Imperious Lewis thrashes the lot of them at a wet Silverstone

Just a "stub" for now to say what a thoroughly resounding victory that was from Lewis on a day when he was in class of his own. The boy was back to his very best once again in the rain, and he produced a result against a backdrop of the heaviest out-of-the-car pressure he has probably ever experienced. And in front of his home crowd at a packed Silverstone.

While everything went so well for Lewis, the same cannot be said for almost everyone else, especially Heikki and Ferrari who had a shocker. Felipe doesn't seem to "get" wet driving at all - he spun so many times I lost count. Then there was that decision by Ferrari not to change Kimi's tyres which, to my mind was the turning point. It was an error which had the McLaren pitwall pinching themselves...

I'll leave it to you for now...more later... 

Comments

[Derek Smith]

That was a brilliant race. My friends and I were calling out to the television. So much to consider but that can wait. There was excitement all the way through. The only rather boring bit was LH's drive. Everyone else was well worth their money. Massa stunned me with his apparent ineptitude. I was just becomong a big fan of his. I might wait a bit now.

Ferrari! Both drivers lapped. Piquet's speed. It's all very confusing. And fascinating. More of the same, please.

[IDR]

It seems there is a new RainMaster. The best races by far by Lewis, both with rain.

Congrats to all Lewis supporters.

Ed I counted it...

5 Spins for Felipe Massa a new record for F1 History! The former leader of WDC2008 driving as a novice...

Another sad record, (at least for me) is the race of Kovalainen. It's starting to seem to me he will never have the nerve to fight for 1rst. Nothing to blame today, no bad luck, correct strategy... it's just the driver. I'm so sorry for him. (And for my 300 bucks I bet on him!)

Great Rubinho!!! I'm quite happy seeing him at the podium.

Ferrari, a disaster, wrong strategy, bad race for Massa and Kimi struggling with the tyres.

As Fernando. He made the wrong choice on tyres, also. At least he have been cold enough keeping as much points as he could.

At the end, nice race, some emotion on the track, not very usual. Much more open championship than previous one, by far.

Congrats to all english supporters. Today, the Union Jack covers all F1 enviroment!

[colin grayson]

when the going gets tough ..the tough get going

[Samuel]

Great victory for Lewis, but to my mind, he needs to calm down to be as consistence as he was during the early stage of the last year championship. He has the ability and the posisbility to win this championship only if he goes slow and steady- consistency...

[Istiak Siddiqui]

Well Done Lewis! You just got to focus now! I remember last year your ONLY focus was the championship but this year you have been sending mixed signals! Hope i am wrong so just focus on F1 solely

[indalecio]

Yet another strategic fiasco at Renault...this time, a shower started arely two minutes after they had chosen not to change Fernando's tyres. I thought they had climate stations and forecasters...

[colin grayson]

how well deserved was that then ? what are the british gutter press going to say this time then !!![ for our spanish contributors whining from the alonso camp is nothing compared to what the british press say about any british successes ]

and well done alonso , for the first time the season a good drive , no stupid mistakes , got the max out of his car , didn't hit anyone , kept it on the island , in other words kept his head ; pity about the tyre gamble not working out but the teams best shot for an exceptional result I fully agree ; and in his team's home grand prix !!! [ for those who didn't realise , despite having been bought by renault , RenaultF1 is a british registered company , english speaking , some 80% british staff

and I notice in recent financial reports that despite reports here that the team is underfunded , in reality it is the highest funded of all the uk registered teams [ including ML !]

[Anon]

Well, three drivers tied at the top, and I'll get to see one of them win at Hockenheim! Yup, I'm gonna be there in real life. I imagine it will be Kimi, as he hold the lap record there. Lewis is definitely on fire though, so it will be interesting!

[Ray]

I wouldn't wanna be Massa in the Ferrari garage after that race! Talk about embarrassment of the season.

[Lewis Hamilton Fan ( PeterB)]

A fantastic win by Lewis in difficult conditions

I still think Monaco was his best win to date

Just Keep on winning

[PT Fan]

What a superb race, well done Lewis fans, another Brit, Mark Webber produced the most amazing overtaking action seen for a long time, consistent, on the edge. Mark Webber - Man of the grand prix!.

[Bob M]

The feature of this year is the "ding-dong" nature of the championship. Remembering last year's Ferrari performance in the 2nd half, I would be looking for a strong come back from Kimi and Felipe. What makes the 2nd half so much more intriguing is the inclusion of the 2 new venues.
Personally, I was amazed by the performances of Heikki and Nick this w/e. To me Heikki was very disappointing in France (in practice). THAT was his opportunity, given Lewis's penalty. At Monaco I thought Adrian Sutil had booked in to replace Nick H for BMW in '09. Nick's performance that day was difficult to work out. Admittedly, his Canada performance was much better.
This season remains WIDE OPEN. the only prediction I will make is that it will go the wire. Lewis needs to continue building his "maturity" in the second half of the year. It will be good for the sport if that happens.

[brendan stallard]

Lewis was MIGHTY!

Lets see what the antis can find to gripe about that.

brendan

[ALLMAN]

I wonder why there were rabbits crossing the circuit, tows in the middle of the track and they didn't take the Safety Car out. Oh, I almost forgot, Lewis was leading the race and that is more important than the safety of all the other drivers. England prevails!

[colin grayson]

sorry indalecio , but the decision NOT to change tyres at the first pit stop was alonso's , not the team
he wanted to gamble , should his team overrule him ? that's another matter !

on the other hand when he came in a few laps later for new tyre he asked to be filled to the end , and that seemed to work out

[Phil H]

Lewis is almost untouchable in the rain, he's completely annihilated everyone at Monaco and Silverstone now, and he won easily at Fuji last year. I bet he's wishing it rained at every race.

[AMAY]

I have to recognize that Lewis has run today one of the best races in his life. I enjoyed the British GP. Rain always helps to give emotion to the races.
Anyhow, just two points to discuss about:
- Lewis has to thank to Webber in the start. He was so worried about Kimi that left the gate open to LH. Then Hamilton performed a perfect race.
- Fernando should be happy if LH&McLaren win the championship. It's the only way that Ferrari will give him a seat for 2009.

[Anon]

"and well done alonso , for the first time the season a good drive , no stupid mistakes"

HA! Beautiful! Well done! Statement of the year!

Where were you in Australia pal?! Or Turkey?!

Pfft! Some people manage to say things that are so stupid I doubt their seriosity!!!

[Juan]

Fantastic race by Hamilton. Awful Kovalainen. I think he just dont have the stuff he needs to.

And for Massa..., it seemed the driver was a kart beginner. Ferrari really needs to think about this guy.

Finally, a fantastic job by Alonso. No mistake and thinking cool. I think he just have admited this year is already pulled off.

Ferrari&Alonso for 2009!

[Alex]

What a stellar drive from Lewis, even the Spanish TV commentators were getting excited. "LLLLLewis Hamilton, INCREDIBLE!"

A shame for us all that Kimi did not get new tyres and pass him in that pitstop, the subsequent fight would have been something to behold......

[B Cave]

Anon, I would have thought you would have given up the predictions by now. Amazing to me how certain you are when you really know nothing.

Anyway, well done Lewis you beaut!

[Hank]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant Lewis! What will the gutter press be saying now?

[arch]

so what have we learned; more yachting days outs, more sport-shoe contracts, more chinwags with old political prisoners, and more rain ... there's a championship to be won here.

[javiervivaespania]

Interesting race and great victory for Hamilton.
However we should not forget that Magic was the salt and pepper of today. His masterful driving with a perfect and academic style will remain for the textbooks of Formula 1.

Hamilton took unnecessary riks overtaking and doubling everyone. He could havel ost everything and make everybody cry in England.

It is clear that Ferrari needs urgently our Champion.

[indalecio]

Sorry Mr. "Colin Grayson", but I doubt it was Alonso's decission (or at least, alone). In the Spanish TV we heard Alonso through the Car's Radio asking for a pressure change in the tyres just before the first pit stop... (so we thought he was goin to change the tyres)
And do you seriously think that he gambled against the weather forecast of his team??? I really doubt it very much. Nelsinho did change the tyres, but he pitted wen it was already raining.

[B Cave]

Arch, love your comment!

[F1-Insider]

If ever a driver deserved to win it was Hami today.

For the older F1 fans it was almost like watching Senna how he handled the conditions.

Masterful (I wonder what Alonso is thinking tonight)?

What a difference racing at Silverstone in the wet, not a single safety car to mess with the results.

Big disappointment with Hikee though, doesn't seem to have the race craft needed to warrant being in a leading team.

[Weasel]

@ Derek Smith

So when Lewis out paces the entire fields and laps everybody up to third place, and, as Ed says, is in a class of his own, the best you can do is call it "rather boring". Please enlighten us idiots who thought that Lewis drove a superb race, just what does he have to do to please Derek Einstein-Smith?

The word you were looking for does indeed begin with the letter B and you used it to describe the race - Brilliant. So just what is it about Lewis's race that wasn't?

[Richard]

When Ross Brawn, after spending most of his career working with Schumacher, is so amazed by a driver's performance, the 'armchair critics' should take notice.

Lewis Hamilton demonstrated his ability emphatically today. I hope his detractors can find it within themselves to finally accept what an incredible talent he is. Judging by their deafening silence on this blog, I doubt it somehow.

[Anon]

Absolutely B Cave. I'm sorry I made a prediction. I'll refine mine now. Is this one OK?

Lewis
LEWIS
LEWIS
LEWISLEWISLEWISLEWISLEWIS

B Cave, I'm surprised that you dare say anything. I made a prediction. It was wrong. So was everybody else's.

Except you.

Why weren't you wrong?

Because you didn't even dare predict Lewis would win.

And here you come criticizing me for having made a wrong prediction.

Like you did any better.

I think you should behave yourself more like Derek Smith or D if he was here. They know how to be glorious in vicotry. You don't know how to say your opinion. You only say it after-the-fact and criticize others with I-told-you-sos when you didn't say ANYthing.

Sad. but hilarious as well.

TO anybody who reads this and thinks I'm a sore loserr, let me say this:

Lewis's race was the MOST deserved race win possible. It was BEASUTIFUL. In fact, it is the most impressive showing of the year so far it was so darn amazing and perfect. And I say this with all of my heart and very SINCERELY,

Anon

[colin grayson]

indalecio ; renault say they let alonso make the decision in their statement after the race ; you think they are lying ? judging by his record he would be screaming by now that the team made a mistake ; the fact that he has said nothing demonstrates that their statement is correct

javier , you don't have a champion ...only an ex-champion

[IDR]

GREAT WIMBLEDON!

Rafa did it!!!!

4,50 Hours of pleasure, nobody wanted this match finish!!!

RAFA you did it!!!!

(Sorry I know this is not the Rafa Nadal Blog, but I'm realy happy to see this incredible match)

[Verbal]

Another tactical mistake by Ferrari on Kimi, I think just as it showed last year, they are missing Ross Brawn. Kimi was taking the fight to hamilton until that point...remember fuji 2007, on the other hand look at what Brawn did with Barrachello...well done boys! Hard luck webber. Lewi did well, he does in deed seem to have something in the wet.

[Derek Smith]

Weasel,

The point I was making, rather crudely I felt, was that Lewis was in a different race. After the first pit stops he was unchallenged, not only for position but for ability as well. The boring comment was meant slightly humourously as there is a grain of truth in it as I had no doubt that he would win so to that extent ihis drive did lack a certain edge of the seat excitement.

And, just in case you missed the second point, I feel he was well worth his pay.

Further, I would just like to add that I was a bit of a child prodigy in maths and can still add up a column of a dozen 8-digit numbers in my head quicker than it can be done on a pocket calculator. I'm bemused how you managed to deduce this from my postings on these forums.

[Marilyn]

What a fantastic race, Lewis was brilliant. No doubt his detractors will call it a lucky win. So what say the media? I can see the headlines on Monday. Hypocrites, try to support him when he is down, not only when he wins. Well done Lewis, keep going you can do it.
Heikki, Heikki, Mclaren will not win the constructors with this chap on board.

[Anon]

"I think we made one mistake," Raikkonen admitted.

Now THAT is understatment.

[Juan H]

Richard,

IDR, the second person writing in this thread who happens to be Spaniard and an Alonso supporter, as I am, already congratulated Lewis; even called him a RainMaster. Many of us recognize Lewis as a very good driver (otherwise how could he match Alonso last year in his rookie session?).

Probably if Ferrari had not make the tyre mistake in the Raikkonen first pit stop things would not have been that easy for Lewis. But that does not mean a thing now, and he (and the team) fully deserved the win. Congratulations to Lewis supporters.

Interesting that Renault&Alonso made the same mistake that Ferrari&Raikkonen. Do they have hired the same weather assisstant?

[Alastair]

Kimi was reeling Lewis in until that abortion of a decision to stay on the worn inters... what kind of weather Radar do Ferrari have? They should have looked on the map and seen that they were in "England" then at the calendar and seen that the date was "July" and they would have know it was going to rain again.

[delightfulmiles]

I am still in amazement of the Lewis Hamilton's Silverstone victory. There will be some data analysing going on amongst all the teams in the next few days to investigate why they were so off race pace.
Even Ross Brawn was impressed.

Excellent result for Rubens,who still has the spirit and I hope this could be continued for the Honda team. His experience paid off today.
Ferrari had a bad day, and they know it.
But dont take your eyes off Kimi.
At this stage of the season with the result's so close.
Kimi will stike back in this second part of the season.
Can Kimi emulate back to back titles as did fellow countryman Mika Hakkinen?
Mika my all time favourite driver.

[nicki, california,usa]

Congratulations to Lewis for a superb race! This is according to Spain's broadcasters. I'm an Alonso fan, however, i recognize whoever does a terrific job. So here: congratulations to Lewis from me.
Alonso is improving, he'll go to BMW next year.
And a great performance to Ed Gorman
for his entertaining blogs. I'm so
thrilled that Nadal won Wimbledon!

[Koj Finland]

There can only be one explanation for the way Hamilton drove today and that is he must have some Finnish blood in him somewhere.
Awesome.

[Alfredo Nieto]

Thoroughly deserved victory for Hamilton, Heikki proved a fluke, amazing drives by Alonso and Kimi and Massa should be looking for a new team next year.

British GP the best race so far!

[Richard]

@Allman - 'I wonder why there were rabbits crossing the circuit, tows in the middle of the track and they didn't take the Safety Car out'

LOL - I can just see it now - a rabbit runs across the track so let's get the safety car out!! And when should the safety car have gone back in again? Maybe when they catch the rabbit?

Some people are so desperate to see Lewis Hamilton lose that they'd prefer to see the racing tainted by the artificial result brought about by a safety car.

We should all be happy that there were no safety cars so we could see a real result for once. Allman, I don't know what you really wanted to happen but it would have taken something pretty devastating to stop Lewis winning today - he totally dominated on a day when all of his main rivals couldn't keep their cars pointing in the right direction.

[McCheets]

Another sublime drive from Hamilton in the wet. He is clearly in the same mould as Senna/Schumacher.

Another anonymous performance from alleged rain master, Jenson.

[MAN FROM THE PHOTOCOPY SHOP]

What a fantastic race! I did enjoy it.

Of course, I wanted Kimi to win but, nevertheless, it was a nice drive by Lewis. Massa was very poor. Also our strategy. "Mea culpa". We should have put a new set of intermediates on first pit stop.

Interesting to see how Kova blocked Kimi allowing Lewis to go through.

However, Germany will be a 1-2 for Ferrari. Unless it rains.

And I can tell you, there are some strong voices within the Ferrari Board (of Directors) asking for a new driver: someone with 2 WDC, if you know who I mean!

You shall see Alonso in Ferrari next year...And remember, you heard it here first!!

IDR, 114 words only.

[MAN FROM THE PHOTOCOPY SHOP]

I forgot: congratulations to the spanish contingent for Nadal's victory. I am a Federer supporter but one has to recognise that he deserved the victory.

Shame I could not watch the game live!

[Matthew]

Ross Brawn is little more than an armchair critic himself. Anyone notice how James Allen continually sucks up to the "strategy genius" or how Brawn was happy to take credit by stating he made the decision to put Rubens on extreme wets? This completely contradicted Rubens who says "After fitting the extreme wets, I was able to overtake the cars in front easily which was a great feeling. Making such a crucial decision at a key time comes from experience and from the team having the confidence in me to make the call". Well well Ross caught telling porkies?

[michael]

Is there any reasonably harsh way for "me" to punnish the whole lot punching the buttons in the director's galerie ??? There must be some way of informing these "..." that this surely cannot be the best they've got. If anyone was to tell a story the way they have been oh boy, and why 4 heavens sake do they not use the split screen (picture in picture) method so that I can remain fixed on the actual story happening on track? sorry, I just felt that this transmission was by far the worst! Well done Lewis please remain silent and just keep delivering everything else will settle then. And stop comparing yourself to Naomi, Willis and the lot, they've been there longer you please just deliver the goods become a veritable champion and make us happy :-)
All the best to you Ed!

[DAVE]

MASSA IS THE WORST DRIVER IN THE HISTORY OF BRITISH SILVER STONE...5 SPINS ...VERY POOR
KIMI...2 SPINS...VERY POOR
WELLDONE,LEWIS...U ARE THE MAN...DON'T MIND ALL THOSE BOYS IN F1
U ARE THE BEST DRIVER...A GOOD DRIVER SHOULD DRIVE WELL IN ALL CONDITIONS...RAIN OR SHINE

[Rob]

PT Fan MARK WEBBER DRIVER OF THE RACE?!

now that takes the biscuit..He's a great chap, nice guy and yes he's made it to F1 so is a good driver but for me he is and always has been totally overrated and let off so lightly.. For years he's been tipped "F1's unluckiest driver" and I just can't see why. As soon as he qualified yesterday I just knew he would either do something stupid with his position or hold everyone up and ruin the race..luckily he chose to just spin.. No bad luck there just poor driving I'm afraid; it's all well and good to overtake when you've got no pressure coming through slower cars but if you can't hold it when you're up the front don't turn up..

As for Lewis, great drive! His confidence and feel in the wet is incredible; brilliant for him and hopefully The Sun can go back to reporting on Jordan's breasts or Big Brother...
Shame for Kubica but great for Heidfield! Kimi impressed me too; the Ferraris were obviously not hooked up but he minimised the damage and stuck it in 4th..not bad

[LAK]

Today's race was out of this world! Congratulations to all British fans! Lewis just proved today that if he does focus and not try too hard, he can win even in the most ridiculous situations. Quite crazy things were happening, hares running about, cars swirling in the rain as if they're driving bumping cars.. what a race! And Lewis still managed to focus and bring it home having lapped everyone else, what a superb result! I really hope this win gives him the incentive to win the championship..

[Maurizio]

I am no Hamilton fan but after a ragged qualifying, his drive on Sunday was peerless.

Ferrari did lose Kimi's the chance to fight for victory (or a podium at least) but that's the way races go.

Shame Heikki fizzled out, I wonder if he'll stay at McLaren next year.

[Kohque]

Hats off to Lewis,

What an massive start! Best of all, he is back to fight for the championship and McLaren is looking strong in a Ferrari track. He went to the grass only once under very heave rain, so no big deal. Compare to Hamilton, I think Raikkonen went 'lawn mowing' twice, kubica kissed the gravel one and only, and Massa spent his time dancing with the rain... (just what I can remember).

The likely decision from McLaren to let Kovalainen being overtaken by Hamilton was the right one. Kovalainen just didn't have the pace and Raikkonen was approaching fast. Hamilton was running 1.5 seconds faster than his team mate. Nevertheless, it was Raikkonen once again the fastest during the first and last part of race and just the stupid gamble not to put a new set of tires deprived all of us from a very interesting fight.

Alonso made a perfect driving and a dumb decision. In the first 15 laps we was setting similar times that those at the front and for a brief moment he was third. His tire gamble was a huge mistake. The second stop came few laps later and the the last set of tires were almost worn out by the end of the race (even Nakajima seemed fast compare to Alonso).

Webber is a very fast driver, BUT he hasn't got the realibility needed to fight at the top yet.

The best I take from all this:

1. Hamilton is back at the top, where he belongs. During the press interview he seemed a bit humbled and relief after so much criticism from fans and the press. Let's see if he keeps it that way.

2. If Hamilton wins the championship, as I hope he does, Ferrari will be force to look for better drivers to replace Massa (Kubica or Alonso).

3. Massa is NOT a realiable driver. If you add this kind of performances to the usual car problems, there is no way Massa can win a championship for Ferrari.

No matter what happens this year, I would like to see these four drivers fighting against each other next year in the best teams:

Hamilton: McLaren
Kubica: McLaren
Raikkonen: Ferrari
Alonso: Ferrari

You couldn't ask for more... :)

[willy]

I really need some help here guys!
I've been watching the race re-transmited on fox channel here in miami, florida. And I heard that they will (once again)retransmit the next race from Germany.

Now, my question is: Does anybody know of any other channel (or web-site) here in the USA where I can watch the race live?
Please, I will really apreciate your input on this matter I'm having!...thanks!

[alawrence8]

Excellent start by Lewis and he had showed some maturity by not pressing the issue with Kovalainen after passing Webber and Raikkonen, and waiting to be better positioned to make the pass on Heikki for the lead.

[Alex Reed]

Hats off to Lewis!! A brilliant drive -- it had everything: a rip-roaring, gutsy start, and really smart yet audacious driving throughout. Good on Lewis! -- put the hammer down now, and go for it!
Poor Kimi was let down by the team's decisions again. And then there was Fernando, making a fine effort only to be undone by the weather report from his team?/the tire decision. And Bravo to Rubens, he made a miracle.
A great race! More, please!
Here's to Silverstone -- a mistake to let it go, but I guess if they can't get it together to improve the venue (this is the 21st century after all, should the fans who come for the race have to sit outside in the rain with no cover?, etc.), the circus will move on. A pity.

[Bog]

Question - weren't those condition for the race to start under the safety car?

[Weasel]

@Derek Einstein-Smith

You made a stupid comment first time out and there is no need to compound your stupidity and dig yourself deeper by posting again. We heard you quite clearly the first time (unfortunately).

As for the British press, Lewis goes from zero to hero in just over two hours eh? You are so fickle, trashy and cheap.

[Kohque]

@MAN FROM THE PHOTOSHOP,

I really hope Ferrari considers Alonso. It is a total waste seeing him racing like his arse is about to catch fire...

I don't know if you really work inside Ferrari team or not. I have no reasons not to believe you though. So maybe you know the seconds a car can gain per lap using the same set of tires compare to a new set of tires under 'soon-to-be-dry' conditions. They must be really good, because otherwise I can't understand how to take such a huge gamble given the downsides (like running under pouring rain).

Raikkonen didn't need to risk 'a lo Rubens'... He was already faster than Hamilton with the same type of tires and right behind him.

[Kohque]

@ WILLY,

I've had similar problems before. I would recommend you ROJADIRECTA.COM or a similar webpage in English. This one is in Spanish, but if you can find the sport event in the main page (a scroll down list in the upper left hand side), just click on the 'Gran Premio...' and choose the 'Webplayer' link (the first one of the list that appears after you click on the 'Gran Premio...', I think). You will be able to watch the online broadcast from ITV.

There many other links to online broadcasts that you can watch using TVants (Eurosport) or TVU Player (Starsports, Wheels), but the Webplayer works best from me.

You must check the website the same day or the day before the event is retransmitted, otherwise you won't find it there (live!).

[Anon]

Willy- there is SPEED TV.

There's been talk of Heikki leaving McLaren, and I sort of understand that, because either as some think McLaren is slowing down Heikki like they did Fernando, or Heikki just sucks. Whichever reason is right is a good one for Heikki to leave.

Heikki's race was pretty bad. His start did look like a team coordination to capture Kimi and allow Lewis through, but hten he didn't allow Lewis through. He also said that Lewis overtook him when he ran wide, so there is no team bias there. And then he spun quite a few times.

His fight with Alonso wasn't too glorious either, as Alonso was on destroyed tires resembling slicks as he put it and running a little wide. It still took Heikki a long time to get Fernando (you have to admit though, that Fernando is king of defensive driving along with Nick, Rubens, and David).

Renault and Alonso should really stop their taking risks crap. It really doesn't work. THy decide on a stupid strategy and get a tupid result and say, "well, it wasn't stupid because it could have worked." Well guess what: it didn't.

What Renault and Alonso need to understand is that a lot of great drives come just from avoiding crashes and calmly going with the flow in terms of strategy. Although Alonso accomplished the first today, he keeps havnig to fight continuously with other cars in his strategies (France, Canada) or asto keep alive his tires (have to admit that that was pretty darn good tires conservation- I didn't know you could keep them going that long without a puncture.)

BMW-Sauber driver hierarchy might really change. Kubica has been really frustrated in these two last races because he really thinks he can win the title (and with being two points away rom the front-runners, doesn't he have a good argument?) But he's sort of lost focus for a bit and that allows Nick to pop back up in the equation. Nick is a really good drier and hard go beat, so it will be interesting.

Ironic to hear Fernnado say that like he said before, anything can happen in a rain race.

His starting position- sixth
End position- sixth.

Felipe's drive today was incomprehensible. Contrary to popular belief, he seems to always have been a great rain driver (Nurburgring, Monaco, Japan, etc.). I couldn't imagine him being a good rain driver. He can't either now.

Again, more BMW or Ferrari talk for ALonso.

I do believe Theissen once said he doesn't want driver who causes problems like Alonso. And their driver line-up right now seems pretty good, as long as Robert doesn't want the Ferrari seat. Ferrari will have to decide between him, Alonso, or Vettel.

But do they really want a replacement? It is true that their drivers have made huge amounts of mistakes, more than Alonso or Kubica.

Kimi: Australia, Monaco, Britain
Felipe: Australia, Malaysia, Britain

ANd I'm being nice on Massa for his spin in Monaco which cost him second.

Anyway, I think it's too early for this. Fernando said he would announce his decision after Italy.

In case he has to wait a year longer, Honda would seem a good place to go. He could partner Barrichello, at least there he won't be ebaten by a rookie. And Brawn's straegies would realy help him.

But I've come to the conclusion that if Alonso wants to win with Renuault, he needs Michelin tires. He is simply much, much better than the rest of the field with them.

Honda: Barrichello has probably staged the greatest comeback in the history of old drivers. The way heis absolutely schooling Button, a highly ranked driver, is astounding: he almost has four times as many points as Jenson! Well, you can detect that like Fernando, Jenson is a little bit put off by fighting for eigth spot.
But like Rubens proved, podium isn't impossible. Interesting that this podium makes him tied for first in the podium standings with Coulthard, sixty-two each.

I think this race really showed BMW still have the juice in their cars. If Robert had held third place, they would have outscored McLaren and taken the most points home.

I'm also wondering what Red Bull must think of David- not only did he manage to take himself out in the first lap, but Vettel too, and Vettel was doing really well. His decision to retire at the end of the season makes it really cruel for Red Bull to kick him out straightaway, but they risk losing fourth to Toyota if they don't.

[IDR]

@ANON

You don’t really need to explain us what do you think about Lewis driving yesterday.

The most of us who follow this blog regularly, know very well what’s your way of thinking. You show, in almost every occasion, balanced thoughts and polite expressions in your comments.

If somebody tries to hurts you, because you made some predictions, and failed, IMHO the best thing is to ignore that kind of comments adding nothing to this blog.

@COLIN GRAYSON

I agree with you, Fernando took part on tyres decision, as always, so he was wrong, as the team.

Yesterday, Ferrari and Renault were on the wrong choice. Nothing to blame, both have largely paid their bad strategy.

What surprises me more is McLaren is doing well in terms of race strategy. It seems to me that they have changed the roles with Ferrari.

Jean Tod, Ross Brawn… too many changes in Ferrari this year. Montezemolo will not be very happy today.

@MAN FROM THE PHOTOCOPY SHOP

Sorry mate, I’m starting to feel myself responsible on your business results!

[Stelmara]

Weasel
I am offended by your comments to Derek, by all means disagree (as you have no sense of humour) but there is no need for nasty comments (after all you have directed them me as well in the past).

Derek
I saw the joke. Why a few revert to these types of comments is beyond my comprehension.

All I can say about the race is (apart from complementing Lewis for his Sennaish like drive) I wish I had stayed at home to watch it as it was wet and windy. These conditions make for a great race but not so much fun for those watching at the track.

Stella

[Richard]

Formula One is healthier than it has been for many years.

However the views expressed by fans & journalists alike seem to lack objectivity.

Having been a fan of F1 for a few years, Brands Hatch in 1965 was my first live Grand Prix.

I would draw attention to the following: Massa & Hamilton have 3 wins to their credit. Raikkonen 2 wins & Kubica 1. These are all contenders to the title.

No amount of exotic prose between races will alter that fact that we have 4 drivers & 3 teams in contention for the title of Champion Driver.

BMW is probably out of it for the team title - but no conclusions should be drawn until it is all over.

I for one am content to admire strong driver & team performances, and to leave any criticism to the experts. (I do not believe that the title of expert can be awarded to anyone commenting on this blog).

Ed. you might like to research whether any driver in recent history has won a race be over a mile and a half.

[Nick Caulfield]

@ PT FAN

Just a small point to mention - Webber is Australian rather than British. That was something which was noteworthy about Melbourne in 2002 - Australian driver in a Minardi owned by Paul Stoddart (Australian) getting 5th place in Australia. Minardi got no points in 2000, 2001 and 2003 which was fairly representative of their pace at the time so you can imagine the party for a 5th place.

[Richard]

Statistics for everyone:-
1st season in F1
Ayrton Senna - 0 poles - 0 wins
Michael Schumacher- 0 poles - 0 wins
Lewis Hamilton - 6 poles - 4 wins

2nd season (after 9 races)
Ayrton Senna - 4 poles - 1 win
Michael Schumacher- 0 poles - 0 wins
Lewis Hamilton - 2 poles - 3 wins

No conclusions please.
Just sit back & enjoy

[Oliver]

What a funny race! I'm glad Lewis did such a perfect job. He was under too much pressure...

Felipe Massa doesn't deserve to drive for Ferrari. When my little son asked me who was that guy in the red car, and I answered "the driver that leads the Championship", he thought I was joking.

P.S: Sorry for the off-topic, but I have to say that yesterday I watched the best Wimbledon final since Bjorg - McEnroe. That kid (22 years old) is the future of tennis.

[Kate C-J]

I wonder why 'Victor' is so silent today? could he be reassessing his view of Hamilton?

What a drive; what a w/e. I'm thrilled about Rafa and thrilled about LH. He drove like a Master.

Ed, is there any way of 'exposing' the cheap hype-creating, character destroying tactics of the gutter press? I know it's gone on for years but it's so horrendous to see them day in day out selling papers through hyperbole and then demolishing the very person they hyped up when they don't perform to plan. We have witnessed them turn on Hamilton; now the process will begin with Laura Robson. It's dangerous when talent is such a fragile thing.

[Felipe]

Great win by Lewis, but what has surprised me most has been the 'spanish rabble' congratulating Hamilton despite some people saying we would call it lucky...

I always maintained that Lewis would have a good race, but didn't realise it could happen after the Saturday he had. The british press (and most country's press, but I think british is worse) is really disgusting, and not just the gutter press. When Lewis came to F1 I took an initial dislike of him because of the English press. They always build up disproportionately and then destroy their stars. Was very glad Hamilton won so that the press could eat their words.

I do think he's got bags of talent, but he definitely needs to sit back and get his priorities right.

Just want to mention Nadal here, the final was epic and fantastic. I actually shed a tear when he won and displayed such emotion... Federer and Nadal are two wondefully talented, hard working and extremely down to earth sportsmen at the top of their game. F1 drivers and other sportsmen could learn a lot from them.

[Tim Nicholls]

You've got to bet on 'more rain' in England. Ferrari - lesson learned!

[Zero]

Well.I want to say some points about all.
First say im Alonso Fan.So its my point of view.

1) Hamilton did a great race.But let me low down a bit the high emotion that people have now around.He was not so bad driver at the start and he is still not so good to be World champion.Things are easy to see...on this race ferrari was not a danger because of their bad strategy but on wet..and there is going to be more races...they will be really more dangerous.Also on rain Raikonen was getting lewis on time,only the bad strategy of ferrari let lewis win without rival.
Also im one that think kovalainen is getting the same problems as Alonso last year like someone told here.The difference is that kovalainen is still a young driver and he isnt a world champion to ask for the equal threatment that alonso could ask for as double champion.More than that,it seems that we spanish are hotter mouth always to say things that finnish people like kovalainen or raikonen,people "colder" or "quieter".So it seems they are better for Mclaren to be the "second" drivers of the mark.
Strange how hamilton passed kovalainen isnt it?.Someone could say "there was no radio or order to let Hamilton pass.Well..that is so childish and innocent answer.Everyone knows his rule on a team or should know it.Remember massa and raikonen last year?.Noone told massa to let raikonen pass to win the world champion but anyone doubt that was going to happen?.
2) Hamilton as always when he reached the first place he is a really nice speed racer.He is confortable and gives always good speed laps.Anyway (and i can be wrong but not too much) i doubt he will achieve the world champion becouse he still have no good brain to manage the races.The difference between a good driver and a world champion is the way they can manage all the situations.Hamilton on rain conditions risked a lot having a good amount of seconds between he and the second racer.And that could ruined all the race for him if he crashed.Just look at massa and a lot of drivers going out over the grass...a really talent and good minded driver could lowered rpm and keeped the car to the next race.I think he was not really intelligent and that is a lack that will cost him again the championship if he doesnt change it and drive more intelligent.On f1 not all is be the faster...on f1 you must be the best.
3) About alonso let me say as fan that he is still one person that knows how to do those things.He almost didnt make one fault on all the race.But i think people need to remember what kind of car is using this year.Bmw,mclaren,ferrari are a lot better cars than renault.So the most he can get is a 7th or 8th.Everything up to that is almost a miracle.And honda,toyota and the other teams havent a big difference with renault on the car.
Anyone can say for example that trying to overtake heidfield on monaco was a mistake of Alonso,but i think he is allowed to take those risks becouse he has nothing to lose.Not the same situation as hamilton that needs to win and each of his points are necesary to win the WDC.

Anyway let me do as Alsono fan for a moment and say "enjoy this season" becouse next year if alonso has a good team the best driver will return.
jejeje.
Greets to all.

[Tim]

Very well done to Lewis Hamilton and McLaren on a dominant victory yesterday. The driving was flawless, the strategy and pitwork were flawless - a perfect performance on a day where it could have all gone badly wrong, as demonstrated by several of the other key players...

I couldn't quite believe my eyes when Ferrari failed to change Kimi Raikkonen's tyres at the first stop. Granted, things always look different at the circuit and Ferrari had access to their own weather forecasting system, but it took my breath away. Presumably Ferrari thought the track would continue to dry out - but why? All the signs were for more rain and there was little doubt that McLaren, with its greater tyre wear, would fit new intermediates to Hamilton's car. Even if Kimi failed to gain an advantage through fitting new tyres, at least he wouldn't have been massively disadvantaged in the way he was shortly after his pit stop - a safe second place and the lead of the championship would have beckoned. However, at least Kimi recovered well and didn't lose too much ground in the title chase.

Which can't be said for Felipe Massa. Much has been written about Felipe's improved form in the last few races and that he's starting to look like proper world championship material on the same sort of level as Hamilton and Raikkonen. On the strength of Silverstone he's still got some way to go. Massa is a driver who, on his day, is untouchable. But he still struggles when he's not out front. it speaks volumes that all but one of his race wins in F1 have been from pole position. The sole exception was the French GP, where he started second and never looked like challenging for victory until the leader developed a problem. Felipe's British Grand Prix was eerily similar to his dreadful performance in Hungary 2006, also in the wet - in fact, it was quite possibly worse. What sets the likes of Raikkonen, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso apart is their ability to salvage something from nothing. Kimi salvaged fourth place at Silverstone after the disasterous tyre choice at his first stop - Massa's mistake-filled performance on Sunday indicated he probably wouldn't have done nearly so well. He took it on the chin and refused to blame the team or his car, but that's about all you can say.

Nick Heidfeld put in another quietly effective race performance to take second. Nick has always been a stronger racer than a qualifier and he fully deserves his seat with BMW Sauber. In view of Rubens Barrichello's performance on the extreme wets, I did wonder whether Heidfeld would have been able to challenge for victory had he been on the same tyres. Wet weather is a great equaliser and allows the very best drivers to shine, which may have flattered BMW Sauber's true pace. They're closer to Ferrari and McLaren than they were this time last year but the driver's title is an increasingly long shot. Having achieved the goal for 2008, I suspect Mario Thiessen will shortly focus his resources on next year.

Heikki Kovalainen was a disappointment. It was no surprise that he was slightly lighter on fuel, given his enormous Q3 advantage, but his lack of pace in the wet was mystifying.

We're halfway through the 2008 F1 world championship. Three drivers - Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen - are now tied on points (albeit with Lewis technically ahead by virtue of more race wins). The scores are effectively reset and there's still all to play for. How will the rest of the season play out? I suspect Robert Kubica and BMW Sauber are now effectively out of the title chase - there seems little point in the team continuing to drive forward development of their current car when the chances of success are so small. Ferrari and McLaren are still on a similar level - we're in for a thrilling end to the year.

[hamilton08silverstone]

lol hamilton is great and he has actually showed his real talent now we can belive in him alll the way i was at silverstone yesterday and watched it at the pits and lewis said i have a feeling i will win today i am going to put 100% efffort in to the race and be completely focused lol unlucy for massa and kimi sad embarrasing lol i
also had a pic with heikki and lewis

[CHIUNDA]

Quotable Quotes on this blog:

Juan H "Many of us recognize Lewis as a very good driver (otherwise how could he match Alonso last year in his rookie session?)." Finally!!! Phew!

Koj Finland "There can only be one explanation for the way Hamilton drove today and that is he must have some Finnish blood in him somewhere." Lewis, Kimi, Heikki, Hakinen - same heritage without the branded blond hair and blue eyes? Eeeeh ...

Kohque "Hamilton is back at the top, where he belongs. During the press interview he seemed a bit humbled and relief after so much criticism from fans and the press. Let's see if he keeps it that way."

For once the word "Humble" appears in the same sentence as "Lewis" and that is a milestone in its own right.

Other important quotes:

Ross Brawn "What was impressive was Lewis's performance in that part of the race, because he was on intermediates, and I don't know how he did it because the rest of them were 10secs off."

At this time, Barichello had called extreme wets and Brawn had agreed and the performance was showing - Brawn knew only driver skill was keeping that McLaren singing.

willy - check www.f1fanatic.co.uk - they have several posts on live online services - u will have to do a few searches though - or just post there and ask Keith, he should point you in the right direction.

[Anon]

Richard-

Senna's Team, first season- Toleman (7th)

Senna's Team, second season- Lotus-Renault (4th, or tied for third)

Hamilton's first team- McLaren Mercedes (1st- we're talking about the car;s worth here)

Hamilton's second team- McLaren Mercedes- looking at either first or second.

No conclusions please.
Jut sit back &enjoy.

IDR: thank you. I guess Spain must be super-joyful, with the Euro and now Nadal. Well, I'm sad for Federer, but oh well. Nice to see somebody else win I guess. Maybe Federer should go get tips from Schumi.

Tim: Felipe also won Bahrain from P2. Got Kubica off the line. Not like that's winning from the back of the grid =).

[colin grayson]

anon , you are right and wrong about alonso needing michelin tyres ...he needs michelin tyres AND a french owned team ; easiest thing in the world for a tyre manufacturer to give all teams the same tyre , but bias it towards a particular chassis , the margins are so fine ; so it is the car rather than the driver that is advantaged

don't believe it ? look at the 2007 results ; without a top driver [ a rookie and fisi ] they had at least one car in the points in 14 out of 16 races ...the other 2 races ? a ninth in one and both cars in accidents in the other ...heikki scored 60% of the teams points

this year ... top driver back , but better glossed over ; 50+ points again in 2008 ? hard to see !

renault F1 hasn't suddenly become a bad team ; nor should they ; with the biggest budget of any UK based team they will be back ; they may have lost their two unique advantages now that same for all has been introduced ...their launch control and tailored michelin tyres

when the team was still called benetton michael schumacher left and took 14 [?] key members of staff with him to turn ferrari from losers to winners , they turned it around with a little help from their friends ; they will again ! have faith

ps to MFTPS , thanks for the laugh of the day ,,usually I rely on javier for that , but you have managed to surpass him for once , heikki blocking kimi to let hamilton through ??? words fail me

pps to derek , don't like to teach granny to suck eggs especially as we are both BOF's .....but irony seems to be a particularly british subtlety , not to be used in blogs ; not so long ago I spent a year touring the USA , and if I ever made an ironic remark people carefully explained to me that I was in error ....so I soon gave up ; if I ever looked tempted to do so again I got a glare from she who must be obeyed !

[colin grayson]

anon , you are right and wrong about alonso needing michelin tyres ...he needs michelin tyres AND a french owned team ; easiest thing in the world for a tyre manufacturer to give all teams the same tyre , but bias it towards a particular chassis , the margins are so fine ; so it is the car rather than the driver that is advantaged

don't believe it ? look at the 2007 results ; without a top driver [ a rookie and fisi ] they had at least one car in the points in 14 out of 16 races ...the other 2 races ? a ninth in one and both cars in accidents in the other ...heikki scored 60% of the teams points

this year ... top driver back , but better glossed over ; 50+ points again in 2008 ? hard to see !

renault F1 hasn't suddenly become a bad team ; nor should they ; with the biggest budget of any UK based team they will be back ; they may have lost their two unique advantages now that same for all has been introduced ...their launch control and tailored michelin tyres

when the team was still called benetton michael schumacher left and took 14 [?] key members of staff with him to turn ferrari from losers to winners , they turned it around with a little help from their friends ; they will again ! have faith

ps to MFTPS , thanks for the laugh of the day ,,usually I rely on javier for that , but you have managed to surpass him for once , heikki blocking kimi to let hamilton through ??? words fail me

pps to derek , don't like to teach granny to suck eggs especially as we are both BOF's .....but irony seems to be a particularly british subtlety , not to be used in blogs ; not so long ago I spent a year touring the USA , and if I ever made an ironic remark people carefully explained to me that I was in error ....so I soon gave up ; if I ever looked tempted to do so again I got a glare from she who must be obeyed !

[Sanstorm]

Hi,
First of all let me say I was at Silverstone for all three days and witnessed the Grand Prix first hand.

I have noticed a few comments that mention Kimi was catching Lewis and the result may well have been different if Kimi had, had new tyres.

Ok so lets tell you how we saw it on the day unedited i.e. without TV Adverts in between the action!

From when Lewis overtook Kovi he started to pull away then Kovi spun allowing Kimi to chase Lewis directly.

Lewis initially started to pull away from Kimi, however he kept the distance between him and Kimi pretty constant for a few laps around 2 to 3 secs, but suddenly Kimi started catching him, we soon realised that Lewis's tyres were going off due to his driving style and the Maclaren being harder on its tyres, whereby Kimi's Ferrari tyres were still good allowing him to catch up to within 0.9 sec.

However, within a couple of laps as you all saw they both pitted.

From a spectators point of view we were still confident Lewis would win if he did not make a driving error as it appeared that when both cars tyres were good Lewis seemed to have the measure of Kimi in the Ferrari.

I hope this clears up some misunderstanding of the events?

[Laura]

Calin Grayson: "and well done alonso , for the first time the season a good drive , no stupid mistakes , got the max out of his car , didn't hit anyone , kept it on the island , in other words kept his head ; pity about the tyre gamble not working out but the teams best shot for an exceptional result I fully agree ; and in his team's home grand prix !!!"--I don't know if you are blind or brainless, i remember you that the pilot who crashed more times with one of the best car was Hamilton, Alonso how many times he crash? and LH how many times he crash?, and mistakes, Alonso don't make mistakes, almost anyone. I don't know if you understand what class of car he has, it is the fourth car and not always. Another think don't worry because we aren't we know that we haven't a ex-champion, i know that you want it, but Alonso is not death, we will see him again next year, he very young still and he won 2 champions. LH did very good yesterday, but what will happen in the next GP, he makes too many mistakes for being a champion he has to learn a lot still. But this year we can see that don't exist a real champion or a very good talent driver, in the best marks.
I don't know if the problems with tyres between Alonso and Renault were mistakes of just one, they are a team, the mistakes make all of them.

[Jorge Lardone]

Congratulations for Hamilton, he did a very good race. But luck was again in his side because of bad strategy tyres choice from Ferrari team for Raikkonen.
Something nobody speak about: Kimi Raikkonen did the best lap in the last six races in a row. Six races over nine!!! I think his traditionaly bad luck is clear, he was the fastest man in the last six races and he deserves to won all, but his luck is not Hamilton luck or Alonso luck.
Anyway, a great formula 1 season, I think all lovers of racing are enjoying it!.

[Weasel]

@ Stelmara

Ah yes, Stella - the taker of offence, the upholder of the oppressed, the arbiter of public morals, the purveyor of outraged indignation, the pit bull of the Ed Gorman blog.

Please stop squeaking and taking umbrage at comments that were not even directed at you.

And now back to the racing - normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

[willy]

Thanks Kohque for taking your time to help me in this matter.
I will try all that you told me on the next race...thank you!

[Sebastian]

An impressive drive from young Hamilton, although peerless he was not. Raikonnen is still faster.

A great race by Lewis. Now he needs to soundproof his ears to the loads of praise and hype and keep his mouth shut for the next four weeks if he doesn't want to mess it up at one of the next two races.

Today we were able to see very clearly that Barichello was to Schumacher as Kovalainen is to Hamilton: a submissive no. 2 driver.

It's a pity Fernando didn't have Heikki as his teammate last year!!! Lewis shows under the rain that he is definitely a worthy driver, though I'd rather see anybody else winning.

[Derek Smith]

Colin,

Thanks for the advice. This old granny is always happy to learn from others' experiences, especially when they are put in such a pleasant manner. I will follow it but I hope you will allow me just one more indulgence.

I reckon that Lewis' victory was down to luck, as some posters have already pointed out. He was lucky to be so consistently fast in such dreadful conditions. He was lucky that he was able, apart from one minor error, to keep the car on the track when all about them were losing theirs. He was lucky that his tactics were so much better than those of his challengers. He was so lucky that he had the skill to drive his car much faster than other drivers.

One day his luck will run out and he will have to depend on his skills and his team's expertise. Just like all the other drivers.

And now I will folow Colin's advice.

Luck is a strange concept. It can't be bottled, you can't move it about with a stick and in the main, the people who seem to benefit from it are the skilled and those who work hard.

[indalecio]

@Colin Grayson (again)

I do not think they are lying in Renault when they say Alonso took part in the tyres choice, but I have to take then one of these:

1) Renault provided Alonso with a quite inaccurate weather forecast (which I suggested in my first post).

2) Alonso is an idiot (which I do not believe).

So, 1) is my choice. Shame Renault have not spent much on their weather forecasting service (yet again).

[Daniel]

"Javiervivaespania"

Exactly how was "magic" the "salt and pepper of today." ? I assume Magic is Alonso ? If so, how was he the salt and pepper of the race yesterday ?

Standouts were Lewis for putting one tiny foot wrong in the whole race and not losing his head while all about were losing theirs and Rubens for holding it out on full wets and just driving the wheels off that awful Honda !

Does anyone else remember a dreadfully wet Spa in 1992 when Ayrton annihilated the field on slicks (for fourteen laps, forgive me if i'm wrong) in the teeming rain ? Lewis's display yesterday reminded me of that.

[Anon]

Colin Grayson: No. You should know Michelins would help Fernando frmo a tactical, non-corrupt sense because Fernando has a more aggressive style which fits them. Alsao, if he is so helpless on Bridestones, how come he tied Senna last year (and would so obviously have beat him if he had been allowed his pole in Hungary, among other reasons)?

[CHIUNDA]

Richard you asked "Ed. you might like to research whether any driver in recent history has won a race be over a mile and a half." www.f1fanatic.co.uk answers - Hamilton’s winning margin of 1m 8.577s is the largest since Damon Hill won the 1995 Australian Grand Prix by two laps from Olivier Panis.

Kate C-J the role of the gutter press would seem to have forced Lewis to step back and re-examine his PR profile. In this article http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68973 the press quote the young man as being "humbled" - now did you ever think Lewis would be that moderated. All the bad publicity seem to be maturing him up and that is a good thing.

[Colin Lennard]

It has all been said. Lewis was outstanding, is outstanding, and of cause will be outstanding.
Lewis is in his 2nd year, yes he does drive for McLaren, all we need to do is look at his No 2 to see how good he is.
The lad's major problem is the better he get the more people will find fault, mind, if it doesn't happen then I'll be worried. Keep it up Lewis, I love the example you are setting.

[Max]

That was a very good perfomance by Lewis, perhaps over the top, if you judge the perfomance by the other drivers. The best, undoubtedly is yet to come.--Give him one more year and we will see his real Metal when he realizes he is as good as Ayerton Senna.

[colin grayson]

derek , wasn't it gary player who said , it's strange , the harder I work the luckier I get

what a pity lewis didn't have ANYBODY else as a team mate last year

yes , when lewis's tyres wore down kimi was faster , but he couldn't catch him , could he ? you only have to watch regularly to see that the ferrari is easier on it's tyres [ longer wheel base ?]

no , alonso is not an idiot , but he chose to gamble ; up to him ; weather forecasting is not an exact science

ferrari could see that the only way to catch lewis was to hope the rain after stop 1 was brief and would advantage worn inters ; didn't work that's all ; have read somewhere that a team other than renault and ferrari considered this strategy ; you pay your money , you take your choice

ross brawn states that he had the cars set up for full wets before qualifying , hence their abysmal results ; would hardly have been logical not to have used full wets under those circumstances !!

[PROF PLUM]

It was a magnificent race and a magnificent drive by Hami, and the absolute best way of responding to his critics.

It's been said in previous threads that he's too much of a risk-taker and too agressive in overtaking. But its that perception that helps him get through - when the driver in front sees Hami in his mirrors then he'll believe that he's going to push his way through and won't be so determined to defend. Whereas, even if Kovi is basically just as fast, he surely isn't as agressive and drivers in front will believe that if they defend hard enough he won't come through.

On Sunday, I was relieved to see that Kubica can after all make mistakes. Also, it was bewildering that only Rubens ran on extremme wets - the margin was huge and I'm just puzzled that no-one else went for it.

[Arundel]

I am amazed at the strength of vitriol posted here by fans of one driver or team versus others. It's a race, people. Not life and death - and it's over.

[Chris G]

It's not difficult to notch a greatest ever win win it is only your 8th... we can talk about it being hreat whenever Lewis has 30-50 races finished on top of the podium. Let's not get ahead of ourselves...

[Anthony Davis]

I am truly sold on this young man's ability to dominate a race. If MacLaren continues to produce winning vehicles and strategies for the remaining races, I cannot see how young Hamilton can lose. His worse enemy will be himself, if he makes mistakes like the one in the Canadian Gran Prix. I love to watch him drive. To witness the precision driving that he uses when taming these circuits is incredible. He can do nothing but become better. Great job Hamilton. Keep up the good work.

[Peter Hermann]

Maybe Hamilton is outstanding. Or maybe just the hidden TC McLaren is using is outstanding. And the guys who program the ECU to simulate launch control. How about that? What we have seen so far is: Heikki is faster in free trainings and sometimes, even in qualifying...but in the race, he miraculously falls back. Reminds me of something from last year...
Perfect starts from Hamilton, except for the occasions where he *hits the wrong buttons*. Which wrong buttons? Wrong sequence, maybe? Trulli pointed that out in winter testing already, but it seems FIA prefers to stay blind and deaf...of course, Hamilton winning his home GP is good PR. Brings a lot of money to FIA. So come on let the guy have his hidden TC, its good for the buisiness, and there is still some time left to bring it out into the open in time..so that the Ferraris can win. One of them, that is. You still think that F1 is about the best driver or car? Come on mates, don't be so naive...right now, it seems to be a good idea to be a Hamilton fan. But don't be too sure. This can change quickly...depending on what is good for FIA. Or Bernie.

[Lucy]

What a great weekend with Lewis and Nadal both winning, made me very happy.
I think people need to accept that Heikki doesn't seem to have the same skill and determination to win like Lewis and Kimi, You can't blame Mclaren for that.

[Carleton Twitchell]

Now first there are a lot of spelling misteaks in this nytes blogh so lets all studdy harde and inpruve two marrow OK ???:)
No really , I didnt read many , if any but got the jist of it , what!! ...the bad news was that Lewis really did HAVE traction control...the GOOD news is that ITS HIS BLOOMIN' RIGHT FOOT and I guess all the other drivers are NUMB FROM THE WAIST DOWN cos they spun so Bloomin' much . Period.

He did actually look like Schumi in a Benetton in the rain ...Alesi also sprang to mind ( didnt he win his sole race in the rain??)..Hunt v Lauda at Fuji too ,definitely.
So 3 top drivers all on 48 pts ... it wants Kovie to up the ante now and take pts from Ferrari/Bimmer ...please !
DC's pace has def dropped off now he knows hes out to pasture /stud.
Cant be bad ...wonder whats Auntie pays these days ...a good view of every race...tho to keep carbon footprint down viable to comment on TV feed in his garden shed ??? No?
OK enough plonker-pulling for tonite ...desertion the bitter part of Valor...que? Cheers Guv!

[Tim]

Daniel - I remember the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix, but my recollection of it was rather different.

The race started dry before the rain came. As most of the field pitted for wet tyres, Ayrton Senna stayed out on slicks in the hope that the track would dry out and he wouldn't have to stop again for new tyres. It was a gamble and, although Senna drove astonishingly well, it didn't pay off. The Brazilian was caught and passed by the Williams-Renaults and eventually had to stop for wet tyres himself. Ayrton eventually finished more than a minute adrift in fifth place, only a couple of seconds ahead of Mika Hakkinen's Lotus. The race was won by a young Michael Schumacher, who had called his tyre choices exactly right (helped by a brief off allowing him a glimpse of team mate Martin Brundle's worn rear tyres).

Perhaps Donnington in 1993 is a more apt example? Senna dominated that race while others (notably Alain Prost) overreacted to the changing conditions, stopping for new tyres for seven times during the race...