Yes that has to be remembered. But after all the flack about having to make whatever strategy you’re on work last week, it’s all swings and roundabouts.
But equally, if Hamilton hadn’t made those 4 overtakes, he wouldn’t have won. Strategy was only half the story of the race winner, even if it was the major story of the race.
I agree. Those were crucial overtakes by Lewis, but his pass on Vettel @ the start was skillful as well. He never would’ve been able to catch Vettel if he’d wasted too much time behind him @ the start, or when picking his way through the field. He was aggressive & decisive, & made his tires work despite flatspotting his last set. It was a good drive from Hamilton, period.
Great weekend by Hamilton. He thought ahead yesterday, saving that crucial one set of tyres to have a bit of an advantage in the race. McLaren picked the right strategy this time. And Hamiltons gutsy driving made it work.
As soon as it was clear that Red Bull had Vettel on a 2 stopper, what Lewis had said yesterday suddenly made a lot more sense. Well done Lewis, and to Webber to. Both the best of the grid today.
Red Bull’s strategy was different for the two drivers, and Ferrari followed Vettel’s strategy with both cars and this cost Massa a podium, and Alonso many points as he did many laps in the 1:44s.
Impressed by di Resta again. Both Force Indias got hit by drivers and werent to be blamed for them. Should be interesting when they get to Europe and both are on circuits they know… then i think the picture will become clearer as to if Pauls gotten lucky or is just a better driver.
My recording ended with six laps to go. DVR full. I hit the live button in a panic. It was Hamilton screaming in the cockpit. Ugh. Can’t belive I missed the end of one of the best races in a long time.
Sort of same for me – set a stream recording, but messed up the video file – so I missed the last ten laps. Garrrrghhhh. Oh well – it was a great race until then, the ending would have just been icing on the cake.
Spectacular! It was great to see so many battles especially with Mercedes and Ferrari joining in. I cant stop thinking that Vettel got quite spoiled winning all the races. He doesnt seem to enjoy 2nd place and being challenged for a position. Hamilton was incredible! His win is very rewarding and well deserved.
Gotta agree with you. It didn’t matter what questions Vettel was asked during the press conference, he just gave an answer justifying why he didn’t win the race today.
Congrats to Hamilton. And I hope Ferrari’s upgrades can give them a huge push in Turkey.
Here’s an interesting little statistic: six different drivers led the race at any one time, and there were nine leaders in total. It went a little bit like this …
– Jenson Button (lap 1-13) – Lewis Hamilton (lap 14) – Fernando Alonso (lap 15-16) – Nico Rosberg (lap 17-25) – Sebastian Vettel (lap 25-30) – Felipe Massa (lap 31-33) – Nico Rosberg (lap 34-39) – Sebastian Vettel (lap 40-51) – Lewis Hamilton (lap 51-56)
True, a lot of those lead changes came because of pit stops, but when was the last time this many men led the race at some stage?
What’s important to that as well, is that 4 of those could conceivably have won the race: Vettel, both McLarens and Rosberg.
Rosberg was scuppered by being too short-fuelled and in the end having pitted just a couple of laps too early. Vettel ended up having pitted too early. Button ruined his own race a bit and so it was the awesome Hamilton on top in the end.
I’m not a particular fan of Hamilton’s, but it’s good to see someone else win, McLaren catch up, Mercedes closing up and even Ferrari having a sniff there of a half decent race.
Mostly though, it’s awesome that Pirelli have come up with tyres that not only make strategic decisions important, but also that the difference between strategies is marginal enough that different teams are coming up with different answers to the optimal strategy. And getting it wrong.
Rosberg showed today why I think he will never fight for the championship. He was presented with a golden opportunity to win the race or at least finish on the podium but through it away through poor defensive driving and a mistake. He just hasn’t got that ruthless streak that some other drivers have.
Yes, but he did find himself in the lead twice, and you don’t get there if you haven’t got a good car. And you can’t dispute that his defence against Hamilton was very weak.
I expected a little more of Rosberg as well. He had the best strategy for most of the race, although, I think Mercedes screwed up on the timing of list last pit stop. Nonetheless, if he was true race winner material, he would have defended a little bit better, and not made that stupid mistake when trying to overtake Felipe.
He was the first to pit of the front runners, so his tyres were the oldest. If Vettel couldn’t hold Hamilton back in a car that was definitely superior to the Mercedes, how did you expect Rosberg to?
On top of that, I think it was only his 2nd of 4 stints when Rosberg was told to start getting off the throttle early, ie. to start saving fuel. He was ridiculously underfuelled.
I don’t think it was Rosberg’s fault he could not hold on to a better position today. On the contrary, I think he showed today that he has the racecraft and intelligence to be a real contender if given the right car.
Norbert Haug said after the race that he was very sorry for Nico and that Mercedes is to blame. He was just as gutted as Rosberg. Definitely podium territory and I can imagine he would have had a chance to win with the right strategy.
The interesting thing about both of them is, that at some races they seem to be faster than their team mates (Webber in Barcelona last year for instance) but they are not as consistent over the course of the season.
Alonso might have been slower here, but over the whole season I still see him as the stronger driver. And the same goes for Vettel and Webber. However, I would definitely like to see Massa coming back to where he was before his accident. And there is no doubt about the brilliant drive that Webber did today.
Webber haters? I can’t hear them? Bit quiet today?
I don’t like Webber, but that’s mostly because the Australian commentators talk him up at every opportunity – but I can respect a decent performance like this one.
What amazed me apart from the stunning performance of Lewis and all the others today is the abillities of Lewis’s mechanics. They managed to mend the car in what, 3 minutes? And still I thought that he was going to face reliability issues during the race. But no, the car was strong and fast and competitive. They deserve a huge applause!
When I saw a guy take a big wad of paper towel and bring it out of the chassis dripping in fluid (fuel, apparently), I though there is no way that thing is getting out of the grid. That was intense. In retrospect, the I wonder if they took a big risk starting it up after then engine bay was drenched in fuel.
What does everyone think will happen to Alonso for his DRS being open when it wasn’t supposed to be on the track. I assume he will be penalised but what form do you think it will take, I think a grid penalty or a 20sec time addition would be the way to go, unless it can be proved it was deliberate in which case he should be disqualified.
I don’t think he can be punished. The software is under the control of the FIA, so it would have been their fault, not Ferrari’s or Alonso’s. A similar thing happened to Williams in Australia – they couldn’t use the DRS on the main straight, but could on the straight going down to turn 3.
True,the only reason I asked though is because the wing couldn’t open by itself and would have to have required Alonso to push the button, so I was interested in hearing others theories on why/how this happened and what the consequences (be it a penalty to Alonso or stricter controls over the DRS) might be
I was thinking the same thing. Despite the fact he shouldn’t have been able to use DRS, the fact that it was open likely means that Alonso was trying to use it anyway. Dunno if they’ll penalize him, & not so sure that they should… it’s just like Alonso though to try to get a leg up by any means necessary, but rest assured he’d be quick b*tch & moan & call for penalties as soon as anyone else does it.
Trust me i’m no Alonso fan but I think you’re being a bit harsh on him here. If he was trying to ‘cheat’ and use the DRS then the last place you would want to use it is into the last corner. Hamilton said on the forum after that when he was planning to overtake Vettel he knew he couldnt use the last corner because you cant overtake anyone there.
If Alonso was trying to pull a quick one on us he would have used the DRS out of the last corner so he could get a good run onto the straight. I think it was just an electronic error and it would be very harsh to give a penalty, especially seeing as he didnt gain anything from it anyway
I think the only solution is to give the FIA and the teams more time to sort out the software and iron out the glitches. The DRS is still a work in progress after all.
The software is under the control of the FIA, so it would have been their fault, not Ferrari’s or Alonso’s.
The DRS cannot simply open because of a software glitch. If there was a glitch, it would have made the DRS available to Alonso – but Alonso had to press the button to operate the DRS in order to open it.
But he would not have known it was available to him.
He might have pressed it out of pure frustration of not making a pass stick on Schumacher, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference like people start hammering on their keyboard when their PC doesn’t do what they want it to. Or he might have hit the wrong button when aiming for Kers or whatever other of the 30-odd buttons and switches he has on that steering wheel. Or maybe he figured what the hell, perhaps the system will mess up again but in my favour for a change.
Regardless of the reason why he pressed the button, it shouldn’t have activated the DRS and that’s not in his or Ferrari’s control. So you can’t blame him or Ferrari, no matter how much you seem to want to.
Not sure about your theory. Maybe he lacked proper intent, and maybe it had no effect on the race, but no-harm-no-foul is not a principle the stewards adhere to, nor to they require a guilty mind to bring down the hammer. I don’t think he should be penalized, but I have a broadly different view of enforcing racing rules than now prevails.
I believe it does warrant a penalty but not because of who the driver/team is, i’d be saying that regardless. Anyway it will be interesting to see what the other teams have to say on the issue
Ok, it’s been explained now. On that particular lap, there was a problem with the system. Alonso was only allowed to use the DRS 300m before the corner but still had it available afterwards. He actually lost time rather than gain anything. Therefore no penalty. Sorry Prisoner Monkeys.
BBT (@bbt)
17th April 2011, 9:51
In the interest of balance, someone should mention the RBR strategy cost Vettel the win, although it go Webber 3rd along with a great drive
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 10:00
Yes that has to be remembered. But after all the flack about having to make whatever strategy you’re on work last week, it’s all swings and roundabouts.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 10:03
But equally, if Hamilton hadn’t made those 4 overtakes, he wouldn’t have won. Strategy was only half the story of the race winner, even if it was the major story of the race.
Franz
17th April 2011, 10:17
I agree. Those were crucial overtakes by Lewis, but his pass on Vettel @ the start was skillful as well. He never would’ve been able to catch Vettel if he’d wasted too much time behind him @ the start, or when picking his way through the field. He was aggressive & decisive, & made his tires work despite flatspotting his last set. It was a good drive from Hamilton, period.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 17:16
Great weekend by Hamilton. He thought ahead yesterday, saving that crucial one set of tyres to have a bit of an advantage in the race. McLaren picked the right strategy this time.
And Hamiltons gutsy driving made it work.
Scribe
18th April 2011, 15:48
Actually if Vettel had overtaken Hamilton at the start it probably wouldn’t have made any differance if Button had kept him contained.
jake
17th April 2011, 11:47
exactly! who’s to say Vettel would have been able to get past Rosberg?
verstappen (@verstappen)
17th April 2011, 10:09
RB strategy and his KERS being there but not working (at least not on the graphs).
However, for Hamilton to save his tyres in quali and announcing that this would be the best and then making it happen…
My hat still goes off for Hamilton/McLaren
S.J.M (@sjm)
17th April 2011, 10:30
As soon as it was clear that Red Bull had Vettel on a 2 stopper, what Lewis had said yesterday suddenly made a lot more sense. Well done Lewis, and to Webber to. Both the best of the grid today.
unnnococooc
17th April 2011, 10:50
That was the best thing about the race.
Stratergy made it very interesting, but at the end of the day it was the overtakes that made it.
A 2 stopper wasn’t good enough, but a 3 stopper without overtaking was even worse.
You had the interests of a 2 stopper vs a 3 stopper overtaking and then coming back and then falling back and more…
Great
Fixy (@)
17th April 2011, 12:53
Red Bull’s strategy was different for the two drivers, and Ferrari followed Vettel’s strategy with both cars and this cost Massa a podium, and Alonso many points as he did many laps in the 1:44s.
RIISE (@riise)
17th April 2011, 9:51
Di Resta in front of Sutil again, not looking for good for the ever average German.
TFLB
17th April 2011, 10:19
Did you watch the race? Sutil was racing with him and Kobayashi and was taken off by Perez. Hardly his fault.
S.J.M (@sjm)
17th April 2011, 10:29
Impressed by di Resta again. Both Force Indias got hit by drivers and werent to be blamed for them. Should be interesting when they get to Europe and both are on circuits they know… then i think the picture will become clearer as to if Pauls gotten lucky or is just a better driver.
curedcat
17th April 2011, 9:52
faaaaaaaaaaaaantastic lewis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eggry (@eggry)
17th April 2011, 9:54
Gooooooooooooooooood!!!!! No Vettel Win!!
BBT (@bbt)
17th April 2011, 9:55
Given the problems before the start that was an even more amazing drive from Hamilton.
Hamilton driver of the weekend. Good come back from Webber but he shouldn’t of been there in the 1st place
dennis (@dennis)
17th April 2011, 20:52
Driver of the ‘race’ was Webber. The whole weekend it was certainly Hamilton including his qualifying strategy.
DaveW
17th April 2011, 9:58
My recording ended with six laps to go. DVR full. I hit the live button in a panic. It was Hamilton screaming in the cockpit. Ugh. Can’t belive I missed the end of one of the best races in a long time.
We are on for a great season now.
Maciek
17th April 2011, 20:40
Sort of same for me – set a stream recording, but messed up the video file – so I missed the last ten laps. Garrrrghhhh. Oh well – it was a great race until then, the ending would have just been icing on the cake.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 10:02
YEEEEEEES
/fanboyism
Harv's
17th April 2011, 10:10
I KNOW! YYYEEEEESSSSSS!!!!
Eggry (@eggry)
17th April 2011, 10:16
WHATEVER! YEEEEEEEEEES!!!
Neusalz (@dpod)
17th April 2011, 10:11
Spectacular!
It was great to see so many battles especially with Mercedes and Ferrari joining in.
I cant stop thinking that Vettel got quite spoiled winning all the races. He doesnt seem to enjoy 2nd place and being challenged for a position.
Hamilton was incredible! His win is very rewarding and well deserved.
verstappen (@verstappen)
17th April 2011, 10:21
I would be disappointed if a driver is just as happy with second as with first. To me, it looked like Vettel was fairly happy, he smiled and waved…
Although, if you measure his happiness by the amount of finger you see, than you might have a point.
Neusalz (@dpod)
17th April 2011, 10:25
You do make a point. Maybe the fact that his finger didnt wave a lot makes me think that way
Todfod (@todfod)
17th April 2011, 10:35
Gotta agree with you. It didn’t matter what questions Vettel was asked during the press conference, he just gave an answer justifying why he didn’t win the race today.
Congrats to Hamilton. And I hope Ferrari’s upgrades can give them a huge push in Turkey.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
17th April 2011, 10:15
Here’s an interesting little statistic: six different drivers led the race at any one time, and there were nine leaders in total. It went a little bit like this …
– Jenson Button (lap 1-13)
– Lewis Hamilton (lap 14)
– Fernando Alonso (lap 15-16)
– Nico Rosberg (lap 17-25)
– Sebastian Vettel (lap 25-30)
– Felipe Massa (lap 31-33)
– Nico Rosberg (lap 34-39)
– Sebastian Vettel (lap 40-51)
– Lewis Hamilton (lap 51-56)
True, a lot of those lead changes came because of pit stops, but when was the last time this many men led the race at some stage?
Ral (@)
17th April 2011, 10:57
What’s important to that as well, is that 4 of those could conceivably have won the race: Vettel, both McLarens and Rosberg.
Rosberg was scuppered by being too short-fuelled and in the end having pitted just a couple of laps too early. Vettel ended up having pitted too early. Button ruined his own race a bit and so it was the awesome Hamilton on top in the end.
I’m not a particular fan of Hamilton’s, but it’s good to see someone else win, McLaren catch up, Mercedes closing up and even Ferrari having a sniff there of a half decent race.
Mostly though, it’s awesome that Pirelli have come up with tyres that not only make strategic decisions important, but also that the difference between strategies is marginal enough that different teams are coming up with different answers to the optimal strategy. And getting it wrong.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 17:18
That very much perfectly sums up the race. Full of strategy, drivers doing the racing and different things work out.
Great drive to the front from Webber as well.
verstappen (@verstappen)
17th April 2011, 10:17
What I didn’t mention yet,
also hats off to Mark Webber!
Yes, he drives a Red Bull and yes, he had more tyres, but from 18th to 3rd is a major come back drive.
TFLB
17th April 2011, 10:22
Rosberg showed today why I think he will never fight for the championship. He was presented with a golden opportunity to win the race or at least finish on the podium but through it away through poor defensive driving and a mistake. He just hasn’t got that ruthless streak that some other drivers have.
Neusalz (@dpod)
17th April 2011, 10:28
Remember that his tires werent as fresh as the other drivers tires, and that Mercedes isnt on the same level as Mclaren and Redbull.
TFLB
17th April 2011, 10:30
Yes, but he did find himself in the lead twice, and you don’t get there if you haven’t got a good car. And you can’t dispute that his defence against Hamilton was very weak.
TFLB
17th April 2011, 10:28
I mean threw, not through. This site really needs the possibility to edit comments!
Todfod (@todfod)
17th April 2011, 10:49
I expected a little more of Rosberg as well. He had the best strategy for most of the race, although, I think Mercedes screwed up on the timing of list last pit stop. Nonetheless, if he was true race winner material, he would have defended a little bit better, and not made that stupid mistake when trying to overtake Felipe.
Damon
17th April 2011, 10:31
Rosberg defended like hell against Hamilton, what more can he do??
TFLB
17th April 2011, 10:43
He made it so easy for him in the end though.
Ral (@)
17th April 2011, 11:03
He was the first to pit of the front runners, so his tyres were the oldest. If Vettel couldn’t hold Hamilton back in a car that was definitely superior to the Mercedes, how did you expect Rosberg to?
On top of that, I think it was only his 2nd of 4 stints when Rosberg was told to start getting off the throttle early, ie. to start saving fuel. He was ridiculously underfuelled.
I don’t think it was Rosberg’s fault he could not hold on to a better position today. On the contrary, I think he showed today that he has the racecraft and intelligence to be a real contender if given the right car.
dennis (@dennis)
17th April 2011, 20:55
Norbert Haug said after the race that he was very sorry for Nico and that Mercedes is to blame. He was just as gutted as Rosberg.
Definitely podium territory and I can imagine he would have had a chance to win with the right strategy.
Kerflunk (@)
17th April 2011, 10:22
Fernando should do a Webber and qualify 18th next race. Atleast then he could snag a podium. Maybe.
Owen
17th April 2011, 10:23
Webber haters? I can’t hear them? Bit quiet today?
Aris (@aris)
17th April 2011, 10:28
Same with the Massa-get-out-of-Ferrari-cause-Fernando-is-faster-than-you people. Massa is getting back strong.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
17th April 2011, 11:17
Yes let’s hope this continues, especially coming up to a strong track of his.
dennis (@dennis)
17th April 2011, 20:59
The interesting thing about both of them is, that at some races they seem to be faster than their team mates (Webber in Barcelona last year for instance) but they are not as consistent over the course of the season.
Alonso might have been slower here, but over the whole season I still see him as the stronger driver. And the same goes for Vettel and Webber. However, I would definitely like to see Massa coming back to where he was before his accident.
And there is no doubt about the brilliant drive that Webber did today.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
17th April 2011, 14:51
I don’t like Webber, but that’s mostly because the Australian commentators talk him up at every opportunity – but I can respect a decent performance like this one.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
18th April 2011, 13:33
But British commentators big up the British drivers? And the Spanish commentators big up Alonso? And so on…
Aris (@aris)
17th April 2011, 10:27
What amazed me apart from the stunning performance of Lewis and all the others today is the abillities of Lewis’s mechanics. They managed to mend the car in what, 3 minutes? And still I thought that he was going to face reliability issues during the race. But no, the car was strong and fast and competitive.
They deserve a huge applause!
Franz
17th April 2011, 10:35
I agree. Great job from the McLaren mechanics. So annoyed @ Jenson for throwing away a potential 1-2, but good result nontheless.
S.J.M (@sjm)
17th April 2011, 10:47
I think it was either one of the mechanics or Whitmarsh afterwards said he got to the grid with like 30seconds to spare. Incredible stuff.
Solo (@solo)
17th April 2011, 12:32
How about a little bonus Martin?;-) The guys deserve it.
DaveW
17th April 2011, 19:43
When I saw a guy take a big wad of paper towel and bring it out of the chassis dripping in fluid (fuel, apparently), I though there is no way that thing is getting out of the grid. That was intense. In retrospect, the I wonder if they took a big risk starting it up after then engine bay was drenched in fuel.
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
17th April 2011, 10:34
What does everyone think will happen to Alonso for his DRS being open when it wasn’t supposed to be on the track. I assume he will be penalised but what form do you think it will take, I think a grid penalty or a 20sec time addition would be the way to go, unless it can be proved it was deliberate in which case he should be disqualified.
TFLB
17th April 2011, 10:45
I don’t think he can be punished. The software is under the control of the FIA, so it would have been their fault, not Ferrari’s or Alonso’s. A similar thing happened to Williams in Australia – they couldn’t use the DRS on the main straight, but could on the straight going down to turn 3.
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
17th April 2011, 11:11
True,the only reason I asked though is because the wing couldn’t open by itself and would have to have required Alonso to push the button, so I was interested in hearing others theories on why/how this happened and what the consequences (be it a penalty to Alonso or stricter controls over the DRS) might be
Franz
17th April 2011, 11:23
I was thinking the same thing. Despite the fact he shouldn’t have been able to use DRS, the fact that it was open likely means that Alonso was trying to use it anyway. Dunno if they’ll penalize him, & not so sure that they should… it’s just like Alonso though to try to get a leg up by any means necessary, but rest assured he’d be quick b*tch & moan & call for penalties as soon as anyone else does it.
Zahir
17th April 2011, 12:24
Trust me i’m no Alonso fan but I think you’re being a bit harsh on him here. If he was trying to ‘cheat’ and use the DRS then the last place you would want to use it is into the last corner. Hamilton said on the forum after that when he was planning to overtake Vettel he knew he couldnt use the last corner because you cant overtake anyone there.
If Alonso was trying to pull a quick one on us he would have used the DRS out of the last corner so he could get a good run onto the straight. I think it was just an electronic error and it would be very harsh to give a penalty, especially seeing as he didnt gain anything from it anyway
TFLB
17th April 2011, 12:33
I think the only solution is to give the FIA and the teams more time to sort out the software and iron out the glitches. The DRS is still a work in progress after all.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
17th April 2011, 14:56
The DRS cannot simply open because of a software glitch. If there was a glitch, it would have made the DRS available to Alonso – but Alonso had to press the button to operate the DRS in order to open it.
Ral (@)
17th April 2011, 16:06
But he would not have known it was available to him.
He might have pressed it out of pure frustration of not making a pass stick on Schumacher, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference like people start hammering on their keyboard when their PC doesn’t do what they want it to. Or he might have hit the wrong button when aiming for Kers or whatever other of the 30-odd buttons and switches he has on that steering wheel. Or maybe he figured what the hell, perhaps the system will mess up again but in my favour for a change.
Regardless of the reason why he pressed the button, it shouldn’t have activated the DRS and that’s not in his or Ferrari’s control. So you can’t blame him or Ferrari, no matter how much you seem to want to.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2011, 17:20
The system would have shown Alonso he was able to use, so he used it. Curious thing though.
DaveW
17th April 2011, 19:49
Not sure about your theory. Maybe he lacked proper intent, and maybe it had no effect on the race, but no-harm-no-foul is not a principle the stewards adhere to, nor to they require a guilty mind to bring down the hammer. I don’t think he should be penalized, but I have a broadly different view of enforcing racing rules than now prevails.
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
17th April 2011, 21:07
I believe it does warrant a penalty but not because of who the driver/team is, i’d be saying that regardless. Anyway it will be interesting to see what the other teams have to say on the issue
TFLB
17th April 2011, 22:43
Ok, it’s been explained now. On that particular lap, there was a problem with the system. Alonso was only allowed to use the DRS 300m before the corner but still had it available afterwards. He actually lost time rather than gain anything. Therefore no penalty. Sorry Prisoner Monkeys.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
17th April 2011, 16:01
Great result all round. Alot to get my teeth into with team reviews :D
dennis (@dennis)
17th April 2011, 21:01
Both HRT, both Virgins finished the race!
Nice! Now let’s hope they find some more speed.