Lewis Hamilton on this weeks episode of Topgear

[Websta]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQggvBk4asY[/youtube]

My mistake - he doesn't cut it twice.

It's not a major thing, but would be worth a few tenths. Difficult to say how much "less damp" it is than Webber or Raikkonen's lap as well, but it definitely seems to be better conditions. That and the corner cut explain why he was so much faster than Raikkonen. No questions why Webber was slower - he understeers into a different county at Hammerhead.

[turbof1]

Don't forget there also was oil on the track.

[Bredd]

Spoilers I think.

http://www.racexpress.nl/index.php?nav= ... &nid=47506

[beelsebob]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQggvBk4asY[/youtube]

My mistake - he doesn't cut it twice.

The left rear is still in the lines.

[Websta]

The rule on the show if I am not mistaken (I haven't watched it in a long time) is that you are not allowed to cross the inside of the hammerhead corner at all. Vettel, Button, Mansell, Hill, Barrichello, Raikkonen (hard to tell though) all stay within the lines. And Webber doesn't get anywhere near the line. Getting three tyres outside the line and the fourth on the line is pretty significant "cutting" IMO, especially as the corner is so tight usually.

Edit: as you mentioned, Vettel also cuts a corner somewhere. The Topgear laps are entertaining, not much to really read into though - except for fanboys on Youtube by the looks of it.

[GTSpeedster]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQggvBk4asY[/youtube]

My mistake - he doesn't cut it twice.

The left rear is still in the lines.

It seems that your high concerns for legality under F1 standards suddenly don't apply anymore...

[beelsebob]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQggvBk4asY[/youtube]

My mistake - he doesn't cut it twice.

The left rear is still in the lines.

It seems that your high concerns for legality under F1 standards suddenly don't apply anymore...

Hmm? 1) I was taking the piss 2) F1 standards are that you are outside the track when no part of the car is in contact with the track – i.e. one wheel inside the white line, or on it, is on the track. You are only off it when all 4 wheels are outside the white lines.

[GTSpeedster]

The left rear is still in the lines.

It seems that your high concerns for legality under F1 standards suddenly don't apply anymore...

Hmm? 1) I was taking the piss 2) F1 standards are that you are outside the track when no part of the car is in contact with the track – i.e. one wheel inside the white line, or on it, is on the track. You are only off it when all 4 wheels are outside the white lines.

So, according to you "Vettel's lap was actually illegal (by F1 standards)" but Hamilton's wasn't? Okie dokie then, no double standards at all there...

[Websta]

It seems that your high concerns for legality under F1 standards suddenly don't apply anymore...

Hmm? 1) I was taking the piss 2) F1 standards are that you are outside the track when no part of the car is in contact with the track – i.e. one wheel inside the white line, or on it, is on the track. You are only off it when all 4 wheels are outside the white lines.

So, according to you "Vettel's lap was actually illegal (by F1 standards)" but Hamilton's wasn't? Okie dokie then, no double standards at all there...

"A driver will be judged to have left the track if no part of the car remains in contact with the track."
From F1.com

So no doublestandards - Hamilton's move is legal by F1 standards and Vettel's isn't (if he had all four tyres off).

[Mandrake]

I'm genuinely looking forward to this. There were contradicting statements about Hamilton's lap.

Either the video footage shows him cutting the corner massively (in such a low HP car, every mph you can carry more through Hammerhead helps you all the way to the second to last corner as the rest is flat out from Hammerhead onwards. So we're not talking about a couple of tenths only.

The other statement was (by Ben Collins? Can't remember) that the footage shown was from another lap and not his times lap. His timed lap was on a almost dry track with a couple of wet patches.

Anyways, good that he'll do it again so there will be no more controversy (unless he's suddenly a second quicker than Vettel, than that would be fishy. I reckon he's either gonna be close to Vettel, matching him, or at max. 0,2 seconds faster)

[beelsebob]

So, according to you "Vettel's lap was actually illegal (by F1 standards)" but Hamilton's wasn't? Okie dokie then, no double standards at all there...

That would be because Vettel had all 4 wheels outside the white lines, while Hamilton didn't...

[Juzh]

So, according to you "Vettel's lap was actually illegal (by F1 standards)" but Hamilton's wasn't? Okie dokie then, no double standards at all there...

That would be because Vettel had all 4 wheels outside the white lines, while Hamilton didn't...

If that cutting gave him more than half a tenth i'd be very impressed. Not like cutting hammerhead even with just 2 wheels which will give you massive advantage.

[beelsebob]

So, according to you "Vettel's lap was actually illegal (by F1 standards)" but Hamilton's wasn't? Okie dokie then, no double standards at all there...

That would be because Vettel had all 4 wheels outside the white lines, while Hamilton didn't...

If that cutting gave him more than half a tenth i'd be very impressed. Not like cutting hammerhead even with just 2 wheels which will give you massive advantage.

Cutting hammerhead with 2 wheels (or even 3) is not cutting hammerhead, it's driving accurately to hit the apex as tightly as the rules allow.

[turbof1]

People, we are talking about Top Gear in a "reasonable priced car", not Formula One in a Mclaren mp4-27 Mercedes. It's not that big of a deal that he went on the limit and perhaps a bit over it.

[ajdavison2]

I think given the tone of the show and the fact that, unfortunately, there are no championship points on offer then we can afford to take it a little less seriously than some of us are?