It is very weird, quite frankly. Do you know what caused it? I certainly don't. Lauda calls it the "flipping the switch" phenomenon, which suddenly turns a driver into the complete package or the reverse. It happened to Hakkinen after like 100 races when DC gifted him his first victory. It also happened to Hakkinen in reverse when he suddenly lost it after two titles (just as it happened to Kimi). The way Webber suddenly dominated in Nuerburg and claimed a victory looked like he was driving in a different class. It was stunning. Particularly after so many promising drives where he ended up throwing it all away. He always had the speed but not the stamina (?) to keep the concentration. I dunno. Right now he is also doing a great job at staying in the game and scoring points. Alonso has nothing to loose so he goes flat out and won twice. For Webber the game is different and he plays it intelligently. Akin to Button last year, but with a tad more effort/risk.
This year Spain seemed to be the turning point. I wonder if the aero updates introduced at that race significatly favored his style over Vettel's? Regarding the blown diffuser, did RB have it in Bahrain or was it introduced in Spain? I seem to remember reading that somewhere. Maybe he uses it to better effect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFAAD_ZP1TU Watch the video. While I agree that Hamilton gave very little room, Webber had the combination of speed and an early apex that would have put him on a collision course no matter what. Had Hamilton given him more room, he still would have been run off of the road as Webber tracked out.
I don't think it was intentional either. At Monza and Singapore, Hamilton took chances, thinking they would pay off. They didn't... Trying to 'muscle' your way, or intimidating your opponents doesn't always work. There is always the chance that someone will not be willing to submit, or 'don't give a sh*t' and would prefer to take you with him in a shunt. I don't blame Hamilton for trying, but at Monza is was stupid impetuosity during the first lap! At Singapore against Webber, Hamilton should have known better: Webber is not a guy ready to be messed about!
I'm not saying that. I'm saying that he had a terrible lapse in judgement that shouldn't be made by an F1 driver.
IMHO it is relevant. Isn't part of the Mark (heh) of a champion getting away with as much as possible? I don't think he did anything intentional there, he just drove it in with acceptable aggressiveness and the error in judgement lies in Hamilton's court. But if you (not you personally) think it was intentional, which is what I think you mean by your statement, then he has to be given credit.
The OP hit the nail on the head. As it turns out the tire was 5mm from coming off the wheel! In fact, had this occurred on another track with sweeping corners the tire would have come off. Webber had horseshoes in the car on Sunday. http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/243578/bridgestone-webber-very-very-lucky-to-finish/
Lewis admitted, Mark was in his blind spot. Webber was right up on the kerb and should not have to hand the corner to lewis
+1 It was a racing incident. 1 & 2 in the WDC battling for position. Could they both have given more room? Yes. So why didn't they? Cause they are battling for a title! No way should MW just give Hamilton the position. And Hamilton was 1/4 of a car from making an unbelievable pass on the outside. I thought it was exciting and from the getgo never saw any fault of either driver, just good ol' fashion racing for the championship. Great! We finally get some great, meaningful passing and people have to b*tch. And to the original topic of the thread, when it's your year, it's your year. Everything just goes your way and Webber will be a deserving champion for many reasons, **if** he wins it. Alex
You "Hit" that one.. Some F1 sites are posting Who's at fault polls, the question should be.. "Who was racing?? Answer: Massa, Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Kubica that's who... God I love F1
I think Lauda said it best with the "flipping switch" comment. I think I know what causes it. You finally have a car that is good enough that you do not have to concentrate so hard at the driving part, ie. it is really balanced, goes where you want it to, etc. Thus you can think about other things. The second thing is that confidence and that first win proves that you have what it takes and you realise that winning is not as hard as you used to think. It's all about being able to drive the car subconsciously and having confidence so that you don't play negative mind games with yourself ... Agree, but I think Webber needs to up his speed a touch to make the WDC easier or possible. Much easier controlling races if he puts his car on the front row, but with both Alonso and Vettel going for broke that won't be easy. Pete
I honestly have no idea where you guys get this stuff. He's only had a race winner car for 2 years. Did you expect him to pull off race wins in a Jag? He's been more unlucky than Kimi in mechanical reliability. He's had some utterly amazing qualifying performances followed by utterly terrible first lap performances (which really make people forget how close a great performance was). His race pace has never been poor. He's already beaten the dog piss out of Rosberg in identical cars. And raced Heidfeld extremely well. Other than Vettel no driver has beaten him through a season. Webber's qualifying has always been top 5 (except for perhaps last year). He's gotten cars so far above where they deserved to be. He was getting Jags on the front row in 2003.
If Hamilton had given Webber enough room then it might have been Webber's fault if the collision still occurred. Hamilton didn't do that so he gets the majority of the blame. For Webber to avoid that collision with the line Hamilton took it would have required practically stopping on the track.
In Belgium I was talking to an Aussie guy and he hated Webber! He didn't just dislike him he really hated him, but couldn't really give me a decent reason why. I remember hating drivers in my youth, but these days I find myself thinking "Well done you" whoever wins! Although it does feel sweeter if a Ferrari wins!
Probably my all time most hated driver was Coulthard. No idea why. He seems a decent enough guy, but I couldn't stand him when he was at McLaren. I know Lewis certainly seems to polarise opinions, I know some Brits who can't stand him.
Vettel had a curse brought on Hamilton after Lewis made comments about Vettel's lack of maturity. Hamilton's season immediately started to unravel. Never underestimate the dark world of witchfull thinking kharma. Hamilton lost the plot this year by falling into the desparate category, IMO. That which makes you great can just as easily cost you championships when applied in excess.
People forget how important the car is to the driver's performance. If Sutil gets a good car everyone will be wondering how he got so fast also.
There is a difference between not 'liking' somebody, and not recognising his talent. One is about the perception of personality, the image someone portrays, the other is about achievements. Why I liked 3-time WDC Lauda and never liked 3-time WDC Stewart, I don't know. Hamilton isn't my cup of tea as a person, but he is a fighter, and I like that.
Webber came in late braking ... if he had just breathed the throttle, there would have been a least another 4-5 feet of clearance ... if Webber had a clear track and took that line with the late braking he used, he would have lost momentum from apexing way too early. He just defiantly drove into the turn ... scary g
+1 Webbers main weakness is the start and the first lap. He takes too long to get into the groove but once there very fast. I find watching the first lap of a race very stressful because of this, I keep telling him to come on, get into it, etc. You could see it at Singapore, he dropped back a fair bit on that first lap .... errr!! Pete
Webber is the most dangerous F1 driver currently. He will not let anybody pass him and he will do whatever he can to make sure of that. There are a lot of very aggressive F1 drivers. Hamilton being one of them but in my opinion he always races very fairly.
