Bahrain GP 2008

[Giblet]

Umm... Button was on the inside, and jinked his wheel to the right TWICE as he was sliding.

DC likely trusted that button wasn't going to try to enter the turn perpendicular to DC's (proper) line.

Having not driven an F1 car myself, I assume that DC saw he was too far back, and _turned_ into his corner, as Button _slid_ into the apex. It's probably also hard to see in your mirrors while looking towards the apex.

I recorded the race on my PVR if you want a copy to see it again.

[Conceptual]

I'll take a copy!

Anyways, I think that Ferrari short stopped Kimi just to give Massa the win, and some media credibility. I think Kimi was not happy, since he was catching Massa when he was called in 5 laps early.

BMW looks good, and if they can get a good quali on more fuel, I think they can win this year. They are like 3 tenths behind the Ferrari's so the gap can be kinda covered by fuel load, but still lacks the offset needed to win. BMW I think will be regulars on the podium this season, and quite possibly on the top step.

Good race overall. DC-Jenson... Saw it coming. Hammy-Nando... Speculated on that happening before the start of the race to my wife.

I can't help but feel let down by Ferrari however. Saving the engine in the second race when you are comfortably 1-2, but let them fight at 17,000RPM instead of gapping them with a change of fuel strategy.

Anyways...........

chris

[marcosp]

Coulthard does it again...

Exactly what he did to massa in Australia... Even Jenson's description of what he did was the same as massa's:
"I caught up with David quite quickly as he seemed to be struggling and I had a go at passing him down into turn eight. I committed early as he hit the brakes, when it was evident that there was a gap where I could get a huge run on him down into the apex. Unfortunately he moved back over to the racing line late in the braking zone and I had nowhere to go and couldn't slow the car down in time." Jenson Button
"The incident with Coulthard? I was on the inside and he closed the door on me, probably because he hadn't seen me." Felipe Massa

[Rob W]

Hamilton messed up his start, then tried to overtake alonsos renault but misjudged and smashed his nose on the rearwheel of the renault.

...And the rear wing too

That's not all in that pic either. There is a bite missing from Alonso's wing too. I wonder how dangerous that would be at top speed if the wing just gave away.

R

[Rob W]

I think Jenson was actually out of control when he made a move on DC, it looked like he was half considering a run, not fully comitted, and then he lost the back under braking, DC turned the corner as he usually would and found Button on his front wheel.

I agree. I've watched the clip and Jenson was out of control for sure. He looked to be sliding in the last metres to the corner, you can see the car yaw in the replays. No-way was it anything like the incident DC had the other week.

Even if Button had been following DC into the corner from behind he would have hit him at that range. It was half-arsed and poorly executed.

R

[m3_lover]

Hamilton messed up his start, then tried to overtake alonsos renault but misjudged and smashed his nose on the rearwheel of the renault.

...And the rear wing too

That's not all in that pic either. There is a bite missing from Alonso's wing too. I wonder how dangerous that would be at top speed if the wing just gave away.

R

Go to you tube, there is one of Kimi Raikkokeon have a rear wing failure in his mclaren days. Also Albers also had a rear wing failure at Suzuka, can not remember the year, but it was with spyker car.

This should show you the effect, pretty scary.

[Ray]

Katherine Legge had a massive rear wing failure as well, could have been fatal. It's amazing Alonsos' wing didn't fail.

[Belatti]

can somebody please explain to me why kimi has been slower then massa all weekend? massa always seem to be quicker in qualifications. he was faster in malaysia and bahrain. why?

i always thought kimi is blindingly fast, fastest. but he seem to be no match to massa's pace. last year we all knew that kimi had new team, new tyres, new everything and undertandably slower then massa. but this year i thought he would dominate massa from the start.

Being faster doesn´t mean "always faster". (Thats why Prost sometimes beated Senna )
Kimi said he couldn´t find a good balance all weekend, and Massa apparently did. Kimi is still better, but Massa is a fast guy.

Anyways, I think that Ferrari short stopped Kimi just to give Massa the win, and some media credibility. I think Kimi was not happy, since he was catching Massa when he was called in 5 laps early.

Are you serious?

BTW, Giancarlo: =D> =D> =D>

[modbaraban]

@ Rob W

Yes I did notice that (just marked the most evident one), in fact it looked even worse from the back. I couldn't find a picture, but on TV it seemed as though the upper wing profile delaminated or something... or was it the tyre mark I mean there was a black spot right below that dent in the middle of the upper plane.

[allan]

i gotta say, i've never been a fan of alonso before or his driving, but enough is enough... Im seriously fed up with all that rubbish that he lifted or slowed down or brake tested or whatever u wanna call it... I wonder how people can just ignore that this is a double world champion we're talking about here, and so far Mr. Hamilton's records can't even be compared to Alonso's! just because he's british and he's supported by all the media doesn't mean he's god, or that he doesnt make mistakes!!!
Im sorry if im over-reacting here, but the itv reporters' comments were just way over the limit!

[johny]

here's a pic of the rear wing from the back

[Rob W]

McLaren have now said that Hamilton's front wing bridge had failed just before the incident corner and he hadn't realised - therefore the lower downforce and thus better pick-up meant he ran into Alonso.

R

[johny]

they had another contact on lap 1, maybe it could be damaged there.

[Ciro Pabón]

Ahhh, I see. I was wondering why the news here said that Alonso's rear wing was damaged before the crash with Hamilton. Was the first crash also with Hamilton? Perhaps Alonso needs a rear bumper.

Has somebody comented on the results of the WCC?

BMW in first place, Ferrari in second place, McLaren in third... wow. Divine justice? ("Thou shalt not lie", or maybe, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you").

Besides, Heidfeld in second place in the WDC and Kubitza and Kovalainen tied with Hamilton for third. Re-wow.

[ben_watkins]

McLaren have now said that Hamilton's front wing bridge had failed just before the incident corner and he hadn't realised - therefore the lower downforce and thus better pick-up meant he ran into Alonso.

R

You could clearly see from the on board footage from Hamilton's car, that the bridge wing had been damaged before hitting the rear of Alonso's Renault.