40% chance of rain during the race
The F1 Thread 2008 Season
- Thread starter RedNome
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Bah I had to fight to wake up when my alarm went off then!
All in time though, come on Hamilton, you can do it lad
All in time though, come on Hamilton, you can do it lad
good start
same here mate, had to press SNOOZE for about 45 minutes
McLaren were also celebrating and taking the piss when a Ferrari mechanic got knocked down, real classy that
I was too
Massa's gunna need a late handout from Kimi here, and Hamilton will go into the last race with a 7 point lead. Both drivers will have won 5 races this season
Massa moves up to 2nd place
there.Really tough for Massa thoguh, think Hamilton has it in the bag bar a brainfade in Brazil
Perfect race and perfect weekend for Hamilton and the team - dominated throughout.
F1 used to be on in the US all the time on ESPN, I remember when I was younger, but since NASCAR has become the behemoth that it is that does not happen anymore
Superb from Hamilton, just when we all though he was gonna crack he clearly blows the Ferrari's away. Just gotta hold it together for Brazil.
Bit different to a clear racing punt no?
Crap trophy, the bottom's fallen off.5th in Brasil and he's the champion. Fingers crossed.
Well done Hamilton.
After the race, no one looked in each others eyes. Lewis because he is too awesome to be aware of anybody else in the room; Massa wouldn't look in Kimi's eye because he was embarrassed and scared of him, and Kimi was too pissed off to look Massa in the eye. A lot of hate in that room
what a boring race, Lewis has the title in the bag I think unless he do something stupid in brazil.
Ferrari though will win the constructor championship.
Ferrari though will win the constructor championship.
I know he had tyre trouble, but Kovaleinen was nowhere even before that. It's a shame Hamilton can't rely on the same kind of support that Kimi can give to Massa right now. If he was any kind of a threat to win the race, which he should be given the car he's driving, Hamilton could come 7th and become the youngest ever F1 World Champion
You can't knock Ferrari, it's fair enough at this stage. But it'd be nice to see the guy not relying on handouts win it. But then I'm bias
You can't knock Ferrari, it's fair enough at this stage. But it'd be nice to see the guy not relying on handouts win it. But then I'm bias
Top class drive from Hamilton there. Absolutely top class. I've not seen such a dominant performance over a racing weekend since the days of Schumacher's peak.
Pole position, perfect start, fastest laps and an easy win. He took a far inferior car to his two rivals and still completely blew them out of the water. It just shows up the competetive spirits of the two when Hamilton takes the pressure he's been under and turns it into one of the most supreme performances in a long time (even with a worse car!) and Massa crumbles like a week old cookie, having to take handouts from his teammate just to stay in the hunt.
Not that that two points will have made much of a difference anyway. Massa's only hope in the next race is that Hamilton has a brainfart identical to that of last year, which is very unlikely.
Today just summed up how much better Hamilton has been at this close of season. He has by far the more inferior car of the two championship rivals and yet he's consistently showing Massa up. Just needs to hope for no problems in the next race and not do anything silly.
Pole position, perfect start, fastest laps and an easy win. He took a far inferior car to his two rivals and still completely blew them out of the water. It just shows up the competetive spirits of the two when Hamilton takes the pressure he's been under and turns it into one of the most supreme performances in a long time (even with a worse car!) and Massa crumbles like a week old cookie, having to take handouts from his teammate just to stay in the hunt.
Not that that two points will have made much of a difference anyway. Massa's only hope in the next race is that Hamilton has a brainfart identical to that of last year, which is very unlikely.
Today just summed up how much better Hamilton has been at this close of season. He has by far the more inferior car of the two championship rivals and yet he's consistently showing Massa up. Just needs to hope for no problems in the next race and not do anything silly.
He's fecking shite. I've said it from the start and I'll keep saying it until McLaren kick him out on his shite arse. Although in this circumstance you've got to realise that part of the reason he was nowhere was because the car was so poor compared to the Ferrari and Renault. He was probably doing slightly worse than he should have been, but if the machine isn't there you can't do much more. That Hamilton took the same car and won is more a testament to his own racing genius than it is a criticism of Kovaleinen's race.
You must have been delighted last year then, when Massa gave Raikkonen the lead right at the end of Brazil so the Finn could win the Driver's Championship!You can't knock Ferrari, it's fair enough at this stage. But it'd be nice to see the guy not relying on handouts win it. But then I'm bias
Hehe, what happened to all your talk of the McClaren being the dominant car all season eh Count?!
That lasted about 2 races!
That lasted about 2 races!
Kimi and Massa both looked embarrassed when asked on Massa's move on Kimi.
It was embarrasing but what else could they do?
Kovailainen is lucky he has a contract for 2009, utter shite this season, Hamilton is nearly 2 times better off in terms of points and that can't happen for a front 2 car.
Kovailainen is lucky he has a contract for 2009, utter shite this season, Hamilton is nearly 2 times better off in terms of points and that can't happen for a front 2 car.
Worst race this season but glad Hamilton won. I was hoping he could seal it today but a 7 point gap will do. I can't wait for the Brazil GP
Well the McLaren was the superior car for a decent chunk of the season. It's only in the past few races that the Ferrari has come on so strongly, but that hasn't bothered Hamilton. He's continued to outshine Massa anyway.
Crazy thing is that his contract was running out at the end of this year until they extended it to 2009 a few weeks ago, when he'd had nearly a whole season to prove his worth and had utterly failed to do so. So Christ knows why they've extended the deal. Clearly they want someone entirely non-offensive to be paired with Hamilton so as to avoid a repeat of the unsavoury 2007 season.
Yes, but celebrating a fellow mechanic getting injured is not worth criticism whereas celebrating a rival being spun around is?
On a sidenote if Alonso doesn't mind an equal standing with Kimi at Ferrari I would love to see him go to Ferrari. Two real racers at a team, maybe it will give Kimi a much needed kick in the arse as well. You will need someone strong as hell to manage those two though but it will be sure be entertaining as hell
Alonso wants to be the number 1 driver, so him at Ferrari wont work as long as Kimi is still there. It would be nice to see if Renault can get a good car for next year so we have 3/4 different constructors going for the title.
If Heiki is as shit as this at the start of next season I wouldnt be surprised if he was replaced by pedro del la rosa, he is quite capable of just getting the car around and getting constructors points for McClaren.
What an anti-climax that was - Ferrari didn't have an answer to Hamilton.
They haven't really had much of an answer most of the season anyway, the only reason we are where we are is the few mistakes that Hamilton has made to allow Massa back in. This race he didn't do any and his dominance showed. Maybe the tide has turned for Hamilton in that respect.
I hope Ferrari come back a lot better next year, Raikkonen in particular, if not just get Alonso in for feck sake. I couldn't bare to watch Schumacher piss all over the other drivers for all those years, I don't want that to happen again, especially when you have Alonso running around in a Renault.
Kovalainen being so poor means the constructors will no doubt go to Ferrari.
Well done Hamilton, a good drive.
They haven't really had much of an answer most of the season anyway, the only reason we are where we are is the few mistakes that Hamilton has made to allow Massa back in. This race he didn't do any and his dominance showed. Maybe the tide has turned for Hamilton in that respect.
I hope Ferrari come back a lot better next year, Raikkonen in particular, if not just get Alonso in for feck sake. I couldn't bare to watch Schumacher piss all over the other drivers for all those years, I don't want that to happen again, especially when you have Alonso running around in a Renault.
Kovalainen being so poor means the constructors will no doubt go to Ferrari.
Well done Hamilton, a good drive.
And no official review and penalty for imposing team orders and effecting the result of a race. It seems Ferrari operate outside the F1 laws.
Oh do feck off.
There was no interference, no "team orders". Raikonnen just simply knows where his bread is buttered and so moved over. He wasn't expressly told to, he just thought he probably should, much like Massa did for Raikonnen at the end of the last season.
And I'll point out that on at least three seperate ocassions this season Kovaleinen has moved out of the way of Hamilton when they're on different pit strategies. Ferrari and Massa have had enough dubious calls and lucky breaks this season for you to focus on without making ones up.
when haven't they
The rule is there, and it should he adhered to or removed IMO. It was very clear Raikonnen was faster than Massa, and the "overtaking" maneuver was embarrassing.
I am not a fan of that particular rule but I would like to see another team try a lame maneuver like that and see what the stewards say.
You lot have picked one of the most confusing rules to argue about.
I would love to see the wording of that particular rule as I've never understood it.
I would love to see the wording of that particular rule as I've never understood it.
It is a pretty clear and unambiguous rule:
39.1 Team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited.
http://www.fia.com/sport/Regulations/f1regs.html click on 2008 Sporting Regulations - published on: 19.05.2008
The maneuver was so blatantly enforcement of team orders that some sort of inquiry should have been triggered. If they wanted Massa to come second then they should have brought Raikonnen into the pits for some bogus reason. Of course they didn't want to do that because he would have slipped down the field and they would have lost some constructors points.
Cheating is cheating, however you want to spin it.
There must be more to that rule though when being interpreted then.
There have been many incidents where it isn't enforced. Not even a fuss made. Like today or one or two races ago when Hamilton was let past by Kovalainen in the middle of the race. I'm sure other teams have done the same like Renualt. Last year Massa let Raikkonen past a few times as well.
They probably get away with it not being an "order" they don't force the driver to pull over. Anyways it would be bitter, I don't agree with the rule, its a team sport at the end of the day. I'm positive most teams would do the same.
There have been many incidents where it isn't enforced. Not even a fuss made. Like today or one or two races ago when Hamilton was let past by Kovalainen in the middle of the race. I'm sure other teams have done the same like Renualt. Last year Massa let Raikkonen past a few times as well.
They probably get away with it not being an "order" they don't force the driver to pull over. Anyways it would be bitter, I don't agree with the rule, its a team sport at the end of the day. I'm positive most teams would do the same.
I don't see there being any issue on the team orders, Raikkonen hardly had a choice after Massa let him past last season did he?
I found it funny though that Raikkonen was slowing and Massa still couldn't catch him until he drastically dropped the pace, and then Massa couldnt pull away when Kimi was just cruising.
I found it funny though that Raikkonen was slowing and Massa still couldn't catch him until he drastically dropped the pace, and then Massa couldnt pull away when Kimi was just cruising.
That rule expressly disallows teams from ordering their drivers to pull over. It does not say it will punish teams if one of their drivers decides to slow down and let his team-mate overtake -- that's the driver's decision.
Ferrari did not tell Raikonnen to pull over, he chose to. Now, of course he chose to because it was in the team's best interests, but that's not the same thing. If he had decided not to pull over then the team could have done nothing about it. And, as someone said, McLaren and Renault have both done the same thing in the past few seasons and no one's batted an eyelid. It's just the Hamilton fans want every single excuse they can get as to why the Brit's the victim, and as I said there's enough out there already that you don't need to go grasping for extra ones.
There's different types of team orders. The rule was put in place as a reaction to the Haikkonen / Coultard incident, where the later surrendered the lead towards the finish of the race, purely because they'd made an argreement together to decide the race according to who led at the first corner. That and years of Schumacher being gifted victories and placings at the cost of results to Irvine, Barrichello and latterly Massa
Count mentioned Hamilton and Kovalainen switching places due to different strategies. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If your heavy on fuel and your team mate is light and stopping more often, of course you let him through. That's not engineering a result, it's trying to get both your cars home the fastest possible
I have no issue with what Ferrari did today either. It's late in the season,only one man is involved in the title race, I think it's fair enough. What I disagree with is when it happens while both drivers are still in the title hunt. That's denying the watching public the spectacle of a genuine contest
Count mentioned Hamilton and Kovalainen switching places due to different strategies. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If your heavy on fuel and your team mate is light and stopping more often, of course you let him through. That's not engineering a result, it's trying to get both your cars home the fastest possible
I have no issue with what Ferrari did today either. It's late in the season,only one man is involved in the title race, I think it's fair enough. What I disagree with is when it happens while both drivers are still in the title hunt. That's denying the watching public the spectacle of a genuine contest
Not really embarrasing. They both Raikkonen was actually faster in qualifying, and they seldom have anything more than 1-2 tenths of a second in between them anyway. With a 5 second gap in between, it would have taken 20 to 30 laps to overturn that.
Massa didn't really need to chase down Hamilton as the lead was way too big, it was all about getting the extra 2 points. Raikkonen on the other hand, had to press on pretty hard to make sure he doesn't come into Alonso's sights. But the very fact that Massa needed help would be embarrasing enough for him.
No big deal about team orders. It's a team sport, it'd be ridiculous for Ferrari not to do it. Given the current circumstances in the title race, any driver with any sense of loyalty to his team would have done exactly what Raikkonen did, without the need for orders to be given.
Please.
Your claim that the Ferrari is a better car then the McLaren is ridiculous.
Ferrari haven't had the pace or reliability to win the Drivers title this year, especially when you figure in the brain fade's by both Raikkonnen and Massa.
Fair play to Hamilton though for completly dominating the weekend.