Dennis denies foul play Monday 1st October 2007 Play Jenson's SEIKO Challenge Take part and you could win a superb SEIKO watch. ENTER NOW! Ron Dennis has denied that there was any foul play from McLaren in Sunday's Japanese GP after Fernando Alonso's pit stop saw him thrown into the midst of traffic while Lewis Hamilton's stop was near-perfect. Alonso came in for his first pit stop on Lap 27 while running in second place but when the McLaren driver came out he found himself stuck at the back of a battle raging between four slower drivers and down in eighth place. However, when his team-mate Lewis Hamilton pitted a lap later, the same fate did not befall the McLaren rookie who got out ahead of that battle. This raised some eyebrows the P-F1 office, although Dennis has subsequently denied there was any foul play involved. "There was nothing wrong with the stop, it was just very long because we put fuel for the end of the race and he came out between three or four slow cars which hampered his progress through the field," said the McLaren team boss. "Lewis had the benefit of that extra bit of distance which meant that when he stopped, he came out in front of that pack. "The stopping point was determined by the range of fuel not a switch in the strategy. "We went as far as we could, we conserved a lot of fuel behind the Safety Car and we were very nervous about the Safety Car being deployed at a time when we were vulnerable to losing the race because of it." As for Alonso's heavy shunt that put him out of the race, Dennis believes it may have been the result of the damage Alonso's car suffered when he was hit by Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel seven laps earlier. "Once his car had been damaged, it was very difficult for him to drive and keep the pace but he did a good job," said Dennis. "And it just got away from him when the water got a little heavier, so it's just one of those things." Hamilton went on to win the race and now holds a 12-point advantage over his team-mate with two races remaining on this year's calendar. Post to del.icio.us END OF PLANET F1 ARTICLE Is Lewis lucky (aka Lucky Lewis) or are the powers that be giving him the edge?
a combo of luck ( Nurburgring ) and talent i would say. and yes, i do find it odd why Alonso was thrown into a pack of traffic.. odd, for a team with so much of experience, and have both their drivers challenging for the WDC.
LH is a very talented driver no taking that away from him .......... but man has he got some luck on his side or what!!!!!!!
Certainly yesterday's result shows there is more to Hamilton than the McLaren he is driving. Two drivers distinguished themselves yesterday, Hamilton and Massa.
Yes they should have waited one more lap then sent out a tow truck to retrieve the car on the side of the track OR Asked those middle pack cars to pull over for The Mighty Alonso. The planets always have to align properly to become a WDC. Which is why there will never may be another MS.
Anything is possible now. For Dennis winning the WDC with LH is all there is, now that Mclaren was thrown out of the WCC contention. I'd not be surprised Dennis was openly favoring LH in light of all the recent events. In any case, Dennis' credibility is none at this point in time. Foul play, lies and cheating are common words to define him and his team. I don't like Alonso but LH's extraordinary luck may be product of a combination of things. For sure LH is a great talent with awsome consistency but Alonso used to be the lucky guy on the grid [with Kimi getting the shorter end of the stick]
I wouldn't be surprised if it happens a couple more time this season. After all IF anything was done on purpose, Alonshole brought it on himself.
Wasn't this Alonso's only DNF of the year? Didn't Hamilton have three misfortunes on the track (crash in quali at Hockenheim, blown tire at Nurburgring, etc) this year that made his runaway uncomfortably tight with Alonso? Didn't he have to basically allow Alonso to win at Monaco? What I saw Saturday was far from "lucky".
I'm no Hamilton groupie by any means but you are correct, if there was luck it was that the Ferraris finished as high as they did.
I don't see much of a diff between the two. He can drive but his luck is designed by fat cats - god just doesn't play with variables like that.
Absolutely! McLaren were in the dumps for at least 3 years until suddenly pulling it together this year. If Hamilton had showed up at McLaren last year he wouldn't be doing so hot. With the exception of Ferrari's recent legendary run of championships, F1 dominance usually doesn't hang around very long........
MS was definitely a lucky one. LH seems to have it as well, although his career is just starting in F1 and his luck may run out, time will tell. LH definitely showed tons of talent in Japan though, luck was not the prime factor.
I don't understand something, that I see all over the different threads. Many people here, including myself, have said that LH is unquestionably a great talent. He haS been groomed from a very early age by McCheaters and it is natural for him to be very fast with them. None of us are questioning his driving skills or his abilities on track. All we are saying is that even if he becomes a champion this year there are going to be few of those ***** next to his name. Also that it is too early to crown him one of the greatest in the sport. Yet we are constantly being crucified and accused of being haters, uneducated about F1 and sometimes called stupid. Get a grip people! None of us is stating anything other than WAIT AND WE WILL SEE HOW IT GOES. If he really is ALL that then good. The sport needs people like Senna and Schumi. Keep in mind that if he fails miserably some of you will have lots of sour grapes to swallow. We are not HATERS. We are realistic.
To some extent we make our own luck. Lewis has talent. He is in the right place at the right time. Someone or someones (Lewis' father and Dennis) are looking out for him.
He can drive and he hasn't issues with stepping on others, his father and Dennis are looking out for him, but I think there are others on that pie, oiling the situation, rather copiously. Agreed with making our own luck - so, ultimately, as with any speculation, there will be a correction, or if he truly has the goods he will break onto new ground. At this point I wouldn't bet on him in 08. Hopefully Alonso gets the hell out of there, affording him the opportunity he craves, and then we'll see if LH is a one dimensional pop-tart, or the real deal. Being a leader entails more than finishing first.
um, yeah ok, let's see there is luck, tallent, and the f1 powers that be smiling upon Hamilton with the interests of him winning.
In a quick look at some of your recent posts I couldn't find one in which you said "LH is unquestionably a great talent", would you like to find it for us?. The tone of most of your posts has largely been exactly the opposite. I couldn't find much of the WAIT AND SEE HOW IT GOES stuff either. You have mostly questioned his ability, claimed his success has come for reasons other than ability, and generally been immoderately critical. It's little wonder that moderate people have felt the need to object to that.
lucky_13_2002, you don't yet seem to have provided us with a link to the posts in which you claim to have said positive things about Lewis Hamilton. It surely couldn't be the case that no such posts exist, could it? If that were true your credibility would be ruined and your honesty called into question.
I never worshiped him, like some here, and I am not his fan as I definitely don't like him. But I never have said that he is lacking talent or that he is not a good driver. I have stated on numerous occasions that he is exceptional, in the top 5 on the grid (which by the way I also said about Alonshole, whom I can't stand) and that he has impressed with his driving. However I still think that is too early to call him the next Senna or Schumi or a legend. I also have said that he is definitely lucky. I don't see any of this things as negative. Now, if you think that I will read few hundred pages of peoples opinions to find my posts, just to make you happy- I have news for you. I have a life. I think that there are plenty of people here who apparently don't, so you can ask them to take on the project.
Let's just say I've never seen anyone else rescued by a crane truck and then placed back on track to continue.
