The US Grand Prix

[checkered]

There's an article

in autosport.com in which Whitmarsh states beyond a doubt that Alonso's "swerve" had nothing to do with cooling. One can of course see drama in it, but, Alonso is Alonso and Hamilton is Hamilton and both are going to do what they deem is the best course of action. It certainly was very close and could've gone either way. Now it remains to be seen which one of the drivers gets the most out of their new aero package.

Ferrari had good pace, in the end, but they need to work on their starts and quali speed still. Whether they have anything in store to match McLaren's imminent improvements is another matter. Behind the two teams there was quite a lot of action, which is always good. Too bad about the tech DNFs though, a lot of good efforts were thwarted, like Heidfeld's and Rosberg's.

[SoftBatch]

Super interesting race, I think we will see more wins from Alonso in the future and it's probably to early to say but this might be an Hamilton-Alonso fight all way to Brazil. I don't think Ferrari will have an super 30 point come back at this point, or maybe we will, who knows.

What I didn't like about Indy was to see SO many empty seats, after Michellin gave away last year ticktes I think we saw today the TRUE harm on 2005's Indy gate. I rwas seriously planning to go to Indy next year but after seeing so many empty seats an Ecclestone's declatarions, do you think maybe we have seen the last Indy GP ?

Thats because the stands are not the best spots for viewing the race. I think attendance has historically been in the 100-200k range.

[DaveKillens]

Well, it sure was interesting watching the battles of the teammates. Hamilton kept it in one piece, and collected his seond win. Obviously, Alonso is pissed that there isn't a second driver situation, because he sure displays all the outward appearance of someone unahppy with things. The weave by the pits and his long, unhappy face say it all, as far as I'm concerned.
Massa drove as well as possible, with Ferrari not up to the McLaren race pace. Kimi appears in total disarray.... he has either lost motivation, or is just confused.
Renault show definite signs of improvement, while Kovalenen has suddenly put all his screw-ups behind him and found confidence and pace.
Ralf, I sincelerely hope his team parks him and puts and end to all the misery bestowed upon all fans everywhere.
Right now, Mclaren looks pretty darn tough, they seem to have all the right ingredients.. motivated drivers, great race pace and good tire wear, and the best qualifying pace too. A tough nut to crack.
Congratulation to Lewis Hamilton, he's done all his talking on the track and impressed everyone.

[monkeyboy1976]

[quote="wazojugs"]I think alonso wearing his race overalls was a bit of defiance to the team, not any thing special for lewis.[/quote]

That was my point. Alonso seems to be a touch childish don't you think?
Along with that swerve to the team bench on the pit wall, the pressure really is showing.
The idea that Lewis moved more than once when Alonso tried to overtake, I think, is a close call. He moved to his right to block Alonso into turn 1 and then moved slightly back to his left to get a better line into the corner. This could have caused Alonso to take issue and lose his rag.

[manchild]

... I was seriously planning to go to Indy next year but after seeing so many empty seats an Ecclestone's declatarions, do you think maybe we have seen the last Indy GP ?

Even better - USGP will move south to Las Vegas or Laguna Seca so it will be close to you

Ralf, I sincelerely hope his team parks him and puts and end to all the misery bestowed upon all fans everywhere.

A detail from Ralf's car...

.. unless making money is the only aim

[pRo]

A detail from Ralf's car...

That's a great one!

[Tom]

I dunno, he hit DC pretty well right in the middle. What amazed me most is that even though Ralf turned left into a right hand turn and collected the Red Bull he had the nerve in his interview to suggest it was Coulthard's fault.

[waynes]

ralf schumacher is a joke

[m3_lover]

ralf schumacher is a joke

I concur..the race was good especially Luzzi and Wurz..I thought acouple of times Wurz had him. Why was Nico so friggerin mad though?

[waynes]

Why was Nico so friggerin mad though?

more reliability problems i think, he hasnt suffered much luck really

[ds.raikkonen]

ralf schumacher is a joke

im afraid this might be the last days of Ralf

I concur..the race was good especially Luzzi and Wurz..I thought acouple of times Wurz had him. Why was Nico so friggerin mad though?

His race ended just 4 laps before chequered flag and lost valuable points

the straight line speed of the toro-rossos was impressive, partly due to the almost horizontal wing, but even though. What interested me was that Raikkonen cud nt get past Kovalainen even at the start-finish straight for about 8 -10 laps, i thought he wud get past him...sad..and in the ending stages, again Raikkonen almost got the better of Massa, but cud nt get past him...aggressive Raikikonen of the past is no more

[modbaraban]

The Lewiston vs. Fernandonso media-saga is getting more and more rediculous...

Alonso wins - means Ron's bias towards him as driver #1
Lewis wins - means Ron's bias towards him as a British head of a British team

[Ignis Fatuus]

What interested me was that Raikkonen cud nt get past Kovalainen even at the start-finish straight for about 8 -10 laps, i thought he wud get past him...sad..and in the ending stages, again Raikkonen almost got the better of Massa, but cud nt get past him...aggressive Raikikonen of the past is no more

I guess you have to be A LOT quicker than the car in front to overtake this year. How many overtaking did we see this season? I think problem is not with drivers but with the car. It is just near impossible to overtake on track.

[vyselegend]

ralf schumacher is a joke

im afraid this might be the last days of Ralf

I concur.

Me too. Honnestly I was a bit disgusted by how much people lack respect toward Ralph when they critisize him, so I tried to take his defence.
But by trying I had to face one truth: Ralph is undefendable...
You can't argue very much with a driver who allways qualify in the last six slot, when his team mate allways qualify the same dog in the top ten.
You can't argue with a driver allways collinding with others, especially his team mates.
And in the end, you don't want to argue with a driver who makes a nonsense start, crash in three other cars, and in the end put the blame on others...

Ralph is FINISHED.

aggressive Raikikonen of the past is no more

When Kimi was closing the gap to Felipe, the commentators (J Laffite) started to create some tension praying Kimi's character and agressivity. I couldn't help but grumbling in my beard "it won't happen".
I though Kimi in red is like an ING livery on a Renault: something that takes time to get accustomed to.
But it takes time really! The Finn's character has started to fade IMO, and this is not only since wearing red overalls, but since knowing he was leaving Mac Laren. Even after he won in Australia, when every winner would tend to put some hype in his achievement, he was the one to show the borring side of it "that was an easy win", "by the end I was falling asleep".
But isn't that the exact contrary of what sponsors pay him for?

One last thing I wished to comment on: Giancarlo's race, good or bad?
I mean in a year when Renault isn't playing the championnship anymore, what is better for them, finnishing a humble six or more during a quiet race, or starting last (or making the mistake that put you last), and then overtaking EVERY reachable cars of the field while filmed by the world's TV cameras.
I put it in another way: Don't you think Renault sponsors have been more satisfied by the coverage of "their" car overtaking others than the other having a better, but more discreet result? There are different ways of "marking points" in F1. I'm wondering which of the two drivers had the more coverage during US GP...

[monkeyboy1976]

Just been looking at some stats. Hamilton is still on course for probably the hardest record to beat. In 2002 M Schumacher finished every race of the season in P1 or P2 excet one where he finished P3. Hamilton has already one P3. I wonder if he can match Schumacher's record? Edit: without a supportive number 2.?