The Official 2009 Japanese Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***

matt3454 Wrote:
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> It's the setups they won't have 100%, vettel n co
> would have done numerous house in the simulator
> and old imagine the new Tarmac will offer great
> grip when dry


Vettel drove here in 2006 as the 3rd BMW drive on Friday.

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theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

Glad I didnt get up for FP2 then!

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

Free Practise 1

1 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:40.356 24
2 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:40.648 0.292 18
3 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:40.806 0.450 14
4 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari 1:40.985 0.629 27
5 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:41.421 1.065 26
6 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:41.443 1.087 15
7 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:41.532 1.176 22
8 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:41.577 1.221 25
9 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:41.821 1.465 19
10 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:42.188 1.832 20
11 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:42.332 1.976 10
12 21 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:42.475 2.119 15
13 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:42.657 2.301 13
14 11 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:42.667 2.311 27
15 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:42.833 2.477 17
16 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:42.977 2.621 14
17 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:43.218 2.862 11
18 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:43.318 2.962 17
19 10 Kamui Kobayashi Toyota 1:43.407 3.051 16
20 8 Romain Grosjean Renault 1:43.572 3.216 22

Fisi 4th then - wow!

That could show one of 2 things - either that it takes 2 races to get used to the Ferrari and that Badoer would have done much better at Monza or that Fisichella is just a fast learner.

Sounds like I didn't miss much then! Good to hear there's rain about at least, some changeable weather during quali and/or the race would be awesome. As long as it's not a '94-style monsoon.
I'm thinking Vettel could surprise people a lot this weekend, especially if there's rain during the race. It's the kind of track he could really outperform his car on.

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Ho3n3r Wrote:
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> Fisi 4th then - wow!
>
> That could show one of 2 things - either that it
> takes 2 races to get used to the Ferrari and that
> Badoer would have done much better at Monza or
> that Fisichella is just a fast learner.

i was watching it, he set that time when the track was in better shape, others had been out putting laps in so their tyres were wearing out more. I wouldnt read too much into these times

Ho3n3r Wrote:
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> Fisi 4th then - wow!
>
> That could show one of 2 things - either that it
> takes 2 races to get used to the Ferrari and that
> Badoer would have done much better at Monza or
> that Fisichella is just a fast learner.

I wouldn't read much into it - it was damp after all, so it means very little really.

While he's better than this, I still expect him to be in the lower half of the grid, struggling to get into Q2.

//edit: DJs response was far more informed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2009 01:09PM by gav.

EC83 Wrote:
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> Turkey-machine, those vids make sweet viewing!
> Thanks for that!

My favourite of all those is Alesi's barnstormer in the Ferrari. That was an awesome lap!

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Everyone knows that million-to-one chances happen 9 times out of 10; indeed, it's a common requirement in fairy tales. If the human didn't have to overcome huge odds, what would be the point? Terry Pratchett - The Science Of Discworld

GPGSL S5 Race driver for IED.

I watched half an hour of FP1 yesterday night. Brawn were pretty useless in the rain. Dunno how hard they were trying though.

EC83 Wrote:
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> I'm thinking Vettel could surprise people a lot
> this weekend, especially if there's rain during
> the race. It's the kind of track he could really
> outperform his car on.

I think the Red Bull will be fast here anyway (just like Silverstone), so Vettel is a great chance for a win. It would be nice for Red Bull to put some pressure on Brawns in the last few races!

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X (@ed24f1)

I got up for FP2!

Bloody hell, should've just stayed asleep.

Now you know how I felt being up at 4am on a Sunday for Bahrain, Nurby and other Tilke-crap

Guimengo Wrote:
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> Now you know how I felt being up at 4am on a
> Sunday for Bahrain, Nurby and other Tilke-crap

The difference being that normally the session you got up to watch actually had some cars.

For an hour I think it was 2 cars went out. Cars only came out to do laps with 20min to go.

As it was, I was up at 5am on Thursday anyway, and will probably just keep that sleep pattern until Monday.... alternatively, I might just set it to record and then start watching as soon as I get up (PVRs/Sky+/Windows Media Center = yay!).

turkey_machine Wrote:
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> EC83 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Turkey-machine, those vids make sweet viewing!
> > Thanks for that!
>
> My favourite of all those is Alesi's barnstormer
> in the Ferrari. That was an awesome lap!

It was, and pretty reflective of his drive in the race too - mindblowing!
One LOL for me was Murray's comment over the 1988 vid - "Suzuka might not exactly be a great track, but it has its moments!" How times change...

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If you want some high resolution pictures from Friday Practice, click the link below (pictures are from F1 Fanatic):

[www.mediafire.com]

@ Ed: I'm sorry, but you've been saying that every race and RB somehow manage to screw things up every time. You're losing your credibility, man!

Monza972 schreef:
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> I got up for FP2!
>
> Bloody hell, should've just stayed asleep.


Will you just listen to me next time?

Nickv Wrote:
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> @ Ed: I'm sorry, but you've been saying that every
> race and RB somehow manage to screw things up
> every time. You're losing your credibility, man!
>
>
> Monza972 schreef:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I got up for FP2!
> >
> > Bloody hell, should've just stayed asleep.
>
>
> Will you just listen to me next time?

Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Who knows what you could be saying with so many "cakes"

alexf1man Wrote:
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> If you want some high resolution pictures from
> Friday Practice, click the link below (pictures
> are from F1 Fanatic):
>
> [www.mediafire.com]
> 975a4fc82078ae6c8555315d631b9bb3d416b94653a3044fd

Thanks

Monza972 Wrote:
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> Nickv Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > @ Ed: I'm sorry, but you've been saying that
> every
> > race and RB somehow manage to screw things up
> > every time. You're losing your credibility,
> man!
> >
> >
> > Monza972 schreef:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I got up for FP2!
> > >
> > > Bloody hell, should've just stayed asleep.
> >
> >
> > Will you just listen to me next time?
>
> Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Who knows what you
> could be saying with so many "cakes"

At least we have Interlagos coming up, which'll be perfect for us Europeans. From one extreme to the other!

I've got a good mind to just stay up for quali when I get back home. I'll definitely miss it if I try taking a power nap!

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Just got in, not drunk thankfully so tempted to take a quick nap before P3, then again a nap between P3 and qualifying, though it would be more sensible to sleep till qualifying!!! hmm tough!

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

damn! I got puffy eyes because of this crap!