Malaysian GP 2010 - Sepang

[Vasco]

Dominant performance from RBR seemed to easy for them.

Hamilton really showed his class today, pity he couldn't get past the FI after all that action. Alonso also shows his race class by driving around the downshift problems he had.

Imagine if Mclaren and Ferrari did not make the mistakes in qualifying, this race would have been supremely boring.

[Pierre6]

Dominant performance from RBR seemed to easy for them.

Hamilton really showed his class today, pity he couldn't get past the FI after all that action. Alonso also shows his race class by driving around the downshift problems he had.

Imagine if Mclaren and Ferrari did not make the mistakes in qualifying, this race would have been supremely boring.

Yeah perfect race from Hamilton! Supreme action!

[Pandamasque]

That was a surprisingly good race even without the rain. And amazing performance by Alonso considering his problems. RBR seem to have just cruised to the finish.

...

[pacerboy]

Did Vettel pass I think a Lotus under yellows on the last lap - just near where Alonso failed? There was a flashing green on the exit of the corner!

[Poleman]

I dont see something dirty on his move...Petrov was trying to get to the slipstream,NOT to attempt a pass,thats the normal sequence of an overtake...He was trying not to give him the slipstream.As soon as he made the move Hamilton didn't change his line.Sometimes i wonder what people really want from racing...I want to see fights and thats what Hamilton and Petrov gave me today.

[Pierre6]

I dont see something dirty on his move...Petrov was trying to get to the slipstream,NOT to attempt a pass,thats the normal sequence of an overtake...He was trying not to give him the slipstream.As soon as he made the move Hamilton didn't change his line.Sometimes i wonder what people really want from racing...I want to see fights and thats what Hamilton and Petrov gave me today.

So so true! Finally some real on-track action! Fights like this should happen at the front. That would be great. But at the front it was once more a procession after turn 3.

[ringo]

....

Nowhere did he brake the rules. He was not being overtook by Petrov. Neither did he make any sudden moves to defend a position. The renault was no threat to the Mclaren, as can be seen when Hamilton took off and left him, and also when the Mclaren itself was not able to pass the FI. It was a bit of fun, nothing dirty.

[deus1066]

I agree with what Martin Brundle said regarding the weave, where basically Hamilton was actively trying to break the slipstream in the middle of the straight and not blocking a route around, and when they got to the entry of the corner and Petrov was making a move, Hamilton stuck to one line. Seems fair enough to me.

Had Petrov perpetrated the weaving and Hamilton followed to block, then it would have been a different matter.

As always though, its down to interpretation, as one can say its an "abnormal change of direction"

[TheMinister]

...

Now I think Hamilton is as much of a prick as most people, but for once I'm going to have to leap to his defence- he was attempting to break a tow. He was in no way blocking petrov- in fact he was always moving out of petrov's way. It would be absurd to punish him for that move.

(Some seem to be saying the renault was no threat to the mclaren- the lap before, petrov did hamilton down into turn 1 EXACTLY the same way. Please a bit less Hamilton fanboyism, it is getting crazy)

My general impression of the race: well done RBR, a real demonstration of what they could achieve this season if things go well. Mclaren and Ferrari also pretty good races, did well to get so far back up the pack whilst all fighting each other. Shoutouts to Sutil (hooray force INDYA!) and Algersuarus, some very impressive fight from them despite being in slower cars than their competitors.

Driver of the day is a tough one, no huge standout performances, but many good ones- vettel was flawless, both the maccy and ferrari drivers did well to come through the pack, alonso especially with his gear issue. Kubica and rosberg were boring which was just right for them.
On balance probably Vettel or Hamilton (not gonna choose) as both did that tiny bit extra to get past their teammates.

Going forward to china, those mclarens are going to be mighty with their top speed. That said, the F-duct doesn't seem to be the instant-pass feature I thought it might be on the straights- for example, Petrov seemed very capable of passing hamilton into turn 1 with a good slipstream. That massive straight in china will certainly be interesting.

[ringo]

It's not really abnormal since the curve was smooth, tangential at all points, and fairly predictable.
If pertrov was really a threat all he had to do was go straight, since hamilton effectively increase the distance covered by weaving.
It was fun, and i know the crowd in the grand stands enjoyed it!

I am hearing Hamilton overtook 8 cars in turn 1, is that a record for overtaking in 1 turn with no incidents involved?
I also enjoyed Alonso adapting to the downshifts when the car was decelerating. He did it in away that he would lose the least amount of time. Too bad his engine failed.

Alguashari was also fun, that clash with shumacher really upped his confidence. He feels he can take on the world now.

Vettel took advantage of a slow start by Webber and Rosberg; he is a true winner! In all likelyhood he will be champ this year.

[ringo]

...

Now I think Hamilton is as much of a prick as most people, but for once I'm going to have to leap to his defence- he was attempting to break a tow. He was in no way blocking petrov- in fact he was always moving out of petrov's way. It would be absurd to punish him for that move.

(Some seem to be saying the renault was no threat to the mclaren- the lap before, petrov did hamilton down into turn 1 EXACTLY the same way. Please a bit less Hamilton fanboyism, it is getting crazy)

My general impression of the race: well done RBR, a real demonstration of what they could achieve this season if things go well. Mclaren and Ferrari also pretty good races, did well to get so far back up the pack whilst all fighting each other. Shoutouts to Sutil (hooray force INDYA!) and Algersuarus, some very impressive fight from them despite being in slower cars than their competitors.

Driver of the day is a tough one, no huge standout performances, but many good ones- vettel was flawless, both the maccy and ferrari drivers did well to come through the pack, alonso especially with his gear issue. Kubica and rosberg were boring which was just right for them.
On balance probably Vettel or Hamilton (not gonna choose) as both did that tiny bit extra to get past their teammates.

Going forward to china, those mclarens are going to be mighty with their top speed. That said, the F-duct doesn't seem to be the instant-pass feature I thought it might be on the straights- for example, Petrov seemed very capable of passing hamilton into turn 1 with a good slipstream. That massive straight in china will certainly be interesting.

I think Mclaren incrementally increased downforce during practice. They took off some of the top speed to improve sector2.
No fanboyism here, Petrov passed but it was an "X" maneuver by Hamilton; his intentions to retake the position. It's less risky, especially with dealing with unpredictable rookies, and it saves the tyres. I think Lewis was a little afraid Petrov would take him out. None the less Petrov looks like the next Kubica, he is going to be very good in the future.

[timbo]

Nowhere did he brake the rules. He was not being overtook by Petrov. Neither did he make any sudden moves to defend a position. The renault was no threat to the Mclaren, as can be seen when Hamilton took off and left him, and also when the Mclaren itself was not able to pass the FI. It was a bit of fun, nothing dirty.

He was abnormally changing direction to tear Petrov from slipstream. He was clearly defending as lap earlier Petrov overtook him at the same straight.

[Mr Alcatraz]

Nowhere did he brake the rules. He was not being overtook by Petrov. Neither did he make any sudden moves to defend a position. The renault was no threat to the Mclaren, as can be seen when Hamilton took off and left him, and also when the Mclaren itself was not able to pass the FI. It was a bit of fun, nothing dirty.

He was abnormally changing direction to tear Petrov from slipstream. He was clearly defending as lap earlier Petrov overtook him at the same straight.

There is no rule against a leading driver trying to break a slipstream by changing directions. I give 'The Boss" credit for learning from that lap before. It's only blocking if you are covering a move made by the car trying to pass. I think one of the worst rule infractions in this area that wasn't penalized was made against Nick Heidfeld. I think it was Mike that did it but I could be wrong so someone correct me if you remember this one It was at the start and NH went to make apass on the inside the car in front moved to the right to block. NH moved further to nthe right and kept doing it untill he had to pull up because he was being blocked into the wall!

[timbo]

Nowhere did he brake the rules. He was not being overtook by Petrov. Neither did he make any sudden moves to defend a position. The renault was no threat to the Mclaren, as can be seen when Hamilton took off and left him, and also when the Mclaren itself was not able to pass the FI. It was a bit of fun, nothing dirty.

He was abnormally changing direction to tear Petrov from slipstream. He was clearly defending as lap earlier Petrov overtook him at the same straight.

There is no rule against a leading driver trying to break a slipstream by changing directions.

If leading driving is trying to break slipstream from the following car he is defending. If he is abnormally changing direction while defending he is breaking the rules. I remember there were an agreement between drivers a while ago that you're only allowed to do that once.
All in all he was reprimanded, so stewards had seen potential rule infraction.

[djos]

He is a great driver. But today he proved once again that he's a very dirty racer. ...

Cheating is a bit strong but the 3 moves down the straight were still dirty and I was not impressed.

I did luv how Webbo banged out a 1:30.054 on lap 53 just to rub the other teams faces in how fast the RB6 is! =D>