Valencia - Europe GP RACE***SPOILER***

That's a pretty good summary of the situation. Spot on analysis, imo.

 

Apology in advance if this has been adressed in the previous 18 pages but, when did the rule stipulating that no track could host an F1 race until it had held a successful race meet previously change?
P.S. what's with all those empty seats at the end of the race? Are the Spainish so parochial that a race without FA isn't worth sticking around for? Particularly given the cost of tickets.

 

I see where you're coming from Maurice, but I don't agree. ITV is a British commercial TV station, they need to maximise the audience they pull in to keep their advertisers happy and that means giving the audience what they want. What a British audience wants (like every other audience in the world) is to see their guys doing well and getting support - they don't particularly want 'unbiased'.

I certainly agree that the commentators should recognise the success of others and I believe they do that. If Massa had just won his eighth race in a row I'm sure they would have been full of praise for him, but his win today by a few seconds was hardly in the Michael Phelps category of achievement and you'd surely not expect them to be eulogising about it.

 

To be honest I think the way Massa has won today, with Hamilton always at striking distance, is far more difficult than winning while lapping the whole field. It shows that the cars are closely matched and the level of concentration needs to be very high, as does the reliability. That last part concerns me quite a bit at the moment. Let's hope it's just some weird coincedence that an engine has blown in two consecutive races. The commentators of the Belgian television said that the part that went bad in Massa's engine in Hungary was something that normally should last at least ten years (?)

So what to think of Kimi? His qualifying hasn't improved, he didn't have a great start and he had a brainfade in the pitlane. How long does he need to find a set-up that he likes? Isn't he starting to look like another Heidfeld? I think it's time for Ferrari to put their bets on Massa.

 

You are kidding right?

 

Thats for sure.

 

I saw on-board video footage around a week ago, I believe from a Ferrari Challenge event. I guess that counts.

 

How about updating us on the the status of "The Bet"

I really don't know.

 

Could be. I was going by a comment from SPEEDTV Thurs. practice show where they stated that this would be the first event held here.

 

You obviously have never been to Spain. They are not race fans but just fans of anything spanish.

 

Karma is a ........ Massa will win at least 2 more this season.

 

I think Ted is going to show that he's a man of his word. He sent me a congratulatory PM and asked for my details. I think he'll show that he can truly step up to the plate, and take the hits with the misses. Good guy in my book.

Anyone wanna bet that Massa will take the title??

 

What's going to happen when Alonso retires? Nobody attends the race from the host country?

So how do they get two GPs and the US gets none? Something fishy here.

 

What you have done here is "logically think ahead." Don't do that. It's not in the F1/F-Chat rule book. You have to make knee jerk judgments and ignore the obvious if you want to partake in an F1 discussion.

Mark

 

I'll put $50 on no. Do you play with little fish?

 

That was my reply about Kimi winning the race from 4th....Next time I say something like that slap me...

 

but you poms got the gold for being wankers ,,, obviously no good in the pool as that means getting wet and there may be soap around

how many poms have won the WDC and WCC in their own car ??

come to think of it when was the last time ANY pom won a WDC when using an English engine instead of German or French ?

BRM was the joke of F1 for engine building

 

That´s the same that the Spanish media do with Alonso. And it REALLY stinks.

I think that journalists must be able to support the "local hero" without the hooligan speech.

 

Bernie wants money. And he wants it NOW, not when Scott Speed starts winning races.

Sad, but that´s the way it is.

 

IMVHO announcers are not cheerleaders. Just report the sporting event objectively as possible.

Many times announcers are so biased they miss key aspects of the event and/or fail to report them to the public. this is not what they are paid for IMVHO and is a disservice to all parties.

When I watch my favorite football team I turn the sound off and follow the stats on the internet while watching the game...on tape delay so I can rewind and fast forward through commercials.

 

enjoy your time in the sun Steve, it's the first time your lot have beaten our lot at anything for so long you have to go back to the last ice age

THE only team that matters in F1 is based in Maranello, who gives a **** where the garagisti are based ?

and who was MS's engineer ?? oh, an Aussie, I suppose the Brits were too busy to look after him

Either that or after that scumbag Stepney (remind me, where does he come from ??? ) your lot are on the outer and can you blame the Italians for that !!!

I did like Brawn but we still seem to win WDC, WCC and many races without his great tactical directions ... I just don't know how Ferrari manages it without your lot or their engines .... oh wait, your lot don't make engines

 

The team seems to be missing the Frenchman a bit these days though

 

It was really more of a sarcastic post than anything else, but as you said Steve considers LH to be an exceptional driver which can tend to make someone a little biased but this went beyond the good natured intent I posted it for. I also think LH is an exceptional driver he couldn't accomplish what he has without a lot of skill no matter how good his car!!

 

It was somewhat of an uneventful race in Valencia. Felipe Massa was just plain dominant. Lewis had nothing on him. It was interesting to find out that Lewis nearly pulled out of the race due to illness (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70055). No excuses though. Massa was simply better today. He ran nearly a perfect race. He now has 4 wins on the season - and but-for the engine faiure in Hungary he would have 5. He is making it very difficult to take the Vettel/Alonso rumors too seriously.

I am not sure what is wrong with Kimi Raikonnen. Even before his engine failure he was just not showing the pace we are used to. Maybe he is seriously entertaining retirement even though he has resigned for next year. His contract for next year may be gamesmanship by Ferrari to keep the press guessing as to what their next move will be. With his retirement today he slips to 3rd in the WC race. But never - and I mean never - count out the Iceman. That accident in the pit is like salt in the wound.

Lewis ran a good, solid race. He stayed with Massa during the first stint but could not keep up with him in the second stint. Once Lewis put Kubica away I never got the feeling that he was really pushing to catch Massa. It wouldn't have done any good. Massa was too quick today. But the McLaren was very stable under very hard braking and seemed to be running well. We'll have to see what happens in Spa and those nice elevation changes. Lewis widens the gap in the WC race by a point. He is not safe yet.

Kubica remerges and once again puts BMW in the Grand Prix picture. Even though he did snag a podium, he was over 30 seconds behind Lewis. Despite his fine performance it is still just a two-team race in F1. I liked Kubica's poise when he caught the debris in his intake early on. He didn't let it throw him. His pit stops were quick and the tire changes were smart. Good race overall for Kubica.

The real kudos of the day go to Trulli, Vettel and Glock all finishing in the top 10. Toyota is coming on like gainbusters. It is good to see. Vettel is getting so much positive press. He has eclipsed Sutil as the best up-and-comer in F1.

I thought it was sad when over half the crowd left after Alonso retired on the first lap. That was an expensive ticket too!

Not really a classic race today. It will draw a lot of discussion in the press but the top 10 finishers were basically the top 10 qualifiers. Any race where most - if not all - of the action takes place in the pits is not a classic Grand Prix.

Can't wait until Spa!

I think that all celebrities suffer from this syndrome to some extent. I can say this much, when I met Lewis earlier this summer he was very kind and gracious. There were no cameras there either.