Chinese GP - 2015

[mork]

It's bloody cold here in Shanghai. I can't see heat related issues keeping Benz from finishing 1-2.

I wil post some crappy photos later from practice and the festival. Great firewall permitting. I just created a instgram acct, but cant post to it. Google and facebook are also useless here.

[flipstah]

McLaren should have a better likelihood of finishing this time.

[mork]

Alonso said they made progress. Maybe they'll finish ahead of Manor? Its odd typing that sentence.

[MGCM]

Here's to hoping for a full grid at race start, absolutely loving the grid this year.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by mork
Alonso said they made progress. Maybe they'll finish ahead of Manor? Its odd typing that sentence.

Unlike RBR bitchfest, McLaren has too much optimism. Extreme optimism.

Like they're forced to say it at gunpoint.

Manor is awesome; they weren't that behind with the big boys in an 'old' car.

[MGCM]

P2 showing a bit of a mixed grid, qualifying should be good

[rage2]

McLaren looking solid in both P1 and P2.

[flipstah]

^Middle of the pack.

[phreezee]

With lower temps, it'll be a cake walk for Mercedes and RBR will be back to bitching next race.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by phreezee
With lower temps, it'll be a cake walk for Mercedes and RBR will be back to bitching next race.

Not if Toro Rosso keeps doing what they're doing.



EDIT: The gods are listening to you, rage2!

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/al...ies-inevitable

Just crank it to 11 and let shit hit the fan.

[nzwasp]

Use imgur.com its not blocked in china - well according to my google search its not.

[mork]

Ill try imgur.

P2 was awesome. There was some actual racing. Benz and Ferrari wheel to wheel out of 14 and into 15!

Massa gave us some drama in P1 and i think Kvyat in P2.

[mork]

The Honda sounds like a broken tractor.

Also, the Benz Pavillion has a car under wraps. Might be unveiling something new?

[mork]

I think Ferrari wins again. It will be close because of pit strategy. Today is cool again. Yesterday Ferrari ran longer on the soft tires. Times were close on the medium.

Bringing my ear plugs today. These cars are not quiet at all.

[rob the knob]

rosberg bad attitude this year

team favorite ham sandiwch?

Nico bemoans unnecessary Merc pressure
2015-04-11 13:35:23 RSS
Share:
Nico bemoans unnecessary Merc pressure
Nico Rosberg admits Mercedes will need to revise their communication after they put him under unnecessary pressure during qualifying at Shanghai on Saturday.

The German will start Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix behind his Merc team-mate Lewis Hamilton after he was just four-hundredths of a second slower on his final lap in Q3.

Rosberg was heard shouting "come on guys" over the radio after he was told he missed out by the narrowest of margins and he later added that the team told him to speed up a bit on his final warm-up lap in qualifying.

"We need to look at that as that was not ideal to put me under pressure like that," he told Sky Sports F1.

"I don’t think it cost me anything, but even the mind-set to know that I have to speed up a bit... so we need to look into that."

Although frustrated by missing out on P1, Rosberg hopes to turn the tables on Hamilton on Sunday by putting pressure on the reigning World Champion.

"I’m frustrated with today’s result because four hundredths of a second is nothing," he later added in a team statement. "I had a good lap at the end but, in hindsight, it’s always possible to see where you could have found that little bit extra. But that’s the situation for me now and I’m still confident for tomorrow.

"I’ve focused on race pace with my set up and I know that tyres will be the decisive factor tomorrow. So I will be aiming to put a lot of pressure on Lewis ahead of me."

[rob the knob]

Qualy: Fifth Shanghai Pole For Hamilton
2015-04-11 10:10:20 RSS
Share:
Qualy: Fifth Shanghai Pole For Hamilton
There was no Shanghai surprise in qualifying on Saturday as Lewis Hamilton claimed his third successive Chinese Grand Prix pole, beating Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton signalled his intent in his very first flying lap of Q3, posting a 1:35.782 while Rosberg crossed the line 0.280s slower.

Both drivers had a second run late in the 12-minute session however Hamilton was unable to improve on his previous best leaving it up to Rosberg to challenge.

But while the German upped his pace, he fell short by 0.042s.

It was Hamilton's 41st career pole and meant he maintained a 100 percent record in qualifying for the 2015 season, while it was also the fifth time that he took P1 in Shanghai.

Behind them Williams initially held the best of the rest positions with Felipe Massa third ahead of Valtteri Bottas before Sebastian Vettel, using a set of scrubbed tyres, split the Grove pairing.

Opting for brand new soft tyres for the final run, Kimi Raikkonen climbed to third place only to be dropped by Bottas who in turn lost out to both Vettel and Massa.

The quartet - all battling to be runners-up to Mercedes - ended with Vettel third ahead of Massa, Bottas and Raikkonen.

Daniel Ricciardo was seventh ahead of Romain Grosjean, Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.

Pastor Maldonado and Daniil Kvyat missed out on Q3 places by 0.07s and 0.082s respectively while for the first time this season neither Toro Rosso driver made it into the qualifying shoot-out.

Max Verstappen finished P13 and Carlos Sainz one place further back while Sergio Perez was 15th.

Meanwhile, despite being in ninth and 12th places as the drivers began their final flying laps in Q1, both Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso found themselves falling down the timesheets.

The McLaren duo each had one lap of their own to try find a way into Q2 but it was not to be. Button finished 17th, 0.2s away from a Q2 berth, while Alonso was 18th. The team-mates were separated by 0.004s.

Nico Hulkenberg qualified just ahead of them in 16th place while the Manor drivers, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, were slowest of all.

Times
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:35.782
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.824 0.042
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:36.687 0.905
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:36.954 1.172
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:37.143 1.361
6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.232 1.450
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:37.540 1.758
8 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:37.905 2.123
9 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:38.067 2.285
10 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:38.158 2.376
11 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:38.134
12 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:38.209
13 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:38.393
14 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:38.538
15 Sergio Perez Force India 1:39.290
16 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:39.216
17 Jenson Button McLaren 1:39.276
18 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:39.280
19 Will Stevens Manor 1:42.091
20 Roberto Merhi Manor 1:42.842

[rage2]

Rosberg should sign with RBR.

[ganesh]

Originally posted by rage2
Rosberg should sign with RBR.

Agree. It will be a match made in heaven.

[MGCM]

omg nico at redbull, would be epic. He is bitching about being "pressured" to speed up? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, what a dumbass, guess he should just ignore the team and miss his final qualifying lap

[mork]

We were in a sea of hamilton supporters, across from the Finns and Seb supporters so qualifying was fun.

Hope it's a good race!!

Also, i ate a deep fried tempura cuttle fish on a stick at the festival. The brit selling pizza told me i would regret it, but it was awesome. Lol. Who the hell goes to shanghai to eat pizza?

Xiaolongbao! Deep fried pork chop! And deep fried animals on a stick! I love this place!