Chinese GP 2017 - Race Thread

[Ferrarichamp]

guys, if the red car is that fast why can't we secure a pole position? why was Ham faster in free practice? and wasn't Ham managing the pace as he was leading?

[Stormy]

guys, if the red car is that fast why can't we secure a pole position? why was Ham faster in free practice? and wasn't Ham managing the pace as he was leading?

The Mercedes is slightly faster, by a very small margin on a single. Too bad Seb had misfortunes with the SC so he couldn't chase Hamilton to see our true race pace compared to Mercedes. We may be faster with race pace, i think Bahrain will be the perfect place to find out.

[jgonzalesm6]

From Autosport:

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Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne wants his Formula 1 team to sit down for talks with Kimi Raikkonen after the Finn's second consecutive difficult race in the Chinese Grand Prix.

While Ferrari's car proved a match for main rival Mercedes this season, Raikkonen has yet to finish on the podium - although he pointed out that his strategy compromised his race in China.

Marchionne expressed some frustration with the failure of Raikkonen to get past Daniel Ricciardo in the early stages of the race, at a time when Vettel was also behind him.

As well as this costing both Ferrari drivers time, Vettel was able to overtake Ricciardo shortly after passing Raikkonen.

"I talked about this with Maurizio," said Marchionne.

"Maybe they should sit around a table and he should talk to him.

"Today he seemed to be busy with other stuff. Vettel was more aggressive."

When asked if it was fair to suggest that the 2017 Ferrari F1 car is more comfortable for Vettel than it is for Raikkonen, Marchionne said: "Absolutely no."

Marchionne added that the safety car, which was brought out after Antonio Giovinazzi crashed on the start-finish straight, probably cost Vettel victory.

"Without the safety car the story of the race should be different," said Marchionne.

"I can confirm that our choice to change the tyres of Vettel was correct.

"It was a nice race, we [finished] second, we are second in the constructors' championship by one point and Seb has the same points as Hamilton. That's not bad after two races."

Team putting the blame on Kimi as in this case he was relaying to his team about his issues.....so not fair in this case and ALSO not pulling him aside to let Vettel pass; Seb took matters into his own hands.

[Greig]

guys, if the red car is that fast why can't we secure a pole position? why was Ham faster in free practice? and wasn't Ham managing the pace as he was leading?

Car is fast clearly, FP means very little, qualifying Merc has the edge but not by much. Hamilton might have been managing his pace, had Seb been behind him then he would not be able to manage his tyres so much

[f150italia]

hi, i don't know why nobody is talking about vettel's move on verstappen.For me verstappen is good in wet which he proved in brazil 2016 gp and today moving to 8th from 16th at the end of 1st lap.But vettel is better.I think vettel has an answer for verstappen's move. i.e., moving at the last moment in braking zone.which was tackled fabulously by vettel by following verstappen till the last moment which yielded verstappen and vettel overtook him.

[jgonzalesm6]

guys, if the red car is that fast why can't we secure a pole position? why was Ham faster in free practice? and wasn't Ham managing the pace as he was leading?

IMHO, Mercedes is using their "boosting" effect (low enough for detection) to secure pole and fast free practice.

[f150italia]

hi how many pitstop made by vettel today.I thought 3.one at vsc putting ss and 2nd stop at sc putting soft and 3rd at around 36th lap again for soft is it right.

[vetalo]

Is Ferrari strategist anti-ferrari because today simple fundamental decision was messed up again. why was Kimi not pitted after Vettel pitted, Kimi was robbed of 3rd position, by the inept Ferrari strategist. Last week They brought Vettel in also too late and we have Max to thank for the victory.

Some people here claim they are close to people in Ferrari. Please ask what is the so called strategist doing when every body around Ferrari pitted to and why was Kimi complain not looked into much earlier?

Ferrari have got a good car but blunder like today will cost us again as was with Alonso. not wining the drivers championship This person should be fired.

[Greig]

Is Ferrari strategist anti-ferrari because today simple fundamental decision was messed up again. why was Kimi not pitted after Vettel pitted, Kimi was robbed of 3rd position, by the inept Ferrari strategist. Last week They brought Vettel in also too late and we have Max to thank for the victory.

Some people here claim they are close to people in Ferrari. Please ask what is the so called strategist doing when every body around Ferrari pitted to and why was Kimi complain not looked into much earlier?

Ferrari have got a good car but blunder like today will cost us again as was with Alonso. not wining the drivers championship This person should be fired.

[Aberracus]

Is Ferrari strategist anti-ferrari because today simple fundamental decision was messed up again. why was Kimi not pitted after Vettel pitted, Kimi was robbed of 3rd position, by the inept Ferrari strategist. Last week They brought Vettel in also too late and we have Max to thank for the victory.

Some people here claim they are close to people in Ferrari. Please ask what is the so called strategist doing when every body around Ferrari pitted to and why was Kimi complain not looked into much earlier?

Ferrari have got a good car but blunder like today will cost us again as was with Alonso. not wining the drivers championship This person should be fired.

You don't know nothing Vetalo Snow


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[vetalo]

It is not a matter about laughing; this same people cost Ferrari about 3 wins last year. I also wonder why it Kimi was not told to give way to Vettel when he was struggling to overtake Riccardo. Vettel would have given Hamilton a fight if this was done mush earlier. You may laugh as you like but hard questions need to be asked. lucky we have a good car Vettel would have lost out today again.

My Feeling is Kimi as become liability to Ferrari; he just doesn't try at all.

[vetalo]

You don't know nothing Vetalo Snow

And you know. but from the beginning of testing I knew Ferrari had a very good car when most people here were still doubting. I know I know a lot about cars and CFD.


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[vetalo]

Team putting the blame on Kimi as in this case he was relaying to his team about his issues.....so not fair in this case and ALSO not pulling him aside to let Vettel pass; Seb took matters into his own hands.

I said this and I am told I know anything; there was blunder with setup yesterday because he asking what changed after FP3 and he should have been asked to allow Vettel to past before Hamilton pulled away from the pack. and he should have been brought in much easier for new tyre.

[jgonzalesm6]

Is Ferrari strategist anti-ferrari because today simple fundamental decision was messed up again. why was Kimi not pitted after Vettel pitted, Kimi was robbed of 3rd position, by the inept Ferrari strategist. Last week They brought Vettel in also too late and we have Max to thank for the victory.

Some people here claim they are close to people in Ferrari. Please ask what is the so called strategist doing when every body around Ferrari pitted to and why was Kimi complain not looked into much earlier?

Ferrari have got a good car but blunder like today will cost us again as was with Alonso. not wining the drivers championship This person should be fired.

Kimi's team messed up today. Is this Kimi's last year; possibly. We are right there with Mercedes in driver pts. and constructor pts..so its not like MB is pulling away like years past. Bottas did'nt have a good race either when compared to Kimi....we move on to Bahrain and suck it up.

[SS454]

I too think Kimi's strategist needs replacing. Kimi obviously can't match Vettel, so it doesn't help when his strategy is the least aggressive and never adapts to how the race is unfolding.

Sergio M. to say to the media that Ferrari basically need to have an intervention with Kimi on why he didn't drive better is a disgrace. Like any sport, racing is very much mental, and for Kimi to hear that he isn't good enough, that Vettel was able to do the job in the same situation... that could be crushing.

Development on the car aside, what could destroy Ferrari's chances this year are the teams bad decisions and poor handing of difficult situations.

[Stormy]

It's always the same with Kimi the last couple of years. He is nowhere the first half of the season, then everyone are calling him to be replaced and then out of nowhere he has his pace again. Unbelievable.

[vetalo]

I too think Kimi's strategist needs replacing. Kimi obviously can't match Vettel, so it doesn't help when his strategy is the least aggressive and never adapts to how the race is unfolding.

Sergio M. to say to the media that Ferrari basically need to have an intervention with Kimi on why he didn't drive better is a disgrace. Like any sport, racing is very much mental, and for Kimi to hear that he isn't good enough, that Vettel was able to do the job in the same situation... that could be crushing.

Development on the car aside, what could destroy Ferrari's chances this year are the teams bad decisions and poor handing of difficult situations.

[vetalo]

If we had a new set of super softs, would Seb have a chance? We used a new set of supersofts for garbage lap during q2....

That is what I never understood what Kimi and Vettel went out again yesterday. Ferrari sometimes pull self-destructive button.

[Greig]

That is what I never understood what Kimi and Vettel went out again yesterday. Ferrari sometimes pull self-destructive button.

Because we had no intention of using SS in the race? and 3 laps with these new tyres that do not degrade if you look at them is hardly self destruction lol

[IulianFerrari]

I am with Vetalo on both stands. Letting Seb go by earlier, when Kimi could not pass Ricciardo. If Seb couldnt do it also, switch back to the initial order. Seb could have challenged Hamilton. Not pitting Kimi when he argued time after time that this will not work was awful strategy. They pitted him and he came back after Sainz, another blunder. He finished the race 1 sec down on the redbulls so it did cost us a chance at the podium, not saying he would have gotten it, but he had a good chance. In 2015 strategy was genius, 2016 was a brain fart, it looks like we are leaning to the 2016 quality

[vetalo]

Because we had no intention of using SS in the race? and 3 laps with these new tyres that do not degrade if you look at them is hardly self destruction lol

So does that justify wasting it??? If Vettel had use supersoft with the remains laps when he came he may catch Hamilton. That tyre could have be kept for the race as we would all agree race its not won on Saturday. Why waste your weapon on a non-battle day.

I also observed that you talk down at anything I write here. When the car was okay in testing I praised Ferrari's effort I never see your comment, but anytime I query Ferrari about what is going on you lol at it.

[steelstallions]

Reading the comments i must be in the minority. I am so happy we have a car that can challenge for the win so early in the season. Step back, look at where we have been the last few years and instead of moaning about strategy or Marchionne's comments, I just think, we would have won had the safety car not saved Hamilton who was still on intermediates when Vettel had taken the initiative. Bring it on, this season is what i have been waiting for for years now!!!

[Rob]

Maurizio Arrivabene: “Today, on a track and in conditions which were very different from those we had in Melbourne, we proved that we have a strong car. Sebastian drove a very good race, and the fact that the safety car came out right after his first tire change certainly didn’t help. Perhaps, without that interruption, the result could have been even better. Now all the team is already focused onto the next race in Bahrain.”

Sebastian Vettel: “We can be happy with today’s results. The race was a lot of fun, very entertaining. Conditions were tricky at the start, you never know what can happen in those moments, so I was perhaps a bit too conservative. Then we chose to change tires since the track was quickly drying out, so that we could take advantage from the slicks; but luck was not on our side as the safety car came in right after. I can’t say how much this affected the final result, it was still a long way from there to the finish, but I think it had an effect. From then I had to work my way through the field, and I had a tense wheel-to-wheel fight with Ricciardo. I like this way of overtaking, when gaining position comes at a price and not simply by opening up the DRS. At that moment though, the gap to Lewis had widened, and I kept pushing to keep some pressure on him, while asking my engineer what pace was needed for me to catch him. I think that pace-wise we were a match today, sometimes he was faster, sometimes I was: if we can fight with Mercedes also in Bahrain that will be again good news. We can still improve.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “It was not a very strong race, the car felt good with fresh tires, but we seemed to lose the front very quickly and I was struggling; in a place like this that’s very tricky and gives a lot of laptime away. I feel that, even with that, we should have had a better result: maybe we could have changed the tires a bit earlier, but it’s always easy to speak after the race, now we have look at the data and understand. This result is far from ideal but this is what we have got today, hopefully next week we can make things better.”

[wappad]

Reading the comments i must be in the minority. I am so happy we have a car that can challenge for the win so early in the season. Step back, look at where we have been the last few years and instead of moaning about strategy or Marchionne's comments, I just think, we would have won had the safety car not saved Hamilton who was still on intermediates when Vettel had taken the initiative. Bring it on, this season is what i have been waiting for for years now!!!

65 points out of 86..Leading the WDC and 2nd. in the WCC. i do well remember posts end of last season that the Bulls would destroy us this year.

Very happy with the team and full support for both of our drivers.

Forza Ferrari, Seb and Kimi

[Greig]

So does that justify wasting it??? If Vettel had use supersoft with the remains laps when he came he may catch Hamilton. That tyre could have be kept for the race as we would all agree race its not won on Saturday. Why waste your weapon on a non-battle day.

I also observed that you talk down at anything I write here. When the car was okay in testing I praised Ferrari's effort I never see your comment, but anytime I query Ferrari about what is going on you lol at it.

If we had no intention to use them then what's the problem? And 3 laps is not going to kill these new Pirelli tyres.....you are just looking to attack the team for no reason at all.

[Rob]

[Cheeseman]

guys, if the red car is that fast why can't we secure a pole position? why was Ham faster in free practice? and wasn't Ham managing the pace as he was leading?

In 2004 Ferrari had by far the fastest car but Williams was still able to score pole positions. Montoya got fastest ever F1 lap in Monza but still got easily beaten by Ferrari in the race...

[FerrariSteve]

It is not a matter about laughing; this same people cost Ferrari about 3 wins last year. I also wonder why it Kimi was not told to give way to Vettel when he was struggling to overtake Riccardo. Vettel would have given Hamilton a fight if this was done mush earlier. You may laugh as you like but hard questions need to be asked. lucky we have a good car Vettel would have lost out today again.

My Feeling is Kimi as become liability to Ferrari; he just doesn't try at all.

Have to say I agree on both counts, the pit strategy guy(s) do make some real blunders at times and have done it many times over the past 2-3 years and yes, as much as it pains me to say it, Kimi is really not helping right now. Seb cannot win the WCC alone.

[Aberracus]

Have to say I agree on both counts, the pit strategy guy(s) do make some real blunders at times and have done it many times over the past 2-3 years and yes, as much as it pains me to say it, Kimi is really not helping right now. Seb cannot win the WCC alone.

The team made a good call with VET pit stop under VSC, bad luck the SC, but that happens, the team expected Kimi to stay out until the end, but kimi is not doing what he should be doing, if he stayed out he could have been 3rd or worst 5....


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[vetalo]

If we had no intention to use them then what's the problem? And 3 laps is not going to kill these new Pirelli tyres.....you are just looking to attack the team for no reason at all.

No I am not attacking the team at all, in-fact I have been supporting the team since the very first day of testing, The team; the technical guys have done an excellent job, but the strategy team is tying to screw things up and I am asking the leadership team to looking into this - why can't you see we may have lost out dues to strategy again! and to be clear again:

if Ferrari was not going to use the super soft on sunday why not use it doing the second Qualifying rather than using Soft tyre that should have been needed on Sunday, Hamilton had new soft but Vettel had to use a used soft which already made him disadvantaged.

I am going to say it again I AM NOT CRITICISING FERRAI (TECHNICAL TEAM) FERRARI has the best car on the grid in my opinion but the strategy team is messing things up and this is the truth even the big chef also critique Kimi today.

I am excited about what we can achieve this year; i just hope that the strategy team will be call to order so they don't bring all the work done in winter to zero again by their inept attitude. In F1 strategy should and can evolve throughout the race weekend but Ferrari always struggle in this department.