The 2012 F1 Championship thread.

Hard to believe Alonso is leading the championship

Ferrari have not got their cars working so I guess it takes a good driver to beat the rest with an iffy car - even with the help of rain & pit stops.

Looking forward to Fernando wheel to wheel with Lewis

The new "cool" Lewis vs Fernando & his old McL history

Who will get the red mist first.  

Game On

Vettel is already showing signs of pressure. Easy to win in the best car and all that.

+1

Hey Vettel you pulled in front of the other guy and knocked his wing off . Dick head.

At least Jensen had the balls to admit he was wrong.

Shame Perez couldn't hold it together , his first win lost IMO.

Will today finally be the day for Nico Rosberg (and for Mercedes)?

And people wonder why I detest Sky with a vengeance. £5 wasted. 

I was hoping that the £5/month for the Sky Sports app was going to be just what I needed, but no, now I have to try and cancel the subscription. That won't be easy, I bet.  

Tony

From BBC:

Congrat's Nico,  hope it was too boring out front

But how about the 2nd -10th place race - incredable !!!!   

So, before the weekend, the other teams were saying the advantage of the Merc DRS wasn't all that, maybe changing their minds about adopting it now..? Although China does reward straight line speed more than others I guess...

Mercedes super DRS is good for getting a decent grid slot. They didn't use it during the race, and weren't the fastest car either BTW.

Maybe starting at the front is the key, also other factors help Nico, but overall a very good run and excellent win.

Absolutely

Did you hear the top three in the 'dressing room' at the end? Jenson and Lewis asking Nico if he'd overtaken anyone. "No" was the reply. This is how Vettel has run so often in recent years. And Senna preferred it that way too. That's the best way to win races. Especially when everyone behind was making it into Wacky Races.

Back to normal after Bahrain

FIA Formula 1 drivers' world championship

Schumacher has passed on his driving skills to his team mate it appears.

I do agree with Schumacher's comments after the race with regards to the tyres dictating the pace of the cars. It must be frustrating having to manage tyres first, race second. I wonder if Pirelli and many other drivers have the same view? It's reminiscent of the 80s fuel economy formula. 

Tony

Winning drivers don't seem to have so much of a problem with the tyres?

Rosberg has go away with assault and battery IMO.

Which is what Schuey was hinting at I suppose. I just completely lose interest in ANY formula that seems, to me at least, restrict the racing instinct of drivers. As if DRS and KERS isn't robbing the racing of some of the spectacle and skill, we have drivers not even considering defending properly. 

Its a shame, but has thankfully coincided with me having to watch the awful BBC highlights which is presented by two buffoons. 

Only four weeks til the DTMs at Brands!

Tony

I think today's result adds more credence to the theory that Vettel can only win when he's on pole.

Hard luck for JB with his retirement.

steve

Roll up, roll up, here's the latest from Brands for the Historic Masters, May 27th. 

"The traditional Masters Historic Festival returns to Brands Hatch at the end of May for another feast of nostalgia, with a huge celebration of Formula 1 planned, with cars spanning the eras.

The traditional Grand Prix Masters races will return for the cars of the 1970s and 80s, a time of developing aerodynamics. They will be joined by a brand new series for the 'return to power' era, between 1966 and 1971, when engine sizes doubled. The Historic Grand Prix Cars Association will also be running two races for cars from the 1930s to 1950s, when they were painted in national colours.

The races are backed up by demonstrations of more modern machinery and cars confirmed so far include:

Damon Hill's Championship-winning 1996 Williams FW18

1993 Benetton 193

1990 Benetton 190

1989 Lotus 101

In addition there will be races for World Championship sportscars, GTs and classic saloons, plus the big banger CanAm machines, whilst off-track there will be plenty of entertainment for all the family."

C'mon, make the effort! It's only twenty odd quid a ticket for race day. 

Tony