hacker-pschorr

I agree, it would be fun to see Michael get the boot. Even better if he is dropped down to one of the "lessar" teams. Lets see how good he really is.

Rick964

I can't imagine that an Enzo or any other supercar is really tempting to these guys other than for for image. After driving an F1 car, or even an LMP1 car haw can the performance of any street car be satisfying? An Enzo must feel like a mid-70's Cadillac on the road compared to the responsiveness of an F1 car on the track. I am less surprised by Hakkinen's choice of an M-class.

Bill L Seifert

Michael in a "Lesser" team? Ferrari was a lesser team when he joined 10 years ago. They couldn't buy a win. Schumacher made that team what it is. I do think at this time Kimi is a better driver, so I would like to see them together on the same team. Michael is just starting to go downhill, at least I was not impressed with him at Turkey today, he should have at least finished 2nd, Alonzo just plain outdrove him. I wish Ferrari had refuled Michael first, so he would have been ahead of Alonzo, IMHO, Alonzo would have gotten around him. But, I guess we'll never know.

Can you imagine the furor if Michael gets beaten by Alonzo at Monza, the Tifosi will be ready to string him up, not just fire him.

Bill Seifert

1983 944 Race Car

jgrant

And, I thought Masa did an outstanding job today. I can't wait to the next round to see how the Masa/Schumi races compare.

Bill L Seifert

Boy, ain't that the truth.

Bill

pole position

FA would not have gotten around him. The Ferraris are much faster , but being faster does not mean it is easy to pass another top car if the driver takes a defensive line. MS was doomed because of the safety car staggered pit stop and did not help himself with going off roading BUT he closed the gap during FA 's last stop to like 2.5 sec and was under his wing for the remainder of the race. Even Alonso acknowledged that luck was on his side during the press conference but did not seem to confident that Renault is able to close the gap in performance for the last four races aka he cannot count on luck only . There is one thing for sure, the German ain't giving up and will keep on coming and if Renault do not get the upper tech hand in those last races it will get very tight.

1AS

The tire differential is a likely contributing factor. Michael was faster everywhere that mechanical grip was vital, Alonso seemed faster in the very fast corners. At the end, it looked liked Alonso"s tires were shot. Didn't he have a bobble coming onto the last straight?
Anybody think MS was a little aggressive on the start? AS

Bill L Seifert

Pole Position

Yeah, you are probably right.

Alexander, yeah, Michael was just being Michael.

Bill

jgrant

I think that the biggest mechanical grip issue are those front mass-dampers... the Renaults were designed from day one to have them incorporated into the car, whereas the others kind of put them in after the chasis was designed.

I think this makes the Renault more susceptible to grip/steering issues now that they've been removed, when compared to the other teams.

This just compounds any tire differential between the Mich's and Bridge's.

$0.02 (CDN)

1AS

I think the mass damper was an aero-grip supplement. I thought it was to keep the front wing height more constant when hopping bumps, etc. I could see where it could be both, as ride height varies due to multiple factors.
Re tires- I thought Alonso was losing rear grip at the end. The Bridgestone is said to be resistant to temp degradation. Schumi picked up at least 3/10ths on the last corner to close the gap to .07 sec. To me, the performance disparity became more pronounced as the run went on. Seems most likely due to compounding. The next race will probably clarify things a bit more. AS

gums

As soon as the lights went out and Michael boxed Alonso, I decided that I'm pulling for the Renault driver this year. I just can't stand MS's driving tactics sometimes. That looked too preplanned to me. The team bungled by bringing both cars to the pit at the same time, it cost MS an important position, if not the championship. Very un Brawnish. Great track though, and some great racing this week.

mitch236

And not one comment about FA's punt during practice? He should've been penalized. If MS did that, everyone would want his head on a platter!

ltc

Perhaps the team was wary of that exact situtation looking like 'team orders'.
How do you explain allowing the #2 car to come in behind the safety car with #1 car in the lead?

gums

should've pitted MS first, Massa on the next lap. If the win was more important than the championship, then pit Massa first.

jakermc

Ferrari played it right on the pit stop. They are trying to win the Constructor's championship, not the driver's title. Bringing MS in first would have meant that FM would have had to pit on the next lap, meaning he would have emerged at the back of the field. They were trying to maximize the combined points for the two cars, not help MS in his personal battle.