[Pookie]

I predict lots of cars driving round and round a circuit and absolutely nothing of interest happening.





We just need a golf thread now, and I can give up on this board once and for all.

[demonrail666]

Can see Lewis settling for second this weekend, so long as Kimi and Alonso finish behind him; he definitely can't afford to go off trying to pass Massa.

[PAULYBEE2656]

why enter a thread which you have obviously no intrest in at all??? it says it in the title...

massa off in the distance......................... lewis second..... maybe pookie is right!

[demonrail666]

Ideal scenario would be Kimi or, more interesting still, Alonso overtaking Lewis at the start, forcing a proper dog fight. Lewis hasn't really been tested in that kind of scenario yet (the Brit GP was too dominated by the weather to really count) so it'd be interesting to see how he deals with it.

But failing that, Ican't see today's race being a classic. Massa's too far behind to really win the championship. Alonso and Kimi are gonna be paranoid about getting into a scrap in case either of them drop points. So yeah, may well be something of a procession this weekend.

[PAULYBEE2656]

if the gp2 race is anythingto go by, its aint gonna be that great. shame cuz its a fabulous track. that 3 apex flat ot corner (6,7,8) is awesome......

[demonrail666]

Hamilton coming 5th is bad for him but good for the neutral (and Kimi, Massa and Alonso of course). Not a great race either way apart from the kimi-massa showdown that sort of almost happened. Paulybee was def. right when saying they'd be nicking points off each other.

Disliking Alonso more by the day.

[afterthefact]

Being America, what are motorsports like in other countries? Here, any motorsports we have are just redneck. Nascar, drag racing, tractor pulls, whatever. They are all associated with country music, rodeos, and all the like.

[demonrail666]

Motorsport in Europe has its share of redneck fans (speedway, especially) but F1 has a bit more of a classy image. It's the Cannes Film Festival of sport. Bo Derek was wondering around at today's GP in Turkey. That wouldn't happen at a Speedway meet. You should try and catch the rest of the season, you might be pleasently surprised. It's a wonderful sport that can become enormously addictive - as much for the backroom politics as for what happens on the track (which today was a bit uneventful apart from Hamilton's puncture).

And if US motorsport is associated with country music, then F1 is maybe more like a gorgeous Serge Gainsbough-Bridget Bardot duet - only far louder.

[PAULYBEE2656]

hey, the u.s. have great series. the irl is good if a bit guilty of destroying the indy 500 and single seater in the states. champ car (cart) is a great series if it has been a bit diluted. the infiniti pro series, formula atlantic, the bikes are good too, ama etc. but yeah, the u.s. loves its nascar and drag racing big time, they dont like silly looking cars with foreigners driving them.....

america needs an f1 driver of some calibre. scott speed was not good. bu maybe danica patrick may break through. the states really dont know ehat they are missing and in saying that the american grand prix attracts more spectators than any other grand prix ever!

[PAULYBEE2656]

as for the turkish gp. what a dull race. totally devoid of anything . lewis was lucky to finish 5th. roll on the big hitter tracks, monza and spa!

[demonrail666]

Hamilton's lead now down to three points. Alonso is far steadier now and Lewis seems really rattled by the whole McLaren case. Flippin hell, I'd rather see prima-donna Alonso win the championship on the track though than for the season to be settled in a fucking courtroom.

[PAULYBEE2656]

spa! bring it on! monza was a good race, a bit of a let down but spa, a monster of a track!

 

great track, great history, great corners, great chance of rain and usually a great race...

shame its been tarnished by the spygate affair, sorry spygate bollocks...

latest news...
McLaren have been stripped of their points in the 2007 Formula One constructors championship following the "spygate" scandal.
The team has also been fined $100m (£49.2m) and will have to subject its 2008 cars to examination before racing.
But the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) will not dock the points from their drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
"The WMSC has stripped Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of all constructors points in the 2007 FIA Formula One world championship and the team can score no points for the remainder of the season," the FIA said.
"Furthermore the team will pay a fine equal to $100 million, less the FOM income lost as a result of the points deduction," it added.
The decision means Ferrari, currently second overall behind McClaren and 57 points clear of BMW Sauber with four races remaining, look certain to be crowned champions.
Asked if justice had been done, the president of the FIA Max Mosley said: "Yes".
Earlier, Championship leader Hamilton, 22, attended the hearing at the headquarters of the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
He said outside: "We work together as a team. I am relaxed and confident about today."
McLaren's Spanish test driver Pedro de La Rosa was also among the McLaren delegation but double world champion team-mate and compatriot Alonso was at Spa-Francorchamps preparing for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
McLaren, who led Ferrari by 23 points in the constructors' standings after last weekend's Italian Grand Prix one-two at Monza, are accused of having used leaked data and information from the Italian team.
Chief designer Mike Coughlan was suspended in July after a 780-page dossier of Ferrari information, covering every aspect of the team's 2007 car, was found at his home in England.
McLaren maintain that Coughlan, who had approached Honda about job opportunities jointly with Nigel Stepney - the former Ferrari employee at the heart of the controversy - was acting without their knowledge and none of the information had found its way on to their cars.
McLaren were found guilty at a hearing in July of possession of unauthorised Ferrari material but escaped sanction after the FIA's World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) ruled they had not benefited from it.
Hamilton, the rookie sensation of the season, leads Alonso by three points in the championship with four races remaining.
© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved

so in other words, it really means fuck all! this will set a precident for future teams especially when designers move from one team to another.ferrari will get its just desserts !

now back to racing!

[king_buzzo]

why is this thread still FUCKING ALIVE????????????

[demonrail666]

its depressing that ferrari, the least honest team in f1, benefits from something that i'm sure had no actual impact on the mclaren cars.

[nicfit]

Mc Laren will have quite some problems getting sponsors from now on, methinks.

[demonrail666]

I don't think it'll affect them too much regarding sponsorship. They're still, alongside Ferrari, the most prestigious brand names in the sport.

This season's a bit of a right-off now though. Hamilton and Alonso probably should've just been disqualified for the season, just to put an end to the whole thing. As it stands, if either of them wins the championship their victory will ultimately be tainted by doubt. I feel sorry for Hamilton and Ron Dennis, neither of whom seem to have had anything to do with the whole thing.

The most sickening thing is how smug the Ferrari team are acting now, as though they're the most squeaky clean outfit in the paddock.

A very sad climax to an otherwise classic season.

[h8kurdt]

Nobody give a shit that Mcrae has died? Oh well it must be just me then.

[the ikara cult]

Yeah, that was awful news this morning. I follow F1 on a very casual basis but i used to love the Rallying when it was Mcrae and Richard Burns at the top of the World Championship, now theyre both dead prematurely, very sad.

[PAULYBEE2656]

ok, mclaren vs ferarri vs the courts. its done and dusted. thank fuck, what boring shit that clouds the racing...... suffice to say i think the verdict was appalling and max mosley and others should be ousted. its very like the 1981 season when the drivers actually striked to force a change in the heirarchy of the fia (then split into fisa and foca). the whole spygate affair has really cast a shadow over the whole sport and has serious implications on the future as well. i mean a designer moving from one team to another now could be held liable if he uses some of his knowledge? a men in black mind blanking gun is being designed at the moment in a secret room somwhere in paris!!! its bollocks, pure bollocks. how can they justify taking the constructors points away and not the drivers? (dont get me wrong, i dont want to see any points but its like they said mclaren are half guilty!) as for the 50 million quid...... 35 million is paid from theprize money this year, 15 million is a mere pain in the arse for mclaren. its the integrity and honesty and fairness that is tarnished and that hurts ron more than anything else. as for alonso........ he should be sacked before he quits! i would bet a lot of money we will see him at ferrari next year with kimi, if it happens, i will laugh........

as a long standing motorsport fan as a result of te heaing and the court case, i dont care who drives for ferrari, i wont ever again cheer for them or rejoice in a job well done, is sickening what they did and how it came about. dont tell me this hasnt happened before, it happens all the time but is dealt with properly not dragged into the open. its reducing the sport of f1 to the level of what the tour de france is at now................. i feel for the drivers, what bullshit they have to listen to, not for alonso though as he instigated a lot of it and made dennis out to be a liar. the interviews on the itv build up were very very revealing.... anyhooo....

the bullshit stops when the lights go out......

what a start to a race. alonso and lewis side by side at eau rouge, fucking aazing racing. and what excellent driving. could have easily been a mother of all crashes there. the rest of the race was a huge disappointment tho, quite processional. the result means that the drivers championship is closing up. ferrari will romp at japan and china making it even closer...... what a great on track season it is................................

and well done dario franchitti for finally winning the il title on the last corner of the last lap ofthe last race. scotland needs a sporting hero right now....

[demonrail666]

Just finished watching Japan. Incredible performances by Hamilton and Kimi in clearly impossible conditions. Ferrari's cheating over tyres at the start of the race just proved how hypocritcal their accusations against Maclaren were. Glad that max points were gained against Alonso too. Agree with Paulybee that Alonso should've been sacked after the hearing. It's obvious, and entirelly just, that Ron Dennis is behind a Hamilton win.

Any thoughts on who might replace Alonso? Would love to see Button, personally.