F1 2007, Hamilton-alonso, Mclaren, Stepanygate...et Al

gunat · October 1, 2007

Did anyone watch the Japanese F1 GP yesterday? Apart from the first 19 (boring) laps...It was a great race to watch. Lots of fender benders, crashes, and general chaos...

Hamilton showed some very stylish driving in what could be described as nothing less than treacherous driving conditions. Up until this race, some were saying it was the car, and not the driver...i think this proved otherwise.

That aside, some great driving from the non-headliner drivers such as Kovalinnen, Coultard, Heidfeld, Vattel, and Webber (pity the R*D B*LL boys collided).

Then there's the Ferrari tire mishap, to which some say F1 gives so much slack to Ferrari, because although they claimed to have 'not known' about extreme tires requirement stated by director- they were allowed to make the change during the race....while all the other teams had complied well before the race started.

I haven't been following the political landscape of F1 until the whole Mclaren "ferrarigate" spy scandal flared up- but there's a clear divide not only in Mclaren (Alonso team vs. LH Team), but it's also said that the second round of investigations into the spy scandal was because Alonso had blackmailed Ron Dennis to "spilling the beans" to FIA unless Dennis gave all advantages to Alonso over Hamilton to win future races.

Dennis had then approached FIA and confessed to having some Ferrari data. Up until that point, there wasn't any evidence to 'convict' Mclaren...

This is all hearsay in the press, but if you connect the dots...it makes sense.

So, is Alonso a "rat"? It must be said that even F1 greats like Senna have held their manufacturers "hostage" by re-negotiating contracts and requirements as and when they please.

Its pretty obvious that Alonso is probably looking for a new home...while Dennis hasn't commented on Alonso's contract, there's speculation whether he'll jump to Ferrari, or more likely his old team Renault. Ferrari has already stated that they "already have 2 great drivers" and don't see the need to get Alonso.

Will any other team want him? Given his obvious lack of team-player skills...i wonder if anyone is willing to take him on after this...

Some have called Hamilton immature and an unsophisticated driver, given certain comments he's made to the press about other competitors....Others say he'll never be a 'celebrated' champion in the UK because he's not white...

Opinions anyone?

evilmak · October 1, 2007

So, is Alonso a "rat"? It must be said that even F1 greats like Senna have held their manufacturers "hostage" by re-negotiating contracts and requirements as and when they please.

> YES! He is, a big one! And also if you saw his face yesterday, you'd know looks very guilty; PERIOD! He probably begged Ron to recall the appeal too..

Some have called Hamilton immature and an unsophisticated driver, given certain comments he's made to the press about other competitors....Others say he'll never be a 'celebrated' champion in the UK because he's not white...

Agree about him being immature and unsophisticated!. He however is a "celebrated" champion atleast this summer in UK (I can vouch for that as my white clients from UK are totally supporting Hamilton and think the world of him). If you have a british passport even a hot hot Chapathi is celebrated in UK, unlike in US where there will NEVER be a black president!

Go Kimi!

xXx · October 1, 2007

If you have a british passport even a hot hot Chapathi is celebrated in UK, unlike in US where there will NEVER be a black president!

hahaha from F1 to American presidents. you happen to be related to Kanye West by any chance lol

KLM · October 1, 2007

Hamilton's win yesterday reminded me so much of Michael's many victories in the rain. MS was a true wet weather stud and Hamilton's performance yesterday had the same air of inevitability that Michael's wins had - while their rivals were flounder and slide from one moment to the other, Michael, and now Lewis, look serene and hardly ever put a wheel wrong. In the second half of the season he has shown a ruthless streak that was trademarked by Iron Mike, so the comparisons are definitely there.

I'm happy for Hamilton, but I'm sad for Kimi Raikonnen. Hands down, he has been the best top-line F1 driver over the last 5 years and he lost a couple of titles to Michael because of terrible McLaren reliability. Now it seems that he has lost another one because of a Ferrari cock-up.

As for Alonso, he will go the way of Nelson Piquet Sr., a man who, despite winning 3 world championships in the height of the Senna/Prost/Mansell era, remains an unpopular and unloved, almost-forgotten champion.

Did either of these guys know how their seasons were going to turn out when they filmed this ad for their engine supplier? Watch it, its hilarious.

Arc Angel · October 1, 2007

Did either of these guys know how their seasons were going to turn out when they filmed this ad for their engine supplier? Watch it, its hilarious.

nice one bro.. :-)

Edited October 1, 2007 by Arc Angel

gunat · October 1, 2007

Hamilton's win yesterday reminded me so much of Michael's many victories in the rain....

True...but as it was said on commentary, what makes LH different is his style- more fluidity and far less aggression. Yet, there is a definite similarity...at least in the rain!

I'm happy for Hamilton, but I'm sad for Kimi Raikonnen. Hands down, he has been the best top-line F1 driver over the last 5 years and he lost a couple of titles to Michael because of terrible McLaren reliability. Now it seems that he has lost another one because of a Ferrari cock-up.

Now that, is a true tragedy. We've all seen him pull up through the ranks over the years- and his drive yesterday was nothing short of absolute brilliance; starting from the rear of the grid to 3rd...and like you say, he'll be denied a title he does deserve. Its unfortunate that he happened to get the right combination of car/team; only to have his season overshadowed by the rookie.

It also calls to question what'll happen next season though. LH will stay with Mclaren, as will Kimi, and it'll interesting to see if they can continue their winning streak....Alonso is going to be the wildcard- can he continue his performance with another team? Some say that his seat at Mclaren is possibly going to be filled by Jensen Button...all speculation at this point though.

As for Alonso, he will go the way of Nelson Piquet Sr., a man who, despite winning 3 world championships in the height of the Senna/Prost/Mansell era, remains an unpopular and unloved, almost-forgotten champion.
Did either of these guys know how their seasons were going to turn out when they filmed this ad for their engine supplier? Watch it, its hilarious.

Yeah, this was filmed just after LH got his first Podium finish ahead of Alonso- before the Belgian GP. At that point, i believe everyone saw it as healthy competition that could be taken lightly. Far cry from the paranoia in the Mclaren Camp that exists now...

As for the comparison to Nelson Piquet- I doubt Piquet did anything as crappy as what Alonso has...he was unfortunately, amongst some F1 greats during his tenure as WC. What didn't help was his snobby attitude, that more or less sealed his fate as one of the 'unloved'...

Edited October 1, 2007 by gunat

miniace · October 1, 2007

Did either of these guys know how their seasons were going to turn out when they filmed this ad for their engine supplier? Watch it, its hilarious.

Nice one thanks for posting.They showed this on race-day few weeks back.

miniace · October 1, 2007

I think the title battle is over now with Hamilton on top and the rookie deserves it.He drove like a true champion yesterday (reminded me the wet specialist great Ayron Senna) and mind you equally good driving by Ferrari boys,especially Messa in dying stages and on final corner.Now thats crowd thrilling F1.A great race witnessed after sometime.

xXx · October 5, 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/7027743.stm

Evilmak any comments lol

Blazin · October 5, 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/7027743.stm
Evilmak any comments lol

Man, it was Velttle's fault he even admitted to it. And was seen crying in the garage. The FIA are trying to manipulate the world championship.

Alonso crashing out was a big blow for them, interms of the ratings and publicity for the next two races. They want it to go down to the wire. Same reason why Mclaren had its points cancelled but the two drivers didn't. If Alonso and Lewis had lost their points , that would have killed this season and FIA would have lost so much revenue.

In terms of the driver market for next year there are so many possibilities for next season:

Adrian Sutil to Toyota?

Nico Rosberg to Toyota?

Alonso to Renault and Heki to Toyota?

Alonso to Ferrari and Massa (and John Todt) to Toyota? It was reported that John Todt doesn't want Alonso at Ferrari but Luca wants a dream team Kimi and Alonso. So as Massa's manager is John Todts son, Massa and John might both go to Toyota for a phat pay cheque.

Alonso to Toyota (highly unlikely but he might for a big pay cheque)?

Nico Rosberg to Mclaren, Alonso to Ferrari, Renault or Toyota?

Timo Glock 2007 GP2 Champion could come into the scene as well.

KLM · October 5, 2007

The amateur footage that launched this latest controversy is on YouTube, if anybody wants to check it out. What Vettel says has some merit but it was no reason for him to be following Webber so closely; he could have exercised better judgement himself.

Hamilton was definitely acting the fool behind the SC, but that was still no reason for Webber to slow down so much and certainly no reason for Vettel to be following Webber so closely. Seeing as how temporary, inadvertant passing behind the Safety Car/under yellow is allowed if you give the position back immediately, Webber shouldn't have backed off that much - he could have simply kept going and then allowed Hamilton to re-pass him.

If the FIA give Hamilton a 10-grid penalty, it will smack of a contrived attempt to extend the drama of this year's World Championship.