RON DENNIS Downplays First Turn Incident

After the race, Lewis complained that Alonso deliberately drove him off track at the first turn of the GP of Belgium (looks to be true). Alonso stated it happened because Phil Massa locked up while braking for the turn (did not look even close). Ron Dennis says if it were drivers from two different teams, no one would be making this an issue (true, but they're not).

Then there is the story that to motivate his mechanics after the FIA cheating debacle where Alonso turned in his own team, he offered each mechanic a bit over $1000 if they helped him beat Hamilton.

First turn at Fuji could be interesting. What a great movie script this will make if Hamilton and Alonso take each other out and lose the championship to Kimi or Phil. Who would play Alonso? Cheech Marin is my choice. Willy T. plays Hamilton, and James Gandolfini as Ron Dennis.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I like your casting ideas.

However, what truly does concern me is that if these two ever should get on the pole 1 & 2, and then they take each other out, they could easily take out number 3 & 4 at the same time. And guess who those two cars would likely be if the Silver Arrows are 1 & 2?

I for one thought that Mr. Hamilton did not have a line on Mr. Alonso, but just wanted to intimidate him into moving over. FA did not blink, and thus the result of the race.

 

+1

 

Who cares?

Alonso is probably gone next season and both drivers are vying for the WDC. So what if they race each other for position? I would think most of us here would want that to happen, perhaps they take each other out in the process...

 

It looked to me that Alonzo went from the inside corner all the way to the outside sweeping across the track with disregard for whoever had position. If Hamilton had held his line they would have crashed and Alonzo forced him off the track. I would have expected a move like that from Montoya but not a champion driver. If it was another teams driver I would have thought a pit penalty would have been assessed. Truthfully, whatever.......... I've lost almost all respect for FA and rounding out close behind is the rest of the MB / Mclaren gang.

 

I did not see Alonso do anything that Schumacher hasn't done a hundred times before.

 

+0.5

Well, I don't know about 100 (seems like an exaggeration perhaps) but I believe Schumi whould have done the same thing. This isn't tiddlywinks, they are racing for the WDC. And it was Alonshole's corner IMVHO. Lewis had to make way.

 

Schumacher's signature move at the start for years has been to chop down on the driver alongside him to force him to back off heading into a corner. He was soundly criticized for this over-aggressive tactic by drivers and journalists for much of his career at Ferrari. I have no problem with Alonso driving aggressively to win the WDC. This ain't tiddly-winks, folks.

 

Agreed...and further, as was stated, I think it was Hamilton who put a nose into an outside line that he could not back up. It was in fact FA's rightful corner.

Thus my little dissapointment at the whining about it after the race. I.E. Hamilton.

My point was that maybe Hamilton is getting a little of that "child-star wonderfulness emotion" and expects to have things just handed to him no matter what.

 

Lewis' inexperience and youth are starting to show. Earlier in the year he was saying all the right things. Now the pressure is really on and he's like a fish out of water. Understandable. But I am disappointed just the same.

Unfairnando sees an opening and is pushing hard. He will stop at nothing to win IMVHO. Not saying this is a bad thing, just the way things are.

The last 3 races should be interesting.

 

Schumi was in 250 races and had 68 pole positions. 100 times means he tried to run another driver off the track in the first corner 40% of the time. I believe 100 is too high. Without other evidence I'll buy 50 but not 100.

 

Agreed but there are two key differences:
1. Schumacher was never as hypocritical as Alonso. You rarely ever saw him complain about other guy's driving. Alonso seems to complain about Massa's or Schumacher or whomever driving at the drop of a hat while driving as aggressively as any of them
2. Schumacher worked with his team. Alonso works for himself.

 

Really? I watched it on replay last night, and Unfairnando had all kinds of room to work with, while Hamilton only had the outside and he moved over deliberately to push him off the track. Re-watch the video, there was NOBODY on the inside of FA.

FA was not going to let Hamilton beat him...period, end of story.

 

Last week at the Italian GP, Lewis braked late and pulled along side Kimi; then they touched wheels and Lewis straightlined the turn. He took the position, and had no penalty. It was his fault that he touched wheels and it was all because he missed his brake point.

Somebody should have called him out last week and Alonzo would have punted him this week if he tried it again. I loved Alonzo's strength at Eau Rouge--the bedwetter had to back off.

 

You have far too much time on your hands...

 

Personally I would have liked to have seen in-car video of FA, with his hands in view. Did he drive a smooth, agressive arc, or did he deliberately alter his line, like Schumie's move where he lost his entire season's points for trying to block Villeneuve? I can't tell from the replay. I certainly agree that no one forced him to use the entire width of the track, but he would probably respond that a wider arc was the fastest line....

 

Good point. But my original take on it was that basically neither guy would give room, and Lewis got pushed off as a result. I really doubt that the inside car could have veered further inside on that line without a spin, but as you point out only FA himself knows for a real fact.

I'm pretty sure that the race stewards would have said something if they thougt he needed penalized at all; after all it was FA agains the saintly LH!

 

Curious - when did Schum chop his teammate and drive him off the track like Alonso did?

 

too bad there wasn't a cement guard rail on that corner.

 

You mean like at the Detroit city track? Whatcha bet that they never would have been that close if that were the case.

I'll still saying that this is my favorite current G.P. track, BTW- nowhere else do I get such a sense of all-out speed.

 

"Chopping them off" means you are in front of them, not next to them. There was plenty of room to get both cars through the cornere ON the track The Ferrari boys managed it. Hummm

 

Anyone seen the video of this on youtube or somewhere? I deleted it off my DVR and want to see it again.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSKEwiGWHp0

 

Great......... Thanks.

I stand by my position....... Alonzo pushed him off the track. You can see it in many angles. It looks like it's Alonzo that broke late and locked up in the corner. He also could have tightened his turn but intentionally drove over the edge to push his teammate off.

I would have crashed right into him