2014 Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring

[JimClarkFan]

In the Sky interview right after it was almost like he was in denial, no problem, it's a long race sort of thing, he needs to get his $%it together and fast

Hamilton's greatest weakness, alluded to by many other pundits and former racing drivers, is his mental fragility. I also think he has other issues, but yes he needs to get it together. If he could just stay calm, and rely on his talent he could still be WDC. The only thing that would prevent that is mechanical trouble, I don't think Rosberg is faster or a better racer than Lewis but he thinks clearly.

I am staunch Alonso supporter, but I always felt for Massa, and suspected that Ferrari's team dynamics may not always have provided a level playing field for him.
So it is not without a sense of poetic justice that I celebrate his pole here! All the more so as the forced move from Ferrari to Williams appeared to be a downgrade last year...

Great for the sport to have Massa on pole again, I feel he was always better than Alonso made him look and will be rooting for him tomorrow. I do believe he got the same parts as Alonso, but he clearly didn't get as much say in the team.

He is proving again, that he is a top driver. And he seems to be regaining confidence he lost from a several year stint playing second fiddle at Ferrari. The Williams move has been a reincarnation... love it.

It is also worth noting that his performance relative to Alonso, has been better than Raikonnens thus far.


Edit

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/27957343

Great to see Fernando paying his respects

Fernando said:
"I always said Felipe was a very, very fast man," Alonso said. "Not many people believed me.
"But I still think he was probably the fastest team-mate that I had."

"Definitely Felipe struggled in the last four years because we knew that we were not super-competitive," said Alonso, who qualified fourth behind Mercedes' Nico Rosberg.

"Now he has a very fast car, he enjoyed today and I congratulate him and am happy for him after the tough moments we lived together in the last four years. But tomorrow I hopefully finish in front of him and not behind any more."

Massa said:
"Always when you are in the same place for many years... also I had a difficult moment as well, you know, it was good to have a change.
"I really feel happy with Williams, with really great people.
"They really believe in my job, they really believe in what I say and I think that's really positive. It makes me feel better, it makes me feel very important inside the team."

[Morteza]

https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/480410965406932992

[zeph]

Great for the sport to have Massa on pole again, I feel he was always better than Alonso made him look and will be rooting for him tomorrow. I do believe he got the same parts as Alonso, but he clearly didn't get as much say in the team.

He is proving again, that he is a top driver. And he seems to be regaining confidence he lost from a several year stint playing second fiddle at Ferrari. The Williams move has been a reincarnation... love it.

It is also worth noting that his performance relative to Alonso, has been better than Raikonnens thus far.

Indeed. Massa has been much derided on this here forum, people conveniently forgetting he just about nailed the '08 WDC, surpassing no.1 driver/champion Raikkonen with a considerable margin.

If anything, I think what separates him from the top drivers is a penchant for bad luck.

[JimClarkFan]

Great for the sport to have Massa on pole again, I feel he was always better than Alonso made him look and will be rooting for him tomorrow. I do believe he got the same parts as Alonso, but he clearly didn't get as much say in the team.

He is proving again, that he is a top driver. And he seems to be regaining confidence he lost from a several year stint playing second fiddle at Ferrari. The Williams move has been a reincarnation... love it.

It is also worth noting that his performance relative to Alonso, has been better than Raikonnens thus far.

Indeed. Massa has been much derided on this here forum, people conveniently forgetting he just about nailed the '08 WDC, surpassing no.1 driver/champion Raikkonen with a considerable margin.

If anything, I think what separates him from the top drivers is a penchant for bad luck.

Luck certainly has been unkind to poor Massa, and he does get a hard time, whereas Raikkonen is lauded - always found that strange.

However, I think the main thing that separate him from Alonso is adaptability. Alonso would be fast in a wheel barrow, most other drivers require a car to their particular liking.

[zeph]

However, I think the main thing that separate him from Alonso is adaptability. Alonso would be fast in a wheel barrow, most other drivers require a car to their particular liking.

I think Alonso stands apart from everybody else in that regard, not just Massa. IMO, he is the only one among the current crop of champions with that sort of adaptability. Vettel, Button, Hamilton and Raikkonen have not impressed me as similarly versatile.

[JimClarkFan]

However, I think the main thing that separate him from Alonso is adaptability. Alonso would be fast in a wheel barrow, most other drivers require a car to their particular liking.

I think Alonso stands apart from everybody else in that regard, not just Massa. IMO, he is the only one among the current crop of champions with that sort of adaptability. Vettel, Button, Hamilton and Raikkonen have not impressed me as similarly versatile.

Very hard to judge unless you have every driver racing against another drive in the same equipment, but that is certainly the feeling I get as well. Consistency of high performance as well.

[zeph]

Yes, I think the 2007-2009 period hardened his mental strength and he is now absolutely unflappable no matter what.

Says Rob Smedley today:

Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley, who also joined from Ferrari for this season, said:
"Fernando is an incredible competitor; really one of the very best drivers of all time. So having Fernando Alonso as your team-mate is never easy, as Kimi's finding out now.
We all know that Kimi is an incredible driver. But Fernando just delivers and it's not just weekend in, weekend out, it's session in, session out. The guy hardly ever puts a foot wrong. And that puts you under pressure.
It's normal when you have to battle against somebody who is so very good that you do feel pressure. Here we have a more equal pairing between the drivers and that has helped Felipe to relax a little bit and to relax into his role."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/27957343

[sennaf1god.94]

People seem to be ruling the two Williams out of the contention for the victory, as if their speed was fake.

Check wich cars had the top two higher numbers in the Qualy speed trap...

TAKING this into account the easy way to victory is Bottas blocking the field and Massa pulling ahead.

My 2cnts

[-o<

[Morteza]

People seem to be ruling the two Williams out of the contention for the victory, as if their speed was fake.

Check wich cars had the top two higher numbers in the Qualy speed trap...

Having this into account the easy way to victory is Bottas blocking the field and Massa pulling ahead.

My 2cnts

[-o<

I'm not questioning their pace. I'm really happy for them too, but I won't believe it until I see them winning the race

[Unc1eM0nty]

People seem to be ruling the two Williams out of the contention for the victory, as if their speed was fake.

Check wich cars had the top two higher numbers in the Qualy speed trap...

Having this into account the easy way to victory is Bottas blocking the field and Massa pulling ahead.

My 2cnts

[-o<

Not fake but i do think Williams qually speed flatters them somewhat, they heat up the super soft very quickly, good for qually but not for the race. Plus neither Merc got the final lap in so we don't know how close it was.

The softs are a different matter though, Mercedes were much quicker on these, plus they've proved they can go longer than most team, certainly the Williams anyway.

[AnthonyG]

To me, it looked like the Williams had the best grip in the last 2 corners, I wouldn't dare to make a race predicition, but I think a Williams will at least lead the first stint.

Also, this track looks amazing, you would never tell that by just looking at the layout diagram.

[NTS]

The softs are a different matter though, Mercedes were much quicker on these, plus they've proved they can go longer than most team, certainly the Williams anyway.

Well... I'm curious about how well the Mercedes operates in dirty air. It might make their tire advantage disappear if they're behind a Williams for many laps.

[GrizzleBoy]

Every single other insta-180 rear lockup that we've seen this year has been put down to a mechanical hiccup in the brake by wire system.

What was so different about this spin?

[BanMeToo]

I don't get it either. It would make sense to me if he had been trail braking but that isn't how it happened...

[iotar__]

Every single other insta-180 rear lockup that we've seen this year has been put down to a mechanical hiccup in the brake by wire system.

What was so different about this spin?

I didn't check every but what kind of argument is that? The difference was that it was driver's error. Messing up both attempts in Q3 in the fastest car, finishing 9th and ruining your team mate's chance for pole is quite an achievement. I'm not buying Hamilton is bad under pressure sudden realisation. 1. Too early for that, it usually starts around Monza 2. What kind of pressure is that - fastest by far car, pretty much guaranteed 1-2, 11 races to go and double points, it doesn't get any easier.

He's probably finishing second, maybe third if Williams pulls off a perfect race but I doubt it. Renault got annihilated here so it should be easier. Good to see Merc not in front at last, might be slightly interesting.