Your Reject of the Race - Germany!

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 12 Jul 2009, 23:21

Lewis Hamilton gets it from me. He threw away McLaren's best start all year and a potential podium by trying to win the damn thing by the first corner. Not only that, but he negated all of McLaren's developments for the Nurburgring because Kovalainen wasn't using them, and Hamilton spent most of ther ace thirty seconds behind Jarno Trulli. Like when he landed in the hedge at Monaco, Hamilton is making rookie mistakes by being over-enthusiastic the moment he might be on to something.

Klon wrote:Brawn Grand Prix - those stupid a******s, Barrichello's fuel rig stunt was certainly no accident...

I'm going to nominate people like you for Reject of the Race, too. Rather than accept that a) people make mistakes and that b) Barrichello just isn't quick enough, people like you insist on making excuses that implicate the entire team in some dirty dealings ro explain away his poor form. While Brawn won't be unhappy that Button is scoring more points than Barrichello, that doesn't mean they're issuing team orders. Barrichello has already said he'd leave if that were the case, and guess what? He's still there.

CarlosFerreira · Post by **CarlosFerreira** » 12 Jul 2009, 23:27

Captain Hammer wrote:
Klon wrote:Brawn Grand Prix - those stupid a******s, Barrichello's fuel rig stunt was certainly no accident...

I'm going to nominate people like you for Reject of the Race, too. Rather than accept that a) people make mistakes and that b) Barrichello just isn't quick enough, people like you insist on making excuses that implicate the entire team in some dirty dealings ro explain away his poor form. While Brawn won't be unhappy that Button is scoring more points than Barrichello, that doesn't mean they're issuing team orders. Barrichello has already said he'd leave if that were the case, and guess what? He's still there.

Harsh words, Captain. However, let me say I agree overall: the result today dropped Barrichello to 4th in the Drivers Championship and put Brawn in real danger of being overtaken by Red Bull in the Constructors Championship. I cannot bring myself to believe the team would do that on purpose, when they have realised their car is not the best anymore, just to give Button 2 extra points.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 13 Jul 2009, 00:48

My vote: Kimi Raikkonen for continuing his one man crusade against Adrian Sutil. Adrian was in hindsight easily a net 4th and even a possible 3rd and Kimi had to ruin the Force's parade. Maybe he's jelous that vodka isn't the only alcoholic beverage around :lol:

Bourdais came a close second however. In the race where he had to do the race of his life and he failed... epically.

thehemogoblin · Post by **thehemogoblin** » 13 Jul 2009, 01:00

noisebox wrote:Raikkonen for his continuing one man vendetta against Sutil. Bastard!

I'm taking that quote and saying it myself...

Raikkonen for his continuing one man vendetta against Sutil. Bastard!

Popi_Larrauri · Post by **Popi_Larrauri** » 13 Jul 2009, 02:05

CarlosFerreira wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:
Klon wrote:Brawn Grand Prix - those stupid a******s, Barrichello's fuel rig stunt was certainly no accident...

I'm going to nominate people like you for Reject of the Race, too. Rather than accept that a) people make mistakes and that b) Barrichello just isn't quick enough, people like you insist on making excuses that implicate the entire team in some dirty dealings ro explain away his poor form. While Brawn won't be unhappy that Button is scoring more points than Barrichello, that doesn't mean they're issuing team orders. Barrichello has already said he'd leave if that were the case, and guess what? He's still there.

Harsh words, Captain. However, let me say I agree overall: the result today dropped Barrichello to 4th in the Drivers Championship and put Brawn in real danger of being overtaken by Red Bull in the Constructors Championship. I cannot bring myself to believe the team would do that on purpose, when they have realised their car is not the best anymore, just to give Button 2 extra points.

I find the idea of securing world constructor championship over Button's a debatable one, but a strong indeed. My reserves are a) Brawn is losing ground and therefore they expect to defend what it seems to be an easier objetive to, namely, Button's title. This strategy, not knowign (us) the pros or problems Brawn maybe is facing is defendable the same way the opposite Idea: that's WCC is far more important than WDC. In other worlds, to me there is a 50% - 50% or neither of them at all depending the season progress...

and b) Everytime Rubens has a pitwall related problem (except for Turkey & Melbourne, where problems came from no more than himself) always happen when Rubens is ahead of Button (being this the statistically less probable situation of the two posibles). In a team that had no other mechanical problem the whole year than a) Impossibility to find a proper setup for Button in Spain b) Tyre temeratures (or so I read) in Silverstone the Whole weekend (& Nurburgring )and c) Barrichello's Strategy in Catalunya and a fuel rig in Nurburgring (again, for Rubens).

I insist that Button is proving, in general, to be really faster than Rubens this year (past years should be really open to debate) at least. But this team attitudes are so... so coincidental on being Brawn near....

But the Captain made it clear, if Rubinho says he leave at first suspicion... well, if I were Rubinho I would be on Maurice islands layng in the sand with a margarita inone hand and a pitbabe in the other...

Oh, by the way, The recipe is excellent.. only problem is, I don't know why people consumes meat outside Argentina... (it may sound too nationalistic, but in Ricardo Zunino's profile says that we are no more than a patriotic lot...

)

StoneColdSpider · Post by **StoneColdSpider** » 13 Jul 2009, 03:31

even *IF* the team screwed over Ruben Barrichello...
(whch i dont think they did... thoes fuel rigs have been a problem for a long time, smiler thing happened to Massa in Spain with a fuel rig problem and they didnt get enough fuel into the car)
what else would he expect??? this is Ross Brawn afterall, the man who was at Ferrari when Rubens was constantly screwed by the team....
i would have thought Rubens would have been use to it by now

Rubens.... HTFU!

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 13 Jul 2009, 05:24

The thing that gets me is not that Brawn may be issuing team orders - I actually expect them to start openly backing Button very soon - but rather that people blatantly accuse them of doing it simply because Barrichello cannot match Button for pace. Barrichello's radio messages in Catalunya prove that the team still believed he could win it, but the onus was on him to do something about it. In the end, he couldn't. Not because Brawn screwed him over, but because Brawn let Button and Barrichello race each other and Button came out on top. Barrichello might be older, but that does not mean he is slower; Jenson Button just happens to be quicker. And it really irritates me that people out there are looking to diminish the credibility of both Brawn as a team and as a person simply because Barrichello isn't producing the goods when asked. They didn't rig Barrichello's pit stop to fail last night, it simply happened as these things do.

nit · Post by **nit** » 13 Jul 2009, 07:35

it has to be one man, Sebastien Bourdais out qualified by his team mate, first to retire and looking like to lose his race seat.

FW08 · Post by **FW08** » 13 Jul 2009, 08:02

I have difficulty understanding why ppl here find it necessary to blame one or the other on the Räikkönen/Sutil incident. I thought accidents were a part of racing, and blame is necessary only if the move has been blatant?

On that note, I vote for mr. Ham and yet thank him for showing that there is some justice after all. How many times has he done something optimistic and potentially catastrophic going into the first corner? For once he had to pay for that, which is nice.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 13 Jul 2009, 08:32

FW08 wrote:How many times has he done something optimistic and potentially catastrophic going into the first corner? For once he had to pay for that, which is nice.

It's not the fact that he's being optimistic about his chances, it's that he's letting his inexperience as a driver show through. He finally gets a break, a chance for him to show what he can do and bank some much-needed points, and he throws it away. He did it in Australia, when he passed Trulli under yellows and then tried to cover up what happened. He did it in Monaco when he had been quick all weekend and then went for a trip into the scenery in qualifying. And now he's qualified well at the Nurburgring only to try and win it at the first corner rather than use his head - and his KERS button - wisely. Worse, he's carrying all the new parts, the ones that could improve McLaren's season outright, but when he's a lap down and thirty seconds behind Jarno Trulli, McLaren get no data on how the upgrades behave under race conditions. If I were Martin Whitmarsh, I'd be sitting down and having a serious talk with him. 2009 is lost to McLaren, but since the technical reguations largely look set to remain for 2010, McLaren have a unique opportunity to treat the rest of the season as an extended test session and built a decent car for next year.

Lewis Hamilton is really showing his inexperience right now. A mistake like that off the line is something I would have expected from Felipe Massa during his impetuous Sauber days.

wombat · Post by **wombat** » 13 Jul 2009, 08:53

CarlosFerreira wrote:I agree Mark Webber probably overcooked it a bit, but in an F1 car you can't really see outside. Did him and Barrichello actually touch? I was under the impression they didn't.

If you watch the start you will see that Webber had a Brawn in his left hand mirror 9although he did say the mirrors are useless). Could have thought it was Rubens so he moved right to protect the inside line for the corner

Reject - Kimi - on cruise control and then he hits Sutil. Kimi has been around long enough to give a wide berth to a car emerging from the pits on cold tyres. I see Kimi was sucking up to his new sponsor for next year - drinking a red bull after he retired. He might be after Bourdais seat at Torro Rosso

FW08 · Post by **FW08** » 13 Jul 2009, 08:58

Captain Hammer wrote:It's not the fact that he's being optimistic about his chances

I agree with almost everything you wrote. Apart from the section quoted above. I think optimistic is exactly what he is. That has been his style all along. He treats F1 racing like it was a Playstation game. It's like he's thinkig, "well if I crash here now I can always restart the race". I'm just glad he didn't get away with it this time.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 13 Jul 2009, 09:05

FW08 wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:It's not the fact that he's being optimistic about his chances

I agree with almost everything you wrote. Apart from the section quoted above. I think optimistic is exactly what he is. That has been his style all along. He treats F1 racing like it was a Playstation game. It's like he's thinkig, "well if I crash here now I can always restart the race". I'm just glad he didn't get away with it this time.

I'm pretty sure his style of launching has come under criticism before. At Japan last year, for one, when he locked a wheel and forced the Ferraris to go off to avoid hitting him. And I think he did something at the British or French Grand Prix where he absically cut across before he was even going forwards.

noisebox · Post by **noisebox** » 13 Jul 2009, 09:10

FW08 wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:It's not the fact that he's being optimistic about his chances

I agree with almost everything you wrote. Apart from the section quoted above. I think optimistic is exactly what he is. That has been his style all along. He treats F1 racing like it was a Playstation game. It's like he's thinkig, "well if I crash here now I can always restart the race". I'm just glad he didn't get away with it this time.

I kind of agree - except that he is fully aware that he doesn't have the pressures of a championship, so when he gets a sniff he'll really go for it. Had Webber not tagged him yesterday (and I don't blame either of them for that - just one of those things) he would've taken the lead...

FW08 · Post by **FW08** » 13 Jul 2009, 09:39

Captain Hammer wrote:I'm pretty sure his style of launching has come under criticism before.

It has, but this time it ruined his race, which in my book is just right and proper.

Jordan192 · Post by **Jordan192** » 13 Jul 2009, 11:55

In an extremely literal sense, Sebastien Bourdais.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 13 Jul 2009, 12:58

I say Hamilton for ROTR. For the first time since Bahrain (I think) he has a decent machine under him (Monaco doesn't count because although the McLaren was good there, it still sucked aerodynamically, it just didn't count there), and what does he do? He clips Webber, cuts a tyre, and his race over. Well done. It was just too overambitious for a guy who really could use a good result, and showed that Hamilton is still prone to some very embarassing rookie errors.

I think Bourdais should get a mention too: probably his last drive in F1, and he was completely anonymous, well off the pace, and retired early. I think he thought he'd be replaced regardless of how well he did, which probably didn't help his mediocrity.

The stewards should also get a mention, and they are perfect evidence of how most stewards feel that in every incident, somebody's at fault, even when it's clearly just a racing incident. Fortunately, despite their best efforts, Webber still won.

Much as I like Raikkonen, I was gutted when he a Sutil made contact, it was a real shame. Regardless, I think nominating him for ROTR and blaming him for the incident is silly - he could've given more room, but similarly, Sutil could've just backed out a bit, since he was on new tyres which may have understeered him into the Ferrari.

I also think nominating Barichello's outburst for ROTR is silly - it was perfectly reasonable from a guy who probably feels that strategy errors have cost him two wins. I've certainly seen far worse outbursts.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 13 Jul 2009, 13:07

noisebox wrote:
FW08 wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:It's not the fact that he's being optimistic about his chances

I agree with almost everything you wrote. Apart from the section quoted above. I think optimistic is exactly what he is. That has been his style all along. He treats F1 racing like it was a Playstation game. It's like he's thinkig, "well if I crash here now I can always restart the race". I'm just glad he didn't get away with it this time.

I kind of agree - except that he is fully aware that he doesn't have the pressures of a championship, so when he gets a sniff he'll really go for it. Had Webber not tagged him yesterday (and I don't blame either of them for that - just one of those things) he would've taken the lead...

To put your statement in a Top Gear sense Hamilton was in Berlin by the time he reached turn 1 :lol:

He had run so wide that by the time he had rejoined he was battling the Ferraris that started BEHIND him. It was already a lost cause by the exit of one (The bump Martin and Jonno mentioned that had cropped up during resufacing probably didn't help either) and the puncture just rubbed the salt into the wound.

Note that he did the same thing in Japan last year except that time he took both Ferraris and his teammate Kovalinen with him and that probably wasn't the first time either if memory serves me right.

MaxZero · Post by **MaxZero** » 13 Jul 2009, 13:56

I want to say Räikönen for another Ferrari-Sutil incident but i don't think it was entirely his fault
I've stopped getting excited whenever Adrian's going well, something always happens and i've never taken disappointment well

For me its the weather forecasts, from what everyone was saying i was looking forward to rain

(then later on it messed up the space shuttle launch that i was gunna watch)

Life w12 · Post by **Life w12** » 13 Jul 2009, 16:46

My Reject of the Race is:
The Nurburgring Pit Exit
That has to be the worst designed pit exit on the F1 schedule
Basically it dumps you out on the racing line in turn one and then run wide all the way across the track because the angle into turn 1 is too shallow to turn in properly. What was Tilke thinking when he designed it? The Kimi-Sutil Cinderella story destroying accident might of been prevented if pit-exit was designed better

shinji · Post by **shinji** » 13 Jul 2009, 19:46

Life w12 wrote:What was Tilke thinking when he designed it?

As far as I know, he didn't. His first track was Malaysia, which opened in 1999. As the people on the BBC coverage kept repeating, this track opened in 1984.

But I agree, it's a mess of a pit exit.

Ben Gilbert · Post by **Ben Gilbert** » 13 Jul 2009, 20:03

shinji wrote:
Life w12 wrote:What was Tilke thinking when he designed it?

As far as I know, he didn't. His first track was Malaysia, which opened in 1999. As the people on the BBC coverage kept repeating, this track opened in 1984.

But I agree, it's a mess of a pit exit.

He probably did create that pit exit, actually.

Before he created Sepang, he created the Mercedes Arena (the 'loop' that begins with the first corner) on the Nurburgring track, probably in an effort to slow the cars down at the beginning of the lap. The pit lane exit was left the same, but due to the new line the cars would have to take through the corner, they would be released virtually on the racing line, so it may well have been his fault.

shinji · Post by **shinji** » 13 Jul 2009, 20:10

Ben Gilbert wrote:
shinji wrote:
Life w12 wrote:What was Tilke thinking when he designed it?

As far as I know, he didn't. His first track was Malaysia, which opened in 1999. As the people on the BBC coverage kept repeating, this track opened in 1984.

But I agree, it's a mess of a pit exit.

He probably did create that pit exit, actually.

Before he created Sepang, he created the Mercedes Arena (the 'loop' that begins with the first corner) on the Nurburgring track, probably in an effort to slow the cars down at the beginning of the lap. The pit lane exit was left the same, but due to the new line the cars would have to take through the corner, they would be released virtually on the racing line, so it may well have been his fault.

So the magnificence that is the Mercedes Arena catapulted him to circuit-creation fame. Wait, sorry, the Mercedes Arena is just a short series of loops in the first sector of a pretty loopy circuit. Why did he get to design Malaysia? Why did he get to design nearly every recent new track?

Life w12 · Post by **Life w12** » 13 Jul 2009, 20:16

shinji wrote:
Ben Gilbert wrote:
shinji wrote:
As far as I know, he didn't. His first track was Malaysia, which opened in 1999. As the people on the BBC coverage kept repeating, this track opened in 1984.

But I agree, it's a mess of a pit exit.

He probably did create that pit exit, actually.

Before he created Sepang, he created the Mercedes Arena (the 'loop' that begins with the first corner) on the Nurburgring track, probably in an effort to slow the cars down at the beginning of the lap. The pit lane exit was left the same, but due to the new line the cars would have to take through the corner, they would be released virtually on the racing line, so it may well have been his fault.

So the magnificence that is the Mercedes Arena catapulted him to circuit-creation fame. Wait, sorry, the Mercedes Arena is just a short series of loops in the first sector of a pretty loopy circuit. Why did he get to design Malaysia? Why did he get to design nearly every recent new track?

Actually yhe Mercedes Arena was built in 2003, 4 years after Malaysia, and Tilke's first track was the A1 ring in 1997

Ben Gilbert · Post by **Ben Gilbert** » 13 Jul 2009, 21:13

Life w12 wrote:
shinji wrote:
Ben Gilbert wrote:He probably did create that pit exit, actually.

Before he created Sepang, he created the Mercedes Arena (the 'loop' that begins with the first corner) on the Nurburgring track, probably in an effort to slow the cars down at the beginning of the lap. The pit lane exit was left the same, but due to the new line the cars would have to take through the corner, they would be released virtually on the racing line, so it may well have been his fault.

So the magnificence that is the Mercedes Arena catapulted him to circuit-creation fame. Wait, sorry, the Mercedes Arena is just a short series of loops in the first sector of a pretty loopy circuit. Why did he get to design Malaysia? Why did he get to design nearly every recent new track?

Actually yhe Mercedes Arena was built in 2003, 4 years after Malaysia, and Tilke's first track was the A1 ring in 1997

I had a feeling I got that wrong. Perhaps that's why he got the job for every modern F1 track, as the A1 Ring wasn't completely terrible.

It's still Tilke responsible for the Nurburgring pitlane, though.

Jack O Malley · Post by **Jack O Malley** » 13 Jul 2009, 21:21

Life w12 wrote:The Nurburgring Pit Exit
That has to be the worst designed pit exit on the F1 schedule
Basically it dumps you out on the racing line in turn one and then run wide all the way across the track because the angle into turn 1 is too shallow to turn in properly. What was Tilke thinking when he designed it? The Kimi-Sutil Cinderella story destroying accident might of been prevented if pit-exit was designed better

I agree. The Mercedes Arena is not totally bad (given that it was designed by Tilke, and I AM NOT a Tilke fan), but that pit exit needs to be reprofiled. Maybe it could have an hairpin and join the track in turn 2 on the outside and thus not on the racing line.

thehemogoblin · Post by **thehemogoblin** » 13 Jul 2009, 21:24

I always thought the racing at Sepang was pretty good. Istanbul is also very nice. However, some of his creations have been lemons, including Hockenheim and Fuji.

I do have a question for those of you more in the know than I am:

What is the most recent track admitted to F1 that wasn't done or redone by Tilke?

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » 13 Jul 2009, 21:43

I'd guess Melbourne but I could be wrong.

noisebox · Post by **noisebox** » 13 Jul 2009, 21:56

Debaser wrote:I'd guess Melbourne but I could be wrong.

Fuji?
Edit - sorry, just seen previous post, didn't realise he'd designed that track also

RejectSteve · Post by **RejectSteve** » 13 Jul 2009, 22:35

thehemogoblin wrote:What is the most recent track admitted to F1 that wasn't done or redone by Tilke?

Indianapolis, wasn't it?

jackanderton · Post by **jackanderton** » 13 Jul 2009, 22:53

Tilke's first track was the A1 ring in 1997

It's a nice one. I like the contours, the sweeping climbs and falls- it has a bit of character and identity for a relatively new circuit.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 14 Jul 2009, 04:47

jackanderton wrote:
Tilke's first track was the A1 ring in 1997

It's a nice one. I like the contours, the sweeping climbs and falls- it has a bit of character and identity for a relatively new circuit.

Except that it is a shadow of its former self. The original Remus-Kurve at the top of the circuit was incredible, a flat-out uphill tightening right-hander with an earthen bank on the outside and a little left-hand kick over the crest onto the back straight. The A1-Ring bypassed that entirely, and simply made a new, sharper variation. That said, the proposed Westerscheilfe extension was actually going to divert the cars back down the hill, loop around to the old Remus and included a 270-degree loop like something from the Nurburgring in the place of the new Remus Kurve.

rffp · Post by **rffp** » 14 Jul 2009, 14:43

My reject candidate would be Bourdais for the melancholic way to end his mediocre participation in F-1.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 14 Jul 2009, 20:21

Captain Hammer wrote:And it really irritates me that people out there are looking to diminish the credibility of both Brawn as a team and as a person simply because Barrichello isn't producing the goods when asked. They didn't rig Barrichello's pit stop to fail last night, it simply happened as these things do.

Yes, you're right. The only real problem that lead to my "outburst" that it was (if you want to say so: again) Barrichello's bad luck which showed, so it was "easy" for me to assume manipulation with the emotions build up during the race as I was extremely disappointed to see him finish behind Jenson, as I believed Brawn 2009 had reached a turning point in which Barrichello, which I, openly admitted, prefer over Button on any given day, would finally turn around the game and would beat his team mate on a regular basis. Of course it's stupid to actually believe it afterwards, especially if Rubens himself has taken back most of his comments.
So I think your indirect nomination for my person as Reject Of The Race is justified and in a strange way funny, seeing as I am (again, indirectly) the first user to be nominated Reject Of The Race. Can anyone else make that claim?

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 15 Jul 2009, 00:46

Sorry for the outburst, but Barrichello has been disappointing all season. In fact, he may even be a candidate for Reject of the Year. He made a mess of the start in Melbourne, then made contact with Raikkonen. It was only by pure luck and strategy that he got himself into second place. Then he was nowhere in Malaysia and China in the wet, while Button was everywhere. He had a shot at a win in Spain, but couldn't capitalise on it. Then he screwed up the start in Turkey, tagged Kovalainen and spun in a risky move that was never going to happen, and retired from the race. Then in Germany, he couldn't catch Button even when Button's tyres were shot at the end and barrichello had a few laps left in them.

Alianora La Canta · Post by **Alianora La Canta** » 15 Jul 2009, 19:58

I nominate Barrichello as Reject of the Race. Granted, his qualifying was good, but in the race he faded badly. His attitude towards his team was spectacularly bad as well.

watka · Post by **watka** » 15 Jul 2009, 21:03

I don't really understand why Hamilton is being nominated. Having his tyre being cut by Webber going into the first corner suggests that he was at some point almost a full car length in front of Webber. He just got unlucky. And did anyone think that he might have had trouble stopping the car in the first turn because of the tyre?

As for his pace after the incident, his attitude obviously wasn't the best, but you try going fast when you're getting blue flags every 5 seconds. As a driver, I assume that would be very disruptive to your flow, and I think that Hamilton's inclination to "park it" was not a wholly immature one.

ImissJORDAN · Post by **ImissJORDAN** » 15 Jul 2009, 23:18

Stewart wrote:Why are people blaming Raikkonen for Sutil's accident? Kimi made a legitimate passing manoeuver and Sutil understeered into Raikkonen's car. It was a racing incident, nothing more, nothing less. If anything, I'd put the blame more on Sutil for being too cautious into T1 and for not keeping clear of Raikkonen on the exit.

Good man. I agree. I'm no Raikkonen fan, but surely he has the right, being alongside to at least try round the outside? 50-50 incident.

The real reject of the race was Jarno Trulli.

Trulli: 14th-17th
Glock: Pitlane-9th

I know it's dead easy to get mixed up at the first corner, but he had an appalling start, isolated himself with the STRs and Fisichella at the back, probably the least congested bit, and STILL managed to get damage at turn 1. Then he trailed around pointlessly for an hour and a half.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 15 Jul 2009, 23:21

watka wrote:I don't really understand why Hamilton is being nominated. Having his tyre being cut by Webber going into the first corner suggests that he was at some point almost a full car length in front of Webber. He just got unlucky. And did anyone think that he might have had trouble stopping the car in the first turn because of the tyre?

I didn't nominate Hamilton for cutting his tyre, I nominated him for an overly ambitious start which ruined any chance of points he had, a chance he hasn't really had since Monaco, and before that, Bahrain. Sure, his tyre being cut was unlucky, but that was facilitated by his overenthusiasm going to the first corner. I don't think anyone thinks that Hamilton had trouble stopping the car in the first turn because of the tyre, because there wasn't any problem with the tyre until he had mostly rounded the first corner, as that was when Hamilton's tyre was cut. The main reason he had problems in the first corner was because of the bump that drivers have been complaining about going into the first corner. And that was only a problem because the red mist had descended, and Hamilton seemingly forgot, or maybe just missed, his braking point.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 16 Jul 2009, 01:16

watka wrote:I don't really understand why Hamilton is being nominated. Having his tyre being cut by Webber going into the first corner suggests that he was at some point almost a full car length in front of Webber. He just got unlucky. And did anyone think that he might have had trouble stopping the car in the first turn because of the tyre?

Because trying to win the race in the first corner like that is a dumb-arsed rookie mistake, not something a World Champion should be doing. Hamilton should be racing smarter, not faster; he knew he had an inferior car and he knew he had a chance to bank some valuable points. Instead, he decided to be overly-enthusiastic off the line and destroyed his race by the first corner. For me, it's not so much the fact that his start was overly-aggressive, but that after Australia and Monaco, this is the third time this season that he's had a chance at the points and he's binned it.