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[andrew]

Qualifying's crap.

Be thankful we don't have to sit through the dreary one-lap qualifying anymore

Qualifying as it is now is a joke. They should go back to the 1 hour session with each driver having a maximum of 12 laps.

[Hansy]

Nah but seriously, I still firmly believe Lewis is the best driver out there. Fastest, and most versatile with a difficult car and I believe he should be rewarded accordingly: a car that can compete for wins in every race. He had it in Japan but as usual, bad luck had to strike him first....which is the story of this season.

what comes around goes around, as the saying goes. I dont know if its only me that notices lewis deliberately aiming for the cars rear wheels with the front wing when he fails to pass them, its not bad luck he's experiencing.. its bad carma

it's only you and a few from the Iberian peninsula that see Lewis in this negative way. I mean to even logically suggest an F1 driver deliberately aims his front wing at a cars wheels in a malice act is just stupidity in its purest form.

Where are you from Sabrina out of curiosity?

*cough*

I can assure you Alonso isn't very popular over here

Portugal aside of course

You just defined Spain

I believe Lewis will be back to his full force next year. This year's lost to Vettel anyway, and with no motivation and all the pressure and controversy around him of course he won't perform to his best. F1 vacation time should get the media off him.

[andrew]

Horner jibe at Whitmarsh

Whitmarsh eats his words.

[vlad]

I like the photo!

[myownalias]

Horner jibe at Whitmarsh

Whitmarsh eats his words.

I can't see why Whitmarsh needs to eat his words, when he said it, Vettel was the 'crash kid', he just happens to have picked up his game since last season...

[vlad]

How about a Korean GP thread?

[darwin dali]

How about a Korean GP thread?

You should start one then

[killem2]

As for race, the start was normal, only one blocking move, it was Button's choice to do that thing, or to try on the outside. Period.

I would not expect you to see that as a poor move, but to me, it leaned much more to the ruthless side. Very much so when you consider he did not need to be that aggressive. The only reason there was no penalty is because they didn't come together. You might need to re watch it in slow motion, and even in slow motion the aggression used when Vettel moves over is extremely clear.

It is NOT something I've seen vettel do at all this year. He did that quite often in 2010. That wasn't clean racing at all.

Regardless, congrats to vettel, He raced great this year, I hope we have a much closer championship next year.

[andrew]

Ruthless but perfectly legal, there was only one move made by Vettel. Button chose to aim for an increasingly smaller gap and ended up stuck.

You should listen to David Coulthard's assessment of this. He's bang on in what he says.

[What's Burning?]

I didn't get around to seeing the race until late last night, and I wanted to congratulate Sebastian Vettel for clinching his 2nd WDC, a feat that elevates him into a new stratus of F1 achievements. It wasn't pretty, and as been said, yesterday he felt pressured and that pressure showed. He's an aggressive racer that wants to win everything and will shoot for the grand slam each time, but yesterday when he had to chase Button and try to get around Alonso, it just wasn't there. Granted he could have been racing at the back with Kobayashi, and Senna fighting for the tenth spot point ans still have clinched his WDC, but yesterday's race wasn't pretty and it underscores what's been said about him or the car all along... if it's not running away in front in clean air, there is a struggle.

The start felt unnecessarily "dirty" regardless of the lack of a penalty and it's not the first time he's done that, probably won't be the last. Remember that boys and girls when someone else does the same thing.

Hamilton was no where to be seen, granted his race was over after the puncture, but he just didn't have the chase in the car whatever it was, he simply was never a factor in the race. Alonso did was Alonso does, and brought the scuderia an unexpected podium and kept the Red Bull behind. Yesterday's race showcased all of Button's talents, congratulations to him, boring as hell but a flawless drive and he proved that McLaren finally do have the pace as compared to the Red Bulls... talk about too little too late, but I'd love the remaining races of the year to be a slugfest for both pole and the race win and give the Red Bulls something to think about during the off season.

[racechick]

Ruthless but perfectly legal, there was only one move made by Vettel. Button chose to aim for an increasingly smaller gap and ended up stuck.

You should listen to David Coulthard's assessment of this. He's bang on in what he says.

You think so? I think Coulthard shows bias. He works for red Bull and is not neutral in his assessments. he said Vettel would likely not get a penalty becuase he doesnt have a record of agressive starts. Well yes he does actually. And whether he does or doesnt it should have no baring on the incident in question.
When Leiws got his punctue, Coulthard suggested he migh be dedliberately slowing to hold Alonso and let Button get away. Ok he didnt know at that time that lewis had a puncture but he jumped to the conclusion that lewis was deliberately obstructing another competitor. Thats a false allegation.
When Massa tried to overtake lewis and touched Coulthard asked if they thought lewis would get a penatly. Why? Brundle said it hadnt even crossed his mind.
A little less bias please david.

[acosmichippo]

...I'd love the remaining races of the year to be a slugfest for both pole and the race win and give the Red Bulls something to think about during the off season.

That's all I've wanted all year. It surprises me that so many "F1" fans are so apathetic about the rest of the season, even if your favorite driver has had bad luck lately. Finally the gap up at the front has narrowed, and NOW you lose interest? I understand tha the championships are basically sealed, but they have been for a while now. The individual races should still be good; it's not like the guys don't still want to win them.

[andrew]

Ruthless but perfectly legal, there was only one move made by Vettel. Button chose to aim for an increasingly smaller gap and ended up stuck.

You should listen to David Coulthard's assessment of this. He's bang on in what he says.

You think so? I think Coulthard shows bias. He works for red Bull and is not neutral in his assessments. he said Vettel would likely not get a penalty becuase he doesnt have a record of agressive starts. Well yes he does actually. And whether he does or doesnt it should have no baring on the incident in question.
When Leiws got his punctue, Coulthard suggested he migh be dedliberately slowing to hold Alonso and let Button get away. Ok he didnt know at that time that lewis had a puncture but he jumped to the conclusion that lewis was deliberately obstructing another competitor. Thats a false allegation.
When Massa tried to overtake lewis and touched Coulthard asked if they thought lewis would get a penatly. Why? Brundle said it hadnt even crossed his mind.
A little less bias please david.

Yes I think so. Coulthard was correct, Vettel does not have a record of aggressive starts this year but even then I see nothing wrong with starts like this along as it doesn't cause a crash but I guess in these PC times some viewers are too sensitive. There is no bias from Coulthard but I dare say if he was singing the praises of McLaren you'd think he was wonderful.

He asked a reasonable question that most viewers would be wondering and got an answer. Hardly a false allegation, just decent commentating on what he saw and having a discussion with Brundle. He wouldn't be doing his job if he started ignoring things. But maybe Coulthard will read these pages, maybe he walks amoung us with his square jaw and maybe he'll see that he has upset you and he'll change his ways.

[racechick]

He hasnt upset me. And he does sing the praises of mcLaren-he's Button's manager. That doesnt alter the fact that he made a false allegation against Hamilton. And I think you'll find Vettel does have a history of aggresive starts. It doesnt bother me. I dont have a problem with aggresive driving, this is racing. You're the one that bangs on about it when you believe hamilton has been aggresive. You cant like it one driver and not in another. That's bias like Coulthard showed.

[Big Azza]

Do what I did - leave the non-rewarding life of HamFandom and jump on the Vettel bandwagon. Life as an F1 fan is much more rewarding!

Hmmm... Triple for Seb next year me thinks?

So what you just jump ship when the guy you support goes through a bad time and gets shafted? You just pick someone else who looks to be going through a good patch. No thanks.

It was Monaco 2008 (a race which Lewis won) that made me notice Vettel, it was Monza 2008 when I thought he was awesome. It was Brazil '08 when I started supporting Vettel.

It was timed nicely because Lewis had just won - but the emotions I had in Brazil - wow! My then-favourite driver Hamilton was about lose his title because my then-second-favourite driver overtook him. When I saw Massa cross the line and how happy the Ferrari team were - it made me so happy that Vettel helped them win the title (because face it, Hamilton was 6th, Massa was first. Massa did everything he had to to win the title in the final race- Hamilton didn't). But when Hamilton crossed the line I was going to explode.

But after that race - knowing how much Vettel affected me - I supported him.

Actually, because I had too much time on my hands - I thought I'd go back in time and find the post where I told everyone I wasn't supporting Hamilton as a favourite anymore.

Tbh - I wasn't expecting Vettel to win so many races as he did - I honestly thought Red Bull would be a midfield team going into '09. But Vettel wiped the floor with Webber and ever since I've been happy to be a fan.

I've decided that this season, I'd support not just a team. But anyone but Scuderia Ferrari.

I found myself rooting for Sebastien Vettel towards the end of the season, but come on? Who didn't?

Anyway, I found more excitement in going for a weaker team (Scuderia Torro Rosso). Because it's more interesting than supporting a team that wasn't always first, and required more skill from the driver to get a good result.

I'll still be rooting for Hamilton, but I'm not so keen on him because he's already won the championship. I mean, look at team Red Bull: I'd be rooting for them this year with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Those names are much more interesting to me.

I'd also be keen on watching this new Mercedez team. I'd be watching Bruno Senna very closely. I'm also keen on Adrian Sutil. While I don't care too much about the team. I'd like to see how Sutil would fare with a Mercedez engine.

So it's Team Red Bull 09! Don't worry, I'll change my signature!

So, just clarifying: Before I get kicked out of the McLaren clan:

I still care about McLaren, but I'll keep a more open mind. I reckon Lewis Hamilton rocks! But it's just not as exciting as rooting for an underdog.

So the clauses of my fan-ship are:

1. I hope McLaren win the Constructors Championship.
2. Lewis Hamilton will win the Drivers Championship.
3. Sebastien Vettel will win a couple of races, and a few more podiums. However, if he won the drivers championship (Big IF) then I'd be ecstatic!
4. Mark Webber will get on the podium a few times.
5. Bruno Senna will get on the podium a few times. (Not expecting a win)
6. Adrian Sutil, will get ONE podium. lol.

That is what I'm rooting for this season! So because I still hate Ferrari, will the McLarenites still be my friends?