Lewis gets pole at a dry Fuji; Felipe is fifth

Lewis did the job with an excellent final flyer to get pole ahead of Kimi and Heikki on a dry afternoon (after a wet morning). On this occasion Felipe could manage only fifth fastest behind Fernando in fourth after losing three-tenths in his middle sector.

Immediately after the session there were rumours in the paddock that Renault were going to protest Lewis for impeding Nelson in Q2 but thankfully for Lewis, who knew nothing of it, this is now believed to be untrue.

Clearly the session has not worked out too well for Ferrari with Kimi on the front row but not ahead of Lewis and Heikki in a perfect position to block Felipe. The start could be interesting and Heikki is going to need a good one. The way things have worked out presents a tricky challenge for Felipe; this is the sort of setting where he can struggle.

Lewis looked subdued afterwards for some reason. The same could not be said of his team and father who were ecstatic to see him improve by a whopping seven-tenths on his final lap. Ron told ITV that he considered this to be Lewis's best career pole.

The qualifying session came amid fresh debate about Lewis's race-driving following criticism of him by Robert Kubica in an interview with a German newspaper on Friday. Looks like this boy is going to be at the centre of controversy all the way to the finishing line.

On that subject I understand that Red Bull have carried out a computer simulation of how the Singapore Grand Prix would have turned out if there had not been a 28-minute delay between the illegal pit-stop by Nico and him taking a penalty. Like McLaren, Red Bull are unhappy about the time the stewards took to announce their investigation and findings, but for different reasons. Red Bull are trying to fend off Williams in the constructors' championship so Nico's points for second are highly significant.

Anyway, the simulation apparently shows that if Nico had taken a drive-through in a more normal time-frame (it is hard to know what that means exactly), he would have finished the race in eighth position and Lewis would have been second, not third.

Comments

[F1-Insider]

A few things will now become clear for all to see:
1) The reasons other than talent some people don't like Lewis
2) How dirty the Ferrari team will play the race with Kimi. On this I personally find the current management of the Ferrari team so much better and openly fairer than their recent management.
3) How much Alonso doesn't want Lewis to win. If Massa passes with ease will reveal loads about Alonso's real state of mind
4) How conservative can Lewis be, will he give Kimi room or really go for it?
5) This race will show more than all others to date what Kovi is made of. I would be amazed (but also happy) if he managed to finish the race on the podium.
6) How the two top teams really perform whilst under the most pressure of the season so far, who will crack first?

So another early morning tomorrow, let's hope the FIA stay clear and that the race director doesn't decide to play with the result and that the best man wins, whoever that is on the day.

[A Parker]

Kubica: another in a growing list of current F1 drivers (especially those in Alonso's poker party) who I am losing all respect for. As someone on another forum said, he sounds like a girl’s pants.

Massa – happy to accept praise for wins that are not really his
Alonso – ‘nuff said
Webber – always whinging about things that he does himself
Rosberg – snake in the grass
Coulthard – shoots his mouth off and gets away with it (Lewis never would saying the same things)
Button – waste of space

Kubica’s criticised Lewis’ driving style as have most of the grid apparently. Mmm, sounds like a heady mixture of mind games and sour grapes to me.

[Alex]

The best part about Robert's strange comments was his assertion that "Alonso had to brake on the straight when Lewis overtook him"

Sad that he cannot handle being overtaken, or was it just the ease with which Lewis did it ?

[Pau]

Interesting comments by the British fans (Insider, Parker).

To me Hamilton is both a great driver and a backstabber since Monaco and Hungary 2007. All the people saying nice things about him won't change my mind. Period.

A lot of people in Spain don't like Alonso because of the way he expresses his opinions, bluntly. But in the UK people think Hamilton is a good God, not only he wins and is a great driver, he is also a great person and blah blah blah blah.

Well let me tell you something: I do not think that personality wise Alonso and Lewis are that different. They are both ambitious, arrogant, and have what it takes to win (or lead) the World Championship. With both the positive side and the negative side. Period.

As for the Insider's comments, I would love Kimi to take the approach of "Lewis, either you let me pass or we are both out". But unfortunately for the fun, it simply won't happen. Fernando did it last year and it was great for the sport (Spa, Brazil ...)

And F1 Insider, it is clear to me that if Fernando is running third and Massa fourth, he'd rather take the podim than give Felipe one useless point. Massa and Alonso are NOT good friends (remember Nurburgring 2007?)

[javiervivaespania]

Smashing session from THE MASTER. He has done something amazing: he will start fourth tomorrow and, beware, he shall try to win.
I will attend church services today to pray for him to win.
And if he does (THE MASTER has a real chance, ha, ha) I will attend again tomorrow.
Our Champion is without the shadow of a doubt the best driver, the best engineer and the best mechanic in the grid, 3 in 1.Ha, ha.
He will turn the world upside down tomorrow and will bring confidence again for all of us, living in these difficult times when the markets are suffering the lack of real leadership.

[peter]

Neither Senna or Schumi ever won a popularity contest from the other drivers they were competing against.

Both were accused of exactly the same "aggressive and dangerous" driving that Lewis now stands charged with.

If some of these drivers put as much into winning as Hamilton does, then we would have more exiting racing with overtaking that did'nt rely on pit stops and strategy.

Perhaps the problem is that Hamilton makes most of them look like also ran's and their ego's find that difficult to take. There is also a degree of dishonesty, I could have more respect for a driver who was able to say "I just can't drive the car fast enough" instead of blaming others for their own lack of achievement.

In fairness, I don't think for one moment that Alonso would allow anyone past him just to affect Hamilton. Alonso wants to win and will not compromise that ethic out of spite. As always the start is critical, and this race more than any so far will show us what some of the drivers are made of, Massa Kovi et al. Lets all hope, whoever wins, that the FIA and stewards do not interfere with the result.

[tiptoe]

F1-Insider, A Parker, Alex, you are a very sad bunch, your diver makes pole and all you can think is on how bad is the rest of the world. Not even a well done Lewis!.

[Thomas]

What a great pole by Lewis! It didnt really seem likely, but he did the lap when he needed to. Alonso was always gonna be somewhere in the top 5 and once again shone. Felipe claims he lost grip in Q3, something that seems really weird.

Anyway there is a lot of love for Lewis around here and in GB; as well it should be. The kid is a sensation. However he does push what is allowed - there is not without reason he is the most punished driver this year. Also I am dissapointed that he on occation (most notably in Canada) refuses to take blame for incidents where he is clearly at fault.

Anyway he will grow. He is still a young man who suddenly finds himself on top of the world.

The race is gonna be great. Felipe will have to go all out and there should be some major fireworks, especially during the first rounds. Looking forward to it!

[Architrion]

F1 Insider. One thing we can take for granted: Alonso will block Massa till death, trying to avoid a collision. Why? Higher options to be hired by Ferrari this season. He will not like to give away another record, but that is what he has to do to sign for Ferrari.

A. Parker.... man, you will have very hard times bashing all those driver who doesn't like your beloved Hami..... ouch.. maybe we can throw them all away to A1GP or LeMans series, but then Hami would race alone, and F1 needs drivers.... maybe we can make newbies take an oath, so they will promise eternal love to Hami and then receive their F1 license.... What do you think????

[Lucas]

THE FALL OF JASON BUTTON

Reading Autosport's pages, I have found that Honda is waiting for a chance to sign a "top driver" in 2009 or 2010, such as Alonso or Kubica. Is not Button a top driver?

As far as I remember, back in 2006, when Honda built something that could actually be called a F1 car, Button won a race and scored podiums consistently. What happened?

So Honda seems to think that their struggles are not only in the car side of the equation...

Barrichello lined up to be fired (very unfair) and Button (who was beaten by Rubens this year) is now classified as a "second class" driver.

Sad, very sad.

(PS: Ed, there are two British drivers in the grid, let's talk a bit about Jason...)

[May]

Pau, there is more to it than the closeness of the Alonso-Massa relationship: Renault is fighting Toyota for the 4th place in the WCC, and they need every point they can get. For a professional driver like Alonso, this is more important than anything else. A good example of how relationships are left aside when racing is the second pit stop of Alonso and Kubica at the 2006 Italian GP (several videos available in youtube, if anyone is interested).

F1-Insider, two comments on your post:
- on 1), how will those reasons become clear? I thought that we were talking about the race tomorrow, but maybe I misunderstood you on that one?
- on 3), if Massa passes Alonso with ease, I would blame the difference in traction between the Ferrari and the Renault more than the driver's state of mind.

Mr. Gorman, do you know if Heidfeld had any mechanical problems during qualifying? I am surprised that he could not make it to Q2.

Best regards,

[Pinaster]

Parker, you insist on amusing us with your "respcts" distribution and deliverance. Thats not fair play, pal. I´m sure poor Kubica wont sleep tonight, having lost your respect. Everybody Knows that Alonsos never recuperated from the sadness produced after he lost your respect.
All the drivers look at each other sick worried triying to find who wil be the next in loosing your respect.
You are more dangerous than voodoo, Parker.
You should realise how much the drivers care about you respect. As much as I respect your opinions.

[Jordi]

That's what I said before Kubica's comments were publish:

There is one more factor that might be important in this last 3 races. If LH is not very popular with his fellow drivers, If Glock, Webber, Alonso are not happy after LH manoeuvres in Monza, If Kimi is not happy about LH comments about his bravery and other drivers didn't like to be called monkeys...how are they going to react in a possible wheel to wheel battle with hamilton, keeping in mind that they have nothing to lose?.

Posted by: Jordi | 10 Oct 2008 11:46:55

[D]

^
Lewis put his car on pole. He was quicker than anyone else. The others couldn't match him. He delivered; they didn't. End of story.

Far too much attention is paid to what racing drivers say; particularly the ones who aren't fast enough. They're there (and paid) to drive the cars provided to them as well as they can; not to talk about themselves endlessly to anybody who will listen.

As for Red Bull's "simulation", what does it prove? Nothing. It was a waste of time. If they wanted to "simulate" anything they would have been better off "simulating" what would have happened if Nelsinho Piquet hadn't stuffed his car into the wall. And whatever their computer came up with would have been just as pointless an exercise.

Once you start down the road of "what if"s, you embark on a meaningless exercise because you're altering, in isolation, just one factor with an "if" and there are many other factors involved, to all of which you could equally apply an "if" with just as much futility.

Who, for example, knows what would have happened if Kimi Räikkönen had showered a lot more debris on to the track while proving yet again his unfitness to wear the mantle of World Champion? That could have affected the outcome of the race just as drastically.

Who knows what would have happened if the unfortunate Francesco Uguzoni hadn't inadvertently lifted his thumb from the control button of Felipe Massa's traffic-light? Would Felipe have won? Would he have later collided with a Red Bull car? Nobody knows - and Red Bull's computer certainly can't tell them.

What happened, happened. And if one part of it hadn't happened it might have altered other things that happened. Postulating alternative outcomes is a waste of time that could be better spent on dealing with the consequences of what DID happen.

Because that's how life works in the real world.

[A Parker]

From the post qualifying press conference:

Q: (Ingo Roersch - Sport Bild) Lewis, Robert Kubica recently complained a little bit about your driving style. Sometimes he said you are going a little bit too rude. What do you say about your critics in this way?
LH: I do my talking on the track, so I haven’t really got much to say to it. I think everyone has their own opinion and I can respect that.

Q: (Ed Gorman - The Times) Lewis, are you aware that there’s an investigation about an incident between you and Nelson Piquet which we understand is being investigated by the stewards?
LH: Are you serious? From qualifying? I don’t think I’ve been overtaken throughout qualifying, so… I don’t think so. At one stage he pulled out of the way of me during the qualifying session but I came in that lap.

Lewis' answer to the Kubica-stupid-whinge question was perfect. Showed up Kubica good and proper. (BTW Kubica's comments are getting pretty short shrift on the internet forums.)

As for Ed bringing up the Piquet thing, shame.

[James B]

Kubica's comments dissapoint me and make me think he is not the real deal.

Yeah Hamilton drives aggressively but he is going for a world championship and I would expect the same from a driver who has real guts. Alonso is also one of these I remember him racing back to the pits in Brazil or when he tried to go around the outside of a backmarker in the tunnel at Monaco. Crazy and stupid but that determination is the difference and why Alonso is probably the most complete driver on the grid.

A Parker - Please carry on your posts and don't listen to any detractors.

[A Parker]

Javiervivaespania, and they say I'm a fanatic!!!

[A Parker]

James B, thank you so much. No I will not listen to the detractors, no way Jose. I have a strong opinion and I will give it. Yah boo!

[David Jones]

Ed, extremely disappointed in YOU, maybe for a short moment you forgot you work for the Times and not the Sun.

F1-Inside and A Parker I like your posts carry on funny how a few on here just want to attack those with strong, in my view sensible, views, to all of those I say if you don't like it bog off elsewhere or put a sensible alternative view and stop making veiled insults. This blog would be the lesser without the likes of F1-Insiders posts.

Brilliant pole by Hamilton, even more so if he's carrying a fair amount of fuel.

F1-Insider I agree I hope the race director does not interfere with the racing but I think something will happen to stop Hamilton, how will the FIA do it?

[Maverick]

McLaren have played this out perfectly...Lewis on least fuel ( most of the time btw) so tht he has pole and gain a psychological edge over Massa. And then Massa's mistakes cost him dearly as Heikki..the most expensive servant to Hamilton, is ahead of him. But my dear English friends who are waiting tht the grt Hamilton will win tomm......behold the truth and watch Kimi win tomm...he's going to give him nice n hard....reminding the same he was abt to do in Singapore and British GP's before the Ferrari Pitstop blunders in both event.

So...it will be exciting to see the Iceman back in the groove tomm..... :)

[Tim]

Ed - I think what Red Bull meant by "a more normal time-frame" was the lag in Nico Rosberg entering the pits when it was closed and the stop/go penalty being awarded.

The offence is fairly black and white. Did the car enter the pitlane? Was the pitlane closed? If the answer to both questions is yes then a penalty is due. It should take far less consideration by the stewards than, say, deciding that Felipe Massa should get a drive through for the unsafe release.

What appears to have happened in Singapore is that the stewards spent some time considering whether Massa was due a penalty, then awarded one. Only after that did they issue the penalty notices for Rosberg and Robert Kubica. The long delay in handing down the penalty allowed Rosberg, who was in clean air, to pull out enough of a gap to effectively neutralise the time lost.

Red Bull are therefore correct to be narked by the long delay in handing down the penalty. After all, previous examples of the same offence being committed have been punished very swiftly.

However, it's a bit rich of them to complain - they were able to take advantage of the very narrow time between the safety car going out and the pits closing to refuel both cars. The drivers and team also did quite enough to damage their own race chances - David Coulthard's pitstop was sloppy and Red Bull seemed to be the only team whose Moog valves were troubled by tram lines...

[JR]

A PARKER,

At least Javiervivaespaña is a funny guy and I think you can have a good time reading his comments both if your are an Alonso or a Hamilton fan.
But you are so bitter than you can't even enjoy when your idol is on Pole with Massa 5th and 7 points behind.

[Pau]

I understand Kubica's comments. He got an unbelievable drive-through after trying to pass and crashed into Lewis last year. That must be really frustrating, since it was a race incident, and in wet conditions.

Vettel crashed into Fernando in Fuji last year and destroyed part of the McLaren (probably the cause of Fernando's accident several laps later) and did not get a drive-through. Unfortunately for Vettel, Lewis reckless driving under the SC last year caused him an accident.

Lewis deserved many more drive-throughs this year, after what he did in Monza, for instance.

I hope we have a nice race tomorrow. It will be difficult for Alonso to make it to the podium as both Heikki and Felipe are likely to have better pace. But if there are incidents then he could have a chance.

[Michael Grinks]

Last year, it was easy to see the sour grapes aspect of the competition's reaction to Hamilton. It is to be expected, I suppose, when a rookie comes in and steals the show, so to speak. But you would think after awhile a little respect would be in order, like him or not. It may have been luck that Hamilton was born with talent and made an early connection with the McLaren team, but it was his and his family's hard work and determination that made the most of that luck. So credit where credit is due.

Perhaps there are reasons we the public are not privy to that make him personally unpopular with his fellow drivers. Who knows, or more to the point, who cares? Hamilton has done enough even in his brief -remember, this is still only his second season--career to deserve a decent portion of respect as an F1 driver. And that is what this is all about, isn't it?

So I wish him well tomorrow. As fate would have it, I will miss the race. It comes on a 12:30 Sunday morning where I live and at that time I will be just finishing work and starting my drive home. While Lewis is taking on his rivals, I'l be trying to survive on the Long Island Expressway and, horror of horrors, the Belt Parkway through Brooklyn. A much easier drive the his, but arguably more dangerous! Maybe he should wish me good luck....

[Jordi]

Parker
There is a big, big, big difference between you and Javierviva. Javier praises his hero, you insult and moan about everybody else.

[JoseBelgica]

Parker,

Javiervivaespania is not a fanatic, he is a dreamer! And we love him for being so.
He wants Alonso to win, but he does not insult, disrespect the others.
If you consider that Hamilton is a better driver, you do not have to compare it with any other, you just know it and that's all. Javiervivaespania thinks/believes Alonso is the best and he does not make a list of other drivers to prove it.

By the way, why everybody's mouth is always full of Alonso? Scare, afraid, even in a freaking Twingo he makes people talk.

Going back to business I can say that Hamilton is aggressive, but shouldn't he be like that? How many of us has been driving 300 km hour and tried to overtake somebody's else car? If you are not aggressive "stay at home"!

How many of us have been overtaking in a highway at 140kmh or 130kmh? We know the feeling; How much tension do we have at that particular moment? Now imagine if 300 million people are watching you doing that. How much adrenaline is your body producing?

Changing topic.
Am I the only one who thinks that the TV editor should change the perspective at the start of every GP race? I mean, ok it is nice to see the red lights, but right after wards wouldn't be better to have an areal view to see all the overtakes at real time ?

[ELCROWLEY]

Kuica is 100% right. And all drivers excepting Macca drivers think the same way he do. If there is someone laughing about Kubica's words are onl Ham fans. Period.

[Gary M]

D, although what you said is completely true, there is no point worrying about "what ifs" I think you may have missed the point that Red Bull are trying to get across.

We are not talking about accidents and incidents on the track, and what would have happened without them here. We are talking about a purposefully delayed decision to being Nico into the pits for a stop and go when it was clear to everybody that he infringed the rules. Can you think of anybody else in the history of this sport who was given 28 minutes to capitalise on an infringement of the rules before being called in for his penalty?

All Red Bull are doing is making a point, bringing peoples attention to this odd decision. Maybe to ensure it never happens again. This was not a case of the Stewards investigating an incident either, it is a simple question, did the car pit while the pit-lane was closed? Yes or No? What seems to have happened is that they were so busy with the Massa / fuel rig fiasco that they forgot to issue penalties to the pit stoppers.

We are not talking about debris on the track, we are not talking about racing incidents. We are talking about a clear decision by the race stewards to allow Nico to carry on driving and making the most of coming into the pits while the SC was out that changed the result of the race and therefore the distribution of WC points.

If F1 had a more transparent system for applying penalties we may well have seen an explanation for this decision but we don't and therefore this question remains unanswered and just seems to have been swept under the FIA carpet.

Nico clearly broke the rules and yet on this occasion got an advantage from it. So what does that say? Is the best tactic now to ignore the rules and pit as soon as a SC comes out? If Lewis Hamilton does that today do you think he would get 28 minutes on the track before being called in?

I do think it this instance that Red Bull are right for running this simulation and brining attention to this mistake. If only to get some clarification on the rules moving forward.

[Jordi]

F1-onesider:
At Hockenheim, when Piquet didn't fight much to stop LH, i didn't hear many Mclaren fans complaining. People justified by saying: what was the point to take risks against a faster car. I guess that you could apply the same reasoning in case Alonso doesn't put too much of a fight to stop Masa.

There is the tyre issue in Japan, will LH keep his tyres? Could the degradation of tyres be an important factor tomorrow?

Hiroshi YASUKAWA (Bridgestone).

Q. It looks as if the front left tyre is coming in for a lot of hard work.

HY: Yes, this is true. After this session out engineers and the teams' engineers are going to discuss how to maintain the tyres.

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "The wear rate of the rear tyres was more than that on the fronts. As expected, the long left hand 100R corner is crucial for tyre management and set-ups, so it will be interesting to see how teams deal with the challenge of this corner through the weekend."

[McCheets]

I seem to recall David Coulthard employing a crash or crash-through approach at Sepang in 1999 (he actually boasted of this after he retired from the race), presumably under the instructions of his noble team management. Perhaps people who boast of their inside involvement with F1 should remember such actions before commenting on the integrity of other teams.

[Gary M]

Excellent lap from Lewis to grab pole. After Q2 I actually feared that we would see a Ferrari front row, amazing how everything can change in a matter of minutes. Massa has certainly made things difficult for himself, Alonso is not going to give up his position so easily after some fantastic driving to get himself up there.

I have been somewhat critical of HK recently and should acknowledge the fact he did exactly what he was supposed to do today and qualify in front of Massa. Although one could argue that was due more to Massa's falings than to anything HK did he still put the car up there in 3rd.

HK now has a job to do, McLaren can still win the constructers and he needs to get points. Of course keeping Massa at bay will certainly help that situation as well as assisting Lewis too. I would suggest today is a huge day for HK today, if he stuffs it up then I would certainly suggest he needs to be given the boot after the season is over. Maybe a bit harsh but this is his job, if he is not good enough to do it then somebody else should be given the chance.

I think with Massa in HK's mirrors Alonso should have the opportunity to grab 3rd off the start, who knows, maybe even challenging Kimi or Lewis at the first bend? It is going to be quite an exciting first few laps, I can certainly see sparks flying today, the grid is set up perfectly for some exciting racing.

An thanks to Bernie for not interfering with the times for this race I can finally see an F1 race on a Sunday afternoon like it should be.

[LAK]

Very interesting views indeed! The question about the Red Bull investigation is not "what if", but why did the stewards delay the penalty? Were they trying to prevent Lewis from getting second place? Very interesting revelations that makes you wonder...

There's nothing wrong with Ed's question to Lewis, he's just doing his job, and if there was any talk of any investigation Lewis should know about it.

[McCheets]

Just been reading the latest issue of Autosport, and noted with interest Nigel Roebuck's comments about perceived preferential treatment in his report for the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix. Back then ‘our Nige’, driving for Ferrari, was the victim.

It would appear that the CSI/FISA/FIA have always had it in for the Brits. Or could it be that some people are only happy when they are moaning?

[Ricardo]

A Parker, I tell you what's the difference: When you read Javiervivaspania no matter you agree with him or not he make me smile.

[Alex]

Lucas, it is Jenson, not Jason, but that does give us a clue as to the extent of your F1 knowlege.

F1 is not a competition between nations, and, being a Spaniard you will be very well educated as to what happened the last time you started a fight with us anyway...

Javiervivaespana comes across as Javiervivacolombia ever more these days, keep up the gloriously deranged rants old chap.