2008 Belgian GP - Race 13/18

JRS · 8 Sep 2008 at 21:42

Lopéz said:
Funny you mention that, I was discussing the race with one of my customers and we were talking about how all the "greats" of the last 20 years or so (Senna/Mansell/Schumacher etc) were hot headed, made some bad calls and so on when they were new (and not so new!) but that never really applied to Prost, he was always a pretty cool customer. Not my sort of driver though, I prefer the ones with a bit of a ragged edge, Il Lione style

Ah, Il Leone....there will never be another one like our Nige.

Now there was a British driver everyone could get behind. Flawed? No question. He could whinge with the best of them*. And yet.....brave beyond belief, always exciting, actually able to overtake at the Hungaroring (something that most contemporary and later drivers have never quite got the hang of....), perfectly able to go wheel-to-wheel with Senna and come out on top....

God, they were good years.

As for Prost being cool headed - he did have his moments. Well, two

And both got him fired (his outburst after losing the '83 title got him his marching orders from Renault, and his firing from Ferrari just before the end of '91).

***edit***

* - What was it someone once said? Something along the lines of "he's actually got a well-adjusted personality - he has a chip on both his shoulders"

Lopéz · 8 Sep 2008 at 21:47

JRS said:
Ah, Il Leone....there will never be another one like our Nige.

Now there was a British driver everyone could get behind. Flawed? No question. He could whinge with the best of them. And yet.....brave beyond belief, always exciting, actually able to overtake at the Hungaroring (something that most contemporary and later drivers have never quite got the hang of....), perfectly able to go wheel-to-wheel with Senna and come out on top....

God, they were good years.

As for Prost being cool headed - he did have his moments. Well, two And both got him fired (his outburst after losing the '83 title got him his marching orders from Renault, and his firing from Ferrari just before the end of '91).

Our Nige is still the ONLY driver I have ever thoroughly got behind - proper tears and everything when I was younger. Yeah he moaned, yeah he got impatient and threw it off the track, no he wasn't technically the fastest driver, but Jesus Christ he was a charger.

That's why I liked Villeneuve, that's why I liked Montoya, and it just doesn't seem to be there in the current crop of drivers. Hamilton is the closest thing to a charger out there at the front at the moment, he's very cocky and full of self belief, but he doesn't half know how to push on. I don't see any of that in Massa.

Duke · 8 Sep 2008 at 21:54

That was some interesting reading on the additional cooling on the Ferrari engine. It would have hurt their straight line speed a little.

TheStig1 · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:08

NathanE said:
And yet more proof that Massa isn't a top driver...

yet is only 2 points behind lewis

he speaks a lot of sense and gives an insight to what is decided by the drivers in the briefings yet lewis ignored it so there we go lewis arrogance once again

"If Lewis had taken the chicane correctly, he would never have been able to pass Kimi on the very short straight that follows it.

and that is the fact of the matter

deuse · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:09

Deleted

Cavallino · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:09

Duke said:
That was some interesting reading on the additional cooling on the Ferrari engine. It would have hurt their straight line speed a little.

To be honest, I think Massa did fantastically well to keep within touching distance of the front two with such a slight handicap. Note that he wasnt miles behind, only up to 5 seconds at one point.

Toekiller · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:10

What about the run off coming out of the tunnel at Monaco? I don't remember people getting 25 second penalties after stuffing that up.

Cavallino · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:11

deuse said:
Cant see this posted.

This was illegal too but no penalty given?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5UnPeyzcHM

Maybe FIA should look at this.

This was posted earlier and I thought the same thing too... but two things you should note.

1. Schumacher was completely squeezed off track here despite being ahead of PDLR (whereas Hamilton was behind Raikonnen when he went through the chicane and couldve braked - but thats a different story).

2. What the video doesnt show is that on the next lap PDLR takes Schumacher and passes him.

TheStig1 · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:14

and michael was under investigation for it when he retired

shrek2 · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:20

In a sensational turnaround, a flash from La Gazzetta dello Sport quotes defending World Champion Kimi Raikkonen as being prepared to testify on behalf of arch rival Lewis Hamilton at the FIA hearing that will result from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' protest of the penalty imposed on Hamilton after the Belgian Grand Prix. "I don't care what the stewards said, as far as I was concerned, Hamilton let me by as we passed the pits", said Raikkonen in Geneva today. "I got ahead, I tried to defend the position and the race was on again. My car was for sure very difficult on the prime tyres in the rain and Lewis got by me into the hairpin. That was that."

Raikkonen went on, "For sure, I don't like to lose but I don't like to win through stupid decisions. People say I have lost the love (for F1) but yesterday I showed that second was not what I wanted. There are five races to go and I plan to win them all. I'm not the sort to give up that easily."

Asked if he was prepared to testify to that effect if the McLaren protest goes to the FIA, Raikkonen simply said, "Yes, why not."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali declined to comment on Raikkonen's statement but technical director Aldo Costa admitted the Scuderia was not pleased. "Our driver has a view but the team believes the stewards and the FIA have all the information they need. We will be talking to our driver during the week," Costa told Gazzetta dello Sport.

See. Kimi has a little bit of class.

Duke · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:21

That cant be real.

knip · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:22

OH MY GOD!
I really really hope someone hasnt made that up.

shrek2 · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:24

I don't think its real but I posted it anyway. I m a nobhead

GTRacer · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:27

Duke said:
That cant be real.

I know, Kimi's using punctuation.

Lopéz · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:30

Nothing like that on the Gazetto Dello Sport website.

PinkFloyd · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:48

shrek2 said:
I don't think its real but I posted it anyway. I m a nobhead

I HATE YOU :mad:

You had my hopes up

dannyjo22 · 8 Sep 2008 at 23:40

Lopéz said:
Our Nige is still the ONLY driver I have ever thoroughly got behind - proper tears and everything when I was younger. Yeah he moaned, yeah he got impatient and threw it off the track, no he wasn't technically the fastest driver, but Jesus Christ he was a charger.

That's why I liked Villeneuve, that's why I liked Montoya, and it just doesn't seem to be there in the current crop of drivers. Hamilton is the closest thing to a charger out there at the front at the moment, he's very cocky and full of self belief, but he doesn't half know how to push on. I don't see any of that in Massa.

Imagine the scenario of 91 when Mansell and Senna raced wheel to wheel at Barcelona. In todays climate one would have been edging the other towards the grass until he ran out of room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHf-Ru9JwRI

With Villeneuve too, only once did I see him leave and potential passer with no where to go and after wards he held his hands up and apologised for not seeing him there. Villeneuve was the hardest guy I've ever seen to pass and not once did I see him deliberately try to edge someone onto the grass.

Thats race craft. Respect he learnt from racing in a series where doing that would get you or a fellow racer killed.

They have let them get away with the edging for so long they don't know of any other way to keep a driver behind.

Villeneuve V Shuey at Spain in 99 and then again at Silverstone was a master class of how it's done even in car thats seconds per lap slower.

TheStig1 · 9 Sep 2008 at 00:20

same senna that ploughed into prost at suzuka because he had a little hissy fit?
he could easily have killed prost or himself or spectators

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLYC1lnVAic

el_dazza · 9 Sep 2008 at 00:31

TheStig1 said:
same senna that ploughed into prost at suzuka because he had a little hissy fit?
he could easily have killed prost or himself or spectators

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLYC1lnVAic

Because Prost didn't do that to him in '89, did he..

Ok, it wasn't at 150mph+, but it's still the same concept - take out the othe guy so you win, but make it look like a racing incident.

FrankJH · 9 Sep 2008 at 07:53

dannyjo22 said:
Villeneuve V Shuey at Spain in 99 and then again at Silverstone was a master class of how it's done even in car thats seconds per lap slower.

You go and ruin it by mentioning Shuey who could have easily killed himself and someone else in 94 and again in 97 (although 97 was less dangerous, there was only ever going to be one result)

CS||nuTs said:
Not sure if anyone posted this yet.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70428

Well not only does he have to toe the company line but also he benefited twice over - of course he is going to look at it that way - not really that surprising is it?