2014 UBS Chinese Grand Prix - Formula 1

Fernando Alonso topped first practice. Second practice is ongoing, and Pastor Maldonado crashed in the pit entrance.

At least he didn't wreck anyone this time...

"I crashed"
"Oh, okay."

They're just so used to it by now they're not even surprised.

I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Force India updated their livery. I like the original better.

McLaren trotted out a "special" livery that's just black sidepods with the SAP logo on them. K.

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

Fair enough   

At this point i'm wondering if he can make it 3 for 3.

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. The guy has talent. The problem is that he's too damn reckless. Take that out of the equation, and he's a very solid driver.

PYLrulz wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

I've said it before, I'll say it again.  The guy has talent.  The problem is that he's too damn reckless.  Take that out of the equation, and he's a very solid driver.

To be a solid driver, you must also be able to finish. The guys a walking (driving) disaster, and you'd think that after 3 seasons of penalties and accident he would finally realise. Unless he decides not to drive with his head up his arse, he will almost certainly not be given any opportunity to drive again. I don't think even his sponsorship could save him.

NeverNeutral wrote:Force India updated their livery. I like the original better.

I love minimalism, but this is way too... Empty. I like their team, and it's still at least a mediocre scheme, but stuck to the beginning, guys!

Milan655 wrote:

PYLrulz wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

I've said it before, I'll say it again.  The guy has talent.  The problem is that he's too damn reckless.  Take that out of the equation, and he's a very solid driver.

To be a solid driver, you must also be able to finish. The guys a walking (driving) disaster, and you'd think that after 3 seasons of penalties and accident he would finally realise. Unless he decides not to drive with his head up his arse, he will almost certainly not be given any opportunity to drive again. I don't think even his sponsorship could save him.

Exactly. The guy just pushes it way too far. He's a human wrecking ball. It's sad too because once you get past that, the guy knows how to make a car go fast. Too bad the racing gods gave him the need for speed, but not much in his brains

When his seat is up for grabs, then maybe he'll get his act together. Until he faces some kind of pressure for his recklessness, he'll just keep at it.

Hamilton, Ricciardo, Vettel the Top 3 in qualifying. Rosberg finishes 4th.

Hamilton's pole position is his 34th , breaking the record for th most pole positions by a British driver in F1 by Jim Clark, who had the long standing record of 33.

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

So would Zswolt Baumgartner
And Chandoch Nissany.

Alpineopossum wrote:

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

So would Zswolt Baumgartner
And Chandoch Nissany.

As Formula One Rejects representative, I forbid you to even compare his gloriousness HWNSNBM to Chanoch Nissany, as well as to say his name (and spell it wrongly, no less). His achievements are many and epic.

On a more seriousness, he might not have been good by any stretch of the imagination, but he was handier than Gianmaria Bruni, who is widely regarded as a competent GT driver.

Alpineopossum wrote:

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

So would Zswolt Baumgartner
And Chandoch Nissany.

Ohh.....oh that hurt. Why did you do this to me. What did HWNSNBM ever do to warrant that kind of comparison. The man that scored Minardi's last legitimate point being compared to Nisanny AND MALDONADO?! Come on man. Don't use the lord's name in vain.

This rain is oddly comforting.

Alpineopossum wrote:

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

So would Zswolt Baumgartner
And Chandoch Nissany.

Seriously? There were a ton of dubiously-talented pay drivers that came out in the 2000s (Sakon Yamamoto, Narain Karthikeyan, Christijan Albers, Alex Yoong, Bruno Senna) and you pick one who actually wasn't that bad!? Who scored a point for Minardi? In 2004?

Also what RRR and tommykl said. All hail HWNSNBM!

What in the straight up fuck was Lewis Hamilton doing?!?

Good god. Shut up about the graining tires and just cover the damn race already!

GG Williams.

Vettel: HOW DARE DOES THIS YOUNG BUCK THINK HE CAN BE IN FRONT OF ME!!!   

PYLrulz wrote:What in the straight up fuck was Lewis Hamilton doing?!?

What happened? I didn't see the first 10 laps.

BWardboy88 wrote:

PYLrulz wrote:What in the straight up fuck was Lewis Hamilton doing?!?

What happened? I didn't see the first 10 laps.

During the warm up lap before the start, Lewis Hamilton came to a near-dead stop for a good few seconds, bottling up the field before proceeding to the grid.

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Alpineopossum wrote:

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

So would Zswolt Baumgartner
And Chandoch Nissany.

Seriously? There were a ton of dubiously-talented pay drivers that came out in the 2000s (Sakon Yamamoto, Narain Karthikeyan, Christijan Albers, Alex Yoong, Bruno Senna) and you pick one who actually wasn't that bad!? Who scored a point for Minardi? In 2004?

Also what RRR and tommykl said. All hail HWNSNBM!

Then again, it's pretty damn easy when 9th place finishes 8 laps down, and everyone else from there on down DQ'ed, wrecked, or their car lets go. Hell, Takuma Sato finished on the PODIUM that day!

PYLrulz wrote:

BWardboy88 wrote:

PYLrulz wrote:What in the straight up fuck was Lewis Hamilton doing?!?

What happened? I didn't see the first 10 laps.

During the warm up lap before the start, Lewis Hamilton came to a near-dead stop for a good few seconds, bottling up the field before proceeding to the grid.

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Alpineopossum wrote:

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:

Milan655 wrote:I don't care if he won Spain, he's the least competent driver since Inoue and Lavaggi. Lotus are already short on money, the way things are going he will single handedly bankrupt the team and give Gerard Lopez a stress related illness.

Yuji Ide would like a word with you.

So would Zswolt Baumgartner
And Chandoch Nissany.

Seriously? There were a ton of dubiously-talented pay drivers that came out in the 2000s (Sakon Yamamoto, Narain Karthikeyan, Christijan Albers, Alex Yoong, Bruno Senna) and you pick one who actually wasn't that bad!? Who scored a point for Minardi? In 2004?

Also what RRR and tommykl said. All hail HWNSNBM!

Then again, it's pretty damn easy when 9th place finishes 8 laps down, and everyone else from there on down DQ'ed, wrecked, or their car lets go.  Hell, Takuma Sato finished on the PODIUM that day!

But, Sato had been near the front the whole race. Hell, he finished where he started.

Hamilton doing what Vettel would do, where else have we seen this?

I think the Brawn GP is showing from Mercedes.

I have a feeling this could be 1988 all over again.

So did anything interesting happen past the halfway point? I remember getting up to lap 25 or so. I was fighting to stay awake but I wasn't able to. All I know is that Mercedes beat everyone as usual.

Due to a miscommunication in the flag stand, the official scoring has been reverted to after the completion of lap 54. The flag man waved the white flag and checkered flag a lap early, so due to the confusion, laps 55 and 56, which were affected, have been thrown out.

flyingturns89 wrote:Due to a miscommunication in the flag stand, the official scoring has been reverted to after the completion of lap 54. The flag man waved the white flag and checkered flag a lap early, so due to the confusion, laps 55 and 56, which were affected, have been thrown out.

Meaning Kobayashi's last lap pass of Bianchi for 17th doesn't count. Happy Easter, Caterham!

flyingturns89 wrote:Due to a miscommunication in the flag stand, the official scoring has been reverted to after the completion of lap 54. The flag man waved the white flag and checkered flag a lap early, so due to the confusion, laps 55 and 56, which were affected, have been thrown out.

White flag is not used in the same way in Europe

If I remember well, the white flag means medical car in the track, right? Since is the same here.

bsoyuz wrote:If I remember well, the white flag means medical car in the track, right? Since is the same here.

Yes, pretty much. Any form of slow moving vehicle, so includes a medical car or a crane etc.

RealRacer4 wrote:So did anything interesting happen past the halfway point? I remember getting up to lap 25 or so. I was fighting to stay awake but I wasn't able to. All I know is that Mercedes beat everyone as usual.

No it was pretty run of the mill

Milan655 wrote:

flyingturns89 wrote:Due to a miscommunication in the flag stand, the official scoring has been reverted to after the completion of lap 54. The flag man waved the white flag and checkered flag a lap early, so due to the confusion, laps 55 and 56, which were affected, have been thrown out.

White flag is not used in the same way in Europe

Indeed, the white flag usually means "Caution, Frenchman on track".