Aussie Wins, Loses And Loudmouths

Monday 17th March 2008

Not all PF1ers are happy with Hamilton's win, which some say is a sign Ferrari are missing Schumi. There's also a call for DC to learn a few manners...

Got something to say? letters@planet-f1.com

Say It Isn't So
Early days I know but let's hope this race is not going to be the template for all season. Whilst everyone else had problems a plenty, McLaren had a faultless race from start to finish. Many people thought they might still be suffering from all last year's problems. Yeah right!

The first race in Australia often throws up one or two unusual incidents, but this one took the cake by far. All the pre-season hype about Ferrari kind of faded away early on for me. We appear to have one driver (Massa) who still hasn't got to terms with no traction control and the other (Raikkonen) who appears to have lost the ability to know where his front wheels are on the track and also what distance he needs to brake for a corner. On top of that, the cars are not very reliable.

Ferrari and Raikkonen are going to have to get their act together big time if they want to try and stop the Hamilton/McLaren steamroller. Hamilton's total commitment and faultless driving over a race weekend, must already puts him as favourite to win the championship.

BMW are hotter than last season, but over a race distance do not appear to be hot enough yet to mount a serious challenge for a race win.

Disappointingly, Renault at the moment are as bad as Alonso was forecasting a few weeks ago. Australia last year did not tell the true story for the rest of the season, let's hope this is also the case this time around.
Ray D. UK

Thinking Thoughts
A few thoughts and comments on Aussie GP events and you recent headlines.

1) Pit closed on safety car-rule is ridiculous unless it has no profound role regarding driver safety. The usual safety car appearance in most motorsports may rip off your 30 second lead but this SC rule F1 has, will always put someone 30 seconds behind. At worst your 30 lead turns into 30 second defeat as you are first forced to stay behind the SC so your competitors may line up behind you before you are allowed to pit. There will always be someone behind you who was plain lucky to have pitted one lap ago. Complete lottery.

Should Lewis Hamilton had opted to pit a lap or two later we would have Nick Heidfeld as the winner and with little luck Sebastien Bourdais on podium. I have absolutely nothing against such outcome as long as it is even remotely justified from racing perspective. What next? Three inch nails on the track to undo the unlucky? We might finally see Toyota win a race.

2) For once F1 rule changes have take the sport in right direction. Great driving, lots of adrenaline, eventful and more overtaking than season 2006-2007 combined. Hopefully the same stuff keeps coming!

3) McLaren steering wheels are either cursed or simply faulty in design. Two races and two shutdowns from erroneous pilots. How hard can it be to design a steering wheel with some degree of user safety? Imagine a futuristic steering wheel that will ignore the user when speed limiter is engaged at full throttle on main straight or a steering wheel that does not allow one touch engine shutdown during a race, let alone season grand finale. This is clearly beyond imagination of McLaren engineers, maybe they should just ask the red team for advice (pun intended, for the very last time...).

4) The 2008 Red Bull F1 is made out if cardboard. Massa's gentle push to the side made DC's car lost just about all its wheels and rear structure collapsed. Current design of Red Bull will never survive the kerbs at Monza.

5) RE: PF1 Lap time comparison: Could it be Kimi and Ferrari had if not the pace but the potential, really? Adjust the lap times taking into account Kimi's one stop strategy and constant struggle for positions in the midfield at extreme conditions. His race was quite different from the cozy clean air cruise of McLarens, don't you think it is a bit early to declare Ferrari over-hyped?
Antti K

Ferrari Are Useless With Schumi
I wanted to say this all last year but gave them a chance and now I have to say that Ferrari don't have a clue without Schumacher driving for them. Kimi only won last year due to the gross incompetence of McLaren and Lewis' schoolboy errors.

They have two of the fastest drivers on the grid. Unfortunately they are :

Kimi Raikkonen - He can put his foot down and drive fearlessly, but, give him a race to fight through using guile, craft and strategy and he'll bin it. He only functions in 1 of 2 modes... put your foot down mode or party mode. Other than that he is in standby mode simply staring blankly in front of him until a Ferrari engineer presses a switch back at HQ to re-activate him.

Felipe Massa - Can lead from the front effortlessly... Put some pressure on him and he becomes a nervous wreck turning the simplest task into a drama usually resulting in several off track excursions and shunts into other cars.

Ferrari really need to invest some time in sorting their drivers out. What's the point of having the fastest car on the grid if your drivers cant drive them properly when you really need them to. A highly embarrassing race which will have given "Honest" Ron his first smile in months.
D Raval

...What a laugh! Now we see the effect of the loss of Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn on the Ferrari team. Kimi is a fast driver, but that's about it. Massa will show his lack of worth with the loss of traction control.

And Max and Bernie's circus keeps getting funnier. How on earth does someone make a rule not allowing cars to pit during a safety car, with no allowance for cars that are running on fumes? Here's to a farcical 2008! I'm switching to ESPN and the Nascar series. Let's go racing boys...
Vernon, South Africa

TC Ban Appears To Favour Inexperience
As the results of the Aussie GP had shown, I reckoned the TC ban would favour the rookies in the coming GPs since their experience without TC is still in their mind when they used to race in GP2 or F3.

This is a nice thing from spectators' point of view as more often you would have the young lads challenging the more experienced guys.

I predict this will continue for a few races until the experienced drivers start to get used to driving without TC. Nice call from FIA this time.Nelson, Macau, China

TC Ban Loves Lewis
It was great to see Lewis drive faultlessly to victory, it is clear that the ban on traction control has played into Lewis's hands.

I also find it hard to believe that Ferrari could shoot themselves in the foot twice in the same race. Lewis needs to keep his head down capitalize on their misfortune and hope that the trend continues, it looks very likely that he might do it this year.

Good job to Williams as well, finally Nico has something to show for his superb driving skill.
Faisal Al-Saja, Dubai, UAE

Lewis's Lack Of Podium Manners
So if my memory serves me correctly Schumacher was pure smug arrogance according to practically everybody in the UK. These same people seem to think wonderful, down to earth, in touch with the fans, my shit doesn't stink Hamilton can do no wrong? Those of slightly less biased opinion or perhaps just plain more astute would have already been turned off this little boys cocky attitude.

News flash #1 Hamilton your not the centre of the universe!! Despite being a big F1 fan I recognise it for what it is. Fluff around the edges of the day-to-day goings on in the world. If push came to shove F1 would stop and life would go on without it rather easily. It doesn't stop anybody from starving, it doesn't stop wars, it doesn't really do anything except entertain and interest "mostly".

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was appalled by Lewis lack of manners on the podium today at the Australian GP. It was bad enough to cut 'Schumacher' style on race starts and still only have British commentators regard you as 'fair' but I don't think I have ever seen anybody call the other podium getters up for a photo and then rudely shove them aside the way Lewis did today! What an absolute gall. If Michael had done that the haters would have pounced on it with glee. Yet once again this arrogant little twat can do no wrong.

News flash #2 Lewis, people don't dislike you because of your colour. They dislike you because of your behavior.

To add insult to injury English commentators are far too smitten with the little brat to call him up on it. It will come. Slowly but surely the rose tinted glasses will fade and even those not so bright will notice your the biggest brat to set foot in an F1 car in history.

I can only hope karma keeps you from continuing your streak of good fortune that has served your F1 career thus far. Thank god it stepped in for the last two races of 07 preventing your from becoming not only the first rookie but also least worthy world champion in history.

Regards,
Ex F1 fan who may occasionally watch ITV's feed with the mute button on to spare myself from hearing James Allen prepare his wedding vows to Lewis Hamilton.

DC's Outburst Was Not Clever Nor Big Of Him
DC's outburst following the collision with Massa (for which even his own manager blamed him on live TV) was unacceptable. Regardless of the circumstances and the exact words used, the fact that he makes a threat towards another driver, no matter how adrenalised he may be at the time, must surely warrant investigation from the FIA. I can't think of another sport where one competitor can make a threat against another without sanction, particularly when such comments could arguably constitute an offence under UK law.

His choice of language was unprofessional and clearly didn't impress Louise Goodman who handled it well. I've never been a fan of DC's media skills, which I've always found very shallow and at times very nervous. For example, at the post race 'party' at Silverstone last year he tried to make a joke about Nico Rosberg calling him a 'f***ing w***er' in front of around 50 thousand people. Loads of kids were present, laughs he didn't get, his 'shock tactics' didn't work and the sound of 'rolling brush scrub' was there for all to hear. If he's trying to establish himself up as the 'bad boy of F1', it's both unconvincing and too late in the day.

The last thing I am is a prude and those who know me personally will also know that I m not adverse to using verbal profanities with worrying regularity! There is however a time and a place and I don't believe its within the public face of F1. Surely it's all about personal self-control and professionalism and on that front I believe that DC has let himself down badly.

Perhaps he's just f**ked off that it's his last season in F1 eh? ;-)
Ali Broughton

...I think DC needs to calm down, preferably in the company of a VCR playback of the incident. And I thought this was going to be DC's year!
Paul Barrow

So Much For DC's Whimpering
Didn't look to me as if Coulthard's going out with a whimper as you stated last week - he can't win with you people!
Kevin Perrett
Ed: Okay so he's going out screaming. But he is going out!

Am I Invited To The Wedding?
So when is the wedding? Mr. Davies is so in love with Hamilton I would think he would want to tie the knot. Hammy this, Hammy that, gawd it makes me want to puke!

AW a journalist? Oh, no! His anti-Alonso bias is so tiring. His credibility is shot, gone.

I'll bookmark another F1 site. I've had enough of the fawning over boot-licker Hammy, as well as the smear tactics against Alonso.

I notice China and Brazil of 07' are not mentioned, at all. Hmmmm.

Hamilton gagged as bad as has ever been done in the whole of sport, yet all of Britain loves their Hammy. Button is the forgotten man... too bad.

I can't stand LH, the little yes boy. No it's not racism, can you get off that jag? I despise yes people. The team this... the team that = wimp, spineless.
Kevin

Davies Flying His McLaren Flag Again?
Your guy Andrew Davies who wrote the features article of Winners and Losers must be a McLaren fan for calling that passing move of Heikki on Alonso (on Lap 57) the Overtaking Move of the Race.

Come on, Heikki had the fastest car on the race (clocking the fastest lap time of the race at 1:27.418) and from lap 49 he couldn't pass Alonso (for at least 8 laps) with a Renault whose best time did only 1:28.603 (and that was the last lap). And then accidentally pressing the limiter? Only tells me how bad a user interface design McLaren's controls are, or Heikki's showing his rookie nerves with such a mistake.

If there was anybody clearly showing skills in this event it would be Alonso, for using his brains while racing in a given slow car. Only if the cameras were able to show the coverage from Alonso's car point of view, I would have loved to see (what for me is probably the best overtaking move of the race) how he overtook both Kimi and Heikki in one corner (Lap 49). That was thinking on his feet and great anticipation! Few F1 drivers can be called smart (Schumacher is the only other one I can think of.)

Hamilton avoided any pandemonium because he was ahead of the entire pack. Alonso came from the back but avoided any crash/contact/spin/whatnot and drove a very satisfying race. He just knew when to push and execute. Contrast that with the Ferrari drivers especially Massa. When will Ferrari wake up and see that Massa isn't their man and just get Alonso if they want to beat McLaren?

Ok, so I'm an Alonso fan. Go Fernando!
M. Fernando, Manila, Philippines

Talking Bernie And The Aussie GP
Bernie seems to have successfully bluffed yet another F1 race host. He certainly has the Australian media wrapped around his little finger at present.

Bernie is claiming that the Australian GP is in jeopardy because it runs at an unsuitable time for European audiences. Presumably Bernie has made this claim to once again try and push up the price for hosting an F1 race.

At the same time Bernie has been saying that he is very bullish about the growth of F1 in Asia. And he has previously stated, without keeping a straight face, that Europe will become the new third world.

Surely the contradiction amongst Bernie's recent comments betrays his real intentions. He desperately wants to capture the television audience in Asia with a population 3.9 billion. Once F1 takes hold of Asia, it will completely overshadow the European audience with a population of only 700 million. His line that he is selling to the Australian media that the European audience is the utmost consideration in the scheduling of F1 races is nothing more than a bluff.

Consider the current situation in cricket, admittedly a sport with a less geographically diverse following worldwide. The international game is now effectively run by the Asian television broadcasters.

Will a later race start for the Australian GP suit Bernie? Yes. Does Bernie still need the Australian GP? Yes. Why? Because a late afternoon/early evening race in Australia makes for prime time viewing in the Asian television market, which he desperately wants to capture.

And as a bonus, a later starting Australian GP is better suited to the viewing schedule of Europe.
Stephen Brewster

...Night races are cool, but can you blame Australia for not wanting one? Wouldn't anyone prefer a beautiful day race to a night race? I would think more money could be made during a day race as well.

Also, why is Bernie saying the reason for a night race is to broadcast during a better time slot in Europe, while he simultaneously continues to axe the great European tracks from the schedule?

Just doesn't make sense.
Mike

...'Ecclestone refuses to budge and told the Mail on Sunday: "The only way the race could stay in Melbourne, or anywhere else in Australia, is if it is staged during the night so that the public in Europe can watch it. At the moment, it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live. That can't carry on."'

Oh, so the European audience has to sit up for one or two races. Diddums. Guess what, Bernie, in Australia, if we want to see the races live, we have to sit up for almost all of them. There's this thing called a DVD player, y'know. Let the European audiences program theirs like we manage to do.

Why should everyone around the track - which is smack in the middle of a RESIDENTIAL suburb - be kept awake or driven out of their homes because of your precious television schedule?

Screw you, Bernie. Take the GP and shove it. It's been costing Victoria millions every year, the attendance figures are inflated to nearly double their real numbers by your corporate mates and their freebies, and it's just a bad joke. Four hundred bucks for an uncovered plastic seat in a "grandstand" is just theft.

I love F1 but I'm sick to death of your toxic attitude.
L. Deutscher, Melbourne

...With all the respect, I think Bernie Ecclestone is going senile. He says that "at the moment, it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live. That can't carry on".

Well, I live in Brazil and I've been a F1 fan since 1988, and since then I have to stay up until late on a Saturday night once in a while to watch a race on the other side of the globe. Also, I like to go out on Saturday nights, so I rather come home and have something fun like F1 to watch before going to bed than having to wake up at 8am on Sundays to do that.

It's just one race, I don't know why he's making such a big deal out of it.

Thanks a lot, and keep up the good work guys, PlanetF1 still is the best!
Lucas

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