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Here’s today’s round-up:
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
Malaysian GP – Conference 3 (FIA)
Sebastian Vettel: “I think, when you go to qualifying, you put your trousers down and you see what you have got. I am very pleased that we made it.”
Nasarudin Nasimuddin (Lotus deputy team principal) on Twitter
“A lot of improvements from Melbourne. Team is 18 months old, but showing a lot of positivity. We are committed. All you haters can kiss my ***”
Via the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app
Malaysia will be fascinating (Speed)
Ross Brawn: “When you activate the rear wing and the flap goes up effectively the air flow stalls, it separates off the wing. When the flap comes back, then the flow reattaches. We’re having some situations where the flap comes back and he flow doesn’t attach immediately – it takes a bit of time before the flow reattaches. We’ve made some modifications since Melbourne, and it looked OK in practice, and it seemed to come back again during qualifying.”
Ferrari working on ‘flexible’ front wing (Autosport)
“Ferrari has become the first to confirm that it already has a development plan under way now that it has been shown the low-running front wing can still be used despite tougher flexible bodywork tests introduced this year.”
“Ayrton Senna rewrote the rule book for Formula One” (Daily Telegraph)
“The two McLaren bust-ups were a new departure for F1: the car as weapon. And this influenced the next generation of drivers, of whom the most ruthless was surely Michael Schumacher. We remember not only his notorious take-out of Damon Hill, which wrapped up the 1994 championship, but the way he squeezed Rubens Barrichello towards a wall last season.”
Russia’s new icon is fast making his mark on the field (The Independent)
Vitaly Petrov: “Money was never an issue, but he bristles at suggestions he had it easy because of that. ‘I am never thinking about this. If someone says this, I say ‘Shut up! I don’t want to listen to this’. There is a lot of lies written about me. I never read it.'”
Lewis Hamilton: I could make a go of it at Red Bull (The Guardian)
“The only reason I would imagine that he [Horner] would suggest that is because certain individuals don’t like being beaten. Some individuals can take it. Some people are better losers or better winners. So it is just dependant. In this team, when Jenson [Button] beats me I take it on the chin and think, ‘Next time I am going to beat him.'”
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Comment of the day
Glenn savours a thrilling battle for pole position:
One of the best qualifying sessions in recent history. It has been a while since the teams have been this close for pole.
Hopefully the gap is closed and there can be a real fight for pole at every single race.
Glenn
And an honourable mention for Enigma who was hoping to get a COTD for the first time in a year.
From the forum
The Edge wonders how great an innovation McLaren’s sidepods really are.
Site updates
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Roberttty!
On this day in F1
The last non-championship race run to F1 rules held at Brands Hatch on this day in 1983.
The Race of Champions was won by Keke Rosberg driving a Williams, ahead of Danny Sullivan (Tyrrell) and Alan Jones (Arrows).
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
Oliver
10th April 2011, 0:19
I did find that Vettel comment a strange bit of exhibitionism.
Oliver
10th April 2011, 0:21
And I thought Malaysia was a conservative society. :-)
rfs
10th April 2011, 0:24
Last year he said Red Bull were “horny” for the title.
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/163684/1/vettel_were_red_bull_-_and_were_horny.html
Hehehe.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 7:44
Its a bit about his age, I guess. Still very nice to hear these guys say things that are not corporate feel good politically correct.
bananarama (@bananarama)
10th April 2011, 0:36
Now I got this picture in my head and it is disgusting. Oh good lord what can I do to get over this. I see it clearly in front of me, Vettel how he goes across the line and .. wins the race. Its disgusting.
Oh and the pants down thing would be pretty disgusting aswell …..
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
10th April 2011, 0:55
As if the finger wasn’t bad enough…
Patrickl
10th April 2011, 8:16
Maybe that’s what the finger is supposed to show?
Hairs (@hairs)
10th April 2011, 1:17
Well, one person has the Pole, and the others assume the Position.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
10th April 2011, 2:26
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
COTD definetly!
vjanik
10th April 2011, 7:46
well he is still in puberty. so we have to expect such comments from him from time to time.
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 0:23
Is Vettel saying he’s the Easter Bunny?
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 1:20
Oh I See! Cahones… I thought he was checking his nappy. No seriously!
BBQ2
10th April 2011, 7:22
LOLz People! It is just a direct translation of the German figurative speech:
Same as the African saying: “when the wind blows, the anus of a fowl will be exposed”
Just my 2cents :)
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 7:33
mm, it’s not really the same is it? :)
kartguy07
10th April 2011, 11:05
Yeah, German TV are always going on about ‘Hosen runter’ at the beginning of Qualifying. I like the African saying even less than the German one!
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 0:33
So is Lewis Hamilton hinting at Mark Webber being a sore loser? Seems to be so…?
Doance (@doance)
10th April 2011, 1:40
No, Vettel
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 0:36
… mum?
… god?
… cup?
… bra?
I’m struggling with this one!
bananarama (@bananarama)
10th April 2011, 0:44
.. KOV
.. TRU
.. ear
I don’t know either, but its funny, when its useful, the team is 18 months old. When the european season starts they will suddenly have a long heritage again .. unless a court says otherwise. And yet, I’m stilll not completely against them. Weird me.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 7:45
LOL, over 500 GPs in 18 months seems like a pretty tough deal!
Karan
10th April 2011, 0:54
… rear diffuser
silencer
10th April 2011, 4:34
…tony
:D
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 0:38
.. or run a higher rake? :)
Oliver
10th April 2011, 0:48
Forget that rake thing. The rear of the Redbull is not one foot higher than te other cars.
When the car is approaching high speeds, from the on board camera, you begin to see the front wing flap slowly disappearing from view then re appears as the car brakes or slows down. The rakeis just to confuse issues.
My conclusion teams should pursue the same front wing and flex with it.
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 1:06
They are visibly running a high rake, it’s evident on the footage. Even Brundle commented on it after Quali.
My comment is more tongue in cheek, than a serious attempt to explain to Ferrari how to improve their lagging performance :)
Oliver
10th April 2011, 1:25
That may be true but you must look at the entire profile of the car. They don’t run a high rake by simply jacking up the rear suspension, the car tapers off steeply at the rear emphasizing any apparent rake that exisst there. And the dipping wing will multiply the downforce created by the rake while minimising the drag as it starves the bottom of the car of air. So it still comes back to the front wings.
matt90
10th April 2011, 1:44
I did think in Australia that the rear of the Red Bulls looked higher than the others.
Harv's
10th April 2011, 4:46
The FIA shougld just place a metal rod though all the wings that all cars are using, screw load tests!, The rod should be reinforced and it can be removed at the end of the race, if the teams have tampered with it then they are disqualified. Simialar to the wooden plank on the floor of the car to prevent the car from being run too low.
actually, use a wooden rod, with various weak points for if the wing flexes too much it breaks, if the car crashes it will break up. if the wing gets damaged in an incident and the rod breaks, then the disqualification will not stand, but there has to be significant evidence that the rod broke from crash damage not wing flexing.
All Horners talk about rake is nonsence, the car does have a high rake angle, but from the onboard camera you can clearly see the wing flexing (onboard camera is a fixed device so if something on the bodywok is moving on the camera then that is evidence of the wing flexing).
Oliver
10th April 2011, 7:13
Exactly my point. The camera is fixed. Granted there should be some deformity due to the aerodynamic pressures, but when you see movement of more than 4 inches relative to the brake cooling duct you begin to wonder which part of the car is plastic.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 7:49
Not one foot but it is visibly higher. Maybe some 1-2 inches, that is pretty much for an F1 car.
But yeah, the rake does answer why the wing is close to the ground but Horner clearly steered away from why the sides of it were bending down like that.
bosyber (@bosyber)
10th April 2011, 8:13
The sides, and that it seems to slightly pivot at speed too.
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 0:40
( Final comment )
I have nothing but good will for Petrov, he’s shown himself to be a genuine racer by stepping up the plate, and making the most of what has been handed him.
This is what we want see from him, and from talent like him in general :)
US_Peter (@us_peter)
10th April 2011, 5:02
I think he, Kobayashi, and Hülkenberg were all great new talents to enter the sport last year. I hope Kobayashi can get more good points this year. It’s a bummer that Hülkenberg’s not in a race seat this year though especially since he was starting to seem like he had the upper hand over Barrichello by the end of the season.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 7:51
I agree, good to see new guys with talent and so very different styles get into F1.
driftin
10th April 2011, 0:43
Vettel’s comments are getting weirder and weirder. First ‘We are who we are’ and now this. Is he trying to mark himself as some philosopher or something?
Nick F
10th April 2011, 0:59
-He is not a native english speaker.
-He is from a different culture.
-He’s a joker. He likes having fun and has an interesting sense of humour.
-He’s feeling confident at the moment.
I think that about covers all the possible explanations.
Robyn
10th April 2011, 2:00
Yep, I think that pretty much covers it. But there’s nothing he could say or do that *wouldn’t* draw criticism from some quarters at the moment.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
10th April 2011, 5:42
Very true. It’s funny how some fans seem to lament that drivers aren’t as honest and open as they once were, and that they tow the corporate talking points in the modern era of F1. Then when drivers are themselves, and joke around with the journalists, they don’t see it. I share Will Buxton’s view of Vettel, that he’s a pretty good natured joker with a dry sense of humor.
Mark
10th April 2011, 2:07
He is the Charlie Sheen of F1.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th April 2011, 2:33
First ‘We are who we are’ and now this.
Just so long as he doesn’t do this. That would be pretty pathetic.
Although not as pathetic as the fact that that video has over nineteen million views …
David-A (@david-a)
10th April 2011, 3:46
Not as bad as a song named after whatever comes after Thursday…
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 8:04
Yeah, that was #$%#%. Ned Flanders got me viewing that, unholy him!
Gaston (@golarrazabal)
10th April 2011, 7:16
The song is terrible, but by Kesha standards I deemed it to be tolerable. The video, on the other hand, is downright offensive. The outfit? The product placement? Ugh.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 7:56
Aaah, you’ve just added me as another viewer.
Sadly that tunnel reminded me of the incident in Germany last year where people panicked and got stuck at that festival. Makes me feel sad for all those killed
And he just might have taken the line from it. After all he used Lewis’ quote for the second time yesterday after that pole lap!
kartguy07
10th April 2011, 10:57
“This video is not available in your country. Sorry about that.”
Would be great if Youtube still told me what video it is. Must get that proxy/vpn sorted asap.
Bernard
10th April 2011, 0:48
Maybe this is why Red Bull are cautious about having Hamilton in the team – allegedly once you go black…
;)
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th April 2011, 1:03
Off the topic of Malaysia for the moment, I found this: the Indian Grand Prix circuit has been given an official name – the Buddh International Circuit, which is apparently derived from “Buddha” and means “peace and calmness”, which to me would be about the same as calling Muammar Qaddafi “a big, fluffy puppy with bad teeth” (bonus points if you know who I’m quoting there).
Nevertheless, I like it. It’s an actual name for once. I’m sick of the latest generation of circuits being known as “Bahrain International” and “Korean International”. I hope they’ll do something similar for Austin and Sochi; the land they are building the Austin circuit on was originally going to be a subdivision known as Wandering Creek, so I think “Wandering Creek Raceway” would be nice.
Hare (@hare)
10th April 2011, 1:32
Although it being in Texas, it may well end up as ‘Lightening and Thunder dome, the home of the gods!’
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th April 2011, 2:21
Better than “Austin International Circuit” …
US_Peter (@us_peter)
10th April 2011, 6:18
Being in the US they’ll sell the naming rights to the highest bidder. Since Red McCombs is fronting the money, it could well be the Red McCombs Automotive Dealerships International Circuit. Pepsi International Circuit? Frito-Lay International Circuit? Raytheon International Circuit? ConocoPhillips International Circuit?
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 8:02
Or just all of those thrown together! It is always a bit of comic relieve for an European with the announcements in your great nation :-D
I must say, Wandering the creek sounds nice for a circuit, but maybe rings more of golf course or country club than race track.
Hm, so the Wandering Creek, Jerky Perky BBQ camping ground party at the Austin ….. International circuit park
roberttty (@roberttty)
10th April 2011, 2:36
Thanks, Keith.
my birthday wish will be for a fantastic Malaysian GP today – dry or wet!
US_Peter (@us_peter)
10th April 2011, 6:19
Happy Birthday, and I think we all hope your wish comes true!
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 8:03
ha, happy birtday, I hope this will be a wonderfull party watching the Malaysian GP!
bosyber (@bosyber)
10th April 2011, 8:16
Happy birthday, and may that wish come true!
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
10th April 2011, 14:39
Happy birthday! Your wish came true! :)
Snow Donkey
10th April 2011, 5:25
Still a lot of people talking about what the fia should do about red bull flexi-wings… Why should they do anything? The rules state that under scrutineering the wing should not be less than 75mm above the ref. plane, and should deflect no more than 20 mm when a 100kg load is placed at either end, or both ends simultaneously, of the wing. The fia themselves have aknoledged that red bull have found a way around this, and that as long as it passes scrutineering, it is legal and admissible.
In the past, too many innovations have been pulled for no reason. Can we all just shut up about it now and watch to see who can play catch-up the fastest on this particular feature or has it come to the point that not only do morons like the horsewhiner complain about everything, but so do fanboys?
Patrickl
10th April 2011, 8:20
That’s the tests. The ACTUAL rule is that bodywork should not move. The rules even explicitly state that the tests can be enhanced to detect flexing if it’s observed.
Fanboy indeed.
Snow Donkey
10th April 2011, 10:52
Where do the rules state that bodywork should not move? The fact that the test allows for a 20mm deflection implies an expected movement. Also, re:enhancing tests, they did so, and the wing passes. I see no reason why this should not be the end of the discussion! Should the FIA choose to change the test again, then we will see what we see, but I fail to understand why so many scream fowl. It’s the same old, tired, “spirit of the rules” argument. There is no spirit to the rules, only words on paper. You pass the tests or you don’t.
Tim
10th April 2011, 16:20
See article 3.15 of the technical regulations which covers flexible bodywork. See also article 3.17, which sets out the various load/deflection tests the car has to pass.
One interpretation of the regulations is that 3.15 constitutes an absolute ban on bodywork being able to flex at all. If the Red Bull front wing was flexing then it would not comply with the rules.
Another interpretation of the regulations is that if the car passes the various load/deflection tests in 3.17 then it is judged to meet the requirements of 3.15. Given that Red Bull have yet to fail scrutineering, the FIA stewards appear to be applying the latter interpretation.
Dzenan
10th April 2011, 6:39
Keith, safari on iphone load pages allways, but safari on ipad have problem loading some articles.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
10th April 2011, 7:33
Dzenan, just a tip for you, I have marginally better results loading F1F pages using Atomic Web Browser on iPad instead of Safari. You can select what browser it presents itself as to websites. I have it set as Firefox 3, and that seems to help slightly. I still have to refresh most pages multiple times to get them to load however.
Malibu_GP
10th April 2011, 7:59
Greetings Fanatics, I gotta agree with Vettel- It does take stones to run wide open throttle for as long as You can and brake as late as You can on some of the worlds best circuits in those highly strung marvels of engineering. On another note, You can’t begrudge Lewis for wanting to smoke Sebastian in the same machinery. Th0e guy has surpassed some of his stats and is on course to equal or surpass his pole/victory totals. I don’t know about You folks but I’m highly competitive (in a good spirited way) I can imagine a big part of Him wants to prove to to all of Us who is really the best between them. I already know Myself…, but Young Vettel is worthy competition. So is Fernando. The rest? would never, ever stand a chance.
Malibu_GP
10th April 2011, 8:06
BTW, that’s not fanboy speak. Those are the observations of a sports analyst with keen senses and instincts. Anyway…, almost time!!! ;)
BasCB (@bascb)
10th April 2011, 8:06
That article about Lewis is nice, take one on the competition at all possible places, eh Lewis!
Surely he does speak from experience seeing up close how not coping with being beaten by your teammate can pan out.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
10th April 2011, 8:56
Nice messages from Vettel and the Lotus guy! ;)
Hare (@hare)
11th April 2011, 8:23
Judging by his immediate post race reaction to winning the WDC last year… they might be big, but they haven’t dropped very far ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW1CsefgoNc