Sweet didn't know there was a F1 thread here!
Been almost 4 weeks since the multi 21 fiasco.
What are y'all opinion on Vettel now?

The same as they have been for the past 2 years: ABV. Anybody but Vettel.

I respect his monumental amount of talent and realize he's "one of the greats" but at the end of the day I like him the least of all the other drivers on the grid that have World Championships (even less than Hamilton).

Even to win championships with the best car you still have to be a great driver, period, end of story. But, I appreciate more when a driver can make a car greater than what it's expected to be and make the team perform better then expected to perform. Senna, Hakkinen (sp?), Prost, Schumacher, Alonso (with Ferrari), Kimi w/lotus, and now Hammy w/Merc are integral in getting more out of the car and the team. I've never had the impression that Seb does that but since I don't know that definitively I accept the fact that I'm merely speculating but that's how I see it. I think Webber does that and Vettel benefits from it.

Bold statements I know but most of it's BS because it's just a multi-billion industry and I really have no idea what's going on behind the scenes! :iono:

I do think Vettel is talented but not as much as say Alonso or Hamilton. As @rice_classic pointed out, I love it when a driver can squeeze out performance from a sub-par car. Not saying Merc is sub-par but it isn't as good as the Red Bull car for example. Having a dominating car is great is great but that can be boring. I wanna see a driver work his way through the pack and make awesome passes.

How do i feel about Vettel now after 4 weeks?...the same...cheeky little bastard. I wish one of these days Webber just punches him. I used to dislike Alonso but he grew on me after seeing his performances on the circuit especially last year when the F150 wasn't that good but he squeezed every drop out of that car to get podium finishes.

BTW - anyone here going to Austin this year?

If so, can anyone advise on a place to stay. Ive checked airbnb.com but everyone is jacking up the rates insanely for the weekend. I would love to go but can't afford the accomodations..anyone know any place offering a decent price?

Sorry for getting off-topic...

I respect Vettel but don't like him much. I also respect the driver's opinion that he has every right to want to win every race, but the blatant disregard he showed his entire team (especially Webber) at the Malaysia GP just proves how selfish he is.

Vettel only thrives when he has the fastest car. Ferrari's chassis isn't significantly slower then RBR anymore, which is why we saw Alonso walk all over Vettel last week in China.

He's a great driver, but he's also almost always had the fastest car.

I was planning on it for quite a while until tickets were finally available. At the cheapest grandstand seats (turn 5), cheapest flight, and cheapest hotel, I was looking at MINIMUM $1,000. And that doesn't include parking, travel within Austin, food, souvenirs, etc. Just not in my budget this year, especially having just bought my FR-S :(

Mark Webber's Formula One Autobiography will be titled:

Mark Webber F1: Making a team as good as it can be, for someone else.

Harsh but fair...

Crazy aggressive start!!

Amazing first 10laps!

Very fun beginning and end, McLaren was trying to have it's own version of Malaysia, entertainment was everywhere today.

Thread seems to have completely died!

Anyway Monaco is tomorrow! Interesting first three rows.... Rossberg and Hamilton lock out 1 and 2, Vettel and Webber take 3 and 4, and Kimi and Alonso round out 5 and 6.....

I predict Alonso will get a swift start and immediately pass Webber who can't start well to save his life. Depending on how ballsy he gets on opening lap, he could also take Kimi and be right up on Vettel too. The pair of Mercs will probably only hold their lead because it's so hard to pass on the tight street circuit, leaving their slower pace to hold up Vettel and leave him within striking distance for Alonso, who I am wholeheartedly rooting for to win! Poor Massa has quite an uphill battle from the back of the pack, but with a good setup, ideal conditions, and perhaps some yellows to slow the field down, he could move up quite a bit (not unlike Vettel in Abu Dhabi last year).

Either way, it will make for a very interesting race tomorrow! Looking forward to a great battle!

it was a great race, just wish they had shown kimi in the last few laps(I was watching the timing on the bottom of the screen) that would've been more exciting to watch than what they were showing