Nürburgring GP Recap: July 22, 2012

It’s obvious Vettel gained an advantage by going off track today and he earned that penalty.
I honestly have no clue what they were even debating or why he didn't get hit with a DT immediately, which would've dropped him to 3rd or 4th.
He should've known better himself, and frankly, the guys over at Red Bull should've realized the FIA would slap them with a penalty for breathing wrong, let alone something like this.
Given the drama early this morning, it was pretty much expected.

Seriously though, it's wild how inconsistently the FIA handles penalties and decisions.

Take today—we saw a situation that wasn't even worth a Safety Car.
Specifically, pieces of Massa's wing weren't exactly a hazard on the track, unlike those scraps of Vergenov's tire we saw in Valencia.👍
And obviously, the downpour during qualifying wasn't as dangerous as the rain we dealt with at Silverstone.
Everyone knows British rain is way more lethal than anything in Germany, just like tire debris from an STR is more dangerous than bits of a Ferrari wing lying on the asphalt.

Sure, this is totally fine when you're overtaking someone off-track, which is why everyone was busy arguing about Rosberg's penalty.👍
I guess it's okay to overtake off-track if you aren't even close to the rear wheels of the car in front of you.
And hey, if it were some other era it might have been a valid move, unless maybe it's just about the color and the branding of the car when they pull stunts like this.🤔

All in all, it looks like the main goal is just to screw Red Bull at any cost and kill off any chance of one team dominating.

Actually, thinking about it, the best way for Red Bull to get back into the championship fight would be to convince the German authorities to throw Bernia in jail.🤣

You held on long enough. You endured. 🙂

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, it looks like the main goal here is just to screw over Red Bull at any cost. It feels like they’re hellbent on killing off any chance of a single team actually dominating.

Even when I stop to think about it, the best move for Red Bull to actually get back into the title fight would be to convince the German authorities to throw Bernia behind bars.🤣

Honestly, this conspiracy theory doesn't sound half bad.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised at all if some greedy businessman decides they want a different winner on the podium after Red Bull dominates everything for two years straight.

Look, the fact remains that Red Bull has cleared a string of tests and complaints, even if they are constantly pushing the limits. They passed today, too. That pretty much dismantles this whole top-down conspiracy theory people keep pushing.

I should probably get back to what I was actually trying to say: that moment today when Lewis Hamilton pulled it off and overtook Sebastian Vettel.
I think any driver in that position would jump at the chance. If anyone's going to squeeze every bit of value out of a situation like this, it’s probably Lewis Hamilton. Asking him if he wants this opportunity is like asking a fish if it likes to swim. It's a no-brainer.
I can't say I blame Vettel for being on edge. That move came out of nowhere, totally unplanned, and it completely trashed his rhythm and focus. He’s got every right to be pissed off at how the whole situation unfolded and how much it threw him off his game, but honestly? I don't see anything Lewis Hamilton could have done differently. It was a clean move, plain and simple.

I’m with Lewis on this one. In that situation, there's no doubt he threw Sebastian Vettel off his rhythm. It doesn't mean he would have overtaken Fernando Alonso regardless, but he definitely cost him some serious time—we're talking a solid couple of seconds, 100%. If nothing else, he lost the chance to battle Button, and honestly, that’s the main reason Vettel walked away with fewer points today.

Sauber!!! 🙏 👍 🙏
Everything else was just pure garbage. 🙂
I’ve been looking at the lap comparisons, specifically from around lap 33, 38, and especially from lap 40 onwards, where Kamui Kobayashi was absolutely shredding everyone—Sebastian Vettel, Gumbić, Fernando Alonso, even Kimi Raikkonen (probably because they were on some brand new soft compound)—while Sergio Perez was putting up a bit more of a fight.
Reading through the comments above about who looked fastest today or yesterday... man, give me a break... the second my "guys" got a little breathing room, they were leaving everyone in the dust.
Check the numbers:
Button/Kobayashi ... 44 laps ... -29.378, end -14.976
Vettel/Kobayashi ... 44 laps ... -27.945, end -18.193
Alonso/Kobayashi ... 44 laps ... -30.191, end -21.925
Raikonen/Kobayashi ... 44 laps ... -14.102, end -5.516
It was a total beatdown, period.
They were slicing through everyone in front of them, while nobody could touch them.
If they had just finished two or three spots higher on the grid—and damn that NO red flag, since those two jokers in the red cars were already qualified anyway—I can confidently state that this was AT LEAST A PODIUM for Suber!!! 🤔
Which is exactly what everyone over at Sauber is saying:
http://www.sauberf1team.com/en/news....German Grand Prix
Forget rooting for the "big" teams; you've gotta back the underdogs. 😬

ruggedfox28 said:Funny how Hemić is suddenly a genius and most of you are busy defending his move to overtake kažiprst, but if Obrvan had done the exact same thing, you'd all be losing your minds. 🤣 🤣

If it were Obrvan, it'd be a total disaster. 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 😂

Michael Lee4 said:To Obrvan, just pure nonsense 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 😂

That one actually got me laughing. Hard. 😂

I guess it’s just easier to rely on cheap, random jokes when you can't call Alonso the championship leader anymore.

I'm just sitting here waiting for some fanatic of Kimijev to show up and call Fernando Alonso a crybaby. 🍿

Martin Whitmarsh is weighing in on how things are looking at McLaren, the state of the Formula 1 championship, their ambitions...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101453

That kind of positive, hungry attitude was actually on display during yesterday’s race with Jenson Button. It really highlights the massive philosophical gap between the heavy hitters and the smaller outfits, like Lotus.

I also caught a rumor somewhere that Lewis Hamilton wanted to call the race right then and there the moment he had to pit after that incident. If that gossip holds any water, the guy was clearly rattled.

Yeah, Hamilton was acting pretty defeatist yesterday.

Right after the collision, he was already saying they "should just give up." Then, once his tires were swapped, he kept insisting that "something still isn't right," which prompted his race engineer to basically snap back with, "we're working on it."

Not long after that, though, Hamilton was driving just as fast as the top three—at times, even faster.

And he ended up retiring without any mechanical issues at all.

stormybadger8 said:Honestly, I have to admit, the Red Bull Racing car just doesn't have the raw pace I was expecting.😢

It’s pretty clear that Ferrari is performing at a high level right now.😳
Huge respect to Fernando Alonso. That was a seriously convincing win.👍
Even if it didn't look like it on the surface, he was clearly in total control of the race from start to finish.

I swear, they’re just going to keep handing out penalties to Sebastian Vettel at this rate.😢

If you ask me, Red Bull Racing had the best race pace on the grid during this race. Just looking at how they handled themselves out there, they seemed to be in a league of their own when it came to maintaining speed over a long stint.

If I had to pick one car that truly owned the race pace this weekend, I’d have to go with the McLaren. It was hard to deny their speed once they got going. That said, things didn't exactly go smoothly for the drivers; both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button struggled quite a bit with tire degradation, which definitely muddied the waters when you look at the race as a whole. It wasn't exactly a flawless performance, but if you look back at their free practice sessions, it was clear they brought the best package to the track for this specific event.
Then I’d probably group Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, and Sauber—who was looking surprisingly solid toward the end—all into the same bucket.
So, Lotus takes third place, and the rest follows suit.

Fernando Alonso was absolutely dominant right where it mattered most—tearing through that opening sequence from Turn 1 all the way to Turn 6.

ruggedfox28 said:It’s pretty funny how suddenly Hemić is some kind of tactical genius and you guys are all jumping to defend his move to overtake the kažiprstbut if he’d pulled that same stunt on Obrvan, you lot would be absolutely dragging him through the mud instead. 🤣 🤣

I guess some of you subjective types might feel that way, but not me.

Honestly, Lewis Hamilton is looking better and better in my book👍 unlike certain SV types who just seem to be sliding downhill lately.

Lujo, get yourself over to Ferrari. ☕

The only thing that really bugs me about Seba is how he constantly tries to spin things... there’s just no reason for it.
For instance, back last season driving for Suzuki, he claimed he didn't see Jenson Button in his rearview mirror, even though the onboard camera clearly shows him staring right at that right side mirror.
To be fair, he wasn't breaking any rules—he closed the door on him properly, and I have to give him credit for that.
I would respect him a lot more if he had just been honest and said, "Yeah, I saw him coming from that side, so I moved to close the gap." It would be better than dodging the truth with those silly little lies, especially when every viewer watching the replay can see exactly what happened just a minute after the start.

It's the same story with yesterday's incident. Look, I went off track because I was pushing hard to overtake him in the heat of the race while fighting for position. That's just racing. There's no need to claim I didn't see him when Jenson Button was right there next to him.🙄

Raymond Anderson4 said:Same deal with yesterday's mess... damn, I went wide, tried to muscle past him during the heat of the race while fighting for position... that's basically it. Not to mention I didn't even see him, and Jenson Button was right there next to him. 🙄

instruction by Horner🙄
That’s one major difference between Ferrari and McLaren. They’ve had leadership for ages that knows exactly what their drivers need to say, when to say it, and gives them crystal clear directions on how to handle it.
And if they have to, they'll just write a statement for them.

Generally speaking, Red Bull is a total disaster when it comes to any kind of public statements—it goes all the way up the ladder.

Honestly, you should watch the post-race interviews. Domenicalli is actually turning into a legit, smart team principal.
No hype, no nonsense, no stupid debates about God knows what, and no getting bogged down with other teams or drivers.
Meanwhile, Christian Horner is the exact opposite.😢

Honestly, Christian Horner couldn't manage a preschool class of fifteen kids without losing his mind. 😬

But you're right, Domenicalli is definitely improving as time goes on.
It was such a struggle to stay focused after that rough start to the season... I really have to give credit to Fry, Tombazis, and the rest of the crew.
I’m actually glad they aren't rushing out upgrades just for the sake of it. They seem to be taking a very measured approach to development, which aligns perfectly with what Domenicalli mentioned in his post-race interview on Sunday. He noted how vital it is not to rush improvements; if you push things too hard too fast, it’s incredibly easy to lose your way.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) was dominant right where it mattered most, from Turn 1 through Turn 6.

I'll dive deeper into the driver choices tomorrow—looking at Alonso, Jenson Button, and Sergio Perez.

Alonso had a great start, unlike Sebastian Vettel, who barely managed to stay ahead of Michael Schumacher.
The race pace for the top three was such that whoever grabbed the lead into the first corner would have easily won.
Alonso really capitalized on the mistakes made in previous races. If you try to overtake, you end up pushing harder and burning through your tires. It's easy enough to catch someone, but actually passing a fast car is a whole different beast. If you don't pull off the pass within four or five laps, you probably won't do it at all, because after that, the leader's tires just find their rhythm.

stormybadger8 said:You really should watch the post-race interviews. Domenicalli is actually turning into a decent team principal.
No fake euphoria, no mindless drama about god knows what, and none of that exhausting obsession with other teams or drivers.
(

That happens all the time in sports.
The main thing is you don't have someone like Zdravko Mamić running the show, because he wouldn't tolerate that kind of attitude for more than a month or two.

Roger Wright94 said:M
I heard a rumor that Lewis Hamilton actually wanted the race red-flagged the second he had to pit after that incident. If that’s true, he was clearly losing his mind.

They let that radio clip air a bit too late, which made things look weird... honestly, if he lost grip at the start of the lap, it's no surprise he snapped. He knows how fast that car is and it sucks seeing it ruined by nonsense. It's a shame; without that distraction, I think he would've actually challenged the leaders. Instead, they probably just left him out to play support for Jenson Button.

Zalonso finally handled it like a pro—now let's see if

🤣

honestly, though, my money is on Rajko for MOTM 🙂

Michael Lee4 said:Man, I feel for Obrvan... this is just ridiculous 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 😂

Roger Wright94 said:That actually had me dying, literally laughing through tears. 😂

I guess since it’s kind of awkward to call out Zalonso when they’re leading the championship right now, we just have to settle for these random bursts of comedy instead.

At least someone's getting a laugh out of being a McLaren fan during these dark times... 😁

Check out this cool little image 😁