Pirelli Chinese Grand Prix - 2016

[J.Clark]

Surprised that Gutierrez is bad-mouthing the team. 

Returning to the "old" qualifying format was good.  I liked one of the commentators' comment, "Here we are with a little over five minutes left and everyone is on track - unlike Australia when only the two Mercedes were out there."

Qualifying results could shake things up.  Two red flagged sessions; although, the one in Q1 probably did not have much of an impact over all.  The one in Q2 did though, as it likely kept Massa, Alonso, Button and even Grosjean from getting that second run that could have put any and/or all four in the top ten.

Massa should start P10, and Alonso and Button will each move up one, with Hulk getting a 3 spot penalty for his wheel coming off.

1.  Rosberg              Mercedess   1m 35.402
2.  Ricciardo      Red Bull   1m 35.917
3.  Raikkonen      Ferrari   1m 35.972
4.  Vettel              Ferrari   1m 36.246
5.  Bottas              Williams   1m 36.296
6.  Kvyat              Red Bull   1m 36.399
7.  Perez              Force India   1m 36.865
8.  Sainz Jr              Toro Rosso   1m 36.881
9.  Verstappen       Toro Rosso   1m 37.194
10. Hulkenberg      Force India   No time 
11. Massa              Williams   1m 37.347
12. Alonso              McLaren   1m 38.836
13. Button              McLaren   1m 39.093
14. Grosjean              Haas     1m 39.830
15. Ericsson      Sauber   1m 40.742
16. Nasr              Sauber   1m 42.430
17. Magnussen      Renault   1m 38.673
18. Gutierrez              Haas     1m 38.770
19. Palmer              Renault   1m 39.528
20. Haryanto           MRT      1m 40.264
21. Wehrlein          MRT      No time
22. Hamilton      Mercedes   No time* 

Kimi and Seb both mucked up their last attempt, going too deep into the hairpin and completely missing the apex.  A Ferrari front row would have been an awesome thing to behold, and I know Kimi is kicking himself in the rear, having been quickest pretty much all weekend.

Mr. Smiley, Ricciardo, has to be happy and it is good to see him on the front row.  Congrats to him and Red Bull.  He could easily be a head of Nico at turn one with a good start.  He is on softer tires and RBs have been having pretty good starts.

Both Ferrari could also be ahead of Rosberg after turn one because Ferrari have been having excellent jumps off the line, swamping the Mercs at turn one.  They will all need to get around Rosberg on the first lap with the Merc starting on the soft rubber, and everyone else on super softs.

[Jericoke]

Qualifying results could shake things up.  Two red flagged sessions; although, the one in Q1 probably did not have much of an impact over all.  The one in Q2 did though, as it likely kept Massa, Alonso, Button and even Grosjean from getting that second run that could have put any and/or all four in the top ten.

The 'old' qualifying had fewer red flags.  Much safer.   

The show was much better, even with that bizaare stop to dry the track.  Haven't we had problems with how the Chinese race was managed by track workers in the past?  Or am I thinking of another race where the track workers took some odd decisions and held things up?

As for the red flags catching out drivers, that's been part of qualifying since I started watching in the 90s, and presumably before that. You have to go out early and set a 'banker' time, or you're taking a chance.

With that said, I enjoyed Alonso's primal scream at not getting a chance to set a time.  I feel sorry for him, but the passion he's got on display this season is fantastic.  I want all the drivers to feel like that, and I want to see their passion.  (Except Kimi.  He has to stay cool and collected at all times)

[vintly]

The Mercs were sandbagging on Friday, and didn't run at all in FP3 so we didn't get to see Lewis' real pace at all, and Nico's only briefly in quali. Nevertheless, Nico's Q2 time on the softs indicated that he was going to be half a second quicker than the Mercs on the super-softs, so was always gonna beat Kimi and Seb's times in Q3, as long as he got a good lap, which he did.

At the chequered flag in Q2 and Q3 there were multiple cars on track, all pinging in personal best times to claim their rightful place on the grid. Thank god for proper quali rules.

[Scott]

Too bad about Wehrleim and Hammy.  First red flag was pointless since the standing water was still there when the threw the green again.  I had hopes for Kimi.  Rosberg killed his lap.  Ferrari both on the 2nd row and a great run by the guy with the horrible haircut.

[J.Clark]

A very interesting race to say the very least.  The first few laps had a little bit of everything and set up some impossible to predict changes in race strategy, by several.

Rosberg had a great start and kept it all going while nearly everyone behind him had problems from crashes.  Hamilton was truly fighting hard to get back into a points paying finish.  Without the Safety Car, he may not have been able to do it.  He once again was unable to manage tire wear - a problem he has struggled with before - and as a result was unable to overtake Massa in the final dozen or so laps.

Ferrari: I felt bad for Kimi, but Seb really had nowhere to go to avoid the collision.  Both fought back well though, and showed what the Prancing Horse could do.

Haas had nothing to offer in this one.  Perhaps the damage in the opening lap is totally to blame for Grosjean's performance (or lack of it  - did set "fastest lap" after his final pit stop), but they just didn't seem to have the pace of even the slower around them for most of the race.  Gutierrez has to feel good though, even without any points for his effort, as he did complete that race and an armful of laps.

Red Bull put on an awesome display of speed and ability - really have to congratulate Kvyat on a brilliant race, and Ricciardo for a remarkable come back.

Williams could have perhaps done better, but Bottas was the unlucky one again, while Massa made something of a get-a-way early on.  To the team's credit, they did do better on the tire strategy this time, which helped them to get to the dual points finish.  It was totally fantastic watching Massa keep Hamilton at bey in the closing laps, in spite of the Red Bull and Ferrari dusting him off.  There was some really good racing in that battle.

STR also did well with both cars in the points.  They looked quite racy out there at times.

1.  Rosberg      Mercedes   56 laps 
2.  Vettel      Ferrari   +37.7
3.  Kvyat      Red Bull   +45.9   
4.  Ricciardo   Red Bull   +52.6
5.  Raikkonen   Ferrari   +65.8
6.  Massa      Williams   +75.5
7.  Hamilton   Mercedes   +78.2   
8.  Verstappen   Toro Rosso   +79.2
9.  Sainz Jr      Toro Rosso   +84.1
10. Bottas      Williams   +86.1
NO POINTS
11. Perez      Force India   +94.2
12. Alonso      McLaren   +97.2
13. Button      McLaren   +101.9
14. Gutierrez      Haas     +1 lap
15. Hulkenberg   Force India   +1 lap
16. Ericsson   Sauber   +1 lap
17. Magnussen   Renault   +1 lap
18. Wehrlein    MRT      +1 lap
19. Grosjean      Haas     +1 lap
20. Nasr      Sauber   +1 lap
21. Haryanto   MRT      +1 lap
22. Palmer      Renault   +1 lap

CHAMPIONSHIPS
Drivers:
Rosberg  75
Hamilton 39
Ricciardo 36
Vettel 33
Raikkonen 28
Massa 22
Kvyat 21
Grosjean 18
Verstappen 13
Bottas 7
Hulkenberg 6
Sainz Jr 4
VanDoorne 1
Constructors:
Mercedes 114
Ferrari 61
Red Bull 57
Williams 29
Haas 18
STR 17
FIF1 6
McLaren 1

Unless Ferrari or Red Bull are able to truly make significant improvements, or the unlikely, reliability gremlins strike, it appears that Mercedes is well on their way to another Constructor's Championship.  If that is the case, I certainly hope it is Nico who wins the WDC this time.

[cosworth151]

It was a very good race, certainly unexpected on such a mediocre track.

At the end of the race, Merc told NBCsn that Lewis had damage to his underfloor that cause a massive loss of downforce. It occurred during the Lap 1 free-for-all. Lewis's front wing was knocked loose. When it detached, it went under the car, doing the damage.

We noted in the chat room that the restart was as close to an inverted stop as we're likely to see.

[Scott]

Yeah, if todays race wasn't a case for having a closer look at inverted grids or ballast, then I don't know what is.  I quite like China's layout for passing zones, especially that hairpin with the parking lot sized turn exit - there must be 4 lines through that.  That bump at the final straight should be repaired before next year, I'm sure the drivers braced for it every lap - looks like it just pounded the cars.

Wow, did Vettel ever take that first lap altercation personally.  Good for him.  Loved him giving Kvyat crap in the 'Awkward Room' post race.  He was right, and Kvyat wrong in both the move and in his excuses afterward.  If Vettel hadn't moved over into his teammate, it would have ended Kvyat's race on that first lap (and Vettel's).  And to hear him so contrite on the radio with the team afterward, well, it brought a tear to my...no it didn't, but he got a notch more respect from me today. 

Hamilton drove well, but even with floor damage, he seemed to do well up until that last set of tires, and I'm not sure if it was a bad set of tires, the damage or if he - as he often does - used up his tires a bit earlier than he needed to.

Sorry to see Haas back at the dull end, but they have done so well in their rookie year, so a bad race is nothing to get bummed about. 

Rosberg has opened this season with only good luck, unlike the last couple, so he deserves a bit of time in the sun.  Didn't make a step wrong - deserved the win.  And as Vintly said in chat, Hamilton is more fun to watch when he's on his back foot, so it's ok if he is 20-30 points down.  Gives him something to hunt for. 

The RBR's had better stop whining about their engine.  Ok, they aren't a Merc match yet, but they've clearly got Ferrari speed at the moment, so I hope Horner keeps a positive spin on things for the rest of the season.  Ricciardo either went to the barber drunk or went to a drunken barber.  I hope that will be fixed by next race as well - though he joked about it himself in interviews.

Too bad about Williams.  Bottas made a couple of unforced errors, and Massa drove well and really showed racecraft in defending his position in the latter stages.  I didn't have him in my picks, but I have already included him in my Russian banker.

Pretty annoying that both the US and Sky are two laps behind in their broadcast.  How are you supposed to chat when the others don't see what you're seeing, when you're seeing it.  Had to bite my tongue a couple of times.  RTL and Swiss TV had it 'Live'.

 

[cosworth151]

Don't worry about it, Scott. We're seeing what's happening real time on T&S, anyway.

[lkjohnson1950]

I disagree that this is one of Tilke's worst designs. I think it is one of the better ones. Matchett and Hobbs both like it; Matchett saying it had low, medium and fast corners and quite a lot of elevation change. TV does not seem to be able to show elevation change properly. I have been to The Glen, and the change from start/finish to the end of the back straight is really enormous. Hamilton said starting at the back here didn't bother him much because there are plenty of places to pass, as I think we saw today.

The damage to Hamilton's car was worse than it appeared because most of the loss of down force was at the front, creating an imbalance in the car that Lewis said made it difficult to keep straight at 200+ at the end of the back straight because the front was so light. And of course this made wear on the front tires much worse.

Haas' problem was probably with front grip. Matchett pointed out during qualifying that many drivers were sawing the wheel back and forth like a sprint car driver to maintain their line through the corners. This track has a number of corners that require the car to turn in, take a set and then hold a line for a fairly long time putting a lot of strain on the front tires. Neither Oz or Bahrain do this. Even so Grosjean said he expected to make Q3 before the red flag in Q2. His first stop to repair the damage from the turn one melee was a long one, showing the team's inexperience. We'll see how they do as the season progresses.

An interesting race over all, the crashes in turn one forced extra pit stops and strategy changes. Kimi in particular got a poor revision from Ferrari. Vettel said he wasn't aware his front wing was damaged for most of the race until a reporter pointed it out to him. Perhaps all those end plates, vanes and cascades are not as important as the teams think. Good for Nico and Merc for getting it right...Again.

[Scott]

Perhaps all those end plates, vanes and cascades are not as important as the teams think. Good for Nico and Merc for getting it right...Again.

Wasn't it Kimi that won a race a few years ago at Renault with a good chunk of his front wing missing?  (if I'm not mistaken it was in the same race his notorious 'Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing' quote came from) 

I totally agree, the aero guys might just be trying to do a 'make work project' out of the front wings just to keep their jobs.  Probably a good sized team just working on the front wing these days.

[Jericoke]

Another great race where it was easy to forget Nico was winning the race in a class of his own.

Everyone finished, so kudos to the people making the power units, brakes, wheels etc.  The cars all kept doing their job despite playing bumper cars, so kudos to all the chassis and aero designers for creating cars that can stand up to a little wear and tear.

I've been watching the 'extended coverage' that Sky provides, but I'm not seeing much value in it.  Maybe I just read too much about F1 between races so that nothing new can be said?  Or is it just time filling fluff?  (Like when Brundle asks Marko if his boys have a chance to win, and then chiding Marko for answering honestly?)

[vintly]

Very enjoyable race, credit to Nico for a near-faultless performance - he retook Ricciardo pretty quickly - although was never under any pressure. And credit to all the teams for finishing both cars - when did that last happen??

The Ferrari crash is an interesting one. Seb had reason to question Kvyatt perhaps, but he hadn't closed the door on the move, so it was there for the taking. Can't fault Kvyatt for that. Seb's continued defence of his part in the crash by blaming it fully on Kvyatt during radio transmissions and after the race is more illuminating. The fact that he hit his team-mate is a huge factor - he wouldn't be making such an impassioned defence if it was another team's race that got scuppered. But I also think he was simply caught out by the move, utterly surprised by it to the point where he slightly over-reacted and swerved left maybe a touch too heavily. I'm guessing he feels some responsibility for the crash (not much but a bit), but couldn't quite admit it at the time and deflected his angst 100% towards Kvyatt. Be interesting too to see if he changes his tune at all over the next week or so.

Looking forward to seeing Lewis and Nico have a straight scrap. And talk of Red Bull having the best slow-to-mid cornering speed is very nice to hear. Will their update really bring them up to speed with Ferrari I wonder.

Oh and congrats to Wiz, Scotty and BD for the 13 points haul in the GG!

[Scott]

The only story coming out of China seems to be the Vettel/Kvyat dust-up.  And most agree it was simply racing and that Vettel has over reacted, either in earnest or in-team self protection for ruining Kimi's race. 

Anyway, when I said I thought Kvyat made a wrong move, it was still just racing in my opinion, and I'm certainly glad the stewards saw no need to interfere with results or issue penalties, because none were warranted.  I've since had a better look at replays and have to agree that Kvyat gave enough room for both Ferraris and in fact Vettel hit Kimi long before Kvyat was even there.

I think that was only the second or third 0 DNF in the 8yrs I've been a member here.  Quite an accomplishment.

[Jericoke]

The only story coming out of China seems to be the Vettel/Kvyat dust-up.  And most agree it was simply racing and that Vettel has over reacted, either in earnest or in-team self protection for ruining Kimi's race. 

Anyway, when I said I thought Kvyat made a wrong move, it was still just racing in my opinion, and I'm certainly glad the stewards saw no need to interfere with results or issue penalties, because none were warranted.  I've since had a better look at replays and have to agree that Kvyat gave enough room for both Ferraris and in fact Vettel hit Kimi long before Kvyat was even there.

I think that was only the second or third 0 DNF in the 8yrs I've been a member here.  Quite an accomplishment.

Seeing the crash from Vettel's on board point of view, he ran out of room fast.  His comments were made without the benefit of a bird's eye view  replay. Hopefully he understands better when he sees it.

I think the very first modern turbo race, Australia 2014, had a 100% finish rate when we were expecting a mess of blown engines.  I could always look it up, but it's more fun to wonder about it.

[John S]

In that first corner Vettel reacted just like the rest of us drivers do when we're not paying particular attention and a really noisy car or bike, quite legally but unexpectedly, suddenly overtakes us.    

I'd expect better of a 4 X WDC at such adrenaline filled race start.

If you don't want someone up your inside Seb don't leave over a car's width open on the approach.