magico malaysia
And we thought Melbourne sprung up some suprises... well Malaysia topped that. Full of thrills spills and a few 'nil' points for some of the 'title contenders' the Sepang circuit certainly gave us plenty of suprises. The following fan formula looks over three key points of the event.
question 1
We saw two incidents involving the HRT of Karthikeyan and a 'front runner' during the race today, none of which appeared to be the HRT's fault. What is your view on the incidents? Do you think that the front runners were over confident that the HRT would be easy to pass and thats what caused the incidents or was it purely just driver error?
@rkid84 : I think it is inevitable that he will end up at ferrari, but I am dubious about promoting young drivers too soon into a high ranking car when maybe they are not quite ready, i think they should stick with Massa for this year then move him on.
@edd1969 : Jensons incident, JB has admitted he made an error! I expect some of it was that it was an HRT so didn't think he was fighting for position. Vettel - Racing incident, but Vettels post race comment was very bad! They may be backmarkers but should be respected! Ken Tyrrell will be rolling in the grave!
@jo_johnson63 : The two incidents with Karthikeyan were a combination of inexperience, over confidence and driver error.Karthikeyan seems to be in the middle of most of the track incidents because of his lack of experience. The "front runners" would expect him to take evasive action, as a more experienced driver would.
@ChrisJ_F1 : It should never be assumed that passing slower cars is easy, no matter what car you drive. But I think it would be foolish to try and race a far more superior craft, (Mark/Heikki in Valencia 2010).
@rkid84 : I think it is inevitable that he will end up at ferrari, but I am dubious about promoting young drivers too soon into a high ranking car when maybe they are not quite ready, i think they should stick with Massa for this year then move him on.
@edd1969 : Jensons incident, JB has admitted he made an error! I expect some of it was that it was an HRT so didn't think he was fighting for position. Vettel - Racing incident, but Vettels post race comment was very bad! They may be backmarkers but should be respected! Ken Tyrrell will be rolling in the grave!
@jo_johnson63 : The two incidents with Karthikeyan were a combination of inexperience, over confidence and driver error.Karthikeyan seems to be in the middle of most of the track incidents because of his lack of experience. The "front runners" would expect him to take evasive action, as a more experienced driver would.
@ChrisJ_F1 : It should never be assumed that passing slower cars is easy, no matter what car you drive. But I think it would be foolish to try and race a far more superior craft, (Mark/Heikki in Valencia 2010).
question 2
With Perez completing an incredible race and battle with rumoured future team mate Alonso do you think this adds extra pressure to Massa and do you think we will see a mid season driver change at Scuderia Ferrari?
@NotOptaF1: Felipe Massa lost 2.18 seconds per lap after the restart to Alonso in an identical car. Pressured.
@NathanBradley92 : It definitely adds pressure to Massa and raises Perez' stock through the roof. Perez should have won that race, and there is no way Ferrari can ignore that if Massa continues to perform as poorly as he is. Although if they want to get rid of him, they'll have to pay a lot of money to get him out of his contract.
@thatAnnalass : The fan base for Massa is too big for there to be a mid-season change. But I think his time as a Ferrari driver's pretty much over and, yeah, Perez will be in his seat soon...
@NotOptaF1: Felipe Massa lost 2.18 seconds per lap after the restart to Alonso in an identical car. Pressured.
@NathanBradley92 : It definitely adds pressure to Massa and raises Perez' stock through the roof. Perez should have won that race, and there is no way Ferrari can ignore that if Massa continues to perform as poorly as he is. Although if they want to get rid of him, they'll have to pay a lot of money to get him out of his contract.
@thatAnnalass : The fan base for Massa is too big for there to be a mid-season change. But I think his time as a Ferrari driver's pretty much over and, yeah, Perez will be in his seat soon...
question 3
The mixed weather conditions really played into the 'midfield' teams hands with 9 different constructors making up the top 10 in the results. Do you think this trend will continue across the season or do you think the 'top' teams will pull away from the pack?
@Donz358 : I think we’ll see a mixed set of results at China but once the EU races start, I think the top teams will start to run away – although I expect 4 teams to be fighting at the ‘top’ rather than just 2 like last season.
@MarussiaF1Will : I hope it happens throughout the season but mixed weather conditions always throw up surprises. With the midfield so close (and the potential of Caterham/Marussia joining them), I think it'll be a very close season.
@TashaDragonfly : I hope it does continue! It definately made for a more exciting race. I had no idea even by lap 40 who was going to be on podium and what teams were going to be in the top 10 - it was all so spontaneous!
@NigelBeechey : Currently, its still unclear who the top teams are? Obvious contenders have a track record of success however this year with RB's wings slightly clipped, there are possibly some new 'top' contenders.To answer the question, yes the top 10 finishers is going to be open this year. Especially with reliability so dominant amongst all teams.
@Donz358 : I think we’ll see a mixed set of results at China but once the EU races start, I think the top teams will start to run away – although I expect 4 teams to be fighting at the ‘top’ rather than just 2 like last season.
@MarussiaF1Will : I hope it happens throughout the season but mixed weather conditions always throw up surprises. With the midfield so close (and the potential of Caterham/Marussia joining them), I think it'll be a very close season.
@TashaDragonfly : I hope it does continue! It definately made for a more exciting race. I had no idea even by lap 40 who was going to be on podium and what teams were going to be in the top 10 - it was all so spontaneous!
@NigelBeechey : Currently, its still unclear who the top teams are? Obvious contenders have a track record of success however this year with RB's wings slightly clipped, there are possibly some new 'top' contenders.To answer the question, yes the top 10 finishers is going to be open this year. Especially with reliability so dominant amongst all teams.
bonus
Who was your driver of the day and why?
@EmTheEmu : It would have been Perez, had he not gone wide when it counted! So for me it's
Alonso, flawless in a bad car.
@hedgeryhoops : It may be harsh, but I would have chosen Perez for driver of the day if it wasn't for his error, it to silly of an error to make (I'm not believing those conspiracy theories though!). My choice is Senna, he completely tore up the midfield, and is starting to prove those critics wrong who thought he was just a
'pay driver'.
@StephanieWeiser : Checo definitely! He was just flying, his driving was just unbelievably good! Such a shame that the radio call in the end wrecked his concentration, otherwise he would have won the race!
@EmTheEmu : It would have been Perez, had he not gone wide when it counted! So for me it's
Alonso, flawless in a bad car.
@hedgeryhoops : It may be harsh, but I would have chosen Perez for driver of the day if it wasn't for his error, it to silly of an error to make (I'm not believing those conspiracy theories though!). My choice is Senna, he completely tore up the midfield, and is starting to prove those critics wrong who thought he was just a
'pay driver'.
@StephanieWeiser : Checo definitely! He was just flying, his driving was just unbelievably good! Such a shame that the radio call in the end wrecked his concentration, otherwise he would have won the race!