Furious Hamilton calls penalties “a joke”

2011 Monaco Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Monaco, 2011

A furious Lewis Hamilton criticised the stewards after being penalised during the Monaco Grand Prix for colliding with Felipe Massa.

Hamilton is also under investigation for a later collision with Pastor Maldonado.

Hamilton said afterwards: “Out of six races I’ve been to the stewards five times. It’s a joke. It’s an absolute fricking joke.

“You know you can’t overtake here. Very, very rarely do you get an opportunity.

“I was quite a lot quicker than Massa, I went up the inside and the guy just turned so early and just turned into me so I tried to go onto the kerb to avoid him, and we’re stuck together.

“So it was just… and of course I get a penalty which is usual. He held me up in qualifying and I got the penalty. He turned into me, and I got the penalty.

“And I went up the inside of Maldonado and you can see on the screen he turned in a good car length too early to stop me from overtaking him and crashed into me. This stuff’s ridiculous. These drivers are absolutely fricking ridiculous, it’s stupid.”

Asked why he has had so many penalties he joked: “Maybe it’s because I’m black – that’s what Ali G says! I don’t know.”

He denied it was affecting his driving: “No, it’s not affecting my confidence as a driver.

“I just think the sport is… you know, people want to see my racing, they want to see overtaking, and you get done for trying to overtake, trying to put on a show. I’m trying to make a move.

“Fair play if I really feel I’ve just gone too late and hit someone, I put my hand up and realise, OK, I really have caused an incident and been the stupid one, but it’s not the case.

“I’ll just try to keep my mouth shut and enjoy the rest of the season which, I’m sure, is going to be an interesting one, but as you can see he’s walking away with it.”

He denied the result has ended his championship chances, saying: “No, it’s never too late, but it’s not looking great.

“I gave it my all today and the team did a great job to get the car back out and get it fixed for the last few laps.”

Update: Martin Whitmarsh says Hamilton has spoken to the stewards following his outburst: “Immediately after the race he was very down, and during a post-race TV interview he made a poor joke about his penalties that referenced Ali G.

“However, I’m pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation.”

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    Image © McLaren

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    798 comments on “Furious Hamilton calls penalties “a joke””

    1. Accusing the stewards of being racist, even if it was joke, hmmm. Not the smartest thing you’ve ever done Lewis.

      Martin Brundle had it right, it’s always someone else’s fault with Hamilton, what was just as annoying in the interview was his refusal to accept any blame for the incidents. Thought he’d grown up over the last few seasons but perhaps not, should take a leaf out of Button’s book.

      1. I agree. Theres always someone to blam with Hamilton. Squeezing Massa against tunnel wall was very dangerous and pushing off Maldonado after his great drive. I say at least a grid penalty for next race is deserved.

        1. I didnt see lewis squeeze massa at all in the tunnel, if you watch it again you will realise it was the marbles that put an end to Massas race!!

          1. I think the tunnel was fine. It was the hairpin he was penalised for.

            The Maldonado incident was a joke. The joke was that Hamilton only got a meaningless 20 second penalty for just completely taking someone out. He was never ever going to get through there. That was his second offence of the race. If I was a steward (and I sometimes am at minor motoring events) he would have been disqualified from the race completely for that.

            1. Kind of like Fernando got a meaningless 20 second penalty for banging into Lewis in Malaysia?

              Obviously the stewards saw that accident at an angle that FOM didnt show you on the world feed or theyd have done a more serious penalty also

        2. Yes people are starting to realize that is definitely not the smartest person to race a car, and his driving today was a frickin joke.

          You see the difference to someone like schumacher who today pulled a couple of fair, calculated moves but lewis just frickin drove into them, which you cant do at a place like monaco, one must be patient.

          Its cringing that he thinks cars turned in on him to ruin his race, i mean is this guy frickin paranoid.

          And he doesn’t know why hes in front of the stewards all the time? well he should have a driving etiquette course and also a media disciplinary cos hes getting worse at what hes doing, i would expect a freakin penalty for him for canada

          btw im not biased, I am a fan of the best, fairest racers and love the mclarens but was angry today.

          1. all the slim shady should stand up…all the racist on this site stand up and be counted.

            1. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
              29th May 2011, 23:45

              The difference being Jarno admitted it was his fault, whereas Lewis is trying to blame the other driver all the time for his crashes.

          2. I’ll bet all the tea in England that you had nothing to say, or wasn’t outraged, when Yarno Trulli nearly took off the head of Karun Chanhdok in an ill-attempted pass last year at Monaco.

            1. ohhhhh….I forgot…..no penalty.

            2. Some of us had quite a lot to say. Jarno at least had the sense to refrain from digging a deeper hole for himself, instead seeking to make amends. The stewards probably decided he was sufficiently mortified by the possible consequences to not need a FIA penalty.

      2. I have gone through a lot of comments on the forum and from the initial looks it appeared that Hamilton was at fault but I found one important argument missing reg Massa and Hamilton’s collision at the hairpin!! TYRES!!
        When Shumi went pass Hamilton in the hairpin, Shumi was on super soft rubber and has more front end grip compared to Hamilton who is on Harder tyre. If you watched the race you will see that who ever is on the harder tyre took a wider line at the hairpin. Hamilton did not collide into Shumi but allowed him to pass.
        Now looking at Massa’s incident these roles were reversed. As Massa just came out of the pits with harder rubber (a lap before the incident, he was taking the wider line at the hairpin. So Hamilton OPTMISTICALLY took the inside line as he is on softer rubber, hoping Massa cannot possibly turn in. But Massa did intentionally turn into Hamilton. This could have been avoided! Also if Massa gave a little bit more room to Hamilton it would not have mattered much as Massa will have the inside line for the next turn after the hairpin!

        1. Check the incident again … here
          http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13589541.stm

          Massa at the hairpin did not follow Webber but pull to the left of Webber. Why did he do that? Is he trying to pass Webber on the inside … NO. All he tried is to intentionally turned into the left of Webber effectively shutting the door on Hamilton but it was too late!

          1. Cheers, after seeing that again it just confirms to me that Massa was just as much at fault. No need to shut the door the way he did, was always asking for contact. Massa had a game plan called ‘dont let lewis through at any cost as its always easy to make the person on the inside look in the wrong around loews when contact occurs’. Notice the way that Schumi passed Rosberg later in the race and Rosberg took the approach of conceding position or else making contact, a more mature approach!!

            1. Hi.

              Check out the video again. Look at Mark Webber’s left rear wheel. You’ll see that it clips Massa’s right front wing end fence and knocks part of it off. I think that show’s that Massa didn’t really have anywhere to go. …I’m a Hamilton fan by the way. Just saying because I know emotions run high just after the race which is natural. ..It’s actually the fun part about watching.

            2. I generally think everyone is being too critical of the drivers. It was just damn hard to pass anyone. It’s always been so, but if you were a fast car you used to have a decent chance after the tunnel. This just seems really hard now. Maybe it’s because the braking distances have gotten shorter or something.

              At the race this year I think that if you tried an overtaking move you basically had a 50% chance of having a crash. Each time there was an overtake I was thinking “wow, it’s lucky the the driver being overtaken noticed what was going on and got out the way”.

              In both the Maldonado and Massa incidents I’m not confident that either driver recognised what was happening.

            3. People on this site are normally very raitonal, but today I think you’re getting over excited.

              Massa wasn’t watching Lewis, he was watching Webber. He turned in early because he is trying to get a better run out of the corner.

              Lewis’ move was a do or die move, being frustrated he made several of them throughout the race, and has been penalised for causing an avoidable collision, which he did.

            4. I would certainly say, that incident was a racing incident.

              Hamilton a bit optimistic, but then again he might have made it if Webber had not been only inches in front fo Massa. And Massa turing into Hamilton, partly because he was finding himself stuck behind Webber there, even clipping part of his wing on the Red Bull. Both were partly in the wrong.

          2. Maybe the FIA should include the rule that all drivers should get a blue flag when any driver named Lewis Hamilton is trying to pass.

            If they were side by side , I would agree that Massa would need to take a wide line. But Lewis hit the Ferrari close to the rear tire, and that says a lot to me. To call his move opportunistic is a huge understatement. Maybe Barrichelo’s move on Rosberg in Australia was also opportunistic, in that case?

          1. Nigelstash (@)
            29th May 2011, 18:55

            Great links. Massa turned in on him. No doubt in my mind he had plenty of chances to take a wider line. He also clipped the car in front – not the actions of a driver following his planned line. He panicked in reaction to Hamiliton when he should have done what both Hamilton and Rosberg did and kept out of the way.

            1. Exactly +1

            2. Sorry, but Hamilton squeezed one wheel next to Massa. He wasn’t next to him. It was Massa’s corner. He had to watch himself not crash into Webber… There isn’t much room for Lewis to force Massa out of the corner with an overly optimistic PlayStation overtake.

            3. Dennis is right, the move was never going to stick, Lewis proabably should have known this.

            4. No doubt in my mind he had plenty of chances to take a wider line.

              Webber was on the wider line. Or should he have magically disappeared so Massa can yield to Hamilton?

            5. Bottom line is this. Lewis was annoyed at the teams qualifting strategy on saturday and the grid penalty, and instead of taking this emotion and turning it into a controlled aggressive drive he allowde the red mist to come down and thought he could just drive everyone off the road. The guy is an awesome talent and great to watch but i feel if he doent grow up in these situations he will never reach his full potential in terms of wins and titles.

            6. Where Ham enters the turn, at that speed, he would have needed the whole width of the track to get out of it, swiping everyone.
              It was kamikaze.

            7. Hewis Lamilton
              31st May 2011, 17:08

              I love how people know what drivers are thinking and know where they are looking at any given pooint in time.

          2. I agree that Massa took a very tight line there, but he’s allowed to do that. Hamilton was by no definition “ahead” and therefore the driver in the lead has the right to choose his line into the corner.

            1. I agree he has the right, but he doesn’t then have the right to expect not to be hit!

              The photos justify Hamilton’s annoyance for being penalized for a racing incident.

            2. @Daivd BR. I agree Massa would have expected contact, but if you look at the way Hamilton is approaching the corner, you will see that Hamilton was really off line and clearly behind Massa. Forcefully diving into a corner isn’t always a legitimate overtaking move.

            3. @ Todfod, I think we end up in the same place, 50/50, Hamilton over-ambitious, Massa incautious or over-aggressive defence, which is why it should have been left as a racing incident – any attempt to overtake at Monaco is going to be a bit over-ambitious!

            4. I don’t agree, I don’t think Massa even saw him, and diving into the corner like that is exactly the same type of thing that drivers like Schumacher get criticised for. You can’t dive like that. It was never going to work.

            5. Agreed. So what the Hamilton fans want you to believe that Massa who had the racing line with Hamilton was behind him,Hamilton tries to dive up the inside where there was no way for him to get through and they expect the man on the racing line and ahead of hamilton to give up his place because hamilton tried some banzi move up the inside?

          3. He didn’t exactly take a racing line because he hit the back of the car in front. He knew Hamilton was there…

            1. Nigelstash (@)
              30th May 2011, 9:44

              Webber was on the wider line. Or should he have magically disappeared so Massa can yield to Hamilton

              David A – not sure why I can’t reply direct. There are different lines through that hairpin. Look at the first photo. The two cars in front of Massa show the line could have opted to stay on, but he chose to cut in, even when there was another car there.

            2. @ nigelstash –

              The reason he cut in, was to try passing Webber (he was concentrating on that, not on being passed by Hamilton). It wasn’t going to work, so he made an error by half-committing himself to the move (and making slight contact) before backing out. Hamilton committed himself to a similarly unworkable move (getting wheel to sidepod at a hairpin doesn’t equal the other guy yielding).

            3. This is just my opinion based on the photos, I see where you’re coming from, but disagree.

          4. Completely agree with those photos. Because Hamilton is a spirited driver people don’t realize that he has a very clear code of honor while racing and many times try to blame him because of the hate his popularity has risen.

            The guy can’t understand why someone close on him like that when the cap was already there and he already put his car half threw and his right because he doesn’t to such staff.
            When Shumi got by him it was exactly the same thing. The only reason it seemed like a nice clear move was because Hamilton unlike Massa didn’t behave like there isn’t anywhere there.
            Hamilton could have easily made the scene look exactly the same if had turn in instead of respecting the fact that the Merc was already there leaving the necessary space for clear racing.
            The same with how Rosberg respected Schumi also.

            This staff is crazy and Hamilton is right being frustrated. Is like this drivers can’t accept that they might get overtaken(especially Massa is ridiculous in that point) and react like crazy when a guy is by there side preferring a collision instead of a risk of losing their place(especially Massa is ridiculous in that point, it seems he learned to much from his former teacher).
            This things are a joke. Maldonado also indeed turn in earlier than usual leaving Lewis not even time to back out of his attempt.
            Watch your damn mirrors for Christ sake, and start showing some respect to the guy by your side instead of thinking you can bully him or hit him to stop him from passing you.

            He was frustrated because he sees it exactly like i described and because of the championship of course.
            His comments came from that frustration. I admit the whole black thing was stupid of him and it was obvious his mind wasn’t clear but his right about the fair way of going racing and how wrong the stewards see things.

            1. My be he shouldnot be penalized for Massa’s incident. but defineatly in my mind should be penalised for Masdanado incident. There was no was he could overtalke there. really feel for Maldanado after a decent race.

              Hamilton is a spirited driver – i agree awsome driver.aggresive but sometimes over agressive.

              he has a very clear code of honor while racing – i doudt it he is been called over by the numerous(eg: extensive weaving to defend his place) times for things he could have avoided by simply being responsible.

          5. hmmm – not much of a proof. Just check how easily Massa could place his car as close to Webbers (pic 2, 3), and just brake late and squeeze in, just as Hamilton did on the braking zone. From the moment Hamilton went so close, is 50-50 if the driver in front “feels lucky today” enough to turn in.
            And Massa this year seems, takes no prisoners.

            1. What a load of rubbish the same people complaining about Massa not giving Hamilton the place are the same people complaining that it just isnt racing anymore. I guess it isnt racing when your hero dosnt get his way but when the hero rams into other cars then its the other mans fault and he should just give up his place. just giving up a place is not racing.

        2. maestrointhesky
          29th May 2011, 21:23

          Not only that, Hamilton got hit by Schumacher and Alguesuari. Where’s the penalties for causing an avoidable accident.

          1. Surely you can’t be referring to the first corner? Trying to lay enough blame there for a penalty would be zealous.

        3. OMW the hamilton supporters have gone to a new level of delusion.there was no way hamilton was going to make that pass stick.he was too far behind. samething with his pass on maldinardo. both massa and Maldinado had the racing line they did not cause any accident, Hamilton that tried to dive up the inside and hope they got out of the way because he was coming through did. Webber tried the same thing in the last few laps and was extremely lucky that Kobayashi went off the track to avoid his poor attempt.

          1. I guess you were screaming for Schumacher to get penalized when he overtook Hamilton and Rosberg in the same hairpin?

            1. lol, +1

        4. Thank goodness one person on this forum has some sense! Hamilton took the gamble, Massa chose to have the incident by turning in. However that is still Hamiltons fault as per the regulations.
          Watch the replay and you will see Maldonardo turns in at least two meters early to try block Lewis. At best a racing incident, at worst Maldonardo should have been penalized for this. Again, watch the replay and you’ll see it’s almost identical to his pass on schumi, the difference is that schumi was expereienced and wise enough (unlike Massa and Maldonardo) to see they would cause a collision if they turned in.
          If you know much about the best racer ever (Senna), you will know this was his style which he defended to Jackie Stewart. When u no longer go for the gap, you no longer a racing driver. Senna would stick his car in a gap and give the other driver the choice to have the accident or not. Lewis was right calling the penalties a joke in my opinion.

          1. Finally another Mike i can actually agree with on something. 100% spot on.

            That is proper racing, you dont just turn into someone and have a crash, as massa did, but as far as the letter of the law goes, he had the right to turn in…. Its a tough one, but not a penalty. I believe massa was the reason they had the accident because there was nothing lewis could have done once he had started to make the move, but at the same time, massa should not be forced under the circumstances of having half a car beside him to yield.

            In the rule which states “causing an avoidable accident” i think massa was at fault cause he could have avoided it if he chose to. But at the same time, schumacher in adilade 94 was not penalised for a similar move on hill which ended his race/championship….

            So like you say, A racing incident.

        5. The incident between Massa & Hamilton was actually cased by Buemi who went around the hairpin too slowly, causing Webber to slowdown behind him, this in turn made Massa turn into Hamilton who was along side him… Hamilton didn’t run into Massa, it was the trickle feed from Buemi bing in front of the 3 faster cars that caused that incident, you watch it, if Beumi hadn’t been there, all 3 would have got around that hairpin bend no problem….

          As for the people on here who think that driving a car at over 170mph around a road track is easy, show me your driving licenses because to say that Hamiltons driving is reckless, they really need to go & try it for themsleves & then you may well understand what it like to go faster than 30mph on your shopping trips!!!

      3. formula 1 racing?? they race and get penalised, unfair! i am not a biased hammy fan, but he is a true racer, senna once said if there is a gap you must go for it, or you are nolonger a racing driver, lewis is one of the few who actually does do that! soon f1 will become a sport if you think about an overtake you will be penalised – complete joke, and di resta had a three quater cars body on the kerb, hammy had 1 quarter – not quite the same – boring – bored oh oh there i go

        1. Hamilton, or ali g, is actually short sighted when it comes to seeing a gap.

        2. Alonso years ago said that F1 wasn’t a sport anymore… and people laughed at him…

          1. And we still do.

            1. Maybe you living on the iland across the pond do, but the rest of the world listen when he speaks. May becuase he does not blame every one else all the time and does not crash a dosen times in a season.

            2. I didn’t say that Alonso isn’t worth listening to. It’s just that statement which was poor (and anyone can come out with poor statements).

        3. Yes and Senna was stuck behind Mansell for forty odd laps at monaco. You didnt see him trying any banzai half chance moves.

          1. soundscape (@)
            30th May 2011, 11:04

            Yes and Senna was stuck behind Mansell for forty odd laps at monaco. You didnt see him trying any banzai half chance moves.

            COTD, brilliant!

          2. It was Mansell who was stuck behind Senna (in 1992), for eight laps, not 40.

            1. The BBC crew kept mixing the two of them up as well.

      4. Hamilton seems to be following the traits of Montora, maybe Nascar is his calling.

        He seems to be turning into a rolling hazard.

        1. How can you say that? A rolling hazard is not a way I think anyone would use to describe Lewis. Yes his interview techniquie leaves a lot to be desired but I’m sorry if I put myself in his shoes, I honestly don’t believe I would have been able to be that calm in front of the cameras.

          If you take a look at the whole weekend I honestly believe that Massa is willing to do anything he can to show Ferrari WHY he should be in that car. If that includes sacrificing grid & race position for the benefit of the team – Remember team orders are allowed now. In Q3 Massa let Hamilton past – No question HOWEVER he did so by making hamilton get off the racing line. Today in the race as others have pointed out Hamilton was underneath both Massa & Maldonado. Massa Turned in KNOWING what the outcome would be – effectively trying to take Lewis out of the race. Maldonado can be forgiven due to lack of experience,I can’t imagine what pressure he was feeling in that car and I think that was the cause of that incident.

          But unfortunately the whole Qualifying & race ended in an anti climax for me. After all this could have been an EPIC race.

        2. I said it in another forum already. now I can bet any1 that Lewis will soon leave F1. this is just ridiculous

          1. Im not sure he will, I get the impression that F1 is everthing to Lewis and whatever anyone thinks most people in F1 thinks Lewis is a great talent. Because of this he will always be in a seat that he feels allows him to be in with a shout of an F1 championship so why move to some other form of motor racing??

          2. Let hope that’s true. Lewis is a disgrace for F1, a spoiled brat that doesn’t understand what ethics and sporting behavior means. They never would let this bully start his career in a top team, that was a mistake that will be always present in Lewis mentality, he thinks he is actually better than the others just because he has had a above than average car all his career.

            Go far away from F1 Lewis, I won’t miss you, and bring back Kimi.

            1. bytorr2112 (@)
              30th May 2011, 10:48

              firstly you aint a racist
              lewis is a great driver but he cant keep his cool
              he messed up and had to pay blaming other drivers is childish
              and what a bad quote useing his colour and blaming the stewards for it
              i thought he would have grown up by now having ron dennis as a mentor is great enough but saying he would like to be like senna no chance lewis
              grow up first senna was one of the greatest drivers of all time and fraid you aint gonna be lewis not acting the way you are at the moment

            2. Oh yeh because Kimi was such an asset the sport what with his personality and all.

        3. @Yiquanone – One race doesn’t make a career – but maybe in his case, it is because he is Black!

        4. formula1jmfangio (@)
          29th May 2011, 21:10

          Ha.. stole the words from my mouth !!!!

          1. Yes, that is a nice old tactic, every time you can’t win an argument, you can play the race card. That will stop all the criticism against you even if you are guilty. A nice little trump card and low blow, Jumbo.

      5. I find it abhorrent that LH would even think about his colour let alone utter a word given the racism he experienced in Spain when Alonzo was his team mate.
        As I recall, you must establish a clear overlap before having a right to the racing line. Clearly in both cases he dove for the inside while still at least one, if not two car lengths back whereas MS established his right to the racing line at Lowe’s on his pass. Aggressiveness has to be tempered by judgment which LH continues to demonstrate he has not yet learned. At 26 with all his experience it appears he will never do so but one never can tell.
        I concur. When he screws up it is always somebody else’s fault and the stewards need to keep reinforcing the idea that while he may thing he is special he is just another driver.
        What would be nice is for him to acknowledge that he caused the first safety car by smacking FM and effectively messed up if not ruined JB’s chance for a win.
        LH should shut up, learn to drive within himself and the car and show some respect. If he needs an example, watch how some of the NASCAR boys drive door to door and 200 mph and respect each other.

      6. UKfanatic (@)
        30th May 2011, 1:50

        I wouldnt ruin any other races to Hamilton, When Ham said that the stewards called him 5 out of 6 races I was surprised cause I always get the feeling that he is under penalised instead of over penalised, his racist joke is completly non sense, he is in fact favoured to be honest maybe because he is british and a great driver, proper humiliation would have been a black flag during the race nothing more

        1. UKfanatic (@)
          30th May 2011, 1:54

          this penalty is a good thing because it means that he will be no further penalised and he didnt lost anything by being staid the same. The fanatics would have came with an conspiracy theory saying that Ham qually penalty was intended to give him the right to choose tyres and that this final 10 sec penalty was given to ensure that he isnt going to suffer next gp.

          1. The problem is that once a car starts to brake on its limit there isn’t much anyone can do about it apart from turnig and taking your foot off the brake a bit so you don’t lock the wheels changing grip.

            With no run offs the later isn’t possible.

            Hamilton tried to outbrake cars after they had already started to brake. THAT IS THE PROBLEM HERE.

            If he was along side and then they both braked and Hamilton came out in front then that is fine. Even together is fine.

            BUT Hamilton wasn’t in front or side by side until he hit the brake pedal by which stage the first driver had already turned into the corner.

            You can’t expect drivers tp see Hamilton and think, he may out brake me even though he isn’t next to me, so I’ll leave enough room for him to come through anyway.

            Massa started to brake and turn. Hamilton came up while Massa was braking and they hit. Massa couldn’t do anything. Going fowards and more speed = Webber so he continued on doing the correct thing. HAMILTON WRONG

            With maldo, it wasn’t as clear but Maldo had to reduce speed a bit, Hamiltonw as quite a bit faster and better on brakes due to driver and car. Maldo hits the brakes, Hamilton then goes from behind to front wheels running with the sidepods of Maldo, but Maldo has already hit the apex of the corner.

            Hamilton had no where to go and hit him.

            To overtake when there is no run off he has to be parallel or about when they turn in NOT at the time they hit the apex.

            1. “You can’t expect drivers tp see Hamilton and think, he may out brake me even though he isn’t next to me, so I’ll leave enough room for him to come through anyway.”
              Except that’s what Hamilton and Rosberg did when Schumacher overtook them in the same spot. They saw him coming and stayed out wide instead of cutting in and causing a crash. Massa saw Hamilton coming and cut him off – check the photos Edinfreak posted above. Massa was so determined to chop Hamilton he even ran into the back of Webber doing so. Hamilton’s move was aggressive; Massa’s move was also aggressive, and it should have been a 50-50 accident.

      7. his interview after the race was a disgrace. He seemed like justin bieber throwing a tantrum.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaqcJgLPl_g

        1. The interview was bad. BUT – imagine how you would react if you’d just spent 2 hours racing an F1 car with your heart rate up around 160; you’d been bitterly disappointed for several reasons, and then some interviewer sticks a microphone in your face and asks stupid questions (or worse, questions designed to antagonize you). I think they should delay the interviews until emotions have calmed. I’m surprised there aren’t more silly things said in the heat of the moment.

          1. Yeah, that explains it, but it doesn’t make him a good person. I love the heat-of-the-moment interviews, as you can at least get a glimpse of the real character of each driver.

            As Hamilton himself said at the interview, a race like this is “character-testing” and it surely looks like he failed the test to me.

        2. wow, he comes across really pathetic in that interview. Time to grow up lewis. Actually that was a lil while ago now.

      8. bytorr2112 (@)
        30th May 2011, 11:29

        you know wot maybe vettel keeps winning because he is german wot if he was a black german wot would people say then???????
        i thought race didt matter in sport anymore but it seems to if your black and not white ????????????????????
        sport is sport and the best man(or woman black or white)wins end of and lewis was out of order he had a **** w/end and should deal with it . if they didt allow tyre changes on the grid button would have won at the race so vettel didt win it properley

      9. BBC fivelive podcast for Monaco 2011 gradprix review here. David Croft and Anthony Davidson review the race. Hear from Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.(Check from 15 mins onwards reg Hamilton’s race)

        http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/cff1/cff1_20110529-1912a.mp3

        1. Even anthony davidson, an ex f1 driver thinks massa shares at least some of the blame. If thats not enough for you, what will be?

    2. Classic interview!!

      1. Elliot Horwood
        29th May 2011, 16:27

        Was good to see him speaking his mind and what every Lewis fan thinks too. I Completley agree with Lewis, Stewards were biast to him in 2007 as didnt want a Rookie black driver to win the Championship and would rarther the Germans win all the time. Lewis is a true driver and has a great personanilty and deserves to win another world championship! Stewards are getting to harsh on penalties and preventing people from wanting to overtake, let the boys race. What do the stewards expect from racing in monaco!?

        1. What? Who won in 2008? I don’t recall Massa insulting Glock/Hamilton/the stewards because he had lost by a point.

          1. Remember he also got within a point because alot of crappy penalties, so he really should of been thanking instead of insulting.

            1. I agree with lewis it is a joke, but to say racism plays a part is a bit too far – I’m sure he will apologise for that comment. As for today I sympathise with him. He gave Schumacher plenty of room at the hairpin on lap 1, yet nobody gave him any room when went for an overtake. He must feel absolutely robbed.

          2. Hamilton picked up a record number of penalties that year. Some of them incredibly dubious.

            TBF, I reckon he was over optimistic on the moove on Massa, though Massa held him up in quali. The Maldonado crash wasn’t his fault, he put his car into an open gap after he caught Maldonado napping, said napper saw red after he’d been had.

            Hamilton was as bad as I’ve seen him today but he’s had absolutley horrific luck this weekend. It looked like he had the pace for a front row start at least, an the race pace to challenge for the win, but was denied by luck alone. Anyone’s going to be angry at that point, especially considering the championship situation.

            1. +1, one of the smarter comments on the site.

            2. I didn’t notice it at the time, but having watched the replay I can clearly see that Massa actually did turn in very early. Was it purposeful or just a failed attempt to stop Hamilton from sliding up the inside in the first place? We’ll never know.

            3. From what I remember, Massa was concentrating on avoiding Webber in front, probably didn’t even notice Hamilton. One thing I noticed after the race was that Di Resta’s incident was a lot less severe than Hamilton’s, I think if anyone got unlucky with the stewards it was him.

            4. How I read it is that he actually crushed into Webber because he turned in very early, as their alternative trajectories crossed each other, which is different to what drivers would normally do, to avoid contact and/or get the undercut to the slower driver in front, which is to do a late turn in and take a later apex. We saw a lot of this late turn in stuff today as there where a lot fighting going on.

            5. Ignoring the high risk of qualifying being interrupted by a crash is not bad luck – its a bit stupid or a gamble, which he lost.
              I agree he was held up by Massa and I don’t understand why Massa was unpunished, but to stay in the pits to deliberately not set a time before the last 2-3 minutes of a Monaco GP, where this weekend has almost seen a crash every session is risky. I also hoped to see Lewis on the podium, but mostly it was his own fault.

          3. Elliot Horwood
            29th May 2011, 16:44

            massa wasnt repeatedly penalised in 2008, lewis was in 2007

          4. typical lewis hamilton. will never accept that maybe it’s a bad weekend and he should just be in damage limitation and try to pick up whatever points he gets. always has to get all dynamic and try to put on a show for the fans and then blame the stewards for penalizing him or other racers for not parking the car and letting him through, on the media. and 2 days later probably give out a public apology.
            the mclaren has like the longest wheelbase! how do you expect to get it through at a hairpin without bumping?
            I’m a hamilton fan, but today I was disappointed by his performance.

            1. Massa turned in early. So did Maldonado. I love watching Lewis because he is the true racer out there. Alonso and Hamilton are the best out there. Seb is great, but his car is frickin amazing. That GP was amazing and Massa needs to be hit for his comments about hamilton. He is not even close to hamilton’s performance as a driver.

            2. Massa turned in early because he was trying to pass Webber. Find the video and watch it again.

            3. I don’t understand this ‘accept its a bad weekend’ nonsense. Maybe we should get drivers to rate their ‘feeling’ in the car out of 100 after first practice and award points based on that.
              Drivers are not automatically the difference, they MAKE the difference. We are blessed with a crop of drivers at the moment who do, Koba/Lewis/Alonso/Kubica.
              I hope they never give up on the hope to get past someone, ever.
              PS I loved Schuey’s move on Alonso last year before the final corner.

          5. Well, Massa did complain and fielded conspiracy theories after Singapore. They seemed a bit rediculous and far fetched at the time, making Massa a whiner.

            Shame Nelson Jr. did not bring out his testimony there and then, that would have
            shown Massa was actually right about that.

            There was no reason whatsoever to protest Glock/Hamilton. Not even a clue of why to protest that. Not to mention Massa also gained a lot of points due to very dodgy stewarding that year, he did not have much bad decisions going against him

        2. Stewards were biast to him in 2007 as didnt want a Rookie black driver to win the Championship and would rarther the Germans win all the time.

          F1Fanatic isn’t a comedy club.

          1. you might think its comedy but it aint

            1. If it isn’t comedy then i’d like you to point out which German could have won in 2007 (or 2008)?

            2. I don’t remember Hamilton being overly penalized in 2007. In 2008 it was absolutely blatantly obvious though.

        3. Lewis is a CRYBABY, now hes playing the race card

          1. He’s upset and frustrated by a disappointing weekend. He let those frustrations show during an interview after the race. What’s wrong with that? We all let slip at some point during our lives.

            As for the race card, that comment was obviously a joke. A poor joke maybe, but a joke all the same. How you’ve failed to grasp that is beyond me.

            1. Re Lewis’s comments on ‘racist’ stewards, agree that in all probability a joke but many a true word said in jest and it wasn’t jokey enough to convince me he didn’t mean it, even if only a little. Think you’ll find Lewis apologising in the next day or two. Feel sorry for him and understand his paranoia but still needs to rein in those sort of comments. Stewards decisions are the same for everyone, final and go with the territory

        4. I Completley agree with Lewis, Stewards were biast to him in 2007 as didnt want a Rookie black driver to win the Championship and would rarther the Germans win all the time.

          LOL
          in my country people used to call him Fiamilton

          1. There weren’t even Germans fighting in 2007, so why penalise him?

          2. what country would that be Martin1?

        5. agree 100$

          1. agree 100%

            1. I liked it better when you were backing your opinion with money.

        6. This is how one spells biased and you seem to be in the same spot bringing in the racists issues.
          If the car was competitive in quali and in race trim in as LH defines as high speed corners we won’t be seeing this.
          How is it that JB continues to race within the car and himself and doesn’t seem to get a call to visit the stewards or get arrested for his driving on public roads.
          LH remember lied to the stewards a few year back as well.
          Judgment? No in this guy.
          He has had too much too fast. He served no time with lesser teams stepping directly into what was at that time arguably the best car on the grid. Maybe he should go drive for Hispania, Lotus or Virgin for a season or two and experience how the other 3/4 of the drivers and teams live and learn some humility.

        7. formula1jmfangio (@)
          29th May 2011, 23:26

          Just at the previous race he got a warning instead of a penalty, if anything Hamilton was favored so far as far as sanctions go and for the incident with Maldonado he deserved a suspension or points scrap instead of a drive through penalty
          If he deserves another championship he should win it without taking off other people off track
          I totally agree with let the boys racing ( see the previous incident Alonso Hamilton ) but this time with Maldonado was plain stupid, it’s not go karts mates !

      2. Penalty because you are black? Stop crying Lewis just drive…

        1. Massa was in front…
        2. He overtook Maldonado out of the track…

        Lewis drive was insane…just like all his silly talk about Toro Rosso and Schumacher blocking in Spain…

        1. Yep, even for a joke, that’s low. And I’m no stranger to comedy.

          1. Lets see – if you are black driver what comments would you expect from non-black fans of non-black drivers?

            1. gang up on the kid. its a school yard y’all

            2. formula1jmfangio (@)
              29th May 2011, 23:29

              unbiased comments what else?

        2. If you had of been watching.

          1. Lewis went in the gap, Massa turned in, Lewis went on the curb because he is smart and tried to avoid an accident and Massa just kept turning anyway.

          2. Maldonado left a gap, Hamilton went in it and then Maldonado just kept turning forcing Hamilton off the track.

          1. Lewis was expecting them to move out of the way for him, because if they didnt he would have driven them off the road. Its like playing chicken and lewis lost both times.

            He obviously has no regard for anyone elses race. They are just AI drivers in a codemasters game to him.

            He needs to shape up or ship out.

            1. Commendatore
              29th May 2011, 17:02

              Spot on mate!!!

            2. I can see your point, but lewis gave schumacher plenty of room at the hairpin on lap 1, so why shouldn’t other drivers show him the same respect?

            3. Totally agree

            4. Hamilton didn’t lose out. It was Massa and Maldonado who’s races came to a conclusion because of their inability to leave space. ;)

            5. I do not think he lost – he finished higher than both drivers and finished higher than his grid place. Today he certainly did not loose.

              Today he has gained a lot!

              A the very least those Stewards that single him out for special treatment have to ask themselves – is it because, he is Black?

            6. @Infy. I couldn’t agree more. I was watching Hamilton’s antics on Massa, Maldonado and Schumacher, and all his overtakes were very ambitious. He had inside line, but his car was never alongside any of the drivers.

              In Schumacher’s case, he almost got alongside on the inside, but beat him to the braking point. It was hard, but fair.
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQiCe5qhpGE

              Against Massa, Lewis just expected Felipe to slam his brakes and move off the racing line to avoid contact. Lewis was clearly behind Massa, and just dove down the inside with the expectation of a Ferrari just disappearing off the apex of the corner. It was another chicken fight, and this time Lewis lost.
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeBvUsKNjnE

              Against Maldonado, Lewis again just expected a car that is clearly half a car length ahead, and on the racing line, to just lose all its momentum and just back off. Just constantly diving down the inside and bullying drivers into a game of chicken is going to backfire. I actually felt bad for Maldonado, who was literally shoved into the wall.
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbwXSp7V0vw

              Hamiton’s interview –

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

              I always thought of Lewis as a great racer, but a bit of a punk. The interview was very tastless, and so was his driving.

            7. formula1jmfangio (@)
              29th May 2011, 23:44

              Spot on indeed !

            8. To be honest, he was probalby counting a bit on both Massa and Maldonado being more carefull and relent the position rather than crash.

              Just like he did himself when Schumacher passed him in the first lap and later Rosberg and others were leaving room as well. Better finish a position lower than risk damage.

              I found it a refreshing interview and it was nice to see him voice his thoughts for a while. Sure he will be unhappy about his openness. But I do think the penalties for Malaysia were unnessicary (both for him and Alonso).
              And I also think the incidents at the hairping as well as the move on Maldonado were just racing as we would like to see here.

            9. wow he really has turned into a little whiny rockstar. Arrogant little ****
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaqcJgLPl_g

          2. You see it a totally different way from me…. the camera on Massa’s car clearly shows he was infront…. Hamilton went for a gap he thought he was entitled to, but he clearly wasn’t. To blame the stewards, other drivers and then use the race card, wether in jest or not,is the lowest of the low.

            1. Sorry that last comment wasn’t for you :)

            2. wrong beth, simply wrong assessment

            3. I don’t think Hamilton wasn’t joking that much.

              My real feeling on this is that Hamilton has been aware of racism within F1 since he began (check out Briatore’s comments). Among fans he’s seen plenty – in Spain and Brazil for example. So I think this has been bubbling away for a long time, he finally said it publicly. Calling him the ‘lowest of the low’ for expressing the fact he feels hostility towards him because of his colour suggest you have no idea what it’s like to experience racism, or you share the same hostility.

            4. @DavidBR. I agree that Hamilton’s not had it easy with the racism in Spain and Brazil. But to accuse the stewards of racism just because you got a deserved penalty for driving like a punk… is the lowest of the low.

            5. @ Todfod, Hamilton’s feelings seemed genuine and not confined to this GP. I don’t think F1 has any right to judge him harshly when Briatore is allowed to get away with the comments he’s made about Hamilton in the past. Not nice but neither is what he’s had to put up with at times, he deserves some slack. The comment was couched, even if the feelings were clear.

          3. If you had of been watching.

            Look how Schumacher did it on Hamilton and Rosberg also Webber on Kobayashi…that’s how clever drivers went on gap!!!

            1. yes and i also saw how Hamilton clearly respected the presence of Schumi by his side and how he could turn in on him while his Mclaren frond wheels where still in frond but he didn’t.
              That’s how fair drivers do prober racing!!!

        3. You hit the nail on the head

      3. People are forgetting that hammy is allowed to say this cos he is in fact black. which makes it all good because white people enslaved black people and should be able to play the race card when ever the hell they like.

        Hamilton=OWNAGE!!!

        1. Best comment EVER! I love it when people have the brain capacity to not only spot comedy, but reply to said comedy with comedy of their own!

        2. Except he isn’t necessarily allowed. Tone affects a lot of things- depending on how he said it it may have been said with a degree of sincerity, in which case he is accusing the stewards which is wrong. Whatever, in this context he should have appreciated that with any comment he made, as he was angry people would read the comment as serious being serious.

          And him referencing Ali G- one of the reasons Ali G could say it and it was funny was because he wasn’t black and therefore was no actual accusation of racism…

          And I am white and as I didn’t personally enslave anybody I wouldn’t appreciate somebody ‘playing the race card’ on me.

          1. Sorry for a poorly proof-read comment.

            Except he isn’t necessarily allowed. Tone affects a lot of things- depending on how he said it it may have been said with a degree of sincerity, in which case he is accusing the stewards which is wrong. Whatever, in this context he should have appreciated that with any comment he made, as he was angry people would read the comment as being serious.

            And as to him referencing Ali G- one of the reasons Ali G could say it and it was funny was because he wasn’t black and therefore there was no actual accusation of racism…

            And I am white and as I didn’t personally enslave anybody I wouldn’t appreciate somebody ‘playing the race card’ on me.

            1. The bit about Ali G made it sort of clear to me he wasn’t being serious, exactly because Ali G is just a character of a white comedian. Not the best joke Hamilton ever made, good he talked about it to the stewards afterwards as the updated bit says.

              I do want drivers to not be PR robots, and if that means sometimes they go overboard after a frustrating race/weekend, well, I guess that’s part of it.

              Personally, I thought the Malaysia penalties for Alonso and for Hamilton quite the bad joke. I have to say, I didn’t think it was a coincidence Alonso didn’t, and Hamilton did loose a position: McLaren complained about Alonso, and got a lid on the nose from the stewards to show them that wasn’t a good idea.

              Likewise, those “reprimands” last race were also silly: the Stewards wanted to make a point, if the drivers had done anything actually wrong they would have had a severe penalty. Had that new “three reprimands, then penalty” rule been instated yet, I am sure none of the teams would have accepted them.

              So I can see where Hamilton comes from. With the penalties of this race too, people say consistency, because Di Resta was quite agressive and got a penalty first. I look at the “consistency” of Rosberg and Hamilton making sure not to hit Schumacher, and compare that to Massa, Maldonado – in both cases they could have left more space, and would have had a better result. Did we blame Webber for hitting Hamilton in Singapore last year? Well, I suppose some did, but most agreed it was a racing incident – these weren’t all that different.

      4. Does anyone have a link to his interview?

      5. yes, kudos to Hamilton for at least speaking out.

    3. If ever there was a moment to sleep on it before opening his mouth this was it..

      1. +1

        1. +1, bad joke, bad driving. Just sleep with it Lewis.

          1. sid_prasher (@)
            29th May 2011, 17:41

            +3

            In a few days/weeks/years time, he will regret saying there is a racial bias.

          2. -4 He spoke his mind, he might be wrong, he might be right, but so what? At least it was real.

            1. -5 he spoke what he saw or perceived wrong or right – doesn’t matter

            2. -6 he has a point

      2. Be carefull with his mouth, maybe. His driving was just fine though.

    4. He lost all my respect when I saw this interview… Thats sad, I was actually starting to finally like this guy and hope for him to beat Vettel. No Lewis fan can say that Alonso is a whiner, the new whiner of F1 is definitely Hamilton…

      1. LOL lost all respect for speaking their mind WOW!!! You couldn’t of had much respect for him. What are you like when your friends speak theirs?

        All drivers whine, Seb whines all the time, listen to F1 race edits, alonso and button with the there isn’t any grip…

        I’m glad he said what he wanted to you can’t say I wish drivers would speak their mind and then when they do complain.

        1. I think he just went too far, he’s lost many peoples respect because his arrogance was so noticeable in that interview, not because he spoke him mind. Don’t get me wrong though, this was much better than spewing PR

          1. Really ? because he just gained the respect from most people i know.

            Finally shedding the public relations slave image and just saying whatever the **** he thinks.

            Sure it was heat of the moment, but i’ve got much more respect for him because of this interview.

            1. Its strange how it changes from place to place then….. cos ‘fans’ here have really been shocked by how and what he said…. there’s a time and a place for arrogance and he’ll have to work hard and keep his mouth shut to win a lot of them back.

            2. Nigelstash (@)
              29th May 2011, 19:12

              Me too. The ‘because I’m black’ comment will be fuel to those who don’t like him but it was clearly a joke. The rest of what he said needed saying. He is feeling singled out, and I think he is being – not because he is black but because he believes that racing is about taking your chances. Whatever happened to ‘racing incidents’?
              Imagine we actually get to the last race of the season, and imagine Vettel needs to overtake Hamilton to win the title. Vettel goes for a gap. The every F1 fan is on the edge of their seats. Hamilton closes the gap and they collide. Vettel fails to win the championship. Now be honest with yourselves folks – who do you think will take a penalty?

            3. Who cares? Fans don’t win his race. Personally, I like a driver to speak their mind. I’m also not stupid enough to think that “Because I’m black” comment was anything more than a joke in poor taste.

              Any Lewis “Fans” that are no longer fans after that interview, clearly weren’t that big of fans in the first place.

          2. therealslimshady
            29th May 2011, 16:49

            you see the problem is not the fact that he spoke his mind (finally i may add) its the choice of his words. in a sport such as f1 you do not at all costs say things like “these drivers are absolutely fricking ridiculous, it’s stupid”. it all about mutual respect. his arrogance really is showing through. i wonder if simon fuller is regretting the decision to sign him yet. his pass on schumi today was amazing. as much as i loath hamilton, i actually said wow thats impressive out loud. but then he sees (maybe) schumi pulling off two amazing passes at the hair pin he thinks he can do the same. clearly not!

            also i wish i could get this message to him:

            Dear Lewis,
            You have been in the stewards office 5 times during the last 6 races because you race like a frikin damn amateur! please get off that pedestal of yours and join the rest of the world down here.

            1. His hairpin moves were no different to Schumi’s. The difference was the opposition. Where Schumi was given room, Hamilton wasn’t.

              I saw twitter comments during the course of the Grand Prix. Was expecting to watch the race and have lost all my respect for Lewis.

              Instead, I’ve come home from work, watched the GP, and nothing’s changed. Lewis is a fighter. A racer in the true sense of the word. And yet again, he has proved his willingness to take his chances. I see nothing stupid about his moves. I also don’t see why any of them were punished. Including Di Resta. We are in an era where the FIA is making numerous rule changes to try and create more overtaking chances, yet more than ever they now appear willing to punish drivers for doing exactly that.

              People need to get of their high horse. We have so many great drivers and racers on the grid. Stop ruining it by complaining every time one of them goes all out.

              As for the interview, he was frustrated. We’ve all been frustrated before. It’s human nature to let it all out at times.

          3. I am pretty sure that most of those stating they have lost respect for Lewis never had any for him in the first place. He losses nothing and gains his right to speak his mind.

            1. I agree with you 100 percent. Far to many people are just using it as yet another excuse to slag him off. Why? “Because ‘e iz black? I dunno!”

        2. Of course drivers can speak their mind. However, this is under the assumption that they are generally correct on those matters!

          Hamilton clearly isn’t on this case. If Di Resta got a penalty, there is absolutely no reason Hamilton shouldn’t

          1. therealslimshady
            29th May 2011, 16:54

            +1, maybe splitting with his dad as the manager wasnt the right idea. just look at the way di resta handled the same situation! just got on with it.

          2. Have you considered that Di Riesta shouldnt have gotten the penalty?

            1. Since Di Resta himself admitted that he was impatient when he made that move, it seems pretty clear.

          3. DiResta accepted his mistake

            1. nobody here is motivated to fight Hamilton’s corner – if he doesn’t stand up for himself who will?

            2. Di Resta and Button showed how to give an interview, and how gentlemen they are.

          4. Di Resta shouldn’t have been penalized either.

            1. To be honest, I do think that if any penalty should have been given, then DiResta’s was fair.
              He did try where there was no chance of coming even close, so it was stupid. On the other hand I feel, that he was penalized sufficiently by having to stop for a new nose.

            2. Well said BasCB – well, we agreed on that already when seeing the race, so thanks for articulating it here :)

            3. ScottishNotBritish
              30th May 2011, 11:22

              I disagree! Di Resta did NOT deserve a penalty. And the FIA made a rod for their back by awarding him one.

              I believe that his incident was actually less severe than Hamilton’s (x2) or Koboyashi’s in that he did not cause significant damage to his competitor’s car.

              A drive-through penalty was FAR too severe a punishment for a VERY minor incident and it completely ruined his race.

              The rule needs to be changed so that drivers receive a penalty only in extreme circumstance for ‘dangerous driving’ or receiving an ‘unfair advantage’ not the entirely vague ‘causing an avoidable collision’.

              For the record, I don’t believe any of the driver’s deserved a penalty. The stewards need to let natural justice take it’s course on the race track.

              (Also, did Koboyashi actually receive a penalty for his move on Sutil?)

            4. I agree, Di Resta shouldn’t have had a penalty. Which means Hamilton shouldn’t have had one, but because they dished it out to the FI driver, the FIA left themselves no choice.

        3. you must have not got respect for him to start with. so in real fact he lost nothing

        4. LOL, you think because he is a driver he can say whatever he wants to say without thinking about it? When you don’t have anything intelligent in your mind you better not say anything. Lewis is not speaking to some friends on a restaurant, he is speaking to the entire world. A lot of young people is watching that have him as an idol. Do you really think it is good for anyone to see this guy quoting “great thinkers” like Ali G and saying its because he is black and that everything and everyone is ridiculous but him ?

        5. problem isnt that he spoke his mind the problem is that he doesnt see anything he does as wrong, he says he will admit to things he thinks he done wrong but clearly his definition of what is wrong is warped. He actually thinks that other drivers should just get out of his way even if they have the racing line and he is clearly behind him. and when they dont get out of his way and he drives into them its their fault and not his. He came across as an arrogant whiny little bitch.

      2. People criticize him when he’s polite, because apparently he’s just “repeating the lines fed to him by the PR machine”. People criticize him when he speaks his mind because now “he’s just whining”.

        Haters gonna hate, I guess ;)

        1. Great point, I never criticise him when he says nothing wrong and am against people arguing because his polite.
          But this time he should have spoken on softer tones, because he insulted the drivers and stewards and accused them of artificialising the result.

          1. Fair enough, Fixy. I agree and I also think that Hamilton is wrong in this instance. Drivers are wrong quite often. After all the view from the cockpit is quite limited. Sometimes they even get angry.

            Felipe was indeed turning early into the Grand Hotel hairpin. In that regard Lewis is correct. However Mass did it because (if I remember correctly) he had Webber on the outside, who also started to make his turn.

            Lewis misjudged the situation and got angry when the stewards punished him. But for Antranik to say that “he lost all respect for Hamilton” because of that… well, I suspect there was never too much respect there to begin with…

          2. I agree Fixy.

      3. kenneth Ntulume
        29th May 2011, 17:19

        Antranik??? who cares, Ham is right

      4. Imagine how much I hated him (not as a person) after Brazil 2008, as I was a newby and Massa fan. Since 2009 I increasingly admired him for his speed and driving, but I can still tell when someone is wrong, as in this case.

        1. He called it as he saw it – fans of the other 23 drivers are unlikely to be standing in his corner but then again that is not what he was looking for.

      5. He enjoys F1 like a child who loves F1 and plays at it in videogames, but now he’s even driving like a child in videogames.

        1. Come off it mate… He took a chance, and made an error. I’m sure you’ve done it in your life before. If you NEVER take the risk, you’ll NEVER reap the rewards!

          1. What i can’t understand at all is why to people even care if the guy is arrogant and an ass or a sweet nice guy.
            Don’t people understand that no one of us ever knows anything about this people? We don’t know them personally. You will never know who they truly are and what personality they really have.

            What is this craziness of people choosing favorite drivers on what they think their narrow unsupported opinion about their personality is?

            I think Hamilton is awesome and fair driver and one of the greatest talents to ever hold an F1 steering wheel. That’s why i love the existence of the guy. I don’t care if he puts his feet on the coffee table while at home or if he likes to give alcohol to little children in his free time.
            The only place that i care what kind of personality his showing is the one behind the wheel.

            So many people caring about whether the black comment was a joke or whether it was right or wrong but fail to even notice what we should really be talking about and whether he has a point about those racing incidents.

            I’m not beyond disliking a guy. I dislike Shumi completely. BUT i don’t dislike Schumi the person, i dislike Schumi the driver and the things he did as a driver.
            I don’t even know Schumi the person and i never will. I only know what i see on the track and maybe politics that have direct relation to the track. Nothing else.
            I have no opinion on whether Schumi is arrogant, evil or anything else. I only ave an opinion of what kind of driver he is and i think a pretty dubious and unfair driver and that why i dislike him as a driver.
            Nothing else.
            Hell he might be a great and honest guy to hang-out with though. Who knows?

            I think people should mature a little and stop getting all fanatical calling drivers with characterizations about who they think they are as personalities because it’s just idiotic really.

    5. I can see Lewis getting his wrists slapped by the McLaren PR team after that little outburst. As much as I love Lewis as a driver, he really has to learn to control himself off track. But today I am disappointed in his behaviour both on and off track.

      1. There was no space to pass Felipe and Pastor was too much ahead to pass him, he should have waited another lap. But the thing is, after taking two drivers out, he is still racing in the points, he could have retired with a broken rear wing and he still blames the others rather than being thankful for those 8 points that he did not deserve!

        1. Agreed. But we all say things we regret when we’re angry. The problem here is that Lewis had no reason to be angry. He brought all of this upon himself.

          1. Exactly, he had no reason to be angry. He was even lucky to finish the race considering he collided with Massa and Maldonado and was hit by Alguersuari.

            1. No. Massa blatently turned into him. Maldonado turned into him. Nuff said. The problem with F1 is that everyone assumes its always the trailing guy’s fault. If there is a gap a true racer is going for it. I was furious at what Massa did. Completely unsafe. They were touching and Massa kept turning in. Karma is painful and that is why Massa wrecked out following that crap he calls driving. He won’t be around much longer.

            2. @dlaird – So, for you Massa had to run straight into the barriers to leave Hamilton enough space to pass without fighting.

            3. The Last Pope
              29th May 2011, 21:02

              Fixy you are wrong. dlaird is correct.

            4. @Fixy. Exactly the same point I’ve been trying to make. In all of Hamilton’s moves, he expected the drivers in front to slam their brakes and hit the barriers just so that Lewis can finish his overtaking move. Lewis was never in strong overtaking position against Maldonado or Massa. Lewis was just driving like a punk today. I think he doesn’t deserve that 6th place he got today.

            5. Massa wouldn’t have hit the barriers to give Hamilton space at the hairpin. To claim so, is ridiculous.

              Hamilton was also past Massa before he got all messed up on the marbles in the tunnel and stacked it into the wall.

              Di Resta did no wrong. Hamilton did no wrong on Massa. If Hamilton did anything wrong, it was trying to attack Maldonado from too far behind.

              I’ve seen many other drivers make dumb mistakes trying to pass over the almost 3 decades I’ve been watching F1, but I’ve never seen as much hate as Hamilton gets for racing incidents others also have the misfortune of making.

              As for the interview, he got frustrated and spoke his mind. Stop trying to castrate the guy for doing something ALL of us do.

          2. Agreed, but often You get the most angry, when You are to blame Yourself and end up blaming everyone else.
            Actually he got Massa for holding him up in quali, I don’t believe it was intentional, but the effect on Massa was a DNF.
            I love his aggressive style to a certain extent – sometimes he overdo it and messes up for himself and others.

            1. He moved from 9th to 6th, got Massa and Maldanado DNFéd for not driving fair – i think he did OK.

      2. Does anyone have any onboard footage of the incidents with Massa / Maldonado? Preferably from both driver’s point of view, but Hamilton’s especially.

        My question is whether there was a gap worth going for in one / both of the incidents. If there wasn’t, then it has to be put down to bad judgement on his part. If there was, then I see no problem with what happened (since we should all want to see drivers 100% committed).

        PS. the Ali G comment was clearly a joke, but will no doubt get blown out of all proportion (which is the only reason for it being the ‘wrong’ thing to say).

        1. I found Hamilton’s onboard for the Maldonado incident. To me it looked like Maldonado, left a gap but was clearly half a car length ahead and on the racing line. Lewis was entering the corner in an unusual way and way too ambitious on the braking.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppjrZmK4eak

        2. Here’s the Massa incident.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT-dJMBiZhQ

          The Massa incident could have just gone down as a racing incident, but I’m sure the stewards were compelled to show consistency in their penalties. There was no way that Di Resta could be the only one getting punished for the exact same move.

          In both cases it was Hamilton who looked over ambitious. And for him to call Massa and Maldonado stupid drivers in the post race interview was a really classy move on Hamilton’s part.

          1. Agreed.

      3. I have been hearing this Lewis should control himself **** since 2007. Lewis has been through all sorts of changes to his PR approach, indeed at one time refusing to talk to the press and it has not helped – after all this **** i am definitely with him – he should say what he feels he wants to say, he should drive the way he feels he wants to drive – there will always be haters, within FIA or outside; just because he bends over back wards to make them happy in the press is not going to make them go away

      4. true. he always tries to get all dynamic and do that i drive for my fans thing all the time. it’s okay in wider tracks. there was no space here at all. why couldnt he just accept it and say yeah okay, bad weekend, lets move on. and just be in damage limitation and pick up whatever you get.

        These drivers are absolutely fricking ridiculous

        and that’s just rude. defending a position isnt ridiculous.

        1. That’s all the respect Lewis has for his title rival to which he nearly lost the 2008 crown and a rookie.

          1. Massa has never shown Hamilton any respect, so they’re quits.

            1. Never heard Massa insulting Lewis. He very sportively accepted defeat in 2008.

            2. Well aside from consistently moaning about him and asking for extra penalties, like today. But I really meant on track. Massa never cedes to Hamilton even when he’s just as likely to come out badly or worse. To be fair, not sure if that’s lack of respect or over-competitiveness with Hamilton, maybe stemming back to 2008.

          2. Massa has always been nasty to Lewis so i am sure there is no love lost between the two of them. For sure he will never earn points for being nice to some of the drivers on the grid – its a good thing he is learning to place the car in the right places Webber-style such that when you turn into him you pay the price. Its also encouraging that the MP26 is stronger than last years McLaren.

      5. He’s not endeared himself to his fellow drivers has he? Calling them ridiculous and stupid wasn’t exactly the smartest move after his “monkeys at the back” comment a few years ago.

        Guess he can expect his lapped colleagues to respond to blue flags just a little slower the next time out.

        1. he doesnt usually lap the likes of Massa and Maldanado so there should be no problems with blud flags

    6. I don’t care if the racism part was a joke or not, those are some disgraceful comments. Talk about putting the sport into disrepute!

      This man has serious attitude problems! He expects drivers to move out of the way when they see him coming, he berates his team every time they make a mistake and blames other drivers whenever he can….

      1. He is right, both Massa and Maldanado should have been smarter and seen him right there.

        1. true. Schumasher was in the exact same situation as Maldonado when Lewis was passing him and he managed to avoid an accident. Same with Schumi overtaking Lewis (similar to the Massa situation) and lewis not driving into him.

          1. Yeah. Agree. He did managed to avoid turning into people. Does anyone really wanna see vettel run away with the championship? IMHO,the drivers that can truly stops him are Lewis and Alonso. But at the moment, Ferrari are not looking so good.

        2. Hamilton moves on massa & maldonado were wrong. Why would the driver in front let lewis pass, they are racing like everyone. Alonso repected the rules & did not make a move on vettel. Lewis just thinks he is playing a video game & he thinks everycar as bots who will give him way.

          1. Not just let him past, but when you can no longer keep them behind without causing an accident at the time, its the time to let them past and then attack yourself. There was nothing wrong with either move, Hamilton went for a gap and both drivers moved in on him, and yet who is it that gets the penalty? Thats right its Hamilton.

            1. Yup. They shouldn’t give out penalties for that. I think it’s just a racing incident. If you don’t go for that gap and tries to overtake, you are not a racing driver? And it’s mostly the track’s fault isn’t it? Never really liked monaco. Boring, cant overtake. Alonso can’t get pass vettel too.

          2. The fault lies with the flag stewards that fail to show the blue flags to the slower drivers. And then for all those that have actually raced, a driver should expect that the overtaker is eventually going to shove him aside. I happens all the time. When there is no difference in pace it is ok to defend a position but not by deliberately blocking as Massa did. Then Massa is doubly at fault for ruining Hamilton”s qualifying attempt and then for blocking Hamilton during the race proper. Maldonado did not have the pace to challenge Hamilton and should have moved over.

            Then why do the likes of virgin, HRT et al move over for the faster competitors? aren’t they racing too? Why don’t they choose to block those that are trying to lap them?

            The same goes for Massa and maldonado. Then, why penalize Hamilton?

            If one follows F1, it is obvious that Massa has a grudge with Hamilton ever since he lost the championship to Lewis in 2008.
            Preventing Hamilton’s takeover does not make Massa a better driver.

            In GT racing he would have been shoved into the scenery a zillion times by now.

            The stewards also have a grudge with hamilton. For whatever reason tit is blatant that they are after his guts.

            1. CarlD – Cars being lapped must move over, or they get the blue flag. Cars positioned ahead are entitled to make a pass as difficult as they can, within the rules. Otherwise racing wouldn’t be fun to watch.

          3. Neither Massa nor Maldonado finished the race due to turning in when a car was already in the space they wanted…..isn’t that a good enough reason?

            At the same time, one of the main reasons Hamilton DID finish the race is because he realised this when Schumi nailed him at Loews. Hamilton did exactly what you moaners are asking with amazement……he let the other guy through.

            Yes, if you can’t close the door without hitting the other guy you HAVE LEFT IT TOO LATE and should cede the corner to fight another one.

            1. maestrointhesky
              29th May 2011, 22:19

              Exactly right Mikef117!

            2. [quote]Yes, if you can’t close the door without hitting the other guy you HAVE LEFT IT TOO LATE and should cede the corner to fight another one.[/quote]

              THIS!!!
              Bless you Mikef117.

            3. Yep, that’s it. And both Massa and Maldonado were in that respect stupid to not see that – isn’t it the first rule in driving to avoid hitting someone? It doesn’t help them anything now to feel vindicated by Hamilton’s penalty (in fact, if Massa hadn’t subsequently crashed himself, I think he might have also gotten a drive trough, he certainly could have avoided the incident by not going into he back of Webber and taking a wider line).

        3. And you are plain wrong, both Massa and Maldonado were ahead, therefore they had a right to chose the track and he simply had to adjust his own, which he didn’t. Seems to me he lost the “untouchable” status since Ron Dennis left and with the new star Vettel on stage, he just cant get over it.

          1. LH had “untouchable status” in the FIA’s eyes in Ron’s time??? You could have fooled me. He was a penalty magnet in 2008 for the simple reason that Max had it in for Ron and used the Alan Donnelly –> Lewis penalty path to attack Dennis until he was out of F1 altogether.

          2. This “ahead” thing is ridiculous. That’s not how it works and you guys understand nothing about racing.

            The guy defending will always be ahead at some point since the other guy is coming from the back and if he turns into the other guy he can claim being right that way. That’s just crazy.

            This way no one can ever pass anyone unless is a big straight and has the whole car in-frond before they reach a turn.
            Go to racing learning school and learn how the thing works and stop trying to pull this “being ahead” theories.

            If you left the door open and the guy is by your side you made a mistake. Accept it and stop trying to turn in on him and force him to a no choice crash(and future scaremongering of never attempting to go for a gap against you) just because you frond wheels are still a little ahead. That’s no excuse.
            From when being a little ahead is an excuse turning in on a guy that is already committed in an open door you left unprotected and has nowhere to go?
            This way two cars will never race side by side because one car will always be slightly ahead of the other at certain points and he just has the right to turn on the other guy that must magically disappear.

            1. Problem is, Hamilton hit the two cars from their sides after they had committed to the corner, not Hamilton getting turned in on.

            2. But David A, that’s not really true for Maldonado, who just turned into the barrier on the other side all by himself; With Massa, after the corner, HAM was parked on the cerbs, and couldn’t take a much narrower line, but Massa could have gone a bit wider – in other words, both could have done more to avoid hitting each other.

        4. “Oh, it’s Hamilton. I better let him pass.”

    7. His driving was a joke. Not a funny one for Massa and Maldonado, clearly.

    8. I’d have called a lot of his driving today a joke personally.

      1. 100% agree! The one with Maldonado, I can kinda, almost see where he was coming from, but the one with Massa at the hairpin was just ridiculous.

        1. What’s ridiculous is that Massa kept turning into him.

          1. I saw that too, but Massa had little space and was ahead of Lewis, who was cutting the corner and should have braked.

            1. The Last Pope
              29th May 2011, 21:23

              This “he was ahead” is rubbish. It doesn’t mean you can ram the guy onto the curb. What if massa was only a nose ahead could he still just drive into him? No of course not. Fact is there would never be any clean overtaking now at monaco if the driver infront didn’t ever conceed to save their car from damage.

            2. Massa didn’t ram him onto the curb. Massa was trying to pass Webber, and took a tighter line. Hamilton went into a non-existant gap.

            3. Webber was a mile away. If Massa really thought he was gonna pass Webber there then he really is crazy.

            4. Don’t be daft, Hamilton came from way too far back, it wasn’t a intellegent attack and he should know better.

            5. It reminded me a bit of that start accident between Liuzzi and Massa last year in, was it Canada? Massa keeps driving into Liuzzi, who was stuck with Button on the other side of him – except Hamilton had less space on the inside, and Massa now much more space on the outside to avoid a bigger hit. In both cases Massa didn’t help his race but rather kept getting into it – that also shows something, in my opinion, and it isn’t great driving. Sad as I really like Massa, but he also has shown some rather untimely aggression that caused him races.

    9. He is dead right!

    10. Hamilton reminds me of Ronnie O’Sullivan. Very talented in his chosen sport but has a terrible attitude which makes him hard to root for.

      1. you are having a laugh right .

        In 4-5 years in the sport this is the first time lewis has said something as candid as this and you are already comparing him to sullivan .

        1. It’s his attitude I’m talking about. This is the first time he’s been so candid about thinking little of the other drivers and thinking the world is against him. But he’s hinted at it before.

          1. He has hinted at it because he is right, just as a fan you can feel it, stupid penalties, all the hate he gets.

          2. No I mean he’s hinted at having such a bad attitude. Blaming everything on someone else isn’t a trait I find particularly appealing.

            1. Just look at you, listen to yourself, read what you write – you are unlikely to find anything about Hamilton appealing under any circumstances and it adds no value for him to worry about that

            2. Mark Hitchcock
              30th May 2011, 15:02

              NDINYO, I was a huge fan of Hamilton in 07 but only started going off him as it became more apparent that I couldn’t stand his attitude.

              No die-hard Hamilton fans seem to be able to accept any criticism of him without assuming that the one dishing out the criticism must just hate him.

        2. And as I said. It makes him hard to root for. I wish I could support O’Sullivan in the snooker because I love his style of play. But every interview I hear with him makes me hate the guy.
          Same with Lewis.
          Loved a couple of his overtakes today. Hated his attitude when he made a mistake.

          1. Unfortunately I 100% agree with you Mark.

          2. you are dead wrong with your comparison. walk a mile in his shoes..

      2. Younger Hamii
        29th May 2011, 16:38

        Actually Andy Murray,He’s one of the Best in Tennis but his Attitude is Well Known to be Absolutely Terrible.

    11. The race card? Seriously???
      Even in jest that isn’t on! He drove like a lunatic!!

      …and I’m a fan of his!!

      1. Obviously not a big one because he is right…

        1. The Last Pope
          29th May 2011, 21:34

          lol +1

      2. IF HE WAS BEING SERIOUS THAT WOULD BE THE RACE CARD.

        HE CLEARLY SAID HE WAS JOKING.

        1. That’s such a poor excuse.

          It’s like saying no offence but…

          You clearly mean offence, it’s just a way of making you feel better about saying it.

          1. Its not the point, the amount of hate and penalties he gets just cant be because of his driving…

          2. just like all the racists out there who would say something like this :

            “I am not trying to be racist but…(inserts racist crap)…

        2. It doesn’t matter if he was joking, it was going too far. Just a stupid thing to joke about.

          1. c’mon mommy’s boy ,learn to take a joke . The spanish fans were “having a laugh” too when they painted their faces black ,weren’t they . Its just a joke .

            1. No, that is seriously unfunny and offensive. And if you can’t see how offensive that can be to people, then you need to check some of your own behaviour.

            2. and everybody stood up for Alonso when he rooted for them and justified their joking. What piece of ****. This is precisely what Lewis was talking about – the double standards

          2. I don’t care that he joked about it being because he’s black, I thought it was kind of funny. I find it interesting that he’s blamed his misfortunes on other so often (he blocked me, he didn’t move fast enough etc) and then when he is the pursuing driver, and causes avoidable accidents, it’s still their fault, and the stewards are wrong for even looking into it. He had more accidents than a senior citizen with bladder control issues today!

            1. i quite remember lewis putting his hands up at australia 2010 and saying that he was not quick enough

            2. He also admitted he was wrong last year in Monza.
              The only reason he isn’t doing so right now id because HIS RIGHT!!!

            3. wouldnt it be nice if he just said he wasnt good enough and quit F1 … pliiiiz!!

      3. you are obviously not his fan

    12. And Di Resta, who had a similar number of incidents just held his hands up and admitted to being impatient. What a contrast.

      1. I agree. Good on Paul too for his comments as generally racing drivers all use any excuse they can find!

        I don’t really want to have a go at Lewis because he was quite upset and I’ve never warmed to him either but I have to say I disagree with all of his comments and felt he was largely responsible for his rotten weekend.

        1. You are entitled to your opinion just like he is entitled to his. IMO he has a point – you have to question the justification behind the double standards. FIA have to be more objective – 2008 was a year when they were at their worst against Lewis, 2010 was quite bad too – i remember worrying about Webber’s impunity when it came to DNFing Lewis almost at will. There is been many avoidable accidents that FIA does not even appear to notice – Kimi on Sutil at Monaco comes to mind

      2. Should i respond or just give you a spanking . lemme see…

        This is di resta’s first season , he is not a world champion , he has not been robbed of a win (spa 2008) and to cap it all ,He is in a slow car!!!!

        1. He’s a world champ in a fast car? Well, Hamilton shouldn’t have been colliding with rookies in Williamses then… :)

          This all looks good on Di Resta (as Steph said) an bad on Hamilton.

          1. Yer I agree on Di Resta he’s showing himself as a real class act as well as being faster than his experienced team mate

        2. None of that matters curedcat. Paul made a mistake and owned up. Hamilton in similar circumstances lost his cool. Maybe with past situations it is more understandable that he wouldn’t be as calm but he completely lost his temper and revealed a rather unsettling feeling of superiority regarding other drivers which I feel typically most F1 fans don’t like (Seb got a backlash in 2010 when it felt he was being favoured).

          1. Agreed Steph, the rookie acted like a veteran and the veteren acted like a rookie.

            1. dude if you dont have a feeling of superioruty then you cannot be a champion – end of

            2. @pking008-
              You can believe that you are the best without thinking that the others are “ridiculous”.

            3. to believe that you are the best the others have to be … well, you thought it :)

          2. For me the difference is a large part the past – the FIA definitely were out for McLaren, and that meant Hamilton, in 2008; so that it clouds Hamilton’s feelings is sort of understandable, if not a pretty sight.

            I still think that Massa and Maldonado both were indeed unwise to so leave more room and just finish the race – their results would have been better, regardless of what their right was. Rosberg and Hamilton both did that right when Schumacher came up their inside at the hairpin, in my opinion.

            Di Resta did have a line more directly into the driver before him, who couldn’t do anything to stop him, so he was more deserving of a penalty than Hamilton. The consistency isn’t real, as every incident is slightly different, otherwise we wouldn’t even need the stewards, just telemetry, and in this case,

            1. @David A
              I think you are equating the word “ridiculous” with “rubbish” which is not what Lewis said. personally I use the word ridiculous alot. when i used it in that context, i’m simply saying the other person has not understood or has misunderstood the situation because i think i’m right. Lewis use of the word here me think is in similar light that he thinks Massa and Maldonado are wrong

    13. So do you guys want Hamilton do speak his mind or not?

      One moment you’re calling him a PR robot, another you’re bashing him for saying what he thinks.

      1. But what he said made him sound like an idiot and was completely out of order…

        1. There’s such thing as going to far. Lewis is either a robot or a PR disaster.

        2. The Last Pope
          29th May 2011, 21:45

          Well this is what the FIA get when they take an frustrated young man straight from his car into the media cage while adrenalin is still in effect. This is what the media wants. I can only imagine what kind of rants we could have heard if the drivers from the 80’s had to do interviews right out the cockpit.

          At least Lewis managed not to swear. I don’t think Mark Webber would have been able to stop himself if it were him lol.

      2. So do you guys want Hamilton do speak his mind or not?

        We want drivers to speak their mind. But we also like them not to be stupid about it. He drove like an idiot today and blaming Maldonado for the accident is a sign of arrogance and, well, stupitidy.

        1. And well, smart, Maldonado should have let him go, he was never going to stop him coming through when he turned in, another reason to just dump him.

          1. So drivers are entitled to be let past now despite not being in a position to have said overtake? This kind of self-entitlement by the top drivers and their fans is a dangerous development for F1.

        2. the same way all smart people think those who do not say what they want are idiots, good drivers think those who block them are r*****. Let’s try to use the same ruler for Lewis and ourselves.

      3. Midweek, when he said something like “I’m the only one who can stop Vettel”, I appreciated that as him confidently speaking his mind. This was just an unnecessary outburst.

        It’s just that I fail to see why people are taking the “cos i’m black” comment seriously. I’ve seen many use that jokingly before (including myself), and not cause offense.

        1. very good comment david . You have to question the motive of those folks who are holding on to that “I AM BLACK ” comment . Dude clearly laughed after saying it .

          1. Agreed, that bit was clearly a joke. The rest of the interview however sadly wasn’t.

            1. sid_prasher (@)
              29th May 2011, 21:01

              Hmm…I just read the transcript so it wasn’t that obvious.

        2. It wasn’t a smart joke but I took it as a joke all the same. I found his “…these drivers are absolutely fricking ridiculous, it’s stupid…” to be the worst to come out of it.

          1. Yer Lewis was the one who was ridiculous today. Far too often he thinks he has the right to throw the car down the inside and the other driver should just get out of the way and let him through. I mean he wasn’t even half way down the side of Maldonado and expected him to give way.

            1. Lets see – if Massa and Maldanado had stayed out of the way, chances are they would finished in the points; so maybe they should have actually stayed out of his way if they were, well, calmer than Lewis?

      4. Oh, I definitely want him to keep talking his mind. Because how else is he going to show himself up as the immature unprofessional idiot he apparently is?

        His driving today was just appalling. I agree with kevmscotland below that he seemed to be realising today that he was supposed to have a rookie year full of mistakes and he’s just having it a couple of years after the fact to make up for missing it in his first year.

      5. It sounds as if Dennis and McLaren had him trained for his own good because his arrogonce and attitude calling Massa and Maldonado ‘fricking idiots’ today was appalling.

        For his own good being a PR robot is probably for the best.

        Di Resta is younger yet his response was far more measured and mature.

        1. I thought it was great because Massa is an idiot.

          1. Massa tried to pass Webber and made a little contact. Hamilton tries to pass Massa and makes more contact. So if Massa’s an idiot, Hamilton’s a bigger one.

            1. No the one who did not get points is the bigger one

            2. NDINYO-

              Massa crashed in the tunnel- that was Massa’s fault.

              Hamilton crashes into Massa at the hairpin- that was Hamilton’s fault.

    14. Test.

    15. What does the reporter expect lewis to say ?

      “Asked why he has had so many penalties he joked: “Maybe it’s because I’m black – that’s what Ali G says! I don’t know”

      Ha ha !. Go lewis

      1. Exactly!!!

      2. +1

        Loved the interview.

        Here in Brazil we have to hear the commentator Galvão criticize Hamilton every race for everything, and praise for nothing. I mean ever. Today he was ‘aggresive’ for hand signalling Schumacher when he finally got past and ‘anti-ethical’ for saying Massa collided with him. Alonso made a gesture after going past a backmarker and he’s ‘competitive.’ So how do you explain that difference in attitude by a commentator? In Brazil white racism appears in precisely this form: blacks should keep their mouth shut and thank themselves lucky. If they complain about anything, they’re the one with the bad attitude. Yet you’ll find all drivers complaining the whole time (when they’re not winning). Who gets the flak on Brazilian TV and called unethical for expressing his view of an incident? Hamilton only. Racism pure and simple.

        1. Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
          29th May 2011, 17:01

          Don’t be rubbish David. Galvão clearly seeks to ensure Massa is the victim, always. Had it been Alonso who collided with Massa, he’d be complaining about Alonso, as he has been doing since Bahrain 2010. It’s just his motif, diminishing the value of whoever else is racing against Massa, teammates or not. Hamilton is the driver who “stole”, in Galvão’s view, the title from Massa, so I’m not surprised that he criticises Hamilton often. That’s Massa-bias, ‘pure and simple’. I, like most of us Brazilians, hate Galvão Bueno with a passion, but I’d never attribute any of his badly-thought through comments to racism.

          About the “black should keep their mouth shut” stuff, I wouldn’t like to comment on that because that’s quite a bit off the place, but I’d like people not to believe it’s like that in every area of our society.

          Ah, and by the way, Hamilton and Schumacher were racing, Alonso and the HRT were not.

          1. Guilherme Teixeira

            I respect your opinion, but it doesn’t fit the fact Galvão was against Hamilton from his first year, well before Massa’s challenge for the WDC.

            I agree a discussion about racism in Brazil is off-topic, but Galvão leaves me incensed with these deeply personal attacks on Hamilton and from the comments I’ve read on many Brazilian blog sites, I’m far from alone in thinking this is to do with ‘something’ very specific about Hamilton.

        2. Do you mean hand signalled Maldonado rather than Schu, or did he do it to both?

          1. Looked like he gave the finger to Schu, some gesture for sure.

        3. I’m sorry, but I do live in Brazil also (BSB) and to attribute all that criticism to racism is, IMO, plain nonsense. I’m sorry to say that. And yes, today Hamilton was involved in three incidents.
          I have to say that, like you, I loved the interview, as is good to see a driver speaking openly. But in my opinion, Hamilton was wrong in almost every word.

          1. Aldo, Hamilton deserved the flak today, but I’m talking about the degree of hostility shown to Hamilton over four years now. I really don’t want to get into the race issue again, but I was responding in part from Lewis’s (semi-joke?) comment and in part because of Galvão and the rest joining in today. ‘Anti-ethical’ is having a driver crash on purpose, not complaining to your team during the race, which everyone does.

        4. David Johnson
          29th May 2011, 17:12

          +1

      3. if you heard her interview with DC and Eddie Irvine… SHE expected him to say, ‘i don’t want to talk about it’, as he has often said in the past. Even she said she wished he had thought about it before he opened his mouth.

    16. kevmscotland
      29th May 2011, 16:19

      I’m a huge mclaren and hamilton fan, I to a certain extent feel robbed after this grand prix with regards to the team closest to beating red bull, also having the most terrible run of luck with penalties and screw ups, but lewis drove a shocking race here.

      I’m gobsmacked he still came away with a P6, but qually he clearly cut the corner, and the red flag was a shame in qually.

      race wise tho, he just tried to tank his way through.
      It was really disappointing to see.
      Even the massa incident had me questioning wether the tunnels the right place to be pushing as we’ve seen before cars career off in the tunnel ( Rosberg last yar wasnt it?)

      but yeah, Di resta did a similar thing and got a penalty, and in the post race interview took full responsibility. Its a shame lewis who seemed to develop so well last year, has gone back to year 1 again.

      1. I really like DiResta, but he went storming in. Massa left the door open entering the hairpin, and Lewis made the move. He was well upside Massa when Massa took a late move on Webber in front, turning in to undercut Webber. Where was Lewis going to go? He took avoiding action by mounted the pavement. But at that point they’re all on full steering lock – it was only ending one way. That was a racing incident for me.

      2. Nigelstash (@)
        29th May 2011, 19:23

        Not sure what you mean about the tunnel. Lewis had the line. Massa was on the marbles. Massa didn’t have to push but he is a ‘racing driver’ so he did.

    17. Good on him, nice to see a driver speaking his mind rather than media-robot speak.

      1. if he were right, would make sense! But he isn’t

        1. what would you rather he say? ‘im a naughty boy, im so sorry’?

          1. That’s what Paul Di Resta did, owning up to his mistakes. And he’s not less of a driver now is he?

            1. so you want all the drivers to do exactly the same thing? how boring would that be?

            2. It’s not about doing the same thing, but doing the RIGHT thing.

              “Speaking your mind” does not mean you can spew any amount of rubbish you want

        2. just because you dont agree with something doesnt make it wrong

      2. Elliot Horwood
        29th May 2011, 16:23

        it is good to hear what they really think, and will give him so much more adrenalyne to win in canada

    18. No, Lewis, you’re the “frickin” joke.

      1. no bro your a joke. like you wouldn’t be annoyed if you tryed your best and still some crap racer who cant even overtake was winning by luck all the time

        1. So it’s Vettel’s fault for being on pole/having a nice package/letting the car race itself, yea i’m the joke.
          I meant that after smacking into an other car while not having the up on him, you still comment, and who you comment ? the referee… yea right, dude his obligation is to drive and race and let the marshals do their part.

          1. Elliot Horwood
            29th May 2011, 16:30

            Vettel was on Pole because of a Red flag, vettel won because of a red Flag.

            1. Vettel only got pole because of a Red Flag? He was nearly a half second quicker than 2nd place.

          2. what the hell did you just say. can you even speak english. basically you cant defend vettel because he is rubbish compared to hamilton, alonso and kubica who are actually real racers and dont need the car to “race itself” lol

            1. You are miles off… also learn your English, with things like “your a joke” (my joke ?)

            2. fine you’re a joke. at least the sentence made sense unlike yours which was just jumbled up words

      2. Elliot Horwood
        29th May 2011, 16:24

        No Jolerto your the joke

        1. I know you are but what am I. The intellectual capacity of this thread is stunning. Wow! Hey Keith, please make IQ tests mandatory during registration.

          1. +1, defending Lewis this way only makes it worse.

    19. FIA should check pit radio in case Hamilton said “oops i hit massa”, “oops i hit maldonado”……. Unprofessional 100%, he just lost my respect to him…

      1. ive lost respect for you bro. ill be saying “woops i hit your dumb *** in the face” soon!!

        1. What a cowardly response t-money. Making anonymous threats on a forum that you have no intention or ability to back up with real action. Completely pathetic.

          Change your diapers and have a nap. The rest might help to clear your head.

      2. Like he cares about you “respect”

        1. Well said. Lewis remains the best racer and that bothers many, why? “……black….”, I don’t know.

    20. Elliot Horwood
      29th May 2011, 16:21

      Completley agree with Lewis, Stewards were biast to him in 2007 as didnt want a Rookie black driver to win the Championship and would rarther the Germans win all the time. Lewis is a true driver and has a great personanilty and deserves to win another world championship! Stewards are getting to harsh on penalties and preventing people from wanting to overtake, let the boys race. What do the stewards expect from racing in monaco!?

      1. Maybe the expect drivers not to take each other out. Why is it so hard for Hamilton and his fans to admit fault?

        1. because he is being penalized for racing – which is what F1 is supposed to be about

    21. Mclaren will have him back in line next time out, PR answers consisting of ‘fanatastic team’ or ‘no comment.’

    22. Yes the ham man. they be all up your face cos mans is black and tings. seriouly though vettel is probably the luckiest man alive and hamilton along with webber and alonso have been very unlucky so far this season. what i dont get is how vettle can get out of the car and pretend like he won the race on merit when it was probably 90% luck. he only got pole cos Q3 was disrupted so he was lucky there too. You could say you make your own luck but vettel did not cause the saftey cars or the red flag in qualy so he didn’t make his own luck he just lucks into things and people say how good he is. I also like how the bbc are trying to say f1 is interesting this year even though vettel has already won the WDC pretty much.

      In conclusion hamilton is right F1 2011 is a massive joke

      1. Try to remember last year, pal, all those misfortunes with Vettel, seems to me he deserved a change of luck, wouldn’t you agree?

        1. yer but he still won the WDC in the end so he was hardly unlucky you moron!

          1. Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
            29th May 2011, 16:32

            Time to tidy up the troll filter, Keith…

            1. Yes indeed. 6 Pages of comments so far and I can already tell they’re not worth going through.

            2. +1 I never see such blind, unceasing support for any other driver. Why do Hamilton stories bring in all the hate and idolatry? And I’m not just talking about today. Remember the Hamilton vs Brabham match-up in the Champion of Champions series?

          2. Let me get this straight… you win a championship despite having to abandon from multiple 1st positions and i am the m***n, and Vettel is a lucky pilot with no skills and determination, professionalism. You should probably run for president for the sake of it.

            1. yes he is lucky he has an easy car to drive and never really does any racing he just does laps in a car that is faster than any other car and leads from pretty much start to finish. the only person that should be able to get close to him is webber and webber is a slow driver so that will never happen

          3. Yes he was. He lost well over 70 points due to unreliability that Webber didn’t have. Last year would have looked pretty much the same if he had, had a car just as reliable. His misfortunes last year were outweighed by his (and the cars) speed, that is why he won last year. That was not due to luck. This year the luck is evening it self out, and a first pit stop that took 6.7 seconds is not really luck is it? Red Bull handed the win the McLaren, yet McLaren weren’t able to use the opportunity. That is not because Vettel is lucky.

            1. it doesnt matter how many points he won it by he still won the WDC because he has the fastest car for 2 years running. its not like when ferrari and mclaren were always winning at least it was 4 potential winners instead of just the same winner over and over again because the red bull is miles faster than any other car

    23. Iwas quite a lot quicker than Massa, I went up the inside and the guy just turned so early and just turned into me so I tried to go onto the kerb to avoid him, and we’re stuck together.

      There’s a turn there Lewis, of course Massa turned in!

      Just because Schumacher caught you napping doesn’t mean you can dive inside anyone you want…

      1. At least when shumacher dived up the inside, Lewis gave him room, yeah in hindsight, lewis’ move might not have been ideal, but massa completely closed the door and lewis’s wing was definitely inside before the corner, so the penalty is arguable to me, but I can see why hamilton is so upset. He went for a gap, better than just waiting for pit stops to me.

        1. Massa hit Webber in that turn, so there were no space for him to go unless he wanted to bury his front wing in Webbers rear wheel.

          1. Yeah that’s the key point in that move. Massa couldn’t turn because he was in a little too deep and too close to Webber. Hamilton steamed in and gave Massa a choice of hitting Webber and not making the corner or taking the corner and connecting with Hamilton

    24. Sergio Perez
      29th May 2011, 16:23

      This is why I like Hamilton. He drove like a real fighter, a champion. Never settle for less. This is what the greats do. Hamilton was closer than Diresta on the hairpin overtaking move, and I also agree, Pastor Maldonado slammed into Hamilton when he was already in next to him. I don’t consider this reckless driving, but true racing. Good job Hamilton, you’re part of what makes f1 still watchable. An extra word of praise to Kobayashi. Fantastic race! Give him a competitive car!

      1. Well said Sergio…hope your recovering well :-)
        That said I believe Lewis spoke his mind and said things that everyone knows to be true but are too “diplomatic” to say. It was about time he let this burden off his shoulders and speak his mind. At least next time the stewards make a penalty call on him, the call has a chance of being 50% unfair (minus the racial consideration) as opposed to 100% unfair (plus racial consideration)

        1. +2 Hamilton and Alonso are the best out there. Put Kobyashi in Webber’s car ot Button’s car.

    25. Well tbh he does have a point. The entire race was a joke. I cant believe they still keep monaco on the grid. Talking about safe tracks and bringing excitment to viewers, well monaco has nothing of those 2.
      Stewards are a joke now, i cant believe that they pennilized hamilton and di resta for those attempts to pass.
      Getting ridicilous

      1. thought i was the only one who wondered why monaco and barcelona are still on the calendar . Monaco in particular is a no-overtake race ,so why the hell is a race being held here ?

        1. Monaco glitz wants F1 and Stewards wants fast parade laps not racing nor overtaking … esp it it involves Ferrari they get very irritated!

        2. Because of it’s history, and status similar to that of the Indy 500.

    26. His driving was the joke. And how dare he play the race card, that is downright unfunny and rude.

      And I hope he knows Ali G is Jewish because I don’t think he does.

      1. what does being a jew have to do with anything?

        at least he tried to race instead of just following vettel around all day like the others.

        monaco should be removed from the calender cos its not a race track its a parade!

      2. what do you mean jewish , Ali G is jewish ,so is jeff goldblum but this guys can hide their “jewishness” ,lewis can’t hide his colour ,unless he does a Jacko lol.

        go lewis .

      3. Duchess, he can ‘dare’ play the race card because slavery was banned in the UK, at least, a few centuries ago. Okay by you? Thanks.

      4. And I hope he knows Ali G is Jewish because I don’t think he does.

        No, Ali G is a fictitious character, he does not exist in the real world. And I thought being Jewish was a religion not a race of people.

    27. I want to see this interview, sounds like a classic.

      Have to disagree with him on the penalties. I think today he drove very poorly and wasn’t far from the scene of an incident. He collided with Massa during an overtake which just wouldn’t stick, punted off Maldonado who already had the corner, and was involved in the pile-up, in which he took avoiding action from Sutil which meant Alguersuari made contact with his rear, which ended up forcing Petrov into the wall.

      I think if he doesn’t receive further penalties, he would be getting off rather lightly.

      1. “in which he took avoiding action from Sutil which meant Alguersuari made contact with his rear, which ended up forcing Petrov into the wall.”

        You said it yourself…he took avoiding action. How can you turn that into his fault?

      2. If a driver makes up places that is supposed to be good driving – if a driver DNFs when he could otherwise have used a cooler head and stayed in the points that is bad driving – that is how i have come to undestand things but you guys are getting me all confused up now!

    28. Fair play if I really feel I’ve just gone too late and hit someone, I put my hand up and realise, OK, I really have caused an incident and been the stupid one, but it’s not the case.

      It was, in both occasions, him the one attacking, on the inside, at tight turns when the driver ahead had already started turning. It was almost like Barrichello on Rosberg in Australia, only he started much closer to the defending driver.

      1. He wasn’t the one attacking when he fairly gave Schumi enough room around the hairpin.

        1. Got caught napping on that one.

          1. The Last Pope
            29th May 2011, 22:01

            Oh god how many times did Coulthard say that during the race?.

    29. He wasn’t held up in qualifying, he was at fault for the Massa collision, and the Maldonado collision was very sloppy driving from Lewis.

      I’m struggling to remember his penalties this year, but I can only remember the Malaysia penalty, which was rubbish. But every other summons to the stewards I recall (yellow flags in Turkey, pit lane in China) were only worthy of reprimands or nothing at all. And a reprimand is basically no penalty (or at least until that new three strikes rule is brought in).

      Watch for the Ali G comment to be blown out of proportion though.

      1. The Last Pope
        29th May 2011, 22:09

        I don’t think you understand how overtaking happens. Driver infront needs to know when to let the place go. You have to be agressive to overtake at monaco and you have to hope that the guy infront doesn’t want to brake his car by cutting you up.

        1. I understand how overtaking happens. The drivers, and the stewards, know even more about it than I do. And he was penalised by said stewards.

          You’re lucky if you can ever overtake at Monaco. Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean you throw the book out to be able to do it. Massa was under no obligation to give the spot away, had Hamilton poked his nose in front at the corner then yes he should have moved to avoid collision, but Hamilton’s nose was about mid-length on Massa’s car when Massa took an early apex, which is what a defending driver should do to protect his position. The onus was on Hamilton to avoid the collision at that point.

          1. The Last Pope
            30th May 2011, 3:00

            Doesn’t matter if you are ahead or not. You don’t drive someone off the track, or drive into a position to cause an accident. Brake checking for example, thats a fine right? Its the driver behinds job to avoid the collision? nonsense.

            1. You don’t drive someone off the track, or drive into a position to cause an accident.

              Agreed, and the latter of those is exactly what Hamilton did in Monaco, twice. Massa didn’t drive him off the track, he did what any driver who’s in front is allowed to do, use a wide racing line. If Hamilton was in front while at his side, it would have been Massa’s fault, but at no point was Hamilton close to passing Massa there.

              And if it’s not the following driver’s job to avoid a collision, then by that logic Hamilton is at fault for the Alguersuari crash later on.

    30. I’m with Lewis and absolutely share his exasperation.

      The F1 sport is clearly schizophrenic if, on the one hand, it wants more overtaking for a better spectacle and, on the other, enthusiastically penalizes Lewis Hamilton race after race for taking calculated risks from which other drivers shy away.

      I agree though that Lewis was ambitious to expect Massa not to turn in at the hairpin but Massa’s shunt in the tunnel was entirely his own fault. Maldonado was asleep and clearly didn’t see Lewis on the inside of him at the end of the straight. It’s a shame the Williams went out but Maldonado was the architect of his own demise.

      Chin up Lewis. You will prevail if your fans have anything to do with it.

      1. They weren’t very well calculated though.

        1. Well, they were. He made it to the flag.

          1. Here here Broxter…Go Lewis!

    31. Sorry the guy is a tool.

      He has been very lucky up till now. His aggressive driving isn’t that great. He has been really lucky other drivers make space for him previously or just lucked a lot of his passes.

      His luck has run out.

      1. how can you say hamilton is lucky. have you seen vettel lol

        people complain when theres no overtaking and when someone tries, they complain still. when drivers dont speak there mind people complain and when they do people still complain, WHAT THE HELL!

        how has hamilton ever lucked into a pass least he overtakes unlike vettel. its agressive driving like that that makes f1 fun to watch rather than watching a parade and them being careful on there tyres and going slowly. F1 should be about driving fast and racing not driving slowly and being at the front in the fastest car all the time

        1. yo t-moaney… you goota drive fast without crashing into others…

          1. yer but vettel does crash when he tries to overtake, Spa 2010 for example lol. and that was one of vettel few overtaking attempts and he still mucked it up. most of the time lewis makes the moves stick and while i will say the massa overtake attempt was abitious maldanado was the one who was reckless on the second attempt

            1. And Vettel got penalized for that, why should it be any different for Lewis when he causes accidents? Also the amount of blind fury coming from you has made my day, thanks =D

            2. your welcome HxCas. i like to see people get annoyed at someone they dont know or cant see. even though i clearly doing it just to get a reaction lol annoying people is fun….and yes i am very very bored lol

          2. Lewis and Schumi did not turn into each other while making their overtake manouvers.

            Massa chose a wideline which did not workout for him, Lewis did not crash into Massa until he turned into Lewis. Massa could have avoided the incident, just like Lewis avoided schumi and vice versa.

            Now for all those who want to stick the race card on Lewis. He was joking but hey many a truth is said in Jest so what is wrong with his statement – can you all say that the stewards have not used Lewis as a scapegoat (or the drivers have not singled Lewis out for complaints that neither Ayrton Senna or Schumi receieve drivers that were far more agrresive than Lewis (Sato and Kobayashi are unskilled when they crash but Vettle and Algesuari are young and passionate)?

            By the way Lewis is penalised both for driving into people and for other people driving into him (Alonso on Lewis in Malaysia 2011)- Stewards not racist sure not but one man’s arrogance is seen as another man’s passion (one man’s racists is another’s kindred spirit).

            Anyway many people have had incidents with Lewis without getting penalised Webber in Australia 2010 (reprimand) – One man’s crash is another’s racing incident.

            It may just be because he is Black.

            1. Miamibase: Re Malaysian GP 2011, Alonso did get a penalty for making contact with Hamilton. Hamilton got his penalty for making more than one move in defending his position.

      2. His aggressive driving isn’t that great.

        Well, sure was when he got past Schumacher. So too the pass on Petrov that was missed because of the mayhem that ensued just after.

    32. Someone please throw the toys back into Hamilton’s cot.

    33. After watching today’s race, I seriously thought Lewis had completely lost it. It’s not the kind of driving one would expect of a world champion. After reading this interview though, I went around looking for clips of the concerned incidents and came up with this:

      MAS/HAM :: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66V6l88cytM

      At 0:10 freeze frame and you can see the usual turn in point for drivers round that hairpin. Freeze frame at 0:11 though, you’ll see just how ridiculously early Massa turned in. Massa himself almost took Webber out there. Very very marginal, but there is ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that Massa turned in early. (Whether Hamilton could have made that overtake is a different issue).

      HAM/MAL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DcUZtwv9zY

      Freeze frame around 0:02 : Very ambitious indeed by Hamilton, but didn’t Maldonado still turn in a tad early?

      Please note I’m no racer, this is just my opinion, which I think I’m entitled to give and you are most welcome to correct.

      1. Well, I agree partly with you: that Massa incident was a little bit beyond Hamilton’s control though. Massa was himself trying to have a look up the inside of Webber and two theoretical overtaking maneuvres in this corner just won’t work.

        But there is no excuse for the Maldonado accident, the Williams was perfectly on the racing line and Hamilton should have backed off. Any penalty he gets for the Maldonado accident is fully deserved.

    34. to be honest, he said the ali g joke tongue-in-cheek as he laughed after it. still, hes right about what he said – the sport wants there to be good-to-watch racing and then they go and have a go at people for racing. i mean, where’s the sense in that? ive got a theory that this year will be like 09 for brawn, and vettel wont win anymore this season.

    35. Hamilton – The only man who is willing to TRY an overtake in monaco.

      Senna would be proud.

      1. Schumacher – The only man who tired to overtake and SUCCEEDED in Monaco.
        (At 42 years of age)

        Senna would roll over in his grave.

        1. hamilton succeeded in passing schumacher with a brilliant piece of driving early on in the race.

        2. @ Cacarella-

          If not for Hamilton’s one successful overtake out of three, that would be COTD :D

      2. Unbelievable trying to compare Senna to Hamilton, especially after today’s over-optimistic drive by Hamilton. While exciting to watch, it’s a blot on Hamilton’s resume.

        Senna was aggressive but had the respect of other drivers… Hamilton has come across as simply selfish and too aggressive. Senna stopped his car in Belgium to aid another injured driver, would Hamilton do the same???? He probably would’ve blamed the driver for “impeding” or blocking him intentionally…

        1. If a F1 driver stopped his car today to aid another driver he would probably be expelled from the sport. Let the marshalls and track-doctors do their job, they are way better at it.

          Senna was most definitely known for having the “if you don’t move there will be an accident” attitude, is that different from Hamilton?

          1. That is so not the point – it shows the attitude and mind set… a lot of things are different in today’s racing.

            Even Alonso said, had there not been a red flag, he had a lot less to lose and would’ve tried passing Vettel “if we crash we crash” (I believe that’s what he said). That’s the attitude of a racing driver and no one batted an eye to his comments…

            There wasn’t simply one incident with Lewis today, there were many and his comments the whole weekend (the days before blaming the team – and after – blaming everyone else)… Lewis is very, very lucky to have any points – but long live fanboyism…

        2. senna once drove over a driver on purpose,so what the hell are you talking about?

    36. Adrian Morse
      29th May 2011, 16:33

      I feel I need to come to the defense of Hamilton’s driving. The move on Massa was a mistake, but he went to some lengths to avoid contact, and there wasn’t actually an accident – the penalties are for causing avoidable accidents, right? Massa and Hamilton merely did some wheel banging, no damage done.

      The move on Maldonado I saw only once from Hamilton’s onboard, and it looked like a racing incident to me.

      The post-race comments are not chic, however, and could land him in trouble which, quite frankly, won’t do his championship challenge any good.

      1. You see Adrian, that there is the problem. You expect Lewis to ” toe the line ” and make diplomatically correct or acceptable comments yet you yourself admit that the two collisions should have been considered racing incidents. Put yourself in his shoes…you too would be royally ticked off, I mean what other reason would you expect him to consider…perhaps he should have said ” is it because I’m dating a pussy cat doll” :-)

    37. c’mon guys…give him a break!
      he saw a gap and went for it…thats what racing drivers do…right?
      both massa and maldonado didn’t show him enough room when he was almost by their side…

      1. +1

        (I know I have posted this before, to different posters. Site error)

    38. Everything went wrong for Lewis today, but he’s sixth, so it’s not that bad.

    39. Let’s look at this objectively, are there racists out there? Definitely! Could any of the stewards be racists? Highly unlikely.

      That’s the issue for people of non”standard” colour (white), they know racism is there but if its not explicit then they can never prove it. That creates a feeling of vulnerability and sense that you don’t control your own fate. Imagine a f1 driver feeling out of control, in that context, in the heat of the moment, I can understand why Lewis made the joke, to vent his frustration.

      I don’t take offence and if you do, well haters gonna hate.

      1. good stuff there !

      2. +1 nicely put Jian

    40. just to say, theres sennas famous quote – “if you no longer go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver” surely thats what everybody loved senna for… hamilton is just doing what he’s paid to do – race cars and try to win world championships. yes it may have been erratic, but it was nowhere near as bad as some of vettel’s mistakes last season, and i dont see the majority of you shooting him down

      1. Actually, a lot of people shoot Vettel down for Turkey and Belgium, and still continue to do so.

        1. Thats because Vettel tried to bully his way through which seems to be the only way he can overtake. He does not go for gaps he tries to push people off the track.

          1. He didn’t try to bully anyone. He lost control in the rain at Belgium, and misjudged how far ahead of Webber he was in Turkey. Plus he has made passes this year.

            Frankly I can’t be bothered arguing over this, since Vettel doesn’t need to overtake. He just doesn’t screw up in qualifying.

    41. I really don’t see any issues with this interview. You are allowed to speak your heart out and I never seen Lewis was ever this frank and candid. Tough weekend for him poor Lewis.

    42. It saddens me to say this as a big Hamilton fan but he needed to shut up right there.

      The Ali G black quote was obviously a joke but everything else, about him being victimised was embarrassing to listen to.

      Hopefully he’ll wake up tomorrow, apologise and carry on with the rest of the season with a clear head.

    43. These drivers are absolutely fricking ridiculous, it’s stupid.”
      ………..
      Asked why he has had so many penalties he joked: “Maybe it’s because I’m black – that’s what Ali G says! I don’t know.

      Wow…. haha.. I think you are ridiculous Mr Hamilton. True colours of ones personality always comes out to the surface .. no matter how much they try to hide it. What a disappointing thing to say.

      “I just think the sport is… you know, people want to see my racing, they want to see overtaking, and you get done for trying to overtake, trying to put on a show. I’m trying to make a move.

      Hmmm.. I wonder what colour are the people that want to see you race so much? (not to mention respect him, value him and cheer for him?!)… oops… shhhhhh!

      “I’ll just try to keep my mouth shut and enjoy the rest of the season which, ….

      too late for that

      1. are you out of your mind?

        1. Thank you Icemangrins…

        2. how so? … I am simply reflecting how Hamitons comment can be interpreted. Joke or not. For the sake of his fans (which I happen to be one of), whom large majority of them are of varying races throughout the world, he should not be making any jokes or comments that single himself out as a victim, especially not in a racist context.

    44. Love the fact that people criticise drivers for not trying to overtake and when one does he gets called a lunatic by some fans. Those same fans also claim there aren’t enough characters speaking their minds in this sport and when he does he’s called an idiot by them.

      1. +1 some social scientist should get a phd for all this double-talk!

    45. Oh, come on!

      I agree, the incident with Massa should not be penalized. But 10 laps earlier, Paul Di Resta made a similar move and he was penalized. So they HAD to penalize Hamilton, otherwise it’d have been ridiculous, 2 similar moves, one penalized the other not.

      Then with Maldonado, it was a very optimistic move! Maldonado was still ahead, and he turned because he had to turn right… there’s a corner there, Lewis. It was like Alonso at the start, getting close to Button but keeping the position.

      And now you blame Massa for your penality. But it was YOU who cut the chicane, hence why you got a penalty.

      I like you, and you do tend to get more penalties than the rest. But you’re also risking much more than the rest. Held back a bit and you might get away with it.

      1. I dont think he should hold back – this guy should stay with his driving style. The stewards need to adjust to the fact that this kind of aggressive-go-for-overtaking-gaps style is good for the sport. If he has to get penalties so that the sport can change then so be it.

    46. I’m done with this, cant be bothered to talk to people that already have there mind made up. Possibly one of the last times I bother to read comments on this site which is disappointing.

      1. cant be bothered to talk to people that already have there mind made up

        You haven’t made your mind up yet?
        Should I waste my valuble time trying to
        convince you that Lewis showed some poor driving today and poor sportsmanship after the race?

        1. You think it was poor driving, I think he did fine and that it was the others that were poor. How was it bad sportsmanship after the race? because he stated his opinion and I in fact agree with it, all the hate he gets cant just be because of his driving style and supposed “arrogance”.

      2. You surely can’t expect everyone on this website to think the same way you do? People will interpret certain issues in different ways and you need to respect that.

        1. I know that but when people wont even bother to hear other explanations then there is no point, thats what I was saying.

    47. I remember him being warned for mouthing of towards and about rulings and officials. If he get’s suspended or further penalized it’s his own fault. And he wasn’t the only one being penalized for his driving style today.

      1. They all run their mouth towards the officials if you haven’t noticed. The problem with these penalties is that they are against the spirit of racing. I can understand if they were unsafe passes. The fact is they were both incidents. Massa is a hippocrite. Making bogus comments when he has had his fair share of “incidents”.

    48. Also to be fair on Hamilton, I think he did give us the best overtake of the race, taking back the place that Schumacher took from him on the first corner.

      1. That was a good move. Unfortunately he won’t be remembered for that in this race.

        1. i will remember that he started 9th finished 6th – actually most records will show that so he will most likely be remembered for having a reasonably good race

    49. reddevilandy10
      29th May 2011, 16:50

      Does anyone perhaps have a video link to that interview? I’d love it see his face.

      As paranoid as he sounds here I love the fact that he is speaking his mind. I hate all this PR management crap that the drivers are obliged to nowadays.

      With that said… what an awful race he had!

      1. It;s on the BBC website

    50. I’m glad Lewis got that off his chest, out in the open. I’m white so I’ve no idea what it’s like to have to deal with anything else. Day to day evidence suggests that it is still an issue with plenty of people.

      I’ve no doubt there will be individuals in the stewards that are not entirely blind to the colour of a persons skin. However I also imagine (hope?) that they are professional and will not allow it to cloud their judgement when asked to do their job.

      As for Lewis’s race conduct, well, this is Monaco. Slivers of opportunity appeared and like the brilliant racer that he is, he went for them. All moves at Monaco carry with them a hugely heightened risk element so some moves inevitably didn’t pay off.

      I thought a great ballsy drive from a difficult position.

      1. ok lets agree you are white , i have to commend you on your point of view . People on this site act like there is no racism/prejudice out there .you don’t need to ask if these folks are white , you’ll already know .

        Anyway great comment mate .

        1. Is racism a white only affliction?

          1. Yes, because racism (rather than xenophobia etc.) is inseparable from European colonialism and evolutionist theories of white supremacy, combined with the still existing socioeconomic disparities between different colour and ethnic groups in most ‘western’ societies.

          2. Though that doesn’t stop racist attitudes being absorbed by people of any colour.

          3. No, definitely not. But as genetic science has stated, racism is a bit absurd, as we all are the same race, developed in Africa some 170-200.000 years ago.
            I guess racism is just an easy way of creating a “We versus them, the strangers!” scenario. If You can point at an obvious difference, then You don’t need to check if people are nice or not – You can start to hate them straight away.
            I read somewhere that it would take around 300 generations to adjust skin-colour to the level of sun-light, i.e. to obtain coloured skin or become non-coloured.

            1. So the result today was determined by evolusionist theories and socioeconomic disparities. And here I thought it was about traction.

            2. Palle is right – racism like etnicity or tribalism is absurb: hating somebody by reason of skin colour, language or where they came from rather than for more logical reasons like them doing bad things. Many times they do not even disagree with your views – which would be the basis for religous bigotry. Anyway that is off topic – hopefully the likes of Lewis will help the world realise how absurd racism is.

    51. What a jerk – playing the race card. Even if it was a joke, it was a stupid thing to say. Using his stupid logic, white drivers are at a disadvantage cuz they can’t blame racism for their problems. Loser.

      1. let me hwl you with the white stuff (pun)

        white drivers, white stewards,white journalists , white marshalls , white engineers, white mechanics, white race director,white team principals , white fia officials *sigh*.

        if one world championship title, makes you a loser .yes he is a loser lol

        go lewis

        1. You forgot one, white mother.

        2. Not all the other drivers are white.

          1. Kamui must be outraged, or not.

    52. I thought F1 was about racing! If a driver (like Lewis) holds back because he’s worried about a penalty, then F1 is being robbed of the most spectacular driver currently in formula one. I’ve followed F1 for 40 years and I’m sick of stewards making rulings which some years ago would simply have been “racing incidents”.

      1. I do wonder if stewarding has gone too far in modern F1.

      2. Times have changed. Di Resta did the same thing and took responsibility for his actions. Hamilton just thinks that all of the incidents he has are someone elses fault.

        He can’t expect other drivers to just let him through or risk having a crash all of the time.

        1. I dont think the DiResta hairpin incident is the same as the Hamilton/Massa one. It was just 2 cars with DiResta, and he went far too deep too late. He put his hand up and fair play to him.

          I still think Hamilton made a move on Massa when Massa was out wide approaching the hairpin. Massa then took a late call to make a move on Webber, turing in harder to undercut Webber. Hamilton was already alongside Massa at this point. The rest is history – and for me, a racing incident.

        2. exactly.

    53. good job lewis for trying to do something other than a precessional race.

      Entertaining as allways and once again lewis will get all the attention because he is the most intresting/controversial driver in F1

    54. Hi, I am Lewis “Banzai” Hamilton. Please tell me why i am being penalysed so much. I mean, come on 5 trips to the stewards already? whyyyyy??

    55. Commendatore
      29th May 2011, 16:55

      Hamilton finally showing his true face! What a pri*k! :)

      1. So you want people to only show their “untrue” faces?

    56. That wasn’t good for Hamilton on so many levels.

    57. I’m all for Hamilton speaking his mind, but for someone in their fifth season in Formula One, he really should be handling his frustration a lot more maturely.

      1. He’s gonna have that sinking feeling tomorrow morning, thats for sure.

        1. if he believes what he said is the truth, he is going to have a feeling of liberation, of having finally gotten some uncomfortable stuff off his chest, of being able to be himself and race the way he likes to regardless of whether he gets penalised or not

    58. I think the only ‘joke’ is Hamilton’s childish behaviour. I haven’t seen Paul Di Resta making a fuss about his penalty that was exactly the same as Hamilton’s. Hamilton’s words are what i’d expect from a football player mouthing off about the referee in a post match interview.

      1. I think Hamilton’s incident was worse than Di Resta’s. Definitely. He didn’t relent against Massa. Silly.

    59. his week-end was very messy. he made a mistake in qualifying, and his race was the one of a desperate driver. he is in his 4th season and every year we see this kind of week-end or mistake from him. he just doesn’t handle pressure well and on a street circuit, the pressure is huge.
      Vettel, compared to last year has became far more mature…so far.

      lots of drivers have had bad week ends though, it can happen, with penalties (ask schumacher) or misfortunes (alonso in valencia or abu dhabi last year), some have had “extroverted” reactions on the moment (alonso to petrov for instance) but, correct me if I am wrong, I never heard a post race comment like “These drivers are absolutely fricking ridiculous, it’s stupid.” that is just arrogance from a bad loser or a spoiled child.

    60. Steven Burns
      29th May 2011, 17:02

      A few mentions of Schumacher here already, and I think all those who are vilifying Hamilton should look at the two overtakes involving Schuie and Lewis:

      1 – Into the hairpin on lap one, Schuie dives down the inside of Lewis, who, see’s this and doesn’t turn in, conceding the place. Contrast this to Massa/Hamilton – Hamilton makes an identical move to that of Schumacher, but Massa turns in on him.

      2 – Hamilton’s pass on Schuie into the first corner – Lewis gets his nose up the inside, and Michael, knowing he’s beaten, concedes the place. Roll on 70 laps to Maldanaldo, and in an almost identical situation, the Williams man closes the door and causes an accident.

      If stewards continue to give penalties like this everytime someone attempts to overtake then it won’t matter how bad the tires degrade, or how many new DRS style wings they come up with, overtaking will just not happen as the new generation of F1 drivers are already being trained not to try anything remotely risky (See Di Resta’s comments post race)

      1. Agreed!!!

        I think its got to do with different drivers race crafts the defending driver shouldn’t be able to turn in on people and then the attacking driver become responsible and have to work both ways.

      2. Than you Mr Burns.

        The similarities are plain to see but commentators – even Brundle and Co – are so biased they refuse to believe the obvious.

    61. I was out of the room when Lewis said everything above but my girlfriend told me one of the drivers had said something dodgy. I instantly knew it would be Hamilton.

      Go easy Lewis.

    62. He was clearly frustrated @ hit team for letting him down badly. why does a team as resourceful as mclaren keep making blunders on the pit wall(strategy), they were really amateurs today for both lewis and jenson and pathetic yesterday for lewis, but he just gave it his all today and was rightfully frustrated, but on the wrong people. He is an amazing talent, how many people would have finished 6th after starting 10 then the delay in the pits then the drive thru penalty. I cant remember any to be honest so a real disasterous day @ the office @ mclaren when they could have had a 1 2

    63. This has been building, he had a little outburst on twitter that he had to delete. I dont think it has too much to do with attitude but looking and the interview he just looked angry.

      I like it i think he should forget being liked and flip become the badboy of F1 because its clear whatever he does his not going to please most of the people that come on here and leave the comments.

      On the race I think he got a point about other drivers. I think some drivers have an attitude of your not overtaking me or I will take you off. He and Schumi could of collided twice in this race but they are smart racers. Massa and Maldonado have reputations for taking being overly punchy in braking zones.

      1. Well put charlieboy…and this is but the beginning of his bad boy phase. Sadly he’ll be shuffling between the podium and the stewards offices from race to race…

        1. he will be shuffling between the two offices whether he is good boy or bad boy so he might as well do what makes him happy

    64. “Lewis gets his nose up the inside,”

      It’s not enough. He has to be fully alongside before he gets to the apex. He never was.

      1. Agreed, can’t just stick a nose in and expect the other driver to yield. Don’t like these penalties in general though, pure racing incident.

    65. Hes speaking his mind, and its true. Massa blocks him be gets nothing abolsute balls. Mclaren let him down all weekend he would have won the race, even alonso thought he should off been on pole. If all haters get real man without hamilton there would be no formula 1 cos it would be plain boring Vettel cant over take for nothing. Jus remeber this guy that your hating on is the guy that is the show without him F1 would have no ratings let alone a bafta.

      1. Hamilton is the show? Well, he was certainly worth watching today! ;)

        1. arent you talking about him – HE IS the show for sure otherwise you’d be engaged in some discussion on where the DRS would have worked best at Monaco

      2. I don’t hate Hamilton, but this arrogant attitude amongst his fans (“without hamilton there would be no formula 1”), makes me see why people hate him.

        1. The Internet was around 12 – 13 years before Hamilton start racing in 2007, I cannot remember F1Fanatic having so many members or other sites I care not to mention in existence before Hamilton.

          Schumi is the G.O.A.T – but i cannot remember watching practice in his era – his greatness almost killed the sport, but Alonso eminence showed he was Human – Lewis ability to compete with Alonso endeared him to all those who left the sport when the G.O.A.T made many of todays commentators rethink there purpose in the sport.

        2. No. You do hate hamilton. You constantly bash him. I bet you have defended Vettel to the bitter end with all his racing incidents. Hippocrite.

          1. How have I constantly bashed him? How have you come to those idiotic conclusions? I can’t take your posts seriously dlaird.

    66. Montoya would be so proud of him.. haha

    67. He has some cheek to be blaming maldonado for that accident, he deserves a penalty for that too

      1. It was Maldonandos fault, how can Schumi see situation and concede but Maldonado turn into Hamilton. I am really confused on how people are looking at it :S

        1. Hamilton lunged in, Maldonado had already started negotiating the corner.

          1. I respectfully disagree.

            He saw Ham on his inside and negotiated the corner by shutting the door trying to squeeze Ham out, Ham had nowhere to go so ended up over the chicane,

            Slightly ambitious yes but when you believe your supposedly driving with the best drivers in the world you would expect them to handle situation better

            1. I’ve seen it again and I don’t think Hamilton lunged in. I still think his pass was too ambitous however.

      2. Agreed

        But Maldonado could of avoided and retained position up the hill

    68. If Hamilton wants to play the race card, he should remember that there’s millions of black kids around this world who see him as a role model. His quali performance at Monaco was unworthy of a past WC in a very good car; his race was unworthy of a past WC in a very good car; his published remarks afterwards are disgusting.

      He can be a very, very good driver. He’s got enormous talent. But his arrogance and his ego showed his character this weekend. He’ll probably live to regret it, but maybe not before McLaren fire this outrageously immature pretender to fame.

      1. McLaren fire this pretender??
        I’d respectfully like to point a few facts you’ve got wrong.
        “His quali performance at Monaco was unworthy of a past WC in a very good car”. Are you kidding? McLaren cocked up the strategy. Completely. No banker lap and a red flag. What exactly was Lewis to do? Not to forget Massa blocking him on one of his hotlaps.
        “his race was unworthy of a past WC in a very good car” Despite being stuck in traffic for most of the race, 2 penalties (both of which should have been deemed racing incidents) and a botched pitstop by McLaren, he went from 9th to 6th. Bad race?
        His outburst may have been slightly out of control, but no part of it was wrong. The drivers he got involved with drove like jerks. I’m not saying Hamilton is all clean. But it’s not all his fault.

      2. do you happen to be speaking for the millions of black boys and girls? dont speak for people you know nothing about …

    69. Not good.

    70. I am huge Ferrari fan and I remember myself cheering with the crowds when I was in Monza 2009 and Hamilton gave Kimi his last podium by crashing with one lap to go.
      As a Ferrari fan, McLaren is always the nemesis. So there is some “fan-hate” attitude in me against them.

      But today, Lewis Hamilton gains my respect for an interview like this. Even though it is not the nicest, he really showed character. He stayed true to himself by saying out loud what he thinks directly, which is the exact opposite of “liegate” 2 years ago, for which he was critisized a lot and what I believe really made him think a lot.
      As a twitter follower of nearly every person involved in formula one, you can also see by his tweets that maybe he is not the brightest person alive, but he lives his life no matter what comes against him and he really likes to share his emotions, negative as positive ones.
      With Montoya and Kimi gone, there are not many more real characters left, and in retrospective I will remember a fighting Lewis more and better than babyface-dr.-marko-protected Vettel.
      Better one kind of a ****’em all attitude than no attitudes at all. I really liked it and hope nobody misunderstood the “black” joke.
      And there is some coming of age to see. He cleared things out with his father, with simular experiences, it is very hard but necessary to split somehow from your father(s protection).

      So, even though I am not a McLaren Fan , he really showed he is a human being today, and I liked that. Surely a penalty had to go out after di Resta got one in a similar incident. But he really is a racer and stays true to himself.

    71. Massa got a DNF. I think that’s worse than a drive through penalty. And he never ever had a shot to get on the podium anyways. He still got points. He should be happy that he was able to get points. I could never stand M. Schumacher for his arrogant personality and demanding everything. Hamilton got added to that list.

      1. Little jealous huh?

    72. There’s a lot of harsh comments for and against Lewis on here. Everyone has their opinion but if you have nothing nice to say, keep it to yourself. Im a Lewis fan but some of what he said was a little stupid, the other stuff true. The race comment was a joke, hence the laugh/smile.
      I do think however the arguements on here are really a little pointless. Some of us like some drivers, others don’t, don’t just slag them off and proceed to argue about it.

    73. I was impressed with Hamilton’s move on Schumacher today, but that was it, for the whole weekend. He wasn’t overly impressive in practice, got unlucky in qualifying, and tried to barge his way past the majority of drivers, resulting in collisions, particularly on a track like Monaco.
      And those comments haven’t helped my appreciation of him, yes he’s truthful that it’s a nuisance being repeatedly brought in front of the stewards, but the stewards react to what the driver does, not the other way around. If Hamilton doesn’t want to see the Stewards, then maybe he could try being a little more calm during races…

    74. bye-bye Hami, good luck with Nascar or whatever…

    75. I believe mr hamilton would rather dive over than around others on the track.His arrogance today truly amazed me.Whether or not you are a fan,you must truly respect his ability. I think of my father saying I am not looking for excuses, I want results

    76. And if he want’s to keep complaining he should drive in NASCAR. That’s where you can complain and have feud’s with drivers, bump into others without getting in trouble.

    77. I’m a massive hamilton fan but im gonna try and take a neutral view on this.
      What no one seems to notice about the massa incident at the hairpin is that massa turned in to avoid webber while hamiltOn tried to overtake, therefore lewis’ response of massa turning in on him Was correct in the sense that he did turn in, but obviously completely incorrect in the sense that massa was trying to prevent the overtake.
      I beleive the maldonado incident was less clear cut, there was definitely an MP4-26 sized gap there, but maldonado didnt realise he was there and turned in as normal, that, i beleive, has all the hallmarks of a racing incident written all over it.
      On a side note i think that the stewards were pretty harsh today, di resta didnt deserve a penalty, it was a racing incident in which losing his front wing was penalty enough for the incident.
      Great race from the top three today and really cant wait fot canada now

      1. But Massa didn’t avoid Webber even though Webber took a very wide line around the hairpin.

    78. Motor_mad (@)
      29th May 2011, 17:18

      I am sick of people defending him, the reason he gave schu so much room was because he was napping, he got frustrated sat behind Massa but he had no right to shove it down the inside and hope for the best then blame it on Massa and as for Maldonado he was miles back did the same thing, he was’nt even propperly along side and shouldve backed out of it but he didnt, i really think Hamilton has been overagressive this year and he really needs to calm down and get in the right mindset.

      1. I’m sick of people criticising his racing mentality. He put his race on the line to make those overtakes.

        1. Motor_mad (@)
          29th May 2011, 17:22

          He puts other* peoples race on the line to make overtakes.

          1. No, they put their own race on the line to defend his overtakes.

            1. Motor_mad (@)
              29th May 2011, 17:26

              They should’nt have too, Hamilton is to agressive and he looses his head way too easy, i used to like Hamilton but i think its gone too far.

            2. Yeah, you’re right. Let’s just have time trials. Racing is just way too aggressive.

            3. Motor_mad (@)
              29th May 2011, 17:36

              Thats not what im saying, theres a limit these cars are fragile, touring cars you can drive into others, F1, dont think so, F1 is about precision, clean honest racing, not driving into others, yes Di Resta did the same thing, but he admitted to being wrong and took it like a man, Hamilton blames Massa and then cries about geting a penalty, yes Hamilton had it rough in 2007- 2008 with the stewards but yet he kept going, now he cant admit defeat when he actually is in the wrong.

            4. Admitting to being wrong is redundant if “F1 is about precision, clean honest racing, not driving into others”.

            5. Motor_mad (@)
              29th May 2011, 17:45

              How exactly?

            6. I think the stewards should start reviewing on how drivers defend because if we always punish the attacking driver it sets raves up to be boring!!

              Di Resta will obviously be cool about it his in his first season minding his manners and really not competing for much. Their was a time Lewis was doing the same and people criticized him for being a media clown

      2. I guess you thought Schumacher was also napping when Lewis overtook him in a carbon copy of the move he put on Maldanaldo??

        I would contest that both incidents were caused as much by the defending driver, as they were by Lewis and therefore isn’t that the definition of a racing incident??

    79. Questionable comments from Lewis. He really needs to review the footage on the Massa Incident. I can understand he is very disappointed about the outcome of the whole weekend as he felt he could of really been in contention for the race win had he qualified on pole. But he didn’t really need to say anything other than ‘We had a bad weekend.’ I’m a massive Lewis fan and will support him all the way.

    80. speedfreak (@)
      29th May 2011, 17:19

      It’s the same old story with Lewis. Things don’t fall into his lap and he kicks off. His statements are not worthy of a sportsman at the level he’s at. Whilst I am all for driver’s speaking their minds and it’s good for the audience, his comments are juvenile at best, rather like the entertainer he quoted. It may have been a joke, but it wasn’t a funny one!

      1. There must be a reason why he is penalised more than the other drivers (combined). In 2008, his championship year, he received more penalties in a season that had any other driver in F1 history: from demotions in qualifying to race wins taken off of him. Lewis was lucky that year that he was racing mighty Massa. Had he been up against a top driver in that Ferrari, he would have had a much more difficult job in his McLaren.

    81. I think mr SILVERSPOON hamilton,everything handed to him on a plate since a child,needs to grow up.
      The uk is full of people playing THE RACE CARD when they do not get their own way.
      Take a leaf from paul di resta..he went for it and admitted his mistakes.
      I think mr hamilton has lost a lot of support today.
      Button however just grinds on,great drive jenson,very unlucky..

      1. wee man greg
        29th May 2011, 17:29

        Spot on buddy.

      2. The only thing Lewis was handed on a plate was god-given talent. McLaren wouldn’t have spent thousands (millions?)funding his racing education if he weren’t something special. If any other driver (or their fans) question why or take issue with the fact that they (or their favourite driver) didn’t get such treatment, they have to look at themselves: they weren’t good enough. They weren’t special.

        1. The only thing Lewis was handed on a plate was god-given talent.

          and one of the best teams in F1, that support him, continuously build and update the car and always stay competitive. If Hamilton hadn’t gone into a competitive car as a rookie we would not be talking about him as much as we are now. It would be something like Rosberg and Petrov or Kobayashi (who I believe are equally as gifted)- Instead we would know him as being fast and entertaining, but not significant enough to make the headlines all the time. Lets face it, nobody knew Hamilton was some gifted god child you paint him to be (and i don’t think he “is” that anyway). Since his rookie years Hamilton has indeed had everything handed to him on the plate, the best technology F1 can offer to begin with and I also think the best support F1 can offer. When it doesn’t work his way, he blames the car, team, and/or other drivers, not realizing that everyone is in the same boat as him. Schumacher used to be arrogant, but he never complained about anyone or made any racist remarks – nor did he compare himself to Senna as Hamilton often likes to do. Sorry, but andy has a good point.

          1. Swap Lewis for Rosberg and Mclaren is today’s Mercedes Benz. Good car but no competition.

            Mr Smooth driving style lost 2nd place cause he did not not try. That is the difference between Lewis and Jenson.

            Lewis needs to give up sometimes but he gain 3 places on the grid with the worst driving of his career.

      3. Just like he said, it is because he is Black

    82. Boy, where to begin. There are many issues going on with this string of comments some good and some bad. But I hope to share my thoughts and maybe all of us can feel a bit better. Lewis did have a bad weekend, but his actions are showing a lack of trust in his team. there is already a breakdown going on there and he is loosing his patience. Mclaren unlike Red Bull and Ferrari have decided to run two drivers equally, this certainly reduces his chances of being on top. Next there is the events of Q3, which were terrible in every way, but again Lewis had already given up, when it is clear to me that a little confidence and one of his stellar drives would have landed him 3rd or 4th at the end. As far as the race thing I would give him a very wide birth. In four year he has associated himself with being nothing but British, and this has been a smack in the face to Black racing fans outside of the U.K. In this regard Lewis carries a far greater level of stress. He must be not only a great driver but a perfect gentleman, etc. etc. We are all probably asking too much of him when we compare him to people that drove with on button on the wheel. And, some of you certainly ask too much when you expect that he is not affected in his own way by adversity. His driving was average for Lewis, but he was still one of only a few drivers in front to pass. In the past, many top drivers would have just hit the rails and sat on a yacht drinking champagne. Lewis is a racer, he has a boss, and if he is not that intellegent to some than maybe it is because he has spent most of his life with a wheel in his hand and not a text book.

    83. Lewis is quite right. When a driver makes a move into loews, if the overtakee doesn’t let the position go (as Lewis did for Schumi and Rosberg did as well) then there is an inevitable crash. Lewis gave Massa the choice: let me through or cause a crash. Massa, not the brightest chap, decided for the latter. It was a 50-50: it was a racing incident: no penalty.

      Lewis is understandably annoyed: he had a terrible race. A race he could so easily have won – had he qualified where he should…had Massa not held him up…

      I can only hope that when the special exhausts are banned, that RBR fall from grace. I’m getting deja vu about an overrated German winning all the time because he’s got the best car by miles and special treatment over an average team-mate….

      1. Yep, I think Massa forgot he had a brake pedal.

      2. Yes, keep hanging onto the two mistakes Vettel made last year, while he romps to another title.

      3. You Hamilton fanboys are disgrace to UK racing. A real man admits a mistake. Hamilton is not a real man, just a whining kid, but ok. You? Keep defending him at all cost, no matter what was going on? Saying that Vettel is overrated? Do you know he went throughout the whole race with Webbers tires, which were mistakenly given to him at his 1st pits? He had to ride all those laps on softs, change tactics, slow down to keep them working as long as he could. Thats class. He got lucky with the red flag in the end. Not like Maldonado, who ended up with a ticking bomb called Lewis at his rear wing.

        1. Well if your right (which your not) and he went through the whole race with Webbers tyres, then can you explain why he hasn’t been disqualified yet, as the regulations are quite clear that your only allowed to use your 6 sets of tyres for qualifying and the race.

          Using your teammates would equal disqualification in the same way running an illegal rear wing does.

    84. Enjoy vultures! Your feast will be short lived. You all will be quiet as church mice when He turns it around. He will turn it around. One grotesque display does not a bad driver make. It was not His weekend. He already has a win here, so We all know his capabilities. His detractors actually know best. That is why they are so afraid. That is why the “cuz I’m black” comments sting so badly. I am Black (among other things) and I think that peoples dismay at the mere mention of any sort or racial inequality, speaks to their TRUE attitude regarding tolerence. Having said that, I also wanna tell You lot to give it a rest. HE WAS JOKING! But, do I think those thoughts enter His mind? Of course I do. Is there perhaps an element of truth to the theory that He receives undue punishment, much more intense scrutinizing from fans, stewards and the f1world in general? Of course He does. Don’t be dim People! People such as Myself, My President, and Lewis Hamilton have no need to play race cards… The deck is already pretty much stacked in Our favor. You call it arrogance if You want, but a certain level of confidence is to be expected if You are GREAT at what You do. This sounds terrible and I would normally only say this in the company of like individuals, but being ordinary doesn’t give one insight into the plight of the extraordinary. Full stop as the English say

      1. No one is putting in doubt his driving abilities. Just he was wrong this time and was more furious than when he was a victim.

        1. @Fixy Webber drove into Lewis in Australia 2010 and got a reprimand (Alonso drives into Lewis in Malaysia 2011 and both get Penalties) – so what Lewis said today has been stated many times by Hamilton fans.

          He knows he is not a victim (you do not need to tag him) – 20+ million dollars buys him out of victim hood. But his treatment by Stewards over the years calls for scrutiny. The problem I see here is that he has to be the one to ask the question even in Jest?

          1. Hamilton got his penalty in Malaysia 2011 before he was hit by Alonso, and he got it for defending his position more than one move, i.e. weaving.

    85. What colour is stupid?

      1. Yellow helmet paint.

        1. that would be Aryton Senna?

          1. That would be Lewis Hamilton this weekend?

    86. This article has more than 5 times more comments than the race review.

    87. Hamilton again displaying his obvious sense of entitlement to success in F1. His comments seem increasingly volatile of late and I wonder whether as a result his relationship with Mclaren might be deteriorating behind the scenes. Since there is little prospect of him sitting in an RBR next season he would be better off working with his team to find a way to beat Vettel on a regular basis.

    88. Massa did not hold Hamilton up, there is nowhere for a Car to pull over before the place he did, just after Casino Square, that’s part of Monaco, deal with it. Schumacher passed Hamilton cleanly because his nose was first into the Hairpin, Di Resta and Hamilton crashed into the people they were trying to pass because they did not have track position. They were on the inside, but they were over the kerbs, which is not part of the official circuit, and therefore they shouldn’t have been there. The marbles then caught Massa out, but I am sure the contact would have affected the car too, so Hamilton contributed to Massa’s accident. Then, Hamilton gets caught up in the midfield battle, and his rear wing is bent. If the race wasn’t red flagged, he would have been out, as by the last lap before the red flag it was wobbling dangerously. Fortunately for him the race stopped and the team replaced the wing. When the race restarted, Hamilton decided to stick one up Maldonado, but again as they got to the apex of the corner, Maldonado was still ahead, and Hamilton was off the confines of the circuit. If the Armco of old was still in place there he would have ploughed into it. The resulting contact directly resulted in Maldonado’s retirement, so that is 2 people he has helped to put out of the race, he is fortunate to still be out there with a working car anyway, and then he has the audacity to claim the Formula 1 world is against him?

      My suggestion to Hamilton is this, go back to racing hard and fast, but just because you have this reputation of a fast driver doesn’t mean people will just jump out your way, and if you make a mistake in the future, try and learn something from the more mature people around you, and own up to it!

    89. @curedcat the Spanish Fans were clearly being racist( in case U weren’t being sarcastic) as well the Spanish basketball team took pictures holding their eyes and making them slanted when they were in China (ironically) mocking the Chinese squad. When called on it they said they meant no offense. At worst racism, at least racial insensitivity. Just to let U know

      1. I guess you are implying that the stewards are a bunch of goons? Really! Your comment is about as thoughtful as Hamilton’s.

        1. If you have somehow found a way of misinterpreting Malibu’s comment … well that says it all

    90. Jeez, soapbox central here today. The racism thing will surely get blown way out of proportion as the press latch onto to it like the vultures they are.

      All the haters and armchair fanatics that have lost “respect” for him = One question have you never had a bad day and said something in the heat of the moment????? He is only human and emotion is natural.

      It could be said that the reporter asking the question “so why do you think you have been to the stewards so much” was clearly angling to get a controversial response, and they got it in the form of sarcasm.

      Peeps need to wind their necks in and get over it, stewards are getting a little silly with all these penalties, this is racing and racers will go for gaps. Senna once said, “if you no longer go for a gap; then you no longer a racing driver” so its inevitable that contact will happen.

    91. Avais Ibrahim
      29th May 2011, 17:50

      Come on guys it was a joke.Please dont get all critical about it.

      People like us ( and i mean fans ), we cant understand how frustrating it is when you have a fast car and you cant qualify due to other events outside your control.Race drivers if you look into the history were always hot headed and that’s a trait drivers have.Hamilton is very competitive he knew he could have won. Try to put yourself in that position and then speak.I agree about the hairpin incident with massa but the maldanado incident well lets say if he is penalized then that means that stewards indeed are biased ( not racist ). I personally feel drivers should speak their mminds but carefully but at the same time not too cautious.

      Besides who here thinks Seb is the luckiest guy this season.In all fairness either button or alonso deserved.

    92. Okay some good comments here, some bad

      I am quite a fan of Hamilton however his antics on and off the track were out of order.

      Lets have a look at the two racing incidents, the Massa crash and Maldonado crash.

      When Lewis attempted to overtake Massa at the slow hairpin, it was similar to the incident involving Di Resta and he put his hands up and said it was his fault. Yet Hamilton blames Massa and few people have mentioned that Webber was also beside him so Massa would have been compromised because of that, Hamilton should have backed off.

      However his incident with Massa in the tunnell wasnt his fault, Massa ran over a load of tyre marbles and here perhaps Massa should have backed off.

      Than we go to Maldonado, more of a racing incident this I think (gutted to see Maldonado go out after a fantastic race btw)I think Maldonado was simply unaware, but there is always an element of risk overtaking at Monaco so unlucky for both drivers. In terms of the race it was just a bad day for Hamilton, what really annoyed me were the comments after the race.

      Yes penalties are harsher these days but the same rule applies to ALL drivers so thats just the way it goes, to assume the stewards are racist is just pathetic. The worst comment of them all though was labelling all the other drivers ridiculous. This comment just smacks of pure arrogance it suggests that:

      A) He is above everyone else
      B) He doesnt care about his fellow drivers

      Come on Lewis these are not AI drivers from a computer game. He is acting like he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Im pretty sure it was a heat in the moment comment but thats still no excuse he needs to change his mindset.

      1. The worst comment of them all though was labelling all the other drivers ridiculous. This comment just smacks of pure arrogance it suggests that:

        A) He is above everyone else
        B) He doesnt care about his fellow drivers

        I have to agree with that. That is the major component for me. The racist “joke” as some people like to say, is only a reflection of what he holds in his mind, which is his own problem. But oh well, if he continues to think that about other drivers and members he will simply lose the support of brilliant engineers that make it possible for him to be competitive in the first place.

      2. I have gone through a lot of comments on the forum and from the initial looks it appeared that Hamilton was at fault but I found one important argument missing reg Massa and Hamilton’s collision at the hairpin!! TYRES!!
        When Shumi went pass Hamilton in the hairpin, Shumi was on super soft rubber and has more front end grip compared to Hamilton who is on Harder tyre. If you watched the race you will see that who ever is on the harder tyre took a wider line at the hairpin. Hamilton did not collide into Shumi but allowed him to pass.
        Now looking at Massa’s incident these roles were reversed. As Massa just came out of the pits with harder rubber (a lap before the incident, he was taking the wider line at the hairpin. So Hamilton OPTMISTICALLY took the inside line as he is on softer rubber, hoping Massa cannot possibly turn in. But Massa did intentionally turn into Hamilton. This could have been avoided! Also if Massa gave a little bit more room to Hamilton it would not have mattered much as Massa will have the inside line for the next turn after the hairpin!

        1. Great points. Those were my quiet observations as well.

    93. kenneth Ntulume
      29th May 2011, 17:53

      Hamilton has a good case!
      Way too many penalties, almost predictable in a 50/50.
      and FYI, the “bcoz am black comment was a joke”,
      reason some people are holding it against him,
      is the possibility that he might be right!

      1. Way too many penalties

        way too many penalties because he continues to drive arrogantly and disrespects other drivers, obviously now we know he thinks he is above everyone else, and of course expects everyone to move over for him as is the case during this race. It is also equally likely that the “black” comment was not a joke, but lets pretend that it was…

    94. I was at the race and they were all over aggressiv. Sutil pushed a Sauber, Alonso cut a chicane and shoved Button off. Schumacher pushed Nico aside exactly how Hamilton pushed Massa aside. Besides, when Hamilton got the drive through, the crowd booed. He didn’t touch Massa and left a gap for him to pass through. If Hamilton is to stop doing what he did, races will become really boring. I was seated next to a Brazilian couple and what they said is quite true : Senna would have been banned from today’s F1.

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 17:57

        exactly! nobody likes people who are better than their favourite, but today hamilton did nothing wrong, except his comments where a bit rash, but acceptable in the situation

      2. Interesting to hear what the crowd’s reaction was on hearing about Hamilton’s drive through.

        I’ve just watched the overhead replay a few times and it looks to me like Massa does suddenly turn in a lot more sharply than expected – I presume to try and get out of the way of Webber, or make a move on him. I can see why Hamilton might claim that was a racing incident.

      3. Schumacher pushed Nico aside exactly how Hamilton pushed Massa aside.

        Schumacher pushed Rosberg aside without touching him?

    95. Why all the attention only on Hamilton’s move? Massa knocks chunks off Webber’s car but that’s considered acceptable because he crashed out.

      1. Motor_mad (@)
        29th May 2011, 18:00

        he hit Webbers car because he was getting pushed by Hamilton look at the footage.

        1. Pushed???? lol

          1. Motor_mad (@)
            29th May 2011, 18:06

            u know what i ment

            1. I don’t

            2. @ Motor_mad

              fair enough. I had a look again and your correct. Somehow the incident doesn’t look so dramatic on repeated replay.

    96. @infy : I believe Lewis won at the game both times

    97. This is what Alonso said :

      “There was nothing to lose for me. I am not leading the championship. I will try and win the race and if we crash, we crash.”

      Had it been Hamilton who said it…

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 18:05

        good point!

      2. saying and doing are two different things. besides Alonso never did moves like Hamilton and has great respect for other drivers including Hamilton himself.

      3. What Fernando meant was that due to tyre strategy his tyres were going to be in better shape than Sebs during the last 5-6 laps of the race, so he would have more of an advantage to make a pass on him during the final stages. Lewis was trying to make up positions during periods of the race where he had no great tyre advantage over those he was trying to pass, and made both of those attempts at unusual places for Monaco. St Devot and the Loews hairpin are not seen as easy places to attempt overtaking! #:)

    98. I loved the way Lewis drove today. Clearly as a F1 fan this is what I pay top dollars for overtaking, thrills and spills. This wkend has been Vetel’s and Alonso’s lucky 1, let’s see when their luck gonna run-out. The stewards are clearly against Lewis because of his undying aggression in bringing racing back to F1 even when Perilli’s tire performance screwed the race for the fans.

      1. Exactly ans the race which was already boring would have been even more without those Hamilton’s move. He was the only one pushing hard and racing from start to finish.

        They should try and modify Monaco’s layout or simply take it out of the calendar. Imagine what would have happened to Perez if he had hit that barrier with the car facing…

        What does RACING mean? If it’s impossible to overtake.

        1. Monza last year hamilton was out on lap one and after that real racing was over for that round.

          Love him or hate him, Hamilton makes F1 intresting.

          1. I’ve heard many times today things about Monaco. That the track is old-fashioned doesn’t have fast corners and straights.
            All this is nonsense. Monaco is by far the most challenging track in F1 for many many years. Drivers simply adore it. As JB said everybody who loves racing loves Monaco. I simply can’t imagine F1 without Monaco. It’s something else.

    99. The worst thing about Hamilton’s comments? The overreactions from the fans.

    100. To summarise IMO!:
      1)lucky Vettel (but you always need it, see Hamilton 2008)
      2)drive of the day Alonso and Button
      3)nice fair move Hamilton on Schumacher
      4)Hamilton and DiResta moves on the hairpin (it never works there and the should now that already at least Hamilton, they never been alongside before turn in to the coner)
      5)Hamilton on Maldonaldo overoptimistic he wasn’t in the position like with the Schumacher
      6)last part of the race Ruined by the stupid rule that allowed to change the tires

    101. Many of us don’t understand Lewis ’cause we’re looking at the whole thing as viewers. But, from drivers point of view I agree completely with him. I would do the same.
      In my opinion these were racing incidents, nothing more, I would be furious as well.

      Regarding his remark about stewards – I think he’s right, even if he’s joking.

      1. good point!

    102. Im pretty sure Hamilton will apologise for his comments, he just lost it after a bad race unfortunately and I admit to an overreaction but he has got to change his mindset, he cant keep thinking he is above everyone else.

      Interestingly enough for those saying the rules are harsher have a good point, remember Button in 2000 at Monaco causing a red flag because of an overtaking move at the same hairpin, no penalty than, F1 is just a lot stricter these days unfortunately.

      1. Hamilton will apologise for his comments

        because he knows he needs to remain in good faith with the team… not for any other reason.

        1. I sincerely hope Lewis doesn’t apologize for he has nothing to be sorry for.he spoke his mind…thats a brave thing to do!

    103. hamilton was pushing hard, but massa should have given him more room we saw rosberg give schumi plenty of room to me massa just turned in to lewis.

      massa could have easily avoided it if he gave more room!!

      1. Why is it that some drivers just expect the other driver to get out of the way when they are not fully alongside the other driver.

        Hamilton has a brake pedal too!

        Both penalties are equally deserved. Another driver didn’t complain about his.

        Good pass on the hapless Schumi earlier in the race, but from then on…….

    104. Last year Webber did the same think to Hamilton at Singapore 2010 but he did not take a penalty and this move cost Hamilton te championship. Also in the next he had problems with his gearbox because of this accident. WHY NONE PENALTISE WEBBER??????????

      1. Not the same thing.

        1. No, not the same. Webber was being passed and went into the corner faster than usual, hitting Hamilton. Today both drivers turned in earlier than expected to cut off Hamilton and collided (got hit). Hamilton’s made his own mistakes, plenty, but none of these were his. FIA need to review the rulings or steward decisions on defending, I think.

    105. I have gone through a lot of comments on the forum and from the initial looks it appeared that Hamilton was at fault but I found one important argument missing reg Massa and Hamilton’s collision at the hairpin!! TYRES!!
      When Shumi went pass Hamilton in the hairpin, Shumi was on super soft rubber and has more front end grip compared to Hamilton who is on Harder tyre. If you watched the race you will see that who ever is on the harder tyre took a wider line at the hairpin. Hamilton did not collide into Shumi but allowed him to pass.
      Now looking at Massa’s incident these roles were reversed. As Massa just came out of the pits with harder rubber (a lap before the incident, he was taking the wider line at the hairpin. So Hamilton OPTMISTICALLY took the inside line as he is on softer rubber, hoping Massa cannot possibly turn in. But Massa did intentionally turn into Hamilton. This could have been avoided! Also if Massa gave a little bit more room to Hamilton it would not have mattered much as Massa will have the inside line for the next turn after the hairpin!
      Check the incident again … here
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13589541.stm
      Massa at the hairpin did not follow Webber but pulled to the left of Webber. Why did he do that? Is he trying to pass Webber on the inside … NO. All he tried is to intentionally turned into the left of Webber effectively shutting the door on Hamilton but it was too late as Hamiltons front wing and tyre are ahead of Massa’s rear tyre!

    106. loosers always blame others…..winners remains silence and will fight back

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 18:24

        losers dont win world championships

        1. offcourse …he will not win anymore chapionships……….

          1. sorry CHAMPIONSHIPS

      2. So … What happens if he win next race i guess that will make him both

    107. Perhaps destroyng the race of other drivers is also part of the joke, don’t you get it? He did it to have a little fun, why did he get penalties?

    108. Lewis Hamilton’s driving is the only joke here.

    109. Without Lewis what would this yr WDC be……..Vetel! Lewis had a bad wkend but made it very exciting for the fans and that’s what we want, don’t we? His coments are in order given the situation. Drivers should speak their minds. So boring when they are silent. I’ll be in Montreal and it’s gonna be a lot different there. Canada is Lewis land.

      1. agreed, the alternative is
        – processional monaco races
        – ‘no comment’ from the drivers

        I’l take hamilton style antics over the above anyday

      2. Without Lewis what would this yr WDC be……..Vetel!

        With Lewis, it’s just Vettel!

    110. “All he tried is to intentionally turned into the left of Webber effectively shutting the door on Hamilton but it was too late as Hamiltons front wing and tyre are ahead of Massa’s rear tyre!”

      Which doesn’t count. Hamilton’s car has to be fully alongside Massa’s car in order for for Hamilton to claim the corner. Basic racing rule.

      1. again, good point.

      2. No, wrong.

        There was a clear agreement between drivers that you don’t turn in if their front wheel is ahead of your rear wheel… This seems to be completely ignored by the modern day driver.

        How many passes would Schmacher have made in his hay day had penalties for overtaking been given like they are today?

        1. There was a clear agreement between drivers

          where did you get that information from? The drivers dont make the rules, FIA does.

    111. Its crazy HOW PEOPLE HATE ON LEWIS WHEN HE IS ON FORM AND OFF FORM..JUST RIDICULOUS! He pulls off a move, you praise him, but then a move goes wrong, everyone is on him.other people pull same moves and it gets washed off quite fast…

    112. The guy gets 8 points after taking out two other drivers. Not a bad days work all-in-all.

    113. Hamilton fanboys calm down. He drove a terrible race and deserve what he got.

      He was bitterly unlucky with Quali yesterday so his race was pretty much decided.

    114. No-one should bother taking risks to overtake, they’ll just get penalised -.-‘

      1. there were other overtakes in the race, from the start to the end…

    115. “He turned into me, and I got the penalty.”

      OK, Massa retired because of you, and you only got a drive trough. Shut up and grow up, Me Hamilton. Learn to avoid putting your opponents out of the race and then blame them. Idiot.

      1. No, Massa retired because he crashed into a wall, 3 corners after playing bumper cars with Hamilton.

        Massa retired entirely on his own accord. Watch the reply – Hamilton was about 5 car lengths ahead of him by the time Massa drifted into the barriers.

        1. Because his car was damaged. Wonder why.

    116. I think I have said all I want to say on Lewis racing today.

      I do think he starting to go abit crazy though it kinda funny. Obviously all is not well at the moment he seems like a very emotional person this season and is worth watching. His comment on the Mclaren site after his first drive through was hilarious something along the lines of ‘Thats a surprise I thought the stewards loved me’ might be a slight misquote but it was along those lines.

      Great talent and hoping he keeping me entertained off the track aswell now because Vettels finger is a fricking joke

    117. Can people stop putting real opinions downs with the “OLD race card”. at first, in some times it was true. Now people use it because they don’t know what to say, so they use that to negate it. He is right about what he said and like any human being has the right to express their opinion. In fact it just made a load of people uncomfortable because he was speaking the truth.

    118. Got these images form BBC … everything happened in 2 secs … Check the following 3 images and decide for yourself who was at fault and why Hamilton gets an unfair drive through penalty!!

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco1.jpg

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco2.jpg

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco3.jpg

    119. Alfa corvette
      29th May 2011, 18:40

      Those were indeed risky moves on Massa and Maldonado. But, if Webber got away in Singapore 2010, there’s no way for Hamilton to receive any penalties.

      He did make a point that the stewards can make ridiculous decisions. There are many examples to prove this. But Hamilton’s comments about the stewards being racists are indeed too much.

    120. he got deleted from Q3, drive thru, +20 secs, lost rear wing…all in one weekend and some people are saying he should be black flagged and he’s not fit to be a driver..common!

      1. Taking out Maldonado was clearly Hamiltons fault. So he destroyed another drivers race and took him completely out of points. He can not claim a corner by sticking only part of his front wheel along side rear half of another car and expect to pass that car. Same applies to Massa’s incident. There are rules in F1 you can not just bump cars out of the way. So playing a part in destroying the race of two other drivers and still getting points, i’de say he was lucky. Also with his type of attitude towards other drivers, as he has now expressed, certainly raises some concerns .. its not gonna change nothing but if he does not change his driving style he is just gonna keep getting penalized. if he continues to claim racist remarks about his penalties, he will soon lose support of the team and engineers that make it possible for him to be competitive in the first place. he’s gotta grow up and learn that every driver is in the same boat and every driver thinks they are good and every driver wants to win.

    121. Trenthamfolk (@)
      29th May 2011, 18:41

      Lewis should NOT have played the race card…

      Besides, I really don’t see how he expects other drivers ‘not’ to turn in on a hairpin bend… I like Hammy, but I really can not agree with him today. I am a Mclaren fan, but bad sportsmanship will never get my approval.

      1. I put my observations below:
        —————————
        I have gone through a lot of comments on the forum and from the initial looks it appeared that Hamilton was at fault but I found one important argument missing reg Massa and Hamilton’s collision at the hairpin!! TYRES!!
        When Shumi went pass Hamilton in the hairpin, Shumi was on super soft rubber and has more front end grip compared to Hamilton who is on Harder tyre. If you watched the race you will see that who ever is on the harder tyre took a wider line at the hairpin. Hamilton did not collide into Shumi but allowed him to pass.
        Now looking at Massa’s incident these roles were reversed. As Massa just came out of the pits with harder rubber (a lap before the incident, he was taking the wider line at the hairpin. So Hamilton OPTMISTICALLY took the inside line as he is on softer rubber, hoping Massa cannot possibly turn in. But Massa did intentionally turn into Hamilton. This could have been avoided! Also if Massa gave a little bit more room to Hamilton it would not have mattered much as Massa will have the inside line for the next turn after the hairpin!

      2. Check these images supporting my argument:

        Got these images form BBC … everything happened in 2 secs … Check the following 3 images and decide for yourself who was at fault and why Hamilton gets an unfair drive through penalty!!

        http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco1.jpg
        http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco2.jpg
        http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco3.jpg

        1. It’s clear Massa intentionally cut into Lewis and it appears Lewis tried to avoid him by jumping the curb. Massa’s fault.

          1. Massa turns in tighter than usual trying to overtake Webber.

            1. The last picture clearly shows there was no room for overtaking. Hamilton was being far too optimistic.

            2. The first picture clearly shows Hamilton not to be alongside Massa (Check out Schumi’s move on Hamilton for reference), therefore he was never going to claim the corner by the time they got to the apex. Simples.

          2. Best way to avoid him was by using his brake pedal.

            1. I believe that Lewis got too far here. It’s clear from the first shot that Massa has got his line. He follows it to the end and Lewis just tries to squeze the car between the Ferrari and the wall. Clearly his fault.
              However I don’t think that there should be a penalty at all. It was a racing incident and afterwards Massa finally kept his place and there was no serious damage either.
              If the stewards had to give someone a drive-through that had to be Lewis surely.

    122. He needs to sort out his race attitude. Getting the amount of penalities he did it just poor. And he needs to sort out his verbal attidute being abrupt to the stewards like that.

    123. Trenthamfolk (@)
      29th May 2011, 18:59

      Hamilton was behind, he drove underneath another car (twice) on the inside of a hairpin bend, and expected the other driver not to turn (?) and to ‘just let him through’. No. No no no no no. Sorry Edinfreak, but I can’t agree.

      I appreciate your analysis though.

      You have to admit the Ali-G comment was stupid though, joke or otherwise?

      1. Then how come there is collision between Shumi and Hamilton at the hairpin. Hamilton could have turned in on Shumi as well just like Massa did but he did not as he did not want a collision!

        1. Because schumi got the move done before the turn-in point. Hamilton wasn’t even half way alongside.

          1. 100 percent

        2. read the rules on overtaking first before making comments.

        3. Trenthamfolk (@)
          29th May 2011, 19:26

          So, Hamilton was caught napping and conceded a place… Now he expects everyone else to do the same? How arrogant! No. No no no no no.

          And the stewards agree.

          Hammy was wound up like a coiled spring before the race started, he let his head go and messed up. As for the race thing? Sorry… Hamilton FAIL. I’m a Hamilton fan BTW, just not blinded by devotion.

    124. These penalties set a silly precedent – that no one can overtake on the inside at Monaco, because if the driver who is being overtaken cuts in then then the driver making the move will take a penalty. The only difference between Hamilton’s moves and successful moves by other drivers is that in the successful moves a driver yielded.

    125. Hamilton plays the black card! I never thought I would hear him say what he did. I think he WAS at fault with Massa at the station hairpin. Massa was already constrained by the car in front (Webber). He also could have avoided the turn one incident after the re-start. He could have gone inside the kerb.

      He is brilliant driver and a true racer, like MSC he posses the same sort of talent and failings. Sorry Lewis, I believe you were not treated badly by the stewards today.

      As for Vettel, another brilliant driver but today a lucky lucky boy.

    126. Hamilton has had a bad weekend and you have to remember the driver’s emotions are running at a all time high after the race when their interviewed. Now, I agree that is interview was a shambles and he has said things he will regret later but reality is that luck did go against him this weekend.

      The Massa-Hamilton incident. This to me was a racing incident.

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco2.jpg

      This image shows what Massa intentions were, he was trying to overtake Webber whilst unaware Hamilton was trying to overtake him, remember these decisions are made in a split second by the driver.

      The Hamilton-Maldonado incident, once again a racing incident. Maldonado reacted t late to cover Hamilton and its just down to inexperience. Hamilton should have cut the corner or gave Maldonado more room knowing his inexperience.

      To me, Hamilton has a point about stewards being more strict with him, but more that they seem to be targeting driver’s who are actually trying to overtake rather than personal attacks

    127. I honestly don’t understand how any can deny Hamilton was at least on a couple of occasions very stupid today. Fans are really, really kidding themselves here. Sure, he’s had a lot of penalties, not always fairly, but come on people…

    128. Schu when up Hamiltions inside . Hamilton been a quality driver knew he had been beaten and let him through. Massa saw Hamilton going up in his inside, in fear of his career! Turned in to the corner early and caused the incident. Subsequently causing damage to his car and probably contributing to his own accident in the tunnel.
      Maybe Maldonado did not know Hamilton was coming up is inside. Either way he turned into him causing the accident. If you get beaten into the corner you have to yield. You can’t just turn in.
      Hamilton is the most exciting driver in F1. Ever race the camera focus on him regardless of his position in the race. Why, because he drives hard, puts constant pressure on and is always looking to overtake.
      The mindset of most drivers at Monoco was I can’t overtake around here so nobody will try it on me! Wrong!!!! Too many F1 drivers are too happy just to sit behind the guy in front.

      1. If you get beaten into the corner you have to yield. You can’t just turn in.

        but there is the problem. they did not get beaten in the corner. you can not claim the corner by having part of your front wheel along the rear half of another car. It doesn’t work like that.

        1. I think you will find that Hamilton did was the best driver in F1 did. Ayrton Senna was far more aggressive with his overtakes.

        2. They both got beaten. Massa’s is a horrible defender and loves to turn into people. He has been doing it since 2005. Maldonado pulled a rookie mistake and closed the door to late. BTW, Massa is such a hippocrite. Karma is great. He deserved it after what he did to button in Melbourne and his blocking of Hamilton in Monaco.

    129. this idiot has to go!

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 19:35

        go where? ive seen drivers do far worse i.e. shumacher parking it at rascasse just so that he can get pole

      2. This is Lewis, different personality, different style of driving, quite aggressive (not as aggressive as Aryton tho), world champion 08 – beat Alonso in his first year as a rookie 07. Beat Vettle, Sutil, Rosberg, Nelson PK in GP2 n other championships before coming into F1 – LIVE WITH IT!

    130. Lewis drove the way he does at every race so why do people now have an issue? he is a driver that is always going to have a go when he sees a gap today he wasnt as successful as normal but i do feel the other drivers have to take some of the blame. Massa definately turned in on him, i am not surprised by this or the decision to give him a penalty as the FIA will alsways make decisions that benefit Ferrari. But undoubtedly F1 would be boring if he wasnt there!!
      His comments about the other drivers were a bit over the top but he said these in anger and frustration so should not be taken as his normal opinions of the other drivers.

      The previous comments are all valid as people are entitled to their opinion but i have just seen some comments on twitter and they are extreme! there is no need for people wishing him dead!!!

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 19:40

        what people wish that he was dead?? :O

    131. Bu hu hu , poor baby Hamy. I think he stacked up a lot of frustrations and it all went out today. The fact is that both in Spain and in Monaco Lewis Hamilton had a better car than Vettel. Maybe not in quali. but in race pace certainly. And he failed to win in both of them, Monaco was unfortunate, true, but in Spain he had nobody to blame but himself.

      That is one thing.

      Other is that Vettel caught up wit him in terms of GP wins. And he is younger and less experienced than Hamilton. We all tought that Hamy is going to be the best driver of his generation and kind of a new-Schumacher (after Alonso retires at least). But he was young, he was quick and he was in McLaren.

      It is now becoming increasingly clear that Vettel , who is younger and even less experienced than him, is all-around better driver. Maybe not(but maybe yes) quicker , but more calm, determined, constantly quick, and a absolute king of qualifaying. Hamilton is frustrated, he expected to fight Alonso and Ferrari and he now has someone younger than him in a great team.

      And dont forget that he took his record for the youngest F1 champ ever.

      He doesnt like it, and it is coming out. ;)

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 19:43

        vettel cant overtake, and hes had the best car for 2 and a half years. its not really hard to get that many wins :\

        1. Nor is it hard to win 15 times in a Mclaren between 2007 and now.

          1. It was actually harder because the Ferrari and Mclaren teams were evenly matched. Vettel,or should i say the RB7, has been getting pole almost every race by a huge margin.

            1. Because he’s using his car as well, if not better than Hamilton did.

      2. Lewis was a world champion in 08 – beat Alonso in his first year as a rookie in 07. Beat Vettle, Sutil, Rosberg, Nelson PK in GP2 n other championships before coming into F1 – LIVE WITH IT! You have poor analysis. Vettel is not as good as Hamilton or Alonso! He has the best car than Hamilton and Alonso all year round for the last 2.5 years. Also Vettel always starts in Pole position or on the first row. He overtakes this year are always on the fresh rubber! HE WILL CATCH UP WITH VETTEL this year!

        1. Vettel cant overtake?? Have you been watching him? It is true that RbR is so quick that he doesnt have the need or oportunity to overtake. But you cant say he is bad at it. Think Hamilton , interlagos 2008. He almost cost him the title.

          But I just expressed my opinion, you dont have to agree, no problem.

          But he is now equal in terms in GP wins, and I suspect that soon enough he will have a couple of more than Lewis.

          And put it this way, I doubt Lewis will ever cath up to him .
          :D

        2. I laugh at the way Hamilton fanboys still criticise Vettel for having a good car.

          And why is taking pole suddenly a bad thing?

          1. Your bashing of hamilton is getting old.

            1. Not as old as your blind admiration.

    132. some people on twitter, there are some supportive comments on there as well im just surprised at how strong peoples reactions are

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 19:52

        its a bit ott tbqh. he wasnt anywhere near as bad as some drivers have been recently…

    133. sounds like spoilt brat who can,t get his own way

    134. Real F1 fans should be much more measured and less personal in their attacks. I am a massive Hamilton fan but his conduct on and off the track was nothing short of farcically stupid this weekend. I can’t believe what he said after the Massa incident (“he turned him on me on purpose”). Massa chose to turn in early on purpose, it’s called defending and is 100% allowed and 100% fair game. Ham was nowhere near him when Massa turned in. Ham decided to take an absurd risk and lost, plus provoked a multi car colision in the process, the penalty was fair.

      1. You just said it yourself. It was a racing incident and they were both at fault.

    135. Is Hamilton out of line with the complaining?
      Yes.
      Does he have a point with regards to stewards?
      Yes.
      What Hamilton running his mouth when he should have kept it shut?
      Yes.

    136. Hamilton,fair play,agree 100%
      1st,hairpin,hamilton,schumacher,hamilton sees him in morrors and gives him room,
      2nd,1st corner schumacher sees hamilton,gives him room,backs out but sees him and gives him room,
      Excellent fair driving form both,
      1st class sportsmanship.
      3rd,hairpin,hamilton,massa,various reasons but massa cut up hamilton,(look at hamilton and schumacher) nothing was wrong apart from massa cuts in not realizing hamilton there because he might be looking at webber,.
      but if hamilton was that much a unfair driver why did he not cut up schumacher,because hes a racing driver.,why do we watch otherwise.
      4th,hamilton,maldonado,again watch hamilton schumacher,watch how it should be done,maldonado cuts in too early,not sdeeing hamilton or sometrhing but unfair to penalize hamilton.
      We want overtaking,we watch to get entertained,it is just that some drivers are not as alert as others.
      Hamilton a true great driver,hope world champ again.
      I am white but i also believe,not now but for a while that racism is part of f1 as bernie has always backed vettel(good driver and wish him best)but i can see that hamilton is not treated fair.
      Hey.ask schumacher,i think he will give a fair verdict.
      I hope Mclaren get it sorted as i believe they have the best drivers.

    137. I amazes me how fans of lewis hamilton seem to justify is overagressive driving style and his pathetic justifications. No wonder why this guy never mature into a proper and grown up racing driver. He was punished by a number of stewards that regarded his driving style and judgement poorwhen it comes to overtaking. The interview is a clear example of his stupidity and lack of maturity.

    138. Wow, so many comments! Oh well, FWIW I think the line between ‘optimistic but doomed dive’ and ‘precise overtaking move’ is so so very slim at Monaco. Brundle put it perfectly in commentary – even if you go for the perfect overtake you’re relying on the other guy to be sufficiently aware to avoid a crash. Schu pulled a good move on Hamilton who gave room (also he did the same on Rosberg who also relented). Hamilton’s move on Massa at the same spot was remarkably similar from his position, but Massa didn’t give room, either deliberately or not. It is usually the guy in front who causes (or not) a collision. Di Resta’s move was probably too extreme a dive – but it’s a fine line and that’s the point really.

      When Hamilton got past Schu at turn one it looked very similar to Hamilton’s move on Maldonado – except Schu had the sense to avoid the collision, barely – Maldonado didn’t. I don’t see a great difference in the actions of Hamilton in those two cases. If Schu had turned in harder or not seen Hamilton, there would have been a crash and Hamilton would have been penalised for it – but it would have been the actions of Schu that caused it, just as it was with Maldonado. Hamilton put his car well up the inside in both cases, one ends in a stunning overtake which I’ll remember for a long time, the other in a collision and a penalty. A very fine line.

      That’s how it seems to me at any rate. I don’t think this type of thing happens at any other track in quite the same way. For some reason at Monaco, being halfway alongside a car on the inside going into a corner is not enough to claim the corner. Maybe that’s the right call on such a tight circuit, maybe not.

      So I think Hamilton had a point with his criticism of the stewards. Shame he made a prat of himself with the stupid racism joke. It didn’t bother me, I laughed – but it was a really dumb thing for him to say. He’s got to sort his head out before he can hope to do anything about Vettel this year. Or any year.

    139. Hamilton – you need to return to the pits for an attitude check. Listen buddy, you have to stop bitching about other drivers and your team causing you to error.

      In China you crashed and lost the world championship due to a hot head, and you displayed that again today. Firing off at your team and colleagues is not going to get you along in F1. Just because you’ve been in motor racing a long time doesn’t mean you’re entitled to walk the world championship. Look at Vettel, he’s keeping his cool and bagging points along the way.

      To pull the race card insults all your fans. I follow you and Button because you are Brits and both good racers, not because you’re black and he’s white.

      oh and Lewis, stop comparing yourself to Ayrton…it doesn’t wash with me lad. History will do the judging and comparisons, you just do the driving.

      Number one rule (Check this with Vettel) – you win the races and championships long before you arrive at the track.

      You irritated me today, and by the looks of the twitter chatter and comments posted, a lot of other people as well.

      1. Although he pushes the blame about most of the time, there have at least been some occasions (posted around here) where he’ll accept the blame.

        The race card wasn’t a serious comment. It was a pretty stupid thing to say but it’s been blown out of proportion…

        Lewis didn’t compare himself to Senna this week at all. Where did that outburst come from? Sure he models his race craft after the late Ayrton Senna but he knows he won’t be the same as him. More people have compared him to Senna than he has ever done.

    140. “In China you crashed and lost the world championship due to a hot head, and you displayed that again today.”

      Er, uh yeah, it had nothing to do with being told to stay out on track on tires worn down to the canvas (literally)..

      1. He is still the driver who knows exactly what grip he had. In that race he wanted to win the race and the championship in one.

        Motor racing calls for cool thinking.

        Agreed he is exciting to watch drive, but he can’t race like this and then complain when it doesn’t work out.

        1. agree ^

    141. I believe that he could have said what he said in a more tactful manner (racist joke not included) but he has the right to voice his opinion on this subject.

      Hamilton saw red in that interview, due to a hell of an unfortunate weekend caused by various factors -some controllable, some werent. Thats the nature of someone whos always fighting for the top.

    142. Oh my God, His Ignorance and arrogance are just unbelievable! He belongs in Hollywood, not on a race track.

    143. anyone get the impression lewis may end up in nascar one day like montoya did?

      Think Whitmarsh is proving himself to be a weak team principal, Mclaren’s strategic decisions these last few years have reeked of arrogance whilst still managing at the same time to be abyssmal

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 21:11

        why would he end up in NASCAR?

        1. His lack of patience, an American girlfriend and he would probably be welcomed with open arms in Nascar whereas he never will be in F1.

          I dont think either he or Mclaren have come out of this weekend particularly well.

    144. We ALL make rash and unjust comments when we feel hard done by – anyone who denies this is either one of three things, 1: A saint from heaven above, 2:not human, or 3: A liar.

    145. I agree with Maskutov, you have to be along side other driver to clame that ‘he turn on at me’ not stick your nose half way and expect driver in front to choose other then racing line to the corner. Period. About the Hamilton interview after the race “no comment”.

    146. I can´t read all the stuff has been written here about the topic but i´ll say this, the more i watch hamilton driving a race car the more i like is racing style, he reminds me more and more Gilles Villeneuve.
      What a race Hamilton did today, didn´t win nothing but surely he made me think about those F1 races back years ago. Thank you Lewis Hamilton

      1. georges10099
        29th May 2011, 21:16

        agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      2. fine. but spitting on other drivers, making racial comments/jokes, and refusing to ackgowledge his mistakes is uncalled for. Nobody is out to get him. If that were the case, believe me he would not have made it in F1! He would not have been given the best car, the best team / engineers, … I have very little respect for those who dont respect others. Simple.

    147. For me it’s clear, that Massa drove into Hamilton.. very clear on the screens as Lewis said!
      Maldonado kept the racing line… so more a race incident I would say.
      Lewis’ front wheel was infront of Pastor’s back wheel… so he was next to him.

      But the Massa crash was clearly Massa driving into Hamilton…

      Too bad when Lewis speaks his minds he gets smashed… and if he doesn’t he’s to cororate.

    148. After reviewing all of the footage many times, I would say that the Massa/Hamilton incident was slightly questionable on the part of Hamilton, but still a racing incident. The Maldonado incident was clearly Maldanodo’s fault. If you look at where Maldonado turned in, it was way too early (not the racing line at all). If he had continued without Hamilton colliding with him, he would have had about 90% of his car across the kerbing. Seems very much like he was trying to protect his position after he had already lost it.
      I understand Hamilton’s frustration, as there seem to be two sets of rules when it comes to incidents that involve him.

    149. What other driver would generate 500 comments within hours? Love him or hate him but i am sure F1 would miss him if he wasn’t around.

      The race joke might have been tasteless but i am glad he spoke up, it is such a shame that he is attacked when most people attacked him before for being a PR robot.

      At the end of the day, he said it and it is behind him.

      I am looking forward to more honest interviews from LH in the future.

    150. Someone else may have already made this point. I apologise if they have, but I thought Hamilton’s race went wrong when they made the decision to do more than one stop. He never had clean air to show his speed and so he could never make progress. They were smart starting him on the harder tyre since he was going to be in traffic. If he had just stayed out he wouldn’t have had to try desperately to overtake people and he wouldn’t have had to go amazingly fast. I think if you look at what Kobiyashi and Sutil did this becomes apparent. I’ve not studied the race in any great detail so maybe I’m wrong, but that’s just what I thought as I was watching it. I appreciate that his strategy went majorly wrong when they bungled his first stop and I assume that if that hadn’t happened he would have had some space to show his pace.

      1. Your making the very naive assumption that Mclaren are actually good when it comes to strategy when they are one of the worst teams on the grid in this department.

        Martin Whitmarsh should be holding up his hands for once and be admitting that it was a poor/arrogant strategic call in qualifying which ruined Lewis’s weekend in the first place instead of coming out with the usual wishy washy excuses that we have become used to from him.

        You can almost sense Mclaren and Lewis growing apart from each other.

    151. Maybe you should remember the incident between Webber and Hamilton at Signapore. Did Webber get a penalty? Hamilton has been harshly treated throughout his time in F1 with some very questionable decisions.

      1. In the Mosley era certainly, maybe not so much since then. If i was him I would be venting my frustrations at out on the team and Whitmarsh’s leadership and not the stewards.

      2. Exactly. In 2008, he set a record for the most penalties in one season: and still won the championship. There’s no doubt that Lewis is penalised more than any other driver. You have to ask yourself why that is. Drivers such as Kobayashi and Schumi are involved in far worse and more frequent incidents, and yet get far fewer penalties.

        I really hope there’s no racism involved. But we would be foolish to think that that blight had left sport, or society, yet. It would be bad enough, truly bad, if the governing body were penalising him for the car he drives…either way, it’s not good.

        But Lewis beat the reigning double WDC in his rookie year. He won the WDC in his second year. He’s the first person, since Senna, to win a wet race by over a minute. He has made some amazing overtakes. And he has driven the wheels off of cars which didn’t deserve to be in the position in which he put them. He’s F1’s star attraction. And the other drivers know this. Hence, most of them hate him. But his fans will always believe. He can still win this championship: RBR have looked vulnerable in the races; the exhausts will soon be banned; and the Canadian power-circuit is next. Shake n’ Bake, as our American cousins might say!

        1. Well said. Also, there is still a lot of racial abuse aimed at him at European races which goes unpunished. It’s like it’s seen as acceptable. I’ve heard worse as well – go to the Autosport forum, Racing Comments and search for a post that mentions Montezemolo.

        2. redstart (@)
          30th May 2011, 2:58

          Well put sir, I concur..

    152. I’m sure the apology will be forgotten by the majority of those who have been in a similar situation (bursting out then realising they shouldn’t have).

      I was disappointed but if we’re going to start scoring points, I don’t recall Alonso apologising for his role in 3 of the 4 biggest scandals in recent F1 history and he is meant to be the greatest since Senna according to his fans. A fitting comparison as Ayrton himself was prone to controversy and petulance in his pursuit of glory.

      Hamilton will bounce back as he has from worse.

    153. Wait a minute…..Lewis is black??

      1. lol… COTD, come to think of it, if we were to do a DNA test and analysis he probably has more white genes than black genes. But anyway, it is up to him how he wishes to consider himself and to look at himself. I have no problems with it. But to single himself out as some victim based on that, it only reflects what is trully in his mind.

    154. Hamilton absolutely deserved nothing less then a grid penalty at canada Horrific attempt at an overtake i think the unsung hero of this race is mark webber who passed Maldonado, Adrian Sutil, and Kobyashi without hitting anything.

      1. And where, exactly, did Webber’s team-mate finish? Webber’s been even worse this year than usual – time to hang the helmet up? With a monumentally faster car, Webber is still behind Lewis in the WDC – even after Lewis had a shocker.

      2. And of course, all 3 of those were on shot tires and veered off line trying to defend.

        Hamilton made all his moves against rivals on the same tires.

      3. redstart (@)
        30th May 2011, 3:01

        Oh dear, let me guess, er… ferrari? am I right.

    155. wow, this must be some kinda record. almost 600 comments in a few hours!

      1. The Last Pope
        29th May 2011, 23:50

        Just what I was thinking lol.

    156. Some of you could do well to watch this. Plenty of frustrated drivers have said things they shouldn’t in the past, and many will in the future.

      Just a warning though, if you are the uptight type that doesn’t like a little colourful language, you probably shouldn’t watch it.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-zEnO_KwDg

      1. He was certainly pretty angry with Räikkönen :D

    157. I’m not really sure what Hamilton is complaining about. He caused two avoidable accidents and attempted to drive a car with obviously-terminal damage. He’s lucky he didn’t get disqualified.

      1. The Last Pope
        29th May 2011, 23:56

        PM are you blind?
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mOw-qbgBTo&NR=1

        Lewis is almost side by side and look how Maldonado cuts the curb knowing lewis is inside him. Compare his line to Barrichello’s and the HRT’s. Its not even funny how clear Maldonado is in the wrong there.

        1. Wheel to sidepod isn’t close enough. Ask Rosberg when Barrichello hit him in Melbourne.

      2. good point PM

        1. The Last Pope
          30th May 2011, 1:49

          No its not. Its a terrible point, as the proof shows.

          And also its the Fia’s decicion to bring in a car if they think a car is no longer safe to race. The team doesn’t have to bring in a damaged car if they don’t want to and the FIA haven’t said anything.

          1. Its a terrible point, as the proof shows.

            What proof?

            You do realise that the sides of the cockpit are so high that a driver cannot check to see if a driver is alongside him, right? And even if the sidepods were low enough, the HANS device physically prevents him from doing so. And while the car might have wing mirrors, you don’t really have time to check them when you’re going into Ste. Devote.

            The same thing happened between Webber and Vettel in Turkey last year. The only difference here is that everyone is blaming the defending – instead of the attacking – driver, probably because Hamilton got penalised.

            But even if Hamilton was to be completely exonerated from any wrongdoing in the Maldonado incident, it still doesn’t change the fact that Hamilton caused another avoidable accident with Massa and attempted to drive a car with terminal damge. It’s a bit like saying “Well, he was shot and then set on fire, but at least he didn’t fall off that cliff”.

            1. IIRC, a certain driver said that great drivers can do multiple things at once. F1 drivers by default are meant to be very good; at least being able to check mirrors for cars coming closer. Therefore, he definitely knew Hamilton was around where he was.
              The other thing is that (looking at the HRT and possibly Torro Rosso behind) the racing line was around a car width further out of Maldonado’s turn in.

    158. All I can say is driving a F1 car with a temper and lots of frustration as LH obviously had, is probable cause for his lack of clean passing. LH, just count your lucky stars you didn’t seriously injure someone badly, except for Petrov! It’s amazing you all talk about Massa, Maldando (LH caused crashes by stupid moves), but if you watch the swimming pool complex accident, which driver caused the chain reaction which very nearly took out your own team mate, answer LH!!!!!!!! I recon F1 needs the same card penalties that football has, cause one serious accident you get a yellow card (light/tag on car), cause another avoidable accident = two yellow cards and you sit out the next race, cause three and you get banned for three races and fined.

      1. And then the few drivers who actually try to overtake won’t bother either. It will be one boring procession after another. Great idea!

      2. … If you think that you didn’t look good. I’m polite here :)

        Sutil should have backed off earlier imo. Hamilton needed to slow down to avoid a serious crash with him.

      3. I agree with SoLiDG here. LH had to slow down to avoid Sutil coming from over the curbs. Perhaps he slowed down a bit too much though. However, Sutil was wide before that and Algesuari would have been able to clearly see that Sutil would be cutting across the track. Perhaps with delayed reactions or just not thinking properly, he didn’t slow down and ended up into Lewis’ rear. That is what lead to Petrov’s problem and THAT was the swimming complex incident.

        I don’t know what race you were watching if you thought Hamilton caused that problem.

        He’s been in controversy for other things in the race and then people start blaming him for things even the FIA haven’t pointed at him for.

        Is this a case of ‘Haters gonna hate’?

    159. Lewis does sometimes have dreadful races – mostly because of others’, especially McLaren strategists or mechanics’, mistakes. He tends to respond emphatically, though. The best thing he can do is win the Canadian GP. Since he has the best engine and KERS and has always been on pole there and won twice (and should have won thrice)he may well respond in style. And RBR should have a bad race, for once.

      Vettel (thanks to Newey) is dominiating this championship. He’s over two whole wins ahead of second placed Lewis. Hopefully, when the fancy exhausts are banned, RBR go backwards…

    160. Lewis has the right to speak his mind. I actually really like the fact he didn’t have his PR mouth on.

      1. I agree with you. There are a lot worse things said, but other drivers are cut much more slack than Lewis. Without him F1 would be pretty boring on and off track.

      2. The Last Pope
        30th May 2011, 0:22

        +1

        Why is it ok for people like Sir Alex Ferguson to rant about football referees to the media every week. But if any F1 related person exits PR mode all hell brakes loose.

    161. redstart (@)
      30th May 2011, 0:06

      I cant believe some of the rubbish being spouted on here, Lewis is one of the few drivers that race on the edge, that is what I want to see when I go to watch a Grand Prix. I am all for safety, as was Senna, but the great man him self would never refuse an overtake if the chance arose even if it was a bit risky.

      It is time the stewards started looking at the driver that turns in on a car on the inside rather than penalising the racer trying to apply his trade.
      Massa turned in on Lewis no doubt about it.

      As for the comments after the race, I honestly think they were more tongue in cheek than has been suggested but they were at best stupid. I think we will be hearing an appology pretty soon.

    162. This thread is crazy! Here are my thoughts.

      Incident with massa. I can understand Lewis’ argument and I can also understand the penalty. I think it should have been a racing incident.
      I’m not sure Hamilton was truly aiming for a move anyway. If you watch him drive he almost always takes alternative lines to try to distract the guy in front. I think he was looking on the inside of massa with the option to pass if massage got it wrong. Giving massa the benefit of the doubt we shall say that he was trying the same sort of thing on webber and that is why he turned early. He definitely turned early though. Wasn’t much chance for Hamilton at this point, he tries to turn across the herb to avoid contact but there was no chance. He wouldn’t have been able to slow enough either. Also anyone saying that incident is why massa binned it in the tunnel wasn’t paying attention. Massage just got off line his own fault.
      The difference between Hamilton and Di resta’s incident is that DR was obviously trying to undercut his opponent at the hairpin and it was just ridiculously not on. Hamilton may very well not have been making a real move and massa’s movement, while legal was unusual and unpredictable. So verdict – racing incident, give all parties benefit of the doubt.

      Maldanado on the other hand is inexperienced. The lunge was brave but maldanado should have been watching that mirror and given space. Hamilton was far enough up the inside to call it a battle and I think its another racing incident. Maldo obviously never looked. He should have even heard it coming. He was asleep.

      I can’t blame the stewards for the first incident. They aren’t racers and they can get things wrong. It’s open to interpretation but from car positioning I really don’t think its comparable to the DR incident. Completely different mentality from all drivers involved.the second incident should never have been a penalty but unfortunately they have made a rod for their own backs and now pretty much ALL contact must bring a penalty.

      1. And please excuse the typing errors that is a phone’s auto correct.

      2. The Last Pope
        30th May 2011, 0:33

        Well it is pretty clear that Maldonardo saw Hamilton come alongside him. Thats why he turned in so early bumping over the curb. That wasn’t his normal line that he took there. It was a bad mistake from Maldonardo and it wasn’t his only one that race. He cost Williams important points and I can’t help thinking what Hulkenberg would have done.

        1. Fair enough – I’m trying to give the defending drivers the benefit of the doubt as I don’t like the idea of drivers turning in on each other (although I’m quite sure it happens).

          Just to balance things, I do think that Hamilton was a little hot headed today and his post race interview was a touch painful to watch. However, both of today’s incidents were at best 50/50 and if we want to see racing, these sorts of things should be seen as racing incidents with a slap on the wrist of both drivers (attacker told to be a little more careful, defender told to watch his mirrors and not turn in) there should be NO penalties in these situations.

    163. redstart (@)
      30th May 2011, 0:23

      Bill, I guess you are having a laugh mate. Take a look at this

      http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xizhrc_f1-2011-monaco-grand-prix-chaos-accident-crash-alguersuari-hamilton-petrov_auto

      hamilton is hit from behind by Alguersuari after he bounces over the kerbs. But I can see how you think hamilton is at fault lol… I think they should ban him for life.

    164. Let’s try and a give a balanced assessment here that seems absent in both Hamilton’s interview and vast swathes of these comments.
      I’m sorry but adding “it’s a joke” at the end doesn’t really make what preceded it a joke does it? Additionally the seeming dismissive attitude to the other drivers isn’t going to win him any popularity contests with those drivers and their teams; it’s just not appropriate or a good idea. Hamilton is certainly not unique in his self-centred, put upon attitude when it all goes wrong – it doesn’t make it right but some of the comments perhaps could have been more even-handed compared to their favourite drivers. Most drivers seem to have picked up undeserved penalties from time to time but certainly Hamilton has had quite a few of these. In an environment where there have been some racial issues it is easy to see how this can be perceived to be part or wholly the problem for him. He and we however should remember if you are going to be aggressive and pushing the boundaries then you probably are going to pick up more than your fair share of them. F1 stewards and rule-makers should also consider that this is the type of exciting driving you want to encourage and only hand out the penalties when the safety lines have been crossed which should always remain paramount – ‘racing incidents’ do seem on the decline and penalties on the increase though.
      Taking Massa first – I think that Hamilton would have a hard time convincing anyone that was a viable gap for a clean overtake – sure give it a go but be prepared to back off in the likely event it is closed. The stewards weren’t – this is what the penalty was for. The overtake in the tunnel that led to the crash may have been valid but was probably only possible because Hamilton was close enough to Massa after their coming together. Massa’s crash wasn’t immediately caused by Hamilton but his car looked damaged after the collision which may have contributed to it and would have probably ended his race later anyway.
      Maldonado was slightly different. There was a more significant gap to be attacked here and the issue less clear cut and perhaps why the penalty was a minor one. If this had been Hamilton’s only prang of the afternoon then I suspect the stewards may have been more likely to let it slide, however Hamilton’s apparent approach to the afternoon demonstrated a more reckless attitude than they could condone and they needed to step in.
      To succeed at the top of any sport you need aggression at the right time and clear focus all the time. When the emotion runs unchecked the focus is lost and the results speak for themselves. Sure Hamilton had bad luck but I think Jenson could possibly feel more upset with his luck this afternoon. Di Resta will have done himself no harm with his response whatever he really felt.
      Come on Hamilton – you’re not a rookie – channel all that talent and don’t be a plonker!

    165. Lewis was frustrated at knowing he had the potential to win this race and everything was going against him.

      He in turn was driving recklessly and wasn’t one of his finest moments.

      Having said this however, it does appear there is no hesitation to penalise Hamilton anytime he’s involved with some incident whether it’s his fault or not.

    166. @Palle spot on! ” But as genetic science has stated, racism is a bit absurd, as we all are the same race developed in Africa some 170-200.000 years ago” That is the one I always hit em with and if infuriates them. They can’t stand the fact that in essence that makes them Our children. The children of Black Africans, and We people of color seem to be more closely related. When I venture out of sunny southern California, and go to the American south or even England for that matter I definitely experience overt and thinly veiled racism. Look@ the ugliness in soccer or myriad other examples I could raise. I am in no way someone who makes excuses. I have a great command of English, have become extremely successful, and don’t do bad @ all with the Ladies. So, why would I need to make excuses. Truth be told, Ive had many obstacles in My quest to conquer corporate America. The subtle racism, subliminal superiority complexes and sheer audacity of SOME Whites has only served to fuel My drive. Fact is most other minorities I encounter tend to understand this. Wonder why it is always (some) white folks that can’t even consider these truths. Funny thing is, some of My biggest supporters are causasion.The difference is they don’t try and mask over the obvious. Bottom line, I strive to reverse the curse and I take great pleasure when all the fear and hate they project only makes their Girls want Me more. Yup…, I said it. What?!

    167. Keith,

      Too many comments, most of em rubbish.

      Hope you could write up an article about what you think about all this nonsense…

    168. What a contrast Lewis and Vettel were this weekend. Both were irratic but fast as youngsters, but one showed today how much he’d matured and the other just embarrased himself on and off track.

      I’m no Vettel fan either, I’m a Webber fan so nothing pains me more than seeing how well Vettel is going this year.

      1. That’s quite stupid to take one race as an absolute example of both drivers. For example, did China prove that Button doesn’t have the mental capacity to drive in F1? No, I didn’t think so. Moron.

    169. As far as I am concerned, Massa deliberately caused the accident at the hair pin. Hamilton even tried to avoid the accident. Massa drives like an idiot whenever someone tries to overtake. In my opinion, hamilton got a penalty because Massa later crashed.

      Hamilton’s attempted pass on Maldonado was the only questionable pass.

    170. As the late great Ayrton Senna told Sir Jackie Stewart in the interview with him – if you don’t go for the gap, then you are no longer a racing driver.
      However, Hamilton is too impetuous, he barges into people instead of taking them cleanly. If he continues in this manner, one day he will be responsible for a serious injury or a death of a fellow competitor. I agree that he started at the wrong end of F1, he served no apprenticeship in the lower part of the grid, so he believes he can punt off anyone in front of him. He certainly needs to mature and respect other drivers, to accept blame when he makes a misjudgement. When he can achieve those objectives, he won’t be visiting the stewards any more!! He is the problem, and he needs to accept that!!

      1. fullthrottle
        30th May 2011, 3:45

        I don’t think this famous gap of Senna was in Loews.

    171. William Wilgus
      30th May 2011, 3:16

      My, my look at all the Hamilton fans! I’ll bet you were Dale Earnhart, Sr. fans as well: Hamilton drives much like Earnhart did.

    172. No I don’t think their should have been a penalty for both Di Resta & Hamilton but been crazy like that won’t help him. I am seeing that this season Lewis isn’t the guy what he used to be,he is aggressive on track,that’s OK but been over aggressive both on & off the track won’t bring good thing to him.

    173. I’m not so bothered by the run-ins Hamilton had with Massa and Maldonado during the race as I am with his cry baby Alonso like antics after the race.

      And as a racial minority myself living in the US, I think someone who uses the race card so easily lacks character. I don’t buy Hamilton’s excuse that he was joking either. If he was, it shows he’s even dumber than I thought.

      It’s so unfortunate, because otherwise I like Hamilton a lot. He comes across very positively in interviews and I admire his racing game. BUt he still has tons of growing up to do.

      A few years ago, Jeremy Clarkson asked Lewis if “he’d gotten his pubes yet.”

      Apparently not.

    174. Hamilton’s driving was quite dangerous at times but i think we are are missing the point. These incidents are not a reflection of Hamilton’s driving but a reflection on how dangerous it is to pass at Monaco.

      Any pass on the track is extremely high risk (what ever the scenario) and really requires co-operation from both drivers involved in the pass – which as you can imagine wont happen often.

      And if you can’t overtake, what is the point?

      This is a not a new revelation about the Monte Carlo track – but I think this year really demonstrated how unsuitable this track is for F1 moving forward.

    175. I wonder what Hamilton will complain about in the next race?

    176. Hamilton is a joke, and just as big a cry baby as Webber.
      He needs to start owning up to his wreckless actions.

    177. Wrong, just wrong.
      Massa turned left almost 15m/yardes before ideal line: but this is permitted. In the meanwhile Hamilton had some overlap with him. At breaking point, Lewis is half way in. This is unfair, Felipe. Drivers knows it.
      In tunnel Massa admitted he had a front wing failure. I didn’t see it. This is sheer fool. In replay it’s obvious that Hamilton didn’t hit Massa’s wings.

      At St. Devote, Hamilton is almost 90% in compared to Maldonado. Its blocking manouver is too, too late, and unfair.

      Two mistakes for Felipe and Pastor. Two misjudged actions by the marshalls.

      Hamilton, on its side, should avoid calling for racism here. He’s very like to make errors, but not here in Monaco imho.

      On the other side, this is not the first time that marshall intend to punish him but… just fail to do it. He crashed two drivers in points and finished…… 6th. Remember Valencia….

      1. Duck wrote: “Two misjudged actions by the marshalls.”

        I am sure that you are qualified by the FIA as a Marshall, have more experience than the three that were there, and after seeing more replays, the telemetry, having the opinion of the drivers’ representative, and possibly talking to the drivers involved, would have come to a different conclusion.

        So why weren’t you are Marshall at Monaco? Or could you possibly be honest enough to admit that you’re a Hamilton fan and that four highly qualified people came to the right conclusion?

        1. As imho stands for “in my honest opinion”, I shouldn’t be a marshall to say that. If you want to be coherent with what you say, you have to admit that you too aren’t in the position di judge other opinions, because already you aren’t (or you maybe are) a marshall or a recognized (“in charge”) person with comparable experience (whatever mine is).

          You didn’t make a comment about the incidents and the penalties, and nothing about my comment. You just criticized my one.

          I’m a Massa supporter, by the way. Very disappointed by his faults, again.

    178. Almost 700 comments, is this a record?

    179. First things 1st, I’ve never seen so much overtaking at Monaco!

      Shame on all those drivers who wanted DRS banned because it was so dangerous. I didn’t see anyone bin it in the DRS zone!!!

      The two drivers that didn’t want it banned (Hamilton and Schu) seemed to be the only two that raced each other hard AND fairly, I think that’s because they respect each other, how can you respect another driver who wants a system to help races be more exciting to be banned?!!

      Hamilton and Di Resta SHOULD NOT have been penalised for overtaking on the hairpin, Schu managed to overtake Hamilton there because Hamilton conceded when he knew Schu was faster on the supersofts, none of the other drivers conceded to Hamilton or Di Resta.

      The steward panel needs to be made up of people who write the technical rules and who are responsible for F1 strategy, many people in F1 keep banging on about the technical measures to help overtaking and yet the stewards seem to disagree with this and penalise a driver each time he overtakes, its all contradictory.

      Hamilton is truly the most exciting driver on the circuit and it is annoying that as soon as he pulls off a decent overtaking move he’s got a drive through or some other penalty. I don’t think it is because of the colour of his skin, although its possible, I think there are too many drivers like Massa who whinge and moan that Hamilton is a dangerous driver, he’s not a dangerous driver he’s a born racing driver and is the most talented driver out there. Yes he wears his heart on his sleeve and can occasionally lose his cool, who doesn’t!?

      Hamilton was penalised twice for ‘causing an avoidable collision,’ surely all collisions are avoidable if you do either one of the following:

      1) Don’t get in the car
      2) Don’t get anywhere near another car i.e. don’t overtake

      Is this what the stewards and the rule writers want?!

      1. Hamilton and Di Resta SHOULD NOT have been penalised for overtaking on the hairpin, Schu managed to overtake Hamilton there because Hamilton conceded when he knew Schu was faster on the supersofts, none of the other drivers conceded to Hamilton or Di Resta.

        Schumacher was alongside Hamilton on lap 1 going into the hairpin. See

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=estuxW9aHOg&feature=player_detailpage#t=35s

        Neither Di Resta or Hamilton were alongside the drivers they were trying to overtake at the hairpin.

    180. Ah, Lewis threw the words out, and again, as always, he apologized and they kissed and hugged each other. Happily ever after.
      He just need to grow up, as quickly as he can, just like Vettel did. And stop the reckless-driving-style “I’m the super star, let me go”.

    181. David Johnson
      30th May 2011, 9:25

      There is a slighly fullier version of the lewis interview on the bbc podcast http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/cff1, and a good analysis by an actually driver : anthony davidson. But if you already formed biased views of this whole situation you may not wish to check it out.

    182. For those who still didn’t get him joking a bit about being black…
      this is ali G he was talking about, seem many still don’t know him :)

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDu6A10OjZw

    183. Schumacher, and several others that got by drivers ‘cleanly’ at the hairpin, didn’t get a penalty. They were well alongside the other driver before they got to the apex. There is also a good example of one driver using his brakes to avoid an accident having realised that he would not make the corner apex without incident. The stewards will look at all of these examples, and present them as evidence in their case against a driver. Neither McLaren nor Hamilton had much of a case worth defending for either incident. Each one was an avoidable incident on Hamilton’s part.

    184. Hamilton is a baby. I’ll continue to support Button and McLaren first, but this whole saga has just made me realise what a complete driver Alonso is, can’t help but admire him today!

      1. Alonso made exactly the same pass and accident at that hairpin last year – inidently the stewards did not even look at it even though it was as avoidable as hell then as it was yesterday.

    185. The Stewards are becoming a joke and Hamilton is right to be angry. I however disagree with the racist argument, becuase I think it’s not valid, overused and has lost its sense of meaning in recent years. This is coming from a black african and a Hamilton fan! I’m sick and tired of people using the racist line all the time. It’s retrogressive and gives people the reason to be slack. Looking at the video and images posted here, its clear as day light that these incidents should have been put down as a racing line. There is nothing like a legitimate pass. AS a racing drive, you spot a gap and try to take advantage of that with the hope that the driver in front will reasonable enough to leave you some space as we saw with Hamilton and Schumi, Hamilton and Button (china 2011). Clearly massa saw hamilton is his mirrors and could have given him some space if he wanted to. For me that is clearly a driver trying to make a move and the other defending his position (racing incident). How is that different from a similar incident in Spain 2010 between hamilton and webber? That was ruled as a racing incident. The maldonado crash was a racing incident, I haven’t seen the vid from different angles but it could be that he didn’t see hamilton coming and hamilton also thought he had a clean gap to make a move. The stewards are here to ensure a safe race but we are also here to watch racing, not a procession!

    186. He’s lucky that the stewards didn’t give him a penalty for that after they called for him – again. Adam Cooper says:

      “BTW can now confirm Lewis was requested to go to stewards after remarks for apology, wasn’t his or McLaren’s idea”

      That said, shame on McLaren – it seems talking to the stewards was not really Lewis’ choice.

      1. good for him – you dont apologise for the truth

    187. Lewis, get out of Formula One and go to NASCAR. That kind of racing is more your style. Leave F1 to Ferrari, Alonso, Massa and McLaren’s of the world. Go where your talents will be challenged on the track and you are allowed – expected even – to race with everyone and anyone for the entire race. It’s your nature, humble yourself to it.

    188. Some of you guys think there is no place for Massa to go. But I dont agree with that. Earlier during the race shumi passed Lewis at the hairpin. There is two cars width around that hair pin.

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/ShumiLewis.jpg

      If Massa is taking a particular line in at that hairpin that is fine usually but when you have another half of a car up your inside you cannot still turn in just the way you were doing when there was no car up the inside. This accident was avoidable. I think Massa did turn in a bit too much. He might aswell followed Webber as he was doing but right at that corner he decided to turn in the maximum he could so that he can close the door on Hamilton. But hamilton being Hamilton already commited to that corner (though he is not exactly on the racing line) he too has no where to go but onto the kerb.
      Racing line is only the fastest line to go round the race track. Just because you are on the racing line doesnt mean that you dont have to consider cars that may be coming on the inside of the corner to do an overtake.

      To be honest Massa was just following webber leaving a car’s width on the track to the inside just before the hairpin. Then Webber went a bit wide at that hairpin which Massa noticed and dived into that gap not noticing Lewis was also aiming for the same gap. This is where I think the whole collision occurred.

      If you draw a trace for Massa’s line at this corner (in the following 3 pics) you can easily see that he changed his direction quite a bit more than usual! Esp considering Lewis is on the inside (only by just) still I think Massa could have avoided the collision. From the third pic below he had enough space to his right. He might have chosen to use that by following Webber and get a better traction on the exit of the hairpin and still be ahead of Lewis and be on the inside for the next immediate corner/right turn.

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco1.jpg

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco2.jpg

      http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz43/edinfreak/Formula1/Monaco2011/Monaco3.jpg

      Infact Massa turned in so much into the corner that Webber clipped his front wing.

      Also Lewis was voicing his concerns about the inconsistency in Stewards giving penalties. Similar event happened in Singapore last year between Webber and Hamilton. Webber never received any penalty for that.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynp28-jt8J0

    189. I have not sympathy whatsoever for Hamilton. Lets look at the facts;

      1. In Q3, he did not challenge his race engineers plans to do one run (and thus save a set of tyres which could have put him on a different strategy than everyone else). It was a team decision, so to blame his engineers is absurd.

      2. I didn’t see the Massa block in Q3 so can’t comment. BUT on his flying lap Hamilton MADE A MISTAKE, cut the chicane and got punished like anyone else. If he’s frustrated, that’s OK. But it’s not OK to pass the blame on to someone else for what was ultimatly his mistake.

      3. Surprisingly, several overtakes happened at the hairpin and some were clean and without incident. Perhaps Hamilton was unlucky that DiResta got penalised earlier for an almost identical incident and that set a precident.

      4. Hamiltons challenges to both Massa and Maldonado resulted in both of his competitors being RUN OFF THE TRACK and into the wall. Viewing the incidents from Hamilton’s onboard, he was clearly not alongside Massa or Maldonado going into the corner so it was going to be either no overtake or a collision.

      5. Hamilton’s comments after the race were disgraceful. I’m all for drivers speaking their minds and I applaud Mclaren for allowing them the freedom to do that. But this crossed a line. Whether it’s a joke or not it was inappropiate and ill advised. To me, Hamiltons conduct brings the sport into disrepute and regardless of an apology he should be further repremanded.

      It’s such a pity that events unfolded in this way. Before the Massa incident I had considered Hamilton my driver of the day because he was visibly push harder than anyone else, but that doesn’t give him the right to push rivals out of the way.

      Hamilton needs to stop his arrogant whining, stop blaming others, whether they’re competitors or his own team, stop acting like a petulant child toward the stewards and start acting like the World Champion he is on and off the track. He could learn a lot from his successors Button and Vettel in how to act like a champion.
      It

    190. Looking at the hundreds of reply’s to this article and the amount of die hard Hamilton fans there are.. he can drive like a complete idiot for the whole race just because he got a bad grid position he thinks he has the right smash his way back up the field. Then when he is punished he rants on with a so called joke “about being black” but people still find a way of defending him.. In my opinion that’s why he is the way he is because of people around him making him think he can do no wrong.

      Why should Maldonado turn in late when Hamilton wasn’t even along side him.. In racing if you can’t get to the corner at least 3/4″ of the way level with someone then you back off! not them. Senna was guilty of this kind of move and Schumacher ect.. but they didn’t blame being south American or German for the stewards decision.

      He’s a disgrace to the sport.

      1. I agree with – he needs to drive his haters up the wall so that they can move on to somebody else – i say whenever he is not in the points he should shunt as many drivers as he can – soon or later all this ranting will go down and people will focus on racing. fight fire with fire, idiocy with idiocy, stupidity with stupidity

    191. So Hamilton gets a penalty for causing an “avoidable accident” for bumping wheels with Massa.

      Where is the penalty for the driver who plowed in to back of Hamilton and broke his rear wing?

      Also what about a penalty for Massa for causing an “avoidable accident” when he made contact with Webber just prior to his incident with Hamilton?

      Truth is that Massa doesn’t know how to get overtaken. He isn’t looking in his mirrors and leaves a gap. When someone attempts to dive down that gap he gets startled and runs him off the track. Not the first time he has done it, won’t be the last.

    192. I’ve refrained from commenting so far. But Hamilton’s actions this weekend have been nothing short of scandalous.

      There can be no complaints about the penalty for the Massa collision, since di Resta had just been penalised for exactly the same thing. Hamilton wasn’t even on the track, he just drove into the side of Felipe. It was basically the reverse of the collision those two had at Fuji in 2008.

      As for Maldonado, Lewis should have known that there was no way that was going to stick. He should have taken the escape road, let Pastor back past and had a go later in the lap. He was lucky to get an utterly meaningless 20sec penalty for that – given it was a second offence I’d have disqualified him.

      And his comments after the race were utterly, utterly disgraceful. After the genuine racism he has, sadly, sometimes suffered at the hands of a minority of fans, you would think he would be a bit more careful about banding such baseless accusations about – he doesn’t want to get into a “crying wolf” situation after all. I hope the FIA act decisively to ensure he knows he can’t get away with these disgusting outbursts.

    193. Hamilton produced a breathtaking performance. When nobody could overtake anyone even those who were on 60 laps old tyres(Vettel) and were seconds off the pace, Hamilton pulled awesome overtaking moves on people with good cars Mercedes and Ferrari. But it is cruel that this kind of bravery, skill and talent is rewarded with penalties.

      The sixth place of Hamilton was so much better and satisfying than the 2nd and 3rd by Alonso and Button who never seriously tried a move to overtake for the lead. Maybe both were scared that its too risky but you have to take risks like Hamilton and make things happen.

      I am in no doubt that if yo swap the cars of Button and Hamilton, the later would definitely have tried some SERIOUS moves on Vettel for the lead even if it would end up badly.

      Great Great drive by Lewis Hamilton. And Massa is just a crybaby #2 driver.

    194. What happened at school when the naughty kid and the normal kid done something wrong?.. the naughty kid got in more trouble because he never learns his lesson. I think the stewards are within there right to penalise Hamilton everytime he is in the wrong. Maybe he will eventually learn that he isn’t above the rules.

      If you keep braking rules you will be watched more that’s why Hamilton doesnt get away with anything because the officials know he will normally do something wrong.

      You might say that’s unfair, I say that’s human nature.

    195. Pink Pirelli
      30th May 2011, 13:06

      Probably not much I can add to the 700-odd comments here already but sheesh people, have you all had sense of humour bypasses? Lewis was not playing the race card, he was quoting the tagline from Ali G. It was a tongue in cheek comment, which clearly has been blown out of proportion – like so many things Lewis says or does. Having said that, he fully deserved both penalties. He is not the messiah, just a very naughty boy ;p

      1. Yeah it’s very sad people don’t look at his expression and laugh at the moment … and they seem to forget the Ali G reference.
        I had it so many times that I tried to be funny and it wasn’t that funny to others. It’s something he said in a split second.

    196. “Out of six races I’ve been to the stewards five times. It’s a joke. It’s an absolute fricking joke.”

      In this case I find appropriate Jim Carrey’s lines from Liar Liar: “Stop breaking the rules as..ole!”.

    197. Is you being serious ?

    198. After reading a couple of comments about Hamilton “speaking his mind”, I thought I should clear things up a bit. Mark Webber speaks his mind, he admits when he’s made a mistake and is a man about it. Hamilton looks for the car to blame (all of 2009), if that fails he blames the team (aus 2010, turkey 2010), if that fails he blames other drivers that he crashed into, and then if that fails he looks for the most overused and tired excuse of the modern era “its cause I’m a black”. Hamilton I was starting to respect you, but nope, not anymore, I suggest you look at your teammate and try to learn some respect.

    199. Sad to see Hamilton stoop so low. Thats just pure arrogance, blaming other drivers while he was just barraging his way throught the field. He really should stop whinning look at Di Resta, or better yet Massa he never insulted Glock or Hamilton and he didn’t whine about Singapore*. So Hamilton, your the “fricking” joke.

      *Massa was in the lead before Puquet “crashed”.

      1. Massa didn’t whine about Singapore? you’re a bit uninformed mate, Nelson Jr himself said in an interview that Felipe is not speaking to him and that he blames him for his title loss.

        1. Although I agree about the interview – it was pretty arrogant but one must consider that all that was said in the heat of the moment. After all drivers are humans and they have the right to get emotional once in a while.

    200. its a race…remember…where every1 tries to get ahead of each other…not a sunday afternoon drive…where we all follow the slow old G** at the front,

      hamilton had the inside line, massa came across way to early

      if you don’t want to be done up the inside then defend your line, not leave the door wide open then come across and crash into some one

      lewis 1 – 0 massa

      1. Thats Massa’s racecraft. Turn into the attacker. He has done this so many times. Look what he did to button at Australia. That is unsafe driving. The guy loves to turn into people and barge them off the track. Unfortunately, in F1 the attacking driver will get the blame 99.9999999999% of the time. Massa is a hippocrite and hopefully he will be gone soon.

      2. One thing you’re forgetting here is that even with the special steering rack the teams use at Monaco to get round the hair-pin, there’s no way a car can take the inside line going into and out of the corner. If Massa had done as you suggest he’d have gone wide on the exit, possibly collecting Webber.

        The history of Grand Hotel Hairpin suggests any passing attempt will almost inevitably end in tears.

    201. TheVillainF1
      30th May 2011, 18:53

      Do we want overtaking or not? These were racing incidents. IF Maldonado had given some room like Schumacher did as Hamilton took him on the same turn he would have come out unscathed. Same with the Massa incident. Had Massa given room like Hamilton gave to schumacher on lap 1 (as did Rosberg later on) there would not have been contact. The lead drivers also plays a part in avoiding ‘avoidable’ collisions, especially around Monaco. About his interview, I thought we all loved it when drivers speak their mind and drop the PR talk..I know I do ;) Ppl that get on their horse about the black thing really need to just watch Ali G

    202. With Maldonado I think Lewis expected him to do the same as Schumacher and leave him space. Pastor has had a tough season and was not going to give Lewis room to pass, he is a rookie keen to show Williams that he is good enough for Formula One. Schumacher is a veteran driver, a driver who has nothing to prove anybody in this sport.
      When people compare Hamilton with Senna, for me there is one. Martin Brundle once said that Senna would put you in a situation where you either let him through or have an accident. In other words, scare you off the road! Lewis does the same in my opinion, which sometimes works and sometimes does not. There are drivers you can trust in those situations and others you can’t. I don’t blame Maldonado for not giving Lewis space, but I bet he wishes he had finished seventh by giving him that space than not at all.
      As for Hamilton’s comments about his skin colour being a negative, that is laughable. His race was hampered not by Massa or Schumacher but by his poor grid position. When you start mid pack at Monaco chances are you are going to get run into or find it tough to pass, so Lewis and McLaren put themselves into that situation on Saturday. Secondly, McLaren screwed up one of Lewis’ pitstops which had nothing to do with the stewards much in the same way as Red Bull did with Mark Webber.
      The bottom line here is not skin colour. Its the fact that Hamilton is seeing another championship disappear before his very eyes in the shape of Sebastien Vettel. Whats more, Lewis was soundly beaten by his team mate both on Saturday and in the race.
      Add all that together, and you have a very unhappy man!

      1. Sidney Vianna
        31st May 2011, 20:59

        Thanks for a very sensible comment. While, in my opinion, Hamilton is the most skilled F1 driver out there, time and time again he shows immaturity as a man. Being as young as he is and being under intense scrutiny, he needs to work on his outbursts more carefully.

        I followed Senna’s career from F3. Hamilton is the most gifted driver since Ayrton left us. He, Alonso and Vettel are the few who can win races in a lesser car. But Hamilton needs to work on his public image. He is indeed very frustrated at the moment and he needs to control his emotions.

    203. Leaving what I hope is the 800th (and last) comment on this thread.

      2 days after the race, while there has been some attention of Hamilton’s comments in the mainstream, it wasn’t as much as I thought there would be. Kudos to McLaren and Lewis for defusing that situation quickly. Still, it must be said that Lewis can ill-afford to repeat this mistake again.

    204. It ‘s really not about turning in early or not. I am/was a way bigger fan of Hamilton than I’ll ever be of Massa but in case of the hairpin Massa only takes the natural line. It is too tight for that line to differ much in the first place without using Massa as a kerb I doubt Hamilton would even have made it round the corner in his line. I agree with Senna that you have to move for every gab but that just wasn’t one!
      Check it here and also note the line of each of the other cars: http://www.gpupdate.net/en/videos/1063/hamilton-versus-massa-on-board-monaco-2011/
      Massa’s line was normal and there’s just no way you are entitled to overtake just because you go too fast into the corner at a line requiring the opponent as kerb to even make it round! I’ll do it myself racing commercial gokarts but this is tad different.

      All in all I am really disappointed that Hamilton is still not learning his lesson, considering that he pretty much destroyed his 2010 season on exactly the same behavior! In comparison; watch how much Vettel has matured already.

    205. In case of Maldonado though, he already changed his line a couple of times which should have earned Hamilton the line considering that he was almost onside with him.

    206. It doesn’t matter how many times the stewards punish Lewis (per race / per season), he will continue to be the force that he is in F1…

    207. I read a little of this, and couldn’t keep up with the inanity of most of the argument, but clearly Massa hit Weber because Bashilton moved the Ferrari offline when he used it as a snooker rail…

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