Comments on: Massa loses Hungary win to Kovalainen (2008 Hungarian Grand Prix review)

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:40:12 +0000

GuyPV – the difference is that Hamiton at least scored four precious points by finishing 5th, while Massa didn’t score any…

By: GuyPV

GuyPV — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:00:34 +0000

This will probably end up being contentious but here goes …

Everyone inevitably talks about how unlucky it was for Masa to blow out in the last 3 laps, but why is this any worse than Hamilton having a puncture mid race? OK Masa did a great job at the start and continued to show good form, but Hungry eventually became the the race that never was. The fact that the two front runners, both Hamilton and then Masa, suffered significant failures denied us potentially a fantastic fight to the finish. The good news is that the gap between Ferrari and McLaren, which seemed to show McLaren in the ascendancy , seems to have been re-balanced. I for one can’t wait for the next three weeks to pass quickly and the race for the Championship to get underway again.

By: michael counsell

michael counsell — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:52:34 +0000

It was very good to see the Renaults and Toyotas fighting with the Ferraris, Mclarens and BMW-Saubers.

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:46:14 +0000

By popular demand – two-part article on last-lap losers to follow today and tomorrow!

By: Jean

Jean — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:42:58 +0000

and to add to Martin’s comment , asking if Heikki has “it” to be a champion , my feeling is at this stage no , he is too polite , even on the track . You can see this year , he has qualified well up in most races , but has lost positions from the start in as many. This is not saying he may not get there one day , but for now , no. And he seems OK with playing second fiddle to Hamilton , always the sign of a “nice guy” mentality , but not one who has the necessary ruthlessness it takes , together with many other attributes , to be a world champion. Massa , as we know , blows hot and cold in that area. If he can consistently pull off aggressive (but clean) moves like he did from the start yesterday , that will then put him in the league of the great drivers , and a world championship will soon follow.

By: Jean

Jean — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:06:22 +0000

Yes , Hakkinen in Spain 2001 in the last lap is probably the worse one I remember. Still , as bad as it ended for Massa , he will no doubt be buoyed by the fact that after Hamilton won the last two races , seemed to have the best package this week-end , took the pole , Massa was able to pass him on a difficult track (albeit at the start) , and then very importantly open a gap even before Hamilton had the puncture. While I will keep fingers crossed for the next seven races , it’s looking like Ferrari will have a mountain to climb if they are to take the drivers championship this year. Even the constructors is starting to look like it may be slipping away. The basic package and the speed to match and sometimes beat McLaren is there , as we have just seen , but they are hurting through some reliability and Kimi struggling (by his standards) with qualifying . McLaren on the other hand , have no relibility problems , there only problem this year is tyre management.

By: teamorders

teamorders — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:16:41 +0000

Mansell’s “unexplained” failure was him bumping the kill switch on the steering wheel while he was waving to the fans. So I read once anyway…..

By: the limit

the limit — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:18:47 +0000

Today’s misfortune for Felipe Massa may prove a vital turning point in the season. Up until his Ferrari went boom, everything was going to plan for Massa.
A certain race win, the lead in the championship, and yet more points taken from his illustrious team mate.
Now, everything has been turned on its head for Massa.
Hamilton retains the championship lead despite his problems, and Raikkonen now is the leading Ferrari driver in terms of points. If I was a racing driver, and had experienced a day as bad as that, I would be on suicide watch by now.
Raikkonen summed up the day well in his interview. He had gotten lucky, had a reasonable race, but a bad qualifying performance. In other words, if Raikkonen gets back to his best on the Saturday, he’ll be right back at the sharp end.
I can just imagine Raikkonen celebrating with Kovalainen, so, so gratefull for Heikki’s victory. If Massa had won today, the pressure would have been enormous on Raikkonen, within Ferrari and from outside Ferrari.
I hate to say it, but Massa has been dealt a grevious blow today.

By: jimbo

jimbo — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:05:54 +0000

I think Felipe is real good when he’s qualified right at the front and has clear air. I mean he can go v. fast and be consistent for a large number of laps. His bad luck today may get towards evening up some of the bad luck Kimi (who has had most of it) has had this season (being taken out at canada by Lewis when in the joint lead; the Silverstone tyre tactics mistake by the team when a mere 1 second behind Lewis…the.exhaust failure in France when in the lead…even today he had to back off from taking Glock for two more points because of another mechanical problem at the rear end…). Thing about Felipe is he doesn’t seem (?) to have the ability to do what Alonso, Lewis and Kimi can do from further down the field or eg in the wet…he seems less all round of a driver so far.

By: Pink Peril

Pink Peril — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:57:49 +0000

I am not a Flippy fan, but even I was gutted to see that plume of smoke billowing out of his car. He’d done a fantastic job until then. Lady Luck can be cruel sometimes.

‘Bout time she smiled on Heikki, though. Was pretty darn pleased for him ! I knew he had it in him, hope to see it more often.