Formula One 2008 season (F1 motor racing)

I can sympathise with him, we were at Silverstone this past weekend and I was bloody freezing on Sunday, we sat in Luffield right at the top and the wind was wicked, great views though.

They also seemed to screw up getting out this year as we headed in the direction of the M40 they had all the traffic funnelled to one side so the other side of the motorway was empty with only a few cars and busses, then for some reason kept closing one lane or the other and typically people merged as soon as they saw the sign so we had the northbound side of the A43 empty and the southbound completely clogged!!

Imagine standing at Silverstone for around 1,500 days.

I've done it.

So it's the German GP this weekend at Hockenheim, is anyone going??

Would have liked to, but unfortunately not. Will just have to watch it on the tv instead.

I probably say this every year but...

I went to the German Grand Prix almost every year during my first stint in Germany (company got tickets for customers)... I saw the change from the old to the new circuit with the promises of more exciting races and tons more overtaking. The first year they held the race on the shorter circuit proved to be the most boring event I have ever witnessed and put me off F1 for life. Shite I tell you. Shite

I too went to Hockenheim for many years, it was a great track, the stadium bit allowed you to see the cars with the atmosphere from the crowd and the bit through the trees could be enjoyed on the giant screens, I saw some great races there, now it's like they're using the club circuit for a minor event, no wonder that they're probably going to lose the event.

Oh well, was hoping to meet some TT'ers for a beer or 10 . Despite living 30 mins away we are not going either, I hate the circuit, it's a nightmare to get around as well and all you can get to eat are bloody sausages or schnitzels, and for the equivelant ticket we had at Silverstone for £220 it is €430, so they can get stuffed.

I'm surprised that Silverstome is cheaper, I haven't been to either circuit for a few years, but the last time I went a granstand seat cost much more at Silverstone, but I guess with the fall of the pound everything has become cheaper from our viewpoint.

Gear heads!

Hamilton in pole.Looking good now he normally does well when he starts off on pole position

Timo Glock just stuffed it backwards into the wall meaning the safety car is out and Hamilton's 11.5 second lead over Massa dissapears.

Yayyyyyyyyy, Hamilton wins again !

Fantastic drive from Hamilton again. I thought when the safety car came out that it was all going horribly wrong. Don't understand why Massa went back on to the primes for his third stint, when he was clearly faster on the options. Maybe even Ferrari were worried about how long they'd hold up - McLaren certainly had to be, and it has to be the only explanation for why Hamilton didn't pit during the safety car.

All in all a great race to watch - unless you're a Ferrari fan. Nice to see Piquet stick it in 2nd too.

Edit: Massa says the options made the car undrivable, but his pace said different.

Go on my san get in there

Just seems like Ferrari are all at sixes and sevens generally but all credit to McLaren and Hamilton for taking full advantage as i'm sure they will sort it out and come again.

Well what a tremendous let down, I am so sorry for Felipe Massa he really deserved that win , but well done to Heike, glad it was him & not his team mate.

How come you don't like Hamilton?

Why, what have you got against Lewis Hamilton?

Well lets see, first off there is no mandate that all Brits have to like Hamilton just because he's British, smacks of the Schumacher reign when every German was a fan. Secondly I like Ferrari and was unable/refused to support them for years while Schumi was there and I also like Felipe Massa, and to me Hamilton is a win at all costs (even at the expense of your teammate) kind of guy and I really don't like the nationwide hysteria over Hamilton.

So there

Fairy snuff.

I've never warmed to Coulthard or Button either but i do like the win at all costs attitude of Hamilton.

Typical, Timo Glock is complaining he got a 'Grippe' from the hotel air conditioning.

We'll expect to see him wearing a little scarf for the next few days, then.

Will be interesting to see if and by how much Massa and/or Ferrari gets penalised for 'unsafe release' in the pits.

The regulations are quite clear, but it is Ferrari, and the stewards have already deferred the decision until after the race, which does not seem to be provided for in the regulations.

Apparently he was just fined €10,000 and no other action will be taken. As is often the case Ferrari have been shown leniency.

I think PlanetF1 are probably about on the money...Much To Stew Over In Stewards' Ruling






As the stewards were in the mood for ignoring the rules, it'd probably have been better to penalise Ferrari, possibly via constructors points or docking prize money for those points.

Americas first and only American born F1 World Champion Phil Hill died yesterday. He won his World championship driving a Ferrari in 1961. He was team mate and main rival was Wolfgang von Tripp who had he not been killed in the same year could have become Germanys first F1 champion. Hill also won the Le Mans 24 hour race 3 times. RIP.

Mario Andretti 1978? (EDIT ah, the word "born" is slipped in there)

And Louis Hamilton wins the Belgian Grand Prix.

Fantastic drive at the end in horrendous conditions.

Looks like a straight race between him and Massa now with Louis having an 8 point lead currently.

Missed the end , which sounds like a real shame as it sounded a great finish.

Nice lead to have but only one bad result. Another good end to the season in store.

Last time i saw a Ferrari spinning like that was on the kids roundabout at the beer festival

Lewis Hamilton stripped of victory


Edit: Sorry to be bringing bad news, bd.

Disgraceful and i'm sure that McLaren will appeal.

What's the point. The powers that be will do pretty well anything to ensure the prancing horse prevails.

Why is it disgracefull, he cheated and was penalised, I do recall everyone (read Brits) screaming when Schumacher pulled the same stunts, so now the shoe is on the other foot and it's one of our own doing it, McClaren have appealed but it seems doubtful that the decision will be reversed.

Consistency. Massa got 'no sporting advantage' when almost causing a crash in a pitlane the race before.

Schumacher got away with a hell of a lot. Tends to happen if you drive in Red.

David Croft on Hamilton penalty (BBC News)

Definitely a strange decision. Nikki Lauda on RTL says it was fine; Charlie Whiting says the manoeuvre was fine.
Maybe Lewis should have taken the only other option by crashing into Kimi.
But then Ferrari would have lodged some other kind of complaint.

It's only a matter of time before overtaking will be banned.

Hamilton went 5mph slower than Reikinnen over the start finish line and gave him back the lead, i.e. he gave him back the advantage.

The little twat Ecclestone hates McLaren and particularly Ron Dennis. End of story.

If F1 gives in to politics so blatantly, then they will turn the public off the sport again.

The rules say that if you gain a place after going off the track you have to give the place back, which Hamilton did. He then overtook Kimi again, how is that cheating?

Ahhh... The wonderful F1 politics come into play again. Another reason why I stopped watching it many years ago and will continue to boycott it for many years to come.

I am 100 percent Massa's fan, but I have to say I watched every second of the race and I really think the Hamilton call is ridiculous. I don't claim to be an expert, but what advantage did Hamilton get? It's clear that he let Kimi take the lead back again?? I have to say Mercedes seems to get punished harder than the other teams... Don't get me wrong I would love for Massa to win the Championship, but not like this... Does anyone know if they are punishing Kimi too in some way?

I had been getting back into the sport this year and quite enjoying it. I really enjoyed yesterdays race and went out to do my day in a good mood.

Only to come home and find this appaling decision had been made. This is rediculous, there is no way in hell that this is right. What Lewis did was fair and square.

Unhappy today

Tom...

Forgot to mention, I hope you lot are signing the petition. Over 15,000 already.

http://www.petitiononline.com/belgp08/petition.html

Tom...

Yup, i'm in.

Who controls the stewards? Perhaps rather than the poison dwarf it's Mosley. Did Dennis shop him to NOTHW?

From BBC Sport:


Interview with Niki Lauda: Lauda unhappy with Hamilton penalty

Cockpit footage of the incident from Hamilton's car, crash from Raikkonen's car
(not sure how long that'll stay, as it's pay TV. Mods feel free to remove if rule-breaking).

It's even more clear from this how much more grip the McLaren had at this stage of the race.

Not seen any footage of what Raikkonen has to say about the incident.

He been gagged on team orders?

This is what Kimi had to say: "There are rules about cutting chicanes and gaining an advantage. I don't have anything (else) to say."

Interesting line up for tomorrow:

1 S Vettel
2 H Kovalainen
3 M Webber
4 K Rosberg
5 S Bourdais
6 F Massa
7 J Trulli
8 F Alonso

Raikkonen is 14th, Hamilton is 15th

Yeah, very weird qualifying session. Poor tyre choice in Q2 notwithstanding, none of the top runners looked to have a good setup, with at least Hamilton expected to be fast in the rain, as Kovalainen proved the capability of the car. It's less of a surprise to see Ferrari having problems in the wet, although perhaps you'd expect them the other way around. It was notable that Massa nipped in to Q3 whilst Hamilton and Raikkonen were both out on track having a mare, so fair play to him, and very well done to Vettel.

Well a fantastic race by Sebastian Vettel, who is now the youngest ever winner of an F1 race, it was really good to see someone different on the top of the podium, funny that I started humming the Italian national anthem even before the German one finished. I wonder if we will now see every German wearing Torro Rosso clothing!!