2008 German GP - Race 10/18

I think although Alonso's first attempt at McLaren didnt work out now that Alonso will have had a year to cool down at Renault and now that he knows Hamilton would be his equal he would do well to go back to McLaren. If he is better than Hamilton he will win on merit and if not he will still do very well out of it. All depends on whether the break last year was terminal and if he is willing to be joint number 1.
 
I think although Alonso's first attempt at McLaren didnt work out now that Alonso will have had a year to cool down at Renault and now that he knows Hamilton would be his equal he would do well to go back to McLaren. If he is better than Hamilton he will win on merit and if not he will still do very well out of it. All depends on whether the break last year was terminal and if he is willing to be joint number 1.

Threatening Ron probably isn't the best of ways to get into the good books....
 
Threatening Ron probably isn't the best of ways to get into the good books....

Indeed, depends on who they can get for next year to replace Heikki and how badly Ron wants to win everything, if they can get Rosberg it will all be happy families :)
 
Indeed, depends on who they can get for next year to replace Heikki and how badly Ron wants to win everything, if they can get Rosberg it will all be happy families :)

The question is though - will Rosberg be able to live with the Ferraris? Remember, McLaren seem to be able to compete for the WDC (courtesy of Hamilton), but are struggling to compete for the contstructors title (due to Heikki's poor point scoring). I actually think that Rosberg and Heikki are around the same in ability. I could be wrong, but thats just my gut feeling.

The problem is that when you are driving alongside Hamilton, it can be very easy to get totally blown away, lose your confidence and get bogged down. We saw this happen when Andretti drove alongside Senna and when MS used to dominate his team mates. The only way around this is to either hire a driver alongside Hamilton, who can compete with him (Kimi, Alonso or Kubica) OR you bring in another driver (maybe even keep Heikki), but order Hamilton to assist his team mate wherever possible and tell Hamilton that his team mate will not be allowed to finish ahead of him. This will give Hamilton the comfort that he doesnt need to worry about his team mate taking points away from him. He can freely share info/data and give advice to his team mate knowing that he will not be allowed to take points from Hamilton and when possible, will be used to take points away from his main title rivals - the Ferraris.

Of course, the third and most difficult way is to build a car that is head and shoulders ahead of the competition, which I dont believe will be possible, due to the rule changes.

Personally, if it were me (and I know it sound crazy coming from me), I would keep Heikki and have Hamilton give him tips on getting the most out of the car. If this were done, I'm positive that Heikki will know his role within the team, feel more secure that he will get Hamilton and the team's full backing, have a year's experience at McLaren and will therefore be much more potent in 2009.
 
If you had two great McLaren drivers then you would just end up with exactly the same as is happening at Ferrari this year, Kimi and Massa taking points off each other, yes its great for Constructors but not so good for WDC. Thats why hamilton is at the top, and why Kubica is still so close. The weather has a lot to do with the standings now too, yes a wet race is very entertaining, but it just hurts the ferrari's. You saw it at silverstone, as soon as it dried out a bit, Kimi was just reeling in Lewis.
I maintain that Ferrari still have the fastest "Race" car.
 
If you had two great McLaren drivers then you would just end up with exactly the same as is happening at Ferrari this year, Kimi and Massa taking points off each other, yes its great for Constructors but not so good for WDC. Thats why hamilton is at the top, and why Kubica is still so close. The weather has a lot to do with the standings now too, yes a wet race is very entertaining, but it just hurts the ferrari's. You saw it at silverstone, as soon as it dried out a bit, Kimi was just reeling in Lewis.
I maintain that Ferrari still have the fastest "Race" car.

You are misinformed, Ferrari were off the pace all week.
 
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If you had two great McLaren drivers then you would just end up with exactly the same as is happening at Ferrari this year, Kimi and Massa taking points off each other, yes its great for Constructors but not so good for WDC.

True to an extent, though I feel that Alonso and Hamilton is a more powerful combination than Kimi and Massa. Kubica is so near the top because not only is the Kubica/BMW combo fast, but it is also very reliable.

If Hamilton were paired with either Kimi or Alonso, I think the McLarens might win a vast majority of the races. Possibly, they will finish 1st and 2nd in the WDC.

Thats why hamilton is at the top, and why Kubica is still so close. The weather has a lot to do with the standings now too, yes a wet race is very entertaining, but it just hurts the ferrari's.

We have seenn an unprecedented amount of races this year, that have been effected by rain. Hamilton has a very high wins:wet races ratio. In fact I dont recall anyone have a such high win percentage in wet races competed in. He really does seem to be the best wet race driver right now.

Had we not had so many wet races, then I think the Ferraris might have been ahead, by a few points.

You saw it at silverstone, as soon as it dried out a bit, Kimi was just reeling in Lewis.

Erm, yes, we did see Kimi catch Lewis, but that only lasted a few laps. It coincided with Kimi's fuel load lightening and possibly a drying track. Hamilton seemed to have the ability to open up a gap when it counted most, though.

I maintain that Ferrari still have the fastest "Race" car.

I cant argue with you there.
 
The rumour mill is still suggesting that Honda are intrested in Fernando's signature. Although, I see him staying put for at least 1 more season.

Thats been around for a while - I like Honda, dont want them soured by that moaning ***

Cant see Hamilton going to Ferrari (I hope not anyway)

Kov just doesnt seem to have it - I know Silverstone was very tricky, but even so the start of the race he was awful (after the first few laps), I hope he can turn it around at McLaren but Ron doesnt give people too much time usually

Ive read that the race should be dry but qualifying in the wet (but Im not sure how reliable/old that infomation is)

You saw it at silverstone, as soon as it dried out a bit, Kimi was just reeling in Lewis.
I maintain that Ferrari still have the fastest "Race" car.

Hamilton was so far infront it wasnt necessary to get out of 5th gear (mentally) - McLaren where telling him to save his engine for this race weekend, not really "reeling him in" by any means

I maintain that Ferrari still have the fastest "Race" car.

Cant possibly know this until we have a dry race with McLaren's updated car
 
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Sat practice times

Code:
Pos  Driver        Team                     Time              Laps
 1.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:15.621           18
 2.  Massa         Ferrari             (B)  1:15.693 + 0.072   21
 3.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:15.839 + 0.218   21
 4.  Alonso        Renault             (B)  1:15.943 + 0.322   18
 5.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:16.037 + 0.416   24
 6.  Trulli        Toyota              (B)  1:16.133 + 0.512   25
 7.  Piquet        Renault             (B)  1:16.161 + 0.540   21
 8.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:16.196 + 0.575   19
 9.  Raikkonen     Ferrari             (B)  1:16.380 + 0.759   19
10.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:16.405 + 0.784   20
11.  Button        Honda               (B)  1:16.447 + 0.826   22
12.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:16.515 + 0.894   19
13.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:16.530 + 0.909   18
14.  Glock         Toyota              (B)  1:16.636 + 1.015   27
15.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:16.808 + 1.187   23
16.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber          (B)  1:16.906 + 1.285   24
17.  Sutil         Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:16.938 + 1.317   20
18.  Barrichello   Honda               (B)  1:17.189 + 1.568   20
19.  Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:17.312 + 1.691   22
20.  Kubica        BMW Sauber          (B)  1:17.469 + 1.848   15
 
Hmm, Fisichella impeding Kubica, Vettel impeding Piquet.
Interesting to see if anything happens. Not sure what you can do to Fisi since he's last anyway.

edit: thinking about it, Fisi was on his fast lap, so its just unlucky for Kubica.
 
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Is it just me that finds Mark Blundell completely incoherent? He barely has a grasp of basic grammar, god knows how he got a job on TV.
 
I know a lot of people dont like him, but for Alonso to get his poor performing Renault to set the 4th fastest time is pretty damn impressive and goes to show what good a driver he is.
 
Thats been around for a while - I like Honda, dont want them soured by that moaning ***

If you are referring to Alonso, then Honda will need a top of the line driver, to take them to the next level. The problem is that Honda cant even make it into the "best of the rest" category (behind Ferrari/McLaren). They need to achieve that level, before bringing in a top driver, otherwise, it would be pointless. Once Honda are there, then Alonso will come in and should, within 2yrs be a title contender with Honda.

Remember F1 is about winning as well as being a business. The aim though, is to win, not to play happy families (unlike Ron Denis' strategy ;)).
 
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