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[What's Burning?]

I think Lewis lost it in the first 5 seconds of the race

I couldn't agree with you more RC, it was the same thought I had while watching it unfold, however, I think it wasn't Lewis losing it but Jenson winning it. He drove a spectacular race. The weakness that I've seen in Lewis both last year and seemingly this year is the Pirelli rubber. He simply does not do as well with the car on heavy fuel with the Pirelli tires as other drivers are able to do. if he's going to have a shot of winning a WDC this year, he's got to beat Jenson at that tire game because there aren't enough tire wear friendly tracks to win with his style.

McLaren have come out with a clearly superior car out of the gate which is something they haven't done in years, and they've given the best shot at their drivers to win both the WDC and WCC what more can a driver ask for than a car capable of winning?

[racechick]

I think Lewis lost it in the first 5 seconds of the race

I couldn't agree with you more RC, it was the same thought I had while watching it unfold, however, I think it wasn't Lewis losing it but Jenson winning it. He drove a spectacular race. The weakness that I've seen in Lewis both last year and seemingly this year is the Pirelli rubber. He simply does not do as well with the car on heavy fuel with the Pirelli tires as other drivers are able to do. if he's going to have a shot of winning a WDC this year, he's got to beat Jenson at that tire game because there aren't enough tire wear friendly tracks to win with his style.

McLaren have come out with a clearly superior car out of the gate which is something they haven't done in years, and they've given the best shot at their drivers to win both the WDC and what more can a driver ask for than a car capable of winning?

Im at a loss as to understand this lack of pace. When the tyres came off the McLarens' the wear was exactly the same. So much so that you couldnt tell which was Lewis' and which was Jensons'. I dont buy the 'Lewis cant save the tyres' arguement

Did you see the bit I wrote about the macca's being incorrectly fuelled?. They were saving fuel heavily from lap 8, so their pace is better than that race implied.

[What's Burning?]

I think Lewis lost it in the first 5 seconds of the race

I couldn't agree with you more RC, it was the same thought I had while watching it unfold, however, I think it wasn't Lewis losing it but Jenson winning it. He drove a spectacular race. The weakness that I've seen in Lewis both last year and seemingly this year is the Pirelli rubber. He simply does not do as well with the car on heavy fuel with the Pirelli tires as other drivers are able to do. if he's going to have a shot of winning a WDC this year, he's got to beat Jenson at that tire game because there aren't enough tire wear friendly tracks to win with his style.

McLaren have come out with a clearly superior car out of the gate which is something they haven't done in years, and they've given the best shot at their drivers to win both the WDC and what more can a driver ask for than a car capable of winning?

Im at a loss as to understand this lack of pace. When the tyres came off the McLarens' the wear was exactly the same. So much so that you couldnt tell which was Lewis' and which was Jensons'. I dont buy the 'Lewis cant save the tyres' arguement

Did you see the bit I wrote about the macca's being incorrectly fuelled?. They were saving fuel heavily from lap 8, so their pace is better than that race implied.

I don't know the lack of pace either, but it's clearly there. He seems to come alive after the car has shed some weight but nothing today was going to claw back Jenson's lead, net even the SC because Vettel got in there, but you go back, lick your wounds which frankly aren't horrible... a 1st and 3rd and knowing your car is the class of the field, that's nothing to complain about. 19 more races to go. Both McLaren drivers have a shot of winning the WDC this year, I'll be rooting for Lewis, but I believe he's lacking in what I've pointed out, how he improves that paces is what makes a drivers and a racer.

BTW... I heard a funny term today. Screwderia.

[scotty]

Got up this morning to watch it, glad i did cause the action was relentless. That really was a bloody good race!

The SC is nothing new guys, surely everyone knows by now you can get lucky with it (just as easily as you can get unlucky with it). It's not perfect in all circumstances but it's definitely the best and most sensible solution. The lapped cars thing is stupid, i'm sure they had it before in '06/07, then dropped it, and now it's back again? Is that new for this season? Meh. It would be far simpler and quicker if the lapped cars just dropped back rather than got released, but i can see why they do it the way they do in one respect. They should just have the lead lap cars drop back with all backmarkers right in front of them at restarts, that would put the cat amongst the pigeons

The last lap was crazy! Still haven't gotten my head around it, definitely need to see more replays. Stupid by Maldonado after such a good drive. There i was during the race thinking he could really be a driver to watch this season. Perez though, is definitely one to watch. Wow, what a great drive from last on the grid. I couldn't believe it when he was somehow suddenly running in (i think) second place fairly early on at around 20 laps. Really impressive. He shouldn't have tried to force the one stopper though imo, he lost a lot of time from that at one point. I'm becoming a really big fan of him as a driver.

Big shout for Toro Rosso who have hardly been mentioned, but did such a good job this weekend. Unsung heroes and deserved points. I think Ricciardo was dead last after the first lap having had to pit - great recovery.

Solid start for Raikkonen, i look forward to seeing how Lotus stack up when they get a proper crack at it against the top 2 teams. Pure bad luck for Grosjean, sometimes you get away with those kinds of contacts (Webber T1!) and sometimes you don't.

Button, what else can be said? He schooled the entire field and easily drove round any problems that came his way. So much for him only being able to win in changeable conditions, etc. Championship favourite? Hmm, let's see after the start of the European season. When you have someone so consistent in the quickest car though, it's one hell of a chance for him.

[racechick]

I think Lewis lost it in the first 5 seconds of the race

I couldn't agree with you more RC, it was the same thought I had while watching it unfold, however, I think it wasn't Lewis losing it but Jenson winning it. He drove a spectacular race. The weakness that I've seen in Lewis both last year and seemingly this year is the Pirelli rubber. He simply does not do as well with the car on heavy fuel with the Pirelli tires as other drivers are able to do. if he's going to have a shot of winning a WDC this year, he's got to beat Jenson at that tire game because there aren't enough tire wear friendly tracks to win with his style.

McLaren have come out with a clearly superior car out of the gate which is something they haven't done in years, and they've given the best shot at their drivers to win both the WDC and what more can a driver ask for than a car capable of winning?

Im at a loss as to understand this lack of pace. When the tyres came off the McLarens' the wear was exactly the same. So much so that you couldnt tell which was Lewis' and which was Jensons'. I dont buy the 'Lewis cant save the tyres' arguement

Did you see the bit I wrote about the macca's being incorrectly fuelled?. They were saving fuel heavily from lap 8, so their pace is better than that race implied.

I don't know the lack of pace either, but it's clearly there. He seems to come alive after the car has shed some weight but nothing today was going to claw back Jenson's lead, net even the SC because Vettel got in there, but you go back, lick your wounds which frankly aren't horrible... a 1st and 3rd and knowing your car is the class of the field, that's nothing to complain about. 19 more races to go. Both McLaren drivers have a shot of winning the WDC this year, I'll be rooting for Lewis, but I believe he's lacking in what I've pointed out, how he improves that paces is what makes a drivers and a racer.

BTW... I heard a funny term today. Screwderia.

Its not just at the beginning of races, he's scampered off at the beginning of races before. Its intermittent, random and inexplicable. Lewis looks bemused by it as well. the wounds are pretty bad.

[smokin]

I think Lewis lost it in the first 5 seconds of the race

I couldn't agree with you more RC, it was the same thought I had while watching it unfold, however, I think it wasn't Lewis losing it but Jenson winning it. He drove a spectacular race. The weakness that I've seen in Lewis both last year and seemingly this year is the Pirelli rubber. He simply does not do as well with the car on heavy fuel with the Pirelli tires as other drivers are able to do. if he's going to have a shot of winning a WDC this year, he's got to beat Jenson at that tire game because there aren't enough tire wear friendly tracks to win with his style.

McLaren have come out with a clearly superior car out of the gate which is something they haven't done in years, and they've given the best shot at their drivers to win both the WDC and what more can a driver ask for than a car capable of winning?

Im at a loss as to understand this lack of pace. When the tyres came off the McLarens' the wear was exactly the same. So much so that you couldnt tell which was Lewis' and which was Jensons'. I dont buy the 'Lewis cant save the tyres' arguement

Did you see the bit I wrote about the macca's being incorrectly fuelled?. They were saving fuel heavily from lap 8, so their pace is better than that race implied.

Perceived wisdom has it not so much that Lewis is harder on his tyres but that Jenson's smoother driving style means that he can cope better with less grip. Their styles are different, to be sure, so maybe there's some truth in it.

Whatever, after taking the lead at the first corner the race was Jenson's to lose, as you say. Lewis was heading for a closely contested second place until Vettel lucked out with a scheduled pit stop just before the safety car came out and the relative race pace of the McLarens and the Bulls meant that Lewis wasn't going to overtake Vettel unless the latter made a mistake or something broke. As would have been the case vice versa if Lewis had maintained his second place.

Some good races ahead if this GP is anything to go by, but where are Ferrari? They'll be down scrapping with the midfield unless they find some pace. Correction - Alonso will be down scrapping with the midfield. Massa's already there.

Mercedes looked strong in qualifying but their late race pace is woeful. Still eating their tyres and podiums are out for them unless they can cure this weakness or the top runners fall off the track.

Promising for Lotus. I would have like to have seen what Grosjean could have done if he had survived the first few corners.

[McLaren]

I think Lewis lost it in the first 5 seconds of the race

I couldn't agree with you more RC, it was the same thought I had while watching it unfold, however, I think it wasn't Lewis losing it but Jenson winning it. He drove a spectacular race. The weakness that I've seen in Lewis both last year and seemingly this year is the Pirelli rubber. He simply does not do as well with the car on heavy fuel with the Pirelli tires as other drivers are able to do. if he's going to have a shot of winning a WDC this year, he's got to beat Jenson at that tire game because there aren't enough tire wear friendly tracks to win with his style.

McLaren have come out with a clearly superior car out of the gate which is something they haven't done in years, and they've given the best shot at their drivers to win both the WDC and what more can a driver ask for than a car capable of winning?

Im at a loss as to understand this lack of pace. When the tyres came off the McLarens' the wear was exactly the same. So much so that you couldnt tell which was Lewis' and which was Jensons'. I dont buy the 'Lewis cant save the tyres' arguement

Did you see the bit I wrote about the macca's being incorrectly fuelled?. They were saving fuel heavily from lap 8, so their pace is better than that race implied.

Could it just be a case of the McLaren drove that perfect this weekend that Lewis's flamboyant style didn't make any difference.A bit like the Senna-Prost battle if it was all perfect Prost would win,if the car needed its neck wringing Senna won.Something along the same lines perhaps with these two ?

[acosmichippo]

Perceived wisdom has it not so much that Lewis is harder on his tyres but that Jenson's smoother driving style means that he can cope better with less grip. Their styles are different, to be sure, so maybe there's some truth in it.

That doesn't sit right with me. Jenson pulled away from Lewis on fresh tires, and they both pitted around the same time at each stop - once even within 10 seconds of each other.

[smokin]

Perceived wisdom has it not so much that Lewis is harder on his tyres but that Jenson's smoother driving style means that he can cope better with less grip. Their styles are different, to be sure, so maybe there's some truth in it.

That doesn't sit right with me. Jenson pulled away from Lewis on fresh tires, and they both pitted around the same time at each stop - once even within 10 seconds of each other.

Yes, he did. Bang goes that theory.

[What's Burning?]

Perceived wisdom has it not so much that Lewis is harder on his tyres but that Jenson's smoother driving style means that he can cope better with less grip. Their styles are different, to be sure, so maybe there's some truth in it.

That doesn't sit right with me. Jenson pulled away from Lewis on fresh tires, and they both pitted around the same time at each stop - once even within 10 seconds of each other.

Yes, he did. Bang goes that theory.

See my theo.. erm, observation a few posts up.

[scotty]

The Hamilton tyre wear thing for me comes partly from those times in 07/08 he wrecked tyres. And from all the radio calls we saw last year about conserving tyres!

[mnmracer]

No, it's not the latest American sitcom about two racing drivers and the third party that stands in between them.

It seems the general consensus is that the safety car gifted Vettel the second place, and that he would have only gotten third if not for the 'gifted' pit stop. It's a shame that this idea clouds what actually went on and just leaves some with a sour aftertaste.

Vettel on his option tires was much faster than Hamilton when he closed up to him, but with a +10kph speed difference, making an overtaking move on Hamilton would have killed his tires. The moment Hamilton got the call he needed a few more laps before his pit stop, Vettel closed on him with tenths-of-a-second laps and he was less than a second behind when Hamilton pitted.

Vettel was biding his time, saving his tires so that he could get the undercut on Hamilton. The shame is that with the safety car, we didn't actually get to see how things would have panned out. If Vettel was able to make up the time and make the undercut. But simply putting it away as "Vettel was lucky" takes away from a brilliant piece of strategy we saw today.

[andrew]

All drivers have been "gifted" positions at some point. It's part of racing as are excuses.

[LewEngBridewell]

Meh, while the safety car did indeed help Seb in getting past Lewis, the German was faster than Hamilton in the closing stages anyway. I refuse to read too much into it.

[vlad]

Yep, he was faster, Period.

However, driver who lost the most with SC is not Hamilton, it's Perez.