FORMULA 1 2008 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix

[Fergie1]

Interesting shot in the GP2 asia race, would be good to see it tomorrow.

[shailf1]

Interesting shot in the GP2 asia race, would be good to see it tomorrow.

That is what happens in f1 as well. The guys in there are responsible for changing the cameras where there is action going on.

[Fergie1]

No its race control as you can see Charlie Whiting. That was why I said it would be interesting to see it tomorrow.

[iceman1]

* If Hamilton wins he needs Massa to finish fifth or lower to win the title.
* If Hamilton finishes second he needs Massa to finish seventh or lower to win the title.
* If Hamilton finishes third he needs Massa to finish ninth or lower and Kubica not to win to become champion.
* If Hamilton finishes fourth or lower he will not win the title in Shanghai.

Early forecasts suggested Sunday would see a sprinkling of rain and as we get closer to the start of the race that still seems likely. We’re not looking at a Silverstone-style downpour, more a light sprinkling.

[TwistedArmco]

According to Ted Kravitz, Hamilton was light, but he's been wrong before. In my view, the best strategies (which obviously the championship contenders can't really pursue) would be heavier ones, given the predicted thunderstorms for the race..

Heavier strategies haven't really worked well this season and especially if there's difficult conditions such as thunderstorms, there will definitely be a safety car period at the first stint. Then they all come to the pits at the same time and the fuel strategy advantage some guys could have had gets flushed away.

Even if there wouldn't be a safety car, the leading driver can make a good 5-10 seconds gap and that will be enough. That's why lighter strategies work better if you can clinch the pole position.

I was thinking kind of Monza, where Kubica, Alonso and Heidfeld made 1-stoppers work well for themselves. But I guess that's kind of flawed thinking, given that Monza was wet-Quali. But I think that light and wet running, as often happens at China, makes the front-runners double stint their inters, which could put them in some sticky situations when it comes to the second stint, as Fernando found out in 2006, and Lewis last year. Mind you, heavier running on a set of inters probably wouldn't help either. It will probably be a lottery.

[shailf1]

offtopic
After finishing first and second in Japan last week Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica took each other on once again: in karts!

The pair took each other on at SIC Kart World at Shanghai, Alonso setting a new lap record of 55.46s during their race.

Both drivers have extensive experience in karting from their junior days. Here’s a video of their private one-on-one race:

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Bx__gIkv4[/youtube]

[swca92]

If you trust Ted Kravitz you need your brain tested.He said Webber was fueled for 12 or 13 seconds,yet Webber qualified 6th and is obviously not brimmed with fuel.I think Heikki is light and simply messed up the qualifying lap,and Kimi is lighter than Massa,I'm almost certain of that.

[Lemans3]

thanks for the great vids!

Formula One 2008 Chinese GP
Qualifying
Premiere Coverage

A comparision of Hamilton's, Raikkonen's and Massa's laps for the Chinese GP

1:41 mins | 39,6 MB

Interesting Vid !

[shailf1]

With a very similar top five on the grid, will we see a repeat of the Fuji chaos at the first corner at Shanghai?

Lewis Hamilton is on pole position but he has title rival Felipe Massa starting in his wheeltracks and the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen alongside him. The presence of Fernando Alonso in fourth on the grid serves to ratchet the tension up another notch.

On top of that, there is an increasing chance of a drizzle of rain in the run-up to the start.

The start

Hamilton has the benefit of the cleaner side of the grid, but how much of a difference that makes at Shanghai is a little hard to tell: the last two races here started in wet conditions. The top four lined up in the same order here last year, and Hamilton shot off into the lead, but that is not necessarily a strong indication of how things will go tomorrow.

The Ferraris have been getting away from the line especially well recently which the Fuji scenario typified: Raikkonen was easily able to pick off Hamilton from second on the grid. Hamilton knows he must not be flustered by a repeat of such a move. Whether he can sufficiently master his competitive instincts to put that caution into action is the big-money question.

What is very different at Shanghai compared to Fuji is the first corner: no ultra-slow hairpin here, instead the tracks curves right and tightens progressively, before screwing back in the opposite direction. It’s like a longer version of the first turn at Sepang, another of Herman Tilke’s track.

The lack of a sudden, sharp braking point tends to lessen the opportunity for first-corner lunges and passes. That said, GP2 Asia racer Earl Bamber managed to pick off a couple of his rivals by taking an unorthodox outside line in the right hander, and benefiting from the track turning left.

If Ferrari expect Raikkonen to beat Hamilton away from the line, perhaps he has been briefed to hug that inside line and back off in an attempt to delay Hamilton, giving Massa the chance to get by. Think back to how well Raikkonen’s little lift on the throttle in front of Hamilton worked out at the first corner at Interlagos last year.

The strategy

Hamilton has been very quick all weekend, so even a situation where he ends the first lap behind both Ferraris isn’t necessarily a disaster for him. It’s doubtful McLaren put him on an aggressively light strategy to take pole position: even though he claimed it by the fairly comfortable margin of 0.3s, he’s had roughly that amount in hand over the Ferraris all weekend.

For Ferrari they simply must get Raikkonen ahead of Hamilton at the start and then either hope Hamilton’s impulsiveness or the stewards’ randomness does the hard work for them. Otherwise they may find themselves having to contain a rapid McLaren.

If Massa pulls off a Hungaroring-style demon start and leads Raikkonen and Hamilton at the end of lap one, Ferrari will surely use Raikkonen to delay Hamilton.

[fclen]

offtopic
After finishing first and second in Japan last week Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica took each other on once again: in karts!

The pair took each other on at SIC Kart World at Shanghai, Alonso setting a new lap record of 55.46s during their race.

Both drivers have extensive experience in karting from their junior days. Here’s a video of their private one-on-one race:

That must have been pretty exciting for the locals!

[TwistedArmco]

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Bx__gIkv4[/youtube]

Ok.. Who speaks Japanese??

[Fergie1]

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Bx__gIkv4[/youtube]

Ok.. Who speaks Japanese??

I thought it was Chinese.

[F1 Champion]

Robert and Fernando seem to be very good friends. Can't imagine Felipe and Lewis doing the same thing

[TwistedArmco]

I thought it was Chinese.

We're both wrong..

It's not Japanese, but there's no such thing a Chinese.. It's probably Mandarin/Shanghai Wu (if it's a local TV station).
(But yeah, MY BAD.. )

[shailf1]

does anyone know where i can get a race map showing the realtive position of drivers on the track live!