Lewis Hamilton set the pace in qualifying in Brazil, beating his team-mate Jenson Button to pole position by a tenth. Mark Webber was third with defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel in fourth ahead of Felipe Massa, who may end up with another gearbox penalty as his team-mate and title challenger Fernando Alonso engined up eighth. Behind Massa were Pastor Maldonado, Nico Hulkenberg,Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg.
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joeblogsf1 
Alonso’s got his work cut out beating Redbull and McLaren. Hope it rains and we have a 2008 job over again. I couldn’t watch the 2010 finale live due to a family event, so it’s been that long since I watched a last-race showdown live.
Brilliantly exciting qualifying – thank goodness the BBC has the full broadcast – I can’t wait for the race tomorrow!
The BBC coverage reminded me of the end of term on the very last day at school: Schumacher leaving for good, Hamilton leaving ‘home’, and a bunch of others moving teams or without a certain future (Kovalainen and Kobayashi). Bye bye HRT, too.
All in all a very autumnal flavour…. And then there’s Jake Humphrey – who has been an excellent anchor – leaving for football (very odd).
Thanks for your blog, Joe. Somehow I have to find the dosh for your magazine.
I don’t think Ferrari will give Felipe another gear box penalty. Much better for him to race against Vettel, and ideally slow him enough for Alonso to attack.
Or run in to Vettel in the first corner. Do not think they would go that far though.
A while back Algersuari was hinting that he (maybe) had a drive sorted for 2013. Not many spots available for now. Did he speak too soon or might he be going to FI or perhaps Lotus, replacing Grojean? Or is he biting the bullet and going to Caterham?
I’m going to miss Jake Humphrey, he’s been a good sort, and thoroughly enjoyable. Second the “why oh why” he’s going to football, but it might be simply the schedule is not what he wants for his family just now.
If, or as and when this site gets a makeover, I really think these race weekend updates would be better in a side column. It’s the in depth blog entries which attract debate, and every website out there has far too many race weekend updates. It doesn’t somehow fit, in my mind, with the object of GP+ being a serious end of weekend report, for which these early weekend updates don’t add anything, maybe even detract because the pay off is having all the real thought on Sunday evening.
Guys, and gals (I have been lucky enough to find female fans about lately, they definitely exist!) I have a confession: I have had so much on I have not subscribed this year. Because it takes me time to get stuck in to the depth of GP+ that I couldn’t find, and it’s deserving of proper attention. I’m about to fix that now. But finding 30 quid really isn’t a chore. If you take a newspaper like the FT, that’s 2 quid per day. GP+ is silly good value.
If you can go out and have a good evening on the sticker price for GP+, I want to know where. Frankly, I want to know where you can buy a passable bottle of wine for what it costs. Let alone have a proper night out with a nice girl, loved one, or wife.
Said it before, but it got me back into enjoying this sport. Ole Rupe’s Murdoch Machine tax is obviously far far more, and maybe not the best thing for everyone. But keeping the home fires burning by subbing to GP+ is also paying for this blog, where who can’t pay just now can see so much more of F1 than any armchair fan could wish for. All the other blogs have very different business models. Who likes to read JA, for example, well he’s on a salary with bigger media, and contract to big publishers I think is stifling. No disrespect to JA, he’s doing a good and positive bit. But that’s a world away from the dedication that oozes here.
The best thing that happened was Joe stopped worrying if it was worth the candle, to do this blog. Or at least Joe hasn’t sighed with utter frustration lately.
Whoever are the silent majority out there, I want to thank you, for chiming in when Joe thought to close this place, and for tolerating my comments as well. Maybe one time, we can get GP+ into a yearbook form you can sit with in slippers and pipe and vintage of your choice, as a Christmas present. That’s a little dream of mine, because I’d love that. But, seriously, honestly, 30 quid for a whole year? I do owe my dues, but that’s not a painful hit. Buy less and better quality. Living on less but good is always healthy. And, seriously, I do owe one to all the silent majority out there. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for letting me butt in.
(and I did just now pay my dues. I hope I have enough toner and paper stock, as I like to sit back and read this under good light in “true” form. I hope Joe won’t mind, but I shall have to print some choice bits for a very sweet girlfriend to read, whose invitation to us was to go watch the race at her family home tomorrow, with her dad, because this website stuff doesn’t often cut it with those who have a social life.. I am utterly convinced we lost far too many people, especially who are older, just the kind who can afford to do what they enjoy, when the print world was taken over by computers. Reporting right now, that when I mention there’s a great blog or website, people ahh and umm, and if I thrust a (not complete, that would be cheating) print from GP+ into their hands, they immediately get the idea and excitement, young and old.)
JB finally finds some Quali form (it was half a tenth behind Lewis actually).
Interesting – has JB finally figured out how to drive the tyres?
Massa has one of the best records for gaining places off the grid in 2012. If he gets another good one, it simply makes sense for him to leave his braking late and go round the outside of Vettel into the first corner. Does it make sense for Vettel to risk defending it? Could they collide? If I was Domenicali, I would fancy that more than I would fancy advancing Alonso by one place up the grid.
Glad that friendly friend Jake is out of F1. Good riddance.
At the risk of being too early, thanks for another great season Joe – GP+ renewal still top of my christmas list 😉