Vettel ‘doesn’t want to blame the car’ after missing top ten

2012 Chinese Grand Prix

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Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday’s race from 11th on the grid after failing to reach the final ten in qualifying.

He missed the cut by less than five hundredths of a second, and was only three-tenths slower than the fastest driver in Q2 in a closely-fought session.

Vettel said: “Obviously I’m not happy but as I said I think I was pretty happy with the laps I had in Q2 but they weren’t quick enough. Now I could go through another hour but that’s a fact.

“We have to start the race from P11 and see what we can do tomorrow. It surely makes it a bit harder but not impossible to do a good race.”

Vettel reverted to an early version of Red Bull’s exhaust set-up this weekend while team mate Mark Webber has continued to use the current version. Vettel would not be drawn on whether that was the cause of his problem:

“It’s difficult to say. Yesterday I was happy with the car that’s why we decided to stick with the current settings.

“I don’t want to blame it on the car. Three times I did exactly the same lap and which three times wasn’t quick enough to make it into Q3.”

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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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90 comments on “Vettel ‘doesn’t want to blame the car’ after missing top ten”

  1. It seems that the old exhaust spec doesn’t cope well with low temperatures. That’s one thing. The other is Vettel, who doesn’t cope really well with not being competitve. The result, P11, was so bad it just seems unlikely it was caused only by the car.

    1. Although not a fan of Vettel I find myself sympathising with his current situation. It’s always difficult when things don’t go right and you start making misjudged decisions. I think he’s slightly on tilt at the moment, and it wouldn’t suprise me if he gets a DNF tomorrow.

    2. I don’t believe you can say “P11 was so bad it can’t be the car”. Fact is, Vettel was only 3 tenths behind his team-mate in first. Look at MS/NR: If Schumacher was only three tenths behind Rosberg, then he’d be second and Hamilton would be 3rd – 8th after the penalty. But Schumacher is more than that off Rosberg, and while Rosberg’s lap was stunning, no-one is saying “oh, Schumacher is so off the pace!”
      It was purely luck that Vettel didn’t make it into the top 10 – Q2 was just too competitive.

  2. Wonder what he is really thinking though. Must sting that Webber was fastest in Q2, evidently getting better grip on the car’s pace at least in qualifying. And the car is just not fast enough for them.

    1. Jack Flash (Aust)
      14th April 2012, 10:13

      Sting?…. More like eating him up inside.

      1. Not as bad as being P18 with the other Red Bull P1 though.

        1. Jack Flash (Aust)
          14th April 2012, 11:45

          and we know how that worked out in the Race.

        2. @david-a – and that Red Bull got pole position in the hands of Vettel by a fair margin

        3. As I remember Webbo fell out in Q1 because of the pitwall, but Vettel fell out because of the close grid. (Neither of them were at fault)

      2. I doubt it’s that bad to be honest. He’s in a championship winning team. Good fortune will come his way soon.

  3. Tom Haxley (@)
    14th April 2012, 9:19

    Racing cars should be oversteery (a word?) in my opinion. All the power to rear wheels dictates this.
    This makes it much more skillful to feather in the throttle and keep control of the car.

    The EBD last year stopped this quite a lot, especially when it was blowing off throttle. Vettel loved the car on rails.

    Make it more of a true racing machine and he’s back with Webbers pace.

    1. If Webber is so good that he drives a so called ‘true racing machine’ faster than Vettel, why was he so much slower last year, when the car was supposedly so much easier to drive? He did lose not only to Vettel, but to Button as well. If you believe that Vettel can’t drive a car without EBD, how come he outpaced Webber in the first race and was ahead of him in the second, when a certain ‘cucumber’ killed his race?
      Points are not given on Saturday, I’d wait till Sunday afternoon to see which Red Bull is faster.

      1. The car set up is different for everyone dude. If a driver (Vettel) loves the car, maybe it fits his driving style better than the other driver (Webber). Each driver has different driving style.

        1. This setup argument is non sequitur, dude. Obviously, each driver has his preferences. But if last years RB was a dominant car and basically on rails, how come Webber couldn’t be on Vettels pace, because really good car seriously negates the difference between styles (see Schumi vs Irvine and Barrichello). And if it was suitable only to Vettel’s style, then it was not a dominant car at all.
          Most likely, Vettel’s problems are with this year’s tyres, which, according to may drivers, have even narrower performance window than the last year’s Pirellis. He seem to unable to switch them on in the right moment in qualifying, yet does not look too bad in the race. Sort of like Michael in 2010 in 2011.

          1. I guess Webber is just old school and isn´t into video gameish cars like finger boy´s rb7. Or maybe, just maybe, Webber didn´t get the same engine maps as finger boy did….
            I´m just happy now that the blowing is out… Webber can really shine and demonstrate that he is faster…
            Oh and I believe that in Malaysia, finger boy pitted first… I might be wrong… either way, Mark really put some moves on finger boy… it just goes to show that Webber is a real racer!! Much props to Mark!! Oh and BTW I think Webber is outqualifying finger boy 2-1 in this season!! God, I´m really begining to like this season even though Ferrari isn´t competitive.
            Justice is being done to Mark! “Not bad for a number two driver” Mark!!!!

    2. @ Jack – his name is Sebastian Vettel, not “finger boy”. And has Webber won how many world championships? None.
      And Red Bull let their drivers race; they wouldn’t differ engine maps unless one driver specified to do so. And make sure your facts are right, Webber is actually 3-0 up.
      Also I do seem to remember Vettel got his first pole & win in a car that wasn’t a front runner, without EBD or Double Diffusers and in the wet. It just goes to show that he can adapt to driving any car, unlike Webber.

      1. @ Jack – his name is Sebastian Vettel, not “finger boy”. And has Webber won how many world championships? None.
        And Red Bull let their drivers race; they wouldn’t differ engine maps unless one driver specified to do so. And make sure your facts are right, Webber is actually 3-0 up.
        Also I do seem to remember Vettel got his first pole & win in a car that wasn’t a front runner, without EBD or Double Diffusers and in the wet. It just goes to show that he can adapt to driving any car, unlike Webber.

        @Max Jacobson, to me, he´s finger boy… He gets no respect from me for giving “the bird” to two different drivers so far this season only because they didn´t move for him…
        And thank you for correcting me… I thought nobody was noticing my “mistake”…
        The Toro Rosso arguement is getting sooooooooo boring…. You said it… in the wet… Heck, in the wet even Ferrari bagged a win this season and the F2012 is faaaaaaaaaaaar from being a front runner!!! LMAO!!!

        It just goes to show that he can adapt to driving any car, unlike Webber.

        Yeah rrrright…. that is why he has adapted so well to the RB8!! It´s the same car for both and so far Mark is setting him straight in Qualifying where the team is unable to influence with the strategy…. In the race, they always favor finger boy when it comes to strategy so so much for letting them race… or have you forgotten: “Mark, you have to maintain the gap”!! hhahahhaaha You better chill man… seems to me Mark beating finger boy is gonna make you pop a vein or something!

        1. Has Vettel had a 2nd place finish and Webber’s best effort was a 4th place? Just because Webber has a slight advantage in qualifying (where no points are available) doesn’t mean he is faster.
          Yes, he is beating Vettel in the championship, but that is mearly because of an incident with a certain HRT driver..

          1. And I’m fine thanks, just don’t appreciate your ignorance and hatred towards a world class driver.

          2. Max, He is finger Boy! Everybody knows it. What’s wrong with that mate?

      2. Tom Haxley (@)
        14th April 2012, 16:14

        Max, did you actually watch “that race” in monza in the wet, everything fell into his lap – everyone refers back to it as if it was some insane drive. It wasnt – it was gifted to him.

        Nice to see the debate going though!

        “And Red Bull let their drivers race”

        LOL – just LOL

        1. @welshtom – they do let their drivers race, the only time they ever impose team orders is when they risk crashing into each other as they did in Turkey, unlike a certain Italian team.
          And even if it was ‘gifted’, he got pole position and won in changeable conditions, which is an amazing feat in only his 2nd year of f1

          1. Tom Haxley (@)
            14th April 2012, 17:12

            I dunno, the rest of his season was pretty amazing too.
            Think it took him 5 races to finish one didnt it?

          2. @welshtom – He had 4 DNFs and a 17th because of collisions that he didn’t cause and mechanical failures in all five. When those largely stopped happening, Vettel claimed 7 top 6 finishes, including a win. He finished 8th in the driver’s championship, despite the team only finishing 6th in the constructors. And Monza wasn’t gifted to him, he earned it because he did a better job than everyone else, simple as.

  4. Off topic; but that Red Bull is the worst looking car this season from the profile view!

    1. Really? I think it’s gorgeous although I would like it if they jazzed up the livery in the next couple of years.

      1. @Steph I think it’s a decent looking car, but that angle certainly doesn’t flatter it! The Williams is by far the best looking car from the profile view.

    2. The red rear wing is horrible!

  5. Jack Flash (Aust)
    14th April 2012, 10:45

    I think people should keep in mind that although Vettel did miss out on getting through to Q3, the Q2 session top ten was so very close. (~0.35 sec covering the top ten in Q2). So, it wasn’t as if Vettel had an ‘epic fail’ or anything. So not cross team competition disasterous.

    Still… he was outqualified by Webber again.
    I think in the final analysis, in his own head, he’d be more disappointed about getting a Q2 Pos11 time versus Webbers Q2 Pos 1 time. It is not good to allow an ‘out-qualified’ trend across a garage to start early in the season… and Vettel knows it! Confidence swings within a team, feeds momentum.

    Vettel will likely bounce ‘back on pace’ in the race I’d expect. It should be a fascinating race with Saubers really looking strong with their race-pace form, and both the McLarens and Redbulls having to work up from P5 and further back. I still expect the Mercs to fall victim to “rear tyre-chewing issues” again in the race. If it is cool enough conditions for the race, Merc may do better. A guess at the likely podium placings for this one is pretty tough — just the way I like F1 to be. JF

    1. I think people should keep in mind that although Vettel did miss out on getting through to Q3, the Q2 session top ten was so very close. (~0.35 sec covering the top ten in Q2). So, it wasn’t as if Vettel had an ‘epic fail’ or anything.

      That sir… would be a valid point if last season, finger boy wouldn´t of had all those poles !! By God.. he even broke Mansell´s record!! I would also like to add that it is an epic fail because it just proves that his pole record was due solely to the RB7… Without his EBD, he is just average and not what they wanted the public to believe that we might be witnessing some kind of new Senna… I´m glad I never believed that in the frist place. Then again, I have been watching F1 for a while now and not like a bunch of finger boy fans that hopped into the wagon because he got all those poles!
      Good day sir!

      1. That is, quite frankly, ridiculous.
        No driver on the grid is merely average: they are all world class drivers, and to even suggest that a 2 time champion is average is absurd.
        And anyway, if the car was the ONLY reason for his poles, that leads one to suggest that Webber was as fast as Vettel last season…..yeah, right.
        He may have had the supposedly fastest car, but it was only the fastest in one drivers hands; Webber was qualifying with the McLarens last year.
        And anyway, in 2009, without the EBD, Vettel was so much faster than Webber anyway.

        1. @xjr15jaaag

          That is, quite frankly, ridiculous.
          No driver on the grid is merely average: they are all world class drivers, and to even suggest that a 2 time champion is average is absurd.

          Ok so by your rationale… NK is a “world class driver” and deserves respect… why would a 2 time world “champion” have to give him the finger ?? Or why would he give the finger to Grosjean in Practices?? THAT is absurd and falls very short to champion-like behaviour.

          And anyway, if the car was the ONLY reason for his poles, that leads one to suggest that Webber was as fast as Vettel last season…..yeah, right.

          Well, whenever he was quick… someone asked some other guys to “be wise” and later mark was told: “Mark you have to maintain the gap”.

          He may have had the supposedly fastest car

          You say that he “supposedly” had the fastes car?? You´re still doubting that?? come on man… get real… sting much having to accept that?

          but it was only the fastest in one drivers hands;

          Again…. “Mark, you have to maintain the gap”… nuff said…

          @vettel1 (Max Jacobson)
          Vettel is a great driver, possibly 2nd best on the grid after Alonso

          So Michael Schumacher is behind finger boy according to you?? I got 4 words for you… Seven Time World Champion

          he is still a young driver, still learning.

          Well, he should start by learning some manners and stop giving other drivers the finger and calling them cucumbers or what he really called NK in the BBC interview… as you should also learn some manners and also stop calling other drivers cucumbers just because they messed up your finger boy´s race!

          Heck… it seems it´s hard to digest the fact that finger boy is having a rough season so far…
          Thank God I have been watching F1 for a while now and didn´t get sucked into the finger boy band wagon!

          1. Thank God I have been watching F1 for a while now and didn´t get sucked into the finger boy band wagon!

            So instead of jumping the Vettel band wagon you jumped the “Hate Vettel” band wagon instead.
            Is that so much better? It really does come across more as desperation and jealousy then anything else.

          2. Of course it’s not always easy to decide which car is the best: you have to look at the relative performances of the team mates in comparison with the rest of the field, and Mark Webber consistently qualified very close to the Mclarens and Ferraris.
            And, yes: Narain is a world class driver: he ha to win racesa and titles on his way into f1. I don’t support him, but he is still a good river.
            In my opinion, there would be about 0.5 seconds separating the drivers should you stick them in equal cars.

          3. Jack, Mark was told to “maintain the gap” indeed, but he clearly said after the race that he never heeded those instructions, so it is hardly an excuse you can use to back up your extreme points.

            And please do show other people’s opinions respect, the tone and language you are using is clearly not showing respect to the others. You are hardly qualified to slam Vettel for not showing Karthikeyan respect when you are not capable to do so yourself.

        2. Jack

          Well, whenever he was quick… someone asked some other guys to “be wise” and later mark was told: “Mark you have to maintain the gap”.

          Not “whenever”, but rather in only one race- his second worst race of 2011, where even then, he had KERS issues and a bad pitstop which cost him the lead.

          1. And to ad to my point, how is ‘Please be wise’ relevant at all to their seasonal performances last year?
            nuff said: come one: elaborate a bit please for pitys sake

      2. Jack Flash (Aust)
        14th April 2012, 13:01

        Hey? In what Universe is a 0.3 of a second behind 10 others over a 1min35sec lap, an ‘Epic Fail’?
        I am a Webber fan (I’m loving the struggle for Vettel from my vantage point across the garage), but even I concede that today’s result is hardly an irretrievable disaster for Vettel.
        You don’t like Vettel, that’s obvious. I’m not a big fan of him either (or his ‘finger’) – nor the rediculous levels of his young fanboi’s worshipping and silly premature comparisons to F1 greats, but I don’t let that cloud my judgment upon even tempered assessments. He is not all that… but he’s no slouch neither.

        So if you want to aim vitriol from your own predjudices – aim it towards Vettel’s gormless fanbois. Good day Sir to you!

      3. dear god I hope you’re not an aussie. I love Mark and have at times despised Seb, but please stop spouting rubbish

      4. Vettel is a great driver, possibly 2nd best on the grid after Alonso. And he is still a young driver, still learning.
        The RB8 is better in the race than in qualifying (rather like the Mclaren early last year) so expect Vettel to be in a strong points finish, as he should’ve been the last 2 races had it not be for ‘cucumbers’

    2. As you said, Vettel was three tenths behind the fastest driver in Q2, and ended up eleventh in Q2. Last year Vettel was three tenths slower than Hamilton in Q2 (who was fastest), which put him third in Q2. It’s just a lot closer this year.

      And, given that Webber managed third from 18th last year with the freedom of tyre choice, I don’t think he’s got much to worry about.

    3. @jack, yes he is better than Schumacher at this stage in Schumacher’s career. He isn’t as quick as Schumacher was with his Benetton/Ferrari days, but not in his Mercedes days.

      1. @vettel1 Dude…. your ignorance has no limits… Finger boy better than Michael? In what world??? Only because he got back to back championships??? one of which was acomplished in a dominant car?? Please…. Michael got 5 in a row… LOL at you! You really need to get a life dude… Michael´s 7 titles didn´t just happen…. he actually had to work for them in monsters with V10 in them… Finger boy better than Schumacher…. seriously… I ain´t wasting time in an ignorant guy who blurts that out… I´d smack you silly for saying that if I had you in front of me… boy…. you need a role model and NOT finger boy!

        1. I’d consider Schumacher to be better than Vettel and the others on the grid if we were doing an all-time list. Schumacher even won a poll taking 77% of votes over Alonso. All the other champions on today’s grid would have lost that poll by a huge margin as well.

          But people still consider the younger guys, like Alonso, Vettel and Hamiton to be the best on today’s grid. That’s based on where they are in their careers at the moment, and that’s what @vettel1 was referring to, with regards to Vettel.

          1. @david-a

            Give Schumi an RB7 and lets see what happens….

          2. @Jack – you could ask any driver to be given a championship winning car to see what happens. All that matters is Schumacher won 7 times, Vettel 2 times and the other champions won in the car they did in a certain year.

        2. @David-A Well said to me Schumacher better than Vettel

          @Jack Smacking someone because he got different opinions or favourite driver quiet of childish don’t you think, maybe UFC or WWE will suit you more :D

  6. “I don’t want to blame it on the car. Three times I did exactly the same lap and which three times wasn’t quick enough to make it into Q3.”

    The second sentence is the equivalent of blaming it on the car.

    1. Jack Flash (Aust)
      14th April 2012, 11:16

      Not the only interpretation.
      Vettel could also be saying that he ‘underperformed the potential of the car’ three times. …. Not likely he was, but….

  7. This just proves my point… and maybe, just maybe, all the “finger boy” fans will just open their eyes up and realize that last year the champ was the RB7 and that Webber is faster than finger boy.

    As for Nico, I am very happy for him since it´s his first ever pole. I´m just a bit bitter Michael missed out but it has to be said that Nico´s lap was almost perfect and hard to repeat even if he tried!

    I must say I am surprised at Ferrari´s pace… and at least Felipe had a “better” performance today… with times being so close this season, his 11nth grid position(LH penalty included) isn´t all that bad… There might still be some hope for him it seems… As for Fernando… his performances with a below competitive car just keeps solidifying him as one of the best drivers if not the best out there in the grid. It also keeps putting Felipe to shame…

    If there is something that I would criticize this season and last one for that matter… is the Pirellis… I wish they would just cut out the bs and make a “bridgestone type” tyre… It would make things more compeitive if everybody knew how the darn tyres worked!

    1. ooops, just realized Felipe didn´t benefit from LH´s penalty and will start 12th… Sorry, must´ve had a brain fart….

    2. This just proves my point… and maybe, just maybe, all the “finger boy” fans will just open their eyes up and realize that last year the champ was the RB7 and that Webber is faster than finger boy.

      Mark Webber is qualifying pretty well at the moment, but there is still a long way to go in the season and Vettel has been faster over the course of three consecutive years so far, including years without EBDs.

      1. Precisely

      2. We´ll just have to wait and see won´t we??? But my money is on Webber! Oh and I´m enjoying Webber thrashing finger boy!! Now we don´t get to see the finger at the end of Saturdays and we get the bonus of finger boy showing his true colors by giving other drivers another finger! This is looking like an epic season even though Ferrari isn´t at it´s best… it´s still entertaining!! hehehee
        Oh and he just drove 1 single season without EBD!! 2010 and 2011 had it… It seems he has to earn his this time around! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!

      3. Totally agree. Mark has gotten off to a good start, but we are only 3 races into the season. Over the entire length of a season I expect Vettel to outperform Mark again.. without the EBD. Vettel is just a better driver and you cannot argue that if you have been watching them both compete since 2009.

        Felipe has had the edge on Fernando in a couple of races in 2010 and 2011, but that doesn’t make Felipe a better driver than Fernando. Similarly, a couple of good races from Mark doesn’t form a strong enough case against the thrashing he has received over the past 3 seasons.

        1. @Todfod
          We´ll just have to wait and see won´t we… I know who´s my winning “horse” between those two…

          BTW, although I don´t particularly think highly of Felipe, it´s good to see him in P12 instead of P18 and with a much smaller gap in referece to his team mate….

    3. last year the champ was the RB7 and that Webber is faster than finger boy.

      If both those things were true, Mark Webber would be last year’s world champion.

      Whereas he was out-qualified 16-3 by Vettel, out-raced 15-2, and finished 134 points behind him in the drivers’ championship.

      Mark Webber 2011 form guide

      1. Jack – you obviously just hate Vettel for whatever reason, so have decided to say things that make no sense whatsoever. Vettel is a double world champion, Webber has never won a world championship despite being in the fastest car for at least 2 years.
        Webber would have had less points than Vettel in this years championship had it not been for the incident with Karthikeyan.

      2. @keithcollantine

        If both those things were true, Mark Webber would be last year’s world champion.

        Whereas he was out-qualified 16-3 by Vettel, out-raced 15-2, and finished 134 points behind him in the drivers’ championship.

        It´s hard having a fair shot at being champ when the whole team is backing 1 person in particular.
        And yes, he had an exceptional season last year… thanks to the RB7. Now please enlighten me as to why finger boy is getting whipped in qualifying by a “slower” driver??
        I mean… in 2011 they both had the “same car” and finger boy was so much faster than Mark… And now they have the same car and finger boy is getting his tush handed to him by a “slower” driver like Mark. It doesn´t quite make sense right?! Please enlighten me all-knowing Keith!!
        I guess you´re just gonna throw some other stats at me or say that in 2009 he didn´t run EBD and ultimately avoid accepting that without EBD finger boy is again a normal driver… ok, ok, maybe a step above normal but not an excellent driver… I´ll give him that much.
        The fact is that as every qualifying session goes by…. his 16-3 qualifying run last year is starting to look like a joke and that in fact was all thanks to the RB7 unless he proves otherwise!

        @vettel1 (Max Jacobson)

        Jack – you obviously just hate Vettel for whatever reason,

        Geeeeeez, what on earth gave you that impression?? LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

        so have decided to say things that make no sense whatsoever.

        What doesn´t make sense?? Webber whipping him so far in Qualifying?? Geeez I guess that really does sting you quite a bit.

        Vettel is a double world champion, Webber has never won a world championship despite being in the fastest car for at least 2 years.

        Still Much learning of F1 you have young padawan…

        Webber would have had less points than Vettel in this years championship had it not been for the incident with Karthikeyan.

        Had my dad not died, he´d still be alive wouldn´t he?? The would of doesn´t exist in racing… What he should have done is respect the driver he was passing even though he was much slower and taken the proper precautions …
        And just to set it clear to you… it´s not that I hate finger boy… I just hate the fact that he has so far given “the bird” to 2 other drivers as if he was the single most important person on track… There are 5 other WCD on the grid right now and NONE have done that so far… he should get an attitude check and realize that last season was in large part due to the RB7 as so should you… He should also stop asking people to tell mark to maintain gaps… in other words… he should man up!

        1. I know it’s just racing, but it shows that he is quicker in the races than Webber, where it matters.

        2. I mean… in 2011 they both had the “same car” and finger boy was so much faster than Mark… And now they have the same car and finger boy is getting his tush handed to him by a “slower” driver like Mark. It doesn´t quite make sense right?! Please enlighten me all-knowing Keith!

          With pleasure.

          A racing driver is not a computer chip which is plugged into a car and produces exactly the same performance race after race, year after year.

          They are human beings like the rest of us. Being professional racing drivers does not stop them from having preferences or off-days. Cars changes, tyres change, drivers change.

          Consider: Even when he was romping to his titles in ’05 and ’06 at the top of his game, Alonso was rarely at his best form in Indianapolis. Kimi Raikkonen won the 2007 title then was beaten by his team mate over the next year-and-a-half. At McLaren, Hamilton beat Button in 2010 but Button beat Hamilton in 2011.

          Based on what we’ve seen it seems likely that Vettel was more at home with the handling of the car when it had an exhaust-blown diffuser than Webber. Without the EBD, the balance of power between the two is closer to what we saw in 2009 or early 2010.

          The claim that Vettel was only a top-class driver when the car had EBD is such utter rubbish I can barely bring myself to type it. He produced several top-notch drives in non-EBD cars with Toro Rosso in 2007 and 2008 and with Red Bull in 2009 and early 2010. China ’07, Valencia ’08, Monza ’08, China ’09, Brazil ’09 – these are just the first five that spring to mind (I could go on but as this case only needs making to a tiny minority there seems little point).

          The rest of the difference between reality and your perception of it is made up by the huge exaggerations in your perspective. Vettel is hardly being thrashed by Webber this year; but for a silly altercation with a backmarker he’d be comfortably ahead of him in the points.

          This also reminds me of what Ross Brawn was saying before today’s sessions when asked about Rosberg’s problems in qualifying this year. Brawn said it was a ‘small sample size’ – there had only been two qualifying sessions up to that point. And what happened next? Rosberg sticks it on pole with a sublime lap.

          Conclusions: racing drivers are human too; cars change, drivers change; don’t draw wild inferences based on too little data, don’t start with an assumption and complain when the facts don’t support it.

          1. @keithcollantine

            Based on what we’ve seen it seems likely that Vettel was more at home with the handling of the car when it had an exhaust-blown diffuser than Webber. Without the EBD, the balance of power between the two is closer to what we saw in 2009 or early 2010.

            Finally I got you to say it! Of course the EBD made his life easier… that is precisly my whole arguement… If he had not had that perfected aid, 2011 would have been very different… That is what I have ben trying to point out all along yet all the fanboys keep thinking he´s “the bomb” and that he got all those poles on sheer talent. Finger boy is good but is not better than Schumacher as some ignorant guy said before and is not above others… He just had a better package in 2010 and an even better one in 2011 just as Alonso did in 2005 and 2006 although the R25 & R26 weren´t the fastest cars! It was just a better package

            Oh and BTW

            A racing driver is not a computer chip which is plugged into a car and produces exactly the same performance race after race, year after year.

            Wow…. wasn´t that what the media was trying to sell everybody??? that we were in the presence of some higher being?? LMAO!! I guess that with the EBD gone…. he just has to drive this time!
            And as I said to some other guy before… the “would have” doesn´t exist in racing… that altercation with a “backmarker”(I particularly feel that is a rude way of reffering to the guys in the back) could have been avoided if finger boy would have taken the proper precautions and maybe deflated his ego a bit and left some space between him and NK. The fact is he messed up his own race and should not have called NK an Idiot or a cucumber… The guys in the back of the grid have their own battles going yet are important to the grid itself so they deserve the same respect as the rest of the pack!

            In conclusion… the reason I´m enjoying the fact that Mark is beating finger boy is because of the fact that he had such a dominant season last year and I particularly love the fact that we don´t get to see him on Saturdays after qualifying sessions or hear that “that´s what I´m talking about” comment or the ridiculous and fake long a$$ speeches of him after winning a race… but above all… I enjoy that his “slow” team mate, the number two driver, the guy finger boy fanboys love to point out as an underperformer and show great disrespect towards him is handing him his tush to him… I know it´s early in the season still but I am really enjoying seeing him get frustrated and how he acts so childish and disrespectful to his fellow drivers… nothing in this life is forever… seems ´ol finger boy forgot about that!

        3. Jo (@musicwordsthoughts)
          14th April 2012, 17:16

          I have to take issue with what you said here:

          And just to set it clear to you… it´s not that I hate finger boy… I just hate the fact that he has so far given “the bird” to 2 other drivers as if he was the single most important person on track… There are 5 other WCD on the grid right now and NONE have done that so far… he should get an attitude check and realize that last season was in large part due to the RB7 as so should you… He should also stop asking people to tell mark to maintain gaps… in other words… he should man up!

          If my eyes did not fool me (and if the rest of the world’s eyes didn’t), I’m pretty sure Alonso gave Petrov the finger at Abu Dhabi in 2010 after he lost the WDC to Vettel. So please don’t generalise.

          1. @musicwordsthoughts
            Alonso didn´t give Petrov the bird… he made an italian gesture with the whole hand, not a specific finger… said gesture does not have the same meaning of the finger…

        4. And as I said to some other guy before… the “would have” doesn´t exist in racing

          If he had not had that perfected aid, 2011 would have been very different…

          Quite a contradiction there. It’s apparently okay to point out what “would have” happened when you’re trying to diminish Vettel’s achievements, but the words “would have” don’t exist in a situation that Karthikeyan admitted was his fault, and as usual you twist it around to say Vettel didn’t leave room because of his ego.

          I enjoy that his “slow” team mate, the number two driver, the guy finger boy fanboys love to point out as an underperformer and show great disrespect towards him is handing him his tush to him

          If anything, it’s Vettel detractors that attack Webber for being an underperformer, to make it look as if beating Webber was no accomplishment, when he is a decent driver.

          You’re constantly asking for drivers to be respected, whether it’s Webber, Alonso, or Karthikeyan, yet you do nothing but turn up and disrespect Vettel. You don’t exactly practice what you preach, do you Jack?

  8. Racing driver-ish: I don’t want to blame the car.
    English: I’m blaming the car.

  9. I don’t know why all you guys are calling finger boy, “finger boy”.
    You can at least show a 2 time world champion some respect.
    At least he hasn’t yet gone cucumbers.

    1. Show him some respect??? I guess Fernando Alonso should also recieve respet too since he´s also a double world champion…
      The last time I remeber Alonso giving another driver “the finger” was Monaco while in Renault when he crashed coming out of the tunnel because of Ralph obstructing him… In 2 races out of three, we have seen finger boy give “the bird” to two diferent drivers! Class act right there!! I guess it happens when you´re back to being an average driver…

      1. Well, Alonso is a double champion and does get respect. And as it’s been pointed out, the drivers on the grid are world class. To call a world champion an average driver is ludicrous.

        1. I agree. I think people are too eager to jump on any supposed weakness that Vettel is showing now so as to put Vettel’s dominance last season into context – “it was just the car”. That’s laughable. Nothing can take away from Vettel’s personal achievements in 2011 and one poor qualifying session does not mean he’s anything other than an exceptional driver.

          Remember he finished second in Australia, outperforming his car, and was looking good for a high points-scoring finish in Malaysia until he collided with Karthikeyan (and I’m not saying whose fault it was because that discussion has got old already). It’s very likely that he’ll score points tomorrow as well, starting from 11th.

        2. @David-A Alonso gets respect??? Wow… that´s a new one for me! Most british people, hate Alonso and are very disrespectful towards him… Note I said most, not all…

          @Estesark

          “it was just the car”. That’s laughable. Nothing can take away from Vettel’s personal achievements in 2011 and one poor qualifying session does not mean he’s anything other than an exceptional driver.

          You might think it´s “laughable” and that is your opinion… but, what i really think is laughable is his performance overall this season… and by overall I mean: mediocre qualifying and mediocre as a person for giving the finger to two different drivers in very different circumstances, none of which are acceptable!!
          You say it´s laughable that there are people and I saying “it was just the car”… well… give me an explanation for his performances so far??? Where is his super qualifying pace?? Where is the guy who outperformed his “slow” team mate?? Where??? Webber is up 2-1 in Quali, and the only reason finger boy finished ahead of him in Australia was that he was on different strategy…. In Malaysia… Webber was in front of him until finger boy decided to ram his car into NK for “holding” him up… (that´s my view of it, your view might and most probably is different)… To make it short… finger boy has not shown any arguement so far to think of him as an “exceptional” driver…. His finger waving at other drivers is just showing that he feels everybody has to jump out of his way…. much like everybody else judged Alonso for waving his hand at others… Again… Ironic isn´t it??
          Oh and BTW, how does someone “outperform” his own car??? Noone can possibly do that… One can only extract 100% out of his car´s performance capabilities but outperform a car is quite impossible….

          1. @Jack – Well, if you feel that most British fans are disrespectful towards Alonso, then it is most likely a loud minority tainting the image of the majority. On this F1 website anyway, even if a lot of people support one of Alonso’s opponents, most of them still respect Alonso’s abilities and achievements.

          2. Finger Boy is cute! Finger Boy himself likes it. What’s your problem guys?

    2. I don’t know why all you guys are calling finger boy, “finger boy”.

      Because his fans do:
      https://www.racefans.net/2012/04/12/2012-chinese-grand-prix-thursday-pictures/chinese-f1-grand-prix-previews-5/

      1. You guys didn’t get the joke. :-)

        1. An obvious follow-up question, but, what joke?

          1. I believe he is referring to the fact that he also referred to Vettel as finger boy when he said:
            I don’t know why all you guys are calling finger boy, “finger boy”.

          2. What’s wrong with finger Boy? His fans like it. Finger boy is cool. :)

      2. @keithcollantine Wrong finger Keith…

        1. @david-a

          @Jack – Well, if you feel that most British fans are disrespectful towards Alonso, then it is most likely a loud minority tainting the image of the majority. On this F1 website anyway, even if a lot of people support one of Alonso’s opponents, most of them still respect Alonso’s abilities and achievements.

          That is why I said most… I did not say all… And it´s nice to read these sort of comments once in a while… It´s nice knowing that even though we differ in a lot of aspects and opinions, brilliance can be appreciated… and keep in mind, I hated Alonso for beating Michael in 2005 and 2006, yet Monaco 2010 and the fact that I now live in Spain, made me realize what a talent the guy is. Heck, I even hated Hamilton for beating Massa but now I´m sympathetic with the guy. I still don´t like him but, I feel his team is favoring Button over him.

  10. Right, blame Karthikeyan.

    On a more serious note, one driver has rarely dominated F1 for two seasons in a row. And, as Alonso once said, you cannot give 100% all the time, sometimes your shape inevitably falls below 100%. I don’t know if that’s the case with Vettel now but I think that Chinese GP qualifying showed how tight the field is this year and how unpredictable the qualifying sessions and races have now become. And that’s one thing that we can all be happy about.

    1. I agree, every driver has a bad moment in their career…even Senna (’93 season). You can’t always have the best car, well unless your name is Juan Manuel Fangio

  11. He said he had made no mistakes and now he aint blaming the car, he is giving fingers to anybody he has looked grumpy, i guess the double world champion looks very mature when winning and rather childish when not winning, guess he’s just a human being, that doenst get along with the cold despite being German, not even when he is racing home.

    1. Hamilton passed through a similar phase too, all people have issues especially when things change too dramatically.

      1. I guess he is in a phase of life called REALITY. Seems like it struck him pretty well. I guess he is noticing that just because he is very young and successful that it would remain that way. You can’t always have the fastest car or the best form year after year.

  12. At least all this takes some of the heat of Lewis who managed the second fastest time today. Very difficult to be Mr Perfect when you’r in your early 20’s, however much you earn !.

  13. The middle finger of the Fingerboy doesn’t bother me at all. The index finger irritates me much more along with the words with kraut accent: “YES!! THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!!!” Great driver, btw.

  14. Is anyone else annoyed when Vettel refers to the hard working men of the Red Bull garage as boys? I realize it’s a term of endearment, but it seems inappropriate and slightly disrespectful coming from a 24 year old.

    1. I’ve heard a quite a few drivers refer to their mechanics etc. as ‘boys’. I really don’t think they mind and to be fair, it’s not like English is his first language.

  15. A bit of a shocker, but tomorrow is where the points are. I don’t think he’ll be in a position to attack at the very front much by virtue of not having a terribly fast car in a straight line. However, Webber ended up on the podium last year from 18th…so anything can happen.

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