If there was such thing as a device that could measure fun, the place to test it would not be the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix. It would just point to 'boring' the whole time, because watching the race felt like watching a funeral procession.
The only moment that probably caught everyone's attention was when Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren hit the tyre barrier at full speed, after his left front tyre suddenly deflated. That moment was definitely not fun at all, as it seemed like he was badly hurt. Luckily, he is ok. Well, he is going to wake up this Monday and find out how sore he is, but at least he did not break any bones.
Kimi led the procession
The other Finnish driver - Kimi Raikkonen - had better luck. He won the race easily. In fact, he returned the favour that his teammate Felipe Massa had given him in Bahrain. Kimi outperformed Felipe in qualifying, although he had more fuel, just like Massa did in the previous race. After that it was just a matter of getting a reasonable start and waiting for Massa to pit first. The race was won after the first corner.
Lewis Hamilton was finally a better driver today than in the past 2 races. No major mistakes this time. He did what he could do, and that was to finish behind both Ferraris. He got a great start, helped by the fact that he was 5th on the grid, on the clean side of the track. His aggressive move cutting to the inside allowed him to overtake Robert Kubica, who started 4th, under breaking. If he did not make that move, he would have finished behind the BMW, because the cars were evenly matched and Barcelona is not the kind of track that allows overtake manoeuvres.
The Alonso show
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso did a wonderful job, and almost pulled off the miracle of finishing fifth in a car that rightfully would have a hard time being in the top 10. It is a shame that his engine blew up on lap 34. I was not surprised that his race ended like that. I think Renault mapped his engine to get more power just so he could put up a show for his home crowd. It is better to score a DNF and have everyone applauding them than to finish 10th without anyone really noticing they were there. Better from the business point of view, that is.
Quick notes:
- Nelsinho Piquet made a mistake that ruined his first good chance of scoring a point. He was running a solid 10th for 4 laps when he braked too deep into the corner and understeered all the way into the gravel trap.
- Two laps after rejoining the race, Piquet tried a risky manoeuvre to overtake Bourdais for 17th, and ended up hitting the STR. That put an end to Nelsinho's race. It was just a racing incident, but he could have spared himself from this situation had he not lost so many positions due to his mistake.
- Mark Webber drove the miracle race that Alonso wanted for himself, and finished a brilliant 5th. His strong performance in qualifying was a big boost for the race.
- It is not true that Kovalainen's incident left no victims. Nick Heidfeld's race was killed by the safety car deployment. He had to pit for fuel while SC sign was up, which meant by rules that he had to pay a 10-second stop-and-go later on. He scored no points.
- While Heidfeld's BMW was behind the much inferior Force India driven by Fisichella, it was noticeable that it is almost impossible to overtake in Barcelona. Everytime Nick got closer, he lost aerodynamic grip and had no chance of overtaking. Formula One needs more mechanical grip. FIA, please bring back the slick tyres!
- Sebastian Vettel was once again caught in a first lap incident that caused him to retire. It was not his fault, as Adrian Sutil was spinning in front of him and there was nowhere for him to go.
- David Coulthard was the victim of Timo Glock's reckless driving, and had a puncture when the Toyota collided with his RBR. He had already been hit by Sutil during the first lap. This time David was just trying to stay out of trouble, unlike in the previous races. Either way it does not seem to work out for him this year.
Star of the Race:
Mark Webber
Shame of the Race:
Nelsinho Piquet
Showing posts with label Webber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Webber. Show all posts
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, October 01, 2007
Japan – Race Analysis
Not even the huge Mount Fuji is able to shield Formula One from the curse that plagues it at Fuji International Speedway. F1’s bad luck at that venue started during the 1970’s and seems to continue today. The 2007 race started under the safety car because of the heavy rain, a decision that was basically commercial – so that sponsors and TV stations would be happy. For 19 boring laps we watched the entire grid moving around behind the pace car. No one can call that competition, so it has got to be business. The only things that kept the fans awake were some pit stops and an off-track excursion by Felipe Massa.
When the race actually started, it became one of the epic races of the modern era, with brilliant performances by the drivers with the most natural talent. Lewis Hamilton’s performance was certainly one of those, and helped by the fact that McLaren was the best car of the weekend, his victory was no surprise – although no one could be sure about it until the last few laps.
Unlikely but deserving win by Hamilton
If Lewis Hamilton were to be tested at any point this season, it would have been at Fuji Speedway. And it was. Without any references from the previous year and the internal McLaren break-up that would prevent him from getting Fernando Alonso’s settings, the rookie would have a hard time setting up a fast and constant car. He seemed to be on the right track on Friday, at least for one flying lap, but if it were dry on Saturday and Sunday I would still put my money on Alonso.
It rained, though. As usual, the wet track levelled most of the equipment differences and made driver talent a very important factor. Hamilton is a gifted driver, everyone should know that by now, but that only meant that under rain he was in equal terms to the equally gifted Alonso. Unfortunately for the latter, it just was not his day. When he pitted, he rejoined the race behind a group of cars. Hamilton, who had opened up a bit of a gap because of his better visibility as the race leader, was able to return ahead of this pack. That meant that Fernando would have no visibility for a while and about 4 cars between him and Lewis. Then Sebatian Vettel, who had not pitted and had a lighter car, hit Alonso’s sidepod, damaging it quite heavily. Finally, he aquaplaned and hit the outside wall just before turn 6, ending his race and most of his title hopes.
Hamilton also had his share of bad moments, especially when Kubica hit him during an overtaking attempt. Luckily, both drivers were able to return. After Fernando crashed out, Lewis had ‘only’ to hold his position for the win. Mentally, he had one of the greatest challenges of his career. Everyone was behind Lewis, but just imagine driving the last few laps of the race, looking at the mirrors, seeing nothing more than water spray, yet having a phobia that someone was always there. Just like the classic song ‘Fear of the Dark’ from Iron Maiden.
Hamilton got it all together and opened up quite a gap to second place Heikki Kovalainen. Just like any former champion such as Alonso would had done with a car as good as the 2007 McLaren. If Hamilton wins the championship, this is the race that proved that he deserves the title as much as any of the previous winners.
Ferrari almost out of driver’s title chase
Somehow the ‘F1 Fuji curse’ seems to be stronger to Ferrari. In 1976 there was torrential rain that made Ferrari’s Niki Lauda retire due to unsafe conditions. He was not the only one, but he lost the title in that race to McLaren’s James Hunt, who decided not to retire so that he would still have a shot at the title. One year later there was an accident that killed two spectators as Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari flew into the crowd after hitting Ronnie Peterson’s Tyrrel. In 2007, it was misery again for the red team, as they started with the wrong tyres – intermediates instead of the FIA-imposed extreme wets – and were forced by the marshals to pit under the first safety car, dropping both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen to the back of the pack.
When Massa returned to the track after a spin – under the safety car, just to point out that the intermediates were certainly not the best choice - he was penalized with a drive-through for overtaking Nick Heidfeld. My complaint here goes to the FIA, once again for not knowing how to deal with safety car periods. They should just follow an American series rules for full-track yellow flag; the IRL, for example. If the driver is at a position in which he should not be with full track yellows, just make him allow the other drivers to go by and there is no need to penalize him. Anyway, that would not have changed Massa’s race a lot, and now, after finishing 6th, he is mathematically out of the title hunt. At least his battle with Robert Kubica during the last lap was alone worth the admission tickets! It is also good to know that both Felipe and Robert had a laugh about it after the race. F1 should be fun, because it is still a sport – for the drivers at least.
Kimi Raikkonen can still be world champion, but now he is 17 points behind Hamilton with 2 races to go. It is probably not going to happen for him.
Japan’s quick notes
- Adrian Sutil got his first F1 point ever after Vitantonio Liuzzi was punished with 25 seconds for overtaking under a yellow flag. Sutil’s performances for the past two races confirm that he is a very good driver.
- Another driver that impressed me a lot was Sebastian Vettel. He led the race for a brief moment and was in third during the second safety car period. This sort of performance reminds me of Ayrton Senna in his rookie season – 1984 – when he drove for Toleman. I felt really bad for him when he got distracted and hit Mark Webber – while the safety car was still out. This stupid mistake will either make him a much better driver – one capable of winning championships – or will ruin his career altogether. I am hoping for the former, especially after seeing the great car control that he has. As much as I like him, he will be the ‘Shame of the Race’, and he knows he deserves this kind of award.
- I only wish I could see Mark Webber fighting for the win...
- Veterans David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella had the experience that Vettel lacked and were able to protect themselves from disaster, finishing 4th and 5th respectively.
- Rubens Barrichello has been struggling lately at Honda. I expected more than 10th from him yesterday, as he is really a ‘rain specialist’. He needs to be careful, because getting beaten by a teammate time after time is the easiest way for someone to lose the job in F1. Yesterday he was helped by the fact that Button was not on a good day and had to retire with suspension damage on the final lap.
Star of the race:
Heikki Kovalainen. Lewis Hamilton certainly was great, but I picked Heikki because I am sure that he had a harder time driving the not-so-well-balanced Renault. His last lap battle with Raikkonen was an artwork itself. He got overtaken by Kimi in turn 6 and then overtook him back on the outside of turn 10, with the car barely making the turn. Had Sebastian Vettel not hit Webber, he would probably get the award, because STR is certainly a lot worse than most of the cars. His mistake was so bad, though, that he will be the ‘shame of the race’ instead.
Shame of the race:
Sebastian Vettel.
--Andre N.
When the race actually started, it became one of the epic races of the modern era, with brilliant performances by the drivers with the most natural talent. Lewis Hamilton’s performance was certainly one of those, and helped by the fact that McLaren was the best car of the weekend, his victory was no surprise – although no one could be sure about it until the last few laps.
Unlikely but deserving win by Hamilton
If Lewis Hamilton were to be tested at any point this season, it would have been at Fuji Speedway. And it was. Without any references from the previous year and the internal McLaren break-up that would prevent him from getting Fernando Alonso’s settings, the rookie would have a hard time setting up a fast and constant car. He seemed to be on the right track on Friday, at least for one flying lap, but if it were dry on Saturday and Sunday I would still put my money on Alonso.
It rained, though. As usual, the wet track levelled most of the equipment differences and made driver talent a very important factor. Hamilton is a gifted driver, everyone should know that by now, but that only meant that under rain he was in equal terms to the equally gifted Alonso. Unfortunately for the latter, it just was not his day. When he pitted, he rejoined the race behind a group of cars. Hamilton, who had opened up a bit of a gap because of his better visibility as the race leader, was able to return ahead of this pack. That meant that Fernando would have no visibility for a while and about 4 cars between him and Lewis. Then Sebatian Vettel, who had not pitted and had a lighter car, hit Alonso’s sidepod, damaging it quite heavily. Finally, he aquaplaned and hit the outside wall just before turn 6, ending his race and most of his title hopes.
Hamilton also had his share of bad moments, especially when Kubica hit him during an overtaking attempt. Luckily, both drivers were able to return. After Fernando crashed out, Lewis had ‘only’ to hold his position for the win. Mentally, he had one of the greatest challenges of his career. Everyone was behind Lewis, but just imagine driving the last few laps of the race, looking at the mirrors, seeing nothing more than water spray, yet having a phobia that someone was always there. Just like the classic song ‘Fear of the Dark’ from Iron Maiden.
Hamilton got it all together and opened up quite a gap to second place Heikki Kovalainen. Just like any former champion such as Alonso would had done with a car as good as the 2007 McLaren. If Hamilton wins the championship, this is the race that proved that he deserves the title as much as any of the previous winners.
Ferrari almost out of driver’s title chase
Somehow the ‘F1 Fuji curse’ seems to be stronger to Ferrari. In 1976 there was torrential rain that made Ferrari’s Niki Lauda retire due to unsafe conditions. He was not the only one, but he lost the title in that race to McLaren’s James Hunt, who decided not to retire so that he would still have a shot at the title. One year later there was an accident that killed two spectators as Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari flew into the crowd after hitting Ronnie Peterson’s Tyrrel. In 2007, it was misery again for the red team, as they started with the wrong tyres – intermediates instead of the FIA-imposed extreme wets – and were forced by the marshals to pit under the first safety car, dropping both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen to the back of the pack.
When Massa returned to the track after a spin – under the safety car, just to point out that the intermediates were certainly not the best choice - he was penalized with a drive-through for overtaking Nick Heidfeld. My complaint here goes to the FIA, once again for not knowing how to deal with safety car periods. They should just follow an American series rules for full-track yellow flag; the IRL, for example. If the driver is at a position in which he should not be with full track yellows, just make him allow the other drivers to go by and there is no need to penalize him. Anyway, that would not have changed Massa’s race a lot, and now, after finishing 6th, he is mathematically out of the title hunt. At least his battle with Robert Kubica during the last lap was alone worth the admission tickets! It is also good to know that both Felipe and Robert had a laugh about it after the race. F1 should be fun, because it is still a sport – for the drivers at least.
Kimi Raikkonen can still be world champion, but now he is 17 points behind Hamilton with 2 races to go. It is probably not going to happen for him.
Japan’s quick notes
- Adrian Sutil got his first F1 point ever after Vitantonio Liuzzi was punished with 25 seconds for overtaking under a yellow flag. Sutil’s performances for the past two races confirm that he is a very good driver.
- Another driver that impressed me a lot was Sebastian Vettel. He led the race for a brief moment and was in third during the second safety car period. This sort of performance reminds me of Ayrton Senna in his rookie season – 1984 – when he drove for Toleman. I felt really bad for him when he got distracted and hit Mark Webber – while the safety car was still out. This stupid mistake will either make him a much better driver – one capable of winning championships – or will ruin his career altogether. I am hoping for the former, especially after seeing the great car control that he has. As much as I like him, he will be the ‘Shame of the Race’, and he knows he deserves this kind of award.
- I only wish I could see Mark Webber fighting for the win...
- Veterans David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella had the experience that Vettel lacked and were able to protect themselves from disaster, finishing 4th and 5th respectively.
- Rubens Barrichello has been struggling lately at Honda. I expected more than 10th from him yesterday, as he is really a ‘rain specialist’. He needs to be careful, because getting beaten by a teammate time after time is the easiest way for someone to lose the job in F1. Yesterday he was helped by the fact that Button was not on a good day and had to retire with suspension damage on the final lap.
Star of the race:
Heikki Kovalainen. Lewis Hamilton certainly was great, but I picked Heikki because I am sure that he had a harder time driving the not-so-well-balanced Renault. His last lap battle with Raikkonen was an artwork itself. He got overtaken by Kimi in turn 6 and then overtook him back on the outside of turn 10, with the car barely making the turn. Had Sebastian Vettel not hit Webber, he would probably get the award, because STR is certainly a lot worse than most of the cars. His mistake was so bad, though, that he will be the ‘shame of the race’ instead.
Shame of the race:
Sebastian Vettel.
--Andre N.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Belgium – Race Analysis
After the McLaren unexpected win last week at the high speed Monza circuit, I expected another at Spa-Francochamps. The hilly, curvy layout should have favoured the better mechanically adjusted Mclaren and its high-torque Mercedes engine. I was wrong. The deciding factor in today’s F1 is always aerodynamics, and Ferrari is known to have, at this stage of the season, a better aero package than McLaren.
The race itself was again nothing to write home about, as it has been the case for most of this year. A few battles for position were exciting, but except for Lewis Hamilton vs. Fernando Alonso, they had no major effects on the championship standings.
Raikkonen’s last championship thrust
Kimi Raikkonen had one of the cleanest wins of his career. Based on his lap times, I do not think that he made any mistakes. He had perfect lap after perfect lap. Maybe on Saturday during qualifying he had a little bit of a bad moment during his last flying lap, but even with that he was still on pole position. Of course when he beat Felipe Massa on Q2, by Ferrari internal rules that meant he would be the one with the lighter car. With the long lap around Spa – 7.004 km/4.352 mi – that meant Massa would carry added weight that would cost him about 0.1 to 0.2s a lap.
By the way, Massa also did a good job. The problem for him is that he is now 20 points behind Hamilton with 3 races – maximum 30 points – to go. Therefore, Raikkonen, 13 points behind the championship leader, is the only real remaining hope of a Ferrari driver winning the title. Even so, it will be very hard to happen.
Kimi’s last championship thrust does not depend on much more than only him or his team. If they finish 1-2 and Hamilton finishes third for the remaining three races, the Englishman would still be world champion by 1 point. In Ferrari’s favour is the fact that Alonso is now constantly getting the upper hand on Hamilton. Against them is the fact that, based on what we have seen this season, McLaren will probably have the best car for at least one of the remaining tracks.
Kudos for Raikkonen for pulling a donut after winning the race. This is what the fans want to see. If you have ever seen Valentino Rossi’s victory celebrations in MotoGP – like the one yesterday in Portugal – you will understand what I am saying. Maybe the FIA will give him a fine, but it was worth it. The fans deserve it.
Alonso continues to one-up Hamilton
What a battle between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton going into turn 1 all the way to the exit of the famous Eau Rouge! At that point one would have to brake, or they would end up in a pile of carbon fibre debris. Luckily Hamilton did, as it seemed Alonso was determined not to do so.
After Hungary, Alonso has constantly beaten Hamilton. This probably means that the press rumours are true: The team has divided into two since that pit melee in the Hungaroring, and no setup information is transferred from one car to the other over the course of a race weekend. As good as Lewis is, he does not have yet the same setup finesse as Alonso.
The Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway will be a good place to prove my theory. If it stands, Alonso should beat Hamilton by a large margin there. The last time that Formula One was there was in 1977. None of the title contenders were even born then and they certainly do not have any setup references.
The only other explanation is that pressure has finally affected Hamilton, but I think that he is the kind of driver who turns pressure into good results. By the way, that wide turn into the safety track on the penultimate lap was probably just because he lost his concentration as the race had become very boring.
The effects of the spy scandal closure
McLaren was able to race, besides the fact that it is now clear to me that many people in the organization were aware of the illegal information obtained from Ferrari. At this point I agree with Flavio Briatore’s comments during Friday Press Conference: Although the drivers were benefited by some sort of illegal advantage, it is not their fault. They have not stolen the blueprints from Ferrari and more than that, they may not even know what is legal and what is not regarding an engineering project. Engineers and technicians, on the other hand, absolutely know where the line that they should not cross stands. Good luck to Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan. They will need it if they do not want to go to jail.
The better decision from the legal standpoint, in my opinion, would be to exclude McLaren from this championship and for at least a few races of the next. From the sporting standpoint, on the other hand, you should let the drivers compete. The decision was based on that fact that Formula One is still a sport for the drivers, although it is just business for the teams. The 100-million-U.S.-dollars fine will make sure that no team will even try something similar in the future.
With all that as part of the past, Ferrari has won the 2007 Constructor’s Championship, as BMW does not have any mathematical chances of beating them. Not that the general public cares.
Belgium’s quick notes
- Adrian Sutil did a fantastic race by Spyker’s standards, starting 19th and driving as high as 12th. He finished 14th. The B-spec car, Mike Gascoyne’s first full design for the team, is certainly an improvement. Sutil had his first chance of showing how good he actually is and he is pretty good.
- Heikki Kovalainen had a good start and moved from 9th on the grid to 6th after the first corner. His 1-stop strategy did not seem to be the best, but even so he got 1 point, after two excellent battles with Robert Kubica. Heikki won the most important, i.e. the final one.
- Jarno Trulli is continuing to struggle on race starts. He had to avoid contact going into the first corner and could not manage to retain his position at the starting grid – 8th. He finished 13th, one place behind teammate Ralf Schumacher.
- Alexander Wurz was again beaten by teammate Nico Rosberg. During the race Wurz had fuel pressure problems that made him drive behind the slow Sakon Yamamoto. That was no excuse, though, as Rosberg started the race in 5th place and Wurz only in 15th. If it were not for the problems, which were not his fault, he would be the ‘shame of the race’.
- Mark Webber showed that he is still that lightning-fast driver that got to Formula One in 2002. He finished 7th, ahead of better-balanced cars driven by Kovalainen and Kubica. I think his performance was a bit underrated by the media, so I will give him the ‘star of the race’ award.
Star of the race:
Mark Webber, with an honourable mention to Adrian Sutil.
Shame of the race:
Giancarlo Fisichella. Getting beat by your teammate in qualifying is not good, but it happens. Hitting the wall because you misjudged the braking point and damaging your suspension before the end of the first lap gives you this award.
--Andre N.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Europe – Race Analysis
The FIA called it the European Grand Prix, due to contract reasons. It was really the German Grand Prix, but I will stick to the FIA’s terms in an attempt not to confuse the readers – at least not more than they may be already confused. The race at the Nurburgring did not take place at the famous north track – the Nordschleife; the last one there was in 1976. After reflecting on the events that took place in 2007, the nickname given to the north track 30 years ago by Sir Jackie Stewart still works: ‘The Green Hell’. Not as green as before, because the trees are not so close to the current Grand Prix track, but it was hell indeed.
No one can complain about the spectacle, though. Even Beelzebub himself would be delighted to see the action that took place over the weekend. There was a huge accident in qualifying that ruined Hamilton’s chances of winning the race; there were cars sliding all over during the two short stints of rain; there were some aggressive overtaking moves. He would be rally proud of the word fight between Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, because they touched as the former passed the latter with less than five laps to go.
The championship is very close now, with 2 points separating leader Lewis Hamilton from Alonso. Massa is 11 points behind in third, followed by Kimi Raikkonen, who is 18 points behind. There are seven races to go. It seems like this one will go down to the wire. Can I bet that the last race of the year – the Brazilian Grand Prix – will be a sellout?
Alonso is becoming a thinker... Inside the cockpit, that is.
I have seen it over and over this season. Whoever starts on the dirty side of the track has a big disadvantage going into the first corner. With traction control and automatic launch systems, the drivers will never make a mistake. Starting in 2nd on the dirty inside part of the track, Alonso would never get ahead of pole-sitter Raikkonen. It was so bad that Massa, who started 3rd, overtook him. Credit goes to the upgrade Ferrari made to their launch system during testing in Silverstone about a month ago. It is not fun to watch though, so thank goodness these systems will be disallowed in 2008.
Alonso had the great presence of mind of not trying the impossible. He stayed in third in the very beginning. It started raining, everyone would need a tyre change. Raikkonen made a mistake and slid wide of the pits. Alonso said ‘OK, I’ll take this opportunity’. He was second for a long time. As the rain came back with 7 laps to go he got his golden opportunity. As both he and Massa pitted for wet tyres, as soon as they returned to the track it was clear that the number-1 McLaren was faster than the number-5 Ferrari. It was difficult, but not impossible. It was the time to be aggressive, and that he was. On lap 56 of 60, he overtook Massa for the win. They even touched! It was a great move that made him look like a genius.
Unfortunately, as he got out of his car we were able to see the worst part of Alonso. He instantly helped selling the ‘crybaby’ image that his critics post all over the Internet forums. Calling the camera to show the tyre mark left by Massa’s Ferrari on his sidepod was the worst part. Is that more important than the win? Then he started an argument with Massa just before going to the podium. The TV showed everything, it was even possible to hear what they were saying – in Italian. At this point I have to agree with Massa. He said that he would never do that on purpose, and it makes sense, because the only thing that he would get from a move like that would be a cut tyre. Then he said a few times as Alonso would not stop complaining: ‘You win and make a scene?’
Alonso later apologized to Massa during the press conference. He will still get my Star of the Race award because it is not about the post-race, but the track action itself.
Is RBR improving?
By only looking at the results, one may say that Mark Webber was just lucky to fisish 3rd. He was certainly lucky that the 2 BMWs hit each other on the second corner and that Raikkonen had to retire. He drove a great race, though. Even if it were dry all around, he would probably get the same result. RBR was pretty good in Nurburgring. David Coulthard – the current ‘master of alternative strategies’ – started 20th and finished 5th. The car seems to be improving a little bit every race. This is expected, since their lead engineer is Adrian Newey. Their problem is reliability, but I would rather have a fast, unreliable car to drive in the middle pack than a slow, reliable backmarker.
It was not Hamilton’s weekend
All we can say about Hamilton is that it just was not his weekend. I was expecting a setback for him since the beginning of the season, so I would have the chance to see how good he really to overcome it. He was very good at the start, but again, it was partially due to the fact that McLaren has a better launch system than most of the teams – except for Ferrari at this point. Maybe he was too aggressive and got a cut tyre, but I cannot complain about it. He was expected to be aggressive. During the heavy rain, he lost his car coming into braking. That may be some sign of inexperience as many drivers did not make that mistake, but many others did, so there is no conclusion. I am still waiting for one fantastic race before I can say Hamilton is a genius.
Europe’s quick notes
- Someone in STR forgot to warn Vitantonio Liuzzi that the safety car was out. He was way too fast going into the first corner – in fact, he spun on the straight due to ‘aquaplanning’. Luckily the safety car driver had quick reflexes to avoid a crash from behind.
- Nick Heidfeld drove his worst race of the year. He hit teammate Robert Kubica as they made it into the 2nd corner of the race. Robert spun around but was able to return. Later on, Nick also hit and Ralf Schumacher, who had to retire. Maybe he had his mind away from the track, due to his newborn son.
- Is Kimi Raikkonen becoming that unlucky driver he used to be? When he missed the pits, it was his own mistake. When his car broke down – with alleged hydraulic problems – there was nothing that he could do.
- Points go for the FIA, because red flagging the race was the smart thing to do. The fans do not want another safety car showdown like the one in Canada.
Star of the race:
Fernando Alonso, with Mark Webber a close second.
Shame of the race:
Nick Heidfeld.
--Andre N.
No one can complain about the spectacle, though. Even Beelzebub himself would be delighted to see the action that took place over the weekend. There was a huge accident in qualifying that ruined Hamilton’s chances of winning the race; there were cars sliding all over during the two short stints of rain; there were some aggressive overtaking moves. He would be rally proud of the word fight between Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, because they touched as the former passed the latter with less than five laps to go.
The championship is very close now, with 2 points separating leader Lewis Hamilton from Alonso. Massa is 11 points behind in third, followed by Kimi Raikkonen, who is 18 points behind. There are seven races to go. It seems like this one will go down to the wire. Can I bet that the last race of the year – the Brazilian Grand Prix – will be a sellout?
Alonso is becoming a thinker... Inside the cockpit, that is.
I have seen it over and over this season. Whoever starts on the dirty side of the track has a big disadvantage going into the first corner. With traction control and automatic launch systems, the drivers will never make a mistake. Starting in 2nd on the dirty inside part of the track, Alonso would never get ahead of pole-sitter Raikkonen. It was so bad that Massa, who started 3rd, overtook him. Credit goes to the upgrade Ferrari made to their launch system during testing in Silverstone about a month ago. It is not fun to watch though, so thank goodness these systems will be disallowed in 2008.
Alonso had the great presence of mind of not trying the impossible. He stayed in third in the very beginning. It started raining, everyone would need a tyre change. Raikkonen made a mistake and slid wide of the pits. Alonso said ‘OK, I’ll take this opportunity’. He was second for a long time. As the rain came back with 7 laps to go he got his golden opportunity. As both he and Massa pitted for wet tyres, as soon as they returned to the track it was clear that the number-1 McLaren was faster than the number-5 Ferrari. It was difficult, but not impossible. It was the time to be aggressive, and that he was. On lap 56 of 60, he overtook Massa for the win. They even touched! It was a great move that made him look like a genius.
Unfortunately, as he got out of his car we were able to see the worst part of Alonso. He instantly helped selling the ‘crybaby’ image that his critics post all over the Internet forums. Calling the camera to show the tyre mark left by Massa’s Ferrari on his sidepod was the worst part. Is that more important than the win? Then he started an argument with Massa just before going to the podium. The TV showed everything, it was even possible to hear what they were saying – in Italian. At this point I have to agree with Massa. He said that he would never do that on purpose, and it makes sense, because the only thing that he would get from a move like that would be a cut tyre. Then he said a few times as Alonso would not stop complaining: ‘You win and make a scene?’
Alonso later apologized to Massa during the press conference. He will still get my Star of the Race award because it is not about the post-race, but the track action itself.
Is RBR improving?
By only looking at the results, one may say that Mark Webber was just lucky to fisish 3rd. He was certainly lucky that the 2 BMWs hit each other on the second corner and that Raikkonen had to retire. He drove a great race, though. Even if it were dry all around, he would probably get the same result. RBR was pretty good in Nurburgring. David Coulthard – the current ‘master of alternative strategies’ – started 20th and finished 5th. The car seems to be improving a little bit every race. This is expected, since their lead engineer is Adrian Newey. Their problem is reliability, but I would rather have a fast, unreliable car to drive in the middle pack than a slow, reliable backmarker.
It was not Hamilton’s weekend
All we can say about Hamilton is that it just was not his weekend. I was expecting a setback for him since the beginning of the season, so I would have the chance to see how good he really to overcome it. He was very good at the start, but again, it was partially due to the fact that McLaren has a better launch system than most of the teams – except for Ferrari at this point. Maybe he was too aggressive and got a cut tyre, but I cannot complain about it. He was expected to be aggressive. During the heavy rain, he lost his car coming into braking. That may be some sign of inexperience as many drivers did not make that mistake, but many others did, so there is no conclusion. I am still waiting for one fantastic race before I can say Hamilton is a genius.
Europe’s quick notes
- Someone in STR forgot to warn Vitantonio Liuzzi that the safety car was out. He was way too fast going into the first corner – in fact, he spun on the straight due to ‘aquaplanning’. Luckily the safety car driver had quick reflexes to avoid a crash from behind.
- Nick Heidfeld drove his worst race of the year. He hit teammate Robert Kubica as they made it into the 2nd corner of the race. Robert spun around but was able to return. Later on, Nick also hit and Ralf Schumacher, who had to retire. Maybe he had his mind away from the track, due to his newborn son.
- Is Kimi Raikkonen becoming that unlucky driver he used to be? When he missed the pits, it was his own mistake. When his car broke down – with alleged hydraulic problems – there was nothing that he could do.
- Points go for the FIA, because red flagging the race was the smart thing to do. The fans do not want another safety car showdown like the one in Canada.
Star of the race:
Fernando Alonso, with Mark Webber a close second.
Shame of the race:
Nick Heidfeld.
--Andre N.
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