Phil: The link my co-blogger has shared offers a detailed, balanced analysis of what actually happened at Valencia. There are only two points I'd add: firstly, it's far from guaranteed that Alonso as undisputed team leader at McLaren would have won two further world titles to add to the two he already has (presumably 2007, when he narrowly lost to Raikkonen, and 2008, when Massa narrowly lost to Hamilton; McLaren were off the pace of Brawn and Red Bull in 2009).
Secondly, Alonso's Achilles heel in my view is what his fans, including my co-blogger, might call his Latin passion and fire, and everyone else would probably call his hot-headedness. He has a tendency to make a lot of noise and act as if he's been cheated when things don't go his way: consider his comment in 2006, that has been quoted a lot lately, that F1 is no longer a sport (he went on to win the world title that year). This also shows his lack of perspective where the rules are concerned: Alonso and Ferrari have called for Hamilton's punishment for overtaking the safety car to be proportionate, yet a proportionate punishment for Singapore 2008, when he would not have won the race had others in his team not cheated in the most shameless way possible, would have been disqualification at the very least.
This time next week, the trucks will be rolling up the M40 ready for Silverstone....
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Not as good as our blogs, but good all the same
Justin: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8770322.stm
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Red Mist Part 3
Justin: I originally just set out to respond primarily to the text I received saying Alonso was a crap driver and that he was spouting crap. I believe I quashed both these points with a reasoned, if slightly bias ;-), arguement.
Now my co-blogger has responded too, and again this leaves me with a sense of needing to respond. Andrew Benson himself (king blogger who we should all look up to) says that if Lewis hadnt hesitated then perhaps Alonso would have been able to get past the safety car before it fully emerged, so, he perhaps wouldnt have ended up 9th whatever the outcome of Lewis and his shennanigans.
"If Hamilton had simply carried on flat out, he - and perhaps Alonso, too - would have passed the Mercedes before it crossed the safety car line and there would have been no problem".
Having addressed that one and batted it out of the park...ok its a "perhaps" but still, I dont fully believe that Alonso would have ended up in 9th whatever the scenario. Anyway, having addressed that one, what my co-blogger doesnt realise is that yours truly was online on our blog site whilst he was blogging yesterday and I saw the first title he thought of using ;-).
I must stress that I am an Alonso fan, not a Ferarri fan. Surely thats obvious with all my Massa bashing. Speaking of Massa, Martin Brundle commented that he still doesnt think he is the same Massa as the pre-spring in the head Massa of last year.
Now my co-blogger has responded too, and again this leaves me with a sense of needing to respond. Andrew Benson himself (king blogger who we should all look up to) says that if Lewis hadnt hesitated then perhaps Alonso would have been able to get past the safety car before it fully emerged, so, he perhaps wouldnt have ended up 9th whatever the outcome of Lewis and his shennanigans.
"If Hamilton had simply carried on flat out, he - and perhaps Alonso, too - would have passed the Mercedes before it crossed the safety car line and there would have been no problem".
Having addressed that one and batted it out of the park...ok its a "perhaps" but still, I dont fully believe that Alonso would have ended up in 9th whatever the scenario. Anyway, having addressed that one, what my co-blogger doesnt realise is that yours truly was online on our blog site whilst he was blogging yesterday and I saw the first title he thought of using ;-).
I must stress that I am an Alonso fan, not a Ferarri fan. Surely thats obvious with all my Massa bashing. Speaking of Massa, Martin Brundle commented that he still doesnt think he is the same Massa as the pre-spring in the head Massa of last year.
Monday 28 June 2010
Red mist, part deux
Phil: I'm afraid I've always had very little sympathy for sportsmen who lose and then blame the referees, stewards or other officials for not interpreting the rules in their favour. I'd say the same applies to anyone who seriously thinks England might have beaten Germany but for 'that' goal.
Now, in this case, I'm going to let Alonso off for in-cockpit whingeing about Hamilton, because we all know drivers know the FIA listen in to their cockpit radio and use it as a 'back channel' for communicating directly with the stewards. I'm also going to ignore whatever he may have said post-race as I haven't seen any interviews with him.
However, the fact remains that if Hamilton had not overtaken the safety car, Alonso would still have been eighth. It wouldn't have made any difference to Alonso's race had Hamilton not overtaken the safety car, and it would only have promoted him one place had the FIA applied the strongest possible penalty and disqualified him (and I admit I was a little surprised that only a drive-through penalty had been applied). The fact that other drivers ahead of Alonso who did infringe the safety car regulations were penalised as a result, with the result that Alonso actually gained one place after the race, seems to have been completely overlooked.
As my co-blogger has admitted, for a driver who still considers Singapore 2008 to be a morally legitimate race win to make such a drama about something that in the final event wouldn't actually have affected his race position at all, is a little rich.
Ferrari have the third best car at the moment. Perhaps they need to do more about that rather than expecting the FIA (and you know what those initials mean) to ride to their rescue.
Now, in this case, I'm going to let Alonso off for in-cockpit whingeing about Hamilton, because we all know drivers know the FIA listen in to their cockpit radio and use it as a 'back channel' for communicating directly with the stewards. I'm also going to ignore whatever he may have said post-race as I haven't seen any interviews with him.
However, the fact remains that if Hamilton had not overtaken the safety car, Alonso would still have been eighth. It wouldn't have made any difference to Alonso's race had Hamilton not overtaken the safety car, and it would only have promoted him one place had the FIA applied the strongest possible penalty and disqualified him (and I admit I was a little surprised that only a drive-through penalty had been applied). The fact that other drivers ahead of Alonso who did infringe the safety car regulations were penalised as a result, with the result that Alonso actually gained one place after the race, seems to have been completely overlooked.
As my co-blogger has admitted, for a driver who still considers Singapore 2008 to be a morally legitimate race win to make such a drama about something that in the final event wouldn't actually have affected his race position at all, is a little rich.
Ferrari have the third best car at the moment. Perhaps they need to do more about that rather than expecting the FIA (and you know what those initials mean) to ride to their rescue.
Red Mist
Justin: Well, first up, once again apologies for my slightly late blog. My ever popular co-blogger did his blogging well though and more than made up for my lack of blog until now ;-).
You know it. I'm going to start with the guy driving through a seething red mist. Fernando Alonso. This blogger received a rather unfair text saying he was a crap driver and spouting crap in the interviews afterwards. Me thinks this was half said to try and wind me up but also half because the texter actually believes this.
Let me address this issue now. What Hamilton did, knowingly or unknowingly (as much as I hate Hamilton I suspect it was the latter) WAS unfair on Alonso. Until that point Fernando was gaining on Lewis and was setting fastest laps and it was looking like a total dingdong battle between Vettel, Lewis and Fernando. Andrew Benson makes some interesting remarks here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/06/post.html
I think, given the radio communications that we heard, that what made Alonso descend into the red mist was the fact that it took the FIA 20 minutes or so to do anything about what had happened, by which point a drive through penalty had no effect on the placing of Hamilton and the damage the incident had caused to Alonso's race.
"Where was he? And where is he now?" we heard an irate Alonso yell into his headset. The answer came back "He was second and he still is second Fernando". Oh dear. Red mist descends and Alonso drives like a man possessed and starts overdriving and eventually getting impatient and cocking things up in the last couple of laps.
My co-blogger said there was a lot of bad blood between Alonso and Hamilton, which is true. But I suspect if you replace Hamilton with any other driver, Alonso would still have reacted in the same manner - it just added more of an edge given that it was Hamilton.
The utter frustration boiling over in the cockpit - you have car updates, you know your car is good enough to fight for a podium at least, you need the championship points, fans all over the world and indeed in your home race are urging you on, and the chance to fight is unfairly swept away by a safety car incident. It's the Latino Heat!
Given the Ferrari is clearly the third best car on the grid, Alonso has been mega in actually managing to stay anywhere near the title fight - just look at Massa in the same car! So, Alonso isnt a crap driver and he was spouting utter, utter frustration at the situation in the race.
But now of course, you could say the extra points he gained in the after race shuffle could be crucial in his championship...but...you could also say now that he is more than a race win away from top spot, which halfway through the season isnt looking as good as it was.
Mark Webber - fuck me what a crash! He was cool as a cucumber afterwards though. Does anything ruffle his feathers???!!! Does anyone know what he got such a crap start though and found himself down the field like that? Come on Mark - you are supposedly fighting for the title...get on with it man!!
I believe my esteemed colleague neglected to name his skiver of the day. I'm going to name Heinz Harald Frentzen - never did like him anyway, and given he was the fourth steward and they took forever to even bother looking into Hamilton's safety car shennanigans, then he is my skiver of the day!
Michael Shumacher - go home! You are cack mate!
Good to see Williams once again up there fighting for points and with good grid positions. Heres hoping they can push on from this a bit!
Oh and yes readers, and co blogger, I shouldnt say TOO much about Fernando and safety cars as one incident worked out pretty well for him not so long ago (has to be said, Piquet cheating aside he doesnt have much luck with the safety car at all).
You know it. I'm going to start with the guy driving through a seething red mist. Fernando Alonso. This blogger received a rather unfair text saying he was a crap driver and spouting crap in the interviews afterwards. Me thinks this was half said to try and wind me up but also half because the texter actually believes this.
Let me address this issue now. What Hamilton did, knowingly or unknowingly (as much as I hate Hamilton I suspect it was the latter) WAS unfair on Alonso. Until that point Fernando was gaining on Lewis and was setting fastest laps and it was looking like a total dingdong battle between Vettel, Lewis and Fernando. Andrew Benson makes some interesting remarks here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/06/post.html
I think, given the radio communications that we heard, that what made Alonso descend into the red mist was the fact that it took the FIA 20 minutes or so to do anything about what had happened, by which point a drive through penalty had no effect on the placing of Hamilton and the damage the incident had caused to Alonso's race.
"Where was he? And where is he now?" we heard an irate Alonso yell into his headset. The answer came back "He was second and he still is second Fernando". Oh dear. Red mist descends and Alonso drives like a man possessed and starts overdriving and eventually getting impatient and cocking things up in the last couple of laps.
My co-blogger said there was a lot of bad blood between Alonso and Hamilton, which is true. But I suspect if you replace Hamilton with any other driver, Alonso would still have reacted in the same manner - it just added more of an edge given that it was Hamilton.
The utter frustration boiling over in the cockpit - you have car updates, you know your car is good enough to fight for a podium at least, you need the championship points, fans all over the world and indeed in your home race are urging you on, and the chance to fight is unfairly swept away by a safety car incident. It's the Latino Heat!
Given the Ferrari is clearly the third best car on the grid, Alonso has been mega in actually managing to stay anywhere near the title fight - just look at Massa in the same car! So, Alonso isnt a crap driver and he was spouting utter, utter frustration at the situation in the race.
But now of course, you could say the extra points he gained in the after race shuffle could be crucial in his championship...but...you could also say now that he is more than a race win away from top spot, which halfway through the season isnt looking as good as it was.
Mark Webber - fuck me what a crash! He was cool as a cucumber afterwards though. Does anything ruffle his feathers???!!! Does anyone know what he got such a crap start though and found himself down the field like that? Come on Mark - you are supposedly fighting for the title...get on with it man!!
I believe my esteemed colleague neglected to name his skiver of the day. I'm going to name Heinz Harald Frentzen - never did like him anyway, and given he was the fourth steward and they took forever to even bother looking into Hamilton's safety car shennanigans, then he is my skiver of the day!
Michael Shumacher - go home! You are cack mate!
Good to see Williams once again up there fighting for points and with good grid positions. Heres hoping they can push on from this a bit!
Oh and yes readers, and co blogger, I shouldnt say TOO much about Fernando and safety cars as one incident worked out pretty well for him not so long ago (has to be said, Piquet cheating aside he doesnt have much luck with the safety car at all).
Sunday 27 June 2010
Ouch!
Phil: Well, I think what most people will remember about this race is Mark Webber's crash of the season. It looked painful enough from the trackside camera, and truly terrifying from the in-car camera. What we won't remember is Eddie Jordan becoming momentarily airborne post-race after having received a high-speed shunt from David Coulthard's chin. Admittedly, this didn't actually happen, but discussion between the two of them did become rather heated during the post-race chat, EJ championing the right of drivers of crap cars to get in everyone else's way, and DC....I'm not sure what he was saying, but in the interests of BBC impartiality it's as well to remember he's still on the Red Bull payroll.
My own view is that it can largely be put down to a racing incident, and it's important not to lose sight of the fact that both drivers walked away from a horrendous accident unscathed. It wasn't immediately obvious at the time that Webber was racing Kovalainen for position, Webber having had a dreadful first few laps culminating in a pitstop where his front left wouldn't come off. in fact, you could argue that everything of significance in this race was a direct result of Webber's slow start. The post-race dispute centred on Kovalainen's right to defend his position versus his responsibility to acknowledge that Webber's Red Bull was in reality much faster than his Lotus and that therefore defending too hard might prove disastrous, as in fact it did.
Ironically enough, all of this more or less guaranteed victory for Webber's teammate and rival Sebastian Vettel, whose main rivals were all disadvantaged: Webber crashed, Hamilton received a drive through penalty for overtaking the safety car which had been called out after Webber's crash, and Alonso pitted behind the safety car and dropped to midfield as a result.
This leads me on to the day's other controversy: that Alonso felt that Hamilton's penalty, which cost him any chance of passing Vettel for the lead but didn't lose him a place, was unfair. To my mind, this only stacks up if Hamilton deliberately slowed down in order to back Alonso back into the pack. There's no evidence that he did - it would be obvious from lap times, wouldn't it? - and it's hard to imagine any driver having the mental agility to predict where the pack would be in half a lap's time in order to slow his arch-rival down enough to put him behind them without damaging his own race. The teams and the FIA have to put GPS devices in each car to be able to predict where they all are. There's clearly a huge amount of bad blood between Alonso and Hamilton, particularly on Spanish soil, but I confidently predict we'll hear no more of this particular incident.
A number of cars, including Jenson Button, were actually investigated by the stewards after the race for driving too fast after the safety car was called out but before it could collect the pack, and were penalised five seconds each. There's no change in the provisional results down to seventh place but Alonso leapfrogs Buemi for eighth and there are other changes to what we thought the order was further down the field.
My own view is that it can largely be put down to a racing incident, and it's important not to lose sight of the fact that both drivers walked away from a horrendous accident unscathed. It wasn't immediately obvious at the time that Webber was racing Kovalainen for position, Webber having had a dreadful first few laps culminating in a pitstop where his front left wouldn't come off. in fact, you could argue that everything of significance in this race was a direct result of Webber's slow start. The post-race dispute centred on Kovalainen's right to defend his position versus his responsibility to acknowledge that Webber's Red Bull was in reality much faster than his Lotus and that therefore defending too hard might prove disastrous, as in fact it did.
Ironically enough, all of this more or less guaranteed victory for Webber's teammate and rival Sebastian Vettel, whose main rivals were all disadvantaged: Webber crashed, Hamilton received a drive through penalty for overtaking the safety car which had been called out after Webber's crash, and Alonso pitted behind the safety car and dropped to midfield as a result.
This leads me on to the day's other controversy: that Alonso felt that Hamilton's penalty, which cost him any chance of passing Vettel for the lead but didn't lose him a place, was unfair. To my mind, this only stacks up if Hamilton deliberately slowed down in order to back Alonso back into the pack. There's no evidence that he did - it would be obvious from lap times, wouldn't it? - and it's hard to imagine any driver having the mental agility to predict where the pack would be in half a lap's time in order to slow his arch-rival down enough to put him behind them without damaging his own race. The teams and the FIA have to put GPS devices in each car to be able to predict where they all are. There's clearly a huge amount of bad blood between Alonso and Hamilton, particularly on Spanish soil, but I confidently predict we'll hear no more of this particular incident.
A number of cars, including Jenson Button, were actually investigated by the stewards after the race for driving too fast after the safety car was called out but before it could collect the pack, and were penalised five seconds each. There's no change in the provisional results down to seventh place but Alonso leapfrogs Buemi for eighth and there are other changes to what we thought the order was further down the field.
Saturday 26 June 2010
Almost forgot to give it a title!
Phil: Welcome to the Grand Prix They Couldn't Think of a Half Decent Name For, sometimes known as Valencia, Europe, or even the other Spanish Grand Prix. Which brings me straight to my point: how much will the home team be worth to Alonso? I'm guessing my co-blogger blogged before quali (he likes nothing better than a nice log blog in the morning), as Ferrari's new double diffuser put Alonso and Massa 'only' fourth and fifth on the grid respectively, behind Vettel, Webber and Hamilton.
Further down the grid, both Renaults and both Williams have outqualified both Mercedes, with Rosberg a disappointing 12th and Schumacher a hopeless 15th (but then I probably over-indulged in Schumi-bashing in Canada, so am going to leave him alone this time, unless he makes me do something). If a move by Kubica from Renault to Mercedes was on the cards before today, he should think very carefully before taking the offer up, particularly as he is clearly undisputed team leader at Renault, and would have a serious rival in Rosberg at Mercedes. But I don't think it's anything more than idle speculation.
Finally, I really think Jacques Villeneuve ought to be 110% exploring the limits of comedy facial hair, fannying about on the guitar and even having another crack at Le Mans before he explores even 1% of getting back in an F1 car.
Further down the grid, both Renaults and both Williams have outqualified both Mercedes, with Rosberg a disappointing 12th and Schumacher a hopeless 15th (but then I probably over-indulged in Schumi-bashing in Canada, so am going to leave him alone this time, unless he makes me do something). If a move by Kubica from Renault to Mercedes was on the cards before today, he should think very carefully before taking the offer up, particularly as he is clearly undisputed team leader at Renault, and would have a serious rival in Rosberg at Mercedes. But I don't think it's anything more than idle speculation.
Finally, I really think Jacques Villeneuve ought to be 110% exploring the limits of comedy facial hair, fannying about on the guitar and even having another crack at Le Mans before he explores even 1% of getting back in an F1 car.
Valencia Baby!!
Justin: These are exciting times. Ferrari have a host of updates to their car, one of which apparently is a new rear end which isn't entirely unlike that of the Red Bull. Maclaren and others are worried about this as it is thought to be worth half a second a lap.
That's probably one of the reasons that Fernando is top of the time sheets in the European GP practice sessions! Get in! Now the title fight truly hots up again as one of the leading drivers in F1 rises to the top once again.
Oh and with reference to my co-bloggers comments on possible comebacks, I actually agree 120%. But, when did Villeneuve ever take note of what others did or thought? He's his own man and I expect him to pursue a comeback 110% whilst exploring the limits of the car.
A couple of interesting links here - the first is the BBC's Jonathon Leggard:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jonathanlegard/2010/06/ferrari-up-the-ante-in-title-b.html
The BBC rumour column (which sometimes granted is total bluff):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8761229.stm
I half agree with Penske and what he says. The drivers need to be the stars, but then a guy from Indy Car would never understand that F1 is the technological pinacle and indeed ultimate pinnacle in motorsport!
Whats this? Kubica rumours to Mercedes to replace the happless Schumi?????
Right then, to quali we go!!!!!
That's probably one of the reasons that Fernando is top of the time sheets in the European GP practice sessions! Get in! Now the title fight truly hots up again as one of the leading drivers in F1 rises to the top once again.
Oh and with reference to my co-bloggers comments on possible comebacks, I actually agree 120%. But, when did Villeneuve ever take note of what others did or thought? He's his own man and I expect him to pursue a comeback 110% whilst exploring the limits of the car.
A couple of interesting links here - the first is the BBC's Jonathon Leggard:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jonathanlegard/2010/06/ferrari-up-the-ante-in-title-b.html
The BBC rumour column (which sometimes granted is total bluff):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8761229.stm
I half agree with Penske and what he says. The drivers need to be the stars, but then a guy from Indy Car would never understand that F1 is the technological pinacle and indeed ultimate pinnacle in motorsport!
Whats this? Kubica rumours to Mercedes to replace the happless Schumi?????
Right then, to quali we go!!!!!
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Tyre degradation is more interesting than you think
Phil: Well, I managed to avoid the news between the race on Sunday evening and my finally managing to watch it on iPlayer on Tuesday evening, so the result was a surprise. And a very pleasant surprise: I have to say I enjoyed watching this race probably more than any other so far this season (with the exception of Monaco, naturally, when I was joined by my co-blogger). I'd forgotten what a great and challenging track the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is.
In the first 15 laps we had enough excitement for several races: Hamilton and Alonso going wheel-to-wheel in the pitlane, a visit to the Wall of Champions, Schumacher taking to the grass, Massa and Liuzzi colliding no less than three times in the first corner, Kovalainen in the Lotus running as high as seventh, and even a dash of overtaking. No less than five drivers led the race: Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Alonso, and, for the first time in his career, Sebastian Buemi. The Red Bulls, who started on the hard tyres, fought a race-long battle with Alonso and the McLarens, who started on the soft tyres, and Alonso fought his own battle with Hamilton, starting with the nail-bating pitlane moment I've already referred to. I'd agree with my co-blogger's synopsis, however, that on balance the five drivers who lead the championship - Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Webber and Vettel - were the only ones likely to win this race, and I agree that one of them will be world champion. Which one is that this stage anyone's guess, as all of them, except I think Vettel, have at one stage led the title charge. When was the last time we had a five-horse race for the title?
Montreal is a track that's so challenging for the drivers that it perhaps wouldn't be fair to name a Skiver of the Day, not even one of the many who nominated themselves by picking up a penalty or two for pitlane speeding or some other dodgy driving misdemeanour. Except that there is a very obvious candidate, and he is the most succesful driver in the history of the sport. Martin Brundle called this the worst race of Schumacher's career. It's not clear whether this means his post-comeback career, or his career since 1991, but the latter wouldn't be unfair. Scrapping with Kubica after his first pitstop was messy, particularly cutting across the grass to avoid conceding the place, but probably just about within the rules. Shunting his former protégé Massa and breaking his front wing in an effort to retain a place his pace didn't really justify was unsportsmanlike. Giving away his points on the last lap but letting both Sutil and Liuzzi pass him was just plain crap. If only he'd stuck to passing Alonso behind the safety car at Monaco - at least that was classic Schumacher rule-bending. This looked like plain incompetence. If you saw this race, and only this race, you would never believe he had been world champion seven times. Hopefully preparing for next year means asking Top Gear if he can go back to being The Stig.
Normally I agree with almost everything my co-blogger writes, and given the depth of his knowledge about Formula 1 there's every reason to, but I have to disagree with his point about Jacques Villeneuve's rumoured comeback. Schumacher's comeback has shown every semi-retired Formula 1 driver how hard it is, and I would suggest has given the likes of Villeneuve plenty of food for thought. Could we really expect Villeneuve to do better, given that he has been away much longer, and arguably reached his peak longer ago than Schumacher? Kimi Raikkonen, who has been linked to a seat at Renault next season, should be thinking along the same lines, although I think his future now lies in rallying.
In the first 15 laps we had enough excitement for several races: Hamilton and Alonso going wheel-to-wheel in the pitlane, a visit to the Wall of Champions, Schumacher taking to the grass, Massa and Liuzzi colliding no less than three times in the first corner, Kovalainen in the Lotus running as high as seventh, and even a dash of overtaking. No less than five drivers led the race: Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Alonso, and, for the first time in his career, Sebastian Buemi. The Red Bulls, who started on the hard tyres, fought a race-long battle with Alonso and the McLarens, who started on the soft tyres, and Alonso fought his own battle with Hamilton, starting with the nail-bating pitlane moment I've already referred to. I'd agree with my co-blogger's synopsis, however, that on balance the five drivers who lead the championship - Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Webber and Vettel - were the only ones likely to win this race, and I agree that one of them will be world champion. Which one is that this stage anyone's guess, as all of them, except I think Vettel, have at one stage led the title charge. When was the last time we had a five-horse race for the title?
Montreal is a track that's so challenging for the drivers that it perhaps wouldn't be fair to name a Skiver of the Day, not even one of the many who nominated themselves by picking up a penalty or two for pitlane speeding or some other dodgy driving misdemeanour. Except that there is a very obvious candidate, and he is the most succesful driver in the history of the sport. Martin Brundle called this the worst race of Schumacher's career. It's not clear whether this means his post-comeback career, or his career since 1991, but the latter wouldn't be unfair. Scrapping with Kubica after his first pitstop was messy, particularly cutting across the grass to avoid conceding the place, but probably just about within the rules. Shunting his former protégé Massa and breaking his front wing in an effort to retain a place his pace didn't really justify was unsportsmanlike. Giving away his points on the last lap but letting both Sutil and Liuzzi pass him was just plain crap. If only he'd stuck to passing Alonso behind the safety car at Monaco - at least that was classic Schumacher rule-bending. This looked like plain incompetence. If you saw this race, and only this race, you would never believe he had been world champion seven times. Hopefully preparing for next year means asking Top Gear if he can go back to being The Stig.
Normally I agree with almost everything my co-blogger writes, and given the depth of his knowledge about Formula 1 there's every reason to, but I have to disagree with his point about Jacques Villeneuve's rumoured comeback. Schumacher's comeback has shown every semi-retired Formula 1 driver how hard it is, and I would suggest has given the likes of Villeneuve plenty of food for thought. Could we really expect Villeneuve to do better, given that he has been away much longer, and arguably reached his peak longer ago than Schumacher? Kimi Raikkonen, who has been linked to a seat at Renault next season, should be thinking along the same lines, although I think his future now lies in rallying.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Better late than never!
Justin: Apologies to our readers for this later than usual post race blog. I managed to catch the highlights late on Sunday night but was absolutely knackered there after and couldnt blog that same night. So here I am on Tuesday.
To be fair, perhaps theres not too much that needs to be said about the Canadian GP that was. The racing spoke for itself. The 5 guys going for the title were the 5 guys in a league of their own during the race.
Fernando and Lewis in the pits...what a spat that was! I enjoyed that one immensely!!!
Schumi was all over the shop being a total git as we always knew he was. Trying to put Massa in the wall is not a good move mate!!
Speaking of Massa...Fernando is making him look stupid frankly and Massa now sits nearly 30 points behind Fernando in the title standings.
So, this blog is quite short yes...but with the absence of a fellow blogger this week added to the fact that with this race, perhaps it goes unsaid that in out and out balls out racing terms, this was the best of the year...ooppps I just said it....and that this season is vintage already!
To be fair, perhaps theres not too much that needs to be said about the Canadian GP that was. The racing spoke for itself. The 5 guys going for the title were the 5 guys in a league of their own during the race.
Fernando and Lewis in the pits...what a spat that was! I enjoyed that one immensely!!!
Schumi was all over the shop being a total git as we always knew he was. Trying to put Massa in the wall is not a good move mate!!
Speaking of Massa...Fernando is making him look stupid frankly and Massa now sits nearly 30 points behind Fernando in the title standings.
So, this blog is quite short yes...but with the absence of a fellow blogger this week added to the fact that with this race, perhaps it goes unsaid that in out and out balls out racing terms, this was the best of the year...ooppps I just said it....and that this season is vintage already!
Saturday 12 June 2010
Quali
Justin: Lewis on pole then, followed by the Red Bull's, Alonso and Button rounding out the top 5.
Schumi seems to have started his concentrating on 2011 very early by missing out on the top ten shootout and coming 12th...haha.
It was such an exciting quali, especially Q2 and Q3.....wow, my heart was racing as the times kept tumbling and everyone was so close in the dying seconds. Best quali of the year me thinks!
Lewis appears to have gotten himself fined for parking on the lap back to the pits as he had no fuel, therefore making his car lighter for his pole run.
I must say, the BBC intro with the Jacques Villeneuve voiceover, talking about his dad, montreal, his home race, how the fans loved his dad, even today they talk of him and how he took amazing risks, how proud it makes Jacques...was highly emotive to say the least.
Tomorrow then.....Webber second...Vettel third......see you two in the first corner! :-)
Schumi seems to have started his concentrating on 2011 very early by missing out on the top ten shootout and coming 12th...haha.
It was such an exciting quali, especially Q2 and Q3.....wow, my heart was racing as the times kept tumbling and everyone was so close in the dying seconds. Best quali of the year me thinks!
Lewis appears to have gotten himself fined for parking on the lap back to the pits as he had no fuel, therefore making his car lighter for his pole run.
I must say, the BBC intro with the Jacques Villeneuve voiceover, talking about his dad, montreal, his home race, how the fans loved his dad, even today they talk of him and how he took amazing risks, how proud it makes Jacques...was highly emotive to say the least.
Tomorrow then.....Webber second...Vettel third......see you two in the first corner! :-)
Two week gap - Now its the Canadian GP baby!
Justin: Hello to one and all, well hello to our known two readers anyway! The fallout from Turkey has rumbled on and on over the last two weeks, and it looks set to continue going into the Canadian GP.
There is literally bucket loads to discuss and analyse! Love it!
A nod to my absent co-blogger this weekend -he is moving house and blogging duties are all down to yours truly. He might add something during the week, so be sure to check us out at the end of the week. I myself will struggle to watch the race this weekend as I'm off to a gig in London on Sunday night, but like the true professional that I clearly am I aim to watch the highlights on BBC at 12:15am that same night.
Down to business...where the hell to begin??
Interesting piece in The Guardian today about Ferarri and how they have fallen behind in the development race. I also find it VERY interesting that they have opted to sign Massa for another two years, especially given that people like Kubica are out there on the market. Anyway, Stefano was asked about the car and how they seem to not be able to develop it as quickly and all, he stated that "Fernando is still in the title hunt, he is fighting, wants to fight, always does his best". No mention of Massa at all. Interesting. Course, I may have taken that slightly out of context as it was put to Stefano just before that that Alonso was the pre-season title favourite and yet he lies a fading fourth with Massa seventh. Still, even with that, there was no "and Felipe is doing his best too"......As someone said to me the other day, Ferarri do that sometimes...they sign someone up then buy them out of their contract a year later....Kimi...where are you mate??
I don't know if anyone reads the BBC blogs by people like Andrew Benson, Ted Kravitz etc? Those guys have done excellent jobs investigating and theorising as to what the hell went on at Red Bull during and after the Turkish GP. It's pretty clear from looking at all this that Vettel and Webber have descended into a somewhat frosty co-habitation. Red Bull have signed Webber for 2011 so they will have to find some way to get along. Do they still share information? Once that stops, all bets are off!
I am waiting the quaili coverage today as I saw on the BBC website that Vettel was interviewed and asked if he and Webber would be watching Australia vs Germany together! haha...I am gagging to see his reply there!!
Thing is, I wouldnt bet against them doing exactly the same thing on the track this weekend...as lets face it, both guys have said they wouldnt do anything differently at all. This is starting to remind me a bit of Lewis vs Fernando in 2007 when Maclaren had the best car and in fighting stopped either guy getting the title.
Taking me onto Maclaren....Interesting that Hamilton's engineer was asked by Hamilton "if I am saving fuel, will Jenson overtake me?".....the engineer replied "no lewis, no". Whitmarsh later claimed that Hamilton's engineer had given lewis incorrect information. Perhaps he took fuel saving to mean they were both to stay where they were.
Unlike Red Bull covering things up, blaming everyone, nobody then changing their story again, Maclaren's story seems perfectly reasonable...that it was just misinformation and miscommunication. Button later explained that he had a set lap time to aim for and Lewis was two seconds slower on the lap before which is why he caught up so dramatically.
Still, those guys seem to be able to manage their relationship pretty well at the moment. Button is just incredibly laid back that it's almost untrue. Then again you could say the same for Webber, and look where that got him, a team-mate in his sidepod!
Practice One was dominated by Maclaren, with a certain Schumi third...was he third? I think he was...anyway, the Ferarri's are lurking ready to pounce I hope...well I say Ferarri's...theres only one of them I actually care for!
Practice Two saw Vettel rise to the top of the standings - git! Oh incidentally, Nick Heidfeld was interviewed off the record by one of the BBC guys and he said of everyone he had spoken to in the paddock....EVERYONE was of the opinion that Vettel was 100% at fault for the Red Bull crash. Clearly he doesnt speak to anyone at Red Bull then :-).
I'm just reading the BBC F1 gossip column and apparently Michael Shumacher would love to see Jacques back in F1 next year so they can renew their rivalry. Villeneuve is apparently still pushing ahead trying to get a seat after this years failed Stefan GP venture.
Button and Hamilton are planning to watch the England match during and after their quali debrief - at least they cannot fall out over it. One wonders if Vettel and Webber's relationship will deteriorate further due to the footy today!
One last thing, I'm glad to see the Canadian GP back on the F1 circuit. Having been there and walked around every corner and inch of the track I can safely say its one of my fave's and Montreal is a beautiful city. The track of course is named after one of the most naturally gifted drivers in the history of F1 - next season could see the return of his son. As my co-blogger knows, I will be rather excited at this prospect.
PS - Schumi is now apparently "concentrating on preparing for the 2011 season"....on all evidence thus far should we presume that this primarily involves making his sofa very comfortable and stocking up his beer fridge for race weekends?!
There is literally bucket loads to discuss and analyse! Love it!
A nod to my absent co-blogger this weekend -he is moving house and blogging duties are all down to yours truly. He might add something during the week, so be sure to check us out at the end of the week. I myself will struggle to watch the race this weekend as I'm off to a gig in London on Sunday night, but like the true professional that I clearly am I aim to watch the highlights on BBC at 12:15am that same night.
Down to business...where the hell to begin??
Interesting piece in The Guardian today about Ferarri and how they have fallen behind in the development race. I also find it VERY interesting that they have opted to sign Massa for another two years, especially given that people like Kubica are out there on the market. Anyway, Stefano was asked about the car and how they seem to not be able to develop it as quickly and all, he stated that "Fernando is still in the title hunt, he is fighting, wants to fight, always does his best". No mention of Massa at all. Interesting. Course, I may have taken that slightly out of context as it was put to Stefano just before that that Alonso was the pre-season title favourite and yet he lies a fading fourth with Massa seventh. Still, even with that, there was no "and Felipe is doing his best too"......As someone said to me the other day, Ferarri do that sometimes...they sign someone up then buy them out of their contract a year later....Kimi...where are you mate??
I don't know if anyone reads the BBC blogs by people like Andrew Benson, Ted Kravitz etc? Those guys have done excellent jobs investigating and theorising as to what the hell went on at Red Bull during and after the Turkish GP. It's pretty clear from looking at all this that Vettel and Webber have descended into a somewhat frosty co-habitation. Red Bull have signed Webber for 2011 so they will have to find some way to get along. Do they still share information? Once that stops, all bets are off!
I am waiting the quaili coverage today as I saw on the BBC website that Vettel was interviewed and asked if he and Webber would be watching Australia vs Germany together! haha...I am gagging to see his reply there!!
Thing is, I wouldnt bet against them doing exactly the same thing on the track this weekend...as lets face it, both guys have said they wouldnt do anything differently at all. This is starting to remind me a bit of Lewis vs Fernando in 2007 when Maclaren had the best car and in fighting stopped either guy getting the title.
Taking me onto Maclaren....Interesting that Hamilton's engineer was asked by Hamilton "if I am saving fuel, will Jenson overtake me?".....the engineer replied "no lewis, no". Whitmarsh later claimed that Hamilton's engineer had given lewis incorrect information. Perhaps he took fuel saving to mean they were both to stay where they were.
Unlike Red Bull covering things up, blaming everyone, nobody then changing their story again, Maclaren's story seems perfectly reasonable...that it was just misinformation and miscommunication. Button later explained that he had a set lap time to aim for and Lewis was two seconds slower on the lap before which is why he caught up so dramatically.
Still, those guys seem to be able to manage their relationship pretty well at the moment. Button is just incredibly laid back that it's almost untrue. Then again you could say the same for Webber, and look where that got him, a team-mate in his sidepod!
Practice One was dominated by Maclaren, with a certain Schumi third...was he third? I think he was...anyway, the Ferarri's are lurking ready to pounce I hope...well I say Ferarri's...theres only one of them I actually care for!
Practice Two saw Vettel rise to the top of the standings - git! Oh incidentally, Nick Heidfeld was interviewed off the record by one of the BBC guys and he said of everyone he had spoken to in the paddock....EVERYONE was of the opinion that Vettel was 100% at fault for the Red Bull crash. Clearly he doesnt speak to anyone at Red Bull then :-).
I'm just reading the BBC F1 gossip column and apparently Michael Shumacher would love to see Jacques back in F1 next year so they can renew their rivalry. Villeneuve is apparently still pushing ahead trying to get a seat after this years failed Stefan GP venture.
Button and Hamilton are planning to watch the England match during and after their quali debrief - at least they cannot fall out over it. One wonders if Vettel and Webber's relationship will deteriorate further due to the footy today!
One last thing, I'm glad to see the Canadian GP back on the F1 circuit. Having been there and walked around every corner and inch of the track I can safely say its one of my fave's and Montreal is a beautiful city. The track of course is named after one of the most naturally gifted drivers in the history of F1 - next season could see the return of his son. As my co-blogger knows, I will be rather excited at this prospect.
PS - Schumi is now apparently "concentrating on preparing for the 2011 season"....on all evidence thus far should we presume that this primarily involves making his sofa very comfortable and stocking up his beer fridge for race weekends?!
Tuesday 1 June 2010
Red Bullshit
Phil: I don't think we are the only voices out there in cyberspace sticking up for Mark. But we are the only ones to have published that birthday card photo.
Anyone with half a brain, and Eddie Jordan, can see Vettel caused the accident. Anyone except Red Bull, of course. Although he has since tried to backpedal, Christian Horner is on record as saying that, 'it is important that they [Vettel and Webber] give each other a bit more respect and concede if one has got a run on the other'. The implication is that Red Bull are, or were, blaming Webber. A cynic might be tempted to suggest Red Bull see Vettel as 'their man', and Webber as a Barrichello to Vettel's Schumacher, a driver who can be relief upon to pick up plenty of points for the constructors' title without doing anything silly. Never mind Mark, there will always be a place for you on the I Was Having a Blog sofa.
My co-blogger ('teammate' is a bit of a dirty word right now) pointed out one of those historical ironies which I'd missed. Earlier on in the season, we questioned the widsom of McLaren putting two world champions in the same team, pointing out that the last time they'd done it, it had all ended in disaster. Well, maybe not disaster, seeing as they won both titles four years on the trot, but certainly in a certain gravel trap at Suzuka. The irony, of course, is that Lewis and Jenson seem to be managed their professional rivalry perfectly fine, and it's Red Bull who are on the verge of civil war. It's not even as if Red Bull can say they've fallen out over the spoils like McLaren did: it's McLaren, after all, who are now leading the constructors' title race.
Without wanting to sound too much like a back-slapping session for McLaren, it's easy to forget that Turkey was actually a 1-2 for the Brits. What's more, another British driver, Dario Franchitti, won the Indy 500 on the same day. A good day for the Brits, I think.
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