Your Infinite Improbablity Drive Of The Race - Malaysia

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 10 Apr 2011, 09:53

Time to get this thread rolling:

1. Nick Heidfeld: Put the demons of Melbourne behind him to finish on the podium.
2. Heikki Kovalainen: Could have outqualified Maldonado and finished within half a second of Alguersuari at the end is no mean feat.

shinji · Post by **shinji** » 10 Apr 2011, 09:56

Heidfield
Di Resta - point on merit, Adrian who?

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 10 Apr 2011, 09:58

shinji wrote:Heidfield
Di Resta - point on merit, Adrian who?

My points exactly

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:00

Heidfeld - Beat Petrov, tied him on points after Petrov tried his hand at flying.
di Resta - Dario Franchitti said that Di Resta was something special. He's making Sutil look like an overrated piece of garbage...

LionZoo · Post by **LionZoo** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:04

1. Heidfeld
2. Di Resta

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:15

1) Nick Heidfeld: - I'd predicted he'd be reject of the race, to blast off the start to second and race patiently to third while fending off Webber at his lightning fastest was simply awesome

2) Paul DiResta: - With the cars ahead I was expecting him to either finish where he started or fall back two places, here he constantly duelled with, and passed, the likes of Rosberg, Schumacher and Kobayashi, fantastic for only second race in F!

McDuck · Post by **McDuck** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:19

1. Heidfeld, for getting P3 and pretending that it was P1 when he heard the German national anthem played while on the podium.

2. Liuzzi, for almost finishing the race and CRUSHING D'Ambrosio, Trulli, Perez, Karthikeyan, and at&t Williams Formula 1 Team!

The latter is an awesome feat considering they were THE dominant force in F1 almost 20 years ago.

DonTirri · Post by **DonTirri** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:26

Cynon wrote:Heidfeld - Beat Petrov, tied him on points after Petrov tried his hand at flying.
di Resta - Dario Franchitti said that Di Resta was something special. He's making Sutil look like an overrated piece of garbage...

I agree with the above nominations. I also agree with the way Di Resta made Sutil look, which incidentally is exactly what I think of him.'
Wait. I agreed with Cynon? Goddammit.

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:26

McDuck wrote:1. Heidfeld, for getting P3 and pretending that it was P1 when he heard the German national anthem played while on the podium.

2. Liuzzi, for almost finishing the race and CRUSHING D'Ambrosio, Trulli, Perez, Karthikeyan, and at&t Williams Formula 1 Team!

The latter is an awesome feat considering they were THE dominant force in F1 almost 20 years ago.

To be fair, Liuzzi only beat those other cars because they were no longer running. If Seb had retired, Liuzzi would have crushed him too by the same definition. In truth, they just weren't running any more and Liuzzi came last.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:29

DonTirri wrote:
Cynon wrote:Heidfeld - Beat Petrov, tied him on points after Petrov tried his hand at flying.
di Resta - Dario Franchitti said that Di Resta was something special. He's making Sutil look like an overrated piece of garbage...

I agree with the above nominations. I also agree with the way Di Resta made Sutil look, which incidentally is exactly what I think of him.'
Wait. I agreed with Cynon? Goddammit.

If it helps a certain Giancarlo Fisichella has also made Sutil look like rubbish... and we all know how good he is. :lol:

McDuck · Post by **McDuck** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:38

fjackdaw wrote:To be fair, Liuzzi only beat those other cars because they were no longer running. If Seb had retired, Liuzzi would have crushed him too by the same definition. In truth, they just weren't running any more and Liuzzi came last.

True, but your 'glass half empty' valid point isn't helping Hispania get any more sponsors. There could be a few rich multi-billionaires reading f1rejects trying to decide if they want to start dumping millions of dollars into this promising quasi-giant killing upstart. :mrgreen:

Valrys · Post by **Valrys** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:41

McDuck wrote:
fjackdaw wrote:To be fair, Liuzzi only beat those other cars because they were no longer running. If Seb had retired, Liuzzi would have crushed him too by the same definition. In truth, they just weren't running any more and Liuzzi came last.

True, but your 'glass half empty' valid point isn't helping Hispania get any more sponsors. There could be a few rich multi-billionaires reading f1rejects trying to decide if they want to start dumping millions of dollars into this promising quasi-giant killing upstart.

I admire your optimism :lol:

tkcom · Post by **tkcom** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:52

Heidfeld Changing-of-the-guard at Renault. Fantastic start and brilliant defending to finish.
Kobayashi Made 2 stops work even with used Q3 tyres. Also great battles with MSC.

Ed24 · Post by **Ed24** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:55

1. Heidfeld - Very solid drive.
2. Massa - Should have been 3rd if it wasn't for botched pitstop, despite Ferrari's poor pace.

tristan1117 · Post by **tristan1117** » 10 Apr 2011, 11:07

1. Heidfeld
2. Kobayashi

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 10 Apr 2011, 11:21

1. Mark Webber - For not having KERS, and struggling a bit with tyres, deciding to make 4 stops as Plan A, he did a good race.
2. Lotus - They have closed to the mid-pack.

Marco · Post by **Marco** » 10 Apr 2011, 11:23

1. Kovalainen - He finished just half a second behind Alguersuari and actually had a better best laptime!
2. Team Lotus for closing the gap to the midfield after the dismal showing in australia.

PS: About DiResta trashing Sutil - I don't know whether it was mentioned in international broadcast (it certainly wasn't in the German one, but thats hardly surprising) but Sutil had to change his wing early in the race, so he had to get past the "new" Teams and junior cows and did the rest of the race also on two stops, so it's not as if he was beaten on pure race pace.

Pointrox · Post by **Pointrox** » 10 Apr 2011, 11:26

Heidfeld - I think I'm slightly less bored by him.
Team Lotus - slowly crawling up the field.

Ross Prawn · Post by **Ross Prawn** » 10 Apr 2011, 11:42

Heidfeld drove well and redeemed himself after Melborne. Great start. But cannot really be classed as IIDOTR because it wasn't improbable. At he end of the day he's a vastly experienced driver in what we suspect is a very good car. He should be doing well.

My nomination goes to Di Resta. Rookie and has got points in both of his first races, as well as outpacing his teammate. Thats exceptional.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 10 Apr 2011, 11:47

1. Di Resta - not because he's British, but because he is continually surprising me. Numerous clean scraps in the midfield throughout the race, and comfortably beating his teammate, who despite my derision on this very forum, I didn't think was that bad, just pretty average. He's being shown up terribly by a complete rookie in a team he's been in his entire career. Well done Paul!

2. Kobayashi - only two stops and a solid race with plenty of overtaking as you'd expect. I thought perhaps the strategy from Perez in Australia was a one-off but it seems not. Great tyre management from Sauber and a good aggressive drive from Kamui!

Heidfeld doesn't deserve it in my opinion because we know the Renault is clearly a good car and from Petrov's performance last time out, I think we can expect many similar results throughout the rest of the season.

Bleu · Post by **Bleu** » 10 Apr 2011, 14:17

1. Massa - had upper hand on Alonso in early parts of the races, bad pit stop dropped him back but Alonso's mistake then brought him back ahead of his team-mate.

2. Heidfeld - brilliant start and no major mistakes, deservedly on the podium.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 10 Apr 2011, 15:25

While I didn't see a completely ye gods amazing performance that stands out above the rest, I'm going with Paul di Resta as well - second F1 race, another point in a car that is near the back of the midfield, and this time he didn't need any other cars to be disqualified to get it.

And while we're here, a statement from Nick Heidfeld:
"Ja, I am vewy happy to be on the podium, and I am hoping ze people of ze F1 Wejects fowum vill find me a bit less bowing now."

A lot of me wanted to see him get that elusive first win, even if it looks like it can't possibly happen with The Finger storming off into the sunset the way Nigel Mansell used to 19 years ago. If it ever happens, I'll give him Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Entire Career.

P_Friesacher · Post by **P_Friesacher** » 10 Apr 2011, 16:28

1. Heidfeld
2. Massa

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 10 Apr 2011, 17:00

1. Paul di Resta - Another solid drive for him, proving beyond a doubt he deserves to be in F1
2. Nick Heidfeld - I am slightly excited by Nick Heidfeld.

Warren Hughes · Post by **Warren Hughes** » 10 Apr 2011, 17:37

1. Kobayashi - best of the rest, beats both Mercedes, sees off much-hyped young team-mate with style.
2. di Resta - that car is further down the pecking order than he is making it look. A great point and he thrashed Sutil (even taking into account Sutil's problems).

Heidfeld is not IIDOTR because I expected him to go well. I believe in Nick Heidfeld!

Enforcer · Post by **Enforcer** » 10 Apr 2011, 17:42

1. Renault - Even without the focusing energies of Kubica, they're at least a match for Ferrari on genuine pace. Two podiums in a row and but for Petrov remembering he's supposed to be a bit of a twit, a double points finish.

2. Di Riesta - A solid drive and points finish, ocassionally threatening to trouble Kobayashi and Schumacher.

RAK · Post by **RAK** » 10 Apr 2011, 17:59

1) Heidfeld: Less so because of performance, although that was impressive, but for that start. Amazing stuff.

2) di Resta: Strong showing in a slower team, beating Sutil in the process. Quiet but notable performance.

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 10 Apr 2011, 19:46

1. Heidfeld - Third place? In a Renault? I see more coming from Renault...

2. Schumacher - For some very odd reason I am surprised by Schumacher's pace in this race.

Enforcer · Post by **Enforcer** » 10 Apr 2011, 19:56

JeremyMcClean wrote:1. Heidfeld - Third place? In a Renault? I see more coming from Renault...

2. Schumacher - For some very odd reason I am surprised by Schumacher's pace in this race.

Could be something to do with the truck he's driving.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 10 Apr 2011, 20:20

1) Heidfeld - Sorry for doubting you last time Nick, you're still great (and no, I'm not being sarcastic) Even gentlemanly enough to ensure Vettel got out first onto the podium. I would've tripped him up personally.

2) Webber - Nice of the BBC to wet themselves over Vettel having no KERS for half of the race and still winning. Um, Mark had no KERS for the whole race and had to pit 4 times as well. Great driving all race to nearly get a podium. I wonder how many overtakes he did in the race?

Post by **mario** » 10 Apr 2011, 20:27

Enforcer wrote:
JeremyMcClean wrote:1. Heidfeld - Third place? In a Renault? I see more coming from Renault...

2. Schumacher - For some very odd reason I am surprised by Schumacher's pace in this race.

Could be something to do with the truck he's driving.

I can only imagine what Prost would have said about it - probably this:

Anyway, to the IIDOTR - my first nomination would be Nick Heidfeld, since he withstood considerable pressure from several drivers throughout the race (Alonso, Massa, Hamilton and Webber), but defended well against all of them and drove a solid race to a podium finish. Considering that he was under a lot of pressure after a troubled race in Melbourne, this race should have gone a fair way to answering his critics.
My second nominee would be Team Lotus, and especially Heikki - considering that the team is still relatively young and the car does have a few issues that need sorting out (see Trulli's clutch failure today), their pace was much closer to what we'd been hoping for (i.e just beginning to nip at the heels of the midfield). As has been pointed out, Heikki was actually catching Alguersuari very quickly in the final few laps (at a rate of several seconds a lap), and given another lap or two could have caught and passed him. In fact, for most of the race they were within sight of the tail of the midfield, so they are closing up in terms of pace, and with a few big upgrades planned for the European season, this might just be a sign that Team Lotus are finally getting to grips with the sport.

watka · Post by **watka** » 10 Apr 2011, 20:59

1. Heidfeld - could have had a crisis of confidence going into this weekend but really turned it around in style!
2. HRT - I thought they could get Liuzzi on the grid maybe, but not Karthikeyan as well. Liuzzi then made it home as well.

Honourable mentions to Lotus, Webber, Button, and di Resta

QuickYoda41 · Post by **QuickYoda41** » 10 Apr 2011, 22:34

1. Webber - couple of nice overtaking moves being handicapped
2. Heidfeld - well, I was expecting something like that, but no real other contenders for this second place. And he made me happy.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 10 Apr 2011, 22:59

watka wrote:2. HRT - I thought they could get Liuzzi on the grid maybe, but not Karthikeyan as well. Liuzzi then made it home as well.

Sorry, he did retire.

Row Man Gross-Gene · Post by **Row Man Gross-Gene** » 10 Apr 2011, 23:03

Kovaleinen

DiResta

Not Heidfeld, I predicted exactly this result!

Dan B · Post by **Dan B** » 10 Apr 2011, 23:51

1) Di Resta: Excellent drive from him (and Sutil too, who started 16th). The Force India-Williams battle is not over yet it seems.
2) Massa: For holding off Alonso and finishing ahead of him.

Honorable mentions:
- Heidfeld for getting that podium after a very professional drive.
- HRT for getting both cars on the grid. Now, let's see them finish a race.

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 11 Apr 2011, 02:15

Wizzie wrote:Time to get this thread rolling:

1. Nick Heidfeld: Put the demons of Melbourne behind him to finish on the podium.
2. Heikki Kovalainen: Could have outqualified Maldonado and finished within half a second of Alguersuari at the end is no mean feat.

I give the nod to Kovalainen. I would have expected a good run from Heidfeld.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 11 Apr 2011, 10:10

I am going to nominate Petrov for his amazing lift off! :lol:

I am joking, of course. For IIDOTR I would nominate Di Resta and Kobayashi.

Di Resta - What an excellent start of the season. His second race and already showing that Sutil is really nothing special. I expect him to improve and probably end Sutil dreams of a big team drive.

Kobayashi - Best of the rest with a solid and mature drive beating Schumacher in a straight fight too (even though this is not what it was used to be).

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 11 Apr 2011, 13:07

Nick Heidfeld: I wasn't expecting him to bounce back like that. He had a fabulous race; if he keeps driving like that all season he may as well end up winning a race!

Post by **Ataxia** » 11 Apr 2011, 18:10

Kovalainen - Did a decent job in Q1 and set a faster lap in the race than Alguersuari.

Renault - You, good sirs, have created a very good car indeed. (still don't like the Lotus politics, but oh well.)

And Herr Heidfeld, you made me a very happy man. Please win the title for me