This is being overlooked. All said and done, Lewis extended his lead over others, and the two Ferrari drivers are both 'incomplete' to fight against him. Today Kimi was faster than Felipe for much of the race. This was a big result, you could see it on Lewi's face post race and on podium.

What about Heikki Kovalainen

Both Finns are fin-ished

No one mentioned it because it's a non-issue- going off the track in those conditions is to be expected, and KR re-joined behind LH - no harm, no foul. You really think Kimi looked at the tarmac and said to himself - ah - there will be lots of grip out THER where no one has been racing all afternoon! Yeas - I will pop across the grass, soaking my tires even more and get momentum!!!"

Ludicrous. I'd expect better from you Buzzing.

BTW - those of us who aren't in the Lewis-Love society don't cry - we manfully suck it up....

Another forum. AFAIK, it's plausible as yellows were out for raikkonens car and many people passed others in to the bus stop.

and/or an STR podium?

I wish there was some proper coverage of the last lap battle for 3-7.



To be fair to Kimi, he's not been shy about using that tarmac. He obviously knows his runoff places better than Hamilton (but Hamilton times and places his spins much better!).

But don't mind me, I'm just fuming at my deteriorating Iceman putting my team's WDC challenge squarely on Massa's [insert damning adjective] shoulders.

Lewis has. Why can't people just understand the kid is rather useful in the wet?

Thanks. That's the first tech problem for McLaren then (other than Kova's crash early in the season), a bit worrying. It could have been Lewis...

I think KR was on the green kurb at blanchimont, not surprising he spun (and crashed) because they dont have grip grip when is wet/.

It looks so because Kovalinen is so bad but it's all in the car and how it uses the tyres.

For me what's key here is: it's not the same to come out a corner BEHIND another car than come side by side. Hamilton had him tied this way. That must the point of the investigation. Whatever the otucome Raikk is out.

Anyone know if the last few laps have been posted to Youtube yet?

Well now the dust has pretty much settled I have to say that was a brilliant race.

Dunno why I was angry at Kimi's bonehead performance in the closing laps because he actually gave Massa 2 more points and #1 status instead of stringing it out over the last few races. So in a way he did a good thing.

Another solid points position for Alonso aswell even if Heidfeld got the lucky pit timing which only cost Alonso 1 point in the end.

Very tense and hectic final laps was fun to watch aswell so was worth tuning in this weekend

<3 Spa

He's bloody useful in the wet, he was much better than Heikki at Silverstone and Monaco, but that doesn't mean that the McLaren is better than the Ferrari in those conditions, which it is IMO.

Ben

fantastic end to the race.

so awsome comments here too, properly here

that was some hard defending from KR on his teammate on the opening lap. probably the last time we'll see that this season.

interesting how perceptible it was that HK overtaking of RK on the Kimmel was set up by RK's less-than-ideal entry into La Source. likewise, it was easy to see how much more track NP's Renault was using up through the corners before his retirement.

I would not be surprised if there is some tension building between RK and BMW.

it was a fascinating race, already, without the rain. I'm very surprised to see both KR and LH risk so much on that penultimate lap. ok, they both wanted to win, but it's only two points between first and second place. for me, fortune smiled on LH and not KR. I'd also have to say that, when the rain arrived, at least a half dozen drivers behind them kept it much more together and that, of the top three in the standings, the guy who kept his eye on the WDC prize was FM. and, yes, we have to wonder why Ferrari didn't pit him for inters at the end.

those final laps just go to show that, once again, it pays not to be the guy in front when the rain hits.

in terms of sportsmanship, I don't see any problem with KR defense at the Bus Stop. I have no idea what posters here are going on about.

HK is useless, but that doesn't mean LH isn't pretty damn useful.

I mean, that would be like saying FA's performances in Renault flatter to deceive because he looks way too good next to NP.

In any case, the original argument stands: the McLaren looks better than the Ferrari in the conditions.

Short analysis of the race:

The end result was a bit unfortunate for some, more presentful for the others. Sometimes a mistake is more costly, sometimes troubles can not be avoided and sometimes trying to stay away of those wouldn't get other's respect and not even self respect. Sometimes one does not do so much but achieves a lot. is it fair. No. That is how it is in the life. I would not call racing unfair, I would call it racing to the extreme. What I would have hated to see was laying back and not going for it and not taking risks. This is the F1 I want to see even though the result is not always the best. It is never good for everybody. It is not a priest's wish. What a fresh shower after the boredom of Valencia.

Lewis got an advantage out of his move on Kimi, he ended up much closer than he should have been just before corner 1. I think he should be penalised as this has happened before, ask Alonso.

The result would have been the same as his car had much better handling in those conditions, but if you take the rulebook and previous similar investigations the decision is pretty obvious...except for his fanboys of course.

Sorry Ricardo - even James"Mrs. Hamilton" Allen states that the McLaren has an advantage in those circumstacnes.

- Having said that - I don't believe anything else that twat says - why should I believe that?

McLaren does have a "free" engine swap available, for both cars, and Ferrari has one for Massa. Only Raikkonen used it already AFAIK.

Kimi second would have been a "better" result, I agree, he deserved at least to be in front of Massa and on the podium after his race.

Heidfeld performed very well all weekend, I guess he will keep his seat after all. Perhaps likewise for Bourdais.

Great race from Alonso, to. They switched him too late to intermediates, apparently.

It's not "all car" and it's not "all driver"

Why do you tedious fanboys have to reduce everything to black and white.

Lewis screwed up today, so did Kova, so did Kimi. Massa didn't screw up as such, but was just too slow compared with the front two. The end result was a great finish to the race.

Being unable to admit when someone's done a good job just because you don't "like" them is horribly immature. How old are you BTW?

Ben

Isn't this a better result for Ferrari fans than if Kimi won? Hamilton would gain 2 points on Massa regardless whether they finished 2-3 or 1-2, but if Kimi had won Ferrari would have the problem of having both their drivers fighting for the championship & taking points off each other. Ferrari are free to concentrate all their resources on Massa now & Kimi is more likely to take points from Mclaren than Kova is from Ferrari.

As for the 'investigation'.. I hate to think what today's stewards would have made of Gilles Villeneuve vs Rene Arnoux.

Craneboy and his fanboys wish Kimi should have let their hero past so he would not have needed to take plan B into action (cut the chicane).

So it's easy to forget about the last couple of races where hamilton didnt have an anwser to massa so it seems. We will see but i think lewis won't get it easy against massa.

I think it's a combination of both. Lewis is a great wet weather driver but I think the McLaren car too is superior to the Ferrari in the wet and that makes Lewis look even better than he is. This was a similar situation to Nürburgring 2007 IMO with Alonso and Massa. Massa dominated the race in dry but when it started to rain he was lost. I know what people think of Massa's wet weather ability but I think that is partly unfair and I do think Alonso's superiority there wasn't just his but also the McLaren's. The same here today.

I think both Lewis and Kimi were too focused on not spinning out to think of any of the cynical tactics we have seen from a couple of ex-WDCs of recent memory.

When did WCC stop mattering?

They would have been banned for life. The FIA knows that such entertainment is not good for the sport.

His wing wouldn't have been broken if he didn't use Jarno's Toyota as a ramming target.

I was certain that McLaren would have an advantage at the end as every one was on the harder tires, and it started to rain.

If it´s colder than expected - Advantage Macs

If it´s hotter than expected - Advantage Ferrari

Try to remeber it. It makes following the races more intresting...


-J

Any vids of the race on youtube yet?

If there had been wall in place of runoff area there would not have been a move in the first place.

When did it EVER matter?

Bog off you big girl's blouse, this is F1, Hamilton wanted to pass, Kimi didn't want him to so he ran wide in the first part of the chicane forcing Hamilton onto the run-off. Hamilton slowed down out of the chicane, let Kimi past, pulled in directly behind him to show he wasn't going faster, then Kimi outfoxed himself going into La Source compromising his own braking, and Lewis took the inside and got past - Nothing to investigate if it had between between Hamilton and any other team car but a Ferrari.

It's all on Lewis if the tires fail though right. Anything to make him look bad.

Funnily enough, if Hamilton had pitted for tyres instead of taking on Kimi at the chicane, he would have won easily, and maybe Kimi would have been second.

It’s interesting to look at the lap times for the final lap – fastest was Glock 1-59.4, then Heidfeld 2-01.3, but Alonso did 2-22.3, despite pitting for inters. I don’t know what happened to Alonso, but he must have made a mistake but still finished 14 seconds behind Massa and 29 sec behind Hamilton. So if he had lapped around Glock/Heidfeld’s pace he would have been easily second and maybe even pressured Hamilton into a mistake.

What Hamilton did was the same Alonso did at Suzuka '05 with Klien, jumped the casio chicane, got advantage, slowed a little bit but just enough to pick up the slipstream so he could overtake in the First corner, exactly the same situation, I don't think it is very sportsmanlike knowing that you gained speed by cutting the chicane but I don't think there's a rule about how many cars should be let once you do that...

Both Raikkonen and Hamilton went wide at Pouhon, and Raikkonen didn't gain any position there, what happened is that he braked earlier in Stavelot, Lewis went wide into the grass, Raikkonen went ahead but found a Williams in his way, then at the exit of the second corner of Stavelot spinned and Hamilton regained the lead. So both were far from perfect but Lewis still kept the car on the tarmac in the final laps.

No heroes today, Bourdais started well but fade away with the rain, just like Alonso who made a mistake pitting on the last lap as he could have scored a podium had he stayed on hards, anyway it was an exciting finish with Vettel 1 tenth of a second behind , and Heidfeld didn't shine through the race but was smart enough to pit two laps before the end of the race...

Anyway, great race and great track

Hammilton comments about Kimi:

"He pushed me wide," Hamilton complained. "I was a little bid ahead, he could have been fair.


"He pushed me so that I either went into him or off. I then let him past on the straight. He was ducking and diving left and right by I got past. Then he hit me from behind on the apex."

I will take the stewards' decision whatever it may be. But my secret hope is that all those people who say they'll never watch F1 again if the FIA does xxxxx would really leave. not that they ever will.

err...sure...

shouldn't you be under a bridge somewhere?

Yes 90% of those who criticise the most on this forum can't imagine just how difficult it would be to race any kind of single seater in those conditions never mind a current F1 car without any driver aids and dry weather Bridgestone control tyres.

Maybe Ferrari should have used the hard tyre for the second stints of their pilots. The seconds stints were short ones compared to the 3rd. It would have been nearly impossible for Lewis to pass Kimi on a dry track and, looking at the weather, they would have been on better rubber when the rain came.

Hindsight is a great thing.

Correct. Kovalainen had a very, very bad start /first corner (he seemed to break way early), and the incident with Webber was his fault (though the penalty was harsh IMO), but he was pretty much on fire when overtaking, and he was well in the points near the end (the gearbox failure ended his race, don't know if he had pitten for intermediates by that point). He's not as good as Massa, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Alonso, Kubica but he is hardly "useless".

Yes something needs done about those slippery lines and kerbs before next season.

Braking aid, more like.

no, you look at the onboards.. Hamilton doesn't go wide, he had to take to the grass to avoid Rosberg. Raikonnen had to change direction but managed to stay on. If the Williams wasn't here, Hamilton wouldn't have left the track.

Exactly, you can carry this over to some of the FIA people as well, I'm afraid they just don't get it.. starting to hand out penalties in such conditions (last part of the race) is very very strange call for someone not in driver's seat to make..

Alonso did 2-22.3 because he pited "clever" Hamilton fan.

You certainly could buy a clue or two so hopefully momma will give you a dime. Hamilton wanted to pass where it was not possible because Kimi was there so he made the decision to cut the chicane (=cheat) and gained an advantage for the next corner. If Craneboy had taken the bus stop correctly like Kimi he would have been nowhere near him on the straight and not had a chance to pass at La Source.