Chinese GP 2013 -Qualifying

[Infi24r]

Super impressed by Lewis. He is really showing his worth as a driver at Mercedes.

Good result for Alonso and Felipe, consistent and fast. I have no idea where Raikkonen came from, no one expected that at all.

I have a bad feeling about Vettel with that strategy, I think he may take the lead after everyone else pits and could be hard to catch from then. With a bit of luck he may get caught in some midfield mayhem.

No idea what happened to Webber. Coincidence? I really can't remember that ever happening to any car ever in Q2. Something is suspect at that team.

Ricciardo was standout in qualifying for me. Slaughtered Vergne. His parents are Italian and he carries an Italian name, I would love to see him at Ferrari.

[Kristof_F40]

Super impressed by Lewis. He is really showing his worth as a driver at Mercedes.

Good result for Alonso and Felipe, consistent and fast. I have no idea where Raikkonen came from, no one expected that at all.

I have a bad feeling about Vettel with that strategy, I think he may take the lead after everyone else pits and could be hard to catch from then. With a bit of luck he may get caught in some midfield mayhem.

No idea what happened to Webber. Coincidence? I really can't remember that ever happening to any car ever in Q2. Something is suspect at that team.

Ricciardo was standout in qualifying for me. Slaughtered Vergne. His parents are Italian and he carries an Italian name, I would love to see him at Ferrari.

Don't really see that happening. RIC is part of the Red Bull program, if he keeps performing good, he probably will replace Webber for next season

[Stormsearcher]

A good qualifying, in terms of result. The tyres have made it a very insipid affair though.

The start is going to be tricky. Both lewis and Kimi are quick starters, so i dont see Nando getting a jump on either of them. He'll need to watch out for Rosberg and Massa.
But for the race, i expect we will do better than lewis and rosberg, but i fear we wont be able to take Kimi with that tyre saver of a car.
Interesting race coming up.

bit worried about the vettel/RBR strategy. On paper, he should be able to make that work and jump most, if not all front runners. Where is grosjean? We need him next to SV tom.

[Infi24r]

Don't really see that happening. RIC is part of the Red Bull program, if he keeps performing good, he probably will replace Webber for next season

I see them more likely going with Raikkonen.

I really dislike Red Bull as an organization and I see potential for Ricciardo to be even faster than Vettel. If they would let him is a question.

[Infi24r]

A good qualifying, in terms of result. The tyres have made it a very insipid affair though.

The start is going to be tricky. Both lewis and Kimi are quick starters, so i dont see Nando getting a jump on either of them. He'll need to watch out for Rosberg and Massa.
But for the race, i expect we will do better than lewis and rosberg, but i fear we wont be able to take Kimi with that tyre saver of a car.
Interesting race coming up.

bit worried about the vettel/RBR strategy. On paper, he should be able to make that work and jump most, if not all front runners. Where is grosjean? We need him next to SV tom.

Excluding Webber, Lewis is one of the consistently worst starters on the grid. I can see Alonso being P1 into turn 1. Its certainly possible. P3 at China is always better than P2.

I agree about Kimi being a serious threat here. I'll be curious how long everyone stays out on the softs, because the driver who undercuts the others could come out ahead.

[Hermann]

I don't believe that.

Maybe you should. If Fernando doesn't win the race 'easily' now i will hold you personally responsible for that.

[Senna4Ever]

Glad for the team that most of the effort lead to a good result in the qualifying today.
Happy for Fernando and Felipe about the grid position. Once again both so close.



Will be interesting race according to the different tire choice. While Button sounded happy the german bigheaded looked like worried and not really happy that their strategy is 100% sure ...

Forza!

Webber to start from P22, just 150ml of fuel.. coincidence?

Pure coincidence .... bad a naughty little beggar who think different ...
*cut*
Marko: hmmmm what can we do to let Webber look silly but not to obvious? Otherwise I see it coming that we have to apologize again to the media?
Vettel: ... difficult: What about KERS?
Marko: possible, but wouldn't it be to obvious that always its his problem?
Vettel: right ... bad start?
Marko: hmmm, haven't we used that for a few last grand prix?
Vettel: right ... oh ... what about our 'trick' with our 'low fuel'?
Marko: You're a genius ... that's why I love you that much my boy ...
Vettel: Thank you ... dad
Marko: Good Night Elizabeth
Vettel: Good Night Ma'
*cut*
Webber wear a strange smile as he came back to pitlane ... like "I know that you're doing"

This team has success but no style and nothing that a faithful man might desire.
Also the discrepancy between Horners sweet talk and Vettels point of view about same thing.

[Infi24r]

Maybe you should. If Fernando doesn't win the race 'easily' now i will hold you personally responsible for that.

You should pray to baby jesus too.

[Hermann]

You should pray to baby jesus too.

I'm not religious. Just superstitious.

[Kristof_F40]

I see them more likely going with Raikkonen.

I really dislike Red Bull as an organization and I see potential for Ricciardo to be even faster than Vettel. If they would let him is a question.

Indeed, Kimi would be the perfect fit, fast and consistent and(!) he "has something", he has a sort of cool appearance, which is good for the brand Red Bull.. But I'm not sure that this is going to happen.. I still think life at Lotus is very chill for Kimi

[Jas]

Mercades often have good starts, its gunna be close!!!!

[Infi24r]

Indeed, Kimi would be the perfect fit, fast and consistent and(!) he "has something", he has a sort of cool appearance, which is good for the brand Red Bull.. But I'm not sure that this is going to happen.. I still think life at Lotus is very chill for Kimi

Oh Ricciardo would be awesome.

But Red Bull Marketing would sell far more cans of Red Bull having Kimi there than Ricciardo.

Dan is a very good driver but, I don't want to over rate him but he could surprise Vettel a bit in qualifying and race pace.

[SinanOzerS]

Mercades often have good starts, its gunna be close!!!!

Right.Hope there's no crash for our.

[Kristof_F40]

I think our positions to start aren't that bad, but, I'm not sure about the start, there are some quick guys with quick cars in front.. Kimi, Fernando and Massa are the best starters, but I won't count the Mercs out, the first corner really is tight...
IF we attack and need to leave the line it could be that we loose a lot of positions..

[Ferrari Man]

I can't see Alonso risking too much into the first corner if the opportunity isn't there. If both our cars keep our noses clean on lap 1 then we have a good chance for glory tomo. Any news on a penalty for Kimi

[Alonso14]

Why are everyone so worried about Vettel? I mean, he is a worry and he might pose some threat but the RB looks like it lacks pace, I don't think he'll just blitz the field because he starts on primes. And he'll have to run the softs as well, even if he ran them in the last stint with a light car it wouldn't make them extremely durable or consistent to nullify the fact that they are awful race tyre.

[Rishu]

I think Vettel will try 2 stop strategy, but he is on risk if we have a safety car or if he gets stuck behind a mid field car for 5-6 laps. I think we chose the right strategy for both the cars.

[tifosi1993]

Shanghai International Circuit, China (13.04.2013)



















More pics:

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[Alonso14]

I think Vettel will try 2 stop strategy, but he is on risk if we have a safety car or if he gets stuck behind a mid field car for 5-6 laps. I think we chose the right strategy for both the cars.

Considering Red Bull's degradation a 2-stop might turn out to be a huge risk even without getting stuck behind someone.

[Rob]

Chinese GP – Tyres and tactics
Shanghai, 13 April – There was a time in the past when the cliché about tyres in Formula 1 was that they were round and black, not very interesting and everyone had the same ones. In the modern era, only the first and last of those statements holds true and this afternoon’s qualifying for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix was more about tyre management than outright performance.

Usually in Q1, it is the back-of-the-grid habitués who opt to run the softer tyre immediately as they try and make it to Q2, but here in Shanghai, the lap time difference between the Prime Medium and the Option Soft, provided by Pirelli, was so great that even the front runners had to come out on the Softs in Q1. Fernando and Felipe duly got through to Q2 without any problems and then dealt with the second part to make it to the top ten where, of the usual front runners, Mark Webber was missing, because of a technical problem on his Red Bull.

What is usually regarded as a Top Ten shoot-out was actually a Top-Seven today, with the remaining drivers waiting until a few minutes from the end to make just one run on the Softs. The two Ferrari men played their part, with the Spaniard setting the third fastest time just three tenths off pole man Lewis Hamilton, the Englishman securing his first ever number one slot for Mercedes. In the other F138, Felipe will start right behind his team-mate after being fifth fastest. Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen is also on the front row, while Fernando shares row 2 with last year’s winner here, Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes. Felipe has the Lotus of Romain Grosjean alongside him on row 3. In seventh place, Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso was the last driver to actually attempt a quick lap: Jenson Button in the McLaren, Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull and Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber, all played the tactical game for tomorrow of fitting the Medium tyres, and ended up eighth, ninth and tenth respectively, as Hulkenberg didn’t even leave the garage.

What this means for tomorrow’s 56 laps of the Shanghai International Circuit is hard to say. Clearly the seven cars at the front of the grid that must according to the regulations, start on the Softs, will have to pit fairly early on while apart from the possibility of a few wild cards, those outside the top ten who are free to choose their starting tyres, will presumably go for the Mediums. Choosing the best time to make tyre changes on an afternoon where at least the weather is expected to be consistently dry, is going to be a tough call and one that will see engineers throughout the length of the very long Shanghai paddock, scratching their heads well into the night. Apart from working hard to get that part of the equation right, the Scuderia Ferrari crew can take heart from the fact the F138 has shown a good pace over a long run here in China. From third and fifth on the grid, if everything goes smoothly on all the usual fronts of reliability, performance and pit stops, then the podium has to be a realistic target, especially for Fernando but also for Felipe.

http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chi...-tyres-tactics

[Rob]

Considering Red Bull's degradation a 2-stop might turn out to be a huge risk even without getting stuck behind someone.

Also they will have turbulent air hurt the tyre deg aswell. If Seb has to pace his mediums to make them go further this could also help us, pull out a gap. I know the softs will go after 5-10 laps, but if thats the case, push like hell then pit.

[FFFerrari]

I think Fernando should check his mirrors tomorrow, Crashjean is only 3 places behind him

[Kristof_F40]

I think Fernando should check his mirrors tomorrow, Crashjean is only 3 places behind him

Don't forget Kimi (Suzuka '12)

[Rob]

I think Fernando should check his mirrors tomorrow, Crashjean is only 3 places behind him

true, but we get better start.

[Infi24r]

Why are everyone so worried about Vettel? I mean, he is a worry and he might pose some threat but the RB looks like it lacks pace, I don't think he'll just blitz the field because he starts on primes. And he'll have to run the softs as well, even if he ran them in the last stint with a light car it wouldn't make them extremely durable or consistent to nullify the fact that they are awful race tyre.

Because after Lap 5 Vettel will be in the lead of the race with 15 laps left on his stint while the other guys are well behind him fighting between one another.

[Kristof_F40]

Because after Lap 5 Vettel will be in the lead of the race with 15 laps left on his stint while the other guys are well behind him fighting between one another.

correct

[Suzie]

I thought qualifying was dreadful. Not even necessarily because of where we qualified but because it's ridiculous to sit there waiting for something to happen because the drivers don't want to go out too early and wreck their tyres. I'm all for races being more exciting but I can't be bothered with their results being dictated by tyre issues

[Infi24r]

correct

I'm also worried about backmarkers. If they can't make it to atleast lap 10 the front guys will come out right in the middle of that Force India / McLaren / Sauber mid pack battle. Again, fighting with those guys while Vettel is out infront in clean air.

We really need hulkenberg to jump Seb off the start, which is entirely possible.

[Infi24r]

I thought qualifying was dreadful. Not even necessarily because of where we qualified but because it's ridiculous to sit there waiting for something to happen because the drivers don't want to go out too early and wreck their tyres. I'm all for races being more exciting but I can't be bothered with their results being dictated by tyre issues

Id like quali to just be 1 hour. You get X set of tyres, you do your fastest time.

We don't need cars on track constantly.

[Nero Horse]

I see them more likely going with Raikkonen.

I really dislike Red Bull as an organization and I see potential for Ricciardo to be even faster than Vettel. If they would let him is a question.

Are you kidding? As long as finger boy is there Raikkonen has as much of a chance to get into RB as I have discovering Atlantis. And even if he does go to Red Bull he will always have to play second fiddle to Vettel, no question about it. I don't think Raikkonen would be that stupid to go to "Team Finger Boy".