Lewis Hamilton scores home win as Ferrari flounder

2008 British Grand Prix review

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Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone as McLaren capitalised on a strategic blunder by Ferrari.

McLaren called the changing conditions perfectly while Ferrari got their strategy badly wrong for Kimi Raikkonen, leaving him to battle his way up to fourth.

Hamilton’s win sets up a three-way tie at the top of the Formula 1 championship standings at the halfway point in the championship.

McLarens bang wheels

The race started in damp conditions with Heikki Kovalainen on pole position ahead of Mark Webber. But it was the second row of Raikkonen and Hamilton that made the best start. While Raikkonen was boxed in behind the front row men, Hamilton burst through to take second after banging wheels with his team mate at the first corner.

Hamilton kept up the pressure on Kovalainen and made his pass on lap four, lunging through at Stowe leaving Kovalainen unable to respond, although the Finn feinted at his team mate as they went into Vale.

Further back the opening laps were chaotic. Webber spun as he came onto the Hangar straight, keeping his Red Bull away from the cars rushing at him.

At Abbey first Kazuki Nakajima went off then Felipe Massa spun as well, this first of many for the Ferrari driver. At Priory, David Coutlhard tapped Sebastian Vettel and both spun straight into the gravel, ending their races, and Coulthard’s final home Grand Prix.

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Raikkonen catches Hamilton

Fernando Alonso had gambled on ‘extreme’ wet weather tyres at the start and to begin with they paid off. Alhough team mate Nelson Piquet Jnr passed him at the start he quickly reversed the move and then took Nick Heidfeld for fourth. He then began to close on the top three of Hamilton, Kovalainen and Raikkonen.

But on lap 11 he found Kovalainen suddenly in front of him. The Finn had spun at Abbey, letting Raikkonen up into second.

Webber quickly began to fight his way through the pack, passing Kazuki Nakajima, Rubens Barrichello, Adrian Sutil (who’d made a characteristically good start in the wet), Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. But on lap 18 he had to make his first pit stop.

By this time Raikkonen had cut the gap to Hamilton from over six seconds to 1.6s. As the track continued to dry, Raikkonen had the quicker car and set the fastest lap of the race at this stage.

Kovalainen was in the pits on lap 19 for a fresh set of intermediates. As the track seemed to be getting drier, it looked like McLaren had made a mistake by not keeping him on his worn intermediates.

When Hamilton and Raikkonen came in together two laps later McLaren did the same but Ferrari left Raikkonen on the same tyres. But as rain began to fall heavily it became clear that McLaren had made the right decision. On their out lap Hamilton was 1.1s quicker in the second sector alone.

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Ferrari’s strategy blunder

Over the following laps Hamilton streaked away. Raikkonen lost five seconds on lap 24 alone – by lap 27 he was 21.8s in arrears and Kovalainen had caught him. But Kovalainen took a long time to pass his countryman and, when he finally did, a perfectly-placed Heidfeld pounced on the pair of them, and took both drivers in one move at Woodcote.

By the halfway stage in the race rain was falling very heavily and it was starting to look as though extreme wet weather tyres would be necessary. Raikkonen finally gave up and pitted for fresh intermediate tyres on lap 30. Fernando Alonso was also in trouble having pitted and kept the same tyres on lap 21. He was back in on lap 27 and took on enough fuel to last him until the end.

Robert Kubica was thriving in the rain, passing Piquet for fourth on lap 32 and then taking Kovalainen two laps later, putting him third.

The Honda drivers had capitalised on the leaders’ problems and on lap 36 Rubens Barrichello was into the pits. The team gambled on switching him to extreme wet weather tyres, but a problem with the fuel hose kept him stuck in the pits and not taking on any fuel. Worse, team mate Jenson Button was queued behind him. A few laps later Button retired with a technical problem.

Heavy rain catches drivers out

But as the weather got worse more drivers were flying off the track. Giancarlo Fisichella had spun out on lap 27. Nelson Piquet Jnr, having passed Alonso earlier, went out on lap 36. Timo Glock spun and continued and up ahead even Hamilton went wide at Abbey. At Becketts first Kubica went off and then Massa had another spin, the car snapping away from him as he turned into Maggots. Both continued.

McLaren faced another strategy gamble when Hamilton came in for his second pit stop on lap 38. And again it looked as though they’d called it wrong as they elected not to put him on extreme wet weather tyres, but gave him new intermediates instead.

Surprisingly BMW did the same but Barrichello was able to lap up to five seconds per lap quicker than them. He even unlapped himself from Hamilton with ease going down the Hangar straight. But as the rain eased over the coming laps Hamilton was able to improve his lap times much more quickly than the opposition – up to four seconds faster than the likes of his team mate and Raikkonen.

Kubica was caught out by the weather, however, and went off backwards into the gravel on lap 40.

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Nakajima loses out at the last

Barrichello took third for Honda
After Barrichello made his final stop he slotted in third behind Heidfeld, with Jarno Trulli, Alonso, Kovalainen, Raikkonen and Timo Glock, whose Toyota had survived an assault from Nico Rosberg, who lost his front wing in the contact.

Massa was stil struggling and on lap 50 spun for the fifth time. Kovalainen had another spin, allowing Raikkonen and Alonso past.

Raikkonen then reeled in Alonso and passed him or fourth, Kovalainen following to demote the Renault driver to sixth. But Kazuki Nakajima could not find a way past Alonso – but Trulli pounced to demote the Williams driver almost within sight of the chequered flag.

Rosberg finished ninth after stopping for a new front wing with Webber a disappointing tenth after starting on the front row of the grid. He spun more than once during his attempts to climb back through the field.

Sebastien Bourdais was 11th ahead of Timo Glock and Massa, after a poor performance by the Ferrari driver.

Hamilton’s win was the perfect response to growing criticism of his driving after the mistakes at Montreal, Magny-Cours and in qualifying at Silverstone yesterday. But for all the drama of the previous races it is now all tied at the top of the championship with eight races to go.

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Keith Collantine
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84 comments on “Lewis Hamilton scores home win as Ferrari flounder”

  1. Scott Joslin
    6th July 2008, 16:08

    Just back from the track today! Wow, what a great race, so many things happening – Wish every race could be wet.

    Big shout out to Lewis – Great drive! Well done Rubens too!

  2. At least you know the result before hand Clive. I turned my TV off halfway through the race when Lewis was leading cos I was so nervous and couldn’t watch knowing Lewis’s tendency to make silly mistakes!

    Just wondered what happened to Kova? He was lapped in same equipment under similar strategies. There was contact between the two McLarens at the start. His car might have been damaged. We will have to wait what Heikki has to say to understand. Maybe his setup was wrong or he was just dead slow.

  3. I think we have to admit that Hamilton is the rainmeister – he was lapping at similar times to Barrichello’s when Rubens had extreme wets on and was five seconds a lap faster than anyone else. Kovalainen is good, I don’t think there’s any doubt of that, it’s just that Hamilton has the edge in the dry and is way better in the wet.

    But how about Mr Consistency, my boy Nick? As far as I can tell, he was the only driver to keep it on the island at all times (even Lewis went wide at Abbey once, apparently). Nick has looked ordinary next to Kubica this season but it has been the qualifying that has caused that. Now that he seems to have got the hang of getting the BMW closer to the sharp end of the grid, we can expect him to be mixing it with the front runners again.

  4. I’m sorry guys, I’m a DRIVER and from my seat that race was nothing more that a survival test. The first commenter, Scot “wishes every race could be wet”.
    Very immature, be thankful they aren’t! There’s little doubt many are celebrating because Hammy won, and as I’ve posted elsewhere there are those who got a good laugh from Ferrari’s errors, but chaos does not make a great race.
    Two weeks ’til Hungary and praying for good weather!

  5. Just came back from Silverstone, have to say, I’m not Hamilton’s biggest fan but his drive was awesome.
    Would have been interesting if KimiBot had been given more appropriate tyres.

    Great first GP for myself, exciting race, plenty of stuff happenin left right and centre. How gutted was Kubica and it was nice to see Rubens get what his ability ddeserves.

    As for Dc, last home GP and binned it on lap 1, and I know Vettel did too but there you go.

  6. four drivers have been fined this weekend for speeding in the pitlane.
    http://www.f1technical.net/news/9706?sid=bd2a4bddcf89905ec44818b4f26a5a3f

    Quick Nick and Rubens are my drivers of the day. And I was rooting for little Kazuki towards the end too!

  7. I liked Hamilton winning this race, because we all are too fast to bash drivers, sometimes with no reason at our side. Hamilton didn’t deserve all the punishment he got these days, except the Canada issue, IMHO. His race was real fine, outdriving his mate and being consistent the whole race. He had the benefit of the right strategy, but that is what a real team is supposed to do. Thumbs up for Hami and McLaren.

    On the other hand, I have to light up the great great race Alonso did, but of course, that has to be readen between lines. When the track was at its worst at the beginning and he was heavy fuel loaded he was extremely fast, better than Raikkonen and Kovalainen (with that ugly thing that somebody in Renault’s camp called an F1 car!!). Lately he suffered another huge strategy error (don’t know if it was his fault or his team’s). Made the last pitstop before half of the race, and he resisted far beyond the limits of his worned tyres, making almost imposible to be overtaken by Kimi and Kovi, and keeping safe his sixth place. That strategy fault was really ugly, thinking on the warning the team gave to Nelsinho, about raining within 5 minutes. Knowing that they didn’t change tyres…. I couldn’t understand a single word.

  8. It’s not a question of risking a strategy. I simply think Ferrari should have understand that Barrichello was going too fast on the extremes and they should have changed.

  9. I watched the race from the Farm grandstand at Abbey chicane. We had standing water for most of the race and a lake for the last third!
    Internet – There was a clear difference between Hamilitons car control and Kovi’s through this section. Kovi spun here but Hamilton just caught it every time. I was very impressed with Hamilton here. The one mistake where Hamilton nearly spun, he caught it and rode the grass on the inside of the exit, it was a good save considering. Kimi was also impressive there. He was very stable and never looked in trouble. Massa was too heavy on the exit and spun twice maybe three times (I lost count). Webber seemed to be braking too late and was always going in too deep and spun here too.
    Kubica spin nearly wiped out Kovi as he spun on entry, like Sutil did, and went backwards across the track just missed Kovi ending up in the kitty litter. I think he hit the same standing water that Sutil did.

    I’m not sure if the Porsche Super Cup race helped, there was clearly still fuel on the track at this point from the lap 1 crash despite a pathetic attempt of 1 broom and 6 marshalls to clear it. Also every time Radio Silvestone said “It’s getting dry” we got hit by a new rain burst. :D

    It was a great day. Hats off to Hamilton, he kept it calm and quick when everyone else was losing it in the wet.

  10. Scott Joslin
    6th July 2008, 19:20

    Number 38 – Thanks for pointing out you are a driver!

    I am a FAN and that does not allow you to patronize all those that do not DRIVE!

    I have been an F1 fan for over 20 years so I would like to consider my perspective on Motorsport anything other than Immature.

    I am sorry, but the weather conditions today made for a great race to watch, and it seemed some drivers found it hard but not all of them. Let me ask you a question, Why do people talk about Ayrton Senna’s performance at Donington Park in 1993 – Was that just a joke or a display of amazing driver car control? Same as Jackie Stewards amazing win in the German Grand Prix in the early seventies – Races where the car control was vital and all those that did not posses the level of skill just floundered!

    What you are saying is you would prefer to watch prosessional races where the drivers skills are not tested to the maximum.

    Or are you a DRIVER with very limited car control that is frightened of the rain?

    My opinion is that at the moment, Wet races produce very exciting races that challenge the drivers car control – that means they can pass and really make up time on another driver. In the dry in F1 it is very often a stalemate as the maximum is easily achieved.

    Moving on the subject of “laughing at Ferrari” I never mentioned Ferrari but I feel they should get a bit of stick for todays performance, seeing Mclaren get bashed everytime they make a mistake.

    Here is to the Hungarian GP, lets hope it is as exciting as 2006 – Oh, a wet race! :)

  11. John Beamer
    6th July 2008, 20:00

    Scott – here, here …..Bernie should put sprinklers on all tracks and we’d stop the boring races like Magny Cours

  12. Once again, my faith in Massa takes a new dive. He might as well just done a few doughnuts off the start and parked the car. Ferrari were diabolical today, from closing up onto Hamilton to falling further and further behind.

    But all in all, a good race to watch – particularly impressed with Nick Hiedfeld’s charge, dispatching a McLaren and a Ferrari in one go. An unpredictable result, and sets up for an interesting 2nd half of the season.

    If only Kubica landed a 7th place to make it a 4 way tie!

  13. ditto to fox sentiments, clive. i had no idea they were also going to run the german gp. at least speed’s going to do the pre-race for that.

    but honestly, it really did beat the heck outta magny snore from my couch. every wet race is a survival course, of course. but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bring out some usually veiled talents nor does it dull the excitement. most of us are just spectators, after all. i’m no hamilton lover but he was the best driver today and i’m glad he won. i’d have been “gladder” if kubica hadn’t washed out or alonso had pulled third place but, that’s just me.

    but my, my what did happen to massa? i hope he’s not going to go into a funk about this one for the next couple of races. i’m really starting to like these mid-season stats with the championship up for grabs by several drivers.

  14. On Fox network before the race,Heikki was asked on the grid if the rain would affect his race and he smugly says “It doesn’t matter”…..and he started eating those words 4 laps later.

    WAY TO GO NICK !!!!

    @ Scott on comment #11…well said,thanks for standing up for us FANS who don’t appreciate being looked down upon because we don’t drive a race car.That is not what this is about.We support the sport we love,not to be insulted by the drivers we support.

  15. The beauty of Formula One racing is the speed inwhich fortunes can change. To be honest I was amazed at how Ferrari got it all so wrong today, I expected them to do much better following a dominant performance at Magny Cours.
    When Hamilton made that pitstop for fresh tyres when the rain was coming down hard, memories of Shanghai 07 were in the back of my mind. Great performance from Rubens Barrichello, in what is hands down the worst chassis on the grid, very very impressive.
    The important thing for us ‘fanatics’ is that the championship is nice and tight now, as we go into the business end of the season.
    Remember, it was now that Kimi Raikkonen came alive last year to win the title. It is still anyones championship at the top, and I can’t wait for Germany.

  16. Great performance from Lewis and McLaren today.

  17. To FAN Scott Joslin:

    THANK YOU for being there on race day. Patronage and support by FANS like you allowed me to enjoy life to
    the fullest. THANKS to ALL of you.

    http://www.thepitlaneclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7
    drop down to entry #13

  18. Clive, I’m with you on waiting for SPEED to get the races back after the next GP- It’s a pain watching the delayed coverage. In the case of the tape-delayed races, I always wait to come on here and get the full post-race report. Great race for Nick as well- I’m just waiting for him to finally get to that top step on the podium one of these days.

    A great race by Hamilton, and also a good job by Rubens and Honda to bring it home on the podium. All in all, a great weekend for racing. Just one thing though….many of you seem to be waiting for Hungary, but isn’t Germany the next GP?

  19. Number 38, great to see an American with some races under his belt on here!! Keep up the good posting everyone!

  20. 38, you are a human being, not just a number!

    Your “driver” credentials don’t make you an expert. I note that the wet races have recieved the highest ratings on the F1 Fanatic polls this year… IMHO I’d rather watch a wet race than another predictable precession with no overtaking.

  21. Wet races reduce the grip. If the grip levels were reduced by the rules (which hopefully will happen next year) then we will be in a different situation where normal races will be great and wet races will be impossible. But until then wet races are the only way to simulate the low grip. I wish it wasn’t such a lottery in places. But today’s race was a good one.

  22. Scott Joslin
    6th July 2008, 21:52

    Thanks for the glimpse of your background Number 38, I am not getting into a slagging match but I would have liked you to have given more of an insightful answer to my question about great drives in the rain, seeing as you see wet weather races’s as not a proper test for racing drivers, more a survival.

    In my view there are some drivers that just survive in the rain and there are those that demonstrate amazing skill and craft.

    Lets not forget through all this, that motorsport is not just for driving, it is also for the spectators and the rain provides a chance for fans to see the drivers really working the car.

  23. I thought Hamilton did a fantastic job today and he again illustrated that he is one of the few drivers who seem to thrive in those horrible conditions (I’m not a Hamilton fan btw). Big-ups to Heidfeld and Barrichello as well.

    As a Ferrari fan, I’m hugely disappointed with the result and as Scott (post #11) said, they definitely deserve some flack for that. I’m not disappointed in Raikkonen so much but I can only assume that both he and Ferrari decided not to change his tyres in the first pit-stop. I believe responsibility lies with both parties there. But at least, all things considered, he brought his car home in 4th and still made progress towards his championship campaign.

    Massa, on the other hand, drove like an amateur. I was hugely disappointed with his performance and unless there was extenuating circumstances that we don’t know about, I hope he got a good head-schlapping for his efforts.

    Whilst I don’t completely agree with Number 38’s earlier comments, I have to agree that races like today do seem a bit more like a ‘survival competition’. Obviously they separate those who can drive in those conditions competently (i.e. Hamilton) and show when others cannot (i.e. Massa’s performance today). However I have to say that I don’t enjoy the ‘lottery’ factor of who will actually finish the race as much as I enjoy the ‘pushing to the limit’ factor of dry races…..but hey…..that’s just me.

    p.s. Did anyone else find the coverage today shockingly sub-standard and there seemed to be even more ad breaks than usual???…..I nearly threw my remote at the telly!! ;-)

  24. Scott Joslin
    6th July 2008, 22:18

    Dorian – I completely agree, I don’t want races to be lottery, but Rubens showed that when it was really wet, going to the extreme wet tyre proved to handle the wet conditions perfectly. Most drivers did not decided to go onto the most suitable tyre at the time, they chose to stick to the lightly cut wets, which was a very risky option and paid the price with a trip into the gravel trap.

  25. David Watkins
    6th July 2008, 23:54

    Having watched a YouTube video or two can I ask who is the race commentator for the crowd at the track? It was the same guy at Donnington when I went to last year’s World Series by Renault weekend. He is excellent and should accompany Martin Brundle on the BBC next year

  26. Number 38, you think Hamilton winning by 68 seconds was simply a case of survival??? And what about Heidfeld with those two, double over taking maneuvers, were they just luck????? I’m sorry, but If you replace the word DRIVER with ASS in you opening sentance, then you may have actually written something factual….

  27. michael counsell
    7th July 2008, 1:58

    Hamilton and McLaren were awesome today and and he really showed Kovalainen whos boss in the team. With no particular technical or tactical advantage Hamilton managed to lap his team mate.

    Barrichello however was the driver of the race 16th on the grid to third was incredible. His tyre choice was spot on and was the only one to really push in the really wet conditions and keep it on the road.

    Heidfeld kept a solid pace and as like he’s done so many times before was able to overtake others in ways most drivers probably wouldn’t think about.

    Alonso was also impressively quick but they made the wrong strategy call and didn’t seem to be able to make his tyres last anyway even when they did change.

    The rest of the drivers seemed to be spinning most of the time but to be fair to them the conditions did look terrible so they can be excused.

  28. What is it about Honda and rain?

  29. for all those ” IMHO” – I don’t buy it!

    what a race, a round of applause for Mr Hamilton please; I don’t care if you liek him or not it was quite a fantastic display.

    Ferrari self destructed, Honda got lucky and we now have some pressure going against both BMW and Ferrai – let’s see who can cope.

    I was very dissapointed with the boys in red, they ruined what coudl ahve been a fantastic race by making a very strange tyre choice. They clearly miss Mr Braun.

  30. gogogadget
    7th July 2008, 6:09

    Number 38:

    I can appreciate your point of view but I respectfully disagree. Chaos, in any sport, creates great unknowns, and it is through these circumstances that we see who can truly perform under difficult situations. As much as I hate to say it, Hamilton showed up a lot of his critics by his superb drive, while Kovy, Webber, and Massa showed us they still lack that extra something.

    A wet race undoubtedly becomes a race of attrition, but drama does make for great TV, and at the end of the day without viewer interest it’ll be tough for F1 to expand beyond the hardcore enthusiast.

    I don’t think this an issue between DRIVERS and FANS. I’m sure there are many fans here who appreciate the immense skills of these drivers in the dry, and undoubtedly appreciate their skills even more when they can show it off in the wet.

  31. Come on AndyWolf lets not get personal….
    I agree with you but there is no need to state the obvious.
    Great race by LH, NH and great strategy by Honda and RB for keeping the car out of the wall.
    Has any one seen any comments by Mark Webber as to his 1st lap spin. He may have browned his pants seeing the field appear and dissapear thru the spray as the in car showed

  32. I’m a staunch Hamilton hater, and even I have to acknowledge the quality his performance….he drove a very good race. Not a “Great” or “legendary” race. Let’s not get carried away. As cgmasson pointed out, we could have seen a potentially great fight between Hamilton and Raikkonen, but we were robbed of that by Ferrari’s strategists (or lack thereof).

    And if Honda’s fuel rig hadn’t malfunctioned (*not* Barrichello’s fault), who knows? Right now we could have been discussing Hamilton finishing 2nd behind a 36-year-old, backmarker who everybody expects will be headed to the retirement home next year…

    Congratulations to Lewis and McLaren, but let’s try to keep things in perspective.

  33. An inspiring drive by Lewis. Amazing car control , it made his car look as if it still had traction control compared to Massa’s which looked like his car was running “non-grip super-slip” tyres. I wish Ferrari had replaced Kimi’s tyres for new inters at the 1st stop , even as some above point out that it was a hugely exciting race , no one could challenge Lewis after that , and before the first stop , Kimi had shown he could have been up to it. But that happens. Back to Massa , I’m a bit confused . In Monaco (similar conditions) he was as good as Lewis , let’s face it , both had one small mistake , but otherwise drove superbly. Here at Silverstone , Lewis made Massa look like an amateur ? Maybe as Ross Brawn pointed out in interview with Brundle , when the car’s hooked up , it’s easy to gain a 7 sec. advantage to one that’s not.

  34. Rob R: the same thing could be said when Hamilton is making mistakes and all the bashers spring out of their caves. For example: wasn’t he punished he would have challenged for a podium (maybe even 2:nd place with Kimis troubles, see Heikkis 4th as benchmark) in Magny Cours from 13th place. These “whatifs” work both ways. Both in good and bad times we should keep things in perspective but as sport fans, sometimes its more fun not to;)

  35. Bravo Hamilton…!
    I hope this season 2008 your mine…
    From Indo I support u with pray…
    God bless u

  36. TopGear blog says:

    The pass Hamilton eventually pulled on his team-mate; it was one of those ‘I’m coming through, mate’ jobs in the mould of Ayrton Senna.

  37. Alonso follower
    7th July 2008, 8:02

    As an Alonso supporter, I know I should not be saying this to my Spanish peers, but it has to be reckoned that Hamilton did a fantastic race and the McLaren team also guessed the correct strategy while all other teams did not so well. If Hamilton and the team perform like this during the rest of the season, Ferrari can start to worry. Unfortunately for McLaren fans, I doubt that Lewis can keep his nerves straight.

    Disappointed with Ferrari, specially with Massa, it’s difficult to understand how the best car with the some of the best drivers can deliver so little.

    Oh, and I’m sorry for Kubica, he really deserved more.

  38. If Massa could finish a Sunday race like that I look forward to what he can do in a Friday disco to this tune http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaGS3Uts704

  39. On the excitement factor – it wasn’t so much the rain, as the unpredicability of the rain – do you start on Wets or Full Wets? Do you change in the Pit Stops or do you carry on? How good is your weather forecast? Where is the track wet? Surely that is what made the difference between the Hammys, the Rubies and the Massas on Sunday!
    And I have to agree with all the previous posts, its about time the Red Cars had some aggro for their apparent lack of control, in Qualifying and the race. Kimi deserved much better support, and I do think we are going have a few weeks of Massa funk – I would love to listen to the shouting match at Marinello today!
    Ross Brawn proved his worth at Honda, although its a great shame Jenson and DC were under par (very under par in DCs case!)

  40. sChUmAcHeRtHeGrEaTeStEvEr
    7th July 2008, 8:54

    i dont see how anybody can say hamiltons drive was anything other than amazing. if it was senna who drove the same race you’d all be saying what a legend he is.

    Yes ferari made a pigs ear of the strategy, but thats part of formula 1. The best example of how good hamilton was is the fact while rubens was 10 seconds a lap faster than everyone on the inters, hamilton, on the same inters, was 6 seconds a lap fatser than them all. that is amazing. even martin brundle was comparing his wet driving to that of schumacher and senna and i respect brundles opinoin immensley.

    im not saying hamilton is as good as schumacher or senna, he makes too many mistakes, but hes only driven 26 grand prix, he is still learning, in a couple of seasons aslong as he learns from his mistakes theres no reason why he cant be as good as some of the greats. he was in a league of his own today. it was a priveleg to be there and see it happening right in front of me. if hamilton does go on to be a multi-world champion people will still talk about that drive after he retires. immense.

    all the hamilton bashers, we all had a pop at him after canada adn france, desevedly so, with the adulation must come the criticism when he makes mistakes. but how anyone can say that wasnt a great drive when he won by over a minute is beyond me.

  41. Please correct me if I’m wrong but Kimi did spin as well.His race was not only ruined by Ferrari’s strategy but his own doing too.Great comeback though. Brilliant drive by Hamilton, he really kept it together with all the pressure on him.

  42. Anyone that thinks we were robbed of a great race because Ferrari messed up Raikkonens strategy was clearly not watching the same race I was. In the middle section of that race when Raikkonen finally received his new set of inters he wasn’t able to get within 3 seconds of Hamilton’s lap times and I’m being generous to Raikkonen, in most cases when I looked at the lap times it was nearer 6! Hamilton was leading so didn’t even have to push yet was outpacing all but Rubens. He lapped his team-mate who we should remember received the same new tyres as Hamilton at his first stop. He passed his team-mate on track no pass in pit that Raikkonen likes doing with Massa.

    That was a GREAT drive not a good one a GREAT one and as result ITV will go all over the top about Hamilton next race!

  43. Jolene, everyone lost control at one point in the race.

    apart from heidfield, I was expecting more from Sutil though.

  44. Scott Joslin
    7th July 2008, 9:58

    David Watkins – the circuit commentator at Silverstone is Ian Titchmarsh. He has been the Britain’s premier circuit commentator for as long as I can remember (20 odd years)

  45. but it is a bit concerning for Ferrari fans the number of silly mistakes that have begun to creep in , since 2007 , and now even more in 2008 . To now ask something like what possessed Ferrari to send a car out with USED inters. when even extremes were a strong consideration at that time , does not help , but still a big puzzle to me. Surely , when you are leading a championship , you do not have to go to the extent of gambling against the weather changing for the better , on a day when it has been appalling to say the least , with heavy , heavy cloud about , and in a place like the UK where rain is as common as sand in the desert ? I can understand Renault doing that , they know they will not win , so worse case they lose a few positions , which they did , but if , and that’s a very doubtful IF , the rain had suddenly stopped , they could have picked up a podium or even a win , worth a chance . Not the same with Ferrari.

  46. andy suridge
    7th July 2008, 10:28

    A big well done-(to mr weber for letting him through,talk about a wide open door)he couldnt lose from that position.

  47. Great race by LH, maybe his best till date.

    I was really surprised by the mistake Ferrary did with Kimi, I did not understand that move, I guess that there was a gamble that went wrong but still, maybe it was just better to be more conservative (like MCL did) and keep second place, also it took them too many time to make him back to the pit.

    I am also wondering how many more spins Massa would have to do before Ferrari realizes he is not the man for them, anyway it was fun to count spins and see how the guy was still able to finish the race, if he gets fired maybe he has some room in a Circus.

    Finally I am sorry for Kubica, till yesterday was the only driver that had not made a single mistake in the season… and my (unlikely) favourite for the title.

  48. Great race by Hamilton. His best so far in F1. Today he deserves the hype he’s getting. However, the man of the race is a couple: BB (Brawn-Barrichello).
    Also, the race asks for some Massa bashing. A Champ leader has never been so sad as him yesterday. Ferrari must be ashamed.

  49. After that Massa/Raikkonen perfomance, Fernando for Ferrari!

  50. A good race with an excellent drive from Hamilton – he really does shine on the big occasion.

    Having raced at Silverstone in the wet a few times the race was v interesting, as more than at other tracks there is a huge amount of grip available off line. Hamilton found these lines around the track, he was driving the perfect wet line, as was Heidfeld, esp through Luffield. Also Lewis did amazingly to keep the car on the road during the 3/4 distance monsoon.

    Others who should have known better, seemed to doggedly stick to the dry line through the corners and it was costing them oodles of time – just rewatch Kova through Brooklands/Luffield, or Massa (the whole race).

    Another great wet race for F1, which once again demonstrates that todays cars have way too much grip.

    Certainly in the UK at least yesterday’s race should add another 1million to the viewing figures – a home win and an entertaining race with something going on every lap (even if some laps it was just another Massa spin)

  51. i just begining to wonder whether ferrari are benifiting from the shumacher developments…and they have not done enough to keep up with maclaren…
    they had quite a few bits of problems…definatly they got their strategy badly wrong this time
    as far as massa is concidered i dont blame him for qualifying 9th cuz he had a bad shunt in practice which seemed to effect his qualifying (dominicali explianed problem with the tensor in the suspension after quali)…
    cant explain massa driving though

  52. in my opinion barachello was the best driver…
    i think barachello experience came to play in that situation and probably ross brawn effect. i really hope honda to do better in the next season and i think they should keep hold of barachello to develop the car..cant say much abt jenson they shoul probably replace him..

    hamilton also did a good job (altough i dont like hamilton alot) he had a good car setup this time.

    nick did also a great job…really like nick humble attitude which i would also like to see in hamilton..

  53. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 12:21

    How incredibly insane-Jenson is the top man no way will they get rid of him.
    Yeh he had a bad race so did others massa ect
    they run that team around jenson HE WILL COME GOOD
    given a decent car.

  54. My vote for drive of the day is to Barichello & Brawn for the strategy. Hamilton drove a ripper but things went his way when Kimi looked to have his measure.

    The incentive to scrub the tread off the intermediates sure didn’t pay for Kimi, Webber, or Alonso. I follow Mark and was gutted for him more when his charge back ended due to the intermediate strategy than for the opening lap spin. Mark has said there was a shift glitch show up on the data on the spin but for mine its the same old mechanical grip on cold tyres issue and same old slow off the line thing. We can see the same on all 4 RB tubs now.

  55. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 12:24

    Honda will be back on top soon with the top man brawn.
    Jenson tru brit-Not wallowing off to cuckoo clock land because he doesnt like his photo being taken!!!

  56. If anything Rubens was the one who “had a good car set up this time” what with running on the full wet tyres which were worth – at one point – up to 10 seconds a lap (according to Brundle during the race commentary). Both Hamilton and Heidfeld were more impressive – Hamilton for his ridiculous speed on intermediates in the wet and Heidfeld for both of his double passes and his seemingly effortless way of keeping out of trouble.
    .
    “Lewis had a good setup” is just another one of these ludicrous lines that are being bandied about this morning by people who just refuse to acknowledge that Hamilton is a bloody good Formula 1 driver.

  57. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 13:23

    Any one of those 20 drivers could have won if you have a decent car.
    because he is who he is its just SHOWBOATING

  58. i do agree that hamilton drove well but i dont agree that jenson is a really good driver..altough he is ok..he could have atleast stayed in the race and could have finished in the top ten (concidering he also went for wets)…

    p.s no offence to jenson…i really want honda to compete with the top teams..

  59. ““Lewis had a good setup” is just another one of these ludicrous lines that are being bandied about this morning by people who just refuse to acknowledge that Hamilton is a bloody good Formula 1 driver.”

    Well he did have a good set up. You’re not over a minute faster than everyone else just by skill. Yes it takes a lot of skill, but you need the car to be able to do it.

    The fact of the matter was that his car was set up perfectly for the changing conditions, and was fortunate Ferrari’s gamble didn’t work out, as had the predicted rain after the first round of pit stops been a light shower, as some teams were predicting, the race would have gone a completely different way, with Hamilton wondering what to do to try and keep up with Kimi and Alonso (who I believe were the only 2 who elected to keep their tyres).

  60. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 14:02

    I would have loved to seen golden boys reaction if barra of heidfield had won and was 2nd or 3rd.
    the press would have slated him.

  61. Maybe if Ferrari had actually paid someone to stand out with the crowd and monitor the wind direction and visibility beyond the circuit they would have noticed, as I did, that there was no chance of it drying up to keep those scrubbed inters on.
    I wonder if the teams rely too much on their computers and should just get someone outside once in a while.
    How much does it cost to employ 1 or 2 weather reporters around the track?

  62. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 14:19

    Good point chalky-sometimes you cant beat the old methods.

  63. So explain to me then how McLaren could set up their car perfectly for changeable conditions when the only thing they’re allowed to change on the dry set-up car after it comes out of Parc Ferme on Sunday morning are the wing settings and ride height? If they got the set-up that perfect, then surely Heikki would also have been a couple of seconds a lap quicker than everyone else?

  64. Number 38 – “I’m sorry guys, I’m a DRIVER” should have been “I’m sorry guys, I’m a lousy DRIVER in the wet”

  65. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 15:01

    On to hockenheim which years ago in my opinion was the best track 200mph straights.
    Now the wimps have cut it down its the same as the rest.

  66. People are saying Hamilton was lucky and had a good setup. Ok so Senna was lucky to win in Donington 93? He had the best car setup and thats the only reason he lapped all but 2 cars too? Senna obviously isn’t a very good driver either

  67. what the hell…
    i think u need both good driving skill and car setup…
    and i think u can change car settings while driving to suit to the conditions, is it right guys? i am not sure…wht do you think keith

  68. From my limited knowledge of motor racing there’s a massive difference between perfect wet & dry setups. I very much doubt that the sort of thing drivers can change in-car during a lap would make a couple of seconds a lap’s worth of difference to a dry set-up on a wet track.
    .
    Ultimately the driver is responsible for getting his car set up to his liking. I’ve seen comments that last year Hamilton was only good because he copied Alonso’s setup, but how does that explain his perfect setup for Sunday? Did he get someone else to do it for him?

  69. Honda didn’t get lucky, they got Brawn.

  70. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 15:56

    If they didnt have brawn no way would they have got 3rd in the honda/lada

  71. @ade Heikki was around .5 second faster than everyone else in quali, yet struggled in the race.

    Do you not thing that could be that his car was set up for dry, whilst the other top runners (Kimi, Lewis) were set up for changeable conditions?

  72. Theres not really much you can do to set up a car for a wet race other then tyres. Thats what I’ve heard before anyway

  73. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 16:25

    No one has mentioned ol square jaw retiring
    good luck dc.

  74. The facts are quite clear: Lewis was the best…by a mile! Even if Kimi had gotten the right tyres, he would not have been able to keep up with Lewis. Later lap times proved that. The real question is: what happened to Massa? He’s proven to be a reasonably good and competitive driver so far this year.

  75. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 18:03

    He is not a rainman simple

  76. But then how do you explain his performance in Monaco?

  77. andy surridge
    7th July 2008, 18:11

    easy slower circuit.

  78. Kester: Why set up Heikki’s for dry that morning when it was obvious from the earlier GP2 race and the forecasts that the circuit was drenched and would stay that way?

  79. GO HONDA F1 RACING!!!
    Many congrats to our Honda engineers and crews as well as Ruben Barrichello for giving all out consistently on a messy track! I knew Honda will out perform when the situations arise, RELIABILITY IS THE KING IN LONG RUN!!!!

  80. Andy, Mclaren also set up the Ferraris and all other cars on the grid so Hamilton could win?

  81. andy suridge
    7th July 2008, 23:07

    Im not allowed to comment sorry oliver,there is also 19 other drivers.

  82. Ben Goldberg
    12th July 2008, 9:15

    How can you call Lewis the “rain master” after China last year? Come on now…

  83. I live in Kinshasa, DR. Congo and I had never attended a F1 Grand Prix before, a friend of mine made it possible for me to attend the British GP 2008 weekend at Silverstone in 2008.
    This race was a memorable race for me, not just because it was my first ever GP but because so many things happened. We were watching the race from Stowe, and it was great feeling to witness Hamilton overtaking Heikki just a couple meters away from me. It was like a dream and I really really enjoyed the race (although the weather was as a bit cold for me).

    I really wish we could have races like this one with many surprises with the weather changing conditions.

    Hamilton did a very good job and I travelled miles away to support him, he did exactly what I and many fans expected him to do.

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