Rate the race: 2010 German Grand Prix

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

Rate the 2010 German Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (4%)
  • 9 (1%)
  • 8 (4%)
  • 7 (7%)
  • 6 (11%)
  • 5 (10%)
  • 4 (9%)
  • 3 (10%)
  • 2 (8%)
  • 1 (34%)

Total Voters: 3,510

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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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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184 comments on “Rate the race: 2010 German Grand Prix”

  1. sorry it doesn’t reflect the quality of the race, rather the bitter taste it has left..1

    1. Massa was robbed by his own team. Makes a mockery of calling this a race. He deserved the win and it would have been fantastic a year after his accident for all F1 fans, no matter which team they support, to celebrate his come back. This is exactly why the rules changed and Farrari should be disqualified for openly giving team orders. They would have had a 1 2 without team orders and the best driver would have won – fair and square.

      1. Definitely like this post, I think this race will make many people Massa fans and anti-Ferrari!!!

        1. yes i agree with there are many ferrari haters here.today they are right but possibly they dont treat there team the same way. following the 1 rating criteria of some on this post every race this year should be 1 rated i remind WHO RATED 1 ON VALENCIAS RACE? dont want to be rude but this comments arent a product of an deep reflection about this year race ferrari decision was messy messy enough to get the focus of everyone and highlighted by f1 tv production this year there were some clear team order issues facing the problem this way people shouldnt crucify ferrari but the whole F1 system indeed today was ferraris mistake yesterday it was mclaren and red bull please be realistic like Horner says in the end what counts its the team and people still watch f1 hoping there favourite driver delivers but in the end its not about the driver drivers are well payed employees but employees have to follow rules and those rules are on the sake of the collective everyone at ferrari benefits with this result the better the team delivers so there employees will benefit the thousands of people involved on this business ferrari havng let so many chances flee they knew they had to be as harsh as other teams so they could breed like domenicalli said ferrari needed to win fast global crisis or just capitalism?

          1. In Valencia, the attempt to manipulate the race failed — whereas here, it just leaves too much of a sour taste, given Ferrari’s history of doing similar things.

    2. You hit the nail on the head…. as did Eddie Jordan. This is a competitive sport & Massa deserved his well earned victory on the anniversary of his terrible accident. Alonso should take a 5 place drop as a penalty…. I cannot believe F1 may let this pass

      1. Rated 1 as well. Listening to Alonso’s post race interview is what infuriated me the most. I admire Massa’s and Smedley’s indirect honesty. It’s obvious that they were making Ferrari look stupid for what they were requesting. Massa could have let Alonso past without it being obvious, and Smedley didn’t have to use the words he did over the radio.

        I realize this happens quiet often with all teams, but ferrari have the knack at doing it with the least amount of discreetness/respect for the sport.

        1. flossyblossy
          25th July 2010, 23:10

          Thats what i would have said until i saw Rob Smedley being interviewed after…lying through his back teeth, desperately trying to look convincing with that big stupid grin on his face. Either (like EJ said) he deserves an oscar or he was in agreement with the descision.

    3. Jordan Doyle
      25th July 2010, 18:15

      So True, apart from that “yer that” it was a good race from the first lap to about 47, such a shame Alonso should have being good enough to get past massa, come on your right alonso, you were faster, how couldn’t you pass

    4. Also a 1, but not because of the race (I’d give that a 5 or 6) but specifically due to Ferrari’s actions.

      I hope that the “Team” losses their points for this race result!

  2. Typically, a race this dull would get a 5 from me. But Ferrari Team orders absolutely kills any credibility of this “race”.

    1/10

    Now will see for sure how neutral Jean Todt is as FIA President.

    1. I feel the same.

      Decisions like Ferrari’s in this race just ruin the sport for the fans. Disappointing.

    2. Please enlighten me how is this different than McLaren’s “Lewis you can stop saving fuel” exactly when Jensen was right behind him ?

      1. as he really didn’t need to save fuel anymore.
        If you follow F1 a little you should know by now. They start the race slightly underfueled and will have a period of fuel saving…
        And Jenson was that close for the whole race after the stops..
        Ferrari fan I bet!

        1. riiiiiiiiiiight… omg how I could not see it ?
          McLaren fan I bet! :)

          1. Grow up, He’s right. Every driver goes through a period in the race where they have to save fuel.

          2. its ok to give team orders to let them race each other. But that wasnt the case on this occasion.

          3. I’m not a Ferrari or a McLaren fan, but if McLaren are smart enough to make their team orders look like fuel saving instructions then good luck to them.

            Today Ferrari blatantly broke the rules and robbed the most deserving driver of the race win HE HAD EARNED.

            I personally hate the fact that F1 cars are now scrimping and saving on fuel, but under the current rules it is permissible.

            Team orders, quite clearly are not.

      2. Explain how “we instructed Button to defend” not a team order? They pretty much told Button not to attack Lewis, but rather defend against a car that was more than 6 or 7 seconds behind him.

        1. Because Button was not a real threat to Hamilton and at no point it looked like he was going to try an overtake. Mclaren had their own damage limiting race to do today.

          And 6 or 7 seconds? I remember seeing Webber right behind Button in the shot when we heard it, more like a couple.

          1. Webber was way back, check the timings

          2. @OJi, yes but only after his issue which forced him to drop back. At the time Button was told to focus on defence Webber was right behind him and pretty much as soon as he dropped back Jenson was told he was one of the fastest on the track i.e. it’s OK now, you can have a go at Lewis if you can.

        2. Mindful that Lawyers rule everything;

          # The rule suggests not enforcing driver position to change the result.

          # The rule doesn’t suggest (but probably should) not enforcing driver position that doesn’t change the result.

    3. Jarred Walmsley
      25th July 2010, 20:09

      Same here which is why I went for a 3 to allow something for the rest of the race but I am absoultely disgusted by Ferrari’s antics.

      For all you Schumacher haters out there, this incident shows that maybe it wasn’t him that was responsible for all the incidents and that it is just in Ferrari’s nature to manipulate F1

      1. He even said he would have done the same, so im not too sure on that one.

  3. Complete disgrace. I voted 1.

    The spectacle of the race was ruined by Ferrari’s stinking cheating.

  4. Wheres the disgrace option?

  5. Matt Hadfield
    25th July 2010, 14:41

    Terrible down to cheating Ferrari. Poor day for the sport

  6. Nick Robertson
    25th July 2010, 14:41

    Wow. That says it all really. Hope someone in the FIA sees this…

  7. I rated 1 – I think there was little in the way of battles. Temperature probably played a hand in this with it being cooler allowing the option to last longer.

    Then of course we were robbed as fans of any chance of a race with the team orders.

  8. This was an absurdity and the most blatent example of team orders in years. Destroyed the race for me and I think they should have both been black flagged.

    1. Damn right they should, well perhaps not Massa i feel sorry for him!

    2. jamie morgan
      25th July 2010, 23:47

      farrari should be blacked flag this is not the first time this hass happened it happened withg shuemaker back a few years ago. appart from the fine they shoud be made to lose points for thier blatent rule breaking and alonso needs to be brought down a peg or two. mariano sinatrin

  9. Ned Flanders
    25th July 2010, 15:00

    I resisted the temptation to give this race a 1 and instead gave it 5- had a few exciting laps around the pitstops and when the Ferrari’s were actually racing as opposed to be being switched. But for the most part it was dull.

    But the team orders were an absolute ******* disgrace. This race stinks like no race I have seen for a long, long time

    1. Yep. But wasn’t that press conference entertaining! I had to read it online since FOX only shows the first question and answer in their delayed coverage. Boring race and a disgrace from Ferarri, especially a year to the day from Massa’s horrible accident with Rubens’ spring. I think Alonso and Massa should BOTH be given grid penalties in Hungary, and Alonso’s should be larger.

      1. flossyblossy
        25th July 2010, 23:15

        That’s why i gave it a 3 – for the press conference alone! I found most of the race pretty boring.

  10. Boring Race.

    Ferrari should get a penalty – for not being creative. All they needed to do is tell Massa to converse fuel.

    1. blog seems too slow sorry about the double post. BTW I mean conserve

  11. 1/10 for obvious reasons. Ferrari effectively cancelled any ‘race.’ Over to you FIA (some chance).

  12. Boring Race.

    Ferrari should get a penalty – for not being creative. All they needed to do is tell Massa to conserve fuel.

  13. Marc Connell
    25th July 2010, 15:01

    enjoyed the race, hated the fake smiles at the end. decent 6.

    1. Just out of curiosity: can you tell us what did you find enjoyable? Because I saw completely uneventful procession. I give it a solid 2.

      1. Qualifying yesterday was very good.
        The start and first 2 laps were good. Then up to the pitstops we had some action in the lower runners, then pit stops.
        Alonso chasing and pushing Massa, Heikki not seeing Pedro de la rose, what a luck Pedro has.
        And the comments from Smedley to Massa were very interesting as well. Also Massa saying that letting Fred past was his own decision and Smedley confirming he was only giving Massa information were surely drama
        I gave it a 5/10 for the Ferrari strategy remembering us of the worse of the Schumi aera and being a otherwise pretty mediocre GP.

  14. Where where you when Mclaren said “save fuel” that’s the SAME, they didn’t let Button race for position.
    When where you at silverstone?
    they take away webber’s front wing, it’s the same

    Alonso would have probably overtook massa, they just didn’t take the chance… after the last races, they were unlucky, and the race clearly wasn’t 1 out of 10…

    1. LSL but Red Bull’s farce with the wing didn’t work out how they expected… and in fairness that wasn’t done during the race…

    2. Actually you are somehow right and I agree with you. It seems that most people are quite happy to accept the farce put up by RB an MCLaren when they tell their drivers to slow down as they may not be able to finish the race with no fuel.

      However, most seem to be offended by Ferrari’s move.

      What is F1 about, teams or drivers? At the end whilst the driver does get the glory most of the effort comes from the team.

      1. I think with me it annoys me more that the orders resulted in them swapping places. When the save fuel/hold station message is given, that doesn’t rankle as much. That might just be me though and I don’t whether it really stands up but there you go. I think it’s because the driver ahead is ahead and when the driver behind is faster it’s either fast enough to actually get by or not quite fast enough to get a real chance. I mean there’s always the chance of the driver in front making a mistake but more often than not it results in a sort of half-hearted attempt, resulting in a coming together. With Ferrari it was well your not fast enough to get by under your own steam and he fluffed his one chance, so we’ll tell Felipe to move over. The team gets the same points but they favour a driver and if a driver gains a points advantage by their team manipulating the race then in the WDC that seems unfair. Yes Ferrari can argue that Vettel was closing but surely he was more likely to overtake Massa than Alonso, if Massa was the slower of the two, thus being more likely to cost the team.

    3. You are completely missing the point. Webber was completely screwed over by his team OFF THE TRACK, but once he was on the track he was free to teach Vettel a valuable lesson.

      Furthermore under the current regulations F1 cars are encouraged to scrimp and save on fuel, therefore making McLarens orders legal (unfortunately)

      If Ferrari are not smart enough to come up with a reason for Massa to slow down, and instead thumb their nose at the rule book, they deserve to be stripped of all their points from the weekend.

      1. We dont know if McLaren were saying that so Button wouldn’t attack, if they did then thats team orders. It’s happend more then once im pretty sure. Then on the other hand he might have needed to save fuel, we’ll never know.

  15. I voted 6 because I wanted to be honest. But 1 is what the farce deserved.

  16. “I don’t expect any penalties whatsoever because Alonso was just faster and Massa made a small mistake when shifting up three gears at once,” Smedley told Germany’s Sky Sports after the race. << Do they think we are dumb or something?

    1. Vettel was faster than Massa, if I were him I’d have let him pass, the same way he did with Alonso

    2. No, Ferrari are banking – probably correctly – on other teams not pursuing this one as that would set a bad precedent for any decisions they make in the rest of the season. That doesn’t make today justified. Smedley is in an awkward position, obviously annoyed and upset enough to make the team order obvious over the radio, and added a sorry afterwards. That’s enough to establish a team order. But he can’t afford to see the team implode over this – or the great Alonso lose points. Ferrari and Alonso. What a combination.

      1. Seems it didn’t quite work out for Ferrari, although paying $100.000 for a race win is not too bad for them.
        The worse thing is the World Counsil, where Mr. Teamorders Todt will have to decide weather to crunch down on using team orders or throw this rule out.

    3. How old are you? how stupid can you get, it was an unequivocal order for massa to move over and let alonso past.I’m a ferrari and an alonso fan and i can see that!! even my pet hamster can see that!

      1. Perhaps your pet hamster would like a number 2 driver spot at Ferrari? Should be available soonish!

        1. His hamster would have more sense than to take it after this.

    4. flossyblossy
      25th July 2010, 23:19

      I used worse language that i’ve ever used in my life shouting at Smedley on TV. So obviousley lying though his back teeth and assuming that we are all stupid and wouldn’t realise!

  17. 4, not completely useless.
    Just very disappointing…

  18. 2/10 – I only watched from lap 47 onwards, but it was boring, cheating, crud.

  19. I voted 1, but only because ‘0’ wasn’t an option. That wasn’t a race. There was no race to rate. As an F1 fan, I feel cheated. Ferrari owe me the last 2 hours of my life back.

    1. Dont watch the next race then, thats how you can get your 2 hours back :)

  20. schweinsteiger
    25th July 2010, 15:03

    Awful moment, reminds me the dark days of schumacher-barrichello. Massa deserved the win after all he have been through after his accident. Button not attacking hamilton also due team orders.
    I rate this race 0,0

    1. Got to love how the Commentators didnt take too much notice of the British teams blatant team order.

      Got to love how they can demand the FIA investigate simply by putting pressure on them to do so, but when the incident involves the 2 british drivers they play it down like its nothing.

      1. Can someone from a country like America (for example) get a “non-biased” view?

        In response to Steven, Mclaren are more likely to have to need to save fuel because its Mercedes engine uses more fuel / lap than the Renault engine, and maybe even the Ferrari engine.

        Anyone remember Australia 1998 with Hakkinen & Coulthard (Mclaren)?

      2. This British driver thing from Ferrari fans is ridiculous and am not even British.
        How is telling Hamilton that is in frond to save fuel an order in favor of Hamilton? One could say the opposite.
        You guys are pathetic.

        1. Monad You have an understandable viewpoint but consider this; If Massa was asked to conserve fuel with Alonso taking the lead many would have grumbled but accepted that action as a necessity now that re-fuelling isn’t allowed.

          The instruction to Massa (clearly coded by Smedley) made no ref to fuel, chassis, brakes or mechanical issue of any kind – thereby overtly determining track position and breaking the rules.

          The rulebook specifically says that teams are not to be seen overtly determining track position, thereby bringing the sport into disrepute.

          If you watch again, Button & Hamilton duelled when one was meant to conserve fuel – an acceptable instruction within the rules.

          Moreover, not only is Stefano Domenicali now found to be less astute or knowledgeable about the rules than was thought, but Luca di Montezemolo seems also to suggest that its OK to break the rules for the teams gain. >> http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hjTv93btN8UNUcQMQf1VVAUq293g

          These public demonstrations follow in the wake of Ferrari being adamant that McLaren paid such a huge price that could have bankrupted most teams for cheating in the past that I now wouldn’t want to own a prancing horse in the UK right now, or ever in fact.

  21. I am simply gripped by start and was ecstatic at Massa taking the lead and staying with it after the seaosn he’s had.

    I was then enjoying the swapping of pace between Alonso and Massa, but at the same time I was pretty sure Vettel wasn’t going to get the two Ferraris. I thought Massa had got it, surely after the controversy of this season it wouldn’t have been worth giving team orders?

    Spoiled the race for me and a lot of people. Alonso, as extremely quick as he was, lost it to Massa at the start and THEN failed badly at overtaking him later. I expect to see a penalty.

    1. *Was simply gripped by the start.

  22. 5…lowest rating for a long time. Ruined by Ferrari, insulting our intellegence and robbing us of a great battle. They could at least cover it up better to save all this cringe worthy talk of the ‘pass’

    Pathetic!

  23. Voted 1 because there wasnt a -1 in the options, what a waste of 1.5 hours.

  24. Nice Race and exiting 9/10.
    yes the ferrari thing took a real blow but if that didnt happen i think the race was really good.

    Nice to see Ferrari back in top. hopefully they can continue like this.

    Three more races like this and Alonso would be up with hamilton in the championship. and Massa would not be too far after. they both have the ability to win the championship with a lot of luck and good results.

    1. 3 more races with illegal team orders causing the leader to be swapped around, and F1 will have no fans other than the Tifosi. And the Tifosi aren’t F1 fans, they’re Ferrari fans.

  25. This was an absolute disgrace. What a terribly disappointing race. Especially after such a great race last time :(

  26. I voted 1. The race has been ruined by Ferraris clear disregard for the rules. Its a display of Ferraris arrogance that they think they can so blatantly breach the rules!

  27. Would have been a 6 or 7, but Ferrari’s cheating ruined what was an interesting race. It’s not like Vettel got past anyway. Did they think Alonso wasn’t capable of defending?

  28. The actual race wasnt a classic, but deserved a 5-6.

    However this was NOT racing and is an absolute travesty. Hence = 1

    Both Ferrari’s need to be excluded from this ‘result’ to preserve any sense of honour for the sport.

  29. Ferrari is a disgrace to the sport…done that with Schumacher now doind the same with Alonso…bunch of clows, total disrespect for the F-1 lovers.

    Miss Senna…he on with his talent

  30. Ferrari is a disgrace to the sport…done that with Schumacher now doind the same with Alonso…bunch of clows, total disrespect for the F-1 lovers.

    Miss Senna…he won with his talent

  31. 1
    Im not even looking forward to next race after this.

    1. It was Hungary anyway! :P

  32. christopheraser
    25th July 2010, 15:08

    Another race ruined by Ferrari. Who actually like that team?

    1. I am… And another few millions.

      They should be penalized, as another comment said, for bad inspiration, total lack of creativity.

      As for those that scream that Ferrari cheated, please tell how did they cheat ? They lead the race from lap one.

      my2c,
      OJi.

      PS – I rated 7.

      1. I am a Ferrari fan. To be honest they did cheat but what differece does it make, we were probably going to be 1,2 anyway. I did want Massa to win but as long as we are back init i dont care. There should be a penalty of some sort ,not against the drivers but the team. Maybe taking all of our constructures point away seems pretty fair. It wasn’t the drivers fault but the Teams.

        1. I would cite the above posts as reasons why Ferrari fans need to re-examine their thinking. You state “To be honest they did cheat but what differece[sic] does it make”. Apparently, it makes a difference to those who want to watch a good race (see all the comments here).

          Since I’m not a Ferrari fan, I don’t care which driver wins – I hope to see a good race, some driving skill, some passing, and some good old fun. Watching a driver who had every reason to try to win the race give it to his team mate in this fashion just stinks!

  33. Mountain Man
    25th July 2010, 15:11

    Disgusted…gave it a 1 Ferrari should be ashamed!!! A Bad day for the sport.Should have been Massa’s win! (& I’m a Maclaren fan )

  34. I went for 6, in the end. Before, and until the pit stops were over, and several laps after that it was quite exciting. The Ferrari being back to MSC ways is bringing it down a bit, as are the laps before that when it was getting a bit boring. But a lot of things happening behind the top 6 too. Sorry for DLR and his front wing.

  35. No surprise about Alonso’s character. He is a really good driver and doesn’t need orders like the one we’ve seen today to win races. He should just do what he is paid for and he might have succeeded. However, the least thing I like about him is his bad attitude towards the sport. Here is why:
    1)He never gave up that Cingapore victory, and he indeed spoiled Massa’s title in 2008.
    2) He was totally not decent in China, at the entrace of the pit lane with Massa (I wonder what he would have said if Massa did the same to him on that occasion).
    3) In Valencia he was crying like a baby about Hamilton’s advantage with the safety car issue.
    4) Hockenheim shows his clear character when at first he said “ridiculous” about Massa’s defense after the pit stops, and the disgraceful team order.

    Ferrari is ridiculous and neither the drivers, nor the teams, nor the race, nor the fans needed that.

  36. I gave it a 5. Average race. And Massa fully deserved to win this race, he should have ignored Smedley.

  37. William Wilgus
    25th July 2010, 15:15

    Congratulations to Ferrari for catching up technically with their car and Massa coming back to his top form. Congratulations to Schumi for apparently closing the gap to his team-mate. I can’t say I am thrilled that Ferrari told Massa to let the faster Alonso by. However, a driver letting a faster one — whether team-mate or not — is a show of true sportsmanship. Had Massa been faster than Alonso when told to let Alonso by would have been extremely un-sportsman-like.

    1. “However, a driver letting a faster one — whether team-mate or not — is a show of true sportsmanship.”

      OH GOD Please be trolling!

    2. I really don’t know why you bother watching Formula 1 if the ‘fastest guy’ actually has to be let past.

  38. 1 – purely because of Alonso. It would have potentially been a 1 if Alonso had won anyway, but to win via race orders just made it pathetic, and such a kick in the nuts for Felipe, who I feel truly sorry for.

  39. By the way, Keith:
    I had the impression that the order for letting Alonso pass didn’t come from Smedley, since the message was rather dull and barely impolite (and this is not Smedley-Massa relationship pattern). I don’t know if I got too impressed or it was really not from him.
    Afterwards, Smedley’s tone (and then it was more like Smedley’s tone) was much softer and apologised the move.

    Did you guys have the same impression?

    1. Yeh i sounded more like Stella.

      1. No it was Smedley. And he pushed the ‘free-to-air button’ while he was speaking to Massa by purpose. So everybody could hear the team order. I don’t think Stella would have give this team radio FTA

        1. I thought everything was free to air, thats why teams use codes?

          1. Exactly, every radio transmission is freely available to FOM (who decides what is broadcast on TV) and for the FIA.

    2. About 15 minutes after the race in an interview done by Italian TV RAI, he dismissed that any form of team orders took place, actually by laughing at those ‘implications’.
      I’d really like to see him laugh in Massa’s face while explaining to him what ‘really’ happened.

  40. Santandermoney
    25th July 2010, 15:23

    It was garbage.
    The longest competing team in Formula one is not in it for the sport anymore.

  41. The Hundredth Idiot
    25th July 2010, 15:24

    Humphrey got it right, leaves a terrible taste in you mouth – so I voted 1. Looking forward to the first real test of Todt’s presidency. For me Felipe will always be the real victor of this race. Forza Felipe!

  42. Whether Alonso was quicker or not is irrelavent. F1 is not a time trial, it’s a race, and Massa was winning that race by making the necessary overtakes. It was up to Alonso to catch and pass him.

    Poor sod. Massive insult to the guy a year on from him nearly dying.

  43. I am a big brazilian fan of F1 since Airton Senna, but unfortunately we keep seeing sad episodes like this today (remember that it happened with Barichello on Ferrari before). I thought that we could be wrong thinking that Ferrari did it, but I can see by the rate given to the race that everyone could see this.

    Very very sad…

  44. The race was not boring.
    The start was good. Vettel put in a good performance, plenty of overtaking in the midfield and overall a lot of close battles.

    The whole Ferrari thing makes the race MORE interesting. Although I’m sure we’re all simmering with bile at the moment, it will generate a lot of press, a lot of opinions, and the current result, and possibly a revised result will have huge ramifications on the championship. This is one of those races which we will be able to remember in a decade, just like Austria 2002.

    Just because what happened makes you angry does not make the race bad. Bad races are the ones where nothing happened, like Bahrain.

    People who are serious F1 fans should be well aware of the sport’s ability to generate scandals. F1 has always had a bit of a dirty reputation, so if you are shocked and appalled by what happened, maybe try another sport. Especially since it’s Ferrari, who you would expect to do this kind of thing.
    The commentators saw it coming on Lap 1. So if you didn’t think it was possible, kindly shut up and let people who understand the sport talk.

    1. I don’t think people thoguht the majority of the race was ‘bad.’ I think a lot of the 1/10 ratings are a sort of protest against how the race turned out.

  45. A FULL DISGRACE for F1 and Massa.

    For me F1 will go on vacations for long…

  46. The race has left a horrible aftertasete. It was dull anyway, so would have scored low no matter what happened. However, Ferrari manipulated the race and it was not good for the sport, this race must be a 1 since it has left the sport in disgrace once again.

  47. Well done Ferrari, you have ruined a grand prix, the real winner here was Massa, and i hope the stewards will hand hime the victory he DESERVED, not a whinging cry baby, who spits his dummy out as soon as thing dont go his way

  48. 1/10. I tuned in to see a race, not an orchestrated procession.

  49. the-muffin-man
    25th July 2010, 15:40

    1/10

    Both Ferraris should be kicked out – but hey who’s in charge of the FIA? Oh yes the man responsible for all of Schui’s ‘overtaking’ moves!!!

    1. Why both of them? Massa didnt do anything wrong?

  50. I rated 8, I really enjoyed that race. There was a lot of battles, the Filming was done well, and there was a very very exciting start.

    Actually I didn’t, I voted 1.
    In 2002 we learnt that team orders where wrong. And they were made Illegal.
    This for me ruins the race, It leaves me, rather than the adrenaline I feel normally, with anger, bitterness, and a little sadness for Massa who I will say, drove and almighty race to keep the faster Alonso behind.

  51. I thought the race deserved a 7. I enjoyed most of the action and there was good movement. I rated the race, not the obvious cheating that stole what promised to be a great finish. Respect for Massa, shame for his team.
    Eddie Jordan said it all for me – you play by the rules, whatever they are. As for Ferrari protestations, I can’t believe that any sane fan could have listened to the team radio, observed the subdued lack of celebration and heard the drivers’ press conference without being 100% convinced that both Massa and the fans were robbed of his win. Ironically, Ferrari also robbed Alonso of the chance to prove he could have won it on his own.

  52. A farce. Ferrari bosses and the FIA (if they aren’t both the same thing) should be ashamed.

    No constructors points and give both Ferrari drivers the same points to clear up the mess.

  53. I gave it 4. As someone mentioned earlier, TO’s are not Ferrari’s invention and when McLaren or any other team use it, it strangely doesn’t create such controversy. Sorry, but it is disgraceful on anyone’s part, not only Ferrari. Otherwise, pretty dull race.

  54. I rated four ignoring the team orders bit. The race was very boring for me, middle field not enough going on and Webber, Hamilton, Button cruising to the flag just like a lot of cars did in Bahrain.

    Bring back refueling!! hah

  55. somehow Ferrari has now won the 2 worst races of this season – Bahrain and now Germany

    6/10 for me, but 1/10 for the team orders

    1. yeah. bring on budapest :D

  56. quit whinning mclaren fans if mclaren were in this position you would have said that button was slower!!!!!! just start believing that ferrari actually beat uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

    1. Get a life, i am a mclaran fan, but they did not drive well, unlike Massa, who should have won, not Alonso, he has lost the edge in my books, and is constatly out driven by his peers

  57. Not a very interesting race from my point of view. The start was pretty much the decisive scene from a sporting point of view. The only significant positions change at the front of the field was the swap of positions between the two Ferrari drivers, the circumstances of which will probably, sadly turn out to be the most interesting topic remembered from this race.

  58. Even someone with only one tenth of a single brain cell knows that it was team orders.
    But being Ferrari they will get away with it. I feel that it is no coincidence that FIA are the first three letters of Fiat.

  59. Rebecka Schnneider
    25th July 2010, 16:28

    The Ferrari Team is a disgrace for F1, and Felipe Massa is a shame for Brazil

    WE miss you Ayrton Senna! …so much!!!!!!

  60. Dreadful, easily the worst race of the year. Processional, no action and that Ferrari fiasco is a slap to the face for all the fans. Who the hell do Ferrari think they are deciding that Massa cannot fight for the championship but Alonso can? That is just spineless and repugnant, almost as much as the team principal denying it.

    What a waste of a couple of hours.

    1. James Bolton
      25th July 2010, 17:50

      Completely agree

  61. I FELL ASLEEP 3 TIMES!!!so really boring,I hgenerously gave it 4..

    However,I was awake to see the beginning which was good,and I also saw the Ferrari Team orders on poor Felipe ……….I felt so sorry for Felipe as he was driving really well and was going to win…

    Dear Felipe>”ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID AND NEVER THE BRIDE!!”

    The Ferrari team were so furious after Monaco and Valencia,displaying amazing histrionics, they were fully wound up, just like a coiled spring, with Alonso screaming the most..
    ……..and now today,what do they do when they have the 2 top places in the bag? They act out in public in such a shameful manner it was embarrasing to watch them squirming at the end,from the top to the bottom..

    By the way Michael Schumacher great start,and Nico too,you both did your best,well done.

  62. Well, you’ve done a man’s job, sir Massa. Know, the Brazilian people hate you, congrat!

  63. 6/10. The quality of the race was good, but just good. The streak of 9 great races is over.

  64. I gave 7, thought the race was quiet the whole way. Massa did well from the start, did have a feeling that vettel would attack Alonso giving massa a clear run to the first corner, great to see massa back in form after a year of his injury, hopefully he can now make it harder for alonso getting more “number 1” status.

    Driver of the race for me was Massa great start and should of won.

  65. People are saying “Team orders happen all the time”, but really this year, I can’t think of another opportunity for a team to use team orders. The main times when 2 team-mates have been against each other is McLaren in Turkey and Red Bull in Turkey, and both times there were obviously no team orders.

    1. Turkey between RBR were team orders, only Webber followed orders only insofar that he allowed a small chance for Vettel to get past, instead of letting him go through as the team wanted.
      That’s why Vettel said this move by Ferrari was not good, but it’s probably better than crashing with your team mate.

  66. Sheffield 1867
    25th July 2010, 18:01

    First time i have ever turned off the race before the end.
    An absolute disgrace, the last time i saw Alonso that uncomfortable was when he pretended not to know anything about the Nelson Piquet cheating episode.

    Well at least he has the lapdog team mate he craves, has Massa got no pride? Try asking Hamilton/Button/Vettel/Webber/Schumacher/Rosberg/Kubica to stand aside……. not in this life

    1. Schumacher has done it, 1999 when he was Irvines wingman.

    2. The only one we can be sure of there is actually Webber (see Turkey). And maybe Hamilton in 2007, although he might follow those orders now, under certain circumstances.

      Schumacher did it in 1999 and today he confirmed he would do it again if needed.

      Rosber, Kubica, Vettel and Button have not really been in this situation.

  67. 5 Good opening stint. Top ten mostly static after the pit stop but some good action at the back end. My rating does not include my opinion of the Ferrari manouver.

    Red Bull has already demonstrated much tension amongst team members, Ferrari created lots today and could be heading for trouble. Mclaren next???

    Depends on Button. If Jenson wants this championship he has to start beating his rivals starting with Hamilton. Excellent opportunity today on fresher tires. Jenson’s response, complete capitualtion. Self demotion to the #2 spot.

  68. Schweinsteiger and Steven are completely spot on. Totally agree with u guys. Button never attempted a sniff of a move on Hamilton. Now either he is THAT bad, or (more likely), or there were team orders flying around preventing Button to even consider a move on Hamilton.

  69. I said 6. I’m biased but I really was enjoying watching Mas and Alo trade times. I found it fascinating then it got dull, the switchgate drama but that didn’t help the racing, Ham and Vet were invisible for much of the day so they were dull and we didn’t see any action anywhere else.

    1. Gave it a 5 in the end. Qualli was excellent yesterday, the start was very good, actually until the pitstops.

      Then we had the Ferrari’s trading fastest laps before “switchgate”. After that Heikki not seeing Pedro and a try from Button on Hamilton in the last laps.

      Mediocre race with Ferrari turning back to 2000 – 2004 tactics bringing it down a little bit.
      But Kudos to Massa for his answers in the press conference. After Brazil 2008 another real heroic moment.

  70. 1. For what Ferrari has done. It is shame, third race on the road, when Alonso is in the middle of controversy. This gay is pathetic. And they are behaving like newcomers. With huge ego.

  71. spoilt by Ferrari cheating again they should be banned from scoring points until next season.

    1. TOTALLY SUPPORT

  72. MouseNightshirt
    25th July 2010, 18:39

    Bleurgh.

    My dad isn’t a F1 follower, but he was visiting today so watched the race with me.

    After the race, he says to me, “No point in following this sport son. It’s always rigged – it’s always on the news, one thing or other about this infernal sport.”

    This is exactly the reaction we should expect from lay-watchers and also the reason Ferrari needs a good slap, a DQ and a big fine. This behaviour alienates people.

    I voted 6 because the race itself had a few moments. 1 is a fair vote, but I’m voting on the race itself.

    1. I know exactly what you mean and agree with you. It’s a real shame and shouldn’t have happened.

  73. STRFerrari4Ever
    25th July 2010, 18:51

    I rated it a 6 considering everything but if we were to focus on what Ferrari did this is a 1/10. Not impressed at all!

  74. 1 of course, a race with no winner is not really a race imho.

  75. Charles Carroll
    25th July 2010, 20:01

    The politics were more exciting than the racing…and that is a travesty.

    A 3 for the early “action”. A -5 for the rest of the race.

  76. I voted 1 :/ Then looked at the results to see 727 agreed with me, it was good up to that point, i was looking forward to the prospects of a 3 way lead battle towards the end, but, the result has left F1 tainted for now… Depends what the World Motor Sport Council do next…

  77. A little off topic, but did anybody else notice how much of a fail bridgestone’s tire idea was. so much for hoping for another canada =\

  78. Ferrari is a company, their job is to win both the constructors and driver’s championships. The drivers are employees, their job is to do as they are told. If Red Bull was Ok with giving Vettel a newer wing (a decision that had direct influence on car performance), then why is this a big deal with Ferrari? The rule that there will be no team orders is dumb — the engineers can adjust certain engine characteristics from the pit — the rule can’t be enforced — all it would take is to turn down Massa’s revs…or give him older components…or ask him to save fuel during a certain part of the race. The end result is the same. Grow up. The whole sport is manipulated because it is a business — there are millions being made and lost — so the rules, technology, drama, is all invented to continue making the wild amounts of money…so enjoy the technology and the show, but don’t be naive about it.

    1. I’m don’t PAY to watch ‘business’, I’m paying to watch sport, which this wasn’t, the guy who can make it to the finish first wins, hey perhaps we should have just called it a day after quali on Saturday after all, Fred ‘was fastest all weekend’ so obviously deserved to be manipulated to the win.

      Or am I misunderstanding the sport and the obvious interpretation that you actually need to perform the best over the full race distance.

      I/we have been cheated. You / Ferrari / Tifosi calling anyone naive is insulting. Go conduct you’re business elsewhere but do not expect me to come pay to see it or buy your merchandise.

    2. So how long will this sport survive with all of these business decisions getting in the way? And why don’t I hear these kind of complaints about any other sport that has teams and players?

  79. Christopher Vissing
    25th July 2010, 21:21

    I don’t get it.. I think it was a great race to watch even though the alonso/masse incident was way out.. So wrong.. But looking away from that i think it was quiet a nice race.. I felt entertained.. It looks like it’s just me.. I really don’t get it.. It seems I’m the only who enjoy more than the action between number 1 and 2.. stupid

  80. Christopher Vissing
    25th July 2010, 21:22

    But I think Alonso would’ve win anyway.. But this way is just wrong..

  81. mate to be honest it was a fairly boring race even if Massa had won.

  82. This is the only sport where people would dare to defend race-fixing – I am appalled and think Ferrarri should be disqualified and banned for the rest of the season. I feel sorry for Massa, but he is as guilty as the others for condoning the fraud.

  83. It was more manipulated than a magazine cover. It was a team decision. “Fernando Alonso is faster than you. Can you confirm you understand?” And then saying sorry to Massa was the icing on the cake. This was in no way drivers’ decision, Felipe would not have merely handed his win over to Alonso. The way his body language was towards everything and everyone, especially to Alonso, told us how he felt about it. This very same day last year he had his accident, and this win could have been the motivation Massa needed. Ferrari took that for someone who would still complain if he was the only one left on the track!

    I agree with everything Eddie Jordan said on the case. It was unlawful and wrong.

  84. Finally a race that wasn’t decided by some stupid safety car which always favoured the same teams. Therefore I give it a 7/10.

    I understand you Britons like safety cars and lotteries, looking at the ratings, but this was all about real pace.

    1. yeah real pace . . until you can’t get past the slower car in front (a mix of too much downforce in these modern f1 cars and poor circuit design) this creates a boring stalemate where nobody can pass anyone, the best they can hope for is staying 0.5 sec behind them and even then you just destroy your tyres in the dirty air. . . its like all the lower formulas are real racing and F1 is just a computer technology race where the driver is doing nothing anymore. . the cars have to be stripped of their downforce to throw us back to the real racing at the older circuits.

  85. What a disgusting race. It reminded me of the early 2000’s with little to no passing, and Ferrari manipluating the race result. Worst race of the season.

  86. I voted 1.. this a bit boring race and even ridiculous with the ferrari team order.
    I think Alonso should say “the race is fixed” as like he said in Valencia.
    even if Alonso is faster than Massa, why he should give him the place? Racing is about defending your position to other driver and try to drive as fast as you can.
    This Team Order is making Ferrari looks so stupid.

  87. Face it, Brits… You would have rated the race a “very boring 1” even if Massa had finished ahead of Alonso in an “honest” Ferrari 1-2. Especially with the red cars untouchable this weekend and McLaren having to use a calendar to time their cars.

    1. As great as it is that this site is so popular, posts like this are a prime example if the drawbacks to popularity…

      1. I just made the valid point that no matter what Ferrari does, the British media and website posters such as yourself will find a way to make it into a negative. On the other hand, to these same sources it seems that McLaren can do no wrong… even when they clearly do on track. As an American, UK websites are just about the only source for F1 news and F1Fanatic is one of the best.

  88. It was about a 5 or 6, until the cheating. As soon as they swapped places I just felt all interest in the “race” leave me.

    Don’t understand anybody saying Alonso should get a penalty, at the end of the day, he didn’t actually do anything too bad (apart from whining.)

  89. I rated this race 5 just for the on track action but in reality this race doesn’t deserve any points at all, Keith if you can please add 0 which will mean worst case scenario.

  90. The huge number of ‘1s’ voted shows why people are generally unreliable. There have been hundreds of races over the years worse than this one in terms of action, overtaking, drama (which there was plenty of), and yet so many give very low numbers to the race simply because of one moment in it.

    And it also shows that people are generally stupid as well.

    “F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought were the best and worst races during a season. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.”

    “F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought were the best and worst races during a season. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.”

    “F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought were the best and worst races during a season. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.”

    Good God.

    1. oops, I voted 8 by mistake, meant to put 7.

      Thought there was an awesome start and first few laps, decent overtaking/fighting throughout, and a memorable moment towards the end (which I was pretty unhappy about but that’s irrelevant).

      So obviously a 1.

      1. are you sure you where not watching different race? “Overtaking/fighting throughout” if you ask the drivers i doubt that staring at the back of anothers cars rear wing for 2 hours counts as overtaking and fighting.

  91. f1 is rubbish now,drivers bitching,teams bitching, no overtaking,bring back the 70s fast,dangerous,that was enterainment not now follow the leader 0/10

  92. I rated the race as a 4 some racing in the beginning but after the pitstops boring as hell. And i am not amused by the teamorder Massa had to obey really sad.

    There were small skirmers but they were all way back in the field but almost no cover with images.

  93. The race was pretty dire anyway and then Ferrari went and made it even worse, wasn’t paying much attention after the switch, mainly cursing at the tv.

  94. Martin Hathaway
    26th July 2010, 9:54

    The race wasn’t that bad, but Ferrari insulted our intelligence. Massa got the drop on Vettel and Alonso and should have been allowed to win, especially just a year after his accident ~ this would have been a popular move for everyone rather than serving a self-seeking prima donna! Ferrari not only blatently used team orders, they have also lied about it and that is serious. We all know what happened to Hamilton & McLaren at “Liegate”. Ferrari should be hit where it really hurts, not with a comparatively small fine but with points in the Championship.

    1. Good call on fining them on points. I think they should just DQ Alonso and hand a deserved victory to Massa.

  95. For me the race lost some marks because of Massa being denied the win.

  96. The only positive in the Ferrari race is that it means that i correctly predicted the winner in the predictions championship. Other than that terrible race: 1. Best part of the race was the start. Please go back to the old Hockenheim Ring.

  97. Awful, just awful . . not because massa being denied the win but becuase it was clear that this track is worse than crap, Hockenheim has gone from white knuckle 200mph hardcore thrills and spills into another Bahrain type circuit, please dont tell me Tilke designed it. Melbourne and Interlagos for example i dont remember one bad race at any of these older tracks, i really hope we dont lose the few older tracks we have.

  98. I watched the race on BBC iplayer, it was boring as hell, plus the team orders just made it worse. Resurface the old hockenheim or just stick with the nurburgring on its own

  99. F1 is constantly losing my respect as a racing sport. I am not sure if it is strictly about the money but FERRARI has finally lost all of my admiration that I have had for them for the last 50 plus years. (70 years old this month) I have been annoyed about a lot of issues involving FERRARI, extra money under the table, BRIDGESTONE tires / tyres testing with FERRARI to Michael’s benefit, crying foul ever time another team has an innovative idea, etc. ad nausea……… Go Massa!! And Fernando really should be embarrassed, what a cry baby. Yes, I voted a 1.

  100. millions of fans from all over the world were cheated out of eighteen race laps yesterday. Totally disgusting team orders meant massa who probably would have held on for the win also lost out. Again shades of Austria 2002, a cost effective way of gaining, sorry STEALING valuable points
    A $100000 fine is a joke to Ferrari, they need to be black flagged to send out a message that this, Formula one, one of the last great and glamorous sports will not tolerate cheating on any level. if they leave it as just a fine, it will happen again and again.you will have a lot of disenchanted fans who after all are the reason by way of their support that these teams and drivers are to fund their life styles.

  101. Had Massa not let Alonso win it would have been an 8, as it stands I gave it a 1.

    Gutted !

  102. Voted 1: Disasterous.

    Small amount of proper racing with close duelling limited to the first lap. Starting when Vettel failed miserably off the line then tried baulking Alonso but gifted Massa the lead. Is this when Alonso started plotting?

    This Farce In Autosport risks losing support. Which is a shame because there are some great drivers, great cars and fantastic circuits that are being underutilised, because the governing body;

    1/ Creates rules that teams can pay their way out of breaking.
    – Ferrari probably spend £65k per season on coffee!

    2/ Created a scenario (no refuelling) so that the drivers can’t race at full pace for the duration.
    – Its rediculous to hear drivers being told repeatedly to turn the wick down.

    I also imagine Christian Horner wished he’d disregarded the rulebook instead of seeing Vettel driving into Webber?

    If Ferrari’s blatent disregard of the rules had occured in other sports like horse racing or golf, there would be team & personnel bans.

    As for the trackside ticket-buyers – there must be something illegal about the public being fleeced of proper fairness & competition?

  103. guys, i guess sutils’s and luizzi’s dull performance also affected a part of race entertainment…. ???
    right or wrong ?

  104. first the team, second the driver having more points!!!!!!!

  105. Yes this had to be the worst race so far in my opinion, Massa should have ignored the calls for him to give way. You have to perform and be competitive otherwise why race at all.

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