Driver Of The Day - Magny Cours

[Jez 0]

Do you think Alonso is stupid?

If Heidfel had left the inside available Alonso would have tryed and probably easily passed him like Hamilton did very cleverly with Kubica.

No Alehop, I dont think Alonso is stupid. All I'm saying is that I saw him commit to the outside line almost everytime. Lewis looked like he was commiting to the outside too, then took the inside when Kubica went to defend the outside. Lewis forced him into that error. I think Alonso could have tried that tactic alot sooner than he did. That's just my opinion. No driver who lands a race seat with an F1 team should be considered stupid.

[NeoData 0]

No Alehop, I dont think Alonso is stupid. All I'm saying is that I saw him commit to the outside line almost everytime. Lewis looked like he was commiting to the outside too, then took the inside when Kubica went to defend the outside. Lewis forced him into that error. I think Alonso could have tried that tactic alot sooner than he did. That's just my opinion. No driver who lands a race seat with an F1 team should be considered stupid.

Well you said it yourself now .

Kubica took the bait and went to defend the outside line because he thought that where Lewis would try to overtake him. Heidfeld and Fisi on the other hand didnt because of their experience.

They know that it is alot harder to overtake on the outside line so they choose to defend the inside .

Also because Hamilton just came out of the pits and was driving a diffrent line he was able to get alot closer to the car infront then Alonso could by turn 4.

So unless Alonso has a Turbo boost button like K.I.T. on his steeringwheel there was very little chance of making a sane attempt to overtake on the inside.

[Jez 0]

Well you said it yourself now .

Kubica took the bait and went to defend the outside line because he thought that where Lewis would try to overtake him. Heidfeld and Fisi on the other hand didnt because of their experience.

They know that it is alot harder to overtake on the outside line so they choose to defend the inside .

Also because Hamilton just came out of the pits and was driving a diffrent line he was able to get alot closer to the car infront then Alonso could by turn 4.

So unless Alonso has a Turbo boost button like K.I.T. on his steeringwheel there was very little chance of making a sane attempt to overtake on the inside.

Kubica defended the outside line because thats where Lewis was. Lewis forced Kubica to defend the outside, thus allowing him the chance to overtake on the inside. I'm not discrediting Alonso guys so it's ok. I just think Lewis showed his cunning race craft earlier in that little battle than Alonso did in his battle with NH. Kubica is a very good driver, maybe as good as NH so: In my opinion, Lewis displayed the better race craft of the two McLaren drivers in that particular race.

[NeoData 0]

Kubica defended the outside line because thats where Lewis was. Lewis forced Kubica to defend the outside, thus allowing him the chance to overtake on the inside. I'm not discrediting Alonso guys so it's ok. I just think Lewis showed his cunning race craft earlier in that little battle than Alonso did in his battle with NH. Kubica is a very good driver, maybe as good as NH so: In my opinion, Lewis displayed the better race craft of the two McLaren drivers in that particular race.

Thats exactly the point

In a hairpin like that you don't need to react to Lewis if he commits to overtaking you on the outside.

You will have inside track postion and in a hairpin you can even slightly overrun the corner and stay infront because the car on the outside will not be able to turn in.

I never claimed that Kubica was a bad driver far from it.

Nor did I claim Lewis' move wasnt a good one.

[Jez 0]

Thats exactly the point

In a hairpin like that you don't need to react to Lewis if he commits to overtaking you on the outside.

You will have inside track postion and in a hairpin you can even slightly overrun the corner and stay infront because the car on the outside will not be able to turn in.

I never claimed that Kubica was a bad driver far from it.

Nor did I claim Lewis' move wasnt a good one.

I never claimed that you claimed anything

This is what I saw- Two McLarens (equal cars) battling two BMW

[AleHop 0]

Ok, that's the way I see it.

Alonso passing Heidfeld is one of the most awesome overtakings I have seen so far this year. Hamilton passing Kubica is a clever movement from Hamilton on a clear mistake from Kubica. The way NH defended his position was a sign of rock solid nerves. The way RK defended his position was a sign of inexperience.

Do you think possible to overtake a BMW taking the outside in the hairpin?

Neither Alonso nor Heidfeld thought that. Alonso kept trying to force an error but both knew it couldn't be possible.

[Jez 0]

Ok, that's the way I see it.

Alonso passing Heidfeld is one of the most awesome overtakings I have seen so far this year. Hamilton passing Kubica is a clever movement from Hamilton on a clear mistake from Kubica. The way NH defended his position was a sign of rock solid nerves. The way RK defended his position was a sign of inexperience.

Do you think possible to overtake a BMW taking the outside in the hairpin?

Neither Alonso nor Heidfeld thought that. Alonso kept trying to force an error but both knew it couldn't be possible.

You make a fair point Alehop

[NeoData 0]

Ok, that's the way I see it.

Alonso passing Heidfeld is one of the most awesome overtakings I have seen so far this year. Hamilton passing Kubica is a clever movement from Hamilton on a clear mistake from Kubica. The way NH defended his position was a sign of rock solid nerves. The way RK defended his position was a sign of inexperience.

Do you think possible to overtake a BMW taking the outside in the hairpin?

Neither Alonso nor Heidfeld thought that. Alonso kept trying to force an error but both knew it couldn't be possible.

Well said

I never claimed that you claimed anything

I never claimed that you claimed that I claimed that

[AleHop 0]

I never claimed that you claimed anything

I never claimed that you claimed that I claimed that

Claim closed then.

[Autumnpuma 0]

Quite a few good overtaking moves in France, but Kimi's the driver of the day for me. Pulling off a win in Michael Schumacher-style was, for me, very unexpected.

Massa has shown a bit more of his character in this race. He's proven that he can be very fast and a monster when he starts from pole and has nobody ahead of him. Put him in a situation where he must fight for the lead and he seems to deflate. I also thought his comments in the post-race were a bit spoiled-sounding. I'll boil his comments down for everyone..he essentially said: "I would have won if there weren't any other cars on the track". Nice. Now get out of that Ferrari and go back to Brazil.

[Piotr 0]

Fresh tyres that would not have been at optimum temperature. The stats show that Lewis had the fastest out laps out of all the drivers. All but the blind/biased recognised the brilliance of the pass.

Actually, Kubica credited those fresh tyres for the fact that LH outbreak him. If you watched carefully, you see that Kubica actually first overtook Hamilton, and the only eeason he lost in the end were LH's fresh tires in the corner, and advantage hamilton had in the engine power.

[Piotr 0]

I think Robert drove a BMW... like Heidfield...

aha, sarcasm! My comparison still holds. If Kubi was in McLearen he would have won that duel.

[Piotr 0]

At first fisi couldn't hold Fernando, but in his second opportunity he surely did an amazing job. I was afraid they'd crash soon, 'cus neither of them seems to have a 'sense of danger'

Nop it's not. Maybe you have a gay mind.

Aha, so you LIKE strong man holding each other? hmmm, like Germans on Oktoberfest?

[Quiet One 15]

Actually, Kubica credited those fresh tyres for the fact that LH outbreak him. If you watched carefully, you see that Kubica actually first overtook Hamilton, and the only eeason he lost in the end were LH's fresh tires in the corner, and advantage hamilton had in the engine power.

My 2 cents: That move, and Alonso's move on Heidfeld, were both those kind of things that make everybody say "he is a genius!" when they come out right or "only an utter incompetent would have tried that" if they ended up bad. Alonso made an amazing move, but only because Heidfeld was also smart enough to give up and concede that there was no way Nando would yield and avoided an accident. If Nando had NH's reaction calculated, then it was pure genius, if not, it was genius PLUS luck.

Now to LH vs RK: LH came right out of the pits on cold tires and brakes, yet he pushed the car to the limit to get there first. That move could have had a happy enindg like it had. Or it could have been a total disaster with him losing the car and perhaps causing a crash.

One thing is true, though: these guys are driving to the limits of their already great skills. It's our job to put the "a$$hole" and "genius" tag on each of them while comfortably sitting in front of our computers

We can praise and bash them, we can taunt the guys that support the other guy, but every once in a while I just like to forget about all that and just enjoy the skills they are displaying for our benefit.

[Piotr 0]

My 2 cents: That move, and Alonso's move on Heidfeld, were both those kind of things that make everybody say "he is a genius!" when they come out right or "only an utter incompetent would have tried that" if they ended up bad. Alonso made an amazing move, but only because Heidfeld was also smart enough to give up and concede that there was no way Nando would yield and avoided an accident. If Nando had NH's reaction calculated, then it was pure genius, if not, it was genius PLUS luck.

Now to LH vs RK: LH came right out of the pits on cold tires and brakes, yet he pushed the car to the limit to get there first. That move could have had a happy enindg like it had. Or it could have been a total disaster with him losing the car and perhaps causing a crash.

One thing is true, though: these guys are driving to the limits of their already great skills. It's our job to put the "a$$hole" and "genius" tag on each of them while comfortably sitting in front of our computers

We can praise and bash them, we can taunt the guys that support the other guy, but every once in a while I just like to forget about all that and just enjoy the skills they are displaying for our benefit.

Well, for once I completely agree.

[Piotr 0]

And on a tangent- wasn't Fisichella breaking a rule or two by physically changing his line and blocking Heidfeld at the start? Twice? I assumed that only Hamilton gets a free pass doing it, but now Fisi... Must be a rule exclusively allowing blocking the Beemers at the start on account they are so fast and, therefore, have an unfair advantage...

[whiskee 0]

Nando for the entertainment factor.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Quite a few good overtaking moves in France, but Kimi's the driver of the day for me. Pulling off a win in Michael Schumacher-style was, for me, very unexpected.

Massa has shown a bit more of his character in this race. He's proven that he can be very fast and a monster when he starts from pole and has nobody ahead of him. Put him in a situation where he must fight for the lead and he seems to deflate. I also thought his comments in the post-race were a bit spoiled-sounding. I'll boil his comments down for everyone..he essentially said: "I would have won if there weren't any other cars on the track". Nice. Now get out of that Ferrari and go back to Brazil.

amen