Flying Finn

Well, to me the rule 20.1 is pretty clear.

20) DRIVING
20.1 The driver must drive the car alone and unaided.

Hamilton didn't drive his car unaided, he was aided by the track workers who lifted him back to the track.

multi21

I went back and watched what happened. After the red flag is lifted and everyone is behind the safety car, Hamilton is indeed behind everyone. As the safety car passes the pit entry on lap 5, Heidfeld dives into the pits to change tires (by rule, he cannot add fuel, only change tires). That puts Heidfeld at the rear when he exits the pits. It's at that time that Hamilton begins to overtake cars in front including the safety car to come around and take up position at the back of the field.

A.Wayne

Fortune didn't exacly favour the brave at the Nurburgring - most of those who gambled, lost out - especially the Turn 1 gravel posse of Rosberg, Hamilton, Button, Sutil, Speed and Liuzzi.

Star of the Race
Fernando Alonso, McLaren 1st
There was a certain amount of good or bad fortune to everybody's race today with the possible exception of Alonso. After a poor start he made the most of the conditions, kept his car on the island and clung onto Felipe Massa when he looked like he was going to get away.

Had Raikkonen not missed the pitlane entrance on Lap 1, then he would still have been in P2 - the Ferraris having to queue behind each other in those circumstances. He was already closing Massa down (albeit very gradually) when the second bout of rain arrived at the end of the race.

That transformed his car into a machine that was two seconds a lap quicker than Massa and after a brief (and unnecessary) bit of wheel banging he was through. Not only did he pick up a win, he picked up 10 more points than Lewis Hamilton, which made it doubly special.

Judging by his acting with Lewis in the very funny new Mercedes advert he also has a sense of humour.

Overtaking Move of the Race
Lap 33, Lewis Hamilton on Giancarlo Fisichella for P13
Considering it was the corner he'd crashed in on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton showed no fear as he hurled his McLaren up the inside of the Renault into the braking zone at the Schumacher-S. To get the run on Fisichella he put two wheels onto the grasscrete at the edge of the track and genuinely surprised the Renault driver by his sudden appearance up the inside. It was a brave move, especially as he knew he had to come in a couple of laps later.

Winners
Markus Winkelhock, Spyker, DNF
It was only likely to be one Formula 1 race with the Spyker team, but he led it between Lap 2 and Lap 7 and at one point was 33.5 seconds clear of second place.

No other Spyker has ever done that and no other Spyker, we can confidently predict, will ever do that again. A great debut and swansong rolled into one.

Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 2nd
Massa looked a bit glum after the race, but he shouldn't be. Not when he gained eight points on his team-mate and eight on Lewis Hamilton. In the race he was perhaps fortunate to inherit the role of leading Ferrari when Kimi missed the pitlane for his first tyre change. Had he been double-stacked, then he would have dropped behind all the first-cars-in from other teams who would have got in and out before him. But after that he set a consistently fast pace, set the fastest lap of the race and was fair in his defence of P1 after the final switch to intermediates.

Alonso was alongside him even before he got into the Sachs Kurve, but the wheel-bumping was perhaps more a misjudgement than an attempt to dent Alonso's bodywork.

Mark Webber, Red Bull, 3rd
Webbo drove a good, if distant, race for third place and capitalised on the fact that Heidfeld accounted for himself, Kubica and Hamilton on the opening lap. It was also helpful to have Wurz behind him in the closing stages and not Nico Rosberg. Even then he almost blew it going into the Schumacher-S on the final lap - Wurz was nowhere near an overtaking move yet still Webber managed to **** the corner up. However he scrambled home and it's a just reward for all the great races he's driven where the machinery has let him down in sight of the prize.

It also makes for a comedy podium with Mark on the lowest step, still much taller than Felipe Massa on the second step. If Heiki Kovalainen had won, Mark would have been tallest.

Alex Wurz, Williams-Toyota, 4th
All hail the toothy plankmeister - surely he has done enough now to guarantee continued employment next year. Results like these must make the massively-funded factory Toyota team look more than a little foolish.

David Coulthard, Red Bull, 5th
Considering all the heartache and disappointment DC has endured driving a car that is about as reliable as Mike Coughlan's home photocopier, he probably thought he was going to get to Lap 58 before the gears packed in or the power steering went. As it was he joined Webbo in Red Bull's most glorious points-fest to date. All that from 20th on the grid including a romp down an escape road on the opening lap.

Heikki Kovalainen, Renault, 8th
Kovalainen's dash for early intermediates late in the race - before it actually started raining - was a gamble-too-far. Renault's Pat Symmonds has always duelled it out with Ross Brawn (who is still the Big Cahuna in our book) for biggest strategy brain in F1, so it kind of showed that you didn't have to be a rookie in your first season of F1 to make a stupid tyre call.

TV Coverage
The man who was responsible for the German TV coverage should be given the job for the rest of the season - there was so much going on and the cameras caught most of it. Top job.

James Allen
The much-unloved James Allen may have his detractors, but these days in an F1 race it's very rare that we're reduced to shouting at the TV screen.

Though at the Nurburgring on Lap 2: "And Massa's coming up to lap Raikkonen!" was answered in the UK, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand by:

"No, you stupid tw*t, they're both on the same lap!"

However F1 fans who listen to Radio 5 live had their excellent race commentary replaced by the return of Murray Walker who was already past his best when he retired from ITV many years go. Listening to Muzza you realised how much ITV have taken the commentary on. It was unbearable listening. In just forty seconds we had Murray's comments on people who though that Hamilton had been overhyped.

"My goodness, if they were doubting now, they shouldn't be doubting now!"

A bit like listening to a whole race of Blundell.

LOSERS
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, DNF
Well, that's the last time that granny Raikkonen comes to a race then. Kimi's 80-year-old gran couldn't stop his Nurburgring jinx. He's blown up while in the lead, he's had suspensions shatter while in the lead and now he's missed the pitlane entrance while in the lead - and broken down.

He won't want reminding that McLaren have had both cars finish every race now he's left them.

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 9th
Lewis Hamilton mistakes are like buses. You wait ages for one to come along and then two come along at the same time. First he aquaplanes into the gravel then he chooses the right tyre... but at the wrong time.

Unseen by the TV cameras his lap times through the race were sensational, he probably scored the most fastest sectors of anybody and was considerably quicker than race winner Fernando Alonso. Whereas Felipe Massa was edging out a seven second gap to Alonso, his overall lead over Hamilton remained the same. It's rare that a driver can set such a blistering pace and get so little reward, but that's the roll of the dice in wet-dry races.

It was a roller coaster ride from start to finish - he was unlucky to have a tyre failure in qualifying, but he made up for it with a sensational start to get 4th in Turn 1. He was unlucky to get a puncture from the warring BMWs, but he was very lucky to be towed out of the gravel after aquaplaning off. He gambled too much with tyre choice and lost out, but fought back, only to switch to inters too late. It wasn't dull.

And at least he knows where all the other drivers go at the end of the race now.

BMW-Sauber, 6th and 7th
We saw a bit of this last season - particularly in Brazil - the return of the Boulder Brothers. Heidfeld and Kubica got the reputation for knocking lumps out of each other and it's a credit to Mario Theissen for letting them go racing. But you kind of got the feeling that in front of a German crowd he wanted them to put the team first.

In Nurburg Robert got the better start, but Nick was counting on sneaking up the inside into Turn 2 when Kubica chopped in front of him. For some reason Heidfeld thought he could get the place back, failed to brake and spun them both.

At the end of the race he'd pitted a magnificent six times - surely a record for someone finishing in the points...?

Charlie Whiting, Race Director
Question: When do you know you've made the wrong decision and that deploying the Safety Car was not the right solution - waving the red flag was?

Answer: When a Toro Rosso passes the Safety Car going backwards at 100mph, narrowly avoiding a catastrophic accident.

Jenson Button, Honda, DNF
He was up to 4th on Lap 2 and then he threw it all away in the gravel. Massa only just held on in the braking (planing) zone of Turn 1, but the opportunity of a good result lured Button to his doom.

Michael Schumacher, Prize-giver
Uh oh. Schumi turned up on the podium wearing an horrific "rodeo" shirt that made him look - in the words of one race observer - "like a gay line dancing teacher from Hemel Hempstead".

As a local-boy-made-good he was presenting the prize to the winning constructor and had to get out of his Ferrari team gear to become the neutral celebrity. Accepting the prize was a man in a body-warmer that looked like it came from a third-rate supermarket chain. Schumi didn't really want to let it go.

You hate to think what music Schumi listens to when he's wearing a shirt like that. Y'all.

That Mark - git orf me barra - Blundell Moment
On why we wouldn't know if Lewis Hamilton was fit to drive till Sunday morning:
"There's some fings what come across as the hours go by."

While driving the Williams-Toyota at Silverstone
"I can't feel all the sensations through the seat of my pants."

Describing Raikkonen's form before the race.
"The Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen are on top of each other."

That James Allen moment.
"He was a good slap slower than Michael Schumacher."

A.Wayne

No Ron, it has nothing to do with the lack of a Siesta @Mclaren ......

A.Wayne

There , There Michael, really, Dat's a nice shirt ....

A.Wayne

.
It's commonly called 'rain'. In F1, it's stardust...





Rain Is Good...
But monsoons are even better.


The chaos and confusion induced by the type of weather that once persuaded every animal available to climb aboard a boat in pairs was a meager price to pay for Sunday's bonkers brilliance. And the 85 pit-stops which took place during the race is thought to be a F1 record.


In his race report, The Times' motoring correspondent Edward Gorman reminded readers that 'You often hear it said that, to make Formula One more interesting, Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's ringmaster, should have sprinkler systems installed at every track so that water can be brought into play.'


Alas, Bernie's determination to pilot F1 out of Europe towards Asia and the Middle East suggests that he hasn't been listening - neither Bahrain nor Dubai have seen water falling from the sky since Noah last went sailing.




Alonso Is Mega In The Rain
Fernando has more to rue than most about the reduced possibility of liquid stardust being sprinkled on race circuits in the near future because the Spaniard is an awesome competitor in the wet.


"I like rain, no doubt, I am always quite happy to go and have some fun in it," he explained.


Which also explains why he lives in England rather than his native Spain.




Kimi Raikkonen Is (Honestly) An Eloquent Speaker
Pity the compiler of the post-race Ferrari press releases, always published with the requisite observations of the famously verbose Kimi Raikkonen. Admire his or her imagination, too, which was surpassed this weekend with the claim that a philosophical Raikkonen departed the Nurburgring musing, "This knock back does not mean I feel like giving up the fight...The gap to the head of the classification remains the same."


People just don't speak like that - particularly not Kimi Raikkonen. He doesn't even speak.




Ferrari Are Still Faster Than McLaren
The credibility of the McLaren press releases after both the French and British grands prix were besmirched by the impassioned claim of Ron Dennis that in neither race had Ferrari operated with a significant pace advantage. If he repeats that type of nonsense in the witness stand on Thursday morning then McLaren will be laughed out of court.


The pretence wasn't maintained in this week's communiqué, with the team quoting Fernando Alonso's observation in the press conference that "In the dry conditions the Ferraris were a little faster."


In F1, even a little counts for a lot. While McLaren possessed greater competitiveness at Nurburgring than they had at either Magny-Cours or Silverstone, they remain second best to Ferrari. The gain in last week's test at Spa was marginal.


The team dodged another bullet this weekend - and will have to do so again in Paris - but only because of a freak of nature that, by its very definition, cannot be regularly repeated in the final seven races. Currently boasting a 27-point lead over their faster opponents, the season is beautifully poised.




Driver Competition Can Be Self-Destructive
Staying on the subject of press releases, the BMW missive was a joy this Sunday night as Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld blamed each other for their first-lap crash and Dr Mario coldly concluded, "Sixth and seventh was not because of the weather conditions, the collision in the first lap was responsible for that."


By refusing to confirm his driver line-up for next season, Theissen must accept a portion of the blame, however. Along with Heidfeld's calamitous response, Kubica's refusal to give Heidfeld space at the second corner revealed much about the existing tension within the BMW garage.




Lewis Can Talk The Talk, But...
Strange to say of his first point-less weekend in F1, but Lewis Hamilton was particularly impressive this weekend - if only for what he said.


On Saturday night, the rookie reacted with relaxed bravado to his qualifying smash, and within minutes of enduring an even more troublesome race on Sunday afternoon he began briefing reporters with the same cheerful, poised demeanour with which he fronted previous triumphs. Only when repeatedly asked if he minded being denied a tenth-successive podium did his good humour threaten to dissolve. "I told you from day one that was going to happen eventually," he reminded his interrogators. Podiums have long since ceased to matter to Lewis as a measure of achievement; his interest is now purely focused on winning races and championships.


Hamilton continues to say all the right things, describing his perceived 'nightmare' as a "really a great weekend in terms of learning." Perhaps Lewis has also been learning from Tiger Woods because the art of turning a negative into a positive is an attribute that the golfer has perfected.


Nonetheless, the impression that Hamilton's World Championship charge is stuttering cannot be dissuaded by worthy sentiments. The rookie still leads what Raikkonen apparently calls "the classification", but with the two Ferrari drivers piloting faster machinery, Alonso rediscovering his 2005 form, and McLaren facing a points deduction (or worse) at Thursday's FIA hearing, there is a strong argument to be made for reducing Lewis' status to fourth-favourite.




Inexperience Cost Lewis, Not The FIA
The FIA have, in some quarters, been called upon to clarify the rule that enabled Hamilton to continue racing even after being given a lift out of the gravel trap. The governing body probably didn't foresee a driver having the presence of mind to keep his engine running and the sheer bloody-mindedness to sit in his car patiently awaiting tractor-related assistance while six of his competitors crashed out at the same corner.


On an incidental note, just why was Tonio Liuzzi still travelling so quickly into turn one almost 30 seconds after the mass exodus had begun? Were his Toro Rosso engineers so stunned by the sight of car after car aquaplaning off the circuit that they forgot to mention to their driver that turn one had become a tad treacherous?


Hamilton's good fortune then extended to being permitted to unlap himself behind the safety car. Unfortunately, inexperience and over-confidence then betrayed the rookie, with Hamilton darting into the pits to dump his intermediate tyres. It was a silly decision, unforgivable considering that he alone in the field had just been allowed to lap the circuit at a speed of his own choosing. The exchange over the McLaren pit-to-car radio would have been especially interesting to eavesdrop.


Lewis, though, thought himself unfortunate, remarking: "The FIA made me back off and let Felipe pass when he was four seconds behind, yet I was faster than him. The same with Fernando. Overall I must have lost something like 10 seconds between them. Without that I would have scored some points."


But Hamilton should have been able to manipulate the blue-flag rule that offers a driver three corners in which to let the lead cars past without losing so much time. One suggestion is that Hamilton, a novice at the indignity of being lapped, practically came to a halt as he was lapped by Alonso and Massa.




McLaren Are Bad Winners
While Hamilton graciously congratulated Alonso on his "outstanding" drive, the Spaniard and his boss seemed intent on reducing their already limited popularity.


As in Spain, where he pathetically accused Felipe Massa of driving dangerously, Alonso revealed himself as an utter **** with his post-race tirade at the Brazilian. Even Alonso's over-the-top celebrations as he stormed on the podium seemed designed for the purpose of further antagonising Massa.


Only Felipe emerged from the episode in credit, partly for accepting Alonso's belated apology but mainly for apparently advising the World Champion to "f**k off."


Meanwhile, Ron Dennis' conduct ranged between the embarrassing and downright unseemly as he ridiculed Michael Schumacher on the podium. Whatever your view on his behaviour, it was especially foolish considering that the McLaren boss has pleaded the "highest standard of integrity" ahead of Thursday's Stepneygate hearing in Paris.




Massa Was A Good Loser
Presumably still seething after his row with Alonso, Massa described his second place as "leaving a bitter taste in my mouth." Sober reflection should provide a better taste. He drove a fine race, and collected eight more points than both Raikkonen and Hamilton. The Brazilian remains an excellent bet for the World Championship.

A.Wayne

No doubt this was tough for the kid :

'The inspired move of the day came from Spyker's chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne, acting on information relayed to him by a student in Northampton. The result was a romantic early lead for debutant Markus Winkelhock on the same circuit where his late father contested his final grand prix days before his death' - Kevin Garside, The Daily Telegraph.

Nordschleife

nearly as tough as Tarentino talking bollox, has that man ANY common sense?

R+C

Flying Finn

No but his movies rock!

mdrums

I missed that...what did he say to Shumi?

Now if Hamilton would drive a Ferrari that would be awesome but for now I really like Hamilton, although I like the way Massa drives too.

cupcar86

Have you ever heard Ron Dennis speak? I have yet to fully understand some of his pithy observations particularly regarding "the package" as in "the package was resolved to optimal configuration etc. etc.". I have never heard him refer to a car, only a package - is the package the car, the driver + car, or something I probably don't want to know about. Sorry, just rambling, time to go back to a pure sport, one without controversy, yes the tour de france. I can't believe I've wasted three weeks watching that $%%^%!

Flying Finn

Oh yes he does... You just need to be in right place at the right time and Kimi needs to have right people (& other "ingridients") around him. Then he'll talk...
(FYI, pics from two different years, hence two different yachts)

Trivia question (have to make it easy since it's Friday): who's that dark haired "chap" behind the waitress of "One More Toy"?

A.Wayne

I'm positive those were not the words out of KImi raikonen's mouth after his car had failed at the Euro GP...

Nordschleife

Waitress?????? I thought that was Kimi - the nautical term is Steward(ess), and isn't that MB behind?

Did you look to see who was on Daylami?


R+C

Flying Finn

That's true, even grandma didn't get response... He's back now though and has not given up!

Oh crap! I have to admit I'm ashamed. (I'm in shipbuilding business)
Yep, it's Blundell. He never was that thin (for a F1 driver) but has packed up few pounds lately...