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[tifosi]

People think Massa is crap because he is only good at a handful of tracks, and the fact that he only wins if he is on pole or on the front row. Thats the truth, and out of all the races he has won they were from the front row and at those certain tracks he's good at.

Correct. He is a waste of space, brought to Ferrari to be Schumacher's tea boy. After Schumacher retired, Ferrari's plan was to pretend that they had turned a new leaf and were operating a policy of equality between their drivers, but in reality Massa would be the de facto number two.

The thing is that with today's cars overtaking seems very difficult and close to impossible. It should be interesting next year with the new regulations.

True, but, even so, there are a number of drivers who have still made some great overtaking maneuvers. Alonso, Kovalainen, Schumacher and Hamilton immediately spring to mind.

One thing though... I dont know how to say this in the simplest manner, but, this year, it seems that who ever starts on the front row is going to win. It has been like that throughout this year (until Monaco, but I think thats an exception). IIRC, it was like that too last year. With the way the way the Q3 is this year and last year, the cars that make it to the front row are the strongest and have a great chance of winning the race. And the cars that make it to the second row are a little bit slower than the cars on the front row, so they have a much lesser chance of winning the race. I think that if in Q3 they didnt have that stupid race fuel regulation, qualifying would be very different and we could see some of the more inferior cars qualify better than the best cars. So, my point is, that Massa is an extremely good qualifier and he has shown that this year. So, how can he make any passes if he starts P1 or P2 in most of the races?

[f1ea]

Heidfeld is behind Kubica, and he is about to lose his job, his team boss and everyone is raising alarms. But there is no #1 driver policy at BMW.

Heikki has less than half the points his teammate has. The largest gap amongst teammates, even larger than the gap at BMW... and nobody thinks Heikki is a waste of gridspace, and Mclaren seem pretty excited with their team and performance... And of course, there is no #1 driver policy at Mclaren.

Massa is virtually on the same pts as his teammate, the World Champion and the best driver on the grid. And yet, he is not considered as a title contender by some. And of course... Ferrari have a #1 driver policy.

Maybe Kimi will start outperforming him, and of course, I'm not ruling out Mclaren. But if Kimi makes mistakes he will pay, and unless Mclaren show winning pace on regular race conditions and at least consistently split the Ferraris... they will pay the price.

[Denthúl]

Heidfeld is behind Kubica, and he is about to lose his job, his team boss and everyone is raising alarms. But there is no #1 driver policy at BMW.

Heikki has less than half the points his teammate has. The largest gap amongst teammates, even larger than the gap at BMW... and nobody thinks Heikki is a waste of gridspace, and Mclaren seem pretty excited with their team and performance... And of course, there is no #1 driver policy at Mclaren.

Massa is virtually on the same pts as his teammate, the World Champion and the best driver on the grid. And yet, he is not considered as a title contender by some. And of course... Ferrari have a #1 driver policy.

Maybe Kimi will start outperforming him, and of course, I'm not ruling out Mclaren. But if Kimi makes mistakes he will pay, and unless Mclaren show winning pace on regular race conditions and at least consistently split the Ferraris... they will pay the price.

I disagree with people saying that Heidfeld is a waste of space, and Kovalainen had a very good chance of having at least one race win under his belt (Turkey) and possibly two (Monaco). In the last three races, Heikki has had several problems, none of which were his fault. He has also out-qualified Lewis on several occasions, often on a significantly heavier fuel load. So I don't see how anyone could come to the conclusion that Kovalainen isn't a good enough driver.

I think that Massa is a genuine title contender this year. He doesn't seem to have what it takes to be a multiple champion, but he can definitely win one and there's always a possibility that he could take even more crowns.

Heidfeld seems to be having problems with his tyres, but his race performances haven't been that bad. Make comparisons to other drivers on the grid and there are only two other drivers who have finished all their races. Heidfeld is not a cause for concern - he and BMW just need some time to find a way of getting around his problems warming up the tyres effectively. Piquet and Glock, on the other hand, are performing in a way that would cause me to consider dropping a driver. If Heidfeld gets to that stage, then it is possible that this kind of talk would be appropriate, but he's not at that stage, is he?

[Lem]

Kimi is still my bet for champion, but I believe Massa will be up there. A massive kick up the arse seems to have done him good. Kimi will probably kick himself up the arse around round 9 or 10, like he did last season. I'm not sure Lewis has got a consistant enough car to maintain a strong title challenge, but he'll be up there till around September I expect.

Who knows though. We're left with an ironic situation where Ferrari don't/ can't have a number one driver, while for all people's cynicism over McLaren's driver equality, it wouldn't be common sense to not get behind a title bid for Hamilton and sacrifice Kovalinen if the opportunity arises. It's a ruthless sport and while people will moan about it, it's what McLaren have to do with a car that seems to be inferior to Ferrari's.

The BMW isn't quite ready to win yet, thus a sole retirement from a race would probably put Kubica out of the picture. While he's probably my favourite driver on the grid behind Kimi, I expect he'll be out of the title race pretty soon.

[f1ea]

I disagree with people saying that Heidfeld is a waste of space, and Kovalainen had a very good chance of having at least one race win under his belt (Turkey) and possibly two (Monaco).

Exactly. Except Massa has been able to pull it together and get himself a couple of wins, and he has shown winning pace on all races (even his flawed ones).

There is a big difference between Heikki's and Heidfled's situation however... Heikki's had problems in the races, but he still has always shown the pace. While Nick has not shown the pace, but does good in races. Hence the pts gap. But still, its something that should get the team worried, because if the other teams improve, then Heidfeld might have a harder time to climb up the grid. I don't think it will go on til the end of the season like this. Heidfeld is a fine driver, and I'm sure he will be able to up his game... whether it will be before another driver snatches that coveted BMW position, we'll have to see......

Agree with Piquet and Glock too... Unfortunately for Piquet, his opportunities are getting thin
He's lucky not many want to go to Renault's R28 and race alongside Alonso. I'm sure Alonso this year is pretty grumpy and sharing nothing

Who knows though. We're left with an ironic situation where Ferrari don't/ can't have a number one driver, while for all people's cynicism over McLaren's driver equality, it wouldn't be common sense to not get behind a title bid for Hamilton and sacrifice Kovalinen if the opportunity arises. It's a ruthless sport and while people will moan about it, it's what McLaren have to do with a car that seems to be inferior to Ferrari's.

Funny how things turn out... eh?

[Red Racer]

There is a big difference between Heikki's and Heidfled's situation however... Heikki's had problems in the races, but he still has always shown the pace. While Nick has not shown the pace, but does good in races. Hence the pts gap. But still, its something that should get the team worried, because if the other teams improve, then Heidfeld might have a harder time to climb up the grid. I don't think it will go on til the end of the season like this. Heidfeld is a fine driver, and I'm sure he will be able to up his game... whether it will be before another driver snatches that coveted BMW position, we'll have to see......

I think heidfeld has shown his pace this season- a one or two races, in monaco if alonso didnt hit him i think he would of done one of his quite consistant races, 4th would be highly likely. If he gets his tyre warming problems under control he might very well get kubica, he seems to always take a couple of places of the start. I'm still not convinced Nick is slow, out of the BMW's whoever beats the other into the first corner will be ahead for the rest of the race.

[KyrosV]

Is it true theres gonna be a race off test session at Renault for the second seat? with sato getting envolved?

as for Glock at toyota, I think he is a decent driver and quick, but he needs to learn how to keep it on the track and maybe not push as hard when hes in a points position just to get somthing under his belt. Hes certainly better than some of his Toyota predecessors (i.e mcNish, Salo, Panis, De Matta, Ralf, Zonta) Trulli Is a good driver and is Underated. I always thought he was better than Alonso at Renualt. If he didnt have that bust up with Flav, who knows he might of had a world championship under his belt..

[KyrosV]

I love the Posts on the ITV-f1 site about Kubica

"Kubica not focusing on beating Hiedfeld"
"Kubica not thinking about 2007 crash"

...what is going on inside Roberts head ITV?

"Kubica concentrating on fighting for the title"

mm hmm...

[Rivelution]

I'm tellng ya, I think Alonso will end up in Heidfelds spot.

[EwanM]

I'm tellng ya, I think Alonso will end up in Heidfelds spot.

Yeah im with you man. There or Ferrari. Heidfeld to Renault? Retirement? (hpe not)

[7UpJordan]

I think BMW would rather have a German driver in one of their cars. Rosberg is under contract at Williams until the end of 2009, Glock would be a bit of a risk and hasn't really shone yet, Vettel is possible if he is still under some kind of contract with BMW but I'm sure Gerhard Berger will be getting the "hands off" signs out soon, Sutil is possible and he did more than live up to his reputation on Sunday, but whether Dr Mallya would be willing to let him go is another matter.

[EwanM]

I think BMW would rather have a German driver in one of their cars. Rosberg is under contract at Williams until the end of 2009, Glock would be a bit of a risk and hasn't really shone yet, Vettel is possible if he is still under some kind of contract with BMW but I'm sure Gerhard Berger will be getting the "hands off" signs out soon, Sutil is possible and he did more than live up to his reputation on Sunday, but whether Dr Mallya would be willing to let him go is another matter.

I think Alonso - Kubica could be on for 2009. Rosberg cnt move as u say. I think Vettel will be in a Red Bull next year. Sutil still has alot to prove for me, but we'll see.

[7UpJordan]

There's Hulkenberg who is currently the Williams test driver, but I don't think he's quite ready to be thrown straight into a race seat regardless of whether it's with Williams or BMW. On this logic of Alonso going to BMW, Renault could have a totally different driver line-up if Piquet is also dropped. Renault could go patriotic and bring in Bourdais and promote Grosjean to a race seat.

[EwanM]

There's Hulkenberg who is currently the Williams test driver, but I don't think he's quite ready to be thrown straight into a race seat regardless of whether it's with Williams or BMW. On this logic of Alonso going to BMW, Renault could have a totally different driver line-up if Piquet is also dropped. Renault could go patriotic and bring in Bourdais and promote Grosjean to a race seat.

Deff. even if piquet nt dropped, id still give bourdais a seat

[7UpJordan]

If Alonso does go, Renault would be without a driver who knows how to win and push the team forward. Bourdais has done this plenty of times with Newman Haas in ChampCar and he would be the perfect man to step into the breach left by Alonso. Even more so, a French driver in a French team (to be honest it's an Anglo-French team) would be another boost.