Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

2012 FORMULA 1 KOREAN GRAND PRIX
practice1
1 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:39.148 23
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:39.450 0.302 21
3 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:39.575 0.427 21
4 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:39.854 0.706 23
5 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:40.088 0.940 21
6 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:40.221 1.073 21
7 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:40.396 1.248 24
8 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:40.422 1.274 22
9 11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:40.440 1.292 19
10 3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:40.480 1.332 21
11 9 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 1:40.929 1.781 14
12 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:41.048 1.900 25
13 12 Jules Bianchi Force India-Mercedes 1:41.140 1.992 21
14 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:41.220 2.072 19
15 15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:41.514 2.366 20
16 16 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:41.596 2.448 23
17 17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:42.021 2.873 25
18 19 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1:42.027 2.879 23
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1:42.104 2.956 24
20 24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1:42.175 3.027 13
21 25 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1:42.706 3.558 22
22 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1:42.820 3.672 19
23 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1:44.517 5.369 23
24 23 Dani Clos HRT-Cosworth 1:45.735 6.587 22

South Korean Grand Prix – Yeongam circuit – 3° edition
This circuit features different distinct sections. Firstly there are three straights connected by tight curves. In sector one, you need a very good top speed and good traction because there are big breaking zones at the end of the straights one of which, (the second) is 1.2 kilometer long. These are followed by a series of twisting bends. Turns 7 and 8 are fast and then in third section (the last part of the lap) there are slow and medium turns with the track that runs close to the barriers on both sides; so the aerodynamic set-up is compromise between the differing needs of each sector. The lap runs anticlockwise, with the pitlane on the outside of the circuit along the seafront. Yeongam circuit has been designed by celebrated architect Hermann Tilke, but honestly, I do not like this track. The reason: three consecutive straights that begin and end with slow corners and the last two sectors are busy of not interesting bends. In my opinion only Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi) and Bahrain circuit are worse than Yeongam. In the last race at Suzuka, the Red Bull has experimented a passive 'double-DRS' device. This new system helped the RB8 in qualifying when the rear wing is open. In this way the Red Bull gains in top speed. In this season all the cars are slower than last year, but in the japanese Grand Prix, the gap between the pole position 2011 (1.30.466) and 2012 (1.30.839) was only +0.373 sec. while in the other races of this season, the gap has always been higher. At Suzuka, Vettel never used DRS in the race but was still very fast, perhaps due to a new exhaust layout regulation. Sunday his best lap was 1.35.774 almost nine tenths less than Button and Kobayashi, while the best lap for Massa was 1.36.894 with the same strategy. We'll see what happens in Korea. Tyre compounds Soft yellow (prime) and supersoft red(option) as at Monaco, Montreal and Singapore. The DRS zone on the main straight.
Podium 2011: Vettel – Hamilton – Webber. fastest lap on race: Vettel – pole position : Hamilton 1'35''820
Podium 2010: Alonso – Hamilton – Massa. fastest lap on race: Alonso – pole position : Vettel 1'35''585
The statistic of this season after 15 races
wins: Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton (3)Webber and Button (2), Rosberg, , Maldonado (1)
second place: Raikkonen and Button (3); Alonso, Vettel and Perez (2), Rosberg, Grosjean and Massa(1)
third place: Raikkonen Alonso and Hamilton(3) Grosjean (2), Vettel, Schumacher, Perez and Kobayashi (1)
pole: Hamilton(5) Vettel (4); Alonso (2), Rosberg, Maldonado, Webber and Button (1)
fastest lap: Vettel(4); Raikkonen and Rosberg (2), Button, Kobayashi, Grosjean, Perez, Schumacher Senna and Hulkenberg(1)

Reminder :

Friday :
1st practice session : 03:00 - 04:30 CET
2nd practice session : 07:00 - 08:30 CET
Saturday :
3rd practice session : 04:00 - 05:00 CET
Qualifying : 07.00 CET
Sunday :
Race : 08.00 CET

Short News :

Kaltenborn to take over as Sauber team principal per direct :
Peter Sauber will step down as team principal of his outfit, the team have confirmed.
The team’s CEO Monisha Kaltenborn will take over from Sauber, who turns 69 on Saturday. Sauber has previously said he wished to relinquish his duties before turning 70.
“We decided a long time ago that Monisha would take over from me but we left the timing open,” said Sauber.
“Now is a good time for both of us, so this is the right moment to pass on the baton. After all, there have been a number of races I’ve been unable to attend – most recently the Japanese Grand Prix, where the team put in an excellent performance.
“I’m in no doubt that Monisha has all the necessary skills to be an outstanding team principal, and I’m equally certain she will ensure that the values underpinning the company live on. That is very important to me.”
Kaltenborn joined Sauber in 2000 and has been the team’s CEO since 2010. She said: “Naturally I’m very aware of the major responsibility I have for Peter Sauber’s racing team.
“He founded the team over 40 years ago, and in the spring it will be 20 years since Sauber lined up for its debut Formula One Grand Prix. We are the fourth-oldest team in Formula One.
“To build up a project like this and keep it alive in a difficult environment is a tremendous achievement. I have set my sights high and am committed to taking the team forward as Peter Sauber would want and leading it on to success.”


Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

[Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]

2012 FORMULA 1 KOREAN GRAND PRIX
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Fri 12 October 2012
Practice 1 03:00 - 04:30
Practice 2 07:00 - 08:30
Sat 13 October 2012
Practice 3 04:00 - 05:00
Qualifying 07:00
Sun 14 October 2012
Race 08:00

constructors world standings
1 Red Bull Racing-Renault 324
2 McLaren-Mercedes 283
3 Ferrari 263
4 Lotus-Renault 239
5 Mercedes 136
6 Sauber-Ferrari 116
7 Force India-Mercedes 81
8 Williams-Renault 58
9 STR-Ferrari 15
10 Marussia-Cosworth 0
11 Caterham-Renault 0
12 HRT-Cosworth 0

f1 drivers standings
1 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 194
2 Sebastian Vettel German Red Bull Racing-Renault 190
3 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish Lotus-Renault 157
4 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 152
5 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull Racing-Renault 134
6 Jenson Button British McLaren-Mercedes 131
7 Nico Rosberg German Mercedes 93
8 Romain Grosjean French Lotus-Renault 82
9 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 69
10 Sergio Perez Mexican Sauber-Ferrari 66
11 Kamui Kobayashi Japanese Sauber-Ferrari 50
12 Paul di Resta British Force India-Mercedes 44
13 Michael Schumacher German Mercedes 43
14 Nico Hulkenberg German Force India-Mercedes 37
15 Pastor Maldonado Venezuelan Williams-Renault 33
16 Bruno Senna Brazilian Williams-Renault 25
17 Jean-Eric Vergne French STR-Ferrari 8
18 Daniel Ricciardo Australian STR-Ferrari 7
19 Timo Glock German Marussia-Cosworth 0
20 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Caterham-Renault 0
21 Vitaly Petrov Russian Caterham-Renault 0
22 Jerome D'Ambrosio Belgian Lotus-Renault 0
23 Charles Pic French Marussia-Cosworth 0
24 Narain Karthikeyan Indian HRT-Cosworth 0
25 Pedro de la Rosa Spanish HRT-Cosworth 0

The result of the GP of Japan :

1. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing : 1:35.774
2. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : + 20.639
3. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber : + 24.538
4. Jenson Button : McLaren : + 25.098
5. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren : + 46.490
6. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus : + 50.424
7. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India : + 51.159
8. Pastor Maldonado : Williams : + 52.364
9. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing : + 54.675
10. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso : + 1:06.919
11. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP : + 1:07.769
12. Paul di Resta : Force India : + 1:23.400
13. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso : + 1:28.600
14. Bruno Senna : Williams : + 1:28.700
15. Heikki Kovalainen :Caterham : + 1 lap
16. Timo Glock : Marussia F1 Team : + 1 lap
17. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham + 1 lap
18. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT F1 Team + 1 lap
Did Not Finish :
19. Romain Grosjean : Lotus
20. Charles Pic : Marussia F1 Team
21. Narain Karthikeyan : HRT F1 Team
22. Sergio Perez : Sauber
23. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari
24. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP

Fastest Lap : Sebastian Vettel 1:35.774
Pitstop Grosjean : DNF
D.S.L : 14

Comment of the race :
Sebastian Vettel demolished Fernando Alonso's Formula 1 world championship lead by dominating the Japanese Grand Prix as the points leader retired in a first-lap crash. The reigning champion is now just four points behind with five races to go, and has momentum on his side after back to back victories.
Felipe Massa came through from 10th on the grid to second for his first podium finish in nearly two years.
But for the home crowd everything was insignificant compared to Kamui Kobayashi fending off Jenson Button for his maiden F1 podium in third place, as he equalled the best ever finish for a Japanese driver.
Vettel's third Suzuka victory in four starts at the venue came easily as several likely challengers were eliminated in a chaotic first lap. The carnage began when Alonso's Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus banged wheels on the run to the first corner. That caused damage to the Ferrari and left it spinning into the sand trap.
Kobayashi had thrust his Sauber between the Red Bulls off the line, and things then got much worse for Mark Webber when Romain Grosjean slid into him at the second corner. The Lotus driver picked up front wing damage and a 10-second stop/go penalty, while Webber was spun to the back and needed a pitstop for checks.
As the chain reaction unfolded behind, Nico Rosberg's Mercedes was taken out in a clash with Bruno Senna's Williams. Once the resultant safety car had come in, Vettel was free to dominate, leading by as much as 20s on his way to a third victory of 2012. Kobayashi held second until the first pitstops, when both he and the chasing Button were leapfrogged by Massa. Like Button, the Ferrari driver had gained a lot of ground in the first-corner shambles, and once ahead of the McLaren and Sauber, Massa was quick enough to pull away.
Button tried his utmost to similarly demote Kobayashi, but a slightly slow final pitstop did not help and the local hero to keep last year's Suzuka winner at bay. Lewis Hamilton had a quiet start to the race in the second McLaren before coming through to fifth. He fell victim to a superb dive-bomb pass from McLaren replacement Sergio Perez in the first stint - the Sauber having dropped behind in a failed outside-line bid to pass Raikkonen at the first corner. Hamilton then got back ahead of Perez at the first pitstops, and as he tried to retaliate down the outside at the hairpin, Perez ran wide and spun into retirement. The McLaren then jumped Raikkonen for fifth at the second stops - emerging alongside the Lotus and muscling it aside at the second turn despite Raikkonen seeming to have the momentum. Nico Hulkenberg's Force India chased Raikkonen home in seventh while resisting pressure from Pastor Maldonado's Williams. Webber recovered to ninth, pitting just once more after his lap-one stop. Daniel Ricciardo made it two Australians in the points as Toro Rosso's mini-resurgence continued. Ricciardo resisted pressure from Michael Schumacher to the finish, preventing Mercedes from scoring this weekend. The lap one mess gave Caterham a sniff of an opportunity as Heikki Kovalainen emerged in 11th. He could not stay ahead of the recovering frontrunners though.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Awful start and a beautiful finish ! Kamui has justified hopes of their fans ! Left 5 races ! And I'd be afraid to
call the winner ! By far the most interesting League !

both Red Bull on pole position! Kamui Kobayashi - at home and native walls help! In General, the legendary route! In the past years, decided the fate of a champion's title!

Jose Carlos Pace
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Born : 6th October 1944 - Died : 18th March 1977

Latest update !

Sebastian Vettel will not be penalized for obstructing Fernando Alonso , Vettel will start tomorrow on pole in the Grand Prix of Japan.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News update !

Jean-Eric Vergne will be put 3 places back on the grid because at the end of Q1 he held up Bruna Senna who was on his fasted lap .
Meanwhile there is also an investigation into Vettel who have hindered/held up Alonso ,and also Hamilton would have done the same with Schumacher.
More news about this will follow as soon they have looked into it !

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Here is the result of the qualifying :

1.Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing : 1:30.839 -
2. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing : 1:31.090 + 0.251
3. Jenson Button : McLaren : 1:31.290 + 0.451
4. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber : 1:31.700 + 0.861
5. Romain Grosjean : Lotus : 1:31.898 + 1.059
6. Sergio Perez : Sauber : 1:32.022 + 1.183
7. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari : 1:32.114 + 1.275
8. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus : 1:32.208 + 1.369
9. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren : 1:32.327 + 1.488
10. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India : no time -

Q2
11. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 1:32.293 + 1.454
12. Paul di Resta : Force India : 1:32.327 + 1.488
13. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP : 1:32.469 + 1.630
14. Pastor Maldonado : Williams : 1:32.512 + 1.673
15. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP : 1:32.625 + 1.786
16. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso : 1:32.954 + 2.115
17. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso : 1:33.368 + 2.529

Q1
18. Bruno Senna : Williams : 1:33.405 -
19. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham : 1:34.657 + 3.818
20. Timo Glock : Marussia F1 Team : 1:35.213 + 4.374
21. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT F1 Team : 1:35.385 + 4.546
22. Charles Pic : Marussia F1 Team : 1:35.429 + 4.590
23. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham : 1:35.432 + 4.593
24. Narain Karthikeyan : HRT F1 Team : 1:36.734 + 5.895

Rain : no

Comment of qualifying :
Sebastian Vettel took pole position at Suzuka for the fourth straight year with a commanding performance in Japanese Grand Prix qualifying. The world champion led the way in Q2, then set a 1m30.839s early in Q3.
Vettel was set to improve further before Kimi Raikkonen spun his Lotus into the Spoon gravel, causing a middle sector yellow flag when all the top 10 were trying to improve.
Mark Webber completed Red Bull's first front row sweep of 2012, 0.2 seconds down on his team-mate.
Home hero Kamui Kobayashi will start third. He was fourth fastest for Sauber, but will gain a place when third-placed Jenson Button is given his gearbox change penalty.
Both Button's McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton and world championship leader Fernando Alonso appeared to be stymied by the Raikkonen yellow. Alonso's Ferrari was only seventh, ahead of Raikkonen and Hamilton.
Ferrari was already struggling for pace in Japan, with Felipe Massa unable to do better than 11th.
Romain Grosjean was fifth for Lotus, with Sergio Perez underlining Sauber's pace in sixth.
Nico Hulkenberg edged out Force India team-mate Paul di Resta by less than a tenth to make it into Q3, where he took 10th. But the German has also received a gearbox-change penalty.
Mercedes had been centre of attention in the week but its on-track performance was an anti-climax after Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement.
The seven-time champion waited until the final seconds of Q1 to set a time and only just scraped through in 16th, before taking 13th in Q2, two places ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg.
It was another miserable qualifying session for Bruno Senna. He got trapped behind Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso at the chicane on his last Q1 lap - prompting angry gesticulations and a slow time.
When Schumacher delivered his last-gap lap, Senna was pushed down to 18th, just behind Vergne.
Pastor Maldonado could not do much to raise Williams team spirits this time, only managing 14th.
The tail-end pack started with Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham and finished with Narain Karthikeyan's HRT as usual, but things were shaken up in between, with Timo Glock and Pedro de la Rosa ahead of Charles Pic and Vitaly Petrov.


Ps : Schumacher 23th place after his 10 place penalty , Button 8th place after 5 place penalty ,Hulkenberg 15th place after 5 place penalty !!!

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Here are the results of the 3rd practice session :

1. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull-Renault : 1m32.136
2. Mark Webber : Red Bull-Renault : 1m32.371s + 0.235
3. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 1m32.824s + 0.688
4. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes : 1m32.918s + 0.782
5. Sergio Perez : Sauber-Ferrari : 1m32.920s + 0.784
6. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber-Ferrari : 1m32.924s + 0.788
7. Romain Grosjean : Lotus-Renault : 1m33.008s + 0.872
8. Jenson Button : McLaren-Mercedes : 1m33.025s + 0.889
9. Paul di Resta : Force India-Mercedes : 1m33.094s + 0.958
10. Pastor Maldonado : Williams-Renault : 1m33.160s + 1.024
11. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari : 1m33.184s + 1.048
12. Kimi Raikkonen : Lotus-Renault : 1m33.224s + 1.088
13. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren-Mercedes : 1m33.56$s + 1.433
14. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso-Ferrari : 1m33.722s + 1.586
15. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes : 1m33.899s + 1.763
16. Bruno Senna : Williams-Renault : 1m33.984s + 1.848
17. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso-Ferrari : 1m34.023s + 1.887
18. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India-Mercedes : 1m34.369s + 2.233
19. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham-Renault : 1m35.568s + 3.432
20. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham-Renault : 1m36.355s + 4.219
21. Timo Glock : Marussia-Cosworth : 1m36.389s + 4.253
22. Charles Pic : Marussia-Cosworth : 1m36.517s + 4.381
23. Narain Karthikeyan : HRT-Cosworth : 1m36.649s + 4.513
24. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT-Cosworth : 1m36.875s + 4.739

Comment of the 3rd session :
Sebastian Vettel went quickest in final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix as he set the scene perfectly to try to secure his fourth consecutive pole position at Suzuka. The German, a two-time winner in Japan, moved to the top of the times in the dying seconds, outpacing team-mate Mark Webber to secure a Red Bull one-two ahead of qualifying. Ferrari's Felipe Massa was third quickest, albeit over half a second off Vettel's pace, with Michael Schumacher fourth in the Mercedes and Sergio Perez fifth in the Sauber ahead of team-mate Kamui Kobayashi. The McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton wound up eighth and 13th respectively, but both men were hindered by traffic on their final flying laps. Championship leader Fernando Alonso was 11th fastest. The day welcomed the drivers with a clear sky and high temperatures, the circuit reaching 36 degrees Celsius ahead of the start of the 60 minutes. Nico Rosberg set the early benchmark seven minutes into the session with a lap of 1m43.4s, the German posting the first proper laptime on his next round with a 1m35.1s.
Team-mate Schumacher was the next man to complete a full lap, going quicker than Rosberg by nearly a second to take the top spot 10 minutes in. Schumacher's time remained unbeaten for some 10 minutes before Pastor Maldonado became the first driver to lap in the 1m33s 20 minutes into the session.
Button moved to the top of the times just a minute after that in the McLaren, posting a 1m33.6s, but his time was bettered by 0.052 seconds an instant later by his team-mate Hamilton, despite the Briton locking up his front left tyre at the hairpin. Hamilton stayed on top until Vettel completed his first flying lap, the Red Bull driver going quickest by over three tenths of a second when the session was about to reach the halfway point.
Nico Hulkenberg's day came to an early finish with 20 minutes to go after the German lost the rear of his car at the second Degner curve, crashing into the barriers and damaging the front wing and the front left corner.
It was the second accident for Force India this weekend after team-mate Paul di Resta damaged his car on Friday afternoon. After the track was cleared, Schumacher was the first driver to try the soft Pirelli tyres to move into first place with 15 minutes left. Vettel improved his time moments later despite running on used, harder rubber, although it was not enough to relegate his compatriot.
Kimi Raikkonen, who had a troubled practice on Friday, seemed to have problems again this morning, the Finn not posting a time until the 45-minute mark as he struggled with his car's handling. He finished down in 12th.
With six minutes left, Button kicked off the final rush to try the softer rubber, the McLaren driver having to abort his first lap after finding a slow Schumacher at the 130R corner.
Hamilton was also unable to complete a proper flyer after a big scare when the Briton found Marussia's Charles Pic cruising ahead of the final chicane as he came flying out of 130R.
Webber did finish his lap a minute later to move into first with a lap of 1m32.371s, as Vettel went second quickest, also using the soft tyres, the German finding traffic on his lap.
Vettel went for another lap and outpaced his team-mate by 0.235s to secure the fastest time as the chequered flag dropped. Apart from Hulkenberg, the man in the most trouble was HRT's Narain Karthikeyan, who damaged his car's new floor when going off track. He missed part of the session as the team worked on it.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Ps : Schumachers get's a 10 place grid penalty because of last race , Button get's a 5 place grid penalty for changing gearbox