F1 2008

On Alonso, for a moment, I wonder how he'd fare against this year's more error prone but faster Lewis

Ah, now we know why Lewis was so much faster than everyone else (including probably Heikki)

One of the most interesting and potentially controversial developments on the MP4/23 is a new system to improve traction.

How have McLaren become the team to beat? - Technical developments on the McLaren-Mercedes MP4/23 | F1 blog from F1Fanatic

Originally Posted by selespeed

What still puzzles me about the race is this: team orders are not allowed since a couple of years so you have to be very careful to let your team mate pass you to gain a position. So teams usually solve this with 'pitt strategy'

Every time Ferrari showed the obvious team orders to let the other driver pass, team like McLaren protested heavily and not without success.

Last Sunday Ron talks to Heiki (you could see Ron pushing the communication button on ITV) and Heiki brakes 50 meters earlier for a corner to let Lewis pass without a fight for position. They clearly broke the rules with that team order. Yet nobody complained, not even Ferrari.

Don't get me wrong, Lewis deserved to win the race big time. I just don't get it why nobody about the team orders.

It's a fair question, but as others have pointed out not quite the same. I think what annoyed people about Ferrari is, in the Schumacher era, even when his team mates were quicker then he was on a given weekend, they were still expected to move over and let him by. Clearly that wasn't the case with Hekki/Lewis, as Hekki was no where near the pace of Lewis

Originally Posted by BigFoot

On Alonso, for a moment, I wonder how he'd fare against this year's more error prone but faster Lewis

Well, Alonso seems quite error prone this year himself. To be fair Lewis has really only made one mistake (Canada), and just think how different the Championship would be if the safety car had never came out in the race!!

Too many if's and but's mate

But I agree that Alonso is making a lot of mistakes this year.

And as Peter mentioned, it was odd to see Nelsinho rather unhappy at the post-race press conference

Part of our coverage here BigFoot had an interview with Schumi and he was asked how would he feel about driving against the like of Lewis and the new generation of drivers, he danced around it trying not to give a straight answer, he looked so uncomfortable it was unreal.

Alonso has always made lots of mistakes when things aren't going his way, Massa is getting like that too.

Originally Posted by alimac1973

Alonso has always made lots of mistakes when things aren't going his way, Massa is getting like that too.

Alonso is making mistakes because he is trying to drive the R28 like it is a competitive car....but it just isn't.

Originally Posted by BigFoot

Ah, now we know why Lewis was so much faster than everyone else (including probably Heikki)



How have McLaren become the team to beat? - Technical developments on the McLaren-Mercedes MP4/23 | F1 blog from F1Fanatic

Clearly there is a lot of FUD in the report
you can not gain more then half a second only from aero upgrades(which Kova didn't run).

But the manual engine torque system thingy(similar to Ferrari's brake system) sounds very interesting.
Maybe it adds some complexity to...well your driving style.

I am sure we'll be hearing about it for a while

PS:You can argue that the Mp4-22 was a better car then the F2007 but they still managed to lose the championship.
I would not write off Ferrari just yet

I never write off the Red Army

Vettel's still the fastest on day 2:

Unofficial Wednesday times from Jerez:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1:18.843
2. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 1:19.081
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:19.446
4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:19.861
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:20.021
8. Alexander Wurz, Honda, 1:20.416
7. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 1:20.534
8. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 1:20.577
9. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:20.827
10. Christian Klien, BMW Sauber, 1:20.850

Originally Posted by BigFoot

But the Boy Wonder almost lost it (again!): Hamilton was fortunate to avoid crash with safety car - Motor Racing, Sport - The Independent

Reading further through that report, you find this...

Meanwhile, there were suggestions on Sunday evening that the FIA will investigate the manner in which German driver Timo Glock was treated after a heavy crash which brought out the safety car in the first place.

Glock's Toyota had a rear suspension failure in the final corner, spun out of control and impacted heavily with the concrete pit wall before sliding down and across the pit straight and ending up on the grass on the other side of the track. It was clear that the crash had shaken Glock and in such circumstances it is normal for specially-trained crews to go into action, using systems created specifically to ensure that no further damage is done to drivers after big accidents.

These procedures include the innovative rescue seat which is designed so that, if necessary, it can be taken out of the car with the driver still strapped to it, thus minimising the risk of increasing any spinal injury during the tricky extrication process. This is not what happened in Glock's case. He was helped from the car by marshals and walked unsteadily away rubbing his lower back. He was then presented with a canvas chair until an ambulance took him for precautionary checks in hospital. He was unharmed, but the procedures were created for a reason.

So not only is the circuit a Mickey Mouse affair, the safety teams and marshals are employed by Walt Disney too

Yes I remember seeing that on the telly and was shocked! They gave him a bl00dy canvas chair

Well, the cars are equipped so that the seat comes out with the driver. Why on earth they never did that is beyond me.

(Probably been drinking too much Bier to care )

German driver, they thought he'd be fine. You know, German reliability and all