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[przemo]

I like this track, I hope for an interesting weekend.
I wonder if Kimi will now help Felipe win the title or he will race with him as in Spa. Massa can get ahead of Hamilton if he wins here.

Watch out for Torro Rosso to score big though.

I think so too. Their Ferrari engine can be a big advantage on this fast track.

It's entirely possible. Over the whole weekend at Spa, the ITV crew commented that of the top eight fastest cars down through Eau Rouge, McLaren were not present and BMW Sauber were up there being quite fast. I think the BMW engine is fast, but the car lacks the aerodynamic efficiency to work with it as well as it could. Maybe next year they can fix that

But on Monza you don't need much aerodynamics just pure speed, right? So, I look forward to a good result.

Will he mainatin to be in front of KR at the end of season?
That would be just brilliant

I still hope this will happen

[Denthúl]

But on Monza you don't need much aerodynamics just pure speed, right? So, I look forward to a good result.

With that in mind, could we see Toro Rosso messing with the order a little and fighting for the podium? I definitely think that, unless there are any problems, both STRs will at least make it to the top ten again. I don't think Monza would be a track where they'd feel the need to go heavy in order to get points, instead making the most of their engine power to see if they could fight with other cars. They had the measure of BMW Sauber up until the rain started in Belgium, so I think that could be an interesting battle come Sunday afternoon.

[8-ball]

A Mclaren 1,2 with anybody besides a Ferrari 3rd would do me nicely.

That won't happen. Heikki is just not good enough to beat Massa. Monza is about pure speed and the Ferrari is the fastest car and even Kimi right now with his bad run of form should be able to get a podium at Monza

[McLaren Fan]

A Mclaren 1,2 with anybody besides a Ferrari 3rd would do me nicely.

That won't happen. Heikki is just not good enough to beat Massa. Monza is about pure speed and the Ferrari is the fastest car and even Kimi right now with his bad run of form should be able to get a podium at Monza

Kovalainen is costing McLaren the constructors' title this season.

[texasmr2]

Kovi has the raw speed and talent, I'm perplexed by his inconsistency?

[McLaren Fan]

Kovi has the raw speed and talent, I'm perplexed by his inconsistency?

I think his biggest problem is to do with his tyres, but I would have thought that he would have addressed this somewhat. Hamilton has done a lot of work on his driving style this season and did it pronto. Kovalainen needs to do the same if McLaren are to win the constructors' title.

[texasmr2]

Which lead's us all to realize how much a different driving style can enfluence one's performance. My meaning is I know Lewis and Kovi get on very well and I feel confident that they openly exchange setup idea's but why such a difference of performance? I really really like Kovi and want to see him do well so I'm perplexed by his performance's?

[McLaren Fan]

Which lead's us all to realize how much a different driving style can enfluence one's performance. My meaning is I know Lewis and Kovi get on very well and I feel confident that they openly exchange setup idea's but why such a difference of performance? I really really like Kovi and want to see him do well so I'm perplexed by his performance's?

Race craft, in my opinion. Kovalainen has the raw speed, and, to be honest, so do a lot of guys, especially saying as driving a Formula One car has become gradually easier since the early/mid-1990s, but you have to drive intelligently. At the McLaren Technology Centre, the boffins worked out that if Hamilton and Kovalainen made certain changes to their driving styles, the car would be much faster over longer runs, i.e. the tyres would not be worn out quite as badly. Hamilton was able to implement those changes. Kovalainen was not able to do so quite as well (which is why Kovalainen did not use the different radiator opening at Silverstone when Hamilton did). So, it seems as though Kovalainen is still smoking his tyres more than Hamilton (albeit in a slightly different way). Since then, Kovalainen, in my view, has not done well enough. Yeah, some people take a little longer, but this much longer? I'm prepared to see how Kovalainen does next season, but it's incredibly frustrating to know that McLaren could win the constructors' title if the team had two drivers doing the business rather one (i.e. Lauda and Prost, Prost and Senna, Hamilton and Alonso, and, to a lesser degree, Hakkinen and Coulthard).

[onelapdown]

I don't know how strong-willed Kovalainen is but do you think that now he's paired with a top-class driver at the top of his game for the first time he has perhaps understood something about the depth of Hamilton's talent and been demoralised by the gap between the two? Also it can't help that he is quite definitely the second driver at the team now that the season has some shape to it, rather than equal number one status as he was at the start of the season? I think in the end Kovalainen needs to work his backside off and make himself the best he can be (I'm not saying he's not trying now) and if he does that I think he has enough natural talent to stick around in a decent team for many years, but perhaps not to ultimately be the best in the world.

[McLaren Fan]

I don't know how strong-willed Kovalainen is but do you think that now he's paired with a top-class driver at the top of his game for the first time he has perhaps understood something about the depth of Hamilton's talent and been demoralised by the gap between the two? Also it can't help that he is quite definitely the second driver at the team now that the season has some shape to it, rather than equal number one status as he was at the start of the season? I think in the end Kovalainen needs to work his backside off and make himself the best he can be (I'm not saying he's not trying now) and if he does that I think he has enough natural talent to stick around in a decent team for many years, but perhaps not to ultimately be the best in the world.

I don't think Kovalainen has become demoralised. I think he knows that he has the raw speed to challenge Hamilton, but that he needs to improve his race pace. With work, this can be done. However, where Kovalainen seems to be falling down is the time it takes him to adapt. At Renault last season, he didn't start performing until three quarters of the way through the year. Then, this season, he hasn't really got going at all. Even if he does get to the bottom of his problems soon, the season is nearly over, and he will have to adapt to another car, slicks, etc. all over again in 2009. At least Kovalainen does get things sorted now, McLaren will be in with a shout of the constructors' title. Like I say, it's worth giving Kovalainen some of next season to show what he can do. But, if he can't improve, I think he'll be driving for too many top teams. Historically, the greatest drivers have been able to adapt to new cars etc. very quickly: Clark, Senna, Hakkinen, and, of the current crop of drivers, Kubica.

[onelapdown]

Yeah but to be honest I don't think we're looking at the next Clark. He's more in the mould of people like Gerhard Berger, Damon Hill, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello. Nothing wrong with that, they're all good solid drivers who did a great job for their employers. He could still win a title if his best driving coincides with a bit of luck and a good car, but I doubt in 20 years time he'll be in many people's all-time top 20s

[texasmr2]

Comment concerning Lewis not Kovi:

It is just a plain simple fact that Lewis has a natural ability and feel for the car and can adapt his style from just one corner to the next depending on the track condition, the way the car is reacting and the feel his tire's are giving him.

Oop's did that just come from a tifosi??

Any member here who has any racing experience, no matter how much, I hope you can see what I do while watching Lewis's in-car camera. He brake's and downshift's before the corner, kiss's the apex to perfection and carry's his speed through it. I mean it's butter simply driving butter!!

PLEASE LEWIS drive for Ferrari so my F1 world will be complete!!!!

[f1ea]

Dont think the race will be all like last yr's... But im inclined to think Mcl should have an edge.

Kimi and Heidfeld may again have serious problems with the tyres. So the race could be btween Lewis and Massa with maybe Kimi or Kubica on the podium.

Will there be an * after this yr's champion? Hope not. Massa should be able to win the WDC by more than 6 pts.

[Rivelution]

BMW should do well at Monza. Their car likes high speed tracks such as Montreal, Valencia, Spa, and of course Monza. So Heidfeld for the win, and Bourdais for the podium!!!!!

[texasmr2]

That's a podium I would enjoy seeing myself so let's put SB on the third rung!