Formula One 2012

[AZUCAR!]

I can see Lotus getting a win sooner or later. Grosjean and Kimi have been close on a few occasions already this season, and although in recent races before Canada their pace seemed off, they obviously got a good finish in Canada and will be wanting to continue that in Valencia.

 

[Troy]

I agree, I think that it has to be one of the Lotus drivers. They always seem to be up there although oddly not at the same time. Early on in the season I would have thought that if a Lotus driver was to win it would have to be Raikkonen but Grosjean continues to impress and I think that he will win his first race by the end of the season. Perez has been great but I think that he had his chance at Malaysia and I don't think that he will get as good a chance as that this season.

 

[Troy]

Really disappointing qualifying for Webber at the European GP, Red Bull changed the car a lot and Webber couldn't even get out of Q1. Massa, Alonso and Schumacher have also dropped out in Q2 so a lot of big names are going to be down the grid for the race. Grosjean topped Q2 so we could see another new face on pole.

 

[Troy]

Now this is what frustrates me as a Webber fan. Red Bull make changes to both cars, Webber gets 19th and Vettel gets pole. Somehow Vettel's car always seems to work better, the good news for Webber is that at least he knows that if everything is right on his car that he can do well. Hamilton will share the front row followed by Maldonado, Romain Grosjean, Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg, Kamui Kobayashi, Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button and Paul di Resta. Funny stat with Maldonado with his last four races he has qualified on pole, 24th, 22nd and now 3rd. Not the most consistent driver.

 

[AZUCAR!]

Disappointed about Ferrari's pace during qualifying. 11th & 13th isn't good for us, especially when we've been doing so well lately. If Fernando is going to win the World Championship for Ferrari this season, then we need to be up there every single race and not going out in Q2. Although to be fair, there was only 2 tenths of a second between Alonso in 11th and Maldonado who was quickest overall in Q2.

Hopefully Alonso can get a really good start tomorrow now, and we would've saved an extra set of tyres by not going into Q3, so hopefully that can play into our hands.

 

[Ryan]

I don't see why Red Bull bothered making changes to the cars now. They've been leading the entire season if I'm not mistaken so clearly the formula was right to begin with. DON'T CHANGE IT!

 

[AZUCAR!]

What a race. Alonso comes from 11th to 8th on the opening lap, gets stuck behind Nico Hulkenburg for around 10 laps, finally manages to pass him and gets a few more positions before his first pit stop. He comes back out crucially ahead of Raikonnen and gets a few more places before the Safety Car comes out. Everyone then pits, and Alonso manages to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the pit-stop as McLaren had yet another problem with a pit-stop. Alonso comes out 3rd, then when the Safety Car goes back in, he's in prime position to attack Romain Grosjean for 2nd place. He gets it into the first corner, then a few laps later, Vettel who was running away with the race up until the Safety Car came out, retired because of a potential alternator problem. Alonso gets the lead then and never really looked back as he took the chequered flag to win a race which Alonso hasn't done so well on in recent years.

A great win for us, and Alonso is back on top of the driver standings. Also, it was the first race of the season where there wasn't a different winner and we finally got someone to win a 2nd grand prix.

 

[Troy]

Was the most exciting race at Valencia that I can remember. Alonso showed why he is one of the best drivers, he hasn't had the fastest car but he still manages to climb up the rankings and it was a great drive. Unlucky for Vettel and Grosjean that their cars simply stopped on them when they were up the front. Hamilton was pretty unlucky as well to get t-boned by Maldonado. Webber had a great race strategy by following Schumacher from 19th all the way to fourth. Takes Webber to second in the standings.

 

[Mr. Krueger]

Alonso is one of the best drivers on the circuit because he manages to make most out of the situation even though he doesn't have the best car under him- One of the reasons Massa sucks big time. I am also very high on Grosjean winning his first race this season as well.

Race Predictions for Silverstone, anybody?

I am pinning for-
Alonso - 1st
Vettel - 2nd (Red Bull will find a way to screw Webber and get Vettel ahead.)
Kimi - 3rd

 

[AZUCAR!]

About to start watching it now.

Hope Alonso wins again, especially since he's on pole. I hope Massa does well too, and i'd like to see a Ferrari 1-2

 

[AZUCAR!]

Alonso wins his 3rd race of the season, his 2nd in a row at Hockenheim and is now 34 points ahead of Mark Webber going into next weekends Hungarian GP

 

[Troy]

It was a great drive by Alonso to pick up yet another win. I am still confused as to why Vettel was given a penalty, I have seen that replay many times and Button's wheels are right next to the chicane so Vettel didn't have much choice than to go off track. Webber was never in it and unfortunately couldn't move up from eighth. Going to be an interesting second half of the season to see if someone can start to challenge Alonso. It is going to be tough since he is so consistent.

 

[Troy]

Hamilton is on pole for tonight's Hungarian GP, pulled off some great laps during qualifying but the big question is if he can survive the race. He hasn't had the best run lately so this will be a test for him. Grosjean managed to qualify second and I hope that he can stick it out and make it on the podium tonight. Vettel qualified third with Webber down in 11th. The Red Bull's still look a lot slower than they used to be, they can't see to figure out what is causing all these issues. Still should be a good race tonight and I am looking forward to it.

 

[Troy]

This weekend Formula One is finally back. It has been such a long wait between races and I can't wait to see how the cars perform this weekend.

Reports are that Hamilton now may stay at McLaren next year whereas earlier in the year there was a lot of speculation that he may move. I think that he may sign a short term deal with them to see what happens when Webber retires at the end of next season.

 

[AZUCAR!]

Has Webber signed a 1 year extension or a 2 year?

Feels like forever since the Hungarian GP. Lewis is obviously staying with McLaren since he has nowhere else to go. He'll probably sign a 3 year deal IMO. But yeah, looking forward to the Belgian GP.