2009 Formula One Season

[ignis]

Vettel showed last year he was the new rain master, 100% confirmed in China last weekend

Adrian Sutil came up from the back row to 6th place before the accident..

Schumacher was the rain master for 10 years

Germans appear to be good in the rain ?

[F1fanatic]

The final results were interesting - first 2 places Red Bull, 3rd and 4th Brawn, 5th and 6th McLaren.

Looks as if McLaren are improving - 5th and 6th places despite LH going off track 3 times!

Good race and interesting season so far. Look forward to seeing whether Red Bull can continue such a dominant race pace.

[ignis]

This weekend I've watched Free Practice 1,2 & 3(from the BBC's interactive coverage) from beginning to end(approx, 90 minutes per program), this is excellent coverage with a cycle of presenters including Anthony Davidson who is whitty, insightful & experienced and who has also worked with Jenson Button quite closely so he knows what's going on in the BrawnGP team.

I watched a 2 hour program of qualifying(also from the BBC's coverage)

I then watched a 3 hour program of the actual race plus build-up and apart from Eddie Jordan being a bit of a <deleted>(he'll be removed soon I think) the rest of the BBC team is spot on,

Are you in Thailand? As i understand it, BBC video on the internet is not available to those of us here. Or am i wrong?

Any chance of providing a more detailed answer than a smilie? Every time i try to use BBCi Player i get a message that says "sorry, not available in your area" - or something like that.

You can watch it on PALAPA C2 (113.0E) .......The F1 is free to view on here direct from the UK ITN F1 team..... The only problem I have with this is the adverts as they are not at the same time......... So you have 2 or 3 mins after the advert on Palapa 2 the UK advert break, OK the cars are still running and pictures fine but there is no comentery

[F1fanatic]

Well done Button! Didn't put a foot wrong.

Did you see the pictures of Alonso after the race? His water bottle didn't work and he could barely stand at the end, he was so dehydrated! Can't believe he managed to keep going and finish in a repectable position - the man has guts.

BTW, I'm not an Alonso fan and don't actually like him v much, but I have enormous respect for his racing abilities.

Good to see that Heikki is maintaining his efforts in the WDC (Worst Driver Championship).

Piquet took his eye off the ball in this fascinating championship and boringly, ended the race in a reasonable position.

[H2oDunc]

It really is turning into one of the best starts to a season i can remember. Button drove like a champion and I think Hamilton drove a blinder as well considering he hasn't got the car he hoped for this season.

I think somebody from Toyota need a good talking to about the choice of tyres at the first stop ?

Off to Eurpe next where Brawn are bringing in a new aero package supposedly giving another 4 1/10ths a lap. Ferrari need to be kickng some ass as well. Sould be a close call this season but I still think Hamilton will come good. I'm just hoping that the FIA decide to go easy on the team. It would not be good to have them penalised any more though I bet " Whip my butt Mosley " Would love it. I bet Coulthard is kicking himself after seeing redbull mixing it up with the big boys ha ha ha.

[ignis]

Thinking about F1 in 2010, at this moment there are 3 other Teams wanting to join........ [Aston Martin, Lola and The All American Team]

My question would they start a race with 26 or more cars?

I remember years back where there was 30 odd cars, but the ones that did not make the 107% in qualifying did not start the race....

Now a day it cost a lot of money + travel a lot more + the Teams are very close, can't see this working.. cannot start a race because .001 sec to slow!! the more cars on the track trying to qualify will sure to mean someone will get in someones way

[F1fanatic]

Thinking about F1 in 2010, at this moment there are 3 other Teams wanting to join........ [Aston Martin, Lola and The All American Team]

My question would they start a race with 26 or more cars?

I remember years back where there was 30 odd cars, but the ones that did not make the 107% in qualifying did not start the race....

Now a day it cost a lot of money + travel a lot more + the Teams are very close, can't see this working.. cannot start a race because .001 sec to slow!! the more cars on the track trying to qualify will sure to mean someone will get in someones way

Sorry, that's far too knowledgeable a question for me!

I'm still concentrating on this season!

[apetley]

Button injured in F1 incident.

[ignis]

Thinking about F1 in 2010, at this moment there are 3 other Teams wanting to join........ [Aston Martin, Lola and The All American Team]

My question would they start a race with 26 or more cars?

I remember years back where there was 30 odd cars, but the ones that did not make the 107% in qualifying did not start the race....

Now a day it cost a lot of money + travel a lot more + the Teams are very close, can't see this working.. cannot start a race because .001 sec to slow!! the more cars on the track trying to qualify will sure to mean someone will get in someones way

Sorry, that's far too knowledgeable a question for me!

I'm still concentrating on this season!

Looks as if my question has been answered 30-4-09 on ITV/F1

Amid serious expressions of interest from the US-based F1 project, Prodrive’s David Richards and British race car manufacturer Lola, the FIA has increased the maximum number of cars permitted to enter the championship to 26 – opening the way for three new teams to join the sport.

[F1fanatic]

The other teams are catching up with Brawn.... so any bets as to who will be WDC for 2009?

That is World Driver Champion, not Worst Driver Championship between Nelson and Heikki!

[rixalex]

so any bets as to who will be WDC for 2009?

With the way this season has gone, anyone willing to put money down on who will be the eventual WDC would have to be brave/stupid.

[MJo]

The other teams are catching up with Brawn.... so any bets as to who will be WDC for 2009?

That is World Driver Champion, not Worst Driver Championship between Nelson and Heikki!

Nelson i agree, he's driving F1 only due his family name. With Heikki i have to disagree. Take a look on his early career before F1. I.e. 2004 he beat Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Loeb in Race of Champions together with Marcus Gronholm. This show that he's better all around driver than Schumi when competing with different cars.

Now it seems that Alonso was right. There seems to be something wrong how brits treat whoever is driving alongside Lewis. I used to be huge fan of McLaren as a team but have to wonder how they lost the plot and stopped to be a team and started to back-up only one chosen driver throwing away their reputation of good sportmanship.

McLaren was the only fair game team during the years when Ferrari was the bad guys handing out team orders etc to ensure Schumi was winning. Now the scandal with lying to judges, spy gate with Ferrari, forcing Heikki to drive support last season with qualifying and race tactics and still not giving him the same parts as Lewis. They forget to give him the new front wing... right yeah...

Maybe they are scared he's too fast and will beat their golden boy. Just as they did with Alonso

[TBWG]

Thinking about F1 in 2010, at this moment there are 3 other Teams wanting to join........ [Aston Martin, Lola and The All American Team]

My question would they start a race with 26 or more cars?

I remember years back where there was 30 odd cars, but the ones that did not make the 107% in qualifying did not start the race....

Now a day it cost a lot of money + travel a lot more + the Teams are very close, can't see this working.. cannot start a race because .001 sec to slow!! the more cars on the track trying to qualify will sure to mean someone will get in someones way

Sorry, that's far too knowledgeable a question for me!

I'm still concentrating on this season!

Hi

At one time 26 cars were allowed to start and that still may be the case, there just have not been 13 teams competing recently, I maybe wrong but I believe all GP circuit grids have to be marked up for 26 cars at the moment.

In the late eighties when 26 cars were starting I recall 30 plus cars turning up for each GP and then the slowest eliminated during pre qualifying. This predates any 107% rule.

With regard to 2010 and the possible 3 teams joining the grid any Dave Richards entry has to be taken seriously and would be an asset to F1, Lola have had several bites at the cherry in the past with no memorable results and as for a US team I will believe it when I see it.

TBWG

[F1fanatic]

The other teams are catching up with Brawn.... so any bets as to who will be WDC for 2009?

That is World Driver Champion, not Worst Driver Championship between Nelson and Heikki!

Nelson i agree, he's driving F1 only due his family name. With Heikki i have to disagree. Take a look on his early career before F1. I.e. 2004 he beat Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Loeb in Race of Champions together with Marcus Gronholm. This show that he's better all around driver than Schumi when competing with different cars.

Now it seems that Alonso was right. There seems to be something wrong how brits treat whoever is driving alongside Lewis. I used to be huge fan of McLaren as a team but have to wonder how they lost the plot and stopped to be a team and started to back-up only one chosen driver throwing away their reputation of good sportmanship.

McLaren was the only fair game team during the years when Ferrari was the bad guys handing out team orders etc to ensure Schumi was winning. Now the scandal with lying to judges, spy gate with Ferrari, forcing Heikki to drive support last season with qualifying and race tactics and still not giving him the same parts as Lewis. They forget to give him the new front wing... right yeah...

Maybe they are scared he's too fast and will beat their golden boy. Just as they did with Alonso

Good grief! Somehow I'd missed all that and thought that Schumi was a legendary driver and Heikki was failing! How could I be so wrong??

As you say, Heikki is obviously a far better driver than Schumi ever was, after all he beat him in the ROC in 2004 (a charity event that the drivers participate in to a) enjoy and raise money for charity)

McLaren haven't changed - they've always (like every other team in F1) been focused entirely on winning the championship.

I've no doubt that Heikki isn't getting the personal attention of Lewis at McLaren, but that doesn't excuse his abysmal performance over the last 2 years.

Presumably you're an Alonso fan. Nothing against that, I also think he's the best driver in F1 nowadays, but support it with a reasonable argument please!

[rixalex]

The other teams are catching up with Brawn.... so any bets as to who will be WDC for 2009?

That is World Driver Champion, not Worst Driver Championship between Nelson and Heikki!

Nelson i agree, he's driving F1 only due his family name. With Heikki i have to disagree. Take a look on his early career before F1. I.e. 2004 he beat Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Loeb in Race of Champions together with Marcus Gronholm. This show that he's better all around driver than Schumi when competing with different cars.

Now it seems that Alonso was right. There seems to be something wrong how brits treat whoever is driving alongside Lewis. I used to be huge fan of McLaren as a team but have to wonder how they lost the plot and stopped to be a team and started to back-up only one chosen driver throwing away their reputation of good sportmanship.

McLaren was the only fair game team during the years when Ferrari was the bad guys handing out team orders etc to ensure Schumi was winning. Now the scandal with lying to judges, spy gate with Ferrari, forcing Heikki to drive support last season with qualifying and race tactics and still not giving him the same parts as Lewis. They forget to give him the new front wing... right yeah...

Maybe they are scared he's too fast and will beat their golden boy. Just as they did with Alonso

Good grief! Somehow I'd missed all that and thought that Schumi was a legendary driver and Heikki was failing! How could I be so wrong??

As you say, Heikki is obviously a far better driver than Schumi ever was, after all he beat him in the ROC in 2004 (a charity event that the drivers participate in to a) enjoy and raise money for charity)

McLaren haven't changed - they've always (like every other team in F1) been focused entirely on winning the championship.

I've no doubt that Heikki isn't getting the personal attention of Lewis at McLaren, but that doesn't excuse his abysmal performance over the last 2 years.

Presumably you're an Alonso fan. Nothing against that, I also think he's the best driver in F1 nowadays, but support it with a reasonable argument please!

Yeah i'm with you F1Fanatic. Heikki has driven terribly this season - in fact i don't think his entire F1 career to date has been that great, save for a few races with Renault - and to put that all down to favourtism within the team is desperately wishful thinking from someone who is obviously a bit of a Heikki fan. You're not Finnish are you Mjo?!

Teams are just as interested in Constructor's Championship as Driver's (perhaps more), and you can't win that without both of your drivers performing well and at least finishing - two things that Heikki hasn't achieved at all often.

[MJo]

The other teams are catching up with Brawn.... so any bets as to who will be WDC for 2009?

That is World Driver Champion, not Worst Driver Championship between Nelson and Heikki!

Nelson i agree, he's driving F1 only due his family name. With Heikki i have to disagree. Take a look on his early career before F1. I.e. 2004 he beat Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Loeb in Race of Champions together with Marcus Gronholm. This show that he's better all around driver than Schumi when competing with different cars.

Now it seems that Alonso was right. There seems to be something wrong how brits treat whoever is driving alongside Lewis. I used to be huge fan of McLaren as a team but have to wonder how they lost the plot and stopped to be a team and started to back-up only one chosen driver throwing away their reputation of good sportmanship.

McLaren was the only fair game team during the years when Ferrari was the bad guys handing out team orders etc to ensure Schumi was winning. Now the scandal with lying to judges, spy gate with Ferrari, forcing Heikki to drive support last season with qualifying and race tactics and still not giving him the same parts as Lewis. They forget to give him the new front wing... right yeah...

Maybe they are scared he's too fast and will beat their golden boy. Just as they did with Alonso

Good grief! Somehow I'd missed all that and thought that Schumi was a legendary driver and Heikki was failing! How could I be so wrong??

As you say, Heikki is obviously a far better driver than Schumi ever was, after all he beat him in the ROC in 2004 (a charity event that the drivers participate in to a) enjoy and raise money for charity)

McLaren haven't changed - they've always (like every other team in F1) been focused entirely on winning the championship.

I've no doubt that Heikki isn't getting the personal attention of Lewis at McLaren, but that doesn't excuse his abysmal performance over the last 2 years.

Presumably you're an Alonso fan. Nothing against that, I also think he's the best driver in F1 nowadays, but support it with a reasonable argument please!

Yeah i'm with you F1Fanatic. Heikki has driven terribly this season - in fact i don't think his entire F1 career to date has been that great, save for a few races with Renault - and to put that all down to favourtism within the team is desperately wishful thinking from someone who is obviously a bit of a Heikki fan. You're not Finnish are you Mjo?!

Teams are just as interested in Constructor's Championship as Driver's (perhaps more), and you can't win that without both of your drivers performing well and at least finishing - two things that Heikki hasn't achieved at all often.

Alonso fan... c'mon guys But i have to admid i have some Finnish blood in me.

What i'm questioning here is the statements that Heikki has driven terribly. It's always a combination of driver skill and package combining car and tactics that the team will make available for the driver.

Even Whitmarsh has admitted they have not given Heikki the latest aero packages, have f#*¤d up in race strategy etc. So i'm not yet convinced that it's all Heikki. Last year McLaren admitted that Heikki was constantly faster than Lewis in qualifying when they accounted for the additional fuel on board compared to Lewis.

This is from autosport interview with Whitmarsh

Full story HERE

"Q. There was a big gap between the performance of Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton at this race. Why was that? MW: I think there are a number of things. I think the weekend was poor because we made some development mistakes. We had a new front wing, and I think that between us, all of us involved, we did not adopt the new front wing with Heikki's car. So I personally think, and I have expressed this to the engineers, that we did not have the best engineering package for Heikki.

He missed going through to Q3 by hundredths of a second. We then decided to fuel him long and we decided to use the prime tyre for the longer stint at the beginning of the race, and I don't think anyone realised that the prime was going to be a second a lap slower. I think struggling for grip, I don't know what happened, at the start he lost a lot of place.

We could have pulled him in quicker, but when you have a heavy fuel load and sacrifice that strategy, then you are often caught nowhere. So I think there is a whole range of reasons, but as a team we can reflect it. Heikki has done a solid job in this team, we have a strong commitment to him, and I am sure we are going to see him competitive at the next race.

Anyways i believe we will see much stronger races from Heikki once McLaren delivers him proper and latest package. Above suggests that they will do so this weekend but let's wait and see...

[ignis]

Anyways i believe we will see much stronger races from Heikki once McLaren delivers him proper and latest package

If you watched free practice yesterday then both the Mclaren's were very close

13. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.809s

14. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m22.876s

[rixalex]

Anyways i believe we will see much stronger races from Heikki once McLaren delivers him proper and latest package

If you watched free practice yesterday then both the Mclaren's were very close

13. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.809s

14. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m22.876s

Let's wait to see them drive in anger today in qualifying.

Whatever the results though, people believe what they want to. If Hamilton out-qualifies Heikki it will be because Heikki is carrying more fuel or because Heikki's car is not as good. If Heikki out-qualifies Hamilton on the other hand, it'll be because Heikki is the quicker driver.

Can argue all day long but one thing you can't do is dispute who has won a World Championship and who hasn't - or who has won the most races. And at the end of the day, that's all that counts.

[wackysleet]

Anyways i believe we will see much stronger races from Heikki once McLaren delivers him proper and latest package

If you watched free practice yesterday then both the Mclaren's were very close

13. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.809s

14. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m22.876s

Let's wait to see them drive in anger today in qualifying.

Whatever the results though, people believe what they want to. If Hamilton out-qualifies Heikki it will be because Heikki is carrying more fuel or because Heikki's car is not as good. If Heikki out-qualifies Hamilton on the other hand, it'll be because Heikki is the quicker driver.

Can argue all day long but one thing you can't do is dispute who has won a World Championship and who hasn't - or who has won the most races. And at the end of the day, that's all that counts.

rixalex your right about your conclusions of course but unless it was a level playing field one cannot judge who the best driver is really, take the positions and races won this year as opposed to the same period last year and the different drivers involved, who would have thought that it wasn't once again a two car competition.

[rixalex]

But i have to admid i have some Finnish blood in me.

Would never have guessed!

What i'm questioning here is the statements that Heikki has driven terribly. It's always a combination of driver skill and package combining car and tactics that the team will make available for the driver. Even Whitmarsh has admitted they have not given Heikki the latest aero packages, have f#*¤d up in race strategy etc. So i'm not yet convinced that it's all Heikki.

The team choose the driver and admitting that the driver is doing a bad job is to admit they are employing the wrong person, so they won't do it. Also if you trash your own driver it's only likely to compound the problem as the driver's confidence will ebb even further.

Better to talk the driver up for both driver and team, even if it might not always reflect the true situation.

[rixalex]

rixalex your right about your conclusions of course but unless it was a level playing field one cannot judge who the best driver is really,

That's true enough. It will always be hard to definitively judge who is better than who. But then again, would we want something like A1? I know i wouldn't!

The exception however is team mates. Yes it's true that sometimes the teams give preferential treatment/equipment to one of the drivers, but they never give this treatment to the slower of the two drivers. Preferential treatment is born out of being quicker in the first place.

[wackysleet]

rixalex your right about your conclusions of course but unless it was a level playing field one cannot judge who the best driver is really,

That's true enough. It will always be hard to definitively judge who is better than who. But then again, would we want something like A1? I know i wouldn't!

The exception however is team mates. Yes it's true that sometimes the teams give preferential treatment/equipment to one of the drivers, but they never give this treatment to the slower of the two drivers. Preferential treatment is born out of being quicker in the first place.

I am not sure how many people would want to follow A1, as it's still not that popular, but what I don't understand is if the better equiptment is available why not ensure both drivers have it because the ultimate aim of the teams is to win the constructors championship.

[rixalex]

what I don't understand is if the better equiptment is available why not ensure both drivers have it because the ultimate aim of the teams is to win the constructors championship.

I think it has more to do with the teams wanting to go with two different strategies for the two drivers. In that way, if one strategy doesn't work out, the other one might. And if one strategy is considered slightly stronger, the faster of the two drivers is more likely to get that one. Take for example introducing a modification. The modification might make the car faster, but also might be more prone to reliability issues. So you give one driver the modification but not the other. Covering your bases basically. Makes sense.

[MJo]

But i have to admid i have some Finnish blood in me.

Would never have guessed!

What i'm questioning here is the statements that Heikki has driven terribly. It's always a combination of driver skill and package combining car and tactics that the team will make available for the driver. Even Whitmarsh has admitted they have not given Heikki the latest aero packages, have f#*¤d up in race strategy etc. So i'm not yet convinced that it's all Heikki.

The team choose the driver and admitting that the driver is doing a bad job is to admit they are employing the wrong person, so they won't do it. Also if you trash your own driver it's only likely to compound the problem as the driver's confidence will ebb even further.

Better to talk the driver up for both driver and team, even if it might not always reflect the true situation.

IMHO not excatly admitting they employ wrong person but i can see you point and agree in principal.

It is clear fact that they did not give Heikki the same package as Hamilton so far in this season. Sure it is the team bosses decision to back up the last year champion and i'm ok with that as that's what teams do to maximize the exposure from last year winner.

If we admit that McLaren is betting their money on Lewis and driving Heikki as his wing man with a bit slower car to take some points out of the rivals i then can not understand comments that Heikki is too slow. He's as slow as he's expected to be by the team.

Anyways yesterdays qualifying disaster was Heikki's fault pretty much. He admitted that he did not have confidence in the car as he did not find good set-up. Driver confidence as you said and i can understand this considering the front wing, tyre and fuel tactics disasters in last races. He has clearly lost his confidence to take the car to the limits at the moment.

Maybe it's time for Heikki to move on, he propably would do better in another team willing to give him adecuate support also on mental level and a fair change to prove himself against his team mates. Might do wonders for his "speed". One just has to look at Barichello, he was written off as too old and too slow last season and now he's up there with good Brawn car !

[ignis]

HAMILTON was not much better out in the 2nd round....

Raikkonen with the new and better Ferrari was also out in the 1st round!!

Ferrari’s chief track engineer Chris Dyer described the fateful decision as “a serious error which is really regrettable”. because we made a serious mistake in our evaluation of Q1, believing that Kimi’s time would have been good enough to get him through to the next stage.

Both Ferrari and McLaren have major management changes so maybe that is one of the reasons ?

[MJo]

HAMILTON was not much better out in the 2nd round....

Raikkonen with the new and better Ferrari was also out in the 1st round!!

Ferrari's chief track engineer Chris Dyer described the fateful decision as "a serious error which is really regrettable". because we made a serious mistake in our evaluation of Q1, believing that Kimi's time would have been good enough to get him through to the next stage.

Both Ferrari and McLaren have major management changes so maybe that is one of the reasons ?

They have now done the same mistake twice !

And major <deleted> up in the race as well. Massa out of fuel and lost two places in the end. Ferrari is italian team but clearly not going in the right direction with italian management. Too much shouting and arguing over nothing instead of someone leading the team. There will be team boss vacancy open soon.

I also wonder what is the role of Schumacher in this ? Again when he was involved it all goes down the drain...

McLaren seems to go backwards as well. Maybe Hamilton needs few years under his belt to be able to develop the car with the team. Lewis lost the plot after the race blaming the team of giving him impossible car to drive without any grip etc etc adding that he did not make any mistakes but the car is just crap. Now this is propably true but how long the team management will allow him to complain in public or are they looking for replacement to Hamilton already or is it true that Hamilton's dad will take him out of McLaren due recent arguments over the lying scandal ?

Kovalainen has finally admitted that the present car does not fit into his style of driving at all and he's not able to change his style fast enough as there is no testing. Heikki's style is to break bit earlier but smoother and be still on breaks when he turns the car into the turn. However present car does not work this way. Instead you need to brake hard in traight line and then turn to be fast on this car.

So it looks like McLaren is better off by starting to develop new car for next year and forget talks of this year championship. Ferrari might still have change for good results but looks like they need to change the management first.

[F1fanatic]

HAMILTON was not much better out in the 2nd round....

Raikkonen with the new and better Ferrari was also out in the 1st round!!

Ferrari's chief track engineer Chris Dyer described the fateful decision as "a serious error which is really regrettable". because we made a serious mistake in our evaluation of Q1, believing that Kimi's time would have been good enough to get him through to the next stage.

Both Ferrari and McLaren have major management changes so maybe that is one of the reasons ?

They have now done the same mistake twice !

And major <deleted> up in the race as well. Massa out of fuel and lost two places in the end. Ferrari is italian team but clearly not going in the right direction with italian management. Too much shouting and arguing over nothing instead of someone leading the team. There will be team boss vacancy open soon.

I also wonder what is the role of Schumacher in this ? Again when he was involved it all goes down the drain...

McLaren seems to go backwards as well. Maybe Hamilton needs few years under his belt to be able to develop the car with the team. Lewis lost the plot after the race blaming the team of giving him impossible car to drive without any grip etc etc adding that he did not make any mistakes but the car is just crap. Now this is propably true but how long the team management will allow him to complain in public or are they looking for replacement to Hamilton already or is it true that Hamilton's dad will take him out of McLaren due recent arguments over the lying scandal ?

Kovalainen has finally admitted that the present car does not fit into his style of driving at all and he's not able to change his style fast enough as there is no testing. Heikki's style is to break bit earlier but smoother and be still on breaks when he turns the car into the turn. However present car does not work this way. Instead you need to brake hard in traight line and then turn to be fast on this car.

So it looks like McLaren is better off by starting to develop new car for next year and forget talks of this year championship. Ferrari might still have change for good results but looks like they need to change the management first.

I would be v suprised if Ferrari aren't already looking for a new team boss! The never-ending mistakes are funny, but I doubt if they see the funny side!

Blaming Schumi for the team errors is pushing it a little far. I seriously doubt he sabotaged Kimi's car or 'helped out' in refuelling Massa's, and Kimi would certainly pay no attention to any of his helpful advice, so misjudging the situation and failing to get into Q2 is also unlikely to be Schumi's fault.

I agree that Lewis is doing himself no favours with his attitude. Even the commentators were saying that he has been v surly all weekend. Not having a top car has brought him down to earth with a nasty bump and he's not handling it v well, but he needs to learn that having the best car is never guaranteed (look at the dog of a car Ferrari had in 2005 after being head and shoulders above the rest of the field in 2004!) and one has to just get on with doing the job as well as possible. Alienating the team doesn't help the situation! If his dad is looking to move him to another team - well, shame on him. The liegate saga was as much Hamilton's fault as anyone elses, and at least he kept his job. If he sticks with them, sooner or later they will be at the top again.

Kovi is obviously having problems with the car, but this is his second season and a top driver would (IMO) have got to grips with the situation by now.

Forgetting this year and concentrating on next season doesn't always work - look at BMW!!

Rivalex's comments about team strategies has been made even more interesting by the Reubens/Jenson decisions made this weekend!

I think it is safe to say that Rebens is not a happy man!

[MJo]

Rubens is getting nasty flash backs from his Ferrari days driving for Schumi. It's all coming back to him again

Maybe he had understanding with Button that whoever gets ahead in first few laps can take the win. Drivers sometime do this to avoid too fierce overtaking situations with team mates. Or then he was just disappointed on his race engineer and to himself.

Concentrating soon to next year car is still an option. Maybe it did not work for BMW but it sure did work for Honda/Brawn. Now when money is tight i would seriously consider it. Both McLaren and Ferrari have admitted that they are now behind as they continued development last year to win championship while others started to develop this year cars several months earlier. But i guess it depends how much money you have and Ferrari and McLaren are the big spenders.

Anyways refreshing to see teams like Red Bull and Brawn winning after so many years of domination from big car manufacturers. Proves it's not all about money and makes it interesting. I just hope FIA is going to scrap those budget limits as it will drive too many teams out of the sport. Red Bull joined the others and annouced today that they are not going to participate in case the rules stay as they are now.

[F1fanatic]

Rubens is getting nasty flash backs from his Ferrari days driving for Schumi. It's all coming back to him again

Maybe he had understanding with Button that whoever gets ahead in first few laps can take the win. Drivers sometime do this to avoid too fierce overtaking situations with team mates. Or then he was just disappointed on his race engineer and to himself.

Concentrating soon to next year car is still an option. Maybe it did not work for BMW but it sure did work for Honda/Brawn. Now when money is tight i would seriously consider it. Both McLaren and Ferrari have admitted that they are now behind as they continued development last year to win championship while others started to develop this year cars several months earlier. But i guess it depends how much money you have and Ferrari and McLaren are the big spenders.

Anyways refreshing to see teams like Red Bull and Brawn winning after so many years of domination from big car manufacturers. Proves it's not all about money and makes it interesting. I just hope FIA is going to scrap those budget limits as it will drive too many teams out of the sport. Red Bull joined the others and annouced today that they are not going to participate in case the rules stay as they are now.

Ummm no, Honda obviously thought they had no chance after the 2008 season and left. Brawn thought he could make it work, and how right he was! Honda must be kicking themselves.

I can't believe anyone seriously thinks that Button and his race engineer decided strategy without Brawn being heavily involved - after all, Brawn is know as the strategic genius.

Otherwise, you might be right. It will be v difficult for McLaren to get back on top this season, but we are only 5 races in. Ferrari look as if they're headed in the right direction, but the reliability and competency are just not there at the moment.

Also agree that its good to see other teams beating the big guys this season, and I hope Red Bull will finally make it work v soon.

[wackysleet]

Rubens is getting nasty flash backs from his Ferrari days driving for Schumi. It's all coming back to him again

Maybe he had understanding with Button that whoever gets ahead in first few laps can take the win. Drivers sometime do this to avoid too fierce overtaking situations with team mates. Or then he was just disappointed on his race engineer and to himself.

Concentrating soon to next year car is still an option. Maybe it did not work for BMW but it sure did work for Honda/Brawn. Now when money is tight i would seriously consider it. Both McLaren and Ferrari have admitted that they are now behind as they continued development last year to win championship while others started to develop this year cars several months earlier. But i guess it depends how much money you have and Ferrari and McLaren are the big spenders.

Anyways refreshing to see teams like Red Bull and Brawn winning after so many years of domination from big car manufacturers. Proves it's not all about money and makes it interesting. I just hope FIA is going to scrap those budget limits as it will drive too many teams out of the sport. Red Bull joined the others and annouced today that they are not going to participate in case the rules stay as they are now.

Ummm no, Honda obviously thought they had no chance after the 2008 season and left. Brawn thought he could make it work, and how right he was! Honda must be kicking themselves.

I can't believe anyone seriously thinks that Button and his race engineer decided strategy without Brawn being heavily involved - after all, Brawn is know as the strategic genius.

Otherwise, you might be right. It will be v difficult for McLaren to get back on top this season, but we are only 5 races in. Ferrari look as if they're headed in the right direction, but the reliability and competency are just not there at the moment.

Also agree that its good to see other teams beating the big guys this season, and I hope Red Bull will finally make it work v soon.

I think you may find that Honda were heavily involved with Ross Brawn and helping him financially right up to the start of the season even though they were using the Mercedes customer package, no new team is going to start the season and be so dominant unless they are very heavily sponsered, after all Brawn at the start had no logos or backers until Virgin, we all know or should know that if it was just about engines the Mclaren and Ferrari would still be fighting it out at the front.

Hamilton is really pissed off because he no longer has the best car and does a lot of complaining about it.