2012 Italian Grand Prix Discussion Thread

[mario]

With the Italian GP following on so closely to the Belgian GP, I thought that it might be worth starting this thread - and starting it with a rather interesting picture that De La Rosa has uploaded on his website that provides us with a little insight into how the drivers perceive Monza.

[Phoenix]

Shame the picture isn't shown on its entirety, that's a very interesting image you posted there mario.

[dr-baker]

Could anybody please translate what I assume is Spanish into English (or French - I can understand French!) please??? Thanks!

[shinji]

Well I for one am rather pumped for this race, as I'll be at it. Not 100% sure where I'll be sitting as my brother has the tickets, I think we're at the Rettifilio - should be a good spot for any potential Pastor hi-jinks. Unfortunately we're only flying out on Friday so I won't be able to see Making Hay's first foray into a Grand Prix, but that's a price I'm willing to pay.

[Phoenix]

Could anybody please translate what I assume is Spanish into English (or French - I can understand French!) please??? Thanks!

Sure:

-Top speed 340 km/h.
-T1: very hard braking 20m before 100 (m signal). Important to throw (the car) at speed to ride all the interior kerbs. All you can! Do not ride exterior kerb.
-T2: full throttle without problems (I can't read the rest).
-T3: the most important thing is to ride all the first interior kerb. Gas on 1st interior kerb.
-T4: I can't read it.
-T5: gentle braking on 50 (m signal). It's important to grasp the interior kerb, but it's not to be touched. Important to ride all the exterior kerb, but watch out for the Astroturf!
-T7: it's the fastest chicane, from 3rd gear brake past 100 (m signal). Ride the first interior kerb only 1m. You can go through T8 flat out if the car is well balanced and you`re 100% open on the entry.
-T8: ride everything (referring to the kerb). Watch out for the Astroturf!
-T9: brake on (read: beside) the green paint between 100 and 50 (m signals). Throw the car at speed. It's cambered and (the car) hangs a lot. Grasp interior kerb, watch out the back of the car when putting the power down!

[dr-baker]

Well I for one am rather pumped for this race, as I'll be at it. Not 100% sure where I'll be sitting as my brother has the tickets, I think we're at the Rettifilio - should be a good spot for any potential Pastor hi-jinks. Unfortunately we're only flying out on Friday so I won't be able to see Making Hay's first foray into a Grand Prix, but that's a price I'm willing to pay.

Well, at least you'll be there for the Saturday - last year, I was still driving from southern Italy to the Monza region on the Saturday - I only got the see the Sunday on-track action. But I managed to see Liuzzi get up to Maldonado/Grosjean high-jinx...

[AdrianSutil]

Not sure where to post this, but this thread is relevant to it. 

A sped-up video showing the Sauber transporters being loaded with parts and the cars from their base in Hinwil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwktteJxTcA

[DemocalypseNow]

I will laugh so hard if Custard Boy scores a DNF and tommykl is forced to keep his signature for all eternity

[Aerospeed]

I will laugh so hard if Custard Boy scores a DNF and tommykl is forced to keep his signature for all eternity

Or he could do what I did and quietly removed it

[Cynon]

Ladies and gentlemen, one year ago, an HRT was running in 9th.

[solarcold]

Russian news site says Charles Pic accordingly to Autosport is to negotiate with Sauber for next year.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Russian news site says Charles Pic accordingly to Autosport is to negotiate with Sauber for next year.

If the Ruskies are actually on to something, then either Perez is heading to a top team next year or Pic's getting the third driver role as I can't think as to why Sauber would be willing to let go of either Perez or Kobayashi, especially considering they've both been doing a good job this year. Unless it's something to do with money and they can't somehow slot Gutierrez into one of the race drives.

[Shizuka]

they've both been doing a good job this year

Only to mess them up, thanks to certain drivers!
Seriously, without the Spa fiasco, Mercedes would be only a few points ahead of Sauber. And when a team like Sauber beats a factory outfit, now that's rejectful. (Yes Toyota, 2002-2004 mainly. Yes Jaguar, all five seasons.)

[solarcold]

Russian news site says Charles Pic accordingly to Autosport is to negotiate with Sauber for next year.

If the Ruskies are actually on to something, then either Perez is heading to a top team next year or Pic's getting the third driver role as I can't think as to why Sauber would be willing to let go of either Perez or Kobayashi, especially considering they've both been doing a good job this year. Unless it's something to do with money and they can't somehow slot Gutierrez into one of the race drives.

Well, "f1news.ru or didn't happen" is our "autosport or didn't happen".
Article suggests that Pic is to replace Kobayashi. Other recources point out he's in talks with Sauber and Force India.

[mario]

Russian news site says Charles Pic accordingly to Autosport is to negotiate with Sauber for next year.

If the Ruskies are actually on to something, then either Perez is heading to a top team next year or Pic's getting the third driver role as I can't think as to why Sauber would be willing to let go of either Perez or Kobayashi, especially considering they've both been doing a good job this year. Unless it's something to do with money and they can't somehow slot Gutierrez into one of the race drives.

Well, "f1news.ru or didn't happen" is our "autosport or didn't happen".
Article suggests that Pic is to replace Kobayashi. Other recources point out he's in talks with Sauber and Force India.

Kind of drifting off topic, aren't we? Anyway, whilst it is true that I can imagine that Pic would be looking for a seat elsewhere if somebody else can offer Marussia more cash, I would have thought it to be more likely that Pic might be negotiating a third driver role further up the grid than directly replacing another driver (especially since Kobayashi isn't exactly doing that badly - he might be being beaten by Perez, but he still has a respectable haul of points in his own right). After all, negotiating with a team could just mean preliminary talks as well as something of greater significance...

Back to the topic of Monza, and Lotus have confirmed that they will not be using their DDRS at Monza (nor will they use it in Singapore) - with the almost negligible rear wings that they run in Monza these days, combined with the time required to fine tune it to the circuit, there is no real benefit to using it in Monza (whilst Singapore has been ruled out because the brevity of the straights and need for high downforce means that it would yield very little benefit there either). http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/09/04/lotu ... il-suzuka/

[Ataxia]

If the Ruskies are actually on to something, then either Perez is heading to a top team next year or Pic's getting the third driver role as I can't think as to why Sauber would be willing to let go of either Perez or Kobayashi, especially considering they've both been doing a good job this year. Unless it's something to do with money and they can't somehow slot Gutierrez into one of the race drives.

Well, "f1news.ru or didn't happen" is our "autosport or didn't happen".
Article suggests that Pic is to replace Kobayashi. Other recources point out he's in talks with Sauber and Force India.

Kind of drifting off topic, aren't we? Anyway, whilst it is true that I can imagine that Pic would be looking for a seat elsewhere if somebody else can offer Marussia more cash, I would have thought it to be more likely that Pic might be negotiating a third driver role further up the grid than directly replacing another driver (especially since Kobayashi isn't exactly doing that badly - he might be being beaten by Perez, but he still has a respectable haul of points in his own right). After all, negotiating with a team could just mean preliminary talks as well as something of greater significance...

Back to the topic of Monza, and Lotus have confirmed that they will not be using their DDRS at Monza (nor will they use it in Singapore) - with the almost negligible rear wings that they run in Monza these days, combined with the time required to fine tune it to the circuit, there is no real benefit to using it in Monza (whilst Singapore has been ruled out because the brevity of the straights and need for high downforce means that it would yield very little benefit there either). http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/09/04/lotu ... il-suzuka/

Maybe KK has bigger fish to fry? (He said rather hopefully...)

[razta]

and just when you think you're F1 Holiday is over.. I bump into


at heathrow airport this morning.. I was catching my flight to Abu dhabi.. and he was on his way to monza!
heheh
oh and i did take this opportunity to lay into him about gggggrrrrrssssjjjjjnnnn

[Salamander]

and just when you think you're F1 Holiday is over.. I bump into


at heathrow airport this morning.. I was catching my flight to Abu dhabi.. and he was on his way to monza!
heheh
oh and i did take this opportunity to lay into him about gggggrrrrrssssjjjjjnnnn

What'd he have to say about it?

[dr-baker]

and just when you think you're F1 Holiday is over.. I bump into


at heathrow airport this morning.. I was catching my flight to Abu dhabi.. and he was on his way to monza!
heheh
oh and i did take this opportunity to lay into him about gggggrrrrrssssjjjjjnnnn

I'm feeling a bit stupid... Who is this guy that you met?

[razta]

and just when you think you're F1 Holiday is over.. I bump into


at heathrow airport this morning.. I was catching my flight to Abu dhabi.. and he was on his way to monza!
heheh
oh and i did take this opportunity to lay into him about gggggrrrrrssssjjjjjnnnn

I'm feeling a bit stupid... Who is this guy that you met?

Eric Boullier!!!

[Salamander]

and just when you think you're F1 Holiday is over.. I bump into


at heathrow airport this morning.. I was catching my flight to Abu dhabi.. and he was on his way to monza!
heheh
oh and i did take this opportunity to lay into him about gggggrrrrrssssjjjjjnnnn

I'm feeling a bit stupid... Who is this guy that you met?

Eric Boullier, the boss at Lotus.

[dr-baker]

Ahh, OK. Kinda clear now that it's been pointed out.

But to be honest, British TV seem more keen on interviewing team bosses from Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, with very few other team bosses getting a look-in, hence a lack of familiarity...

[AndreaModa]

Ahh, OK. Kinda clear now that it's been pointed out.

But to be honest, British TV seem more keen on interviewing team bosses from Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, with very few other team bosses getting a look-in, hence a lack of familiarity...

Erm, baker he's being interviewed by one of Jake, Eddie, DC or Lee McKenzie nearly every race!

Now we could certainly say it was the case for Perez-Sala, or John Booth, Franz Tost amongst others, but Boulier's seen plenty of screen time this year!

[Londoner]

Ahh, OK. Kinda clear now that it's been pointed out.

But to be honest, British TV seem more keen on interviewing team bosses from Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, with very few other team bosses getting a look-in, hence a lack of familiarity...

Erm, baker he's being interviewed by one of Jake, Eddie, DC or Lee McKenzie nearly every race!

Now we could certainly say it was the case for Perez-Sala, or John Booth, Franz Tost amongst others, but Boulier's seen plenty of screen time this year!

I'd have thought Dr-Baker would notice Lee doing so.

[FullMetalJack]

Ahh, OK. Kinda clear now that it's been pointed out.

But to be honest, British TV seem more keen on interviewing team bosses from Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, with very few other team bosses getting a look-in, hence a lack of familiarity...

Erm, baker he's being interviewed by one of Jake, Eddie, DC or Lee McKenzie nearly every race!

Now we could certainly say it was the case for Perez-Sala, or John Booth, Franz Tost amongst others, but Boulier's seen plenty of screen time this year!

I'd have thought Dr-Baker would notice Lee doing so.

Baker's Law invoked yet again.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Erm, baker he's being interviewed by one of Jake, Eddie, DC or Lee McKenzie nearly every race!

Now we could certainly say it was the case for Perez-Sala, or John Booth, Franz Tost amongst others, but Boulier's seen plenty of screen time this year!

I'd have thought Dr-Baker would notice Lee doing so.

Baker's Law invoked yet again.

I honestly don't know how than ends up happening in every thread.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Is it just me or have all the tarmac runoffs at the Ascari chicane been replaced with gravel traps?

[GwilymJJames]

De la Rosa is the fastest driver in the speed trap. This is HRT's race.

[FullMetalJack]

De la Rosa is the fastest driver in the speed trap. This is HRT's race.

This is the race where speed matters the most as well.

[dr-baker]

Erm, baker he's being interviewed by one of Jake, Eddie, DC or Lee McKenzie nearly every race!

Now we could certainly say it was the case for Perez-Sala, or John Booth, Franz Tost amongst others, but Boulier's seen plenty of screen time this year!

I'd have thought Dr-Baker would notice Lee doing so.

Baker's Law invoked yet again.

I honestly don't know how than ends up happening in every thread.

Maybe it's because I only watch the coverage until 5 minutes or so after the podium ceremony...

And eurobrun, maybe it's because 95% of all posts on this forum (at the very least!) are by males, mostly young, testosterone-filled males...

[mario]

De la Rosa is the fastest driver in the speed trap. This is HRT's race.

This is the race where speed matters the most as well.

Although the most recent few races have seen cars that have been fairly successful in the races despite having relatively low top speeds - in 2010, for example, Button was the slowest driver in the speed traps but came home second thanks to his performance in the middle sector (where his higher downforce set up was beneficial), whilst in 2011 Vettel was relatively slow in a straight line, at least in qualifying, but could make up for that by being out of DRS range (thanks to superior acceleration) and being so much quicker than anybody else in the middle sector and final sectors (because he could carry more speed through the Ascari chicane and onto the back straight, plus be much earlier on the power in the Parabolica, he made up a lot of time through the final sector as well).

Now, that is not to say that outright top speed isn't important - it still is, but it is a question of quickly you can get to that top speed as well and whether you have had to compromise something else in order to get to that top speed.

[EDIT] Davidson and Crofty were discussing the issue of gear ratios during the second practise session, and pointed out that there is one interesting problem for the teams - under the current FIA's regulations, the teams have to select 30 gears that they will then use across the entire season. With Monza being something of a one off, it is creating a situation where some of the teams are struggling to get the right final gear ratios because they are limited to the handful of ratios that they selected back in February (only some of which can be used around a venue like Monza).

[Ataxia]

Erm, baker he's being interviewed by one of Jake, Eddie, DC or Lee McKenzie nearly every race!

Now we could certainly say it was the case for Perez-Sala, or John Booth, Franz Tost amongst others, but Boulier's seen plenty of screen time this year!

I'd have thought Dr-Baker would notice Lee doing so.

Baker's Law invoked yet again.

I honestly don't know how than ends up happening in every thread.

Maybe it's because I only watch the coverage until 5 minutes or so after the podium ceremony...

And eurobrun, maybe it's because 95% of all posts on this forum (at the very least!) are by males, mostly young, testosterone-filled males...

[TomWazzleshaw]

Someone explain to me why Emperor Montezuma has spent the last five minutes waving to and hugging people in the McLaren garage?

[takagi_for_the_win]

Someone explain to me why Emperor Montezuma has spent the last five minutes waving to and hugging people in the McLaren garage?

He's under the impression that McLaren are replacing Hamilton with di Resta

[mario]

Someone explain to me why Emperor Montezuma has spent the last five minutes waving to and hugging people in the McLaren garage?

It was somewhat peculiar to watch him do that, although I understand that it is something of a habit that he has developed in recent years as part of the rapprochement between McLaren and Ferrari (I believe that Ron Dennis visited Ferrari's headquarters a year or so ago as part of that process).

Talking of peculiar events, I wonder if Renault are having a repeat of their alternator problems again? Vettel stopped right at the end of the session after reporting to the team that he had a "low battery" warning come up on his display, moments before the electrical systems seemed to cut out altogether. It sounds quite similar to the breakdown that he had in Valencia - now, I know that Renault had reverted to an older alternator design after that race, but perhaps we are seeing a recurrence of that problem again?

[GwilymJJames]

Talking of peculiar events, I wonder if Renault are having a repeat of their alternator problems again? Vettel stopped right at the end of the session after reporting to the team that he had a "low battery" warning come up on his display, moments before the electrical systems seemed to cut out altogether. It sounds quite similar to the breakdown that he had in Valencia - now, I know that Renault had reverted to an older alternator design after that race, but perhaps we are seeing a recurrence of that problem again?

@RenaultSportF1 tweeted that it was an alternator problem, but not the same problem as Valencia, and they'll be able to fix it for qualifying.

[GwilymJJames]

Hulkenberg has had a problem, out of Q1, 14 minutes of irrelevance follows.

[Shizuka]

I saw Hamilton doing a 1:25.2 according to the timer, and now they list him having made no time.
What is this?

[TomWazzleshaw]

Hulkenberg has had a problem, out of Q1, 14 minutes of irrelevance follows.

The Caterhams are actually competitive this weekend though. This ain't over by any stretch of the imagination.

[GwilymJJames]

Karthikeyan out qualifies his team mate for the first time since China '05.