Rate the race: 2011 Italian Grand Prix

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

Rate the 2011 Italian Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (5%)
  • 9 (15%)
  • 8 (36%)
  • 7 (26%)
  • 6 (10%)
  • 5 (4%)
  • 4 (2%)
  • 3 (1%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (0%)

Total Voters: 439

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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2011 Italian Grand Prix

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    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    208 comments on “Rate the race: 2011 Italian Grand Prix”

    1. 7.

      A typical 2011 race in my opinion. A fascinating and heart-stopping first half with a mediocre second half. Still a very good race.

      1. Ditto. For some reason, the battles always seem to die out in the second half/last third of the race.

      2. I gave it an 8 for the very tense multiple lap (how many laps was that?) and repeat battle between HAM and Schu. Button getting through and then his fight with Alonso. As well as the mighty Alonso start and the ballsy overtake by Vettel.
        And the nice catchup run towards the end by Senna and Hamilton, while we had a good fight for 7th-11th as well.

      3. Agreed, apart from the tussle with Ham and Schu there wasn’t a lot going on at the front. I actually got a bit bored in the middle of the race, then it got a bit better towards the end.

        The roar from the crowd when Alonso was on the podium made up for it though, especially when they were shouting over the Austrian national dirge.

        1. especially when they were shouting over the Austrian national dirge.

          To me, that made the race. :)

      4. 9/10
        Might be more than most people gave it, but I loved it. The opening laps were amazing, with a big crash and great starts by Alonso and Schumacher. I liked watching Vettel pass Alonso, and all the laps where Hamilton was battling with Schumacher and later Button. The end was less eventful but still very nice for me, and although I’m sad both Saubers retired it was a “welcome” sight to see cars having problems, giving chances to backmarkers to get good results.

        1. The only thing that I’d have liked to see and didn’t was Alonso or Massa on the top step. Kudos to Vettel though, he was untouchable.

      5. Great start, average middle and ending.

        Could have done with another 3 laps to see Hamilton vs Alonso.

      6. That’s thanks to DRS. Because overtakes are so easy once you are within a second of the car in front, the status quo is formed generally half way through the race, with Schumacher vs Hamilton today being the exception.

    2. 7/10, to be honest the race was quite boring as it settled in, and I frequently found myself switching between the race and New York’s 9/11 memorial service. Very touching.

    3. + Drama at the start.
      + Amazing battle between Lewis and Michael.
      + Battle between Jenson and Alonso.
      + Battles throughout the field.
      + DRS working well – not too easy, not too hard.
      — Not a real battle for the lead.
      + Almost a fight for the final podium position.
      – Not the most eventful race this season, especially in the final third of the race.

      7/10

      1. DRS not too easy, were you watching the same race as i was?

        i saw plenty of drs passing today (especially on the incar camera channel) that was as stupidly easy as drs passes have been all year.

        1. That’s the tyres.

          1. Plus people with high wing levels in front of people with low wing levels

      2. DRS working well – not too easy

        Come on, did not not see how easily people were going past Maldonado?

        1. Granted I think that would be happening anyway, his straight line speed was horribly low.

          Is DRS disappearing next year? It was a neat idea but… Yeah, it hasn’t worked.

          1. I thought it was a stop-gap until ground-effects regulations, but now that they’re scrapping that…

    4. Like Belgium it tamed a bit towards the end, but still an entertaining race. Great drives all round, brilliant racing and DRS was kept in check. I don’t really care if Vettel wins, so long as the races are good, which this really was!

      1. Oh, and I gave it an 8, forgot to mention.

        1. I went for 8 as well, some amazing overtakes – Vettel on Alonso!, plus the gritty battle between Hamilton and Schumacher which was only just legal. Button round the outside of Alonso was brilliant as well.
          A really enjoyable Grand Prix I think. It’s just a shame the RB7 is just so much quicker than the rest.

          1. I also gave it an 8, for me it was great to see most of the top cars with different strengths and weakness’.Too bad we lost Nico and Mark so early, I think they could have provided the drama missing in the last half.

            1. Agreed Hohum, the loss of so many cars in the first half (8 I think) deprived us of more drama in the second half. Would’ve liked to have seen what Petrov and Perez(on a one stopper) were capable of today.

              Liuzzi partially made up for this by calling Heikki an idiot not once but twice in his interview. Not sure what he was on about there. Seemed to clearly be Tonio’s error.

    5. Carnage, so much carnage o_o

    6. Schumacher was great.

      1. Yes he is.. brings back more excitement

    7. 7 for me. Loved seeing Schumi give it to Hamilton!

      1. Look at SV on FA, gutsy and risky. LH just wanted to reset and finish the race. I hope all the haters see how ordinary it is when a driver doesn’t risk it. SV went for it knowing with his lead in the WDC it wasn’t a risk to the end result, while LH thought that he had to finish at all cost.

        1. Thats what the hamilton-haters want – they dont want Lewis to use his unique and astonishing talents…after all its Lewis’ astonishing talents that made them all haters of his in the first place.

          Lewis has the biggest crosshairs on his back.
          All the other drivers as well as the stewards AND media are much more tougher with Lewis then any other driver. For the driver..to keep Lewis from overtaking them is a big trophy for them to win….its all bragging rights.
          Thats why Michael was extra hard with Lewis but literally pulled aside to let button through.
          If you see that move on the replays and then compare the same defence on hamilton in that corner..you will see that michael with button moved to the inside to defend but then didnt chop back onto the racingline to cover the corner like he kept doing with Lewis – whereas against Lewis…we all clearly saw michael kept chopping back onto the racingline before the corner.

          Feel bad for Lewis…he does get treated unfairly and how much of a handicap he carries. It also so clear how much the media prefer button to the point where they exaggerate & twist stories on Hamilton to make him look negative in order to elevate button and make jenson look more positive. What they all conveniently dont say is that button is competing with a Lewis Hamilton who is currently well off the ball.

          Button would only be the better driver IF he consistantly beats Lewis when Lewis is on-form…or at least when Lewis is not having a bad form. Beating a driver when you are driving to your best ever and when the other driver is ‘off-form’ is nothing to get exicted about.

          Also the beeb’s efforts all weekend to stabelise button’s contract with whitmarsh was plain uncomfortable viewing….the bias of the beeb towards jenson and diresta is so hard to stomach….and very nausiating. Its fine having preferences but what I dont like is how the media try to play one driver off against another compartiot and try turning it all into a ridiculous pantomine.

          1. Every single word of that is complete fantasy. It’s all in your head. Just seeing what you choose to see.

            1. Keith, certainly the part of “schu moving to the left” with hamilton is not in his head… look at the defense against hamilton vs the defense against button… I saw the difference too with massa at spa, when button was about to pass him he just moved aside, when hamilton tried to pass massa he almost crashed into him.

            2. Button caught Hamilton right at the end of a stint. Schumacher’s tyres were going off, and Button had saved his KERS to attack him with. Button got further ahead as they came into the braking zone and made the pass.

            3. I agree the ‘Hamilton as victim’ angle does nobody any favours. But Schumacher certainly seems to block Hamilton a bit more vehemently. But so what? I’ve always presumed that’s because he really really wants Vettel to become the new F1 supreme talent, not Hamilton. Up to Hamilton (and McLaren) to offer the challenge, not Schumacher to park the car for Lewis to get past – though he eventually did do that after Hamilton’s radio complaints. And calling the FIA stewards to get past MS wasn’t his best moment by any shot.

            4. @David BR

              Hamilton merely pointed out his displeasure at the rule breaking. Bearing in mind the number of times he has been punished this season (and in particular under the same rule) I am not surprised he was a little annoyed. I think like every F1 fan I just want to see consistency, either every driver is punished for this or every driver is let off with it, in my mind the only grey area is when it is not entirely clear that two moves were made and in this case it was obvious that there were. But then I would also like to see other rules like cars not able to leave the track enforced too. What is the point in having lines denoting the edge of the track if drivers are allowed to use the track outside of them as a racing line?

            5. @ Lee

              Well it’s a classic two wrongs don’t make a right. I think a lot of Hamilton’s steward calls and penalties are over-zealous, including Monaco this year, his own weaving to break Petrov’s tow (rather than block) last year, etc. But I really didn’t see much wrong with Shcumacher’s defending, and I was lookng. Even Hamilton seemed to accept that after the race. But the radio warning to MS via Brawn did seem to have a sudden effect of Schumacher giving so much room he got past. Hamilton had a poor race, getting stuck behind Schumacher came from two lapses of concentration. Just not good enough at this level.

            6. @David BR

              I agree, I did not see much wrong (in the context of racing) with schumachers defence in that double move (although his squeezing hamilton off the track earlier was a little naughty). However the rules clearly state that you are only allowed to make one defensive move and he clearly made two, whether I think this is a poor rule or not (and I do) is irrelevant. Once a driver is punished under the rule then consistency must be maintained unless the rule is re-clarified. I just hope that the next driver that does this goes unpunished as otherwise it will be farcical.

          2. Jenson is having a consistently good season. Lewis is forcing things at the moment, putting himself in positions that are not always favorable. Not being an F1 driver I obviously do not know how he rectifies the situation he is in.

            Neither have the beating of Vettel this season.

            End of.

            1. If Button had had a better start he’d have had a go chance of attacking for a win. BUt he didn’t.

              Regarding his overtake on LH and MS, it had a little fortune written all over it with regard to the timing of catching the pair. MS tyres going of for sure.

              However it illustrates greatly the difference in approach to racing between MS and LH.

              Lewis is like a rabid dog with the prey in his jaws trying to shake it to death and in the process wearing out rubber and opportunity. Button’s driving style and pensive approach is more measured and controlled. That has garnered him some great results of late and Lewis a few DNFs.

    8. feel sorry for hamilton,tho good to see ol mike runnin in p3 on merit for a while.7.5/10

    9. 7,Alright Race but was really frustrated when Lewis was stuck behind Schumi for a Long Time.

      1. In fact the Race was great but still a 7 for me.

    10. Not going to vote yet, there was a lot of great racing, but in the end the winner was not in doubt, again, shortly into the race.

      McLaren really need to get Button to start lap two in the top four, and they should tell HAM to better be aggressive, or he’ll be safe in thirdish in the WDC, never challenging for a win. And Ferrari need to give Alonso a quick car so he can do more than have a great start and hang on for a podium during the rest of the race.

      MSC great racing, I suppose it is good he didn’t get a drive-through (might have given Massa 5th though), I don’t want too much penalties, but had positions be reversed, I’m sure HAM would have gotten one. Will Ron Dennis spank him for sleeping at restart?

      Well done for taking opportunity to Alguesuari and di Resta, good race for Senna, and Buemi too (even though he was a bit wishy washy near end of race). MAL and BAR first two behind the points, Williams not really getting a break. Team Lotus do a good job, but need more speed to really do something.

      Massa pretty well done, although I don’t recall how he managed to get himself so far behnind MSC.

      1. Oh, right the touch with Webber didn’t help Massa. That first corner trouble was interesting to see, will be interesting to finally get a view of what Liuzzi was up to. Destroyed some races there, including his own.

        1. got 2 wheels on the grass – silly boy!

          1. So did Vettel. ^^

    11. 7 for me aswell. The first 30 laps were nice, as Michael was holding Lewis.

      The rest was very boring, but I rather have half exciting-half boring than a whole Valencia GP.

    12. 10. Thrilling. Who says is boring to have Vettel win.

      We watched Schumacher and Lewis battle.

      Vettel is super…. took alonso.

      WOW

    13. 7
      But this for me was the race where Vettel started entering the ‘great F1 drivers’ pantheon. That pass on Alonso was just stunning – courageous, audacious and totally committed to getting out in front when he could just have easily played safe. Brilliant driving. He’s convinced me.

    14. I gave it an 8.
      5 world champions on top 5, a very emotionnal podium, some nice overtakings.
      I really enjoyed it, quite simply.

    15. 7. One point lost because of DC and Brundle, and the entire BBC, for whining about Schumacher for showing Hamilton how to race. Button didn’t have a problem overtaking Schumacher, so I think we can now firmly say that Hamilton is an overrated driver and Button is his better.

      Schumacher is back.

      1. +1000. Ham was attacking MSC all over the place,didnt plant out his attack. Brain triumphs over brawn.

        1. Depends. Pressurizing to force a mistake isn’t necessarily any less intelligent, just that Schumacher just loves that kind of pressure! Once he gets locked in to a one-on-one, it’s very difficult.

        2. I think your being a bit harsh on Lewis, Button made sure he was in the right position to take advantage when near the pit stop, the opportunity came, he took it.

          By that time MSC was near the end of life of his tyres, and came in that lap. And because Jenson was in front at the pit stop window, he got to choose when to come in (knowing that MSC was clearly going to come in he came in to cover).

          That left Lewis exposed to the undercut from Schumacher, and why he came out behind after the stop.

          1. Also, Hamilton had been fighting with Schumacher from the restart. That doesn’t do wonders to your tyres. Button caught them up with a lot less tyre degredation having had clean air the entire time and could make the pass more easily.

      2. Well, that is partly due to MSC putting HAM on grass, so he couldn’t do it at that point, and MSC’s tyres were close to gone, which is why he went to pits right after.

        But it is true that HAM should work on the on/off switch a bit: there has to be a setting where he takes enough risk to get past, but not crash, as BUT did there, taking change when it is there. HAM seemed really not on it much today.

        1. Hamilton didn’t have to go on the grass. There was still time to back out of it.

          1. Seems odd that he chose to do the thing that would slow him down far more then.

          2. I wasn’t in the car, so don’t know better than you; however, as Icthyes says: why did he? Fun, panic? No, he probably had a bit too little space. Not sure that’s only MSC fault, nor if it was wrong if so, but it did give BUT opportunity that HAM hadn’t had. He took it brilliantly, of course.

      3. Really? If Hamilton and Schumacher swapped round, you can guarantee Hamilton would’ve got a penalty. Remember Malaysia 2011?

        1. Really? If it were Aryton Senna doing it, people would be calling him a racing god.

          Nothing wrong with Schumacher’s move, other than that it was Schumacher doing them.

          1. In modern racing, the rules say it’s illegal. Lewis got a penalty for it so surely Schumacher should as well. One set of rules for one, another for another.

            1. the rules say it’s illegal

              No they don’t.

            2. Yes they do. It’s just not often enforced.

              Schumacher was penalized on that rule once before too.

            3. There must be a rule he was close to breaching, though I don’t pretend to know which one it was. I thought not leaving enough room when returning to the racing line would class as an “illegal” 2nd move, but maybe not.

              If your team boss has to tell you multiple times to leave more room, that’s a clear indiciation race control weren’t entirely happy with what MSC was doing. The inference was, as far as I could tell, that had he continued a penalty might have been coming his way. MSC did seem to back right off, shortly afterwards.

            4. The thing Schumacher was almost penalized for was him moving to the inside for ascari with Hamilton pulling up next to him and Schumacher then going back to the racing line forcing Hamilton to back out.

              That’s an illegal move.

              When they went into the lesmo’s Schumacher blocked Hamilton and went back to the racing line but Hamilton wasn’t going to pass him there on the outside.

              That was a legal move.

              Racing drivers are alowed to make one move which means they can go off line and back to the race line for the perfect line. They do however need to leave room if someone is pulled up alonside them. You’re not allowed to push someone off the track when you go back to the racing line.

              Once someone is alongside you, you’re not allowed to move back and block them.

            5. Yes they do. It’s just not often enforced.

              No, they really don’t. There is no rule that says Schumacher isn’t allowed to move off-line to defend his position and then move back towards the racing line.

              That’s why dozens of other drivers have done it over the years and never been punished for it.

            6. @Keith Yes the rules do. Rule 16.1 on Incidents:

              “Incident” means any occurrence or series of occurrences involving one or more drivers, or any action by any driver, which is reported to the stewards by the race director (or noted by the stewards and referred to the race director for investigation) which :
              – necessitated the suspension of a race under Article 41 ;
              – constituted a breach of these Sporting Regulations or the Code ;
              – caused a false start by one or more cars ;
              – caused a collision ;
              – forced a driver off the track ;
              – illegitimately prevented a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre by a driver
              – illegitimately impeded another driver during overtaking.

              So Schuey did cut up Hamilton, forcing him onto the grass and did weave in front of him breaking the “one move” rule that’s been enforced previously.

              See http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/65EE8F15945D0941C12576C7005308AE/$FILE/1-2010%20SPORTING%20REGULATIONS%2023-06-2010.pdf

              That means they’re inconsistently enforcing their own code yet again. So far (11:40pm GMT) i’ve seen no penalty for Liuzzi causing an avoidable accident at the start , or for Alonso’s squeeze of Vettel onto the grass either.

              The lack of enforcement in this race is almost intolerable.

            7. And none of that excludes what Schumacher did any more than dozens of comparable incidents we have seen over the years, which is why he didn’t get a penalty.

              i’ve seen no penalty for Liuzzi causing an avoidable accident at the start

              He got a five-place grid penalty for the next race, it’s in the round-up:

              https://www.racefans.net/2011/09/12/129/

          2. I really cant see anything wrong with MS moves. Not this time. It is racing…

      4. we can now firmly say that Hamilton is an overrated driver and Button is his better

        Currently, yes. Button looked like emerging from the season as the best McLaren driver quite a few races back and it’s now proving true. Hamilton was slow off the line and drove too passively. Button just doesn’t waste time hassling lap after lap does he? Content to sit back for a few laps or a lot, but pounce just at the right moment – taking both Hamilton and Alonso when they were a bit too slow. I could understand Hamilton being cautious given his season, but with Schumacher that’s not going to get you very far, particularly when overtaking on the straights wasn’t an option.

        1. Discussing about that,Im fearing we might a Passive & Calmer Lewis Hamilton a lot more Often and i believe this will most certainly affect his Driving Style & Results to say the Least,Well at least for the remainder of the Season.

          As for Jenson and with much more Experience than Lewis,I believe he’s most certainly exerted himself as McLaren’s Team Leader and notably learning from Lewis’ Driving Style.Great Result from Jenson once again!!!

        2. It’s not that clear cut. Hamilton is still quicker but Button is the better racer for the time being.

          Today Button was simply opportunistic and profited from Hamilton’s hard work. Although I am surprised that after Hamilton did pass Schumacher he let him get on the inside for Roggia.

          1. No, Button caught up because Hamilton was stuck behind Schumacher and losing time. He got past opportunistically but no more so than Hamilton has on plenty of occasions. Hamilton was over-cautious and was definitely caught napping twice: at the restart after the SC went in – he was miles away from Alonso and Vettel, failing to exploit the chance to challenge and then letting Schumacher past – and once he’d passed Schumacher the first time, he let him back past by failing to defend. That really cost him a huge amount.

      5. As I said during F1 Fanatic Live, I was baffled by what Brundle and Coulthard were saying about Schumacher.

        It has been the case for years that drivers can make one move to defend their position and then move back towards the racing line. I wrote about this a few years ago:

        Four of F1′s ‘unwritten rules’ (Video)

        Where Schumacher may have been transgressing was not making sure there was room for Hamilton where he returned to his racing line. But the stuff they were saying about “one move” did not apply here.

        1. Exactly. I think Brundle and DC are still bitter about Michael and seem to take every opportunity to make their point, particularly David. Furthermore, Michael’s move back to the racing line into the first Lesmo didn’t hinder Lewis in any way. I was surprised by how much they were attacking him.

          1. There was definitely some of that in DC I think. Brundle was a bit more careful for that reason, I suspect.

          2. Schumacher made that race exciting.As usual the Merc let him down,BUT!!once they get the equivalent to the RB,he will,without doubt, be heading for his 8th.
            PS.Coulthard for once,just try to hide your dislike for Schumi,you sound like an old record stuck in a groove.(Brundle too)

            1. +1 Shuie is back, he was awesome!

        2. +1 that was my understanding during the race, the second move was always returning to the racing line, Schumacher just timed that move perfectly every time

        3. For me the saving grace was that Hamilton had pulled back from Schumacher; there might as well have been no-one there for him to defend against.

        4. Well, there has been consistent confusion with people not realising that cars can go back to the racing line. Even the stewards seem to not always be clear about that.

          I don’t think MSC should have gotten a drive-through, but before with the Heidfeld/Buemi incident it seemed to not be seen that way (am I misremembering?).

          So the issue is more the consistent inconsistency of the penalties rather than that people need to be punished more. If they set a different standard, great, but make it clear.

          Or just explain reasoning of the penalties better so we understand why the situation was different in one case over the other, as I am sure you would agree.

        5. 100% agreed Keith.

          Brundles’ comment about two moves was a heat of the moment reaction which is fair enough but on second viewing it is completely obvious that Schumacher did nothing wrong in moving back across to the racing line as he did.

          The move where Hamilton ended up on the grass on the inside was also completely justified, I couldn’t believe it when DC suggested that Schumacher had made his move to the inside “too early” in the corner…

          When we then saw the onboard footage of Hamilton behind Schumacher post-race reviewing the “two move” incident it was hilarious to hear DC stuttering, oohing and ahhing as he realized that on further viewing Schumacher had done nothing wrong.

          1. Brundles’ comment about two moves was a heat of the moment

            I think it’s important to keep that in mind. Not easy judging these things on first sight.

        6. that`s very cheap from DC especially after all these years where sense should prevail above grudge

        7. brundell starting to act like a movie star? He was a friend of michael’s when they were teammates at benetton, then when he was comentating, critiziced ralf schumacher for hs driving, and the friendship ended. Now i think he uses any oportunity he has to throw trash at the german.Who cares.
          For me schumacher did a good job today, but that was not enough for the bbc pundits.
          I hope he starts winning again soon so they can not hide anywhere.

        8. What you’re saying then means that they have a rule for this they selectively ignore then? The implications are astounding.

          Coulthard quoted direct from the rule book during the race. How can you dispute the letter of the rule?

          1. Were you listening to the same commentary I was?

        9. I don’t believe it’s a rule no, it’s an unwritten one and we all know Michael can’t read those.

          Personally i think it’s stupid anyway, let them race, can you imagine how many great past races would have been dull as hell with this ‘rule’, Senna won many races keeping faster cars behind him. But, it is a fact Lewis was warned by the FIA last year for weaving in front of Petrov (in china i think) He was simply trying to break his tow and not driving back onto the racing line with a car next to him, He was reprimanded for Dangerous driving.

          I’m not huge Lewis fan, i think he sometimes uses his victim tag to escape some penalties but i’m 100% sure if the rolls were reversed Lewis would have got a drive through. If that’s true or not isn’t really important, it’s that a lot of people believe it to be true and that is a problem for the FIA, like it or not.

        10. Coulthard was definitely saying that, Brundle was more playing the role of asking his ‘Expert Commentator’ for his opinion. It didn’t sound to me like Brundle thought Schumacher was doing anything wrong.

      6. Nonsense. Schumacher gave Button all the space in the world but made it quite clear he was prepared to push Hamilton off the track if need be.

        1. Button was already ahead of Schumi before they got to the corner so of course Schumi couldn’t turn in on him. Schumi did the sensible thing to back off a little so he wouldn’t take Button out and still be able to defend his position behind Button, given that he knew he’d lost the position anyway. As I’ve watched several replays of Schumi’s and Lewis’ battle it seems to me that Schumi acted fairly. As Brundle put it, Lewis wasn’t going to be able to dummy Schumi into a pass, cos all of Schumi’s kids have grown up!… Classy commentary.. LoL.

    16. Race was pathetic. Again no fight for win and Vettel just walked away with it. Absolutely pathetic race.

        1. I’ll take my hat of to the both of you then for watching it anyway :-P

          1. Unfortunately, being ordinary humans, we don’t have precognition so we have to watch every race in the hope that something exciting will happen. Sometimes it does but quite often it doesn’t. That we keep on watching despite the lack of excitement in some races is what makes us fans and the reason that recorded highlights don’t really work for us.

      1. If you think Vettel passing Alonso on the outside, half on the grass is “pathetic” you are very clearly watching the wrong sport. Racing doesn’t get much better than that.

    17. LMAO- fans at the track shouting “NO MORE SKY”

    18. 7 for me. Pretty good but no battle for the lead. Again Hamilton provided the majority of the interest. Great battle between him and Schumi. Impressed with Hamilton keeping his cool and good to see Schumi doing well up there. Shame LH got put on the grasss and lost to Button.

      Fair play to Vettel the last few races have answered the few lingering doubts I had about him. He definitely up the with the best now. Shame its making the battle for wins in the races a little boring.

    19. I’m sorry but anyone saying Schumachers moves where fair is deluded. Absolutely 100% Lewis would have got a drive through for half of that. In fact he has, makes me seriously wonder what goes on on the stewards room.

      1. Awww, come on !

      2. Yeah, I can’t believe that there wasn’t at least an investigation. Ross Brawn came the closest you will ever hear to telling his driver to cede to a competitor, that should tell people something about what he thought about Schumacher’s repeated manoeuvres, the worst of which was a chop putting Hamilton on the grass.

        1. Totally agree we you.

        2. well, on any other day we wouldn’t have seen Ross advising Schumi how to drive. It was FIA who passed the message to MGP pit wall and Ross had to complete the formality.

          Absolutely 100% Lewis would have got a drive through for half of that.

          This is just an exaggeration. Usually drivers get reprimanded for such actions and in dire consequences, these moves warrant a penalty. 90% of the moves were made to take a better angle to attack the apex. If he didn’t, He would have to take a wider angle at the exit and we would seen a repeat of the Valencia accident (MSC-Vittaly) and yet again, you guys will be all over MSC. There is no win-win isn’t?

          1. It was FIA who passed the message to MGP pit wall and Ross had to complete the formality.

            If that’s true I would question even more why there was no official steward’s investigation, plus it would only underline that Schumacher’s driving was considered unacceptable.

            1. It wasn’t necessary as there were no incidents. That’s my conclusion in plain English. I also guess this will be raised in the GPDA meeting ** MSC is not part of the GPDA I guess ** so somehow he will get the message and nothing changes.

            2. voted 7 for the race and my favorite driver was Sebastian… great courage on the restart and pufffff….. he was gone

            3. @Icemangrins

              It wasn’t necessary as there were no incidents.

              There were no accidents, not no incidents.

              I find it counterproductive that there is what amounts to a parallel stewards decision alongside the official one. Either an incident is worthy of official investigation or it isn’t, and that should be the end of it. This way we have the FIA intervening, but the driver can point and say that the stewards were OK with it. Not a clear message to drivers, teams or fans.

    20. I think we will see Vettel win DOTWE for the 1st time this year…

      1. Nah, people will still vote for Jaime. Who had a pretty damn good race. But Vettel is truly unouchable.

        1. Jaime-Roquai ?
          Well my vote will go to Vettel this time…

        2. Jaime gained 7 places after the lap 1 incident. Starting from 18th he was well behind the incident and could’ve easily drove around the pack that was stuck there. From there he went from 11th to 7th.

    21. Seven out of ten, phenomenal performance from Vettel, complete with gutsy pass on Alonso. The race still had that great battle between Lewis and Michael, with superb defending from Michael, and a smarter, more calculated approach from Lewis. The race did get duller after that though.

    22. Dull, dull, dull. I was feeling generous so gave it a five.

      1. Agreed, clearly the most boring race of the season. Normally there’s at least a little bit of a fight for the lead.

        4/10 from me.

        1. “Normally there’s at least a little bit of a fight for the lead.” The first three cars going side by side into the first corner, and Vettel regaining the lead with a gutsy move around the outside of Alonso with two wheels on the grass and everything. I thought that was very exciting, but it was over quite quickly i will give you that.

          1. Seems some people want more from F1 than world class, heart-stopping overtaking moves. Seems some poeple want Wacky Races every weekend.

    23. 7.0- Again fair racing no mecahnical problems in the lead fair result. About the champ the reds are to fast. Despite everything said here, since melbourne they were even faster than last season and more reliable so they deserve it but that doesnt mean that this championship is the least interesting since 2002 despite very interesting racing. About Vettels greatness talks, I cant consider Vettel as one of the greats just because i reckon that their car is much faster than the competition adn in ratio stronger than other dominant cars in the past maybe more than the 2004 Ferrari.

      1. Their car often hasn’t had a huge advantage, but through mistakes from the Mclaren drivers, they haven’t maximised the pace of the car like Vettel has and Webber hasn’t, which has been pretty close to RB since Germany.

      2. The car haven’t been that dominant. More often then not have they found themselves out there on the track with half a race still to go being the 2nd, at times even 3rd fastest car. That is not dominant, the others have just made a lot of mistakes and not capitalized on their opportunities where Vettel has got the maximum out of the car nearly every race. That is why they lead. Not because they lap every other car on the track and win by huge margins like Ferrari and Schumacher did when they were really going for it. The result is the same, but in terms of car performance they are not nearly as dominant.

    24. 8/10
      Good race. outcome probably wouldve been different if the safety car hadnt come. but most of the race was michael bein followed by Lewis and most overtakes were DRS aided. so not a lot of fun frankly. last 5 laps by lewis were nice. if only there was 1 more lap! lewis couldve passed! :(

      1. Hm, Vettel did overtake Alonso w/o DRS, didn’t he? And for the lead. I do think that should count for something, even though it was so early on that from that point onwards it was settled. Well done by Vettel to make it happen, once again getting things under control.

    25. Ok race, was annoyed for most of it by mb and dc carrying on about schumacher but when the Brit Hamilton does similar two in three races, it’s a determination to win. He runs more cars off the road and causes more incidents and accidents than any other driver, but the German is cheating, the brit is determined.

      1. There is something true in what you say.

    26. Congratulations Schumacher on your win in the Italian grand prix!!!!! Oh wait it was the other german F1 sport killing driver that won!! Boring a!! Let some one else win vettel, please for god sake!!! Boring, boring and more boring!!!! Might as well just say vetted here you go ( the f1 championship is yours) now let us see something good! Who will win the second championship challenge! My vote is we all pray to the tire gods that vettels tires are made of glass for the rest of the season!!!!!!

    27. sorry but thats it for me after 34 years im done with f1.

      drs is ruining the sport, im sick of watching easy drs passes so i just wont bother watching any more f1 untill the abomination that is drs is removed!

      1. Vettel overtook Alonso w/o DRS. Didn’t he?

        1. Yes you did :)

      2. What? DRS was almost useless here.

        1. it wasn’t though, when drs worked we saw the same sort of passes weve seen from drs all year.

          in the hamilton/schumacher fight the mercedes top speed negated the drs effect but in most other situations the drs car just breezed right by easily.

    28. In schumi`s interview with the beeb-he was asked about things coming together his performance and things boding well for the future,he never mentioned next year,however,only the next few races-does anybody know his contractual situation for next year? any clauses etc….

    29. Honestly, I think HAM was just a bit unlucky today. His only real mistake was being caught napping on the restart.

      After that, the Mercedes superior top speed ensured it was going to be very difficult to overtake. MSCs tyres were starting to go off when HAM got his opportunity to pass (confirmed on the radio), but was run on to the grass. BUT benefited from that, got past the pair of them and that was the difference today.

      I thought at the time it was a mistake by Mclaren to pit HAM as late as they did for his first stop. One lap earlier and I think he would have stayed aheaad of MSC and been in the battle for 2nd.

      BUT is doing very well for Mclaren now, but he’s only 9 points ahead of HAM, despite the latter apparently having a poor season.

      1. Button had 2 DNF that cost him about 20/25 points (on course for 4th both times i think)
        That wasn’t the case for HAM.

        1. 100% agree on that.

        2. He was well off Massa at the Nurburgring, so 6th. Otherwise you’re right.

      2. Button also owes much to Webber punting Massa and then crashing out, taking two very quick cars who had passed him at the start. He had had a poor start. But Button has a bit of luck deficit to this point, so give him his due.

        It is strange that McLaren left both of their guys behind Schumacher so long, losing about 1s per lap, without pitting. And creating a potential pile up as they crowded up behind the Mercedes. The harder tire had no trouble making it to the end in stint 3. Indeed, Hamilton was reeling in the Ferrari massively toward the end. As it was, Hamilton’s tires were so shot at the end of his first stint that he came out behind Schumacher again, which basically finished his race right there.

    30. 8. It died a bit 2/3rds of the way through but apart from that it had everything. I don’t care that Seb marched off in the lead at a track he perhaps shouldn’t have because it was such a good drive that it was fun to watch and so much was happening further down the field.

      1. When exactly did you watch Vettel’s drive post lap… 4? The instant he’s in front that’s it for his weekend and I sure as hell wouldn’t put my sponsorship on his car expecting people to actually see it on TV. I’d love to see some numbers with regards driver time on camera because I’d wager Vettel wouldn’t be in the top 5 at least.

        1. I’m sure that troubles Vettel greatly.

    31. I think these people on here moaning about another Vettel win are not real racing fans, yes we would all prefer a close battle but you cannot deny pure talent.

      Its not Vettel’s fault is it, Mclaren and Ferrari need to get their act together thats all, it was the same when Senna was dominating and did anyone moan about that?

      If you dont like it, dont watch it!

      1. Well said.

      2. Senna never had a dominant season like Seb or Schumacher. He always had stiff competition from Prost and Mansell.

        1. Even when he clearly had the best car like in 1990.

          1. I think there is some merit in Luca Di Montezemolo’s comments about in season testing. The ban means that teams, who are playing catch up, are restricted in what they can do to develop their car during the season.

            I think we would have seen Ferrari and Mclaren close the gap to RBR, if not eradicate it, had in season testing been allowed. We would have seen a much more competitive season after the opening races as a result.

            F1 is a big money sport, IMO it’s a pretty convoluted argument to suggest that the in season testing ban is to ensure that the smaller teams are not disadvantaged due to their own financial restrictions. At the end of the day those smaller teams managed to get a formula one standard car to race in F1.

            The ban just means that the pressure to develop the car and get it right first time is concentrated and limited to the few months before the start of the season. This also disadvantages the smaller teams because again they don’t have the same resources available to the big teams that would enable them to get the job done in the narrow time frame.

            I would say if in season testing was re-introduced then we would see a much more competitive championship.

            1. Are you sure in season testing would mean Ferrari and McLaren catching up and not just RB sorting out their KERS and high drag issues out much faster then they have done?
              There was in season testing when Schumacher won everything for Ferrari, and the result was the longest period of domination in F1’s history.
              Whether or not it was because of in season testing i don’t know, but at least it proves that there is no guarantee for the others catching up just because they are allowed to test.

            2. @mads

              Yes, because I think Red Bull’s strengths are in getting it right first time and having the optimum aero package to build on from the beginning. I think Newey, in particular, is the kind of designer who doesn’t like to revisit or redesign any major aspect of the car that would impair the overall aero package. We saw this with his insistence on sticking with the Renault engine at a time when the Mercedes engine was ahead. So the ban on in season testing suits the Red Bull technical team’s mentality of sticking with and building on their initial development.

              Whereas Ferrari have previously excelled with the progress and radical changes they often made during past seasons, based on the sheer amount of money they can plough into sorting their car out, hence as you rightly point out Ferrari dominance when in season testing was allowed.

              I just think in season testing would allow all of the top teams to play to their individual strengths and would push the rate of development for all teams.

            3. @Spectator so what you are saying is they should bring back in season testing to hinder RB?
              I am not sure i agree with the concept of introducing new rules to stop a singe team.

              But generally i agree that in season testing would be good, but i think it should be kept at a minimum still. So the teams are still required to be good at deciding what concepts and designs they want to test and what they actually need to test on the track instead of in the wind tunnel. So they cant just, as you say, plough through hundreds of different components week after week like Ferrari once did, also to keep the costs at a reasonable level.

            4. @mads

              In-season testing wouldn’t hinder Red Bull. It would not make their initial design any less brilliant nor their initial advantage any less commanding. In-season testing, though, would allow all teams to make stronger developments to their cars during the season, with the positive being that no team can gain such an advantage from their initial car design that no other team stands a chance of finding an answer while there’s still the possibility of catching up, like we’ve seen this year. The negative is that some teams (Ferrari) have almost unlimited testing resources (do I understand correctly that in order to get the in-season testing date added next year, Ferrari is agreeing to shoulder some of the costs for the smaller teams to attend?), and so like it or not, many of the smaller teams are practically limited to the car out of the box, even if theoretically they wouldn’t be.

              And Red Bull would be allowed (and are financially able) to improve their car just like any other team. “Hindering” Red Bull would be asking them to carry extra weight, or to start three places back on the grid, or to run a sub-standard wing because the one they showed up with is just too clever. You can’t argue that allowing testing “hinders” Red Bull, unless you feel that removing the hindrance from other teams is itself somehow a hindrance.

              Kind of an aside: probably most everyone saw the Charlie Booker BBC-4 vs F1 Guardian article a little bit back. Someone made a comment in the mess of discussion there along the lines that there was no situation in the world that sport alone had improved. You can go back and forth on that, I suppose, but it seems to me that of all sports, F1 makes the strongest argument against it, simply from the sheer amount of technical knowledge it passes on. Better cars, sure. But also stronger silverware, more durable clothing, more advanced medical equipment, lighter tennis shoes, whatever: the testing and development done in F1 provides an astounding amount of practical good to such wide and unpredictable swathes of human life. That reason alone seems enough to justify lifting the testing and developmental restrictions on the teams, even if you don’t enjoy the mobile cutthroat science fair aspect of the sport (and I very much do.)

          1. I meant the 1990 McLaren was the best car but he fought hard with Prost in the Ferrari.

      3. I think these people on here moaning about another Vettel win are not real racing fans

        I think people NOT moaning about Vettel is not racing fans. There WAS no racing.

        I agree that it is not Vettel’s fault though. He’s just doing his job, and doing it very good, but interesting to watch? Not even close.

        1. Correction: “There WAS no racing”… for the lead.

        2. Yes there was. Racing don’t necessarily means that it has to be close. They were on the same track fighting for the same goal. I think that is enough to describe it as racing.
          Anyway saying that there was no racing for the lead is not really correct is it? I will say that Vettel putting two wheels on the grass to retake the lead from Alonso was pretty exciting and very close racing.

        3. themagicofspeed (@)
          11th September 2011, 17:16

          +1. This season has been less interesting than watching a mouldy breadbun rotting.

      4. Yes , in Senna’s day people had an attitude of gratitude , and appreciated life for what it was , watching an F1 race was just a pleasurable thing , which it still is to me , but when I read some interesting comments is nice , but unfortunately most are a pack of “new age” whiners , going on about the “unfair” battle between MSC and LH (although it added great excitement to the race , I thought) , Vettel “running away with the race….” (again , he has a good car , uses it to the max , and for that is a pleasure to watch him win – isn’t that what’s supposed to be done?)

    32. If I recall correctly, Lewis was penalised for a more than one move blocking maneuver on Alonso earlier in the season – how does Schumacher’s move differ? I am really tired of the double standards in F1. According to Eddie Jordan, it is ok to show aggression on the track if you are Michael Schumacher and get away with it, because that is his way.

      1. Because Schumacher deviated from the racing line and returned towards it.

        Whereas Hamilton deviated from the racing line, returned towards it, then deviated again.

        1. Thanks Keith, that makes it clear and simple.

        2. He must have been doing something wrong if the stewards felt it necessary to prompt Ross to advise his driver.

          We all heard the message from Ross.

          It’s simply unfair that they ‘advise’. The teams know the rules, if they make a mistake, the are punished. Not ‘advised’ and given a second chance.

          1. He must have been doing something wrong if the stewards felt it necessary to prompt Ross to advise his driver.

            But Mclaren had contacted the race director / stewards to take some form of action against Schumacher. My guess is the stewards felt he was not in breach of the rules, otherwise he would have received a penalty without a warning being necessary. Breaking the rules is breaking the rules, you don’t get second chances or warnings.

            However, I suspect Mclaren went on to argue that Schumacher was driving “dangerously” when he forced Hamilton onto the grass. Hence the team were told to issue Schumacher with a warning asking him to give Hamilton enough room at that chicane.

            I too am surprised at the BBC pundits’ blinkered view of this incident.

    33. 8 for me.
      A great race all round, and totally heart stopping to begin with. Vettel on the outside of Alonso through Curva Grande with two wheels on the grass. Wow.
      Hamilton vs Schumi was also a great battle and provided as much entertainment as one could ever want for the first half of the race.
      Vettel running away with it was a little boring, but at least it was unexpected to see him have one of his most dominant wins on a track that generally is very bad for RB.
      Sadly the battles died out by the end of the race and that was a bit of a shame. Hamilton hunting down Alonso was good, but it was a bit of a long shot.

    34. Great race! In the past few months, Schumacher was much better than Rosberg. He put a great defense against Lewis today, but it seems Hamilton should take some tips on overtaking from his teammate. He did in one move what the other couldn’t half the race. At least he didn’t crash this time, which is something , since both Lewis and Schumi have been crash prone this year.

      1. He is still a few tenth of a second off the pace of nico, but he tends to get his act together for races nowadays.

        It’s kind of like Lewis and Jenson. Lewis edged Jenson again this time around, but it’s safe to say Jenson is having a smoother, yielding season.

        I tended to rate Lewis higher, and part of me still does, but overall I must say all in all they are equally excellent.

        I believe McLaren and Mercedes have got the best of driver pairings in Lewis-Jenson and Nico-Michael. Force India is a close third, where Adrian, Paul and Nico (Hulkenberg) is three magnificent talent.

        1. The first phrases were meant for Q.

          1. Vettel,Webber, just rubbish of course?

    35. 8 for Schumacher and Hamilton epic struggle. Without it it would be just your average Monza.

    36. After a half-disappointing race in Budapest, a disappointment in Spa, and good pace shown in free practice, I had huge expectations for McLaren here in Monza, and once again I ended up disappointed!

      The race itself had an awful start : when I saw the HRT flying sideways towards the pack of cars, I was alarmed and sensed something awful is going to happen. The crash produced a great shock for me,which lasted for a couple of laps. It was a bit of a relief to see that no one was injured.

      Then, as I said the race was a disappointment : you could sense that McLaren had the same pace than Vettel, but thanks to a bad start, my favourite drivers couldn’t challenge Vettel for the lead : Button had dropped far behind, and Hamilton became stuck behind a car which was extremely hard to overtake, and which made Lewis put his tyres under great pressure (which made him slower than Button when he arrived to pass Schumacher).

      But the race wasn’t a bad one : the chaos at the start produced great battles in the midfield. It was fun seeing Button storming through the field, Senna getting some points, and Di Resta showing good pace. A pity Rosberg and Petrov didn’t race : they could have shown something interesting. The DRS might not been very effective for some people, but it had the effect I want it to have : being able to get cars close to each other, but leaving overtaking being a matter of skills and guts. In a way, the DRS has saved the race : without it, we wouldn’t have so much very impressive overtakings in Monza.

      I hesitated between 7 and 8, but picked 8 eventually.

    37. Gave it an 8.
      It was a great race to watch. And, pardon me for being a bit cynical, but today we saw certain Michael Schumacher showed certain Lewis Hamilton how to race really hard on the edge without being stupid. I think this is one of the reasons Lewis looked a bit lost during post-race interview, Schumacher got to him. That was a masterpiece of champion’s racecraft. But the main reason i guess was the beating that Button gave him again today – Jenson was perfect today, again. I just loved watching that. And Vettel’s pass on Alonso was one of the best moves of the year, make no mistake about that. Wonderful race, shame it wasn’t for the win which was out of everybody’s reach, except double world champion Sebastian Vettel.

      1. Not perfect for JB: what a dreadful start !

        1. @gwenouille, right-on, and poor Webber behind him having at last got of the line well.

          1. One has to wonder if it’s really bad luck all the time , and I’m thinking mainly of Webber and Massa , or if they are drivers who are just maybe trying that little too hard (pressure from excellent team mates ?) and end up in situations most races.

    38. 7……Was worth getting up at 5am…….barely.
      Once again nothing much going on at the sharp end in the second half, would have been interesting to see one more lap, adios Alonso from the podium?

      1. I know, it wasn’t the best race of the season, but i really loved it. The italian gp is always a special event for me, as an italian person and as a Vettel fan.
        The first half of the race was simply amazing, Alonso’s start, Vettel’s pass with two wheels on the grass, the battle between Schumacher and Hamilton.. I thought that my heart couldn’t take all that.
        The second half was more boring, but the last lap for me were incredible. Vettel getting closer and closer to the victory and Hamilton doing the same with Fernando Alonso, shame that there wasn’t a real battle in the end.
        Then I was almost crying with Vettel in the podium. Seeing a german showing with a little bit of pride the number 150 on his helmet was very special, too.
        I gave 9/10. You’ll probably say that it’s too much compared to other races, but i’ve never felt this way before in a formula 1 race.

        1. Ah, sorry, i didn’t want to reply to budchekov. I don’t know why this has happened, honestly.

        2. I loved the race, too — and this comment. :-)

    39. Almost every race this year has been great. Monza was no exception. Totally entertaining.

      I thought Red Bull running away with things would make this season boring, but if anything this has been almost as good as last year with 5 drivers in contention. Since 2006 Formula One has been in a golden age of fun, interesting and entertaining racing.

      1. themagicofspeed (@)
        11th September 2011, 17:36

        Right, so i take it from the first part of your comment that you’re a Red Bull/Vettel fan then…

        1. You can’t make assumptions just because people may disagree with you.

        2. I’m not a Red Bull fan and have had to give up on ranking races at all this year because they’ve almost all been so entertaining. The championship is a (foot-stomping, aggravating, infuriating) snoozer, definitely, but the individual races are brilliant.

    40. It really perplexes me that people can possibly say that Formula 1 is “rubbish” or “boring” simply because Vettel regularly wins at the moment. It might just be me, but the constant battling further back leaves me very satisfied… and even those battles may lead to collisions and Safety Car periods which would pin Vettel back (albeit artificially).

      Formula 1 is the most exciting sport in the world, whoever is winning.

      1. I agree. In 2010 the races were boring but the championship was really exciting. This year the championship is dead and buried, but the races are still very exciting. And they will keep being exciting when the championship is mathematically sealed. I know what i prefer.

    41. Upsetting start with Liuzzi losing control but fortunately no-one injured. So disappointed for Petrov and Rosberg. Cracking first 5 laps, and many interesting laps with battles happening all down the line… until about lap 30. Then it was more or less cut and dried. Excellent drives by Jaime and Schumicheal. As always Jenson cheekily wandering through to the front end, and Lewis, predictably getting hotter than his exhaust.
      All in all an entertaining race, as it should be. But Mr Webber, what a silly boy. You should have known better mate.

    42. I would give this race a 7.

      Congratulations to Vettel for putting it together and coming out on top, once again.
      At the start of the race it was clear to me that his car was much faster than those around him. It was just a matter of time before he got to the front and put a cushion in place.

      Hamilton is definitely the bad boy of F1 right now. Even in races where he is calm and more calculated he still gets the brunt of criticisms. I agree with those that say that if Brawn had to intervene then MSC was doing something unacceptable. However, I like the fact that no penalty was given and Hamilton was forced to think about how to overcome such obstacles. In the future, more teams will be more closely match and Hamilton has to find a way to match instinct with calculation and come out on top. In the end I think he drove well to accomplish what he wanted to. Kudos for that! If he had tried Button’s banzai move on MSC and touched, the results would have been far more damaging for him.

    43. 8 for me. Second half was a bit dull admittedly and if we’ve had a couple of more laps it might’ve been exciting to see Lewis vs Fernando and Senna vs Di Resta.

      Since when do you see 5 WDCs actually racing in the Top 5? Would be good to know from those stats boffins if this has happened before!

      Vettel deserves more credit now with his great overtake and stunning race pace. For those who kept up with live timings he was lapping at least 0.6-0.8s faster than anybody else when he pulled away from Alonso. And he pitted later than the others for tyres. Undoubtedly driver of the weekend in “RBR’s weakest track”. He can quite easily win all of the remaining races (as he could have done last season) and be the first driver other than Schumacher to win more than 9 races in a season.

      Great race from Alonso outperforming his car once again and is now amazingly 2nd in the WDC standings in what is definitely the 3rd fastest car out there.

      Schu did brilliantly again with his start and to stay at the sharp end as long as he did.

      Great overtaking again from Button, though another case of what could have been if he’d had a better start and problems getting up to pace early on in the race.

      Hamilton was rather lacklustre. Clearly caught napping on the restart which spoiled his race with being stuck being Schu for so long. Little tentative with overtaking Schu in comparison to Jenson. Seemed content just to get to the end of a race.

      DRS seemed to have done its job – that is to get closer to car in front to cancel out the turbulent air yet not make it to easy to drive past a car because of it.

      Agree with the above comment that it’s perplexing that people think the season is boring because Vettel is winning all the time. That’s like saying watching the Premier League/La Liga is boring when Man Utd wins all the time when not looking at individual matches and the drama/tension they create. Having watched F1 for the last 15 years I can say that this is better racing-wise than last season when overtaking was near impossible.

    44. Schumacher made a show!!

    45. 8. Some gutsy driving out there today. Ha my heart in my mouth watching Vettel and Alonso! Great battle between Hamilton and Schumacher. Good performance again by Button. Shame about Rosberg I was looking forward to seeing how his strategy would work out against Schumacher’s. Very high rate attrition today as well.

    46. themagicofspeed (@)
      11th September 2011, 16:58

      Schumacher was brilliant in holding back Hamilton. The way he handled it was just like “sit down, little boy, and watch how its done”. Schumi is still the boss, and so is Ross Brawn, that strategy worked a treat, after both of them stopped Schumi was still in front. He would have stayed ahead longer, if Hamilton hadn’t thrown his toys out of the pram because the master was p***ing all over him in a slower car. My driver of the day – obviously Schumacher.

      As for the rest of the race, it was as has been said, typically 2011 (boring). It was 10/10 for me, until the restart and then it just went downhill to 0 by the flag. Another dissapointing performance from the Ferrari car, but near faultless by Alonso, who pushed that utter total dog to 3rd place. As for Massa, he drove another unremarkable race having survived Webber trying to take him out.

    47. For those interested the FIA’s Sporting Code Appendix L, Article 2, para c states

      c) curves, as well as the approach and exit zones thereof, may be negotiated by the drivers in any way they wish, within the limits of the track. Overtaking, according to the circumstances, may be done either on the right or on the left. However, manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers such as premature changes of direction, more than one change of direction, deliberate crowding of cars towards the inside or the outside of the curve or any other abnormal change of direction, are strictly prohibited and shall be penalised, according to the importance and repetition of the offences, by Penalties ranging from a fine to the exclusion from the race. The repetition of dangerous driving, even involuntary, may result in the exclusion from the race.

      1. Interesting when applying this rule to Schumacher vs Hamilton. Schumacher cetainly ‘changed direction’ more than one once, however I’d argue that it was not ‘abnormal change of direction’ as he was moving back to the racing line which would surely be expected. Ambiguity at it’s best.

    48. This was an incredibly boring race, always has and always will be DRS

      1. did not work correctly and was simply a persesion race with a few exciting moments. the further on in the race the more prosecsion like it became! Bring on Singapore!

    49. The racing between MSC and HAM looked fair and exciting. Whether or not the penalty would be applied whether the roles were reversed is not a discussion we need to have as we have no idea of knowing whether or not either statement is true. In any case, Hamilton defined it as ‘racing’ and that is exactly what it was. I see no foul play.

    50. Something I think we saw today is just how unnecisary & just how bad for the racing the DRS actually is.

      There were a few occasions where it made passing too easy but we saw with the Schumacher & Hamilton fight that it was ineffective & that was the best battle for position of the race.

      Had DRS been more effective in that situation we would have seen Lewis fly by easily & we’d have lost out on the thrilling scrap which we saw today.

      For the good of the sport & the good of the racing the DRS should be dropped for 2012.

    51. The crowd abd being a dry race made me rank an extra point for this race. simply amazing !

    52. I’ve gone for 9…and that’s not just because I was there!

      I will admit that the race had a pretty uneventful last third but the two thirds prior to that were great. Schumacher and Hamilton provided great on track action, Webber provided some high drama and of course the first lap first corner pile up is always welcome, thanks Liuzzi!

    53. 6, the winner was never in doubt after the pass. Okay MSC ruined HAM’s race and JB did a good job. The race was okay but there have been a lot better this season.

    54. Firstly i gave it a 8. First 3/4 of the race was brilliant plenty of action and even after that there was still the Senna charge for the last 10 laps and Hamilton closing on Nando.

      My favorite moment of the race and season was Schumacher and Hamilton

      Forget just for a minute all this rubbish “Schumi drove dangerously and broke the rules and ruined Hamiltons life”

      What we saw for 25 laps was the best wheel to wheel war between 2 drivers in a very long time, Possibly Alesi V Mansell in Japan 94 is the only time i recall being so enthralled in a fight like that. With DRS this should never have happened but Two world class drivers put on a display that is being unfairly tainted by all this bad felling towards Schumachers driving, Not helped by the BBC. This was where we missed someone with James Allen or Murray Walkers enthusiasm in the box compaired to DC’s

      1. agree, but i think the only reason we actually had that battle was because maclaren chose the wrong gear ratios. to be bouncing off the rev limiter at the start of the race, when the car is heaviest, is inexcusable. without this low limit of top speed, ham’s overtake would’ve been a formality.

    55. And Button showed his superior racecraft to Hamilton in his Schumacher pass. Well done JB

    56. 9 for me.

      Watching Hamilton and Schumacher race wheel to wheel like that can be put up there with Arnoux/Villeneuve’s battle. One of my more favourite races of the year, even though McLaren didn’t win…

    57. 8 Good race but I do think the later part became a bit boring.

    58. torn between a 7 or 8 and went for 7 in the end. good start, tedious middle section (i wandered off to do some image processing). had to rewind about 20 mins to see why ham was back behind schumacher, then caught up on fast forward until 5 laps to go.

      seb’s dominance is starting to turn me off f1, much as ferrari / schumacher did in the 0’s

      1. had to rewind about 20 mins to see why ham was back behind schumacher

        So you left the race in the very narrow window between Hamilton passing Schumacher on lap 13 and being re-passed by him one corner later?

    59. I gave it a 6. The first few laps were interesting and the battle between Hamilton and Schumacher was exciting for a while. With the depleted field, the end of the race was a little dull because everyone was quite spread out.

    60. I enjoyed the race, as I do every race, but the mid-point became a bit less exciting once Hamilton and Button passed the very solid Schumacher. No amount of new regulations could or should change that. All I ask for is a few more onboard shots (perhaps of some lower-down-the-order teams) and more side-on shots, so that the viewers can really appreciate how quickly these cars travel.

    61. Gave a 9 because I thoroughly enjoyed it :D First the start, Alonso was mighty like in Spain, although in a start of the season contest, his start in Spain would win for me!

      Then we had Vettel’s overtake on Alonso around the outside of Curve Grande, I’m not a huge Vettel fan, but I certainly found myself applauding that!

      Then the Hamilton/Schumi battle. This is one I (like many others) have been waiting to see for the last 18 months! The most aggressive overtaker vs the most aggressive deffender. In my eyes, this was 1-0 Schumi, even if he did eventually lose the place, because he proved he could race with Lewis, a guy we know as one of the best in our sport at the moment.

      There were other fascinating battles too, Button on Alonso, Senna on his different tire strategy, and we saw that rare thing, retirements! They always spice up a race… I for one enjoyed it!

    62. Good race, I gave it a 7.

      As with quite a few races this year as soon Vettel was in the lead the victory was never in doubt, but there was still plenty of action going on further down the order.

    63. Just watched the race this morning…

      As much as I dislike Schumacher, he showed the world how to RACE a Formula One car yesterday.

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