Comments on: Lewis Hamilton wins despite strategy blunder (2008 German GP review)

By: ALONSO

ALONSO — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:57:14 +0000

Thanks Keith. You are always objective.

By: DG

DG — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:15:42 +0000

Antifia – Yes, that is what I have been trying to say all along. The rules would have to change dramatically to allow for proper one-on-one racing between the drivers, with each one allowed an individual Pit Box and Pit Crew. If there is a Pit Boss to decide when the car pits, then isn’t that orders/tactics too?

By: Antifia

Antifia — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:39:23 +0000

I believe that the difference between team orders and team tactics is in the eye of the beholder. And I agree that Interlagos last year was a clear case of team orders (tactics?) going unpunished. What botters me is the hypocrisy. They should just scrap the rule and let the teams work like teams. It would create a strange situation in which a good team with two top drivers would be at a disadvantage against a good team with only one (in what concerns the driver’s title) but so be it.
Keith: Regarding Jian’s suggestion about a discussion on Heikki, I also think it would be a good idea. Is Kovi crap in a good car or is he a good driver in a not so good car (in which case, Lewis would be doing an amazing job indeed…attracting idea ahn?)?

By: Jian

Jian — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:50:40 +0000

Antifia: I support the team = McLaren. Thereby I support Lewis since he seems much faster than Heikki. Hence why I supported Mika ahead of DC and Kimi ahead of Montoya (who annoyed me greatly being gifted enough to win as well as to ram his own teammate). I was a big Kimi fan but he moved, now I prefer him to Massa but would rather see Heikki do well.

Anyway the point was that Kimi didnt lose time or position to other cars, Ferrari was so superior in France that he only lost time vs his own team mate, even with the “broken exhaust”. Massa passed and the WC standing is now Massa 54p, Kimi 51p instead of Kimi 53p, Massa 52p. This directly affects Kimis WC hopes. However in the last race Heikki would have finished 5th anyway but the different is a 4th for Lewis and 1st. Thats a difference of 5p for the driver and the team! Rubens 2002 on the other hand had the pace of Schumacher till the finish line, thereby making the “overtaking” a farce between at least in that race equally fast team mates.

If you nitpick and confuse team orders with team tactics then I feel sorry that you can’t enjoy these races more.

Keith: may I suggest a drivers debate for Heikki soon? Maybe we should wait and see how he fares at a track where McLaren normally dominates in Hungary but I’d say one 3rd podium in the quickest car on the grid is a bit underwhelming.

By: DG

DG — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:06:00 +0000

Antifa – didn’t mean to get steamed up before, but it is a sore point with me. No capitals now, honest.
I do understand your point about during the race, but wouldn’t you agree that when Hammy came out behind Kovi, they would have to battle for position? Since Hammy is ahead in the Championship and had a faster car, which team wouldn’t have let him overtake the other driver? It is done by one team or another in virtually every race.
And I think Rubey letting Schuey through in 02 comes into the same category, but it happened when both cars where well ahead of the field, and I would have to say that it was still perfectly fair. In a team of 2, one of the drivers will come 2nd.
The only dubious passing was done in the race (was it Indy?) when Rubey was supposed to draw alongside Schuey for a showy finish and messed it up to win the race, taking points away from Schuey, but that was a kind of ‘just deserts’ for the team being too clever.
I will still hold my point that F1 is a team sport however, and the team cannot operate over the weekend (including the race) unless somebody is giving orders…..

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:59:30 +0000

Antifia – I think DG’s point was that although McLaren had a performance advantage over the rest of the field, Hamilton had a clear performance over Kovalainen as well. Kovalainen never looked like beating Massa; Hamilton thrashed him.

Regarding team order, what McLaren did was no more blatant than what BMW did at Montreal, or Ferrari did at Interlagos last year. I’m no big fan of team orders myself, but if we’re going to punish McLaren for it then we shouldn’t ignore what the others have done.

By: Antifia

Antifia — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:41:25 +0000

I don’t know why you got so irritated about my comments DG. I agree with you: F1 is a team thing (no capitals required. Not blind, you know?). My objection is that British fans like to have it both ways in their thirst to make Lewis into a Super Driver. You have a car that is way faster than the competition, your victory has to be put down to that. When it comes to how far back I meant my rule to apply. Well read my text: I was talking about the race – perhaps I should have put that in capitals for you…
Jian, Kovi’s car did not have a broken exaust sticking out…and rules are rules. You may want them thrown away now that Mclaren has a clear first and second driver line-up (and you seem to be a Lewis fan), but did you hold the same opinion when, say, RB had to let Michael through in Austria 02?

By: Jian

Jian — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:46:36 +0000

michael counsell: maybe in Canada or in rain but Hockenheim is hardly the track that causes SC these days, the Glock accident was a unpredictable suspension failure. The runoff areas are simply too big discounting other “freak” incidents.

Antifia: that is the silliest thing ever. Which car was way faster? Did Kova even have the chance to sniff upp on Massa and get ahead of Heidfeld? By some reason he has kept an inferior pace in the same car as in 9 out of 10 races this season. By that logic Kimi should have defended his place against Massa fiercly in France since his pace wasnt affected vs the other team’s cars.

By: DG

DG — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:16:37 +0000

Antifa – so how far back into the race weekend do you want to apply this rule?
At Q3 – when both cars might be set up differently for the race (by the TEAM)
At Q2 – when the better driver might be set up with a car significantly lighter than the other (by the TEAM)
At Q1 – when BOTH drivers might have shared knowledge about race setup (with the TEAM)
At Practice – when the TEAM learn about the track
This is a TEAM event, with the TEAM scoring points as well as the drivers, and if you don’t allow teammates to overtake then whats the point?
The ruling is to do away with a possible switching between cars in the final laps of the race, but even then I still think its within the spirit of racing – as pointed out elsewhere, the TEAMs are out to win races!

By: michael counsell

michael counsell — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:55:59 +0000

If another safety car had come out in those 8 laps following the safety car, Hamilton and Heidfeld would have finished way down the order. I’m pretty sure that the laps followin ga safety car tend to be the ones most likely for another incident requiring a safety car to occur.