Formula One 2008 - Page 12

slam105 · #**166** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008, 07:42 PM

Yep. Seems as though all the Alfisti have given up on F1.

The Monaco GP should wake up some of you BBers. I watched yesterday's practice & the elimination of traction control is really showing up on the streets of Monte Carlo! The qualies tomorrow should peak some interest, & if the weather forecasters are right about rain on race day, we're in for a barn-burner...

0800 EDT Saturday Speed Channel: Qualifying starts! Happy viewing!

Regards.

**Alex Csank** · #**167** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008, 07:49 PM

We are looking forward to the race! Kathleen and I are hosting some of our local Alfisti on Sunday morning with some croissants with sweet butter and blackberry preserves, thin French mushroom and Gruyere omelettes and French Roast Cafe au Lait.

Monaco is usually an ineteresting race. Let's see what happens!

slam105 · #**168** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008, 08:12 PM

Alex-

The omelets sound great! Unfortunately for me I'm 1000 miles away.

Regards.

Velocess · #**169** (**permalink**) 05-24-2008, 06:17 AM

This may be the weekend for Nico to make his way to the podium.

slam105 · #**170** (**permalink**) 05-24-2008, 12:17 PM

Ferrari has both Front-Row positions! Good 'qualies' this morning...even though he crashed Coulthard wound up 10th. for tomorrow's start---pretty hard crash too.

Do the Red Bull techs get to repair DC's car for tomorrow's GP??? And if they do, does he have to start from the pits? Or last?

Regards.

chris f · #**171** (**permalink**) 05-24-2008, 01:27 PM

According to my recollection:

Yes, Red Bull will have the opportunity to return the car to appropriate racing condition. No, he will not have to start from the pits; since he participated in Q3, he will start from the last position set in that heat (10). If there is chassis, gearbox or engine damage that requires complete replacement, however, he will incur some sort of grid penalty.

Speedtv.com reports that RB will have to replace the gearbox, and thus DC will have a 5 place grid penalty. If the report is correct, that is. (FORMULA-ONE - EXCLUSIVE: Coulthard to get 5-Place Grid Penalty in Monaco! - SPEEDtv.com)

slam105 · #**172** (**permalink**) 05-25-2008, 10:19 AM

I didn't especially care for the outcome(I'd hoped for another Ferrari 1-2), but Monaco was a very entertaining race!

With no traction-control and rain on the streets of Monte Carlo, the racing was pretty intense. You had all kinds of strange occurrences to deal with: wet tires, dries, fuel, Safety Car, yellow flags, running out of body parts, time restraints, crashes, you-name-it!

I felt sorry for A. Sutil---he got a raw deal. I felt for Kimi too---he got screwed from the 'git-go' w/a stupid penalty. Plus his so-called start was dreadful!

All-in-all, a good couple of hours of F1 drama!

Regards.

chris f · #**173** (**permalink**) 05-25-2008, 10:56 AM

Judging by the start, Kimi probably had enough fuel to drive to Calais. But it was an uncharacteristically untidy race for him, as evidenced by the off in turn one, the inconsistent lap times, and of course the last incident. He ended the day with the fastest lap, however, so the engineers probably had more of a dry setup in the car. Not that Sutil would care. Force India, reportedly, have filed an official complaint against Kimi for that accident in the end. The same thing happened to DC in qualifying, but, unfortunately for Force India, Sutil was there for collection.

As with most wet races, there were some surprises in the points. Seems that Vettel finally lived up to the hype; good race for Nakajima, too, so at least williams scored something.

Bobby K, despite being the only driver on the podium without a serious error, managed to finish in front of a Ferrari but not on the top step. During the early pit shuffles, it seemed that he was in with a chance at victory. His pace was equal--and sometimes superior-- to Macca and Ferrari at many stages in the race. McLaren really nailed the strategy here, I guess.

Sprintn · #**174** (**permalink**) 05-27-2008, 03:22 PM

Personally... I did feel bad for Sutil but for any knowledgeable person watching the race... i feel it was rediculous to even think about filing a complaint against Kimi. Couldn't everyone see how far back and safely behind Sutil, Kimi was after coming out of the tunnel and when he lost his back end?!?! It's not like he was bumping Sutil's Rear defuser only to slam into him! Jeeeezzzzz... Is there no longer such a thing as a racing incident... when you are racing?!?!? F1 is getting to be a bit of a joke in that respect! Kimi must have been fuming when he got that penalty. Two pre-start tire insidences in two years years for Ferrari.
What is really interesting is that... with the Laps Massa was ticking off and the lead that he had, how did he lose the lead???? Sure he made a mistake, but he did not do any damage. Hamilton made a mistake and had to go into the pits for it. Did I miss something??? Was it a tire issue with Massa when it began to dry?
And... WOw!!! How about Kubica in the wet?!?!?! Very impressive! He is gaining a new fan!
Bummed for Nico though. He was showing some awesome pace early on too.

chris f · #**175** (**permalink**) 05-27-2008, 07:32 PM

From my perspective, it was a mix of fortune and skill for Hamilton. Even though he had to pit early, he rejoined in the top 5, and the safety car period for DC and Bourdais again compressed the field. With the extra fuel from the pitstop, and the minimal position loss, he was able to go really deep into the race, granting him the lead while Kubica and Massa peeled off for their own fuel and tires. By the time they rejoined, Lewis had already passed them, was quickly losing weight, and built a lead sufficient enough to allow a pitstop without the loss of the lead. He also put on slicks, so there was no tire issue. Counterfactual narratives are difficult, but if he did not have that error and pit stop, it would have been much more difficult for him, IMO. Certainly, McLaren devised a clever strategy to compensate, but you don't often see a reward for pure driving error. But that lead he built was impressive.

Massa had passed Kubica in the pits after losing the lead in turn one, but lost it when he needed the change to slicks. Ferrari called him in for the second stop after Kubica, so Robert was able to close the gap with the better tires, I guess.

The stewards did not pursue a penalty against kimi for the Sutil incident. This is the right decision, I think. It is a slippery slope to penalize a driver for an unintentional incident, regardless of the damage.

Sprintn · #**176** (**permalink**) 05-28-2008, 11:53 AM

Speaking of the Safety car... I think the fact that the safety car must at times come out and bunches-up the feild... doing away with well fought time gaps is harsh enough... but to let cars go ahead of the safety car so that there is no longer traffic inbetween the leaders (Part of the hard fought time gaps) is a farce! I feel the safty car should come out but the order of the cars on track should not be affected. THis, I feel, really needs to change. I also feel that cars that need or want to go in for fuel shoudl be alowed. At least this way it is the racers and teams affecting the race and not the stewards or or strange rules... that just would rather have more of a "show" than an actual race.

davidteachey · #**177** (**permalink**) 05-28-2008, 05:17 PM

Most entertaining race I've seen in recent memory. Loved every minute of it. Some thoughts:

Adrian...I hope your time is coming. Take Kimi out in Canada....I'll forgive you.

Forza Massa....another strong showing.

Kimi...where is your head, man? Watch out for "Sutil-shaped chicanes" in the near future.

McLaren....come on the lads!! Well done, Lewie! Heikki who?

BMW....Krzceckeszewski ezewskizvwleweseiszvez tezescheizerwskipeichzewzi Robert!......hell, I dunno, I think that's Polish for "Another great job, Robert!" . (My Polish is just slightly lacking)....Love that guy...I hope his time is coming too.

Fernando.....they make Eyebrow Wax for those things, you know...

David

**papajam** · #**178** (**permalink**) 05-28-2008, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidteachey

Kimi...where is your head, man? Watch out for "Sutil-shaped chicanes" in the near future.

Echo Leader · #**179** (**permalink**) 05-29-2008, 05:49 AM

I agree, Papajam. That was epic skill Kimi showed...just a major shame Sutil was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I wish Massa hadn't thrown away the lead, I think he would have had a shot at the victory without that blunder.

davidteachey · #**180** (**permalink**) 05-29-2008, 10:09 AM

You're both right, to an extent. My only real point is: "Of all people, why Sutil?" Poor guy lost a lot more from this incident than would have a lot of the other drivers, had it been them that got hit. And don't forget that Kimi lost control in the first place, so the "save" is slightly negated. 'Nuff said.

David