Can Weeber do it?

I know Mark Weeber is in fine form at the moment. And it looks like the Red Bull is the dominant car of the season. But does anyone think he can keep his nose in front of Vettel for another dozen races?

I'm not sure, but one thing's for sure...Weeber should be down at the factory sabotaging the planned upgrades for Turkey. Every time a team has introduced upgrades this year, they seem to have worked heavily in favour for one driver. It's in Weeber's best interest to keep the current setup as long as possible.

no, because ultimately vettel is a faster driver. now all the awkward start times of the far east are over with and there will be no rainstorms, we are heading into the european dry races, where the driver makes a much bigger difference. webber is a traditionally good qualifier and the red bull is very fast, so he'll be up there, but vettel is just better.

vettel, hamilton and alonso will be at the front, and schumacher will improve quickly.

Only thing is Webber has won the two dry races. And outqualified Vettel in both races. I'm pretty sure he only outqualified Vettel twice for the entire season last year.

Also, your reasoning for Webber being up with Vettel at the moment is completely wrong. Webber has done better in the dry while Vettel has had more success in the wet.
However, Vettel would be miles in front in the championship if he had a reliable car.

because webber is a great one lap driver

vettel is a better race driver

Vettel outqualified Webber 16-2 last year. I generally rank Vettel in the top 3 with Hamilton and Alonso. But he is emotionally weak and not in the top 5 for passing ability. If he qualifies first I back him to win comfortably, but Webber has the edge right now (even with the old car) and Hamilton won't keep crashing.

Swerve wrote:Vettel outqualified Webber 16-2 last year. I generally rank Vettel in the top 3 with Hamilton and Alonso. But he is emotionally weak and not in the top 5 for passing ability. If he qualifies first I back him to win comfortably, but Webber has the edge right now (even with the old car) and Hamilton won't keep crashing.

I'm not a Red Bull fan and have ambivalent views towards Webber but last season Webber raced most of it not in top condition from his pre-season bike accident. He endured numerous treatments and operations in the past off season. He is now viewed in top physical shape and it shows in his driving... That said GO MCLAREN, GO HAMILTON AND GO BUTTON!

fuck button.

i like webber and vettel, and ive liked hamilton since he lost his arrogance in his first season

Well that was stupid.

lol. and then the mclarens tried to do the same thing a lap later.

vettel alluded to losing the car under braking so lets hope thats it, otherwise it was clear as day webber held his line and vettel steered into him

so red bull are blaming webber. apparently it was 'suggested' to him to let vettel past as his tyres were going off and hamilton would pass both of them at the pace they were doing.....and obviously he didnt give vettel enough room.

I can't believe they're trying to blame Webber for driving in a straight line. Vettel's comments afterwards that Webber turned in on him were classic Schumacher.

If the team had just accepted that Vettel made a momentously stupid error, everyone would have come away embarrassed but with no major damage done. Now I suspect we'll see a 2007 repeat, where the best drivers in the best cars lose out to an inferior package that understands teamwork.

Although McLaren clearly have their own rivalry. The difference I think is the professionalism and skill displayed by their two world champs. Button and Hamilton had an awesome contest without taking each other out. As I wrote before the race, Vettel doesn't have that kind of talent in overtaking situations. It was pretty obvious yesterday.

the mclarens did touch each other...i think theyre both content with how things are now. button has had a couple of races over hamilton, and hamilton knows hes still faster. it could get strained as the season goes on...


not quite sure what will happen at red bull now. webber did squeeze vettel quite hard but to say its anything other than the majority vettel's fault is stupid, unless webber was told to let him past which might have been the case. wonder if it will sour their relationship

Iim also glad the true master of F1 has found his feet now. Everyone knows that combo of Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher will only ever get faster, and we've already seen he hasn't lost any of his old racecraft

What's interesting is that all of the top teammates are now lineball on pace. Even Petrov is catching Kubica, although that's the only combination where I'd be prepared to put serious money on one outqualifying or outracing the other in Canada.

Swerve wrote:What's interesting is that all of the top teammates are now lineball on pace. Even Petrov is catching Kubica, although that's the only combination where I'd be prepared to put serious money on one outqualifying or outracing the other in Canada.

i dont know what it is but there are clear differences in pace, and the faster of the pairs always seem to slip up. vettel has been much faster than webber at some point in every qualifying, but is prone to screwing it up in q3/the race. same for hamilton.

Webber maintains his edge, Hamilton excels on softs, Alonso is back to his solid self, Button just manages to salvage his day at the death, Liuzzi stuns for the first time this year and Schumacher falters. Set up for a great race tomorrow.

vettel beginning to edge away from webber now
hamilton clearly in command at mclaren
alonso is making massa look daft
schumacher largely back to his old ways, but still lacking that final edge in pace that made him so much better than everyone else

WTF? Vettel edging away from webber? Edging away into a position well behind him in the WDC standings still?

I think Pennz's comment was in response to mine. "Webber maintains his edge" vs. "Vettel beginning to edge away from Webber"...despite the fact that Webber qualified 2nd and would have been a podium certainty if not for the gearbox change.

I wonder about Vettel's hardness - asking to know the fastest lap when he was obviously not going to catch Alonso is a sign that he has really been rattled by the last few races.

I'd like Red Bull to beat McLaren this year, but that's only going to happen if Vettel can man up and the team can pull a coherent race strategy together. There are no signs of either at this stage.

Swerve wrote:I think Pennz's comment was in response to mine. "Webber maintains his edge" vs. "Vettel beginning to edge away from Webber"...despite the fact that Webber qualified 2nd and would have been a podium certainty if not for the gearbox change.

I wonder about Vettel's hardness - asking to know the fastest lap when he was obviously not going to catch Alonso is a sign that he has really been rattled by the last few races.

I'd like Red Bull to beat McLaren this year, but that's only going to happen if Vettel can man up and the team can pull a coherent race strategy together. There are no signs of either at this stage.

I dont think its that he's rattled....he just has the same obsession Schumacher had with getting fastest laps.

vettel is now pretty obviously faster but some reason isnt as settled as webber. every qualifying session he is quicker than webber up until q3 when he loses something. i think the crash in turkey has rattled him a bit too.

Wont be long before Button starts playing second fiddle to Hamilton and then i dont see either Red Bull catching him unless the car takes another leap forward. Meanwhile...watch out for Alonso/Schumacher. Noone has the same ruthless will to win as those pair and their cars are improving rapidly. If either of them gets a sniff of a win they'll take it and wouldnt care who they force off the road in the process.

Swerve wrote:I think Pennz's comment was in response to mine. "Webber maintains his edge" vs. "Vettel beginning to edge away from Webber"...despite the fact that Webber qualified 2nd and would have been a podium certainty if not for the gearbox change.

I wonder about Vettel's hardness - asking to know the fastest lap when he was obviously not going to catch Alonso is a sign that he has really been rattled by the last few races.

I'd like Red Bull to beat McLaren this year, but that's only going to happen if Vettel can man up and the team can pull a coherent race strategy together. There are no signs of either at this stage.

Whilst hearing Vettel's request for the fastest lap was funny, especially since he was supposed to be nursing the car at the time, i've noticed Webber on several occasions when he's been in no position to win (generally because of terrible strategy calls) to put down the fastest lap of the race by a fair margin just because he can. I personally love it. The fact that Seb had a dodgy car makes it funny, but I still love their competitism.

As for this race. After practice, and more importantly the comments from it I think the red bulls will definitely both be in the top 4 in qually, if not the top 3. I want to put a bet on Webber finishing in the top 3 (I saw yesterday he was about $2.20, I think) but the websites I use for betting still have F1 betting suspended. Lazy bastards.

Is internet sports betting legal in the US or Canada?

Pennzoil GT-R wrote:

Swerve wrote:I think Pennz's comment was in response to mine. "Webber maintains his edge" vs. "Vettel beginning to edge away from Webber"...despite the fact that Webber qualified 2nd and would have been a podium certainty if not for the gearbox change.

I wonder about Vettel's hardness - asking to know the fastest lap when he was obviously not going to catch Alonso is a sign that he has really been rattled by the last few races.

I'd like Red Bull to beat McLaren this year, but that's only going to happen if Vettel can man up and the team can pull a coherent race strategy together. There are no signs of either at this stage.

I dont think its that he's rattled....he just has the same obsession Schumacher had with getting fastest laps.

vettel is now pretty obviously faster but some reason isnt as settled as webber. every qualifying session he is quicker than webber up until q3 when he loses something. i think the crash in turkey has rattled him a bit too.

Wont be long before Button starts playing second fiddle to Hamilton and then i dont see either Red Bull catching him unless the car takes another leap forward. Meanwhile...watch out for Alonso/Schumacher. Noone has the same ruthless will to win as those pair and their cars are improving rapidly. If either of them gets a sniff of a win they'll take it and wouldnt care who they force off the road in the process.

Um, how is he now obviously faster? Why do you thing Q1 or Q2 really means anything these days? Last year Q2 meant something because that was the only chance for the drivers to do laps on min fuel and new tyres. These days it is just about getting through to the next session. Webber coming .1 behind Vettel in Q2 but 1 second ahead of 11th is not something that he'd care about at all. Q2 times this year mean even less than random late race fast laps.

still think webber is the better? not sure wtf heikki was doing but he should never have been so close to the back of him

Webber seemed to have lost his focus right from the start of the race dropping all those places. Kovalienen left a narrow door open for Webber to pass but it was as if Webber could not decide soon enough what side to overtake the Lotus on. Adding physics saw Webber's RedBull essentially get sucked into the back of the Lotus. An interesting set of events adding up to a dramatic crash.

On to other news Sebastian "I have no perifial vision" Vettel tries again to drive into the side of another car. Last time it was Webber, this time it was Hamilton.

Oh yeah and a piece of advice for dip shit Alonso. Try to stop worrying about other drivers races or things you think they conspire to do to try to (wrongly in the Velencia case) put you and your Ferrari out. Stick to worryng about your own driving you dip shit.

RADIO FERRARI HI-LTES:

Alonso "Vhat poosition vas he in before da penalty?"
His manager " He vas in poosition Twoo before and iz in poosition twoo after... Iet vas not fair."

SHUT UP FERRARI!!! Hamilton was not conspiring against your hot headed Spaniard prick Alonso. He was trying to figure if he was able to pass the safety car or not. He ran his pit lane penalty and you fuck wads still don't like it. Hey Ferrari the days of you getting FIA to go your way near 100% of the time were over once Schumacher retired from your team. The rest the F1 world is sick of your incessant whining especially your current dumb ass Alonso. JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND RACE!!!

Pennzoil GT-R wrote:still think webber is the better? not sure wtf heikki was doing but he should never have been so close to the back of him

One race is a bit of stupidity, not a trend. Vettel, on the other hand, seems incapable of anything other than a win from pole. He can't pass and he can't deal with the pressure of surrounding cars. How many times this season has Hamilton's superior driving saved both he and Vettel from ending up in the scenery?

Then again, Vettel deserves a bit of luck after reliability escaped his Red Bull in the first few races.

Les_Vipers_rule wrote:Webber seemed to have lost his focus right from the start of the race dropping all those places. Kovalienen left a narrow door open for Webber to pass but it was as if Webber could not decide soon enough what side to overtake the Lotus on. Adding physics saw Webber's RedBull essentially get sucked into the back of the Lotus. An interesting set of events adding up to a dramatic crash.

On to other news Sebastian "I have no perifial vision" Vettel tries again to drive into the side of another car. Last time it was Webber, this time it was Hamilton.

Well I have too give it to Vettel with his brush with Hamilton. That was the Brits fault, and if you read the autosport forums you'd realise that was a pointles argument suggesting anything else.

Webber on the other hand I will certainly admit that that was his fault. He was the man behind and looking to pass so that makes it his problem. The fact that Heikki braked a lot early than he would have himself is a reason, but not an excuse.

What happened with webber from when he was in 5th to how he came out 9th seems to be a mystery that we'll never know. I did read that Kubica and Button were side by side between turn 3 or so and I'm guessing they somehow pushed him off the track even worse than the start that he'd had/

Didn't they show it on the replays? After stuffing up the first corner he came out second (or third) best through the next few. There was always a car beside him taking up the better line. He couldn't muscle his way into position, although in hindsight it would have been worth a shot.

Yeah, that is how he went from 2nd to 5th. They showed all that. He was out of positions from the start.

He seemed to be in line in 5th place for a corner or so though. Next thing we knew he was in 9th all of a sudden.

PS - Damn Hawks!! I thought they could beat those cats

Anyway, If I had any money i'd have it all on Webber for Pole this weekend.

Even though he is using Vettels old Chassis, the one the Vettel supporters blamed on why Webber beat him 4 times in a row.

Also. Fuck the pies!!!

What the hell is wrong with Kimi? I can understand crashing at every other event, but surely tarmac is the one surface that would already be familiar.

And I think I prefer the Cats winning, even though the Pies will stay 3rd by the end of the round. The Hawks are potentially dangerous in the finals and I want them to finish outside the top 4 and lose to a shit team like Carlton in the first week.

That is true. I've been scared of the hawks for the last month now. I was only thinking of the saints hitting the lead. :)

As for Kimi, I don't follow the WRC at all so I have no idea how he's doing.

Good race. I was hoping Vettel could get back to 5th but good result overall and Rosberg seems to have got the hang of the new Mercedes.

I think Kimi's problem is he just doesn't care. He'll only ever do one of three things...1 in a bad mood and be slow and sulky; 2 take extraordinary risks, be fast and crash or 3 be in a good mood and beat everyone by a country mile


As for webber...good race by him, but does he actually want a job next year? sulking and moping isnt going to endear anyone to him in the team.

ive also noticed hes too much of a nice guy. jackie stewart, senna, schumacher, alonso etc. all had/have that ruthless edge that propels them above everyone else. hamilton and vettel seem to be learning it.

Webbers already got a job for the next two years. I suppose if he can get the title this year he'd accept a Kimi-style payout for an early retirement.

Hamilton isn't like the others you mention. He's a good sport who just wants to win every race. I can't imagine him intentionally punting someone off the road to clinch the title.

Vettel is so immature I think it would be in his own best interest not to win the title until he grows up a bit.

Vettal=Overrated. Put him in another car than a Red Bull and that would be revealed. He looks to lack the mind and discipline to be a great driver

Congrats to Webber even though I'm not Red Bull fan. The thirty something Aussie is on a mission.

But good job to Hamilton, even with the older aero package he kept right up with Webber and yes great job to Button for climbing 10 spots from his bad qualifying position.

Good for Barrichello too. The Williams is really looking improved and is able to make use of that Cosworth power.

Mercedes looked better especially Rosberg who still looks like he's 13 years old. As for Schumacher, hey got some points. There will by no 8th. WDC for him but he's at least competitive.

And yes it looks as if FIA no longer loves Ferrari. As Martin Brundle noted back in Schumi's Ferrari days FIA stood for "Ferrari International Assistance". Alonso is just too hot headed in that car and Massa just lacks the pace.

Oh yeah one more thing, hey give Force India its due, definitely a solid runner especially Suttil.

But in the end for me it as it generally always has been, GO MCLAREN!!!

Vettel has proven he's got the pace from the days when the Red Bull wasnt the quickest car on the grid.

Hamilton has, as predicted by almost everyone, put Button well and truly in his place this season.

Schumacher could yet challenge for the title next season. The car isn't quick enough this year, but he's shown every race he's almost impossible to get past. The race craft although rusty is still there