The are up there, but it's too soon to really say.

It's going to be good battle this season. When was the last time 5 World Champions raced at the same time? Not only that, the cars are not that far apart among the five.

Mercedes GP is the furthest back among the WC driven teams, but I have faith in Schumacher (and Rossberg) to develop their car faster than the rivals except for maybe McLaren.
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Red.... lol

They are looking pretty good. FA is always a threat to win, Massa is a good 2nd driver.
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[quote=kgoings;1220492]Red.... lol
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:-)
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Pratice 1 is today for Malaysia! Gonna watch it online, and hopefully get home from work in time to grab a cigar and watch Practice 2 on Speed!

Things I am interested to see this weekend:
-Can Petrov finish on or near the Podium again?

-Will Perez be able to sniff out the top 10 again?

-RBR with KERS, will Webber move up and will anyone be able to stay with Vettle.

-Would love to see some wet driving conditions.
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If there's one circuit that sees rain over the weekend, this is it.
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I know, I was surprised that they didnt get any rain during P1 P2
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Not much talk this year. I am amazed at how well the RBR team is doing despite the constant problem with KERS. I was for sure that Hamilton was gonna pass Vettel this morning.

Sergio Perez is doing great out of the rookies as well as Di Resta.
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Excellent race today, Vettel showed me some real driving skills that went beyond having a superior car to Hamilton.
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Kind of boring race. RBR and McLaren, fill in the blank for the race. Nice to Schumacher in the points.
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How about Fernando Alonso at the start? Diving on the inside and taking the lead was beautiful to see!

Also Alonso demonstrated that, when on equal tires, soft or hard compound, he can keep Red Bull Racing behind. He had a little trick. Webber was behind Alonso, so, Alonso collected Webber at the beginning of a corner up to half way through, and then sped off leaving Webber to try again and catch-up with the Ferrari. This little trick nearly eliminated the advantage Red Bull Racing has with the design and blown diffuser which result in massive grip in slow corners. Very clever driving.

On the other hand, Hamilton made the mistake to use his KERS to much during a whole lap, because he had little or no KERS left at the beginning of the main straight. The McLaren team tried to tell him to do something different, but he did not really pick up on that.

By the way, Vettel had no KERS issue during the race. It was just clever thinking by Red Bull Racing to only use the system when really needed, as proved to be the case during the last 10 laps of the race in Barcelona.

Nick Heidfeld drove a anonymous race, but still managed to go from position 24, last on the grid due to gearbox problems during qualifying on Saturday, to 8th place in the race and picking up points. Webber showed this is possible too, earlier in the season. Therefore, great drive Quick Nick!

There was one thing that puzzled me during the race and that was the Ferrari pit stop.......

Pit stops by Ferrari were slower the they can be in Barcelona. Why? They needed to change tires, but when doing so, they started with the front tires and only when the new front tires were put on, the started taking off the rear tires. That’s where they lost 2 seconds easy on every pit stop. Why? I don’t know.......Yet!
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:-) Practice starts in 2 hours! This is my favorite race.
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My favorite pre-race and first couple of laps. Once the Monaco gets going, it's a real yawner. I would love to see it live. I bet the support races are really good.
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Just to look at:-)
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Perhaps some others will folow later in the day or week.
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Last year was pretty exciting! Fernando slicing through the field..the nasty crash at the very end where the two cars were on top of each other.

Great pics! Did you take those
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The FIA should drop Monaco because it's unsafe with unsatisfatory paddocks, but the glamour and history keep it on the schedule. I don't think Bernie makes much on this race. Wet weather is when the miracles happen in Monaco.

FIA should allow slicks in Monaco to mitigate the lack of down force.
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For everyone who hate or love it......
FYI, the paddock is fine beside the harbour and you can take the bridge to get to the pits. I just miss the old pitlane. It is a glamour race and thats how the teams see it, besides winning looks nice on your CV.
Ferrari and Alonso ended on top this Thursday
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This is one of my favorite races! Can't wait! SPA is the other!
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SPA is also another of my favorites. The drivers seem to love Monaco. Lewis was geeked out this morning about driving the course.
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There's no info available yet. You can sign up here for updates. Man, it'll be great to have F1 return to the States!
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We’re pleased to share a few key updates about Austin’s new world-class destination for entertainment, education and business, Circuit of The Americas™.

In addition to our new website at CircuitofTheAmericas.com, we’ve now launched our Twitter page , Facebook page, and YouTube channel. We’ll be sharing exciting news and updates about the facility, partnerships and event announcements, construction progress, and more – and we want you to be the first to know.

Right now, you’ll find brand-new aerial photos and a can’t-miss video of time-lapse photography that tracks our construction. Check back often – as we’ll be updating regularly with new photos and video.

Want to stay even more informed about Circuit of The Americas? Visit the links page of our website for recent news and press.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of Circuit of The Americas, the United States’ new home for the Formula 1™ and MotoGP™ World Championships.
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