I can't help but recall all the bragging by the McLaren fans when this years car was unveiled at the start of the season about how beautiful it was and how it was going to dominate the field. I wonder how many of them still view the car as a work of art now it's true performance level has come to light?

To be fair though THussey, it's not really the same car as the one that ran in Melbourne given how much development has gone on That said, you're right in the fact it will most likely be another Brawn/Red Bull affair.

Not so much a farce as a FIAsco.

Sounds to me like Max has eaten some humble pie and has realised the rules don't belong to him anymore. If the new teams have any sense they will realise that FOTA are the people to deal with. Unless of course he has one of those teams in his pocket and this is the ace up his sleeve that he will use to force in his rules on the basis that as time moves on it becomes harder and harder for FOTA to arrange a breakaway. Perhaps he is getting stroppy because of the Cosworth engine saga, but I think it more likely he is just completing the formalities in order to try to regain some dignity following his humiliating defeat.

JV was the Lewis Hamilton of his day - a one hit wonder that thought he was god's gift when he had the best car and then did nothing but cry and moan when he didn't, blaming everyone and everything but himself for his failings. Surely a country the size of Canada has some fresh blood to offer the sport by now?

turcon2, MS hardly got smashed by Alonso any more than he did by Damon Hill or Hakkinen. He just didn't win those years, and if you had any understanding of his mentality you would realise that being beaten only ever inspired him to work harder. The reality is that it was a very hard decision to retire when he did, not on the back of a victorious season, but he is a very thoughtful and caring person (just look at his charity work) and does actually have a deeper side than is portraid in the British press. But believe whatever you like it makes no odds to me. Likewise if you choose to believe Coulthard wasn't the number 2 driver at McLaren, despite Coulthard himself stating that was the case. For what it's worth, I've been watching F1 since the mid 70s. Perhaps you could ask your dad about it once you've finished using his PC.

oh dear turcon2, how miss informed and unaware you are about all things Ferrari. Just to set the record straight on a few points: 1) MS retired because he didn't want to cost his freind Filipe his career at Ferrari. 2) Aside from the MS years, Ferrai don't generally run with a number 1 and number 2 driver, unlike McLaren who always like an inferior second driver. (When they have two decent drivers together, they implode as we saw with Alonso/Hamilton). 3) Neither of the current drivers speak English as their first language and they don't crave the attention of the British press, but to stretch those facts such as to imply they therefore have no personalities is rather xenophobic. If you were to read the Italian, Brazilian or Finnish motoring press you would find that drivers such as Button, Hamilton and Vettel come across as devoid of personality, purely because they don't speak the language and don't get as many column inches as the local favourites. It seems you're jumping to conclusions through lack of understanding and a touch of the old anti-red sentiment rather than through objective analysis.

Rapido, archisteve was wrong in his assessment of the old 200 mile sprint. Tyre changes and refuelling stops came about because running short stints on low fuel and fresh rubber was quicker than trying to do the whole race non stop. Allowing teams to use just one compound will just mean they all choose the same and hey presto you've just unwittingly taken one more step in the direction of standardised components that Max Mosley keeps pushing for. Next thing you know the tyre manufacturer will start only bringing one compound to each race to "save costs". So what if the teams are FORCED to use two different compounds in a race? They are FORCED to use only 8 engines per season, they are FORCED to have the car weigh at least 605kgs, they are FORCED not to allow the car to run too close to the ground. Those are the rules, and they're the same for everybody, and tactical decisions are made in each area on a race by race, driver by driver basis (which races do you do with each engine, will adding ballast to make the car weigh 615kgs improve the balance sufficiently to offset the extra 10 kilos of weight, etc). Pesonally I prefer there to be more variables for the teams to master and work with or around in each race rather than less, but like I said, I don't watch F1 wishing all the cars were the same with the same fuel and the same tyres, there are plenty of other series that offer that combination.

Rubbish comment by you, Rapido. The tyres are not manufactured to be vastly different, but are built to suit different conditions. As no-one knows what the track will be like until they start using it, so they have to bring different tyre types to cover the variation in tyre wear. There is no point in bringing types that are too close together as if track conditions are different to what has been predicted then all the tyres would be useless. Better to be in the position where at least one of the choices will perform well. As for the effect on the race, as it is the same for all drivers it just becomes another strategy choice, no different to fuel loads. We won't have any fuel load variation next season, so tyre strategy will become very interesting. If you want all the cars to be the same and forced to use standard strategies and components, you're well out of touch and need to be looking at a different formula. I guess you must be one of the minority that thinks Max Mosley had some great ideas for the sport. I hate to break it to you, but most of us disagree.

Ron Dennis is not eligable for FIA President as he still has ties to McLaren (part owner and boss of the road car side). Jean Todt has severed all ties to Ferrari so as he can stand for the role.

What a FIAsco. I'm no fan of Ron Dennis, as many on here will testify, but he's a thousand times more honourable and ten thousand times more of a real man than cowardly Max Mosley. The only way for him to maintain what little dignity he had left would have been to step down before he gets forced out. As things are, he is going to end his days as a pathetic humiliated fool. I guess it's a family trait.

Is it immature to use the accout application page on the FIA website to pass comment to them about our views on Max and his plans to ruin our sport? Possibly, but it's great fun.

Yelerichard, you need to be careful when accusing people of not reading up properly. Had you done so yourself, you would have noted the news article on this very website where Hamilton himself said he had got the best he could from the car in qualifying and that Sutil's crash made no difference as although he was on a fast lap, it was nothing special. His words, not mine.

I am currently preparing a "MOSLEY OUT" banner for Silverstone. It's time for the fans to intervine and save our sport before Max destroys it. I would urge others to consider making their feelings known in the only place it really counts, at the trackside.

I told you this would happen if the double diffusers were allowed. Now watch as Max uses it to justify not giving teams any input to the rules in future. I hope those who claimed the diffuser row was just the big teams trying to stomp on the competition are satisfied and are really enjoying the lack of action at these races. It wasn't too bad to start with, but now all teams are running double diffusers it's clear the cars are no longer able to run as closely as in the inital races.

At least the 'eject toys' button is still working on Hamilton's McLaren. No reliability or performance issues there!

Rome street races are old hat in the video game arena, it's about time they did the real thing!

batfuds, what on earth has this got to do with the Spanish? Rubens is from Brazil, where they speak Portugese, or am I missing something?

Well said Necron. In an underperforming car he does badly - he cooks his tyres far too quickly due to his rough driving style, but he can't get away with it this year as mechanical grip is so much more important than it was in the previous two seasons. This is a serious floor in his abilities that is letting his team down badly. It's also true that the censorship on this site toward any negative comment about McLaren and Hamilton is worse this season than last. Ironically, the editorials are now much more objective.

Quick, an article with Ferrari in the title! Let's all get our feelings of hatred posted quickly and blame them for everything we don't like in the sport because they have given us all such a sound thrashing over the past decade. Hopefully no-one will realise we're just jealous, bitterly sore losers. Once the budget cap is in place and the teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Toyota have all dropped out and the best drivers and engineers have gone elsewhere we can watch some real racing, and so what if the cars happen to be little more than go-karts!

tsquare, get your facts straight. It was admitted/proved that McLaren DID use the Ferrari data to improve their car, they had to stop development in certain key areas of their 2008 car as a result. Also, the Renault situation was a case of one of their staff, an ex-McLaren engineer, giving information from memory about two or three minor areas of the design. This is normal practice when people move between teams and is very different and nothing like the extent of the McLaren incident, where the ENTIRE technical details of the car were obtained through an illegal channel.

Come on PF1, I know you're bitter because you chose to back this team and they've left you with egg on your face, but you've yet to publish any of my comments, none of which were controversial aside from not worshiping the ground Ron walks on. There are plenty of people who, like me, think this is no bad thing and is long overdue. People sing Ron's praises because of his moderate success, but personally I think he has held back the team rather than moved them forward.

mikogarmy - no, it wasn't. That was Trulli on the podium in Oz if you look closely.

Excellent! Now this issue is sorted we can get back to the important stuff - namely getting the cheats called McLaren booted out of F1.

I suspect they realised that the hearing will take a close look at the diffusers in question - what better opportunity to show their contempt for the sport than to steal other teams diffuser designs from right under the noses of the FIA! These boys will stop at nothing!

It's a shame, but they have to be given the boot. If they don't get booted they will just do it again and again. They clearly didn't learn from the $100M fine or the ban from the WCC in 2007 and have once again decided to disrespectfully flick the bird at the controlling authorities. The sport cannot be allowed to be repeatedly humiliated by the actions of one unsporting team that refuses to comply with the regulations and would rather bring down the sport than follow the rules. That team is McLaren and they have to go. Just think how much they must have gotten away with over the years! I suspect we have only just scratched the surface - we may criticise the media, but we can be thankful they are there to expose things like this and thereby give us the chance to expell these serial offenders with their ethic free culture and lack of morality.

I doubt Hamilton has the balls to leave McLaren. The team should however be given the boot from this years championship. It's more than just a coincidence that whenever something happens to bring the sport into disrepute you can guarantee the name McLaren will be behind it.

I have no doubt that Hamilton the Rain Master will run rings around everyone if it's wet in Malaysia irrespective of how his car runs in the dry. Anything less than his Silverstone performance will make me seriously reconsider whether the way he out drove the Ferraris in the wet last year was really down to his mega talent or was (as some crazy people speculated at the time) really just a reflection of how their respective cars behaved in the rain and nothing to do with skill after all. Go Hammy Go!

When Alonso benefited from the saftey car last season, it was all down to luck, yet when Hamilton does the same he is treated as a god by his supporters. Poor, blind fools.

I just hope all the people that are happy about this decision remember that the key reason the diffuser rules were changed was to reduce turbulance in order to allow cars to follow more closely and thereby promote overtaking opportunities. By declaring these designs legal, most of the other teams will now be forced to exploit the same loophole and so there's a strong chance we'll be watching processional races again this year. Furthermore, this plays right into the hands of Max and Bernie who will happily now declare the efforts of the OWG were a waste of time and will thereby disband the group and take back full control of setting the regulations for coming seasons. Overall, this is a great short term decision for Brawn, Toyota and Williams (all teams I would like to see do well) but a very bad outcome for the future of F1 as a whole. The status quo will return in two or three races time when pretty much everyone has these diffusers, meanwhile Max and Bernie will be cracking open the Champagne and laughing as they celebrate their rejuvanated control over the future of the sport. Next year Max will doubtless force teams to adopt a standard diffuser design and will then take all the credit for the resultant increase in overtaking opportunities.

Ferrari_R_Cheat - please enlighten us and point out the hypocrisy in either this message or any of my others as no-one else has managed to spot any. You are clearly an enlightened and well educated individual with a strong command of the English language and a keen eye for fair treatment and justice irrespective of your own feelings. I certainly don't consider you to be an onanist no matter what the weight of public opinion may suggest. P.S. While you have your dictionary open, you may wish to look up the word "sarcasm"....

Renault have made it clear in recent weeks that they are all but certain to be raising a protest in Melbourne, Red Bull have confirmed they WILL be making a protest, and Ferrari say they think it's illegal but are happy with a decision either way and are happy to play catch up if need be, and hope the matter can be resolved by the FIA before Melbourne, and all the Ferrari haters start laying in to the red team as if they had demanded any team using such a diffuser be banned from F1. Accuse the FIA of being bias as much as you want, but you people are far worse. Look up the word "hypocrite" in the dictionary, and maybe you'll understand why no one takes your comments seriously.

So whichever driver is leading the championship (in terms of wins) will be subjected to suicidal overtaking manouveres if they lead a race, as it would be more beneficial for the other drivers to take them out rather than allow them to extend their lead. Similarly, if you're leading the championship and leading the race, with the guy in second place in the championship wanting to pass, it would be better for you to take him off as he attempts to pass and thereby preserve your lead in the title fight. Likewise, if the championship leader is running second and trying to overtake for the lead, the defending driver will be better off causing a crash rather than losing ground in the championship. Even the medals system would have been a better idea as at least under that system it would still be better coming second than having a DNF. With this system, drivers will have far more inclination to take each other out to protect their championship position, so we won't just see dirty moves cropping up at the end of the season as we have in the past, we will potentially see them from the second race onwards. Smart thinking WMSC.

Any team with an ounce of sense will run uncapped every other year and use the unlimited budget to design a car they can then run the following year in the budget capped category. Well thought out, Max. Not.

turcon2 - I was being tongue in cheek. Did I touch a nerve or do I need to start putting emoticons in my messages for the less intelligent people on here? Last years championship is done and dusted, and now I'm waiting for Hamilton to proudly take to the grid with the number 1 on his car and show off what it can do. It's a sport, done for fun and entertainment, hardly worth crying over in the grand scheme of things. I didn't previously have you marked down in the summerss category as you seemed smarter than that - do I need to reconsider? For the record, I think this is a bad idea and it will be changed for 2010.

What a poorly thought out idea. So stupid it has me wondering whether summerss thought it up.

I hate to break it to you summerss, but what better is there for a business man to secure a sweet deal for engines than by buttering up his supplier well in advance for example by giving them free publicity? Besides, the deal with Mercades was likely already signed by that point, but these things don't get made public until the end of the season. If you honestly believe that advertising for a Hamilton character in a country that largely supports Ferrari was anything other than a political move then you're even dumber than your comments suggest! Nice try, but better luck next time, 'kid'.

Well this clearly devalues last years result....

Yes summers you absolutely right once again. The fact he named a driver from the works Mercades team who supply engines for his team is clearly a chance coincidence and not political in any way. The fact he chose a one hit wonder over, say Alonso, who is widely regarded as the best driver in the current field by those in the know must be because of his strong support for Hamilton and nothing to do with the friction between Alonso and Mercades. Thank you for your unclouded judgement and unbiased opinion. Keep it up.

Were it not for his car, his team mate and all the other teams and drivers on the grid, I'd would have put money on him winning the WDC this year.

RichardW, half a lap was the distance he travelled following closely, not the distance between them.

On the plus side, the crash improved the looks of the car considerably....

mnwj - true, but your argument falls to pieces if you add the word 'parked' into the second sentence....

Well, at least he didn't crash into anything, like a stationary car for example.....

Glock's time is doubly impressive when you take into account he was fighting his urge to pull over knowing there was a McLaren on the track!

Nice one summerss! And you accuse ME of being easy to wind up! lol!

There's some brilliant excuses from the Hamilton fans as to why their super-mega-fastest-ever driver in his awesome "all our own work" teams car only managed to win last years WDC by one point from the person who they consider the worst on the grid driving a car designed by muppets and a pit crew of clowns! Keep 'em coming kids, your creativity is second only to your ignorance! It's so funny that you don't see by slating Massa and Ferrari all you actually do is make Hamiltons victory increasingly unimpressive! LOL!

Wraith (LOL!). McLaren can't possibly be worried though, because from what I've read on this web site Hamilton is 10 seconds a lap quicker than everyone else. Admittedly it's mostly summerss that says it, but he's clearly an expert because he's been watching the sport for nearly two years now and he has unquestionable proof from u-tube that Raikonnen and Massa are really Max and Bernie in disguise and that the Ferrari has a secret turbo charger fitted.

Kovalainen will be thrilled to read this! At least Whitmarsh is being honest about it, unlike his predecessor.

Oh look, another irrelevant comment from Sir Jackie Dinosaur. Well done for stating the obvious again Sir Jackie, but I've no doubt you'll have changed your mind again by tomorrow.

So summerss and thussey, you both think Massa is useless, yet your idol could only just manage to beat him by a single point. You must be so proud. LOL!

Captain-slog - Yes both those guys are cruel and vicious! They're nice to you if your doing well, but if you're not it's a whole different ball game.

There's so many jokes I hardly even know where to begin! Button getting to ride a virgin at every race - how will Raikonnen concentrate when he knows there's a couple of virgins on the track - the list is endless!

LOL! They lost the WCC by 21 points and scraped the WDC by one point. This is obviousy some strange new meaning of the expression "wiped the floor" that I was previously unaware of!

Ron who?

Yeah, those times are terrible. They should just bolt on some bits of the 2008 car and put in a glory lap with almost no fuel in the car to protect their fragile egos rather than wasting time on stategic testing and development. They could then just steal the designs of a better car ready for Melbourne. I can't wait to see Hamilton in his McRedBull next month!

If you listen carefully, you can hear the McLaren team plotting out how they can get hold of the Red Bull technical documents without using a photocopier.....

And summerss, if you take off your McLaren tinted glasses and set aside your hatred, you'll remember things like Hamilon being CRANE LIFTED BACK ON TO THE TRACK in Germany in 2007. Your selective memory is almost as poor as your attempts at insults.

I'm sure it will be good in a straight line......

summerss, that's not proof, that's just tainted speculation from a biased McLaren fan. The fact you class the incident in Monaco where Raikonnen lost control over a bump at full race pace (a classic racing incident) as even remotely comparable to Hamilton ploughing into the back of a stationary car in the pit lane because he failed to observe the red light at the end of the pit lane (a classic case of dangerous driver negligence) says it all. Over the years there have been plenty of controversial decisions by the stewards that have gone both for and against all the teams. Well done for selecting a few that you feel support your case, but cherry picking a few incidents that have upset you whilst excluding those that tear your claims to shreds would get you laughed out of court. Your allegations against Ferrari are just a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. The score is currently fifty million to nil, now move on as no-one is listening to your juvenile rantings anymore.

Point proved, I rest my case. Thanks McLaren fans for your comic denials, I haven't laughed so much in ages! Face it, your team cheated and got busted! No one in F1 is whiter than white, but you really need to face up to the fact your team is amongst the lowest of the low on morality grounds - take it on the chin, admit your team cheated and you're disappointed in them for doing so and move on, rather than lamely trying to point the blame at everyone but your boys in silver. Time is the great healer, so be honest and we will forgive you. It's the pinacle of sport, we don't blame your team for cheating, but rise above it like our respective teams have done and lets move forward together for the sake of F1! Max and Bernie are the real bad guys here - surely we can at least agree on that as some common ground?

But we all know the full story! 1 Ferrari employee passed secret technical documents to McLaren, and the whole McLaren team jumped at the chance to cheat and used the information to improve their own car without a second thought as to the ethics of the situation. Ron Dennis was eventually reluctantly forced to come clean when he thought Alonso might blow the whistle (albeit for selfish reasons). Dennis would never have come clean were it not for Alonso, and the bulk of the McLaren fan base are still living in denial and as such keep trying to make out that Ferrari are in league with the FIA.

I wonder how the McLaren fans will twist this one to imply the FIA is biased toward Ferrari? I suspect they'll have to sweep it under the carpet and deny it ever happened, just like all the other evidence over the years that proves what utter bull their conspiracy theory is.

...and they call Kimi "The Ice Man"!

I can't help but feel that if his wish comes true and his car has what it takes to win the title, he'll still be second to his team mate.

It would be a crying shame to lose Mercades as an engine supplier. I for one am glad this vote went the way it did.

Someone shoot me, I agree with Yellow! (Not you summerss, we all know you'd shoot anyone who even could even pronounce the word Ferrari)...

summerss, you have an irrational love of Hamilton. Get over yourself and learn to deal with the fact that just because you fancy him it doesn't mean everyone else has to.There's many drivers with similar reputations, but it's been much harder for them to get there because they HAVEN'T had the backing of a major F1 team for most of their racing lives. This is why we rate them higher than your beloved Hamilton - it's much harder to achieve these things when you DON'T have all the best kit and support.

glenwoofit, who on earth do you think was helping Force India last year? Not to mention STR? Mercades are helping Force India for the money, not out of the goodness of their hearts. You're obviously just another Ferrari hating McLarenite rather than someone with rational arguments to raise.

Cebwll, it was fine in the days where F1 car performance was at the level of a modern family saloon car, but those days are long gone. It's time to move on. With all the wealth in Monaco, there's nothing to stop them building a proper track suitable for the cars of today and tomorrow. Heritage does not excuse tedium. Silverstone has all the heritage of Monaco and is a better track to boot, but that wasn't enough to save it. If Monaco didn't line Bernie's pockets he'd dump it without a second thought. Monaco is about cash, not racing.

I have to largely agree with Deepwater, although not someone that comes across as a pleasant individual, there is no doubting his commitment and contribution over the years. Such a shame his reputation was all but ruined in 2007, as otherwise he would have been able to move aside with his head held high commanding so much more respect than is sadly now the case. I don't think he was pushed out of the position, though I do suspect he did it as much for the long term interests of the team as for personal reasons.

A little extra pressure for Martin Whitmarsh....

Every year I wonder how such a dull Grand Prix is allowed to remain on the calendar just to please a few rich people who have no interest in F1 at any other time. And isn't it about time they lashed out and bought a proper podium?

I've thought about this carefully, and the perfect system goes: Qualifying: 3pts - 1st, 2pts - 2nd, 1pt - 3rd. Race: 14, 10, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Fastest Lap: 2 points, 1 bonus point to each driver who's fastest lap was faster than the car in the position immediately in front. Oh, and me as president of FOM. Like I said, the perfect system!

Yellow, the only person your fooling is yourself.

AyrsenF1 - your comments are spot on, but this is a pro-McLaren site so expect a flaming from all the fanatics as in their eyes Hamilton and McLaren can do no wrong. Doubtless I'll get a flaming too, but they're mistaking me for someone who cares!

Bernie Ecclestone has been speaking recently about introducing a medals system in place of the existing points system. Do you think the current system should be revised, and if so would you prefer to see a return to the old style system, where there was a bigger gap in points between the podium positions, or do you think the medals idea is the way to go?

Don't you just love the way Planet-LH cuts short quotes to spin their headlines! Missing the key words "for reliability" from the end of his quote does change it's meaning somewhat. As for the choice of photo, everyone should know by now that it's only the McLaren team that are allowed to look decent in their pictures. It's pathetic to the point of being funny, but in a "laughing at you, not with you" manner.

Replacing lost downforce grip with slick tyres only works in the dry. Wet races are likely to become even more of a lottery than they were in 2008. Whichever teams car can keep up the tyre and brake temperatures best in those conditions will rule the roost.

It was a joke, summerss. Chill out and get a sense of humour.

When Ferrari launched the car they said it was not up to 2009 regulations. This really is a fuss over nothing.

"My first impression of the car was good, on this damp track it was able to pull over and let other cars past nicely!"

It looks......like a typical BMW. Not my cup of tea sytle wise, but undoubtedly it will handle and perform exceptionally well.

Bannor, judging from some of the comments you post I suspect you ARE only four years old. The scenario you mention will never happen, as at least one driver would re-use an engine from a previous race in order to avoid the penalty and thereby gain a ten place grid advantage.

A good driver like Massa or Alonso can get the car around the track as much as 1-2 seconds faster than an average driver. Teams would pay 100 million to get that sort of advantage mechanically, so paying a driver 20 million for the same thing makes good economic sense. Besides which, if you ask anyone in any job if they think they should take a pay cut, you'll get the same answer unless it's a choice between that and losing your job completely.

Here we go again wiith the stupid comments from the people who don't understand the difference between the FIA and FOM. Pitiful.

Good news for Kovi, not so good for Hamilton.....

The 6 wheeled Tyrell ugly? You're insane! Bring back such innovations I say!

For the sake of Formula 1, so long as we get paid for it within the framework of a watertight contract. That's basically exactly what Ferrari said a few days ago, but they've now worked out Honda is dead in the water. Typical Mercades - grab some late publicity knowing the Honda ship has already sunk and they will never have to be true to their basically empty offer.

Don't worry Robson, I'll be heading down there with my shovel this weekend to help out. I can't promise Fairy Penguins like I used to see at Philip Island when I lived over there, but it will be better than Silverstone, rest assured!

The Brackley unemployment office is likely to be a busy place come April....

What races were you watching alfie, because it sure wasn't formula 1.....

iWombat, you truly ARE a Wombat. Street circuits suck as do tracks like Hungary. Tracks like these serve only to penalise the good teams when one of the rookies loses it and ploughs into a wall. That's not racing, it's just a lottery, and winning a lottery does not involve skill. All these circuits, including Monaco, should be struck from the calendar.

In the past, Donnington was the scene of some of the best F1 races of all time. I have no doubt this will continue. It's a far better track than the dull Silverstone which only produces exciting races under changable weather conditions. Silverstone is dead, Forza Donnington!

Yellow - lol, I know what you mean! I figure park up in East Midlands airport (they can't possibly close that) then 5 minutes on the push bike to get to the circuit, but even if I can't do that and have to get a bus from Nottingham or Derby, so long as the round trip is less than 7 hours it will be an improvement over Silverstone! Donnington is a better track too, so it's a win-win situation as far as I can see! ;-)

ElvisBeavis, I've always liked bike racing where they can't change tyres. I think it adds to the spectacle as some riders go out too fast and are then forced to slow up as they have worn the tyres, at which point you tend to get the more conservative (tyre wise) riders catching them back up, but you never really know from race to race which strategy will prevail.

Excellent! It only takes me 20 minutes to get to Donnington! Gone will be the two hour trip getting to Silverstone and the five hour trip getting out again.....

Get a life summerss. The only cheating team in recent years was McLaren (proven in court), the bonus payment is no big deal (none of the teams have ever objected) and can happily continue (but were there a budget cap they just wouldn't be able to re-invest it in F1), and the stewards made some decisions you didn't like because they either went against you're favourite driver or didn't go against your favourite teams main competitor (big deal, it's happened to everyone, get over it and move on). You're beginning to sound like a muppet yourself.

Normally, I would suggest someone as blatantly stupid as this moron should be tied up and whipped to within an inch of his life, unfortunately in this case he would get a kick out of it. Only an extreme idiot could believe that to cut costs it is wise to increase legislation and thereby further narrow the already limited scope for innovation available to the teams. The tighter and more restrictive the rules are, the more it costs to advance the cars for ever smaller improvements. Over the years, the rules have got tighter and the costs have spiralled in direct proportion, even a ten year old child could figure out that this is a simple case of cause and effect. Teams don't spend just for the sake of it, they spend what they are forced to by rules that serve only to stifle innovation at each and every level.

spacedmanspliff - yeah, it was nearly as funny as watching Hamilton plough in to the back of two world champions during the course of the season! The funniest was when he hit the stationary Raikonnen in the pitlane! Spinning on slick tyres on a wet track is pretty funny, but driving at 50 MPH into the back of a car that isn't even moving in bone dry conditions was truly side splitting! Much funnier than any of the Ferrari mishaps we saw all year!

Personally I think it will be a good thing to see drivers having to think about tyre preservation during the course of the race.

The Ferrari haters seem to have forgotten that every incident that was blamed on the lights system has also occurred to teams using the lollipop. Unsafe releases, drivers being released with the fuel hose attached, drivers going before they should, ALL these things happen with the lollipop system too. As for Kimi going when the light was red, lets face it, he wasn't the ONLY driver that got caught out last season by a red light in the pit lane......

KubicaFTW - bin bags and gaffa tape? Wasn't that the aero package they had on the 2008 car?!?

How stupid all these comments from the Ferrari haters will seem once every team has switched to this system.

Yeah, "clam" down Howee! Baiting Ferrari fans? You're as bad as Robson and I! Personally I think you're a closet supporter but you haven't realised it yet as you're what HEAT magazine might term a "new man".....go on.....get back in touch with your masculine side and admit you love the prancing horse and to hell with the consequences! Were it not for that little black horse on a yellow background you would have to have a go at BMW, but having a go at the Germans went out with WWII! Mind you, if you're as British as I am then thanks to a few ambitious Roman emperors you're descended from the same pesky Italians as the people that came up with that beautiful logo in the first place! ;-) Happy New Year BTW, I look forward to much baiting and banter during the 2009 season! It's all good fun at the end of the day - you agreed with me once last year, so this year I'm hoping to double that record......

Nice to hear Mr Blundell able to state his own opinions once again rather than being forced to spout the ITV party line BS like he had to last year.

I thought at first he had tiny hands, but soon found out they were huge in comparison to.... ;-)

Given the fact that all he actually said was "It's an interesting idea", refused to be baited by the reporter, and then went on to say that it wouldn't have changed the 2008 result, from the rection of the Ferrari haters you'd have thought he said "It's a must and should have been in place last season so I would have won!". It just goes to prove that these people can't manage to read past the Planet-LH spun headline and then just make up the rest of the article for themselves. Why read the facts when you're imagination is so much more exciting!

Well, he's only human. Winning in a Ferrari is the secret dream of ALL the drivers. Most of them will never admit it publicly as they have to claim they want to drive for their curent team forever, but sooner or later the truth comes out.

Although I have nothing against the idea of him doing a victory parade, I think expecting the tax payer to shell out for it would be very wrong in light of his recent tax dodging move to Switzerland.

Biso9700, I must apologise, my comment was not aimed at McLaren themselves but at the demented fans you mentioned. I appreciate all the teams operate in a similar manner, I just find the irony and hypocrisy particularly funny when the aforementioned fans hurl accusations of cheating at their competitors, the FIA and F1M, as if 2007 never happened!

It always makes me laugh that the fans of the team that have been unquestionably PROVEN to be cheats level similar, yet unfounded accusations toward Ferrari as if they had some sort of moral high ground. McLaren CHEATED. LH won in a car made by a team that CHEATED. McLaren STOLE technical information and USED it without a second thought to the fact it came from a disgruntled employee of their main competitor, that's called CHEATING! You can't honestly play the victim when you're the worse than the people you accuse! It's like a burglar phoning the Police because someone broke in to his house and nicked all the stuff he'd stolen! Keep it up for 2009 guys, the entertainment is worth nearly as much as a set of Ferrari blueprints!

KubicaFTW - lol! So true! (but they HAVE mostly only been watching for the last 12 months! Now let the fireworks fly!) ;-)

Best wishes to all for the new year - even the McLaren fans!

watchcam, I think you'll find it's F1 that needs Ferrari for credibility, not the other way around. Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Lamborghini and the like have all the credibility they need without having to partake in any motorsport series.

I think if you ask pretty much anyone in any line of work whether they think they should have a pay cut you will get the same response, unless it's a choice between that or losing their job, and for the current teams in F1 (obviously excluding Honda) I think we're still a long way from the point where drivers start getting sacked just to save money.

haroccena, make your mind up. In your first quote your freind HAS a Ferrari that is always going wrong. In your second quote he sold it because he was fed up with it. It seems he didn't have to wait long for a buyer then, if he managed to sell it between the time of your first post and the time of your second one, so either these cars are extremely popular, even in this period of economic downturn, or you were lying. Either way, you might also want to bear in mind that pretty much everyone sells their car at a loss, that's the way the used car business works. You buy a car, drive around in it for a bit periodically paying for it to be fixed or serviced, then sell it again for less than you bought it for.

haroccena, it's basically because they produce most of the best looking, best sounding and best handling thoroughbred sports cars in the world, and have done for decades. Your freind may have had reliability issues, but still he keeps the car....

I can't belive this retainer has come as a shock to so many people! But then again, I guess that's largely due to all the shocked people being bandwagon jumping Hamilton supporters who've only been watching the sport for the last 18 months and now think they're experts! The stupidity is made even more apparent by those who have jumped on this so called "revelation" as proof of FIA bias. Lets just hope one of these days they'll learn the difference between Bernies F1M and the totally separate FIA, who have nothing to do with this deal. Unfortunately, I fear even between them they couldn't muster sufficient braincells to make that cognitive leap....

Maybe this will prove to all the Ferrari haters out there that they hold their principles and commitment to F1 above any crudely vailed threats of financial penalties from Bernie. The retainer is old news (any committed F1 fan has known about it for years, and it's a common practice across all levels of motorsport). McLaren get a fine of this magnitude for flagrant cheating, Ferrari are threatend with it for just speaking out against Bernie and in support of the lesser teams - and there's people on here who would have us believe the FIA and F1M are Ferrari biased. How pathetic their words are to anyone with a knowledge of the sport.....

Shaun, perhaps you shouldn't be wagging lessons yourself? That is exactly my point, it's stupid to call anyone the worlds favourite anything unless they get more than half of the total votes, be they Ferrari, McLaren, or even a naughty school girl like yourself. It's equally daft in a poll with such a tiny number of voters: approximately 0.12% of the F1 viewing public. Perhaps if you ask four of your mates who the best email poster in the world is you can get one of them to say it's you, and you can be the worlds favourite internet poster. The only difficulty you would face would be finding four mates in the first place.

C'mon people, don't act so surprised! We all know it's only the saintly Lewis that gets his teeth cleaned and a halo added via photoshop. All the other F1 drivers are demonic hunchbacks with no more right to life than the bacteria one would find in a dog turd. It's only proper that Planet-LH should choose photo's accordingly. In all honesty, I think they should really add a couple of devil horns and a nasty skin condition to the other drivers pictures just in case anyone may mistake them for human beings rather than the evil scum they really are....

summerss, I stand corrected. Hamilton is the greatest ever driver and everyone in the world loves him because he got just over a quarter of the votes in an internet pole open to anyone in the world that can read and speak fluent English. The only sour grapes on this web site is from you and your chums who can't stand the fact that most people don't think Hamilton is the greatest thing in the car world since ABS brakes were invented. I didn't post a single comment last year when Ferrari won (again), as I didn't see the point in needlessly blowing the Ferrari trumpet. You call me a bad loser, but the truth is you and your fellow Hamilton loving chums are bad winners. All we heard last year was about it being an anti McLaren witch hunt, even though the courts proved otherwise. All we've heard this year is the FIA have always been out to get McLaren, dispite countless times in the past where McLaren have got away with dubious decisions (being crane lifted back onto the track in 2007 without so much as a comment???). Your man just (and I mean JUST) manged to win the WDC, well done, now get over yourselves and learn to deal with the fact that it doesn't mean we're all going to start worshiping him like you do.

So let me get this straight, 73% of the voters DIDN'T vote for Hamilton, and 71% DIDN'T vote for McLaren. Were it not for Planet-LH helpfully clarifying that this means that Hamilton and McLaren are the world's favourites, I would foolishly have thought that the majority of voters voted against them - and that's in a pole by an ENGLISH magazine. Do we get to see the nationality of the voters, or was it declared international on the basis it was mostly done over the internet? I wonder how many languages the survey was published in?

Rubens, you're one of the nicest guys in F1, but you're simply not one of the fastest or most determined. At Ferrari you say you didn't have the space, at Honda you didn't have the car. What would be your next excuse? Top drivers MAKE the space, top drivers MAKE the car. I'm no Hamilton fan as many on here will witness, but did you see him backing down when partnered with Alonso? No, you didn't, he took what he was given and made the best of it. Like him or loath him (and believe me, I'm in the latter camp), that's the reason he's made the top slot and you never will. Take the WTCC offer - there's a million people with your enthusiasm for a race seat, but enthusiasm doesn't count for sh*t in F1. Surely you have learnt that by now? Take a reality check, Be a man, not a Ralf Schumacher and quietly check out of hotel F1 with your mouth shut and your dignity intact....

Deny it all you like, but you're only fooling yourselves. Hamilton has one of those personalities people either love or hate. It's a fact, plain and simple (nearly as simple as you lot) - it has nothing to do with sour grapes. Oh, and no, I wouldn't give a personality award to KR either.

Seeing as this is a personality award, I can't say I'm surprised Hamilton didn't get it - he rubs too many people up the wrong way.

Luck prevailed over tallent this year, let's just hope next year the balance is restored and the championship isn't handed over on a plate in the last corner. I'll just re-phrase that in a style Biso9700 can understand: Gd luk nex yr FM, ur gr8! (Only teasing, merry Xmas!) ;-)

This stank. We watched a guy doing stoppies, wheelies, one handed, one wheeled burnouts on a motorcycle all around the track immediately before we were told Hoy had been advised it was too dangerous for him. I wonder who gave out that advise? Ron Dennis?

Ahh, Summerss, those sound like the bitter words of a deluded McLaren fan, desperate to justify a fluked WDC award and a failure to win the WCC. Give it up, your lame accusations of bias only serve to detract from McLarens achievements this year. Be proud of what Hamilton accomplished by all means, but don't try to make out it was something more than it was or to belittle the fact that Ferrari beat McLaren in the WCC, it just makes you look jealous.

Anyone that doesn't believe this award should have gone to Loeb is a moron. He has proven he can lap an F1 car to within 1.5 seconds of the F1 grid. I severely doubt Hamilton could complete a rally stage within ten times that gap of Loeb. But I guess we'll get to see who is really the best at the ROC this weekend. Oh, that's right, I nearly forgot - Hamilton is only prepared to race against some bloke on a push bike for fear he will get shown up and spoil his reputation with the sponsors. Some champion....

So a British driver wins a British award, we'll that's meaningful. Oh, and just look who is associated with the BRDC prize! And these people claim the FIA is bias, LOL!

Hollow words from a vile man.

When will these two senile old idiots realise that the ONLY way to reduce costs in F1 and still maintain it as a spectacle is to REDUCE the rules on car design? INNOVATION is far cheaper than REFINEMENT. By tightening the rules and forcing the teams along a narrow design path, forces them to spend millions to gain so much as a tenth of a second. If they were allowed to try new ideas without fear of having them ruled illegal we would see a far more exciting grid, with cars that didn't all look idenical and have identical performance. When it comes to the racing, if they really want to see overtaking, then there is two key factors they need to think about: First, there MUST be a significant speed differential between the various cars on the grid, and second, change the qualifying process so the fastest cars don't start at the front. With the current system, it is obvious that overtaking will be all but impossible as by design any car on the grid is normally slightly slower than the one in front but slightly faster than the one behind. The grid should be the reverse order of the finish of the previous race if they really want to see overtaking.

It would appear that the power of dreams wasn't all it was cracked up to be....

If Honda don't find a buyer, Jenson's F1 career is over for good.

I still don't understand why KERS is being put under the "green" banner. As far as I can tell, not one of the teams is using the system to save fuel. Every team is targeting their systems at producing extra power, the net effect of which (in environmental terms) is to increase tyre and brake wear. Couple this with the use of batteries in many of the systems (in themselves eco-unfreindly to both manufacture and dispose of), this is surely about as far from being a green technology as you can get.

biso9700, there's plenty of us "real" F1 fans that don't respect all the drivers. Just because you're the spineless sort that can't distinguish between drivers that deserve their seats and those that are only there for example because they bring a sponsorship deal with them doesn't make you the definitive F1 supporter! Get off your high horse! Also, I fear that it is you that is ignorant to how the McLaren team works, unless you believe you know better than Montoya, Coulthard and Alonso to name but three. But then again, seeing as your a "Real F1 Fan", you're probably party to all sorts of top secret inside info that even the drivers don't know. At least that's what the voices in your head keep telling you....

Any driver who's objective at the start of the season isn't to be WDC, is born to lose at F1, period. I'm not a Hamilton fan, but if he had ever adopted this attitude he would never have made WDC, even with all the lucky breaks he has had in the last two seasons.

By the fifth race, all their focus will be on bringing Heidfeld up to speed again. I hope I'm wrong, as we like a fight, but Kubica just isn't German enough fo this team I fear.

Perhaps if he had tried driving an F1 car like that, he would still have a job? Too little, too late. Bye bye Rubens.

If AD thinks this was the best season of F1 ever, he obviously only started watching in 2007. Take off the Hamilton tinted spectacles, it's getting boring. If Hamilton had come sixth instead of fifth in the last race, you would have been mouthing off about how it was the worst season ever because of the stewards decisions. How many more of these ultra lame "I love Hamilton and I wet myself when he won" articles are we going to have to suffer? Too many, I fear.

This is just AD having a panic attack because he loves Hamilton so much and can't bear the thought that anyone might conceive that Hamilton didn't really deserve the title this year, even to the point of regurgitating the lame objections to Spa. The referees decision is final, whether you like it or not, deal with it AD. I bet you still cry over the Maradonna "hand of god" incident too, don't you? Did you raise such objections when the current points system was put in place to stop Schumacher from winning the championship mid season? I bet you didn't and it's that which has largely killed overtaking.

So Rubens, having just started mouthing off about Ferrari, now wants a drive in the Torro Rosso. I don't thiink he's thought this through, has he....

Best of luck, Mark.

Goodbye and good luck to Kimi for 2010....

Everyone knows Rubens was the number 2 driver, just as Heikki is now at McLaren. If he really had the drive to be a winner he would have held station and thought "to hell with the consequences", but he didn't, he just lapped it up like a puppy. He was happy enough at the time to keep quiet and play second fiddle, but now his F1 career is all but over he is sudenly full of regret. This is a strong pointer that his Honda days are done and he's just trying to get back at Ross Brawn, after all, he would have been the voice on the other end of that Ferrari radio. Rubens is a nice guy, but he was never world champion material. It would be such a shame if he were to now turn in to a bitter, resentful, bad loser, but I fear that is where he is heading.

(that was a joke, by the way....ducks and runs for cover!)

Ferrari? McLaren? In your dreams, L-O-S-E-R. I'd be amazed if even Force India were interested.

Medhatter - I understand where you are coming from, but the floor in your argument is that in the scenario you suggest, the first driver you mention has technically already won the WDC, as the second driver cannot possibly match or beat his results no matter what the outcome is of the final race.

I hear that along side the KERS boost button will be another button designed to slow the car by 18 seconds in a single corner.....

Isin't it funny how a few humble words from a young, talented driver can earn so much more respect than winning a WDC earns for an unbearably arrogant one.

I do wish Eddie would only comment when he has taken the time to understand all the facts. The medals system is only relevant to the WDC. The WCC will still work on a points system as at present. I used to have a lot of respect for EJ, but I fear the BBC may have been a little hasty with their choice of commentators. Is Eddie Jordan lining up to be the new James Allen, I wonder?

KubicaFTW - you're so right. One of the most appauling things I've seen this year was a race where Hamilton finished second but his was the only press conference interview aired. Personally, I'd like to see the press conference for ALL podium finishers at EVERY race, but if time were critical one could understand skipping the third place finisher, but skipping the winner to hear from the second place finisher is simply unforgivable and inexcusable to anyone that is not a blind fanboy.

Just listen at all the Hamilton fans crying because they know this years championship was an undesreved fluke! I think this could be a great idea. Medals for the drivers, plus the existing points system for the constructors. Drivers will have to pick the balance between individual glory or playing for the team. No more WDC wins for people who get handed a 5th place finish in the last race!

Push bike vs Mercades road car. I think that speaks volumes about Hamilton, McLaren, and the whole corporate sponsorship machine that fears him losing credibility were he to race against the likes of Loeb and Schumacher on a level playing field. He was never going to be allowed to do that. I'm glad I have my VIP tickets sorted, it's so much more satisfying meeting worthy motor racing champions with reputations made of substance rather than ITV hype.

I don't mind a little bias, it's only natural, we all know Murray always favoured British drivers, but he was at least able to give due credit and coverage to other teams and drivers. This is where ITV failed. They tried to make it the Jenson Button show, but he failed to perfom, and then Hamilton came along and all we got was an hour of Hamilton mania before every race. It doesn't matter how you feel about Hamilton, surely everyone can see that broadcasting purely about just one driver alienates more people than it plays to. Who ever your favourite driver or team is, only the most narrow minded, brainless fanboys get satisfaction from only hearing about their favourite to the exclusion of everyone else. I suspect this is a large part of the reason ITV lost their contract. The appointment of Ted Kravitz worries me though....

Is it just me, or does that front wing make the car look more like a snow plough than a racing car?

I hope the Grim Reaper is an F1 fan, as it now appears he's the only one in a position to step in and save this sport.

I don't believe for a minute he will do this, but for all those who believe him to be a cheat and who have expressed concern that he will not be able to do this on a bike, he can always look to the current F1 Drivers Champion for inspiration, and just ignore the track and cut corners to try to gain an advantage. Better still, if he paints the bike silver and puts a Mercades badge on the front, and corner cutting or other cheating would suddenly be rendered invisible to half the population, and they will be duly enraged whenever he gets a penalty and claim the sports governing body is against him.

Challenge360, you're so wrong about all the naff intro music we've had to suffer for the past ten years. True F1 fans know there IS only one theme tune appropriate to this sport, and Moby had nothing to do with it.

I vote for an extra award for the person that has had to work in the most difficult position with their team favouring a different driver to the point of being ridiculous. In third place, Heikki Kovalainen, In second place, Nelsinho Piquet, but the head and shoulders winner, Michelle Foster! This website would be a lost cause without her!

frodakai, the key thing is that a push from the marshalls is within the rules, but being lifted out by a crane is against them. The rules are black and white on that one.

summerss, you're mistaken on just a few points there. Firstly, not all "poms" are celebrating, in fact, most of us aren't. A readers poll in the Times puts Alonso as the highest rated 2008 F1 driver in th UK. Secondly, McLaren are the biggest cheats in the history of F1, and that's a fact proven in a court of law, rather than the wild fantasy of a McLaren fan. Thirdly, Hamilton won the 2008 WDC, but Ferrari won the 2008 WCC, so I would hardly call that a loss. As for branding people from Australia as convicts, that's akin to uneducated racism in my book, and that disgusts me. There's several other gaping holes in the points you raise, but with the attitude you have, frankly you're not worth the effort.

....and if anyone knows about driving fast, it's James "Captain Quick" May. (I'm assuming McLaren fans are familiar with the concept of sarcasm).

If Honda is his first choice, he might as well give up now. Surely BMW, McLaren, Renault, Torro Rosso or Ferrari would be preferential to any sane driver? I think by "first" he really means "only"....

I wonder if he'll "take a year off" once he starts feeling the pressure...?

norm22 - you're absolutely right. It's just a personal thing I guess but I don't like this attitude so many people have of jumping on the back of the latest sporting success. A few years back, there was a surge in Rugby fans when England won the Rugby world cup, but now most of them wouldn't even consider going to a match. It only bothers me as it keeps ticket prices up and thereby stops more dedicated fans on lower incomes from being able to attend. I'm fortunate to be in a position to afford it regardless, but there's many who can't. It's particularly bad in this country where Grand Prix ticket prices are so high to start with.

Howee, just a few points you obviously need clarification on: 1) I feel Mallya is trying to buy his way to the top on the back of other peoples success. Last year it was Ferrari, next year it will be McLaren, the year after, who knows. I don't agree with this approach and feel it undermines the sport, no matter who they're buying the bits off. I have never mentioned this before, so this cannot be considered "banging the same old drum". 2) I believe the relationship between Ron Dennis and Hamilton is rather too close, and that in the long term this will be damaging to Hamilton as I don't believe Ron Dennis can be trusted, I've not really made comment on this issue before either, and whilst I confess my reference was a little crude, again this can hardly be considered banging on the same old drum. 3) As someone who has endlessly harped on for the last six months about FIA Ferrari conspiracies, you've just bought a whole new dimension to the words "complete hypocrtie". PMSL!

Call the Police, someone has kidnapped Andrew Davies and Pete Gill and replaced them with rational human beings, capable of independent reasoning! Or is that now the prospect of a job on ITVs Lewis Hamilton show has faded their brains have started working again? Then again, maybe someone has just laced my coffee with cough medicine and this is all just an hallucination, yeah that must be it, the other two options were way too far fetched......

Who'd have thought such a successful business man would have ended up as Ron Dennis' b*tch. Bend over Mallya, big Ron is coming and Hamilton is off celebrating, so it looks like it's your turn to bite the pillow....

Hamilton will get the best kit, Heikki will get the stuff that's not quite good enough for Hamiltons car, and Force India will get whatever gets chucked the reject bin. I don't think Hamilton needs to worry, but I'd put money on Force India terminating this deal at the end of 2009 and signing a new one with Renault....

Oh god, here come the Man Utd fan base.... Quick, there's a bandwagon, let's jump aboard.....

Dream on.

Forget it HK, you're in the "B" car built using the bits that weren't good enough for Hamilton. Although they will never let you be on parr with your team leaders car, you could help yourself by putting the left and right markings on the tyres yourself next season! Good luck, you're going to need plenty of it!

...and there was me thinking Ron was selfish. He's clearly all heart....

It seems that "Pete Gill" is an anogram of "Andrew Davies"....

damon, stop being thick. The drive through in Valencia was because he was released with a fuel hose still attached to the car, surely you can distinguish that from what happened at Spa? And as for your second comment, that's exactly my point. All F1 teams are multi-national, so to bring race, creed, religious beliefs, nationality, sexual preference or any other prejudice into it is deluded, ludicrous and generally pathetic. Renault are based in England, have an English team principle, and Alonso actually lives here for the majority of the time. Technically, an Alonso win would be more British than a Hamilton one....

Erm, David, unless there's been a change since last year, you will be racing for Scotland, but Lewis is English. Anyway, as you so rightly point out, there's no way McLaren would allow him to be put to shame by MS just at the moment, let alone all the other drivers. It's a whole different ball game when their all driving the same kit, but anyone that was there last year will have witnessed the difference between MS and the average "champion". How many lap records?????? LOL!

I so hope this guy takes over from the vile Ron Dennis next season. My respect for McLaren would go up ten fold.

Force India, clutching at straws. Good luck to them, but Torro Rosso rather showed them up this year....

Andrew Davies and the McLaren fan club that dominate this website have to churn out this sort of cr*p and the comments that support it because they, like us know that although Hamilton is talented, he only won this year due to mistakes by the Ferrari team, and though they wll never admit it, it pains them like a knife in the gut. They love to slate Massa, but their golden boy only beat him by a single point (and if Massa is as bad as they suggest, that's not much of an acheivement). They also know that this years Ferrari was a dog to drive in the wet, and the McLaren was far superior, and so were fortunate there were so many wet races this year. And then there's the cold hard fact that if you were to reverse all the stewards decisions that went against Hamilton, and then factored out the mistakes and reliability issues that have blighted Ferrari this year, Massa would have annihilated their golden boy by a margin of around 30 points. It's no surprise they are so defensive, they're in denial and are already in fear of next season, lest their luck should run out and their house of cards is blown away. Well done Lewis, congratulations McLaren, enjoy the moment as you have earned it, but that niggling feeling that makes you want to stamp, scream and shout whenever someone says something negative about Hamilton or McLaren is just the truth, hurting, and deep down you know it, and you know we know it too, and that's what hurts the most.

I've just spotted the ultra-lame poll on the PF1 main page. Well, I guess sooner or later this website was going to have to go public about it's blatant bias, so now they just need to formally change the name to Planet-LH and be done with it. It does seem a shame that they no longer want to attract any readers that don't support McLaren, but let's face it, most of us get the serious F1 news elsewhere and just come on here to wind each other up with a bit of banter. But at least now they're not even pretending to be serious journalists anymore, we all know where we stand.

I just look forward to watching all the morons who claim FIA pro-Ferrari anti-McLaren bias eat their pathetic words next year when they get to see the full evidence for themselves. What excuses will they dream up next season to explain away mistakes and bad sportsmanship by their team and drivers? What lame rantings will we get to read when a non-McLaren driver is found to be not at fault for an incident on track? The anticipation is nearly as exciting as the prospect of the new cars we will get to see in January! You have to be pretty imaginative to call a German owned team paid for by Spanish money with a driver that lives in Switzerland a "British" victory, so the possibilities are endless!

Shut up Eddie.

SpeedNuts, go buy yourself the McLaren T-Shirt and Hamilton WDC Cap you so clearly want. I never claimed to speak for all Ferrari fans, only myself, but you obviously think you represent the entire Tiffosi. Parla Italiano? Non ho pensato. Ottieni una vita.

If off track, Lewis had Felipe's attitude, he would for sure have far more respect than he does with his current attitude, but hey, he's still just a kid.

I very much hope this silences the pro-Hamilton crowd, but I doubt it. Although it's fair to say he was subject to ONE arguably harsh decision, he was let off with at least three others (though I have no doubt the Hamilton fan club won't see it that way). Will they accept that decisions next season are fair? I some how doubt it, as from their perspective, anything Hamilton does is without question fair, and any penalty he gets is purely because Max Mosley has it in for him. I'm interested to know how many of his supporters felt his Canada penalty was fair....

If Ron Dennis says it, it must be true......

I just call it as I see it, but I have very high standards. Hamiltons driving style has yet to impress me (WDC or not), but I accept he is still young and learning. It has nothing to do with sour grapes, when Alonso won his WDCs in the Renault his driving really stood out as being a cut above, and although my team lost, I had nothing but praise for him, and I would love to see him in a Ferrari some day. I've never said Hamilton was no good, but I do believe him to be hugely overrated and very lucky this year. I'm happy for him and congratulate him on his victory, but you McLaren fans are just going to have to accept that just because he won doesn't mean the rest of us are suddenly going to become fanboys. I can deal with the fact that you think he's wonderful, but it seems that you can't deal with the fact that many other people don't. You may call me bias all you like, it's somewhat hypocritically stating the obvious. As I'm a Ferrari supporter of course I'm bias toward them, just as you are all bias toward McLaren and Hamilton. Irrespective of whether he would want to or not, I don't feel Hamilton has yet shown the pedigree that I feel drivers selected for Ferrari should show (and I'm not for a minute claiming that every Ferrari driver to date has made this mark). Those are my opinions, you can't change them, only Hamilton can, so deal with it.

It's in his own interests to stay there - he's just not good enough to earn a drive in a Ferrari, so it's probably his safest bet at staying competitive.

Irrespective of how he got to this position, I hope he takes a leaf out of Michael Schumacher's book and uses his new found wealth to give very generously to charities and worthy causes.

lionel, thanks for being such an idiot, you really made me laugh loud! You're in such denial! It must hurt you deeply knowing McLaren are the acknowledged cheats in F1, and if you seriously believe the accusations about the FIA and Ferrari, you must also believe that Glock conspired to give the champlionship to Hamilton - the two theories are on a parr. I'm so glad this wesite allows paranoid morons like you to contribute so as to keep the rest of us entertained!

Quick everyone, let's all keep eggnham happy by only saying nice things on this website from now on, rather than actually stating what we feel or believe or leveling critisism at any of the people lest we should find we don't all agree with each other and dare to enter into a debate. Lets join hands and run down to the McLaren HQ and throw pink flower petals at good old Ron's feet, whilst singing and dancing to happy songs about how lovely the world is. While we're there we can build eggnham a big fluffy cotton wool house and cotton wool PC, with a cotton wool firewall to keep out all the nasty, nasty people that don't share his viewpoint.

You may slag off the Brazilian crowd, but you obviously weren't at Silverstone this year AD. The vast majority of British supporters were no better with their jeers and boos at Ferrari. The rest of the article is your usual biased garbage, and it's that pathetic I can no longer even be bothered to make comment about it. Please PF1, get a decent reporter without such blatant bias in to do this stuff next season.

the_dude2, there were basically only four people serving in Alonso's garage once things blew up at McLaren, and only one of them actually wanted to be there. Doubt it if you like, but it's the truth. I'm not prepared to say any more on the matter as I have friends there and I don't want to drop anyone in it.

turcon2 - I'm guessing you didn't see much of MS in action, judging from your laughably misinformed comments. I'm also guessing you're only about 12 years old, as you also mistakenly believe McLaren won the constructors this year. You poor kid! Snazzyduck - do you think everyone at McLaren feels like a winner? I think HK may not have quite such a rose tinted view of the situation....

I don't deny he (Hamilton) is a good driver, and fully deserves his place in F1. I do, however, dislike his disrespectful attitude to other drivers off the track and the saftey of those drivers on the track. Last season he benefited from the full support of his team, whilst Alonso had them against him, which is a far harder position to be in, so comparisons that year are hardly relevant, and this year, although he has driven well, he has gained far more from lucky breaks than he has either gained from skill or lost due to the stewards. I salute his achievements as a black driver, but his background, colour, religious beliefs don't come into it and are no reason to either dislike or for that matter support him. I judge him on ability, but I do not rate him as highly as either Alonso, Massa or Vettel. I belive him to be overhyped as for example his wet weather performances are not what they are cracked up to be, as whenever people talk about them they strangely neglect all the mistakes he's made in the wet (hitting the wall in Monaco, for example). I have freinds who work for McLaren, and I was among the first to congratulate them on what they have done this year, but just because I am not blinded by the hype in the UK press over the last two years and make my own judgement as to which drivers I rate neither makes me a racist nor any less of a motor racing fan than anyone else on here, and anyone that suggests otherwise needs to take a good look in the mirror before they dare make such pathetic and unjustified accusations.

PetefromBristol, were he a worthy champion I would level all the praise he deserves, but in my opinion, he isn't. You might cry like a baby girl in a racing car, but that has never happened to me, and if you knew me personally, you would understand quite how laughable that comment was! I recognise talent when I see it, but LH has luck to thank for this title. Sorry, but we both know that's the truth.

Glock was just lining himself up to take over from HK when McLaren dump him. You may be coming home to a brand new AMG and a mysteriously anonymous large deposit in your bank account this year Timo, but don't forget even if you do land a drive in the second McLaren car, you'll never really be part of the team....

Well said Michael! If I'm honest, I think the championships finished the wrong way around. Massa was by far the better driver this year, but much as I hate McLaren, they made far fewer mistakes than Ferrari and therefore had Felipe won the drivers championship, it would not have gone amis for the constructors to have gone to McLaren. On the plus side, the way things panned out, everyone at Ferrari was a winner, whereas it was only Hamilton at McLaren that can claim that honour. FORZA FERRARI - F1 World Champions 2008!

bjchap, idiot! Neither of us said we were ashamed to be British. I'm proud to be British, the only thing I'm ashamed of is the lame excuse we've put up for a world champion. It's BECAUSE I'm patriotic that I'm ashamed it's been won by an average F1 driver, largely through luck and by a vile team of notorious cheats. F1nestkind - he won, yes, but far more due to luck than talent. Well done Lewis, bravo, but sooner or later just like a Batman movie, you're going to have to face up to the fact you're not as good as the hype might suggest. Stevieg58 - Hamiltons arrogance is because he believes his own press, nothing more, nothing less. In the long term, both he and you will have to face the truth, he doesn't have the talent of Alonso, Schumacher or even Massa. Make the most of the next four months, because reality will kick in.

Well said Robson. It is apparent this year that outside of the McLaren fanbase and the die hard patriots who support British contenders whatever their merits (or lack thereof) Massa is considered the peoples champion, honourable, proud and a true sportsman. Lewis was gifted an undeserved title this year due to Ferrari mistakes and reliability issues, and so we unlucky British are now doomed to suffer months of brainless comments from the press and fanboys about how Hamilton is the best driver ever, and countless "sports personality of the year" awards (and what a vile and arrogant personaity it is). The record books will record Hamilton as champion, but they will also record that Massa won more races and even if all the stewards decisions that went against Hamilton were reversed, had Ferrari not had so many technical problems Massa would have won the season by around 30 points. Congratulations to cheating Ron and overhyped flukey Lewis on this hollow victory.

How will McLaren cope next year when they don't have this years Ferrari blueprints to work from....

McLaren will love you as long as you're Happy to be Hamiltons patsy and be a good little support driver whilst not rocking the boat or ever implying you don't get equal status. Get used to getting the B-grade parts on your car and having Ron faun over Hamilton and bend to his every whim whilst you get dumped with the heavy qualifying fuel loads. You are the backup plan, there just in case Hamilton messes up. Get used to it, because that is Rons preferred way to operate, just ask DC if you're in any doubt! Yeah, there have been one or two exceptions in years gone by, but big Ron soon puts it right and dupes someone into taking the number 2 role. All McLaren drivers are equal, but some McLaren drivers are more equal than others......

Lollipopman you bannana, the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points system was bought in to HINDER Ferrari and HELP McLaren. Swapping it to a gold-silver-bronze would make no difference, save for making drivers fight harder for wins so we don't end up in the position where the driver that wins the most races ends up second in the championship. You McLaren fans are so paranoid you look for conspiracy in every sentence uttered by anyone who is not part of the McLaren team. Haven't you noticed how Bridgestone have favoured McLaren this year by repeatedly choosing harder tyres to suit Hamilton and McLaren instead of Ferrari? That's the most blatant favouritsm and has happened consistently all season, but where's your outrage and complaining? Oh, you haven't uttered any because it's OK so long as it's in McLarens favour. Ridiculous.

Alonso is the best driver, Massa is the most deserving this season, and Hamilton is the strongest british prospect in years so he has the support of the patriotic british press and those fans that can't see past their own nationality. Not all us british are blindly biased (Robson), but many are so you can expect a slating for daring to mention it. I will find it most entertaining when Mercades finally take over McLaren and are pressured into putting their weight behind the German driver that will surely replace the increasingly unhappy Heikki...

Tayotafan, it appears that you're the MORON you idiot, anyone born in England is English! Anyone born in Scotland is Scottish (just ask David Coulthard!), anyone born in Wales is Welsh and anyone born in Northern Ireland is Irish, but we're all British too. F1 is an international sport with multinational teams so patriotism has nothing to do with it. Oh, and you can't be a Judas unless that's the name your parents gave you, you can only be like Judas, assuming it's an equally irrelevant religious reference you're attempting to make. I have to congratulate you on making yourself look so immensely stupid in so few words!

Racism sucks. There are plenty of reasons not to like Hamilton, but his ethnic background, nationality and religious beliefs are not amongst them and therefore should be respected, not abused.

Anyone that mentions Silverstone is a muppet. The guy was driving on worn (effectively slick) tyres due to a bad call by the team. Raikonnen struggled in a similar manner, and even Hamilton went off the track there despite having a perfect setup. Hamilton smashed into the wall in Monaco when Massa was driving away in the wet, but got his ass saved by a saftey car, and we all saw Hamilton mess up recently in qualifying in the wet at the same time as Massa was going faster. Slag Massa off all you want, and kid yourself Hamilton is good in the wet if you so chose. The truth is the McLaren car has been mostly better in the wet than the Ferrari this year but it has nothing to the relative talents of the drivers. Convince yourselves otherwise if you dare, but you're only fooling yourselves whilst looking stupid to anyone with an IQ of more than one digit.

Anyone that dares to level accusations of racisim without even knowing the ethnic background of those whom they are levelling the accusations against just comes across as a fool that can't be taken seriously. It's people like that who have hindered racial equality for years as they themselves are usually every bit if not more racist than those they claim to protest against, albeit from the opposite side of the coin.

Well said Filipe! I hope you win this one regardless of where Hamilton finishes, then at least the history books will show you were the real race winner this year. That will niggle Hamilton to the end of his days! But lets just hope he switches his ignition off again, that would be SOOO funny!

For years I've held much respect for Eddie Jordan, but I fear he's now heading the way of Sir Jackie Stewart...

No, no, Bernie, don't cave to the pressure. Please introduce more of the procession races that you have found in recent years. You need to do something to balance out next years rule changes, or we will surely see the appalling site of F1 cars passing one another outside of the pit lane. This would be dreadful! How would the camera men know which sponsors logo to focus on to generate the most advertising revenue? How would us fans be able to grasp who is winning if the cars were to start swapping places on track? Don't cave to the pressure, Bernie, as otherwise us fans would be in the dreadful position of having to cope with excitement at the start of every race and the people that stage the various races might be in danger of making a profit for someone other than you. F**kwit.

OK, so Martin Brundle was proven wrong last year once everything came to light and McLaren were proven to be cheats and convicted as such, but he still remains one of the best commentators without question. Losing James Allen, Steve Rider and Ted Kravitz is a blessing as they're sickening brown nosing to which ever UK driver was the flavour of the month has ruined the build up to F1 races to the point where most people have taken to switching on 5 minutes before qualifying or the race starts, but Brundle and Blundell were both worthy of their respective roles. Japan was the best race build up we've had in ages.

It would be a travesty to lose Canada and yet keep any of the precessional so called races that are Monaco, Hungary, Valencia and Singapore. If Bernie had an ounce of sense left in that (presumably) senially demented head of his, he would pay the costs of this race out of his own pocket. Bernie, you have enough money to support your family for generations to come, for f**ks sake stop gold digging and give something back to the millions of fans who have gifted you that position. Lets start a poll: Do you think Bernie needs to be richer?

Thank goodness for the FOTA. I think they should club together and next time Max is cuffed and gagged in one of his sex sessions, they should pay the prostitues to leave him that way...

Max is only saying this because he thinks KERS stands for Kinky Evil Ritual Sex. Truth is I don't care what he does in his private life, but I'm convinced he wants to destroy F1 before he is forced to step down. If the teams are ever going to break away, they need to think about doing it now before it's too late.

Typical lame comments of a totaly pro-Hamilton biased reporter. Padding out the website with a bunch of ifs, buts and maybes is simply pathetic. This is just the sort of tripe that a football fan club might publish to justify why their team should really have won the league. If such-and-such had given a penalty, if the disallowed goal against whoever united had been allowed then My Favourite FC would have been given their rightful place as champions. We can all come up with justifications as to why our preference is the true champion (If Massas engine hadn't blown up, if BMW had put their weight behind Kubica etc) but either leave it to the forum or balance it with similar justifications for the other teams. Then again, that may be mistaken for unbiased objectivity, so better keep it as is, in case Lewis ever reads the site....

I did wonder how Andrew Davies would manage to give his beloved Hamilton the overtaking move of the race this week, as he never overtook anyone, but I did actually laugh out loud when I saw that rather than give it to anyone else he opted to just leave it out altogether! I may be a Ferrari fan, but I could easily write a less biased review than this muppet. Hopefully next year he'll get the job with ITV he's so obviously desperate for, which would be perfect timing for the rest of the world to switch back to the BBC. Please please please switch back to objective journalism next year, ditch these fools that can't see past their own preferences and return to being the Planet-F1 that we have grown to love rather than the Planet-LH that is rapidly becoming a laughing stock. We know you all have your favourites, as we all do, but leave the bias to the forum where we can all join in the fun, and return your articles to objectivity or you will soon start to lose readers big time.

Massa has two things that Hamilton will never achieve, the dignity of a true sportsman and the respect of his peers.

There is a big difference between agressive driving and wreckless driving. Most of the drivers on the grid are agressive but stop short of being wreckless. It is fortunate that at the moment Hamilton is the only wreckless driver out there, with most of his passing manouvers relying on the other driver not wanting to risk serious injury or having his race ended and therefore allowing Hamilton to get away with dangerous driving. In the short term, Hamilton fans will claim that the other drivers are cowards or that the sport is dangerous so they should get used to it, but now the precedent has been set we will see more drivers adopt this style, and we will see an increasing number of accidents. Will the Hamilton fans still be so smug when his race is ended in a collision with a driver with the same attitude? They didn't like it when Massa took this attitude at the last race. Will they be so smug when a driver ends up dead or injured because of it? What if it's your beloved Hamilton?

I hear McLaren are introducing a young spy program as they're not sure who to steal their car designs from next season....

Oh dear me Planet-LH, we know you're McLaren/Hamilton biased which is why there are so many outraged Hamilton fans on here (anything that goes in Ferraris favour must be cheating, eh!), but supporting your case with James Allen quotes - surely even you can see that you've sunk to a new low! lol!

Once again McLaren and Hamilton refuse to accept any blame for what was clearly the most dangerous incident we've seen all season. They're bitter because they got caught cheating last year and yet still they think they are above the rules. If Hamilton gets pushed off the track, they kick and scream like a bunch of spoilt school girls, but if Hamilton does it it's just a racing incident and the only reason they were punished is because the FIA is against them and support Ferrari. The ITV commentary was so much better this week, when it wasn't being led by the Hamilton fan club. It was nice to hear a balanced view for once, that dared to suggest that perhaps the sun doesn't shine out of Hamiltons backside.

Nah, fair play to Massa. At least he tried to make the chicaine rather than just taking a short cut and then making a lame effort to give the corner back and just taking up the slip stream. It's also nice to see drivers have got sick of Hamiltons "barge your way through as the chances are people will get out of the way as they don't want a crash" attitude and are now holding strong and so he's getting knocked around like he deserves. Hamilton should have been black flagged for the first corner incident and taken out of the race, as it was the cause of all the problems that destroyed Coulthards race, not to mention all the other cars that nearly had a pile up. As for the Bourdais incident, there is no way anyone could judge who's fault it was from the angle that we got to see on TV, and anyone that thinks they can is a moron. The Stewards have far more footage available and can make an informed decision, but of course if they dare to find in favour of Ferrari then all the crawly McLaren bum lickers will cry FIA bias and claim the whole sport is rigged. Lame. Nearly as lame as Hamilton claiming he was not at fault for the first corner incidnet. "I just ran a little wide, as did lots of people, but I was the only one punished for it" - that's because they HAD to run wide to avoid the kamikaze pilot in the Mercades, Lewis.

This would be the death of F1. If the cars are more equal, it makes overtaking harder not easier. By all means limit the number of engine changes, but making everyone use a standard design would just drive manufacturers away from the series, as they would no longer be showcasing their own designs. If they want to cut costs we need less restrictions not more - innovation is far cheaper than refinement.

macahan, nice idea, but if you freeze development during the season, you can pretty much guarantee every race would have the same result. If one team had a large advantage at the start of the season, there would be no way for the other teams to catch up.

PeterBfree - pmsl, good one!

F1 will continue, teams will spend what they can afford. Max should go as his ideas are out of touch. If they really want to cut costs then we need less rules not more. When the rules are as restrictive as we have them now, teams have to spend millions to gain just a couple of tenths of a second. If they were allowed to innovate, then they could develop cheap ways to take seconds off their lap times like in days of old. Give each car a set amount of fuel per race, ensure cars are built to protect the drivers and marshals in the advent of a crash, and implement rules to enforce fair track and pit lane conduct, then set the teams free.

watchcam, lol. That statement must be a wind up because if you seriously believe it then you obviously weren't watching this sport last year. There's only one driver on the grid with a reputation for cracking under pressure at the end of a season, and his name ain't Kubica or Massa! Keep taking the tablets!

What's all the fuss about? This is clearly just another pro-Ferrari move by the controlling powers in F1. What better way to ensure one of the red cars doesn't get punted out of a race in the pitlane than by dropping the Canadian GP from the calendar altogether....

dazzauk, Buffy never said that Hamilton should be attacked, just that one could understand if one of the other drivers were to do so why that would be so. Louis_wells, 666 is a number and means nothing, I have no self esteem issues, but strongly believe in the right to free speech, and it disgusts me when people try to suppress it. It is apparent you disagree, and that is your choice to make, but personally I feel it far better to let people speak freely and then let other people identify who's right and who's wrong for themselves. And yes, I am British, but I really don't see what that has to do with anything.

Howee - yes, it is. At least this photo gives the illusion of impartiality to the passing Planet-LH reader.

Dazzauk, it's because we think he's irritating, overrated and believes his own press to the point where he now belittles other drivers at every opportunity, and by doing so he demonstrates none of the dignity that true champions show in their conduct. Just because we don't think the sun shines out of his behind doesn't mean our oppinions are any less valid than yours. If you don't like them, don't read them, but telling us to keep them to ourselves is akin to censorship, and I for one believe in free speech. I may dislike Hamilton's attitude, and cringe at and critisise many of things he says, but I would defend both his and your right to say whatever you believe. Don't claim that you're any more of a genuine F1 fan than anyone else just because you disagree with their oppinions, as you're just plain WRONG. Unless of course you believe people only count as genuine F1 fans if we support Hamilton, believe that the FIA is corrupt and that all stewards at all races have it in for McLaren? That's a rhetorical question, by the way, as I can guess the answer from your previous comment......

Fair enough, he's admitting what everyone has known for at least the last three races, but enough of the Lame photos. Do you ever publish stupid photos of Hamilton when he messes up or makes a dumb comment? Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big Kimi supporter, but repeatedly using photos like this in such a one sided manner is surely below anything outside of the tabloid press.

Oh my gosh! It seems like Sir Stewart has finally read some of his own comments and realised what a completely biased plonker he's started to sound like over the last two years. Admittedly, it's not exactly a revelation, as I'm pretty sure that most F1 fans have realised that when there's only a seven point gap and there's 30 points still to play for then the title is far from decided, but the fact he has almost complemented a Ferrari driver is unprecedented! Maybe he's taking to reading the P-F1 (aka P-LH) web site! Are you sure he didn't follow this statement with something like "but Lewis has the whole world of motorspot against him and Max wears Ferrari fluffy handcuffs in his "adult adventures"? Wonders will never cease!

Sounds like their sweet spot isn't so sweet afterall.

TAYOTAFAN - NO IT WAS PICKED BY BY NEPHEW. I DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD THANKS, AND STOP SHOUTING LIKE AN IDIOT AND TAKE OFF YOUR caps lock. Viceman - It took Hamilton with the whole team behind him to match Alonso with the whole team against him. They're leagues apart. Massa had some bad luck last year, but that doesn't reflect on his driving talent, oh yeah, and stop trying to blame McLarens failings on FIA bias, it's soooo lame. Finally, Tony the dumbass, go back to watching figure skating you fool, leave motorsport to the adults who know what they're talking about, moron.

eggnham - I think you'll find Hamilton hasn't actually achieved anything significant yet, and as for the battle with Alonso last year, Alonso had the whole team against him, Hamilton had the whole team behind him, yet still Alonso managed to run rings around Hamilton more often than not. Heikki must be getting sick of being his patsy this year, and I bet he feels for Alonso now he knows what he contended with last year.

Fingers crossed for Massa - lets hope he can make Hamilton look stupid yet again this season. It's so funny when Hamilton or his fans/the press make some claim about how he's going to perform, and then Massa just drives rings around him and makes him look daft. It's a shame the Ferrari team have made some costly mistakes in the pits this year (Silverstone, Singapore etc) as otherwise Massa would already have the title. Whether they are prepared to admit it or whether they prefer to live in denial, everyone really knows that Massa far quicker behind the wheel than Hamilton. Having said that, I'd like to get Alonso into a Ferrari as he could be faster still. You could almost guarantee a Ferrari 1-2 at every race.

Planet-LH gets lamer by the day. I imagine them scouring the race footage for any story they can spin to make it sound like poor poor Lewy has the whole sport against him. The only thing lamer than the ITV-esque LH bias of the reports here is the claims by the McLaren nursery school pupils that Massa's penalty doesn't really count as a penalty because he was toward the back of the field and that's the only reason the FIA gave it. Honestly, you people need to get out more and stop watching X-files videos, it's messing up your brains.

It certainly looks like a very undeserving Hamilton/McLaren are on course for the title this year. If it goes that way, it will definitely be remembered as a year Ferrari threw it away through pit lane and strategy mistakes rather than a year where McLaren won on merit.

Kick Ass! Let's just hope he laps 0.6s quicker than Hamilton EVERY lap!

Another typical Planet-LH article title. Hamilton says "I want a dry race", Planet-LH run with "Hamilton: Bring on the rain". Do you realise how daft you look when you fake quotes? Apparently not......

danguy81 - well said, by the way.

Go Felipe! One of the most under rated yet deserving drivers on the grid. Last year, you were the only driver to click that during Q3 if you crossed the line after your final hot lap with a second still on the clock, then you got to do two slow laps and thus save more fuel for the race. You've listened to MS, taken on board his advice and developed yourself fantastically. You were let down by the car and team tyre choice at silverstone, but had the strength to bounce back at the next race. Planet-LH will always put spin on their reports to support Lewis, but you would be a far more deserving champion this year.

eggnham, I'm going to go against my better judgement and credit you with sufficient intelligence to have another go at comprehending my point. Yes, I support Ferrari, yes, I am anti McLaren. I am not anti Lewis, I believe he has a lot to offer the sport, but I do believe he is being mishandled at McLaren and it is not good for his future. I do accept quite freely that other peoples opinions differ to mine, and I enjoy debating those decisions. I do however get very, very, very bored of reading the same crap joke at least three times on every thread that mentions either the FIA, McLaren, Ferrari or one of the personnel connected with these organisations. It stopped being either clever or funny after about the first half a dozen times it was published. It adds no value to any thread and makes the writer just seem lame, unoriginal and unable to come up with a decent point worthy of further discussion. As a fellow Brit, I find this embarrasing as it suggests to the rest of the world that our education system is rather lacking (as does commenting about how someone should not attack the authors of comments, and then immediately following it with a tirade of ill thought out abuse). Personally, I see no need for patriotism in an international sport with multinational teams (your preferred team is largely German, by the way). It is akin IMO to supporting the football club with the most British players, and I've yet to meet anyone with that philosophy.

Full time stewards is a nice idea when it comes to consistency, but can you imagine the allegations that would fly about if they ever decided to penalise McLaren for anything? We would be eternally doomed to listen to people claiming they were secretly employed by FIAT or that Max Mosley was controlling them, and you can bet that Sir Jackie Stewart would likely be one of the first to suggest it. It's such a shame he couldn't just retire with dignity.

eggnham, thanks for proving my point! 'Nuff said, lol!

As this website is international in nature, I feel it my duty to point out to the rest of the world that there is currently a small minority of fundamentalist extremists within the United Kingdom whom have taken to bombarding boards like this one with their extremist propaganda. As with all extremist groups, they are unable to reason, unable to discuss, and unable to come up with any rational statements. They will try to distort and twist the facts in any situation in a feeble attempt to justify their misplaced beliefs. Needless to say the rest of us in this country are all rather embarrassed by the stupid statements they insist on repeatedly regurgetating, but please rest assured that the vast majority of people over here are far more rational, so please do not tar us with the same brush. Fortunately, the extremists in question are an inconsequential bunch that can simply be ignored, which is by far the best way to deal with them. It is also fortunate that it is very easy to spot them, as they cannot help but include a phrase along the lines of "Ferrari International Assisance", "Ferrari Insiders Association", or "FIArarri" in every other message they post. Please accept my sincerest apologies on behalf of the British nation.

I laugh at all these McLaren/Hamiltons fans that can't accept the shortcomings of their favoured team/driver and therefore have to cry 'conspiracy', 'FIA bias', 'its a fix', etc. etc. You can tell they're all just bandwagon jumpers as anyone that's watched the sport for more than two years wil know the FIA has gone out of its way in the past to stop Ferrari from winning. The current points structure was put in place to stop MS/Ferrari from being able to build up a lead. They've periodically banned and reintroduced traction control and launch control to try to hinder Ferrari and give the other teams more of a chance. The FIA is no more biased toward Ferrari than they are to anyone else. In truth they're more likely to try to hinder Ferrari than anyone else. Anyone that seriously believes there is cheating going on is just buying in to the McLaren propaganda which they spread last year when they were trying to cover up their cheating. Stop being puppets and try to be rational. Read the evidence for yourselves. FIA really = Ferrari Impedance Association. McLaren = Must Call Lawyers After Race ENds. (For all the fanboys out there, that's called a joke, by the way.)

Levelhead - if he'd braked a little earlier and not tried a daft move around the outside that was never going to work (he's run many people off the track himself when they've tried it against him) he wouldn't have needed to take Raikonnen out at all. He could have slotted in behind and taken him safely two corners later. He tried a daft move, which he then compounded by cutting the chicane and gaining a good two or three seconds, which he then failed to give back. It was all his own fault. If he has any sense he can take two lessons from this: firstly, when you have such a performance advantage, there's no point trying anything daft, just bide your time, play it cool and pass when it's sensible. Secondly, if you do end up gaining an advantage by skipping off track, wait for at least one more corner before trying again so as no one can question the move. It's common sense really, but he's still young and has much to learn.

Justice is done! Excellent news for the sport and the future of racing as a whole.

JamesTheHunt - although I stand by my views on McLaren and their sportsmanship, you raise some valid points (nice to hear some reason on here!). Although previously it has been left to common sense and sporting behavior as to what exactly constitutes returning the advantage in situations like this, in the current era where sport involves hundreds of millions of pounds there is no option but for these things to be made crystal clear so no-one is in any doubt. I see it as the only way forward if we want to keep the racing on the track and out of the courtroom. There is just one minor point I must pull you up on though, the majority of people (90% of the current F1 drivers and about 83% of the general public, according to PF1s very own poll) actually believe the penalty was fair and justifed, it is only a small (but granted very vocal, lol!) minority that believe it to be otherwise.

Dear Lewis, here's a tip with regard to focus: try to focus on the apex of the corner, rather than the shortest way across the chicane. That way you'll be sticking to the same rules that everyone else drives to.

Well said DC. I may not have agreed with you much over the years, but here you've hit the nail on the head and said exactly what I was thinking. There should be polystyrene blocks obstructing and corner where an advantage could be gained by cutting the track, making it a last resort rather than a racing choice. If Spa had had such an obstruction, Hamilton would not have even considered trying to go around the outside into the first corner of the chicane, but would have instead braked earlier and slotted in behind Raikonnen ready to pass him two corners later. Poor fool Hamilton for not doing that anyway, and it's a shame that he's making options like this, and the associated rule "clarifications" necessary by continuously trying to take unfair advantages, but with the improved saftey features at modern circuits, it was bound to have to happen sooner or later. Just a shame he couldn't be more of a genuine sportsman in the first place.

For the good of F1, ban McLaren. Many teams have won the championship over the years, not just Ferrari, yet none of them have felt the need to go to court at every opportunity to try to do it. No-one in the padock seriously believes the FIA/Ferrari conspiracy theories, just look at Ross Brawn, he doesn't work for Ferrari anymore, so if anyone were in a position to expose any pro Ferrari bias it would be him, yet he still publicly states that there is no bias. McLaren are bad for the sport and bad sportsmen to boot. Kick them out and end this perpetual dragging of F1 through the courts. The truth is not that the FIA is biased toward any team, but McLaren resent that the FIA is not biased toward them. They disgust me as a team, and they cast a shadow over an otherwise noble sport. The shameful thing is that if they put as much effort into being sporting and developing their car as they do into cheating and using their legal team, they would most likely win anyway. Pitiful, truly pitiful.

How thick are all these people that are asking why a Ferrari lawyer was there? Who on earth do you think he was taking an advantage against? BMW? Toyota? Williams? There's no wonder you all think there's an FIA conspiracy when you can only see two cars on the track, one driven by your beloved Lewis and the other being the one that got in his way. For goodness sake wake up, smell the caffine and stop trying to blame everyone else for Lewis' mistakes.

Lucifer - Hamilton did slipstream, he said so in the post race press conference. He used that exact word. Racingbychance - Post race penalties are a must, as otherwise it would just become a free-for-all in the last few laps with everyone cutting every corner and chicane. Such penalties don't happen often, but we will never escape from them so you have to accept it as part of the sport. If a car failed the post race checks the same thing would happen. You can't be 100% sure of the result of an F1 race until it's officially declared, which is usually quite some time after the chequered flag.

If this appeal is upheld it will be conclusive proof that the FIA (Ferrari Impedance Association) is back to their old tricks of doing anything to try to prevent Ferrari from winning. Although the McLaren fan club would like to have us all believe that it's them that the FIA is biased against, the truth is the exact opposite. Lets not forget that the current points system was put in place purely to stop Ferrari getting too much of a lead in the championship, and there were countless rule changes put in place during the Michael Schumacher years to try to take away any advantage Ferrari worked for. McLaren were let off lightly after last years cheating, where the precedent was that they should have been banned, and if this decision by the stewards is overturned it will show once again that the rules everyone else races to are regarded as optional when it comes to McLaren. For the sake of the sport, lets all hope justice and sportsmanship prevail and this appeal is rejected.

Hill is just bitterly anti-Ferrari because he got spanked by MS so many times and he resents th F1 authorities because he lost Silverstone the British Grand Prix. Comments like this are on a par with the hot air that we're so used to hearing Sir Jackie Stewart spout. Irrespective of whether the penalty was deserved, it would be a disaster for the sport for the decision to be overturned in court. We would enter an era where teams would argue with the stewards over everything and we'd never know the result of a race until two weeks after the event. Teams would end up spending as much on lawyers as they currently do on development.

eggnham, looks like the first reply I posted has been surpressed, so without going into the same level of detail suffice to say, if you seriously believe that last years goings on at McLaren can all be put down to Alonso (and his so-called cronies), then I'm afraid you're living in sadly misguided denial, "my freind". Open your eyes, look at the evidence, read the court transcripts and you will see the truth. If after that you still believe what you wrote, then there is clearly no point trying to hold a reasoned debate with you, for you are living in McFantasy land (where the sun shines silver everyday).

eggnham, I fear you have a distorted view my freind. Whilst I have no doubt that Alonso would have kept quiet about things had he been given number 1 status over Hamilton, there is also no doubt that the only reason Ron came forward himself was to save face as he didn't want to be a victim of blackmail. Yes, one disgruntled Ferrari employee was a traitor to his employers (which does not count as his team cheating, lets be honest), but it was proven in court that the information he passed to McLaren was seen and acted upon by a large number of McLaren staff, and knowledge of it went right to the top. Alonso is no saint, but you are fooling yourself if you think the whole thing can be blamed on him and his so called cronies. I thank you for trying at least to provide a reasoned argument though, albeit a floored one. I personally believe that Hamilton was fully aware that McLaren had the information, but I accept that he would have had no part in gaining it so I regard him as innocent in respect to the wole affair. I can also understand his loyalty to the team, given that they have gromed him since childhood, but I think he would ultimately be a better chracter and driver were his talents to move to another team such as BMW.

Howee, that's a well thought out and eloquenty worded argument you put across there (Not). Sorry but from the evidence I can see Hamilton does not rate as a wet weather driver (feel free to point out which of the points I raised about his wet performances was incorrect), and I don't believe the McLaren team has strong ethics and as such I believe they are bad for both the sport and for Hamilton himself (again, feel free to state how their conduct last year qualifies them as ethical and sporting, I'm always keen to hear reasoned arguments). As it stands, you just come across as a blind fanboy - try to come up with some reasoned arguments and maybe we'll begin to take your comments seriously. Curently your only serving to expose your own lack of knowledge and as a result there's far more people laughing at you than with you, lol!

I find this "Lewis king of the wet" talk laughable. Monaco, he put it in the wall in the wet, and got very lucky not damaging his suspension then had his race saved by a saftey car. Silverstone, yes he won with a clear track ahead of him and the help of blue flags to clear the backmarkers, but he still went off the track like everyone else and overcooked his intermediate tyres, not to mention that Ferrari threw the race away - in all a very very average performance if you think about it. Spa, he spun on lap 2 in the damp, putting himself in the position that later led to him having to fight Raikonnen (and we all saw how he messed that up). Monza, 7th place finish in a car that his teammate put in second place, and all due to his incompetent wet weather qualifying driving. Lets not forget Kubica made up just as many places in the race - Hamiltons strategy was never going to work, he was always going to have to make a second stop as he was always going to overcook his tyres once he caught up with the leading pack, even if it had rained. Take off the silver tinted spectacles and you might be able to get a realistic view!

...and if they can't win on the track, they can always cheat and then call in the legal team to try and justify it in court. Fortunately it didn't work last year, let's hope it doesn't work this year either.

McLaren: Must Call Lawyers After Race - Extremely Neurotic.

If Hamilton is re-credited with these points and goes on to win the title, everyone outside of his fan base will see it as a tainted and hollow victory. F1 will lose credibility as it will become standard practice for teams to appeal every stewards decision and we will never know who's won a race until two weeks later. If Hamilton is not recredited with the points and loses, his supporters will claim whoever did win didn't deserve it. Although the later scenario would have less impact in terms of the number of fans who it upsets, the FIA is in a no win situation. Better that they stay strong and stand by the stewards for the benefit of the sport, in the same way that FIFA stands by football referees, although this call was perfectly justified and fair, bad decisions do get made on occasion but teams should take it on the chin and not be allowed to protest. Having said that, I'm now so sick of McLaren fans crying like a bunch of pre-school infants that I almost want the FIA to give him back the points and then him still lose the championship. Now that WOULD be funny!

Lets just hope common sense does prevail and McLaren get told the appeal is inadmissible and they get sent packing. It's only members of the Hamilton fan club that think this penalty was unfair, most of the rest of the world, including all the other drivers can see he took an unsporting advantage. He was daft to do it, but that's just down to youthful exuberance and he should do the smart thing and learn from it. With the performance margin he had there was no reason to be so hasty. It's unfortunate that it was too late in the race for the incident to be sorted out prior to the finish, but it's not the first time a post race penalty has been applied and it won't be the last, it's the nature of the sport so people need to learn to get used to it as once every few years it does happen. It's sickening to true fans of the sport to see McLaren trying to intimidate the FIA and stewards of future races by insinuating there's a conspiracy against them, and by dragging the sport through the courts. If you truly believe the FIA is against you then don't give them the satisfaction and just quit. With your current attitude to the sport, it will be no loss. Let Lewis go and drive for a team with honour, where he can earn some genuine respect.

Dear Planet-LH, you seem to have accidentally missed your beloved Lewis off the 'losers' list. Seems to me that he had his championship lead cut in half, and once again got beaten by the guy who "is on his back foot trying to keep up". At the end of the day (or weekend to be more precise) it's the results that count - but I suspect you just put that down to yet another anti-McLaren/Hamilton FIA conspiracy....

Hamilton is at best only average in the wet. Monaco: damp track, he puts it in the wall trying to catch Massa, but luck was on his side when a saftey car saved his bacon. Silverstone: won from the front with clear visibility and the help of blue flags whenever he had to pass anyone, in a far superior car to that driven by Vettel in this race, yet he still ran off the track like most of the other drivers. Spa: yes, his car came good at the end, but he was the only front runner to spin on a damp track at the start. Monza: useless in qualifying, and in the race no better that the significantly inferior BMW of Kubica. Although Hamilton arguably has some talent, one thing he is certainly not, is the new rain master. I have no doubt that the McLaren is by far the best car in the wet, using it's mechanical grip to full advantage. Similarly the Ferrari is currently one of the worst cars in the wet as it derrives more grip from aerodynamics. Lets stop confusing the abilities of the drivers with the abilities (or lack thereof) of their cars, which ever team they are in.

...but only because they would have tried to swap it for a Ferrari engine.

Change the record PF1, we're bored of dancing to this song now.

Interesting choice of headline "Drivers: Hamilton Penalty was Harsh". You could have said "Drivers: Hamilton Penalty was Deserved" or "Drivers: Hamilton Penalty was Harsh but Fair" which would be equally true. In the last 12 months this site has switched from being "PLANET-F1" to being "PLANET-LH". Your getting as bad as ITVs "Lewis Hamilton Show" that has replaced what used to be their Formula 1 coverage. The sport is bigger than any single driver or team. Please go back to being objective journalists rather than papparazzi gutter press.

PeterBfree - lol! Hamilton is a good driver that deserves his seat in F1, it's such a shame his loyalty is with the most disreputable team on the grid. By racing for McLaren he condones an unsporting team that cheats, lies, steals and forces F1 through the courts. There is far less credability winning in a McLaren than with any other team. Personally I'd like to see him switch to BMW and partner Alonso again next season - that would be superb entertainment! McLaren should have been thrown out last year, as Toyota were from the WRC back in '94 when they knowingly cheated and tried to cover it up.

PeterBfree, I think you will find that it is YOU that fails to understand how it works. 16.2 specifies that stewards will respond to a "report or request" from the race director. As Mr Whiting was asked for his opinion on a potential incident, he is oblidged to REPORT this to the stewards. It is then down to the stewards to decide whether they wish to investigate further. This is distinctly different from him REQUESTING an investigation, which obliges the stewards to investigate an incident they may otherwise have overlooked. As he was asked for an opinion (which is all he can legitimately express) he had no choice but to report this to the stewards, this does not mean he formally requested an investigation. Don't quote rules unless you understand them yourself.

It would have been improper for Mr Whiting not to have draw the incident to the attention of the stewards once the McLaren team had asked his opinion. Had they not asked for his viewpoint, he could have left it up to the stewards to decide whether they wished to investigate. Unfortunately, once he has been asked for an opinion he is obliged to draw the stewards attention to the incident otherwise he is effectively making (stewards) decisions that are outside of his authority and remit to make.