Vettel can equal Schumacher’s title tally – Theissen

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Mario Theissen, who gave Sebastian Vettel his F1 debut in 2007, reckons his former driver can beat Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championships and 91 Grand Prix victories.

Driver of the Weekend

The final Driver of the Weekend poll of 2012 is remarkably close so far. Make sure you add your vote here:

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Vettel can match Schumacher’s world title haul – Mario Theissen (BBC)

“Fangio dominated his era, Schumacher dominated his era and now I would say Sebastian, after that performance, has a good chance to become one of those heroes who really dominated – not just one season but four or five seasons.”

Horner: Hamilton’s exit weakens McLaren (The Telegraph)

“Lewis [Hamilton] is an outstanding driver and in Lewis and Jenson [Button] they had a hugely strong driver line-up.”

Christian Horner Q&A (Sky)

“We haven’t had a car advantage throughout this year and if you go back to the first race of the season at Australia, he fought on every lap to be on the podium. There have been other races later in the year when he has put in phenomenal drives that have largely gone unnoticed – the fourth positions, the fifth positions – and then, as we have managed to chip away at the performance, he has capitalised on that. Putting that run of four successive race wins at the fly-aways from Singapore through to India was a hugely impressive performance. To come back from being forty points behind, it’s been quite remarkable to see what he has achieved.”

Cheers Seb! Over 550 Red Bull employees pick up 10k each after Vettel wins title (Daily Mail)

“Each member of the 550-strong team will land a cool 10,000 bonus after Sebastian Vettel helped his team secure the constructors’ title in Austin.”

Long Beach boss speaks out about F1 rumours (Indy Star)

Long Beach Grand Prix president and general manager Jim Michaelian: “To run a Formula One event is an extremely expensive proposition … in terms of the infrastructure and the cost of purchasing the show. To even consider it would entail a whole new financial structure, and quite frankly we are succeeding here in our efforts to stage a first-class IndyCar event.”

Webber – You’ve Got To Take Your Hat Off To Vettel (Speed)

“He’s the youngest ever triple World Champion, so you’ve got to take your hat off to him. We had a good chat before the race to each other. Obviously I’m happy that it stays in the team.”

Full throttle celebrations follow Vettel’s win (NBC)

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Vettel had assured himself of ‘his place in history’ and she congratulated him on his ‘marvellous nerves of steel’.”

How the title decider fared around Europe (F1 Broadcasting)

“In Germany, the race aired on RTL and Sky Deutschland. RTL recorded a race average of 10.62 million viewers (40.9% share), whilst a further 610,000 viewers watched on Sky Deutschland.”

Pirelli wants early answer over 2014 (Autosport)

Pirelli motorsport director: “The deadline is June next year, but we would be keen to have a decision earlier than that. If we need to find 300-400 people a different job then we need to know earlier.”

What a race, what a year (Sky)

Martin Brundle: “Hulkenberg’s penalty was tough in such track conditions although he had clearly wiped out Hamilton while losing control of his car. The stewards, I believe, treat the first lap differently in the general chaos and didn’t choose to take a look at Vettel’s contact with Senna who was similarly wiped out. As Vettel was also under control and on the racing line, it would have been deemed a racing incident.”

2012 Silverstone Media Awards

“After a very successful inaugural year with over 5,000 votes we invite you, the fans to vote once more for your favourite F1 and Moto GP media coverage during 2012. From broadsheets to bloggers, who has given you the best insight into the worlds of F1 and Moto GP this year?”

‘The most radical ever’ F1 car goes on sale: Tyrrell’s iconic Seventies six-wheeled racer on the market for 750k (Daily Mail)

I’m quoted in this article on a six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 which is going on sale if you’ve got three-quarters of a million pounds to spare…

Tweets

Comment of the day

@Girts’ responds to Force India’s criticism of the first safety car period in Sunday’s race.

I think that there were no gaps where marshals could have worked and Rosberg’s puncture proved that there was debris on the racing line that should have been cleaned up already earlier.

Force India’s frustration is understandable and I think that Hulkenberg didn’t deserve the penalty for colliding with Hamilton. But the decision to deploy safety car seemed to be correct even if it was made too late.
@Girts

From the forum

Happy birthday!

No F1 Fanatic birthdays today.

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Antonio Pizzonia gave the ultimate lesson in how not to impress your new team on this day ten years ago.

Pizzonia, who was set to start his first season of F1 with Jaguar in the coming 2003 season, crashed one of the company’s road cars while driving a journalist on a lap of the Circuit de Catalunya.

Fortunately he and Autocar’s Steve Sutcliffe were uninjured. The car, however, was totalled in the crash:

Image © Red Bull/Getty images

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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94 comments on “Vettel can equal Schumacher’s title tally – Theissen”

  1. £10k for everyone, lucky RedBull employees! Glad even the factory-floor, non-management employees are getting significant recognition too, they deserve it! Although I wonder if Mark and Seb get the £10k too, even though their salaries are £millions!

    1. @calum I think their bonus must be really high, at least Vettel´s… For every race he won rumors is he is pay $1,000,000.00, for every podium $500,00.00; so he should get a big price for the cahmpionship, plus his car… every year he wins he get the F1 car…

      1. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
        28th November 2012, 6:32

        unless the driver tells you him self it’s likely speculation only the driver and team management really know who gets what and when.

        1. @celeste where did you hear/read that rumor? If true that is incredible!

          I read somewhere that Vettel as on about £8million a year (nothing next to Alonso’s basic salary of £20million approx) but was compensated with good bonuses.

          I think that system makes sense, high rewards for good performance – although if true and Red Bull had a bad season where they struggled for regular podiums I think them Vettel – Ferrari talks would get more serious.

          Great that all the Red Bull employees get that bonus though!

          1. @aledinho it was info posted back on 2010, but according to German Press, just for the tittle Vettel will get €3000000 just for the championship…

      2. Does he really get the car always? I do believe Seb can equal Michael’s tally of 7 championships – but ONLY if he sticks to Red Bull, like Michael stuck to Ferrari.

        1. But Schumacher won two of the titles with Benetton. Had he *not* moved teams he likely wouldn’t have won anything else.

    2. @calum It is outrageously generous and I’m sure there will be a lot of Christmas presents bought in Milton Keynes this year! They all thoroughly deserve it.

  2. Does Thiessen have a point? I dont think so. Vettel has only dominated one season (2011). 2009 he found his winning form as a driver, 2010 he snatched the title when he otherwise probably shouldnt have, 2011 was nothing short of domination and 2012 was a mature drive, but not a dominative season.

    Perhaps 2010-2012 is his era… We’ll only be able to reflect in years to come. Too soon to be calling this Vettel’s era.

    1. Give the man some credit, he probably was very excited. The kid he fought so much to give time on practices is doin´g great, sometimes I think Thiessen deserve more credit tan Marko for Vettel´s success…

      1. Well there’s no denying that, I agree, but still too early…

        1. @jamesf1 Thiessen didn’t say this is Vettel’s era. The quote is “Vettel has a good chance to become one of those heroes who really dominated”. You are disputing something he didn’t actually say.

    2. Drop Valencia!
      28th November 2012, 0:44

      I think Vettel has been dominatoing almost his entire career, 2007 he did amazing things, 2008 elevated Toro Rosso to rediculous levels, 2009 would have won if they had a DDD from the start. 2010 was scrappy at times but got the job done. 2011 blew everyone away, 2012 again did an amazing job in the second fastest car, what more does he have to do, is 3 WDC and one WDC runner up in 4 years not an era already?

    3. I don’t think you have to dominate every season to have a dominant era. Vettel may not have dominated in ’10 or ’12, but he’s certainly dominated the last 3 years, aka this era. As an Alonso fan, I’m just giving credit where it’s due. Gutted to see Alonso lose another WC by a handful of points, but fair play to Vettel for being on point; particularly his Abu Dhabi and Brazil drives. That’s 2 times I thought my guy would steal major points, but alas, it was not meant to be.

      1. In what kind of times do I live where three years are an era?!

        1. In F1, three championships in a row is an era. Only three drivers managed to create an era that long/longer, so yes, in F1-terms, it’s an era.

    4. I think Thiessen is very proud of the part he played in Vettel’s career, just as much as Berger is.

  3. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    28th November 2012, 0:16

    Webber recognizes vettel deserved the championship, but during the race it looked for moments as if Webber just wanted Alonso to be the champion. Turn one met Webber blocking Vettel (accidentally I think) before his spin, and then, in a moment when Kobayashi was going for Seb, Webber tried to overtake both of them with the only consequence of putting himself out of the track . It’s good to be competitive wioth your teammate, but endangering one of the team’s targets in that way is quite strange. Of course some may admire Mark a little more for that I-don’t-care-what-RedBull-think attitude

    1. @omarr-pepper you know what? My little conspiracy crazy mind has been working over time with that one…

      I think Webber did really wanted Alonso to win, if you look at the moment Horner hugs Vettel, he looks actually ****, like he was telling him something that was making him mad… the only think that could jump in to my mind was Webber behavoir, even my brother who is a huge Alonso fan told me that Red Bull should fired Webber…

      1. MW has a massive chip on his shoulder for the past 4 years. I think he favours anyone except SV for the title. Not a team mate you would want on your team.

        1. I think that’s a rather harsh. Webber fought for the title as long as he was mathematically able this year and in 2010, but he did pretty much everything required by the team at the end of this season, after being eliminated from contention a few races ago.

    2. Drop Valencia!
      28th November 2012, 0:39

      I think Vettel probably said “I don’t want any favours unless it looks like I need them” the start was surprisingly agressive, but later with the big overtake it was clear he bailed when it got a bit hairy…

    3. Didn’t Webber let Vettel past at one point in the race? I’m pretty sure I remember him moving over and they broadcast the radio message where Webber’s engineer said “thanks”.

      1. @davea86 he did – though I was still puzzled at what on earth he was doing, having a run at Vettel into Turn 1 and at the restart. I wouldn’t be very happy if I was a team boss.

        Maybe Horner told them they were still racing, but for that one moment when he let Vettel through, he was told in no uncertain terms to let Vettel through.

    4. Initally I shared the same opinion about Webber. But after watching the start multiple times I’m of the belief that Webber was only trying to cover the fast starting Force India. As to why he didn’t move back after Hulk passed him only God knows. The attempt to pass Vettel during SC restart was even bizzare.
      My guess, even if Vettel DNFed Webber would have thought about putting himself in the podium(3rd place behind the McLarens) enabling Vettel to still clinch the title and becoming the savior at RedBull. Too bad nothing ever goes as per script.

      1. Not being able to watch the race I’m not going to be adamant about anything but I believe that the RBR plan was for Webber to finish ahead of Alonso, didn’t work out but I think that was the plan.

    5. Lots of unfair criticism of MW here I feel. MW said on saturday that he’s going to drive his own race, and won’t think about Seb provided he doesn’t crash into him. You cannot make allowances for your team-mate at the start of the race, it’s too chaotic. You just need to survive the first corner and see what happens next.
      Then MW let SV past him when he came out of pits behind him, and when there was no big speed difference between them. So that was ok.
      Regarding the overtake attempt: Both Kobayashi and Seb were much slower going down the pit straight. What do you expect Webber to do? Just stop his car? In fact I’d argue that had this overtake succeeded(or even better, had he not been spun around by Kobayashi) Vettel would have a stronger chance of the championship as Webber was catching the Ferraris late in the race and was also faster than Vettel and pretty much everyone else at this stage. So he would attack, and even if things went badly he could always drop back late on and let Seb past in the same way he did in the early stages

      1. @montreal95 – I think You are right, but I have also thought about it. And I’m sure Webber isn’t pleased with the fact that the results show he is the number 2 driver. He proved himself to be a teamplayer in Brazil – up until then I was in doubt.

  4. Still not sure why Brundle is being so critical of Seb over the lap 1 incident. The track was damp, everyone was on dry tyres, cars were going everywhere and Senna was pre-occupied with passing another car when Vettel turned in. It was just an unfortunate accident and I think blaming anyone is a bit silly in this case. Any sort of penalty would have been very unfair.

    1. @damonsmedley
      Brundle wrote

      The stewards, I believe, treat the first lap differently in the general chaos and didn’t choose to take a look at Vettel’s contact with Senna who was similarly wiped out. As Vettel was also under control and on the racing line, it would have been deemed a racing incident.

      How is that being critical ?
      He’s just stating the facts to explain why Hulkenberg got a penalty and Vettel didn’t even though they appeared to be equally guilty of causing a collision.

      1. Perhaps “critical” isn’t the right word, but he is implying it was Sebastian’s fault and that it would have deserved a penalty at any other stage of the race.

        1. @damonsmedley, I think I have seen quite a few people questioning the Huelkenberg penalty, comparing it with that incident, and being critical of it not getting a mention. I believe Brundle is probably just addressing that, saying it isn’t entirely comparable.

      2. That’s a rule, or interpretation of the rules, that could do with some clarification. Should the whole first lap be treated differently, or just the first corner?
        It’s no good saying you’re clamping down on driving standards if it only applies from lap 2 and it’s a free-for-all before that!
        If, a couple of minutes later, Alonso had piled into Massa and Webber while sending it up the inside of both of them, the stewards would have jumped on him straight away.

        MB sounds like he’s making an educated guess, though he’s probably right. It would be good to find out for sure from a steward if that is how it’s applied at present.

    2. I am critical of Vettel because in many post-race interviews he uses words like “not sure” and “don’t know how it happened” and “suddenly I was turned around” as if to imply the incident had no fault on his part, when we all know the facts clearly point out otherwise. I am not denying that it was a racing incident, but I do take issue with the blameless nature with which Vettel describes it.

      1. The fact that he lied Lauda (if I remember correctly) in the face, when asked on the podium in Hockenheim about what did Jenson think of his overtake on the side of the track, is one of the reasons I think he has a long way to go before he gets more respect from other ex and current drivers. Even cameras caught the dialogue, when Jenson told him that he was rather unimpressed with his maneuver, only to have Vettel minute or two later, telling Lauda the whole world that Jenson never complained to him about that move.

  5. “To run a Formula One event is an extremely expensive proposition … in terms of the infrastructure and the cost of purchasing the show. To even consider it would entail a whole new financial structure, and quite frankly we are succeeding here in our efforts to stage a first-class IndyCar event.”

    Maybe, but the way I hear it, IndyCar is not succeeding. If the category collapses, what then?

    1. Robby Gordon’s SST Series :p

    2. The fact that they fired the guy who was turning things around and reviving the series doesn’t bode well for Indycar.

      1. @us_peter – Yeah, that’s what I meant. This whole episode with firing Randy Bernard feels to me like it’s been motivated by the egoes of the people who got rid of him. They couldn’t accept that somebody other than themselves had a vision for the future of the category and the means to implement it, so they negated Bernard’s contribution by using his supposed unpopularity to squeeze him out of his position.

  6. If he keeps pulling moves like this one surely he will win many championships…

    VET overtaking VER on yellow flags (not shown in the official broadcast, were busy showing the countless replays of the start)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3tp3QDAkgo

    1. That is already in the round-up – it’s the first link under “Forums”. Where it has been shown fairly conclusively that Vettel did nothing wrong.

      1. Keith, there is a new video thats shows Vettel overtaking Vergne clearly under yellow flags. The video analyzes also when Vettel overtakes Khartikeyan and Kobashi. Please take a moment to view it and give us your conclusions.

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuMZzI8pOz4

      2. Sorry Keith, I just saw the post at the forum!

      3. Keith this is the new video, its not the one about the HRT or KOB.
        This one shows VET overtaking VER under yellow flags….

        What is more interesting? The final time results:
        P6 VET +9.6 secs
        P7 MSC +11.9 secs
        P8 VER +28.6 secs
        Someone was expecting a possible 20sec penalty….

      4. Oh I did not know about the forum
        Saw it just now. Thanx and sorry for the confusion…

      5. In the video Mariano posted, there’s a genuine yellow flag pass at 11:50!

        Also for all the “how did he manage to overtake that many people in so few laps” comments I’ve read here, from what I see in this video is people actually moving aside and letting him through. And the few that aren’t going off the racing line to let him through are not defending at all. As if it’s free practice.

        1. Yes you’re right, everyone seemed to be too scared to defend their position against Vettel, probably they thought it was the right thing to do to not influence the championship, when in reality that is exactly what they were doing!!!

          1. It’s ironic that Vettel won his first championship for that exact reason – people giving Alonso hard time in the last race, when we still didn’t have DRS.

            But it’s not just about the number of titles. We are not computers, we feel things too and how you win is just as important, if not even more important then how many titles you own.
            Case in point is Senna. He has 3 titles, yet 99% of people consider him the best driver ever, no matter the number of titles Schumacher, Fangio and Prost have.
            Not to mention that Red Bull has a B team that always moves out of the way for them. I still can’t believe they are allowed to have a B team. I mean, the guy who’s seeing Vettel as his own son (Helmut) is the one who will judge the future of Torro Rosso drivers. I mean, isn’t that absolute conflict of interest! That’s completely unsporting.
            And yet, people keep harping how Sauber is Ferrari B team. For all I’ve seen, Sauber drivers never hesitated not only to defend, but to attack Ferrari’s drivers whenever they got a chance.

          2. @brace

            It’s ironic that Vettel won his first championship for that exact reason – people giving Alonso hard time in the last race, when we still didn’t have DRS.

            Vettel won his first championship because he did what was required in the final race (i.e. dominate it from pole), and Alonso/Ferrari were too concerned about Mark Webber’s strategy. Let’s also not forget how Alonso won/Vettel didn’t win in Bahrain and Korea, when SV did everything in his power to win those races, but lost through no fault of his own.

            But it’s not just about the number of titles. We are not computers, we feel things too and how you win is just as important, if not even more important then how many titles you own.

            Indeed, and Vettel has won his titles through dominating the opposition as well as grittier, more determined fightbacks, when he things haven’t always gone his way. He may have “numbers”, but he’s certainly earned them on track.

          3. @brace

            He has 3 titles, yet 99% of people consider him the best driver ever

            Sometimes when you exaggerate too much you just destroy any credibility in anything you say.

            how you win is just as important, if not even more important then how many titles you own.
            Case in point is Senna

            Who won a title by deliberately driving into his opponent?

            Rather than trying to fabricate conspiracy theories and shoot holes in Vettel’s success, why don’t you just post “I don’t like Vettel” and be done with it. Personally I’d prefer to use my time to rewatch what was an amazing race rather than trawling through footage trying to find a yellow flag to accuse a driver I don’t like of disobeying.

        2. Bob (@bobthevulcan)
          28th November 2012, 2:28

          @brace – The video Mariano posted is already being discussed in the forum, and as Keith has noted in the round-up, several people spotted a marshal waving a green flag (a physical one, not a digital one) on the exit of Turn 3, before the portion of the track where Vettel made his overtake. Thus, the overtake was legal.

          1. Uh? The video clearly shows only flashing yellows, and yellow lights on his steering wheel as hes made the pass, they go off once hes passed

            Even if the Green flag was on the exit of turn 3, theres Yellows after that point, along the straight where he pulls the pass?

  7. I doubt MW is super happy about watching his teammate romp to three titles in succession whilst he only got a snif of the glory. That’s no disrespect to him…, I believe any true competitor would feel similar. Regarding Long Beach having a race again, I know its a pipe dream, it’s just that Long Beach is very near Santa Monica where I’m from and would require far less effort to attend than say Austin ( where I had a blast btw ) of Jersey ( which I already have my heart set on ) IndyCar is cool and all, but The LBC could use a lil F1 infusion.

    1. Webber shouldn’t be massively dissappointed imo. He got beaten by a 3 time champion with whom he competed very closely in his first title run.

      1. Yep, Mark won’t be happy, since he would have loved a title of his own, but he’s a multiple race winner, and 2x 3rd place in the championship. He’s a great sport, good character and very good competitor.

  8. *or jersey*

  9. @andrewf1
    if you could just read the round-up… “from the forum” in big blue letters, first link.

    1. @crr917
      sorry, my bad!

  10. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    28th November 2012, 2:38

    £550×10000 = £5.5 million!!!! Looks like Red Bull has plenty of money to award their workers. Of course they got the 1st prize of the year, but still it’s impressive.
    can I be considered the 551th suporter?

    1. can I be considered the 551th suporter?

      Good one!
      but, sorry there mate…early bird gets the worm…I have already registered my name for 551st!

    2. Supporter, yes. Worker on the payroll, no :D

    3. I wonder if that’s going to be considered part of the RRA?

  11. martin brundle: I believe, treat the first lap differently in the general chaos and didn’t choose to take a look at Vettel’s contact with Senna who was similarly wiped out

    I cant understand why so many people post negative comments on Brundle. Bcoz i travel a lot, I am a recepient of f1 broadcast my diverse channels – asian, european inlcuding sky and bbc, australian and north american. I’ve listened to many different commentators, and I’ve found brundle to be the best, simply bcoz i’ve seldom seen him mistaking a toro roso for a redbull or one driver with the other, rarely misses even the slightest of an incident usually caught on an extreme corner of the camera space, very incesive on his comments. On the other hand, commentators like hill, coulthard, herbert just stand there like kids holding their lollipop, not knowing to lick or suck!
    so, why is it again, that so many seem to hold brundle in a very bad light?

    1. commentators like hill, coulthard, herbert just stand there like kids holding their lollipop, not knowing to lick or suck!

      I agree entirely. With Jake Humphries being about the only quality member left on the BBC team it is going to be even more dire next year. Coulthard, Herbert and Eddie Jordan in particular seem to me to be living off their previous reputation and not on any actual media ability. Brundle, on the other hand, has made a very good transition and has shown himself to be great at TV work (I also find McNish very good in the analyses too).

  12. So with all this talk of money does anybody know the sale price on the HRT team? Trying to decide if a $3 investment in a Powerball ticket (currently US$500,000,000) is worth it. l0l

  13. Will Red Bull buy HRT and have a C team as well?

    1. I think Ferrari should do it. They have a huge fan base in Spain and they always wanted three cars on the grid. If they bought HRT, they could have four ;)

  14. From Horner’s interview:

    F1 at the moment is going through a halcyon period. Fernando Alonso is a wonderful, massively-gifted driver, as is Lewis Hamilton, and then you have the likes of Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen, who has come back this year, and of course Mark Webber, so it’s a halcyon period for F1 and to succeed, and achieve the level of success that he has, is quite remarkable, especially as he is only just 25 years of age.

    I always thought that “halcyon period” or “halcyon days” meant a period of calm and serenity. I don’t think this season was calm and serene. Even Horner says it was stressful and emotional. Am I missing something here?

    1. @maroonjack According to my dictionary, halcyon can mean both “calm, peaceful, tranquil” and “rich, wealthy, prosperous”. I guess Horner used the word in the second context.

  15. First year at Mercedes will more likely be a “test driver” role for Hamilton. As he said in one of the interviews he needs time to get to grips with the W04, let alone the pace and reliability of the car. Once he’s acclimatized himself (intriguing as to how long will he take) then he can start to focus on winning races. It’s a question if the extra ~10million pounds will be really worth it.

    1. @hari That’s just PR and expectations management. Look how Alonso did in his first year at Ferrari. Nothing less than the same standard should be expected from Hamilton at Mercedes.

      1. @keithcollantine Agree. Let’s not discount the fact that W04 will not be on par with F10 (considering the W04 is an evolution of W03) that Alonso drove in his first year at Ferrari. It’ll be a feather in his cap if Hamilton can wring some race wins out of the W04. His tenure at Mercedes should make him stronger than ever.

      2. I suppose when Alonso joined Ferrari, they had been struggling to win races let alone championships. Lets be realistic, Mercedes just managed to score points with one car after 6 races, that to me is a monumental challenge, than moving to a team that had only just narrowly missed out on the previous year’s championship.

    2. It’s a question if the extra ~10million pounds will be really worth it.

      Seriously? After all the reports about McLaren matching Mercedes’ offer, people still say it was about the money?

      1. Agreed…imho LH HAD to move from Mac…it was about way more than a relative handful of millions, or about who would have the better car in 2013.

        LH knows he has a long career in F1, and that he will make millions upon millions in the next 10 to 15 years, and anyway he will be less encumbered at Merc to take on personal sponsorship, which Mac frowns upon.

        This is about it simply being time to go…time to leave the nest…time to take on a new challenge and start a new chapter. LH admitted to being distracted last year which cost him on the track. He tweeted confidential info this year. The team has let him down too. I think of it a bit like both the team and LH are a bit tired of each other and felt a change was due…they each couldn’t imagine another 1 to 3 more years of strained relationships and obvious baggage, imho.

        I think it will be fascinating to see how LH does outside of the nest, (was going to say outside of his comfort zone, but I don’t think it was comfortable any more at Mac) and starting off with presumably a less than top 3 car for a change which he will have to play a big role alongside NR in developing. I think this is great for Mac, for LH, for Merc, and for the fans. It’s going to be a blast to see where this goes and to see another side of LH as he proceeds in somewhat unfamiliar territory for him.

  16. Vettel overtook Vergne under yellows. he doesn’t deserve this championship…

    1. As has already been pointed out in earlier comments, there’s a link to a thread on this in the round-up.

      In which we’ve now had a comment from a flag marshal pointing out that Vettel’s move was legal.

      If you wish to discuss it further please have a read of that thread where a lot of ground has already been covered and post there.

      1. The BBC seem to think Ferrari are seriously contemplating an appeal

  17. Video shows that Vettel overtook a car on yellow flags and did not decrease speed during flashig yellow…

    http://www.marca.com/2012/11/27/motor/formula1/1354040626.html

    1. Is it a practical joke that people keep coming on here and saying this over and over again? I really hope it is.

      1. Its because people want to relive that amazing race to last the whole winter @aky_robyn :-)

        1. @bascb Someone actually just did it again on another post!!! Okay, I think it’s about time for the mastermind behind this prank to ‘fess up.

      2. @aka_robyn – It must be, since I haven’t really seen anything this sad in many years.

  18. As for those viewing figures its mentioned that

    Netherlands’ viewership was 674,000 viewers on RTL7, a 15.1% share

    , and I guess that might be the reason RTL was not that interested in paying more to keep it.

    On a different note,does anyone know if the US beat even those 674 thousand viewers?

    1. @bascb I doubt it but I can only find ratings for the Top 100 Cable shows and Speeds broadcast of the Brazilian GP did not even make the list. The lowest rated on the list had 872,00 viewers.

      TV by the Numbers

  19. I love the look on Pizzonia’s face in the last camera angle. It looks like he just killed his own dog and knows it will cost him his job.

  20. Re: On this day…
    You have to wonder what was Pizzonia thinking while driving that car. “This is Jaguar, it must an F1 car… oh, it’s not.”

    And some wise words from Horner as well about the car performances.

  21. With regards to Long Beach, maybe they could setup an America versus The Rest of the World weekend. Run IndyCar and Formula 1 on the same weekend at the same location. That way they can share the cost, the infrastructure, personnel etc. Main race for Indy on Saturday and F1 on the Sunday. That would be awesome (to coin an American phrase).

  22. Many thanks for the COTD, didn’t expect that! It’s always the best way to start the day!

  23. I’m not for a moment doubting Vettel’s ability but I can’t see him ever matching Schumacher or coming close. The reason I say that is because of the level of competition he’s up against, both from talented drivers and engineers. It was a different time when Schumacher dominated where the rules allowed it but these days I just don’t see it happening.

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