Oct 10 2010

F1: Suzuka

Well, you see normally I’d have some pretty tables below the fold laying out the Starting Grid and Standings, but it’s not like that today.  Everything got washed out and for all I know it’s still raining and the crews are still sending paper boats floating down the gutters of pit lane (which is not nearly as original as the commentators are trying to make it appear since it’s happened at least twice this season already).

There was some talk about sending them off in numerical order which would be a big advantage for Hamilton, Button, and McLaren, but I doubt the rules are really that stupid and I expect that there’s some fallback based on Practice times (again, this is not the first race where Qualifying has been threatened by inclemency and you’d think people being paid for their purported “expertise” would be a trifle less ignorant and hide their Ferrari Fanboy worship just a little better).

I expect whatever the conditions and starting order that we’ll have some racing today because Formula One doesn’t have graceful Monday fallback plans like the PGA does (not that the plans are all that graceful, you lose most of your volunteers, audience, and TV time).  Indeed it’s even more unlikely that they’ll simply scrub it because the next race in Korea is problematic too.  They just laid down the track asphalt (or McAdam as they call it in Old Blighty) and 2 weeks is about the minimum curing time for a new surface unless you wish to court Daytona Debacles (remember the 2 hour Red Flag?).

All in all this is shaping up to be the Commonwealth Games period of the Formula One season and makes me wonder just a bit if they aren’t trying to expand their franchise a little too far, too fast.  Lack of testing time has definitely hurt the quality of the cars and hasn’t introduced any competitive balance at all.  Formula One Racing is the most boring racing to watch except for the Turn Left Bumper Cars that Inbred Brain Dead Bumpkin America calls Football.

Now with Starting Grid.

Not sure where these disappeared-

Starting Grid

Grid Driver Team Q-Time Laps
1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:30.785 20
2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:30.853 21
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.169 22
4 Robert Kubica Renault 1:31.231 21
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:31.352 26
6 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.378 21
7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:31.494 22
8 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:31.535 22
9 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:31.559 20
10 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:31.846 21
11 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:32.187 17
12 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:32.321 20
13 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:32.422 18
14 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:32.427 15
15 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:32.659 17
16 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:33.071 17
17 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:33.154 16
18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:33.568 11
19 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:35.346 10
20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:35.464 11
21 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.265 9
22 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.332 8
23 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:37.270 10
24 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:37.365 8

rustymancuso581

29 comments

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  2. Rays held on to play another day, but the Rangers are just not that good.

  3. It’s almost 12:30 and it would seem that that qualifying has continued with the pole position having been taken.  

  4. Well, they were able to run Qualifying and Speed is being a dick about releasing the results.

    I’m trying to crank around the F1 official site now.

  5. Buh bye Twins.

  6. Not sure why.

  7. with Hamilton in 16th and in danger of being knocked out and only 6 minutes left in Q1 normally I’d be concerned.

  8. Can you honestly say there were any surprises?

  9. 15 minutes.

  10. Again nothing I found surprising.

  11. It’s a gamble for victory.

  12. Will Vettel take out Webber?

    C’mon guys, this is what you got?

  13. di Gassi parked on the scout lap.

  14. Renault is Benneton renamed.  Not sure when I got confused about that, but I was bored during the Schumacher/Marlboro UPC period and might have missed the memo.

  15. We’ll see.

    There’s also reliability (and you know, flat out bashing into other people just to deny them points not that I’m accusing anybody Mark Webber), which will certainly factor in.

    Turn up your sound, they’re about to start.

  16. Massa off.

    Full course caution with a safety car.

  17. Ripped ’em up.

    Flaming chunks of twisted metal.

  18. Which fucks Button.

  19. It just broke with the Safety Car out.

    So Renualt/benneton is done for the day.

  20. Under Safety Car

    Running Order-

    Vettel

    Webber

    Alonso

    Button

    Hamilton

    Barrichello

    Schumacher

    Heidfeld

    Sutil

    Alguersuari

  21. 34 of 53.

    Button (no pit)

    Vettel

    Webber

    Alonso

    Hamilton

    Kobayashi (no pit)

    Rosberg

    Scumacher

    Heidfeld

    Barrichello

  22. Transmission problems again for Hamilton.

  24. unless there are some retirements at the top.

  25. Not as interesting as all that actually.

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