2012 European GP- Qualifying Thread

[Nova]

What if this whole Q thing is Ferrari playing a different strategy? We saw them roll dice last race..didnt pay off but they did try.
We've seen cars come from nowhere at the end of almost every race this year and finish podium...Because of tires...
Ferrari may be trying to finish the race with the best possible tires, as we've seen where we finished w/tires that are all shot up.
Podium is still possible if we can get a good start, manage our tires and be strong at the end.
It matters not where one starts, but where one finishes....

[Fer12]

What if this whole Q thing is Ferrari playing a different strategy? We saw them roll dice last race..didnt pay off but they did try.
We've seen cars come from nowhere at the end of almost every race this year and finish podium...Because of tires...
Ferrari may be trying to finish the race with the best possible tires, as we've seen where we finished w/tires that are all shot up.
Podium is still possible if we can get a good start, manage our tires and be strong at the end.
It matters not where one starts, but where one finishes....

Yes ur right...They never did a quali simulation seriously...Last race they were trying to get a good grid position..this race they were doing long runs in the prac sessions..They hope to jump the competition in pit stops or with better tyre deg...hope for the best ..hopefully the strategy pays off...plus its a long run to the first turn,they jump a few cars in the start

[Ferrarichamp]

Ferrari may be trying a different strategy but the way LDM was shaking his head suggests there were aiming higher than p11.

[Cemz85]

we didnt run the new fw's? i guess they didnt improve the car

[Rob]

European GP - Cold shower in the Valencia furnace6.23.2012

A very disappointing qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari, with both drivers missing the cut out of Q2 by a whisker. Fernando Alonso ended the second part of qualifying in eleventh place, just four thousandths off tenth spot, while Felipe Massa was thirteenth, 77 thousandths outside the team needed to make it through to the next round. Both drivers ran identical programmes: one set of Medium in Q1, one of Medium and one of Soft in Q2.

Luca di Montezemolo: “Just a few thousandths of a second is all it took to prevent Fernando and Felipe from making it through to Q3 and it’s a real shame, because looking at the times in the final part of qualifying and the potential of our car, we could have been in the fight for the rows right at the front. I am very disappointed, because I was hoping for something better: the positions on the starting grid definitely don’t reflect the worth of today’s Ferrari and on top of that, it has happened at a track where it is particularly difficult to overtake. Tomorrow, we will try to at least make the most of the fact we have two new sets of Softs: tyres are playing a decisive role in this championship and it’s up to us to make the best possible use of them.”

Stefano Domenicali: “We are disappointed and there’s no point in denying it. Q2 is the hardest part of qualifying, because this year everyone is very close and it only takes a mere nothing and you pay a very high price. And that’s what happened today to both our drivers. The positions on the start grid do not paint a complete picture of the F2012’s potential, given that with their times from Q2, Fernando would have started seventh and Felipe ninth: with a further two sets of Softs to exploit, the times would definitely have been better and I let you draw the inevitable conclusion. Now, clearly, the race will be more complicated, because starting so far back on a track with these characteristics is definitely not ideal. Now we will have to make a virtue of necessity, making the best possible use of these additional sets of tyres we now have carried over for both drivers. We will have to look very carefully at all the strategy options for tomorrow, in order to make up the places we have lost to our main rivals today.”

Fernando Alonso: “When you don’t qualify for Q3, it’s obviously very sad and there’s no point hiding the fact. This result is a cold shower, because our expectations were high and the car’s potential has also increased, to the extent that in Q2, we were only three tenths off the best. It’s easy to say now that with two runs on Softs in Q2 we would have made the cut, but maybe now we would be here lamenting the fact that we did not have two for Q3: it’s always easy to judge things after the fact. However, we were not quick enough to be in the top ten in the second part of qualifying and now the race will naturally be tougher. The podium is out of reach and clearly, with Hamilton on the front row, it’s easy to expect that we will lose ground to him. However, the race will be very long and will be run in even higher temperatures than today’s, which means everyone will have to be very careful when it comes to tyre management. Let’s hope that, starting from the clean side of the track I can quickly make up a few places and then we will try to also make the most of the two sets of new Softs we have left: that’s at least a small consolation after this far from positive afternoon.”

Felipe Massa: “It’s really frustrating ending up outside Q3 by less than a tenth. It was a very close qualifying, with so many drivers very near to one another in performance terms: in Q2, we were three tenths off the fastest time and we were eliminated…A shame because the feeling from the car was very good and I always felt comfortable and capable of fighting with the best. The position does not tell the truth: today we were worth a place in the top three rows. With hindsight, it’s easy to say that if we had used two sets of Soft in Q2, we could have made the cut, but we wanted to be in the best possible shape for Q3 and Q1 had shown that we were even quick on the Medium tyre. Tomorrow, strategy will play a very important role and we have seen on several occasions – Canada being the last one – how even those who start from the back have a chance of fighting for the top places. Obviously, we are not happy today, but we know we have a good car and we still have every chance of securing a good result.”

Pat Fry: “Of course, this is not the result we wanted nor does it reflect what we were capable of. We tried to reach Q3 in the best possible condition to fight for the front rows, which meant with two sets of new Softs available and this, with hindsight, maybe cost us something in Q2. A real shame, because we could definitely have started from a very different position on the grid. Now however, we will have to try and limit the damage, making the most of the start and our strategy, aware that tyre degradation will be the key factor, also in the light of a forecast for even higher temperatures tomorrow afternoon. Both Felipe and Fernando will have two sets of new Softs available: maybe that can be a factor in our favour. The updates we brought for this race worked as expected, while other solutions we tried here for the first time still need a bit more development work. In absolute terms, we have got a bit closer to the group of the very best, but there are so many of them.”


http://www.ferrari.com/english/formu...a-furnace.aspx

[Sianellen]

Lewis is currently seeing the stewards about impeding Rosberg.

[Hornet]

Lewis is currently seeing the stewards about impeding Rosberg.

Hey, fair is fair. In the past, the FIA has punished many other drivers (including Massa iirc) for similar offense. They have to be consistent

[Greig]

https://twitter.com/tedkravitz/statu...584128/photo/1

[Sianellen]

Ted Kravitz ‏@tedkravitz
To explain: Lewis slowed down at the end of his out lap to make a gap ahead. That backed Nico into him, compromising the Merc's lap

Ted Kravitz ‏@tedkravitz
At other tracks that wouldn't be a punishable offence, but due to turns 21 to 25 being blind at VLC, drivers aren't allowed to go slow there

Ted Kravitz @tedkravitz
See point 10 from team managers meeting yesterday. Did LH drive 'unnecessarily slowly' thru T21-25?



Ted Kravitz ‏@tedkravitz
It was a busy few corners with many cars in close proximity at a high pressure moment so any penalty would be harsh, but we'll see

[burak karakutuk]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report...ce=twitterfeed

[Sianellen]

Ted Kravitz ‏@tedkravitz
No penalty for Hamilton: It seems the Stewards agreed with that last tweet that it was a busy track with many drivers holding each other up

[Greig]

Booooooooooooo

[Sianellen]

Booooooooooooo

Indeed

It was good to see Ted was well on the case when he thought Lewis might get a penalty.

[Nova]

Ferrari may be trying a different strategy but the way LDM was shaking his head suggests there were aiming higher than p11.

Def agree, as this strategy wouldve played out better starting higher up...these tires rules really take the fun out of racing.
You can build an 8 zillion dollar car and the tires still prohibit whole race screaming F1 cars racing their cabooties off.
Now, whoever manages tires best, finishes best. Kind of boring if you grew up watching F1.

[Ferrari Man]

I wonder strategy wise would it be an idea to start on the mediums with the heavy fuel loads and run long stints and then with the lighter fuel load bolt on a new set of softs and put in quali laps when all the top runners are on either mediums or worn softs..

[Hornet]

Luck just isn't on our side this weekend

[sav_pap]

Def agree, as this strategy wouldve played out better starting higher up...these tires rules really take the fun out of racing.
You can build an 8 zillion dollar car and the tires still prohibit whole race screaming F1 cars racing their cabooties off.
Now, whoever manages tires best, finishes best. Kind of boring if you grew up watching F1.

Exactly my thoughts. It is ridiculous. This lottery in every race trying to guess who,s tyres will perform better. Stupid ideas => stupid races. Its humiliating for drivers like alonso ,schumacher etc. To get past by rookies with cars with better tyre degradation. Alonso and button stated weeks before and warned that this could be very boring and let down many fans with all the concequences. For me it's just ridiculous. Teams to invest billions and finally lose because of the wronf tyre management. That is bernies plans coming true for tons of money coming in his pockets. Better watch the circus of my town. I DON'T ENJOY WATCHING F1 ANYMORE. And it's not because we are not winning. It's because we need a crystal ball in every race.

[FFFerrari]

Quali was a big disappointment. Yes it was close but it is quite visible that F2012 doesn't work well with the Pirellis when it's hot. Lot of lockups, lot of tyresmoke. On the other hand, Lotus, Force India and Williams seem to work much better in hot conditions and the same can be said about Red Bull (the RB that Vettel drives, not the other car).

It should be noted that the odd side of the grid has MUCH more grip that the even side so I'm expecting that it will be VET-MAL-HAM-RAI-GRO after the first corner. Passing on this track is extremely hard, even with the longer DRS zone. Safety Cars are always a possibility, but it might hinder us more than help us.

[Ferrarichamp]

well at least this track is a bit better than Monaco, hopefully we'll see some overtaking.

[Grillo]

Hopefully everybody has to stop twice tomorrow and we can get the most out of the 2 sets of new soft tires.

Medium/soft/soft or maybe better for the start would be soft/medium/soft.

[wisepie]

I wonder strategy wise would it be an idea to start on the mediums with the heavy fuel loads and run long stints and then with the lighter fuel load bolt on a new set of softs and put in quali laps when all the top runners are on either mediums or worn softs..

Quite agree, it will all come down to strategy and this sounds like a sensible option, but will they be too slow and lose touch too quickly? Another gamble to be taken, maybe, and for God's sake give BOTH drivers the chance to make up places through strategy, not just Fernando. Maybe a safety car will come into play too, so let's pray that we can make something out the Q2 disappointment. Can't have LH and SV getting it all their own way, so maybe Pastor and Romain can spoil their party!

[Alonsomaniac]

I know Lewis is not always making sense when he is talking but I liked what he said: The ones to look out for tomorrow: Lotus and Ferrari , Lotus because they were right up there and Ferrari because we know that although they are some way down the grid, they are really fast in the race.

[ferrari4life]

if we plan on a 2 stop race, we dont have to look after the tires and can be agressive pushing drivers who are trying to conserve tires for a 1 stopper and slower drivers.

[ferrari4life]

i think Alonso has been holding back the last 2 races to conserve tires to go deeper into the race without a tire change.

[mark p]

Ferrari will be the1st team to win a race this year starting outside the top 10. All of a sudden all Mcl RB fans will be screaming the tyres are crap. It's going to happen this year where a top car starts out the top 10 with new tyres and wins. Vettel nearly did this 2 races running but did not have as many new tyres as was in q3 but set no time. Forza Ferrari

[EL NANO]

It is hard to overtake here we will need something special to get decent points... Bad afternoon for Ferrari

[mark p]

It is hard to overtake here we will need something special to get decent points... Bad afternoon for Ferrari

Ferrari will win tommorrow. Top level car out of position with all new tyres. Ferrari will win.

[Gerhard Berger]

It is hard to overtake here we will need something special to get decent points... Bad afternoon for Ferrari

Just noticed we are not particularly high in the speed traps either :(

[Hornet]

Traffic will be a problem. Due to the characteristic of the track, its hard for the car to stay close to the front car going into the DRS zone. So unless they changed it somehow, overtaking will be challenging.

[Ferrari Man]

here's hoping the way tyres are performing this year that we will see some class of overtaking for our sakes...