2008 F1 Season

[salad]

Alonso lifted. No doubt about it. I thought it was Hammo's brain fading at first but the more i looked at the incident, the more i knew that bastard got off the accelerator.

Alonso definitely lifted?

Renault head of engineering Pat Symonds showed data to a number of media personnel to disprove the theory Alonso had deliberately lifted off the throttle.

"Fernando came out of the turn and accelerated down the straight into fifth gear, hitting 227kph, full throttle, no touching of the brakes or anything like that," said Symonds.

"You can see on the accelerometer the impact, that he got hit from behind.

"So all I can say from our side is there's no blame attributable to Fernando, which is what some of the speculation might be.

http://www.sportinglife.com/others/news/st..._Nightlead.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4UCW9pJ638

Looks to me like Alonso went a bit wide in the turn, then Louise forgot to turn the wheel. You can see Louise was gaining on him, with plenty of time and room to get next to him. Alonso did move right a bit, but Louise was already too close.

I think he just cracked under the pressure again.

And what are these publicity stunts of BMW's you talk of?

Edited April 7, 2008 by salad

[lingeringsoul]

definitely been an interesting start to the season so far. I would've though that Honda would be doing better with Brawn at the helm, I guess it takes some time to sort things out. Toyota gets my support as they seemed to have done something right this year. BMW was no surprise, I would've cursed them to hell if they actually didn't do better than third.

[m3gtr]

Alonso definitely lifted?

http://www.sportinglife.com/others/news/st..._Nightlead.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4UCW9pJ638

Looks to me like Alonso went a bit wide and Louise forgot to turn the wheel. You can see Louise was gaining on him, with plenty of time and room to get next to him. Alonso did move right a bit, but Louise was already too close.

I think he just cracked under the pressure again.

And what are these publicity stunts of BMW's you talk of?

Interesting. So it was brain fade then. And if so, wow... what a stupid error.

Kubica was fuelled light and was the first of anyone to come in. Way before the ferraris.

Im not taking away from his banzai lap, that was perfect. Toyota have done similar things, pole in Suzuka being one such occasion.

[Whiplash]

Adam that the difference between a season experienced driver that can control a car and a young gun who was great last year with all the ECU assistance.

don't know if anyone noticed at Malaysia in the turn 12 speed trap fisi was the 4th fastest, and he showed good speed during the practice in Melbourne

[Roy]

Looks like Hammo has copped a reality check.

OUt of the last 6 GPs. he farked up good and proper in China. Very next race threw away the championship because of stupidity in Brazil, now had a Barry in Bahrain. Thats 3 bad races out of 5. If any other top driver had made three silly errors like that head will be rolling. Massa throws the car away in one GP in Malaysia and everybody is on his case. The Aus GP move on DC was legit....

Come on Heikki

And good work by the BMW crowd.

[wolverine]

i thought the race was pretty interesting from the point of view that the front runners weren't warp factor 3 faster than toyota, red bull or williams even button wasn't far off the pace with his lap times in the honda (although a long way back in the race order).

kovalainen couldn't really get away from trulli for most of the race, at least until trulli switched off, that or the hard tyres provided better balance in the mclaren.

we are never going to get parity between 4-5 F1 teams but this race seemed to show the gaps between the teams are a little closer.

the first wet race will give the 'better' drivers an opportunity to show their skills and i can't wait.

Edited April 7, 2008 by wolverine

[m3gtr]

+1

[m3gtr]

Adam that the difference between a season experienced driver that can control a car and a young gun who was great last year with all the ECU assistance.

don't know if anyone noticed at Malaysia in the turn 12 speed trap fisi was the 4th fastest, and he showed good speed during the practice in Melbourne

Dont forget Hamilton won the first race. Kimi won in malaysia and Massa in Bahrain. I think its Heikkis turn now. I like that guy. When i met him at Suzuka, like the proper dick i was i called him Harry ( looks like Hammos not the only one who suffers from brain fade,lol )

[ctjet]

No, the more I think about it the more it offends me as a viewer that ITV immediately jumped, to their now ludicrously obvious Hamilton bias, and apportioning 100% of the blame to Alonso when the incident happened without a shred of evidence and then continued to rattle on about it for the next half an hour completely ignoring what was happening on the track.

I mean honestly get off your fkn horse and accept that Hommo isn't yet up to scratch to mix it with the best guys int he field and that guys like Kimi and Fernando and a leagues ahead of him in either their technical know how or ability to put in the quick ones when it really counts.

/rant

[m3gtr]

lol, thats a bit harsh! ITV yes, glory holes...but Hammo, the kid can drive and weve all seen how well

* secretly hopes yesterday wont be brought up again*

[benm]

Wow lots of British haters in this thread.

Hamilton is the best thing that has happened to F1 since Schumacher and the sport badly needed him. Now that we have him (and know that he could very well be the next Schumacher) everybody just wants to bag him out. He has obtained more championship points in his first season of F1 than Webber and Button have in their entire F1 career but yet he still isn't good enough.

As for the ITV commentating, have any of you actually watched the SpeedTV coverage of a race, it's absolute dribble (although still not anywhere near the crap that Ch10 is). Rather than bagging out the ITV crew for their in-race comments, try watching the entire Saturday + Sunday coverage (it's about 5hrs worth) and you will appreciate how good they are at their jobs.

I believe Alonso did play a big part in the accident and i'll believe the 'data' when I see it. As the ITV crew said - their isn't a big enough hp gap between the top level cars for Hamilton to just run up the back of Alonso as simply as he did. Alonso wasn't sideways on corner exit and it's not like Hamilton got a massive run on that corner so for him to close in so quickly is quite unusual (I could understand it if the accident occured in a braking zone).

Well done to Webber to have another faultless race and get some points. Pity that DC can't keep his head out of trouble because the RBR + Toyota + Honda + Williams pack are certainly providing some interesting racing.

[m3gtr]

Wow lots of British haters in this thread.

Hamilton is the best thing that has happened to F1 since Schumacher and the sport badly needed him. Now that we have him (and know that he could very well be the next Schumacher) everybody just wants to bag him out. He has obtained more championship points in his first season of F1 than Webber and Button have in their entire F1 career but yet he still isn't good enough.

As for the ITV commentating, have any of you actually watched the SpeedTV coverage of a race, it's absolute dribble (although still not anywhere near the crap that Ch10 is). Rather than bagging out the ITV crew for their in-race comments, try watching the entire Saturday + Sunday coverage (it's about 5hrs worth) and you will appreciate how good they are at their jobs.

I believe Alonso did play a big part in the accident and i'll believe the 'data' when I see it. As the ITV crew said - their isn't a big enough hp gap between the top level cars for Hamilton to just run up the back of Alonso as simply as he did. Alonso wasn't sideways on corner exit and it's not like Hamilton got a massive run on that corner so for him to close in so quickly is quite unusual (I could understand it if the accident occured in a braking zone).

Well done to Webber to have another faultless race and get some points. Pity that DC can't keep his head out of trouble because the RBR + Toyota + Honda + Williams pack are certainly providing some interesting racing.

Well put.

[Paradizzle]

Wow lots of British haters in this thread.

Hamilton is the best thing that has happened to F1 since Schumacher and the sport badly needed him. Now that we have him (and know that he could very well be the next Schumacher) everybody just wants to bag him out. He has obtained more championship points in his first season of F1 than Webber and Button have in their entire F1 career but yet he still isn't good enough.

All good points, but you cant just compare Lewis's short career to that of Webbers and Buttons. Both Webber and Button have not started their career nor been in a team that has the potential to win week in week out. Its obvious he is going to score more points then someone who has been in struggling teams throughout their whole career.

[m3gtr]

All good points, but you cant just compare Lewis's short career to that of Webbers and Buttons. Both Webber and Button have not started their career nor been in a team that has the potential to win week in week out. Its obvious he is going to score more points then someone who has been in struggling teams throughout their whole career.

Oh come on. Button at Williams? Dont try and tell me he didnt have a chance to get right up there. I still remember that n00b maneuver in Germany i think it was, behind the safety car? lol, amusing.

[ctjet]

monza?

[lingeringsoul]

I like his spirit...."FULL STEAM AHEAD"

the kid can drive I'll give him that.

[Marco-R34GTT]

Oh come on. Button at Williams? Dont try and tell me he didnt have a chance to get right up there. I still remember that n00b maneuver in Germany i think it was, behind the safety car? lol, amusing.

Your forgeting that in 1999 and 2000 the Jordans were basically on par with the Williams in terms of race speed... Mika's Mac and Schu's Fez were really the two horses of the F1 show... Behind them you had some experienced drivers that would put in very good drives that often performed beyond their machinery... May I mention Verstappen and his Arrows? Alesi in the Prost, and later at Jordan in 2001... Even at this stage the Benettons of Fisi and Wurz were competetive on their day... Jenson was a rookie thrown into a genuine midfield team that was in its first year of an engine deal (BMW, as prior in 1998 and 1999 Williams used Mechacrhome and Supertech respectively)...

Williams circa 2000 WAS NOT McLaren 2007/8, you must be joking....

I still have the commentary from the Melbourne 2000 race (Thanks VHS!)... I especially recall Murray saying something along the lines of "And look at Jenson Button, in his first race and he's cutting through the field like a hot knife through butter"... Even so, I realise he never made the podium that season but he brought the car home on many occasions and often in the points... Same thing goes for Webbo... FFS he started in a Minardi... When he finished 5th in 2002 he did a supreme job to keep a Toyota behind him (Salo I think) throughout the closing laps... First race, home crowd, slowest car on the grid...

Take even Kimi and Massa for examples, they both drove at Sauber in 2001... Sauber was probably on par with Arrows as a rear midfield team... Not exactly the most prestegious start to one's career... The Mac let go a potential World Champion in favour of an unknown quantity with Hamilton, with his easy nature and his race experience, and with the 2007 car, Kimi would've won the WDC for the Mac... However they wanted the golden boy and the British media and they literally handed the prancing horse it's lost glory.... Very few people have had the grooming that Hamilton has had throughout his career, you don't need to be a 12y/o sign up to be a world champion... You need character, that is build by hurling a Jordan to 7th place at Spa Francochamps with a Ford V8 on debut, it is build by catching the 'Professor' Prost in the wet, at Monaco in a Toleman...

Hamilton may very well become a champion in years to come... However... He won't ever have that 'steely' edge that the best of the best acquire naturally by driving beyond the limits of inferior machinery and extracting every last ounce of performance, to go quicker in a slower car than a slower driver in a 'faster' car... You can't buy that, you can't fund that... Loiuse's journey has denied him of that experience and he will never be the recipient of the benefits of that hard path... On that note, THAT is why aside from the 'fan boys' and ITV, no where as many people will ever hold Hammo in such high regard as Schumacher, Senna, Clark, Stewart, Fangio, Ascari, Prost ect ect ect... In fact, I reckon you'll find more people (British aside) that would not necissarily 'like' Alonso more, but would in fact 'respect' him more... A good driver should always be tempered and tested by tough challenges, competing in inferior vehicles and other such obsticles... No matter if Hamilton broke every F1 record in the book.... His own fostering (ie: Spoonfed by 'Uncle Ronnie') will ultimately become his own demise in the minds of true Formula 1 fans, enthusiasts and commentators...

Edited April 7, 2008 by Marco-R34GTT

[sh@un]

i thought the race was pretty interesting from the point of view that the front runners weren't warp factor 3 faster than toyota, red bull or williams...

Yeah- You'd wanna hope the worlds most profitable car manufacturer could find some pace after 6 years worth of F1 racing (not to mention copious experience in a myriad of other categories) and around $3 Billion dollars investment, but i digress....

Not gonna talk about Hami much- Yeah, he had a dogs**t weekend, but I still think he'll make most of you eat your words in time.

As for Webber- If he was gunna amount to anything substantial, it would have happened ages ago. He's almost at the end of his career anyway. I'd like to see the ex-pat get up as much as the next guy, but it's just not on the cards.

[sh@un]

Schumacher

has very impressive records, but had machiavellian race-craft

will be remembered as fast, precise and merciless- but not a gentleman racer

parking his car on the track because of "understeer" at his last Monaco race was a dog act, and cemented his rep as a f**kwit.

[dezz]

LOL, star of the race was Fisi. He finished ahead of Hammo, what was it 11th place?! in *cough* spyker.

It made me sick when Hamilton (finally) got past Fisi and gestured to him as if to say 'what the f**k?'. WHAT THE f**k INDEED!? Does this spoon fed shit expect everyone to just move out of his way? YOU WERE RACING FISI FOR POSITION YOU MORON.

The Aus GP move on DC was legit....

Too right it was legit. DC expecting Massa to apologize was laughable.

Wow lots of British haters in this thread.

Hamilton is the best thing that has happened to F1 since Schumacher and the sport badly needed him. Now that we have him (and know that he could very well be the next Schumacher) everybody just wants to bag him out. He has obtained more championship points in his first season of F1 than Webber and Button have in their entire F1 career but yet he still isn't good enough.

As for the ITV commentating, have any of you actually watched the SpeedTV coverage of a race, it's absolute dribble (although still not anywhere near the crap that Ch10 is). Rather than bagging out the ITV crew for their in-race comments, try watching the entire Saturday + Sunday coverage (it's about 5hrs worth) and you will appreciate how good they are at their jobs.

I believe Alonso did play a big part in the accident and i'll believe the 'data' when I see it. As the ITV crew said - their isn't a big enough hp gap between the top level cars for Hamilton to just run up the back of Alonso as simply as he did. Alonso wasn't sideways on corner exit and it's not like Hamilton got a massive run on that corner so for him to close in so quickly is quite unusual (I could understand it if the accident occured in a braking zone).

Well done to Webber to have another faultless race and get some points. Pity that DC can't keep his head out of trouble because the RBR + Toyota + Honda + Williams pack are certainly providing some interesting racing.

He's obtained more points than Webber and Button...you'd certainly hope so given the fact he stepped into the best car on the grid last year...But still couldn't take the title...

As for the coverage, I've watched entire Saturday/Sunday coverages, and you're right, its great to see what we'll never see on Channel 10...All the lead up, driver interviews etc, but that doesn't make up for the Hamilton bias that we have to endure throughout every race.

Hamilton may very well become a champion in years to come... However... He won't ever have that 'steely' edge that the best of the best acquire naturally by driving beyond the limits of inferior machinery and extracting every last ounce of performance, to go quicker in a slower car than a slower driver in a 'faster' car... You can't buy that, you can't fund that... Loiuse's journey has denied him of that experience and he will never be the recipient of the benefits of that hard path... On that note, THAT is why aside from the 'fan boys' and ITV, no where as many people will ever hold Hammo in such high regard as Schumacher, Senna, Clark, Stewart, Fangio, Ascari, Prost ect ect ect... In fact, I reckon you'll find more people (British aside) that would not necissarily 'like' Alonso more, but would in fact 'respect' him more... A good driver should always be tempered and tested by tough challenges, competing in inferior vehicles and other such obsticles... No matter if Hamilton broke every F1 record in the book.... His own fostering (ie: Spoonfed by 'Uncle Ronnie') will ultimately become his own demise in the minds of true Formula 1 fans, enthusiasts and commentators...

Spot on!