+1 Asked about the stupid incident where he pushed Liuzzi, Ralf just said "I guess he was braking too late"... has anyone counted how often Ralf has been beside the track today? Really embarrassing.
Ran out today in China. Change the tires. Whose call was that? Speed commentators said that if Lewis had won the WDC today they would have sat Alonshole down in Brazil and let De La Rosa drive. McCheaters must be really mad at Unfairnando! I still believe the best F1 races are in the wet. Would have been nice if Phil had got 2nd instead on Alonshole. Hard to believe the season will be over in two weeks.
Shhht! Don't mention that or the desperate Scott Speed fans will come out in force again and state that their hero would have done the same thing. Or even better. Yeah right.
They also speculated that Alonso would have left the team before the Brazilian GP. So: Where is Alonso going to? It really sounds like he is on his way out. And if they really hate each other's guts that much, why has no announcement been made?
Noticed Phil wasn't speaking to Kimi when he got out of his car. Was very distant in the interview. Is there trouble in paradise?
If Massa had pushed for second, it would have been entirely to help Kimi and hurt Alonso. And team orders are supposed to be verbotten. I'm sure if Massa had been ahead after the pit stops, Alonso would have been frothingly anxious to get around him, and Massa wouldn't have made it easy. (And imagine the whinging we'd have gotten from Fred if they'd taken each other out.) But going gunning for Alonso on-track? Massa's option tires were in the graining period when Alonso was directly ahead, so the window where Alonso had cold tires wasn't that much of an advantage. And there was only one dry line. Not the best passing opportunity. Realistically, Kimi's chances at the WDC are slim and none. (Although Slim beached it on the pit in. ) I'm sure Massa would have preferred second to third place. But third is better than crashing out on a lunatic lunge. Again: No. The new customer teams that haven't run at all yet will be at the end of the pit lane. But that could put Prodrive and McLaren right next to each other. Convenient. Vettel's "great drive" came from keeping his nerve, I think. Virtually everyone else who pitted around the rain stint got burned with multiple tire stops. Vettel put option tires on at lap 26 and kept his nerve through the one lap of rain, letting him make a one stop race with the last half on slicks. Score one for STR's weatherman. But still a good drive, as Kovaleinan went to options on lap 24 but only managed ninth.
We may be in for a real surprise when the new driver lineup is announced at Ferrari. And I doubt Alonsohole will be the one.
I don't care who wins, so long as it's ANYONE BUT Alonso. It would be great to see both the McCheater drivers take each other out and give the win to Kimi. That would be such poetic justice. As for Lewis, he pushed the issue with the tires WAAAAAAAAY to far. he should have pitted three laps earlier. But oh well, if you play with fire don't be surprised when you get burned. Those tires were soooooo worn out it wasn't funny. He was sliding all over the place, and I just cannot believe that they didn't pull him in for a fresh set. A complete idiotic maneuver that my just have costed him the championship.
Liuzzi is getting points too. Is Vettel doing the car development? Or did Vettel not winning "out of the box" finally get the word out to STR that the car needed improvement? But imagine how he'd have done if he wasn't racking up penalties.
Rain races are the great chassis equalizers. Driver skills have more effect. Good timing on STR's part.
Just how do you say, "Sorry I've still got a numeric chance for the championship, so you won't be allowed to try to win your home GP?"
You're right, Prodrive will be dead last. Forgot about them. What about Tataa? Will they be able to take Spyker's position or are they considered a new team?
McLaren have conceded that they reacted too late to Lewis Hamilton's tyres losing grip during the Chinese GP - and admitted that the decision was the team's rather than the driver's. By the time the World Championship leader was called in, his tyres were effectively bald and Hamilton was unable to keep it on the road as he attempted to enter the pitlane. The result was Hamilton's first DNF of his rookie season and has led to criticism of McLaren's tactics. "With hindsight, Lewis stayed out for at least a lap too long," conceded team CEO Martin Whitmarsh. "It was our decision. We were operating in very changeable conditions and, frankly, the call was a lap too late and we regret that now." However, McLaren's disappointment was partially compensated by Fernando Alonso finishing in second place to reignite his fading title aspirations. "For Lewis, a very disappointing day. But Fernando did a great job. As a team, we are still one and two in the standings and there is all still to play for," reflected Whitmarsh. END OF PLANET F1 ARTICLE Karma. What goes around comes around usually in the strangest ways. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.
+1 Funny to see, there were years when we had barely a drop of water from the sky and now three rain races in succession. I hope that the TC ban next year will have a comparable effect.
Spyker kept Midlands' position, and STR got Minardi's position, behind Midlands (Jordan). SA sorta got Arrows' position (dead last), since Arrows hadn't run for over three years.
News Massa frustrated by tyre gamble Sunday, 07, October, 2007, 14:38 Felipe Massa regretted making a premature switch to dry tyres after finishing third in China. The Brazilian changed to 'slicks' when the midfield runners made a dash for them in lap 26, whereas the rest of the leaders stayed out for another five to six laps. While that cost Lewis Hamilton dear - the championship leader going off in the pits as he grappled with extreme tyre wear - Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso had no such problems and emerged from their stops first and second. "I had hoped to be fighting for the win, but the race was affected by the changing weather conditions," Massa said. "At the moment I switched to dry tyres, the timing was not ideal. "The rain came back immediately and it was really difficult to stay on track. "In any case, in these instances, it can pay off to take risks: sometimes it works out and sometimes not." Team principal Jean Todt intimated that Ferrari had used Massa's car to experiment with tyres to help the squad judge what to do with Raikkonen, who had been battling for the lead with Hamilton. "Felipe had a good race, helping us to see how the dry weather tyres were working at a critical moment," Todt said. "Unfortunately, the rain returned for a brief period, which affected his race." The team's strategist Luca Baldisserri reckoned the early stop could have paid off for Massa had the brief shower not struck. "This was probably one of the most difficult races of the season, characterised by very unstable weather, with the rain coming and going," he said. "Maybe with Felipe, we rushed the switch to dry tyres, but the rain did not help. "Now we can say it was a great race, run by two exceptional drivers who are capable of adapting very well to the changing track conditions."
No wonder Massa looked so glum. I do wonder if he is coming back next year or if he knows he is not. At the end of the race Alonso congratulated Kimi, I did not see Massa even wave to Kimi.
I noticed that no one squirted Phil on the podium and he did not squirt Kimi or Alonshole. Looked to me like everyone knew Phil was upset and stayed away from him. Too bad. (BTW Unfairnando doused Kimi, but he did not return fire. Kimi would rather drink it than waste it on the likes of Alonshole. Another example of excellent judgmet on and off the track.) KIMI WDC 2008!
I was confused when all 4 front runners did not change tires during their first pit stops. Soft drys were the way to go as there was a dry line for most of the track. Even new intermediates was a better choice. Perhaps when the tread is worn on Intermediates they act like slicks ? 20/20 hindsight time; LH should have recognised his lack of traction on a drying track and cooled it coming up a wet pit road. Cords have no traction (been there,done that). Massa did not do his job. All this makes for a killer finish for the best season in recent memory. I fall into the ABA camp. Anyone But Alonshole.
According to Speed Chanel, Mclaren is going to pay points bonuses to all employees as if the points were still there. And after their absurd $100 mil penalty. The coffers must be getting low but the team marches on. Hats off to Ron Dennis and Co. I know Bernie and Max could give a s***. Its not their problem, they just created it. And no I'm not a Mclaren supporter, or at least wasn't.
