Rate the race: Turkish Grand Prix

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Jenson Button notched up his sixth win of 2009 in Turkey.

What did you think of the race? Rate it out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 - Perfect (2%)
  • 9 - Fantastic (2%)
  • 8 - Great (8%)
  • 7 - Good (20%)
  • 6 - Not bad (17%)
  • 5 - A bit dull (18%)
  • 4 - Often tedious (7%)
  • 3 - Boring (19%)
  • 2 - Rubbish (3%)
  • 1 - Terrible (5%)

Total Voters: 1,829

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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122 comments on “Rate the race: Turkish Grand Prix”

  1. Another awesome drive by jenson

  2. it’s getting really boring, Jenson obvisoly has the best car on the track and Hamilton has the worst

    1. it’s getting really boring, Jenson obvisoly has the best car on the track and Hamilton has the worst

      It was the other way around last two years.

      1. that’s why the championship was decided in the final race by 1 point

        1. a srry, I replied to quickly, what you say is true, that is why I wanna see a race where all the drivers have equal cars so you can really see who’s best : ) srry

          1. Vincent Altair
            7th June 2009, 15:14

            Then you need to find a different racing series to watch Yuma! :-)

          2. I don’t think you’ll get much support for a spec F1 series on here mate :-)

          3. I wanna see a race where all the drivers have equal cars so you can really see who’s best

            Try IRL, GP2, A1 Grand Prix, they’re all good. They aren’t F1 though.

          4. Yep, you`re watching the wrong series if you don`t believe in F1 is a team sport, Yuma.
            Even the spec series can`t be said to be all about the driver. The minute a mechanic touches a car or someone decides strategy it becomes a team sport.

    2. It would be nice if it was like 2008 when mclaren and ferrari where so close to each other

      1. Sorry what i mean is i wish red bull where closer to brawn so the championship would go down to the last round

      2. It would be nice if it was like 2008 when mclaren and ferrari where so close to each other

        Well, if Brawn were making as many mistakes as the other teams then it would be.

        2008 was about who could give the championship away, not who won it. Mistakes a plenty all round.

        1. Exactly!!

          Last years championship was so exciting because there were so many balls ups. Button and Brawn are making zero mistakes and reaping the rewards. Fair play to them.

  3. Awesome drive by Jenson – but the race was as boring as they come, I’d have rather spent the afternoon in the sunshine.

    I would even give Driver of the Day to Rubens for at least spicing things up for a little while.

    A ‘3’ from me.

    1. Mouse Nightshirt
      7th June 2009, 14:56

      I watched the race on my laptop in the sunshine – you can have the best of both!

      Voted a 6 – Barichello’s excursions helped a touch, but on the whole, an uneventful race.

      1. I watched the race on my laptop in the sunshine – you can have the best of both!

        Yeah that’s definitely the way to do things in the summer. If only I could nick my girlfriend’s 19-inch Vaio from her!

        1. If only I could nick my girlfriend’s 19-inch Vaio from her!

          Keith, that sounds positively rude! :-D

    2. If this race proves anything, it’s that R.B. isn’t a great racer. Too many silly judgement calls. Senna, Schuey et al didnt do daft things like that.

  4. 8 points from me, Button is unbeatable but behind him it was a really cool race, some nice fights in the last couple of corners and some tactical position changes. Istanbul is a really nice circuit.

  5. A dull race, enlivened by the antics of Barrichello. Vettels bobble cleared the way for Button, then it was game over as far as the rest were concerned. I wonder what happened to the idea of making the RACING closer?

    1. Vettle couldnt take the pressure, very poor. Just goes to show Button is supreme.

      1. Vettel moved over to the dusty side of the track in turn1, to block Button, maybe that was why the car moved at turn8/9, giving Button the lead, credit where credit is due, the Braun car is impressive.

        1. The wind direction had changed; Rosberg said that’s why he could pass a couple of drivers who made mistakes like Vettel.

          1. They do have a big windcatcher on that red bull….

          2. prehaps RBR shouldnt have thar awful shark tail shing on the car then.

    2. Sadly, it went out the window with the allowance of the double-decker diffuser & the option of KERS

  6. Robert McKay
    7th June 2009, 15:00

    A dismal race.

      1. Because we tune in every day now and already know who’s won. Button is going to win every race and it’s so boring. Last year we had 7 different winners.

        1. Because we tune in every day now and already know who’s won.

          That’s strange, because I’ve never known going into each race who is going to win. Button has deserved it everytime though 100%. I hope he wins them all personally.

          1. amen to that Dougie.

  7. you are right HAHa the season is’nt boring, but you could hardly describe that as a great Race….

    1. Ask Button, he’d say it was great.

      1. After the way his Winter played out, just being in an F1 car is probably great in his mind! To him, this must be Incredible!

        1. absolutely. What a breath of fresh air he & his dad are compared to the miserable Lewis & Anthony Hamilton.

          1. Yeah, I find Jensons interviews so refreshing. Although, in Lewis’s defence, his post race interview was one if his better ones.

          2. Maurice Henry
            8th June 2009, 12:19

            I wonder if Nigel Mansell will say how devalued Jenson’s title is because he only beat 19 other guys rather than 25 in his WDC year?

  8. very happy for button but it was a pretty dull race.
    it is starting to turn into another 2004. which was the most boring season ever!!!

    1. it is starting to turn into another 2004

      Like in 2004 I find enjoyment and excitement from watching an awesome driver being absolutely flawless in an exceptional piece of technological engineering. The difference, of course, with 2004 is that the Brawn is not nearly as superior a car as the Ferrari was. It is just the consistency of the car, strategy and Button which is keeping it first across the line.

      The car has been beatable on more than one race this year.

      1. This is what’s getting on my nerves, so many people are not willing to give Button & Brawn GP any credit. The car is fantastic, no argument, but someone still has to bring it home.

  9. It was a “Let’s wait and see if anything changes during pitstops” race. So boring.

  10. I went for 8 points (Great), just because track is really challenging, and there was good battle and overtakings during the race. 1st lap was awesome, people getting past one another, also some nice stratergic moves by some teams.

    1. These are all things I love about F1, but the more I think about it, the more I can understand why the general public thinks F1 is garbage. If first lap events, and several laps with passing challenges, and waiting for pit stops to see if something happens are what all us diehards class as a ‘great’ race, I can understand why so many people don’t like this sport I hold so dear to my heart!

      :P

      1. Haha. Exactly my thoughts!

      2. Absolutely true, but unfortunately true also. Well said.

  11. the season is ****. Button will win every race to come since noone can test…its worse than 2004.

  12. Not a terribly entertaining race, but in my opinion, a very informative one. Once again showing “no risk, no fun” as the supreme philosphy is the wrong approach in Formula One. You need to be able to put out a measured performance under the circumstances you’re given. Once again, Vettel and Red Bull failed to do that, so they didn’t capitalise on their pole position, which after they’d won the start, had given them a good chance to win the race.

    Germany’s media are trying very hard to put up Vettel as the main title contender for Button and Brawn, but if it continues to go like this, he’s not very effective. I think they’re getting a bit carried away with his lush, bantering personality, tending to ignore that except from Shanghai which he happened to win, he didn’t deliver what he needed to do in any race so far this year…

    1. David (Brazil)
      7th June 2009, 16:03

      I agree, Vettel so far has been getting a soft ride from the media and most bloggers. He’s talented for sure, but the question is whether he can take the extreme pressure that comes with battling for the WDC. I remember last year a lot of people chortling when he went past Hamilton at São Paulo – with absoultely nothing riding on his race. In Turkey today, on pole, the pressure was huge and he could barely keep the car on the track in the first lap. That’s the real test. Kubica fluffed his chance last season when it suddenly looked as though he could catch up Massa and Hamilton. Barrichello just can’t take the pressure being exerted by Button’s cool, no flap driving. Bar a calamity for Button, it’s all over for RB and his last chance for a championship. Vettel should be contending but is showing much less cool than Hamilton showed at the start of his first season in a similar position (the next-best car chasing Ferrari with a more experienced driver as team mate). However, going by Vettel’s expression (suppressed rage after being told to back off Webber) at the end of the race, I imagine he’ll be more focused from now on in. Only it’s too late for this year.

      1. Vettel so far has been getting a soft ride from the media and most bloggers. He’s talented for sure, but the question is whether he can take the extreme pressure that comes with battling for the WDC.

        I think it will lead people to re-appraise Vettel a bit. But also, I think it emphasises just how well Hamilton did at the start of 2007. And we must remember Vettel’s had a season and a half already.

        1. er, Hamilton had the best car on the grid.

          1. Be honest though, the Red Bull isn’t exactly far off being the best car on the grid. And i think Keith was refering to how little mistakes Hamilton made in 2007 rather than his pace.

            In 2007 Hamiltons pace was great and he barely made a mistake

            This year Vettels pace has been great but he has made at least 3 high profile errors.

            I believe that is what Keith was refering to.

          2. Be honest though, the Red Bull isn’t exactly far off being the best car on the grid. And i think Keith was refering to how little mistakes Hamilton made in 2007 rather than his pace.

            In 2007 Hamiltons pace was great and he barely made a mistake

            This year Vettels pace has been great but he has made at least 3 high profile errors.

            I believe that is what Keith was refering to.

  13. processional race with no attention seeking moments. as i have said before this is a repeat of 1992. again the next race at silverstone is an aero killer.we can expect button to stamp his authority all over the place. rubens barrichello must retire & join globo tv. he’i’m sure will never win a single race this year. the only way to stop button is to drug him before the race. as for mclaren- the can go into hibernation. ferrari are also nowhere near brawn. adrian newey must be scratching his head by now. bmw have made a mockery of themselves. they were the one’s who advocated for kers so strongly & aren’t even using it. nelson piquet just did his father proud by finishing the race. i think giancarlo’s time is up. the liqor baron mallya must show him the door.pity red bull didn’t allow seb to race webber. that car to pit radio communication was the lie of the season. it must be investigated. toyata must get their act to-gether, orelse i see them pullin’ the plug. nico rosberg just proved everyone right, he’s the unsung champion of fridays. nakajima- he better go & do some fishing. all in all a very boring race.

    its F&%$#*g poetic justice for mercedes. their engines kept coughin’ up every few feet with mclarens over the past decade & now seem bullet proof on a costumer car!!

    mclaren lost the 2000,2003,2004(rip),2005 championships due to mercedes engine blowing up.

    1. jeez, you do go on…….

      1. Atleast his ramble is somewhat interesting. That’s far more than I can say for your contributions.

    2. mclaren lost the 2000,2003,2004(rip),2005 championships due to mercedes engine blowing up.

      No they didn’t. You could possibly make the case for 2005, but the rest of the time Ferrari’s dominance and/or the mistakes of McLaren’s drivers were at least to blame.

      1. remember the inaugural 2000 US gp at indianapolis? hakkinen’s engine gave way when he was leading both the race & championship.it served as a death blow to hakkinen & mclaren. it took them a long time to recover fron that. in 2003 kimi at one point in time was leading shoemaker by 17 points. kimi lost his lead after the canadian gp. but was set to regain his lead in the next race itself at nurburgring. his merc engine blew when he was leading the race by a comfortable margin. the lesser said about 2004 the better. we all know about thar years car & specifically the engine. brings back bad memories. the chassis was revolutionary, but the engine was crap. in 2005 kimi statrted the french,british,italian gp’s with a 10 place grid penalty due to merc engines blowing up on dynaos & engine simulators! the 2006 engine never had the thump in it. so im right i think in saying mercedes have let down mclaren on innumerable occasions. but now their engines are unflappable on the brawns. ron must be fuming over this i think, cuz imo the only time mclaren failed to provide a bad chassis to mercedes is 1995,1996 & 2009. the rest was due to the failure of mercedes. if mclaren had gone with customer engines in say 2004, i wud say they would have easily won the championship.

  14. forgot to mention. OWG is a complete failure. that mclaren simulator is complete crap. maybe we gotta implement mad max’s theory of the what is it called?? a centre downwash wing or somethin’ like that, the wing with a big gaping hole in the middle. complete failure on the part of the technical team framing the rules for racing. it just proves simulators are simulators. & was this button’s forth succesive merc engine? just curious. cuz i’ve fillowed mercedes since their re-entry into f1 in 1992. they’ve never managed to supply good reliable engines. so mercedes are settin’ right that record atleast.

    1. blimey, there’s more?

      1. everything he says is interesting that what you say ; )

    2. *** are you talking about? The OWG made sure the cars are able to reasonably be able to overtake if the leading car is a second a lap slower.

      THEY ACHIEVED THAT GOAL! This has been demonstrated often enough.

      The fact that Red Bull thinks their cars need no overtaking (no KERS and no moving front wing) is their fault, not the OWG’s.

    3. maybe we gotta implement mad max’s theory of the what is it called?? a centre downwash wing or somethin’ like that

      Isn’t what we have this year just the CDG in reverse? Compare the 2009 front wing to the CDG rear wing.

    4. OWG came up with regs which should have allowed closer racing & overtaking. That went straight out the window when the double-decker diffuser was allowed.
      Can`t blame the OWG for the FIA allowing something which was totally against the mandate they`d given, mp4-10

      1. Sorry, I seem to have deducted you by 9, mp4-19

      2. I see a lot of close racing though. Only the Red Bull of Vettel seems to have problems with overtaking. Webbers car is doing a lot better in that respect (best move all season when he repassed Alonso)

      3. That went straight out the window when the double-decker diffuser was allowed.

        There is absolutely no evidence to suggest the double-deck diffuser creates more turbulence in the wake of the car. Quite the opposite in fact as its primary purpose is to clean the air flow exiting the car.

  15. Istanbul is probably quite interesting to drive on, but very boring to watch others racing there. But other thing – for TV watchers – how/what TV director(s) shows to us can make quite a big difference and it seems like they fell asleep in Turkey; but it wasnt that bad like with Interlagos, where 99% of the race we can see front runners only – no matter whats happening behind.
    And Nelson Piquet jr driver of the race for that mini-battle with Lewis Hamilton ! :D

    1. Glad someone pointed out N.P. Jnr’s battle with Lewis. Well done Nelson.

  16. I actually think the main problem could be the ban on in season testing. It has made it very difficult for teams that were behind to catch up with Brawn. Kudos for Ferrari for making their car considerably more competitive, but we’re just not seeing the cars developing, unlike last year where the Ferraris and McLarens duelled for dominance at almost every race and nobody knew until race day which one really had the edge. I understand the need for cost cutting in F1, but this is something that could have a seriously detrimental effect on the racing.

    1. And veiwer numbers. Too many one sided seasons like this can’t be a good thing in an era where there are plenty of other motorsport avenues a TV viewer can stroll down to get their fix. Hell, even A1GP has it over F1 the way it is now!

      1. Hell, even A1GP has it over F1 the way it is now!

        Really, I’ve never watched an A1GP race, are they any good?

        Have never, and will never, miss an F1 race.

    2. Completely true, James G.
      The lack of testing is a real problem not just for development but also for keeping the 3rd driver up to scratch & for allowing new drivers time behind the wheel.
      I`ve always disliked the move.

      1. Because of this testing ban no-one is going to catch Brawn.

        Viewer numbers will also be low. Surely the huge fans from Italy and Spain will be turning off when the championship is over 5 races before the end.

        I also think this engine rule is annoying. I don’t like the 10 place drop and I HATE engine saving. The worst thing about racing now is when the race is over after the last round of pitstops because drivers are asked to save their engines and can’t race till the flag.

  17. It’s a weird season. The cars are all just close enough that it is incredibly difficult to overtake even in the middle and end runners, but there’s enough of a gap that a clear and stable dominance is emerging. Some weird sweet spot has been touched on that curve.

    It’s just extraordinary that Vettel couldn’t pass Button even in a lighter car. Plus Barrichello having so much trouble as well, on a nice, wide, overtaking-friendly track no less.

    I lost all the feeds half-way through the race, and I wasn’t near a tele today. I didn’t miss a single exciting event on track! Things really did settle down after the first few laps.

    My vote: Boring.

    But it was good to see Webber up there, and Toyota being back was good as well.

    1. On second thought – the Barrichello being unable to pass was his 7th gear problem probably – scratch that.

  18. After 3 great races to start the season, we’ve just had a 4th borefest in a row.

  19. Another somewhat dull event and Button domminance. I prefer championships where it’s down to the last few races.

    Still though, as they say, may the better car/team/man win. Although Button probably isn’t the best driver out there, he’s certainly doing a top notch job. You can’t say the best car isn’t winning though, that’s for sure.

    All I hope is that McLaren are working on their 2010 car already! ;)

    1. lol – when they know what the regs are they might be able to start ;)

  20. The first races it was fun to see new cars and new faces on the podium…

    Sincerely now… it’s getting to be a lot tedious…

    Everybody is worried (and with reason) about and eventual two pace grid for 2010, but they but realize that, is already happening this year.

    Brown, Red Bull, Toyota, Williams are one Championship of there own and I bet whatever that the first four places in Driver’s Championship in the end, will be Button, Barrichello, Vettel and Webber, even if not in this order, except Button that already is World Champion with no doubt.

    More and fighting for Ferrari or for McLaren, or for Renault, people was to see team they are used to see in from, fight each other… not see Ferrari fight to get in the points with one car and Renault and McLaren with no car…

    They are so worried about spending money and we now see that, beyond all the improvements all the teams make (that cost money), Ferrari built a car from scratch, BMW built half a car from scratch… I wonder if that could keep them under the budget cap Mad Max is imposing like a nazi…

    I propose the teams build a car for 2010 ( with whatever the rules that will be ) and that car, that start the Australian GP, must be exactly the same the finishes in Abu Dabi. Not even a rubber band added… It’s FIA goal – Zero evolution in the Top Motorsport Class Competition… So, do that and we all call it the Formula FIA World Championship and the constructors will make a real Formula 1 Championship were engines are restricted to some power, the front tires are smaller as they were before with slicks and the wings are normal, I mean smaller in front and bigger in the back.

    That way we can see again, driver s taking about the difficulty of doing Eau Rouge full speed and other landmarks in F1 Calendar that simply lost the spotlight because with these cars that can just flat down and drive them thru…

    I miss my Formula 1…

  21. 6/10 – Not Bad. Nothing special by any stretch of the imagination, but there was some good overtaking every now and then, and the race just seemed more interesting than Spain or Bahrain. Shame for Seb and Rubens, well done again to Jenson and Mark. Good to see Williams and BMW creeping back up the order again too.

  22. Extremely boring, stopped watching after the first pitstops. I’ve been watching F1 since the A.Jones – C.Reutemann – G.Villeneuve era, with the exception of a 1.5 year break after Senna’s death. I think it’s time for another long break, until the F1 circus improves the spectacle a bit. I agree with other posters, it’s a shame, after all the hype about the OWG and the reg changes.

  23. A bit dull. Enough action early in the race to avoid a really negative rating, but that final stint really put me to sleep.

  24. BORING….I tried to make it interesting trying to count how many time jonathan legrad (BBC commentator) said Jenson Button in any given minute!!!

    1. He also repeats the phrase ‘in the wars’, like the broken record he seems to be.

  25. 3/10 – No Championship this year is a big disappointment.

    Close racing? For 2 laps then it separates again.

    Closest ever field? That’s why the championship was over in 5 races? We had 7 different winners last year and this year Button will win every single dry race.

  26. Just one question – Do Jenson fans find this new F1 interesting?

    I’m a Hamilton and Vettel fan but them dominating would be boring for me. I much prefer seeing great racing for the lead and lots of different winners and a close title battle.

    1. Do Jenson fans find this new F1 interesting?

      New F1!?! For me its always been the same F1 since they brought back re-fuelling… the reversing of which I am very much looking forward to next year.

      That aside, I am still very much enjoying it. The Schumacher years were excellence personified, then the new champion in 2005/6 and 2007 & 8 were brilliant, though not for the on track stuff to be honest. More so now that we are seeing a driver I’ve always believed in given the chance to show what we all thought of him back in 2000, and then some.

      I won’t be happy until Jenson has won them all.

  27. HounslowBusGarage
    7th June 2009, 17:50

    I really thought Ferrari were going to be successful this weekend, but they just seemed to be in the background; part of the also-rans. Neither qualifying or the race seemed to feature the red cars at all.
    Any ideas what happened to them? I know Kimi had a bit of a tussle with Alonso’s rear end (car rear end!), but Massa just seemed to acquiesce into sixth.

    1. It was just a lack of race pace the cause of which is being looked into.

  28. Is it possible that the tracks are just not challenging for the drivers anymore? Drivers are making fewer and fewer mistakes. How can that be with what is supposed to be the cutting edge? With thousands of man-hours of driving producing so few mistakes, it’s pretty clear to me that the cars and drivers have outgrown the tracks and track design conventions.

    Even this race, it was Vettel’s mistake that made it slightly more interesting, with the possibility that he might catch and pass Button – imagine how we’d be ranking this race if Button had passed him in the pits.

    The tracks need to be made much more challenging. How challenging is turn 8 really, if nobody really made a mistake there in all those laps in all those cars?

    1. Vettel went off during this race and the previous. Monaco saw a whole lot of crashes.

      BTW Turn 8 is demanding on the car. Not on the driver. Isn’t it flat out for the fastest cars?

      1. the drivers get up too 5G that not demanding?

    2. Drivers are making fewer and fewer mistakes.

      Navs has a point here, with the cars so finely tuned & perfect and the drivers training to the n’th degree and absolutely flawless in the races, mistakes and therefore opportunities are fewer and therefore overtaking is nigh on impossible.

      Look to the 70’s and 80’s, overtaking occured because the driver in front was pressured into a mistake. A driver that the night before was out drinking with his best buddies, who would happen to drive for the other team, or was s3xing it up playboy style.

      All that counted back then was talent, and it varied enourmously.

      Today, talent is just one part of the complete package.

  29. I’m actually not a Jenson fan but I am finding this season quite interesting. If the cars were a bit closer then it would be better. FIA have got a lot to answer for.

  30. StrFerrari4Ever
    7th June 2009, 19:03

    I voted a 6 there wasn’t any real challenge as soon as Vettel made that mistake I felt ill and angry I knew Jenson would go on to win the only real thing I watched the rest of the race for was to see whether Jenson’s car would just go crazy that didn’t happen and after that I was very edgy and didn’t want anyone talking to me.Toro Rosso struggling didn’t help much 2 weeks time things better be different very different!!! :@

    1. I am the same. I tune in really happy and at the end of the race I’m just mardy and annoyed. I’m sick of seeing the same driver winning every single race, I thought the days of 2002 and 2004 were behind us. Hope Toro Rosso can improve too :(

  31. StrFerrari4Ever
    7th June 2009, 20:12

    Good to see someone share’s the same view as me TommyB Jenson’s a good guy but seeing him just winning all the time it’s getting unbareable when Schumi dominated I didn’t have a problem because you knew that it wasn’t just the car it was the whole package and he deserved it more than anyone. But with Jenson I get frustrated because I know he deserves a top car but not one where he can dominate with if Red Bull don’t win at Silverstone the title race could be finished.Just a sidenote did anyone see the entry speeds for Turn 8 I think Vettel had 272.8km/h isnt that the highest into that corner during the circuits history or did cars go faster in years past?

  32. HounslowBusGarage
    7th June 2009, 21:08

    I remember a quote from an old time GP driver, who said something like “The secret to winning is to drive as slowly as possibly, while still driving faster than all the others.”
    Can anyone remind me who said that?
    And doesn’t that look like what Jenson has done this year? His smooth style has often obscured his pace to the extent that it looks metronimacly boring when he’s smashing the opposition to pieces.
    Not his fault. Smoothest is quickest. That’s the way Jackie Stewart did it. Blame the others for not being quick enough and allowing Button to drive as slowly as possible while still driving faster than the opposition.
    Congratulations to JB.

    1. I remember a quote from an old time GP driver, who said something like “The secret to winning is to drive as slowly as possibly, while still driving faster than all the others.”
      Can anyone remind me who said that?

      Sounds like something Prost would say, but I don’t know for sure I’m afraid.

      1. or maybe Sir Jackie

  33. why did they go though all that trouble with overtaking and suddenly allow a ddd which creates a large amount of turbulence

    1. why did they go though all that trouble with overtaking and suddenly allow a ddd which creates a large amount of turbulence

      What evidence do you have to support this claim?

      My understanding is that the diffuser cleans up the air exiting the car and therefore, I imagine, reduces turbulence.

  34. The scariest thing about the no in season testing is that what has happened this year could happen again & again.Say Mclaren make a car like the Brawn next year we could see exactly the same thing just a different team and there is a strong possibility soon, one or two of the big teams are going to shelve this year and concentrate on 2010.If turkey is anything to go by why would you bother chucking big money over improvement’s that show no real advantage.Ferrari’s race was a joke I predict them to be the first to move.

  35. you know the medal system might have been better in this ocasion

  36. Boring, Boring, Boring
    I like Button and I think what Brawn is doing is great. Turkey looks like a beautiful venue for a race. The track layout is interesting. But, come on guys…this race was BORING.

  37. Oh.. by the way. Maybe Bernie is doing a re-think on that medal system thing. :-)
    Lets all hope the B man is feling better.

  38. sorry, thats “feeling better.”

  39. any 1 notice Naomi Campbell is completely insane

    1. who cares.

  40. I wonder, if Vettel hadn’t made his mistake, stayed in front of Button and won the race with everything else remaining as it happened, would there be as many people bemoaning how “boring” this race was? I thought that there were a few exciting battles throughout and another outstanding drive from Button meant it got a 6 from me.

    The down side of having the grid on it’s head this year is that in the 6 of the best cars on the grid (Brawn, RBR and Toyota) there’s only 1 driver showing he has what it takes to win the title. If any of those other seats had Hamilton, Kimi or Alonso in them it’d be the close fight people want.

    1. Your right. But they don’t and it isn’t. (Right now)

  41. It does make me laugh when I still read messages on here about Lewis Hamilton ‘only winning because he had the best car’ as if he were the only driver in history to do so!
    I guess that is why we never saw a champion crowned driving a Minardi then. Ofcourse its down to the strength of the car, in most cases. It is all about maximising your potential when the machinery is competitive and reliable. When you look back at the ‘majority’ of F1 champions over the last three decades they all won when they had a competitive car. Very few, including such legends as Prost, Senna, Schumacher, Hakkinen, and even Alonso, succeeded in winning championships with duff cars.
    In nearly every form of motorsports this applies. So Jenson Button is only doing what other great drivers have done before. He is wringing the neck out of the best racing car he has probably ever driven, just like Senna in 1988, just like Hakkinen in 1998, and just like Schumacher in 2004 (which in my opinion was probably the best car Ferrari gave him). So cut the crap.
    As for the race. Snooooooooooooozzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeee.

  42. Maurice Henry
    8th June 2009, 11:50

    Dull race. Expect worse next year. Nice to see the FIA rule changes, which have cost the teams a lot of money in R&D, have done nothing to improve the racing. I wonder if Nigel Mansell will say how devalued Jenson’s title is because he only beat 19 other guys rather than 25 in his WDC year?

    1. In contrast, in fact, Mansell is backing Button and has nothing negative to say about his driving, the car, or the way in which he is winning. He believe Jenson utterly deserves this chance and is happy to see the man who has spent many a season struggling with a uncompetitive machine get his chance to show his full worth.

      All from the interview in Monaco with Ted.

  43. I wonder if Nigel Mansell will say how devalued Jenson’s title is because he only beat 19 other guys rather than 25 in his WDC year?

    See my reply here

    In summary, in an interview with Ted in Monaco he was absolutely full of praise for Button and fully behind him.

    1. Maurice Henry
      8th June 2009, 17:46

      Then I wonder why he said it about Lewis? BTW I have to work weekends and cannot always be bothered to sit through the build up so I would have castigated Mansell for that at the time had I seen it.

      1. I think Mansell is miffed because Lewis went straight into a Championship winning car and had it again the following year, whereas Button had “served his apprenticeship” so that makes it deserved. I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion.

        I think they both are great drivers and very deserving of the title, and in a straight fight there wouldn’t be much in it.

  44. In an interview with Ted in Monaco he was absolutely full of praise for Button and fully behind him.

  45. Maurice Henry
    8th June 2009, 17:50

    I recommend people who say it will all be so much better next year read Murray Walker’s comments in F1 Racing’s latest mag. He doesn’t think it will be that much more exciting without refuelling.

  46. @Maurice Henry.

    I think not! There was definately a bit of spite and venom in Mansell’s attack on Lewis Hamilton and the suggestion that the 2008 title was somewhat ‘easier’ than that of 1992 was pure nonsense.
    Typical Mansell, with his ‘me against the world’ mentality that goes back many years. Even in his heyday, he would always complain about other drivers, his car, etc etc. Self inflicted errors were always somebody else’s fault.
    When Jackie Stewart spoke of Senna saying that , ‘the man really believes in what he is saying, but then so did Hitler’, the same can be said of Mansell also.
    He needs to be reminded that his era went nearly twenty years ago and the sport has moved on without him!

  47. This is not specifically regarding the race (which I voted 7), but more about wordings and descriptions used in the voting system at the moment, and how it might be skewing the votes.

    Keith, I suspect (with no concrete prove, I admit) that pairing words with the numbers in the voting system is distorting the ratings. It applies for all the ratings, from 1-10, but I think is most prominent with “3”, which has been unfortunately paired with “Boring”.

    So what happens now is that, after a dull race, people went for the word that they associated with most, instead of the rating they felt the race actually deserved. “I was bored to tears, grrr. What should I vote? Oh, there it is, ‘Boring'”.

    Say if “2” or “4” had been paired with “boring”, I’m pretty sure they’ll have been the popular choice among the lower ratings.

    Of course, I admit this doesn’t skew the ratings by a HUGE amount, but I do feel it’s unnecessary, and easily preventable distortion. It only works to some extent, since if you had paired “6” or “7” with “Boring”, voters would probably not have been affected as much. (But they’ll have questioned your rating descriptions long before this :D)

    I just feel a fully quantitative vote would better serve its purpose of obtaining a read of the voter sentiment on the race. The understand the descriptions add flavour, but I feel it’s worth a try to do without them.

    1. Chua – Yeah I thought that myself a while ago! Will give some thought to changing or doing away with the labels.

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