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Eduan

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I agree.

I take this is your opinion but also a very polite reply to my own post so I will reply in the same manner to you although I think you are a huge pile of horsecrap and not worth being spat on the eye as it would be a waste of bodily fluids :D

Again, my comment was more aimed towards the posters attitudes than about Lewis driving but if we are going to talk about both accidents, I watched them again and both are clearly Lewis fault and both were easily avoidable so no racing incidents.

- Massa: Just for the record, the incident with Massa I always refer to is the touch at Loews, not the tunnel part which actually ended with Massa against the wall. At Loews, Massa arrives first to the corner and is already turning when Lewis tries to put his nose between Massa and the i nner side of the corner. I don't know if they have any sort of contact or not but anyways Massa then takes a much more open exit line than usual meaning he either got scared Sh#tless away or simply shoved by Hamilton's car (which was, at the time, with his front wheel right in front of Massas's rear left one, perhaps both cars already tangled). Even then, Massa is clearly ahead and Hamilton's car nose is pointing clearly towards Massa's whihc is turning as that is all he can do except crashing face first against the wall. He had no other choice since the beginning of the manoeuvre from Hamilton as Hamilton's car was all the time stuck to Felipe's. THAT is the part that was entirely avoidable by Lewis as al he should have done is stay behind Massa. His only other choice being trying to imitate Alonso's voice over the radio and say "this is ridiculous!" then hope for Ferrari to get confused :D

- Maldonado: Even worse move. He is alongside Pastor but only because he was going too fast. So fast that he goes clearly over the kerbs at St.Devote and uses P.Maldonado as his brakes. If Pastor wasn't there he would have ended at St.Devote's altar :D Again, I am all for entertainment and Lewis ballsy moves. But as we usually say when facing Lewis moves there's ballsy and then there's stupid. These two moves were clearly the second kind. His pass ib Schumi was aggressive, was forceful (although it did help that the Mercs have already turned back into pumpkins by then) but was still better timed and better resolved. It was great to watch. The other two were ugly and were clumsy.

On Lewis comments: I will reply personally to you via PM because I know where this all is heading and I don't want to hijack the thread or get mad, like I said before, this had to do more with posters attitude than with Lewis comments per se (which were merely idiotic but just comments, after all). I will be happy if at least you can see my point though :D

Well, I did have your comments in mind but also everyone else's so it wasn't really aimed at you, just a general post about all of these types of incidents/arguments/whatever, and about not making too much of them and being overly critical, I suppose (even though I have probably been overly critical of one driver or another so I'm a hypocrite, anyway :lol:)

(I was talking about the hairpin too not the tunnel). As for the incidents, we would have to disagree I suppose. I think it is not so clear cut on placing all of the blame on Lewis (I mean I heard at least 3 or 4 different opinions on the incidents already so I'm not sure it's as clear cut as all that..), but I think anyone would have to admit that Lewis was not exercising his good overtaking judgement today and was clumsy (although I still think the guy in front plays a large role in these kind of overtakes). Maybe I will bother to watch them again to see if these differences in opinion I've seen are justified or whether it really was all Lewis' fault, although I'm not sure I care enough :lol:

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[quote name='#46' timestamp='1306700705' post='335782']Now, first @ Adam's reply to me: okay your position is much clearer to me now, even if we still disagree a little on a few things![/quote]
Okay George - but as long as you realise that I now have to make comments about 'kids today' at every oportunity so as to become a parody of myself. (My favourite past time).

EDIT - re. Hamilton's comments, I don't think he'd have made them if he was of an older, wiser generation. Kids today just don't have any anger management skills.

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This is you being serious and failing (you among all, young paddawan! :P) to understand or even try to keep an eye on your double standards. This is going to be a tough week for Macca fans when it comes to it ;)

Let's see what we are going to see A LOT this week:

- First, a lot of arguments because we will be indiscriminatingly criticizing or defending drivers and psters views. From my part, debate over double standards are aimed at posters whereas debate over manoeuvres themselves are obviously aimed at the driver.

- "At least he tries to pass": oh really? Me and many others have already praised Lewis all this season for that. He got this year more praise from me than Nando got. But again, one thing is the entertainment factor derived for a guy that tries always to overtake and another is watching a race where a guy makescauses two entirely avoidable collisions, both of them clearly his fault. Somebody recalls the heat Kimi got for his crash against Sutil when his car was obviously out of control? How many thought it was a case of "hey, at least he is trying to overtake!". What about Alonso doing pull these same dumb moves on Heidfeld a couple of years ago? Webber vs Vettel at Turkey last year? Schumi against 90% of the grid since his comeback? :P Come on! Lewis was dumber than usual. That does not mean the guy is crap. It won't hurt to admit that he drove like a drunken truckdriver for once, you know?

- Why bring Ayrton Senna? Why not Alonso and his 6/10ths? Why you, who kept bringing in an out of context comment from Alonso against his pitcrew for 3 seasons as a proof that he is no team player suddenly become a lover of guys that speak their minds off? Why the sudden amnesia when Lewis kept doing that on every race this season? Are you sure your love for political incorrect drivers is that pure? ;)

- The funny thing is: his comment about racism was obviously a joke when he realised that he was talking too much, and he didn't realise that it would only make things worse. Under that light, I think it's the smallest of his sins, yet the one that will bring more fire and brimstone over his head.

- One last thing: The penalty handled afterwards is a joke. A drive through for causing a collision is always controversial (when you get a stop and go for exceeding the pitlane speed even if it is empty) yet, it is consistent with other similar cases so no complaints there. But for causing a second collision the penalty is naturally worse. Throughout all its history (not just in the latter "micromanaged by stewards era") F1 has made a stronger case for repeated breaches of rule, which is common to all sports. So, if you give a guy a DT for causing a collision, the penalty for causing a second collision should be naturally worse. That goes beyond the collision itself or any other consideration. Once you rule that both collisions were caused by Lewis you must penalise him heavier the second time. If they didn't have the balls then they shouldn't have penalised the first crash either.

A guy can't get 5 yellow cards in a single football game, after all can he? :P

Needless to say, I see it a bit differently. I think the difference of opinion is about the context in which things are said.

I've only made one post (before this one) today and it said that Lewis might regret some of the rash things he did and said today, which I think is fair enough for anyone. I went on to defend Lewis, to some extent because of your comments. In the last 24 hours, from memory, I think you've called Lewis a "clown", "the most despicable person on the grid", "a drunken truck driver" and said he needs to "grow up". So in that context, yes I'm inclined to defend him a little and put any mistakes into perspective. To be perfectly honest, I think someone should punt Massa and Maldonado into the barriers every race.

Likewise, my comments about Alonso were said in a specific context. I never said he's a bad person, or even a bad driver. In fact I've usually talked about him as Lewis's main rival, as Lewis himself does. My criticism of him was said in response to the way his fans portray him. Sure, I mock his six tenths claim but not because he's the only sportsman ever to say such a daft thing: rather, I mock it because his fans actually take it half-seriously. I know you will deny it but there are plenty of posts on here that claim he's the main reason Renault ever won a championship!

And of course, the same applies to all the other criticisms I make. I can't remember another set of fans who've built their man up into some kind of moral saviour the way his do. Even when his own emails showed that he'd cheated, they still denied it. And yes, we went on about his counter-productive comments about his team but not because we hate Alonso: it was because his fans make out that he is the best driver at motivating his team, so it seems obvious that his conduct would come under greater scrutiny.

I've often felt quite sorry for him. I genuinely like the guy and wish he'd speak his mind more. But a lot of his fans (not you or Alex) were new to the sport and took everything he said literally. And for me you got drawn into that because you always try to make out that all fans are equal in expertise, even when clearly some are earlier in their learning curve.

And as a sort of aside, I don't like to get hung up about double standards. I prefer Hamilton and - in the context of a sport - don't really feel the need to always be fair, or to shed a tear for every Hugo Chavez-sponsored pay driver to get in his way. :P

And while writing this, I have felt more sympathy for Hamilton. His comments about race were just because he felt "got at" or unfairly treated, imho. And in his life, no doubt he has often felt that way related to his race. For every racism-related incident we've heard about involving him, no doubt there have been 5 we haven't. People also make fun of his relationship with his father in a very personal way, and mocking someone's family can be more hurtful. Likewise, his friendship with Ron Dennis has been ridiculed, and his start at McLaren. And his style of driving - imho a good thing more often than not - inevitably leads him to being questioned by the stewards more than most drivers, who all too often seem to just settle for a Sunday afternoon drive to collect whatever points they end up with.

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i feel sorry for people who mix race with race (classification of humans) , everything else can be subject of mockery and criticism.

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Yeah, Lewis was fuming, no smile, no laughter at all. He should probably sue the FIA. All of us here can all testify for him.

Come on...he was making a joke. He obviously doesn't think it's racially motivated at all, and it seemed to me from his tone and expression that he was mocking those who just play the race card every chance they get. Next time he ought to mock the people who defend a black man from his own comments on the basis he might be being insensitive to himself. Seems to be a few of those here; skimmed mostly, but I've only see one person pick up on what the comment really was/really meant.

He wasn't accusing the FIA of racism, nor was he making light of racism (which he himself has experienced, so I'd bet he wouldn't be laughing about it). He was making light of people (including media) who can only see things in terms of race. The moron with the microphone was trying to make this into a big situation and leading him toward this "FIA is out to get me" story, and he kept her grounded by making fun of her and of others who can't do anything without bring their skin color into it.

It was the only part of his interview that wasn't immature self-pity silliness.

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A masterclass from 4 wc: 3 of them on how to drive reaching the limits with no mistakes; the other showed how not to drive!

Pathetic drive and more pathetic interview!

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Needless to say, I see it a bit differently. I think the difference of opinion is about the context in which things are said.

I've only made one post (before this one) today and it said that Lewis might regret some of the rash things he did and said today, which I think is fair enough for anyone. I went on to defend Lewis, to some extent because of your comments. In the last 24 hours, from memory, I think you've called Lewis a "clown", "the most despicable person on the grid", "a drunken truck driver" and said he needs to "grow up". So in that context, yes I'm inclined to defend him a little and put any mistakes into perspective. To be perfectly honest, I think someone should punt Massa and Maldonado into the barriers every race.

Likewise, my comments about Alonso were said in a specific context. I never said he's a bad person, or even a bad driver. In fact I've usually talked about him as Lewis's main rival, as Lewis himself does. My criticism of him was said in response to the way his fans portray him. Sure, I mock his six tenths claim but not because he's the only sportsman ever to say such a daft thing: rather, I mock it because his fans actually take it half-seriously. I know you will deny it but there are plenty of posts on here that claim he's the main reason Renault ever won a championship!

And of course, the same applies to all the other criticisms I make. I can't remember another set of fans who've built their man up into some kind of moral saviour the way his do. Even when his own emails showed that he'd cheated, they still denied it. And yes, we went on about his counter-productive comments about his team but not because we hate Alonso: it was because his fans make out that he is the best driver at motivating his team, so it seems obvious that his conduct would come under greater scrutiny.

I've often felt quite sorry for him. I genuinely like the guy and wish he'd speak his mind more. But a lot of his fans (not you or Alex) were new to the sport and took everything he said literally. And for me you got drawn into that because you always try to make out that all fans are equal in expertise, even when clearly some are earlier in their learning curve.

And as a sort of aside, I don't like to get hung up about double standards. I prefer Hamilton and - in the context of a sport - don't really feel the need to always be fair, or to shed a tear for every Hugo Chavez-sponsored pay driver to get in his way. :P

And while writing this, I have felt more sympathy for Hamilton. His comments about race were just because he felt "got at" or unfairly treated, imho. And in his life, no doubt he has often felt that way related to his race. For every racism-related incident we've heard about involving him, no doubt there have been 5 we haven't. People also make fun of his relationship with his father in a very personal way, and mocking someone's family can be more hurtful. Likewise, his friendship with Ron Dennis has been ridiculed, and his start at McLaren. And his style of driving - imho a good thing more often than not - inevitably leads him to being questioned by the stewards more than most drivers, who all too often seem to just settle for a Sunday afternoon drive to collect whatever points they end up with.

OK, I will stop right here because I know when we touch these subjects things go ugly faster than light!

Yes we disagree and it still baffles me what Nando fans you people keep referring to. But your post, athough we still disagree, was rational and honest.

And that is what usually p**ses me the most around these parts lately: Intellectual dishonesty. I can cope with difference in opinions...heck, I disagree with about 90% of the people in here about most stuff, but I can respect people that I think they are serious about their POVs as I am about mine (and of course, if they can be silly when the occasion calls for it all the better!)

BTW, my comments were never aimed at you except when I quoteed and replied to your points directly of course ;) Just in case...

I don't want to push the issue too much for fear of hijacking the thread and after all it was one hell of a Monaco GP in the eyes of most of us, right? :D

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Yeah, Lewis was fuming, no smile, no laughter at all. He should probably sue the FIA. All of us here can all testify for him.

Come on...he was making a joke. He obviously doesn't think it's racially motivated at all, and it seemed to me from his tone and expression that he was mocking those who just play the race card every chance they get. Next time he ought to mock the people who defend a black man from his own comments on the basis he might be being insensitive to himself. Seems to be a few of those here; skimmed mostly, but I've only see one person pick up on what the comment really was/really meant.

He wasn't accusing the FIA of racism, nor was he making light of racism (which he himself has experienced, so I'd bet he wouldn't be laughing about it). He was making light of people (including media) who can only see things in terms of race. The moron with the microphone was trying to make this into a big situation and leading him toward this "FIA is out to get me" story, and he kept her grounded by making fun of her and of others who can't do anything without bring their skin color into it.

It was the only part of his interview that wasn't immature self-pity silliness.

I guess you are referring to public reaction in general because (so far, at least) nobody here actually hinted that his comments about racism should have been taken seriously or were that terrible. If any, they were made with an awful sense of opportunity.

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Yeah, Lewis was fuming, no smile, no laughter at all. He should probably sue the FIA. All of us here can all testify for him.

Come on...he was making a joke. He obviously doesn't think it's racially motivated at all, and it seemed to me from his tone and expression that he was mocking those who just play the race card every chance they get. Next time he ought to mock the people who defend a black man from his own comments on the basis he might be being insensitive to himself. Seems to be a few of those here; skimmed mostly, but I've only see one person pick up on what the comment really was/really meant.

He wasn't accusing the FIA of racism, nor was he making light of racism (which he himself has experienced, so I'd bet he wouldn't be laughing about it). He was making light of people (including media) who can only see things in terms of race. The moron with the microphone was trying to make this into a big situation and leading him toward this "FIA is out to get me" story, and he kept her grounded by making fun of her and of others who can't do anything without bring their skin color into it.

It was the only part of his interview that wasn't immature self-pity silliness.

I'm not so sure about that, actually. Of course you could be right, but I think you give Lewis way too much credit. I don't think he was making a social comment about media or race or anything like that. It just seemed like something that came into his head on the spur of the moment.

What most people can agree on is that it was clearly just a joke, though. It is funny to see some people take it so seriously, for example I think James Allen on Twitter said something like "I never thought Lewis would use that card" - and in those 140 characters or less he lost a lot of the credibility that his blog had built up over the last few years :lol:

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it is obvious that he made a joke, but they made so huge article titles in most newspapers about this ,so this story will last until canada. i hate when they use question mark in title of article and hiding their incompetence behind it. ' Hamilton accused FIA of racism? ' it is a cheap trick,but it works, unfortunately.

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The race was really good, right up until the red flag when the FIA ruined it by letting everyone slap new tires on, effectively neutralizing the battle. It's amazing how they can always figure out a way to ruin things, eh?

Oh well, I have my fingers crossed for the rest of the season. Maybe we'll get some competition rather than the one-man show we've had thus far. Not hating on Vettel or anything, I just wish that he had a bit more competition.

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I guess you are referring to public reaction in general because (so far, at least) nobody here actually hinted that his comments about racism should have been taken seriously or were that terrible. If any, they were made with an awful sense of opportunity.

It's possible I misread people as misreading Lewis. I did see comments here but I'm worn out and I haven't gone into the F1 section much prior to this week so I'm probably just seeing things between the lines that aren't really there.

it is obvious that he made a joke, but they made so huge article titles in most newspapers about this ,so this story will last until canada. i hate when they use question mark in title of article and hiding their incompetence behind it. ' Hamilton accused FIA of racism? ' it is a cheap trick,but it works, unfortunately.

That's fluff journalism for you. If you aren't writing for a dedicated publication, you leave facts to the editor, and the editor leaves editing to the reader.

Is Montréal next? I'll need a favorite driver and the exact date of that puppy. Might watch if both of those factors work out.

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Is Montréal next? I'll need a favorite driver and the exact date of that puppy. Might watch if both of those factors work out.

Dates 10th-12th of June. Your favourite driver will be adamstrags. Glad I could help.

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Q1 flying laps in cronological order...

Schumi on soft tyres: 1:16.910

Rosberg on soft tyres: 1:15.858

Schumi on super softs: 1:16.092

Rosberg on super softs: 1:15.283

:rolleyes:

He didn't. He wrote the post after Q1. Those were the laps in Q1. He is right. You are wrong.

Wrong wrong wrongidy wrong wrong wrong wrooooooooong.

Well it doesn't matter does it! It is Q3 that counts! Schumi got the right lap in! But all in in all it is useless cause Mercedes really had a poor GP. Even if Michael lasted he would have finished low down the order!

wrong.

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I thought Lewis was over aggressive with his drive, but unlucky at times. But I have to agree with Martin Brundle that at the moment he can't take responsibility for his actions and that is a sign of immaturity. He still think he is a great driver he just needs to talk less and drive. These little silly comments can become a distraction for him if he wants to catch Vettel for the championship!

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Summary of the Monaco GP. Experienced teams made some basic errors throughout the weekend. McLaren with their qualifying strategy for Lewis in Q3. Very risky given that it is Monaco after all and an accident is never far away. Red Bull with their lousy pit stops for Vettel and Webber during the race. Ruined Webbers race. I think Horner's line that Vettel won the race based on an accidental mistake made in the pits by putting on the harder tyres early is unture. I think their strategy was always to do the 1 stop, its just that they had to stop early to cover off Button, who pitted first, on a two stop strategy. The mechanics were waiting for Vettel to arrive with the prime tyre to go on the car. One tyre got caught up in the blanket and caused a delay. It was Webber's stop immediately afterwards that was compromised and they didn't know what tyres to put on the car.

Shame that the race got red flagged as it would of made interesting viewing to see if Vettel could make the tyres last to the end. Personally, I think Alonso would of got by and probably Button too. I don't think Button would of got past Alonso though. If they had of got by it is likely that RBR would of brought him in for fresh tyres as he had a huge lead over 4th place at the time.

Now to Hamilton. His penalties were completely justified. There is no way you can pass into the Loews hairpin without the driver you are overtaking allowing you to do so. Massa took his normal line down there, there was no gap. It was a desperate move. Hamilton's attempted overtake of Maldonado was even worse and then to say that he turned in earlier for the corner is a load of crap. It was another move where the driver in front would have to allow him through in order to make the move successful. Imagine if the roles were reversed in both occassions and Hamilton was the car in front and therefore the victim of these overtaking attempts. I'm sure he'd have plenty to say about both moves being too optimistic and desperate. He said in his interview that he would hold his hand up if he made a mistake in an overtake move that he got wrong. Well he got both of these wrong, but he didn't hold his hand up. Whilst on about his interview the question must be asked about what the hell the McLaren driver PR people were doing in allowing him to spout forth. If they were doing their jobs correctly the interview should have been stopped as soon as Hamilton started going off on one. I'm sure Whitmarsh will be having strong words with them and they might not be at Canada in a couple of weeks.

Not a bad Monaco race, could of been so much better though. Montreal, here we come.

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Yeah, Lewis was fuming, no smile, no laughter at all. He should probably sue the FIA. All of us here can all testify for him.

Come on...he was making a joke. He obviously doesn't think it's racially motivated at all, and it seemed to me from his tone and expression that he was mocking those who just play the race card every chance they get. Next time he ought to mock the people who defend a black man from his own comments on the basis he might be being insensitive to himself. Seems to be a few of those here; skimmed mostly, but I've only see one person pick up on what the comment really was/really meant.

He wasn't accusing the FIA of racism, nor was he making light of racism (which he himself has experienced, so I'd bet he wouldn't be laughing about it). He was making light of people (including media) who can only see things in terms of race. The moron with the microphone was trying to make this into a big situation and leading him toward this "FIA is out to get me" story, and he kept her grounded by making fun of her and of others who can't do anything without bring their skin color into it.

It was the only part of his interview that wasn't immature self-pity silliness.

It wasn't so much that I was annoyed by, more the high and mighty attitude he has over other drivers, accusing them of turning in to him, saying they are "fricking stupid", along with a comment earlier in the week about how he is the "only" driver who can beat Vettel. With him coming out with so many dumb comments recently, it's no surprise to me that a driver might want to turn in to the side of him.

Arrogant, unclassy and not funny. I have yet to hear of a Hamilton supporter who was roaring with laughter about his Ali G comment. One thing's for sure, he won't make it as a comedian.

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It wasn't so much that I was annoyed by, more the high and mighty attitude he has over other drivers, accusing them of turning in to him, saying they are "fricking stupid", along with a comment earlier in the week about how he is the "only" driver who can beat Vettel. With him coming out with so many dumb comments recently, it's no surprise to me that a driver might want to turn in to the side of him.

Arrogant, unclassy and not funny. I have yet to hear of a Hamilton supporter who was roaring with laughter about his Ali G comment. One thing's for sure, he won't make it as a comedian.

As you'll see in the last sentence of my quoted post, I completely agree. I hated the rest of the interview. He's a jack*** who can do no wrong, just like the rest of them but probably to an even higher degree. It's personalities like his that have put me off F1; I just can't watch a race when I want everyone to lose. :lol:

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Only one question: I undestood Lewis was making a joke... but... during the race or after the race?

:lol:

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OK, I will stop right here because I know when we touch these subjects things go ugly faster than light!

Yes we disagree and it still baffles me what Nando fans you people keep referring to. But your post, athough we still disagree, was rational and honest.

And that is what usually p**ses me the most around these parts lately: Intellectual dishonesty. I can cope with difference in opinions...heck, I disagree with about 90% of the people in here about most stuff, but I can respect people that I think they are serious about their POVs as I am about mine (and of course, if they can be silly when the occasion calls for it all the better!)

BTW, my comments were never aimed at you except when I quoteed and replied to your points directly of course ;) Just in case...

I don't want to push the issue too much for fear of hijacking the thread and after all it was one hell of a Monaco GP in the eyes of most of us, right? :D

OK, I'll stop then too. Maybe I'll PM you at some point to discuss a few other things. :)

The race was really good, right up until the red flag when the FIA ruined it by letting everyone slap new tires on, effectively neutralizing the battle. It's amazing how they can always figure out a way to ruin things, eh?

Oh well, I have my fingers crossed for the rest of the season. Maybe we'll get some competition rather than the one-man show we've had thus far. Not hating on Vettel or anything, I just wish that he had a bit more competition.

Good to see you mate! :)

Whilst on about his interview the question must be asked about what the hell the McLaren driver PR people were doing in allowing him to spout forth. If they were doing their jobs correctly the interview should have been stopped as soon as Hamilton started going off on one. I'm sure Whitmarsh will be having strong words with them and they might not be at Canada in a couple of weeks.

That's an interesting point. I actually like it if they're letting their drivers air their feelings a bit more - but I certainly take your point that their minders never actually seem to do anything.

Brundle made a comment in the race about how it's a good job when you radio your team as a driver you don't get put on hold in a call centre. That and Lewis's comments got me thinking about post-race interviews being a bit like PR-friendly call centres. I started daydreaming about David Coulthard interviewing Jenson after a race:

DC: Hey Jenson, did you enjoy that race?

JB: Hello, Jenson Button at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes here. May I take your name please?

DC: Well... alright... it's David Coulthard at the BBC. We've been friends for years.

JB: Hello, David Coulthard at the BBC. I know we've been friends for years but my Vodafone McLaren Mercedes contract expressly forbids honesty whilst on camera.

DC: Ah yes I remember that! Hmm so... erm... with that in mind, you must have thought the team did a *cough* great job to give you a car that Mark Webber could barely keep up with in his B-spec Toro Rosso?

JB: Let me say first that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes may record our conversation, for training purposes only. No personal details will be shared except with our commercial partners.

DC: No worries. Did your tyres last well today Jenson?

JB: Btw did you know that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes make telephones? Look I have one here for you. It's a Vodafone phone. Would you be interested in a special offer, exclusive to any paying customer?

DC: No. What did you think about Alonso's race pace today?

JB: Are you sure you don't want to talk about Vodafone? It's good to talk. Whoops, omg wrong slogan - and I'm normally pretty smooth once I get dialed in. Besides, British Telecom don't even have an F1 team. Everyone knows Vodafone McLaren Mercedes make the best phones in F1.

DC: But Ferrari don't make phones.

JB: *fingers in ears* Vodafone Vodafone Vodafone! Go on, ask me a question about phones. I dare you. I've got a script here just for that. Go on - I'm on a performance related bonus: ten pounds for a win, twenty for plugging Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

DC: God! This is ridiculous. You've not let me mention Red Bull's softdrinks yet. You know the game "paper scissors stones"?

JB: Yeah of course! You and me play that all the time in Monaco.

DC: Yep. And "softdrink" beats "cell phone" every time.

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OK, I'll stop then too. Maybe I'll PM you at some point to discuss a few other things. :)

Be my guest :D

That's an interesting point. I actually like it if they're letting their drivers air their feelings a bit more - but I certainly take your point that their minders never actually seem to do anything.

Brundle made a comment in the race about how it's a good job when you radio your team as a driver you don't get put on hold in a call centre. That and Lewis's comments got me thinking about post-race interviews being a bit like PR-friendly call centres. I started daydreaming about David Coulthard interviewing Jenson after a race:

DC: Hey Jenson, did you enjoy that race?

JB: Hello, Jenson Button at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes here. May I take your name please?

DC: Well... alright... it's David Coulthard at the BBC. We've been friends for years.

JB: Hello, David Coulthard at the BBC. I know we've been friends for years but my Vodafone McLaren Mercedes contract expressly forbids honesty whilst on camera.

DC: Ah yes I remember that! Hmm so... erm... with that in mind, you must have *cough* thought you had a chance to win that race?

JB: Let me say first that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes may record our conversation, for training purposes only. No personal details will be shared except with our commercial partners.

DC: No worries. Did your tyres last well today Jenson?

JB: Btw did you know that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes make telephones? Look I have one here for you. It's a Vodafone phone. Would you be interested in a special offer, exclusive to any paying customer?

DC: No. What did you think about Alonso's race pace today?

JB: Are you sure you don't want to talk about Vodafone? It's good to talk. Whoops, omg wrong slogan - and I'm normally pretty smooth once I get dialed in. Besides, British Telecom don't even have an F1 team. Everyone knows Vodafone McLaren Mercedes make the best phones in F1.

DC: But Ferrari don't make phones.

JB: *fingers in ears* Vodafone Vodafone Vodafone! Go on, ask me a question about phones. I dare you. I've got a script here just for that. Go on - I'm on a performance related bonus: ten pounds for a win, twenty for plugging Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

DC: God! This is ridiculous. You've not let me mention Red Bull's softdrinks yet. You know the game "paper scissors stones"?

JB: Yeah of course! You and me play that all the time in Monaco.

DC: Yep. And "softdrink" beats "cell phone" every time.

:lol:

Although I though it was "Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock"...oops...wrong sitcom.

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Yes, it was a great race marred only by a farcical restart and atrocious behaviour from Ali Hamilton. I had to agree with the FIA that there was still a race to run but it was hardly that with the playing field levelled before the restart. There was little point with everyone ' re-shod' and watered. Nonsense. The podium trio oozed class while Hamilton drove like a twat! There are certainly issues on the McLaren wall that need straightening out but it's clear to me that Lewis's days may be numbered at Woking. That was the buzz at post-race nattering. I don't see that it would help him at all and where would he go? Ferrari is an absolute 'no-no', Renault couldn't afford him but perhaps replacing Webber may be a mouth-watering prospect. Problem is, if Vettel storms to another WDC, RBR are more likely to bring another youngster on. That's their MO. Best advice from me? Young Hamilton needs to make peace with himself.

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As you'll see in the last sentence of my quoted post, I completely agree. I hated the rest of the interview. He's a jack*** who can do no wrong, just like the rest of them but probably to an even higher degree. It's personalities like his that have put me off F1; I just can't watch a race when I want everyone to lose. :lol:

Sorry, I must read slower, I didn't see that!

Yeah, I think they all have their flaws, they are only human at the end of the day. I respect all 24 for their talents, it is just a shame some can't be better people out the car.

Oh, and Lewis has now posted an apology on Twitter saying to Massa and Maldonado they are two fantastic drivers he regards highly. Still a bit strange in my opinion, it's a nice touch, but surely it would have been better in person? It smacks a bit to me that he's just trying to show people he's apologised without potentially meaning it.

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So - just finished watching the race.

Agree with pretty much everything others have said.

Great race until the red flag. Shame we were deprived of what could have been a great last 10 or so laps.

Feel sorry for Maldonado, Kobay and Petrov. They were all affected by Sutil's crash and the subsequent happenings. Feel a bit sorry for Sutil too. All four of those drivers had brilliant drives mostly ignored by the cameras and were running in decent points scoring positions until Sutil lost it and the mayhem gifted the more established drivers their race places. At least Kobay managed to hold on to 5th and Sutil still came home in 7th.

Lewis had an extremely bad day at the office. He was back on the karting track with some of those moves and the after race interview was ill-considered. It seems to me that the press will always try to make a bigger thing of it than it is, but Lewis should really know that by now and not give them so much ammunition. He does not present himself well when the emotions are running high. Oh well - we've seen it before, we'll see it again.

Lastly - did anyone else catch Alonso's bow to the Prince when collecting his trophy? Absolute class! First he looked rather nervous before he came onto the podium, then he completely ignored the prince's girlfriend's advances and made his deferential stoop towards the prince (left hand behind back and everything - elizabethan fashion) before having his hand shaken. Brilliant. He either has a fantastic sense of humor of an utterly endearing humility in front of royalty. Either way, I love him for it.

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