The Official Formula 1 thread

[Temp]

I'd say they justified it more than explained it. I doubt that was his reason at the time.

[pyro]

They explained this. By getting back onto the lead lap, Hamilton ensured that he would pick up any points if someone happened to not finish in front of him. It was a good move, though it didn't end up bearing any fruit.

He was in 12th place, points only go back to 8th correct? What are the chance's of 4 people dropping on the last lap. Im sorry but driving like that is completely unnecessary, had it of been Massa or Raikkonen Locking up wheels sliding it around like that in his place I could almost guarantee the commentators comments would of been completely different. Yes I heard what they said but again it comes back to them thinking the sun shines out of Hamiltons ass.

Only reason he would of pushed so hard imo is the fact his former team mate in a lesser car had just lapped him and was about to win the race, hurt pride i'd say.

[Spork]

well 11th place is better than 12th.

[pyro]

Risking taking out the leader and yourself on the last lap and being branded a complete tool for 11th spot still with no points is worth it?

[Zarkov]

17 - 19 Oct 2008
2008 FORMULA 1 SINOPEC CHINESE GRAND PRIX
Pos    No    Driver    Team    Q1   Q2   Q3    Laps
1    22    Lewis Hamilton    McLaren-Mercedes    1:35.566   1:34.947   1:36.303    15
2    1    Kimi Räikkönen    Ferrari    1:35.983   1:35.355   1:36.645    15
3    2    Felipe Massa    Ferrari    1:35.971   1:35.135   1:36.889    16
4    5    Fernando Alonso    Renault    1:35.769   1:35.461   1:36.927    18
5    23    Heikki Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes    1:35.623   1:35.216   1:36.930    16
6    10    Mark Webber    Red Bull-Renault    1:36.238   1:35.686   1:37.083    19
7    3    Nick Heidfeld    BMW Sauber    1:36.224   1:35.403   1:37.201    17
8    15    Sebastian Vettel    STR-Ferrari    1:35.752   1:35.386   1:37.685    16
9    11    Jarno Trulli    Toyota    1:36.104   1:35.715   1:37.934    19
10    14    Sebastien Bourdais    STR-Ferrari    1:36.239   1:35.478   1:38.885    18
11    6    Nelsinho Piquet    Renault    1:36.029   1:35.722      12
12    4    Robert Kubica    BMW Sauber    1:36.503   1:35.814      14
13    12    Timo Glock    Toyota    1:36.210   1:35.937      16
14    17    Rubens Barrichello    Honda    1:36.640   1:36.079      15
15    7    Nico Rosberg    Williams-Toyota    1:36.434   1:36.210      15
16    9    David Coulthard    Red Bull-Renault    1:36.731         7
17    8    Kazuki Nakajima    Williams-Toyota    1:36.863         9
18    16    Jenson Button    Honda    1:37.053         9
19    20    Adrian Sutil    Force India-Ferrari    1:37.730         9
20    21    Giancarlo Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari    1:37.739         9

[TofuEater]

Moseley has put out a tender for engines and drivetrains for 2010. I'd be surprised and disappointed if it goes ahead. It would certainly make F1 totally unattractive for a lot of the manufacturers (Renault, BMW, Ferarri) if they aren't able to showcase their engineering talents.

[private_hell]

sounds like hes trying to make it like the A1

[Temp]

Moseley has put out a tender for engines and drivetrains for 2010. I'd be surprised and disappointed if it goes ahead. It would certainly make F1 totally unattractive for a lot of the manufacturers (Renault, BMW, Ferarri) if they aren't able to showcase their engineering talents.

It definitely would remove the very essence of what makes Formula One so great. I can't really believe they are even entertaining the thought, and I hope that it is culled before it gathers any momentum.

From my perspective it's removing the very reason that the teams enter.

Does anyone see it any differently? Any other side of the coin viewpoints? I'd love to hear them.

Grats lewis yesterday, he looks likes he's taken onboard the criticism received in recent times and put in a solid no nonsense drive. The no team orders rule really is bullsh*t, and watching the Ferrarri guys squirm and trying to keep a straight face when being pressed on the pass was uncomfortable for me. I mean telling the teams they can't give orders, but it's ok for the driver to work it out for himself is pedantic. I mean c'mon everyon on the planet knows what should be happening, it is a team after all, so ditch that rule and don't be so stupid.

[Shasta]

Agreed about the team orders thing. Shumacher and Barrichello were penalised for doing the exact same thing - swapping positions so that the other could get more points for the championship - and were penalised for it. Where they went wrong, the reason they were penalised etc, and the difference between then and the GP just gone, is that they did it in front of the chequered flag, wheras Kimi and Mr Craptastic did it not long after the last round of pit-stops with many laps to go.

It's going to happen, it makes sense to happen: just don't pull the fingers to the fans while you do it by tweaking the race results meters before the flag. It's like someone sleeping with your sister - it's going to happen, you're OK with it as long as the guy doesn't jump up in down in front of your face screaming "I fucked your sister!".

Besides, the stewards have the job of making the race results bullshit well under contol this year.

[TofuEater]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10539671

Formula One's governing body is moving forward with its plan to have a sole engine and transmission supplier beginning in 2010, saying some parties have shown interest in the bidding process.

FIA said in a statement that it "received a number of questions from interested parties regarding" the invitation to tender it made on Oct. 17.

The governing body intends to introduce rule amendments "requiring all competitors must use a standardised engine and transmission system" for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Ferrari is not pleased with the decision, saying it could pull out of F1 if the changes go through....

Gotta say it would turn me off. I know they're trying to reign in costs and it may just be a bit of grandstanding by the FIA to get some concessions out of the big teams, but i can't see how they can possibly think this will be good for their showcase championship.

[Shasta]

Oh FSS. Those old twats Bernie and Max should be shot. They have past their use-by date LONG ago. They've completely lost touch with F1 and it's spirit, and are trying to micro-manage everything instead of just running a racing league like they used to.

F1 is one of the only racing series I can think of where the teams must actually research, develop and build their own cars. All of this standardisation is a load of shit - and Bernie & Max are only thinking like accounts now, rather than F1 fans or bosses. They are trying to make "a" racing series cost effective, rather than working out ways to make FORMULA 1 more economically viable. They are sterilising it into just another "everyone buys and runs pretty much the same shit" series. Sure, reel in the spending, but not at the cost of the very essence of the sport.

I enjoy following the technical challenges and breakthroughs as much as the racing, seeing teams come up and go down the grid due to upgrades and such, and knowing that a team that is shit at the start of a season (Renault) can really work hard and develop stuff to bring them back up. I like seeing the poorer teams beat the leaders in bizarre races, and reading about how team X has developed part X to try and get in front etc. You don't get that often in indy cars, A1, V8's etc etc etc. F1 is FAST heading towards being just another one of those.

[Zarkov]

Massa grabs Brazil pole, Hamilton fourth

By Matt Beer    Saturday, November 1st 2008, 17:00 GMT

Felipe Massa in BrazilFelipe Massa took a crucial pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix, as championship leader Lewis Hamilton had to settle for fourth position behind Jarno Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton improved his time after a poor first Q3 run, but could not get any higher than the second row, as his championship opponent Massa dominated the crucial part of qualifying.

Prior to Q3, the title contenders had been extremely closely matched.

Massa had led a Ferrari one-two in Q1, but the results were slightly deceptive as the Italian team went out for a second run whereas Hamilton went top on his first flying lap and then sat out the rest of the segment. He had been three tenths of a second quicker than Massa at that stage, before the Brazilian gained 0.7 seconds on his second shot.

Both limited themselves to a single run in Q2, where Hamilton beat Massa by a scant 0.019 seconds as rapid laps from Heikki Kovalainen and the surprising Sebastian Vettel pushed them back to third and fourth.

But Massa then pulled clear at the start of Q3, with a first flying lap half a second faster than the rest of the field, while Hamilton made several errors and languished in sixth place - 0.799 seconds behind his title rival.

Hamilton produced a tidier lap at the second attempt, but remained half a second slower than Massa, who found a small improvement to set a pole time of 1:12.368.

Toyota driver Trulli then grabbed a shock front row position, ahead of Massa's Ferrari teammate Raikkonen.

Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen will support his title bid from fifth place, alongside Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Vettel took seventh for Toro Rosso in Q3, with his teammate Sebastien Bourdais ninth behind BMW's Nick Heidfeld.

Timo Glock completed the top ten in the second Toyota.

For the second race in a row, erstwhile title contender Robert Kubica struggled for qualifying pace, this time slumping right back to 13th place for BMW, having been 0.3 seconds slower than teammate Heidfeld in Q2.

Yet again, Nelson Piquet missed out on a Q3 position by a small margin as he lapped just 0.03 seconds shy of a top ten spot and took 11th on the grid.

David Coulthard will start his final Grand Prix from 14th place, two positions and 0.4 seconds adrift of his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. Fellow veteran Rubens Barrichello, who may yet lose his Honda seat before 2008, out-performed his teammate Jenson Button again and made it to Q2, taking 15th place.

Despite looking quick in Friday practice, Williams had a disastrous final qualifying session of the year, with Kazuki Nakajima only 16th and Nico Rosberg 18th, split by Button, and ahead of the two Force Indias.

Pos  Driver        Team                 Q1        Q2        Q3       Laps
 1.  Massa         Ferrari              1:11.830  1:11.875  1:12.368  17
 2.  Trulli        Toyota               1:12.226  1:12.107  1:12.737  15
 3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari              1:12.083  1:11.950  1:12.825  19
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     1:12.213  1:11.856  1:12.830  14
 5.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes     1:12.366  1:11.768  1:12.917  17
 6.  Alonso        Renault              1:12.214  1:12.090  1:12.967  18
 7.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1:12.390  1:11.845  1:13.082  20
 8.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber           1:12.371  1:12.026  1:13.297  18
 9.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1:12.498  1:12.075  1:14.105  16
10.  Glock         Toyota               1:12.223  1:11.909  1:14.230  24
11.  Piquet        Renault              1:12.348  1:12.137            13
12.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault     1:12.409  1:12.289            13
13.  Kubica        BMW Sauber           1:12.381  1:12.300            13
14.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault     1:12.690  1:12.717            16
15.  Barrichello   Honda                1:12.548  1:13.139            14
16.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota      1:12.800                       9
17.  Button        Honda                1:12.810                       9
18.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      1:13.002                       8
19.  Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari  1:13.426                       9
20.  Sutil         Force India-Ferrari  1:13.508                       9

[TofuEater]

Watch out for Toyota - their star is on the rise. If they can hook a decent driver (Vettel maybe) they could just shake up the old order.

[Zarkov]

Watch out for Toyota - their star is on the rise. If they can hook a decent driver (Vettel maybe) they could just shake up the old order.

They must have spent a bucket of cash so far.

[Amphion]

Come on Alonso!

I hope Ferrari wins it, I dont like Hamilton even though I like McLaren, he's too much of a pansy, Alonso and Massa! Do It Massa!

Let's not forget Webber! Go boy go!

Race starts in 2 hours 4 minutes live!

[Temp]

Jeeze that was close, Glock is about to become villainised by every Brazillian on the planet. I'd love to see a replay of his last lap, to lose 18s seems a bit much in those conditions, even with the dry tyres in the conditions as they were. Lewis is just the luckiest guy and I felt for Ferrarri and Massa as they thought they had it and did until the bottom of the hill.

What a race, and what a finish to the season.

Massa I thought was outstanding in defeat, very humble and noble and gracious. He would have made a great champ.

Lewis had a good run this season, and scraped in by one point I think. Looking forward to seeing what happens with the musical chairs and the start of 2009.

[Xt1ncT]

Jeeze that was close, Glock is about to become villainised by every Brazillian on the planet. I'd love to see a replay of his last lap, to lose 18s seems a bit much in those conditions, even with the dry tyres in the conditions as they were. Lewis is just the luckiest guy and I felt for Ferrarri and Massa as they thought they had it and did until the bottom of the hill.

What a race, and what a finish to the season.

Massa I thought was outstanding in defeat, very humble and noble and gracious. He would have made a great champ.

Lewis had a good run this season, and scraped in by one point I think. Looking forward to seeing what happens with the musical chairs and the start of 2009.

Totally agree - and at last Lewis has learnt to not do anything stupid like he did last year and in some races this year.

Was also very surprised GLock was so slow on that last lap, but hey I'll take it..!!!

GO LEWIS.

Next year will be interesting with no stupid aero devices and slicks..!!! I just hope the whole one engine supplier thing doesn't happen in a couple of years.

[TofuEater]

I was so pleased for Hamilton - it shouldn't have even been being decided in this race. I was stunned as i saw him go past Glock, who looked to have slowed to a crawl. Ah well, the look on Massa's Dad's face made up for all the disappointments of this season. :rnr:

[Quasikomodo]

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and MacLaren. Well done.

Another very interesting F1 season is done and dusted and Ferrari are the constructors champs ... again!! Well done to Massa, he has cemented his place in the Ferrari team now, now he just has to learn how to drive in the wet!!

Can't wait for next season.
still hate Ecclestone, Dennis and "Adolf" Mosley though .... can we not just get rid of them before they ruin F1 or does the FIA not control F1 anymore?

[Zarkov]

Well done to Massa, he has cemented his place in the Ferrari team now, now he just has to learn how to drive in the wet!!

He's just won the Brazilian GP in the rain, so he probably needs some advice from you. Try emailing him with some hints.

Good drive from Hamilton and a well deserved championship. Time to cut Massa some slack also, this could be one of the great rivalries in the making. [Senna vs Prost etc]

I thought they all earned their money out there today. Watching how fast the back steps out on those cars in the wet was thought provoking to say the least.

[kilabee]

HUGE credit to Massa for the way he handled victory/defeat.He would have made a great champion with his attitude.Hopefully ,as was said above, he will become champion and start another great F1 rivalry.
Congrats to Lewis for a great series and a more mature,disciplined approach on most occasions this session.  
Also bad luck for Coulthard in his last race.

[Baffled]

Fuck yeah! 2 years in the making and with 2 laps to go I thought he had lost it all over again. I do want to see glocks lap though, but as someone said... I will take it anyway


As for rivalries there are still other great drivers there, it would be great to see vettel, kubica and alonso get cars to match.


Only 142 days til the 2009 season begins!

Who is going to melbourne?

[Quasikomodo]

He's just won the Brazilian GP in the rain, so he probably needs some advice from you. Try emailing him with some hints.

I can still remember the abysmal effort he put in at the British GP where he spent most of the GP backwards or on the grass ... pity you couldn't! If he had have driven a little better there he would (probably) be champion.

You a bit tetchy because Lewis won the championship then are you?

[pyro]

I can still remember the abysmal effort he put in at the British GP where he spent most of the GP backwards or on the grass ... pity you couldn't! If he had have driven a little better there he would (probably) be champion.

You a bit tetchy because Lewis won the championship then are you?

The Ferrari was a pig in the wet up until the changes they made a couple of races back, this race showed exactly this with Massa winning in the rain convincingly.

Shall I point out the mistakes hamilton made this year as well? You could also say if Massa's engine didnt go on the last lap whilst leading, didnt have that stupid light system stuff up in the pits, didnt have a puncture etc etc. Hamiltons car was far more reliable this year, Massa deserved to win the championship.

[kilabee]

. Hamiltons car was far more reliable this year, Massa deserved to win the championship.

No he didn't.He lost by one point.


Lets face it,they both had there moments this session and thats what made it one of the more interesting in recent history.It was just what the sport needed after spygate and some of the processions of recent history.At least it injected some life back into it..........and what a race.