Formula 1 - 2009 Season

[Kaotik]

No one wants to comment after seeing who the winner is? ;-)

Heh, he drove a good race, shame Räikkönen got some gear problems on the 2nd pitstop and the car didn't work aswell as McLaren did on the harder tire set, would have been nice to see some fighting there for the 1st spot

edit:
According to interview after race, Räikkönen had to launch on "manual" from the pits, whatever that means, and his exhaust was broken, but he's not sure did it affect power

 

[Tahir2]

No one wants to comment after seeing who the winner is? ;-)

Awesome drive, Lewis Hamilton kicked ass and I loved the show. It was a real treat watching him win again.

 

[Kaotik]

Renault has been given 1 race penalty for the tyre that flew off Alonsos car, so Renault won't be driving in Valencia (they have right to appeal of course, though)

 

[Dave Baumann]

Autosport’s initial report on the Renault suspension had this as the last line: “It means Alonso will miss his home event that takes place in Valencia next month, unless he moves to another team.”; Mmmm, rumors of Alonso and Ferrari, Alonso likely to be inevitably angry at Renault and Massa OoA at the moment...

 

[DuckThor Evil]

No one wants to comment after seeing who the winner is? ;-)

Well he got really lucky...

Just kidding :smile: Good race from hamilton and nice to see Mclaren in good form again. I think Hamilton would have had a good race in the previous race as well, if he hadn't suffered that broken tire in the first corner. Kimi had a pretty good race as well, I hope Ferrari manages to finish the season with good results.

Brawn should be quite worried right about now.

I see no reason for them to worry yet.

How about now? Button sounded like he was choking on his tears during the radio communication.

 

[Bludd]

Terrible luck for Alonso, but I think the suspension is kind of a knee-jerk reaction to the accidents of Surtees and Massa.

Brawn have put something on their car which makes it eat its tyres.

Hamilton was great today, and now Eddie Jordan will have to eat his words about a KERS car never winning a race and that the McLaren was a piece of dog shit. Great to see Kimi up there too.

Webber has the momentum in Red Bull at the moment and Button is on his back foot. This championship is shaping up real well and McLaren, Ferrari and Renault are catching up too.

I suspect Alonso may go to Ferrari if the suspension of Renault is upheld.

More about Renault, including rumours of a buy-out of the outfit
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/renault-f1-suspended-from-european-gp/
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/a-random-rumour-about-renault-f1/

No matter what happens, though, I think Nelsinho's days in Renault are numbered. He didn't do well this race, he started 14th (originally 15th but the entire grid behind Massa was moved up because of Massa's accident), finished 12th with 2 cars in front of him not finishing. Basically, he held position. Not good.

 

[V3]

I think suspension was bit harsh for Renault. It's not like they screwed up the wheel on purpose. It wasn't like Vettel incident in Melbourne earlier this year where he was cruising with broken front wheel around by team order. I think the penalty should be similar.

Great drive by Hamilton. Webber is second on the standing now, I hope those Red Bulls will keep the championship interesting until the end. With McLaren and Ferrari seems to manage to find some speed, it might be hard for Brawn to score points to defend their lead. But they still have some lead now, maybe it'll be enough maybe not. But they should start sweating now.

 

[DJ12]

I don't think it's harsh at all.

Someone didn't fit the wheel correctly (There was nothing wrong with it) would you think it was harsh if someone had died?

While it's unfortunate for Alonso as it wasn't his fault, the penalty is more than fair in my opinion. You will note how both Massa's wheels were still attached to his car after hitting a tire wall at a tremendous speed so there really is no excuse for it.

Someone dropped a clanger so punishment needs to be dealt so they won't make the same mistake again.

 

[Bludd]

I don't think it's harsh at all.

Someone didn't fit the wheel correctly (There was nothing wrong with it) would you think it was harsh if someone had died?

While it's unfortunate for Alonso as it wasn't his fault, the penalty is more than fair in my opinion. You will note how both Massa's wheels were still attached to his car after hitting a tire wall at a tremendous speed so there really is no excuse for it.

Someone dropped a clanger so punishment needs to be dealt so they won't make the same mistake again.

It's a knee-jerk reaction and it's overly harsh. The same thing happened in 2006, with the right-rear wheel not being attached properly.

Maybe Brawn should be suspended too.

 

[Dave Baumann]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77379

Seems that the concern over Massa's career going forward is actually about potential eye damage.

 

[DJ12]

Maybe Brawn should be suspended too.

If it's found to be through negligence (as is the case with Renault) rather than part failure then yes they should.

Seriously, there was no defect the wheel man just didn't put on the wheel on properly hence the tether that holds the wheel in place was useless.

It's only through luck that it wasn't a more serious issue, which in my opinion should not make a single bit of difference to the punishment. You cannot say "well no one died so we'll let you off"

 

[Bludd]

If it's found to be through negligence (as is the case with Renault) rather than part failure then yes they should.

Seriously, there was no defect the wheel man just didn't put on the wheel on properly hence the tether that holds the wheel in place was useless.

It's only through luck that it wasn't a more serious issue, which in my opinion should not make a single bit of difference to the punishment. You cannot say "well no one died so we'll let you off"

If Renault are deserving of being banned for 1 race, so should Ferrari have been for the pit-lane incident in Singapore last year. That was negligent and someone in their pit-lane crew could have died. Ferrari should also have been punished severely for disregarding FIA instructions and fitting the intermediate tyres at the safety-car start in Japan 2007.

 

[nutball]

If Renault are deserving of being banned for 1 race, so should Ferrari have been for the pit-lane incident in Singapore last year. That was negligent and someone in their pit-lane crew could have died. Ferrari should also have been punished severely for disregarding FIA instructions and fitting the intermediate tyres at the safety-car start in Japan 2007.

I don't think anyone's arguing that the FIA are consistent, are they? The incidents you mention quite possibly did deserve a one race ban, but as far as I can tell what's deserved is only one part of what goes into the FIA decision-making pot.

 

[Bludd]

I don't think anyone's arguing that the FIA are consistent, are they? The incidents you mention quite possibly did deserve a one race ban, but as far as I can tell what's deserved is only one part of what goes into the FIA decision-making pot.

It is, however, inevitable – whether the FIA likes it or not – that the move will be seen by some in F1 circles as some kind of a payback for Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, who has been one of the leading members of FOTA in recent months. It will not help that the FIA Stewards in Budapest include some of Max Mosley’s strongest supporters, who are advised by Mosley’s right hand man Alan Donnelly. One of them is none other than Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the UAE representative, who confessed last year to have personally provided Mosley with 41 votes for last year’s confidence vote resulting from Mosley’s spanking scandal. Ben Sulayem later became an FIA Vice President. It is somewhat ironic that Ben Sulayem was given the opportunity to show off his driving skills in a Renault F1 car in Dubai a few months ago.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/renault-f1-suspended-from-european-gp/


One race ban is too harsh. A big fine would be more deserving.

 

[Bludd]

Update on Massa

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77383

Doctors at the AEK Hospital in Hungary where Felipe Massa is treated told a news conference on Monday that the Brazilian driver has been woken up from sedation in the afternoon, and was on a good way to recovery.

 

[DJ12]

If Renault are deserving of being banned for 1 race, so should Ferrari have been for the pit-lane incident in Singapore last year. That was negligent and someone in their pit-lane crew could have died. Ferrari should also have been punished severely for disregarding FIA instructions and fitting the intermediate tyres at the safety-car start in Japan 2007.

I cannot believe you brought up any incident involving Ferrari considering what we've learnt this season regarding their various secret agreements with the FIA.

Ferrari should've been banned for that and the other similar incident too.

 

[Bludd]

Ferrari should've been banned for that and the other similar incident too.

You only say that now because of the accidents. My point is that none of those incidents deserved a race ban. Fines, sure, but not race bans, but if one of them results in a race ban, all of them should.

That Ferrari-FIA contract is very bad. The EC could look into it and create heaps of problems for everyone. I hope shit like that never happens again, but my personal feeling is that it was Jean Todt who demanded that from the FIA. Jean Todt is supremely unsporting.

 

[DJ12]

I said it last year when it happened it's got nothing to do with recent incidents.

Regarding tyres, when a marshal was killed by a wheel, the FIA rightly brought in measures to ensure wheels didn't fly off again.

I consider this a fairly vital safety measure and the Renault mechanic did not correctly put the wheel on or the wheel nut or brake duct.

Now, no one was killed, great, everyone should consider themselves lucky. The ban is good and fair, never again will a team send out a driver when they know the wheel isn't on properly just to gain a few tenths on the opposition.

 

[Bludd]

Now, no one was killed, great, everyone should consider themselves lucky. The ban is good and fair, never again will a team send out a driver when they know the wheel isn't on properly just to gain a few tenths on the opposition.

No, I disagree. It is not fair. Give them a huge fine or a grid penalty or whatever, but don't ban them. Mistakes happen all the time in the pit-lane.

 

[nutball]

One race ban is too harsh. A big fine would be more deserving.

That makes no sense. How big, or rather small, does a fine have to be to be less harsh than a one race ban, but still a meaningful penalty that the team can't shrug off and pay off out of petty cash?