Go and have your drink.
You don't own this bb...

Just watched a replay of the start - didn't look like it was LH that made KR come off the circuit. It looked like HK!!! WOuld like to watch again though.....

Doesn't that raise a question over safety if they can drive into the pitlane exit like that, imagine a slower car in front who has just released thepitlane speed limiter.

It was silly by Massa, he could have gone on the outside and still have been ahead as he was so quick.

As I said. My common sense really tells me this time we had fair and consistent penalties.

Again we saw how Lewis lost his temper. Stupid move at the start, while he could easly settle for 2nd with Massa behind. Repeat of the history?

Watch it again, Hamilton starts the chain of events.

I missed that....
opinions?

Yes it does raise that question, but in many tracks they do cross the exit to overtake on the inside (see Barcelona, Suzuka etc.). Also remember that the driver coming from the back straight has a good view of whether the pitlane exit is empty or occupied, and if a car was there he would not cross it.

He could have done it on the outside too, certainly.

Agree with you, but the only reason that happened is because LH braked wayyy too late and blocked Raikkonen's line into the corner. (imo)

KR had some damage to his car. Probably explained his lack of pace.

How can you blame Masaa for wanting the inside into turn 1? He was next to the wall, but Webber really squeezed him too much, pushing him further right after the pit wall ended. That was the 'silly' move, not Massa taking the inside line.

How can Bourdais have a penalty when he just kept on his line coming out of the pits and Massa comes up and gives him a squeeze, if anyone should, it should be Massa, but I think they will let it drop or a fine.

True, but if HK wasn't there Kimi could have made it round.

Fantastic Race!

This is the kind of race that reminds me why I enjoy F1 so much!

Isn't that called Racing? After Spa maybe the stewards are trying to ban it

Not much to add. Great from Fernando and very good from Nelson.

Renault's development through the season is maybe the most impressive I've seen, even better than Jordan's in 1998.

Excellent defending from Robert Kubica.

I was very happy to see Bourdais having such a strong race, with Vettel just a fraction behind.

And a good race from Trulli and bad luck for Glock. I loved the Toyota section of the crowd I glimpsed as I came in. Bears and driver models?

-

In all, an interesting race, I thought, in a very attractive setting.

He could just as easily passed on the outside and not have to take that risk.

The thing is with Massa, when he he gets into these positions, you are just waiting for the contact.

Piquet's race shows how great Renault performed today.

That takes nothing from Alonso who drove like demon.

Great clean fight between RK and KR.

Hamilton still looses his cool when it's most needed.

Massa's tried to race Hamilton like he did with Kubica in last lap in 2007. Did not work this time. Penalty deserved. As for Hamilton penalty I have to re-watch the start.

Enjoyable race.

We watched another race then.
Webbo was as far right as he could go, Massa then as soon as the pitwall ended drove into the pitlane exit over the red/white patch.

Well done Alonso, Renault has indeed made a huge step ahead in the past few GPs. Luck was involved today as well but less so than in Singapore. Renault had a great pace as shown by Piquet's 4th place as well.

Idiotic race by the title contenders. The pressure is on and it shows. But Lewis looks like more of an idiot after talking a lot about how he won't do any stupid things...

I think Massa still can be a little more happy today. Starting 4 places behind Lewis he still took home 1 more point and the Championship is wide open, just like before the race.

Am I the only one that thinks that Massa's pass on Webber was not within the rules?
Massa left the track, he passed the white line with all 4 wheels and overtook Webber.

Now if we apply the same logic a lot of people did when Hamilton tried to overtake Raikkonen at Spa, he gained an advantage by going off the track.

Had he not gone off the track, he would not get past Webber and had to try the other side or wait a lap.
What are those white lines for again?

like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSgeHAIniu4

Well, Raikkonen went four wheels over the grass at the side of the straight whilst overtaking Fisichella for the lead in Suzuka 2005, for that matter...

They did not take a shortcut...that's the difference

Totally, just imagine if a car had being leaving the pits it would have being ghastly, this is why its usually not allowed.

Well, what happened today at the start happened in plenty of races before, without penalty.

So, yes ...

A very impressive drive by Alonso and hugely deserved win. He showed why he is the best with this drive. Nelson also drove a great race, shame about the mistake (?) at the end though but a very strong finish by him.

It will be good to see Fernando at Ferrari 2010.

I also have to say I'm dissapointed by both Hamilton and Massa, today none of them looked like they deserve to call themselves WC after this season, I hope Kubica takes it just for this reason.

Sad display by both Lewis and Felipe.

The difference is that in this case, the white lines simply outline the pitlane exit, not the end of the track.

Quite silly to compare cutting a chicane with driving in a straight line, i thought it was silly but no illegal in any way.

Iam a mclaren fan, but have to say today hamilton was a complete idiot at the start. There was no need for that imho. The penalty was well deserved and i support the stewards for that. The move of lewis on Massa was clean and massa was also an idiot today, he got what he deserved. IMHO massa should get another penalty for his move on bordais. There was no need for that. Both guys were complete idiots today.

Webber cleary forced Massa over the white lines.

Yes i think you are, although maybe only James Allen might agree with you.
Brundle pointed out it wasn't intentional by Massa....he was forced over so wide.

Kimi stated that he actually made contact with a McLaren which damaged the front of the car, was it Lewis or Heikki?

ah F1, just take McLaren and Ferrari off the picture and the races are so much more interesting

Three drivers did amazing today, imo.

Alonso, Piquet and Massa

Massa deserves thumbs down for his move on hamilton though (i must say it made me laugh though, now this is something that reminds me of Senna vs Prost rivalry, unlike Alonso vs Hamilton, these guys brought it to the track)

Other drivers that did good were

Kubica, Raikkonen and Trulli unfortunately the t1 move by the mclarens cost kimi any remote chance at the title, he deserved more today, but kubica on the other hand is back on it, if hamilton and massa decide the last two races should be like this one, who knows what can happen? Raikkonen's win last year looked more out of reach than an eventual kubica win this year. Maybe i'm just day dreaming, but so was i last year.

now about Hamilton, what was he thinking? he did exactly what he said he wouldnt do. Man, use your head, you're fighting Massa, not Kimi... and the rest of the race, he never performed like he should...

He was pushed wide by Alonso in the Turn 2, because he is such a moron with no brain.

No, not like this. Massa was way earlier into the pitlane exit than FA here.

No he didn't massa went over the white lines to undertake him.

There hasn't been a single driver to design a car ever (at least not in recent history) so please forget the development skills theory, Renault has simply done a superb job, you just have to see how close Piquet was to Kimi today... I think Fernando hasn't got any doubts where he should stay next year

And that was an epic failure from both Massa and Hamilton

Wait for the stewards decision as they could penalize Bourdais for the same that happened between Massa and Hamilton...

s!

Edit: I forgot to mention Kovalainen had a great chance to win this race, he made his fastest lap (a 1'19''2xx) before his engine blew

surely...
and also this one is alonso vs webber not massa vs webber

He said Hekki hit him

Shortcut or not, he left the circuit to his advantage which clearly is not allowed.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't think there was anything wrong with Hamilton's pass back then or Massa's now, but why are cases treaded differently while they are so much the same?

If you are to enforce the rules, do it in a consequent way.
The same goes for Lewis overcooking it at the start, did anyone ever get punished for that?
Pure nonsense!

That`s not true. Massa had the whole track on the left for himself.

How did LH end up behind the ferraris on lap 1? Watching the replays, he was clearly ahead after turn 1. anyone know what happend?

Ron Dennis declares Japanese Grand Prix was a Circus

That I would like to know too.

1. The penalty was not for running wide, it was for pushing other drivers wide and off the track.

2. Fernando was brilliant. Wish him quick car for next year. His laps after first pit stops were amazing to say the least.

3. R.Kube is another good driver and if BMW made some efforts would be even closer to WDC. Can't believe they retained Nick Heidfeld

Piquet , Alonso

Someone please explain Massa's third pitstop.. thanks..

well, one thing is for sure...

Hamilton's big balls are at it again

From what I saw Webber moved to the right then to the right then to right.............

As I said before, Hamilton was pushed wide by Alonso in the Turn 2 or he make a mistake in turn 2 we was fighting Alonso, because he is such a moron with no brain.

The Japanese production was pathetic. You could tell that they tried to cut costs by not having enough cameras and missed some action that could not be shown even on replays.

The director also seemed to be switching to the cars using a random number generator.

Sheer ineptitude. Formula 1 needs its own team of equipment and personnel at all races to cover the races (in HDTV). Can't rely on local fools.

What about it? He was on a standard 2 stop strategy + 1 driver through for his incident with Hamilton.

Championship standings considering only last 6 races.