'2012 F1 discussion thread'

[TS50]

2 Things ammazed me, I only watched the race last night
1./ There was a lot of talk about Seb passing under yellow, we never saw footage of it, and no comments by the stewards
Would have thought that the stewards would have investigated it, and put a note that no action to be taken or some such thing
Imagine if after the race they do that, and all of a sudden Seb is no longer champion, not a good look for the sport

2./ The podium is great etc, but surely, after the race podium, you would put the new world champion up there??? Even the V8 Supercircus does

Overall I got to say, the last 3 races were crackers, made for the best season in many. To me Texas was a standout, people passing so often, how awesome

[prydey]

1./ There was a lot of talk about Seb passing under yellow,

it was an error by the commentary team. brundle has since corrected himself. they weren't yellow lights (flags) but yellow AND red lights denoting slippery surface. this is why nothing was investigated or showed up on race control as there was nothing to investigate.

as for the 2nd point, i don't think vettel is the most liked guy in the paddock. not one of the drivers mentioned him on the podium. in the traditional post race press conference they all did though. also, if i was jenson (or alonso or massa) i don't think i would want vettel up on the podium. it would sort of overshadow his achievement.

[TS50]

it was an error by the commentary team. brundle has since corrected himself. they weren't yellow lights (flags) but yellow AND red lights denoting slippery surface. this is why nothing was investigated or showed up on race control as there was nothing to investigate.

as for the 2nd point, i don't think vettel is the most liked guy in the paddock. not one of the drivers mentioned him on the podium. in the traditional post race press conference they all did though. also, if i was jenson (or alonso or massa) i don't think i would want vettel up on the podium. it would sort of overshadow his achievement.

To me it wouldnt have mattered if it was Seb, or Alonso, or Massa, or Webber, or Button that won the world championship, but surely the new World Champion should be acknowledged, even if all the other drivers hate him. I think it shows a lack of respect to the champion

[FTe217]

Andrew sign of the times in professional nowadays - old respect no matter what is out the door.

[prydey]

To me it wouldnt have mattered if it was Seb, or Alonso, or Massa, or Webber, or Button that won the world championship, but surely the new World Champion should be acknowledged, even if all the other drivers hate him. I think it shows a lack of respect to the champion

i'm not sure its ever been done that way though. often, the champ is on the podium in the final race, or the race he secures the title, so its not a big deal, but if the champ isn't in the top 3 spots then his accolades come later. the podium has always been just for the place getters in F1.

[HSE2]

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Put the cork back in the champagne bottle, Sebastian. The BBC's Andrew Benson is reporting that Ferrari is evaluating footage from the Brazilian Grand Prix that allegedly shows Sebastian Vettel overtaking Jean-Eric Vergne in a yellow 'caution' zone. Ferrari is reportedly considering lodging a protest with the FIA which, if upheld, would likely see Vettel penalised 20-seconds which would subsequently demote him to eighth in the results. And that means, Fernando Alonso would be the 2012 F1 world champion by a single point. What do you guys think? Fair or foul?

[HSE2]

James Allen‏@Jamesallenonf1

#f1 re Vettel yellow flag question - this slo-mo clip appears to show a green flag waved on left before Vettel pass http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=Ku979qCzAWA# …!

[prydey]

here is some footage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=F3tp3QDAkgo

at face value, it looks to be an illegal pass, however a closer look reveals JEV may have a problem. at the start of the footage JEV is right up with the cars ahead of him and yet coming off the turn he has slowed down substantially. it is not illegal to pass a stricken car under yellow.

given how professional the teams are, and the fact that it was a sister car being passed, i'd be very surprised if it wasn't a tactical move...

EDIT, scratch all that. just noticed the video has been updated with extra commentary confirming the move as legal.

[prydey]

ahh, and beaten to the punch by Ian!!

[HSE2]

Yeah it's a story that sort of breaking on twitter so I am posting up the relevant stuff as it happens. They can look at it all they like; I don't think anything is going to change.

One of the points being made is how did Vetted get that much speed to make the pass if that was the first green flag shown. The comments seem to centre on the possibility that under yellow if you don't slow down you can be given a penalty so that's what JEV did. Can anyone tell me if JEV finished the race of or did he have a problem? I haven't watched the race yet myself.
Another tweet has suggested Kers was used in the yellow zone.