Singapore GP 2011 - Massa told to destroy Hamilton's race

[TzeiTzei]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this instruction at all.

Spot on. Move along folks.

[lebesset]

surely the point is that it is now fairly clear that massa is no longer there to race for himself but to act as a foil for alonso ..no wonder ferrari wanted to run a 3 car team , they would be able to use this tactic even better

don't see what hamilton's guilt or otherwise has to do with it

I feel cars should be on the track to race

[raymondu999]

Oh I see what you mean. You want to talk more on the Ferrari intra-team politics, not the bickering on the collision. Am I right?

[ringo]

Not surprised really.

His tough defense and slow and wide turn exit were obviously as a stumbling block.

It's legal, but it made his little rant after the race even more silly.

[Dragonfly]

Don't be silly Dragonfly. Obviously we're here to discuss the issue of material strength of the tyre; and how the minimum bodywork radius rule isn't enough

And the conclusion is that snow plough carbon fiber wing is the winner in most of the cases

Maybe Smedley didn't use the most suitable words or wanted to pump up Massa for a fight, but this is absolutely normal within team strategy. Massa has no chances for a significant improvement but can help Alonso keep his place by ruining Hamilton's race -> McLaren team strategy.
I think that Bernie's people some times do a very mean job by selecting parts of the radio communication to suggest something dirty or illegal.
Which is immediately grabbed by the blindfolded taliban-like part of the fan base (I'd say childish part).
It's IMO quite harmful approach as it distorts the views of the more recently attracted younger people to always seek and see something fishy in every event. And consequently plead for penalties for everything they do not like. Instead of enjoying the natural excitement that comes from a real sporting competition.

[PlatinumZealot]

Massa was slow off the throttle. Trying to recreate the Monza 2010 incident but he was the one that lost in the end.

Word is that the telemetry shows that Massa took the turn slower than usual.

To me, that order was weakn and cowardly on Smedley's and Massa's part. How can one man hurt them so much to the point of premeditated sabotage?

I thought Vettel would be ruffling the feathers at Ferrari instead?

[beelsebob]

What's your source for Massa being slower than normal through the turn? If that were true, then it would be reasonable evidence that Massa "caused a collision" not Hamilton, and one would think that the stewards would have made a different decision.

[ringo]

His exit was very slow, when compared to how wide he took the turn.
That may have played with hamilton's instincts.

Watch the race highlight. His getaway was slow. Alonso's turn exits were similar, only this time massa focus was defense, not speed.

Hamilton's turn in was actually not really bad as it looked from the low angle camera. The wider angle camera makes things look like a race incident more than a cut in.
http://www.formula1.com/video/race_edits/

[timbo]

Word is that the telemetry shows that Massa took the turn slower than usual.

You don't need telemetry to see that he WAS slower than usual in that corner. That was because he delayed braking and also advanced his apex to come past Hamilton and it is NORMAL FOR OVERTAKING. That is why crossing trajectories to make counter-attack works.

[ringo]

His exit was still slow even in that case. He was on the racing line pretty much.
I could understand if he held a tighter line without going towards the curb.
But he used up the track pretty well and ended up near the curb, he was just pretty slow in that turn than normal.
So much so that Hamilton, who's not on the racing line, nowhere near the apex even, was much much faster on the exit.

Similar situation with Kobayashi and Heidfeld in Canada. On the racing line, but abnormally slow exit.

[Shrieker]

Why am I not surprised. So Massa wasn't racing, he was trying to impede Hamilton as much as he could to aid Alonso, and he was specifically instructed to do so. Defending your position is one thing, driving purposefully slower than you actually would to hamper others' efforts is another. Just ask Eddie Irvine. So Massa has really become Alonso's, umm...whatever; even when Alonso doesn't have a chance of winning anything at all, that's a fact.

So, had we said in the race thread that Massa wasn't racing and was just holding up, we were going to be called 'delusional' besides other stuff, heh.

[mep]

Holding others up is part of racing, learn to stand that kids without crying for momy.
It was still Hamiltons fault to crash into Massa.

[timbo]

His exit was still slow even in that case. He was on the racing line pretty much.

He was not on the racing line on entry. How do you expect him to carry speed through the corner?

[raymondu999]

Was Massa not defending into the entry of 7, and so on the tighter inside line; compromising his apex and exit from T7? I seem to remember he was forced to the usual issue that you're forced into an early apex if you defend into a corner.

[Richard]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Nothing new in a number 2 driver being obstructive to protect the number 1 driver.

Also nothing new in a defending driver taking sub-optimal line through a corner to shut the door on the attacking driver.

When is this thread going to be locked?