Yes
No
Pirelli's got Alonso into 1st place with Vettel. As far as the chins opinion goes, he got to watch were he's going, stop crashing, forget the tyre opinions he has while he's driving.
Much worse than the tyres as far as F1 goes is the artificial handicapping of a driver being givrn team orders, let him pass is got to be a killer! Again I have to think, Alonso and his Ferrari are in 1st place on pirellis. Our pit stops have improved %100 from last year. Our crew is on red alert the whole race. For sure we have Vettel and RB thinking twice about the competition.
Even if were in 1st magically, it's GREAT!! The pit crew is right up there with car, driver in super importance esp. with 3 stops. Were on it!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99647
Raikkonen: Refuelling ban has bigger impact on racing than tyres
Kimi Raikkonen says that too much has been made of the impact of tyres on the racing this year - and thinks that it is the ban on refuelling that is playing a huge factor in shuffling up the order as well.
The competitiveness of the F1 field this year has meant elements like tyres are playing a bigger role in the outcome of races, with Pirelli having faced criticism that its products have now become too important in defining results.
However, Raikkonen is not convinced that Pirelli should have been singled out as the key element - because he reckons that the ban on refuelling is a big contributing factor too.
"I don't think the nature [of F1] is different because of that," Raikkonen told Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat about the impact of Pirelli.
"It's because of the amount of the fuel on board. I don't think there would be that much problem with these tyres, if we would race with 50 or 60 kilos, when we start.
"Previously the pitstops were made usually after every 20 laps, while we had less fuel. I think it would have been the same situation with Michelins and Bridgestones if we would have this much fuel as we have now.
"These tyres are good in qualifying: they have a good grip and all in all they are good tyres."
Refuelling was banned at the start of the 2010 season that witnessed four different winners in the first five races, and produced a four-way championship finale in Abu Dhabi.
NEWEY NO LONGER KEY TO SUCCESS IN 'NEW' F1
Friday 18 May at 04:35 : May 18 (GMM) Red Bull is lamenting the limited role that can be played in 2012 by F1's aerodynamic genius Adrian Newey.
For the past few years, the energy drink owned team has enjoyed its dominance largely because of the airflow magic wrought by Briton Newey.
But in 2012, with reigning back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel just one of the five different winners so far, Pirelli rubber is king.
"I doubt Williams really know why they were so strong," team boss Christian Horner, referring to Pastor Maldonado's shock Barcelona pole and win last weekend, is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
Horner insisted that, rather than the winner being the team with the best overall package at each race, success this season is about "understanding the characteristics of the tyre and the window in which they work".
"It's not that the midfield teams have made a quantum leap aerodynamically from last year to this year," Horner insisted. "But from a performance point of view, this is what they have done."
The logical conclusion is that aerodynamic cleverness has taken a back seat.
So will Red Bull knock a million or two off Newey's huge annual retainer?
Horner laughed. "Adrian is not just an aerodynamicist, and aerodynamics are still important anyway. But now it's about harmonising everything, and these tyres are simply remarkably complex.
"Two races ago Nico Rosberg dominated, but in Spain he was almost lapped. It is very difficult to predict what's going to happen next -- a nightmare for the bookmakers," he smiled. "A lottery."
The situation has split F1 into two camps: those who love it, and those who do not.
"It has become like a GP2 championship," Maldonado, the junior category's 2010 champion, is quoted by The National newspaper.
"The drivers can make the difference and the teams can still work on the strategy and the car."
The bizarre situation has left everyone scratching their heads, like Jenson Button.
He can scarcely believe that what looked a championship car - his 2012 McLaren - was beaten in Spain by Shanghai winner Nico Rosberg, who was almost lapped.
"The Red Bulls did a better job at the weekend than us in terms of points, but still they weren't quick when you compare them to Williams, Sauber, Lotus and Ferrari," he told PA Sport.
"Five different teams winning five different races, we really don't know what's going on, and I think that's the same up and down the pitlane."
http://www.onestopstrategy.com/daily...new%27+F1.html
CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE
It's taking longer for the teams/drivers to fully understand the different compounds but the best will be up there.
Has there been any complaint from MS about the tyres in Monaco?
Forza Ferrari
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