Quote:
Hurst said:
-Phenomenal MS. Did anyone think by lap 5 that he could makeup the 20 second gap he had dug himself in? Simply brilliant race. I also thought it was funny that they test-pigeoned the slicks on Massa before putting them on Schumi. Great stuff!!
Actually yes. Its was noted before the race that the Michelin had the advantage in the complete wet (like in qualifying) and complete dry, but on the other hand the Bridgestones were in turn much superior in the in-between humid/mod-light wet conditions. As it stopped raining before the race and didn't rain during the race, it was obvious the situation was turning into Bridgestone driver's hands as shown by their lap times.
So no big surprises there. Just like weather conditions in qualifying favored the Michelins masively, the race conditions in turn favored Bridgestone masively. That coupled with Kimi being deprived of being able to compete once again, and the same rear-right tire mechanic that caused Alonso to loose a tire during the past GP, caused Alonso a 19 second pit stop today (somebody please fire this mechanic), and schmacher and his team making no mistakes, leads to the result we had today.
Quote:
Hurst said:
-Unfortunate race again for Raikkonen who came out of the gates showing what he really is capable of. He probably doesn't like Ron Dennis so much
More than unfortunate, that is simply sick. He seemed to be one of the fastest guys in the race today aside from Alonso, and would have been a nice race finish with him in the race.
Quote:
Hurst said:
-What was the problem with Alonso's car by midrace? I thought it might have been a transmission issue (missing 3rd gear) but it appears to be his driving technique put massive wear on his front tyres (his unconventional heavy steer-in line). Conservation my friend, conservation...
Unfortunately sometimes with certain TV coverages its hard to see what factors at at play and we formulate wrong conclusions. The reason for Fernando's change in lap pace is that in his first pit stop, they changed his front tires. Up until that moment he was lapping consistent 44,5's one after the other, after the change in front tires his pace droped by 4 seconds. Menawhile, with Fisi they did not change the front tires and his pace continued the same. So Alonso's advantage disappaeared and was clearly evident what was the correct choice. There was nothing he can do. Only until the second pit stop when they changed his 4 tires to slicks and started to put out fastest lap of the race after fastest lap, but was too late.
It had nothing to do with mechanical failure nor putting excesive wear on anything, the drop in pace came when putting new tires on the front instead of keeping the old ones on like everybody else. If someone knows about conservation that is Alonso, the one of the most reliable drivers in the lineup in that sense, known for adapting his race paces back and fourth during a race depending on tire and mechanical strain and race needs.
Quote:
Hurst said:
-Suzuka and Brazil should be GREAT. It's all tied up folks. It hasn't been this good in a LONG TIME
Unfortunaltely, the only reason the championship is so close is not becuase of what has happenend on the track but outside the track lately with outside help
otherwise the championship would have been settled already like last year, nevertheless it makes it more exiting for us viewers.
All in all, it was a boring race IMO. Being in the rain I was expecting much more fun but it was nothing like Hungary GP. It was al down to tires this weekend, both in qualifying and in the race.
Whats' up with Fisi's screw up in turn one after the 2nd pit stop? why open the steering and let Schumi a perfect place to pass?
why so conservative? he is going to get called by Flavio Briatore after the race after his non-team race driving today.