2012 Italian Grand Prix ***SPOILERS***

Lap Record: 1.21.046 (Rubens Barrichello, 2004)





News:

As Romain Grosjean is banned for this race, Jerome D'Ambrosio takes over this weekend.

Ma Qing Hua will drive in FP1 for HRT.

Lotus will not use Double DRS until Suzuka.

Pastor Maldonado has a 10-place grid penalty.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Will be interesting to see how D'Ambrosio goes. Liuzzi was able to do very well for Force India in 2009 in similar circumstances.

Also will be very interesting to see intra-team battle at McLaren this weekend as they'll be very quick. If we get a Button vs. Hamilton battle in the race it will be interesting. Saubers will again be very fast I imagine, hopefully for them they can survive Turn 1 this time!

With Maldonado back in the pack, hopefully he can at least get through Turn 1 without doing as much damage as Liuzzi last year!

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X (@ed24f1)

SchueyFan Wrote:
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> With Maldonado back in the pack, hopefully he can
> at least get through Turn 1 without doing as much
> damage as Liuzzi last year!


Good luck.

You must be joking! After what Liuzzi did, compared to Grosjean I'm surprised he wasn't banned. Oh wait, he didn't take Vettel out (the only real title contender)...

And Maldonado will be very lucky not to crash in Italy given how fast the track is - if I remember correctly he crashed going into the pits during Qualifying last year...

Wow, what have the stewards got to do to keep people happy? They're finally acting on bad behaviour, and now people are saying they're being inconsistent. Well, they've got to start being strict somewhere, otherwise it'd be a slap on the wrists every time... just for the sake of consistency.

Anyway isn't it like football? They have different referees for each match, some are more lenient than others. They accept that as part of the game, "how strict will the ref be today?". Why can't people in F1 accept that? We have different driver's stewards every race, naturally some are going to take a dim view whereas others will not.



As for Monza, though... I know we say it every year, but I've got a feeling that Mercedes might do well in qualifying. We saw how fast they were down the straights in Spa, so maybe they'll be the same here?

And what about Red Bull? Do they get to change their gear ratios? They were dead slow down the straights at Spa - obviously not what you want here!

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You know you want to. [judgegrudge.mybrute.com]




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2012 10:36AM by flat tyre.

Yes exactly. You can't let a previous ruling for another incident dictate the outcome of the next investigation. I think they got the Grosjean ban spot on. That's not to pick on Grojean or be unduly punitive but he has been involved in far too many incidents and so far he hasn't learnt from them. A race ban is one of the few things likely to make a driver go "oh @#$%&, I @#$%& that up". And just because Maldonaldo or others haven't exactly recieved that verdict from the stewards yet when they perhaps should have is no reason to let Grosjean off for a bit of driving which was frankly reckless weather it was intentional or not.

Oh and I bloomin well love Monza. I can feel the atmosphere, character and heritage ooze out of my television screen

I think this should be an interesting race.. On recent Monza form I think it'll between Ferrari and McLaren so possibly another dog fight between Alonso and Button and since Button has finished P2 here for the past 3 years it's probably about time he won it.

Many people will probably fancy Mercedes for this race, they did last year as well. Like last year I disagree. There's more to Monza than sheer straight line speed as proved by Button and his high downforce and F-duct combination in 2010, and Vettel with his short gearing setup in 2010.

So good traction is as important as top speed. The Renault cars could look handy. So Red Bull and Lotus should also be contenders. I'd like to say Williams as well but Maldonaldo is a prat and has a 10 place grid drop and Bruno is too frigging slow.

A request to some of you guys.

I have recently moved out, so have no SkyF1. Last week I was fortunate the BBC were airing the race but this week that isnt the case. My plan is to listen to 5live, watch live timing but also find a stream?

Could you PM me a link maybe to any streams you guys watch, if you do?

Thanks.

MODS - If the post is inappropriate feel free to remove

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Try the VIPBOX links in the SKY v BBC thread.

Can't wait for this race. Another strong result for Jenson like he had in 2010 would be great for the title battle, and I hope the Lotus can be strong too for Kimi and Jerome, although that car seems not to suit fast circuits so well.
Either way it should be an unpredictable race, since we've not been to a circuit quite like this so far.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2012 08:10PM by EC83.

And when I say unpredictable race, I mean even by 2012 standards!!

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I hope Jerome does well. He mentioned when doing the GP2 commentary that he was in talks over 2013, and a good result might put him in the shop window somewhat.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Quote
Incident 2k9
I hope Jerome does well. He mentioned when doing the GP2 commentary that he was in talks over 2013, and a good result might put him in the shop window somewhat.

The problem is, what constitutes a good performance? Qualifying for Q2? Top 10? Finishing within 30 seconds of Kimi? In a pack so tight, it'll be bloody hard to come out of the weekend with a stronger reputation than one went in. He'll have to go some to impress, but then it's Monza, so a bit different to every other track, so perhaps it won't be as much of a hindrance than it would have been at, say, Hockenheim.

It's pretty impossible to judge performances for reserve drivers. Liuzzi, a driver who arguably was no more than a mid-field number-maker in F1 who hadn't raced that season, qualified in 7th place at Monza in 2009. Fisichella, a guy who'd raced season-long, was on pole and finished on the podium in the previous event, qualified 7th from the back at the same event.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2012 08:45PM by gav.

gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I hope Jerome does well. He mentioned when doing
> the GP2 commentary that he was in talks over 2013,
> and a good result might put him in the shop window
> somewhat.
>
>
> The problem is, what constitutes a good
> performance? Qualifying for Q2? Top 10? Finishing
> within 30 seconds of Kimi? In a pack so tight,
> it'll be bloody hard to come out of the weekend
> with a stronger reputation than one went in. He'll
> have to go some to impress, but then it's Monza,
> so a bit different to every other track, so
> perhaps it won't be as much of a hindrance than it
> would have been at, say, Hockenheim.
>
> It's pretty impossible to judge performances for
> reserve drivers. Liuzzi, a driver who arguably was
> no more than a mid-field number-maker in F1 who
> hadn't raced that season, qualified in 7th place
> at Monza in 2009. Fisichella, a guy who'd raced
> season-long, was on pole and finished on the
> podium in the previous event, qualified 7th from
> the back at the same event.

I was sort of thinking perhaps a top 6 finish...bit ambitious perhaps but hey-ho...

That 2009 Force India was very good at Belgium and Italy. Liuzzi did get 7th, yes, but Sutil was actually 2nd on the grid for that race. Fisichella would probably have been closer to Sutil had he remained at FI, but of course the lure of driving a Ferrari at Italy was too big for him to stay.

Don't forget that the Ferrari that season was apparently difficult to drive. Raikkonen was used to it having driven the car for some considerable time, but Giancarlo had to align himself with a new chassis, a new engine and KERS.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

J i m Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SchueyFan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > With Maldonado back in the pack, hopefully he
> can
> > at least get through Turn 1 without doing as
> much
> > damage as Liuzzi last year!
>
>
> Good luck.

With the usual prime candidate banned from this race, yeah, Maldonado might be worth watching. :P

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Alright Felipe, you have a real shot at the podium. Try not to screw it up.



Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps

i hope Felipe doesn't stall.

Ferrari strategy should be, send Felipe to the lead and hold both Macca's while Fernando recovers until the first pit stop, Felipe needs to be super agressive

If the GP2 chaps can make it through the first corner crash-free, so can the F1 drivers.

Speaking of GP2, Luca Filippi was brilliant today. Gets into the Coloni and drives his heart out.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

I think the race might be interesting with the times as close as they are.

I think Alonso will find it hard to progress as he will just find what many did last week, its ok having drs but if everyone else has it open you go no where.

Same up front, if button leads into turn 1 it could be game over for lewis but the way things are at the moment I cannot see either of them giving way.

I get the feeling that Hamilton will find his way past Button somehow, even if Button makes the better start. He's aggressive and Button can be too... err, 'gentlemanly' :p

Di Resta impressed me, I forgot all about his penalty and was gutted when I found out! I'm no fan of Di Resta's, I think he's average at best, but I always like to see an underdog at the front of the grid. At least Schumacher is there to take his place.

I know Alonso had problems, but Massa always seems to do well when his seat's under pressure - I would be amazed if he can get on the podium, but he has a fast car and my fingers are crossed for him!

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You know you want to. [judgegrudge.mybrute.com]

I have suspicion that Button might end up in front of Hamilton at the end of the race. He seems to be better at tyre management, and that will prove to be important in this race. The car may be flattering Di Resta. Traditionally FI cars do well in low downforce configurations.

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It's only after we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything.