The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix Thread

[JayVee]

Not sure what people are trying comparing Alonso and Webber.

Overall IMHO Alonso is the best driver out there, admittedly in the wet Vettel in the Red Bull did look better but he wasn't driving the Renault was he ? The other guy driving the Renault was Piquet and we saw him!
And lets not get too carried away with Vettel, he isn't faultless and crashed out in Malaysia so lets not ignore that.

Even though Alonso was low fuelled (not by that much though), he put that Renault in 2nd. No one expected that and no other driver could have done that.

Renault will not allow Red Bull to be quicker and with Alonso they will make up for the car deficit. I now expect the Red Bull and the Renault to fight for wins.
I just hope they can have a driver that can push Alonso

And I agree with F1greyhound that Rosberg is being treated unfairly. Remember that he is driving a Williams.

As for the weakest drivers this year, I agree Piquet is but even weaker is Bourdais - which I hate to say may not last a few more races.
None of them are slow though, they are just the slowest of that elite group!!

[Julian Mayo]

Not sure what people are trying comparing Alonso and Webber.

Overall IMHO Alonso is the best driver out there, admittedly in the wet Vettel in the Red Bull did look better but he wasn't driving the Renault was he ? The other guy driving the Renault was Piquet and we saw him!
And lets not get too carried away with Vettel, he isn't faultless and crashed out in Malaysia so lets not ignore that.

Even though Alonso was low fuelled (not by that much though), he put that Renault in 2nd. No one expected that and no other driver could have done that.

Renault will not allow Red Bull to be quicker and with Alonso they will make up for the car deficit. I now expect the Red Bull and the Renault to fight for wins.
I just hope they can have a driver that can push Alonso

And I agree with F1greyhound that Rosberg is being treated unfairly. Remember that he is driving a Williams.

As for the weakest drivers this year, I agree Piquet is but even weaker is Bourdais - which I hate to say may not last a few more races.
None of them are slow though, they are just the slowest of that elite group!!

Whilst Bourdais is a very good driver, I don't think he will cut it in F1.
Inhis defence last weekend tho, I have had the misfortune of driving in humid wet weather with glasses behind a visor. It ain't pretty.( Thank Gawd for laser surgery )
I think Roberg has had enough chances to prove himself............but who knows who would do better in that car?
Vettels qualifying runs were a bit special, and he was very very good in the race, however being in front with maximum visibilty he was able to be gentle with the throttle, and conserve fuel, which changed the RedBull pitstop strategy to MW's disadvantage. MW's overtaking move around the outside in 5th gear was also a bit special,a altho, as he said if he hadn't stuffed it, and let Button by again, it would not have been necessary.
Interestingly, the team principals of RedBull reckoned that Vettel was half a second better than Vettel. They now say that since MW has adopted Vettel's set-up there is nothing in it. MW certainly seems to be enjoying himself, it will be interesting to see how he goes when his shoulder and leg are fully recovered from the breaks.

[GhoGho]

Not sure what people are trying comparing Alonso and Webber.

Me either, MW is good but FA is better

Overall IMHO Alonso is the best driver out there, admittedly in the wet Vettel in the Red Bull did look better but he wasn't driving the Renault was he ? The other guy driving the Renault was Piquet and we saw him!
And lets not get too carried away with Vettel, he isn't faultless and crashed out in Malaysia so lets not ignore that.

Yes, FA is probably the best driver out there, and yes Vettel did look better in the wet in a non DD car (double diffuser). And against a recognised wet weather master like FA thats impressive!
The other guy (NP) did not have the benefit of DD car, and he was 42.5 kg heavier than FA at the start, so comparing them is not exactly fair, however to be honest, I am not sure it would have made any difference

Even though Alonso was low fuelled (not by that much though), he put that Renault in 2nd. No one expected that and no other driver could have done that.

A great effort from FA yes, but
7kg lighter than SV
9.5 kg lighter than MW
22.5 kg lighter than JB
Hmmm, I think quite a few drivers could have hoisted themselves up the grid with that little weight.

Renault will not allow Red Bull to be quicker and with Alonso they will make up for the car deficit. I now expect the Red Bull and the Renault to fight for wins.
I just hope they can have a driver that can push Alonso

I dont think Renault have that much say at Red Bull

As for the weakest drivers this year, I agree Piquet is but even weaker is Bourdais - which I hate to say may not last a few more races.
None of them are slow though, they are just the slowest of that elite group!!

Have to agree with you on this one

[JayVee]

Meant to reply earlier but never got a chance

Alonso's fuel load was 2 or 3 laps lighter than the Red Bulls. To me that isn't much. I'd say only Trulli would have managed something similar in a car that wasn't making Q1 (or even Q2 in the hands of Piquet).
As I understood it, Alonso had a new diffuser fitted on Saturday and only tried it for a few laps before they had problems. That makes it more impressive

As for Renault having a say at Red Bull, I totally agree with you, and that isn't what I meant. I meant that Renault will work very hard to make sure that they beat Red Bull. Even then with Piquet I see them unlikely to beat them on points.

[F1greyhound]

French SEB is arguably a bit unlucky and should improve QFG and results but he certainly doesnt lack race pace(+1sec faster than Swiss SEB..).

Fastest laps Chinese GP:

1.BARRICHELLO 1:52,592
2.VETTEL 1:52,627
3.GLOCK 1:52,703
4.WEBBER 1:52,980
5.BOURDAIS 1:53,474
6.BUTTON 1:53,546
7.HEIDFELD 1:54,158
8.ROSBERG 1:54,243
9.ALONSO 1:54,481
10.KOVALAINEN 1:54,516
11.BUEMI 1:54,590
12.HAMILTON 1:54,665
13.SUTIL 1:54,777
14.KUBICA 1:55,350
15.RAIKKONEN 1:55,396
.
.
.

Interestingly, of the 5 German drivers the slowest was SUTIL with the 13th fastest lap...

Re.FERNANDO, yes he is excellent - but no, not superior to some others, at the moment we have a bunch of outstanding drivers and no domination of AYRTON or MICHAEL proportions.

[GhoGho]

Meant to reply earlier but never got a chance

Alonso's fuel load was 2 or 3 laps lighter than the Red Bulls. To me that isn't much. I'd say only Trulli would have managed something similar in a car that wasn't making Q1 (or even Q2 in the hands of Piquet).
As I understood it, Alonso had a new diffuser fitted on Saturday and only tried it for a few laps before they had problems. That makes it more impressive

As for Renault having a say at Red Bull, I totally agree with you, and that isn't what I meant. I meant that Renault will work very hard to make sure that they beat Red Bull. Even then with Piquet I see them unlikely to beat them on points.

Just adding some perspective. and maybe stirring the pot a little

[F1greyhound]

RENAULT is once more out of the title race. Considering the package:

FERNANDO to beat German SEB - on merit, no chance..

FERNANDO to beat MARK - hard, maybe in 1 of 2 or 3 races..

NELSINHO to beat any REDBULL - very close to zero chance..

Constructors REDBULL approx.120pts, RENAULT max.50pts.

Anyway, good luck!