F1

[campbell]

I used the same from pole in a karting gig a week back. Result

[Tommy Twist]

Certainly better than qualifying yesterday where, after Lewis's first hot lap in Q3 I found myself thinking "OK, very good - but what is he going to pull out of the bag this week to bollocks it all up?"

Anyway, enjoyable race – great to see Jenson do the biz again. My only complaint was that Button didn't do the entire press conference through the J.B. hand puppet

[tut]

I find it difficult to relate to Massa, undoubtedly a talented driver, but no fire in the belly which is the hall mark of all the great drivers.

I suppose it is a fine line between winning and winning at all costs, but a Champion has to believe that he is the best and is not going to give away a place to anybody until he has no option left. I can not recall if Mansell ever took anybody out deliberately, but he had the bulldog spirit of overtake me if you are good enough but you will have to fight like hell for it, and if you are in front of me I will be doing the same to you.

Senna was a God, and Schumacher sat alongside him, and although I did not agree with some of their tactics, they were ruthless which is something that they probably had to be to be Champions in that era. Nice guys usually come second.

tut

[campbell]

Massa's a beaten man now, sadly. Stick Smedley in the driver's seat and we might have some fun!

The Jap hand puppets were awesome. Seeing Jenson showing his off after the small interview segment with Jake, as he wandered back into the garage on Saturday night, was pure gold

[Tommy Twist]

It's impossible to dislike Jenson Button – the "Dave Gilmour" of motorsport

[campbell]

It's impossible to dislike Jenson Button – the "Dave Gilmour" of motorsport

For some scary reason I keep getting Jenson juxtaposed with Chris Martin of Coldplay

However I like the Dave Gilmour comparison much more - thanks

[rossybee]

For some scary reason I keep getting Jenson juxtaposed with Chris Martin of Coldplay

Oh come on now Campbell - I like Jenson, whereas that Martin streak of p1sh is just a whiney waste of space, and that applies to both his singing voice and his political views

[Mikie711]

Had that been Senna and Vettel then we would be talking about the accident that took them both out and Vettel would never have tried it again. Now vettel knows that given a similar situation Button will back out if squeezed.
Brundle said of Senna that he would stick is car up the inside of you and let you decide weather or not there was going t be a crash. If you backed out then Senna knew every time he tried the same move you would move over.

[Alistair]

Jenson is likeable as he is a gentleman racer - and you could imagine being down the pub and sharing a few pints and a laugh with him - echo Campbell on the puppet - loved how he walked back into the garage playing with it!

I'm actually pretty fed up of Hamilton in his oversized sunglasses posing and talking like a politician.

Although Mrs Ford would like to take Seb's index finger and shove it where the sun don't shine, we are of a similar opinion that he is obviously a great driver, and his handling his new found fame in a dignified manner. I was pretty disappointed at his move at the start today, but it was within the rules (just) and didn't affect the outcome of the race.

Out of the top drivers, Vettel (grudgingly), Button and Webber are all worth listening to. Unfortunately Alonso and Massa have to tow the party line too much, and Hamilton is undoubtedly talented - but currently full of sh!t.

Look forward to the next race - the tyres this year are making it much more interesting.

Alistair

[Mikie711]

As has DRS, still a bit artificial but does/has allowed for closer racing.

[Alistair]

As has DRS, still a bit artificial but does/has allowed for closer racing.

Agree entirely Mikie - seemed a bit "fake" when they first talked of it at the start of the season - but is soon forgotten when it makes the racing more exciting. The commentators mentioned it wasn't making a difference today, but seemed spot onto me - not too easy to overtake but let you get that bit closer to raise entertainment - and that's what it's all about really.

[alicrozier]

As has DRS, still a bit artificial but does/has allowed for closer racing.

Agree entirely Mikie - seemed a bit "fake" when they first talked of it at the start of the season - but is soon forgotten when it makes the racing more exciting. The commentators mentioned it wasn't making a difference today, but seemed spot onto me - not too easy to overtake but let you get that bit closer to raise entertainment - and that's what it's all about really.

Yeah, I agree. I think Brundle who said it crucially means drivers are no longer stuck behind a much slower car.

[robin]

In other circumstances JB might have take the do-or-die approach, but his only chance of chasing the championship was to win the race - cannot do that from the barriers. I think of all the drivers he plays the numbers game the best - perhaps even better than Schumacher - so maybe won't set the world on fire each race, but will win you a lot of points = lot of money if you're a team - hence McLaren's desire to sign him up for more.

My opinion is that LH cannot cope with the tyre strategy and this sets up a vicious circle of frustration - he is too hot headed - I hope he can stick with it long enough to learn - I think he can see that JB has got it figured out and I expect the gears in his head are whirring to work out what he needs to do differently. Once he has it figured, he is faster than JB I think.

Cheers,
Robin

[Corranga]

Wasn't a bad race, though not as great as they've been this year.

IMO JB took the title with Brawn because he had the best car at the start, and for the most of the season, possibly the same as Vettel really. This year, Button has shown he has the complete package. Not only can he overtake, but he can do it safely, and often spectacularly. He keeps his cool and when he's on form, drives beyond the limits of the car.

Most people seemed to thing that LH would embarrass JB, turns out the only embarrassment has been Lewis's own performance. His move on Sunday was a joke, regardless of whether Massa should have been there or not, do drive into another car, and risk your own race is careless and dangerous. To blame the mirrors seems pretty foolish to me too, if they are that bad, do something about it, everyone else seems to manage (with tyhe possible exception of Schumacher who has had more than his fair share of contact this season).
I'm really fed up of him prancing around acting like he's a pop star and moaning about inquiaries after the race too.

For Vettel, well done on another championship - and i'm sure that being the youngest ever double world champion means he'll be getting a few more. Personally, I'll become more interested when he leaves Red Bull and heads to a slower team.

Chris

[tut]

They have to do something about tyres, especially the way that it is spoiling qualifying. Half the teams are not bothering going out after Q1 as they are not going to improve their position so just save sets of tyres. They also then have the option of changing strategy which the others don't.

Q3 should be about continuos improvement whilst fighting for grid position, not trying to gauge the last few seconds that you can get round in and ending up as LH did, gets baulked and misses the clock to get a clear lap in. Re-fuelling has been banned but to artificially control the speed and performance of the cars, which is essential for the teams and the spectators, is just not part of F1. Another two sets for qualifying would hardly make a dent in the hundreds of millions that the teams are spending out now, in fact it has now risen to over a billion.

tut