FIA Formula 1 World Championship 2011

[CVT]

from f1sa.com

Rumours Nico Rosberg could be flirting with a switch to the Ferrari Formula One team are gaining strength this week.

A source triggered the speculation by telling the Cologne publication Express that the 26 year old is "thinking about" the famous Italian team.

Mercedes' Rosberg, however, has a contract for 2012, as does Fernando Alonso's Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa.

But Bild newspaper reports that Rosberg "has a clause that allows him an early termination under certain circumstances".

After India, Rosberg openly criticised his race strategy that appeared to have favoured team-mate Michael Schumacher.

At the same time, Express reports that Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo was dismayed with Massa's performance in India, featuring a crash with Lewis Hamilton and two near identical mistakes that damaged his suspension.

"In the week before India, Nico was in Maranello," another source is quoted as revealing. "Ferrari wants to have him."

When asked if he will be at Mercedes next year, Rosberg answered: "I don't want to say anything about it.

"We are having discussions about a long term co-operation."

Might those discussions be with Ferrari as well? Eddie Jordan, a former team boss and now British television pundit, thinks Massa should be worried.

"He needs to be careful because there are many talents out there," he is quoted by Austria's laola1.

"He does have a contract but in Formula One you can never be sure."

14.3K:eathis:

[Monseratto]

A contract in F1 is just toilet paper. Just ask Kimi Raikonen...

[CVT]

NR and FM swapping seats next year?...

14.3K:eathis:

[Ry_Tower]

NR and FM swapping seats next year?...

14.3K:eathis:

Not impossible IMHO. Nico would be better off, FM would be devastated by this if ever considering the crash that he had and the survival/re-emergence.

[niky]

Let's face it. Felipe's run as a competitive driver seems well and truly over.

He was good enough, especially put alongside a disinterested Kimi Raikkonen, to almost capture an F1 title, but he hasn't been the same after the crash, and his recent spats with Hamilton have done nothing to cover up the basic lack of pace he has compared to his older and faster team-mate, Alonso.

Massa has struggled. He's made mistakes. He's gotten into petty spats with Ferrari (over the team-orders) and with Hamilton (his latest bone-headed move earned him a drive-through penalty). There's something not right with Felipe's head... and despite Ferrari being a team that is unwilling to let go of valued employees, now might be the time to find someone fitter, faster and more able to challenge for podiums.

[CVT]

Baka guilty pa rin ang Ferrari na sila ang dahilan kung bakit hindi naging WDC si FM....

Remember:
1. Tumirik ang kotse niya last 2/3(?) laps sa Istanbul, while he is leading the race
2. Palpak ang pitstop system/execution ng Ferrari sa Singapore, kung saan nahila ni FM ang gasoline hose (umilaw na ng berde kahit nakasaksak pa ang hose - walang lollipop man)....

Kung isa man lang dito ay okay ang Ferrari...si FM ang champion at hindi si LH....

14.3K:eathis:

[niky]

Baka guilty pa rin ang Ferrari na sila ang dahilan kung bakit hindi naging WDC si FM....

Remember:
1. Tumirik ang kotse niya last 2/3(?) laps sa Istanbul, while he is leading the race
2. Palpak ang pitstop system/execution ng Ferrari sa Singapore, kung saan nahila ni FM ang gasoline hose (umilaw na ng berde kahit nakasaksak pa ang hose - walang lollipop man)....

Kung isa man lang dito ay okay ang Ferrari...si FM ang champion at hindi si LH....

14.3K:eathis:

Yeah... but Lewis Hamilton also had his fair share of bad luck during the championship runs against Kimi and Felipe... and don't forget, Ferrari's creative use of team orders in both seasons that kept their lead driver ahead in terms of points.

Ferrari may feel bad about Massa's misfortunes... but look at how easily they fired team bosses and technical heads each season that they've lost to McLaren and Red Bull...

[Monseratto]

Ferrari is no longer the top team and is behind Mclaren in performance. It's only FA's driving that placed them in that position. They have only won 1 GP this year compared to 3 last year...

[Ry_Tower]

Ferrari is no longer the top team and is behind Mclaren in performance. It's only FA's driving that placed them in that position. They have only won 1 GP this year compared to 3 last year...

Oo, RBR then Mclaren are the top teams, Ferrari is not yet close to those two teams IMO.

[CVT]

They lost the menu (They lost Rory Byrne...)

14.3K:eathis:

[Monseratto]

Kaya ba ni SB?

Most wins in a season

__Driver_________Season____Wins
1 Michael Schumacher 2004 13
2 Michael Schumacher 2002 11
3 Sebastian Vettel 2011 11*
4 Nigel Mansell 1992 16 9
5 Michael Schumacher 1995 9
6 Michael Schumacher 2000 9
7 Michael Schumacher 2001 9
8 Ayrton Senna 1988 8
9 Michael Schumacher 1994 8
10 Damon Hill 1996 8
11 Mika Häkkinen 1998 8

Most pole positions in a season

Driver Season Poles

1 Nigel Mansell 1992 14
2 Sebastian Vettel 2011 13*

[Ry_Tower]

Yup, I think he can. But will he? Yung Pole tingin ko yakng-yaka pero yung wins baka kasi maging conservative na sila knowing they have the WDC on wraps!

However, if SV is in pole and is never really under threat, he will definitely go for the win.

[CVT]

Ready ready-han na si RB na mag-retire dahil nagpasabi na si KR na interesadong bumalik next year (sa Williams daw).....

14.3K:eathis:

[Ry_Tower]

Ready ready-han na si RB na mag-retire dahil nagpasabi na si KR na interesadong bumalik next year (sa Williams daw).....

14.3K:eathis:

I think Kimi will replace Rubens next year. Rubens is not winning naman eh, so they really won't lose much if Kimi does not win din, but they have everything to gain if he perform well. Kahit hindi great IMO.

[Si 06]

Yup, I think he can. But will he? Yung Pole tingin ko yakng-yaka pero yung wins baka kasi maging conservative na sila knowing they have the WDC on wraps!

However, if SV is in pole and is never really under threat, he will definitely go for the win.

SV's car is in tip top shape compared to the rest. I was at the SG GP and Vettels car sounded different from Button's, Alonso's, Webber's and the rest. Iba humiyaw plus really great driving.

[Monseratto]

Penultimate Race...

Starting grid - 2011 Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix

1. S. VettelRed Bull
2. L. HamiltonMcLaren
3. J. ButtonMcLaren
4. M. WebberRed Bull
5. F. AlonsoFerrari
6. F. MassaFerrari
7. N. RosbergMercedes Grand Prix
8. M. SchumacherMercedes Grand Prix
9. A. SutilForce India F1
10. P. di RestaForce India F1
11. S. PerezSauber
12. V. PetrovLotus Renault
13. S. BuemiScuderia Toro Rosso
14. B. SennaLotus Renault
15. J. AlguersuariScuderia Toro Rosso
16. K. KobayashiSauber
17. H. KovalainenCaterham
18. J. TrulliCaterham
19. T. GlockMarussia
20. D. RicciardoHRT F1 Team
21. J. d'AmbrosioMarussia
22. V. LiuzziHRT F1 Team
23. P. MaldonadoWilliams
24. R. BarrichelloWilliams

[CoDer]

Walastik retired si Vettel dahil sa puncture.

14 pole wins!

[niky]

What I posted elsewhere (was liveblogging it on another forum):

-----

Vettel wins!

Or that's what I'd be saying if Vettel hadn't gotten a puncture in the very first seconds of the very first lap.

Lewis wins. Hamilton vindicated a little bit here. He drove a brilliant race, controlling the pace and keeping Alonso behind him all race long. But let's be honest... he really lucked out, as Vettel had a huge jump on him at the start.

Alonso did everything right, but he simply didn't have the car. He jumped absolutely everyone at the start and pushed hard to stay with Hamilton, but that win got further and further away from him as the laps went on. Second is great for Ferrari. The driver deserved first.

Button rode good strategy, good pace, good tire conservation and luck to third place. Losing KERS put him in a vulnerable position, but the tangle-up between Webber and Massa let him keep third.

Webber lost it on a strange tire strategy. His three-stopper seemed set to punt him back into fifth or sixth, but Rosberg's ultra-long prime tire stint and Massa's brief stint as drift... errh... donut king gave him back the place.

Is fifth great for Massa? Honestly, yes. But how do you have a competitor with no KERS in front of you and gain no advantage from it? Also, inordinately aggressive defense on Webber shows that Hamilton isn't the only person he's willing to lock wings with. Massa's aggressive curb-hopping, camera wrecking, car-spinning performance wasn't convincing... and only the fact that the rest of the pack was much slower than the Ferrari let him keep his place.

Rosberg does his best, and I guess his best wasn't good enough. Sixth is great, though, compared to Schumacher in the second Mercedes. A bit of argy-bargy between team-mates early on resulted in nothing but Schumacher having to race Sutil (8th) for a bit before sewing up seventh place.

Paul Di Resta shows everyone how to do weird pit strategies. A single pit stop to ninth. Up from starting in... eight. Errh...

Kobayashi, who the race directors ignored all night long, does a great job of overtaking his way all the way up to tenth. Helped, also that everyone else around him was getting beaten black and blue with drive-through penalties for ignoring blue flags. A lot of people deserved black ones, in my opinion.

-

Fantastic race in parts... terrible in others. Dual DRS zones created more chaos than action. Sad about Vettel's DNF. I really wanted to see a good RBR-McLaren scrap.

Maybe next race.

[CVT]

Oh well,- can't win them all...

14.4K:out:

[Ry_Tower]

Walastik retired si Vettel dahil sa puncture.

14 pole wins!

At least he is now tied with Nigel for most pole position in a season.