Formula One 2010 Season

[Troy]

Drivers Championship
Mark Webber - 93 points
Jenson Button - 88
Lewis Hamilton - 84
Fernando Alonso - 79
Sebastien Vettell - 78

Constuctors Championship
McLaren - 172 points
Red Bull - 171
Ferrari - 146
Mercedes - 100
Renault - 73

​

Great season so far. Some really entertaining races after that dull opener in Bahrain. It seems like Red Bull and McLaren will battle it out for the rest of the season to win the two championships since their cars seem far superior to the other teams.

Last race was close between the four main drivers and in the end a bad error by Vettell cost his team a 1-2 finish. Hopefully the two Red Bull drivers can get over their differences and work together better in Canada and beyond so they can win both championships.​

 

[Troy]

Canadian GP is this weekend and after free practice Vettel is top just ahead of Alonso, Rosberg and Webber. Both McClaren's are well down on where they should be but it is just practice and it doesn't mean that much when qualifying starts.

It's a pity about time zones as the race is in the early hours of the morning so I won't be able to watch it.

 

[Troy]

Qualfying was early morning my time and the top five are; Hamilton, Webber, Vettel, Alonso and Button.

It was a superb lap by Hamilton to take pole, the first time that a Red Bull hasn't won poll this season, he made a huge last lap which sent him to the top of the board. I find it humourous that Webber outqualified Vettel again, he is in great form and is still outperforming his teammate. This track isn't meant to be helpful for the Red Bulls so it will be interesting to see how they go tonight.

 

[R.D Punk]

wow. The Canadian GP comes back and it is the best race in a long time. For me this race had everything that was lacking this year and it was overtacking and tactics. The Tyres played a massive part in the race and at every race I propose Bridgestone should bring tyres which won't last the race because seeing pit-stops are fun and it lead to some good overtakes and some bad. Also Kubica nearly killing someone by cutting infront of them lol. Overall, a very good race and a very tight championship.

 

[Troy]

I missed the race since it was on too early in the morning, first race I have watched this season. Webber's gearbox change meant he couldn't win it and then add to that his tyres degrading really fast and he was lucky to get fifth. Pit-stops are entertaining and there aren't enough anymore with cars now being fueled for the entire race at the start.

With the huge amount of points on offer each race this is going to come down to the final couple of races before a clear leader will emerge.

 

[R.D Punk]

You missed the race and it was the best one so far, that's unlucky . Webber had a five place drop which was disappointing but he made a very good start and a good overtake on Button at turn 6 where it looked impossible to pass but he had a very bad strategy in trying to make the Hard Tyres last for too long. He's having a good season but as of now he needs to start driving a little more stratgic and make sure he can get the stop correct because he could of won the race if it wasn't for the tyre degrdation.

 

[Troy]

Yeah bad timing, it was on at 2am I think, I will try to catch a replay later this week. The tyre situation was strange since Red Bull thought that the hard tyres would last better on that track then soft and give them a good advantage, obviously it didn't work out that way. Red Bull have been making some bad mistakes this year and it shows that they haven't been around for long. They have had a driver on pole for all but one race yet aren't leading either championship.

European GP is the next race on June 27 so not too long to wait between races. Schumacher has won there six times, Alonso and Barichello twice and Massa once. Will most likely come down to Red Bull vs McLaren again with Ferrari close behind.

 

[R.D Punk]

I think your getting the GP venue mixed up because I think it's at Valencia isn't it and it hasn't been on for more than 6 times? Don't quote me on that but I am sure you are getting confused with when it was held at the Nernburgring. Red Bull have by far the quickest car it's just that they havn't delvolped it that much compaired to how the McLaren's have been pushing there development. If they were to get a new update to improve stright line speed then they will be unbelivebaly quick. The mistake of letting Vettel and Webber race against each other at Turkey was monumentally bad but they need to have some sort of team plan to stop these things happening. You said that Red BUll thought the hard would last and everyone did, it's just everyone thought the track would behave one way and it did the exact opposite. It was good and bad to see Shumi back to being agressive again

 

[Troy]

Ah my mistake, I was looking at the stats for the European GP in general and not the Valencia track which is where it is now held. It has only been held there the last two years and Barichello and Massa have won those races.

Did Red Bull use the F-Duct system at the Canadian GP or have they still not added it during races yet? If they can add that then it will boost their straight line speed a lot. The crash in Turkey really hurt the team and the drivers standing as it would have put them clear in front of the McLaren's.

 

[R.D Punk]

Ermm, I think that have it installed I think they are trying to develop it though because they cannot test mid season as you know so I think that they use it in Practise sessions but in the race I don't know. The Red Bull need a bigger package to make sure that they hold an advantage over the other teams because they have okay drivers but if they have a car that is slower I can't see them push it to the limit such as Lewis Hamilton last season.

So who do you feel is the best driver on the field? Regardless of team and point if you know what I mean?

 

[Troy]

Red Bull have missed the boat with the start of the season, they had a much better car but haven't improved whereas McLaren have improved the car a lot this season.

It is tough to pick the best driver since there are a lot you could throw a blanket over as there are a lot of talented drivers there. For me I would have to pick Hamilton and Alonso as the most naturally talented drivers. They can do extraordinary things even if the car isn't up to scratch and can work their way out of trouble, like Alonso did at Monaco. Hamilton just needs to stop being so aggressive and then he will be close to unstopable.

 

[R.D Punk]

For me, some of the best drivers have to be the one's that are naturally fast and can still pull out a win. Lewis and Fernando have proven that when they have a fast car they can win and when they have a poor car they can still come back and win. On term's of quality of driving, Jenson Button has a very smooth driving style which is also quick. However, one of my favorite drivers to watch has to be Massa because when he is going quick, god he is quick, and when he is going slow, god he's still mid table. All of the drivers are naturally fast but I just feel that Lewis and Fernando just have something about them that makes then just alot faster, maybe the desire to win? Some of the worse drivers have to be Kubica, Vettel and Adrian Sutil. This guys have speed yes but the ammount of times they have either crashed, Sutil the most guilty of that, they (Kubica and Vettel) have won but really they have been on pole I think when they win normally. Another driver that gets some points for being quick, Nico Rosberg, this man has speed and as we seen at the begging of the season, can get points and high podium places until Mercades changed their wheel base size so Shumi can get fast. Speaking of Shumi, did you see his dirty tactics at the Candian GP yet?

 

[Troy]

Button always looks to be in complete control when driving unlike quite a few others, his racing style is very smooth but I don't think that he has that same impressive ability that Hamilton and Alonso have on winning from the back. Sutil is an odd one, he qualifies well but rarely performs over the distance of a race, he either crashes or makes a back mistake causing him to drop down the rankings. Vettel is weak under pressure as well, he has shown that this season when Webber was outpacing him in the past few races. He can't handle being the number two and he really needs to work on his mental strength.

I haven't been able to watch a replay yet. What did he do during the race?

 

[R.D Punk]

It was just him not wanting to give up his place even though he had a poor car. Firstly, he came out of the pit lane and was racing Kubica down too turn 3 and Kubica had the inside line but Shumi just drove straight over the grass leaving Kubica to make a very rsiky move to follow him, then it's just general dangours driving with a very poor, oversteering car. Then also, on the back straight Massa was coming down the outside into the final corner and Shumi pretty much break tested him so Massa had to turn onto the grass and break his front wing. It was one of Shumi's worst races if I am to be honest.

 

[R.D Punk]

Red Bull have released that they have a lot of updates that will help increase straight line speed and reduce the drag on the straights via there version of the F-Duct. Really, the most dominant team this season, just got a lot quicker. So what are people's thoughts on Red Bull becoming even quicker? Do you think they can win the constructors championship or are they doomed and being over taken by McClaren or even Ferrari or Mercedes?