Indian GP - The Indian Mantras
Greater Noida, 27 October
The mantra may have originated in India, but it is also popular in Formula 1. One of the mantras of this season has been that the pecking order among the teams can change very quickly, with no one having an advantage for too long. However, at the moment, it has to be admitted that the momentum seems to be staying firmly on the side of our Red Bull rivals: Sebastian Vettel has won the last three rounds of this fascinating championship and today he took his fifth pole of the season and again, he has team-mate Mark Webber riding shotgun for him in second place.
The reigning world champion certainly could not have hoped for better, but that’s not the case for the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, who will share the third row of tomorrow’s Indian Grand Prix, after qualifying fifth and sixth respectively. Both men felt that the second row of the grid should have been within their grasp, but today that was secured by the McLarens of third placed Lewis Hamilton and his team-mate Jenson Button.
Another mantra, favoured by the Reds at least, is that our race pace is usually better than our Saturday afternoon one lap performance. That one certainly seems to be still standing up to close scrutiny, which is cause for optimism for tomorrow’s 60 laps of the Buddh circuit. But passing is never easy in Formula 1 and it’s worth noting that, of the four drivers ahead of him on the grid, three of them have four world championship titles between them, so they are no easy pushover! However, as everyone in the team admits, the real need is to make a more significant step forward on the development of the F2012 for the final three races coming up after India: making progress is not enough if it simply allows the Scuderia to maintain the current status quo with respect to its rivals.
However, before then, a tough challenge awaits tomorrow afternoon – and here comes F1 mantra number 3 – anything can happen. As usual, the opening lap will condition much of the race and Fernando and Felipe’s first thought will be to try and at least displace the McLarens to keep the Red Bulls in sight. After that, strategy could provide another opportunity to catch our rivals out: with tyre wear being minimal it opens up more possibilities in terms of when and how often to change tyres – could one stop be enough? Going into this race, there are still a hundred points up for grabs, but bringing home as many points as possible tomorrow is essential if the Scuderia is not to face a mountain to climb over the final trio of Grands Prix. While most of the media attention vis a vis Ferrari will focus on Fernando’s fight for points, it should not be forgotten that Felipe’s role is equally important if he can take points away from any of the guys chasing his team-mate.
The mantra may have originated in India, but it is also popular in Formula 1. One of the mantras of this season has been that the pecking order among the teams can change very quickly, with no one having an advantage for too long. However, at the moment, it has to be admitted that the momentum seems to be staying firmly on the side of our Red Bull rivals: Sebastian Vettel has won the last three rounds of this fascinating championship and today he took his fifth pole of the season and again, he has team-mate Mark Webber riding shotgun for him in second place.
The reigning world champion certainly could not have hoped for better, but that’s not the case for the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, who will share the third row of tomorrow’s Indian Grand Prix, after qualifying fifth and sixth respectively. Both men felt that the second row of the grid should have been within their grasp, but today that was secured by the McLarens of third placed Lewis Hamilton and his team-mate Jenson Button.
Another mantra, favoured by the Reds at least, is that our race pace is usually better than our Saturday afternoon one lap performance. That one certainly seems to be still standing up to close scrutiny, which is cause for optimism for tomorrow’s 60 laps of the Buddh circuit. But passing is never easy in Formula 1 and it’s worth noting that, of the four drivers ahead of him on the grid, three of them have four world championship titles between them, so they are no easy pushover! However, as everyone in the team admits, the real need is to make a more significant step forward on the development of the F2012 for the final three races coming up after India: making progress is not enough if it simply allows the Scuderia to maintain the current status quo with respect to its rivals.
However, before then, a tough challenge awaits tomorrow afternoon – and here comes F1 mantra number 3 – anything can happen. As usual, the opening lap will condition much of the race and Fernando and Felipe’s first thought will be to try and at least displace the McLarens to keep the Red Bulls in sight. After that, strategy could provide another opportunity to catch our rivals out: with tyre wear being minimal it opens up more possibilities in terms of when and how often to change tyres – could one stop be enough? Going into this race, there are still a hundred points up for grabs, but bringing home as many points as possible tomorrow is essential if the Scuderia is not to face a mountain to climb over the final trio of Grands Prix. While most of the media attention vis a vis Ferrari will focus on Fernando’s fight for points, it should not be forgotten that Felipe’s role is equally important if he can take points away from any of the guys chasing his team-mate.
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