Free Practice from Brazil
Formula 1 World Championship 2012
Published by Christine Blachford
It's time for the final practice thread of the year, with three sessions at the marvellous Interlagos circuit. There's just enough track time for the drivers to get their heads around the anti-clockwise circuit, how the chosen tyre compounds (medium and hard) are going to fare on the tarmac, and what the changeable conditions hold in store. All eyes will no doubt be on Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel as they go headlong into the championship showdown we've all been waiting for.
With the title on the line, even FP seems to be worth following :-) What are people's thoughts about this morning's anoucements re: drivers? I am sorry to see Kovalainen and Kobayashi go...
I think I hate Formula 1
i can't believe the news. Poor Heikki, you were the first person i thought of when i heard the news :(
time to burn everything caterham i own :D
i must put serious thought into who to support next year.
hehe!
Well there is a Mclaren driver who always loves extra support ;)
hahaha :-D I think I am warming up to Lotus, but I do own a caterham... :-P
or Amy, maybe you should support Max Chilton if he gets Pic's old seat?
i think it'll have to be Kimi, suprise surprise :D
hehe there was me hoping you'd finally stop fighting this Button love i know you have ;) :)
so i'm guessing Ant isn't in Brazil? :( no chance of Ant and JB love this week then. *sob*
BTW, Hamilton is more than a sec ahead of vettel and alonso hasn't come out yet...
they're both on 2013 tyres though...
if only you'd known me in 2005 haha
don't tell me you were a... *gasp* Button fan girl! ;)
wouldn't go that far, but i thought he was hot haha
ohhh, that's fair enough. You know my views on that beautiful man ;) he is much more good looking now than he was back then tho! :)
Do we know why Kimi couldn't be bothered to turn up yesterday? or did i miss something?
oh, never mind, Crofty just said he just rang Eric and asked if it was crucial he was there.
He's so crazy, he is like the calmest person, goes out and parties and then is great on track. Imagine how awesome he'd be if he put his mind to it! ;)
i am so pleased he's around :D
definitely! I'd forgotten how completely 'Kimi' he is.
I can't think of a word to describe it. :)
so what seats are unconfirmed at the moment? Just the one Force India seat and the Sauber?
Caterham haven't confirmed their second seat
yikes, this is on now? i was miles away there.
*shakes self*
ohh so Heikki stands a chance of keeping that then?
I may be in the thread but I'm not watching it :S
sauber have confirmed esteban: joesaward.wordpre…errez-and-frijns/
#affinity
although i'll try and follow.
ohh yeah i forgot about Hulk moving there!
And me.
the expert opinion seems to be no.
"It won't be the end, whatever happens. I have a life. I'm not going to go and kill myself," he said. "Of course we are looking at the options, outside F1 as well, but also in F1.
"But even the other options require some money, and I don't want to go that route. I told my manager not to actively find money. I don't think it leads to anything."
I like his laid back Finn attitude.
cool, well i'm listening, so will try keep ya'll in the loop. :)
orange tyres?!
wikipedia says there are 1x TBA at Caterham, Force India, HRT, Lotus, Marussia and 2x at Williams
but there is still a chance *holds on to slim possibility* :)
agreed. except HRT won't be there next year.
precisely
Hey, if Mallya can magic money, anyone can!
if heikki finishes 12th or better on sunday (and no marussia is ahead of him), he'll keep his drive next year, i think. without that $7 to $10 i'm not sure he'll be at caterham.
"HRT to invest £50m next year" :)
i dont hold out much hope for that. im too far away to plot sabotage.
next year is just not gonna be the same. maybe no heikki, maybe no kamui, no jake :(
no lewis with any hope of winning
No Schumacher... Oh wait, we did that already.
heh. well that's a positive :)
every year i wish there was some sort of page i could go to which had all the positions and who they had been filled by, so i could easily see which teams have seats. It always relies on memory, and i don't seem to have a very good one of those.
CHRISTINE!
That definitely sounds like a job for me. We used to do it on the wiki, if I recall. Perhaps when our fab season page is done ;)
en.wikipedia.org/…teams_and_drivers ;)
but we will have Pastor, and Grosjean, who have both caused alot of drama this year.. and who knows what the new kids will be like!
but i'm sad there may be no Heikki :(
ohhhh maybe that's why i feel like there was one i used to check, that i couldn't find this year!
i'm no fan of Wikipedia :( but have bookmarked.
...oh.
:)
aw, Rubens is so sweet - https://twitter.c…71953904122593280
Ted says Perez will have to change his behaviour off track too. At Mclaren he will need to understand how he wont be allowed to break secrets like who is driving for the team etc.
Crofty 'i'm sure the guide on 'how to and how not to tweet' has been left on Lewis' side of the garage for him' :)
You've basically got another year now anyway :)
aw points for Lewis - https://twitter.c…943962112/photo/1 :)
hope he loses rankings points for that. really mean on kamui. monisha had it all sussed. what a pillock.
Looking at the wikipedia page amy linked to earlier, I didn't realise Paul has been confirmed at Force India. I think i've missed alot of news.
it's not even on my list!
Good afternoon Sidepodders
cute!
i just know i'm going to stan for him at mercedes as much as i try fight it.
I'm sure Kamui would have known he wasn't being renewed
yes. but. now he has to deal with three days of crappy media questions.
Agreed but that happens anyway when things aren't confirmed. Sergio will have to get the Blabbermouth tendencies under control, that's Martin's job
who'd have thought it, when i came here i supported brackley and wasn't a fan of Mclaren, and now our drivers have basically swapped!
he should still lose points.
for what it's worth, i agree. Not his place to reveal what's happening. Also, in a team he wont be racing for anymore. not fair really.
We all knew you'd switch to McLaren to follow JB :)
It's interesting how some follow drivers and other stick with a team
I'll keep an eye on Lewis but will be rooting for JB and Sergio next year
it's kind of insulting to sauber too. thy said sunday, he decided wednesday.
What if he was asked to leak it?
#Conspiracy
why would monisha say "we'll announce it after the weekend" and then tell him to leak it??
i still hate them at times tho. I probably would have also supported Brackley too if they hadn't have gone with Schumi.
wooo!!
yeah exactly. And Monisha is awesome, anythign that upsets her is not on. :)
ooh, i can like them again too next year. yippeee.
Not by Monisha but someone who had something to gain by it being public. Kamui? Who knows, just a thought
then it's still insulting to sauber :)
:D
Yup
Have just scheduled a FUF event for this evening. You lovely free practice lot get to know first :)
ohh yaay! if i'm not driving home, or stuck on a motorway somewhere i'll be there :)
Fantastic, thanks Christine
You may even know before Mr C does ;)
i know now! :)
oops massa.
Good job it's a Friday today as well then! :P
that'll do then. catch y'all for fp2.
Mr C, the race info drop down doohickey at the top has the humidity listed as TBC, but the info is in the race info post.
cheers and fixed. the two aren't linked, need to sort that for next season.
It's just good to have an excuse to use the word doohickey ;)
And we're back for P2 :)
so I'm assuming rain on Sunday will help Alonso yea?
not necessarily. as somebody tweeted yesterday. a wet race could equal half points. that would be his worst nightmare.
this year there's a finite limit to race length too. alonso ideally needs intermittent showers, lots of confusion over strategy and the ability to make all the right tyre calls every time.
either that or hope the alternator fails on vettel's car :)
rubens!
Afternoon all. Although only sound for me
Morning/Afternoon everyone. It looked like Red Bull are going the DTM route with their prototype aero design from FP1?
i put on my audio briefly...
not sure what that means?
I just saw the FP1 highlights and I saw some of the teams were trying out a few new designs for the 2013 cars. From what I saw from Red Bull, they looked like they've taken a cue from some of the DTM teams and have small winglets on the back of the car behind the rear tires.
missed that, must check back on the highlights.
Seriously hoping for a not-Seb pole tomorrow
Those Winglets sound like they might also stop other cars from getting as close - more.bodywork to hit
hamilton is your best hope i reckon. go lewis.
also help prevent punctures, or too small for that?
cant believe with all the tech on these cars they still have issues with alternators, I used to hit mine with a hammer to get it work in the old days ;)
so long as Sen is in the pack...
*Seb
I posted my comment on the F1 Minute Facebook page re: Coca-Cola sponsoring Lotus next season. No idea if the Burn energy drink will be sold in the States though. Maybe they might do a promotional appearance at Road Atlanta next year? I think Turn 1 there might be comp[arable to Eau Rouge at Spa
:)
really want to try some. what use is an internationally promoted brand that no-one seems to be able to buy?
Were the wings between the rear wheel and the body or actually behind the wheel? If between then it could be for extra downforce via the coanda exhaust system.
If I were to put something in the F1 Suggestion Box right now is "Do not schedule a F1 race for the weekend of the NASCAR season finale." It seems a lot of the US sports media were wanting to pay attention to that race instead of the F1 race at CotA. :(
Or making the slipstream actually more disturbed
Bonjour everybody. Quite getting used to this late afternoon practice sessions.
perfect, right? i likes just having f1 there in the background.
Get on with my uni work, listen/watch the TV, all rather lovely. When the commentary doesn't go kaput mind, like, now.
massa's helmet makes him look like schumacher in a ferrari. that intentional?
The SPEED commentators just remarked about Jacarepaguá to be bulldozed to be replaced with the Olympic village for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Maybe a proper tribute can be made to the track with the Olympic torch being taken from the track/soon-to-be-Village to the Maracana stadium for the Opening ceremonies via a specially designed F1 two-seater piloted by Bruno Senna? Sort of like what David Beckham did piloting a powerboat along the Thames for the Opening Ceremonies earlier this summer. :)
You guys still got BBC pics. Apparently powercut in tv compound. 5L unaffected
Interlagos in it's past configurations: en.wikipedia.org/…e#Characteristics
have bbc red button on the tv, but muted for james allen reasons.
Sound went for a few minutes, gone back on though.
I got the SPEED feed. ;)
What a nice treat to have the day off and be able to see FP. Hi everybody.
Hi Kai.
My big concern for this circuit: How low the cars go into the final turn with Pit Entrance not too far past. I would hate to see someone pitting getting clocked from behind by someone going full steam. >
it's been that way always though right? still remember alonso smacking webber's errant wheel one year.
Or someone cutting into the pits having had someone's nose up the inside... (always possible wherever)
I forget how much Alonso is fighting with that car every single lap.
Rubens! :)
What are the chances of rain on Saturday and Sunday respectively?
I know my chances of watching this race live on Sunday... NONE T_T
I just found out I'll be working all day that day. :(
quite high I hear, for Sunday at least.
some good links in these comments, if that helps - sidepodcast.com/p…n#comment-3098168
bad times!!
boo!
Ok - that's me for this session. Time to get off this train. Maybe I'll make it to FuF...
See you, Will.
cheers chap
Enjoy :)
From what I see in the weather forecast, the original performance equalizer is predicted for race day i.e. Rain.
I'd hate to see Heikki and Kamui leave F1 on account of not being able to find the sponsorship money. :(
me too. :(
Heikki could need a few Golden Eggs
f1 needs (an enforceable) budget cap :)
How does it look on the HRT front right now, still not good?
broken marussia
That'll involve common sense entering the sport though.
i'm not even sure such a thing is enforceable. you can't have the fia poking around ferrari's accounts, they'll all have to set up seperate companies and then red bull will go and set up three just to hide spending.
oh, I wrote a post about what Thanksgiving was like for me this year, if anyone is interested. imissthecomments.…ful-time-of-year/
Pic needs his last name above the number on his fire suit. :)
I think everyone's expecting this to be their last race. Which is a shame, I was going to do a Sid Lowe-Real Oviedo-esque twitter campaign, but its probably too late now, and I'm not popular enough.
i didn't even think they'd race this weekend.
Yes, that's a shame.
In short, Mission: Impossible(?)
"Were you happy to be rid of a driver?" At Jordan? Surely there's no egos in that team...
I like the fact the two-legged Great Dane i.e. Tom Kristensen is one of the Race Stewards for this weekend. :)
it's been suggested for a long time, i remember debating it years ago and the conclusion was that it was unworkable. max really pushed for it, i can't see todt being any more aggressive than he was, but we'll see.
oh good. I like him.
What are their times like, i don't have live timing up?
HAM 1'14.026, VET 1'14.300, WEB 1'14.523, MAS 1'14.553, ALO 1'14.592
dlr: 1:17.697
kar: 1:18.139
pedro has used the softer tyre though.
hamilton with the rain light on?
Ta.
Good to see Massa performing well to, maybe just needed a bit of faith shown in him.
I get to see 5 minutes of practice; woo!! :)
woo!
That photographer lady didn't look happy about the tv camera pannign across her view
James Allen just said Raikkenberg. What is he creating?
LOL
Was that someone on the track?!
Plenty of laps turned in practice today
you missed double barichello.
damn you, work!
Nice to be able to be here, and I love having a race in my timezone! See you for quali.
For my part, as Lukeh said...
:(
I just caught a glimpse of Brazil and then it ended. Oh well, it'll tide me over till tomorrow :)
Afternoon. Forecast from @FergieWeather:
#F1 #INTERLAGOS Shower/thunderstorm site probability for the qualifying hour has now risen to 45%. Torrential downpours remain possible.
Time for FP3 and it's a bit chilly
They're expecting rain in time for Q3
rain has killed my plans to go to Brands today, so i hope we're in for a good day of formula 1, or i'm going to be miserable! :)
JB radio 'amazingly good grip' good times!
morning all.
ohhh issue for Kimi?
engine failure for Kimi.
afternoon :)
is it? oh.
afternoon all!
only just, in your world it's probably still morning ;)
Nice tire squeal from Perez there...
dunno what that tyre did to perez, but he certainly got his revenge :)
Senna still looks wrong with that helmet...
ohh Jens that's a big lock up.
back to the high downforce spec wing for both cars at mclaren.
ooh, expecting rain?
For the race and maybe qualifying
Some local testing, I guess
Crofty was suggesting it was just eating the tyres and they just figured it wasn't worth it. or something. mum was talking to me at the time but that's what i managed to grab from that info. And now JB is saying there is much more grip so that's good :)
worth plugging the mclaren dashboard for one more weekend. who knows if it'll change for next season, but i've really enjoyed the team insight all year: http://www.mclaren.com/formula1
Hello. Love this track.
Ted: yesterday JB tried a skinner rear wing, which made him slower and harsher on the tyres in the in section of the track. This was damaging his times, despite the fact he was faster in the other sections. They're reverted to the other set up and it seems like a better overal package.
hope that makes sense.
hey pat.
yes! i <3 it :)
Hey Pat!
perfect
@thefifthdriver: Lewis jumps out and heads to the bathroom. Not as easy as it looks with a helmet on...
My ears are ringing and I have a mild hangover. Loud engines noises seem to make it better. Feels like being at Spa.
oooh, welcome to my world :(
Doesn't make sense to me. If you reduce wing that should lighten the load on the tyres which wears them less.
Andrew Benson
@andrewbensonf1
Lotus confirm that Raikkonen had engine failure - it was his race engine but he can have a spare for the race
oooh, slipstream ferrari's
He'd probably find he was getting understeer, sliding wide and needs more wing to make the tyres bite. Although maybe the sliding wears them.
DLR wants to know why Hartstein is being fired http://t.co/bxdNJTW1
btw, if Lewis gets points for his helmet, Schumacher should for his too: http://instagram.com/p/Saf9aSqEGg/
"Life is about passions.
Thank You
For sharing mine."
surprised even the drivers don't know?
:( i don't know how you deal with it Mr C! I'm carrying a ridiculously expensive pair of earplugs with me where i go most places now as I get ringing more and more after any sort of loud noise (despite the fact i've always tried to look after my ears! :( ). may just walk around with ear defenders on constantly now :)
I'm not. No reason why they would.
slow jb?
his off and running again.
as in, paddock gossip or whatnot. usually someone knows something, but this choice seems completely random.
he's not allowed to be slow unless it's on purpose. I want him to win tomorrow (if Alonso can't)
Johnnie Walker signs give me a headache again, the last drink I had last night was Johnnie Walker Gold. Isn't as nice as Walker Black - similar taste but too harsh. Had to finish it though, obviously.
But at least I can say I used a team sponsor this weekend.
you mean you don't survive on red bull too?
Thanks to the neighbors having guys come and do the leaf blowing at 7:52am, I'm up. At least FP3 is on and you guys are here.
Oh maybe. The FIA used to leak like a sieve so somebody somewhere must know. Sort of thing Joe, or Adam Cooper usually gets hold of.
oooooh #rage. hate those things. just use a rake, lazy gits.
we have a neighbour like that at uni, he thinks everyone needs to be up at 7am when he's doing up his landrover i think :)
Shame the McLarens are fast now. Lives up to the reputation of being quick at the end of the year but it's too late now! Nice to see it though.
I did mutter something about something's 'sake' when they started.
News bulletin to neighbors: NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO BE UP AT 7AM ON SATURDAY!
This is a little odd, but I guess it is part of the Frenchification of the FIA that has been going on quietly since Jean Todt took over.
that's all he's said :(
at least they can develop the car, or they'd just be slow all year and that would be depressing and like supporting Honda again. :)
Maybe they'll be okay next year? I like the possibility at the start of the season when they seemed like they'd be in the title fight. :)
No too concentrated and don't like the taste. If I get an energy drink (rarely) it is Relentless because I like their flavour choices and it is a bit more diluted I guess. Usually I drink tea.
how did senna spin there?
Not a good place to spin, Bruno
one sennnnnna spiiiiin. #itmightcatchon
Ouch.
Close call there
I'm a bit behind you all with my video feed I think!
hehe there should be a law against being inconsiderate and waking people early on a weekend!
Silly Bruno
I saw that and didn't think it was very Todt.
ehe!
soz. am on the bbc, and it's not hd, so no delays here.
Especially not on a holiday weekend for you guys
I'm being lazy and haven't gotten up yet. Ergo, Sky Go on the laptop.
I found the web feed is about a minute behind the red button feed
exactly. Stupid.
Yep, sounds about right.
Great to hear Allan McNish with Crofty.
yeah, definately! I do want to know where Ant has gone tho. :)
Great to hear John Watson, James Allen not so much!
am putting up with 20 mins of allen. the only 20 mins of the year, so i can cope. just.
It's almost worth it for Watson and Anderson though. Although I do miss Ted.
red bull's front wing has suspension arms on it now?!
ted who?
:)
Kimi enjoying being a spectator
Crofty says he can hear the crowd shouting 'Alonso, Alonso'
So, if it rains tomorrow, what are the odds of Schumi pulling one final win out of the bag?
Afternoon. How are things? I'm currently on Tesco in-store WiFi.
Can you pick me up some butter, please? Thanks.
Is this Hulk's first race in Brazil since his brilliant pole position?
Kimi blowed up. :(
Ferrari playing with slipstreaming again.
over my dead body!
...i mean, sure why not.
What odds that Massa and Vettel collide in the race?
not intentionally. massa's no piquet. he does struggle with passing mind you.
Lou:
Anthony Davidson @antdavidson
Busy but productive few days in the @MercedesAMGF1 sim, but enjoying watching the #braziliangp on #skysportsf1 from the comfort of my sofa!
I don't think Felipe would do that...
so why's he not there?
Will Buxton just tweeted he got 125:1 and he put £10 on it.
Mind you, there was something here... was it last year? That Massa'd be prosecuted under local law if he followed team orders?
That is an interesting question. Where do team orders fall with regard to sports fixing laws?
but... why isn't he in Brazil? :(
Sky don't send the whole team to every race. Despite appearing quite luxuriant, they keep their budget controls quite tight
Right, I ought to go get food before the Qualifying coverage and football get going at 3pm.
but they've sent McNish in replacement for Ant. They don't usually send Georgie if Ant isn't going and they usually just set up the sky pad in London.
Am travelling during Qualy but I'll chat with lovely peeps tomorrow
Yeah, GP2 & GP3 are a good example of that....
I love it when they dispatch the cars to pick up rogue drivers.
happy trails. :)
Take care, safe journey :)
LOL!
@Lotus_F1Team
Leave me alone, I'm sat on a chair. No lap time in FP3 for blown engine #Kimi. #FullBrazilian
heheheh!
Hehehe. Rubbish hashtag again this time. They are either winning or epic fails, nothing in between :)
I'm thinking a McLaren pole.. but which one. And Vettel is close. Could be a fun session especially if it rains.
For the record, Tesco wifi, streaming and commenting is a no no.
It isn't a good one.
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