2008 Chinese GP - Race 17/18

Why is everyone applauding Hamilton for posting fast practise times?!? Hes done it plenty of times before and had a clear lead from the Ferraris in those sessions but that hasnt always translated in good qualifying or a great race for him...

Clutching at straws comes to mind...

FrankJH said:
Not only that but the FIA cant even get reliable fuel rigs to work right (how frequently do we all see some kind of actual fault with a rig) how diabolical do you think the racing would be if they controlled the engines!!!
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Thats because they went for the cheapest tender from what Ive heard - and have been slated about it several times - its amazing how theyve got away with it. No refuelling in the race will put a stop to that...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
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I think the whole paddock ganging up on Hamilton at this point in the championship is pretty shocking really. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Even Flavio joined in with the hate.

Good and surprising to see that Massa has defended Hamilton and his driving.
 
NathanE said:
I think the whole paddock ganging up on Hamilton at this point in the championship is pretty shocking really. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Even Flavio joined in with the hate.
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If they honestly think he is causing safety concerns then Im 100% behind them - thats what the drivers talk is all about. Perhaps its happened before with other drivers but just not been reported...

You cant honestly think its something political?!? Jesus wake up and smell the coffee...

NathanE said:
Good and surprising to see that Massa has defended Hamilton and his driving.
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Yet Hamilton has been saying to anyone who will listen to him that Massa on purpose went into the side of him because of the DWC at Fuji - who really should be ashamed? Massa was wrong to try the move, but his professional manner is something Hamilton should have followed...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
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Kitchster_uk said:
The renault won the last 2 races through luck, not outright speed. There should be several cars ahead of Alonso if there are no dramas. FA should be 5th.
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Yep.

Also, Alonso can make up the difference over another (superior) car, but not over a single lap - he needs many laps to do this and also makes up time on the race strategy, too. Obviously McLaren are very weak in the strategy department, though Hamilton sometimes makes up for this by using outright speed.

Over a single (qualifying) lap though, its hard to beat a Ferrari (Massa) or a McLaren (Hamilton). No disrespect to Heikki or Kimi, but they cant really compete against their team mates.

I've never seen a driver lose "it" in the way that Kimi has. To my mind, he had 1 outstanding race at Spa and that was it. Perhaps somebody can refresh my memory and tell me if any other drivers in the past, have dropped their performance by this sort of margin?
 
TBH Im not bothered what Flavio of all people says - I very much doubt anyone else is. He justs wants some publicity for himself, or his team, as a manager, or who he manages - it is near the end of the season of course...

When isnt he outspoken about an issue? Hell hes the F1 envelope opener...

@sunama - Kimis riding the gravy train, hes getting paid to pretty much do nothing and if I was in his shoes Id be laughing all the way to the bank. Hes never been one to have to prove anything and now hes getting paid irrelevant what his performance is. Theres no reason for him to try - if you think there is, please tell me...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
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The only reason I think Kimi would want to try is because he wants to win. This is what motivates most drivers. They are competitive (they wouldnt have reached the pinnicle of motor racing, if they weren't), but it would appear that Kimi has no more motivation and is just showing up to the race weekends.

What is astounding is that Ferrari have gone and re-signed him for 2009, yet in Alonso, they have someone who is ready, willing and able to come to Ferrari and a moments notice. And we also know that Alonso is regarded by many as the best driver and we know for a fact, he is in blistering form. Why on Earth would they have chosen Kimi over Alonso, for 2009 - it makes no sense to me at all, unless we, the public, have not been made privvy to all the information regarding Kimi's re-signing.
 
sunama said:
Yep.

Also, Alonso can make up the difference over another (superior) car, but not over a single lap - he needs many laps to do this and also makes up time on the race strategy, too. Obviously McLaren are very weak in the strategy department, though Hamilton sometimes makes up for this by using outright speed.

Over a single (qualifying) lap though, its hard to beat a Ferrari (Massa) or a McLaren (Hamilton). No disrespect to Heikki or Kimi, but they cant really compete against their team mates.

I've never seen a driver lose "it" in the way that Kimi has. To my mind, he had 1 outstanding race at Spa and that was it. Perhaps somebody can refresh my memory and tell me if any other drivers in the past, have dropped their performance by this sort of margin?
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I wouldn't go so far as to say Kimi has lost it. His performances haven't been as they might, but there have been a number of problems preventing him from scoring higher.

In Japan had Kimi not been force off the track he would have won that race. IMO
In Canada kimi would have won or scored highly if Hamilton didnt retire him
In Monaco he had a penalty due to the mechanics not clearing the grid he was 2nd at the time
In France Kimi would have won but had exahust problems.
In austrailia he had a mechanical problem in qualifying
In Valencia he would have been in the points but his conrod broke

Without those problems he'd be leading the championship.

Notice i haven't included punctures, driver errors etc.. which all of the drivers have suffered.
 
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englishpremier said:
I wouldn't go so far as to say Kimi has lost it. His performances haven't been as they might, but there have been a number of problems preventing him from scoring higher.

In Japan had Kimi not been force off the track he would have won that race.
In Canada kimi would have scored highly if Hamilton didnt retire him
In Monaco he had a penalty due to the mechanics not clearing the grid
In France Kimi would have won but had exahust problems.
In austrailia he had a mechanical problem in qualifying
In Valencia he would have been in the points but his conrod broke

Without those problems he'd be leading the championship.

Notice i haven't included punctures, driver errors etc.. which all of the drivers have suffered.
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You could go through lists like that for every driver, such as Massa's engine blowing up 3 laps before the end etc. Point is, it's irrelivant now. ;)
 
But hes not like most drivers - his demeanour and attitude have always been different and hes never played ball with team/sponsor/media requirements - a reason why I like him so much :D

I really hope that him being resigned was literally a carrot for him to help Massa this year and that Alonso will be at Ferrari for 2009. You have to remember Kimi showed all the same signs as Alonso before he moved from McLaren to Ferrari, its just that Alonso has remained hungry while Kimi was satiated a year ago...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
To be honest no one deserves to win it this year.

Hamilton has been crap and arrogent, Massa crap and inconsistent, Kubica in a crap car.

I heard about the standard engines thing, and WTF ! We are already near the death of F1 with ideas like KERS. Lets get real, its all total rubbish. F1 aint about saving the planet, its about motorsport and its meant to be at the top of the tree. Its so pathetic now, the rules screwed overtaking, and the stewards just penalise you for trying.

I hope it dies soon, and we can all move on to a proper motorsport.
 
In general though, Massa seems to have the measure of Kimi this year. For example, in qualifying, Massa almost always out qualifies his team mate. In the race, Kimi does come alive in the last third, but not before allowing the front runners to open up an unassailable lead in the early part of the race.

The above, was not the case last year, where Kimi was definitely the team leader, even when he was behind Massa in the points standings. This year, Massa seems to be able to beat Kimi whenever he wants to (barring penalties, DNFs, crashes, etc).

If we use the last race as an example: Kimi got beat fair and square by Alonso and Kubica, who both have inferior cars to him. There really isnt any excuse for that.
 
Cheer N.

So whatabout practice pace? Obviously it seems Hamilton has the measure of the track, but Massa seems satisfied with his performance. Ferrari sandbagging? Or just bullstein?
 
There is no sandbagging, but I feel that Ferrari will close the gap when qualifying starts, for real.

Hamilton is just super competitive and wants to dominate everyone - even in practise sessions that count for little. Mansell and Senna were exactly the same. Its what makes them exciting.
 
sunama said:
There is no sandbagging, but I feel that Ferrari will close the gap when qualifying starts, for real.

Hamilton is just super competitive and wants to dominate everyone - even in practise sessions that count for little. Mansell and Senna were exactly the same. Its what makes them exciting.
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Im not so sure sunama, I would probably say that Hamilton does have the measure of the track and .4 secs off the pace in free practice 1.1 does say something.

I hope you're right though :)
 
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