"Cato Batista" 11/10/2014 19:39:50 ID #679

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Business as usual with Mercedes taking front row, but it wasn’t as straightforward as we’re used to, Bottas’s Williams was tantalizingly close to steal the limelight after clocking the best 1st and 2nd sector times only to lose the pole in the last corner to end up third. Teammate Massa didn’t pass Q1 with mechanical issues. Button and home hero Kvyat had their best QF of the season in 4th & 5th just ahead of Magnussen, McLaren’s good traction a great advantage in the many slow corners,. but the Danish rookie will take a 5-grid penalty for gearbox replacement. Red Bull is in damage limitation this weekend, 6th for Ricciardo was better than they thought, Vettel is 10th behind Vergne’s Toro Rosso. Ferrari couldn’t do better that 8th & 9th; “It’s not that we have a bad car - Alonso said- it’s that the rest are faster than us”.... (!?)

We had an above average QF session. With the expected Mercedes 1-2 it was either 2 points if in the right order or no points, in the case of 7 seven of us with Bottas in third - Maria, Fredrik, Manbos, Lou, Matias, Rodrigo & I- it was 4-point plenums. We didn’t score one single mark, we had 11 colleagues with 2 points and the rest...zero.  

The final  grid for tomorrow: -Magnussen & Hulkenberg are replacing gearboxes taking 5-grid position penalties-

HAM  ROS  BOT  BUT  KVY  RIC  ALO  RAI  VER  VET (MAG 11th)

In an intriguing new development the medium compound tyres are losing grip abruptly as the surface rubber builds up, something that could completely change race strategies. The problem is that the battle for QF was so close that the top 10 had to use all their new prime sets in Q2 & Q3, so they’ll not have new sets of the softer of the 2 choices if they want to switch to a 2 stopper to complete the 53 laps. Both compounds are very durable but the primes are losing grip rapidly if they are not taken care of, particularly if pushed for traction on corner exit or during cornering and braking in the very technical sector 3. There are 2 DRS zones in the 2 long straights, but in everybody’s opinion overtaking will be extremely difficult, the few opportunities to pass will come from tyre management and pit stops. As some drivers are saying, the start and the 650 meters dash to the first corner may define the final outcome of the race.

Betting time. Cato - HAM  ROS  BOT  BUT  RIC  ALO

Weather will be a warm 27 degrees, sunny, and everything points out to a processional race. Let’s hope it’s not, let’s see.

Good luck!