Massa???

[peter]

Massa 16th what was that all about, I was watching the times fall thinking where are the Ferrari's. Somebody needs their backside kicked Well he needs a super drive tomorrow

[Ian]

Re: Massa

Massa 16th what was that all about, I was watching the times fall thinking where are the Ferrari's. Somebody needs their backside kicked Well he needs a super drive tomorrow

Indeed - the strategy went all wrong there!

And it was very tight with Jenson and Trulli, while Barrichello wasn't happy with the car...

I'm sure it will be an exciting race and probably wet at some point!

Ian

[peter]

Re: Massa

I bet Ross had a smile on his face when he saw what Ferrari had done with massa. Very much a school boy error in my book. Jenson did a great job again today.

Off topic a bit. With jenson wining last week and the team doing so well I was laughing my socks off when in one of the advert breaks for Lost they play the impossible dream advert of Honda. Talk about bad timing or what.

[Ian]

Re: Massa

I see that EJ felt that the 0.092sec gap between Jenson's pole and Trulli's second was, in effect a dead heat.

Well, if you calculate it, an F1 car travels around 5 metres, on average, over a lap of the Sepan circuit in 0.092sec. That's more than a car's length that Jenson was ahead on the road.

A quarter of a second's difference is nearly 15 metres (45 feet). A whole second is around 60 metres, etc.

Ian

[peter]

Re: Massa

Here is a link to the fuel they have in the cars. Button should be doing one more lap then Trulli.

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=James_Allen&id=45485

Again this is something new for this year just like more radio transmissions.

[JSR]

Re: Massa

Great qualifying session, but poor old Massa losing out for the sake of saving tyres. He admitted that he hadn't put in the best lap he could, even with the car the way it was, so why didn't he go out again?

I see that EJ felt that the 0.092sec gap between Jenson's pole and Trulli's second was, in effect a dead heat.

Well, if you calculate it, an F1 car travels around 5 metres, on average, over a lap of the Sepan circuit in 0.092sec. That's more than a car's length that Jenson was ahead on the road.

A quarter of a second's difference is nearly 15 metres (45 feet). A whole second is around 60 metres, etc.

Ian

Was EJ talking about that - or was he talking about earlier in qualifying when Button was top, then Trulli pipped him by 0.004sec. A short while later, Button put in a stonker and wiped the floor with Trulli.

I thought EJ was referring to the .004sec - in that, without the accurate measuring systems they have, how would you know who's in front?

Re: fuel. Once again they prove that the Brawn cars are not fluking pole by travelling light.

Can anyone confirm if Barrichello is starting 8th or 9th tomorrow? The commentators kept saying 9th, the caption showed 8th and the car grid also showed him in 8th. The ITV website (the fuel page) shows him at 9th, while the BBC websites shows him at 8th.

I thought he would be 8th. When Vettel drops from 3rd down to 13th, Barrichello moves up to 3rd, and then drops 5 places to 8th. Or, Barrichello is 4th, drops 5 places to 9th, then Vettel is dropped to 13th so Barrichello moves up to 8th.

Which is it - 8th or 9th? If he's 9th, doesn't that mean he's dropped 6 places? His 5 plus the one vacated by Vettel?

I'm confused.

[Ian]

Re: Massa

I thought today's race was very reminiscent of Schumacher prior to a pit stop, with Button delivering devastating pace leading up to his first stop and emerging way ahead of the guys who were ahead of him a couple of laps before.

Jenson's performance today was complete, apart from a less than ideal start. No mistakes after that and he was quick on whatever tyre or conditions you could throw at him.

Could it really be a hat trick for Brawn and Button in two weeks time? It's a bit like a dream!

And for Peter and all the other Ferrari fans, now you know what us Button and Honda fans of old were going through!

Ian

[JSR]

Re: Massa

Yes, a great result.

Several times I thought Button and Brawn were leaving it just a fraction too late, but they clearly kept their eye on the ball in this race. (This would be the same ball that Ferrari can't even see, never mind keep their eyes on it... Sorry, Peter!)

I'm not sure I understand the logic of the "half points" system in this situation. I get that the race was only half-done, so it makes sense for half points, but it seems very unfair.

The guy who wins would have got ten points, but ends up with just five.
The guy who is 8th would have got one point, but ends up with a half.

Why is the winner penalised five points, while another points-scorer is only penalised a half-point? What did the winner do more wrong than anyone else?

I appreciate that this is the "glass half-empty" viewpoint but it seems to me that, through no fault of his own, one guy is penalised significantly more than another guy in exactly the same situation.

Anyway, it's good to see that the Brawn car was fine in the rain. Would have liked to have seen more rain driving with it, but the fact that it wasn't awful is great news. Of course we have seen both Button and Barrichello do good things in the rain before, so how much was the car and how much was talent remains to be determined.

What's next - another race, or another week of controversy? Did anyone see Hamilton doing anything controversial this week?

[peter]

Re: Massa

Thanks for that Ian but we have had a few bad times over the last few years. Mostly with the team making to many mistakes. Jsr I agree ball what ball. Yesterday it was them being to sure of themselves and not sending massa back out. Today they bring kimi in for full wets when it seemed to be still dry and he wrecked them in a few laps. Ok so if it had worked out we may well have been saying what a great move but it just did not work.Yes jenson did a super drive kept and kept his head.

I loved the grid walk when martin was looking at the back of the toyota. That was so funny

We will now have to wait till the 14th to see what will happen next.

[devilgas]

Re: Massa

Yes, a great result.

Did anyone see Hamilton doing anything controversial this week?

yeah, he turned up

good to see lots of overtaking. those 4 corners with alonso and webber were quality.

great drive from jenson again. ok, poor start, but he kept his nose clean and didn't get tangled up with red mist descending. the one thing i have noticed is how smoothe JB's driving is when they show the cockpit views. other drivers are sawing at the wheel. not JB. turn in. turn out. job done. shows how well set up the brawn chassis is.

felt robbed that the race ended early.

loved massa's tantrum demanding his clear visor.... "felippe baby, calm down" or summat like that, was deffo called baby!

brundle and toyota on the grid was funny as hell

not sure what ferrari were playing at swapping kimi to wets when there was no rain on the track at all. ok, things can change in an instant, but as MB kept saying, you change tyres to suit the track conditions. sure if it had lamped it down during kimis first half lap then we may well be hailing a different victor, but you've got to be pretty certain that that is what will happen.
i'm assuming that the pattern for rain in malaysia is pretty similar to the maldives? it's still, wind picks up, 5-8 mins later you get a few spots of rain, 30secs later the heavens open.
i'm guessing ferrari reacted to the wind picking up.

here's hoping that jenson can do the treble, and maybe get an '09 win while not following the safety car in china in a few weeks.

[peter]

Re: Massa

Well I am glad somebody agrees with me

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3213_5149520,00.html

[devilgas]

Re: Massa

I thought EJ was referring to the .004sec - in that, without the accurate measuring systems they have, how would you know who's in front?

and me.

at 150mph (my rough estimate of the speed of the cars when crossing the line), 0.004s = 27cm