Malaysia

[stroker]

Can anyone confirm that I'm reading the schedule correctly that the race is being rebroadcast at 3pm Eastern?

Interesting qualifying. Massa's still got skilz. ;)

[Insomniac]

You can use:

http://affiliate.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?aid=nbcsports
http://www.directv.com/Channels/NBC-Sports-Network-HD-220?format=HD

Seems you are right about 3 PM ET.

We'll see how the race/weather is tomorrow, could be interesting.

I'm also amused that FOM has problems with their on-screen graphics despite not changing them.

[WickerBill]

Kimi with a three spot grid penalty for blocking.

[Pilgrims Drop]

I was waiting for a postrace NASCAR style... have at it... I know who I'd cheer for...

[Trevor Longman]

When you understand that Webber had turned his engine way down on orders from the team, it makes Vettels actions more inexcusable. Yes maybe he had the faster car outright but so Rosberg on Hamilton and he played along. I'm all for having a fight for the win as long as both are on equal footing. Vettel knew Webber was in cruise mode and took advantage of him anyway. Webber got robbed. He has every right to be mad.

This isn't the first instance where Sebs feeling of entitlement has shown through. I'm sure that will work out real well for him next year at Ferrari when he's paired with Alonso. Neither one of those guys would be content in the role of a number 2 driver, as shown in 2007 at Mclaren and over the last few years at RBR.

I never thought I'd say this but I actually liked the way Hamilton handled himself on the podium, very gracious and sorry that it wasn't his teammate up there in his place. Clearly Nico was more deserving of the spot.

[stroker]

What part of "Uber Alles" does Webber not get? ;)

[Insomniac]

When you understand that Webber had turned his engine way down on orders from the team, it makes Vettels actions more inexcusable. Yes maybe he had the faster car outright but so Rosberg on Hamilton and he played along. I'm all for having a fight for the win as long as both are on equal footing. Vettel knew Webber was in cruise mode and took advantage of him anyway. Webber got robbed. He has every right to be mad.

This isn't the first instance where Sebs feeling of entitlement has shown through. I'm sure that will work out real well for him next year at Ferrari when he's paired with Alonso. Neither one of those guys would be content in the role of a number 2 driver, as shown in 2007 at Mclaren and over the last few years at RBR.

I never thought I'd say this but I actually liked the way Hamilton handled himself on the podium, very gracious and sorry that it wasn't his teammate up there in his place. Clearly Nico was more deserving of the spot.

Isn't Vettel at RB for 3 or 4 more years? He definitely took it pretty far and Webber basically said there'd be no consequence. Horner kinda shrugged his shoulders too so I'd say Webber knows the deal. He does it and he's out of a ride, Vettel does it and what are they going to do? Their cars were even and the team tried to leave it that way, but I also doubt anyone told Vettel to let Webber back by either.

For Mercedes, the cars weren't even but they still kept them in that order. Kinda early for the #1/#2 orders IMO. The team should've allowed Rosberg to go by and Hamilton knew it.

Stupid move by Alonso/Ferrari. One of the supports were gone. It was kinda cool though that as soon as Webber got by and disturbed the air the wing just collapsed after being fine down the back straight out front.

Anyone know how/why those tires can remove so much water compared to a passenger tire?

[WickerBill]

Vettel's entitlement complex showed it's ugly, Alonso-looking face today, and now I hope he loses as much as Fred does. Ugh.

[stroker]

I ended up watching the race in a bar with no audio volume on the race. How was Varsha?

[Insomniac]

I ended up watching the race in a bar with no audio volume on the race. How was Varsha?

He never bothered me (most don't unless all they do is lay on superlatives). For those who needed to be told to turn up the volume, I'm sure they were happy. ;)

[WickerBill]

You'll get two distinct opinions, I'm sure. Let me chime in with #1. He was typical late-model Varsha, throwing around horrible puns and obviously pre-planned one-liners. One gem from FP2, not the race, but it typifies the Varsha that is a shell of his former self: "those aren't airport codes you see on your screen, those are driver names! HHHYUCK!!"

We got the typical "turn up the volume!" and a great deal more opinion than you should ever get from a lead (pbp) broadcaster. We don't need three analysts, we need a play by play guy and one or two analysts.


It's my opinion that Varsha's been coasting for a few years now and used to be far better. Is Diffey a world-class broadcast lead? Yeah, probably not, but he is such a welcome relief from Varsha's babbling brook of garbage hidden behind a great baritone voice.

[rosawendel]

Anyone know how/why those tires can remove so much water compared to a passenger tire?

If I were a betting man, I'd say it's because they move faster, and the calculation is based on time, not rolling distance.

[opinionated ow]

Vettel is a racer of the old school. There was no way he was going to bend over and take that. I think Webber played it stupidly. he would have seen him ranging up behind. Why the hell didn't he turn his engine back up and actually fight? It shows exactly why Webber will NEVER be World Champion. He's not ruthless enough; Vettel showed why he is a multi-time World Champion. Alonso would've done the same as would've Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Stewart, Clarke, Brabham or McLaren...You don't win World Championships by settling for second.

[emjaya]

Anyone know how/why those tires can remove so much water compared to a passenger tire?

Downforce.

[Hard Driver]

Team orders suck. Let the guys race and just trust them to not take each other out. That said, Vettel was driving like a a-hole and taking risks of crashing them both. Over at Mercedes, the team orders were just a shame for Nico, he should have been allowed to race and therefore make a safe pass.

[WickerBill]

Ow and hard driver, this isn't the F1 of Senna and Mansell. You have to drive to protect the crappy tires. Webber proved mid-race that when he wanted to, he could pull away from Vettel. But of course once Vettel was alongside, it was a different story.

You can't pull out the killer instinct card if what you really mean is "willingness to disobey the team". Those aren't the same. If you're saying you have to be a complete selfish d--- to be WDC, then with the exception of Button I'd agree.

[cameraman]

Actually they are driving to protect points in the manufacturer's championship. They were in 1st & 2nd and the Merc's were well back and in fuel saving mode. At that point they were ordered to turn down everything to save on the engine & gear box and cruise home. There were ordered specifically not to risk the points by fighting and possibly crashing (again) or by trashing the tires.

[Indy]

Vettel has now reached an Alonsoesque level of douchiness.

Hamilton has rehabilitated himself in my eyes.

And that race sucked.

[Elmo T]

This made my day - from Alex Gurney's Twitter feed:

http://i45.tinypic.com/w2g221.jpg

[Gnam]

:laugh:

[Mary]

You'll get two distinct opinions, I'm sure. Let me chime in with #1. He was typical late-model Varsha, throwing around horrible puns and obviously pre-planned one-liners. One gem from FP2, not the race, but it typifies the Varsha that is a shell of his former self: "those aren't airport codes you see on your screen, those are driver names! HHHYUCK!!"

We got the typical "turn up the volume!" and a great deal more opinion than you should ever get from a lead (pbp) broadcaster. We don't need three analysts, we need a play by play guy and one or two analysts.


It's my opinion that Varsha's been coasting for a few years now and used to be far better. Is Diffey a world-class broadcast lead? Yeah, probably not, but he is such a welcome relief from Varsha's babbling brook of garbage hidden behind a great baritone voice.

You perfectly described what has bothered me about Varsha in recent years. Sometimes I just want to tape his mouth shut.

Mary

[Mary]

It is way too early in the year for team orders and they need to do something about those tires.

Mary

[JohnHKart]

I ended up watching the race in a bar with no audio volume on the race. How was Varsha?

He was ok. But I have a new pet peeve. Bob, enough of talking about Brasil 2008 every time they show Massa's dad!!!! I think we all remember the look of shock on his face and you don't have to mention it EVERY single fricking race till the end of time!

[WickerBill]

Varsha has LOTS of those hangups. I swear sometimes he thinks they are SportsCenter-like catch phrases.

- Massa's dad
- Turn up the volume
- Before you can race, you must qualify
- Kimi's demeanor (followed by the laugh-at-his-own-joke nonsense)

I'm keeping a notebook next time Diffey is off doing the crapwagons.

[JohnHKart]

Oh and the Varshaism of all time: "Up and down the pitlane."

[Insomniac]

If I were a betting man, I'd say it's because they move faster, and the calculation is based on time, not rolling distance.

That would make sense. I wish I remembered the units they used in pre-race.


Downforce.

From tires?

[Insomniac]

Vettel is a racer of the old school. There was no way he was going to bend over and take that. I think Webber played it stupidly. he would have seen him ranging up behind. Why the hell didn't he turn his engine back up and actually fight? It shows exactly why Webber will NEVER be World Champion. He's not ruthless enough; Vettel showed why he is a multi-time World Champion. Alonso would've done the same as would've Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Stewart, Clarke, Brabham or McLaren...You don't win World Championships by settling for second.

I don't think it's that. I think the problem is team orders. Were any of them ever told to hang back (or let someone by)?

[Rogue Leader]

Vettel showed WAY earlier than the end with that douchey comment over the radio "Hes too slow get him out of my way" meanwhile Webber was WAY ahead AND putting down faster lap times. He just thinks because hes the WDC that he is now #1 when the team has already said they don't play favorites, but Vettel seems to think differently. He knew exactly what he was doing, he was crying like a bitch because the team wasn't gonna hand him the win.

So like the little brat that he is he takes advantage of the fact that Mark has turned down his engine, and doesn't expect an EXCESSIVELY aggressive attack of nearly JPM level from his own teammate who was told to back off.

Mark may have played he company man to Vettel's ruthless Schumacher like win at all costs. But that doesn't change the fact that Vettel was still being a douche, and this race, and this team, etc, is not the same as the past. Its not Schumi having a defined #2 at Ferrari, nor is it at a time when there was no such thing as "turn down your engine" or heck that they even had radios.

Seb may have gotten this one over on Mark, but I guarantee it won't happen again. Mark has only this year left on his contract, nothing to lose, and hes a smart man, he won't do anything stupid, but I'm sure he can make Seb's life pretty miserable. And as many of the season of the past 5 years have shown, that one race where he could get balked or miss a place or two, could decide the championship.

[emjaya]

I don't think it's that. I think the problem is team orders. Were any of them ever told to hang back (or let someone by)?

Well, some teams did, sort of....


Recalling a similar problem he encountered while at Brabham, the team he owned for 16 years from 1971, Ecclestone explained: "I had one driver challenging for the world championship – I'm not going to say who it was – and the other guy that weekend happened to be bloody quick. I said to him, 'Whatever you do, you ought to take it easy and let the other guy pass you'. He said, 'I wouldn't do that'. So I replied, 'Well, you can stand up in the seat of the car and wave him past, so the whole world can see this if you want'. But he insisted, 'I'm not going to do it'. So we just made sure he didn't have enough fuel in the car to finish the race."


http://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/ecclestone-criticises-red-bull-over-tactics-20130326-2gr6p.html

[emjaya]

That would make sense. I wish I remembered the units they used in pre-race.



From tires?

From the 5g's of pressure pushing down on those tyres contact patch.

Having a good tread pattern and deep grooves help, but it is all about the weight is pressing down on the contact patch that makes all that water move.

[Rus'L]

It is way too early in the year for team orders

True.


and they need to do something about those tires.

Why? We're seeing the best wheel to wheel racing in F1 history. Why would you want to change that?

[Rus'L]

Vettel is a racer of the old school. There was no way he was going to bend over and take that. I think Webber played it stupidly. he would have seen him ranging up behind. Why the hell didn't he turn his engine back up and actually fight?.

The problem is, by backing off like the team told him to do, it allowed Vettel to get within the DRS zone. Once that happened, Webber was toast, even if he did change the engine mapping back to full bore.

Had he been allowed to race full tilt, Vetter probably never would have gotten into DRS range.

Though I did not like the team orders, the bottom line is Webber did as his bosses told him to do. Vettel did not. That's as unethical as it gets. It was not a fair fight. Nor was it old school. It was a sucker punch. The type of tactic we abhor on the playground.

[opinionated ow]

True.



Why? We're seeing the best wheel to wheel racing in F1 history. Why would you want to change that?

because it's fake

[Rus'L]

I never thought I'd say this but I actually liked the way Hamilton handled himself on the podium, very gracious and sorry that it wasn't his teammate up there in his place. Clearly Nico was more deserving of the spot.

It is my understanding that Hamilton and Rosberg are friends. So, Hamilton showing empathy towards Rosberg is not surprising.

I can't see Hamilton reacting the same way if that were Button...

[Rus'L]

because it's fake

It's not fake. It's the rules. And the rules are producing this sort of racing.

Hockey started getting boring, too defensive, so they changed the rules to open up scoring by clamping down on obstruction and taking away the two-line offsides rule. Did that make hockey fake?

Sports constantly tweak the rules to encourage excitement and competition.

If you want to go back to snoozefests, there are plenty of DVDs you can buy of Schumacher winning races from start to finish with no cars ever getting within a mile of each other to get your rocks off.

[Mary]

True.



Why? We're seeing the best wheel to wheel racing in F1 history. Why would you want to change that?

I don't but the tires make me uneasy. Last season I wondered if they were safe; I don't worry about that now, but something about this makes me uneasy. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Mary

[cameraman]

In a few weeks they will have the tires sorted and it will be back to whatever changes the factories can come up with moving cars up and down the grid. People need to remember entire seasons where the field was set by lap 4 and nothing changed unless a car broke or a pitstop was screwed up. There were years that were made up of numerous stunningly boring parades.

[Insomniac]

He just thinks because hes the WDC that he is now #1 when the team has already said they don't play favorites, but Vettel seems to think differently.

I don't think there is any question RBR has a #1/#2 driver.

[Insomniac]

From the 5g's of pressure pushing down on those tyres contact patch.

Having a good tread pattern and deep grooves help, but it is all about the weight is pressing down on the contact patch that makes all that water move.

I see, didn't really think about that.

[TravelGal]

In a few weeks they will have the tires sorted and it will be back to whatever changes the factories can come up with moving cars up and down the grid. People need to remember entire seasons where the field was set by lap 4 and nothing changed unless a car broke or a pitstop was screwed up. There were years that were made up of numerous stunningly boring parades.

Those are the years I remember, which is why I've never watched since. I keep up with who is doing what to whom (too bad we don't have the popcorn smilie) but I don't watch. The first race I saw in its entirety was Austin and I quite enjoyed it. This thread is alternately aggravating and intriguing so I guess I'll give it another visual try.

[Indy]

Gal, it's been great since the pointy-chinned, chopping, cheating bastard* retired from FIArrari. I loved it before him and after, so I watched all the way through, but it was indeed frustrating in those years. Give it another look. We have a new German to hate!

* ©TrueBrit

[mapguy]

Gal, it's been great since the pointy-chinned, chopping, cheating bastard* retired from FIArrari. I loved it before him and after, so I watched all the way through, but it was indeed frustrating in those years. Give it another look. We have a new German to hate!

* ©TrueBrit

Sir TrueBrit always adds 'dirty' when referring to Herr Buttmacher.

[Rogue Leader]

I don't think there is any question RBR has a #1/#2 driver.

I don't think so, not based on Christian Horner's and Helmut Marko's reaction to Vettel's win. That said there comes a point in the season where it does become #1/#2 and more often than not that #1 is Vettel, based on results. But its only the second race.

[Rus'L]

I don't but the tires make me uneasy. Last season I wondered if they were safe; I don't worry about that now, but something about this makes me uneasy. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Mary

Perhaps your unease is a concern the tires are designed to hurt/help certain teams, and you consider that unfair?

[Agip27]

Bottom line is this: If Vettel wins title by 7 points or less, then what he did Malaysia was 100% correct. If Alonso loses title by 10 points or less, then he has no one to blame then himself for not pitting (I'm assuming he'd finish at least where Massa did in Malaysia). ;)

[Rogue Leader]

Bottom line is this: If Vettel wins title by 7 points or less, then what he did Malaysia was 100% correct. If Alonso loses title by 10 points or less, then he has no one to blame then himself for not pitting (I'm assuming he'd finish at least where Massa did in Malaysia). ;)

I think thats whats exciting these days. Every season the championship is coming down to the wire, so yes very well this race could have been the championship decider already.

[NismoZ]

Really!? Who won? Sometimes it rains and somebody passes a bunch of cars going into the final turn of the final lap of the final race, AFTER the "champ" and his family are already celebrating!!...I understand what you are saying but, geeez, don't start me thinking Massa has NO chance! I am just a sentiMENTAL old fool who likes comebacks more than il fortune. I don't even care if the car IS red.:)

[Mary]

Perhaps your unease is a concern the tires are designed to hurt/help certain teams, and you consider that unfair?

Maybe, I don't know. It is too exciting, LOL! Perhaps I only need to deprogram myself from all those Shumi dominated years and smell the roses.

Mary

[Insomniac]

Bottom line is this: If Vettel wins title by 7 points or less, then what he did Malaysia was 100% correct. If Alonso loses title by 10 points or less, then he has no one to blame then himself for not pitting (I'm assuming he'd finish at least where Massa did in Malaysia). ;)

I think you can point to so many reasons once the season concludes.

[Rogue Leader]

Really!? Who won? Sometimes it rains and somebody passes a bunch of cars going into the final turn of the final lap of the final race, AFTER the "champ" and his family are already celebrating!!...I understand what you are saying but, geeez, don't start me thinking Massa has NO chance! I am just a sentiMENTAL old fool who likes comebacks more than il fortune. I don't even care if the car IS red.:)

Don't worry Vettel still has plenty of time to karate chop someone into a turn to get himself excluded from the championship and make his transformation into Schumi Jr complete.

[Insomniac]

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