The F1 Thread 2012 Season

mariachi-19

Full Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
18,631
Location
I may be the devil, but i'm not a monster
Schumacher may lose 3rd. Rumour is that he used DRS during yellow flags.
Rumour aka Webber and Horner crapping on. The only way that Schumacher could have been penalized is if his DRS was open as the yellow flags came out for the incident. He wasn't close enough to any car on the final lap to use DRS and according to a poster on another forum I visit, clearly backed off in yellow flag sectors.
 

RDCR07

Not a bad guy (Whale Killer)
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
30,410
Location
Transfer Forum
The one race when my favorite driver of all time gets on the podium in a long time, I miss the race.
 

ciderman9000000

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
29,640
Location
The General
As much as Maldonado was at fault for the incident that saw Lewis into the wall, it was Lewis' own fault that he found himself in such a position whereby a crash could potentially occur.

Lewis' aggressive defence of a position he could never hold is what let him down today; it was very immature driving. Of course, he had every right to defend his position, but common sense dictated that he should have yeilded to the quicker car and accpeted fourth place. Maldonado was at fault for the crash but Lewis can only have himself to blame for getting into such a futile, risk-laden tussle in the first place.
 

pauldyson1uk

Full Member
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
55,620
Location
Wythenshawe watching Crappy Fims
As much as Maldonado was at fault for the incident that saw Lewis into the wall, it was Lewis' own fault that he found himself in such a position whereby a crash could potentially occur.
Lewis' aggressive defence of a position he could never hold is what let him down today; it was very immature driving. Of course, he had every right to defend his position, but common sense dictated that he should have yeilded to the quicker car and accpeted fourth place. Maldonado was at fault for the crash but Lewis can only have himself to blame for getting into such a futile, risk-laden tussle in the first place.
Cant argue with any of that.
 

Leg-End

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2004
Messages
19,635
As much as Maldonado was at fault for the incident that saw Lewis into the wall, it was Lewis' own fault that he found himself in such a position whereby a crash could potentially occur.

Lewis' aggressive defence of a position he could never hold is what let him down today; it was very immature driving. Of course, he had every right to defend his position, but common sense dictated that he should have yeilded to the quicker car and accpeted fourth place. Maldonado was at fault for the crash but Lewis can only have himself to blame for getting into such a futile, risk-laden tussle in the first place.
Of course you are correct, perhaps looking back Hamilton will realise he would have been far better off giving the place up and taking home the points. But you can't blame him for being punted off by quite frankly an accident driver waiting to happen, Maldonado would have got the position cleanly had he waited but he hasn't shown any common sense since he entered F1.
 

Leg-End

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2004
Messages
19,635
Quite often the same allegation leveled against Lewis earlier in his F1 career.
I think Lewis was pretty good in his first 2 seasons, 2010 he was genuinely mental at some points and 2011 someone shat in his cereal.

I've watched Maldonado since his early GP2 days, he has aways been unhinged, fast but mental.
 

AVARiCE

Full Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
3,274
Location
West London, UK
Today's crash between Hamilton and Maldonado kinda highlighted something that I've been thinking about for ages. I might as well share it.

One great thing about F1 is how safety has increased way beyond what it used to be. Cars are faster than ever but they're also safer than they were before. I'd say the increase in safety is far greater than the increase in pace, balance, etc.

The problem is that the drivers have got a bit too secure in cars now. I'm too young to remember Senna but my Uncle, who's a true F1 fanatic and has worked in motorsport for decades, disliked him because of how Senna basically risked his life every time he hopped into an F1 car. While it saw him rise to the top quickly, it also ended in the ultimate sacrifice for his sport. I'm lead to believe that some of the maneouvres Senna would attempt were the first of their kind, where a driver would play with death much more than was the norm.

Now that the cars are safer and the drivers aren't playing with their lives, which is ultimately a good thing, it's about respect. Alonso had a gripe about it recently and I think he's right. Things like swerving all over the track to avoid being overtaken are unsafe and drivers did it because the risk to themselves was minimal.

At the end of the day, the drivers don't have to share a mutual respect for their lives any more so it's about showing respect to each other. A sentiment that, as any fool can see, is unlikely to be shared by 24 men on a track.

Today the crash personified this problem for me. I'll start with Maldonaldo. As a driver I've serious doubts about him. He's reckless and, assuming he gives a toss for the other drivers' safety, I've yet to see him concerned. He's used his car as a weapon more than once this season which is more than once too many times over an entire career. I think it's clear as day that he saw red and literally speared Hamilton off the track. It's spiteful, it's unsporting and it's truly unsafe. This is a multi-million pound business/sport and the last thing it needs is for drivers to start playing GTA on the track. We scorn footballers for being bad role models but Maldonaldo should be pulled up on his behaviour. I can't speak of it lowly enough in a sporting sense, it was just so poor.

However, Hamilton has to accept his part in this. This season he's been much improved but he's been a bully behind the wheel in the past and I think his reckless side showed today as well. In effect, I agree with Cider. I appreciate that Hamilton had the position but it was his driving that caused Maldonaldo to go off the track. I also fully understand that he didn't expect Maldonaldo to get hell-for-leather and simply ram him. The thing is, he didn't vouch for it at all. Shutting Maldonaldo out was the only thought in his mind. You can almost guarantee he thought that because he was sitting on the race line he was impervious to Maldonaldo: "I've got the racing line, he's off the track, he can't touch me".

To stress, Maldonaldo was wrong. Horribly wrong, IMO. But Hamilton was stupid too. Was shutting Maldonaldo out that important? I fully get that he didn't expect what happened next but the fact that he didn't account for it concerns me. If his personal safety had come into it, like it would've done in eras passed, neither driver would've done what they did. Hamilton wouldn't have placed his car as a blockade to the track -- for all the lambasting I've done of Maldonaldo I think it's only fair to point out that he could argue that he was simply returning to the track -- and Maldonaldo wouldn't have rammed another car.

It just feels like these "racing incidents" are becoming more common as the safety margins increase, giving the drivers more room to play with. I personally don't want that. Let's be honest, the crashes are entertaining but when drivers are gambling against what the other driver should do as a point of principle instead of what another driver should do relative to his own safety, we're going to end up with a lot less actual racing.

Hamilton could've walked away with points today if he hadn't stupidly gambled his car on this odd, self-assured premise that Maldonaldo didn't care about his. I mean, the logic is absurd. Hamilton thinks "I can risk my car here because Maldonaldo won't risk his". If he's willing to risk his car how can he then bet against Maldonaldo risking his?! Particularly when he was the man with more to lose!

I digress. If any of you actually read this bunch of nonsense let me know your thoughts!
 

Ole's_toe_poke

Ole_Aged_Slow_Poke
Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Messages
36,846
Said it before and will say it again. Despite what Vettel has done the last couple of seasons for me Alonso is by far the best allround driver in F1.

Just a fantastic talent and great to see him fighting for wins and championships.
 

senorgregster

Last Newbie Standing
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
10,343
Location
Anywhere but Liverpool
As much as Maldonado was at fault for the incident that saw Lewis into the wall, it was Lewis' own fault that he found himself in such a position whereby a crash could potentially occur.

Lewis' aggressive defence of a position he could never hold is what let him down today; it was very immature driving. Of course, he had every right to defend his position, but common sense dictated that he should have yeilded to the quicker car and accpeted fourth place. Maldonado was at fault for the crash but Lewis can only have himself to blame for getting into such a futile, risk-laden tussle in the first place.
right on. May cost him the WDC.
 

senorgregster

Last Newbie Standing
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
10,343
Location
Anywhere but Liverpool
Said it before and will say it again. Despite what Vettel has done the last couple of seasons for me Alonso is by far the best allround driver in F1.

Just a fantastic talent and great to see him fighting for wins and championships.
can't stand him... So I agree, fantastic talent. He has great balance between fight and maintain. Lewis is all fight which hurts him.
 

Rooney1987

Full Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
6,249
Location
Bradford
Said it before and will say it again. Despite what Vettel has done the last couple of seasons for me Alonso is by far the best allround driver in F1.

Just a fantastic talent and great to see him fighting for wins and championships.
Agreed, I am a Hamilton fan but Alonso is easily the best driver.

right on. May cost him the WDC.
To be honnest if anything will stop Lewis from winning the WDC will probably be Mclaren. If they don't feck up today this incident doesn't happen. The BBC showed all the clips of the Mclaren errors with Lewis, it's a lot. If not for the feck ups he would probably be leading the WDC right now or at least a lot closer to Alonso.
 

F-Red

Full Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
11,027
Location
Cheshire
As much as Maldonado was at fault for the incident that saw Lewis into the wall, it was Lewis' own fault that he found himself in such a position whereby a crash could potentially occur.

Lewis' aggressive defence of a position he could never hold is what let him down today; it was very immature driving. Of course, he had every right to defend his position, but common sense dictated that he should have yeilded to the quicker car and accpeted fourth place. Maldonado was at fault for the crash but Lewis can only have himself to blame for getting into such a futile, risk-laden tussle in the first place.
Lewis is well within his rights to defend his place, he was two laps from the end & on a circuit which isn't renowned for overtaking. The problem is with your theory of letting cars through is that if you're a racer, you don't do that.

You let one car through & then every time anyone wants to pass you in the future they'll just stick their car up the inside and they know in the back of your head that you'll yield every time due to previous incidents of letting cars through.

The issue today with Lewis was more the McLaren pitstop feck up cost him a victory. As for Maldonado, well this guy shows that when it comes to racing and making judgements for position he clearly hasn't a clue. He's shown it time & time again (dont forget he was even banned for life from racing at Monaco in 2005 due to injuring a marshall) that the decision he makes are often the wrong ones.
 

iSparky

Likes Dags. but not as much as his Dad
Joined
Oct 11, 2006
Messages
51,511
A race ban? :lol:

Would be harsh and unnecessary.
Given his previous history at Spa and Monaco it would be generous just a one race ban, anyway he got off light the ugly cnut.

Massa and Button should be dropped for a couple of races and some talented test/young drivers given a shot.

Brilliant drive from Alonso again. Him and Vettel are the Messi & Ronaldo of F1 - simply in a class above everyone else.
Massa? Yes he should be dropped entirely

Button? Not a chance, Button is in a slump and Mclaren have openly admitted that they have not been giving him the best setup to race on and they are working to rectify that problem.

The difference between Massa and Button is that Button is having a slump of form, he has not forgotten how to drive just look at how good he was last year while Massa has been just downright shit for a few years now.
 

ciderman9000000

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
29,640
Location
The General
Lewis is well within his rights to defend his place, he was two laps from the end & on a circuit which isn't renowned for overtaking. The problem is with your theory of letting cars through is that if you're a racer, you don't do that.

You let one car through & then every time anyone wants to pass you in the future they'll just stick their car up the inside and they know in the back of your head that you'll yield every time due to previous incidents of letting cars through.

The issue today with Lewis was more the McLaren pitstop feck up cost him a victory. As for Maldonado, well this guy shows that when it comes to racing and making judgements for position he clearly hasn't a clue. He's shown it time & time again (dont forget he was even banned for life from racing at Monaco in 2005 due to injuring a marshall) that the decision he makes are often the wrong ones.
I said he had every right to defend his position, didn't I? That doesn't mean that to defend the position was the correct thing to do.

I appreciate that I'm not a racing driver, but I disagree with your point because I think there were two champion racing drivers on the track yesterday who would have reacted to Maldonado differently to Lewis; namely, Alonso and Vettel. The more mature drivers would have recognised that Maldonado's fresher tyres meant that he was going past regardless of any effort to stop him, just as Kimi had done moments before. Getting into an aggressive tussle for position with a car with greater grip just isn't worth the risk, as Hamilton abruptly found out; just as with Kimi before the defending against Maldonado would inevitably involve much wheel-to-wheel maneuvering, and that's where contact and accidents occur; Lewis was basically just asking for trouble, all for the sake of three points, and it eventually cost him fifteen.

Now, I'm a Lewis Hamilton fan, he's the reason I began watching the sport five years ago, and it's his mental driving at times that attracts me to support him, he's certainly exciting to watch in comparison to the more mature drivers named above. It's hypocritical of me to expect him to tone down the racing that I love him for, but as much as I enjoy watching him make a crazy pass, I hate to see him throwing his steering wheel in frustration after smashing into a wall. If he's to win another title he has to learn to race for points efficiently like Alonso does so well, and the incident yesterday is a prime example of Lewis Hamilton failing to do exactly that. It cost him, and will cost him again unfortunately; I bet McLaren have given him a right bollocking on the quiet - or at least, they would have done had they not fecked up in equal measure.
 

TheBest

SPNTBP
Joined
Jul 10, 2011
Messages
13,453
I said he had every right to defend his position, didn't I? That doesn't mean that to defend the position was the correct thing to do.

I appreciate that I'm not a racing driver, but I disagree with your point because I think there were two champion racing drivers on the track yesterday who would have reacted to Maldonado differently to Lewis; namely, Alonso and Vettel. The more mature drivers would have recognised that Maldonado's fresher tyres meant that he was going past regardless of any effort to stop him, just as Kimi had done moments before. Getting into an aggressive tussle for position with a car with greater grip just isn't worth the risk, as Hamilton abruptly found out; just as with Kimi before the defending against Maldonado would inevitably involve much wheel-to-wheel maneuvering, and that's where contact and accidents occur; Lewis was basically just asking for trouble, all for the sake of three points, and it eventually cost him fifteen.

Now, I'm a Lewis Hamilton fan, he's the reason I began watching the sport five years ago, and it's his mental driving at times that attracts me to support him, he's certainly exciting to watch in comparison to the more mature drivers named above. It's hypocritical of me to expect him to tone down the racing that I love him for, but as much as I enjoy watching him make a crazy pass, I hate to see him throwing his steering wheel in frustration after smashing into a wall. If he's to win another title he has to learn to race for points efficiently like Alonso does so well, and the incident yesterday is a prime example of Lewis Hamilton failing to do exactly that. It cost him, and will cost him again unfortunately; I bet McLaren have given him a right bollocking on the quiet - or at least, they would have done had they not fecked up in equal measure.
I am sure that they are in no position to do that. Plus hamilton this season has been really mature, as mature as alonso and all, if it wasn't for mclaren he would've been leading the championship and wouldn't be in the position he found himself yesterday. Plus there were only 2 laps remaining so you can understand why he didn't want to lose the chance of finishing on the podium. He still was within his right to do what he did, its not his fault. In retrospect he probably should've backed off but who knows, he could've kept the 3rd position for 2 laps.
 

Instant Karma

Closet Gooner
Joined
May 7, 2006
Messages
7,134
Location
Fletchcafe - Population: 5 (May 2006)
if it wasn't for mclaren he would've been leading the championship and wouldn't be in the position he found himself yesterday.
If it werent for Mclaren ? the team that built the best car on the grid for the first part of the season ?

Lewis is unprofessional and deserves what he gets as a bit of karma - he constantly slates his engineers & pit crew on radio. He is the Joey Barton of F1

Every driver in F1 at some point in their career has faced issues with their teams similar to what Lewis had last couple of years but no one slates their team publicly like he does. Lewis is highly talented driver and one of the quickest but the absolute worst 'team professional' that engineers and pit crew could have.