Author Topic: Official Racing Thread (Read 181796 times)

RatBastich · « **Reply #660 on:** November 02, 2008, 01:08:05 AM »

Alonso, F1 denounce racist Web site messages against Hamilton

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Formula One officials scorned a Spanish Web site's racist messages against championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

"I want to express my total condemnation of this kind of behavior, which is totally unacceptable in the world of sports, as well as in life," Alonso, a Spaniard, said after practice on Friday.

The Web site asks visitors to place virtual pins, nails and porcupines on a computer version of the Interlagos track to try to keep F1's first black driver from finishing Sunday's decisive race.

Visitors are also invited to "leave a message to Hamilton," and many of them are full of racism and obscenities.

JDAckers · « **Reply #661 on:** November 02, 2008, 12:19:53 PM »

Quote from: L-san on November 02, 2008, 01:08:05 AM

Alonso, F1 denounce racist Web site messages against Hamilton

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Formula One officials scorned a Spanish Web site's racist messages against championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

"I want to express my total condemnation of this kind of behavior, which is totally unacceptable in the world of sports, as well as in life," Alonso, a Spaniard, said after practice on Friday.

The Web site asks visitors to place virtual pins, nails and porcupines on a computer version of the Interlagos track to try to keep F1's first black driver from finishing Sunday's decisive race.

Visitors are also invited to "leave a message to Hamilton," and many of them are full of racism and obscenities.

That is pretty bad, but the Spanish are kinf of know for their racist ways ...

Qualifying;

1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1min 12.368secs
2. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:12.737
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin Ferrari 1:12.825
4. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.830
5. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.917
6. Fernando Alonso (Spn) Renault 1:12.967
7. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.082
8. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:13.297
9. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.105
10. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:14.230
11. Nelson Piquet (Brz) Renault 1:12.137
12. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:12.289
13. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:12.300
14. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:12.717
15. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:13.139
16. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:12.800
17. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:12.810
18. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:13.002
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:13.426
20. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:13.508

Could they make it more tense?? Kimi's job is to hold up Hamilton no doubt, and Kovalainen's job is to hold up everyone else:P

ferrar1 · « **Reply #662 on:** November 02, 2008, 08:12:52 PM »

Fantastic race, fantastic ending.

I'm sad that ferrari couldn't get the WDC but we totally deserved the WCC since we have the better cars overall. We just missed a bit of luck here and there. It's just sad that glock couldn't make it till the end.

I wished i knew what Massa said in Brazil at the press conference.

Tuffty · « **Reply #663 on:** November 02, 2008, 08:23:37 PM »

Fuck me what an ending to the Championship.

What do you guys think, is Hamilton a deserving winner?

Ferrar1: Maasa said that he was proud of the result in his country, of the teams performance and he's full of mixed emotions with Hamilton's win.

reina's eyes · « **Reply #664 on:** November 02, 2008, 10:48:57 PM »

It's rather a pity with the championship so close that one has to be declared a winner over the other.

Just the fact that glock's last couple turns made the difference shows there wasn't a significant one.

Both teams and both drivers showed considerable brilliance and some amazing lapses. It was almost like a contest to see who could set the lapse record. :-)

That maasa came so close is impressive given his teammate was the reigning champ. Rubens never managed it with schumi.

And hamilton came awfully close to showing consistency with the end of last season.

Anyway, I don't think I could stand to watch if every race were as charged as this one!

JDAckers · « **Reply #665 on:** November 02, 2008, 11:33:11 PM »

Kimi was champion last year by 1 point, and Hamilton won this year by 1 point - who would have thought it? Just to think if the rain held off for 30 seconds longer than Massa would be champion! Amazingly entertaining start and end to the race.
Can't wait to see Vettel make the move to Red Bull next year, shame about Coulthard though

ctz · « **Reply #666 on:** November 03, 2008, 07:47:55 PM »

What a great race and an ending for the great season!

Being that dominant before, I was little surprised that it was only a one point marginal afterall. However, Hamilton deserved the championship. Losing again would've been devastating for him.

Anyway, this was a great season, eventhough for my number-one-favorite, Raikkonen, it was one of his worst. Still, there was seven different GP winners this season and three championship leaders.

This season was anything but boring, and I hope the changes for 2009 will continue this very likeable trend in Formula 1.

JDAckers · « **Reply #667 on:** November 03, 2008, 09:10:45 PM »

I think this is the biggest change in rules and regulations ever. Almost all the things that change very slightly every few years, are being completely changed. New tyre rules, engine rules and sizes, the cars will have some sort of hybrid boost system for overtaking (or something like that! I heard them mention it during the last race) etc. It should make things even more competitive.

Also the first race next season is at a new track in the UAE. Again I only found this out last race because it was a competition, and I only just realised Ferrari are already being sponsored by a company in Abu Dhabi!

Bernie likes the money from the oil rich countries

but does nothing to save the British GP

Living 10 minutes away from Silverstone doesn't make it any less of a crap-hole....

reina's eyes · « **Reply #668 on:** November 03, 2008, 09:15:31 PM »

Thinking back, schumacher often had lackluster races at the end of the season, sometimes not managing to pull it together for the title, other times doing just what was needed. Lewis is doing the same. :-)

In the long run the fia are looking to standardize a lot of the components while leaving the kers braking system as a differentiator. I'm not sure that was their grand plan but it's how things are shaping up. Could be interesting.

JDAckers · « **Reply #669 on:** November 03, 2008, 10:11:17 PM »

Quote

Loyal fan cashes in £125,000 after Hamilton F1 bet

LONDON (AFP) – A fan of Lewis Hamilton won 125,000 pounds after betting 10 years ago that the Formula One driver would win the World Championship, a bookmaker confirmed on Monday.

Ladbrokes said that total, along with a winning bet that paid out 40,000 pounds a year ago for the unnamed fan, was the biggest single pay-out for a Formula One bet in the firm's history.

Hamilton, 23, clinched the championship when he passed German driver Timo Glock to take fifth place on the final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix, beating out Felipe Massa by a single point for the overall title.

According to Ladbrokes, the unidentified customer, who is from Peterborough, north of London, made three bets totalling 350 pounds in May 1998.

He collected 40,000 pounds last year on a 200 pound wager at 200-1 odds that Hamilton would win his first Formula One race before he turned 23.

And on Sunday, he collected 50,000 pounds on a 100 pound bet at 500-1 that the British driver would win the World Championship before his 25th birthday, along with a 50 pound bet at 1,500-1 odds that both events would happen.

"I've known Lewis from his early days and it was easy to see he had an obvious driving ability, coupled with a fantastic attitude to racing," the man, whose son used to race go-karts against Hamilton, said.

"I just had a hunch he would go on to bigger and better things."

He is planning to use his winnings to buy a Tag Heuer watch, take his family on holiday to Cuba and buy his wife a Mercedes-Benz car.

"We had been sweating on this bet for a while," said Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg.

"We survived last year but there was a feeling that we had only put off the inevitable."

lucky guy

JFC · « **Reply #670 on:** November 04, 2008, 04:59:12 AM »

Quote from: Tuffty on November 02, 2008, 08:23:37 PM

What do you guys think, is Hamilton a deserving winner?

I probably would, if it weren't for the fact that it really, REALLY looked like Glock just gave up his position to Hamilton on the last lap. If Hamilton had executed some brilliant passing move to take that position, then yeah, no doubt at all; unfortunately it just didn't look like that to me.

Still, probably one of the best/most exciting season ending races that F1 has had in the last decade.

ferrar1 · « **Reply #671 on:** November 04, 2008, 05:17:00 AM »

I really don't think Glock gave up his position willingly since as we know the lap time difference on intermediate and slick tyres is really great at around 30 secs - 60 secs.

Still i was devastated that night and almost cried with Massa. He really improved a lot and it was a shame he has no WDC for his effort. But i'm sure he made a lot of new fans with his strong character showing on the podium.

ctz · « **Reply #672 on:** November 04, 2008, 02:13:03 PM »

The Toyotas were the only cars with normal tires and Glock beat his teammate on every last three lap of the race. So, surely he didn't slow down for Hamilton on purpose.

JDAckers · « **Reply #673 on:** November 04, 2008, 03:07:13 PM »

I can't see how Glock let him pass, it was very wet for the last 3 laps or so, and this would have lowered the tyre temperature - and therefore he would have had much less grip. So he couldn't put the power down or his wheels would have just spun and he would have gone even slower. Also, if he had pitted and put wets on, Hamilton would have overtaken him because the gap was only 10-15 seconds. He took a risk to gain more points, and it didn't pay off, but it almost did!

RatBastich · « **Reply #674 on:** November 04, 2008, 06:19:42 PM »

Father of F1 star Hamilton silently mulled pulling son from sport

LONDON -- The father of new Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton said racial abuse and other insults directed at his son and family led him to consider withdrawing the 23-year-old driver from the sport.

Anthony Hamilton expressed dismay at what he described as a hate campaign against his son, who finished fifth in Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix to become the youngest and first black driver to win the F1 season title.

"My family has taken a lot of stick [abuse] this past week, not just this past week, but the past few months," Anthony Hamilton said in Tuesday editions of British newspapers, speaking from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

"I did think that maybe this isn't the place for my family because as a parent you make sure you do right for your family and kids."

Hamilton said he never spoke to his son about withdrawing.

"I kept it to myself, even though I was going home thinking, 'I didn't think the world was quite like this,' " he said in The Guardian. "And then you think, 'It's just the way it is,' and I'd send Lewis a text saying, 'Whatever happens, people love you.' The negative people are a small percentage, and even the negative ones have a heart."

In the week leading up to the Brazilian race, Hamilton was the target of racist abuse on a Spanish Web site, was insulted by two Brazilian comedians and was handed a black cat -- a symbol of bad luck in Brazil -- at a sponsor's function.

RatBastich · « **Reply #675 on:** November 06, 2008, 06:18:44 PM »

Hamilton rejects Ecclestone's comment that racism in F1 started as joke

LONDON -- Lewis Hamilton rejected F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone's assertion on Thursday that racist abuse directed at the driver probably started as a joke.

F1's first black champion was the target of racist abuse on a Spanish Web site and endured other insults in the buildup to last Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton's father Anthony said he had often considered withdrawing the 23-year-old driver from the sport because of the abuse.

"[It was] probably beginning as a joke rather than anything abusive," Ecclestone said Thursday in a radio interview, pointing to poor sportsmanship rather than racism by Spanish and Brazilian fans. "I don't see why people should have been [insulted by it]. These things are people expressing themselves."

Hamilton disagreed and said he "didn't see it as a joke."

"It's something that happened, but it is in the past, you've got to look forward," said the McLaren driver, who clinched the F1 title by a single point over Ferrari's Brazilian driver Felipe Massa at the Interlagos circuit.

In the week leading up to the Brazilian race, Hamilton was the target of racist abuse on a Spanish Web site, was insulted by two Brazilian comedians and was handed a black cat -- a symbol of bad luck in Brazil -- at a sponsor's function.

Last February, a group of people at testing near Barcelona wore dark face paint with T-shirts displaying the slogan "Hamilton's Family." Hamilton has become a target for many Spaniards who believe the British driver derailed Fernando Alonso's championship hopes at McLaren last year.

"I don't think we should even be talking about racism," Ecclestone told The Associated Press at the time. "I really think that they are against Hamilton for his ability, not because he is black. I always thought it was a bit of a prank -- they're probably not racist at all."

JFC · « **Reply #676 on:** November 07, 2008, 02:15:33 AM »

^
Poor Bernie. Completely clueless.

RatBastich · « **Reply #677 on:** November 07, 2008, 09:01:32 PM »

Feeling of Hamilton's breakthrough victory still fresh

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Oh, what a feeling!

It's still sinking in for Lewis Hamilton that he is the new Formula One World Champion.

In December 1995, when he approached McLaren team owner Ron Dennis at a banquet and said that one day he wanted to drive for McLaren, F1 was but a dream for the 10-year-old Hamilton.

At the time he was a rising star in the go-kart racing ranks in England.

Dennis was impressed by Hamilton's demeanor and confidence. Two years later Hamilton became a protégé in McLaren Mercedes' young driver program.

And on the afternoon of Nov. 2, 2008, Hamilton, age 23, won the F1 Drivers' World Championship in a cliff-hanger finale in Brazil. It wasn't until the final seconds of the final lap that Hamilton was able to pass Timo Glock to take over fifth place. And fifth was just enough for Hamilton to snatch the title by a single point from Felipe Massa, who won the race in his Ferrari.

JDAckers · « **Reply #678 on:** November 08, 2008, 12:00:44 AM »

He is from Stevenage, which is not too far from where I live - and they still keep talking about him in the National and local news...
He been asked to turn on the Christmas lights there

RatBastich · « **Reply #679 on:** November 11, 2008, 10:23:36 PM »

Ferrari chief: F1 to drop engine costs from $25.5M to $6.4M

SCARPERIA, Italy -- Formula One teams have unanimously agreed to reduce engine costs by nearly $20 million by 2011, Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said Sunday.

Montezemolo recently presided over a meeting of the newly founded Formula One Teams Association, or FOTA.

"We are working with all the teams to reduce costs even more for 2010 and 2011," Montezemolo said at Ferrari's end-of-season celebration. "We unanimously decided that by 2011 an engine will cost $6.4 million, compared to the more than $25.5 million they used to cost."

Auto racing governing body FIA recently announced it was moving forward with plans to have a sole engine and transmission supplier beginning in 2010, a move which prompted Ferrari to threaten pulling out of F1 if the plans went ahead.

Ferrari believes the move would eliminate the essence of a sport based on competition and technological development.

"It's unthinkable that constructors like Ferrari, Toyota, Mercedes, Honda, Renault and BMW would accept putting their label on a machine with an engine made by someone else," Montezemolo said, according to the ANSA news agency. "The purpose of F1 is that investments in innovation, research and development reverberate in industrial production."