teammates fight for race wins instead of Vettel take win after win
Hopefully things will level out a bit more eventually or on tighter tracks the teams will be racing closer0 -
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Result for the race will be taken from Lap 54, not Lap 56. Organisers sent out the chequered flag early, but the race continued after it.0
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Mitch Connor wrote: »But it was shown end of lap 55, why is the result taken a lap even earlier?
The flag went out on 54. I've noticed that the FOM lap counter is a lap ahead of the timing screen, so they did 55 of 56 laps, but the result is from 54. Confusing as f*ck, but that's the FIA for you!0 -
Didn't that happen to Jordan one year at Brazil. Didn't Pele wave the chequered flag at the wrong time and Sato (I think) was the first driver to pass it. So if the result is from when the flag goes out, then technically should Jordan not have own that race? Or maybe I'm getting mixed up and that never happened...but I'm sure it did!!0
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it happened fisichella in brazil 2003 when the race was stopped early due to Alonso crashing into Webber's debris!raikkonen was declared the winner on the day but after the FIA realised they fcuked up the result was switched.Didn't that happen to Jordan one year at Brazil. Didn't Pele wave the chequered flag at the wrong time and Sato (I think) was the first driver to pass it. So if the result is from when the flag goes out, then technically should Jordan not have own that race? Or maybe I'm getting mixed up and that never happened...but I'm sure it did!!0 -
it happened fisichella in brazil 2003 when the race was stopped early due to Alonso crashing into Webber's debris!raikkonen was declared the winner on the day but after the FIA realised they fcuked up the result was switched.
No it wasn't the Fisichella win. The race this happened in I don't think Jordan were even in the points. Just that one of their cars was first past the flag due to Pele waving it at the wrong time. I'll have to go Googling but I'm sure it was Sato in Brazil.0 -
Pele waved it in 2002,but I cant for the life of me remember was it sato or not who was the first one to cross the line when he waved it.No it wasn't the Fisichella win. The race this happened in I don't think Jordan were even in the points. Just that one of their cars was first past the flag due to Pele waving it at the wrong time. I'll have to go Googling but I'm sure it was Sato in Brazil.0 -
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Pele waved it in 2002,but I cant for the life of me remember was it sato or not who was the first one to cross the line when he waved it.
via ESPN2002
When Pele was asked to wave the chequered flag at the Brazilian Grand Prix it seemed a perfect PR opportunity, the country's, if not the world's, greatest footballer at one of its biggest sporting events. And, to be fair, it is not exactly a task burdened by onerous or complex rules. But, it seemed the organisers appeared to fail to explain the intricacies of Formula One to the great man, so when Michael Schumacher crossed the line to take the victory, followed home by brother Ralf , Pele was busy chatting with officials and forgot to show them the flag. Alerted to his mistake, he enthusiastically waved the flag at the next driver past, which happened to be Takuma Sato who was some two laps behind the winner, meaning technically he had won the race. "Pele is very little," noted Schumacher. "I didn't see the flag though, that's the only thing I noticed."0 -
Yeah it was Brazil 2002: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Brazilian_Grand_Prix
Although...Sporting Regulations state that if the chequered flag is not shown for any reason, the race will be deemed to have finished when it should have finished.
So I'm not sure why that regulation wouldn't be applied today0 -
Ricarrdo giving Vettel a good spanking , he should have shown him a finger while over taking.0
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any rule changes in that time period to reflect the same???the FIA like to change the rules a little too often as well all know,if this season is as good as they say then get rid of DRS I bloody hate it, artificial as fcuk :rolleyes:Yeah it was Brazil 2002: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Brazilian_Grand_Prix
Although...
So I'm not sure why that regulation wouldn't be applied today0 -
Vettel ignored team orders yet again,i really hope ricciardo destroys him this year,about time someone put that boy in his place,and in the 4 races this year DR has had the upper hand even with the disqualificationRicarrdo giving Vettel a good spanking , he should have shown him a finger while over taking.0 -
Doesn't seem right in a way that Rosberg is still leading the championship, the mechanical failure for Hamilton in Australia is the difference between being 4 points behind Rosberg and potantially 28 points ahead of Rosberg. A 32 point swing!
Should three seconds and one first outweigh three firsts?
Rosberg is bound to have some sort of mechanical failure during the course of the year so I assume it will all even out.
Consistency should be rewarded as well.0 -
Doesn't seem right in a way that Rosberg is still leading the championship, the mechanical failure for Hamilton in Australia is the difference between being 4 points behind Rosberg and potantially 28 points ahead of Rosberg. A 32 point swing!
Should three seconds and one first outweigh three firsts?
Of course it should. If you don't finish, you don't score points. If you finish consistently, you get points. It's simple maths: 0+25+25+25<25+18+18+18. Finishing in a high place is all well and good, but you actually HAVE to finish to get benefit from it. If Hamilton wins the next race, he'll move ahead of Rosberg.0 -
Post Race Quotes:Toro Rosso
Daniil Kvyat, 10th
"It felt great today and I'm very happy with my performance. I had a good start and I managed to make up some positions during the first lap. Our pace was very strong today and I enjoyed the fight with Jenson pretty much throughout the race. We did a good job with the tyre management, so we were able to stay out longer. Even though it all went very well today, I think there's still a lot more to come from the car, so I'm really looking forward to starting the European part of the season, where I hope to get some more points."
Jean-Eric Vergne, 12th
"First of all, congratulations to Daniil for his good race and another point for him and the team. As for my race, I had a bad start and a bad first lap. We need to understand what happened exactly to improve this aspect. After that, I could not make the best out of the option tyres because I was stuck behind Button, so it was not possible to build a gap and pull away. It was definitely a tough race but we should not have to forget some positive aspects: we had a really good qualifying yesterday, the general pace was not bad and we know exactly the direction to take in order to improve. This is the reason why I'm convinced that we can be stronger in a few weeks' time in Barcelona."
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal
"Daniil did another fantastic race, with his lap times always quite competitive. To start from the 13th position on the grid and bring home one point certainly shows the good performance. Jean-Eric had a poor start, which compromised his race and didn't allow him to finish with a better result. We have to find out the reasons for this, in order to be better prepared for the next race in Barcelona, where we will have some new parts that will hopefully help us improve our general performance."
Lotus
Romain Grosjean, DNF
"We started by losing fourth gear but it got worse and essentially we lost all gears. It's the first time we've had a problem like this so we'll have to understand what happened. It had been quite nice in the race as we'd been fighting for ninth position so we were in the points, which is a good improvement from before. We didn't make it to the end of the race today but let's hope we finish in the points in Barcelona."
Pastor Maldonado, 14th
"Today wasn't my best race ever but we finished. My pace wasn't fantastic but at least we moved forwards and I pushed as hard as I could. We will look at the data as we seemed to lack pace on the straights which made it difficult to overtake and also difficult to defend. It will be nice to have a race weekend without any problems, and that's what we are all working for when we head to Europe."
Federico Gastaldi, Lotus deputy team principal
"Romain suffered from a gearbox issue which meant he lost fourth gear and then other gears meaning his race could not continue. Obviously, this is not ideal and we're investigating the cause. It's a shame as Romain had been running reasonably well in the points and able to race his rivals, and a points finish was realistic. Pastor did a great job from the back of the grid to finish in 14th. For Barcelona we have more upgrades for the chassis and engine so we should be more competitive there."
Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader
"We've made some real progress this weekend and for the first time since Melbourne we could show we had the pace for points, which is why today is so disappointing. We have identified some further development with the power unit here so with the three weeks between this race and Spain we'll work with the team to capitalise on the potential."
Marussia
Jules Bianchi, 17th
"I had a good fight with Kobayashi throughout the race and I'm very happy to be leaving China having finished ahead of him. This was my first straightforward race of the season so far and it is a big relief I have to say. The start was good and I got ahead of Kamui off the line but he regained position quite quickly. I stuck with him until the second stint when with Maldonado between us I dropped back a little but then I caught up again and we continued to enjoy a good battle. When he stopped for a third time for the option tyre we saw the opportunity to manage my tyres and stay out to get ahead. On new option tyres he was catching quite quickly and I had to work really hard to keep in front and not lose the place. Unfortunately, he caught me with only two corners left but in the end we keep the position, so I'm happy and have a good feeling with which to end the first long haul rounds of the season."
Max Chilton, 19th
"It was a tough race but I'm pleased to have passed and kept Ericsson behind me and, of course, to secure my 23rd consecutive finish. The start went well - I got past a couple of cars actually - and the car felt good in that early stint. On the medium tyre I struggled a bit more with the balance and we changed the strategy, before changing back at the end when we pitted for a third time, basically to ensure that we were not going to be subject to a late charge by Ericsson on fresh rubber. A good race and a nice way to head into the start of the European season."
John Booth, Marussia team principal
"A good result today with Jules leading home Kobayashi and Max finishing in front of Ericsson also. In reality, today we didn't quite have the pace to match Kobayashi but an inspired strategy allowed us to stay ahead of him. It took some nerve on the pit wall and also very good tyre management and race craft from Jules to stay ahead. Max struggled a little more with the left front wear on the medium tyre than Jules but ultimately he was doing enough to be in front of Ericsson. However with the opportunity to still remain ahead of him with an extra stop at the end, we decided to put Max onto a three-stop strategy. It's good to be leaving the flyaway races still in 10th and we have shown very good reliability in this early part of season. The focus for Barcelona and Monaco will be to introduce our new upgrades and really start to focus on performance."
McLaren
Jenson Button, 11th
"It was pretty difficult out there. It felt a little bit like qualifying yesterday: we just couldn't get the front tyres working - they just grained.
"We've got a few upgrades for the next grand prix, in Barcelona, but they won't be enough to close our performance gap to the fastest cars. But the guys are doing their best, and a result like this is disappointing for everyone, especially for the mechanics and the guys back at the factory, because they've all been working so hard."
Kevin Magnussen, 13th
"It felt like a long race, because there wasn't much I could do out there. Our car lacks downforce - that's its main problem. The way it's set up, and how it feels, has always been positive; it's just low on grip, that's all. So, clearly, we need to work as hard as we can to create that missing downforce.
"I know the guys back in Woking are doing their best, and I have faith that they'll deliver that downforce before too long."
Eric Boullier, McLaren racing director
"Our car isn't competitive enough, we know that, its deficiencies mostly the consequence of insufficient downforce. Furthermore, the Shanghai circuit is front-limited - in other words it punishes lack of front-end grip. That being the case, the fact that we've been unable to get sufficient heat into our front tyres in the chilly weather conditions we've experienced this weekend has further compromised our performance here.
"There's a three-week gap between now and the Spanish Grand Prix, and we'll work flat-out between now and then in an effort to address our car's shortcomings. We know what we have to do, and we'll work night and day to do it."
Williams
Valtteri Bottas, 7th
"It was a good race for me despite some hard contact at the start which cost me a few positions. I also had to drive the whole race without telemetry which isn't the easiest thing to do. We made progress over the whole weekend which is good. It's great to make steps forward and we are looking to do the same in Spain in a three weeks' time."
Felipe Massa, 15th
"I had another great start today and we were fighting at the top. I felt some contact with Fernando but luckily the car wasn't damaged so I could carry on. There was a mistake at the first pitstop and that effectively lost me the race as I came back out on track in last position. It is a frustrating situation and something we need to work on to make sure that it doesn't happen again. We have time now to work hard and improve the car for Spain."
Rob Smedley, Williams head of vehicle performance
"It's bittersweet really as the car was quick. We had a good strategy and the team worked well together. It's a real shame for Felipe and the whole team about the pitstop and it is something that we need to investigate to ensure it doesn't happen again, as it cost us points today. To have one car in the top ten shows that we have the pace and that gives us continued optimism, so we will take the positives forward to Spain."
Sauber
Esteban Gutierrez, 16th
"It was a very complicated race in terms of tyre management. With these kind of temperatures the prime tyres were not really working for us. We had to do a three stop strategy, which ended up as a disadvantage for us. With our current pace we could not have higher expectations in terms of our results. I have total faith in my team, everybody is putting their best efforts into everything. I believe that Barcelona is the place where we can recover, make a step forward and fight for better positions and points."
Adrian Sutil, DNF
"Unfortunately it was a very short race for me. During the formation lap I already had problems. As it was a quite slow formation lap, I was not able to identify what the problem was. I just realised the engine was not working properly. At the start I had almost no power. Going into the first corner I noticed there was a problem with the engine. I lost a lot of positions during the first lap and fell back to last. I did a few more laps, but then went back to the pits. The team tried to solve the issue, but we could not do it quickly. I had to retire. However, I am still positive and looking forward."
Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber team principal
"Of course it's a shame that Adrian suffered an engine problem after only a few laps and was never really able to get into the race. In Esteban's case, we have to analyse everything in order to understand why the rear tyres suddenly lost so much grip. We are obviously not happy with this kind of performance. We are going through a tough time, but this is no reason for us to bury our heads in the sand. We need to continue working in a very focused way and make sure we get the maximum from our development package for the next race in Barcelona."
Pirelli
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director
"After a wet qualifying session yesterday, all the drivers had their full allocation of slick tyres for the race. From the beginning the strategies were open: it was going to be either a two or three stop race, with the performance of the soft tyre in the first stint as well as the medium tyre in the second stint holding the key to each driver's potential. Once it was clear that a slight increase in track temperature today wasn't going to have a significant effect in terms of graining on the soft tyre, the teams concentrated on the main race tyre: the medium. Temperatures generally throughout this weekend have been low € among the lowest we have seen during a race weekend over the last three years € and as a result we did see some graining on the soft tyre in particular, which also caused a few marbles on the back straight. That's not something we like to see, but under the circumstances, it was to be expected. Degradation on the medium tyre was less than a tenth of a second per lap here, while degradation on the soft was just over two-tenths of a second."
Force India
Nico Hulkenberg, 6th
"Finishing in sixth and bringing both cars home in the points again was a very positive result for the team. It was actually a pretty straightforward race for me after we got in front of Massa: I had to manage my tyres, my pace and avoid mistakes, and it only got tricky at the end when Bottas was getting a bit closer. We have beaten all other customer Mercedes cars, which are our main competition at the moment, but we have also seen some other teams up their game so we will need to keep pushing."
Sergio Perez, 9th
"To start from P16 and finish in ninth place is a good recovery after a difficult qualifying session yesterday. I made a good start and after that I just focused on making the two-stop strategy work. I think everybody suffered with tyre graining and I picked up a few flat spots, but we still made it work. It was not easy to overtake today, even the cars on a different strategy, so I think ninth place was the maximum. It means I've scored points in three out of four races, but I was hoping for more today after the weekend we had in Bahrain. It's also clear that all the teams around us are finding pace so we have to keep working hard to be ready for Barcelona."
Robert Fernley, Force India deputy team principal
"Coming away from China with another ten points in our pocket and third place in the teams' standings is a very good effort. We never expected Shanghai to be our strongest track so I think we can feel pretty satisfied with our performance over the entire weekend. Nico's race was relatively straightforward and we judged the tyre strategy correctly as he held off Bottas in the final stint. Sergio staged a strong recovery drive to move up into the points, which was a good effort when you consider he has not felt completely comfortable with the car balance this weekend. To have 54 points after four races is an excellent effort and we can be pleased with the consistency we have shown over a variety of different circuits."
Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo, 4th
"I started on the dirty side of the grid and had quite a poor getaway; I was spinning up on the line a bit too long and lost the two places. From then on however, I thought the race was good! With Seb, we were racing and you always want to hold on to your position, but the team radioed and he let me through. I did what I could after each stop and we improved the car; at the end I was doing all I could to catch Alonso and I think we got to within a couple of seconds of him as we went over the line. It's going well with the team, I feel comfortable here and I did the best I could today. I really want that podium and we're getting close!"
Sebastian Vettel, 4th
"I moved over for Daniel once I knew that we were on different strategies. When I was first asked, I didn't understand as we were on the same tyre, unlike in Bahrain, so I double checked. When the team said we were on a different strategy, I moved over and then, as the race went on, I saw more and more that I didn't have the pace. There was no point in holding Dan back. I'm not yet where I want to be with the car, but it's an on-going process; hopefully at the next few races we will make some more steps in the right direction. Our weakness isn't in the corners, but on the straights. The first stint today was okay but after that I'm not sure what happened."
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal
"I think the wet conditions in qualifying yesterday helped us get higher starting positions up the grid. In today's dry race, ultimately fourth and fifth is realistically where we were this weekend. Mercedes again were particularly strong and Ferrari carried their form through from Friday into a dry race today. Sebastian made a great start, but then appeared to go through the tyres quicker than Daniel and, after the second stop, it was apparent Seb's degradation was particularly worse than Daniel, so we looked at switching him to a three-stop and therefore released Daniel who was very much focused on a two-stop at that point. Thereafter Daniel was able to close the gap to Alonso, but unfortunately we didn't have enough to get onto the podium today. Fourth and fifth is still a solid result with good points. Heading back to Europe we know we have a lot of work to do."
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, 1st
"The team have done an amazing job and all the hard work both here and at the factory is really paying off at the moment. This car is just unbelievable; in the final laps, I was pushing a little bit more to keep up the tyre temperatures and it just felt great to drive. I'm so, so happy today. We had to make a lot of changes after P2 in terms of the set-up of the car but after it rained on Saturday, we didn't know exactly how it would go today. There was a lot of hard work done, sitting down with the engineers so that we didn't guess anything and just made the right steps in anticipation for today. I really want to give a big shout-out to the team in Brackley and Brixworth for embracing me last year, for building this amazing car and engine and for continuously pushing forward with so much positive energy in 2014. We are definitely on a roll right now; I'm working hard, the team is working hard and we just want to improve even further when we get back to Europe."
Nico Rosberg, 2nd
"That was not a perfect weekend for me. Too many things went wrong, beginning with a technical problem and a less than perfect job from me in qualifying. Today I didn't have any telemetry, so there was no communication from the car to the pits. My engineers couldn't see what was going on in my car and therefore they couldn't set up my clutch for the start. The clutch was completely on the wrong place, which is why I had a really bad start. I had some contact with Bottas in Turn 1 and I thought that was it. Luckily my car wasn't damaged and in the following laps the pace in the car seemed good, which meant I was able to climb some positions. To finish second in the end, on a weekend of damage limitation, is great. I collected some important points again, which makes me happy. It's great to go back to Europe with the lead in the Championship. In Barcelona, the aim will be to have a normal weekend and be back in first place. It was again an amazing team result and the whole team can be very proud. Congratulations to Lewis on a fantastic weekend."
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team executive director
"The result today looks easier than it actually was. It was a difficult race after losing telemetry on Nico's car, which shows how much of an exceptional race he drove considering this was a big limitation. From the beginning, Lewis was a man on his own planet, looking quicker than everyone else and making the tyres last longer than we thought. It's a great result for the team to get the third 1-2 in a row - congratulations to all the guys and girls who have worked so hard to put us at this level of performance today. Now we are aiming to continue this good form going into the European season."
Paddy Lowe, Mercedes team executive director (technical)
"We're very happy with the result today; it was a great team performance. Even before the race started, the laps to the grid were very important to perfect the balance of the car. It wasn't an easy start as we quickly learned that Nico had no telemetry on his car, which we knew would make life difficult. Lewis made a good getaway but Nico suffered off the line and also ran into contact at the first corner as well. He survived that undamaged and did a fantastic job to make his way back from sixth, using a combination of pit stop strategy and the pace of the car. Graining of the front tyres had been a worry before the race, but both drivers managed the situation very well which was an important factor in our race result. Congratulations to Lewis on his third victory in a row for the first time in his career."0 -
mrkiscool2 wrote: »One thing I will say is that Vettel is being shown for the driver he is. I have said it a few times that Vettel is not that good a racer to have won 4 world titles and now that he hasn't got the best car it's being shown! Have always said that Hamiliton and Alonso are better drivers than Vettel and Rosberg is a very good racer as well!
You must be thankful Webber is finally out of F1 then, what a waste of space that guy was? Vettel has been exposed, these four races tell us more about him than his four championships on the bounce. Alonso is making a mockery of Kimi, no one is saying anything about that because Kimi is Kimi, he's a fan's favourite. Massa was lauded for ignoring team orders a few weeks ago, people are lining up to have a go at Seb for doing something similar today despite letting him through.
Meanwhile it's smooth sailing for our Lewis, under the old scoring system he would be leading now, right? Too many points for second place. Can he beat Seb's nine wins in a row?:)0 -
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Never said anything about the team orders, I hate team orders. Think they ruining racing which is why I am liking Mercedes even more. Don't like Hamilton as a man but there is no denying he is a great driver. Vettel won 4 championships in a row because he had by far and away the best car. Now that he hasn't he is struggling. I've said it before that Vettel is not as good a driver as his 4 world championships would have you believe! If everyone had the same car he would be down in 5th or 6th every week!You must be thankful Webber is finally out of F1 then, what a waste of space that guy was? Vettel has been exposed, these four races tell us more about him than his four championships on the bounce. Alonso is making a mockery of Kimi, no one is saying anything about that because Kimi is Kimi, he's a fan's favourite. Massa was lauded for ignoring team orders a few weeks ago, people are lining up to have a go at Seb for doing something similar today despite letting him through.
Meanwhile it's smooth sailing for our Lewis, under the old scoring system he would be leading now, right? Too many points for second place. Can he beat Seb's nine wins in a row?:)0
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