Formula 1 CFA Comments
Canadian GP 2011 - Preview / Hamilton the troublemaker
by Cato Batista, 19/06/2011 18:50:55
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are ing to Montreal (some of us literally) for the 7th race of the season this weekend.
It’s almost funny that we’d had some of the most entertaining GP racing in years but when we look at the standings the fight for the Championship has been a totally one-sided affair. After only 6 GPs it feels like Vettel’s title is a foregone conclusion.
The most relevant issue in the last 2 weeks has been the opinionated and vociferous protests from an influential faction within the CFA to remove Hamilton’s points from Monaco after his reckless driving that put Massa and Maldonado in the wall, and what particularly incensed these members was the lack authority by the FIA. It’s always Hamilton the troublemaker, isn’t he?
The CFA High Sport Commission has determined to apply a 2-race suspended sentence to the McLaren driver and will keep a very close eye on his on-track behaviour. In other words, if Hamilton gets involved in a similar situation during the next 2 GPs –and the FIA Stewarts make another mockery of the sport- we will disqualify him from the race and no points will be awarded with the driver in the following position taking his place in the final order. So, don’t be surprised if we kick him out of the standings if his unacceptable antics eliminate again a fellow driver from the race and the maFIA do not act decisively.
On a happier note, let’s get ready for what is traditionally the best Grand Prix of the year; the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit never disappoints. Actually, the 2010 race was so exciting that Pirelli has made their tires for this ...
We are ing to Montreal (some of us literally) for the 7th race of the season this weekend.
It’s almost funny that we’d had some of the most entertaining GP racing in years but when we look at the standings the fight for the Championship has been a totally one-sided affair. After only 6 GPs it feels like Vettel’s title is a foregone conclusion.
The most relevant issue in the last 2 weeks has been the opinionated and vociferous protests from an influential faction within the CFA to remove Hamilton’s points from Monaco after his reckless driving that put Massa and Maldonado in the wall, and what particularly incensed these members was the lack authority by the FIA. It’s always Hamilton the troublemaker, isn’t he?
The CFA High Sport Commission has determined to apply a 2-race suspended sentence to the McLaren driver and will keep a very close eye on his on-track behaviour. In other words, if Hamilton gets involved in a similar situation during the next 2 GPs –and the FIA Stewarts make another mockery of the sport- we will disqualify him from the race and no points will be awarded with the driver in the following position taking his place in the final order. So, don’t be surprised if we kick him out of the standings if his unacceptable antics eliminate again a fellow driver from the race and the maFIA do not act decisively.
On a happier note, let’s get ready for what is traditionally the best Grand Prix of the year; the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit never disappoints. Actually, the 2010 race was so exciting that Pirelli has made their tires for this ...
Monaco Grand Prix - Race preview
by Cato Batista, 28/05/2011 18:26:21
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We couldn’t see the favourites full potential, the end of Q3 was an anti-climax following PER’s accident. The latest news are very encouraging though, the Mexican didn’t suffer any serious injuries but his participation in tomorrow’s race is in doubt.
VET secured another pole with an early flyer almost half a second faster that BUT and WEB, but ALO and HAM didn’t have the right conditions to improve on their first runs and will start 4th and 7th respectively.
The grid for Sunday’s race: VET BUT WEB ALO SCH MAS HAM ROS MAL PER
It was our worst QF session of the year after Australia, collectively we scored only 14 out of 84 possible points. Ricardo was our winner with 2 points with other 11 members barely rescuing 1 each.
As we know, the race will be decided mainly by these factors: tire preservation, calling the right pitstops -with an eye on the Safety Car’s 60% likelihood of intervention- and the always present possibility of driver’s errors. The polesitter has won 6 of the last 10; VET is the only one of the current 5 world champions on the grid that has never won in Monaco. The last time Ferrari won in here was 10 years ago, in fact the Italians had won this GP only 3 times in the last 27 years compared to McLaren’s 15.
I wonder if this is the hardest forecast we have in our hands for the longest time. Conditions are expected to deteriorate as race progresses with the racing line becoming narrower by marbles building up from the disintegrating Pirellis. Monaco is always a race with high attrition and luck has famously changed the ...
Copyright 2001-2025 MANBOS
We couldn’t see the favourites full potential, the end of Q3 was an anti-climax following PER’s accident. The latest news are very encouraging though, the Mexican didn’t suffer any serious injuries but his participation in tomorrow’s race is in doubt.
VET secured another pole with an early flyer almost half a second faster that BUT and WEB, but ALO and HAM didn’t have the right conditions to improve on their first runs and will start 4th and 7th respectively.
The grid for Sunday’s race: VET BUT WEB ALO SCH MAS HAM ROS MAL PER
It was our worst QF session of the year after Australia, collectively we scored only 14 out of 84 possible points. Ricardo was our winner with 2 points with other 11 members barely rescuing 1 each.
As we know, the race will be decided mainly by these factors: tire preservation, calling the right pitstops -with an eye on the Safety Car’s 60% likelihood of intervention- and the always present possibility of driver’s errors. The polesitter has won 6 of the last 10; VET is the only one of the current 5 world champions on the grid that has never won in Monaco. The last time Ferrari won in here was 10 years ago, in fact the Italians had won this GP only 3 times in the last 27 years compared to McLaren’s 15.
I wonder if this is the hardest forecast we have in our hands for the longest time. Conditions are expected to deteriorate as race progresses with the racing line becoming narrower by marbles building up from the disintegrating Pirellis. Monaco is always a race with high attrition and luck has famously changed the ...
Monaco Grand Prix 2011 - QF Preview
by Cato Batista, 27/05/2011 18:46:45
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Please let me start with correcting my mistaken P2 results,it should had been: (+secs. behind)
ALO 1.15.123 HAM+.105 ROS+.198 BUT+.325 VET+.544 MAS+.658 SCH+1.233 WEB+1.519 SUT+1.978 HEI+2.003
I omitted HAM in second place which was completely unfair because he was fully committed and awesome to watch, same as ALO, both pushing their cars to the top on driving merits rather than their machines’ capabilities.
The picture emerging from Thursday’s practice sessions is that both compounds (softs & super softs) are lasting what Pirellis was expecting of them. With pre-event fears of tire chaos caused by a rapidly degrading proved unfounded, Pirelli thinks this will lead teams to select radical tactics on Sunday. We saw VET doing 18 laps on the primes yesterday (about a quarter of race distance, 78 laps) although he had to cool them down twice at some stage, a luxury not possible during the race. According to Pirelli’s chief Paul Hembery the winning strategy will be 2 stops with the teams using the supersoft in one of the 3 stints.
This will translate in to 2 scenarios: Grid position will be crucial, none of this tire-saving QF tactics. And then the possibility for drivers outside the top 10 (Q3) to overtake the top runners by having an extended first stint on the soft and then using the super-soft at the end with a light fuel load for a better pace. Starting in 11th position will be a bonus!
There’s little mention of DRS and KERS around here, it has become clear that tire wear and tactics will mark this GP where passing is ...
Please let me start with correcting my mistaken P2 results,it should had been: (+secs. behind)
ALO 1.15.123 HAM+.105 ROS+.198 BUT+.325 VET+.544 MAS+.658 SCH+1.233 WEB+1.519 SUT+1.978 HEI+2.003
I omitted HAM in second place which was completely unfair because he was fully committed and awesome to watch, same as ALO, both pushing their cars to the top on driving merits rather than their machines’ capabilities.
The picture emerging from Thursday’s practice sessions is that both compounds (softs & super softs) are lasting what Pirellis was expecting of them. With pre-event fears of tire chaos caused by a rapidly degrading proved unfounded, Pirelli thinks this will lead teams to select radical tactics on Sunday. We saw VET doing 18 laps on the primes yesterday (about a quarter of race distance, 78 laps) although he had to cool them down twice at some stage, a luxury not possible during the race. According to Pirelli’s chief Paul Hembery the winning strategy will be 2 stops with the teams using the supersoft in one of the 3 stints.
This will translate in to 2 scenarios: Grid position will be crucial, none of this tire-saving QF tactics. And then the possibility for drivers outside the top 10 (Q3) to overtake the top runners by having an extended first stint on the soft and then using the super-soft at the end with a light fuel load for a better pace. Starting in 11th position will be a bonus!
There’s little mention of DRS and KERS around here, it has become clear that tire wear and tactics will mark this GP where passing is ...
Copyright 2001-2025 MANBOS