Chinese GP **SPOILERS**

From the "tone" of your post, it "sounds" like you do not like that. I know you really wish that Ferrari and MS were 20 points ahead

Must be why I liked listening to him

At the beginning of the season I thought they were sucking up to FA and Renault. Maybe it is just our point of view based on who we are pulling for

 

I think he's pulling for both Michael and Renault (the team if not the drivers). He deals out his "Gooo uun, come on son!" calls to both reds and blues equally and with similar passion. Underneath it all he's a fan of the sport as well as friend of the participants.

T308

 

What ? Didn't he pass him three times ?

Too bad for him. He is an exciting driver to watch and I am looking forward to watching him next year. How about the announcers bashing NH for improving because of a strong teammate?

 

Very interesting and eventful race.

Some thoughts:

*MS drove incredibly, but pit fumbling at the Renault pits was what cost FA the race (that and the front tyre change, but that seemed unavoidable).

*At the end of the press conference, MS looked as happy as a pig in sh*t when discussing the challenges of the upcoming two races: why the hell did the man leave something that he's clearly so passionate about?

*And, as usual, another great run by Kimi cut short by McLaren unreliability. The boy knows the back exits of each track by now. Can't wait to see what he's truly capable of next year.

 

??????????????????????????

Ya lost me on that one.

 

Because HE felt the time is right.

I'd rather leave when on top than not, there is no 'rule' that says when it's time to leave.

 

I understand, and that is of course a good point (and probably his primary reason for leaving). But seeing him so passionate about the upcoming scrap clearly shows that MS still has the burning itch to race, and that isn't going away anytime soon. Sitting outside the monocoque in 2007 will be torture for him, even if he does stay with Ferrari.

 

Would it not be great to see him drive for a ferrari sports car team Dont know what the chances are becourse i dont follow any other racing other than F1. But if he was to drive in say the Le mans i would follow to see him

 

People are blaming FA loss due to that long pit. They believe that FA would have won because he caught MS at the end of the race. I guess people are forgetting that MS turned down the revves at the end of the race. FA had no chance either way.

I would love to see what FA do next year at Mclaren. He will be whinning and complaining the whole season.

I think Kimi is going to take next year title with Ferrari and FA will be fighting for a 4-5th spot in the final standings.

 

not if Kimi brings his awful bad luck to Maranello with him!!!

 

when the going gets tuff Alonso folds like a cheap camera. His body language tells the entire story "Loser"

 

He is like a 2year old that doesn't get what he wants. I have started to dislike him from his actions.

 

I like Matchett a lot and loved reading his book "Life in the fast lane" (recommend it to everybody interested in F1 and particularly to MS fans). It is true that he is passionate and always cheering on all the drivers attempting to do a pass. But I do sense a lot more passion from him when MS is attacking FA as opposed to the other way around.

It is one thing if we here are fans of one driver or another, but news media folks should just report the news. Without a bias. Of course the reality is different, particularly when you read the written press.

 

From Autosport:

Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt has said that his team have taken note of the tactics adopted by Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella in the Chinese Grand Prix.

The two Renault drivers held station at the front of the field during the middle stages of the race, when Alonso was suffering most from his new front intermediate tyres, delaying Michael Schumacher's progress.

But after swapping positions and running two abreast for several laps, Fisichella eventually took the lead when it became clear that Alonso's tyres were not going to bed in for improved performance.

And although Todt has drawn short of openly criticising the tactic, he has made it clear that Ferrari are now aware of what they are allowed to do ahead of the Japanese and Brazilian Grands Prix title showdown.

"It has been a good learning (experience) for us," said Todt, who saw Schumacher go on to claim victory. "We have learned what we can do. We learn what we can do inside and we learn from what the others do, so it is always interesting."

When asked whether he thought the tactics adopted by Renault were unusual, Todt said: "It is up to you to judge if they are usual or unusual. We are just taking it into consideration. I don't have any more comment to make."

 

Could it be that Todt is a bit jealous his #2 driver wasn't around all race long to help his #1?

 

I don't think that's what he meant. He's saying that Renault have set the new standards for what's considered legal (and allowed for the upcoming races) in terms of 2 abreast blocking.

Besides, as explained in other posts, Massa did a good job and he started at the back through no fault of his own.

 

Sounds like a composite of Montoya & Villeneuve.

 

2 abreast blocking? I never saw that. What I saw was Fisichella and MS passing FA. Pretty much straight forward. Neither car really swerved around defending position. Although Fisico tried to close the door when MS passed him, but that's another story.

No fault of his own? Ahem. Did Massa qualify 7th? Not really. The ten spot penalty wasn't his fault, but being 7 spots down from his team mate in qualifying using an identical car and tires has something to do with the guy behind the wheel.

And how can you call that job good? Did you miss his spins and all the other driving errors. I realize you haven't watched the Speed coverage here in the US, but the commentators ridiculed him pretty much all race long.

 

Congrats Ferrari and MS............... great job.

I too think Massa is doing a good job helping the team. Looked like he was turned into when the car was damaged.

 

I do not believe he did a good job. I would say he did a back markers level drive. Ferrari gave Massa the same car as MS (maybe a bit more fuel). Massa should have been able to move up through the grid earlier and maybe not be in the position where someone would/could take him out. Same with the last race, when FA's engine blew, if Massa would have passed Kubica ealier, he may not have been caught by the shrapnel.

 

The speed commentators are "winging it" from a live TV feed, same as the rest of us. They may have a *little* more experience, but they have no better data than we're seeing.

Go back and look at qualifying. The top qualifying Bridgestone runner was the Jedi Master: Schumi, who pulled a miracle. The next best qualifying Bridgestone runner was ... Massa, in 13th. I was pretty certain that Ferrari was going to keep Felipe *out* of the top ten, knowing that he had that engine penalty, to keep the fuel options open. The next best Bstone car was 15th.

On the replay, it was obvious that Massa, Ralf, Jarno, and a few others were stuck in a parking lot behind Coulthard, who was holding up the whole train.

Before that, Massa gained three spots in three laps, despite being on Bstones in the wet. After the track dried a smidge, he got around both Toyotas in the pack (not an easy passing opportunity) and then passed DC.

He worked his way up to 5th in the pit rotation -- which meant 10th really, and despite being brought in again five laps later to feel out dry tires for Schumi, he was moving on 8th place and a points finish when he got wacked out of the race ... by DC.

I think the wrong "oldster" is retiring.

But Massa was pushing the whole race. From 20th to 8th isn't too shabby under that tire disadvantage and a single dry line. He earned his money today. And he's no prima donna either -- did you see him carrying messages for the boys after getting knocked out? Remember Kimi heading for his yatch after his DNF in Monaco?

I'd have really liked to see one more year of Massa studying under the sensei before moving up.

I'm still not sure which Ferrari driver will get the most points next year. The McLarens have been having issues -- but Kimi seems to be having more than his fair share of them. He's fast at the start, but gone at the end --- and there are no points for being up front when your car expires. He isn't as much a part of testing and setup at McLaren as Schumi was at Ferrari. Kimi just shows up and drives ... until he breaks something.

You have to know how to preserve your hardware to win titles.

That was the other thing that goes back to qualifying: That's where this race was won. Schumi ran Q1 on full wets ... and SC mentioned that you only get three sets of intermeds in a weekend.

Some drivers are harder on tires than others. Rubino ran the first 37 laps on the same intermeds, but Jenson had scrubbed his rears away in the first 15.

Alonso used up his intermeds "dominating" qualifying, and had scrubbed away all his fronts when it came time to race. Alonso just ran himself out of rubber.


At least, that's how I saw it.

 

Let's first admit that Massa is not good in the rain. He looks very unsure and intimidated, as was the case in Turkey where he had the pole but ended up down the rankings. That said, he had actually moved up to 5th on a one-stop strategy before coming in for a change to drys. He dropped to 11th, but worked his way into the points on the pass of Coulthard, which obviously resulted in him being knocked out of the race. He's no Schumaker, and I think it was ludicrous for the Speed commentators to beat on him about being Schuey's replacement. I'm pretty certain that Kimi is replacing Michael, and Felipe is replacing himself. Maybe the format requires him to be recognized as the #1 driver (since he was on the team this year), but let's be serious.

 

I'm not sure how people are saying that the advantage has dramatically shifted to Ferrari. Renault seemed to show that their car is now on par with the Ferrari. And this is just not due to the rain (very quick in the dry as well). In fact, this race made the championship look closer than it previously did.

 

Did most of you Massa fans think RB was such an excellent driver when he drove for Ferrari and always placed 2nd and won some races? Now look at him. Massa is the same, but I think a worse driver. The Ferrari and Michael's car setup is doing most of the work for Massa. He wouldn't be anywhere with such a good car.

He couldn't even place in the top 10 in quali. How can you compare him to the other Bridgestone runners? Who are those? Toyota is a just a pos, they both pulled out of the race. Williams has always had problems. The rest of the teams aren't even worth mentioning. Ferrari better be placing ahead of the rest of the Bridgestone teams, damn.

 

Agreed on that one. They really got that wrong. Kimi replaces MS, not Massa replacing MS. That whole argument was silly.

Still I was disappointed by his performance and was about to write something like Rubens would have done a far better job in the Ferrari. Well, that is until the last lap, 2 turns from the finish line...