Comments on: Hamilton Fullfills Dream on Nightmare Day in Monaco http://f1rage.getshifter.com/2008/05/25/hamilton-fullfills-dream-on-nightmare-day-in-monaco/ All the Rage That's Fit to Print! Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:29:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: peterg http://f1rage.getshifter.com/2008/05/25/hamilton-fullfills-dream-on-nightmare-day-in-monaco/#comment-80 peterg Mon, 26 May 2008 04:53:19 +0000 http://f1rage.getshifter.com/2008/05/25/hamilton-fullfills-dream-on-nightmare-day-in-monaco/#comment-80 Not to take anything away from his victory, a win is a win, he was still incredibly lucky however. First his clouting of the barrier only resulted in a puncture instead of race ending suspension damage. And second, this forced pit stop unwittingly required his next stop to be at the best time to swap for dry tyres. IMHO, the two drivers of the day were Kubica & Heikki, the Pole ran a solid race whilst all the other front runners were having offs or collisions. Heikki was robbed of his second row starting position - he may well have won the race - & then proceeded to carve through the rear of the field, with him & Webber placing several of the fastest laps in the mixed conditions. As for Sutil, everybody forgets (or doesn't see because of the car he has under him) that he was Hamilton's greatest protagonist for the Euro F3 title, before going off to win the Japanese F3 championship.Poor kid, Kimi lost it under braking & just whacked the Force India car, what a strangely scrappy race for the normally robotic-like Finn.Vettel's one stop afternoon was another example of a an unsung performance in the treacherous mid field, & what of Fischella? A whole race without first & second gear! Getting out of the pits in third on a wet surface must have been a nightmare. Webber was the other driver to keep it all on track throughout the entire race & was rewarded for it. Without doubt the craziest move of the race was Alonso's brain fade at the Lowe's hair pin, a half-hearted stab in a move that was never going to come off. It's hard enough to voluntarily let a car pass you at that corner, where both cars are at their slowest & on full steering lock! Hardly the move of a double world champion who may well have been able to haul the recalcitrant Renault near to, or on, the podium. Nelson Piquet was struggling all weekend, but when they put him on to dry tyres on the still wet track my first thought was, he's going to bin it.You can forgive a driver for a error in those conditions, but Piquet's season up until now has been lackluster in the extreme. If this keeps up he may not see out the season, & it's not as if Renault does not have a stable of junior drivers, Di Grasi & Grosjean, who is French! As usual, wet weather has improved the racing, the twitchiness of the cars under acceleration & braking had the drivers really earning their pay & emphasized the removal of TC & engine braking. Not to take anything away from his victory, a win is a win, he was still incredibly lucky however. First his clouting of the barrier only resulted in a puncture instead of race ending suspension damage. And second, this forced pit stop unwittingly required his next stop to be at the best time to swap for dry tyres.

IMHO, the two drivers of the day were Kubica & Heikki, the Pole ran a solid race whilst all the other front runners were having offs or collisions. Heikki was robbed of his second row starting position - he may well have won the race - & then proceeded to carve through the rear of the field, with him & Webber placing several of the fastest laps in the mixed conditions.

As for Sutil, everybody forgets (or doesn’t see because of the car he has under him) that he was Hamilton’s greatest protagonist for the Euro F3 title, before going off to win the Japanese F3 championship.Poor kid, Kimi lost it under braking & just whacked the Force India car, what a strangely scrappy race for the normally robotic-like Finn.Vettel’s one stop afternoon was another example of a an unsung performance in the treacherous mid field, & what of Fischella? A whole race without first & second gear! Getting out of the pits in third on a wet surface must have been a nightmare. Webber was the other driver to keep it all on track throughout the entire race & was rewarded for it.

Without doubt the craziest move of the race was Alonso’s brain fade at the Lowe’s hair pin, a half-hearted stab in a move that was never going to come off. It’s hard enough to voluntarily let a car pass you at that corner, where both cars are at their slowest & on full steering lock! Hardly the move of a double world champion who may well have been able to haul the recalcitrant Renault near to, or on, the podium.

Nelson Piquet was struggling all weekend, but when they put him on to dry tyres on the still wet track my first thought was, he’s going to bin it.You can forgive a driver for a error in those conditions, but Piquet’s season up until now has been lackluster in the extreme. If this keeps up he may not see out the season, & it’s not as if Renault does not have a stable of junior drivers, Di Grasi & Grosjean, who is French!

As usual, wet weather has improved the racing, the twitchiness of the cars under acceleration & braking had the drivers really earning their pay & emphasized the removal of TC & engine braking.

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