Veloce Raptor

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GaryAZ

Did anyone else notice during pre-race coverage that Fisichella didn't have a grid girl in front of his car. It was a dude holding the pole. I guess that's what you get for being at the back of the pack. Damn that looked weird.

F350Lawman

All in all it wasn't a great race for the viewers. Besides the cars removed by the crash, they basically wound up where they started. Watching the qualifying provided more excitement, with them bouncing each other with seconds remaining in the runs.

The 'big" pass was an uncontested one, Alonso over Massa for 5th (I think) in the last seconds...exciting if you're a Spaniard but really not much otherwise. Great driving maybe, but no real racing, or back in forth on that track.

A.Wayne

I agree and the cars are better looking ..............


LOL......................

A.Wayne

The Webbo/Alonso battle was much better ....

The Sport is back to being total **** again , nothing like 07/08, which gave us very good racing . What happened to day is proof the FIA should ban this kind of crap and Brawn is the main protagonist , this kind of crap should not be tolerated , they race to win ,we watch to see racing not this poor excuse Pansie BS .

Barrichello é um peru e uma vergonha..

A.Wayne

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/m...h-1682623.html



A cynic might suggest that nobody is more experienced in the subtle art of making sure that the right driver wins than former the Ferrari mastermind Ross Brawn. And there were a few such people in the paddock in Barcelona yesterday as Rubens Barrichello did not try to hide his displeasure at being left on a three-stop refuelling strategy while team-mate Jenson Button was afforded the opportunity to switch to a two-stop and thus won a Spanish GP that had seemed to be gift-wrapped with a tag bearing the Brazilian's name.

"It is good for him and the team that they changed the strategy," Barrichello said, glancing over at Button, "but I'd like to understand why they did that." Or rather, why they did that just for Button. It is not just Brawn who calls the strategy in such circumstances, rather a group of engineers, but Brawn owns the team. "This morning we decided three stops was the way to go," said Barrichello (below with Button). "But we'll have a meeting again and then we'll have some answers."

His mien and body language spoke volumes, though his manner with Button was what it has always been: close friendship and respect. But then questioners began to compare it with his time at Ferrari, when he was forced to surrender race wins to Michael Schumacher. "Ferrari all over again?" he said. "I'm very experienced with that and if it happens I won't follow any team orders any more. I'm making it clear now so that everybody knows."
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At that point Button interjected curtly: "Our strategic calculations said a three-stop was quicker. Full stop." Barrichello's face suggested that, having made his point publicly, he felt things were getting out of hand. "It is much more different than what we had at Ferrari, much more friendly. I just need to know what went wrong today, that's it.

"I'm definitely putting my hands to the sky to say thanks because this is a great car. Not so long ago people were putting flowers on my grave and saying my driving was over."

"We both work very closely in the team," Button said, answering the Ferrari accusation. "We are both here to win. It went my way today, but he might win in Monaco."

Brawn said: "I don't want a driver who doesn't get angry in such situations. But if you look at the lap times, they show that Rubens was not as quick as we expected. That's what won Jenson the race."


...............................................

Brawn really believe racing fans to be this stupid..........

F1 fans need to brace for their next faux Champion a has been that never was, UB40 WDC Jenson Button ...........

Larry Herman

Anyone know where I can see individual lap times for the race. Barrichello said that his 3rd set of tires were crap and that cost him time, and explained why he came in so early for the prime tires. That sealed his fate. Seems like if he were lapping competitively during that stint, he would have pulled out time on Button, and then come out just in front of him after his last stop, which should have been around lap 54 or 55.

A.Wayne

BARCELONA - Rubens Barrichello made it clear to Brawn GP today that he will not willingly play second fiddle to teammate Jenson Button, after a strategy change at the Spanish Grand Prix may have cost him victory in favour of the championship leader.

Barrichello, who spent much of his career in a supporting role to Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, started third with Button in pole position, but overtook Sebastian Vettel and his teammate at the start to lead going into the first turn.

Brawn then changed its pit strategy for Button from three stops to two, which paid off for the Briton.

full story :

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/motorsport/news/article.cfm?c_id=66&objectid=10571589&ref=rss


F1 investigating fan taunt of Hamilton in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain -- Formula One's governing body is investigating claims Sunday that a fan at the Spanish Grand Prix wore dark makeup to mock driver Lewis Hamilton.

Television showed a man wearing a McLaren team shirt and wig, with dark makeup on his face, arm and hands. He was carrying an F1-style steering wheel in the crowd of 92,000 at the Circuit de Catalunya.

It's the same Spanish track where a group of spectators jeered and insulted Hamilton, F1's first black driver, at testing in February 2008. That group wore wigs, dark makeup and T-shirts with the words "Hamilton's Family" on them.

FIA launched an anti-racism campaign last year after that incident in Barcelona.

Hamilton was honored by the track Friday for becoming F1's youngest champion last year at 23. He finished ninth for McLaren on Sunday.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?id=4156419&section=auto



The Burning Question: Strange Calls From Brawn GP




As Rubens Barrichello mounted the second step on the podium for the 28th time in his Formula One career, the feeling of having been here before must have been running through his mind in more ways than one.

The body language of the Brazilian, F1's most experienced driver ever, said it all as he congratulated teammate Jenson Button on another astonishing victory in Barcelona.

From the very start of the weekend, Barrichello looked more comfortable than his championship-leading teammate...outpacing him in practice and coming close to pole in qualifying, when Rubens got past Button at the first corner the race looked like being his to lose.

And lose it he did. Both Brawns were scheduled to run three-stop strategies, but at his first pit stop, Jenson Button's crew elected to switch him to a two-stopper.

Barrichello stuck to the original plan of three stops, and Button took advantage of his teammate's extra pit lane time to take the lead and win the race.

Surprise, surprise—Brawn GP's claim that a three-stop strategy was fastest at Barcelona, which was contentious to begin with, was proven wrong.

No other driver save for Kazuki Nakajima, who was forced into an extra pit stop after an early accident, stopped more than twice, and Barrichello found himself very much on the back foot.

The mathematics may say that three stops is fastest around the Circuit de Catalunya, but as anyone will tell you, the mathematics mean little when compared to the importance of track position and the need to avoid traffic, especially on a track where overtaking is so difficult.

Button's crew obviously realised this and fuelled their man accordingly. Barrichello's, for whatever reason, did not.

The conclusion, for those who enjoy jumping to conclusions and do so habitually, is that Button was given the preferable strategy at the expense of his teammate.

It is easy to understand their reasoning. Button's first pit stop was before Barrichello's, and having seen that the British driver was switching to a two-stop strategy, surely Rubens' crew should have done the same thing?

They may have still felt that three stops were faster, but they were hardly likely to lose out to anyone other than Button. To be completely safe, they should have switched Barrichello's strategy to shadow Button's, thereby ensuring that the Briton could not get past.

So we are left with either accusing Barrichello's engineers of a fundamental oversight, or something more sinister: A deliberate ploy by Brawn to hinder one of their drivers.

If we are to believe the official version of events, as conveyed to us by Nick Fry of Brawn GP, Barrichello was simply not fast enough to make up the time saved by Button in not pitting again. In short, Rubens did not take sufficient advantage of having less fuel for most of the time.

There is at least a grain of truth to this. That Button drove a flawless race cannot be disputed; he was quick at all times and once in the lead never looked like relinquishing it.

But then, Barrichello's final stop was only two laps after Button's: If one of the advantages of a three-stop strategy, as Brawn contend, was to allow Barrichello to spend less time on the less competitive harder tyre, why was he brought in so early?

Why not give him extra laps on softer tyres to allow him to make up ground over Button, who was by then on harder rubber?

It is clear from the way the race played out that the three-stop strategy was certainly not faster than stopping just twice: Ability alone cannot account for the gap between Button and Barrichello by the end of the race, especially taking into account how Barrichello had been quicker than his teammate for most of the weekend.

Alternatively, Button may have just pulled something out of the bag when it mattered, made the most of a less competitive strategy and gone on to win the race in style.

But the explanation given by Brawn for the counter-intuitive result of today's race has not been accepted by a considerable number of people. Was Barrichello's strategy a genuine mistake, or something less palatable?

I genuinely can't decide.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...-from-brawn-gp

A.Wayne

You buying into Brawn Bs larry ?

This was the same way they made that Faux 7 WDC Stoolmacher , at least they had the decency to start with the top driver in the sport to play the game with .
This will not go down well with the fans and this UB 40 Driver ...

Bleach report :

If we are to believe the official version of events, as conveyed to us by Nick Fry of Brawn GP, Barrichello was simply not fast enough to make up the time saved by Button in not pitting again. In short, Rubens did not take sufficient advantage of having less fuel for most of the time.

There is at least a grain of truth to this. That Button drove a flawless race cannot be disputed; he was quick at all times and once in the lead never looked like relinquishing it.

But then, Barrichello's final stop was only two laps after Button's: If one of the advantages of a three-stop strategy, as Brawn contend, was to allow Barrichello to spend less time on the less competitive harder tyre, why was he brought in so early?

Why not give him extra laps on softer tyres to allow him to make up ground over Button, who was by then on harder rubber?

It is clear from the way the race played out that the three-stop strategy was certainly not faster than stopping just twice: Ability alone cannot account for the gap between Button and Barrichello by the end of the race, especially taking into account how Barrichello had been quicker than his teammate for most of the weekend.

F350Lawman

Television showed a man wearing a McLaren team shirt and wig, with dark makeup on his face, arm and hands. He was carrying an F1-style steering wheel in the crowd of 92,000 at the Circuit de Catalunya.

It's the same Spanish track where a group of spectators jeered and insulted Hamilton, F1's first black driver, at testing in February 2008. That group wore wigs, dark makeup and T-shirts with the words "Hamilton's Family" on them.

FIA launched an anti-racism campaign last year after that incident in Barcelona.

Gotta save that one for the next person who slams NASCAR as a sport for beer-drinkin', ignorant, Rednecks and their fans....ughh yeah But where were those sophisticated European fans when we needed them....during Barracks visit!

Larry Herman

Buying into it? No, I'm discussing what Rubens himself said during the post race interview, that his 3rd set of option tires were crap. And by the fact that he could not close back up on Button when he was clearly faster than Button on the second set lends itself to this. That's why I would like to see lap times.

A.Wayne

LOL.......and they race in NASCAR .............

F350Lawman

I am trying an get into following F1 and give it a chance. I enjoyed the race and TV coverage leading up to the event, but the hype exceeded the event...at least for me. I enjoyed the qualifying and tech features.

In all honesty, it was maybe the least exciting race I have watched this year including Rolex, ALMS, NASCAR, etc. I would compare many F1 races to watching 2 great but tactical boxers fighting at distance....give me 2 less skilled brawlers going toe to toe any day!

brendo

^ quote of the day. Button's "elk?" we need a jpeg for that one

mdrums

Too funny...UB40= Faux Reggae....

I like Steel Pulse, Jimmy Cliff, Marley ect