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Post by schumi on Mar 22, 2008 12:03:05 GMT
Hamilton and Kovalainen have both been penalised 5 places on the grid for impeding Heidfeld and Alonso.
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Post by Genghis on Mar 22, 2008 12:06:05 GMT
Hamilton and Kovalainen have both been penalised 5 places on the grid for impeding Heidfeld and Alonso. Here we go. McLaren gained 13 points on Ferrari in the constructors championship last weekend, so the F(errari)IA spring into action. Fuck it, I won't be getting up at 7.00am tomorrow morning now.
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Post by schumi on Mar 22, 2008 12:22:27 GMT
Revised grid:
1..F Massa 2..K Raikkonen 3..J Trulli 4..R Kubica 5..N Heidfeld 6..M Webber 7..F Alonso 8..H Kovalainen
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Post by Genghis on Mar 22, 2008 12:30:33 GMT
Revised grid: 1..F Massa 2..K Raikkonen 3..J Trulli 4..R Kubica 5..N Heidfeld 6..M Webber 7..F Alonso 8..H Kovalainen No comment on the latest F1 stitch-up, then Schumi? Even as a Ferrari fan, you must admit that it completely stinks.
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Post by schumi on Mar 22, 2008 12:33:48 GMT
I have been trying to ignore your comments all morning, genghis. I've just spent the last 32 hours asleep because I've been so ill, and to be quite honest I've had enough of forums.
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Post by Genghis on Mar 22, 2008 12:37:55 GMT
I have been trying to ignore your comments all morning, genghis. I've just spent the last 32 hours asleep because I've been so ill, and to be quite honest I've had enough of forums. Schumi, sorry to hear that. Hope you're feeling better soon. And don't take too much notice of old Genghis. He's in a right bad mood at the moment.
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Post by Genghis on Mar 23, 2008 10:20:24 GMT
Well, after the false dawn of Australia, I feel this race confirmed what most people think - that Raikkonen and Ferrari will dominate in 2008.
King Kimi barely seemed to break into a sweat in the Malaysian heat. Massa threw away an almost certain second place by parking it in the gravel - there was some suggestion something had broken on the car - but it appeared to be driver error. Massa's position at Ferrari has to be quite precarious.
Due to Massa's error, McLaren stay 13 points clear of Ferrari in the Constructors Championship. In fact, the increasingly competitive BMW split the two heavyweights in the table - surely a maiden win can't be too far away, Kubica was a solid second today.
Hamilton was hampered by a problem changing his front wheel on the first pit stop, which prevented him leaping Webber in the pit stops. He meant he finished fifth instead of third, and team-mate Kovalainen took the final podium place in his place.
Hamilton retains a 3-point lead over Raikkonen in the championship, but unless McLaren can turn things around quickly, I feel that this will be a year dominated by King Kimi.
Kimi has been pretty much the best driver in F1 since 2003, and now finally he's got the total package. Can he be stopped in 2008? I very much doubt it.
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Post by schumi on Mar 23, 2008 10:49:53 GMT
Two points to note before the race: David Coulthard hadn’t been feeling well, and had been excused from doing the drivers’ parade in the morning, and, perhaps more importantly, Martin Brundle said there were “no excuses” for the McLarens’ penalty post qualifying. The pair were clocked at 60km/h (40mph) on the racing line on their in lap during the final stages of the qualifying session yesterday – so slow, in fact, that they failed to register as still being on the track.
On to the race, and Raikkonen seemed to get the drop on Massa at the start, pulling ahead of his team-mate, but then tucking back in behind him after the first bend when he didn’t have the racing line. Meanwhile, as Trulli and Heidfeld touched, the latter was relegated further down the field, whilst Hamilton squeezed past the pair of them to move into fifth place, and at the back of the pack, Bourdais made it two DNFs in a row, as he took a trip across the gravel after the rear end stepped out on the exit of turn 6. The last of the first lap action saw Timo Glock and Nico Rosberg have a coming together, resulting in the former retiring with broken suspension, and Rosberg having to pit for a new front wing, whilst Massa pulled away at the front.
Lap 5 saw Coulthard complaining of understeer, giving Alonso and Heidfeld the chance to pull up and sandwich him between themselves, with Heidfeld in the faster car making the move stick. Alonso and Coulthard side by side for a few corners, when Alonso gave the Scot an ungentlemanly nudge into the bend. Coulthard yielded, and gave Alonso position, as Sutil went deep into turn 9, putting an end to his own race.
Lap 8 and Nakajima overtook Vettel in the Toro Rosso on track, as Massa was still pulling away up front, proving the Ferrari has the speed – the gap between Massa and Hamiton then up to over 16 seconds. The top three at the time being Massa, Raikkonen and Kubica.
Lap 14, and Button, Piquet and Nakajima moved up behind Coulthard as Hamilton took a look at Webber, and the Ferraris begin to lap cars.
Mark Webber was the first car to come in for a scheduled stop on lap 17, followed by Massa. Raikkonen took the opportunity while his team-mate was stopped to put in the fastest lap of the race so far, then an outstanding in lap, before he pitted himself for fuel and tyres, with Heidfeld and Trulli following suit. Raikkonen’s hard work paid off as we saw him come out in front of Massa – showing just why he’s the World Champion.
As a result of the stops, the top three were then Kubica, Hamilton and Kovalainen. Unfortunately for Hamilton, as he made his pit stop there was a problem with the cover on the front right wheel, costing him 13 seconds, and demoting him a considerable way down the field.
Lap 26 saw Heidfeld and Hamilton pushing hard on the back of Webber, while Trulli gained ground on Kovalainen as Raikkonen took the lead of the race for the first time due to the cars in front of him coming in to make their stops. The race leaders were now Raikkonen, Massa and Kubica, with only the three retirements of Sutil, Glock and Bourdais.
Not much action until lap 32, when Massa dropped it from second place and beached his Ferrari in a pile of gravel, putting an end to his race and Ferrari’s hopes of a 1-2. A silly mistake seems to be the only explanation, as telemetry found nothing wrong with the car. Seven laps later and Kimi came in for his second scheduled stop – no problems for him, and he easily slotted back into the race in second position, before Webber pitted, freeing Hamilton.
Lap 42 and another Ferrari engine blow-up, this time for Vettel in the Toro Rosso, and Webber getting held up by Sato allowed Heidfeld to leap-frog him in the pits. Two laps later, the World Champion seemed to be cruising to an easy victory, as he made his final stop of the race, followed by Hamilton in the McLaren, who, thanks to a good in lap and no problems this time around with his stop, managed to gain two positions by getting past both Heidfeld and Webber.
Nine laps to go and Hamilton was closing in on Trulli for fourth, whilst Alonso moved up behind Webber in the fight for seventh place. Neither managed to make the move, however, and the final piece of action in the closing stages was Jensen Button taking the scenic route across the grass, but managing to keep the car running, as Raikkonen took the chequered flag.
Final positions:
1..Kimi Raikkonen 2..Robert Kubica 3..Heikki Kovalainen 4..Jarno Trulli 5..Lewis Hamilton 6..Nick Heidfeld 7..Mark Webber 8..Fernando Alonso
What would have been an almost perfect race for Ferrari was ruined by Massa’s mistake, meaning what should have been an easy 18 points for the constructors ended up with both main challengers scoring 10 points a piece. Kubica should have been overjoyed at his second place, but the heat in Malaysia looked like it had taken its toll on the Pole, although he still managed to celebrate, and said he was “so happy for himself and the team. Trulli will be pleased he’s finally managing to get the best out of the Toyota over more than a single lap, and Webber picked up his first points of the season.
The next race is in Bahrain on the 6th April.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2008 11:23:41 GMT
I did get up to watch it , but as i lay on the couch i dozed off and missed most of it . Doesn't appear that i missed very much anyway , from reports i've heard it was a pretty processional race .
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Post by Genghis on Mar 23, 2008 11:29:55 GMT
I did get up to watch it , but as i lay on the couch i dozed off and missed most of it . Doesn't appear that i missed very much anyway , from reports i've heard it was a pretty processional race . It wasn't the best. I woke up at about 7.15am, so missed the start, but saw the rest. Schumi has, very succinctly, pretty much summed up ALL the action in a few paragraphs. The sooner they get all those aerodymanic bits off the cars, the better.
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Post by schumi on Mar 23, 2008 11:45:24 GMT
That's a genius typo! Yes, it was pretty boring, with only one overtake on track, and that was Nakajima.
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Post by Genghis on Mar 23, 2008 18:56:40 GMT
That's a genius typo! I do my best, Schumi.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2008 21:46:39 GMT
A fairly boring race one of the most over rated circuits on the calendar, Malaysia only produces good races due to its somewhat freakishly downpours. Kimi was never bothered all day and also took a very measured first corner to make sure Spinny did not take his nose off.
Massa without TC..... you just know something is going to happen, Hnourables to KUbica Heikki and Trulli. Lewis' race was hampered by the dodgy pit stop, also his choice of tyres was somewhat out of sync and had he been on the hards for 2 stints he may well have been putting Kubica under pressure for 2nd come the end of the race.
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