Mark Webber was untouchable in the Spanish Grand Prix and claimed his first win of the season from pole position.
But Lewis Hamilton suffered cruel disappointment as a failure on his front-left wheel caused him to crash out of the race on the penultimate lap.
That elevated Fernando Alonso to second place in front of his home crowd with Sebastian Vettel third for Red Bull.
Vettel fell behind Hamilton at the first round of pit stops. He lost time being held in his pit box and when Hamilton came out the McLaren driver threaded between Vettel and Lucas di Grassi’s Virgin to stay ahead.
The German driver struggled to keep up with the McLaren as his adjustable front wing flap failed. Life got even more difficult for Vettel when he was forced to make an extra pit stop and nurse a brake problem to the end of the race. Not for the first time his RB6 lacked nothing in performance but needed better reliability.
Michael Schumacher scored the best result of his comeback with fourth place, spending much of the race defending his position from Jenson Button.
Button, who retained the championship lead by finishing fifth, criticised Schumacher’s driving, saying he was moving about too much on the straight: “You think with his experience he would know,” he said afterwards.
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Felipe Massa took sixth for Ferrari despite damaging his front wing by clipping Karun Chandhok while lapping the HRT driver.
Adrian Sutil kept Robert Kubica behind him for seventh place and Rubens Barrichello was ninth for Williams.
A second home driver, Jaime Alguersuari, scored the final point of the day after an eventful race. He made an exceptional start, gaining six places to run ninth in the early stages. But he picked up a drive-through penalty after clipping Chandhok’s car, knocking the front wing off the HRT.
Vitaly Petrov climbed from 19th to finish 11th ahead of Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi, who lost several places with a poor start.
But Nico Rosberg suffered a terrible race, finishing 13th and lapped after two pit stops – the first delayed when his right-front brake caught fire. He battled past Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Hulkenberg late in the race.
The revised Lotus and Virgin cars finished just 1.5 seconds apart after 200 miles of racing, Jarno Trulli leading home Timo Glock. Lucas di Grassi was 79 seconds behind his team mate in the old VR-01, suggesting the team have made a step forward with the new car raced only by Glock today.
Neither HRT made it to the finish – Chandhok retired shortly after changing his front wing and Bruno Senna crashed out on the first lap.
Sebastien Buemi and Pedro de la Rosa also failed to finish, retiring separately after colliding on the first lap. Heikki Kovalainen’s race never started, the Lotus driver being wheeled into the pits before the start of the race.
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sumedh
9th May 2010, 15:21
Jenson throwing tantrums after the race was the most exciting event of the race.
Sideshow bob
9th May 2010, 16:55
Has anyone noticed that Vettel has gotten the short end of the reliability stick every time? It’s like these Red Bull reliability problems are confined to one side of the garage.
Just saying…
Mike
9th May 2010, 17:05
Don’t worry, I’m sure Schumacher is cheating because he didn’t like being the 2nd fastest German so he made a call to Todt who has paid money to corrupt people within the Red Bull garage to sabotage Vettel’s car.
Actually It’s about time Webber had a bit of the good luck ^_^
Sideshow bob
9th May 2010, 17:24
Webber better make hay while the sun shines, or else I think he could become like Barrichello, or maybe Pattrese – spends a couple years in a killer car but doesn’t convert it into a title, and is never a force again.
Skett
9th May 2010, 18:17
Don’t you mean 3rd fastest german? Up until today Rosberg was beating him too!
As for Vettel’s reliability, maybe hes just harder on the car? I know the commentators were saying he hits those curbs harder.
Or maybe hes just unlucky
m0tion
10th May 2010, 7:17
Webber doesnt hit the kerbs like Vettel.
Todfod
10th May 2010, 8:09
Well actually he didn’t like being the fourth fastest German. Lets not forget Sebastian, Nico and Adrian have all been quicker than him.
But as long as Vettel is around.. Schumi will remain the second fastest German. He will run out to strings to pull sooner or later
Ed
9th May 2010, 17:46
Webber had brakes at Singapore last year – that’s the only one I can think of.
However, Webber seems to have had a lot more operational problems – like bad pitstops, bad strategy or unsafe pit exits etc.
TommyC
10th May 2010, 1:27
i think it’s the first race this year where webber hasn’t had a problem in hs pitstop, thank goodness. what a fantastic drive. absolute dominance. keep it going Mark!
nik
9th May 2010, 19:02
is there a video anywhere of the button tantrum?
also – what is going on at Williams? I was expecting to find a story about it online but nobody has mentioned it. Apparently there was some bickering prior to the race – and Sam Michael inspecting the pit stop during the race makes it more intriguing.
damonsmedley
10th May 2010, 8:22
Yes… What is all this about a Jenson Button tantrum? Can somebody catch me up?
Mr. T
10th May 2010, 23:41
At the end of the race, Button got out of his car, threw his steering wheel onto the ground and kicked the sidepods to pieces in fury.
Only joking – check out the iPlayer where he just complains about Shumacher’s driving under his breath in an interview with BBC.
damonsmedley
11th May 2010, 8:21
I live in Australia so iPlayer is not an option… But I thought you were serious there! Those steering wheels aren’t cheap! Nor are those sidepods…
damonsmedley
11th May 2010, 8:22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVx3NvsD7hQ Is this it?
Mr. t
2nd July 2010, 2:20
Yup, that’s it – at 47 secs or so
Harry D
9th May 2010, 15:21
Webber was class…..Lewis well I have no words……
Gutted
TommyB
9th May 2010, 15:50
Any thoughts for driver of the day. I’d say Webber or Hamilton…
Sandman
9th May 2010, 16:01
How, in the name of God, does name “Hamilton” come up when considering “Driver of the Day”. Unless we’re talking “the most reckless” one.
TommyB
9th May 2010, 16:02
Because it was a “foregone conclusion” that the Red Bull’s were getting a 1-2 and Hamilton split them until the failure at the end while his team mate was 55 seconds down the road.
BeenDun
9th May 2010, 16:31
That’s far from “Driver of the Day” material. Doing a fastest lap at the end of the race was all about ego for LH. He paid for it when hos tire went. All he had to do was chill out and cruise to the podium. What was he thinking? Button is cleaning his clock this season.
Mike
9th May 2010, 17:02
I suspect his tyre would have gone even if he had gone at the slowest possible pace, And seeing as it wasn’t a driver error issue I think it’s a bit harsh to blame him for it.
I do dislike the little annoying egotist, but he is faster than Button and it’s only incidents like this or lucky calls that are making button look good.
Chris
9th May 2010, 16:03
I’m confused: what part of Hamilton’s drive today was reckless? I’m guesing we have a Hamilton hater on hand…
monsol
9th May 2010, 16:24
Just ask Vettel
Vishy
9th May 2010, 16:32
Wow what an unbiased opinion! Are you another Alonso fanatic?
sato113
9th May 2010, 16:53
how was HAM reckless?
SD
9th May 2010, 17:32
towards the end of the race, Alonse backed off and slowed down.
Hamilton kept pushing, knowing very well he could not catch webber.
I guess that extra bit of pushing led to that accident (McLaren seem to have a diff theory)
Gazz.
9th May 2010, 19:02
In reply to Sandman’s Comment.
What a load of nonsense, I am a huge Lewis Fan but I am not being biased when I say he deserved Driver of the Day.
He has been by far the best driver in the field this season. he has been the only driver that has produced consistent exciting and inspired drives throughout all weekends this season.
In Bahrain he Picked up A well deserved Podium.
In Melbourne He Drove his heart out and was on for a good result until Webber took him out.
In Malaysia he drove from 20th to 6th.
In China he could have won if he had not been brought in for Intermediates, and still managed to drive to second after being at the near back of the grid.
And now he could have had a brilliant second place, splitting the two fastest cars on the grid by almost a second, had his Tyre not have failed.
Enough Said.
delendaEst
9th May 2010, 19:12
OK but being the most exciting racer doesn’t score WDC points for you. Usually the WDC title goes to pretty unexciting drivers who just manage to be all the time on top of things (Just like Mark did today) and not having to overtake everybody trying to recover from catastrophic mistakes, or forcing their stuff beyond reason.
Dane
9th May 2010, 23:44
Hamilton Driver of the Day??
He started 3rd, got up to 2nd, then crashed. That is not driver of the day material
Achilles
10th May 2010, 6:45
Very Bitchy……
steph
9th May 2010, 16:03
If Jaime hadn’t have been occassionally thick due to lack of experience or whatever he could have been a contender. I would say Webber though
delendaEst
9th May 2010, 19:16
Jaime is extremely young and unexperienced, and drives an uncompetitive car. But I’d say he’s pretty good for a rookie. I do expect a lot from him in upcoming seasons, especially if he gets his hands on a better car.
TommyB
9th May 2010, 16:14
Yeah I’d say Webber or Hamilton. Has to be Webber though, he didn’t put a foot wrong.
Salty
9th May 2010, 17:43
Webber has to get driver of the day. Led from start to finish – did exactly what was required, including out driving and out pacing his teammate. Outstanding job by a driver generally overlooked as a WDC contender.
Alonso shone in the latter stages when his car seemed to come back to him, but the Ferrari looked rather lumbering in the early stages when the Bully boys and Hamilton streaked off into the distance. Rather lucked into his podium after the wheels came off for for Seb and Lewis. Good result from an average day at the office then.
Vettel seemed to struggle all day somehow. Indecision when confronted with Hamilton and a backmarker cost him the position. And his light footed RBR6 still seems a little too fragile for his quite punchy driving style. Lucky to make the podium in the end when we were all expecting a 1-2 for that famous Austrian town of Milton Keynes’ finest.
Well done Michael. Smart defence from a much racier McLaren earned him a good result and much needed points to silence the nay-sayers. Just hope they can get some performance into the Merc soon. Schumi was noted as a great and smart racer, but following China and today, he might find himself re-christened as the new Jarno Trulli.
Button and Massa both disappointed, though at least Jenson was driving the car on his own. These Massa-baby radio transmissions really are quite incredible. Has there ever been such a symbiotic relationship between a driver and his race engineer?
Hamilton again provided some of the most exciting moments of the race, having a nibble at Vettel and Webber at the first corner whilst defending Alonso, then nailing Vettel after the pitstops with a very decisive move, then finally by losing it 2 laps from home. Shame for the poor guy, but there’s still that niggly feeling that his aggressive driving style, whilst great for us to watch, doesn’t help with his tyre reliability.
The race had it moments, but definately not a classic. Finally, sincerly hope the report of the crowd reaction to Hamilton after his retirement is incorrect. Any question of race belongs on the track.
Skett
9th May 2010, 18:21
Ha! Schumi train doesn’t quite have the right ring to it ;)
BasCB
9th May 2010, 19:38
Make that “Schumi-Zug” in German and it sounds a lot better!
delendaEst
9th May 2010, 19:22
No driver of the day today, i’d say. Mark and Fernando won, made no mistakes, but their race was uninspiring. MSC was better than in previous races this year, but still nothing to write home about.
Jenson once again showed why he is the defending WDC and once again outscored HAM without any fanfare.
Ben
10th May 2010, 1:13
Webber would be hard to go past for drvier of the day. But Rubens would also be a contender, 17th to 9th with some serious team issues, good result.
massa
9th May 2010, 16:49
michael shumacher did a solid drive today and kept jenson behind very well
alonzo got lucky yet again
massa found the good ballance of his car bye braking his front wing chandok should hav been penilized for that.
vettel should hav retired because if his tyre came of or his breaks didnt work at all then that could of caused danger to the other cars and drivers
abosulty no overtaking
and it was the most boring f1 race i have ever seen
even in 2008 behind the saftey car in a wet race was more exting than today
monaco gp will be carnige because u cant over take there
i wish the specticle could be changed immediatly bye removing double diffusers
TommyB
9th May 2010, 17:12
Chandhok tried to get out of the way. He gave Massa space but Felipe locked up and ran into Chandhok. Not Karun’s fault…
steph
9th May 2010, 17:21
Chandhok didn’t do anything wrong,. he tried to get out of the way and stay there but Massa arrived too quickly and was out of control so hit Karun.
Salty
9th May 2010, 18:02
Totally agree – Chandhok, poor devil, is on a hiding to nothing. He left space for all 3 lapping cars, Massa mis-read and locked up. To add insult to injury, Algi then completely trashed his front wing in what should of been a simple lapping. God knows that HRT is a demoralising dog of enough to drive without faster cars actually gunning for you.
Icthyes
9th May 2010, 17:40
With respect, not the most contributory of comments anyway, but I’m seeing this echoed a lot as the day goes by.
I’ve followed 10 F1 seasons all the way through and can safely say the Barcelona race we saw today has been pretty much the average standard of quality of an F1 race over that time.
If F1 is boring to crisis levels because of the race we’ve had today, how come it hasn’t imploded by now?
TommyB
9th May 2010, 18:24
How was this boring were you watching Bahrain. Results were changing till the final lap!
I think just because of the last 3 races peoples expectations were too high on a circuit that always produces poor racing.
Metallion
9th May 2010, 18:03
Why should Vettel have retired? Can you really imagine any driver in 4th place or any other point scoring position retiring because of such issues with so few laps left? He could afford to slow down enough to bring it back safely for those last few laps.
I can imagine if he had had brake problems from lap 1 it would have been pointless to continue but as long as you have a chance to score points you’ll try as hard as you can to do so.
Also, removing double diffusers won’t magically change everything.
Indian
9th May 2010, 15:22
Adrian Sutil once again proved the level of Force India. Nice and consistent racing in the recent days from him and his team.
Mike
9th May 2010, 16:00
Sutil has his fair share of bad luck, but when things go his way he can get some pretty impressive results.
Tim Sculthorpe
9th May 2010, 16:14
It’s a really solid car again. I’m hopeful if circumstances allow they can get a break near the front again this season.
Salty
9th May 2010, 18:05
Sooty did well again indeed. Do wonder if some of the other teams arn’t casting another eye over this very sharp driver. Good job.
nemo
9th May 2010, 15:22
..I almost cried for Lewis
Macca
9th May 2010, 15:38
..I almost laughed
cyanide
9th May 2010, 16:47
I was sleeping during the race, only woke up when the commentators were shouting about Lewis’ accident.
David A
9th May 2010, 17:09
Same here, but I hadn’t really got any sleep over last night.
Mr. T
10th May 2010, 23:49
Glad to see I’m not the only one who occasionally drifts off in the middle of TV coverage!
Younger Hamilton
9th May 2010, 17:19
I was laughing at Vettel’s problems calling the Red Bull ‘sick’ then Lewis’s accident came up,then i stopped laughing and started crying because i knew God punished me and Lewis.Its a utter shame i hate Vettel and Alonso even more Alonso and Vettel didnt deserve 2nd and 3rd respectively Button didnt deserve 5th either after his problems but at least he finished there.This has costed Lewis Horribly, in the Title Race
polishboy808
9th May 2010, 19:21
Well maybe Lewis didn’t deserve to crash, but as was posted above he was pushing far too hard for nothing. It was clear nobody could catchup to Webber, yet he went right along pushing harder then ever at the end. I wouldn’t say this was a rim failure as they say it is, but just a matter of the tires being used up so badly that they just let go. The same thing happened to him in Monza last year. Why push so hard if your not going to go any further anyway? Preserve the engine, and your position. I was saddened by Vettle’s problem and then hearing that Ham had crashed I broke out into hysterical laughter, knowing that he must be hating himself for pushing so hard.
Scribe
9th May 2010, 21:33
Hamilton was not pushing to much for nothing, his tyres where busted by debris on track. He was pushing for a damn good reason, what if the problem on Vettles car popped up on Webbers?
So really when you say “no good reason” what you mean is possible race victory.
m0tion
10th May 2010, 7:21
Yep that late purple lap was all ego and no brains
damonsmedley
10th May 2010, 8:51
[quote] “Its a utter shame i hate Vettel and Alonso” [/quote]
Um… If I am not mistaken, Sebastian is one of the most likeable drivers on the grid!
David A
9th May 2010, 21:13
Vettel and Alonso crossed the line, picled up the points, hence they deserved 2nd/3rd ;)
delendaEst
9th May 2010, 19:26
I laughed my heart out, for Jenson actually.
Jenson Button WDC!!!
Jay Menon
10th May 2010, 2:13
I laughed…very hard. It was a good feeling.
damonsmedley
10th May 2010, 8:34
It would be quite unusual if Button took out the title. But at this stage, you wouldn’t discount it…
Filmon
9th May 2010, 15:24
I hope the backward Spanish people did not plant nails on the track;as they were advocating before in order to crash Hamilton…
bobo
9th May 2010, 15:29
who are you quoting genius?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
9th May 2010, 15:36
He’s referring to a Spanish website that was set up a few years ago where the point of the game was to plant nails on the track for Hamilton to hit.
bobo
9th May 2010, 15:41
I see, thanks. People are just as inspiring everywhere, makes one proud…
Mike
9th May 2010, 16:07
That’s, rather amusing and alarming at the same time….
Matt
10th May 2010, 2:34
The Spanish fans do get a bit excited don’t they… celebrating at the end as if Alonso had won the WDC lol
f1yankee
9th May 2010, 15:26
webster really needed this, not only a 1st class drive but taking ground from vettel.
BasCB
9th May 2010, 16:37
And Vettel knows it, from the looks of him in the press conference.
Salty
9th May 2010, 18:09
Well deserved to. Vettel’s hesitation when confronted with a backmarker and a charging Hamilton demostrated rather well the difference between a fast driver and a racer.
Good on ya Mark.
robert
10th May 2010, 5:03
haha.. don’t make me laugh salty. Vettel is outshining Webber in all aspects so far this season. Every ‘racer’ has a bad weekend every now and again.
Patrickl
10th May 2010, 7:34
Vettel has had two in a row
curedcat
9th May 2010, 15:28
one thing mclaren can surely take from this race is that at the moment they match redbull in terms of race pace .Hamilton even set the fastest lap of the entire race .
BeenDun
9th May 2010, 16:33
…and then he blew a tire. Did it ever occur to you that the fastest lap at that stage of the race on worn out tires may have been the reason he LOST? Think about it.
judo chop
9th May 2010, 16:59
Okay. Are you suggesting that he got a puncture because he was really hard on his tires but still managed to do the fastest lap on these supposedly worn out tires?
BeenDun
9th May 2010, 18:27
I’m suggesting that the fastest lap was a useless exercise done to assuage his own ego. Who cares who has the fastest lap? It’s worthless Finishing in the points is what matters. So YAY Hamilton…fastest lap!!!!! Lol, he’s now lsoing to Button by how much?
Vishy
9th May 2010, 19:03
Listen more carefully to race commentry next time. Vettel had brake problems and McLaren/Hami decided to push in case Webber had similar problems.
Scribe
9th May 2010, 21:38
BeenDun, your obviously wearing partisan blinkers, Hamilton was pushing at that point incase Webber’s brakes did what Vettles did so it was hardly an ego exercise, infact Hamilton hardly ever sets fastest lap, it doesn’t really interest him. He could though, look at his fastest laps in GP2.
AND the tyres broke most likley due to debris, stop having a go because it makes you feel good, Hamilton is infact a damn good driver, not arogance agression an walking awful made man to drive racing cars.
lightsout
9th May 2010, 17:10
If you recall, around the time of Vettel’s problem Alonso was setting several fastest laps. I’d just say bad luck.
cacarella
9th May 2010, 17:33
I’d say that it would be quite easy for Mclaren and Ferrari to Trade fastest laps in the later stages of the race, especially if the leading Redbull turns down the revs and coasts home. (not saying that that for sure happened, but who really knows the truth anyway?)
steph
9th May 2010, 15:28
Webber was astounding today, all weekend in fact. Vettel lost some points but he was in Webber’s shadow today. Good on the Aussie.
So happy with Alonso. It seems the Mclaren may be equal/just ahead of the Ferrari so it was great to pick up some extra points. Feel sympathetic towards Lewis but glad my team got some points.
Prisoner Monkeys
9th May 2010, 15:29
I have to say … Fernando Alonso is a little over-rated. He had a nothing drive today, and he never would have seen the podium if it weren’t for Hamilton’s puncture and Vettel’s botched stop. Alonso was completely anonymous throughout.
TommyB
9th May 2010, 15:34
Alonso didn’t drive well today. Lewis was absolutely superb and was so unlucky with the failure at the end :(
HG
9th May 2010, 15:56
how do you come to that conclusion though? the Mclaren and red bull are faster cars, he thrashed his team mate, and with a bit of luck, gained more points than he should have really.
Tim
9th May 2010, 21:37
And, according to the BBC, Ferrari are so mystified by Massa’s lack of performance relative to his team mate that they’re launching an investigation.
Is there any evidence that Alonso was lacklustre and the Ferrari was capable of any more than its drivers got from it? No, didn’t think so.
BeenDun
9th May 2010, 18:29
Lewis has been superb all season. Superb in Friday practice, superb in passing all those cars, superb in fastest laps. Too bad his teammate is eve more superb in the only category that really matters. WDC points.
FelipeBaby
9th May 2010, 18:37
Alonso made no mistakes and there’s no way he could outpace the RBs. He got a bit of luck with Vettel’s breakdown but we’ve seen plenty of Vettel’s breakdowns this season. An HAM, well he was asking for it, trying to make purples for no reason whatsoever
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
9th May 2010, 15:37
He thrashed Massa though. 40 seconds ahead at the end of the race.
steph
9th May 2010, 15:40
Alonso may not have been that great today but he did enough in quali to ensure when it did go wrong for those guys, he was there to pick up the pieces.
He did blow Massa away today, I’d like to say it was because Massa was held up a bit but Massa hasn’t been as quick as Alonso all weekend
Saip
9th May 2010, 16:33
Not impressed with Alonso though I am super happy with his result. Got lucky with the podium when he could have done something around the 43/44th lap to ensure a podium. Bad strategy from Ferrari. They got to take the risks. Cannot expect guys in front to have problems and make up races. They got to wake up!!! Else a Button will come up with a good call on some fine day and get a win..every win counts this season. I hope Alonso does make some awesome moves, both on the track and strategy wise too.
WDC for Alonso. Yipeeee!!!
gopher
9th May 2010, 19:07
Yuppers, me too. But I’m not sure that Ferrari should have taken more risks. Fernando could have pitted for new tyres without sacrificing a position, but he would have lost a lot of time to the RBs and Ham, it would have been quite unlikely for him to catch up AND then undertake them. On the other hand he was close enough to Seb and HAM that he could benefit from a minor mistake or failure. His strategy was good, and ultimately it paid him well.
Red Andy
10th May 2010, 18:11
At the time Ferrari were considering an extra pit stop for Alonso, Webber out front was still setting fastest laps in his Red Bull. That showed that the hard tyres were holding up, so there wouldn’t have been a huge advantage from a tyre change. Ferrari did the right thing in leaving Alonso out.
roser
9th May 2010, 15:52
Alonso took care of the tires better than others ;-) and with a car not being that fast in this circuit he got valuable points…
Alistair
9th May 2010, 16:26
Alonso is overrated. How people can say that he’s still the best driver in F1, when he was beaten by a rookie in 07, is incredible. But what we’re seeing from this year and from the last few years, at Ferrari, is that Kimi and Massa were very much more overrated. They had a clear car advantage in 07 and 08. And now Alonso is demonstrably faster than Massa (who, in turn, was slightly faster than the ever-motivated Kimi.)
BeenDun
9th May 2010, 16:36
So everyone is overrated except LH? Interesting that they are all miles ahead of the boy blunder right now.
SD
9th May 2010, 17:42
ever-motivated Kimi??
he just came, drove and went back home!
he was an amazing driver though!
but Alonso, Lewis and Schumi r the 3 drivers who r a lot more than just drivers, they play an imp role in improving the car. i dont c any1 other than these 3 who can contribute so much. that was the reason Ferrari decided to bring in Alonso this season.
Metallion
9th May 2010, 18:13
I think you need to remember that almost every year the driver who wins the championship also has the better car. In -07 when Kimi won I don’t think Ferrari was that much better though. Hamilton could have won without his errors at the end of the year. So calling it a “clear car advantage” isn’t really fair.
And although Hamilton was a rookie in -07 he wasn’t just any rookie. And these days it’s easier for young guys to come in to F1 and be fast, at least with enough testing.
David A
9th May 2010, 21:09
What “clear car advantage”? The Mclaren and Ferrari cars on 2007-08 were evenly matched in mine snd everyone else’s opinion. And the only excuse given as to why Fernando isn’t the best driver is “Alonso got beat by a rookie”, but it is not wise to judge a whole career based on one season.
monsol
9th May 2010, 16:29
Yeah for sure, the guy can’t drive
Vishy
9th May 2010, 16:38
Agreed he would not have seen the podium, but you have to admit Ferrari went back in development wrt both McLaren and Redbull and still Alson qualified and finished strong!
Alonso himself said “I might not be the fastest but I am very consistent”. I think Alonso is a fantastic driver and he is showing his class.
Really gutted for Hamilton, couldn’t watch the finish :-(
BasCB
9th May 2010, 16:39
Maybe anonymous, but he is getting more out of the car then it has in it. Massa was way back in Qualifying and the race.
Yes, lucky to pick up 2nd place, but not totally undeserved. He did say he was happy with the result bud not happy with what they learned during the weekend. I felt Vettel was more off topic after the race, complaining about not winning.
gopher
9th May 2010, 18:44
Is this F1fanatics or ALOhaters.com?. Well Webber did nothing exciting today also, he just led all the way through. And won, quite deserverdly. Fernando nicely outpaced Massa, and didn’t committ a single mistake, particularly he didn’t needlessly punish his tyres and stuff like some other pilot did.
Go Fernando!!!
MAKrifayee
10th May 2010, 4:02
Yeah they both had problems and he just benefited from that.There is no denial in that,but to say him he is over rated jus because of this…i wouldn’t agree on that
bobo
9th May 2010, 15:31
and he’s always driven that way, as you well know.
kowalsky
9th May 2010, 15:34
webber was the driver of the day, without a doubt. But the one that came out best this weekend, was alonso. His car it’s the third best at the moment, but he played his cards well, and had the champions luck on his side. He is second in the championship, and the ones he most fears, hamilton and vettel, scored less points than him. Today was a copy cat race of many alain prost did in the past. Not very exciting, but very important points in the race to the world championship.
BasCB
9th May 2010, 16:43
For Button it is somethink like it. Still on top, even if he was not the best. Keep the points going until an opportunity comes to cash in with a win.
MPJ1994
9th May 2010, 15:35
Great to hear the Australian National Anthem once again :) Awesome drive by Mark.
I’m not going to lie and say I was saddened by Hamiltons crash, but he did put in a great drive and he deserved second but Mark was just untouchable today.
Bring on Monaco :)
Matt
10th May 2010, 2:40
I never thought our national anthem was either good or bad, just middle of the road… but the Austrian anthem for Red Bull makes ours sound almost as upbeat as the Italian anthem
Mr. T
11th May 2010, 0:05
I like the Brazilian and Italian anthems best. But the way Felipe was going, I’ve got more chance of hearing that combo if Italy face Brasil in the World Cup Final!
Harry D
9th May 2010, 15:38
Its always nice to hear Aussie anthem..Webber..Awesome…
Ed
9th May 2010, 15:38
Ferrari shouldn’t have brought Massa in on the same lap as Schumacher, it could have cost him 2 positions as it turned out.
Ed
9th May 2010, 15:38
Also, still no grand chelems (pole, win, lead every lap, fastest lap) since 2004!
Mike
9th May 2010, 15:49
Ed, of course making a (pole, wind, lead every lap, fastest lap) is more important that winning two championships… of course..
what the hell Alonso did against you in other life, man?
Bad luck for Pedro :(
Ed
9th May 2010, 16:13
I’m sorry, you’ve lost me there
What does my comment have to do with Alonso?
Mike
9th May 2010, 16:17
The other Mike misunderstood ^_^ Usually it’s me!
Mike that is not Mike
9th May 2010, 16:28
sorry guys! :(
Ed, cause I misunderstood your words
Mike, for taking your name
Ed
9th May 2010, 16:36
Ok, that’s fine – i do prefer massa, but i have nothing against alonso
TommyB
9th May 2010, 15:47
Points lost or points gained for Vettel? Guess we’ll see at the end of the year but it could be a repeat of 2009 for him :(
Paul A
9th May 2010, 15:57
Boring, boring, boring…. yawn.
Overtaking? Button couldn’t get past Schumacher who was not exactly fast; Rosberg on new softs could hardly get past the “other” Nico.
If it weren’t for pit lane screw ups and mechanical reliability, there was no suspense. The final results read +/- like the qualis.
But, credit where credit is due; Weber (the 50/50 winner of RB reliability), Alonso (mature championship drive) and Vettel (the 50/50 loser of RB reliability) all deserved podiums. And while I sympathize with Hamilton’s “puncture” (debris? rim failure?) let’s not forget he has a reputation for abusing his tyres.
Alistair
9th May 2010, 16:15
Lewis’s tyres were fine, wear-wise. In fact, they were better, I would say, that Jenson’s. The myth that Jenson is so much better on his tyres has once more been proven to be false. Whenever Jenson has been upper-mid-pack, he’s had, naturally, to drive off line, attempt overtaking manoeuvres, and suffer from ‘dirty air’. The effect being that his tyre wear goes up. Jenson ruined his tyres after five laps in Australia and 9 laps in Malaysia. In Spain, his wear was similar to Lewis’s; Jenson, however, slightly flat-spotted his tyres (left front). So Lewis’s tyres were in better shape.
But Jenson is once again fluky and scores more points than Lewis, who had completely out-driven Jenson once more. For Lewis to be second, for the vast majority of the race, and split the Red Bulls was a terrific achievement. Jenson was stuck Behind Schumi basically the entire race. A more aggressive, dare I say more talented, driver would have found a way past; and after far fewer laps had passed.
Incidentally, did you see the wear rate on the Red Bulls? They looked terrible. A consequence, I suppose, of their having so much down-force.
I hope Lewis (read McLaren) can turn their fortunes around at Monaco: Lewis is long overdue a good result on paper.
Mike
9th May 2010, 16:25
I think calling Jenson’s drive today a fluke is a bit harsh, and, one of my favourite quotes is from Murray Walker, “Anything can happen in formula one and it usually does”
Which by that I am implying that Luck, and I use the term loosely, plays a large part in drivers fortunes, Yes Hamilton was unlucky, and I do think he is the faster driver, but at the end of the day, who is leading the championship?
BeenDun
9th May 2010, 16:39
Lewis cooked his tires at a stage in the race where they were already trashed. His tire blows and he’s out of the race. Button manages his tires to the end and gets valuable points and that’s “fluky?” Lol, for those of us thinking rationally it’s called WINNING. Hamilton had no need to reel off that fast lap other than feeding his ego. So much for “the next schumi.”
BasCB
9th May 2010, 16:48
I would say Button can hardly be called Lucky here. He lost out to Michael because of a pti stop problem – wheelnut – not a mistake of his own.
Hard to tell, weather Hamilton wanted too much from the tyres, but he was surely driving very good. Don’t forget that at that time Vettel was still haning on with somewhat working brakes and Alonso was having some quick laps.
Tobitron
9th May 2010, 17:37
What Lewis was trying to do, during the last few laps of the race, was close the gap between him and Mark in case of Mark’s car suddenly losing power, the likes of which happened to Vettel in Bahrain. Though you probably count that as Lewis’ fault also. Maybe it was. Maybe the McLaren has some form of air channeling device that’s barcoded to only get sucked in by the Red Bulls and the Ferraris.
Anyway, what we were watching with Vettel earlier in the race was a car on the edge of it’s reliability, and as Brundle pointed out, McLaren would pick up on that and assume that the same could happen with Mark, urging Lewis on to push further and create that turbulence within the Red Bull garage and Mark’s driving. Although Mark’s stellar driving was not put off by Lewis’ charge and Vettel’s potent easing off, it can be shown that McLaren are definitely on the right track, and Red Bulls reliability problems still have not been totally wained. Whatever happened with Lewis’ tyre, whether it was too much wear or a freak accident, is still not known.
Salty
9th May 2010, 18:28
Well put – totally agree that McLaren must have chewed over the Vettel brake wear, supposed Webber could also been susceptible to the same and told Hammy just that. Hamilton does have an aggressive driving style, so surely yes, must scrub his tyres harder than some others, but we WANT drivers to push for the win. He was obviously trying to do just that. Was it circuit shrapnel or a overtemp/overworked tyre that cost Lewis? Who knows. But would rather see him racing like he does than just slotting in for points, too much of that happens already.
BeenDun
9th May 2010, 18:34
The myth is proven false? Where did Button finish in comparison to Hamilton? Being second for the “majority of the race” means nothing. So you’re saying Hamilton would have gotten past Schumi? haha, where did Button finish the race in comparison to your “more talented” Lewis? Where is Mr. Aggressive in the points standings right now? Mr. Button? Lol. Lewis is going backwards. Button is quietly walking away with this teammate battle.
Scribe
9th May 2010, 21:44
Alright BeenDun this forum requires facts for assertions, what evidence have you got that Hamilton cooked his tyres? No one does fastest laps on knakered tyres because it’s impossible, what evidence have you got that Whitmarsh is blowing steam, none, that didn’t look like tyre failure that looked like wheel rim failiure, came from within the system rather than the tyre blwong from without.
Your can’t just make groundless assertions acording to your own bias. Facts an evidence required.
Gusto
10th May 2010, 11:49
Well put Scribe. If you look at the evidence you can see the tyre blow on the inner wheel rim, and as Keith has stated you cant do fast laps on `cooked tires`.
Inner wheel rim fails, tyre starts to deflate, tyre then starts to overheat due to rolling on side wall, pressure in tyre increases till it blows off the inner wheel rim, the whole event takes around 3 to 4 seconds.
Hairs
10th May 2010, 13:30
Partial repost from James Allen:
On the one hand, on “raw” pace JB should have had a good chance to get pace Schumacher, and possibly made one or two moves that were either not ballsy enough or in the wrong direction. However, I don’t agree that:
“What is clear from the lap times yesterday is that this was one of those days when Button was nowhere near as fast as his team mate in the same car. In the 16 lap opening stint he only matched Hamilton’s lap time once and the rest of the time he was between a tenth and half a second slower. In 15 laps he lost six seconds to him.”
Jenson had a car that had a slipping clutch and no dash readout – that means he was having to guess his gear changes based on experience and, what? Listening to the engine revs? And had a botched pitstop. Yet he was still *only* losing a tenth on Hamilton on some laps? Surely that’s a sign he’s a great driver who was able to get almost on parity with his teammate despite a massive disadvantage? I’m not at all surprised Button didn’t get past Schumacher this weekend. Who else did?
[JA posted a piece].. on the great job Vettel did with a car full of technical problems and failed pitstops. Why not the same kudos for Button? Had Hamilton, or Alonso, had the same race Jenson had in that car, surely the message from the pundits would have been “look at him, keeping his car close to the pace and getting the points, still trying to make passes even though it’s impossible to pass on this circuit and his car is a wreck, what a great champion!” I’m not surprised Button (and many of his fans) have got frustrated at the public perception of him as a 2nd rate champion.
Let’s not forget, when Hamilton had a car that was much much faster than Schumacher’s in China it still took 3 laps to get past him. And he didn’t get past Sutil at all in Malaysia, again despite a much faster car.
Tim Sculthorpe
9th May 2010, 16:01
Gutting for Lewis. It was a great drive to split the Red Bulls and he was in better nick than Vettel before the failiure. The points difference is a bit of a red herring because while the gaps are bigger there are obviously more points on offer too.
The Red Bull’s are going to rue their inability to rack up a big lead though.
haha
9th May 2010, 16:02
Alonso contributed nothing to the race today, but scored lucky. The dude must have been praying too much.
Gagan
9th May 2010, 16:44
He did by securing the 4th grid slot and to be in a position where he can have the points if the leaders falter. You cant blame him for Vettel’s brake problems and Ham’s tyre faliure. If someone is to be blamed, it has to be Red Bull’s reliability and Mclaren’s rare failure.
He is doing what he knows best, drive for winning the war and not the battle.
gopher
9th May 2010, 18:53
Absolutely, “the race is not to the swift…”. HAM is the kind of pilot who goes from victory to victory until the final defeat. He needs to improve a lot in terms of strategy if he wants to be one of the greatest. Pace is not everything, consistence goes a long way.
Go Fernando!! Go Ferrari!!
Dennis
9th May 2010, 17:17
Praying has nothing to do with anything since there is no God, Alonso was prettty quick! Seems like the Ferari gets faster and faster as the race progresses. Good race pace! Webber was unstoppable today!
gopher
9th May 2010, 18:47
He’s already got more than his share of bad luck this years, I guess
Woffin
9th May 2010, 16:13
Looked like a repeat of Nurburgring 2007 for Hamilton. Watch the replay again. There’s no smoke, but the front left is leaning at a very funny angle as he comes out of T2 and into T3 before the tyre lets go.
Alistair
9th May 2010, 16:18
Something broke and flew-up in the air before the tyre went. I very much doubt that Lewis had anything to do with it or the result of it. After all, Lewis said he was just pacing himself; his tyres, moreover, looked fine. Quite unlike the Red Bulls…
Dave Blanc
10th May 2010, 4:48
Hamilton wasn’t pushing hard at the end – he’s backed off. Don’t you people check the facts before making incorrect comments? Here’s the link to the official timing – you’ll find it easier to make commnents if you check your facts first…
http://fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1_media/Documents/esp-race-analysis.pdf
Morteza
9th May 2010, 16:13
Unlucky Hamilton I have to say! Reminds me of last season’s race at Monza! He’s got it all, Hamilton I think is the best on the grid.
Red Andy
10th May 2010, 18:13
Last season at Monza Hamilton put it in the wall when he should really have been thinking about bringing the car home. At least this time his late retirement appears not to have been his fault.
But unlucky? Remember that this is the guy who never had a mechanical retirement in his entire F1 career until last year at Abu Dhabi. Swings and roundabouts.
Mike
9th May 2010, 16:14
A few tid bits people will probalbly not consider, Rubens ended 9th, not bad considering he started 17th or so, anyone see how he managed that?
Also both Virgins finished, that has to be a very important step for them.
Alguersuari had another good weekend, 10th is good for him normally but today he managed it with considerable quantity of incidents including a collision and a drive through.
Did anyone in Aus hear the Aus commentators say that the Virgin team should have just bought a GP2 car and gone just as fast? normally I argue in their favour but that was just a dumb thing to say…. lucky the HRT cars retired or they would really take offence!
BasCB
9th May 2010, 16:50
Strange, that both Massa and Alguersuari had accidents with the HRT cars, Massa from behind and Alg driving over his front wing.
Impressive drive by Chandhok to get as far and a shame he did not finish. Maybe Klein did give some setup tips.
BasCB
9th May 2010, 16:52
I think Rubens made a great start, like Alguersuari who was just in front of him.
hairpin
9th May 2010, 23:14
Re Rubens – Rubens ended 9th, not bad considering he started 17th or so, anyone see how he managed that?
No perhaps it was because eight people in front of him retired in some way. ??
Mr. T
11th May 2010, 0:16
Is the Aus TV feed available online – e.g. like BBC iPlayer? I’d be quite interested to hear what is broadcast in other countries. Apparently the US coverage is terrible.
George
9th May 2010, 16:16
I think what Jenson was referring to with the ‘he should know better’ comment was when he was coming out of the pits and Schumi came around the outside of him, could be my memory playing tricks though.
Ruined my predictions with Vettel not winning and Lewis crashing out, but as they say, it’s a long championship :)
F1silverarrows
9th May 2010, 16:30
Unlucky for Lewis, guess that would cancel out vettel’s problems from the start losing points also, so no need to compare luck when it comes down to the wire at the end with these two atleast.
Alonso got lucky in my eyes vettel’s car/pitcrew falling apart and Lewis drives brilliantly but his tyre fails on him 2 laps until the end gifting Alonso the 2nd and vettel 3rd.
Lewis I guess knows how Vettel feels when he loses points in good posistions on race day. Monza 09 just comes to mind for Lewis today, and even I’m gutted for him. I hope he comes back in Monaco and maybe win it which would be good for him.
I’m very worried about the Red Bull car even more now then from the start. Either vettel needs to calm down over the race and treat the car better, or horner is going to have too hit newey around the head again to stop making the car fall apart so often for vettel.
Not happy with Mercedes atm, it’s just like they went backwards more so then forward, maybe it was like that because Rosberg’s adjusments just didn’t work out for him all weekend, which made it look a lot worse then it did. The pit stop shambles didn’t help either for Rosberg so I do hope he doesn’t get destracted like Rubens did last year with the “blah, blah, blah” attitude towards the team, but I’m sure Mercedes will sort it out for him quickly enough for Monaco.
Drivers of the race for me were Webber then Hamilton regardless of the end result.
BasCB
9th May 2010, 17:02
Seems Lewis is pretty happy with the race anyhow. He can take a good feeling home, great driving, being in front of Button by a mile here and keeping Red Bull honest.
That is a pretty good position to be in when your confident about being able to improve the car. Only a second place away from Alonso and even less behind Vettel
Patrickl
10th May 2010, 7:47
Yeah, I’m sure all the other drivers felt deflated when the Red Bulls were almost a second faster than anybody else.
Hamilton showed that at least he could pretty much keep up with them (although Webber was probably pacing himself). Impressive.
Xanathos
9th May 2010, 16:31
It was also a pretty good race by Kobayashi, at least after the start. He didn’t maki it past Petrov, but at least he was trying pretty hard. I hope he gets into the points soon.
wasiF1
11th May 2010, 7:19
I think it was disappointing for Kobayashi, he should have scored some points.
matt88
9th May 2010, 16:53
Hamilton wasn’t unlucky, he simply abused his tires and then went off. Alonso instead was quite lucky, but he was able to keep the pace of the Red Bulls although in a car that proved to be inferior this weekend.
DaveW
9th May 2010, 17:09
Can we just quit this bizarre nonesense that tires puncture from wear? Tires can be worn clear down to the white “canvas” without losing air or suffering catastrophic failure. They are not pumpkins that rupture from being dropped.
Lewis only regret today might be his slighly tardy start. As it was, he was almost able to get alonside both RedBulls. With a proper launch he may have been looking in for a win here.
Paul A
9th May 2010, 20:08
Bridgestone, in their press release said (what else?): “We are working closely with McLaren to understand what happened to Lewis Hamilton, but initial impressions are that this was not caused by a tyre issue.”
So look at probable facts: he set fast lap of the day just before the “puncture”; his FL tyre looked a little odd immediately before failure; it suffered catastrophic failure. Your are correct that “wear” does not cause punctures until you go through the canvas. Punctures are simply a loss of pressure, can be caused by external debris, mechanical damage to the wheel, or structural failure of the tyre carcass from overstressing and overheating it – and this is what I am assuming.
This is consistent with Hamilton’s reputation of being hard on tyres. Whether you like it or not, and whether or not his team had wanted him to push Weber into a Vettel-like brake failure, he would have shown far greater maturity backing off and taking 18 points instead of 0.
Being a gung-ho crowd pleaser is not necessarily what champions are made of.
Rubbish Dave
9th May 2010, 20:53
Hamiltons times
lap 59: 1:24:357 (fastest lap)
Lap 60: 1:24.757
Lap 61: 1:25.042
Lap 62: 1:25.129
Lap 63: 1:25:735
Lap 64: 1:25:602
Which would back up what Hamilton said about him having backed off. Rather than pushing too hard and overheating.
judo chop
9th May 2010, 17:10
Nonsense, his tires were fine. He wasn’t struggling for grip beforehand.
steph
9th May 2010, 17:19
Actually Lewis did complain of lack of grip not long before the end but Whitmarsh indicated it could have been because of the wheel rim or debris rather than Lewis
judo chop
9th May 2010, 20:01
Fair comment. But Lewis always whinges about his tires. He wasn’t sliding around or in any danger of being overtaken by Alonso.
Rubbish Dave
9th May 2010, 18:26
I suppose a couple of years ago when Kovalainen had his tyre deflate in a fairly similar manner, it was because he abused his tyres too.
It is rare for a tyre to deflate due to tyre wear. And there’s no evidence to suggest the tyres were excessively worn.
But hey, you don’t like Hamilton, so you find a way to blame him. Whatever works for you.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
9th May 2010, 19:38
At the moment there’s no indication Hamilton’s failure was wear-related, so let’s not jump to conclusions.
Ordinarily when tyres wear out they don’t just suddenly fail, they degrade in performance lap after lap, which didn’t happen here.
rampante
9th May 2010, 19:41
Well said Keith. The comments about Hamilton not capable of looking after his car are just way outside the box. Give the man credit for what he does and that’s from a Ferrari fan of more years tham most of you have been alive.
TransMix
9th May 2010, 22:36
Totally agree with you (and with Keith, too). Although I am not quite fond of Ferrari, I admire you for sayind that – you must be an old-style Ferrari fan.
Patrickl
10th May 2010, 7:51
The sad thing is that even before the race Legard was saying how Hamilton’s inability to handle his tyres explained his standing in the championship.
Utter nonsense of course, but yeah it’s what some people seem to need to believe.
wasiF1
11th May 2010, 7:31
I wonder whether Lewis ran on some debris of Chandok’s car that was on the track on the penultimate corner.
Calum
9th May 2010, 16:55
Hopefully a win next week will help keep Lewis in a good mood!
Monaco73
9th May 2010, 16:57
Webber surely for driver of the day. He controlled the race nicely, and nailed turn one at the start, just as he needed.
Gotta feel sorry for Hamilton, and his tyres weren’t that shot to pieces, if you look at the replays. As Martin Whitmarsh mentioned, it was most likely the rim giving out for some reason.
An OK drive from Alonso, he was lucky, but at least the engine lasted. Vettel was lucky his brake discs didn’t fail completely…and what’s with Massa…the guy needs to find his mojo. Finally, Jenson – stop moaning, what on earth do you expect from Schumi, driving the widest Mercedes on the track, to me, that was racing, he’s not going to leave the door open just like that.
Monaco is going to be fun – and the race is going to test those engines and gearboxes – never mind the 24 drivers!
B Pacman
9th May 2010, 17:04
Brilliant drive from Mark Webber – just like in Germany and Brazil last year, he showed that when he starts from the front, he has the ability to blow everyone away. I just don’t believe that Mark, for whatever reason, has the ability to reproduce that form consistently over a whole season. Great on his day, but unfortunately that day doesn’t come round often enough.
Lewis Hamilton, for yet another time this season, drove fantastically without getting the reward he deserved. His performances from the back of the field in Malaysia, in the wet of China and, of course, in getting through half the field in Australia were stunning – not forgetting his podium in Bahrain also – and yet he sits 21 points off Jenson Button at the top.
Felipe Massa needs to find some confidence quickly – his performances have dropped off the edge of a cliff lately.
sumedh
9th May 2010, 18:19
I think the discussion on the 2010 regulations should come to the fore again. Clearly, F1’s problems which we saw at Bahrain are still existing.
For example, Alonso today. He had a 30 second gap to Michael Schumacher. He had an option of pitting and coming back to reel in Hamilton and Vettel on tyres that were atleast 20-23 laps fresher than his opponents. And there was *no risk* involved in the 2nd stop. He definitely wasn’t going to lose any position. But he never took the chance!!
Only reason being the inability to overtake a car however worn tyres may be on it.
The moment Alonso was said to be discussing a possible 2nd stop with his engineers, Webber unleashed the fastest lap of the race. This tells us how much reserve speed all the drivers have at their disposal, but they don’t show it unless absolutely necessary.
All the 2010 regulations have done is convert F1 from being a fast sport to an endurance sport. It is all about conserving at all the time. With track position a premium, and lack of overtaking a race that has neither safety car occurence nor rain is going to be extremely boring.
Something which wasn’t true of the 2009 or previous regs, Eg: Silverstone 2007, Turkey 2008, Abu Dhabi 2009 (the ending stages).
Drivers need to be given more incentive to push more. A compulsory 2nd pit-stop would obviously be wrong. But they could increase the pit-lane speed limits. Reduce the penalty for pitting, thus allowing chasing drivers the option to pit and attack. Otherwise, a bore season awaits us.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
9th May 2010, 19:36
I agree with your analysis that drivers have too much incentive to conserve their car, but that isn’t something that’s just come about this season – it’s gotten greater year after year as drivers now have to make engines and gearboxes last for more than one race.
The points system also plays a role here. A driver in contention for the championship can’t risk not finishing in the points, it hurts their chances too much.
hairpin
10th May 2010, 0:20
Keith it sounds like you may be advocating Bernies Medals idea.
Wins ONLY count for anything, unless there’s a draw at the finish.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
10th May 2010, 8:07
I think winning races should come with a greater reward.
It’s clear the value of winning has been eroded in recent years as the value of finishing in lower places has been increased.
In 2002 finishing second was worth 60% of a win, finishing sixth was worth 10%, and finishing seventh was worth nothing.
Now finishing second is worth 72% of a win, sixth is worth 32% and seventh is worth 24%.
The consequences are clear: to compete in the championship drivers and teams must ensure they finish races, by building more reliable cars and driving them more conservatively.
Hairs
10th May 2010, 13:23
I think there’s at least as much to do with a change of driver culture, team management and car reliability, certainly over the long term.
In the days when Prost was the only man who saw cruising to second or third in 4 races as a better strategy than winning two and DNF’ing 2, nobody needed to be “encouraged” to the win. Equally, in an era when you couldn’t be certain your car would always finish, grabbing the maximum points when it was going your way was vital. Not so these days. Red Bull had the faster car for most of last year, but the cleverer driver won out.
As has been said before, teams and drivers can’t unlearn what has been learned. Changing the points system is only a realistic solution if all the cars are the same. They’re not. Cars that can’t fight for a win aren’t going to be encouraged by more points on offer, are they?
Umar Farooq Khawaja
9th May 2010, 21:55
I totally agree with the analysis as well.
I think that we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Drivers cannot push because they need to conserve bits of the car, plus the aero characteristics of the car makes it pointless exercise anyway.
A lot less aero, but crucially, a lot less emphasis on conserving parts. 8 engines and 5 gear boxes for the entire year. They might as well be driving around in road cars.
Gusto
9th May 2010, 18:35
When a tyre deflates due to a puncture the tyre will start to heat up due to the tyre rolling on its side walls, this reinflates the tyre till it blows off the rims, this you can see when He goes into turn 3, the tyre takes on a bloated rounded look before the inner rim blows and flies off, it has nothing too do with tyre wear. Not the most exciting race but Ive seen worse.
sumedh
9th May 2010, 19:12
Saw some interesting stats on the Planet-F1 website.
“In qualifying, Red Bull were – wait for it – 21st and 22nd through the speed trap.
And in the same qualifying, they were – wait for it – 20kmph faster any other car through Turn 9 / Campsa.”
polishboy808
9th May 2010, 19:32
Interesting, I saw many people back off on that turn. But wow! 14 mph is a big difference.
Umar Farooq Khawaja
9th May 2010, 21:37
That really is pretty impressive. Can you imagine the lap times if they had most speed in the straights?
Wow.
Alex
9th May 2010, 20:12
What’s up with everyone calling this race boring? I might not have been the most exiting race but it certainly wasn’t boring. And a bad habit this year as we have had loads of DNS’s. Both lotusses, de la rosa, glock….
rikadyn
9th May 2010, 23:25
Cause you knew who had won the race after T1.
Umar Farooq Khawaja
9th May 2010, 21:35
Keith, Button did say that Schumacher was moving about a lot on the straight, but he did not say that Schumacher would know better with his experience about his moving about on the straight. Button said that about Schumacher turning in on him in Turn 1 after Button’s first pit stop.
Personally, I think Button was being less than gracious towards Schumacher in his after-race comments. I didn’t see anything unfair or dangerous from Schumacher. I did think that he did an outstanding job keeping a much slower car ahead.
BTW, when did moving about on the straight become dangerous? I thought it was only moving about in the braking/turning zones that was considered bad form.
For me, Schumacher was definitely driver of the day for keeping Button behind for almost an entire race distance.
Bullfrog
10th May 2010, 8:34
Schumacher was pleased with it too. Did you see his interviews after the race? He was nearly as stoked as Webber!
Mr. T
11th May 2010, 0:27
> when did moving about on the straight become dangerous?
Could be a reference to the outcome from Hamilton weaving in front of Petrov in China.
rikadyn
9th May 2010, 23:21
This track needs to be razed.
simone
9th May 2010, 23:47
Something actually broke on Lewis’s tyre, this is nothing to do with his ‘driving style’ – now I thought I saw something hit his tyre, but my other half (and we repeated this 3 times) just thought that something broke off. Martin Whitmarsh hinted after that it wasnt a straightforward puncture. – can anyone shed some light on what actually happened?
Also, is it just me or has Massa been missing some mojo this weekend…
hairpin
10th May 2010, 0:58
Re Massa – Massa for me has not seemed the same for the last two races, and with the rumour of kubica signing for next year, maybe it’s not just a rumour, and the fight has gone from him, or alternately maybe he’s been told to defer to Alonso so has no incentive anymore. ??
You tube has a clip and if stopped at the right moment, looks like the inner wheel rim breaks. (Very tricky to stop in the right place).
hairpin
10th May 2010, 0:59
Re Massa – Massa for me has not seemed the same for the last two races, and with the rumour of kubica signing for next year, maybe it’s not just a rumour, and the fight has gone from him, or alternately maybe he’s been told to defer to Alonso so has no incentive anymore. ??
You tube has a clip and if stopped at the right moment,(Very tricky to stop in the right place)looks like the inner wheel rim breaks.
Jake
10th May 2010, 2:19
Hamilton is of a different color. Most will never admit he is the best. Its just to hard.
Catalina ;)
10th May 2010, 2:43
Someone explain me
Did Hamilton got it wrong in the last lap? cos I think he didn’t.
I’m pretty sure it was a car failure or something else.
dragon
10th May 2010, 3:17
Nah, he didn’t get it wrong, although some will say he was going fast for no reason. Turn 3 is extremely hard on the left front tyre, but there’s no way to predict that it will just go on you like that. He was pushing hard because the team knew that if Webber was suffering the same brake problems as Vettel, then there was an outside chance for victory.
dragon
10th May 2010, 7:30
Naturally the RB6 will carry less speed through the speed trap – no F-duct, the slightly less powerful renault engine, and a hair more downforce than the rest. Vulnerable on straights, but untouchable through medium to high speed corners.
PeterG
10th May 2010, 7:57
It was a great race. Seeing Schumacher being attacked by Button for 45 laps! Shame for Hamilton because his failure cost me a lot of points in predicition game.
But how about Kamui Kobayashi completing a full race?
He must be naed driver of the day. He completed four times more laps in this race then all first four races combined. Shame he did not get a point for it.
Will Schumacher be on podium in Monaco?
Will Hamilton finally turn his speed into a win?
It’s only one week.
emil
10th May 2010, 9:57
most of you thinking that is stupid thing to push to the end like Hamilton, but in the other hand every f1 fan like real racing to the end of the race and how to happen if every one thinking only scoring points no mater first second or third…..and for that reason FIA make this points system….and i cant understand that all of you like to watch overtaking and real racing and in the other hand when someone trying hard like Hamilton you make him stupid or that is to much aggressive and most be penalized…..just i don’t get it, Schumacher and Senna become legend with this kind of driving and now we have Hamilton and most of you just hate him even people from England ….i wonder reason behind this is because is black!
Schumi_the_greatest
10th May 2010, 12:56
Hamilton definatley had some sort of failure with his tyres sooner rather than later its going to come together for him. The fact hes only 21 points behind button (not a race wins worth of points) probably says more about the fact that apart from the 2 victories button has been quite poor. he cant overtake it seems and his moaning about shcumacher was rather stupid he needs to be more aggresssive he can do it we saw that at brazil last year. It seems to me that now hes won a world tittle hes got this chip on his shoulder scumacher did nothing wrong work harder next time jenson.
wasiF1
11th May 2010, 4:33
A good race but with some drama’s.
I get frustrated about the driving style of Hamilton. I think he is way to aggressive with the car, probably the most aggressive driver out there. He had many tyres failure in the past especially in Turkey in 2007 ( if I remember correctly) & due to the aggression the team decided to do 3 stops in 2008.Now I am not telling anything against that but if he needs to up his game then he needs to slow down a bit. Look at Button the moment he knew that he won’t make a pass Schumacher he backed off. The smooth & gentle style of Button is suiting the Mclaren more the the aggressive style of Hamilton.
wasiF1
11th May 2010, 4:41
Schumacher’s race was great he was defending Button just like in the old days.Massa needs to do something if he don’t want Ferrari ti think about Kubica.Again a Force India in the points that have to be one of the team that have came from nothing now a regular point finish. I won’t be surprise to see them on the podium sometime in the future. Both the Nico made 3 stops is that have anything to do with the strategy? The Red Bulls look that they are the car to beat only if they can beat the reliability
Patrickl
11th May 2010, 12:25
This whole rant is based on the premise that Hamilton “destroyed” his tyre. Which makes no sense at all really.
wasiF1
12th May 2010, 2:58
Well I was not telling anything against Hamilton. But yes I was wrong about my theory as they found out that it was the rim that has made the problem.