2012 Japanese GP (Suzuka) - Oct 7th

Can someone please show me, link me, or even just sketch out what happened with the Alonso-Vettel situation?
I'm talking about the penalty! 😁

Where did this even take place?

-just caught up by reading the previous page. It makes sense now.

Vergne picked up a three-place penalty for blocking Senna.

Picture of the incident currently being reviewed.
Looking at this shot, I don't really think Vettel is at fault here...
https://twitter.com/ESPNF1/status/25...511168/photo/1

Jason Campbell70 said:

Roger Wright94 said:What on earth happened with Alonso in Q3?
Everyone else (some by a huge margin) improved their times in Q3 compared to Q2. Based on his Q2 pace, Alonso should have been starting 4th.
Wasn't he running Q3 on his Q2 tires?

Were you even watching qualifying? 😁

stormybadger8 said:He was fighting for time in Q1 (I think it was on the medium tires), and then again in Q2 (likely another set of mediums 🤷)...

It's entirely possible he didn't have a fresh set for Q3.🤷

And you? Did you watch qualifying?

Tires? What are you talking about? 🙄

Alonso had to lift during his fast lap because of the yellow flags shown after Raikkonen went off at Spoon.
That alone cost him over a second.

“What can I say, other than get angry about being unlucky? The yellow flags came at the worst possible moment, when i was Coming into Turn 14. Up ‘til then, my lap was great and there was every chance of setting the fourth fastest time of the day, which would have then seen me start from third on the grid

Unfortunately, whether Vettel is at fault or not doesn't have any clear connection to whether he receives a penalty or not...
Personally, I’m hoping they just leave him alone now and stop with these senseless penalties. Perhaps tomorrow the championship will be saved by an alternator or Webber stepping in. 😁

It also makes you wonder when Vettel actually spotted Alonso. If he saw him before turn 130, I really think he should have slowed down and drifted to the right before the chicane just to let Alonso past.
That way, the stewards wouldn't have any grounds to claim he was being a distraction to Alonso, since the driver behind can't predict which line you're taking or how hard you're going to brake...

Raymond Anderson4 said:Here is the shot of the incident currently under review.
Looking at this image, I don't see Vettel being at fault here...
https://twitter.com/ESPNF1/status/25...511168/photo/1

^^^


Entering the turn, car number 5 is on a hot lap, while car number 1 is crawling along the racing line. It's pretty obvious, isn't it?

I don't know... I'm pretty sure Sebastian Vettel just didn't spot him in time, and by then, there wasn't enough room left to dodge without causing trouble, so he did what he had to do... It's a bit of a tricky situation when you've got the rear end of the car drifting right onto the racing line.

Jason Campbell70 said:Tires? What tires? Total nonsense. 🙄

Alonso had to back off during his fast lap because of yellow flags after Raikkonen went off at Indianapolis.
That’s why he lost a second or so on the lap.

I thought Alonso was right on his tail and managed to clear the yellows without an issue. Maybe he just slowed down because he saw someone spinning up ahead.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I don't know...Sebastian Vettel must have seen him too late. By then, it was already too late to move off the racing line, so he just did what he had to do. It’s a bit tricky when you've got the rear end of the car hanging out over the ideal line, isn't it?

So, both Vettel and Red Bull Racing should take the hit here. Shouldn't the team have used the radio to warn him about what was happening behind him and let him know a faster car was closing in?

Just like the penalties handed out to Pic and the Marussia F1 team:

Fact.
Car 25 impeded Car 4 between Turns 15 & 16.
An offense involving a breach of Article 31.7 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
Decision?
A reprimand for Charles Pic and a $5,000 fine for the Marussia F1 team.
Reasoning?
The driver clearly missed the incoming car, and the team just didn't give him the heads-up he needed. Why wasn't he warned?
How close was Car 4?

The official FIA documentation regarding the 2012 season is now available online. It covers everything from technical regulations to specific race decisions. Useful for anyone looking to verify the rulings from that year. Stewards Decisions, Document No. 25.

Even if we consider that Pic's violation was far more trivial, and its impact on the final result was completely insignificant?
It happened during FP3.

Roger Wright94 said:I assumed Alonso was right on his tail and managed to clear the section without hitting any yellow flags. Unless, of course, he slowed down because he saw someone spinning ahead of him.

Let me point back to this specific part of Alonso's statement made right after qualifying:

“What can I say, other than get angry about being unlucky? The yellow flags came at the worst possible moment, when I was coming into Turn 14. Up ‘til then, my lap was great and there was every chance of setting the fourth fastest time of the day, which would have then seen me start from third on the grid

We really need to look at the standard racing line through that corner... if this is the path Fernando Alonso typically takes, we have to factor that into the equation.
Then again, that shouldn't be the deciding factor here. A driver can take a different line than everyone else just to mask unsportsmanlike behavior toward the car ahead of them.

TBF on the machines. ☕

Jason Campbell70 said:And you? Did you actually watch qualifying?

Unlike some people, yeah, I did.☕

Alonso was about half a second slower than Massa in Q1, then he went back out for a second run.
In Q2, he was again roughly 0.3 seconds behind Massa before heading out again...

http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...Felipe%20Massa

The thing is, we couldn't tell what tires he used during those second runs in Q1 and Q2...

But looking at the link, it's obvious he hit the track twice in Q1 (around laps 6-8) and twice in Q2 (laps 12-14).☕
It looks like he was on fresh yellows both times, which explains why he only pulled one fast lap in Q3.

People can talk all they want, but the reality is he messed up his own two laps in Q1 and Q2, and his decision to wait until the very end was just bad strategy...
It’s not exactly rocket science to realize things usually go sideways in the final minutes of a session...

Sebastian Vettel received a reprimand, but no penalty.