Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Chrome parts
So I havent built a kit in about 27 years and am wondering how good the crome parts are in todays kits.
MOTOGP: Lorenzo sees Stoner as biggest threat
Lorenzo sees Stoner as biggest threat By Michele Lostia and Matt Beer Sunday, December 26th 2010, 10:13 GMT MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo has tipped Honda's new signing Casey Stoner as his biggest rival for the 2011 title. While Stoner switches from Ducati to Honda next year and Valentino Rossi leaves Yamaha for Ducati, Lorenzo will stay on to defend his crown with Yamaha Related posts:- MOTOGP: Lorenzo beats Stoner in practice two Lorenzo beats Stoner in practice two By Matt Beer...
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Dorino Serafini Chico Serra Doug Serrurier Johnny ServozGavin
Vettel set for titles aplenty
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?Here, after all, is a young man, already dubbed ?Baby Schumi? by Germany?s tabloid press, winning the first of what will presumably be multiple world championships, and all at the tender age of 23. Plenty of time yet to match Schumacher's incredible haul of seven world titles. And yet, their phenomenal ability to drive racing cars apart, there is little similarity between the two men. ?There are still lingering doubts over his racing ability but with such blistering qualifying pace he is nearly always leading from the front anyway. Vettel is set for multiple world championships. Just don?t call him Baby Schumi.?The Guardian?s Paul Weaver says it was difficult to begrudge Vettel his moment of glory after he won the first of what will be many world titles. He also looks back at some of the season?s highlights.
?An amazing Formula One season produced its final twist here on Sunday when Sebastian Vettel, who had never led the title race, won his first world championship. It is difficult to begrudge him his glory, for he had more poles (10) than any other driver and shared the most wins (five) with Fernando Alonso. There will be red faces as well as red cars and overalls at Ferrari, though, for deciding to bring their man in when they did, only to see him re-emerge into heavy traffic. ?Among the highlights, and every race felt like a highlight after the bore-start in Bahrain, there was that wonderful beginning to his McLaren career by Jenson Button, who won two of his first four races, even though he couldn't keep up the pace, especially in qualifying. ?Hamilton once again drove his heart out, and outperformed a car that looked a little too ordinary at times. He was superb in Montreal. Then there was Webber, the Anglophile Aussie who was the favourite among most neutrals to win the title. There was that spectacular crash when he ran into the back of Heikki Kovalainen and the most famous of his four wins, at Silverstone, when he said to his team at the end of the race: 'Not bad for a No2 driver.' ?But in the end there was only one German who mattered. It was the remarkable Vettel. This will be the first of a clutch of championships for him.?The Independent?s David Tremayne focuses on the plight of the other title contenders, writing it is easier to feel more sorry for one than the other.
?It was impossible not to feel for both Webber and Alonso. Yet while a frustrated Alonso gestured at Petrov after the race, the Australian, predictably, refused to complain about his pitstop timing. ?A world championship seemed an inevitable part of Sebastian Vettel's future, but it came a little sooner than most expected, after his recent tribulations. You wouldn't bet against several more, and if that record-breaking streak continues, perhaps even Schumacher's achievements will be overshadowed.?And the Mirror?s Byron Young elaborates further on the petulant behaviour of Fernando Alonso on his slowing down lap after his title dreams ended behind the Renault of Vitaly Petrov.
?Fernando Alonso was hurled into more controversy last night for a wild gesture at the former Lada racer who cost him the title. But the Spaniard brushed off accusations he gave Russian Vitaly Petrov the finger for ruining his title hopes by blocking him for 40 laps as they duelled over sixth place. "The Ferrari ace was caught on television cruising alongside the Renault driver on the slowing down lap and gesticulating from the cockpit. Petrov was unrepentant: "What was I supposed to do? Just get out of his way, pull to the side? I don't think that is how we race. It was important for the team for me to get points."
Monday, December 27, 2010
Gone (ice) fishing?
Timmy Mayer Francois Mazet Gastón Mazzacane Kenneth McAlpine
Canadian GP: Hamilton all set for qualifying as he goes fastest in P3
June 12 '10
Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in his McLaren in the final practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix with his best time of 1m16.058s which was 0.3 of a second faster than the Red Bull of Mark Webber in second position.
As if the track wasn't slippery enough, overnight showers made track conditions even worse at the beginning of the session. Halfway through the session the track became almost dry and Hamilton set his fastest time of the weekend on the super-soft tyres that nobody could match.
According to iTV, "In the middle part of the session Button had briefly traded fastest times with his McLaren team-mate Hamilton, before the younger Briton took command with a 1m16.259s lap at the 40-minute mark.
"Even though it was set on the harder prime tyre, that time remained unbeaten when the field switched to the super-soft options in the closing stages ? except by Hamilton himself, who moved the benchmark to 1m16.058s."
Sebastian Vettel was fifth quickest in the second Red Bull and was on target to improve when Lucas di Grassi spun his Virgin at the Casino hairpin with just a minute left on the clocks and brought out the yellow flags.
Apart from Grassi, there were few others who also had a close shave. Felipe Massa brushed the wall at the exit of turn seven and sparks flew from the front side of his Ferrari with no major damage. Hamilton also brushed the barriers coming out of turn four after setting the quickest time of the session.
Nico Rosberg managed just 4 laps during the dying stages of the practice session as his Mercedes was being tended by the pit crew with a clutch problem. Hispania's Karun Chandhok missed the entire session as his car stopped at the pit exit due to gearbox problem.
Canadian Grand Prix free practice 3 times
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m 16.058s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m 16.340s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 16.495s
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 16.536s
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m 16.582s
6. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 16.653s
7. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m 16.673s
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m 16.699s
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m 16.814s
10. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault 1m 16.982s
11. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m 17.121s
12. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 17.231s
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 17.331s
14. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 17.548s
15. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 17.609s
16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 17.633s
17 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m 17.789s
18. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 17.979s
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m 19.013s
20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m 19.447s
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 19.536s
22. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m 19.844s
23. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1m 20.325s
24. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth No time
Image(C) f1aldia
Who were the top 10 F1 drivers of 2010?
Sebastian Vettel was crowned the youngest world champion in history after a memorable final twist at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but was he the best driver of the year?
It's a subjective question, and so difficult after such a momentous season that I have been wrestling with it for some weeks.
Does Vettel's pace in the dominant Red Bull mean he was Formula 1's top driver? How does that rank alongside the performances of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in inferior cars?
What about Robert Kubica's ability to mix it with the title contenders in the Renault? Or Kamui Kobayashi's attacking verve in the Sauber?
Vettel is centre-stage among the class of 2010 - but is he number one in our list? Photo: AFP
Here is my list of the top 10 drivers of 2010:
10) After battling for the title with Brawn in 2009, it cannot have been easy for Rubens Barrichello, at 37 going on 38, to drum up the enthusiasm for a season battling to make the top 10 in qualifying with once-great Williams.
But drum it up he did, impressing the team with his technical feedback and producing some excellent drives that resulted in strong points positions when Williams had something of a purple patch mid-season.
The veteran Brazilian was outshone by rookie team-mate Nico Hulkenberg at times as the German found his feet late in the season.
Nevertheless, as he heads into an astonishing 19th F1 season in 2011, Barrichello clearly still has a lot to offer.
9) Kamui Kobayashi emerged as one of F1's most exciting talents with some all-action performances in 2010.
Overtaking is notoriously difficult but the Japanese simply went for it, finding unconventional passing places to liven up such races as Valencia and Japan.
There remain doubts about his ultimate potential, with Sauber drafting in the reliable Nick Heidfeld for the final five races of the season to give Kobayashi a benchmark to measure himself against.
But Kobayashi responded perfectly and gives all the signs of having a great future.
8) It all started so well for Felipe Massa, who out-qualified new team-mate Alonso at the first race of the season. But when Alonso passed the Brazilian around the outside of the first corner, it set the tone for the entire year.
Alonso trounced Massa in 2010, proving faster than him at virtually every race, and there is no doubt the Spaniard's relentless excellence got to the man in the second Ferrari.
There were some good drives from Massa - particularly his third places at Monza and Korea. But he will have to pull something very special out of the bag, not to mention rediscover his mental equilibrium, to reverse this trend in 2011.
7) Nico Rosberg convincingly beat Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher this year and, had he achieved that feat 10 years ago, there would have been no doubt he had emerged as a truly great F1 driver.
But the Schumacher of this year was not the same driver as before, as even the seven-time champion himself effectively admitted.
Rosberg drove a strong season, and some good races, and there are an increasing number of people in F1 who believe he is emerging as a top-class contender.
But until he goes up against - and beats - a driver of the highest calibre, it will be hard to tell whether he deserves to be considered as that himself, or whether he is nearly there, but not quite.
6) Not even Jenson Button probably expected to be leading the championship after winning two of the opening four races of 2010 and out-qualifying McLaren team-mate Hamilton 3-1.
Button's two victories in the wet in Australia and China owed a lot to clever strategic calls but that was not all. The sight of Button pulling away from Hamilton in China on a wet track and on tyres of comparable age proved once and for all that this is a driver of the very highest calibre.
After that, Hamilton got on top and stayed there but Button, who was rarely very far away in qualifying and often more or less matched his team-mate on race pace, provided a convincing answer to those who said he had gained his 2009 triumph more by luck than ability.
5) Mark Webber chose the name Aussie Grit for his Twitter account, and 2010 proved why. Expected to fulfil the role of an obedient number two at Red Bull, Webber went toe-to-toe with team-mate Vettel throughout the season and led him in the championship for most of it.
After a shaky first couple of races, Webber came on song when the season came back to Europe with dominant wins in Spain and Monaco that left Vettel bemused at where his team-mate had found such electrifying pace.
By mid-summer, Vettel had got his edge back, but Webber remained large in his mirrors, ready to take advantage of any mistakes. That he was able to do this despite suspicions that Red Bull were not perhaps being quite as even-handed in their treatment of their drivers as they insisted was all the more impressive.
But his challenge faded in the end, crashing in Korea and failing to make any real impact in the final two races of the campaign.
4) Did Renault's Robert Kubica perform better than any other driver on the grid when you consider the equipment he had at his disposal?
You can certainly make that case. No-one else can claim to have made so few mistakes while extracting what appeared to be the maximum from his machinery.
The Renault was not fast enough for Kubica to regularly mix it with the title contenders but on three occasions he transcended the car's limitations in a way only the truly great can - at Monaco, Spa and Suzuka, F1's three great drivers' circuits.
To qualify second in Monaco, third in Spa and fourth in Suzuka was a momentous achievement - and he backed that up by taking podium places in both Monaco and Belgium before being robbed of another when his wheel came loose in Japan.
There is still a slight question mark over a man who, in 2009, was not able to comprehensively overshadow Heidfeld at BMW. And let's not forget that Kubica was not burdened with the kind of pressure that the likes of Alonso, Vettel, Button and Hamilton were.
But put Kubica in a competitive car and all his rivals would fear him.
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3) Sebastian Vettel is a great talent and a deserving world champion but, considering the stunning pace of the Red Bull car, he should have won many more races and clinched the title much sooner.
The car's fragility did not help - failures in Bahrain, Australia, Spain and Korea cost him a lot of points - but the German also made a number of high-profile errors. He crashed into rivals in Turkey and Belgium, suffered a puncture following a red-mist moment at Silverstone and was penalised for misjudging the safety car in Hungary.
Ten pole positions and five wins speak for themselves to an extent but, as the (slightly) faster driver in comfortably the fastest car, they are to be expected.
Some of those pole laps were stunning, though, with Vettel possessing an Ayrton Senna-esque ability to pull that little bit extra out on his very final lap, no matter what the circumstances, while each one of his wins was a masterpiece of domination.
However, there have to be fewer mistakes, more wins dragged out of adversity and more convincing performances when he is back in the pack for him to be ranked above the next names on the list.
2) Had this article been written after the Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton would have occupied the number one spot.
Up to that point, Hamilton had made not a single mistake worth the name and he was leading the championship in what had from the mid-point of the season been the third fastest car.
Hamilton had maintained his exuberant, attacking style and stunning natural pace and had mated it to a consistency that was making him a formidable competitor.
His fantastic victory at Spa - not forgetting the qualifying lap that earned him second on the grid on slicks in a shower of rain - confirmed him as the outstanding driver of the season to that point, notwithstanding the canny Button's two wet wins.
Suddenly, though, it all went wrong. Hamilton crashed out of the next two races in Monza and Singapore and when he crashed again in Friday practice at the next race in Japan his season appeared to be coming apart at the seams.
But then came one of the laps of the season - third on the grid at Suzuka in a car in which he had done just six flying laps before qualifying. It was a reminder of Hamilton's amazing talent. By then, though, as far as the championship was concerned, the damage had been done.
1) Fernando Alonso's first year with Ferrari started with a few shaky races and finished with a strategic mistake that cost him the title. In between the Spaniard did just enough to earn the right to call himself the best driver of 2010.
Early-season errors were born of trying too hard in a car that was not quite on the pace. Combine that with Ferrari losing their way for a while and Alonso was 47 points off the lead at the midpoint of the season.
But in a car that established itself as the second fastest behind the Red Bull, he recovered that margin by driving with a consistent, relentless brilliance that his rivals were not able to match. His victories at Monza and Singapore were stunning. Only Hamilton at Spa and perhaps Webber at Monaco can claim a performance of comparable quality.
That ultimately Alonso did not win a third title was only because of his team's error in Abu Dhabi. For the 2005 and 2006 champion, as he said himself, it was still a great year.
Rusty Bug
Hello everybody,
This is my second kit I;m showing, it's still under construction. (mostly on the interior).
It's a Hasegawa kit, 1:24th scale
Shoot please,
Scale-modeller
Shinji Nakano Duke Nalon Alessandro Nannini Emanuele Naspetti
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Red Bull poke fun at Ferrari in Christmas card | F1 Fanatic round-up
BIKES: 2011 Kawasaki Vulcan Vaquero First Ride
Michael Schumacher has no regrets
Michael Schumacher has admitted he "feels good" about his decision to race in Formula One again.
The German driver, who won the world Drivers' Championship seven times, has had a disappointing 2010 season. He had been expected to challenge for the title but ended the season ninth in the standings with 72 points.
He couldn't even beat his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who finished 70 points ahead of him in seventh place.
This ...
F1: Newey: 2011 form impossible to predict
Newey: 2011 form impossible to predict By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Sunday, December 26th 2010, 12:12 GMT Red Bull Racing's technical chief Adrian Newey says it is impossible to say whether his team will continue to be the dominant force in 2011 following this year's titles. The Milton Keynes squad took both the drivers' and the constructors' championships for the first time in 2010, as the Newey-designed RB6 car proved to be the car to beat for most of the season. Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever world champion, while team-mate Mark Webber finished in third place in the standings. Related posts:- F1: Williams: Newey genius gives RBR edge Williams: Newey genius gives RBR edge By Jonathan Noble and...
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