United States GP - Qualifying Thread

[varun]

I don't think we need 2 stop, the hard tires should be able to last all the way to the end regardless of when we stop. The only concern is if we stopped too early, we may end up behind slower drivers who have yet to make their stop, and we lose time in traffic.

but then do we still have 1 new set of options right??

[Suzie]

There's no doubt Alonso's driven his socks off all year, but I am getting a wee bit tired of this 'poor Alonso, he's doing everything and the team's failed him' attitude that's starting to pervade the forum. Ferrari are a TEAM and he is PART of that team. They've made him the clear number one, they've built the entire team around him, and they've no doubt listened to his feedback about the car - so please don't act like he's so hard done by by being at Ferrari.

[vecchiasignora]

how embarassing..

[Hornet]

but then do we still have 1 new set of options right??

We do, but 2 stop would be a huge disadvantage if everyone is on 1 stop. So I don't think we can utilize that new set.

[rico]

Hypothetical question. If for example Felipe is 3rd and Fernando 5th in the last laps what is the team going to do?

[fxx]

There's no doubt Alonso's driven his socks off all year, but I am getting a wee bit tired of this 'poor Alonso, he's doing everything and the team's failed him' attitude that's starting to pervade the forum. Ferrari are a TEAM and he is PART of that team. They've made him the clear number one, they've built the entire team around him, and they've no doubt listened to his feedback about the car - so please don't act like he's so hard done by by being at Ferrari.

.....Fernando was so good to develop the car so that now Felipe is the fastest!

[Dino]

We do, but 2 stop would be a huge disadvantage if everyone is on 1 stop. So I don't think we can utilize that new set.

+ A 2 stop will make Ferrari loose more time.We will have to bring 3 sets of tyres up to temperature !![pit stop time apart]
Judging by what we saw in Quali that would destroy any chances of a podium finish.

[Sianellen]

.....Fernando was so good to develop the car so that now Felipe is the fastest!

For one race. It's inevitable he will be faster at least once in a season, just like all drivers and team mates. If you are using that as an argument to throw at Ferrari then wow.

[Dino]

Hypothetical question. If for example Felipe is 3rd and Fernando 5th in the last laps what is the team going to do?

If Vettel is leading Ferrari will most probably switch off the engine on car No.6...

[Hornet]

For one race. It's inevitable he will be faster at least once in a season, just like all drivers and team mates. If you are using that as an argument to throw at Ferrari then wow.

Agree, Massa do have some track where he's really strong and he could take the fight to anyone including Alonso.

[superwonderboy]

SV and LH starting next to eachother on the grid.....hmm.....should be interesting, anything can happen.

[Kyss4k]

The worst thing about the Q2 tyres is that we have to start on them in the race. So we will have tyres that are 5 quali laps older...

[Sianellen]

F1_Fans_Updates ‏@F1_Fans_Updates
#F1 There is a rumour going around Massa has had a gearbox change so will have a 5 place grid drop and Alonso will move up to 7th!

[Forzi]

F1_Fans_Updates ‏@F1_Fans_Updates
#F1 There is a rumour going around Massa has had a gearbox change so will have a 5 place grid drop and Alonso will move up to 7th!

Oddly enough, that sounds logical. I mean, Fernando moves up a position, gets the clean side, Felipe gets a clean side from where he'll be able to win positions at the start. Maby even win more then 5, seeing how bad the dirty side is.

[Corey]

F1_Fans_Updates ‏@F1_Fans_Updates
#F1 There is a rumour going around Massa has had a gearbox change so will have a 5 place grid drop and Alonso will move up to 7th!

Indeed, clean side of the grid for both cars; Alonso moves up two extra grid slots; Massa's new gearbox gives a better performance. Win-Win!

[gjoko-mkd]

this is the best news for all the time from USA.Now we have better chance to do anything with the race

[varun]

btw where is this news?
no where to be seen at autosport or f1fanatic??

[Hornet]

I do hope its intentional rather than a real reliability problem. Our record so far has been good.

[Sianellen]

btw where is this news?
no where to be seen at autosport or f1fanatic??

Apparently it's just a rumour, nothing confirmed as of yet. A few of the journos are investigating though.

[F2002]

btw where is this news?
no where to be seen at autosport or f1fanatic??

It's not a rumour. It's an idea, Mr. D...

[Hornet]

Well the rumor is making its round on twitter. Just search #F1

[Dino]

Another rumour?
Michael Schumacher "I will most likely have Alonso in my mirrors sometime in the race tomorrow, since he has a stronger package. But I will not let him pass easily, as I drive the race for my team, and will try to get the best result possible."

[Rob]

US GP: Lewis Hamilton wants dirty side of grid cleaned for start
By Jonathan Noble Sunday, November 18th 2012, 12:02 GMT

Lewis Hamilton has urged race officials to clean the grid for the United States Grand Prix over fears that those starting on the dirty side of the track will be hugely disadvantaged.

Hamilton was pole position man Sebastian Vettel's nearest challenge in qualifying at Austin, but him missing out on the top spot means he will start from the lesser-used left-hand-side of the grid.

A number of drivers had already expressed big concerns about how bad the grip levels would be on the new track, with some suggesting they could lose as many as four places on acceleration alone.

It is for this reason that Hamilton believes as much as possible should be done to ensure parity for the drivers who have qualified at the rear of each row.

Speaking about a practice start he did from the dirty side of the grid on Saturday morning, Hamilton said: "It wasn't very good. It was really poor; I barely went anywhere when I let the clutch out.

"That is why I am saying they need to clean the inside because it is just as slippery as when we started driving yesterday.

"While the track is bedding-in now and getting much, much better, that part is untouched, so it is going to be very much the same as the pitlane, which has no grip at all.

"I don't know what they have got to do. But at least clean it."

Although Hamilton is convinced there is a disparity between the two sides of the grid, McLaren team-mate Jenson Button did a practice start from the right side of the start-finish line and is not as convinced.

"I am the only car who has done a start on the clean side of the grid and that wasn't good either. There is just such low grip," he said.

"On the straights we are not putting rubber down. We might be cleaning the circuit but there is no rubber down, so it is very, very slippery. And the slippiest part of the circuit is the pitlane.

"You come out of the pitlane and in qualifying it is the first time we have run with 100kph limit, and you would say 100kph is too fast for the pitlane. There is just no grip and it is the same for the start.

"I don't think one side of the grid is going to have a better start than the other. The dirty side has had a lot of rubber put down from all the practice starts that were done this morning."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104359