Driver of the race - China

Some strong candidates to choose from - several drivers did well in the difficult weather conditions.

I think the star performers were the Toro Rosso boys and Button, but I went for Vettel because he really redeemed himself after making a hash of things last week.

I was all set to vote for Ralf's storming drive through the field but he put paid to that by changing to dry tyres too early. :laugh:

'lil Vettel by a country mile!!!:D

Vettel!!!

He simply deserves that. From P17 to P4.
Great that he put Japan dissaster behind him.

Vettel was lucky with the timing of his pitstop allowing him to spend virtually the entire race on the right tyres. Surely Kubica should be on the list as well - he could have won the race if it weren't for his car failing.

I'd go for Raikkonen - immense pressure and he kept cool throughout, turning in fast laps when he had to, rescuing what looked like a hopeless situation. Honourary mention for DC as well - he outpaced Webber all weekend, and his performance deserved more than 8th place.

Vettel is my choice,with possibly Button taking his place when he's found out for using an illegal car.:)

Vettel. It was a good drive, but I give it to him for primarily putting what happened last week completely behind him and putting in a sterling drive from 17th to 4th.

Vettel , simply for the P17 to P4 , a superb job

Hard Lines Lewis, I'm giving it to Kimi. :D

vittel without a doubt

Vittel? Did they supply the water which made the race more exciting?

:laugh:

Vittel? Did they supply the water which made the race more exciting?

:rofl: that's just mean! Funny...but mean! ;)

Vettel for me, it just has to be. After the vitriol thrown his way last week, that is the perfect riposte.

Vettel had a lucky break, sure, but that does not detract. It was a storming and intelligent drive.

Aside from that, Kimi did well although not unexpectedly really. Alonso was there when it mattered, preserving his tyres well. Liuzzi and Button with good scores. DC very solid indeed.

Vettel - put the car where it had no business being.

Props to Kimi though for showing he WANTS to win and win badly. Took the race to Lewis and pushed hard under dodgy conditions.

Still not sure that this was not the drive of the race, but it may have been Kimi's best drive - period. Amazing car control. Matched fast laps and best of all: he passed for the P1 spot.

Vettel to the metal! :D He won me £13.50 on Betfair....I'm a big fan of him now :rotate:

Kimi put in a great race, and it was good to see Massa pumping in über fast laps at the end. Why not earlier? :Shrug:

Vettel for me great comeback from what must have been a fairly miserable week. This guy could be something really special, running in the points for two races in a row now. Didn't really notice him until near the end though.

Kimi a very close second though, chased hamilton down and managed to pass him. He's got a will to win at the moment.

I've gone for Kimi, because I think it was his best drive of the season and not just a question of cruising to victory in the best car. There didn't seem much to choose between the Ferrari and the McLaren this weekend, but Kimi drove beautifully and managed his race perfectly.

I think Hamilton may have driven too hard in the opening stages and that was what ultimately led to extreme tyre wear, although it was still crazy of McLaren (or him) not to pit a lap or two earlier. Don't forget that Kimi and Alonso stopped a lap later and their tyres were not wrecked.

Vettel deserves every plaudit he's receiving, but there was an element of luck in that his strategy happened to work to perfection. Even so, it's not hard to see that he has a great future ahead of him.

I felt sorry for Kubica. Leading the race and then the BMW hydraulics failed for the umpteenth time this weekend. Without that, maybe a podium?

I dunno why getting a strategy right is seen as being very lucky. Conditions were unpredictable and ALL teams had to make informed decisions and gambles...and STR, small team they may be, but they got it right fair and square - like Spyker did with Winkelhock in Nurburgring...theres no luck involved any more than any team gets luck from circumstances...

Stategy is all part of the game - and a crucial one.

Even if Lewis and Kubica finished where they were meant to (and wasn't kubica still meant to stop, hence why he was in the lead?) , 17th to say, 6th at worst is not too shabby at all for a 20 year old in one of the supposed worst cars on the grid, in only his 5th grand prix with STR - or 6th overall!!

Anyway: nice pic I thought...the no 9 pic in the sequence...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7032283.stm

I guess that isn't champagne then..? ;)

No, it is Vittel.

No, it is Vittel.

silly me :doh:

have to go with vettel this time. kimi did an excellent job too. enjoyed seeing him battle hamilton for the lead. somewhat dissapointed with massa. he had the opportunity to challenge alonso when alonso had just left the pits, but didn't.

vettel has done well so i voted him driver of the day-no one has been able to drive the toro roso that good sinse its time with f1.

p.s- all year on honda's back wing, i keep on thinking it says MY YEAR THE DREAM-i only just worked out it says MY EARTH DREAM!!!!!
what a silly person i am.

Sebastian Vettel by a mile.

Button. Vettel was very good too, but I think Button had to pass more people on-track after the bad first stint, and I'd surmise that his car wasn't a match for the Toro Rosso.

Liuzzi? Nah, relatively resoundingly beaten by his inexperienced team-mate.

haha, related to what I was joking about earlier:

Vettel: "....We'll have a good dinner tonight, and maybe a couple of drinks, but I'm not old enough to drink very much."

aww, bless!! :laugh:

Liuzzi. I gave Vettel the vote last week (though he wasn't on the list :Shrug:.

Vettel did a great job, especially at the start, and finished well but was nothing short of the skill he showed last week.

Liuzzi on the other hand, on a traditional strategy like everyone else managed to hold off that BMW! An amazing feat, Vettel's result overshadowing it - still, jumps Toro Rosso up 3 places, and if the same performance holds for Brazil - maybe they can even beat Toyota?!

Sebastian Vettel by a mile.

Sebastian Vettel by 1.6 kilometers.Let's keep it metric shall we.;)

Liuzzi.

Great result at an important time in his career. Not as "amazing" as Vettel but still rock-solid and really quite promising. I said a week or few ago that I think he has more to give than he often does - and now could be his time to shine. Vettel, Raikkonen and Button must be considered. Heidfeld was the most disappointing.

Hamilton made to GP for me, for having the good grace to fall off...

I dunno why getting a strategy right is seen as being very lucky. Conditions were unpredictable and ALL teams had to make informed decisions and gambles...and STR, small team they may be, but they got it right fair and square.

Stategy is all part of the game - and a crucial one.

Even if Lewis and Kubica finished where they were meant to (and wasn't kubica still meant to stop, hence why he was in the lead?) , 17th to say, 6th at worst is not too shabby at all for a 20 year old in one of the supposed worst cars on the grid, in only his 5th grand prix with STR - or 6th overall!!I didn't say that it was very lucky, just that there was an element of luck. When you're operating a one stop strategy, presumably the window of opportunity is much smaller than on a two stopper. It happened to fall the right way for them, so they could switch to the right tyres at the right time, rather than stop once and possibly have to stop again.

As it happens I don't think Toro Rosso really is one of the lesser teams. When you get down to it, it's a Red Bull with a Ferrari engine rather than a Renault one.

What Vettel has done for the team, and good for him, is come in without any preconcievered ideas and drive the wheels off the thing. It's similar to what Kubica did to BMW last year. All of a sudden Heidfeld had to raise his game.

On a day when Jenson or Liuzzi should have got the vote, i'll go for Vettel.

Ironic that Liuzzi acheives his best result to date, and he still gets betten by his rookie team mate.

If Barrichello can score a point in Brazil he'll get my DOTR vote regardless of what anyone else does.

I have to go with Sebastian Vettel, that drive was really tremendous.. Well done!

Vettel, no question at all. He was scintillating in Japan last week and was a contender there until he fell off the road. This time he kept it on the island in one of the most remarkable drives of the season. Mario Thiessen must be questioning his decision in confirming Heidfeld and Kubica now when he has possibly one of the greatest talents to grace F1 in recent years on his roster.

As it happens I don't think Toro Rosso really is one of the lesser teams. When you get down to it, it's a Red Bull with a Ferrari engine rather than a Renault one.


Technically its a very sound package, but i dont think the guys in the pits know how to extract as much out of it as Red Bull.

Vettel was my vote -- and you gotta feel great for the guy after last weeks disaster -- To use a line inspired by the original Star Trek series "He took his car where no Toro Rosso had been before."

Never thought I would say this after last weeks 'worst effort', but Vettel gets my first vote. Great drive, especially after last weeks fallout.

Honorable mentions to Kimi on a fine drive, and DC as well.

My vote goes to Vettel. That was an outstanding drive and he deserved it. He was badly treated after Fuji and just showed us what a rookie in a less than good car can do.

This looks like one of the most dominant DoTR votes for a non race winner I've seen on 10-10ths... Mods, is it the most dominant ever on the forum ?

Can't really be any other option than Vettel, although I am still massively puzzled where that car's pace has suddenly come from....

Liuzzi also did extremely well and would have been a lot closer to Vettel if:
a/ he hadn't been Ralf'd (got that bloke's really getting on my nerves and out of F1) and possibly
b/ if he'd been on the same strategy as Vettel (if such a thing existed in such conditions!)

Patrick Head commented something like 'both Toro Rosso drivers did an excellent job' which whilst seemingly a totally simple congratulatory quote still leads me to believe Tonio will be at Williams next season! as Patrick doesn't often speak out about other drivers unless he likes them!! ;)

No need to say who I voted for. He got fastest lap and I'm sure was the race a couple of laps longer, he would have gotten P2.

I have to mention Vettel's great drive and also Kimi's.

And if we had a "Oops of the race" Hamilton would get my vote.

Vettel for me. One of the stars of the season.

Bravery award goes to the cameraman who carried on regardless after nearly being taken out by the Spyker:)

No need to say who I voted for. He got fastest lap and I'm sure was the race a couple of laps longer, he would have gotten P2.

Your loyalty is admirable, but it's difficult to see how he could be DotR from an unbiased perspective. I think he's really faded in the second half of the season - I don't know if that's an effect of Kimi taking over as Ferrari's title challenger or a cause.

If Barrichello can score a point in Brazil he'll get my DOTR vote regardless of what anyone else does.

Amen to that. Do you remember '99 when he qualified Grid 3rd in the Stewart? Special times.

On the subject of Massa, he did perform very well at the end of the race but if he could be so quick then he should really have reeled Alonso in sooner.

Amen to that. Do you remember '99 when he qualified Grid 3rd in the Stewart? Special times.

shame stewart changed to jag-one of the worst decisions ever considering how great the 99 stewart was!-i know they didn't know what the jag would be like but it wasn't a good car during its 4years with f1 (not sure if it was around earlier)

I agree entirely. Just hearing that Jag were making an entry turned my stomach! Although I think they were in for five years (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004).

Sorry Vettel fans for taking this off-topic!

No need to say who I voted for. He got fastest lap and I'm sure was the race a couple of laps longer, he would have gotten P2. I think it is unlikely he would have gotten P2.

On lap 34, just after Alonso's stop the gap was 0.7s between Alonso and Massa. This grew steadily to 10.5s by lap 48. Indicating that Alonso was quicker. The last few laps saw it progressed thus:
Lap|Gap|FA lap time|FM lap time.
50|9.3|1m38.9|1m38.5
51|9.0|1m38.7|1m38.2
52|8.2|1m38.7|1m38.0
53|8.3|1m38.2|1m38.4
54|8.3|1m38.0|1m37.9
55|6.7|1m39.2|1m37.6
56|3.1|1m41.0|1m37.5
What we are seeing is Alonso easing off more than Massa having a superior pace.

When he caught him he would have had to get by...

The fastest lap just came as a consequence of the track getting better and thus gave the impression that Massa was some sort of unstoppable sensation when in fact gap management and car preservation was happening.

yes, massa was pushing on soft tyres, alonso started to ease off because his tyres were starting to suffer as they weren't the best for full dry...and they needed to bring at least 1 McLaren home....it wasn't going to happen any other way.

I'm still in awe at how Vettel lasted that long! I was almost convinced he would have stopped short of the finish line running out of fuel lol...tense end. I think the key skill/intuition Vettel made use of was to push while he had the fuel to pull out enough of a gap to 5th place Button, knowing that he was going to be seriously low on fuel nearer the end (as was said, running on air/vapour methinks!!), and would have to take it easy...all of which I presume both he and the team realised and cooperated together on. Great stuff from STR in terms of team operation - on their standard, experience and management, they're handling of the last 2 races it has to be said was on a par with top teams.

Hey, excuse a girl for supporting her man. I only see the good he does. I know it's bias but I can't help it.

Wait till you become downtrodden and demoralised, like me. ;)

Nevermind, it'll soon be all over. ;)

The fastest lap just came as a consequence of the track getting better and thus gave the impression that Massa was some sort of unstoppable sensation when in fact gap management and car preservation was happening.

gap management - LOL a very nice term for drivers nursing their cars to finish line...
I really like it - gap management .... HAHA :rofl:

Oh yeah DOTR.... It was Vettel to me

yep, vettel for me

Nevermind, it'll soon be all over. ;)

:hammer:

(I'm trying to find a convenient moment to use each of the smilies ;) )

Voted for Vettel for going from zero to hero in a week, just imagine what this kid could do in a decent car ! Honourable mentions to Raikkonen for another solid drive in difficult conditions, Liuzzi for his best result of the season (a double points finish for SRT) and Button for another great drive in a 'not-so-good' car.

Voted for Vettel, great to see the lad bouncing back at his finest

I don't mean to forget Jenson's superb w.e. though

Not many votes for Button. I thought his job was harder than Vettel's. But I suppose Vettel is very new.

I think if Vettel hadn't been in the picture Button would have loads of votes, but Vettel's drive was just that bit too impressive to ignore.

I liked Vettel since the USA race and I'm just so impressed with the way he bounced back after the Japanese race. He impresses me so much more that Hamilton will ever do. There is only one thing that will make me like him more, if he drive a RED car.

He impresses me so much more that Hamilton will ever do.

It's far too early to say, surely?

It's far too early to say

To say what, that Vettel impresses me or that Hamilton will never?

I disagree. ;)

Hamilton because his drive made Brazil worth getting up at 3 am for.

Nah, Vettel

Wow, if ever we needed Knowlesy to open one of his race threads early, this is it. I'd say.

Vettel and his Minardi ;)