Writer Manish Pandey on his film “Senna”

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One of my favourite ‘Comment of the Day’ winners so far this year features in today’s round-up. Here it is:

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Gran Breta???a desata una feroz campa???a contra Alonso (Marca)

According to Spanish newspaper Marca “Great Britain has launched a fierce campaign against Alonso”. As Autosport’s Pablo Elizalde explained in a series of Tweets:

According to Marca, “Great Britain has unleashed a fierce campaign against Alonso”. But in its usual classy “journalism”, the report calls Mosley something like “Mr. whip”. But they still have the nerve to criticise Autosport and the BBC. It also says that a “mediocre Button” won the title thanks to Mosley allowing an illegal component in his car. Gotta love Marca’s standards. So to Marca, Great Britain’s attack on Alonso is an Autosport article they didn’t understand and some Mosley quotes reported by the BBC. This is Spain’s most read newspaper… Let’s be clear, though. There’s as many British newspapers who are anti-Alonso as there’s Spanish newspapers who are anti-Hamilton. But none of them should try to claim the moral high ground by criticising others who are doing the same as them…

Guess Marca didn’t spot Jackie Stewart telling this site an Alonso title would be “ever so slightly” diminished by what happened at Hockenheim.

Comment of the day

Manish Pandey, writer of the film “Senna”, responded to Robert’s thoughts on the film yesterday. Make sure you read his full comment.

The film is 101 minutes long and, as Robert mentioned, we could not have covered every race, pole position or win of Ayrton’s life.

We wanted to concentrate on that period of his life when he really went on a journey – this is the idiom of movies – and so FF1600, FF2000 and F3 were sacrificed, despite the great battles with Martin Brundle, Calvin Fish etc.

Similarly, 1991 was another year of intense three-way rivalry but the key points for Ayrton’s character came with an awareness of his place in the pantheon of F1, his increasing maturity and his understanding that he was as vulnerable to accidents as any other driver. We cover this rather than whether the Williams-Renault was better aerodynamically than Honda’s development of their engine.
Manish Pandey

From the forum

Damonsmedley asks Whatever happened to…

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Jon Finn!

On this day in F1

And a happy birthday to Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi who is 22 today!

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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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138 comments on “Writer Manish Pandey on his film “Senna””

  1. I’ll try to translate all the article and post it in the forum.

    All I can say about the spanish media, coming from 2007 (with LH-FA rivalry) till today, is that they often make remarks than even Alonso rubbishes. The way they handle the Alonso-mania is not that good.

    I remember those days in 2007, I could read an article about something in spanish or english and they were so different that it almost hurt. I know they love Alonso, and it’s good they do, because it’s their only successful F1 driver, and the one that did what Fittipaldi did to the Brazilians, but they take things what out of line sometimes.

    The “Fierce Campaign” against Alonso is just one or two quotes about this year’s title, because of those 7 points he got in Hockeheim courtesy of Massa.

    Like it or not, one can see their point. Don’t think that’s a “fierce campaign” against anyone.

    1. Are we, the people who visit this blog and others serious ones, talking about a Newspaper that is everything you think but professional?

      Marca is under journalism and in F1 is just rubbish… as many others newspaper in Europe…

      I’m pretty sure the problem they had was, looking at the number of comments insulting each other were reduced considerably, so they are trying to revitalize the web with something provocative.

      1. To be fair the UK journalists (the papers) HAVE launched an attack on Vettel.

        Then it was Vettel’s turn. As Alonso roared up on his rear nine laps from the finish in fading light, the German had nothing left.
        The man touted as the “new Schumacher” could only resort to whimpering about the fading light on the team radio in the hope, presumably, that race director Charlie Whiting would call a halt early. He did not.
        With the unfinished Mokpo track a lake, his tyres shot and the light gone, mighty Spaniard Alonso sailed on like a one-man Armada.

        That is from the Daily Mirror. Sounds more like an attack against Vettel and they seem to be praising Alonso.

        1. Oh come on. Vettel deserves to be made fun of for that lame attempt to end the race.

          1. To be fair, he had a mildly tinted visor on so he probably couldn’t see. His fault for not changing it during the red flag, but just saying I think the complaints were geniuine.

          2. Nice one Patrickl, fully agree, it was a fun instance, with McLaren having Lewis state, that the view was still OK shortly afterwards.

        2. It’s shame us Britons have to be represented through tabloid papers like the Sun, Star, Mirror etc on matters like this. People must think we’re really united in hate for certain drivers but it isn’t the case at all.

          1. As I have said on previous occasions,the press is totally biased against any driver unless they happen to be GB drivers.
            Look at the press antics on Michael Schumacher for a start.They wanted him lynches at one stage this year.
            Now it Alonsos turn.

            PATHETIC LOT OF BRITISH GUTTER PRESS!!

            Oh and nearly forgot I am British :(

          2. Schumacher was rightly panned for what he did at the Hungaroring – and rightly defended over his Monte-Carlo penalty.

          3. I can’t stand the rags in the UK. IMO, they’re the filth that bring, and keep the country’s morale low. They constantly slag off people to sell papers. Negative Negative Negative. I’m sure there are positive stories in the papers, I just cant see the wood for the trees. Britain is a much more pessimistic society for the sake of it.

            Rant over. But a lot more left in the tank.

    2. Im not spanish but i have to say that both spanish and British media are very bias mainly because of the fanatism both countrys have about their drivers but even this year im getting very angry with british media only a true spectator can read some news without being influenced

      1. Keith theres no need for justifications your website has some misleading titles and maybe some fanatism but its very little and understandable in comparison with some press news

        1. and wht not show on the film the bad races that Senna did he was a great driver but not the best he was several times beaten by his team mates or other less powerfull cars you are only remebering the legend not the actual facts by the way 1988 capelli move on senna was great

  2. Wow! I share a birthday with Buemi!

    1. Happy Birthday! Many happy returns also to Jon Finn and Sebastien Buemi!

      1. Happy birthday all of u:)

        1. Happy Birthday to all :)

      2. Happy birthday to all of you from me as well!

    2. Happy days for you.:)

  3. Oh, I find it exceptionally rich of the Spanish press to accuse the British of slander. They’re the single most biased source of “information” in the Formula 1 world. Surely they recognise that Alonso was a key player in the two biggest scandals to rock the Formula 1 world and has been the centre of a team orders controversy this year. It seems Spain have developed an “It’s not a crime if we’re the ones committing it” mentality. Maybe Alonso and Ferrari were a match made in heaven after all. I’m disgusted that these hypocrites call themselves journalists.

    1. Sure, it was petty on the part of the Spanish press, but don’t get on your high horse. The British aren’t exactly saints, just witness all the illogical and bitter remarks against Alonso on this site. If teams are going to fight for the world championship then they have the right to give themselves the best chance to do so. If some teams feel superior by shooting themselves in the foot, that’s their business. Alonso’s possible title would not be devalued. If you think it is, then you better devalue all the other titles that have been won with even the slightest help of team orders. That means Scheckter, Hakkinen, Raikkonen, Schumacher, Fangio, and probably lots of others none of us know about.

      There is no crime here. There are merely teams that are serious about winning, teams that would rather say “we’re equal” than “we’re champions,” and fans that don’t get it.

      1. Nice last point that sums it up beautifully

        There are merely teams that are serious about winning, teams that would rather say “we’re equal” than “we’re champions,” and fans that don’t get it.

        1. I’m not talking about the fans or the teams. I’m talking about journalists who keep trying to push agenda.

      2. If teams are going to fight for the world championship then they have the right to give themselves the best chance to do so. If some teams feel superior by shooting themselves in the foot, that’s their business.

        That’s true, but the Spanish press have no right to call blue murder over the perceived injustice done to them by the British press when they know full well that they’d be doing exactly the same thing if the situation were reversed. The article in question may acknowledge that some Spanish publications do this, but they’re implying that it’s perfectly okay for Alonso to do whatever he wants and it is acceptable, but if the British do it, it’s a scandal. By pointing out the mistakes of others (and by others I mean the rest of the Spanish press), they’re just making themselves out to be bigger hypocrites.

        1. The problem is that the Spanish press have long believed that they can influence things like driver line-ups. Back when Alonso was rumoured to be joining Ferrari, they were really pushing for Maranello to sign him, as if they had a say in the matter.

          1. PM you’re very wrong in saying that the Spanish are worse than the British. I’d go as far to say the British are worse. Their just less obvious about it.

            As a South Africa I have to rely on the English media in order to keep myself up to date on whats happening in F1 (I can read Spanish articles, but its harder). I’m often disgusted by the things said by the big guys like BBC in regards to Alonso. On top of that, BBC have Eddy Jordan, someone who has admitted to disliking Alonso and takes every opportunity to bash him. I feel sick each time I see that dirty mans face on TV.

            Ever heard the BBC commentators highlight what Alonso is good at? What makes him so good? According to them, the only reason he is good is because he has won two WDC. Whereas when they speak about button, its all about how smooth he is and how well he preserves his tires. When they speak about lewis, they highlight how much talent and raw pace he has, and that he is the best in the rain. If he crashes, its not because of his own bad judgement, its because he was going so fast and pushing the car beyond its limits. All of this adds up into a very bias experience, notable by everyone who does not support those two English drivers.

            When the English talk about either Button or Lewis, they try their utmost hardest to make them into heroes who have unlimited talent. When the Spanish do the same for Fernando, they are called bias and liers.

            The Spanish news paper simply spoke up, highlighting and informing their readers that the British media’s opinions are corrupt. Sort of like what this site is trying to do, but against the Spanish.

            I’d also like everyone who does not know Prisoner Monkey to take note that he is VERY anti-Ferrari anti-Alonso. Dont take what he says too seriously.

          2. When the English talk about either Button or Lewis, they try their utmost hardest to make them into heroes who have unlimited talent. When the Spanish do the same for Fernando, they are called bias and liers.

            Rubbish. Alonso is clearly an excellent driver and I’ve said so many times.

          3. When the English talk about either Button or Lewis, they try their utmost hardest to make them into heroes who have unlimited talent.

            You clearly don’t actually read the British press at all then.

            Despite being the third biggest sport in the world, F1 barely registers in the British mainstream media. They care far more about who Wayne Rooney is sleeping with.

            But when F1 is mentioned, it’s in a very populist manner. When Button wins, he’s brilliant. But for several months of last year the press could do nothing but criticise Button’s performance. When Hamilton won the world championship, everyone was quick to claim him as their own; when the lying scandal broke, they were even quicker to disown him. Ironically in a few short months Button went from being the potential champion that Hamilton could never be, tainted as he was by scandal, to being an over-rated bottler who only did it because of the car.

            Of the true F1 journalism in this country, the likes of this site, James Allen, etc. the vast majority give praise and criticism where they’re due no matter whom it is. I wouldn’t dream of saying the Spanish mainstream is indicative of the true state of Spanish F1 journalism, just as the Daily Mirror’s ridiculous flip-flopping according to events isn’t representative of proper journalism in this country. But I would like to know how many Spanish media criticised Alonso for the scandals and drops in form he’s been involved in. I don’t read the Spanish versions of f1fanatic or James Allen, but I can bet the mainstream blamed Hamilton, McLaren, the stewards etc. more often than not. Our mainstream journalism is pathetic, but at least consistently so.

          4. From a person who is not from GB or Spain, I must say that I agreed with the majority of Steves comments.

            If you were to ask international fans that watch the BBC broadcast to list whats wrong with it, it would go something like that.

          5. I’m a fan of both Alonso and Hamilton, I’m not British, but I do watch F1 on the BBC.

            I have never felt that the BBC unfairly critizes Alonso. Or overly hyped Hamilton. It’s more Vettel and Button who get overhyped a lot.

            Especially Legard is quite annoying in his praise of Button’s supposedly smooth driving and excellent tyre handling. When again and again it’s actually Button who ruins his tyres most.

            I think they are right that the WMSC messed up the Hockenheim case though. The WMSC should have handed out the suggested 5 second time penalty to Alonso. That would have been the end of the matter.

          6. well summarized steve.

          7. I am Canadian and like Steve I have to rely on the British media to keep abreast on the F1 news.
            I couldn’t have said it better myself about the sanctimonious commentaries about Alonso and Ferrari from BBC and others.
            Name calling such as “Cheat” (Eddie Jordan), “Thieves” ( Daily Telegraph), “Not worthy” (BBC again) etc.. were not appropriate when team orders were given as recently as Monza by the RBR ( remember the engine problem that just disappeared after Webber passed Vettel??) or Lewis when passed Kovalainnen in an obviously “let him pass” in a rainy JP grand prix?
            So, please lets keep the “fair go” applied to everyone, is that what the aglo-saxon way of seeing things is all about and we all admire?

        2. Even though he was part of the teams during those incidents, he was the victim and not the criminal in all of it. Its not like he could have prevented any of it from happening.

          1. That’s a laugh. Alonso knew McLaren had the information and didn’t feel at all compelled to blow the whistle until he could use it as leverage against Ron Dennis to get him to make him the #1 driver.

          2. Both drivers knew. Alonso was not the only one. We dont even know if the email was a hoax or not. Remember Dennis counted Alonso as the enemy, and so he easily said many bad things about him.

          3. Oh come on, “the e-mails may be a hoax”? What a poor defence, really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Alonso himself has never said the e-mails were fake nor contradicted Dennis’ version of events. Bit suspicious for an innocent man, isn’t it?

          4. Alonso was clearly involved, deeply, in Spygate and only the fact that he gave evidence to the FIA stopped him from being punished for it. That immunity was extended to de la Rosa for the same reason, and to Hamilton for reasons that were not entirely clear (no evidence was produced to implicate him in the offences, but he didn’t volunteer any information to the FIA either, as far as we know).

            As for Crashgate, the FIA investigated and found no evidence that Alonso was involved. If anyone has any evidence to the contrary, I’d be delighted if they presented it. Otherwise any comments suggesting his involvement are tantamount to libel and should probably be retracted.

          5. Even though he was part of the teams during those incidents, he was the victim and not the criminal in all of it.

            I can’t take this seriously.

      3. Sideshow, when Hakkinen and co. won their titles, team orders were legal…

      4. Don’t forget to include the BBC alongside the gutter press,they are shameless in their attacks on MSC,perhaps the worse of all.
        Eddie Jordan can’t make his mind up from one week to the next.

        I would sack Schumacher,he is finished” He must end NOW!!
        Next time “wasn’t Schumacher good” look at him carve through the backmarkers to gain 10 places.

        1. BBC? Gutter press? That’s laughable. Michael has been rightly criticised for a lot of his performances this year, they just haven’t been up to the standard of a 7 time world champion. I actually find that the beeb have been more fair to Schuey than a lot of other media outlets.

          I take your point about Eddie Jordan, but that’s just the sort of thing he does, to brand the BBC “gutter press” on the opinions of one man is just silly.

          Just thought that I’d add at the end that I like Schumacher, and hope he does better next year.

          1. The BBC employ Eddy Jordan, and so anything he says is directly related to them.

      5. I think we can stand up as individuals, and fans, that ‘journalists’ love to jump up and down and scream blue murder. Their job depends on people being sparked up by controversy, things to get excited and upset by. Journalists in all forms of media ‘disgust’ me, as they pay their bills by trying to ‘disgust’ me.

        However, I must qualify that, by saying some journalists obviously do strive to uphold dignity and respect of their subjects and strive for integrity. Keith does an excellent job here. Personally, John Simpson (not F1 but World Affairs) is my favourite.

        The rest are just a blight.

    2. Do you speak spanish, prisioner, to have your own opinion about Spanish press?

  4. Could we have a pole of “Those in the Uk who like Alonso”

    1. Results would be pretty consistent with “those outside of the UK who like Hamilton”.

  5. This a translation of the article…

    Britain unleashed a fierce campaign against Alonso

    They have not let up even a minute since I left Korea Alonso 11 points ahead of Mark Webber. The British media, who joined former pilots and former leaders, they want to question the morality of the likely world title in Spanish. They do a chant absurd, that of the seven points that Fernando did in Germany when Felipe Massa was left to overtake.

    But there’s more, because the Autosport magazine accuses Ferrari of cheating have been made in the last race in Korea. According to one of its editors, Felipe Massa, being warned of the wall, have slowed the pace of those behind, as Button and Schumacher, to keep ahead of Fernando when he suffered the problem of the nut in the pits.

    Although this had been, which is very doubtful, because it all happened in seconds and radio talks not collected-it is nothing different from the 20 laps with Button tried to stop the two Red Bull and Alonso in the Great Prix. McLaren Jenson sacrificed with hard rubber from making a foolish strategy, although he shot backfired, as Hamilton broke third gear mid-career and it was impossible to reach.

    That and no other has been the subject of the two most blatant cheating this year. The first qualification of Canada without enough gas to get to the pits, which gave him the pole and the win on Sunday. Another, bypassing a safety car. Although it was enacted, it was so late that it had no practical effect.

    To make matters worse, there comes also the former president Max Mosley, aka the whips. Mosley was yesterday so wide at the BBC saying: “The bonus points won by overtaking Alonso Massa following team orders, he should have subtracted. That is the minimum. Because if you earn less than those who managed seven points unlawfully in Hockenheim, it would devalue the tournament. But that’s my point of view. ”

    In this newly fallen from the cherry should be reminded that the FIA judge and ruled the case, finding nothing punishable in the classification of the pilots. One wonders why they did not say the same when in 2008 Heikki Kovalainen was missed in more than five times in favor of Hamilton, the championship final.
    The only title that is remembered is illegitimate that led to Mosley in 2009, when he allowed an illegal piece as the double diffuser, resulting in a mediocre Button won the championship.

    1. darn, i’ve just done it too…!

    2. The spaniards just cannot stand Hamilton can they?
      Its incredible the vitriol and contempt most of their media have for him, any monkey with no brains could observe the events of 2007 and see that it was Alonso, not Hamilton, who made the partnership suffer.

      1. As fun as bashing the Spanish press is… I can’t see it… Wouldn’t it have been a joint effort?

      2. I do think the view you mention of Hamilton is not limited to Spain.

        Personally, don’t mind him, but a lot of people can’t stand the guy – even those who don’t follow the sport regularly. It doesn’t come down to him as a person or any event in the past, but more by his image and how is reported by the British media. Given Great Britains population, you’re not an amazing sporting nation so when someone of potential for victory comes about the media are obsessed with that person which results in over the top, overhyped reporting and that is the way Lewis has had it for the last few years. Tim Henman got it, and so is Andy Murray currently.

        Put it this way, not as many people would hate James Allen if Lewis Hamilton never existed.

        1. I dont think its as widespread as you say. I think ferrari fans and probably spanish F1 fans, make up the vast majority of his ‘haters’.
          Considering that Ferrari has a sizeable fanbase within the sport, its easy to think that Hamilton hate is widespread.
          Also, I think his race has something to do with it, a chunk of Formula 1 fans do not like when change happens within the sport…I mean look what happened to when Tiger blew up big here.
          I ask you, would some of the hate be as bad if he was a blonde Finn?
          A lot of factors do contribute to the dislike fans have of him.

          1. It doesn’t come down to colour, team, him as a person or events from the past.

            I think a better question would be would there be as many anti Lewis Hamilton people out there if he was the same guy as is now, but not from Great Britain? I hate to break it to you but the answer is probably not.

            Many British sports stars have been made out to be gods gift by the British sports media and the outside world usually grows very tired of it, very quickly.

          2. I ask you, would some of the hate be as bad if he was a blonde Finn?

            You can never be sure about 100% of the people, but I’d say that >99% of the hatred has nothing to do with colour whatsoever. And very little of it has to do with nationality either. Getting away with stuff that would get anyone else blackflagged has a whole lot more to do with it.

        2. The James Allen thing was rather more to do with his unabashed Button-love (which was probably more a reflection on ITV’s editorial policy than anything to do with James himself, but mud sticks). The “Stop the C**k” campaign, for example, was well underway before Hamilton turned a wheel in an F1 car.

      3. …any monkey with no brains could observe the events of 2007 and see that it was Alonso, not Hamilton, who made the partnership suffer.

        I wholly agree. That’s exactly what brainless monkeys say. Discerning people differ, though.

        1. Actually I think a bit more blame was with Alonso, but Hamilton and his father as well as the way Dennis maneged the thing badly were all just as big factors in how it panned out.

    3. I love the way they’re saying that the running out of fuel in canada was the biggest piece of cheating this year! It wasn’t against the rules so they were allowed to do it!
      Can’t argue with the safety car incident, but they wouldn’t be making a big deal out of it if he didn’t have alonso behind him I’m sure!

      1. Regardless of where ALO was, that was the most blatant omission of a black flag in F1 history.

        1. Yea you clearly have something against Lewis. Black flags? Are you kidding me??

          1. No kidding. Overtaking a SC is a extremely serious offense. And Lewis knows about it, he got a black flag exactly for that reason in GP2.

            Really Lewis tried to get ahead of the SC just before it crossed the line, but instead he was a bit too late.

            And more than against Lewis, I do have something against the favouritism he always gets. Remenber the Nurburgring ’07 crane incident? (just an example).

          2. Actually I don’t think the problem was that he was trying to get in front of it, he had plenty of time for that. I think the problem was that he tried to hold up alonso BEFORE getting in front of it (as I recall he slowed down a lot before going passed). Its entirely possible that he wasn’t sure if he was allowed passed as it was leaving so asked the team and they were just a little too slow to respond. Whether it was deliberate or not, I could certainly understand Alonsos annoyance.

          3. Yep, Skett, that’s pretty clear in the cenital video.

            HAM slows down trying to pass the SC in the very last moment so that ALO would get stuck behind. That would have been legal, though not quite sportsmanlike if you ask me. Anyway he got it wrong and overtook the SC a bit beyond the line. It made the difference between “not cricket” and a extremely serious offence.

    4. It’s amazing seeing this after reading Martin Brundles article in The Sunday Times this morning praising what he calls “Fernando Alonsos sensational performance in Korea”.

    5. “One wonders why they did not say the same when in 2008 Heikki Kovalainen was missed in more than five times in favor of Hamilton”

      *yawn*

  6. And here is the Autosport passage in question:

    Autosport Oct 28 2010
    Korean GP Report
    Mark Hughes

    Missing the opportune lap to pit wasn’t as costly for the two leaders as it might have been, for only on the last part of their in-laps were they slowed down to safety car speeds. Vettel’s stop was routine and he got out still leading, but for Alonso things were a little scrappier. He locked up on the treacherously slippery concrete of the pit apron, arriving there sideways and a metre or so past his marks. The crew had to pull themselves up to him and the right front-wheel man lost a wheelnut; vital seconds were lost as he located a replacement. It was all enough to allow Hamilton past into second, but it could have been worse for Ferrari. As the problems unfolded the team was quick-thinking enough to use Massa to back up the queue out on track – thereby preventing more cars than just Hamilton’s from taking advantage. This cost Massa a place, but it was a great piece of reactive teamwork on a high-stress split-second.

    Hughes gives Ferrari a left-handed compliment implying that Ferrari ordered Massa to slow the field behind the safety car after Alonso’s pit stop was botched.

    1. It’s not clear from the lap times whether this is true or not, I haven’t seen anything from Ferrari admitting they did it and Mercedes haven’t responded to my enquiries on it yet (Schumacher was the car behind Massa). So I’ve not made my mind up on it yet.

      But if it were true it’s a pretty good example of what I’ve been saying since the WMSC verdict:

      McLaren and Red Bull need to bow to the inevitable and back one driver

      1. Fernando Alonso himself admitted that was his error. Autosport was right.

      2. I was talking about Alonso pit stop not about conspiracy theories about Massa and team orders.

        1. After rewatching the overhead view of Alonso’s stop, Hughes was wrong about it. Alonso stopped with his car straight and about a tire diameter before his marks, not “sideways and a metre or so past his marks”, the crew did not have “to pull themselves up to him”. In the last few feet he did twitch the front wheels left before straightening them at stop which caused the right front man to be slow removing the old tire and then afterwards losing the wheelnut.

          1. Yer I think Hughes was about a metre off the mark with his account of the pit stop. Alonso did slide on the way in and was marginally to the right of where he should have been but he exaggerated the error.

      3. I’ve rewatched laps 30-35 and it appears there’s nothing in Hughes’ Team Order speculation. At the last onscreen timing before the SC, Massa was 5.789 behind Hamilton. Re-entering the track after their stops he was still about 6 seconds behind Hamilton with a stop that was 0.125 slower than Hamilton’s. They get waved past the safety car just after passing Buemi’s stopped car in turn 3. For the remainder of that lap they would have to drive to the delta times displayed on their dash. Alonso comes out of the pits about 2 seconds after Hamilton passes, still with a 4 second margin over Massa, and then they all bunch up after catching up to the SC.

        1. Sorry, that should have been 5.879 behind Hamilton.

      4. The question isn’t whether Schumacher was delayed – he wasn’t.He was too far back. It’s whether Massa prevented HIMSELF from passing Alonso.

        1. Perhaps, I’m still not convinced he would have made it there in time. And if he had, he certainly would have let Alonso past.

  7. Same can be said about alonso haters. Majority of them must be british and mclaren fans.no one can 100% non-biased if you follow a driver or a team.Its just human nature. Its just where your support lies.

  8. I don’t know what you guys expect. Sports journalism is in a sorry state as it is, and if you have a daily newspaper that’s filled with just sport it won’t make things better. I mean they have to fill the thing every day and, under the week there’s not really much happening in the world of sports..
    I really doubt La Gazetta dello Sport is any better, I know “Sport Bild” is just as terrible (and that’s not even daily) and the same is true for any, British or not, tabloid sport section.

    1. And I really, really doubt anyone is “pushing an agenda” there. They just print what sells best regardless of how true it is.

    2. I agree. Marca, As, Sport Bild, La Gazzetta dello Sport, all the crappy English tabloids (IMO those are the worst): They are all terribly biased. The only paper that is more or less objective is l’Equipe (french paper).

  9. I think Marca is doing to Hamilton what Planet-F1 has been doing to Alonso for years. And it all boils down to what Johnny86 said above me. It is just human nature to support sportsmen of his country first. Ergo, a Spanish website hates Hamilton, a British website hates Alonso.

    1. a British website hates Alonso.

      Feel obliged to step in at this point and say I don’t hate Fernando Alonso – or any of the other drivers!

      1. And that is why I read F1Fanatic and not Planet-F1. But I do read Andrew Davies’s articles sometimes for a laugh. His feeble attempts at defending Button after Korean GP or his boot-licking of Button after Monza GP is truly hilarious. If one is really curious, one could try reading into P-F1’s views on Webber to understand their sub-standard journalism. Just look at the number of pro-Webber articles post Turkey, and since Singapore, they have been vilifying him at the slightest offense.

        1. Yea agreed. I think a lot of people come to this site as you focus on the facts Keith, and don’t base your journalism on the crap like the abovementioned link.

          1. Yep. Problem is there will always be people who don’t like the facts.

      2. I don’t hate any of these drivers. I have respect even for the likes of Yamamoto to drive these cars around as fast as they do.

        Although some of them can be very annoying at times with stupid remarks and gestures. But when every single move they make is watched, it is hard not to say any stupid things at all.

    2. But most of the british dislike for Alonso hasn’t come from his nationality, its come from 2007 when he kicked up a stink about not getting preferential treatment. Admittedly most brits probably wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been with a british teammate though. Its like the british dislike for Schumacher than appeared after 1994, though people have started to warm to him again this year (that could be partly because he actually agrees to interviews now though!).

      Basically what I’m saying is that while I agree that people will support their countrymen, I don’t feel its human nature to hate people from certain countries. Thats a personal matter. I don’t particularly like Alonso (though I far from hate the man), but thats because I don’t like him as a person, not because he’s spanish.

      1. Thats exactly what it is I think, one must remember to, that the Brits do not like ‘unsporting’ conduct…and never have, throughout their history.
        Very old world in that respect.

  10. Its been 36 hrs now, please don’t bother Keith, no doubt you have been attending another celebrity party, you have totally forgotten about the people that made you who you are

    Karma is a bitch and hopefully you will get whats coming to you and I will laugh when it happens :)

    If you don’t have the good manners to give the name of a site designer then you are scum in my book

    Good luck sharing cocktails with the rich and famous while at tehe same time treating like **** the people that made your site famous

    **** you

    1. The site receives thousands of comments every day. Add to that the emails, Tweets, Facebook messages and everything else and it’s clear that if I only spent my time replying to direct messages from people the site would never get written and I wouldn’t be able to earn money to feed, shelter and clothe myself.

      I have to prioritise what I do. That means some things don’t get done and it means some things don’t get done as quickly as I’d like. Particularly on a weekend.

      Of course I now wouldn’t dare risk inflicting your infantile bile-ridden nonsense on a supplier I may wish to work with again in future. You won’t be receiving a reply.

      1. Keith Collantine 1 – Mark Thompson 0

    2. … Now if that isn’t out of line, I really don’t know what is! :D

      1. Wonder what it was all about lol

        1. CarsVsChildren
          31st October 2010, 11:29

          Well said Keith. Some people are born muppets.

          Can you please nominate yourself as comment of the day for this one.

          The ex-customer service officer in me loves it!

    3. I’d also like to add that us readers of the blog didn’t make this site what it is. That is completely down to Keith’s fantastic work, we are all here because he writes such excellent articles.

      So get down off you high horse mike because you have no input on where Keith is or what he does, you didn’t make f1fanatic the awesome site it is.

      From personal experience, I’ve had a reply to every e-mail I’ve sent Keith and yes it does take him a while sometimes but he always replies where a reply is due.

      Keith isn’t a celebrity and doesn’t attend celebrity parties, he is the biggest fanatical follower of F1 I’ve ever seen and he dedicates pretty much his life to this blog! I’m pretty sure he even timed his wedding for during the mid-season break, and still made sure he had somebody capable to run the site! I had the pleasure of meeting him once and you couldn’t meet a nicer guy! I really feel that he doesn’t need kretins like you around anyway!

      Have to say that you gave a 5 star response there keith!

    4. Karma is a bitch

      And so are you! :D

    5. Mark,I run a legitimate tax registered online business,in fact it is the livelihood of my family..
      It can be extremely hard work because of the Internet competition,but if you don’t work hard,often into the night,the larder stays bare and bills do not get paid.

      Somedays you just have to have a break from it,it is truly gruelling.

      If I answered every mail as I should want to (given the time) I would have no life to call my own..
      Genuine customers are usually polite enough to be patient for a couple of days.
      Please be understanding,no one is trying to ignore you.

    6. What a shame. I’m fairly sure Keith isn’t rich, or famous as Mark Thompson ( Who uses their full name when on a verbal bender? ) would like to make out. I’m pretty sure he’s just an average guy who’s just about managed to create a job for himself where there wasn’t one before. He’s only just gone full-time on this site, where for 4 years he had to do it in his spare time, with a normal job taking up his normal hours.

      As for famous? Well he’s known in these circles cos he’s taken the effort. But I’m not sure people are falling over other people to get autographs, or a kiss for their baby.

      You clearly haven’t worked your backside off for anything out of the mould yourself, otherwise you’d appreciate, and respect the effort and hard labour, not to mention endurance to make something like this site work.

      I actually pity ‘Mark Thompson’, for being so ignorant. Another symtom of todays negative media atmosphere in my mind. Where is easy to jump on a computer, and in complete anonymity (Except for those who type their full name of course) troll and slag of people they’ve never met, or bothered to try and understand.

      Next time you troll about on here, why don’t you take a video of your speech and attach your address to it. A bit of accountability for your remarks, may affect your tone somewhat.

      Yours truly,

      Hare,
      Co. Irony,
      United Kingdom of Love and Kindness,
      The Internet,
      Earth.

      1. If his name is Mark Thompson, he shares the same name as the AFL coach for Geelong

  11. I’m British and have always supported British drivers but I can’t stand Hamilton. I’m not going to deny he’s a great driver but hes had his career handed him on a plate and then moans and blames the team that gave him his career. and to those who think controversy follows alonso think when that first started ……… 2007, when lewis came along, and then heikki moving over for him many a time in 08 and the lying in 09 plus his constant moaning at the team that they produced a duff car. Add Canada this year, and that adds up to more controversy than Alonso I bet. And no I’m not a big Alonso or Ferrari fan either.

    1. In 2007 it was Alonso against Lewis. The english and spanish media ate it up. Obviously the English media made Lewis look like a god, while they made Alonso look like the villain. The british are very selective as to what they report.

      Keith, before you jump at this comment to say you are not bias, let me mention that you are not bias. Although you are British, I don’t count this site as a British site. I see it more as an international site.

      1. Thing is, the British media then just as fast dropped and kicked Lewis after “liegate”, then hyped Jenson after the start of 2009, then rubbished Jenson for not winning sooner, then talked Jenson up again for winning in Australia, then rubbished him for not staying ahead, …

        You see a trend here? Yes, newspapers, especially tabloids live from BIG stories about new heroes or heroes coming down. Or fights between them.

    2. totally agree with what u said mate…people tend to forget these things….

    3. Whilst what you said is true, it wouldn’t surprise me if briatore had managed to cover up any issues before 2007 (or possibly stopped them happening in the first place).
      I may not be a fan of the flav but he is a media master!

    4. Everything you said could not be more wrong. ‘Career handed to him on a plate?’ What a joke.

    5. The only controversies against Hamilton that are even slightly valid are Liegate and maybe Hockenheim 08. So you’ve lost your “bet”, since Alonso has still had more (and bigger) controversies in the same timeframe.

      And although he was skillful/fortunate enough to have Mclren backing from a young age, he has still had to work as hard as everyone else to get onto the F1 grid, win the GP2 and F1 titles and appear to be one of the best drivers around.

  12. It’s funny trying to say that Button only won because of an illegal component. Hello mass dampers in 2005/2006!

    1. As Irvine once said that everyone is cheating here. Winner is the one who cheats in the best style- no one notices that he cheats… sth like that

    2. To be fair the mass dampers never should have been banned

      1. And they were banned after the fact.

  13. Btw keith or any one who knows, how do you earn money from running a site? Who pays? Is it dependent on traffic? Is it run by sponsers? Do you get paid by the FOM or FIA or Bernie?? Would be glad if someone answers it in detail with all the pros and cons.

    1. Advertising (various forms though of course no paid editorial content) and donations (https://www.racefans.net/donate/).

      Do you get paid by the FOM or FIA or Bernie?

      That gave me a chuckle! If they were paying me I think they’d expect me to be a bit more complimentary about them!

      1. what about your itv guest articles?

        1. Ah yes, those too.

      2. Advertising from good companies pay half of my bills now which helps us.
        BUT please understand all you who do not make their living on the internet,before Advertisers beat a path to your door,you have to have an established website(many years)with nearly 100% uptime + many other things which I will not go into here.

  14. I live in india and from what i can see from here ,the British media of the sport section are quite similar in their treatment to their sportstars to the Indian media’s treatment to the Cricket stars. When they do good they are praised like kings but if they fail they get very harsh critisism. They put a lot of pressure on their stars but also give them worldwide fame.

  15. Would love to read an article about how the technical rule changes next year would change the complexion of the cars and what we can expect, loopholes, who would be strong who would be not, predictions etc(maybe it’ll come up after the end of this season)…and also an article about past technical innovations that revolutionised the sport and motorsport. Like a top 10 series that Mr Ned Flanders usually does.

    1. Well write it yourself then. Maybe you can get the Bernie to sponsor your website.

  16. I fear you’ve started quite a storm Keith!

    It’s an important issue though. I read comments on this site that all too often moan about British bias or say that you’re an Alonso hater or some such other rubbish. Hopefully by opening the debate up we can show that for our part at least, most of our serious F1 journalism is very impartial and deals with the facts that they are.

    People who think like Marca may point to articles in the Sun, PlanetF1, personal opinion pieces in Autosport as “evidence”. Well, guess what. We think they’re rubbish too. You will not find a single regular user on here who holds his opinions because of something written in the Daily Star.

    You don’t see us here turning anti-British articles in the foreign media into conspiracy theories, because we see it for what it actually is: populist tripe. We don’t the assume every French person hates Hamilton because L’Equipe condemned him for his actions in 2009. Spain is a little different; we know the vitriol of the mainstream exists because it seems to pop up every now and again. Guess what? We also think it’s tripe, just as the vilification of Schumacher was. My next-door neighbour is Spanish and her grown son also likes F1. I’ve never met him, but I’d assume he supports Alonso. But I wouldn’t assume he hated Hamilton just because Marca do.

    Many British Alonso haters dislike him because they’re McLaren fans. Others do so because controversy follows him around. None do so because Eddie Jordan and Max Mosley feel strongly about the team orders saga, who would feel just the same whether it was Button, Webber, or Kubica involved. As for bias, as a nation we probably have one of the most diverse fanbases going. On this site you will find fans of Ferrari, Alonso, Massa, Webber, Vettel, Kubica, Force India, etc. who were all born and raised in the UK. Andrew Benson is such a fan of Alonso you could probably use a schoolboy slang for homosexuals to describe him if you were feeling uncharitable. Before Hamilton-mania, James Allen would drool over Schumacher and Ferrari; his two sons are called Enzo and Emerson.

    But I’ll forgive conduits of garbage like Marca. Spain is still new to having an F1 star and it will take time for their media to realise that in the serious world of F1, support often follows quality and criticism is given no matter whom the driver is. More than any other major sport I can think of, nationality whilst still significant counts for less than football, athletics, etc. That’s why it’s F1, not A1GP.

    1. “People who think like Marca may point to articles in the Sun, PlanetF1, personal opinion pieces in Autosport as “evidence”. Well, guess what. We think they’re rubbish too. You will not find a single regular user on here who holds his opinions because of something written in the Daily Star” …

      …”But I’ll forgive conduits of garbage like Marca. Spain is still new to having an F1 star and it will take time for their media to realise that in the serious world of F1, support often follows quality and criticism is given no matter whom the driver is.”

      @Icthyes: You started righ… and finished wrongly.

      In Spain there is serious journalism and journalists who have been talking about F1 since many many years, and those journalists knows perfectly, how to distinguish between quality and fanaticism… but they don’t write in Marca.

      You, as many other “non spanish speaking people”, make opinion based just on what you hear about Spanish press, and what you hear about spanish press, is just as biased as Marca. Basically because you only hear about Spanish tabloids.

      You are playing by ear.

      1. And you’re just plain wrong.

        It’s quite clear I was referring to the Spanish populist press. They support Alonso to the hilt and criticise everyone else, as opposed to the British populist press who just go with whatever the mob wants. The entire theme of my post shows I was never referring to the serious Spanish F1 journalists. And suddenly I’m an ignorant foreigner because I missed out using a qualifying word once. Nice.

  17. Looking at your islands from continental Europe, I can see a lot of you dont like Alonso, but calling it “a campaign” against Alonso is definitely too much; I would rather say its Spanish media that were “unleashing a fierce campaign” against Hamilton (but it’s calmed by now I think).

    1. Yes but our wonderful British trash press keep the hatred alive not just for a few weeks or months but for years……this scathing vitriolism is carried on through generations of British f1 supporters,because they believe/take to heart, all the trash spouted by the papers and the BBC..

  18. The only fever I’ve ever hated was Nelsinho Piquet, most thought he was a rubbish driver anyway, but i said give him more of a chance, then there was all the fallout from Singapore 2008, that just totally changed my opinion on the guy.

    My favorite driver is Lewis Hamilton, and I thought it was great in 2007 when Mclaren ha the two fastest drivers on the grid, I just didn’t like the way it took a turn for the worst. In the UK the media gave Alonso lots of stick, but I’m sure Hamilton was no Angel in the saga either.

    I still have a huge amount of respect for Alonso as a racing car driver.

  19. Nathan Bradley
    31st October 2010, 11:56

    Marco Canseco – I have to say, having read the original Spanish, I find his article just laughable.

    I am not pretending in any way that the British media are blameless – certain places like this website and a few others excepted from this – a lot of British journalists take the chance to jump on Alonso whenever possible.

    But to accuse Autosport of saying Ferrari used illegal tactics in Korea, and accuse the British press in general of ‘launching a fierce campaign against Alonso’ is ridiculous.

    As many people have said before ‘top class’ journalism Marco (if it can be called journalism at all.)

    Nathan

  20. CarsVsChildren
    31st October 2010, 12:28

    As an Aussie that has returned to following the sport in 2008 after an extended time away from it I would like to add my two cents:

    Newspapers exist for the lowest common denominator, it is a side effect of their business model, therefore they will always favor the participant from their country/team. It would make no economic sense to do otherwise. Hence we get tripe like the Marca story.

    It also means we get tripe like Is Christina Aguilera ad soft porn? or Oh matron! Nurses warned not to flirt as headlines in the leading newspaper in Australia. Getting mad at them is like getting mad at a stupid road rule. It might be fun, but it is pointless.

    They play favourites, they play on nationalistic leanings, and they will continue to do it for as long as people buy newspapers.

    As mentioned earlier the smart fan hunts around for multiple sources, judges the evidence on its merits and makes their own mind up.

    I’m a Webber fan, but I don’t think he will win the championship this year. Not because Red Bull favour Vettel, or because Alonso was smart enough to get Ferrari to play the team card, but simply because he lacks the mental toughness, and outright speed to consistently put the results on the board to be WDC.

    However if he loses every single Australian newspaper will blame Red Bull, Alonso, the Korean track and Heikki Kovalainen for him losing it. Not Mark.

    I hope I’m wrong though.

    1. I hope your wrong!

      1. Really? It’s rare that you ever even hear Webber mentioned in the mainstream Aussie media. Sure, what little they say is mostly complimentary (and quite often factually incorrect, hence why I get most of my F1 news from this site) but one paragraph here and there is hardly in comparision to Hamilton/Alonso mania in their respective countries. And they only mention him now that he has started winning. In fact, Webber was in Melbourne for a week in between Singapore and Japan – and not one media outlet reported it, or even appeared to have noticed.

  21. The Spanish media like Marca are just out there to create headlines. Marca is particularly histerical.
    The one that is also very bad is the bald headed Big Dummy Lobato of the TV channel La Sexta that shows the races in Spain.
    It seems that Alonso keeps his distance with him now. If I were Ferrari, I would terminantly prohibit all contact of Alonso with Lobato.

  22. I first stumbled upon this blog when browsing the web for articles about the Hockenheim team orders this year. I was very glad to find that the followers of this blog was so balanced and knowledgeable and I have continued to read the articles and forums since then. However, this thread has for the first time left me a bit sad. Although most commenters are still well behaved, this debate has turned into just the black-or-white type of ‘argumentation’ that I simply cannot find meaningful. Let´s face it, the drivers are people that most of us will never ever get to know for real. They all need to be egoistic to get to the top (where they indeed all are). They all have good and bad sides. Although I do not think that Alonso has behaved well on occasions, I wouldn´t call him evil. Ever. Also, I really think Hamilton is an impressive person in many ways, but he has also shown not so impressive sides on several occasions. Thus, I would not call him god. Ever.

    Anyway, just a few thoughts from a Swedish F1 fanatic who, by the way, would be absolutley thrilled about having the opportunity to watch BBC coverage WITH Legard, because we don´t have anything even close to that in Sweden…

    Keep up the good work, Keith and the rest of the community!

    1. You could use a VPN UK proxy service and watch F1 online on the http://www.bbc.co.uk website.

      For example: http://www.my-private-network.co.uk

      Subscription is 5 GBP a month, you get everything the BBC offers – practice, quali, race, red-button post race show – and iplayer if you missed them live.

    2. I know this is a bit late and you’ll probably never read this but thank you for that intelligent and thoughtful comment.

      1. I agree, just as I was disparing at yet another Alonso v. Hamilton catfight between fanatics, I saw your comment.

  23. Did anyone see Alexandre Premat’s huge crash in the DTM race at Adria? Very lucky to walk away:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPaL_fIquNE

  24. Marca=The Sun.

    End of story…

    Need I go on?

  25. Maybe Japan 1999 should have been mentioned?

Comments are closed.