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I don't think I could have made it another week.ESPNF1 Adrian Sutil says he is not convinced drivers will be able to take Spa's iconic Eau Rouge corner at full throttle at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix due to the characteristics of the new generation of F1 cars.
I don't think I could have made it another week.ESPNF1 Adrian Sutil says he is not convinced drivers will be able to take Spa's iconic Eau Rouge corner at full throttle at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix due to the characteristics of the new generation of F1 cars.
I can see why Sutil would be reluctant to cut the corner even though it would slash the lap time. Especially with several cars side by side leading to a carve up. Sticking your foot in instead of lifting would require razor sharp reflexes. Depending on the weather that decision is probably balanced on a knife edge althought the pronounced bottle shapes of the 2014 cars should help rear downforce. Bet Sutil would do anything to end up thrusting champagne on the podium. Interesting that Van de Garde thinks its possible to shave time off by not lifting. Perhaps Sutil needs some glasses
For much of the 2008 race it looked like Kimi Raikkonen would go on to claim a fourth successive win at Spa - but Lewis Hamilton had other ideas. The Briton spun out of the lead on lap 2 but after a race-long charge he’d latched onto the Ferrari’s tail as rain started to fall in the dying laps. With a little over two laps to go, Hamilton (pictured closest to the camera) tried this around-the-outside pass on Raikkonen into the Bus Stop chicane, but as the pair came close to making contact, Hamilton opted to cut the chicane. Realising he’d taken P1 unfairly, the McLaren driver immediately ceded the position back to the Finn on the pit straight, but only moments later he attacked - and re-passed - Raikkonen for the lead. Hamilton had won the battle and when the Ferrari driver slid into the barriers coming out of Blanchimont later in the lap it looked like he’d won the war too. But having been presented with the winners’ trophy on the podium, Hamilton was then stripped of victory when the stewards decided that his earlier chicane cut warranted a 25-second time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage. The ruling - which McLaren unsuccessfully appealed - not only dropped him to third, it also gifted victory to Raikkonen’s team mate - and Hamilton’s chief title rival - Felipe Massa.
Whoever morally won the race, FACT is that Massa was awarded the win and that is all that counts. Hamilton may have been harshly treated but at the time the rules were different to todays.
They were also retrospective rules. year 2008, Lewis in a McLaren had no chance against Ferrari and the FIA.
Whoever morally won the race, FACT is that Massa was awarded the win and that is all that counts. Hamilton may have been harshly treated but at the time the rules were different to todays.
Massa wasn't awarded the win, he received stolen merchandise. This had nothing to do with the rules. It had everything to do with corruption. There was no penalty to be served, he'd already given the position back, slowed down and the telemetry showed it. The penalty issued was convinient since it could not be disputed, can't spell Ferrari without FiA.
To this day I enjoy the memory seeing the disappointment in Massa's face when his 30 second old WDC slipped through his grasp. Sweetness.
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