2009 Chinese Grand Prix Can anyone stop Brawn?
- Thread starter Blake
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- Hammerhead Garage
And Rosberg just split them; he's 0.025 off JB's time ... but he's been circulating for a while now and I suspect he's been burning fuel to make himself lighter. Actually, I think Williams have been doing that quite a bit as in amost every practice session this year, they've come through right at the very end after spending most of the session circulating in the minor placings and they haven't really been able to translate it into race pace, unless you count Rosberg's cracking start at Sepang.
Also, much (much) further down the order, Nelson Piquet has gone 0.4 quicker than Alonso, and Kovalainen bumped Sutil out of the top ten. But the session has ended, so barring an absolute blinder from one of the non-diffuser teams, the session belongs to Brawn, nearly two seconds quicer than Hamilton's best this morning.
Also, much (much) further down the order, Nelson Piquet has gone 0.4 quicker than Alonso, and Kovalainen bumped Sutil out of the top ten. But the session has ended, so barring an absolute blinder from one of the non-diffuser teams, the session belongs to Brawn, nearly two seconds quicer than Hamilton's best this morning.
- 1,058
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Session Finished. Final Standings are:
1 J Button Brawn 1:35.679
2 N Rosberg Williams 1:35.704
3 R Barrichello Brawn 1:35.881
4 M Webber Red Bull 1:36.105
5 S Vettel Red Bull 1:36.167
6 J Trulli Toyota 1:36.217
7 K Nakajima Williams 1:36.377
8 T Glock Toyota 1:36.548
9 H Kovalainen McLaren 1:36.674
10 S Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:36.800
11 A Sutil Force India 1:36.829
12 F Massa Ferrari 1:36.847
13 L Hamilton McLaren 1:36.941
14 K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.054
15 S Buemi Toro Rosso 1:37.219
16 N Piquet Jr Renault 1:37.273
17 R Kubica BMW Sauber 1:37.491
18 N Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:37.544
19 F Alonso Renault 1:37.638
20 G Fisichella Force India 1:37.750
Times are up. Feel free to discuss.
1 J Button Brawn 1:35.679
2 N Rosberg Williams 1:35.704
3 R Barrichello Brawn 1:35.881
4 M Webber Red Bull 1:36.105
5 S Vettel Red Bull 1:36.167
6 J Trulli Toyota 1:36.217
7 K Nakajima Williams 1:36.377
8 T Glock Toyota 1:36.548
9 H Kovalainen McLaren 1:36.674
10 S Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:36.800
11 A Sutil Force India 1:36.829
12 F Massa Ferrari 1:36.847
13 L Hamilton McLaren 1:36.941
14 K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.054
15 S Buemi Toro Rosso 1:37.219
16 N Piquet Jr Renault 1:37.273
17 R Kubica BMW Sauber 1:37.491
18 N Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:37.544
19 F Alonso Renault 1:37.638
20 G Fisichella Force India 1:37.750
Times are up. Feel free to discuss.
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- 1,058
- Perth, WA
Okay, I'll get the ball rolling with the discussion bit.
Brawn
They are in a good position going into P3 and qualifying tomorrow. Their diffuser has been declared legal, and now that they are free of that concern they should be able to develop the BGP001 even further. MIG sponsorship should help to. Button looks good for the weekend, as does Rubens, but my money is on Jenson for Pole.
Williams
Rosberg showing good pace in P1 and VERY good pace in P2, pipping Rubens for the 2nd place in the session. Nakajima slow in P1, but this may be due to some testing that was taking place. Shows consistent time in P2, and should be in the front third of the grid after qualifying.
Red Bull
Even without the magical double decker diffuser, Red Bull is a highly competitive team, thanks in part to Adrian Newey's Design and in part to the driving talent of Webber and Vettel. Watch out for Red Bull tomorrow, especially Webber, who today was not only fast but also consistent. Vettel is looking good as well.
Toyota
Fairly clear cut here. Good pace in both sessions, Trulli 6th and Glock 8th in both. Likely to show pace in Q3, but only if they survive Q2, which is likely to be hazardous for Glock
McLaren
Dunno what to say here. Were they light in Q1, or sandbagging in Q2? Or are they just driving at a steadily average pace, as other teams are sandbagging/running light. Expect them too make it through Q1, but struggle in Q2. IF they make it into Q3, expect Lewis to be fueled light and set a fast lap, while Kovalainen will be heavy and 10th on the grid.
Torro Rosso
Bourdais appears to have got his act together, finishing both sessions in 10th. May challenge for points on Sunday. Buemi continues to impress, but expect a midfield finish at best.
Ferrari
The prancing Horse is more of a timid filly this year, expect more complaints from Felipe and more Ice-Creams for Kimi. Mid-field at best.
Force India
Sutil is doing okay, Fisi is slow. He also spun near the end of P2, but that is probably down to the wear on his super softs. Sutil may qualify in the top 15, but expect a bad race from F1's backmarkers.
Renault
Lacking in pace, with the car obviously inadequate and the drivers clearly unsatisfied. Alonso may be in the top ten, but maybe Flav should swap Piquet with Force India's Adrian Sutil. And stop complaining about the other teams long enough to develop the R29!
BMW Sauber
Kubica is uncompetitive so far this weekend, as is Heidfield. Don't expect much.
Hope this helps with the discussion
Brawn
They are in a good position going into P3 and qualifying tomorrow. Their diffuser has been declared legal, and now that they are free of that concern they should be able to develop the BGP001 even further. MIG sponsorship should help to. Button looks good for the weekend, as does Rubens, but my money is on Jenson for Pole.
Williams
Rosberg showing good pace in P1 and VERY good pace in P2, pipping Rubens for the 2nd place in the session. Nakajima slow in P1, but this may be due to some testing that was taking place. Shows consistent time in P2, and should be in the front third of the grid after qualifying.
Red Bull
Even without the magical double decker diffuser, Red Bull is a highly competitive team, thanks in part to Adrian Newey's Design and in part to the driving talent of Webber and Vettel. Watch out for Red Bull tomorrow, especially Webber, who today was not only fast but also consistent. Vettel is looking good as well.
Toyota
Fairly clear cut here. Good pace in both sessions, Trulli 6th and Glock 8th in both. Likely to show pace in Q3, but only if they survive Q2, which is likely to be hazardous for Glock
McLaren
Dunno what to say here. Were they light in Q1, or sandbagging in Q2? Or are they just driving at a steadily average pace, as other teams are sandbagging/running light. Expect them too make it through Q1, but struggle in Q2. IF they make it into Q3, expect Lewis to be fueled light and set a fast lap, while Kovalainen will be heavy and 10th on the grid.
Torro Rosso
Bourdais appears to have got his act together, finishing both sessions in 10th. May challenge for points on Sunday. Buemi continues to impress, but expect a midfield finish at best.
Ferrari
The prancing Horse is more of a timid filly this year, expect more complaints from Felipe and more Ice-Creams for Kimi. Mid-field at best.
Force India
Sutil is doing okay, Fisi is slow. He also spun near the end of P2, but that is probably down to the wear on his super softs. Sutil may qualify in the top 15, but expect a bad race from F1's backmarkers.
Renault
Lacking in pace, with the car obviously inadequate and the drivers clearly unsatisfied. Alonso may be in the top ten, but maybe Flav should swap Piquet with Force India's Adrian Sutil. And stop complaining about the other teams long enough to develop the R29!
BMW Sauber
Kubica is uncompetitive so far this weekend, as is Heidfield. Don't expect much.
Hope this helps with the discussion
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- 10,838
- Belgium
- bramturismo
6th and 8th for Toyota, similar tactics as in Malaysia? In Malaysia they seemed quite off the pace, but they worked on their racing setup, and suddenly in Q3 they were there. I hope qualifying goes better for them, I'd hate to se them drop the good results like they did in 2005 
- 289
im just happy that finally bourdais is finding his place in F1
👍
- 7,719
It's Friday Practice - the times really don't mean anything. Cars are almost unchanged, so the order won't be changed by much.
That being said, it's my great pleasure and honour to launch my first new-parts post of the season, courtesy of Renault and McLaren. To celebrate this, I have launched a new signature.
McLaren debuted an interim double-decker, with analysis by RCE's Craig Scarborough. To coincide with the increased rear downforce, a new front wing was added to improve balance. Behold, the "all this orange is scorching my retinas so I have no idea what goes where" wing:
Renault did much the same, though in a less confusing and far more simple form - just a new wing with some jagged edges:
That being said, it's my great pleasure and honour to launch my first new-parts post of the season, courtesy of Renault and McLaren. To celebrate this, I have launched a new signature.
McLaren debuted an interim double-decker, with analysis by RCE's Craig Scarborough. To coincide with the increased rear downforce, a new front wing was added to improve balance. Behold, the "all this orange is scorching my retinas so I have no idea what goes where" wing:
Renault did much the same, though in a less confusing and far more simple form - just a new wing with some jagged edges:
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Yeah, I had to stifle a chuckle when I saw it. At first I'd thought he'd broken something with the way the car simply snapped away to one side - in the opposite direction to the corner, at that - rather than make a driver error.Indeed, but the third one not half as silly as it looked live.
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Wow, you were able to stifle it. You must be a better man than I.
Cap'n Jack
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- GoldMineGutted
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- Ardius_
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![[FPV]Rusty](/forum/data/avatars/m/50/50391.jpg?1120996378){kind=avatar}
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Saturday Practice has started. Live timing shows Rosberg has stopped out on track on his sighter. Any one know what's happened?
edit - must of been nothing major, as he is currently topping the timesheets.
edit - must of been nothing major, as he is currently topping the timesheets.
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Blake
Premium
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- haswell00
Quali times dont count towards lap records, but I dont expect them to go faster in the race.
But I read that post incorrectly, I thought he meant that the lap record would be beaten just a little dyslexic this morning it seems.
- 1,748
Quote of the weekend goes too Jonathan Ledgard of the BBC:
On Buemi not being in the bottom 5 in Q1:
'What about Buemi? 1 36.xxx, he drove the medical car last year but that's different to an F1 car'
On Buemi not being in the bottom 5 in Q1:
'What about Buemi? 1 36.xxx, he drove the medical car last year but that's different to an F1 car'
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- 492
Red Bull are playing it risky with Vettel. Didn't go back out at the end of Q1 and only just scraped through, now they're leaving it down to the very end of Q2 to set a time off one lap.
edit - and goes fastest in S1 lol.
wow, Red Bull got the pace, or Brawn sandbagging?
edit - and goes fastest in S1 lol.
wow, Red Bull got the pace, or Brawn sandbagging?
