Rate the race: 2011 Turkish Grand Prix

2011 Turkish Grand Prix

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What did you think of the Turkish Grand Prix? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (3%)
  • 9 (14%)
  • 8 (32%)
  • 7 (29%)
  • 6 (11%)
  • 5 (5%)
  • 4 (2%)
  • 3 (1%)
  • 2 (1%)
  • 1 (1%)

Total Voters: 506

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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2011 Turkish Grand Prix

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    Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    214 comments on “Rate the race: 2011 Turkish Grand Prix”

    1. ‘You can be an absolute belly dancer with these tyres.’ Err, what’s that Martin Brundle?

      7/10

      Decent race, loads of battles, overtaking and very clean and fair racing especially at the beginning with Massa, Button, Hamilton and Rosberg swapping places (highlight was easily Hamilton vs Button) and Webber and Alonso at the end but not much excitement overall especially when Vettel’s lead was pretty much confirmed from the very beginning and all the overtaking was all just a bit too easy.

      I hope the other teams catch up with RBR otherwise this season will just be another one hoping that Vettel’s car breaks down or they make big mistakes in the pit lane. There’s loads of circuits still to come but at this rate he’ll be a double world champion way before the season ends.

      I also really hope Mercedes up their game a lot. Rosberg was surprisingly slow and Schumacher really isn’t improving his race pace or craft at all considering his pace in practice.

      1. Mark Hitchcock
        8th May 2011, 14:40

        Think he said ballet dancer. i.e being light on your feet (tyres)

        1. Oh okay. Makes sense now.

        2. LOL, I heard belly dancer as well and wondered about that. But ballet dancer makes sense!

          1. ha yeah, me too.

      2. Alonso 3rd, Massa 11th.

        I think that says it all.

        1. Hats off to Alonso, a great race today. When he’s on form he is indeed on another level (or two) to Massa. Pity he couldn’t hold off Webber for 2nd.

          Race was entertaining, exciting in a lot places, but no real question of Vettel winning so for me has to be 7.

          Day of the dodgy pit stops.

        2. Yeah, so much for Massa performing better (when he was never ahead in standings).

        3. Easy comment. Easy criticism. I don’t like that because circustamces of each driver determine, sometimes even to a greater extent than their own talent, where they finish.

          Obviously Massa has not been the same driver since he suffered that bad accident in 2009, although it’s good to see that at least this year, unlike last one, he seems to be enjoying racing again. This time started 10th (for whatever reason he didn’t even put a time on Q3), and still he entered to his first pit stop ahead of Hamilton. He had just overtaken Lewis, and he was quicker than him, so he should have finished in front of him. That means 4th, right after Alonso.

          However, Hamilton overtaking him in the pits, problems with his top speed (was it an engine limitation problem, a too short 7th gear, or troble with the DRS? We’ll probably never know, but today DRS overtaking was too easy and still Felipe did most of his passing in the non-DRS part of the circuit), another 6 second pit stop, and yet another 9 second pit stop made him be in the middle of fights the whole race, with the subsequent tyre degradation, mistakes… that made him finish 11th. Critizising him today is easy, specially if you only look at the result, but I don’t think that’s too fair.

          1. *Thumbs up*

            Massa HAS improved massively and I’m glad.

          2. +1 indeed.

            Massa drove very well, making good passes and having good pace, he did screw it up at turn 8, but the lengthy pit stop and the pit drag race with Hamilton definitely cost him.

            You can’t always take the finishing place as the most obvious quantifier of a good race.

            Barichello had a much better pace here than anywhere else so far, but 15th place doesn’t really highligt that, much like 11th doesn’t highlight how well Massa did.

            Other than bad luck for the Brazillians, this was a great race.

            Vettel was astounding, but the battles behind him were far more entertaining to watch.

            1. Just a little correction here about Massa. You can not say he drove very well while it was his own mistake when he ran wide out of the track, and it was his own fault at the pit as he was not braking, thus the mechanics couldn’t change the tyre on a spinning wheel.
              Anyway, he is far better than last year, although I was disappointed looking at him not able to pass Rosberg in the way Alonso did.

          3. I stick by my original comment, but he’s doing a bit better than last year.

        4. It doesn’t say it all at all mate.
          Massa had 3 botched pit stops.
          He still would have finished behind Alonso but certainly not out of the points.

      3. 7/10
        The race was very nice, but apart from some overtakes out of the DRS zone, they were all very predictable.
        I knew, after Massa brilliantly passed Rosberg at Turn 9 that he was going to be passed easily, and there was few overtaking in the rest of the circuit, some at Turn 1 and fewer in the other points.

        1. I’d be fairly certain that Rosberg planned for that, and showed an interesting potential tactic, e.g. a driver out in front on the last lap, but likely to be overtaken in the final DRS zone, could just give up the place just before the detection zone and regain the place.

          Personally, I think other factors have added to more overtaking far more than DRS. In Turkey, it seemed way too easy to overtake with DRS at times, although, with a queue of cars all being able to use it, it made little difference, with cars having to use it as much for defence, and so not necessarily passing the one guy in the queue who couldn’t use it. In that situation, I wonder if it is actually doing more harm than good, especially in terms of safety.

          I’d like to see a few races without DRS, or with unlimited DRS, so that it is not simply a passing aid. There has been a lot more classy overtaking in non-DRS areas of the circuits, and removing the zone would help encourage that some more.

          1. I’d be fairly certain that Rosberg planned for that, and showed an interesting potential tactic, e.g. a driver out in front on the last lap, but likely to be overtaken in the final DRS zone, could just give up the place just before the detection zone and regain the place.

            Exactly the impression I had during the race.
            This could be new tactics the drivers need to explore, so the DRS can not look anymore so easy move (personally I am not very happy with this DRS).

      4. Yep I went for 7 as well.

        DRS was too much of an advantage, and with Vettel not being challenged once for the lead it can’t be considered a classic. But the racing between the Mclaren’s was brilliant, and through the field there was action all over the place. Throw in some dodgy pit stops and it was a good race.

        Ross Brawn said there were very few upgrades for Mercedes this weekend, their improvement in pace has purely been from improving set up etc. So if they bring something impressive to Barcelona, they could be right up there, well Rosberg anyway!!

    2. 9/10 great race :D horrible result for the championship :(

      1. By the way horrible placing of the DRS, FIA need to be more imaginative.

        1. I’d argue it wasn’t even necessary at all in Istanbul. In some races it’ll be great for letting cars overtake where it would otherwise be impossible- Barcelona, Hungary, Abu Dhabi etc- but at circuits like Istanbul overtaking has always been reasonably easy

          1. The best racing were the parts where DRS wasn’t enabled.

            Massa/Rosberg/Button battle as well as Button/Hamilton one. Both battles were simply done with KERS where we saw them trading positions corner after corner.

            1. Totally agree.

            2. Agree.

              I’d like to see DRS completely abolished.

            3. The DRS spoilt it in my opinion, because Massa’s pass on Rosberg at Turn 9 became irrelevant as Rosberg was going to pass him anyway in Turn 11/12.

            4. Also agree, alot of the DRS passes felt kinda artificial.

            5. here here

          2. Agreed, the cars are able to follow each other much closer this year thanks to the small single diffuser, so the DRS was a bit overkill in a few cases

          3. I’d say it was necessary down the pit straight. Would still like to have seen it out of Turn 8 though.

          4. I really doubt it.
            After second stop there was 4 cars traveling in pack: Pet, Mas, Ros, Hei.
            No overtaking.
            Despite the fact that Massa was on softs against Petrov’s hard.

            1. Also if DRS had that big role we would see NASCAR-style counter-overtakes.
              Which we didn’t.

          5. McLaren Fan 17
            8th May 2011, 15:06

            I think so too. Although I thought that it would help in Turkey, and that DRS worked well in the previous 3 races, overtaking in the DRS zone here was just too easy.

          6. Completely agree with that!

          7. I’d agree. I think they need to base it more on overtaking in the past races. Of which Istanbul didn’t lack.

        2. I think the DRS showed as too much of an advantage here, yeah.

          Would have been better without it I think, not like there was any need for it really.

          I gave the race a 7/10 for it being very entertaining nice racing from everyone for second best.
          Just Vettel cruising away at the front for the umpteenth time again and the unimagitive remarks finishing was just too much for me to rate it higher without any fight for the win.

        3. Agree! DRS zone was at the wrong place. Turn 12 is a natural overtaking zone. It should have been on the pit straight. But hindsight is 20-20

        4. This was an out and out demonstration of why DRS is an abomination in F1.

          Voted 7, good race overall but spoiled by the very silly overtaking assistance drivers have been given.

          How long until pay TV F1 and the viewer gets to vote if a driver can use their KERS/DRS/SMTX/XX!/XXX!/ (all calls will be charged etc.etc.)

          1. And the race before it that got a majority of 10’s is a reason why it’s a success.

            So they screwed it up once, big deal. If you didn’t expect it to need fine tuning you are over simplifying it.

        5. 100% AGREE!!

        6. The DRS was misplaced but I think we can forgive the FIA seen as they got it right prior to Turkey.

        7. The DRS set up was disgusting. What should have been a major event, Webber taking second in the dying laps, was ridiculous. It is harder to pass on a NASCAR oval than that. If the idea is to create the appearance of more racing by having the zone work so that competitive cars will be even going into the braking zone, total failure.

        8. i think it would of worked amazingly with last years tyres cos cars were running the same speed pretty much whole race. the problem is now someones tyres are falling away the guy behind catches so you have the guy behind with a tyre advantage and DRS(and possibly kers) and that makes the pass very easy.

          take out one of them things, either it be DRS, Kers, or hard wearing tyres and it would be a bit more challenging.

          its like they have come up with amazing ideas to aid passing but added too many at once lol.

          tho saying that id rather it this way then how it was in previous years so wont complain too much. But can it be improved yes. but until we return to each track you wont see an improvement as FIA dont know how it will work at each track until the race…….by which time knowing the FIA it will be banned lol.

      2. I am finding the races a breath of fresh air, but I do think if they keep going like this a race of the same quality later on in the season will get a lower rating from me.

        1. It does seem like the entertainment bar is set very high with every forthcoming race.

      3. You should now look at F1 races like James Cameron movies: exciting but don’t expect it to be real.

        1. Nice copy and paste of EliGp ‘s remark on twitter oliver.

        2. If it was a James Cameron film then surely it would be flashy but over-long and boring.

        3. ….. It is real?

      4. 10/10: 9 points for the race + 1 point for the right guy winning it. VIVA LA VETTEL!

        1. I was unaware that Vettel was a woman.

          1. Yeah, I know the article doesn’t fit. It’s just that not long ago I watched “Viva Las Vegas” and that’s where the slogan came from (since it rhymes). For others may sound stupid but I like to use it, especially when Vettel wins.

            1. The Last Pope
              8th May 2011, 23:26

              urmm… it doesn’t rhyme, they just start with the same letter.

              Michaela Schumacher to win next race!

      5. Amen to that!

    3. See the rake on Vettel’s car at the end?

      Perhaps the flexi wing was mainly a mclaren witchhunt – it did look plausible what they were saying there.

      1. The rake is just an illusion. It is there all right, but it is not acheived by increasing the rear ride height, rather it has been acheived by Redbull interpreting the regulations in a different way, via the floor reference plane. So they have the front part of the tray running extremely low.

    4. 10, great race with battles all over the place.

      1. Also a 10. Loads of quality battles. The Mark vs Alonso battled lasted until about the end of the race, which was pretty hectic.

        1. I loved how the mclaren boys were fighting it out at the start, split the strategies, and then resumed their fight towards the end.

          I’d say the first ten laps or so were the most exciting of a GP in quite a while. Although the DRS did make some overtakes seem a tad too easy.

      2. Wow, I would think a 10 would have to have a few great scraps for the win!

        But it was nice to see Alonso giving it his best again, refreshing. Shame Ferrari lost Massa somewhere on the way with that pitstop.

        1. A 10 is probably a bit high considering Vettel had a few seconds in the pocket.

        2. Agreed – good race, but I never thought Vettel wasn’t going to win after the first corner. Like China, he got someone slower (Rosberg) into 2nd which allowed him to get away and maintain a gap.

          1. I think you mean Malaysia?

        3. It wasn’t good enough for a 10. But then again, I didn’t think China was a 10 either. A lot of fans rated China so highly because Vettel didn’t win, and because there was finally a fight for the race lead. In China, the alternate strategies and tyre situation didn’t make it a fair fight for Sebastian, and that is why I just couldn’t rate it a 10.

          But today, Mark and Alonso were fighting it out and overtaking each other on the exact same tyre conditions, and that made it super exciting. If they were fighting that way for 1st position… I would have definitely given this race a 10.

          There were some other super spectacular overtakes with Kobayashi, Sutil, Schumacher, Massa, Button and Hamilton as well… overall great race.

    5. Vettel is a deserving winner but the race would have been a lot better without him

    6. Another good race. Not a “classic” – again because there was no challenge to Seb. The rest was great though. Some really good overtaking this year though – some that rivals the ‘classic’ overtakes of the past. However, I also feel the DRS zone was slightly too large this year – we also had some overtakes that weren’t really fair on the driver in front before the DRS zone.

      The fight for second place in the championship is very interesting too…!

    7. Only a 7 because the was no excitement over who would be the winner. Also DRS was too big, some of the passes were embarrassingly easy.

    8. I gave it 7. It started brilliantly, but tailed off considerably towards the end.

      I suspect the race will get a brilliant rating, but am I the only person who finds this new F1 really difficult to follow? In the past I’ve always understood even the most complicated of races, but with all these pitstops it’s hard to know what’s going on and who will finish where until the last 10 laps or so.

      Perhaps this is something which will become easier to understand over time, but at the moment it’s pretty confusing

      1. Yep I agree.

        It is extremely difficult to follow – because the coverage is still terrible. Not the BBC’s fault – but the race directors have far too much to cover. We need split screen camera angles (i.e. if someone comes into the pits) and a focussed director who doesn’t keep showing replays and instead constantly looks out for overtaking.

        There was no footage of Heidfeld catching Button at the end for example – on the live timing he took 10 seconds out of him in the last 3 laps!

      2. In the past I’ve always understood even the most complicated of races, but with all these pitstops it’s hard to know what’s going on and who will finish where until the last 10 laps or so.

        Yes, I agree with you Ned. I kept hearing things on the commentary about Button fighting for second and things like that which didn’t make sense to me, and Kobayashi going from 24th to 5th to 15th to 10th was extremely confusing.

        These new races are massively strategic so it’s not really a case of overtaking anymore.

        1. Very true, the covarage really showed off how not to do it. Bad job by FOM again. Nice job of keeping us informed by the BBC guys, but I would think Bernie should get himself a better director.

          1. The most pit stops since donington 91? i’m sure at one point both martin and david said that they couldn’t keep up either.

        2. I agree it’s much more complicated to follow races this year, but I think it’s brilliant. Both spectators and teams are learning and I guess we’ll get used to it soon. The most difficult part for me is not just the difference of performance between soft and hard tires, but also the difference between new and used tires. We know when they put soft/hard tires, but we don’t know when they put used/new tires, so we can only speculate with it. In Malaysia I was surprised that Ferrari looked quicker than McLaren at some stages of the race while it was the opposite at other stages even though they were using the same strategy… I guess they did not use the same strategy in terms of used/new tires and that made the whole difference.

          Also, the behavior of the car with high/low loads fuel is different from car to car. McLaren and specially Red Bull are quicker on low load of fuel (i.e. end of the race/qualifying) compared to Ferrari and Renault. Was this the reason why Webber was able to overtake Alonso at their last stint while he was unable to even close the gap on him of the previous stint? Or was it a tire question? (Alonso using first a new set of hard tires and then a used one, while Webber doing the opposite, first used and then new ones) I guess we’ll never know.

          Regarding the DRS, many people were enthusiastic about it after the first races. I don’t really like it and in my view it was the tires that really made those races interesting, not so much the DRS. I feel it is an unfair advantage for the driver behind because he’s the only one allow to use it. KERS is a different story. KERS is the same for both and it adds another variable that both can play with (trying to make the guy in front use it somewhere and then attack using it at a different place), so I believe it’s fair. Not the case of DRS.

          DRS may have been necessary last year when overtaking was impossible on any circuit. This year, tires (soft/hard, used/new) and different tire degradation on different cars already give enough performance difference to allow fair overtaking in most of the circuits (although the difference between hard and soft was not that big in Turkey compared to China in my opinion), so I feel that DRS is no longer necessary for most of the circuits (maybe in Monaco, Barcelona, Valencia… but specially for Monaco I’m concerned about safety issues… will they put it in the tunnel or in the main straight?).I feel it’d be truly ridiculous to have it in fast circuits like Spa, and specially Monza. In Turkey I saw a lot of cars swapping places, but did we see that much overtaking? (I feel Senna will be ashamed if called most of them “overtaking”!). Considering that, I don’t even want to think about how Monza could be like with DRS.

          1. I think the DRS was introduced to prevent faster cars getting stuck behind much slower ones, like in Abu Dhabi last year, and not just overtaking in general. And in any case if the car in front is equally matched then it should be able to take the place back on the next lap. But I do agree that it is the degradation of the Pirellis and the KERS which are really giving us most of the on-track action. The DRS zone was, in hindsight, maybe a touch too long, but again, it also depends on the pace of the cars relative to each other so it’s difficult to fix the length accurately I suppose. And yes, I too felt the DRS overtaking here was quite artificial.

            And as for your views on Senna being ashamed, I am inclined to disagree. When Senna was driving, it was more about mechanical grip and driver skill in getting the lap times in. Today a car uses mostly aero grip and depends more on factors like ‘clean air’, losing a huge chunk of grip while closely following another car. So I wouldn’t blame the drivers, because they have the skills – the laws of physics and manic aero development have rendered them mostly useless.

      3. Mark Hitchcock
        8th May 2011, 14:47

        I found it quite confusing after the second set of stops, even with live timing, driver tracker etc.

        Gotta be a good thing though. The reason it was easier to follow before is because it was quite predictable.

        1. Well thats also the counter argument. At least we dont know whats going to happen!

          1. Mark Hitchcock
            8th May 2011, 14:50

            Exactly. I’d prefer to be baffled rather than knowing what’s going to happen!

            1. Yes, but they are two different extremes. Obviously I’d prefer to not have a clue what’s going on to knowing exactly what will happen, but it’d be better to have a rough idea what is going on

            2. It’s not about knowing what’s going to happen which is impossible to do unless you can see the future, it’s about knowing what’s happening at that moment.

      4. Actually I should probably have given it an 8 because the last stint wasn’t that great. It was hard to follow at times, I agree.

      5. I think that this as four stopper did get confusing at times, but turn 8’s exceptional so we shouldn’t see it too much.

        Followed everything in China just fine though, so it shouldn’t usually be a problem.

      6. I think that BasCB is right in repeating so often that the FOM could do a lot better job with the coverage – the switching between cars isn’t always the best choice and timing could be a lot better too. Maybe with that, the race would be easier to follow.

        I agree with your opinion on the race; it was nice, but there were some really easy DRS passes (ie. wrong placement of the zones) and Vettel was never going to not win it.

        1. Who ever is calling the shots just isn’t willing or even able to switch quickly if something is happening elsewhere on the track. This may be ultra professional, but it costs us a few good bits of viewing.

      7. I cant see how its difficult to understand to be honest. You have to pay attention but I find it very easy to understand.

      8. Completely with you on this. I am still looking at the results and trying to work out at what point did who jump who.

    9. Great race, definitely enjoyed it. It was exciting! Though the overtaking was a bit easy in some places, especially for Webber at the end on Alonso. Hamilton Button swapping of places throughough the race made for some amusement.

      Extremely happy to see a Ferrari on the podium. Wonderful drive Alo.

      1. If he could have held Mark behind would have been clearly the greatest today

        1. Kinda hard with that wing though…

          But yes, I agree.

    10. 6/10

      Plenty of interesting events and strategies, but all of it was ultimately meaningless as the lead of the race was in no way even remotely under threat.

      I’m pretty close to calling a 2004 on qualifying and no matter the passing in the midfield am getting that way for the races too. It just looks like Vettel is playing on easy and that just plain isn’t interesting.

      1. i voted 6 too
        good overtakings but only vettel holding p1 from start
        i am beginning to dislike redbull domination
        they re getting arrogant
        even in qualifying they only ran one lap in Q3
        and even though webber having some problem with kers, he still finish second, which says quite a lot about their dominance

        1. I wouldn’t regard one run in Q3 as arrogance.. Seemed to me they were rightly aware (after China) of tyre useage, so cut their quali running.

    11. Eh, 7/10. Great early action, nice to see Alonso back, later action all highly predicatble DRS passes which detracted rather than added this time. The result is very bad for the season, but I guess deserved. The total lack of danger to Vettel’s win made this really quite boring at times.

      Ah well, shows that without the RBR dominance this could have been a really special season, hope someone anyone gets close and really challenges.

      1. I went with a 8/10 only because it was a surprise to see Alonso on the podium. It’s been a busy week and I never looked at practice times so I was surprised.

        Hats off to Red Bull but I agree that the result makes the season so much more dull.

    12. Great race, fun to watch – loads of overtaking.. Some of it was waaay too simple though, oh well :D

    13. 9/10 good racing even off DRS zone.

      1. I agree it was a good race but I think ALL the best “racing” is out of the DRS zone.

    14. 8/10 – Another great race with loads of action. Hopefully RBR don’t run away with this title.

      This was without doubt the most interesting race to analyse the KERS/DRS.

      We saw the good and bad of DRS. When a faster car was behind they just breezed past the car ahead, some would say too easily.

      However, when roles were reversed it gave a car a chance to close up. Would Alonso have managed to get close and pass Webber without DRS, I think not.

      Interstingly enough without the DRS enabled we saw the best battles on track. Massa/Rosberg/Button battle as well as Button/Hamilton one. Both battles were simply done with KERS where we saw them trading positions corner after corner.

      1. I think the best DRS pass was Webber on Alonso at the end. Because the Red Bull wasn’t very quick in a straight line, it only allowed Webber to get alongside Fernando. He still had to work hard by going all the way around the outside to make it stick. But some of the others were a little too easy.

    15. Potentially great race ruined by Mario Kart wings. I didn’t enjoy that overtaking, if ever the evidence of the DRS giving artificial overtaking, that was it.

      Imagine if the DRS hadn’t have been used. We would still have had KERS, and different tyres. We could have seen some great battles, lasting laps. Instead if a car was close to the pace of the one in front, they just breezed past them. We still had some decent overtaking elsewhere, and that shows that there was the potential for it to happen without the DRS system.

      1. Yep, this race would have been so much better without DRS!!. Not a question of placement, just bin it and good riddance!

        1. Maybe not without DRS, but a little bit less of it would certainly have helped

    16. 8/10
      There was lots of action, a ton of passing on track.
      Vettel leading the entire race does take the gloss off it somewhat.
      The DRS zone made overtaking a breeze, which meant that there wasn’t any tension as a driver battled to get past.

      Would’ve liked to have seen a bit more wheel to wheel action between Alonso and Webber. It seemed that Alonso just dropped off significantly after he was passed.

    17. fanatic coverage fantastic again thanks! Race sounded good from watching y’all. But sucked because we’re all fogged in here in Alberta Canada. wireless internet just wasn’t fast enough to stream. However all you fanatics make it A OK:-)

      1. I think the streams were a bit laggy today. I had a hard time getting anything to run smoothly for the whole race as well.

    18. motorsportdawn (@)
      8th May 2011, 14:48

      good race, back to the days of overtaking yeahhhh and interesting racing all the way through the field. how many pit stops??????????!!!!!!!!

    19. DRS passes were way to easy.
      7/10 for me.

    20. 9. Brilliant from Seb and Mark. Awesome drive by Alonso to pass the RB for a position on the track and stick to the podium. Ferrari seem to have made a step forward and with Alonso correcting his starts looks dangerous even for the RBs.

      A lot of mistake or trouble in the pits destroyed a lot of potential battles which could have happened on the track.

      But it will be a morale-boosting podium for Ferrari and they will be looking to improve their qualifying pace which will enable them fight for wins.

      Also serves a reminder to Massa on who is the boss at Ferrari. He has improved from last year but is simply no match to Alonso. The pit stop troubles only added to his misery and was not the cause of them.

    21. 8/10. From the start it looked promising, but it all got a bit boring from about half-distance.

      1. only a good battle for 2nd enlivened the last stint. But we saw very little of it. Maybe ALO should have pitted a bit earlier instead of “covering” WEB

    22. SennaNmbr1 (@)
      8th May 2011, 14:55

      There’s that knock Heidfield again.

    23. davey (@djdaveyp87)
      8th May 2011, 14:56

      Good race, loads of overtaking action = 8
      Alonso on the podium = -1

      Total rating = 7

      1. I don’t like him either but I’m glad he got on the podium. It provided good spectacle in the race and it also means the championship will be closer and more exciting.

      2. Good race, loads of overtaking action = 8
        Alonso on the podium = -1
        Total rating = 7

        God bless complex opinion based on a scale of numerical systems!

      3. I know every week someone has to say this. But doesn’t it clearly say vote on entertainment, not on how much did you like the result?

        1. davey (@djdaveyp87)
          8th May 2011, 15:19

          The result is part of the entertainment. And Alonso finishing on the podium made it less entertaining because I couldn’t watch the podium ceremony without thinking “you [insert expletive]” everytime I saw Alonso’s face!

          1. But which is more exciting? Alonso overtaking people, or not overtaking people?

            1. davey (@djdaveyp87)
              8th May 2011, 15:28

              Alonso crashing out.

    24. I’m really hard-pressed to rate this one. On the one hand, we had over seventy pit stops and probably over a hundred overtakes – but at the same time, it all feels a little bit hollow given that no-one cn touch Vettel.

      1. Yeah but the about a million overtakes out of the hundred made alot of them were due to that stupid DRS system acronym.

        They need to invent a DRS (thats Device Reduction System) to reduce the device’s effectiveness, or maybe a DRS (thats Driver Rides paSt) so the driver can overtake on merit.

        Still shame that DRS (thats DiResta is Scottish) engine gave up on him.

        OK I’m done milking that rubbish joke.

        1. OK I’m done milking that rubbish joke.

          NO WAIT, I GOT ANOTHER ONE!.

          Especially for Turkey we have DRS, thats Dogs Running are Strays!

          KAPOW!

    25. Gave it an 8.

      I have to say, I find myself having to re-adjust my scoring scale. Today was a good race, but “only” a good race compared to what’s gone before.

      Down-sides today were lack of challenge for win and predictable 3d/4th stint outcomes, right down to Button not being able to hold out against Hamilton.

    26. 8/10

      Final 15 laps or so were less interesting. Although that is probably due to all the action going on in all the previous laps. I’m getting spoiled here.

    27. 6/10.

      There was no battle at all for 1st place between the red lights going out and the chequered flag. Lots of DRS overtakes that looked like taking candy from a baby, so I think the FIA need to look at that, and I think everyone 4 stopping is probably 1 stop too many.

      However it was a good race for Alonso to get 3rd, and not a good day for Massa and Schumacher, and excellent wheel to wheel action berween the Mclarens at the start.

    28. I rate the race, 2 out of ten, I was bored out of my mind… I almost stopped watching it on lap 13 but I had nothing else to do.

      Here’s my gripe, DEE ARGH ESS (otherwise known by its technical name Flippy Flappy Wing) anyone within the zone got the overtake done well before the corner, wheres the skill?, everytime someone was in the FFW zone it was guaranteed… no tension for me, oddly enough with all the overtaking I felt it was still a procession.

      They should scrap it for places like Turkey, I feel they shouldn’t be able to use it at Monaco as well, thanks to the Pirelli marbles and having a FFW there it will put have a go heroes straight into the scenery, its going to be a baptism by wall for them.

      If the zone is going to be that big and that effective then I propose they use FFW during quali only and in the race have a Quantum Entangle device, when within one second of a car in front the driver open the glove compartment, open up a box and wrestles with Schrodingers Cat which will allow them to Quantum Jump with the particles in front… essentially automatically switching places with the other driver.

      Dear Jean Todt, stick String Theory and Quantum Mechanics in next years rules please.

      1. Man, if you were bored during the first 13 laps, where there was more battles than I can remember in any other race, then I don’t know what would you expect of a race…

        In my case it had me standing in front of the TV for most of the race, except at the end, when it was all calmed down again.

        1. Man, if you were bored during the first 13 laps

          Yeah but It was artificial.

          1. But, on the plus side, maybe the FIA will learn from this?

            Wait… I didn’t mean it as a joke!

    29. every lap something happend, execept those last few and then it would be 10! great drive from alonso!

    30. Shorten the DRS zone 200m. The DRS is supposed to help a faster car pass a slower car. Today it LET the faster car pass a slower car.

    31. I rated it a five, there were good battles, like button on hamilton, and webber on alonso, but most of the other passes were due to the huge advantage the DRS gave there, it was the first race where i thought it was too push to pass.

    32. Not a bad score so far here in McLfanatic.co.uk for a race not won by vodafone. But of course not a very good one also.

    33. Don’t think DRS brought anything useful to the table today, but it’s always gonna work differently at different tracks. The start was fairly standard, the middle was uneventful, most strategies went ok, no-one really went off, and the overtaking was predictable three laps in advance. I’ll be honest, i fell asleep for about 3 laps in the middle, so if someone who voted 10 can tell me what amazing events i missed could let me know i’d love to hear it! I voted 6. And i’m feeling generous.

    34. UKfanatic (@)
      8th May 2011, 15:10

      Drs was badly placed, so everyone was a sitting duck likewise anyone with worn tyres was a sitting duck the only nice thing this year is that Ferrari seem to always have a nice race pace and tyre preservation making the races “real” and exciting the same effect like mclaren last year. No fight for the lead, the same old story. 7/10 manly cause of the track

    35. 8/10 – Mainly because of the ALO-WEB battle.

      Alonso was simply brilliant all race today. And took the challenge to an insanely fast car admirably well.

      Had the pitstops been better for MAS and HAM, the race could have got a higher rating.

    36. 5/10 for me. Could’ve been more if Vettel didn’t say “That’s what I’m talking about!” j/k

      Also, I got quite annoyed that the biggest story of the midfielders, Kamui finishing in point from dead last, didn’t get the coverage it deserved. So many passes and we saw almost none of his manoeuvres!

    37. Last season, the races were boring but the championship was interesting. This season, the races are exciting but the championship is boring.

      Anyone else share the same view?

      1. Last season, the races were boring but the championship was interesting. This season, the races are exciting but the championship is boring.

        YES!

        1. davey (@djdaveyp87)
          8th May 2011, 15:16

          Good summary!

          1. I don’t get this logic. As long as the races are exciting, why do we even care about the championship? The idea is to make F1 attractive and the main part of F1 are the races which as we accept, is fascinating.

            I am actually loving this idea of Vettel flying to the WDC ASAP. It is not like the other teams will stop fighting for positions once he gets the title, isn’t it?

            With Ferrari mixing it up now, I am sure it is going to better than before. Merc, Macca, Ferrari fighting for podium and the occasional win in case of a RB failure/lack of performance. And RB flying away from the rest with precise, on the limit driving lap after lap.

            Sounds good to me:-)

            1. At what point do we just admit Red Bull will win, let them sit out and give them maximum points? Where’s the sport in runaway dominance?

            2. I don’t get this logic. As long as the races are exciting, why do we even care about the championship?

              Are you saying people shouldn’t be supporting their favourite drivers?

            3. Well, there comes the problem. The championship is boring only because ‘our’ favorite driver isn’t in the mix for the WDC:-)

              I am a Ferrari fan and would absolutely love Alonso to take the WDC. But as long as he is competitive, getting some points and not an ‘also-ran’ I am happy with it.

              RB have built a fantastic car and are reaping the benefits of it along with Vettel. It is up to the others to make them work for their win.

      2. Goo summary of the season so far

      3. It did cross my mind, yes. Although the races were quit good last year as well, I think

    38. Since about half of the action, and certainly more than half overtakes were created by DRS, I cut my rating in half: from 8, which an action-packed race deserves, to 4. That is not the kind of racing I like to watch.

      Granted, it’s far better than processional races, but overtaking should not be effortless. Today it often was. In previous races DRS worked fine, aiding the action, but not dominating it. Today it went too far for my taste.

    39. 8/10 If there had been no finger 9/10

      Great drive by Fernando. Lots of battles everywhere. Atr times it looked like a GP3 race with three or four cars fighting for a corner.

      I’ve enjoyed the race a lot, very thrilling for me, much like China, but no fight for the lead.

      I’ll keep the 10 for the day in which the Maccas and Ferraris are back on top and we have good races in between Lewis and Fernando

    40. Anyone pick up what Webber said to Vettel at the end? Something f.ing horrible, what was horrible?

      1. I think he said heat. Not sure though.

      2. Jarred Walmsley
        9th May 2011, 7:44

        Tyres

    41. I absolutely hated it. The FIA got the DRS completely wrong. It’s no fun watching one car drive past another halfway down the back straight. That said, some of the non DRS-contaminated racing was good. I think it would be so much better if they just scrapped the DRS completely. The tyres make the most difference.

    42. 4/10 for me because of the joke that is DRS. Are we seeing less real overtaking because everyone can use their cheat button when they are running close.

    43. This is the first time the DRS areas have been badly judged and it made overtaking too easy. 4 races in using the system and it’s still not going to be perfect so to be honest I think it’s expected that we’ll get races like this every now and then – and also it’s surprising this hasn’t happened so far. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions about it already as it’s going to have different effects in each race of the season…

    44. Tripperhead
      8th May 2011, 15:30

      I have no problem with DRS in the race. Between the tyres, the KERS and the DRS, this has already been the most exciting season this century. However, I still don’t understand how unlimited DRS is allowed in practice and qualifying, when that’s not the case in the race. I’d much prefer to see no DRS in qualifying.

    45. 7/10

      Too much contrived, fake overtaking. They need to ditch DRS ASAP.

      The few passes that weren’t handed to them by DRS were actually quite good and showed it can be done.

    46. But it wasn’t exciting. The Mclaren battle at the beginning was quite fun, and the little bit where the renaults were arguing too. But other than that the element of unpredictability as to whether one driver will pass another has gone, drs and kers is just too much and makes it very stale. Just because something is action packed does not make it fun – my house burning down would be eventful but i wouldn’t enjoy it…..

      1. Inevitability, tell that to Massa.

        Also, how many laps did it take Hamilton to get by Button?

        Or maybe people prefer the inevitability of getting stuck behind a midfielder because you dared to do an extra stop.

    47. F1 has not gone too far, in my opinion.
      The tyre situation guarantees lots of action both on the track in the paddocks, you can almost feel the brains melting to find ideal solutions.
      DRS for me has an even smaller effect than the vacuum drivers used in the 80s to pass. Many people talk about those days as the “good old days” when drivers would still pass, but it was even easier then than now, if you got into a stream behind your opponent, you almost had to pass. And DRS has not been that decisive, only in Turkey – and it was still interesting to see some drivers messing up breaking points and fighting until the end of the straight after the shikane.

    48. 10
      -1 for no real race leader changes
      -1 for too easy DRS overtakes
      so it is a 8 for me.
      A good race overall. Not a stunner, but still a good race and a lot of exciting battles between Ham & But, Mas & Ros, Web & Alo. But on this track they should just have thrown the DRS away. There was no need for it. It made it too easy to overtake into turn 12.

    49. either ditch DRS altogether, or let them use the wing whenever they want like in practice and quali.

      1. Agreed.

    50. 7/10
      Good race and it was lovely to see Ferrari keeping up with the Red Bulls throughout the race, sometimes even closing the gap. Would be really interesting to see the results once Ferrari also employ the flexible front wing. Mclaren have to look at what is the problem they have in getting their nuts off!

      As for the DRS, for me DRS is synthetic overtaking. A driver does not do much in it. A DRS should allow the driver to close the gap not do the overtaking for him. Reminds me of the Belgian GP 2 years back when the only reason KImi won from Fisi was because he had KERS, and even though Fisi had faster car he could not overtake him. These things are synthetic manipulations to the race and drivers.

      I feel that DRS zone should be split into 2 parts. Just before and just after a turn. Then the chasing driver will close up before the turn, and then he will go on same speed at the turn and then after the turn he will again get the advantage, but it wont be as huge and he wont have that much momentum as he does now.

      Also KERS+DRS simultaneous usage must be disallowed.

      1. DRS only worked like this in Turkey, and not in any of the other four races (at least not just press = overtake). It’s still less synthetic than in the 80s, where you just had to line up right behind your opponnent to almost get sucked into overtaking him.

    51. Starting with a 5 for most races in 2010 (Montreal excluded)
      +5 2011 races have been great to watch.
      -1 As the lead is not in contention even by the sister car.
      -1 DRS zone needed to be a bit shorter allowing the cars to be side by side into the breaking zone.
      -1 TSN TV coverage in Canada they go to split screen with commercials running in a larger screen. Last year I would fast forward through the split screen but this year with all the great action I must keep a close eye what is happening (+2 for the advertising people).

      Qualifying
      2010 was a 10 i quite often thought qualifying was better than the race.
      2011 is now a 5 and might get even worse if they don’t start awarding extra rubber for making top 10.

      DRS I think is great but they need to find the sweet spot not to short not too long. I also think they should now with DRS remove the blue flag rule.

    52. 8. I want to see a flipping championship struggle, not Red Bull and Vettel just running away.

      I can’t stand his stupid finger and his screaming over the radio.

    53. oh yeah – i was very impressed with the kobayashi passing and defending, Rosberg/Petrov/Heidfeld/Button/etc. non-DRS passes, and that there were both 3 and 4 stop strategies (even though 3 didn’t work).

    54. 5/10 Boring race. DRS made passing way too easy, the win was never in doubt past T1 even with the uncertainty about tire stategies. Good scraps between Mclaren guys and jenson v massa were the only real exciting moments in this GP.
      I like the idea for DRS but they should have put the activation zone further along the straight, it was just silly how they sailed by to be way ahead even brfore getting on the brakes

    55. I’ve decided to change my system for rating the race, I gave this a 7 but it would have been at least an 8, maybe a 9 in previous years.

      It didn’t really get me on the edge of my seat for some reason, maybe because most of the movement came at the beginning of the race rather than the end.

    56. Gnarly Racing (@)
      8th May 2011, 16:30

      Some fabulous wheel-to-wheel action, but for me four stops is too many – I know the sheer number of pit stops created mistakes, but it lacked the build-up of tension that last year’s amazing race had.

      Agree with everyone who’s said passing along the straight was too easy. Most drivers couldn’t defend (although Rosberg found a way against Massa early on). Use DRS somewhere less obvious on this track?

      1. 8/10 for me
        i am a massa fan but it was a
        great race alot of battles overtakes/ fair racing.
        the two things that bumped the rating down was massa and hamiltons unlucky pitstops.
        also the tv coverage was pretty shody but there was alot of action to deal with.
        i really enjoyed watching and listening to dc and mb,they got it spot on

    57. Brundle and Coulthard need to up there game. Martin runs out of steam half way through and DC just seems to go to sleep and doesn’t come in unless Martin prompts him. I know they’re still finding their feet, but look at how lamely they commentated on Alonso passing Webber – it really negatively affects the excitement. 9/10 for the race, but felt like a 7/10 at times due to duff commentary. Croftie manages to make practice sound more thrilling.

      1. *their, not there

      2. This is “rate the race”, not “rate the BBC”.

        1. People’s perceptions will be influenced by the nature of the commentary, as surely as people’s perceptions of films are influenced by the choice of music.
          If the commentary team starts flagging this creates the impression of the race fading out. As races that start dull then become more exciting tend to be rated higher than the other way round, this is especially ruinous to trying to draw any conclusions from the rating. And if you intend to compare it to previous years’ ratings and possibly discuss the effect of rule changes, then it’s an invalid comparison, as the commentary team is different. Like it or not, it’s an important influence on the question posed.

    58. I scored it a 9. Would have been a 10 if not for the dodgy DRS placement. Some fantastic battles and it was nice to see Webber and Alonso on the podium.

      1. Plenty of DRS slating reading back through the comments! It wasn’t right today but some people are just being over the top about it. It’s a learning curve remember.

        1. Agreed AnDrew, it’s only the 4th race with the system and overall the effect has been positive.

    59. I gave it a 7. There was plenty of fun stuff going on, except for up front where it really counts. I guess I got my hopes too high after watching that corker in China.

    60. I thought the first 15 laps were absolutely fantastic.

    61. rated the race 6/10. was undecided before, but now know that i hate the tyres situation – just means that overtaking is meaningless – what’s the point of having kers and the drs when all you need is for someone’s tyres to drop off? i want to see some pure racing and driver’s being able to express their ability – i really don’t enjoy races won according to choice of strategy and red bull is ******* me off!!!!

    62. DRS overtaking was probably a little bit too easy, but still, I remember races/seasons when the red cars drove away and everybody else passed each other in the pits. Stop whinging and enjoy it! 8/10.

    63. I voted 6.

      It was an enjoyable race, however I feel come the end of the season it won’t be remembered for much. Vettel was never challenged for the lead, which isn’t his fault, but it would be nice to see a bit more of a battle, and in my mind there were a lack of defining moments; yeah there was a lot of passing, but a lot of them were inconsequential to the outcome of the race / had minimal impact on the championship.

      So good race, but not the best.

    64. Meh, a reasonable race. A lot going on, exciting stuff, yes. But there were a lot of downers for me in this.

      1) Vettel winning from pole, again. I love and appreciate excellent engineering on Adrian Newey’s part. He’s designed a beaut of a car. But on the other hand. BORING. Watching cars dice and fight for 2nd and 3rd or 9th or 10th is exciting, but nothing compared to a victory.

      2) Scumacher. I’m a huge fan of him. But following the interview he gave to the BBC and his performance, I fear he’ll race for a third year as per his contract. In fact, will he see out the rest of this season? I hope so… His performance was substandard. He’s obviously not as sharp as he once was, but he shouldnt have turned in on Petrov.

      3) DC and Brundle’s commentry. I feel as if it’s been dumbed down a little this year compared with previous years? James Allen and Martin Brundle had commentary nailed down to a tee, I just feel it wasnt so good this year?

      4) The misfortune of Hamilton. I’m not a fan of his per se, but I do like to see the Brits doing well. Furthermore, I reckon had his final pitstop gone smoothly he would have been fighting with Webber and Alonso in the latter stages of the GP.

      Having said that, the race wasnt bad overall. I just want a bit more variety at the front. Last year and the year before were exciting because so many drivers were competing for wins and pole, now it’s seems more of a formality

      1. Also been a Schu. fan since his Benetton days , and have seen some glimmer of hope recently , in the form of some quickest laps in free practice , but , must admit at this stage , that extra special talent of old has not come through. With the car 90% or more to his liking , I think he could still win , but whether he will get there or not , will have to see. Worrying that Rosberg is mostly quicker than him. That said , still does not take away past achievments , and I think was a very brave move to try a come back like he did.

    65. chaostheory
      8th May 2011, 23:19

      Decent race, not that good as China, but still…
      And I wonder when we will be sick of such races and start to complain about Pirelli and DRS making racing artificial… Its exciting right now, but when I think of entire season like this… And I dont like this pattern thats showing up: boring qualifying sessions – great race day.
      Or maybe Im just frustrated because of Vettel securing chamopinship in two races? :D

    66. 5/10

      Turkey 2011 had nothing on last year’s thriller
      The race was so godd last year not because of the overtaking, but of the sustained threat of it.
      This year with the DRS zone it was too easy.
      The tyres alone would be enough to create exciting racing, it’s disapointing they’re being ruined by the artificial DRS

    67. StefMeister
      8th May 2011, 23:40

      Didn’t really enjoy it, Been 4 races & so far I don’t like the new F1.

      The DRS, KERS & Pirelli tyres have taken a lot of the excitement away for me because were no longer getting a great deal of actual racing.

      Most the time one car gets up behind another & is either past quickly/easily because of DRS or is past fairly quickly/simply because hes got better tyres.

      Were no longer seeing any fantastic scraps over many laps or any truly brilliant & exciting overtaking moves.

      What we have now has to me taken a lot of the tension away & therefore a lot of the building excitement.

      There was nothing more exciting to me than watching a car catch another & then watch them fighting hard for that place (Think Schumi/Alonso @ Imola 2005/2006 or Mansell/Senna @ Monaco ’92), One car defending & the other desperately tyring to find a way past.

      It was then even more exciting if the car behind managed to pull off a truly brilliant overtaking move, As a fan there was nothing more exciting to watch than a truly hard fought & brilliant overtaking move (Thats why I was such a big Montoya fan).

      This year there has not really been either. The overtaking moves have been dull & there hasn’t been any really great racing.

      Too many times I’ve found myself starting to get excited as one car has started to catch another hoping to see a great fight/race between them only to be dissapointed when he eventually catches him & were treated to a dull overtake because the car ahead can’t use DRS or has no grip from worn tyres so can’t defend.

      Im just not finding what we have in 2011 exciting, Its a show & not a race & Im for the 1st time im not enjoying watching it.

      I want to see good racing & some great overtaking & so far in F1 2011 we havn’t really seen either.

      1. I thought it was a slight improvement on the first three races of the year as there was some good wheel to wheel fighting but I share your disappointment with this years’ racing. For the first time in years I don’t expect to go to a race this season.. its just too gimmicky / strategy driven. I wonder if we’re in for two years of wacky races until the big regulation changes in 2013.

    68. I was a little underwhelmed by this race. Yes, we had lots of overtaking, lots of position changes, lots of pit stops. I was fun…

      But it was fragmented, and despite all the action, we had a runaway winner. So, come the chequered flag, I felt a little short-changed. It was like having too many Crème Eggs. Too much of a good thing can affect the taste.

      (P.S. Sorry I’ve hardly posted of late – I’m still lurking in the background most of the time!)

    69. MrHulaHoop (@)
      9th May 2011, 0:18

      I gave it 6. The first few laps were very exciting, especially the Button/Hamilton squabble. Interesting how Button for once won on the track with him winning the overtaking battle with Hamilton, only to lose it to his team mate on strategy.

      After that though it was a case of the odd pit stop mistake here and there, and completely artificial DRS overtakes. DRS is getting to be a bore where you almost expect the car behind to overtake the one in front.

      Overtake of the day, Button around the outside of Rosberg (not sure if that was DRS or not). Will eat my hat if it was :-)

      1. button on rosberg wasn’t DRS. DRS could only be used on the long back straight. Button simply felt more grip and confidence around the outside of the last corner. great move!

    70. great race, 8/10!

    71. 8 from me.Good race but I think some artificial overtaking.Good battle between up & down the field but there were some moves which required some gusty drive.

    72. Hi,

      I do not know whether this comment has been posted before.

      I want to clarify the usage of DRS went overlapping a backmarker. I can bet anything that I saw Vettel use his DRS when overlapping the Virgin( or someone else but positively virgin) and saw it snap close when braking for turn 12.

      Can someone please clarify this for me? I think according to the rules there has to be a penalty for its usage. Please let me know if anyone else noticed this.

      1. It’s allowed. The DRS activation system only checks if the two cars are 1 second apart on track – actual race position (same lap vs lapped) isn’t factored into the activation.

        1. Thanks for the info. However I have not seen anyone else use it before today? Does the driver press the button or is it done by race control?

          1. Race control allows it to be used, the drivers choose when to use it.

    73. 6/10 for me. Too much easy passing with the DRS zone being too long, Vettel not being challenged by anyone, Webber passing Alonso near the end being rather anticlimatic.

    74. 7 out of 10 for me. Rosberg-Massa was definetly a highlight, especially Rosberg showing that you don’t have to be a sitting duck, but that you can outsmart the other, by choosing the right line and breakig late.

      DRS, as I’ve said beofre, I would really love to see a race without it. Just to see what kind of race we end up with. Possibly just as, or even more entertaining.. suspense!

    75. 5/10

      Didn’t bore me to tears, but didn’t really have me on the edge of my seat. The placement of the DRS zone has turned out to be absolutely critical to its effectiveness. Just imagine what China would have been like if they kept its original placement…

    76. HounslowBusGarage
      9th May 2011, 8:36

      I didn’t see the race.
      Just as the cars were going round on the formation lap, I had a business phone call from the Gulf.
      It finished 80 minutes later and I opted not to bother with the closing stages live on TV. I *do* know who won, but not how and why – thank goodness for the BBC iPlayer! I’ll watch the race tonight.

      1. Hope you enjoyed it last night then!

    77. I gave the race a 7/10. I felt it was a good race, but not a classic.

      There were some great battles and it was interesting to see how Jenson Button’s contrary strategy first looked like it was going to pay off, and then he got stuck behind Petrov and Massa, meaning it didn’t pay off.

      A great drive by Hamilton to take back 4th after a shocker of a pitstop, and equally Rosberg after struggling with awful traffic and a damaged aero part. And obviously domination by Vettel after a shocking start to the weekend. Also, Barrichello getting past Schumacher a few times was a pleasure to see.

      The reason I gave it a 7, not say 8, is because there were moments where I felt the DRS was making things a little too easy. Rosberg was a sitting duck for the first half of the race, and he couldn’t do anything about it, most of the time the driver who was passing was already past him before the braking zone. In my view DRS should allow the drivers to battle in the braking zone, so they still have to use their skill to outbreak the other driver.

      Also, Vettel was unstoppable, as much as I like him, I don’t want to see him winning as much as this. Domination can become boring after a while and I really hope it doesn’t become that way. I don’t think it has reached that stage yet, but in a few races times if Vettel wins them all, it could do.

      People have said over the last few weeks that qualifying is not as essential anymore. Well it seems it is if you want to keep up with Vettel. In the three races he has won this year, he got away cleanly from the start and built a gap, meaning he had a bit of freedom in choosing when to stop. In China when Hamilton won, the McLaren’s qualified well and pipped Vettel at the start. This meant that Vettel could not make a gap at the start and meant he had to cover the McLarens in the pit stop, almost fixing his strategy to a certain degree.

      This happened again in Turkey, I feel Webber and Alonso could have stayed with Vettel in the first stint if they weren’t stuck behind Rosberg. As Alonso said, they could have forced something in the pitstops.

      So for me, qualifying is important, and especially keeping up with Vettel in the first stint. Obviously this is harder said than done, but I hope for different winners in the next few races.

      1. Was a bit like Malaysia, where Rosberg also got in front and helped Vettel get that nice big advantage early on. Never saw him back again.

    78. 8/10 but I love that track, just a shame Kobyashi didn’t go for a 5 stop race and just blitz it all the way.

    79. The race was only a 7 for me.

      There are a few reasons for this, I think most races would have had a hard time following the Chinese GP, DRS seemed to be making overtaking too easy early on in the race at least, and after Vettel safely got through the first corner in the lead at no point during the race did I think that he would even be challenged for the lead.

    80. Marcel Fonseca
      9th May 2011, 13:15

      Vettel has found his edge. If he keeps this up, the championship will be decided pretty quickly.

    81. It was never going to live up to the highs of the Chinese Grand Prix. Which I think was probably the most exciting F1 race I have ever watched to be honest. It was a bit more mundane, but hopefully that it just the calm before the storm and we will see an all action race in Spain i couple of weeks!

    82. 8/10 A good race. Could only be bettered by Vettel not running off and being completely unchallenged.

    83. Goodbye F1, hello Formula Mickey Mouse!

      Overtaking is now almost meaningless and the average drivers look no better than the great ones (even Webber and Massa look competent). Drivers are pacing themselves and nursing their cars to the end of the race. Clue – F1 is meant to encourage drivers to drive as fast they possibly can. Has even this principle been betrayed?

      What happened to cricket with 20/20 is happening to F1. Why don’t we ask Stuart Hall to commentate on the races and hire some people to dress as giant elephants and squirt water out of their trunks on to the track? David Coulthard once said that if you want o watch WWF-style racing, you should go to the US. Not any more.

      In case anyone thinks I’m merely a disappointed McLaren fan, I would like to make it known that the above applies to both of the last two races.

    84. Took me time to read all the comments

    85. Nice ideas! I was having some problems about what you already mentioned

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