Mike in CA

And yet, Vettel's was the only classified engine failure in the race, so it seems the safety car laps didn't cause problems for anyone else. Renault has publicly apologized to the Red Bull team for the grenading of their engine.

alexb76

You're right, it's all speculation on what caused it.

Bottom line, I hope we can all agree on, is that the track WAS NOT READY for racing, PERIOD!

Surface was just put down 2 weeks prior to the race, didn't have enough traction and wasn't porous enough to let water drain out like any other normal track; lots of construction material crap (sand, etc...) was still present and was blown over the surface by rain/wind which added to the issues (F1 cars don't have All-season tires!), and who knows much of that crap caused engine issues; delay of the race caused the race to go into darkness when they should have finished it around lap 42ish (after 75% of the race).

Oh well, looking forward to Brazil. At least a great track with great fans coming up! All I care about is for Hamilton NOT TO WIN don't really mind if Alonso, Webber or Vettel win it all!

brt3

And grenade it did. It looked like the thing was coughing up pistons towards the end...

Mike in CA

That's a fair statment.

I like Hamilton. What's your beef with him? Of the 3 other guys, I'd have to root for Webber. Alonso is a prima donna but unquestionably brilliant; still, he already has a couple of championships. Vettel is hugely talented but is given to youthful overexuberance which leads to bonehead moves like cutting off his teammate in Turkey, taking himself out of the race, and t-boning the McLaren at Spa and ruining Button's day. His time will come. Webber is the veteran who has really raised his game the last two years and has overcome the label of "second driver" at Red Bull. This year might be his last best chance and he would be a deserving champion.

brt3

I think Webber is a class act and a first-class human being, which seems unusual in today's F1. He lives his life quietly and conservatively, hasn't been affected by the "fame", and has been with the same woman for years.

I had the chance to meet Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at the last USGP. Hamilton was very open, friendly, and classy; he happily gave my daughter an autograph. Alonso was very stand-offish and struck me more as a prima donna; he was in and out very quickly, and refused to mingle. Vettel, I think, is a little spoiled; he has massive talent but he needs a lot more maturity.

It is interesting to compare Button and Hamilton. I like Button a lot; he has a great head on his shoulders which both helps him and hurts him. He drives a bit more like Jackie Stewart, in that he's very easy on his equipment. However, in absolute terms Hamilton usually gets up to speed quicker -- but he has a greater propensity to break things along the way.

Dave's911

I like Hamilton. What's your beef with him? Of the 3 other guys, I'd have to root for Webber. Alonso is a prima donna but unquestionably brilliant; still, he already has a couple of championships. Vettel is hugely talented but is given to youthful overexuberance which leads to bonehead moves like cutting off his teammate in Turkey, taking himself out of the race, and t-boning the McLaren at Spa and ruining Button's day. His time will come. Webber is the veteran who has really raised his game the last two years and has overcome the label of "second driver" at Red Bull. This year might be his last best chance and he would be a deserving champion.[/QUOTE]

I'm with Mike, I like Hamilton. I think he's a very talented driver who is improving each season. He doesn't exhibit the traits that make Alonso such an a*s. Of the Red Bulls I'd like to see Webber take it.

ADias

Yeah, I agree except that Alonso has grown up and is today a great well-rounded driver. In any case, we miss Kimi - that's a driver!

brt3

Yet another driver with a very quiet life away from the track...

gravedgr

You mean it didn't cause any other failures.

ADias

Not so quiet. Kimi is quite successful and very active in WRC. For me, after Schumi, Kimi is the consummate F1 driver. Super smooth lines, smooth steering wheel work, and a driver that can actually win from behind (when his engine cooperates, that is). Also, a guy who never complained and never blamed his lack of luck or failures on others. A standup fellow.

Today everything has to be on the up and up or there are complaints. Yes, Korea had its problems, but once the race is on deal with it. A good F1 driver does, a spoiled kid complains.

brt3

Sorry; I should have added a ;-) to denote sarcasm.

I used to love when Kimi was driving, as there were some WILD tales about his after-hours activities -- most of which involved copious amounts of alcohol. Kimi ran more on the James Hunt end of the scale in that regard...

I also used to love his post-race interviews. Kimi could have just won the biggest lottery in history, and his response would still be flat as a table -- and in that almost Elmer Fudd-like voice, "Well, yes, I guess you could say that this was a good day.".

I agree with most of your points, except that Kimi only works well in the right team. With Ferrari he seemed to want to just show up and drive; it was definitely a bad fit between him and the Scuderia...

alexb76

Actually I never liked Kimi too much, smooth for sure, and great overall driver (look at his WRC performance) but very boring driver IMO, I liked Mika much better, the only driver that REALLY gave Schumi a run for his money! and who can forget his pass at Spa! Best pass in open era IMO!

Alonso has matured very well, and to me Hamilton is as much, if not a bigger, cry baby! We don't know the whole story behind the scenes, but I think Hamilton at least was as much of an issue as Alonso was. When they changed the car last year, he was consistently bitching and was very slow until the car was to his liking, Hamilton just expects people to let him through when he wants to pass and he THINKS he's JUST that much better and I don't think he is. Needs a couple of years, like Alonso to mature I guess.

To me right now here are the best drivers:

• Vettel: by far the fastest guy for one lap (qualifier), still needs to mature to win the championship outright
• Webber: very mature, consistent race day performer, top-3 fastest driver with the best car, last chance to win it this year
• Hamilton: flashes of briliance, too cocky for his own good, need to mature more
• Button: smoothest driver out there, not the fastest but very consistent, and I think the smartest driver (some brilliant strategies this year to win)
• Alonso: best driver overall, if he had the Red Bull car, it'd be no contest!

brt3

Though you may be correct, it is very hard to like Alonso after he threatened to blackmail Ron Dennis and McLaren. I admire his talent, but I'm fairly sure he'd sell his grandmother if it furthered his career.

I guess this has always been, and always will be, the case. Schumi and Senna are/were fantastic drivers, but their ruthlessness and willingness to do ANYTHING to win has done more to destroy the sport than help it.

IMHO, of course...

alexb76

Well, I am not sure how much truth is to that and McLaren was definitely favoring Hamilton (being British and all) which can **** off a competetive guy like Alonso.

At any rate, speaking of driver's performance in 2010, Alonso is best overall, 2 races remaining!

Dave's911

I agree with you. Alonso is unquestionably a very good driver. You put it perfectly, he's just very hard to like.

I think Hamilton has matured. He was good year one, but clearly didn't have the maturity or experience to win the championship. I do think he is one of the best drivers out there today. But I'm also British