[Dave Baumann]

A few commentators and the post session interviewer were asking about his surprise at having to get out of the way of the car on the main straight - I thought it was pretty obvious that he saw it there and thought he'd use it for a tow.

[Kaotik]

Räikkönen had some transmission problems, some claim he lost ~0.2sec per lap due it

[Dr Evil]

Lol
Nice race we are having...

edit: Now it has actually turned out to be very interesting race!!

[Dr Evil]

Very interesting race. I quess we can say Hamilton is pretty much quaranteed to become the champion. Two Finns on the podium!!

[tongue_of_colicab]

Nice race, atleast the last 30 minutes, didnt get to see more as I had to wake up 6:30am to see the whole race, which is to early and I cant watch the re-run in the midday as I have to go to a family party, again, today.

Anyway, nice race. Hamilton 1, to bad, wished he wouldnt had finished so the championship would have been undiceded untill the end. Ferrari got rid of Massa in a nice way. It was to be expected as he has less points than Kimi and we are nearing the end of the season. Also bad kimi didnt managed to get past Heiki though its nice for Heiki.

Also, Spyker with a 9th place. I really feel they deserved a point but they didnt get one.

[Kaotik]

Oh FFS, this is just f#cking ridicilous - 7 minutes after the race start, Ferrari received a e-mail from FIA that the race has to be started on wet tyres, they can't use mid-weather ones (what ever they're called) which they had on, and had to go for extra stop right in the beginning, throwing them behind everyone.
Apparently others had received the e-mail before, or weren't even starting with the mid-tyres.

FIA apologized after the race to Ferrari - sorry guys, our bad - like it would help at all

[Deepak]

Whoa!

[Dr Evil]

Originally Posted by Kaotik

Oh FFS, this is just f#cking ridicilous - 7 minutes after the race start, Ferrari received a e-mail from FIA that the race has to be started on wet tyres, they can't use mid-weather ones (what ever they're called) which they had on, and had to go for extra stop right in the beginning, throwing them behind everyone.
Apparently others had received the e-mail before, or weren't even starting with the mid-tyres.

FIA apologized after the race to Ferrari - sorry guys, our bad - like it would help at all

While that really sucks ass, I must say that I don't believe they would have had a nice race with those intermediates, probably worse than what they got now. Naturally that is only speculation on my part hehe. But hey two Finns on the podium! HELL YEAH!

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Well everyone else knew about starting on full wets, including the TV commentators!

[Bludd]

And the Ferraris were spinning and aquaplaning on those wet tyres. Everyone else ran on the extreme wet ones.

What a great race (after the SC came in the first time). Really unlucky for Alonso, but a storming drive by Räikkonen and Hamilton. Too bad Jenson Button got hit in the start because he could have scored some great points for Honda.

Also, terrible accident by Vettel running into Webber, taking them both out. They were on podium places when that happened. Webber was infuriated and actually said "fuck" on the air when interviewed by ITV.

[dizietsma]

It seems odd that the FIA resorts to emails to send important information like this, everyone knows emails have no guarrantee on arriving at all, never mind at a set time.

Charlie Whiting is actually at the races and they have radio, so why not just say on the radio and then back it up with written confirmation handed out?

I guess Ferrari were hoping for it to dry out, but it never looked like it would. Beinf so far behind in the drivers championship though they had to gamble though.

[chavvdarrr]

Originally Posted by Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.

Well everyone else knew about starting on full wets, including the TV commentators!

yea, I guess thats why FIA apologized ? I don't believe they'll do it if warning was sent on time.

Wild guess, are there big stakes on Hamilton winning this championship?

[tongue_of_colicab]

Originally Posted by chavvdarrr

yea, I guess thats why FIA apologized ? I don't believe they'll do it if warning was sent on time.

Wild guess, are there big stakes on Hamilton winning this championship?

First black F1 driver winning the WDC in his rookie year? hell yeah there are big stakes on that for the FIA. Why do you think the drivers didnt get their points taken in the spycase?

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Originally Posted by chavvdarrr

yea, I guess thats why FIA apologized ? I don't believe they'll do it if warning was sent on time.

Wild guess, are there big stakes on Hamilton winning this championship?

What apology? Can you link it for me? All the other teams got their info at the same time, but for some reason the Ferrari email got stuck inside Ferrari's email system. You might as well complain about the fuel rigs when the problem is inside the car's tank.

Besides, the Ferraris couldn't stay on the track on those intermediates. They were planning to pull the same trick they did a few years back when they gambled they would stay out a long time behind the saftey car and the track would dry out. As the safety car came in after seven laps and the rain got heavier, Ferrari would have had to have come in and change tyres because they were on exactly the wrong ones anyway.

[DJ12]

No point crying over spilt milk if you are a Ferrari fan, Hamilton would've walked it anyway.

[Kaotik]

Originally Posted by Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.

What apology? Can you link it for me? All the other teams got their info at the same time, but for some reason the Ferrari email got stuck inside Ferrari's email system. You might as well complain about the fuel rigs when the problem is inside the car's tank.

Besides, the Ferraris couldn't stay on the track on those intermediates. They were planning to pull the same trick they did a few years back when they gambled they would stay out a long time behind the saftey car and the track would dry out. As the safety car came in after seven laps and the rain got heavier, Ferrari would have had to have come in and change tyres because they were on exactly the wrong ones anyway.

http://www.fia.com/mediacentre/Press...300907-01.html

TYRE CHOICE AT THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
30.09.2007

A communication from the Stewards requiring all competitors to fit extreme wet-weather tyres for safety reasons was sent to all teams by email at 12:35 hrs local time today. Save for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, all competitors have confirmed that they received the email at 12:37 hrs.

It is understood that Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro did not receive the email at the same time as other competitors. As a result, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro was the only team which did not start on extreme wet-weather tyres.

The 2007 Formula One Sporting Regulations (Art. 15.1) state that in exceptional circumstances Stewards or Race Director may give instructions to Competitors by means of special circulars in accordance with the Code and these circulars will be distributed to all competitors who must acknowledge receipt.

At a meeting of the Formula One Sporting Working Group held in Monaco on 7th December 2006, all teams agreed to an electronic distribution system to ensure that all competitors received communications simultaneously, with no time advantage for a team by virtue of their location in the pit lane. This system has been used throughout the current championship year.

To avoid any recurrence of today's problem the agreed method of using electronic communications will continue to be used but in future will be backed up by the traditional method of written communication.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/011020...ure-comms.html

Motorsport's governing body has revealed that it is to revert to using printed communications after an e-mail detailing a mandatory tyre choice for the Japanese Grand Prix failed to reach the Ferrari team.

A statement issued by the FIA some time after the Fuji race confirmed that the Scuderia was the only team not to receive the communiqué insisting that all cars start on the 'extreme' Bridgestone wet tyre and, despite not being able to prove the actual time of receipt, issued an apology to the Italian outfit, which started on intermediates and was forced to pit by the stewards in the early stages.

As a result of the mix-up, the FIA has said that it will now combine the use of electronic communication with the more tried-and-trusted method of handing out bulletins to the teams.

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~1~id~155211.htm

A statement issued by the FIAsome time after the Fuji race confirmed that the Scuderia was the only team not to receive the communiqué insisting that all cars start on the 'extreme' Bridgestonewet tyre and, despite not being able to prove the actual time of receipt, issued an apology to the Italian outfit, which started on intermediates and was forced to pit by the stewards in the early stages.

As a result of the mix-up, the FIA has said that it will now combine the use of electronic communication with the more tried-and-trusted method of handing out bulletins to the teams.

[DJ12]

So there's no chance Ferrari just ignored the email because they thought the weather wasn't going to last.

It's possible to read emails without confirming you've read it or received it. They probably saw everyone was going to be on wets and took a chance their information was going to prove right.

I think it's impossible EVERYONE else got the email apart from Ferrari.

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Pretty bizarre that even the TV commentators were talking about it before the start, but the Ferrari team didn't know. I suppose it's an excuse, but with hindsight, we can say that Ferrari made the wrong tyre choice and would have had to have come in for an early tyre change anyway even if the wet-tyre start rule wasn't implemented.

[Bludd]

IMHO Ferrari were trying to bend the rules and it bit them in the ass.

[Dave Baumann]

Originally Posted by chavvdarrr

Wild guess, are there big stakes on Hamilton winning this championship?

Why the consipiracy? Whats your issue with Hamilton, because your post history in this thread seems to indicate that you have one?

In this case there need be no conspiracy, because Ferrari drivers are pretty much a longshot for the title anyway. Clearly Ferrari thought they would be better on inter's, but thats a decision that bit them not just on the fact that everyone was told not to (and surely they looked up and down the grid and wondered why everyone else was on the same tire) but also because they were spinning with them anyway.

[Kaotik]

Originally Posted by Dave Baumann

Why the consipiracy? Whats your issue with Hamilton, because your post history in this thread seems to indicate that you have one?

In this case there need be no conspiracy, because Ferrari drivers are pretty much a longshot for the title anyway. Clearly Ferrari thought they would be better on inter's, but thats a decision that bit them not just on the fact that everyone was told not to (and surely they looked up and down the grid and wondered why everyone else was on the same tire) but also because they were spinning with them anyway.

Massa was, IIRC, Kimi wasn't (watched the race with "half-eye" only)
Massa was going with wets until Kimi said that intermediates are ok (for him anyway)

[Bludd]

I'm not ashamed of being a fan of Alonso. The spy scandal has hurt his standing for me, but not enough for me to lose my belief in him. I hope he wins his third consecutive title, but I would also welcome Hamilton to win. His performance in this season, his rookie season let's not forget, has really shown that he is worthy of the title.

I also think Räikkonen deserves to win. He is a very talented driver, but he is just so unlucky. When he had the chance to win at McLaren, the McLarens' reliability really ruined it for him, and now it's happening at Ferrari. One could think that he is too rough of a driver, and that his driving style doesn't suit the cars he's given, but Massa has had problems too.

Shanghai will be interesting. Hamilton can clinch the title if Alonso scores less than him and Hamilton scores at least 4 points.

The race is about 1 week away, but it is far too long! Argh!

[Dave Baumann]

Originally Posted by Kaotik

Massa was, IIRC, Kimi wasn't (watched the race with "half-eye" only)
Massa was going with wets until Kimi said that intermediates are ok (for him anyway)

Massa was spinning behind the safety car, I don't think they would have fared well at full racing speed; people were still aquaplaning on the full wets when the race got underway, even during the moments where it wasn't heavily raining again.

[Bludd]

They were both spinning and they were both off the road when they ran the wets. Everyone knew they were required to run the extreme wets. 10 teams knew it, the commentators knew it, the TV audience knew it.

FIA shouldn't have used emails only, though.

[Dr Evil]

Originally Posted by Bludd

They were both spinning and they were both off the road when they ran the wets. Everyone knew they were required to run the extreme wets. 10 teams knew it, the commentators knew it, the TV audience knew it.

FIA shouldn't have used emails only, though.

Umm Kimi wasn't spinning...
He spinned after he had changed his tires, when he was on the last position. The Finnish commentator speculated that Kimi was doing experiments at the pack. I don't know whether that's the case, but he didn't span with the intermediate tires.

I still think that they wouldn't have had a good race with those tires though, but I'm sure they didn't know about the rule before the start. It would make no sense to disobey a rule like that.