Formula 1 2008

[Goron_3]

James Allen (as in, the same James Allen that LOVES Lewis) wrote an article for f1-ITV and it's surprisingly unbaised; he goes as far as saying that the decision is justified!

[Platty]

The FIA should just re-name themselves Ferrari International Assistance. It's a joke how much they love Ferrari and come down hard on anyone else.

 

/bitter.

[gaggle64]

Triple Austrian Champ Niki Lauda was not particularly impressed with the stewards it seems.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70425

 

Neither does Ralf Schumacher -

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-ralf-schumacher-also-denounces-hamilton-penalty/

[Retro_Link]

I don't see how you can blame Hamilton for the fact that Raikonen lost it and ran wide into that corner that Hamilton nailed him.

Do you know what corner incident is under speculation?

[Emerald Emblem]

Do you know what corner incident is under speculation?

Yeah, the one that caused Hamilton to cut the chicane. But I'm on about gaining an advantage from it.

[Retro_Link]

Yeah, the one that caused Hamilton to cut the chicane. But I'm on about gaining an advantage from it.

Then what corner are you talking about Hamilton getting Kimi in?

Soz i'm not arguing or anything I just don't understand your point!

[Goron_3]

Yeah, the one that caused Hamilton to cut the chicane. But I'm on about gaining an advantage from it.

 

He gained an advantage because had he taken the chicane properly he would have had to hit the brakes instead of turnin and cutting the chicane, therefore he would not have been that close to Kimi to take the inside of the next corner. Remember, it's a small home straight so there would be no way he could have caught up that much.

[Retro_Link]

He gained an advantage because had he taken the chicane properly he would have had to hit the brakes instead of turnin and cutting the chicane, therefore he would not have been that close to Kimi to take the inside of the next corner. Remember, it's a small home straight so there would be no way he could have caught up that much.

Yeah exactly.

 

If you look at it from one point of view, Hamilton never fully gave back his advantage...

 

Cut corner... dropped back into Kimi's slip stream... immediate speed boost... overtook.

 

Massa's thoughts...

 

Having watched replays of the incident Massa believes the stewards' decision was justified because Hamilton "only partially" handed the lead back and did not fully restore the status quo.

 

“What Lewis did is the sort of thing that can happen, but I think he was maybe a bit too optimistic in thinking he could just hand back the position, albeit only partially to Kimi and then immediately try and pass him again," Massa said on Ferrari's official website.

 

“Incidents like this have often been discussed in the official driver briefings when it has been made absolutely clear that anyone cutting a chicane has to fully restore the position and also any other eventual advantage gained."

 

Massa says the fact that Hamilton was close enough to repass Raikkonen on the short pit straight is in itself evidence that he picked up momentum from his short-cut.

 

“If Lewis had taken the chicane correctly, he would never have been able to pass Kimi on the very short straight that follows it," he said.

 

“That was my immediate opinion after seeing the replay.

 

“Maybe if Lewis had waited and tried to pass on the next straight, that would have been a different matter.”

[Emerald Emblem]

Here is McLarens appeal.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/9/8344.html

 

What do you guys think? Will it hold?

[Retro_Link]

What do you guys think? Will it hold?

No it wont hold, because McLaren are offering nothing new to what has already been taken into account by the FIA.

 

In making their decision the FIA were aware that:

 

- Lewis was at a slightly reduced speed to Kimi across the start/finish line speed trap.

- Kimi crossed the start/finisih line first.

- Lewis momentarily let Kimi regain track position.

 

Everyone already knows these things! It's the fact that given the conditions, Lewis did not fully give back the advantage he gained. And McLaren cannot produce an answer for that.

[MadDog]

I would be extremely surprised if they if they gave the win back to Hamilton.

 

I do believe its not bad enough for a 25 second penalty, maybe 10 but 25 is harsh.

[Emerald Emblem]

It's so mixed and controversial. It's all how you look at it I suppose. But this whole issue has brought up on whether stewards should be the same each race, this is a point brought up by Jakie Stewart:

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43880

[Retro_Link]

It's so mixed and controversial. It's all how you look at it I suppose. But this whole issue has brought up on whether stewards should be the same each race, this is a point brought up by Jakie Stewart:

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43880

I'm all for consistency.

 

McLarens only chance as far as I can see is that...

The Ferrari does not handle anywhere near as well as the McLaren in the wet, therefore Lewis had a great chance of finishing first, regardless of whether he handed back the advantage.

 

But this is an extremely weak argument because, in such weather conditions, there are no guarantees. Who's to say Hamilton wouldn't have aquaplained/spun/run wide somewhere if he had had to keep chasing after Kimi having not passed him where he did.

 

You can also argue against it by saying:

Hamilton probably knew he could get ahead of the Ferrari handling poorly in the wet, so why not give Kimi his full advantage back, and overtake on the long run up the hill after turn one.

[Emerald Emblem]

Well lets not forget that Kimi got the place back for a corner. It was so hard to control either of them could have crashed out.

[Retro_Link]

So on to Monza this weekend!!

Another favourite circuit; the Spa-Monza combo is so awesome!

 

And what do you know, more rain is forecast for the race weekend!

I can't remember a season where it's been cold and/or wet at practically every race, even the circuits you can normally count on to be hot have been overcast!

 

But still, really looking forward to it, starting with practice tommorrow!

 

Also, here are the thoughts of the drivers in Thursday press conference, on last weekends action...

 

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43902

 

Several of Lewis Hamilton’s fellow drivers believe the Briton did gain a clear advantage by cutting a chicane at last week’s Belgian Grand Prix, although they agree that his demotion to third place was too severe.

 

With the controversy over the stewards’ decision to strip Hamilton of race victory still raging as the season moves onto Monza, the drivers appearing in Thursday’s press conference were naturally asked about their views on the incident.

 

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais reckons the retrospective time penalty imposed on the McLaren driver was harsh, but nevertheless believes stewards were correct to issue some sort of punishment.

 

“I think the rules are very clear,” Bourdais said.

 

“Maybe the penalty was a bit hard, but I think he's made the same mistake [cutting chicanes] twice: he's done it in Magny-Cours and he's done it again in Spa.

 

“I don't really understand why there's been such a mess around it.

 

“There's a rule book and everybody has to obey the same thing.

 

“The penalty is really rough but in the end it's up to you to give the position back or not. Pretty straightforward.”

 

The Frenchman added that Hamilton had left himself exposed to the possibility of a stewards’ investigation.

 

“You have to be responsible for what you decide to do, and in this particular case, if you do gain an advantage like I said, you just give it back and make sure that you don't expose yourself to penalties,” he said.

 

“I think it's the easiest way to handle it.”

 

While McLaren data proved that Hamilton slowed to allow Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen to re-pass him on rejoining the track, it is believed the stewards felt his track cutting still gained him an advantage as he almost immediately overtook the Finn again.

 

Nico Rosberg agrees that Hamilton would not have been right on the gearbox of the Ferrari had he gone around the Bus Stop as normal – although he too feels the penalty was out of proportion with how the race’s final two laps played out.

 

“I definitely agree [with my colleagues], because he did get an advantage, because he wouldn't have been that close behind Kimi had he not cut the chicane,” the Williams driver said.

 

“But then again, I also think the penalty was a bit harsh as that did not have such a big effect on the actual race result in the end.”

 

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli added: “The penalty was quite big but I'm not a steward and I cannot decide what kind of penalty should be given.

 

“But on the other hand, it was very clear that he got an advantage out of it, so that's where it is. The rules are very clear.

 

“If you cut the chicane and you get an advantage, you just have to drop back and give back the position and in Lewis's case he shouldn't have attacked straight away at the next corner; that was it.”

 

Felipe Massa, the man who benefited most from Hamilton’s demotion as he inherited the race victory, claimed earlier in the week that his title rival had been “too optimistic” and said he had not changed his view on Thursday.

 

“To be honest, I've given my ideas on this many times about what happened," Massa said.

 

“What's happened is that he took an advantage by cutting the chicane.

 

“You can ask other drivers how many overtaking manoeuvres you see there: no overtaking.

 

“Going from the last corner to the first corner is such a small straight, so he took an advantage, that's clear, that's my opinion, so it doesn't change.”

[Emerald Emblem]

Practice 1 sees Sutil lead the Standings followed by Barichello and Fishicella. Heavy downpours came down after those 3 went on track so it's by no means a performance issue. The red flag came out near the end.

 

http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2008/800/6558/

[Retro_Link]

It's wierd seeing Monza was so wet!

 

I missed most of this practice, what brought the red flag out? just too wet to continue?

[Emerald Emblem]

That's what I assumed since I missed most of it too. No-one wanted to go out on track so yeah, I would think that was the case, the pit garages were getting flooded it was so wet.

 

I hope the rain stops for practice 2. Need to see some indication of what the other drivers are capable of. But qualifying will probably the see the same in weather conditions.

[Retro_Link]

AWESOME!!

 

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=43915

 

Raikkonen extends Ferrari deal to 2010

 

today's surprise announcement just before second practice means that Ferrari will retain the Raikkonen and Felipe Massa partnership for at least two more years, with Massa having been re-signed through 2010 last autumn.

 

"Ferrari announces that it has extended its agreement with Kimi Raikkonen to the end of the 2010 race season," said a team statement.

 

"Therefore, the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver line-up remains unchanged for the next two coming seasons."

 

Raikkonen, who has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in April, had always played down speculation about his future plans.

 

In an interview with the official Formula 1 website this week, he insisted he was extremely happy at Ferrari.

 

"I enjoy being here and I had a fantastic time last year - when I joined last season, I had more fun than I have had in a long time," said Raikkonen.

 

"It is a great place to be, working with all these 120 percent-committed people.

 

"And red suits me, I would say."

 

The Finn joined Ferrari at the start of 2007, replacing Michael Schumacher, after five seasons at McLaren, and went on to dramatically snatch his first world title in a final round showdown with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

I'm SO HAPPY he's staying in the sport!!

 

Well Honda said this week that they are holding out for Alonso, and will wait for as long as he needs to make up his mind.

If they offer up the vast salary he probably wants, it's looking likely we may see Fernando there in the future! Either that or a chance of Heidfelds drive at BMW.

It was also reported this week that Buttons contract at Honda still hasn't been sorted out after months of talks.

But surely the team would rather have a Button-Alonso pairing.

 

So it's on to Free Practice 2, and the track's drying out.

[Emerald Emblem]

Sutil is on fire, 9th for Force India in that practice. For a period the Fastest race lap was being smashed again and again. Raikonen just edged Kubica's lap with Heidfeld 3rd. Nelson Piquet span and got stuck so he was unable to improve on last place after everyone else improved.

 

http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2008/800/6559/

[Retro_Link]

Really enjoyed 2nd Practice!

[MadDog]

Sutils probably fast because the Ferrari engine is the fastest in a straight line, and Monza is mostly full throttle.

[Emerald Emblem]

Sauber could contest a comeback from their recent lapse in form here.

[Retro_Link]

Sauber could contest a comeback from their recent lapse in form here.

Or even BMW :wink:

 

If there's a team I really want to see have a turn around in form, it's Williams.

They deserve to be doing better.

[Jon]

I hope it's wet on race day. F1 becomes so much more exciting when there's rain about. Strategies become even more critical and it becomes a lot more about driver skill than how good your car is.