Hamilton: “I should have 50 points, but I don’t”

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton admits he should have scored more points so far this year.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Lewis Hamilton stresses McLaren positives and knuckles down for China (The Guardian)

“I should have 50 points, but I don’t. Yeah, we would love to have 20 points more, but at least we’ve had consistency and we’re there in the fight.”

No extra security needed for Bahrain – motorsport chief (BBC)

Bahrain Motor Federation president Sheikh Abdullah bin Isa Al Khalifa: “All I can guarantee you is you will be as safe as at any other Grand Prix.”

Written answers to questions (UK Parliament)

Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State): “This is not a decision for the British Government and we have not made representations to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regarding a decision on whether to cancel, reschedule or re-locate the Bahraini Grand Prix. Similarly, we have not lobbied any other country to take a position on this matter or to make representation to the FIA. It remains entirely the decision of the FIA on whether to postpone or cancel any race. I have told the Bahraini authorities that if the race does take place, we expect it to do so under the right conditions.”

Formula One to raise $1bn in loan [refinancing] – source (Reuters)

“Formula One’s shareholders include CVC which owns 63.4 percent of the company, Lehman Brothers’ administrators with 15.3 percent, Chief Executive Officer Bernie Ecclestone with 5.3 percent and Ecclestone’s former wife Slavica’s Bambino Holdings with 8.5 percent.”

Statement regarding Formula One finances (F1)

“Formula One Group has launched a process to extend its current financing facilities. This will involve raising $2.27bn of new facilities with maturities in 2017/18, replacing the company’s existing $2.92bn facilities which are due to mature in 2013/14.”

Ferrari cash in on new deal with Ecclestone (The Independent)

“Ferrari are believed to have followed Fernando Alonso’s shock win in Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix by concluding a lucrative deal with the Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, receiving significantly better payments under a new Concorde Agreement to which the majority of teams are said to have agreed over the race weekend.”

Vettel labelled a Red Bully by backmarker Karthikeyan (The Mirror)

“Some guys when lapping they just try and bully you so much, it’s not fair. They overtake and want you to go off the road and it’s not right.”

Domenicali: “We have to continue to play a counter-attacking game” (Ferrari)

“I well remember that, four years ago, in fact right after a Malaysian Grand Prix, which was won for us by Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe was more or less in the same situation as today. The papers were demanding his immediate replacement and he managed to react in the best way possible, thanks to support from the team, which saw him win two of the next three races.”

Young driver test could be in Britain (Autosport)

“One idea that has received some support is to try and shift the young driver test to take place at Silverstone immediately after the British GP. However not all teams are in favour because of the difficulty of sorting out drivers at that stage of the campaign.”

The beginning of a legend: Ayrton Senna’s breakthrough Formula One car set to sell for 750,000 (Daily Mail)

Spot the quote from yours truly…

Comment of the day

I hadn’t realise quite how few drivers had matched Alonso’s feat of winning at the same track with three different constructors until Paul Gilbert pointed it out:

Drivers to have won at the same venue for 3+ different teams:

Moss at Monza – Maserati (1956), Vanwall (1957), Cooper (1959)
Fangio at Spa – Alfa Romeo (1950), Maserati (1954), Mercedes (1955)
Fangio at Buenos Aires – Maserati (1954, 1957), Mercedes (1955), Ferrari (1956)
Fangio at Nurburgring – Mercedes (1954), Ferrari (1956), Maserati (1957)
Prost at Silverstone – Renault (1983), McLaren (1985, 1989), Ferrari (1990), Williams (1993)
Alonso at Kuala Lumpur – Renault (2005), McLaren (2007), Ferrari (2012)
Paul Gilbert

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Casanova, LazerFX, Macca and The Genuine Jim!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Today in 2009 Williams responded to a protest by Red Bull and Ferrari against the double diffusers used by themselves, Toyota and Brawn, with a protest of their own.

Williams complained that Ferrari and Red Bull’s cars also contravened the rules, then later withdrew the protest, making the pointed remark, “Williams recognises the possibility that in this area there could be more than one interpretation of the rules.”

The double diffusers were later ruled legal, then outlawed at the end of 2010.

Author information

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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238 comments on “Hamilton: “I should have 50 points, but I don’t””

  1. No points for Saturday Hammy. Sorry.

    1. Not a Hammy fan at all, but I’ll be fair and point out what he said:

      The main thing is I need to pick up my race pace.

      1. It’s funny how he said last year that Vettel was “gifted” the race wins and poles because he had the fastest car… The McLaren isn’t as dominant as the RB7 was, but it’s definitely the fastest car. I hope he doesn’t make himself look silly!

        1. “Ceteris paribus” Hamilton seems to be the best bet for WDC this year.

          1. This is ‘Monza 11’ spec Lewis just driving to finish the race and to collect half decent points. It is all he can do right now, he must stay out of trouble and finish the races so he be in a good position with his negotiations for his new contract with Whitmarsh.

        2. We can afterwards say that Red Bull did a very good job with the races last year; the combination having the fastest car and error free is what got Vettel so dominant back then. Hamilton is not having that same luxury: the car barely is faster then the rest, and in the races other teams seems to be the equal of the McLaren. Hamilton is still learning to extract the durability out of the tires and with such a small margin to the rest he is actually doing a fine job: being second only to Alonso who has a car which can’t compete with the McLaren in normal conditions.

          1. I don’t agree, we have had one dry race, in which we saw the Mclaren be much faster than it’s closest qualifying rival (Merc), Last race was crazy, so discount that, and Melbourne is never a good indicator for the season.

            What I’m saying is, this is waaaay too early in the season to be having this conversation.

        3. HAMs car doesn’t have the best race pace from what we’ve seen, though it may be quickest in quali.

          1. In Australia it clearly was (in Button’s hands), though Malaysia was harder to tell with all the rain.

          2. Who did then? O.o Haha!

      2. I think this shows how fantastic Vettel was last year, capitalising all he could.

        1. The difference in pace between Vettel and the 2011 field, and Hamilton and the field is not remotely comparable.

          1. Which is why Vettel was fantastic.

          2. i think its a fair comparison if hamilton himself says he ‘should’ have 50 .
            the mclaren is obviously the fastest car this year, so he ‘should’ have 50 points but he doesnt, because his teammate beat him in race 1, and then perez and alonso drove better then him in the wet in sepang, in inferior cars.
            with the car he has, he could well get 15 poles this year like vettel did last year, as he has the best car, and button usually qualifies lower then him. but his race pace doesnt ever correlelate to his qualifying pace, certainly not the way vettels does.
            if vettel was in the mclaren may well have 50 points by now.

    2. I just hate this headlines they make Hamilton sound cocky, when is tottally right if you qualify first you should win.

      1. If Hamilton drives half as well in China as he did last year he will surely add quite a few points to his tally. No need for any driver to be morose about the season just yet. The times are so close it may be one of those magical years where every dog can have his day, much like 1982.

        1. You know I was thinking much the same thing. We could end up having an ’82 style season at this rate because no one team is looking dominant and at least 5 teams look like they have got the pace to challenge on their day. It’s going to be great to watch….

          1. I’m all for that, as long as an ’82-style season comes without the tragic deaths, career-ending injuries, industrial action by drivers, open warfare between the governing body and the teams’ association, drivers stabbing their team mates between the shoulders, and short-sighted and destructive technical solutions.

  2. i almost hope for some kind of disaster in bahrain to force a public reality check.

    1. +1 those comments reek of extreme arrogance, its time for him to put up or shutup I’m sick of hearing “oh the car” “oh the tyres” “oh the team” like some baby primadonna whom has a tanty when things don’t go his way.

      Look at Jenson post Malaysia, he had a TERRIBLE afternoon but he still managed to keep his chin up, say some nice things about the team & seemingly hit the mental reset button (no pun) & start looking forward to the next round.

      Hamilton seems to think he simply deserves a fast car & doesn’t seem to realize that over the course of a season he is an integral part to MAKING said car fast by means of feedback & input etc etc ……..

      I also think he doesn’t quite realise the MASSIVE contribution Button provides with his feedback & car development skills, whereby both Hamilton & Button can usually get good speed from the car but Button can also give the team direction as to how to develop the car etc whereas Hamilton just wants to get in it & drive the wheels off it, whilst relying on the team to make all his strategy & etc decisions in a race & therefore being able to blame them like a primadonna if things don’t work out quite perfectly for him. Bit of a cop out he needs to realise that he is part of the team too, so when the team makes the wrong call or a call that he doesn’t like, THAT TEAM INCLUDES HIMSELF!.

      1. Aussie Fan, what the heck are you talking about? First of all, F1Yankee was talking about “No extra security needed for Bahrain”. Your reply is just plain old Hamilton bashing, but you’re not competent even at that. Did you even read the article or are you just going by the headline? Hamilton just sums up his start of the season and admits that he need to improve his race pace. There’s nothing arrogant in his comments.

      2. It’s often said – including by me – that it’s a shame so many F1 drivers are media-trained to within an inch of their lives and churn out the same dull, corporate answers to any given question.

        Over-reactions like this show exactly why that happens.

        All Hamilton is saying is that he should have better results from the first two races of the season. As he’s started both races from pole position and finished third, that is hardly a controversial statement.

        Leaping from that to making claims like “Hamilton seems to think he simply deserves a fast car” is a massive exaggeration, which shows that some people will use any excuse to assume the worst about a driver they dislike.

        1. Thanks Keith for always stating the fact as it is and helping to keep the conversation here very civil, mature and informational.

        2. Thank you.

        3. Thank you.

          Incidently, this demonstrates the importance of context in intrepereting statements.

        4. Sorry Keith, but I disagree. He’s saying he should have won both races, which takes away from the achievements of the drivers that DID win the races.

          1. No it doesn’t. He said nothing about Button or Alonso, nothing that you could misconstrue as him belittling his rivals.

      3. My goodness. There are often allegations of bias thrown around here at the British fans, and while I’m certainly no Hamilton fan, the amount of mental gymnastics needed to interpret Hamilton’s statement in such a negative light is quite frankly bizarre. It’s pretty clear that he felt he should have done better in the races and that he knew he had a car that could have won from poll.

      4. You’re ridiculous.

        Hamilton’s reaction is natural, it’s kind of a sportsman’s anger. If he was all rosy and happy, then racing would not be a proper profession for him. Compare it to Vettel’s stupid outburst post-Malaysia and you’ll see the difference, what’s right and understandable and what’s just plain wrong and stupid.

      5. You should be using your mind-reading powers for good, @Aussie fan!

      6. Aussie, I’d like to know how you know that Lewis has no input into the team and the car? I have read this a number of times from different people but have never seen any evidence and to me is obvious just some random Hamilton hater bogus dreamed up to try to justify their hate for him… which i just dont understand.
        He has been racing since a very young age i am pretty sure he knows how to provide feedback and input into his race cars.

    2. I think hoping for a disaster is a bit much @f1yankee, as it will still involve largely innocent people.

      But that statement is very much showing this regime is a troubled one. In their own statement they even include a blatant lie:

      Sheikh Abdullah bin Isa Al Khalifa told PA Sport: “We’ve never had any violence towards foreigners.

      How should we understand that when Bahraini state TV highlighted last year how these protesters attacked several immigrant workers and expats?

      To ship in a load of race fans, journalists and crew and think they will help unify anything sounds to me like using the race for the governments political purposes. And saying there were never any risks and won’t be any now, when we all saw what happened to last years GP2 race there (which has only small crowds and little media attending) with everyone having to be shipped out under guard, is just playing with fire.

      1. Even if what the Sheikh is saying was entirely true, that just shows their attitude towards their own people. Violence towards foreigners – bad PR, ergo undesirable. Violence towards Bahrain’s people – everything’s all right mate!

      2. @bascb Not everyone involved is innocent, and while I don’t wish physical harm to come to anyone, I wonder if the race would go ahead if someone as high profile as Bernie were threatened or kidnapped. Or will Bernie even show up after he’s sent everyone else into a civil war zone?

        1. Good question actually @US_peter, I think Bernie might just fancy a chance of showing up in Bahrain.

          If only to tell those “stupid kids” to go protest somewhere else. I myself am too much wary of violence to wish for things to go bad, as it will get a lot of shia hurt in turn and might spiral out of control completely.
          The comments from Bernie and the Bahraini really seem to be all about belitteling the amount of trouble there is and I fear it will go wrong. I liked Buxton reminding of what it looked like last time he left Bahrain: http://t.co/pHdwRPfX

          1. @bascb I agree, that it would be sad if anything escalated to further violence. I think the best thing that could happen would be a peaceful protest that prevented the race from taking place and wasn’t met with brutal violence, such as a mass sit in. Obviously that’s a pipe dream though. If it does come to any protest, it’s pretty clear from past behavior that there will be violent repression. Bernie’s comments on the ongoing situation continue to be what they’ve always been, belittling, condescending, and disconnected from reality.

    3. Its sad that you’d hope terrorists attack an event just to prove a point.

      1. Disaster means terrorism? I think this is the kind of vocabulary used by autocratic Bahraini regime.

      2. The only terrorism seen is by the Bahrain regime, just like many other nations near the region.

    4. To Aussie Fan – please be quiet, you’re making the rest of us Aussie Fans look like fools.

    5. I wouldn’t want to see a disaster per se, or see innocent people hurt, but I also hope there’s some kind of incident that mars the Bahrain GP and means that the likes of Bernie can’t carry on pretending there isn’t a problem, and properly holds the situation in Bahrain up to international scrutiny.

    6. Talk to some of the team insiders and you will learn that you talk a load of nonsense! In no way is Button a good developement driver -OR good with feedback- he is classed as average!

  3. No he shouldn’t. Why should he? he wasn’t the best in Australia and he wasn’t the best in Malasia.

    1. Well, because he has the fastest car — apparently it’s sort of this season’s RB7 — and had pole position in both races, he really ought to have been able to wave his magic wand and voila! Race won, without putting forth any effort whatsoever. He probably got that idea when he went reading F1 online forums one day and learned that’s all Vettel had to do last season to have all the success he had. Fastest car + pole position = leisurely walk to the checkered flag. So something is going wrong somewhere, and he needs to learn what it is!

      But seriously, folks. I don’t think he’s saying he should have won because he was the best, exactly — just that he had pole position, had a great car, is more motivated than ever, and yet wasn’t able to capitalize as well as he wanted, and he needs to find out why and correct it.

    2. Because he was on pole, so should have followed through and won. He clearly wasn’t saying he was the best. You and the people below seem to be reading the most complicated meaning you can find from the basic thing he actually said.

      1. Fair enough. I still mantain my first thought, anyway. I’m just reading it simple too… he gets what he gets, so “should” (or “shouldn’t”) is a bit unrealistic for me.

        1. It’s ‘should’ in the sense of “I should have done better.” Like if somebody said they should have done better on a test, it doesn’t mean they think they were marked wrong, but they shouldn’t have screwed up. I’m just amazed at the number of people berating a man who said he should have done better.

          1. @fer-no65 , I agree with @matt90 as LH said he needed to work on race pace.

          2. Well if that is the case then he SHOULDN’T have included a specific points tally for only two races, as that says he thinks he should have beaten everybody in both races, which isn’t just a general comment, its very specific & pointed.

            He easily could have said “I should have done better” but he said “I should have scored 50 points” & thus painted a big red target on his back for those comments.

            He knew EXACTLY what he was saying.

          3. Aussi Fan, have you been dumped by Hamilton? Because you seem to fight awfully hard to make him look bad

          4. Phenomenal stuff. Truly phenomenal.

          5. He knew EXACTLY what he was saying.

            Im sure he also knew the media would twist his words and make a story grabbing headline out of it and then some fool like you would lap it up like a kitten drinking milk

            Take off your tin foil hat, read what he said again, and for the love of god please keep an open/objective mind this time.

          6. Im sure he also knew the media would twist his words and make a story grabbing headline out of it and then some fool like you would lap it up like a kitten drinking milk

            What I don’t understand is that the media hasn’t even twisted his words.

      2. HewisLamilton
        28th March 2012, 17:09

        He was on pole for sure. But he was not the fastest car during the race either of the race weekends. I think he should be happy with what he got and not feel as if he should be sitting at 50 points. That said, I believe he is happy with his results and like any F1 champion he feels he could have done better.

    3. Last and in fact last 10 years the poll sitter was probably the fastest in the race and there were no overtakes and thats it only crashes or weather could change that Hamilton obviously knows that and feels that he could have emulated Vettels seasons this year because obviously Mclaren is the Red Bull this season.

      1. @Aussie Fan
        You can’t be serious. The haters (of any driver) will literally go to any lengths to find something wrong with a driver’s performance or words. Please, excuse Hamilton for being “too specific” in his criticism of himself. I’ve seen some very debatable criticism of a driver’s remarks, but this….this takes it to a new level

        1. Guys, put it at rest.It’s not like he wasted a given WDC title or something. He just made a few remarks from the previous two races. Very ordinary statements.

  4. I have to say I agree with Karthikeyan. As I was quoted recently, he has as much right to be on the grid as anyone else, and by extension the same right as Vettel. Therefore, while Karthikeyan should do his utmost to get out the way when being lapped, he does not have to compromise his own, equally important, race to do so. I’m sure Sebastien would love it if only the top 10 qualified, but the fact is that is not the case. Dealing with backmarkers is a fact of life in F1, and being unpleasant about the whole thing will only reflect badly on yourself. The way he reacted in Malaysia to what was a racing incident was nasty, rightly or wrongly showing him to be a poor sport.

    1. +3 the third finger of the hand.

    2. +4
      Even if it was completely NKs fault, a professional sports personality like Vettel isnt expected to call NK a cucumber. There are more subtle ways of delivering the message. Vettel’s behavior just tells how much he respects other drivers on the grid.

    3. If NK was to stand in a line of 23 by the time he gets to the counter he would have hit half people. Yesterday he admitted to making a mistake and hitting Vettel’s car and today its about Vettel bullying him. For someone with little driving talent he sure makes up for it with his big mouth. Last year some drivers made mistakes and blamed it on other drivers and even got away with that. I don’t see why Vettel should not feel aggrieved, especially for the points he lost for no fault of his. Wonder if NK will feel bullied, if someone wanted to see his driving license. Maybe NK is still after candy, gettign bullied by everything that moves around him.

      1. @ridiculous Your name certainly does not agree with your feelings clearly. If Narain did hold the line and not move over it would be his fault but you can only do the maximum possible in some places which is not enough. If Seb had his way there would not be anbody on the grid who was not in a Red Bull. When he does not win he sulks about it Even if it is only HRT I don’t think you can say he has little talent, there are many drivers who have failed Formula 1, I would like to see you get into the car and try to do as well as he does, if he has a bad car there is only so much you can do with it.

        1. @formula-1 Blue Flag rule is to move from the racing line and let the leading car through, which NK didn’t do(No backmarker ever does) which I’m not going to argue because this guy can barely brake and turn at the same time. Telling him to move away from the racing line will decrease his driving skills by another 33%, if somethign like that existed. Seb as sulker has got nothing to do with NK’s poor driving skills which is poor. If you need to understand what sulking means you can also follow the quick crash course by onelapwonder.There is a video posted in the formus by raymondu(?) and let me know if it is still Seb’s fault for the umpteenth coming together of NK.
          Don’t get me wrong, 2005 I was following NK because he was beating a competent teammate in Tiego Montero at the beginning. Then his talent must have gone through a rapture or something, atleast Massa had an accident.
          If you had watched the video the pass was done and dusted, then NK with his overzealous braking goes on the kerbs, corrects the car and then hits Seb. When you make a pass you can only think about the space available and other factors needed to complete the pass. You don’t think ‘what if the other guy makes an mistake and slashes my tyre’? If Vettel was indeed bullying NK, he could have very well answered that Vettel ran him off the road and that made him loose the car and he crashed in Vettel. But the stories seem otherwise. Day 1 you say that you made a mistake and Day 2 you say that someone bullied you into that. Get your stories straight. This seeming to take cheap shots at Vettel seems to be the latest fad in this forum. Last year it was Vettel can only win from pole. 2010 Vettel can’t convert his poles. 2012 someone with 2 poles and no race wins, but nobody wants to comment on the pole to win ratio this year. I would love to see people’s reaction if in the championship decider race NK runs into Hamilton and claims the next day to have been bullied by Hamilton.

          1. @ridiculous

            Blue Flag rule is to move from the racing line and let the leading car through,

            Actually the Sporting Regulations doesn’t say anything about yielding the racing line:

            20.5 As soon as a car is caught by another car which is about to lap it during the race the driver must allow the faster driver past at the first available opportunity. If the driver who has been caught does not allow the faster driver past, waved blue flags will be shown to indicate that he must allow the following driver to overtake.

            Karthikeyan wasn’t doing anything to prevent Vettel getting past, so I’m inclined to agree with those who say his penalty was too harsh.

          2. @Keithcollantine During the Hungarian GP DCoulthard explained about the lapped car getting out of the racing line, for which he blamed Kobayashi and costing a place to MarkWebber, which is why I said that. Agreed that NK didn’t hinder Vettel’s progress except by running into him. But why give out 2 conflicting stories in the space of 2 days if it’s not his fault

          3. @ridiculous I had a look at the International Sporting Code as well and couldn’t find anything in there that says a lapped driver must pull off the racing line.

          4. @ridiculous Narain’s bullying comments were from Sunday on the BBC F1 Forum – it’s not 2 different stories in 2 days. He wasn’t actually giving conflicting accounts if you watch the interview. He admitted he made a mistake which caused him to move away from the kerb. He also said that some drivers when passing under blue flags don’t leave any room and cut across too quickly (he doesn’t specifically link that comment to this incident). Worth watching the interview if you can to see a backmarker’s perspective.

            Seb has done a lot of damage to his image with his reaction to this incident. It’s terrible to be taken out by someone else’s mistake, but it happens in F1 and other drivers seem to be able to accept it. It’s not like it’s happened much to Seb, as far as I can remember he has been the perpetrator far more often than the victim of this kind of incident.

          5. The blue flag rule has two meanings.
            One: A faster car is behind you.
            two: You are about to be lapped.(A faster car is behind you).

            It doesn’t say you should go off the racing line or drive into a sand dune.
            It means do your best not to hinder the faster drive, which might mean lifting slightly to prevent both cars vying for the same real estate in a braking zone.

            On Vettel’s actions,
            It is no surprise, that for a few races now, he hasn’t been able to do his finger thing. From a psychological point of view, one can understand his need to throw tantrums and have fits of anger.
            But should his inability to do his finger thing extend for a greater duration, then I am afraid he might be forced to drive his car while in a straight jacket.

          6. @f1addict Considering you remember Seb as the perpetrator for something that happened in 2010 conveniently forgetting every mistake by every other driver since then showcases too much sympathy for Seb

      2. @ridiculous

        Vettel is very clearly bullying Karthikeyen! Even if Karthikeyen WAS 100% at fault, Vettel still had no right to speak about Karthikeyen the way he did. Take for example Grosjean’s reaction to his incident with Schumacher: “I was careful and unfortunately I think it was Schumacher came to hit me and in Turn Four I spun.”
        Very different to “Schumacher is a cucumber, it seems there are idiots in F1 just like on the roads.”

        And I agree with Keith: Karthikeyen didn’t stop Vettel getting past. After Vettel thought he was past, he drifted left and NK drifted right slightly. Racing incident.

        Also, even with masses of money it still takes talent to get anywhere in motorsport. Sure, drivers like Hamilton, Vettel and so on have more talent and do not need sponsors to get a drive, but to imply that NK has no talent at all is laughable.

        1. So talking in a press conference after the race is over is Bullying? That’s new to track version NK is offering. Sure Grosejan can have a go at Schumacher, not going to cost him any points with the zero he already has. And it also cost Seb points and that too in the closing stages of a race, unlike a lap 5 crashout do-it-by-yourself style outing. If it was a racing incident there was no reason for NK to state anything about bullying. NK by himself is a walking joke, his talent? Less said about it better

    4. +99 Blue flag doesn’t mean – pull over and praise my ego.

      1. But when you do move over you don’t go back and slash the guy’s tyres either.

    5. I think people are just happy to have an excuse to bash Vettel again (“Village Idiot” type stuff). I think his reaction is perfectly in keeping with what I’ve seen over the years from him. It also seems to me that some people want F1 drivers to be like Button, but Button is like the Stefan Edberg of racing.

      And finally, I don’t think this has done anything to Vettel’s image. On the contrary, Vettel’s reaction will get back markers moving out of the way not only for him but also for all the other top drivers for the rest of the year.

  5. hope that shumacher and kimi to follow the feat of winning at the same time with three different constructors

  6. On the Hamilton issue, I think he can be satisfied. He was on the podium in Malaysia and best of the rest behind Alonso and Perez, who in all likelihood will not challenge him for the title. He can also take comfort the only bad luck denied him 2nd in Australia, so while he should maybe have more points than he does, I don’t think he will be gutted about it.

  7. I well remember that, four years ago, in fact right after a Malaysian Grand Prix, which was won for us by Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe was more or less in the same situation as today. The papers were demanding his immediate replacement and he managed to react in the best way possible, thanks to support from the team, which saw him win two of the next three races.

    The difference between then and now is that Massa was running second at Malasia, and then he retired. He was beaten by his team mate but not by much. Last saturday, he was 3 tenths slower than Alonso in Q1 even after trying with the softer compound.

    Yes the car is bad, but the difference between the two has been enormous for quite a while now. In 2008, he was being beaten by Kimi for quite a while too but not by much and he was able to match his speed most of the time.

    1. I agree 100%. Back in 2008 Massa actually won the qualifying session in Malaysia. I don’t see how Domenicali can honestly say that Felipe was more or less in the same situation.

      Some people feel sorry for Felipe, because his career spiraled down after the accident. He seems to be a really nice guy and I’m sorry for him too, especially when I see the permanent sad expression on his face. But if he leaves the sport, it certainly won’t be the end of the world for him. He’s still young, quite wealthy guy with a loving family and presumably some friends. He will be fine.

      1. The cause of Massa’s retirement in Malaysia in 2008 was why he was under pressure then – he’d led the race from pole, lost out to Raikkonen in the pits and was in a solid second place when he spun into the gravel.

        You’re right that Massa hasn’t looked remotely capable of staying with Alonso so far in 2012 – but Domenicali isn’t there to give a frank assessment of his drivers in public, he’s there to get the best out of them. Massa is not the kind of driver who thrives in adversity and Domenicali is simply trying to protect him.

        Domenicali’s private views of Massa may be rather different, but we’re unlikely to hear those – at least not yet.

        1. I think this kind of “protection” doesn’t do Felipe any favors.

          1. I think this kind of “protection” doesn’t do Felipe any favors.

            And condeming him in the media would? Domenicali isn’t saying Massa is currently doing just fine, he’s reminding people that Felipe has had runs of bad form before and recovered from them.

          2. @timg I think that letting him go would be an honest favor. His “run of bad form” lasts more than two seasons now, he’s stuck in this situation and clearly isn’t happy. Dragging this for yet another year will be bad for everyone.

            Honesty is the right way to go. Not pretending that everything is hunky-dory, but not condemning the driver either. Simple admission that Felipe never fully recovered after the injury and it’s time to part ways.

      2. His career might have recovered if he was allowed to race for the win in germany 2 years ago…

  8. Umm, or not Lewis. At no point across the current two races have you shown race winning pace! You deserve the 30 points you have, no more, no less. End of!

    PS. I’m a big Hamilton fan too, and I’m still saying this!

    1. Haha…..nicely said!

    2. He’s basically saying “I should have done better, I should have 50 points, but I wasn’t fast enough and I need to improve”. I wonder why so many people need a translation from English to English? Maybe reading the whole article and getting some context would help. There’s more to it than just the headline.

      1. It’s just the assumption that if he had done a tiny bit better he could have beaten button and Alonso (and Perez), in my opinion totally undermining their great performances

        1. “Tiny bit better” is often all it takes among the top drivers, but he actually didn’t say that and he wasn’t undermining anyone. Ironically, it looks like it’s just your assumption.

    3. I’m a Ham fan too and I agree. He looked fairly ordinary in Australia and couldn’t find real speed in Malaysia, but the conditions there made it difficult for most drivers to get more speed than the others. I was quite suprised not to see Button flying through the back of the pack like Canada ’11. Makes me think the tyre compounds this year will even out a lot of drives, which will in turn mean more winners & podium finishers. But I could also be bonkers.

      1. I think Hamilton had the speed. He was just as fast as Alonso, Webber et all (as Keith pointed out in fast lap analysis, he was with Perez one of the drivers to constantly lap quickly in the end, and when the track was really wet at the beginning, he was flying).. Obviously, he wasn’t head and shoulders above the rest, so there is a bit of disappointment. The field is so tight with good cars and great drivers, it’s amazing really.

      2. Button actually tried flying from the back, lets be honest, without a safety car in the race, how was he ever going to get beyond 10th.

  9. Good on Narain for standing up and hitting back. I suppose in his favour in the public eye, not many people are going to be on Seb’s side, even though technically NK did move over a little coming back on the track. But it was Vettel’s disgusting demeanour afterwards, and Horner’s over the top defence of his prize driver that was all too reminiscent of 2010. Just like two years ago, I’m supporting RBR for Webber.

    1. +1 I was really disappointed with Christian Horner. It was very awkward when he asked Coulthard to back him up too.

      1. Is it even more sad that by now, I’m not even disappointed by Horner any more @f1lipino? So often has he been not-answering questions, or just saying nonsense.

        But I am disappointed with Vettel, taking out his frustration at a less than stellar weekend on Narain.

    2. Well put. I’m no great fan of the HRTs, but so long as they qualify inside 107%, they have a right to take part in the race. Regardless of that, Vettel should not have given Karthikeyan the finger and then later called him an idiot. It is unacceptable behaviour towards a fellow driver.

  10. Typical Hamilton. Egocentrism at its best.

    I think he got exactly the positions he deserved in those two races, and in fact he is very very lucky to be 2nd in the championship since both Vettel and Button finished without points last race.

    1. @maksutov
      God, you people will go to any lengths to twist Hamilton’s words and to call him “egocentric”. Hamilton is not saying “I’m the best and because I’m the best I should have more points”, he’s simply rueing his own errors (poor start in Australia and not setting up the car with enough wing to reduce tire-wear) and poor luck (pit stops/weather in Malaysia), and admitting that he’s not meeting his own standards. He’s perfectly within his rights to say what he said. He knows he has the best car, and he knows, if things had gone his way, that he could have had 50 points by now. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

      1. @ MylesW eeeeerrm yes he is otherwise he could have just said ” I should have done better” rather than naming a specific points tally i.e 1st & 1st.

        That screams, “I am the best don’t you all know that? I should have won both races, but here are my excuses.”

        Wow do we really want to hear that from every driver?

        Imagine Naraiyn…… I should have won in my HRT but the team gave me a bad car & they engine wasn’t as powerful as I wanted the tyres didn’t work with my bad car or my driving style (which doesn’t need adjusting because I am awesome & the tyres should be changed to suit ME, not the other way around & my car had a bad setup because the team didn’t get it right & the track didn’t suit my crappy car the team gave me & the team made bad pit calls…….etc etc etc

        See my point? Now add 23 other such comments from every other driver & you see the fact that its ego centric eye rolling stuff right there.

        Oh shambles…..

        1. What’s wrong with naming a specific points tally? And how does it change the meaning of these words: “The main thing is I need to pick up my race pace. (…) Maybe I’m setting the car up too aggressively, so I might make some changes for the next two races.”

          He admits that he’s performing below his expectations and knows that he needs to improve. To be honest I see far more arrogance in your comments, than his, Aussie Fan.

      2. @mpw1985

        We can see what he is saying. Clearly these comments were placed into the heading of this article and hence I am responding to it. And what do you mean by “you people”?

        I’ve always said Hamilton has issues with his ego and he does. Period. That doesn’t mean I dislike his driving skills and abilities. And I am sure he will win again. But I also hope he moves to a “slower” team one day, so he can learn to appreciate that lot of his F1 success was possible thanks to the brilliant team. But to say “I should have 50 points, but I don’t” – yeah this can mean many things; but if it means what it says, then it also considerably derides the achievements of drivers that actually beat him during those two races. Maybe in his own world of F1 where Hamilton is the only racing driver participating, should he have 50 points. Qualifying 1st doesn’t mean you somehow get immediate preference to win, or that you somehow should win by default. Guess what, you actually have to do it. And if you cannot do it, then there is a “good reason” for that. And to say anything otherwise is simply laughable. We can sit here arguing all day what he meant. Frankly I don’t care because my opinion of him is based on his entire F1 carrier.

        Now, if you feel he deserves more points for his achievements during these two GPs then maybe you can start here:

        https://www.racefans.net/groups/f1/forum/topic/should-points-be-awarded-for-pole-and-fastest-lap/

    2. What Myles said. And anyway, how is it lucky that he is ahead of Button? Or even Vettel? Button performed poorly and was responsible for his own demise, and even though Vettel wasn’t to blame for his troubles he was running behind Hamilton at the time and may be behind Hamilton in points regardless of Narain.

      1. @matt90 Actually a Vettel 4th would have gotten him same 30 points and Hamilton and would have placed him in second because of his second place in Australia

      2. By that logic, Button was lucky to finish ahead of Hamilton last year.

    3. That’s just childish. All he’s saying is that “I was on pole twice and failed to win, twice. Therefore I need to do a better job.”

      That’s all. All this talk of egocentrism is just pure projection.

      1. The Hamilton bashers here don’t need much excuse to come down hard on him as they praise their boy Jenson (a lot of the people writing anti-Hamilton tirades seem to be, oddly enough, McLaren fans). This article title was a godsend for them.

        1. No Hamilton is his own worst enemy with comments like this & “Its because I’m black” & his sookiness at the AUS GP podium. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the math & see what his attitude is.

          1. Aussie Fan, admit it. You simply don’t like Hamilton. Period. And that’s why you continue to bang away at him with no justifiable reason. However much you and other Hamilton haters twist his comments, it will only serve to justify your beef with the man but it doesn’t change the fact that Hamilton simply meant to say, “I should’ve done better” and not “I am the best”, as you seem to think. Didn’t think a few English words would be difficult for some people to understand!

          2. Well, I see you did the math and don’t want to hear that perhaps the data on which that math was done has changed, fine.

            But nothing of the sort can be gleaned from that article, it is just a racing driver who sees that he let 20 points slip away, and says he needs to find out what he can do to prevent that going on. In other words, trying to improve on doing his job …

          3. @aussiefan,

            Your hate Hamilton. I hope it’s not because he’s black.

            What he said jokingly, is staple for black people, even here in Africa. Maybe he was unfortunate to use Ali G’s words, but that’s not that uncommon to hear black people jokingly using that quote.

          4. I’m sick of people saying I hate Hamilton. I think he is a phenomenal talent, one of if not the best on the grid in certain situations but if he makes an arrogant claim that isn’t entirely justified then I will call him on that.

            I think alot of people are trying to make out that I am a Hamilton hater simply to mask the fact that they are such fanboys that they will will never admit he can do anything wrong, which is just silly really.

            I will say it again, he knew EXACTLY what he was saying when he chose that turn of phrase.

            That’s not bashing, that’s calling a spade a spade. Really disappointed in some people’s reactions here.

          5. he knew EXACTLY what he was saying when he chose that turn of phrase.

            Of course he did.

            The person who doesn’t know what he was saying is you.

      2. @ J you are putting words into his mouth he did not say that at all, he said ‘I should have 50 points” which is totally different to what you suggest with your word twisting.

        1. It’s not really different. He said he should have won both races. Clearly the chance to do so was there both times, given the car.

          It’s hilarious how worked up people get over driver comments.

          In the end the guy was on the podium both times. That’s better than the others can say. If he keeps up that consistency he’ll do just fine in the championship.

          1. It’s amazing how some people work themselves up into a lather, regarding any comment coming from Lewis’s mouth.

          2. @lewymp4

            It’s amazing how some people work themselves up into a lather, regarding any comment coming from Lewis’s mouth.

            I couldn’t agree more.

    4. I know that Hamilton is a bad actor you can immediatly see how he is feeling but he is right he should have done a better job, he just dominated both quallys!

  11. I’ve been bummed for him. They have a good car this season and he’s clearly still got the skills, he’s just having a tough time in the race. I think it has a lot to do with strategy and his tyre degradation, he’s notoriously rough on them.

  12. Yay, it’s my birthday.

    1. @macca You deserve 50 points for that! ;)

      1. LOL, No, I’d be happy with 2 podiums.

        1. I see what you did there…

    2. Happy Bday!

    3. Happy birthday!

    4. Happy birthday!

  13. Considering this time last year he didn’t have two consecutive podiums in his first two races he should be at the very least content with his progress with this season. There are 18 long races after this and as long as he keeps stringing these podium finishes together and bags the occasional win he should be fine. It also doesn’t appear that one single driver will be super dominant either. The WDC will go to the most consistent driver.

  14. I find it slightly frustrating the double standard that has been applied to drivers who voice criticism the way Vettel did this past weekend. I just love seeing that the people who jump to his defence over the Karthikeyan incident are the same ones who vilified Hamilton last year after Monaco for being “petulent”, “immature”, and “entitled” when he let his emotions overcome him after the race. I’m sorry that your wunderkid is showing his true colors now that he doesn’t have the best car on the grid, but that’s the way things work. I, however, am not going to fault Vettel, because I didn’t fault Hamilton last year- both are highly talented and highly competitive drivers who can let emotions get the better of themselves, and I understand that. But heck, at least Hamilton was kind of funny and charming during his rant. Vettel was just being a jerk.

    1. Hahahahahahaha — yeah, okay. You’ve made your total lack of a double standard abundantly clear in this comment.

      1. How is he using a double standard? I mean, I guess the last sentence is kind of adouble standard in a joking way, but he says he doesn’t fault either driver in each case. Where’s the confusion?

        1. He takes exception to those calling Hamilton “petulant,” etc., while at the same time saying “your wunderkid is showing his true colors now” — so Hamilton is unfairly cast as immature when he lets his emotions get the better of him, whereas Vettel is merely shown for what he always was? Ah, I see. And yes, one is “funny and charming” about it, while the other is a “jerk.” But I’m glad he’s definitely not faulting Vettel!

          1. @aka_robyn
            I simply meant to say that everyone seems to have praised Vettel for his “maturity” and laid-back, “friendly” demeanor (in contrast with Hamilton’s immaturity and petulance), whereas, now that the going has gotten a bit rough for him, his “true colors” (e.g. his slight arrogance, “emotional” responses) have shown again. It just annoys me that Vettel fans used him as a beacon of model behavior and level-headedness when arguing for why what Hamilton was doing was wrong. Again, I like to see that side of Vettel- in fact, I completely admire it in a racing driver. I simply meant to suggest that it was much easier for Vettel to “hide” his racing-driver emotions when he was winning all the time, whereas Hamilton struggled to do the same in a car in which he saw another WDC slip away.

            And yes, perhaps the last sentence was a bit of my Hamilton-bias showing through, but it was kind of meant to be lighthearted. I mean, I personally thought Hamilton was pretty outrageous- especially with his Ali G comment-, but he never called out a single driver and was never a bully towards anyone (besides the stewards, of course). Also, give me some credit for going out of my way and saying that I respect Vettel and his talents. The same courtesy seems to never apply when Vettel fans are “critiquing” Hamilton.

          2. @mpw1985 “but he neverw called out a single driver and was never a bully towards anyone…”

            “These drivers are absolutely fricking ridiculous, it’s stupid?”

            Charming indeed.

            https://www.racefans.net/2011/05/29/furious-hamilton-calls-penalties-joke/

    2. @mpw1985 What did I miss? Did Vettel say he was black?

      1. Well, Vettel isnt Black. Hamilton is. I’m sure you didnt miss that one. The Ali.G statement was a joke, but meant to drive home a subtle point. The first Black driver in F1 is consistently before the stewards. Yes, does things that MAY put him there, but when others do the same type of stuff, the same standards applied to him are consistently lacking.
        Most black people with strong personalities in a corporate or educational settings have experienced the same thing – something you may not understand if you are not black. Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

        1. +1,000,000

        2. something you may not understand if you are not black

          To an extent you are right, although it would need that line to replace black for “different” and it could be regarded as almost universal truth.

  15. But you only get 30

    1. So lets call it the awakening…

      Ham learned his biggest lesson in racing from his more balanced and consistent team mate and as a consequence being relegated to the yellow team (Higher car Numbers) has caused a serious mental re mapping.

      Love him or hate him it was Thrilling to watch the thrills and spills of the past all the duels unfolding each race all those daring maneuvers and exhilarating race craft he displayed had me on the edge of the couch an entire race felt like 15min it made a great show but posed serious risks to his championship. And now all that risk taking to gain a place or two seem destined to be replaced with solid drives to deliver podiums… and he has Mr smooth, steady and consistent his team mate to thank for the wake up call. Someone’s learned serious lessons true wisdom that comes with years of experience in that world championships don’t fall into your lap because you are the most popular guy, the best driver or you have the best car/team around you. All this does is put you in the game but YOU MUST FINISH WITH POINTS. No question McLaren has the machinery this year and no question he has the ability but again a world champion beckons sure he might have been a little unlucky but this time what he lacked the balance and poise between aggression and consistency is all coming together and all to make the correct decision for the points (championship). Sure it might get a little boring but Ham has worked a simple equation to his goal (World Champion) = beat my team mate and I’m there world champion in 2012 all he needs to do is continue to finish in front of But – pref. on the podium. Slow race starts and messy pit stops are uncharacteristic of this duo he will out qualify But again and again and a race wins are inevitable.

      Great drive by Alonso better drive by Perez certainly looking forward to future duels for minor places neither pose a serious enough threat for the championship don’t like the chances of ether finishing on the podium again but I certainly hope Perez surprises, it was a little reminiscent of old times Senna chasing Prost and great for Sauber but he wont last long there he is young and clearly talented he needs a competitive seat

  16. I’m quite frankly incredulous that the most innocuous comment has been jumped on to mean something completely differently. Fascinating and incredible.

    1. Great drivers like Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso and Schumacher do tend to polarize opinions, don’t they? There are ‘passionate’ people who will distort every word these drivers say, either to paint them bad or to cover up some of their faults.

    2. Its not innocuous, innocuous is “I should have done better”.

      He said “I should have 50 points” which totally belittles the other drivers achievements in the first two gp’s of the season.

      Small difference in wording but massive difference in meaning.. he knows EXACTLY what he said & why.

      I see an (fast becoming) insecure Mclaren driver whom is yet to renew his contract & is trying any trick to re establish the illusion of his dominance within the team, but is choosing bad ways to do so.

      1. It’s official. Aussie Fan is a hater

        1. Tom Haxley (@)
          28th March 2012, 7:32

          @mpw1985 No he’s a Troll. Posting your opinion once or twice is ok. He’s posting the same comment on everything that has the words Lewis Or Hamilton in them..

          I have read the same comment about 5 times, this is where some moderators should take a look and cull a few. Debate is debate but not the same debate 5 times on 2 pages…

          1. @welshtom I say, let the moderators let him post. Otherwise how would we know he is trolling. At my childhood age I read the fables of La Fontaine, and in this case there is one matching the situation. It ends like this: “no matter how you work, there will always be someone to criticize you about that”

      2. No, “I should have done better” clearly means you wish dire misfortune upon the drivers who finished in front of you. It’s a completely hateful thing to say and displays an utter depravity of character.

        1. @tigen

          How on earth did you get ‘wishing dire misfortune upon others’ from him saying ‘I should have done better’?

          It’s perfectly clear that he felt he should have performed better, with his comments on set up being too aggressive.

          I really don’t understand why everyone is kicking off so much about Hambo saying that he should have won both races. It’s obvious he wanted to win, he’s a bloody racing driver.

          Also I think your latter comment ‘It’s a completely hateful thing to say and displays an utter depravity of character’ should have been posted about Vettel and Horner, they were just kicking their toys out of the pram and is far worse for the sport than a driver commenting on how he feels he should have done better.

          You are a nincompoop

          1. @Brian sorry my satire was too subtle for you

        2. At least somebody has a sense of both reality and humour.

      3. From the context of what Hamilton says, I understand this line to be self critical, rather than belittling the other drivers. He knows he could have done better.

        1. What I find confusing is that even without context i’d have thought a line like that would be assumed to be self critical, unless it had been in the wake of a stewards penalty for example. I honestly don’t think “I should have 50 points” needs context to sounds like “I should have done better”.

      4. trying any trick to re establish the illusion of his dominance within the team, but is choosing bad ways to do so

        I’d say outqualifying and outscoring his team-mate over the first 2 races is quite a good way of doing that!

    3. Agree with you. But it’s not fascinating, it’s just ridiculous.

  17. Great CoD Paul Gilbert!

    My feeling is that the best chance of someone replicating the achievement this year is Kimi at Spa. Second most likely is Alonso at Monza.

    Any other suggestions? Perhaps MS in Canada? :)

    1. Unless Alonso changes teams that’s impossible.

      1. Yes my bad, he didn’t win at Monza in a Renault, his 2 wins were in a Mclaren and a Ferrari respectively. Well he still has the European GP(not same circuit but should count), and Monaco(will again need exceptional circumstances to win there though)

  18. I think it’s good to see that Lewis is aiming to be more consistent – I suppose he’s starting to learn from his mistakes last year. It does seem to dull his style of driving but I hope he finds a balance where aggression and consistency meet accordingly. And he’s starting to get a better understanding of his setups – RE: his oversteer setup compared to Alonso and Perez’s. On the other hand we’ve seem a more aggressive approach from Jenson this year – which is not typical, but a refreshing change and will certainly make it a very exciting season for McLaren.

    Overall the 2012 season so far has provided some closer racing compared to 2011. It will be interesting to see if Vettel can dispel his critics on whether he has the ability to take wins from starting beyond the first or second row of the grid. I would like to see Kimi get a normal qualifying and a race win under his belt – I think the Lotus is good for it. Good to see Schumi qualifying 3rd but the Mercedes needs to improve race pace so we he can be in the mix with the top runners. I’d like to see at least 1 race win from every WDC this year, so far 2 of 6 ain’t bad for the first 2 races.

    1. very well said and the probability of Lotus, Mercedes and mabe Sauber mixing it up up the front is fantastic

  19. Remember Lewis it could be worse… Looks like we have another 2010, many drivers in with a chance

  20. should is a strong word…should use would…or could

  21. Hamilton’s sense of entitlement stems from being McLaren’s golden boy for many years, much in the same way Sebastien Vettel has been by Red Bull and Helmut Marko. Jenson Button has never had that luxary during his career after being kicked out by Williams and Renault to make way for Montoya and Alonso. He has never had a powerfull ally like Hamilton has had in Ron Dennis or Vettel has with Marko. He has had to carve his own path and realises that these situations are not given to him because of who he is or who he knows, but due to results.
    On the flip side, Hamilton is right. He has dropped alot of points considering the fact that he has started from pole position in both grands prix to date. In both Melbourne and Sepang his race pace was not good enough to threaten the leaders, although in Sepang he was handicapped due to McLaren’s shoddy pitstops. The crumb of comfort is that I still don’t believe that Ferrari are a serious threat to McLaren in ‘normal’ race conditions despite Fernando Alonso’s recent efforts. Fernando moreorless hinted at much after the grands prix in Sepang, he needs the team’s help if he is to fight for the championship. As the title stands, Jenson Button is Hamilton’s main threat and one he still has not got to grips with.

    1. He has had to carve his own path and realises that these situations are not given to him because of who he is or who he knows, but due to results.

      But did Hamilton not need to dominate everything from karting to F3 and GP2 in order to earn a top seat in F1 from the start, where he was still outstanding?

      1. My main point being, those “connections” that Vettel and Hamilton may have had, were earned due to results in the first place. That renders the argument about only Button having to earn everything through results is useless.

        1. @david-a I agree with you, +1.

        2. I agree completely, this is always the stance I’ve maintained when people tell me that Hamilton got into McLaren via luck. I’ve not seen much of Vettel before Formula 1, but the stuff I have seen has been very impressive. Both extremely talented drivers and I’d like to post this link to a beautiful battle these guys had in F3 showing amazing defending and attacking.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDkK8a4jHZ8

        3. Yes its true that Hamilton had to get results early in his career, but since 1995 he had alot of support from McLaren and Button has never had that. Vettel is the product of Red Bull’s youth academy, one of that organizations biggest successes, Button was never the product of such a system. That is my point!
          Jenson’s path into the sport was different from Vettel and Hamilton in that he never had the support of a big team behind him. When he was dropped by Renault, there were plenty of people who wrote Jenson off and now look at him? He has really had to knuckle down over the years and I respect that, for instance, at the end of 2008 he didn’t have a drive. Some of you are too quick to forget such things!

          1. I just want to add that I actually think Vettel and Hamilton had it harder than Button in reaching Formula 1. Ask any karter- nobody wants to be the guy who shows up at an event with a brand new kart, a McLaren sponsorship, media attention, etc., because then that person is expected to win. The pressure to perform when you’re part of a driver program is incredibly intense, and both Vettel and Hamilton deserve full marks for managing that pressure and coming out on top. In my opinion, it’s much easier to be a Button type-driver in karting, e.g. someone whose father couldn’t even afford wet weather tires (or so he says), than to be someone who has no excuses for not winning every race.

  22. Surprised Keith would even put out an article headlined like that. Red meat to the Hamilton haters. Just look at the top 3 or So responses. A lot of it is baseless suppositions as well – masquerading as genuine opinion. Has f1fanatic become a Lewis-bashing base?
    Disgusting.

    1. @rantingmrp There’s nothing wrong with the Guardian article, or how it is presented.

      Most people see the comments criticising Hamilton for what they are, a small minority who’ve got it in for him taking his words out of context in an attempt to have a go at him.

      Has f1fanatic become a Lewis-bashing base?

      Of course not: I’ve not got anything against him and at the last count he’s the second most popular driver on here.

      1. @keithcollantine Well he certainly seems to be the most popular driver here today :)

    2. Keith is very good at using headlines to draw people to read articles, as many in media are. He has been called out for headlines before, usually by people who only read the headline and don’t follow up by reading the article and understanding the whole picture. Every time I have read Keith being called out for a headline he has defended himself very well and has been right. But this headline is really nothing more than a quote from LH. ie. hardly ‘red meat’ meant by Keith to create an LH bashing base.

      Just because one particular poster has decided to make it his sole mission to shoot down LH, overwhelmingly argued against by the majority of those who responded to said poster, does not make Keith an inciter. Keith has provided a great site with a great forum and beyond that all comments are welcome as long as they meet the criteria of the rules on commenting, so to go after him for the wording of a few off-base commentors is wrong. To call it disgusting is in fact disgusting.

  23. I really don’t understand why Hamilton is getting grilled over his comments. I think it is a fair comment to make and he was setting better or equal times than Alonso even during the race so he had race winning pace.

    I think alot of you people need to really read what your saying because you sound like his done something wrong to you personally. The guy frustrates me but I always seem to gravitate to drivers who drive on emotion and are not really afraid to show it too.

    Thats why I am probably the only Hamilton and Alonso fan on here. :P

    1. its ok its all just a bit of light banter to fill our time before china…he should have 50 points if he could have converted pole posi to win. Then he would have been leading the championship :) its the ‘shoulda coulda woulda’…I should of gone to work today but i cbf’d

    2. I’m a Hamilton and Alonso fan!

    3. I like em both too Brah!

    4. Me too. And because they both have an immense amount of talent. I appreciate that.

    5. Actually Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso are among my favourite drivers. So you ain’t the only one :P.

    6. Hamilton and Alonso fan also. Raikkonen also!

    7. I’m a Hamilton and Alonso fan too. Epic drivers.

  24. I’ll say it straight;

    I’m no Hamilton fan. I like Alonso because he’s got some freakish talent that ensures that he almost always gets 100% out of the car, and regularly puts it in places lesser mortals are incabable of, and because I have a soft spot for Ferrari.

    I like Button because he’s a thinker. His smooth, tactical style appeals, and his win in Canada last year was one of the best races I’ve ever seen.

    I like Raikkonen because he simply doesn’t give a toss. He just wants to go fast, and he does. End of story. His anti-PR mentality is a breath of fresh air. His radio comments in Australia were comedy gold, and even funnier, because he wasn’t trying to be clever. What you see is more or less what you get with Raikkonen.

    I like Webber because he’s the local boy, and it takes grit to play second fiddle in a team that while supportive (on the surface), clearly sees him as nothing more than a means of sweeping up just enough points to ensure the Constructors title. He’s also a ‘heart on the sleeve’ kind of guy which appeals. Some of his racing is quite exciting too (on Alonso at Spa last year for example, or wheel to wheel with Hamilton around the back in Korea).

    Hamilton, for whatever reason, has never rubbed my buddha, as it where.

    Don’t get me wrong; I acknowledge and respect his talent. You don’t get to be a world champion and regular race winner by being a chump. His trophy cabinet speaks for itself. Germany last year where he caught Alonso with his trousers down was a thing of bittersweet beauty for me (Alonso fan, remember?). From time to time, his comments off track have either been inappropriate, or misconstrued as inappropriate. I’m not really interested in sorting out which specific incident falls under which catagory. I don’t really care. But for whatever reason, he just doesn’t catch my interest in the same way as the other drivers I’ve mentioned.

    Maybe its because he attracts controversy (self inflicted or not; again, I don’t care). I do know that I do get tired of the Hamiltion bashing and defending. Debate is good, but combing over every statement he makes and trying to second guess his meaning is pointless. There’s only one person who knows what Lewis Hamilton means when he speaks. That’s Lewis Hamilton.

    I’d much rather spend time speculating about who will come out on top between him and Button this year, and appreciating the races as they come. The ones where Hamilton does well, and the ones that he doesn’t. It’s all good.

    Whew! Glad to get that off my chest.

    Now on to more important things;

    If anyone is looking to buy one slightly used soul, I’d gladly sell mine for that Toleman!

    1. Ahhh a kindred spirit.

    2. +1

      Though I fear the next time Hamilton opens his mouth, debate will rage again…

    3. Great comment Lurker! I do somehow like HAM, but equally don’t really know why. All the rest of your post: I feel very very similar, though I should probably refrain more from trying to change unchangeable opinions more :)

      I’ll add that I like to see Vettel for his great talent in putting in those immaculate laps when they are needed, and showing great skill at controlling everything around him (but we haven’t yet seen him do it this year); I try not to be annoyed by his (teams/ way of) celebration (the Ferrari passion, and McLaren satisfaction gels better with me).

      That Toleman – we still have a spot free in the garage under our housing block, how cool would it be to put it there on display, sigh!

      @adrianmorse – sometimes it’s almost enough reason to wish he’d not be there really, but not quite.

    4. Great comment, Lurker…so who will come out on top this year? JB or LH?

      1. Good question.

        I’d LIKE Button to win it (both beating Hamilton in the team, and getting the WDC). Whether he will remains to be seen.

        There’s still 18 races to go, which is a long time in F1. I think it will almost certainly come down to driver psychology and the “formula” of F1 this season.

        I don’t subscribe to the idea that MacLaren favors one driver over the other, or that they deliberately sabotage one driver or the other (MacLaren want the Constructors title. Sabotaging drivers to decrease their chances of scoring points strikes me as madness).

        I DO believe however, that there can be different group dynamics between JB and his team of engineers, and between LH and his team of engineers. This comes down to driver behaviour (and therefore psychology). I believe at the moment that JB is “gelling” better with group, at the moment. This gives a psychological boost to JB, encourages the team to go the extra mile, and MAY even decrease LH’s confidence.

        The other thing to consider is LH’s state of mind. Coming into this season, it was pretty obvious that he was feeling much more confident than last year. It seems he’s put most of his personal issues behind him, and this showed in his driving (double pole position). The question becomes whether the fact that JB took first blood in Australia, and couldn’t convert pole into a win in Malaysia (behind Fernando in the lame duck, and a SAUBER for goodness sake!), will damage his confidence.

        I can only speculate of course, but I believe to some extent, LH must be comparing his pole to win ratio to Vettel’s last year. I doubt it’s a pleasing thought for him. It depends on whether he can take that disappointment, and appropriately use it to focus, without stepping into desperation.

        JB on the other hand, has much less to worry about in many ways. He knows he’s the first one to beat LH on points over a season. He’s already won a race this year, against a teammate who qualified higher. Even with the problems in Malaysia, he does have a lot of “confidence momentum” to ride on. As would his team of engineers.

        I think RIGHT NOW, JB has the psychological edge. A lot can change in 18 races, so who knows, it may swing back into LH’s favor, but at this point, JB would have the edge.

        As for the technical side, again I think JB’s got the tiniest margin on LH at the moment.

        The cars are the same (barring setup). the MacLarens seem to be the car to beat at the moment (odd weather conditions in Malaysia notwithstanding). The big talking points this season are the tyres, and the change to the exhaust regulations. Both of these conditions seem to favor Button’s natural driving style. Hamilton has definitely improved the way he manages the tyres, but it still seems that like last year, Button is better able to manage them over the course of a race. Again, early days, but JB may have the edge because of that.

        From the races that I watched last year (and this year) I think JB has a better ability to manage race strategy. It seems he is more involved in the process with the team, and is better able to determine when to push, and when to sit back (his questions about the Red Bull’s pace in Australia strike me as typical JB). It comes back to that “gelling” with the team I was talking about.

        LH on the other hand, seems to rely more on the team to direct him on race strategy. It makes sense in a way. Let the team direct strategy, so he can focus on what he’s doing on the track. Nothing wrong with this of course, but if the results are anything to go by compared to JB last year, it doesn’t seem to be as effective. I fully admit that this is only a surface impression, based on interviews and race-radio transmissions, which as we all know, don’t really reflect the TRUE circumstances.

        That said, I believe the current “formula” of F1 combined with JB’s (seemingly) smoother (if a tad slower), more tactical style, may give him the edge.

        Like I said, still 18 races to go, so anything could happen between now and then, but right now, I’d bet on Button.

        1. Great stuff, Lurker…I pretty much agree with everything you are saying. If I could add anything it would be to say I think this rivalry will be awesome to watch this season because of the combination of JB having come off last season smelling like a rose, and LH admitting in the off-season that he had a little too much fun that cost him training time which cost him on race days. I think that must have been terrible for the team and the sponsors to hear, that some of LH’s ‘downfall’ last year was of his own doing (off the track) after all their hard work and hard earned money went into backing him. Bearing those things in mind I think the onus and the pressure is more on LH to up his game, vs. the pressure on JB to maintain it. And with two poles it looks like LH is there, yet JB is so there too…I think the pressure is on LH after two races and I always watch for how drivers do when the pressure is at it’s greatest. And imho LH has proven often enough to make mental errors that I think JB is sitting pretty right now. The onus is very much on LH to prove this likes of us wrong, and the majority of posters here I believe far and away think LH is the better driver, so we shall see. I think we will be able to throw a blanket over these two all season and it will come down to mental errors and in that regard JB will win out. I think JB is better than he has ever been, making true comparisons to LH a moving target and not one we can really make based on the JB of the past.

          1. Just wanted to add that in fairness to LH he does lead JB by 5 points right now, and I think it is significant that both drivers have every reason to be extremely excited and stoked about their potential in what is obviously the car to beat right now, and I think they have eluded to that, so in my claim that the onus is on LH to up his game, that aspect will be a lot easier for him to achieve in a car that seems to be able to handle the competition quite well right now. ie. if it doesn’t go according to plan on a given Sunday for whatever reason, the car will be there for both of them the next Sunday for them to answer immediately to any misfortune from the previous race, so they can both take great comfort in that.

  25. maybe cos Hamy is the furthest from a racing driver of the old ilk but more of a contemporary artificial-commercial-hollywood-ayrtonsenna-wannabe-look at me-look at me sort of a racer?

    1. All the racing drivers of the old ilk have long since departed this world. The generation after the old ilk, are often times, rambling nonsense when they have a mic in front of them.
      This is the current generation.
      Except of course, by old ilk, you are implying something else.

  26. @keithcollantine
    That’s some feat those drivers accomplished while

    winning at the same time with three different constructors

    Ferrari wanting three cars is one thing, but one guy driving three different cars at once is just getting over the top! When will the FIA step in to regulate this craziness I ask you?

    Nice mention in the Mail ‘editor of leading motorsport website F1Fanatic.co.uk’. Sweet!

  27. He reminds me of a Mercedes W03 this year,which is sad.

  28. How on Earth anyone can read negatively into that Hamilton article is beyond me. Take your time to read it, it’s only brief.

    He sounds genuinely positive and forward thinking. We all know how important consistency is in this sport. Red Bull’s lack of it almost lost them the championship in 2010 but won them it in 2011.

    I can’t see Alonso putting in another race like he did in Malaysia and McLaren certainly won’t be under threat from Ferrari in the Constructors.

    He’s in the right frame of mind.

    1. I’m going to take a cue from the internet and start shouting people down who are self-critical, until they apologise for being a little humble and become as antagonistic as me.

      1. I think Lewis has done great this year so far. He’s had truly awful luck in both races, yet has kept a cool head throughout and collected good points. He has come out with more points than any of his main title contenders (I can’t see Alonso challenging, but I hope I’m wrong). Both Vettel and Button have had better luck, but missed the opportunity to capitalise.

  29. Such a stark contrast between the Hamilton of this year and of the last one. Seem like completely different drivers. Last year he looked uncomfortable, fidgety and edgy and this year despite not maximizing his points tally he looks more relaxed. Disappointed, yes, but still positive. I hope for his sake that as the season will go on and the title fight becomes tougher and it may boil down to between him and Button he can maintain the same calm and composure. I guess racers have a “happy place” and Lewis has maybe found his.

  30. Vettels comments don’t really surprise me in all honesty, does anyone remember Hamiltons comments in his first season about the back markers? Calling them the monkeys at the back!!

    1. He didn’t call the back markers monkey Dave.
      He was referring to a slang used by drivers in the lower series to describe how crazy it gets a few rows behind pole.
      Vettel insulted someone, several times, Hamilton used a term while in GP2 or something, that he didn’t invent, but described chaos. So don’t try to make light of what Vettel did.

  31. I just realised something. Button won the Australian Grand Prix this year which was his third win at the venue. Alonso won the Malaysian Grand Prix which too was his third victory at the venue. If it goes on, Hamilton should win in China, Massa should win in Bahrain, Raikkonen should win in Spain, Alonso would win Monaco, Hamilton would win in Canada, Vettel would win in Valencia, Alonso should win in Britain…..
    But I’m pretty sure that won’t come true…

    1. The Massa part in Bahrain holds by a thread. The others are not impossible to say the least !

      1. kenneth Ntulume
        28th March 2012, 12:04

        @thekingofspa: You are a terrible statistician. To forecast about 5 future events, based on 2 past observations.

        1. I think that was a joke…

  32. Isn’t that what a F1driver is all about: never being statisfied with less then the win or what’s achievable with the car? IMO Hamilton merely says his races weren’t good enough given the oppertunity presented by a car which only has a very slight edge over the others.

    I think many of these people being critic towards Hamilton here rather want a second Massa who seems to be content with his sloppy drives… .

    1. Holy Samos twitted this video yesterday…… I think that it is exactly what we are talking about….. enjoy!!!!

      1. I am sooooo sorry…. Lee McKenzie…….. my bad!!!! :)

  33. 118 comments about who said what but no mention of over 3 Billion dollars in five years being siphoned out of the sport while Bernie rings his hands and complains the teams (who actually are the source of the income) should be restricted to spending only 60 Million dollars a year to pay their hundreds of staff and their drivers,engine suppliers etc. Had this 3 Billion dollars been distributed among the teams even the backmarkers could afford to develop competitive cars and we would not need all the restrictions on engine design and development.

    1. I like what Parr had to say about Bernie last year. Seems quite right to say the least.

    2. fair distribution of wealth in teams? what world do you live in? its a great idea but when havent the rich become richer? now youve opened a can of worms…why the f is the Bahrain race still happening? we gonna go have a grand race with the rich and famous living it up in a country in the middle of a democratic struggle? but hey we get to kick back and watch a race from the comfort of our living rooms…and Bernie makes his millions. Its what its all about sonnyjim

    3. Great observation, HoHum…perhaps it is an indication that we (in general) just want to see racers and racing, and the behind the doors stuff going on with BE et al is hard to get a handle on or relate to, even when it can effect the money the teams get. From what I understand the teams are about to get a bigger piece of the pie and discussions about how all the teams can agree to the restricting costs of playing in F1 continue. But I think of it like this…drivers like Villeneuve and Montoya, upon leaving F1 said they miss the cars and the racing but not the politics. I think most fans would say the same thing.

    4. Wouid that the sport were held and run in trust to the Fans and stakeholders. F1 is just like any other major economic asset, like a strip mine or an oilfield. It goes on the market, it goes to the highest bidder, and that bidder generally will extract the maxium value from it without killing it. But sometimes investors kill cash cows through negligence, or they might figure out the cow is worth more as various cuts of steak than as a going concern. If the UK goverment nationalized it, that would be OK with me, but obviously not in the cards.

  34. Re: Toleman story in the Mirror

    You’re becoming famous, Keith!! :O)

    I expect that car to fetch more than 750k. There must be some very rich enthusiasts out there…

  35. In 2007 Lewis didnt win a race until the 6th race of the season. He needs to bare this in mind if he dosnt already.

    Knocking in consistent podiums is whats going to win him the championship.

    As Domenicali said, Massa was nowhere by the second race of the season in 2008, and was fighting for the title by the end, theres a long way to go and Lewis has a solid handful of points to build on.

    1. kenneth Ntulume
      28th March 2012, 12:11

      @N Lewis should read your statement………..
      But i suspect he is the inconsolable type, too hard, too critical, of themselves

  36. kenneth Ntulume
    28th March 2012, 12:08

    Attempting the dirty business of devil advocacy, I am yet to find a thread of wrong, with an exclamation…”I coulda”ve done better!! given my 2 poles.
    well some people have more benchmarks than others is the nearest answer i have.

    1. “You don’t understand I coulda had class, I coulda had 50 points, I coulda been somebody… instead of a bum which is what I am, let’s face it………… It was you, Martie.” :)

  37. kenneth Ntulume
    28th March 2012, 12:15

    i take the risk to declare sentence of the year
    “Red BuLLY”

  38. Moving the young drivers test to Silverstone the week after the British gp sounds like a good idea as it means less stress for the teams as its closer to home and would give them more time off to get home between fly away races later in the year. I would also imagine more fans will be able to go and watch testing then would be in the middle east.

    However its the british summer, so its more likely to rain than in the middle east and picking good young drivers who are also available to be at Silverstone will be more difficult right in the middle of the season.

    Perhaps one solution would be to hold it in Spain after the last race of the season at somewhere like Barcalona or Jerez? Or perhaps moving it to preseason next year, as this year at one point there was a gap between tests that may have been suitable to fit in a young drivers test?

  39. When a driver is winning, he will always show his friendly side, joke around and show smiley faces but it is when that same driver is loosing, one gets to see his true feelings.

    Staying away from the actual incident between NK and SV, I have to say that SV’s behaviour was not good. A double WC who always joked around when he dominated 2011 is now calling other drivers “idiots”.

    He shouldn’t forget that when he was driving for STR, he rammed into Webber behind the safety car.
    He shouldn’t forget the way he hit Button at Spa in 2010 and cost Button p2.

    His behaviour was shameful to say the least.

    1. Add Kubica to that list. I remember him taking him out in Australia once.

    2. He only called one driver an idiot. And Karthikeyan was an idiot. he could have easily gone off the power. Or he could have kept a tighter line when letting Hamilton and Vettel through. Instead he goes to wide, hits the curbs and throws his car back on the track. That’s the definition of an idiot.

      Come on people. Idiot isn’t the harshest of words one can throw at another.
      This thing is being blown WAY out of proportion.

      Furthermore, Vettel took responsibility for the incidents at Fuji ’07, Albert Park ’09 and Spa ’10.
      Also, what did Vettel say over the team radio after colliding with Kubica? “Sorry guys, I’m an idiot.”

      Here we have Karthikeyan admitting he was at fault but then blames the ‘bullies’ in the faster cars…
      I think J P Montoya said it best. We only need to replace the name Raikkonen with Karthikeyan in this case.

  40. I still don’t get how F1 got into all these debt.
    They don’t own the race tracks.
    They don’t promote any race or venue.
    The don’t sponsor any team.
    The get paid TV licences.
    They get paid track side advertising.
    I know of only one employee on Level 100, the next employee I know of is a level 3 camera man.
    They take the bulk of the money generated and throw the leftovers into a pool of crocodiles.
    Yet all we hear of is debt debt debt, where is all the money going?

    1. I think the situation is that the shareholders of the entity holding these commercial rights are using all of these juicy assets and “receivables” to finance other enterprises.

      “Shareholders in motor racing group Formula One (F1) are raising $1 billion from a loan refinancing which will be paid into a holding company for future dividends and acquisitions, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. ”

      It’s being used as collateral to support borrowing for other purposes. Of course, when things don’t go well, the cash cow is suddently saddled with massive debt. And the owners start to have to liquidate its assets or chop its costs to satisfy the banks.

  41. Is that the best you can come up with? V. poor…

    1. Now it looks like I am talking to myself…

  42. Massa’s situation is very complex.
    It’s not the 2009 rules – he was strong in that year and had just reached the podium for the first time, with the F60 getting better, before having his crash.
    It’s not Alonso as team mate – he kept his pace in the early part of 2010, and beat him at times.
    It’s not his crash – as said above, he had a great start to the 2010 season in Bahrain, and showed good pace in the following races.
    It might be the Pirelli tyres, but they can only explain a little of the enormous gap Felipe has to Fernando.
    It might be a mix of the above though – he never looked the same again after Germany 2010. He had some exceptions (such as Italy), and he was perhaps inconsistent, but definitely he still had the speed. His drop in results coincided with Alonso’s improvement, and maybe they were a further reason for Felipe to lose faith in himself, and for the team do so as well.
    2011, and up to now 2012, have instead been horrible years for Felipe. It might be him getting old (but he’s only 30), it might be that the two cars have not been to his liking, it might be that the Pirellis are not suitable for his driving style, but nothing can fully justify his poor performances.

    1. I think it is no one thing for FM…imho if we are to pick on 2011 and 2012 so far, let’s look at a Ferrari that was only 3rd in the WCC chase last year, and a heavily changed car for this year that the team admits they need more time with. Last year the Pirelli’s were new to everyone, but not everyone took to them the same way or at the same pace, so FM may have suffered initially more than some in struggling when the tires weren’t ‘on’. And all the teams are dealing with less downforce this year vs. last due to the big ding the effect of EBD has taken, Red Bull perhaps suffering the most relative to last year since last year’s car was designed by Newey around the EBD.

      So perhaps Ferrari never did really come to terms with the new Pirelli’s last year, as their car wasn’t ‘there’, and perhaps the tires this year, although quite similar but slightly different, still are part of the learning curve for Ferrari now that this car is so different from last year’s.

      I think FM is not that far off, and one thing against him is that being off even a little in a close field can mean many positions…the upside being that being on even a little can mean a gain in many positions.

      For now, as I see Red Bull not the force they were last year, and Merc qualify very strongly and so far not nearly translate that pace to Sundays, I see it as variable so far for many teams, and I’m not ready to deem that FM is in deep trouble. Other than the type of trouble any team is in when they aren’t dominant and have to fight to progress and do better, which is the case 99% of the time. Let’s give FM/Ferrari more time to sort things out and I’ll bet on average his pace won’t look so bad all things considered. I’m sure he is one of his own biggest critics and is looking not just at the team for answers but at himself in the mirror to find any and every possible avenue to improve. As should always be the case for all athletes on all teams in all sports. But a driver is coloured by his car, and if we’re not ready to say FA is about to win the next race because he has now found some secrets that caused him to win the last race and that FM won’t be included in on, then let’s give FM some room to breathe and he and the team, including FA, time to sort it out. The good news is FA’s winning finish, whatever the conditions were that brought it, has bought them some time. And if Mac continues on and becomes the new ‘Red Bull’ runaway team, all the other drivers will be in FM’s shoes. Coloured by their car and needing to find answers from the team and from within.

  43. Some (well most if you look at the comments) clearly can’t read all too well….

    “Some guys when lapping they just try and bully you so much, it’s not fair. They overtake and want you to go off the road and it’s not right.”

    Where does he mention Vettel here? He could have just as easily been referring to Hamilton. Seeing as letting Hamilton through was the reason he went too wide that isn’t such a long stretch. Plus, Hamilton has pushed slower cars aside before.

    But anyways. I don’t see why people feel for Karthikeyan. He was the one who chose to go wide when he let Hamilton and Vettel through. He was the one who chose to go to the curb. He got on the wet line and almost lost the car. He chose instead of going off the power to steer the car to the right and running the risk of hitting Vettel. Vettel only used the space that was made available to him.

    You guys really think Vettel sees Karthikeyan and thinks “Oh hey, an HRT. I’ll go push him off and show him the back end of my superior car.” Come on… Vettel was busy with one thing and one thing only, chasing Hamilton.

    1. I’ve got some proof Karthikeyan wasn’t referring to Vettel regarding getting bullied off track.

      “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnI3iabPn3I&feature=related”

      Hamilton ran Karthikeyan off the road.

      1. What are you talking about, clearly Hamilton is a good couple of car lengths behind him and NK gets on the curbs (see dust flying up) so Ham gets by him.

        People will find _anything_ to make Lewis the ‘problem’

  44. If you read the lede, its as though Keith is purposefully trying to head off a Hamilton-related flame war: “…stresses McLaren positives and knuckles down…” So its kind of a bit of comedy to see that the general reaction is still, ZOMG arrogant jerk! I supposed after a while, if you are in his shoes, your resopnse becomes either to say nothing, as after Korea last year ( brooding jerk!) or lash out with sarcasm as in Monaco (angry jerk!).

    In other news, Domenicali’s “defense” of Massa is pitiful. There is no comparison between the two scenario’ he compares. It’s bad for you when the team is harkening back to your comparative glory days…from three years ago. I’m sure Domenicali is ashamed to be reduced to these bizarre comments to defend Massa. How far we have come in such a short time from when Massa was calling for Hamilton to be kicked out of the sport. To recall Confucious, Massa should have been concerned with the snow on his own roof. Now his roof has collapsed.

  45. Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State): “This is not a decision for the British Government and we have not made representations to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regarding a decision on whether to cancel, reschedule or re-locate the Bahraini Grand Prix. Similarly, we have not lobbied any other country to take a position on this matter or to make representation to the FIA. It remains entirely the decision of the FIA on whether to postpone or cancel any race. I have told the Bahraini authorities that if the race does take place, we expect it to do so under the right conditions.”

    I can’t believe someone actually thought that parliament could in any way influence the FIA or the race in Bahrain.

  46. He is right. He is in the fastest car and therefore should be the fastest package but in each race he’s allowed whoever is in front of him to open a lead.

  47. If drivers come out with their well rehearsed PR talk then they’re robots. If they have an honest response that is considered rude people go bananas over it. Was Vettel rude? sure he was rude as hell, lets face it non of us want to be called a cucumber (whatever that means) or an idiot, but at least it was honest (and I personally enjoyed that). Should Vettel have tried to control himself ? Certainly. Could he? No, because in a championship fight that is set to be the closest for years (maybe decades) he knows that this race might as well have cost him the championship come Brazil, at least that was my gut feeling when the incident happened. On the business of the finger, well it has been used extensively by F1 drivers over the years convey a certain level displeasure with other drivers on track.

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