Julio, Don't worry about Imperial83's thoughts to much, he is the only one in the world with a special red phone that is a direct line to Jean Todt Personally if Ferrari did this on purpose they are proving themselves to be real low lifes in this sport ... just like the RB must come second BS. If Ferrari keep this up they will become the hated team for constantly treating fans and motor sport enthusiasts like we have no brain, and do not deserve to see a real race. Another black mark in the modern history of the Ferrari Gp team. Go Kimi and Button, go hard and make this an exciting race to watch. Watch out though as RB has probably been given orders to sacrifice his own race and compromise Kimi or Button so the only person who is allowed to win, MS, can come through again for the great Ferrari team. Let there be racing Jean Todt, let there be racing please! Pete's a fan of real racing first and Ferrari second
I enjoyed what Michael was doing! I knew it the second he spun. Then I saw Rubens go on to the grass for a little rest stop and my thoughts were confirmed. Ferrari were smart about it. I guess being smart and intelligent is a crime these days. Minardi and Toyota did not catch on to the fact. They went flat out! So yes there were a few other teams that were "fools"! Just like Ferrari thought!
Thanks PSK, I am 100% with you, first it should be the sport then Ferrari. Imperial, there is no honor, nor inteligence in hidding the truth, to say it softly! And I still think that sports should be honorable. And, do you think that Minardi was that worried about what Ferrari might be doing? They did what they should run as fast as they could, an take advantage on every second they spend in the track. If tricking the minor teams into think that Ferrari is doing bad, we better go and watch some other sport! But I do not think Ferrari had in their minds Toyota or Minardi when they did try this. - Julio
You missed the whole point of slowing down in pre qualifying. Ferrari were not trying to trick Minardi and Toyota into thinking that they were doing bad. The team decision to slow down was taken so that if there were rains in the ending of qualification round Ferrari did not face a disadvantage. It was racing strategy. They wanted to go out early in qualifying to get a clean lap. That is the reality of Formula 1 racing today. Formula 1 racing consist of strategy, team work and racing. There are other mundane motor sports that have no stratgey and simply involve every driver driving the same type of car with no teamwork involved. Sadly PSK still does not get the fact that Formula 1 is about teamwork and strategy as much as it is about racing If the tactic to slow the cars down discreetly had paid off today then everyone would have hopped on the band wagon and cheered for Ferrari.... Well (almost) everyone! I think what we saw today was very intelligent and smart Racing! I am sure we will see more intelligent and smart racing from Ferrari tomorrow too!
I think we are going nowhere with this discussion. I think there are sportier ways to do things than the way Ferrari is doing them, that's all. And they are not doing any good to the sport this way. Maybe the way F1 should go in the future should be only one car per team, and more teams. That way we might see who is the best driver in the best car, instead of who is choosen and who the one who obeys best!!! And I am not saying that MS is not the best, that I think he is, but that I would like to see how his throne is challenged more frequently, because that is what makes this sport fun! Also, I want to see that becuase he is the fastest and the one who makes less mistakes, not because he, or his team, are the ones who knows the most tricks and how to pull them off the hat. I think F1 organization and teams should take a look at what is going on in Moto GP and take some notes on how to do things to make a sport fun to watch and participate. And that is for me today, I am going to sleep. Good race tomorrow!!! - Julio
WTF are you talking about?? You're going off first and third... and you don't want to be going off last in the qualifying. What do you do? An obvious slow down? I'm pretty sure that every team can manage to go as slow as they need to in order to go slower than the previous people. The only hope that Ferrari had of getting mid-pack in qualifying was to be discreet about it and hope that at least some of the teams didn't notice the weather issue. If they were obvious about it, then every team would be alerted to the issue and go slower than them. Its the first few teams that just obviously slowed down that look like idiots... Oh, please... like its hard to safely spin a car in the middle of the track... hell, I could safely do that... the only thing at risk was some flat-spotted tires... a price that I think Ferrari can afford. Good job in pre-qualifying, Ferrari! Not sure what happened to Michael in qualifying... I am guessing he's going for a two-stopper vs. some other's three-stoppers... but he did goof in the second segment.
The up-in-arms response here is completely irrational. This was just pre-qualifying. There was no "racing" involved. Ferrari didn't cheat the fans or anyone else. This ONLY set the order for qualifying. Sheesh people....get a grip. F1 is the most tactical form of motorsport on the planet. If tactical decision making disturbs your sensitivities, go watch dirt track racing.
I was going to mention the big split between the two Jaguars. All this thread is proving is that the quickest in prequalifying should get to choose when they run in qualifying, if we're going to stay with the current format.
Brian, I understand perfectly why they did it and so does every other person involved with F1. Last time I looked they have brains too. MS spin was so obviously on purpose it was embarrassing ... so fooled nobody. This just proves that qualifying currently is a joke. Might as well pull names out of a hat. Why have 2 qualifying session when the first means bugger all, other than your order for the next and actual qualifying session. In the end I just think deliberately slowing down looked less of a joke ... Completely agree. Nothing dangerous or that risky about 2 professional drivers spinning their cars. Bring back real qualifying asap please FIA, or lets do as Tifosi suggests and the reverse grid based on last race results. My concrats so far to RB for a could qualifying time. Pete's opinion
These poor boys can't buy a break. When they decide to give Schumi the win in Austria in '02, they decide to give Rubens his due, and make it obvious that they're doing team oders -- and the whole world jumps down their throats. So they try to be a bit subtle about slowing down in pre-qual, and everyone jumps down their throats again. Of course, on the rare occasions when I spin my Ferrari, I usually try to pretend it was on purpose. PeeWee Herman: "I meant to do that". Michael: "Me too"
Fair point DGS, but IMO what Ferrari did was patronising (sp?) ... again they are treating everybody like they are fools. It is their right ofcourse to play the game anyway they like, within the rules, but personally I think doing a hot lap until the very last 100 metres and then braking and slowing over the line would have given the fans the hot lap they wanted and deserved and obtained the right lap time for the qualifying order that Ferrari wanted. As Brian pointed out they were probably trying to fool the other teams ... but MS's spin in particular was extremely badly executed and would not have fooled anybody (within F1). In fact it would have made it instantly obvious that they were up to something ... especially the in car footage as there was no attempt to catch it at all. I do not knock MS for that, because he is not supposed to be the best spinner on the grid In the end it simply shows once again that the rules or format of a modern F1 GP is a joke and God knows what fringe followers of F1 think ... and ofcourse the many who do not follow it? They must think it is one stupid sport Pete's opinion
FERRARI WIN! Congratulations Michael (1st) and Rubens (3rd)! That was some awesome smart and intelligent racing! Bring on the critics! On to Hockenheim and more Ferrari Victories!
Forza Ferrari!!!!!! Bravo 10 out of 11 races this season and 13 out of the last 14 races won all victories!!!!!
Woke up to watch the first 3 laps and went back to bed. Sleep is better than an event where I know that MS will win. (no sport left in MS's weekly flogging of the entrie F1 field.) Got some good sleep though. I know betting is big in UK... how do the betting houses handicap the race odds for MS now?
Interesting? Be still your forked tongue!!! I thought it was a fairly interesting race... Trulli gave his all to add interest.
I thought it was an interesting race. From qualifying, I thought Kimi was running with barely enough fuel for the parade lap. I never expected him to manage ten laps before pitting. That new car is coming along. And Michael is still doing what Michael does best -- grab open track and run it very, very quickly. The team doesn't appear to be giving as much attention to keeping Rubens clear of traffic for sprint laps. But the same winner isn't everything. There are 20 cars out there. (Well, 16 by the end.) If Trulli's crash was the result of a suspension failure, anyone think Britore will apologize to Jarno for it (compared to the way he took him to task for letting Rubens by, last race)?
Waah, waah, waah. Little life lesson: The people that put in the most work and are most consistent get the best results. Ferrari aren't up there by coincidence every week. All these "Ferrari are making things boring", "I slept through it" comments are making my blood boil. Jesus Christ, this is a sport, not a movie of the week. Ferrari are playing this game perfectly, working harder than everyone else and leaving other teams behind, teams which this year are putting up very erratic performances at best. If all you can do is ***** and moan, what does it say about the expectations you place on a sport that is currently enjoying the best show any competition can flaunt, someone to show you how it's done to perfection? It's not Ferrari's fault for winning; it's everyone else's ******* fault they can't get their sh*t together. Don't come here and whine that Ferrari are making things boring, they're pioneering the freaking sport, and if some of you like to sleep through a race, go right ahead, thanks for wasting my time by coming here and posting about it like a spoilt child. But I'll keep watching races pretty ******* happily.
Hello All. I do not understand why did Ferrari intentionally slow down or spin during the qualifying laps? I would assume that Ferrari would want to be in front of the pack at the start of the race so they should do their best. thanks, --tony
It wasn't during qualifying. It was in pre-qualifying. Pre-qualifying ONLY sets the order for qualifying. There was a very high probability of rain during qualifying. Ferrari wanted to be among the first out in hopes of setting a good time before the rain came. Most of the other teams emulated Ferrari after they figured out what Ferrari was doing. It was a smart tactical decision made possible by the ill-thought out qualifying system.
Listening to Carroll Shelby talking about what Ford did to win Le Mans (literally a blank check - no other team came close), I have to wonder what part of Ferrari's success is their financial commitment to F1. In other words, are they spending far more than the competition (as well as spending it more wisely)?
Supposedly Toyota is spending more, but obviously not wisely, at least to this point! I suspect that with Gascoyne and Ralf S. on hand, they will improve next season.
YES! What a great pass in the pits. Now this is what I call a victory with panache!! *switches to another channel* If only MS had the decendy to give all his trophies and victories to Ross Brawn ...
