2013 Chinese GP - Race Thread

[vcs316]

Have absolute faith in our boys to score a double podium. A Ferrari 1-2 would be even sweeter

FORZA FERRARI !!

[vcs316]

From Saturday Press Conference:

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) To all of you: we have a kind of racing now which is all about managing and controlling your pace, whereas if you go back to 2008 with different aerodynamics and refuelling, it was a sprint all the time. Which type of racing was more challenging and which type of racing did you enjoy more?

LH: It's quite easy: it's more challenging now with the tyres that we have. For sure it's much tougher for all of us, but it was definitely more enjoyable previously, I would say.

KR: It is what it is, really. We have to get our best out of it. Years go by and rules change. It's not easy to get things right, last year and this year, but it's the same for everybody and it makes a big challenge but it's also part of F1.

Q: Which did you enjoy more?

KR: It makes no difference, because this is what we have and you'd better like it or do something else.

FA: It's more challenging now. We maybe enjoy different times in Formula One; I enjoyed 2003/4 more with the V10s for example, but they are no longer. As Kimi said, we need to make the maximum of what we have now and try to enjoy it now also.

[vcs316]

Chinese GP: Red Bull opts for pitlane start for Mark Webber

Mark Webber will start the Chinese Grand Prix from the pitlane after his Red Bull team elected to change his gearbox and make other set-up modifications.

The Australian had been due to start from the back of the grid after he was excluded from qualifying for not having enough fuel in his car for scrutineering checks.

But with little to gain from taking up his position, Red Bull removed his RB9 from parc ferme on Sunday morning to make modifications.

Webber's car will have its settings changed and be fitted with a new gearbox, which will run with different gear ratios in a bid to give him more straightline speed.

He had been the third slowest car through the speed trap in qualifying - 11km/h slower than fastest man Nico Rosberg's Mercedes. The measurement is taken just before the end of the DRS zone on the back straight, 240 metres before Turn 14.

Using that set-up in the race would have given Webber very little chance of moving up through the field.

[vcs316]

The Massa family on their way to the track.

[vcs316]

Even Ross Brawn doesn't know how Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix might unfold
"I think it's going to be a very complex race tomorrow," Mercedes boss says

Mercedes Team Principal Ross Brawn says Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix will likely prove a "very complex" affair given the different race strategies on offer to the field.

Qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit showed just how much teams are needing to have their wiles about them this weekend, with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button lapping on the medium Pirelli tyre during the final session whilst all the other frontrunners opted for the much faster, but far more brittle, soft compound.

The latter seem set to make only a fleeting appearance on Sunday, with the likes of Brawn's own drivers, polesitter Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who lines up fourth, appearing destined to pit during the first few laps.

That will probably clear the way for the likes of Button, but he will be forced on to softs later on. Vettel, meanwhile, heads those with a free tyre choice after failing to set a time during Q3.

Factor in such variables as an evolving track, a warmer weather forecast and the possibility - albeit one that sounds unlikely - of running a two-stop race, and what emerges is a conundrum that even master tactician Brawn is approaching with caution.

"I think it's going to be a very complex race tomorrow," he said on Saturday. "We don't really know what we've got. The work we've done on Friday and today obviously helps a lot to try and understand what we've got to do but it'll open up in one direction or another.

"The option has a pretty short life. I think we'll be on primes for the main part of the race and we've got two very strong competitors in the top ten, maybe three with (tenth-placed Nico) Hulkenberg starting on the prime, and they're going to be leading the race for a while.

"It's going to start to evolve from there. It's going to be a very interesting race and of course those of us on the soft tyre will drop back into groups and we'll be picking holes in the traffic and all that type of thing.

"I think it's going to be a really great race tomorrow. It's one which we need to be completely on top of - we know what we need to do - and even on the prime tyre you can't go flat-out for 20 laps - you've got to manage the situation as well."

Brawn added: "The difficulty is, we don't know what track we've got. This is a track that changes a lot and we've got a pretty warm day tomorrow by all accounts. The race is starting at 3 and all our practice has been earlier than that.

"We've got information. It's about understanding the relevance of that information once we get into the race tomorrow when the track will be evolving again."

After a promising start to the season, Mercedes have appeared strong throughout the weekend so far and Brawn said that was why they opted not to go down the route chosen by Vettel, Button et al.

"With both drivers we were in a pretty competitive position. There's a set of calculations that tells you what should be the best strategy and if tyres work out the way we expect then we're comfortable with the strategy we've got," he said.

"Also, quite frankly, starting ninth or tenth is a risky situation. There's always a risk at the start of a race and there's more risk the further back you go."

The track appears something of a favourite for the Silver Arrows, who of course won the Chinese Grand Prix last year with Rosberg behind the wheel.

What certainly helped on that occasion was the car's main deficiency - a tendency to eat its rear tyres - being masked by the SIC's long corners, which places more of an emphasis on having good front-end grip.

However, Brawn doesn't think another strong showing 12 months on with the W04 would necessarily be a case of history repeating itself.

"I think this car has actually been quite good at all three circuits (so far this season). Our car last year was rear tyre-limited and this is not a rear-tyre limited circuit. Nico was able to use the car very well last year and achieve the result," he added.

"But I think, this year, it's not quite as strong. The tyres are pretty marginal front and rear. I think we've just got a good car we can work with, a car we can balance, and we'll keep developing it."

[Kingdom Hearts]

Come on guys double podium!

[vcs316]

FIA telemetry problems persist in China

F1 teams will not have the full benefit of the FIA’s telemetry link for the third race in a row in China.

Continuing problems with the telemetry link between race control and the cars means the drivers will lack real-time updates from the FIA about the track.

The limitations will be the same as they were in Australia and Malaysia: drivers will be without the red, yellow and blue cockpit warning lights, the Safety Car mode in the cars will not be automatically activated when needed and teams will not automatically receive blue flag warnings when one of their cars is about to be lapped.

It also means the FIA cannot automatically disable DRS in the cars in the event of wet weather conditions or a yellow flag situation in a DRS zone.

[vasveras]

hehe, nice pic of the brazilians :)))

FORZA FERRARI.

[stefa]

This is going to be one hell of a tire thriller!

[yz2006]

It may be crucial for us to pass Kimi at start.. hoping to see Ferrai 2-3 after 1st lap

[vcs316]

The last two times Hamilton was on pole in Shanghai, he went on to win the race!

[vasveras]

http://www.viponlinesports.eu/motors...am-online.html

skysports :))))

[vcs316]

‏@f1fanatic_co_uk

Villeneuve tells Sky: "There's no point in winning without honour". I agree. No honour in winning when your team mate is ordered not to pass

[fronaldo]

guys..want to ask..is our cars use FRIC or plan to use it?

[Katu]

some parts of me likes Karun

[vcs316]

First front row start since his comeback makes Raikkonen a strong contender for victory
2013 Chinese Grand Prix pre-race analysis

April 13, 2013 at 1:25 pm by Keith Collantine

Although not the most thrilling session ever witnessed, qualifying laid the groundwork for what should be an exciting race.

Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso are poised to do battle from the front three positions.

Further back Sebastian Vettel believes starting on medium compound tyres will give him a strategic advantage – but he starts from the fifth row. And Mark Webber will have to repeat his climb through the field of 2011 after being relegated to the back of the pack.

The start

Hamilton starts from pole position at Shanghai for the third time in his career. Providing he gets off the line well he should be able to hold the lead at least as far as turn one, as it’s a short run to the first corner and not a bend which invites overtaking moves.

Raikkonen will be alert to the threat from Alonso behind him. The Ferrari driver usually gets off the line well and is perfectly set up for one of his typical moves around the outside at the start.

Those three will all start on the soft tyres they qualified on, as well as Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean and Daniel Ricciardo. Jenson Button will be on the medium compound tyres.

Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg have free choice of tyres having not set times in Q3, as do the rest of the drivers. Vettel has already indicated he will start on mediums.

Strategy

Hamilton expects he will be vulnerable to Raikkonen and Alonso in the opening phase of the race – particularly the Lotus, which has been able to run the soft tyres for longer than its rivals.

If he can soak up the pressure from them for what is likely to be a brief opening stint on soft tyres he should be in better shape on the medium tyres.

But the near-1.4km acceleration zone leading to the turn 14 hairpin would be difficult enough to defend on even without a DRS zone halfway along it and another one on the pit straight. An early safety car period would be a welcome sight for the Mercedes driver in this scenario.

Raikkonen used the Lotus’s race pace to excellent effect in Australia, winning from seventh on the grid. Romain Grosjean showed its potential in Malaysia, running a comparable pace to the leaders despite being delayed early on. Starting from the front row for the first time since his comeback, Raikkonen is in a strong position to win.

Vettel’s progress from ninth on the grid will be especially interesting. His first priority will be to clear Button’s McLaren – DRS should allow him to overcome the Red Bull’s usual straight line speed deficit (see table below).

After that running ‘off-strategy’ should give him greater opportunity to run in clear air and make up time. But, as we saw with Adrian Sutil in Australia, the cost of postponing the inevitable stint on the softer tyres can be high.

Two years ago Webber climbed from 18th on the grid to finish on the podium at Shanghai. But he was pessimistic about his prospects for a repeat even before he lost another eight places:

“I think in 2011 I was probably in a unique position where I had probably more tyres than other people,” he said.

His rivals have also approached qualifying from the point of view of trying to save as many tyres as possible: “I’m up against that type of strategy as well in terms of my position. Might make it a little more difficult but I”m looking forward to the challenge. A lot of gearbox to look at tomorrow and try to make my way forward.”

[REDARMYSOJA]

some parts of me likes Karun

Worth being up at this hour to hear him explain what "marbles" are, "Chunks of rubber that come off the tires".

Really Cowboy? You think we're a bunch of newbies? Only the hardcore up at this hour.

I do like Karun though, does good work.

[vcs316]

The top 6 cars on grid have 3 sets of new mediums and 0 sets of new softs. Vettel and Button have 2+1, Ricciardo 2+0

[Katu]

Worth being up at this hour to hear him explain what "marbles" are, "Chunks of rubber that come off the tires".

Really Cowboy? You think we're a bunch of newbies? Only the hardcore up at this hour.

I do like Karun though, does good work.

some are newbies i was also one day long time ago

[vcs316]

@InsideFerrari

A little more than 20' to the start of the Chinese Grand Prix. Fernando and Felipe are out on track to take their F138 on the starting grid!

[Rob]

guys..want to ask..is our cars use FRIC or plan to use it?

We have used a similiar system since Fernando joined in 2010. But it is not hydrualic like the systems now. Maybe we have same now or soon.

[Katu]

ricciardo will let vettel by easily...

[Nero Horse]

Let's go get 'em! Forza Ferrari!!!

[tifosi1993]

Hoping for nice clean start for both of our boys.

[Katu]

i hope we'll see a good clean start

[REDARMYSOJA]

That's a stiff wind.

[wacc]

Good luck F+F+F!

[vcs316]

@SkySportsF1

Bernie tells @MBrundleF1 there'll be "extra tyres for Friday" introduced from Barcelona

[Hornet]

Best of luck everyone

[Kyss4k]

My nerves are ready... let's do it!