As 2007 proved, he can sneak up on other drivers in the championship when they aren't looking! Pity he's too far back to make a title challenge now
Autodromo Nazionale Monza - Italian Grand Prix 2009 - Race 13/17
- Thread starter Glaucus
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As 2007 proved, he can sneak up on other drivers in the championship when they aren't looking! Pity he's too far back to make a title challenge now
Caporegime
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To be honest, still think Hamilton should have won it, had Kovo not been utterly useless again(who the hell said he was the best no.2 in the field?) then he could easily have backed up the brawns 5-6 seconds, maybe 30seconds if he had any driving ability.
Poor start, no balls, slow into corners, breaks early and slows down too much, no where near aggressive enough. Also in overtaking, after being passed in the second straight he was so much faster than Barrichello, looked at him, had more speed, a decent amount of straight left and breaking to outdo him but he backed off, he did the same thing several more times.
It wasn't a bad strategy at all by McClaren, make sure your main guy is first so he can pull out time at the front to make the 2 stop strategy pay off, and your 2nd guy low enough on fuel to get ahead of the heavy fuel guys, with kers, should have been a simple job to stay ahead and not easily let people past him. Frankly had Alonso been in the 2nd McClaren, Hamilton would have won today and likely with a huge margin. They do HAVE to get someone who at the very least could have today just made himself difficult to pass if not huge race pace. Wasn't Kovo some 1.5-2seconds slower for the first 2/3rds of the race, when the extra fuel was worth at most 1second a lap.
He also seemed to be going very easy which also cost him, after his pitstop he was very slow for several laps before the pit guys told him he needs 4/10ths more a lap to be close, within 2 laps he was 0.5 seconds faster. It seems they just weren't quick enough to realise he needed to speed up and maybe had him on a lighter mix to save laps. He also seemed to be slower on the harder tyre so why on earth did he go with the harder tyre in the second pit stop?
I was confused by that though, the softer tyre at most races is faster, but wears out, which seemed no issue for 1stoppers on the soft, he seemed faster but the commentator was saying the prime was faster in general.
Shame for Sutil, couldn't take advantage of that pit mistake by Ferrari, like last week he was closing on Raikonnen and seemed like he was the faster driver hampered only by kers making the overtake impossible. Had he got out ahead of Raikonnen I would have thought he'd actually pull away.
Sutil's interview was pure class though, from Eddie seeing this smiling hottie, then ignoring the interview for 20 seconds as he very slowly looked her up and down, to the end, "do you know her..... not yet". Fantastic.
Poor start, no balls, slow into corners, breaks early and slows down too much, no where near aggressive enough. Also in overtaking, after being passed in the second straight he was so much faster than Barrichello, looked at him, had more speed, a decent amount of straight left and breaking to outdo him but he backed off, he did the same thing several more times.
It wasn't a bad strategy at all by McClaren, make sure your main guy is first so he can pull out time at the front to make the 2 stop strategy pay off, and your 2nd guy low enough on fuel to get ahead of the heavy fuel guys, with kers, should have been a simple job to stay ahead and not easily let people past him. Frankly had Alonso been in the 2nd McClaren, Hamilton would have won today and likely with a huge margin. They do HAVE to get someone who at the very least could have today just made himself difficult to pass if not huge race pace. Wasn't Kovo some 1.5-2seconds slower for the first 2/3rds of the race, when the extra fuel was worth at most 1second a lap.
He also seemed to be going very easy which also cost him, after his pitstop he was very slow for several laps before the pit guys told him he needs 4/10ths more a lap to be close, within 2 laps he was 0.5 seconds faster. It seems they just weren't quick enough to realise he needed to speed up and maybe had him on a lighter mix to save laps. He also seemed to be slower on the harder tyre so why on earth did he go with the harder tyre in the second pit stop?
I was confused by that though, the softer tyre at most races is faster, but wears out, which seemed no issue for 1stoppers on the soft, he seemed faster but the commentator was saying the prime was faster in general.
Shame for Sutil, couldn't take advantage of that pit mistake by Ferrari, like last week he was closing on Raikonnen and seemed like he was the faster driver hampered only by kers making the overtake impossible. Had he got out ahead of Raikonnen I would have thought he'd actually pull away.
Sutil's interview was pure class though, from Eddie seeing this smiling hottie, then ignoring the interview for 20 seconds as he very slowly looked her up and down, to the end, "do you know her..... not yet". Fantastic.
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That's an interesting graph actually Duke - shows Raikkonen's sudden form, and also shows that Button hasn't exactly "thrown" a huge lead, Barichello has always been in striking distance even if that looked unlikely after the first third of the season.
Excellent race, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Assuming that it was driver error, I was amazed at Hamilton binning it on the last lap. It goes to show that Lewis really needs to get his adrenalin under control as it was Button who had the pressure here and a lot to lose, yet Hamilton is the one that bins it - stupid mistake.
Assuming that it was driver error, I was amazed at Hamilton binning it on the last lap. It goes to show that Lewis really needs to get his adrenalin under control as it was Button who had the pressure here and a lot to lose, yet Hamilton is the one that bins it - stupid mistake.
Yeah I thought it was worth posting. If Hamilton had finished 3rd, his graph would be similar to Kimi's, which shows how both teams have made leaps in the last few races. Rosberg has been steady.
He's certainly done well in an average car, he's got 30ish points? I'd like to see him at a top team to show his true potential. He's not an ******** either, seems like a genuinely calm, decent bloke.
Soldato
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LMAO! Classic. Love DCs dirty chuckle too 
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Good graph, it would also have been a bit difference if Hamilton had managed to keep his five or six points from the Australian Grand Prix
Great stuff. We didn't know who was going to win until right at the end.
Once again though Button was outpaced by his team-mate, although Button is at least was able to get close to Barrichello. I still believe that Button will hang on. Only 4 more races to go.
Hamilton - well, his aggressive style lost him 6 points today. Had he been fighting for a championship, there is no way he would've pushed so hard and attempted to go 1s faster than Button on the final lap.
Red Bulls - are out of the title race. Before 2009, I held Vettel in high regard, but after seeing what he has been doing in 2009, he doesnt seem to be that great.
Heikki - I still feel that Heikki will be in a McLaren next year. Hamilton is making him look very ordinary and had he had a different team-mate, he certainly wouldnt look as bad. The problem is Hamilton really is "that" good. I mean, he matched Alonso in his first full season in F1...most other drivers would be unable to do this in their 10th season!
Once again though Button was outpaced by his team-mate, although Button is at least was able to get close to Barrichello. I still believe that Button will hang on. Only 4 more races to go.
Hamilton - well, his aggressive style lost him 6 points today. Had he been fighting for a championship, there is no way he would've pushed so hard and attempted to go 1s faster than Button on the final lap.
Red Bulls - are out of the title race. Before 2009, I held Vettel in high regard, but after seeing what he has been doing in 2009, he doesnt seem to be that great.
Heikki - I still feel that Heikki will be in a McLaren next year. Hamilton is making him look very ordinary and had he had a different team-mate, he certainly wouldnt look as bad. The problem is Hamilton really is "that" good. I mean, he matched Alonso in his first full season in F1...most other drivers would be unable to do this in their 10th season!
That would be me.
Just looking at today's result, Heikki was the highest placed No.2 driver. All other drivers ahead of him were either joint or outright No.1 drivers for their teams.
I think some of you don't understand the concept of No.1, No.2 and joint-No.1 status and roles involved.
McLaren, is almost totally arranged around Hamilton and his driving style/requirements. Moreover, during the race weekend, Heikki (the No.2), will regularly get car parts that are a generation behind the car parts being used by Hamilton. This accepted practise and is the norm when you have a No.1 and No.2 driver arrangement.
Considering the above, the team is usually accepting of the fact that No.2 driver usually goes a tenth of a second (or thereabouts) slower than the No.1 driver, based purely on the equipment.
The problem happens when the No.1 driver laps the No.2 driver, which is what often happened with MS's team-mates, which in turn was why MS was partnered by so many team-mates while he was at Bennetton, as they searched for a suitable team-mate. I don't recall Hamilton lapping Heikki.
Whoever McLaren have in their No.2 car in 2010, (unless its Alonso or similar), will be made to look very ordinary, by Hamilton. I do agree though, that McLaren must look for Heikki to learn defensive driving, in order to hold up those behind him...like Trulli does. Time/practise in the simulator could sort this out.
Off the top of my head, the best No.2 driver was Barrichello. J.Herbert wasn't bad and neither was Fisichella. I can't think of anyone else better than Heikki, though I'm sure there were.
Also, did anyone else notice that the girl who was hanging around during the Sutil interview was also in the background of Hamiltons interview?
probably desperate to be famous lol
When you consider the points he's thrown away this year I'd say Mclaren have made a far better job of it than ferrari. Hamiltons car has had genuine race winning pace for a while.
Sunama you keep saying Heiki is the best no2 but any time anyone mentions someone else you say they are an equal no1. Perhaps you should list the drivers that are no2's this season so we can see the list to choose from?
Its not hard to be the best of a very very short list.
How do you reckon he was outpaced - with the gap 3 seconds before the last lap / safety car
They finished in the exact order they started the race, and majority of difference (apart from the aero diff of 1.5s - 2s that you cant get closer) was made up by the team in their one and only pit stop
So actually Rubens made a whole 0.5s in around 50 laps - HOW AMAZING!!!!
Bit of bias perhaps hahaha
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I suspect that most people who were watching the race had a pretty fair idea from lap 36 who was going to be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th and that Vettel wasn't going to get any points at all - right up until Hamilton pretty pointlessly overcooked it