2011 Formula One Season

[Troy]

The season will start on 27 March at the Australian GP after the Bahrain GP was cancelled due to unrest in the country. Good that it is back to being the first race after it was relegated to second last year. Last year the season opener was very boring whereas the Australian F1 GP is nearly always exciting.

Sad news that Robert Kubica won't be racing for Renault this season after a sickening rally crash. His recovery will take all season and hopefully he will be back next season. Nick Heidfeld will take his place at Renault.

Rule Changes: 107% rule is back which means that the newer teams will actually have to try to improve this season otherwise they won't be allowed to race. Will hopefully reduce the amount of backmarkers slowing down the front runners like they did regularly last year.

KERS is optional this season for all teams.

F-Duct is banned which I think is great. How they allowed drivers to drive a car at 300kph one handed whilst using the other hand to cover a hole makes no sense. It isn't safe and it is good riddance.

Adjustable rear wing has been brought in in place of the F-Duct but there are strict rules in place for when they can be used.

There are a few more technical changes but they are the major ones.

Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren will most likely be the teams to beat especially since Renault don't have Kubica driving I can't see them being competitive.

What do you think about this season? Are you looking forward to it? Who do you think will win? What do you think about the rule changes?

 

[Troy]

The Australian Formula One GP is this weekend!

Practice was today and McLaren lead the way in second practice ahead of Alonso and the Red Bull's. It looks like it will be a battle between those three teams at the top again.

The battle behind them for fourth and fifth will be very close. Williams, Mercedes, Sauber, Renault and Torro Rosso will all be in contention for those spots.

Will anyone else be watching this weekend?

 

[Doink]

Yeah, I think so.

I think Sebastian Vettel will retain his crown this year with Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton close second.

I think one of the McLarens will win this weekend

 

[Troy]

I can't look past Vettel for the win this season after how good he was last season, there were a lot of technical issues and if he starts converting his poles he will be a clear winner. I am hoping that Webber can at least replicate his third last year or even do better this year.

Practice 3 finished earlier and it was Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button, Petrov, Alonso, Kobayashi, Rosberg, Heidfeld and Schumacher making up the top ten. Surprising good results for Renault who I thought would struggle without Kubica but it seems like Petrov has stepped up and Heidfeld is more than capable as back up.

Red Bull should lock out the front row here.

 

[Doink]

Well, the qualifying took place earlier and Sebastian Vettel was in a class of his own, taking pole by 8 tenths of a second. Hamilton came 2nd, here is the full line up

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Mark Webber
4. Jenson Button
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Vitaly Petrov
7. Nico Rosberg
8. Felipe Massa
9. Kamui Kobayashi
10. Sebastien Buemi
11. Michael Schumacher
12. Jaime Alguersuari
13. Sergio Perez
14. Paul di Resta
15. Pastor Maldonado
16. Adrian Sutil
17. Reubens Barichello
18. Nick Hiedfeld
19. Heikki Kovalienen
20. Jarno Trulli
21. Timo Glock
22. Jerome d'Ambrosio
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi
24. Narian Karthikeyan

Karthikeyan and Liuzzi don't qualify for reace after failing to reach the 107% rule time.

I really can't see anyone other than Vettel winning this after how easily he dominated qualifying. I see it to be Vettel, Hamilton, Button.

 

[Troy]

Vettel is in a league of his own out there and will easily win the race and it looks promising for Red Bull for the rest of the season. Disappointed that Webber wasn't closer to his teammate since he basically has the same car. I am glad that Hispania aren't racing since they were ridiculously slow and will just cause accidents. Should be a good race and I look forward to seeing what names can get points tomorrow. Hoping that Kobayashi can move up the table a bit.

 

[Troy]

That was a walk in the park for Vettel even seemingly without KERS for either Red Bull. Webber had a disappointing day, there is just something about the Australian GP that doesn't work for him, his tyres went early and he struggled without KERS. Hamilton did very well to get second after he had some mechanical difficulties where the bottom of his car continued to touch the bottom of the track. Petrov got his first ever podium finish, just imagine how well Renault could have done this year if they had Kudica and Petrov, they would have challenged the top three teams. Sauber looked good as a team with Perez the surprise packet getting seventh.

Good start to the season.

 

[Troy]

Malaysian qualifying has finished an it is Vettel on top again.

1 S Vettel
2 L Hamilton
3 M Webber
4 J Button
5 F Alonso
6 N Heidfeld
7 F Massa
8 V Petrov
9 N Rosberg
10 K Kobayashi
11 M Schumacher
12 S Buemi
13 J Alguersuari
14 P Di Resta
15 R Barrichello
16 S Perez
17 A Sutil
18 P Maldonado
19 H Kovalainen
20 J Trulli
21 T Glock
22 J d'Ambrosio
23 V Liuzzi
24 N Karthikeyan

It will be a 24 car grid after everyone made it within the 107% cut-off.

Vettel and Hamilton were very close and it is clearly between Red Bull and McLaren with Renualt and Ferrari battling for third in the contructors championship.

Disappointed that Webber failed again since he dominated practice, hopefully he gets a good start and a bit of luck during the race.

Should be a good one to watch.

 

[Prodigy]

Vettel wins again with a great performance again with lack of KERS. Button comes second which I am very delighted about as he is much better than Hamilton imo. Heidfield with a shock podium, rounding up in third in the lotus!

 

[Troy]

Red Bull are having some serious issues with KERS and they are lucky that Vettel is such a talented driver that he has been able to succeed even with these issues. He had KERS to start the race but not to finish it. Webber on the other hand didn't have KERS the entire race and it showed on the start when he was swamped and dropped from third to tenth. Luckily he used a good strategy and got up to fourth and was so close to third. Great work by Heidfeld to get third and Renault are really taking it to Ferrari. Petrov had a pretty spectacular crash when he went off track and then tried to get back on at full speed but didn't see the bump and launched the car which landed so hard it broke the steering column. Exciting race with so many passes.

 

[Troy]

Chinese Qualifying was tonight.

1 Sebastian Vettel
2 Jenson Button
3 Lewis Hamilton
4 Nico Rosberg
5 Fernando Alonso
6 Felipe Massa
7 Jaime Alguersuari
8 Paul Di Resta
9 Sebastien Buemi
10 Vitaly Petrov
11 Adrian Sutil
12 Sergio Perez
13 Kamui Kobayashi
14 Michael Schumacher
15 Rubens Barrichello
16 Nick Heidfeld
17 Pastor Maldonado
18 Mark Webber
19 Heikki Kovalainen
20 Jarno Trulli
21 Jerome d'Ambrosio
22 Timo Glock
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi
24 Narain Karthikeyan


Same story as the first two races. Vettel on top and clearly the best driver. McLaren's right behind him. Webber's car screwing up yet again, his mechanics should be shot because they still can't figure out his car and it is three races into the season. Looking forward to the race though because there should be a lot of movement and it will be good seeing the track since it is the first time ever in China.

 

[Troy]

Hamilton and Webber both had superb drives. Hamilton and Button passed Vettel early but the lead changed regularly after that due to different tyre strategies from all teams. Hamilton kept pushing strong and caught Vettel right near the end due to his fresher tyres. Webber went from 18th to 3rd. Stunning drive and he turned a poor qualifying into a fantastic result and the points are vital. It was a great race overall with a lot of overtaking during the entire race.

 

[Doink]

Hamilton did very well but I still can't see anyone beating Vettel to the title this year

 

[Troy]

I agree Vettel has dominated so far and that is without KERS for most of the races. Once Red Bull fix their car it will be unstoppable. Once Webber has KERS he will also be up there and will be able to ensure that Red Bull win the Constructors title.

 

[Doink]

Yeah, KERS is a problem for Red Bull but Vettel seems to be coping well without it. I see him surpassing Schumachers record tbh.