The 2012 Formula One Thread

[The Boston Dangler]

aaaaaallllllllriiiiight race fans! we're already off to a clusterfuck, as formula1.com and speed.com are giving 2 different schedules. to hell with speed's later times, i'm counting on f1's posted event times which have never lied to me.

2012 united states grand prix tv times (eastern):

practice 1: 10 am, friday
practice 2: 2 pm, friday
practice 3: 10 am, saturday
qualifying: 1 pm, saturday
race: 2 pm, sunday

edit:
seems indeed that f1 is lying to me, or thinks boston is central time zone time are correct for eastern now

 

[Imported]

Haven't had time to check.. is it on Speed or Fox? The actual race that is.

 

[abaez]

Any way Sky or the BBC will have this live streamed?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Haven't had time to check.. is it on Speed or Fox? The actual race that is.

it's on speed

Any way Sky or the BBC will have this live streamed?

bbc streams to uk only, sky streams to skysports customers only.

 

[RiDE]

The track actually looks better than all the other Tilkedromes... :thumbsup:

Too bad Vettel pretty much has this in the bag... 0.7 sec faster? Looks like another flag to flag win on Sunday.

 

[boomhower]

Very unique track, I like it. Interesting first turn and the Monaco esque corner looks like it will have some interesting moments.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

it's going to take an asteroid strike to stop vettel from taking the win and title tomorrow. already 3rd all-time pole positions, youngest champion, youngest double champion, 8th in win percentage, about to be youngest triple champion and joining fangio and schumacher with 3 titles in a row. perfect timing for the usgp.

 

[_Rick_]

I guess that asteroid struck, in the form of Massa taking one for the team, Webber's alternator blowing out, and an HRT blocking Seb long enough for Hamilton to pass.

Still, Seb and Lewis were so much in a class of their own, it was quite incredible to watch. Alonso was 30 seconds down, and quite a bit behind him was Massa, and then another more than 5s down was finally Button.

Great race by those two by the way.
Not sure what happened to Mercedes, but they were apparently the ones for whom the tires were picked correctly, judging by the wear...

Well, next week-end is going to be exciting. I do kind of hope Vettel pulls it through, but if Alonso does it, he would be equally deserving. Even if that probably means a DNF for Vettel.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

it sure did then again he took another asteroid hit last race and fought back to 3rd.

i was surprised vettel couldn't counter-attack hamilton, as well as massa driving to 4th. i liked the pirelli cowboy hat . ferrari choosing the penalty was brilliant thinking that paid off.

for alonso to win the title, he must overcome a 13 point deficit in the last race. the first tie-breaker, number of wins, goes to vettel.

if vettel finishes 4th or better, he wins the title.
if vettel finishes 5th, 6th or 7th, alonso must win the race to take the title.
if vettel DNF's, alonso must take 3rd or better to take the title.

1st : 25 points
2nd : 18 points
3rd : 15 points
4th : 12 points
5th : 10 points
6th : 8 points
7th : 6 points
8th : 4 points
9th : 2 points
10th : 1 point

 

[The Boston Dangler]

also, hamilton received 4 fresh tires and was off in 2.4 seconds! amazing!

 

[Skurge]

It's a shame hamilton got so many DNFs while leading, it would have made the fight for a lead mean a lot more. Seems like he is the only driver who has the car to take it to vettel. Next year he won't so I'm hoping Ferrari don't build a dog of a car next year.

 

[LTC8K6]

Alonso had a slow pit stop and got behind traffic, or he wouldn't have been quite so far back.

I wonder what Alonso could have done this year with a car that was just a little bit better?

 

[punjabiplaya]

Yeah, hearing those cars live was something that blew my mind (and ears). Great track and a really good race. Turn 1 is really crazy. The elevation can be seen from the highway. It was awesome to hear everyone cheering for the Lewis vs Seb battle.

 

[abaez]

it sure did then again he took another asteroid hit last race and fought back to 3rd.

i was surprised vettel couldn't counter-attack hamilton, as well as massa driving to 4th. i liked the pirelli cowboy hat . ferrari choosing the penalty was brilliant thinking that paid off.

I think the issue with Vettel not being able to counter attack is that Hamilton was WAY faster in the first part of the track (you can just see it in the S curve). It took awhile, but this lead to Hamilton finally getting close enough to get DRS to pass. Once he passed the fact that Hamilton was faster in the first sector, thus never allowing Vettel get into DRS range, made it so it was basically even after that.

 

[Skurge]

Alonso had a slow pit stop and got behind traffic, or he wouldn't have been quite so far back.

I wonder what Alonso could have done this year with a car that was just a little bit better?

Looking at Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso. Ignoring car reliability. They haven't made many, if any mistakes all season, but Alonso seems to do much better from bad starting postisions. I think with the cars being equal, Alonso would have probably taken it.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Looking at Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso. Ignoring car reliability. They haven't made many, if any mistakes all season, but Alonso seems to do much better from bad starting postisions. I think with the cars being equal, Alonso would have probably taken it.

i agree, in the same car alonso would probably be best over an entire season. that would be some bloody awesome racing, too!

 

[GoatMonkey]

Looking at Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso. Ignoring car reliability. They haven't made many, if any mistakes all season, but Alonso seems to do much better from bad starting postisions. I think with the cars being equal, Alonso would have probably taken it.

Remember way back to two weeks ago when Vettel started 24th and finished 3rd? That's not bad.

 

[LTC8K6]

Remember way back to two weeks ago when Vettel started 24th and finished 3rd? That's not bad.

Safety cars...2, I believe, otherwise Vettel probably never catches up.

And, Vettel has a better car... :whiste:

 

[_Rick_]

It took awhile, but this lead to Hamilton finally getting close enough to get DRS to pass.

Actually, he had DRS for a few laps, but never really got close enough on the straight, and then lost him again in the final sector.

What clinched it, was the car that was blocking Vettel in the esses section, making him slow down, and positioning Hamilton much better for an over-take with DRS.

Otherwise it might not have been possible, or would have happened much later or with much more difficulty.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah, I think Vettel stays in front of Hamilton if not for the moving chicane...

 

[The Boston Dangler]

not sure how i missed it, but anyway:

Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett to make up NBC F1 broadcast team

score!

 

[GoatMonkey]

not sure how i missed it, but anyway:

Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett to make up NBC F1 broadcast team

score!

No Bob Varsha next year? That's too bad, I've gotten used to listening to that guy call the races.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

No Bob Varsha next year? That's too bad, I've gotten used to listening to that guy call the races.

i've heard he is bound to fox and everyone else was on short-term contracts. he had been working with hobbs since the mid 80's.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/11/20/top-ten-pictures-2012-united-states-grand-prix/

 

[busydude]

Estabon driving for Sauber in 2013, and Charles Pic moves to Caterham.

No seat for Kobayashi in 2013