Red Bull on top in final practice session at Suzuka

19 comments on “Red Bull on top in final practice session at Suzuka”

1. 

   Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
   6th October 2012, 4:13

   It makes predicting the race a bit more difficult
2. 

   Eggry (@eggry)
   6th October 2012, 4:14

   It’s really mixed up. I only can say Red Bull looks good. Mclaren failed to run final flying lap properly, also Ferrari seems appx. 0.6 sec off from the fastest time. Quite hard, quite hard to predict…
3. 

   Gabriel (@naylamp)
   6th October 2012, 4:14

   I hope alonso was fully loaded. If not, then he can start to say goodbye to the wdc.
   1. 

      Prof Kirk (@prof-kirk)
      6th October 2012, 4:20

      I hope he wasnt fully loaded and that the championship wont be a runnaway situation
      1. 

         Eggry (@eggry)
         6th October 2012, 4:24

         well you can’t runaway from faster car.
         1. 

            Julian (@julian)
            6th October 2012, 4:35

            The optimist in me hopes that Alonso was focusing on setting up his car perfect for the race knowing he will qualify 5th or 6th at best. And also that Ferrari set Massa up for qualifying in the hope he will start ahead of Alonso and a few others. That way he can hold them up in the race to help Alonso make up a few positions.

            Sadly the realist in me knows my optimistic side will most likely be disappointed.
      2. 

         Gabriel (@naylamp)
         6th October 2012, 4:29

         But even fully loaded all we know he can’t stand a chance (technologically) to beat McLaren or RB in this race.
         1. 

            Prof Kirk (@prof-kirk)
            6th October 2012, 4:35

            I havent even bothered cranking out the calculator and I might be about to make a fool of myself, but doesnt Alonso just need to finish in the points and race his own race for the remainder of the season? Drive extra conservative and let the rest get tangled up for the wins?
            1. 

               Gabriel (@naylamp)
               6th October 2012, 4:42

               Well, if Vettel wins three races and Alonso ends third in those races then the gap becomes -1. So I don’t think is so easy for him.
            2. 

               Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
               6th October 2012, 7:36

               doesnt Alonso just need to finish in the points and race his own race for the remainder of the season?

               He probably needs to do a lot more than that. ‘Just finishing in the points’ would net him six points in as many races. I wouldn’t bet on Vettel scoring fewer than 35 in the same period.
            3. 

               Todfod (@todfod)
               6th October 2012, 7:57

               @naylamp . Honestly, it’s going to be hard for Fernando to even finish on the podium for remaining races. The only a few things that could save Fernando –
               1) Red Bull’s alternators
               2) Mclaren screw ups with Hamilton
               3) Webber disobediently out racing Vettel (highly unlikely though)
               4) Webber, Perez or Button taking a couple of wins in the last few races.
               5) Wet races
   2. 

      Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      6th October 2012, 4:32

      Yeah, I’m really hoping Ferrari and Alonso can pull through. Massa’s pace certainly suggests the car can do it.

      Maybe I’m just petty like that, but I really don’t like Red Bull.
   3. 

      mrjlr93 (@mrjlr93)
      6th October 2012, 4:53

      alonso has to finish ahead of vettel in atleast 2 races to secure any chance of winning the wdc
      1. 

         Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
         6th October 2012, 5:03

         When Webber was leading the championship – just after Monaco – Alonso said that his strategy was going to be to race the driver he considered to be the biggest challenge to his title bid. With his lead yo-yoing from race to race, a car that is not as strong as the competition, and the other drivers bickering over championship position, I don’t see why Alonso will change his strategy now and race Vettel.

         I think that’s going to be the smartest way forward this year: picking your battles and fighting them when you know you have the upper hand, and limiting damage when you know that you don’t.
4. 

   Nirupam (@nirupam)
   6th October 2012, 4:45

   Well Massa improved by 8 tenths between FP2 and 3. If we assume by almost the same margin Alonso could have improved too, that leaves with his time as 01:32.293
   Clearly Ferrari is the 3rd fastest team here. And given Button’s gearbox penalty I think Alonso will start at P3 or P4. If he can make it further up in the grid, will certainly be a bonus.
5. 

   Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
   6th October 2012, 4:59

   Amaizing how much Lotus’ has lost compared to the others. They’ve stalled in the development race !
   1. 

      Eggry (@eggry)
      6th October 2012, 5:11

      Their DDRS is interesting but it requires extremely fine tune which means maybe it never be usable. Let’s see what happen in Korean where they’re supposed to bring more normal updates.
      1. 

         Kingshark (@kingshark)
         6th October 2012, 6:49

         I conclude that DDRS on any car will make it a failure. Look at Mercedes.
6. 

   AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
   6th October 2012, 11:42

   De La Rosa beaten by Karthikeyan again…surely this can’t actually be the case?!

Comments are closed.