Next year is going to be excellent.
For a change I agree with you Elfinsafety nice summary, a shame for webber, i doubt he will be so close again and all the others, with perhaps the exception of button will get another chance.
Saucer of milk for DC!
Alonso was told exactly what to say at the press conference - he has to be "seen" to be a good sport when after all the goings on at Renault and their cheating ways and all the crap at Mclaren when he found out he had a driver in the next pit to him that was capable of beating him and did! There's no doubting Alonso has talent - that's never been disputed - but he's a very sore loser and his tantrum on the closing down lap showed that - just as Shoemaker did with Coulthard all those years ago and Schuey said him and david were good mates after - yeah right!
I'm very pleased to see Vettel win as he's got such a great attitude to the sport.
One thing I really hope to see next season is Renault with a good car. Kubica is one of the best drivers on the grid but just hasn't had the wheels to compete. Would be interesting to see if Schumi can compete also.
Renault = Lotus next year.
Good win for Vettel, the Alsonso hating on here always leaves a bad taste. Good season all round.
movable wings and KERS next year!
Anyone but cheating Ferrari is good for me.
While Redbull are all in the pub I might nip up the road to MK and get a few souvenirs for ebay 😉
Mercedes and meclaren will have the best kers system in place, ferrari and renault will have the second best, this is where red bull will really suffer *
*based on last year
I don't think mac will be sharing their kers tech with merc next year.
the Alsonso hating on here always leaves a bad taste.
Hopefully I've flushed them all out, they've had their little bitchy whine, and they've lost their mess now. 😀
What does need to change, as is said every season, is WE WANT TO SEE MORE OVERTAKING!!! Hopefully next year's regs will restrict how much cars can spoil the air for those behind. Speshly on tracks like today's; cars can get right up behind, but lose all their downforce in corners, so just can't make the advantage work. More overtaking = more exciting racing. TBH, too many races are won and lost in the pits, still.
Looks like the budget cap will tighten things up; racing should be more about the driver than the car imo. Fernando has shown how a great driver can still be competitive in a weaker car. As has Kubica, Rosberg and even Kobayashi!
Oh, were some ickle boys playing with their broom-brooms again?
Awesome...
Elfinsafety, don't want alonso to win again though
TheFunkyMonkey - when mercedes set up their own team, they probably took someone in the know with them
caption comp anyone?
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Well Red Bull team should be happy now as their favourite son won the championship instead of Mark Webber.
Both Webber and Alonso stuff their races with ill timing pit stops, the race was over at that point, aleast it was a clean and fair race, if Schumacher was in the hunt, you can expect some dirty tricks from him like he did in the past, Adelaide'94 and Jerez'97.
Roll on next year 🙂
5 big tits in a row...
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Caption...
Alonso boobs in race!
Spot the t!t
Will Hamilton have a full American accent next season? 😀
Just hearing him speak now; from when he started to now, there's been a significant change in his accent. I know he had an American GF for a while, but he lives in Switzerland, races for a British team, and must work alongside mainly British folk, surely? What's with the American accent??
Poll
Do we think Elf is having his Humble Pie with cream or custard........ 😆
I don't think he even knows what that is
Dunno what yer on about mate; have a read of my posts early on in this thread. i'm well chuffed for Vettel, happy that Alonso and Webber fought so hard, and that it's been a proper exciting season right down to the last race.
I've not allowed some stupid jingoistic prejudice to sour my enjoyment of the sport, unlike others.
Think the Humble Pie's yours, sunshine. 😉
Elf - try reading his twitter posts. Even the name...
[i]I've not allowed some stupid jingoistic prejudice to sour my enjoyment of the sport, unlike others. [/i]
+1
Alonso's a bloody good driver, deserves his place in F1 and it would be a poorer sport without him there.
There's nothing wrong with Elfin, he's going bed tonight and cuddle up with his Alonso cabbage patch doll 😉
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/p>
Phil and Grant Mitchell tried in vain to escape from underneath their blond captor's vest...
disappointing 27th in the STW fantasy league for me. Loads of people on here need to grow up.
I don't believe Alonso's gestures to Petrov were anything more than to question why he didn't behave more like a Renault No.2 & deliberately put it in the wall to help him out.
🙂 @ uplink
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/p>
Wahaaaaaaaay! You've only got to mention my name and the t1ts come out. 😆
Heh! 😆
Nice one, Don; nice one! 😉
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Spot the virgin.
anyone wanting to see overtaking would be better off standing on a motorway flyover,
F1 isn't about overtaking it's about engineering a car that will go round a track at 19000rpm for 2 hrs
without sh1tting itself, its all about pushing the boundaries, technical brilliance, risk taking and strategy,
i feel more people will be disappointed next year if they think the teams will be designing cars for overtaking,
as they said on the beeb, this year was the best year for F1 in history, a close second to the last season in my book,
but then i do come from Milton keynes 😀
Wow that was insanely dull. The cars are so fundamentally flawed these days. A car with a two time WDC who was third on the grid couldn't get past a guy who was 10th on the grid. It's just crap isn't it? Roll on Moto GP.
i used to dislike vetel.. now , after his excellent qually and drive today, combined with his emotion, i quite like him.... a deserving team win imo.
Yet you still watched.......
Roll on Moto GP.
well let's hope next year isn't as dull as it's been recently
F1 has really trumped it this year
Anyway, pleased for Vettel
Although, I'd have rather seen a good Sunday racer win it over a good Saturday one, given the choice
Maybe next year's rules will help this a bit.
Racing hasn't been as exiting as it perhaps could have been, but this years rules have given a really close finish to the year. I've loved it!
I've had faith in Red Bull all year. Put money on Vettel to win and Webber each way back in February when the odds were great, I'm a happy bunny!
15/1 on Massa for 2011 Championship, I fancy him to make a bit of a comeback! Can't forget he missed GP's this year with his accident.
Can't forget he missed GP's this year with his accident.
No he didn't
Oh yeh, silly me. I'm a year behind 🙂
Still think he will make a comeback.
Still think he will make a comeback.
Not while the Teflon kid is his team-mate he won't
Wow that was insanely dull. The cars are so fundamentally flawed these days. A car with a two time WDC who was third on the grid couldn't get past a guy who was 10th on the grid. It's just crap isn't it? Roll on Moto GP.
To be fair - in qualifying Petrov was 1.2 seconds slower than Alonso, that is pretty close if you are trying to overtake that slightly slower person...
To be fair - in qualifying Petrov was 1.2 seconds slower than Alonso, that is pretty close if you are trying to overtake that slightly slower person...
Alonso's fastest race lap was only a 1/10th quicker than Petrov's
Which was about a second slower than the fastest lap of the race
I think it's all very flattering for Petrov, a higher top speed allowed him to cane it down the straights leaving Alonso for dead, then crawling around the bends which are difficult to pass in. It was said that Abu Dhabi is a dificult circuit for passing. Why is this? Circuit design? Car design? Crap drivers?
I think it's all very flattering for Petrov
oh, I dunno - Petrov's fastest lap was 1/2 a second faster than Massa's for example
I think he was genuinely quick today
Weber was a big disappointment for me today, I didn't see him have a go at Alonso once, just sat behind and dutifully accepted his fate. Seems the pressure really got to him since his crash in Korea.
The crash where he deliberately steered back across the track in a vain attempt to take out one of his rivals
Here be my ten pence....happy with the result really...Alonso's jesture to Petrov at the end sums him up for me...did he really think he would just move aside? Er ..no. Good driver but really a bit of a ****t. I'm no hater, just seems to be the case...his post race piece was contrived to say the least. My prediction this time was good. The man who thought he had it in the bag...didn't.
Well done Vettel...made a few errors along the way, some of them rather huge! But came through. ~Fair play.
Next year can't come fast enough...gonna be very good if this year is anything to go by 😉
I've got nothing against Alonso - I'm happy Ferrari didn't win though!
The crash where he deliberately steered back across the track in a vain attempt to take out one of his rivals
Of course he did. He teally wanted to be T-boned at 150 mph by 700 kgs of metal and carbon 🙄
Does anyone know what the title/artist of the song is that they used during the end credits?
Although I have always been a Webber supporter, and indeed had money (at good odds!) on him for WDC, I do think Vettel thoroughly deserved the title. I was quite certain just three races ago that it would be SV that would crack and make more mistakes (I still think he is prone to errors) in fact it was MW that couldn't quite step up when it really counted.
Vettel had stunning pace throughout the last few events, plus he kept a clean sheet, as it were - basically he just did what a Champion is supposed to do.
I think Alonso's season was very good too - he really does seem to be straight at home at Ferrari and I'm sure he'll be winning more Championships in the coming few years.
Lewis and Jenson might be a lot closer next year, once JB gets the car developed to his style. Schumacher has improved hugely in the last couple of months - probably enough to keep him in the sport for another year. Rosberg is a massive talent too though. Then there's Kubica - it could easily be possible for Renault to get the new regulations just-right. No reason that we won't be up for another classic season.
Alonso's jesture to Petrov at the end sums him up for me...did he really think he would just move aside? Er ..no.
Yes that was a very poor show by Alonso... think it sums him up...
Knob
next year with driver adjustable rear wing to reduce downforce on straights, plus KERS should liven things up.. (a bit)
but unless aero become less important in F1 (and for that matter feeder formula) it will always be a procession.
I was quite certain just three races ago that it would be SV that would crack and make more mistakes (I still think he is prone to errors) in fact it was MW that couldn't quite step up when it really counted.
Was Vettel put under any real pressure yesterday? Both Alonso and Webber stuck behind Petrov's Renault!!
Both Alonso and Webber stuck behind Petrov's Renault!!
not stuck, just not able to pass..
Vettel was under immense pressure! Just being there, in that position. One mistake in quali and it was all over, for example. Or a lapse of concentration behind the safety car, or any one of a thousand things.
When you lead from the front and control the race from start to finish it isn't a pressure-free situation!
When you lead from the front and control the race from start to finish it isn't a pressure-free situation!
But slightly different to the level of pressure when your closest rival is stuck on your tail willing you to make a mistake. If he can't handle the day to day pressure he clearly shouldn't be there.
not stuck, just not able to pass..
Exactly, Petrov was very effective at screaming down the straights and blocking in the corners.
Handling that "everyday" pressure is exactly what it comes down to in the end. You had Webber and Vettel both in the fastest car. Producing pole position and going off and controlling the race takes a level of nerve and perfection that is way beyond anything in our mundane lives.
Exactly, Petrov was very effective at screaming down the straights and blocking in the corners.
Ergo, he drove to his car's strengths, and to the Ferrari's weakness. What's you point, caller?
Ergo, he drove to his car's strengths, and to the Ferrari's weakness. What's you point, caller?
My point is, and this is why you're just the operator, that he was slowing the Ferrari down by driving to the strengths, if he was that f***king fast, why was the Ferrari 3rd on the grid and Petrov a super 10th at about 1,2 seconds slower. Duh!
Petrov a super 10th at about 1,2 seconds slower. Duh!
As stated earlier, in the race [where it matters] Petrov was within a 1/10th of Alonso's fastest lap & a good half second faster than the other Ferrari
I know you work/live in Spain & there must be a lot of disappointment about him losing the championship there but it really is coming across as sour grapes now
Alonso lost because he didn't drive fast enough on the day & was far too cautious
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No real disappointment, people here seem quite pragmatic about the race and season, but thanks for your concern.
I understand the difference between higher top speed and higher average speed. Alonso infront of Petrov would have gone faster, I don't think there can be any doubt about that, you youself have said that Petrov was 1/10th sec slower than Alonso's fastest lap, not actually faster than him. As I said earlier Petrov played to his strengths, where's the sour grapes?
Vettel must be slightly gutted in the fact he couldn't win the race in a head to head with Alonso, that would have been something, two great reacers head to head.
I'm glad you're not too upset
The fact - however - remains that Petrov got in front of Alonso because he was faster
or a badly timed pit stop?
If you start behind someone & end up in front of them over a given distance, you're faster 🙂
Or for once petrov actually had some pace - don't forget he out qualified kubica. Irrespective petrol did exactly what he should have done - raced to his strengths on the day.
Bless.
Petrov had a nice new engine too
Sebastian Vettel revealed during a speech in front of his home fans that Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who had led the championship going into the final race, has not yet shaken hands on Vettel's success. The 23-year-old said: "He still has not congratulated me."
AFP news agency
If true, then Alonso still isn't doing himself any favours is he.
If true, then Alonso still isn't doing himself any favours is he.
To be fair it depends when that quote was said. If it was shortly after the race then there's a good chance Alonso couldn't get anywhere near him (and probably didn't want to at the time).
If it was during the recent Pirelli test then it is rather bad form if he couldn't spare a few minutes to congratulate Vettel.
the quote was made yesterday at a celebration for vettel in his home town! so hes had plenty of time to say well done, could even have picked up the phone
Why would Alonso do that? Everything I have seen him do over the last few seasons suggests he isn't a very gracious nor pleasant person.