- Formula 1 - Season 2008 -

[beglar_begi]

ooooh yeah... i almost forgot about poor old kovalainen going down in his smoking chariot... what a waste... poor guy could have finally raced without having to give way to hamilton... did you guys see how hamilton shoved kovalainen out of the way when he fell behind kimi at the start of the race? Ok so maybe kimi would have done the same to massa had the roles been reversed but still...

@UK

I agree i think they could have had asked kimi to pit but really how do you ask the reigning world champ to do that team player or not... and becides i think ferrari have really taken to herart the whole team orders thing and are probably trying to avoid it and keep things as competitive as possible... but i think that would have really made sense.

[zia1288]

S.Bourdis was given 25 sec penalty which takes Massa to 7th place earning him 2 points. so now Massa on 79 & Hamilton on 84.

now just two races left. i'm dying to see the result.....

[saad02]

@ zia1288

thanx 4 da update...i dint know...ye to bohat fit huwa...da stewards aint dat bad...teze next 2 races r very imp 4 massa n ferrari..

[UncleKracker]

@beglar_begi

Schumacher helped Irvine. Kimi isnt a bigger star or a better driver than him. And it`s not like Raikkonen is not in the championship hunt  because he had bad luck or the team made mistakes. He`s been mediocre at best this season and the team have stuck by him, re-signed him for another year. Again not like they (Ferrari) were short of options with both Alonso and Kubica up for grabs. I feel this is the least he can do for the team.

[nightsurfer]

Good news!

[beglar_begi]

i agree... i was going to mention the same scenario where schumi came back after breaking his leg and tried to help irvine win the title... '99 was it?
I guess we'll never know the reason but i agree it would have helped massa's odds big time.
And you know what... i dont like the way these brits are doing their commentary now... every time they had massa on the screen they were scathing as if every maneuver massa was trying was somehow illegal... they were full of praise for kimi most of the time... i guess everyone has a bit of republican in them but the brits have been a little more diplomatic when showing their preference in the past... well maybe i'm not qualified to make that statement seeing how the last big brit to be in f1 was Hill and I wasnt as well versed in veiled jibing at the time... ignorance is bliss

[genius83]

I think kimi shows how good a team man he is in the last race at interlagos if and only if Massa wins the chinese gp next week other wise it will be every man for himself situation for all the top four driver w.r.t driver standings.
The only question that bothers me is what engine is Hamilton using is it the new or previous race one. Because I don't think Mclaren has used its "joker engine rule" till now for any of the drivers. And Ferrari has used the rules for both of their drivers so I think in the next race Kimi will use a newer engine and Massa will use the new engine in the last race.

[genius83]

And one more thing looks like Renault is getting stronger and I think next year they are again competing for the title. As for Hamilton he may have a gear problem during the race especially in the first pitstop because the way he released from the pit lane suggest that their is a problem in the gear box.

[nightsurfer]

Watched the race last night. Although it was a good result for ferrari but i still feel massa made a hash of a great opportunity. I can't help it but his inconsistency is forcing me to categorizing him with lewis. Massa may never become the champ may be because he never was. On the other hand i an very disappointed not to see alonso in red.

[comtrak]

Alonso vows to help Massa win title
Title challengers making too many mistakes

Back to back Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso has admitted he would assist the title challenge of Ferrari's Felipe Massa in the last two races of 2008.

After his disastrous tenure at McLaren last year, the Spaniard makes clear he is not barracking for the British team's Lewis Hamilton, who leads the points standings against Massa by five points.

Read More

[comtrak]

^^LoLZ
i think massa is not in the mood to win man he did 2 3 mistakes this race!!!
the overtaking was also not a gud sign!

[beglar_begi]

@comtrak
i can picture alonso taking hamilton out during the race... he probably wouldnt do that of course but he can surely kill the pace if hamilton finds himself behind alonso...

As for massa I hope he has gotten his blunders out of his system... it seems like he screws up 2 races after 3 good ones...

[UncleKracker]

Id say Massa has exceeded expectations this year. I thought the attempt to re-pass Hamilton at the chicane was ballsy.
Alonso might or might not figure in the equation. His car looks fast enough for China, but Im not sure if it would suit Brazil too.

@genius83

Hamilton is due an engine change for China. He will get a new engine there and for Brazil, he will use his " joker" engine change and get a new engine there too. Advantage Hamilton on that front.

[genius83]

@UK
Hamilton can use his joker engine rule in the next gp only because as the rule stated on formula1.com is
"Joker Engine Rule:

From 2008, a driver will not be penalised the first time he needs a replacement engine during the season, unless it is at the final event of the championship.

So now you can see that Hamilton has only one race left for using the rule and as he already on his way to get a new engine in the next race he needs a good reason for joker engine in the last race and even if he gets a joker engine he will be penalised for may be 5 or a 10 grid penalty and on Interlagos having a grid penalty means chaos is around the first corner.

[UncleKracker]

@genius83

Thanks for clarifying the situation regarding using joker engine change. Seems that Mclaren missed a trick by not using it for Japan.
Hamilton will go to China with a new engine and have a race old engine in Brazil. Ferrari on the other hand will have new engines for both drivers in Brazil.

Hope engine reliability is not something that decides this years championship for either driver.

[beglar_begi]

Yep... hopefully things end on a competitive note...

[hassam]

nice update

[UncleKracker]

Hamilton: I'm not haunted by China '07

Lewis Hamilton insists his costly mistake in last year’s Chinese Grand Prix will not play on his mind as he returns to the circuit again looking to put one hand on the world title.

The McLaren driver headed into the penultimate round of 2007 holding a 12-point advantage, but his helpless slide into the pit lane gravel trap in the race proved to be the turning point in his challenge and he lost out by a single point to Kimi Raikkonen at the Interlagos decider.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=44282

[UncleKracker]

Shanghai race preview

At times in Japan both Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa looked like they were trying their best not to win the world championship.

Hamilton didn’t need to put his race in jeopardy with a first corner lunge any more than Massa needed to risk a near-certain penalty by running into his title rival one lap later.

Neither can afford to get involved in such antics in China this coming weekend.

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=General&id=44266

[UncleKracker]

FFSA cancels 2009 French Grand Prix

The French motorsports federation announced on Wednesday that it will not promote the race in 2009 due to financial difficulties.

"For reasons related to the financial situation, the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile (FFSA) has decided to cancel the Grand Prix of France," said the FFSA in a statement.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71421