Felipe Massa: Hamilton ‘was too aggressive’

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In the round-up: Felipe Massa calls on the FIA to issue further penalties against Hamilton, adding that he ‘needs to be penalised again, and in a good way – otherwise he doesn’t learn.’

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Fighting to the very last metre. Alonso a major player, Massa unlucky (Ferrari)

Felipe Massa: "I am very disappointed with the way my race ended. After Hamilton had tried to pass me at Loews, which is an impossible place to do it, hitting me and pushing me into Webber, the car was no longer right and I could not drive it properly, which is why he got on the inside of me inside the tunnel. That put me on the dirt and then I ended up in the barrier."

Massa: More penalties for Hamilton (Autosport)

"Felipe Massa has called on the FIA to issue further penalties against Lewis Hamilton following a collision between the pair during the Monaco Grand Prix. ‘I think he needs to be penalised again, and in a good way – otherwise he doesn’t learn. They [the FIA] need to think about something for him, or he will not learn.’"

Hamilton met stewards after ‘poor joke’ (Autosport)

"McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says the Monaco GP stewards “accepted” Lewis Hamilton’s explanation of his “poor joke” following the Monaco GP.

"’Immediately after the race he was very down, and during a post-race TV interview he made a poor joke about his penalties that referenced Ali G. However, I’m pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation.’"

Vitaly : "Thanks for your well wishes!" (Lotus Renault GP)

"After the impact, I could not feel my legs very well. I thought it was best for the medical team to assist with removing me from the car as it was difficult for me to move and my legs were trapped in the cockpit. I did not lose consciousness but I was in quite a lot of pain when I was inside the car."

Monaco Grand Prix from the pit lane (BBC F1)

"Ted Kravitz rounds up all the talking points from the pit-lane after an incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix."

Robert Kubica could still return in 2011, says manager (BBC F1)

"Injured Renault driver Robert Kubica could still make his return to Formula 1 in 2011, according to his manager Daniele Morelli."

‘I’m not a god. I’m just a normal person’: Sebastian Vettel keeps his feet firmly on the ground (The Daily Mail)

"I’m well aware that my moment in the sun could end at any time – I could break a leg falling down stairs and it would all be over. The best part of being No 1 is that nobody can take that away from me. I’m very proud of that and whether I have a good day or a bad day, I have proved to myself that I can do it."

Jenson Button via Twitter

"Glad to hear Sergio isn’t seriously injured. That’s a scary place to end up in the barriers. Still think we can do more to help with safety."

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Lewis Hamilton’s 20-second penalty following the Monaco Grand Prix has sparked a ferocious debate. Sean says:

Let’s face it, at Monaco, ANY pass can be judged ill-advised so they should arguably all just follow each other round and you could put "no overtaking" signs up all around the circuit.

I agree with those saying it’s a question of philosophy and consistency. Either you want overtaking in F1 or you don’t, and the gap between an OK pass and an avoidable collision is far too narrow at the moment, too arbitrarily judged, not consistently judged and always with the comfortable benefit of hindsight by people in suits – it’s just saying "only have a go when you’re 100.0% certain you can make the pass" and it mitigates against the one thing the sport has been trying to achieve all these years.

At Monaco especially – as you saw when Schumacher passed Hamilton – passes are only made when there’s a level of co-operation from the guy being passed. There are still plenty of cases of drivers "closing the stable door after the horse has bolted" but the stewards have a tendency to rule that the quicker guy should have just sat in the queue and not done anything, and it’s never the fault of the guy doing the blocking.

We need to recognize that sometimes if you put a bunch of guys in a broom cupboard with 700 horsepower each, mix them up and tell them to race, some of them actually will and they won’t always agree. There’s such a thing as a racing incident and I’m personally glad that some drivers, like Hamilton and Schumacher today, are prepared to have a go.
Sean

Read more: Hamilton given penalty for Maldonado collision

From the forum

2011 Monaco Grand Prix Awards

Happy birthday!

Four readers have birthdays today – all the best to Fation Losha, Remco H, Ted Tofield and Wesley!

On this day in F1

Sixty years ago the Indianapolis 500 was a race that counted towards the world championship. However none of the F1 regular chose to contest the race, which took place three days after the season-opening Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten.

Lee Wallard won the race, taking just under four hours to complete the 500 miles.

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177 comments on “Felipe Massa: Hamilton ‘was too aggressive’”

  1. Massa should concentrate on learning how to drive (a) quicker and (b) without crashing when the pressure is on. Just now he can do neither. Particularly when Hamilton is near him, the red mist descends.

    1. I’ve seen Massa weave outrageously at 200mph, I’ve seen him close doors and charge in optimistically with the move very much off. What. A. Hypocrite.

      He really can moan like a complete champion when he’s sulking.

      1. Wonder why people moan about Trulli or Button whining but not about Massa. Sure his stature after losing out in 2008 was great but this is just plain stupid. Really a shame, because if not for that I think he was doing fine this weekend.

        To me it was a racing incident between them and both were partly to blame.

        Very nice COTD, I hope Massa also has a look at it.

      2. “Hamilton had tried to pass me at Loews, which is an impossible place to do it”

        Funny how when Schuie launched it down inside Lewis at the hairpin there was no contact.

        Like Kobayashi, Lewis no only has good racecraft for being the hunter, he also knows when you give it up.

        Yes it was optimistic from Lewis, but for me Massa was looking for the accident and the assumption Lewis would get a penalty. No worse than a racing incident. The same goes for Maldonado too, although at the significantly higher speed into St Devote, I suspect he just didn’t think Lewis would be alongside.

        Once a car is alongside, the driver in front should leave room. That’s how Arnoux/Villeneuve raced for 2 laps in *that* race at Dijon. If you don’t give racing room, don’t be surprised if you get taken out!

        1. The thing is, Hamilton wasn’t fully alongside Massa, but rather half a cars lenght behind. I’m not too sure Hamilton would’ve been able to go around the corner the way he took it had he not used Massa’s Ferrari as support.

          1. Correct, he took the corner too much on the inside.

          2. Same as the Schumacher pass – his brakes were locked and he was out of control. Without Schumacher being there, he may well have ended up in the wall.

          3. Hamilton didn’t touch Schumacher when he passed him. If he did he’d have probably got a penalty for that too…

        2. To pass at Loews, you have to be fully alongside, Hamilton never got past Massa’s front wheel.

          1. To pass at Loews, you have to be fully alongside, Hamilton never got past Massa’s front wheel.

            Summed up very nicely ed241.
            I don’t see how anyone can honestly think that Hamilton was justified in that move. He took a poor line into the corner, and shoved a competitor not only into another car, but into the wall as well, and wanted to get away with it! Complete rubbish, I don’t want to see as great a driver as Hamilton resort to such trash, he is better than that and he should have never made that move.

            I can completely understand Massa’s anger over the situation.

      3. It’s the Second driver at Ferrari syndrome; get consistantly beat by your team mate and then blame it on everyone but yourself.

        I really like Massa but the guy needs to shut up and get on with the racing as he’s starting to sound like a younger version of Barrichello.

    2. Red mist indeed, the hypocrisy is astounding, in case anyone needs reminding – even Massa himself maybe – Massa vs Hamilton Fuji 2008

      1. I should add that Hamilton was also awarded a drive through in Fuji 2008 – the reason? Out-braking himself into turn one at the start of the race…

        1. The photo says everything, a penalty for scrunching his own tyres. Oh and some drivers had to operate their steering wheels! F1 as baby stroller race.

          1. I 100% remember Fuji 2008, actually I was thinking about it yesterday! Also despite what biased pundits thought at the time I 100% believe that Massa drove into Hamilton on purpose.. Massa needs to shut his mouth.

      2. Fuji 2008 was far more a racing incident than Hamilton’s overly-ambitious attempt at the hairpin was. You have got to be kidding me.

    3. Sad to admit it, but Felipe shouldn’t be moaning too much because Hamilton has had his penalty and he could have had one too according to some interpretations, therefore the situation is fine as it is.

  2. I agree with Sean. Hamilton had a very competitive car but found himself down in ninth. On most circuits he’d be free to overtake without problems and make up some positions. But this is monaco. And it is simply impossible to pass in this track without contact. In fact they probably SHOULD ban overtaking in monaco, as its more trouble than its worth.

    1. Or IndyCar overtakes where you can’t defend a position. With the seemingly permanent introduction of DRS, they might as well.

    2. Webber passed Kobayashi without contact, therefore it’s not simply impossible to pass at Monaco, it’s just more difficult. Schumacher passed several people without putting people into the wall and destroying their race.

      1. I’m with you. Also, Hamilton’s pass on Schumacher was fine. It isn’t impossible, but it is hard. Just because it is harder to pass at Monaco doesn’t mean you get to make more “speculative” passes; instead it means there is less passing.

        1. I second that.

      2. Well, maybe it’s because Kobayashi didn’t turn right into Webber… that might have something to do with his successful pass.

        Hamilton probably misjudged it, but Massa was at fault too. Felipe decided to cut in too late, which caused their wheels to interlock. At that point there was no way out for Lewis.

        As a side note: I finally saw the interview with Hamilton and was surprised to see that he wasn’t furious. Yesterday’s title on F1Fanatic was a bit misleading.

        1. Kobayashi wouldn’t have turned in on any other track in that situation either, that’s the difference.

          I thought the incidents at the hairpin were more racing incidents. The pass on Maldonado was Hamilton’s fault though.

  3. Brilliant COTD.

    I’ve just seen Hamilton’s interview for the first time and though it’s pretty much all I was led to believe it would be by the comments on Twitter, it does seem the “race card” was actually a silly joke. Then he apologised to fans for his own performance. Apparently he then apologised to the stewards too. Sad that it’s not enough for some people. If it had been Alonso I would applauding the stones of the man to admit he was wrong.

    Brundle said it can’t always be the other driver’s fault which is true, but in 50/50s a driver is never going to accept a responsibility and that’s the margin Hamilton usually drives on. Also for an example, he accepted Monza 2010 as his fault.

    1. Well, who had to pay for Hamilton’s driving? Massa and Maldonado. Hamilton got a 6:th that he shouldn’t have been able to take, had he not pushed his fellow competitors in the wall.

      1. bytorr2112 (@)
        30th May 2011, 15:05

        make ya right

    2. Nicely Said

  4. 100% agree with Sean. The fact is that we seem to have got to a point now where every moment on track involving contact results in a penalty, which is not what we want. There also seems to be an assumption that it’s always the overtakers fault.

    For me, I don’t see how you can give a driver a penalty for one move that didn’t quite work out, when they pulled off exactly the same move earlier in the race and everyone proclaims it as brilliant, when the only difference is the actions of the defending driver. Should Lewis have been given a penalty for his move on Schumi? No, ofcourse not, just as Schumi shouldn’t have been given a penalty for his move on Hamilton, but had Lewis turned in, no doubt he (Schumi) would have been.

    Finally, whilst I don’t agree with the way he went about making it, I feel Lewis may have a slight point about being punished more than others, although I don’t think for a second it has anything to do with his race. When you look back over the last year, there’s a number of similar incidents that have gone unpunished. Webber/Hamilton Aus 2010, Webber/Hamilton Sing 2010, Kobayashi/Sutil today to name just a few that have popped into my mind. I suspect this is because of his reputation (right or wrong) for being an aggressive driver, but this shouldn’t be the case, the stewards should look at each incident objectively, without taking into consideration the name and status of the drivers involved.

    1. well said agreed all the way!!!! hamilton is a brilliant driver! senna left his opponents to decide the outcome so did hamilton!! it was good racing, but massa should have yielded!!

      1. Yielded? And where exactly would Massa have yielded to, when Hamilton was fully behind him and trying to run him off the road?

    2. If you look at the two passes carefully there are some important differences. Maldonado was further to the right, and Schumacher was going much slower (thanks to his wrecked tyres). This is what made the pass on Schumacher possible, and really they were luck not to collide, whereas the one on Maldonado just wasn’t on.

      1. Snow Donkey
        30th May 2011, 8:27

        I could be wrong but wasn’t he coming from a fair distance back on Massa? it’s not like they we’re even close to even heading for the apex… That said, he got a drive through, and asking for more penalties is silly. They we’re both a little bit at fault.

        While I strongly agree with the QotD in that racing should be encouraged and celebrated, a frustrated driver watching his shot at the world championship evaporate should not be allowed to plow his way through the field through barging others out of the way. Nor should they expect preferential treatment from other drivers, or offhandedly accuse them of conspiring to hold him up. I’m sure he’s not the only frustrated one watching Vettel walk the season, but a cooler head would probably serve him better.

        1. You are wrong Snow Donkey. He didn’t come from back ahead any more than Schumi came to him. It just seems like that because the other driver(Massa) turns in on him so they never get to the point of being side by side.
          If Hamilton had turn in on Schumi fast enough the same exact thing could have happened.

          And Maldonado did turn in a little earlier than usual and also he wasn’t even watching if there was another car trying to go. He thought of closing the door he left open(that’s why he closed earlier) without checking if it was too late to close it. There is a reason those cars have mirrors you know.

          1. But when Schumacher was on the outside, Massa was in the middle of the track.

    3. thanks jake for bringing up the similar incident that went unpunished

    4. I don’t see how you can give a driver a penalty for one move that didn’t quite work out

      You can when a driver makes an error (Lewis) and another driver gets the consequences (Felipe).

      1. Massa was at fault just as much. He does this crap all the time.

  5. let’s face it, Hamilton had a VERY frustrating weekend after the events of his qualifying. He knew he couldn’ve been on pole or even won. We all know he carried too much of that emotion into the race so let’s just say he had a horrible GP and move on. what goes around, comes around don’t forget…

    1. agreed. I’m sure Canada can’t come soon enough for Lewis, and it’s probably the best place for the next race after a weekend like this. I wouldn’t be surprised if two weeks from now we’ll be praising him for another great win in canada and all will be forgotten.

    2. Alonso last year springs to mind, drove with a red mist in Silverstone and made several errors. Then he won the German Grand Prix and into championship contention.

      1. He’ll need a greater turnaround, with Vettel making no errors this time around.

        1. Bigbadderboom
          30th May 2011, 10:21

          I agree but this may turn out to be a season of 2 halfs. Ferrari will be the stronger team for the second half of this season because I honestly think that RedBull are going to struggle once the ban on blown diffusers is implemented. The Renault engine is tuned far more around this technology. I don’t think it’s all over yet.

    3. Well said.

    4. Would be interesting to see if you would be having this same “forget it” policy had Vettel or Alonso just done a race like Hamilton did yesterday.

      1. redstart (@)
        30th May 2011, 6:13

        Personally it would not bother me in the slightest if Alonso or vettel did a similar race, simply because I do not believe that Hamilton did too much wrong. So why would I have a problem with anyone else doing it.

        The post race comment were not so good though, He really needs to think about what he says

        1. Agreed. Frustrated or not his race wasn’t silly at all. The stewards are the silly ones.

          His tongue is another matter but i don’t even care much about that.

      2. well i don’t believe Hamilton’s driving was actually that bad, it’s just all the emotion he had in the race came pouring out in interviews. If vettel or alonso were angry during the post race interviews, I wouldn’t be surprised, and i would just forget it and move on.

      3. Alonso said he was ready to attack Vettel; he said “if we crash, we crash”. Hamilton has the same philosophy on racing. I like it.

        1. Alonso’s comments were probably aimed at playing mind games with Seb. If he continues to say ‘I’m not the one with anything to lose so I’ll put the car wherever I please’, the hope is the Seb will be more wearing of him and give him a bit more space.
          (subconsciously of course)

          1. Reasons why I feel Vettel is currently a better driver than Alonso or Hamilton. He doesn’t need to resort to such statements to intimidate, he doesn’t have to run people into the barriers, he doesn’t make hot headed statements and he doesn’t ask his team mate to move over for him. He’s just a supernaturally talented, nice kid who happens to be doing a darn fine job of racing this season.

            The fact that he is always so thankful to the team highlights the fact that he knows he is not just doing this on his own. Despite the fact that he is only 23 he has shown more maturity behind the wheel than Alonso and Hamilton ever have.

  6. Massa is so full of crap. I quite like him as a person but he was in front. The only way he could get on the marbles from there is if he drove onto them himself there is no way the man in second can push you onto the marbles in a straight(ish) line. All he needed to do was hold his line and he would never have seen the barrier. He’s not good enough I’m afraid…

    1. The Last Pope
      30th May 2011, 0:51

      lol Yeah pretty much all he said is false and the opposite is true. Domenicalli is at it as well. From what they say you’d have thought the RACING INCIDENT with Hamilton tore the wheel off before he even entered the tunnel.

      I’m sorry Ferrari but the crash was Massa alones doing the car was undamaged.

      1. I guess those pieces of red and white carbon fiber fell from the sky in the hairpin. Has got to be possible, I mean I’ve seen crazier things.

        1. The Last Pope
          30th May 2011, 2:38

          Anything red and white falling off would have been caused by Massa hitting Webber not Hamilton. Looking at footage again this is exactly what happened this is very slight damage though. This is beside the point, this is not why massa crashed. He got on the marbles and kept his foot down. Simples.

          1. Not really. Those pieces of carbon that Lewis sawed off of the Ferrari made it lose its down force. Going into the fastest bend on the course with no downforce is a crash not matter what. If Hamilton wouldn’t have dive bombed the hairpin no contact would have been made and there wouldn’t have been a destroyed car in the tunnel. Simples.

            Now how about we disregard our Lewis fanboyism and look at things in a logical sense.

    2. Except Massa claims he got on the marbles as a result of his car being damaged from the hairpin collision.

      1. Massa = just not good enough. looking for someone to blame for his appalling performance

        1. Thats not saying much for Hamilton considering he only just beat Massa when he won his WDC…

          1. Massa was never impressive that year. He mostly picked up points by driving conservatively (as usual) and then you would suddenly see him appearing out of the dust in a good position after everyone else was penalised/damaged from racing.

            I’m not saying that he didn’t deserve his points for doing that but he’s not a top driver – he could never be a viable no.1 driver for just that reason, he’s good at bagging average points in an average way.

  7. I also like how Massa says Hamilton shouldn’t have gone off0line to slide into him but then stays off-line to crash in the tunnel. But who wouldn’t be angry at a decent result gone?

    1. I guess so. In fact, I’ll just read this as a disappointed driver speaking his mind before calming down and thinking about what he could have done differently. A bit like Hamilton’s interview, except without a bad joke.

  8. Hope Hamilton is not going to Fart in Canada during the race. If Stewards dont give him a penalty for that than Massa/Domenicalli/Ferrari might aswell complain and add to his list of complains at the end of the race.

    1. I think Lewis will get a podium in canada. However he’s yet to hit the Wall of Champions…

      1. Younger Hamii
        30th May 2011, 1:21

        I Hope Vettel does

      2. He hasn’t hit the Wall of Champions, but he has hit a champion in Canada :)

        1. Good one… Kimi in 2008.
          I just hope people stop talking Vettel cant overtake, Hamilton is the best, etc…
          Hamilton is under pressure. No more space for mistakes for him, alonso and button.

  9. Younger Hamii
    30th May 2011, 1:20

    Maybe Felipe Wants Lewis is be Punished further due to the fact he’s Just Slow and finds it a Cheap Way of picking up Points.What a Driver!!!

  10. despite his talent, hamilton is one of the dirtiest drivers i’ve ever seen, as was his hero ayrton senna. among his many, many violations, i feel only his raikkonen incident is even debatable. if he was in a slow team, and not generating millions, his super license would have been pulled by now for sure.

    it would be considerably less galling if he didn’t give us the “innocent, modest young man” routine every time he gets caught. so, here i am farting against the thunder of apologists. at least schumacher acts like the same jerk in and out of the car.

    1. The Last Pope
      30th May 2011, 2:23

      Nice try Troll.

      1. that really hurt :(

        1. Ok F1Yankee, if you dont want to see any action on a sunday we can all write a petition to FIA asking them to award points after qualifying. No need for a race on Sunday and we all can have no penalties/racing incidents and we all can have a sunday free to do other thing. Ok then?

      2. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
        30th May 2011, 8:30

        Ah, no. He’s right actually Hamilton does seem to be involved in a numerous number of crashes and he always tries and pins the blame on the other guy or his team.

        And he does try and portray a nice friendly guy image outside the car which doesn’t exist inside it.

        1. Just what we need, a lot of friendly drivers processing round the track. :P

          Hamilton is involved in more incidents primarily because he is willing to get stuck in a lot more than many other drivers. Take the attempted pass in Singapore last year with Webber – how many others would have tried that?

          Inevitably, he’ll get the praise when it does come off (like the pass on Schumacher) and the criticism when it doesn’t (same attempted pass on Maldonado).

          The sport needs drivers like Hamilton as much as it needs those who are much more conservative – Button, for example. It’s the mix of different styles and strategies that keeps things interesting.

    2. I feel he was to blame for the two incidents on Sunday, but he usually proves his worth as a great racer (like Senna, Schumacher, etc). One bad weekend doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the best three drivers on the current grid.

    3. Comment of the week F1Y.. so true..

      1. Hamilton the dirtiest driver? you must be having a luagh

    4. Looks like you forgot 2007, in his Rookie year he beat the double world champion Alonso. In lower GPs he beat Rosberg, Vettel, Kubica, Nelson PK, Kovvi etc. Do you know what you are talking other than farting?

    5. I’ll throw a +1 at you as well F1Yankee.

      If that had been Sutil smashing into everyone we’d all be making jokes and comments about how unworthy he is to be in an F1 car and that his time has come to an end.

      1. and +1 to you Cacarella, for that comment!

        You are spot on with that. Perception is everything.

      2. Not just Sutil.. imagine if it was Vettel, god forbid.. we’d have a spam full of comments how he can’t overtake and is so overrated..

  11. I love how people jump from one ‘opinion’ in a race to another just to suit their agenda. Ok, lets just say Hamilton DID turn in and crash into Schumi at the beginning of the race (and Schumi took Ham out), how many here would be singing the same tune about ‘unnecessary’ rules and how many would want Schumis head? Especially if he ended up receiving some 20 second penalty at the end which didn’t mean a thing. What a bunch of hypocrites. LOL!!

    1. Except they would be within their rights to question if Schumacher took Hamilton out, just as they are questioning if Massa was mostly to blame. Everyone blamed Hamilton for what happened in Monza, no calls for Massa’s head there. So there’s no hypocrisy.

      1. You’re contradicting yourself completely.. the fact that everyone here (including you) is ‘questioning’ Massas move just proves my point..

        1. You miss the point. When Hamilton was really at fault (like he was in Monza) F1 fans accepted it. Now, when his fault isn’t so clear, people don’t accept it so easily.

          Just how does that prove your point?

          Maybe, just maybe, people are questioning Massa because his manoeuvre was somewhat questionable. Did you consider that?

  12. redstart (@)
    30th May 2011, 2:33

    There, there, there, mummys little soldier, has nasty mr hamilton been naughty to you? you come and tell your mummy if he does it again, you soft little t..t

  13. Absolutely deserved comment of the day.
    And Massa needs to see a psychologist because he always does tese things.
    From the overhead shot, you will see Massa virtually driving into Hamilton the moment he realised he was goint to be passed. i’m surprised he didn’t get a reprimand.
    He did te samd thing in Monza last year. And I remember Massa hitting another car 3 times in one corner previously.

    1. Monza wasn’t Massa’s fault, and everyone accepts that.

      The other one: Canada, Liuzzi spun Massa around and hit him several times.

      1. The first contact bac then was maybe a racing accident. The next 2 was Massa trying to force theother driver off track.

        1. No he wasn’t. Massa’s car was damaged, Liuzzi didn’t leave room (having gone across the curb to hit Massa in the first place).

          1. Perhaps we are describing 2 different events.

          2. So, Massa’s car was damaged, maybe that’s why he kept steering into Liuzzi, who also didn’t have anywhere to go, especially not after the 2nd hit, if I recall correctly. Liuzzi had Button on the other side of him earlier in the corner, that’s why the first contact happened: to much car on the same bit of track. To me that looked like Massa was just not ready to give space, but perhaps his car didn’t let him.

  14. I am going to stick with my original opinion. I have no problems with the fact that Hamilton made those moves, and if he wishes to do them again by all means go ahead. But be prepared to take the punishment if deemed dangerous and outside of the rules. And his rubbish comments and disrespect to all other drivers is out of line. He can not expect people to move over for him andmust realize that every driver wants to win just as much as he does. I hope he appriciates how lucky he is to be in a McLaren car.

    1. I agree with a lot of your post. The thing I would say though is the FIA should review when and why they hand out penalties, i.e. in genuinely dangerous or deliberate circumstances. If they don;t change, I hope the current rules, which also punished Alonso in Sepang, don’t get to the point where drivers are discouraged from overtaking.

    2. Motor racing is a dynamic sport. No two accidents are identical. The stewards must take that into consideration when arriving at their decisions.
      Hamilton was passed at the hair pin. No problem.
      Di Resta’s accident at the hairpin was him hitting a car on the racing line.
      On the other hand. Massa immediately changed his line the moment Hamilton tried the pass. Hamilton even had all wheels on the kerb to avoid the accident, but Massa just kept steering into him. After contact is made, Hamilton is thus forced to to dhove Massa off, else his car would have been a write off if Massa had hi way.
      Perhaps he shouldn’t have attempted the pass, but then again Massa could have taken his proper line and still stayed ahead.
      Massa drives that way all the time. He did it to Button in Australia. He did it to Hamilton at Fuji. He has done it to alonso in the past.
      How come Ferrari didn’t complain about the incident in their press conference, because they knew Massa as an idiot.

      1. Spot on about Massa, Oliver.

        Hamilton doesn’t expect anyone to move over him at all. He just expects drivers who made a lousy defending by leaving the door open to accept it and just go racing side by side instead of hitting the other guy because he had the nerve to try and overtake them.

        Massa is the real bully who thinks he can do scaremonger tactics to other drivers at not attempting passes on him because his gonna driver them off track or hit them.

        1. +1
          Bully or simply the fact Massa’s nothing else in the lunch box. When he’s trying to be aggressive on track, he drives like a top-heavy supermarket trolley with a dodgy front wheel.

          1. I love how quick we all are to criticize the brave souls who can literally drive circles around us. No driver in F1 is a wobbly shopping cart, they are all excellent drivers and don’t need to be lambasted when getting into an incident, least of all one that is not even their fault.

          2. Sorry Adam, disagree. Massa is pretty useless in these situations. Or he collides on purpose, take your pick.

    3. Dude you have too many rulebooks for doing overtakes … why dont you just go and compete with him then if you think you are a master in an F1 car.

      Honestly Maksutov, Anthony Davidson’s view of the incidents mean more than yours …

      Listen to another driver’s review of the incidents (Anthony Davidson) …. BBC Podcast on FiveLive … Listen from 15 mins onwards reg Hamilton’s incident.

      http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/cff1/cff1_20110529-1912a.mp3

      1. dude read my post agan.

        Honestly Maksutov, Anthony Davidson’s view of the incidents mean more than yours …

        No it’s actually the Stewards and FIA views that mean more than your or his or anyones.

    4. Oh so he is just lucky to be in a Mclaren car then … so that is what you are crying about. I know you want ot get his seat and prove it how much of a great driver your are dont you … Sour grapes! But did he not deserve to be there. He crushed his opposition in all the lower categories before ocming to formula1. This includes, Rosberg, Nelson PK, Vettel, Sutil, Kovi etc. ON top of this in his rookie season he beat Alonso!

      http://www.f1network.net/main/s107/st111858.htm

      He has been always in contention for winning races and being at the top end since he arrived even if his car is the fasted on the track or not. Get over it!

  15. I never bought Hamilton’s “explanation” (read: excuse) that Massa had turned into him. The hairpin is the only corner on the entire calendar that requires the driver to use full lock on the steering wheel to get around it. Massa couldn’t have turned into Hamilton because he physically couldn’t turn the wheel any further.

    1. The man raises a very good point.

      From time to time drivers simply have a shocker of a race – Vettel in Belgium last year, Sutil anytime it rains. This was one for Lewis.

      I say stop the complaining, stop the whingeing – both fans and Lewis, as no matter how much it continues it won’t change what has occurred.

      Move on, bring on Canada.

    2. Wow PM, drivers take the hairpin by hugging the right hand side the turning left once the see the apex. You will even see the tyre marks of the line they take, from the overhead shots.
      But what massa did was crazy, once he looked in his mirror, he immediately deviated from his line by at least a car’s length or 2, and tried to chop Hamilton’s attempt.
      If massa was already defending for that corner, then no problem, but he wasn’t. And what happened to giving a car’s width to the other driver?

      1. Massa has a right to defend his position. And it’s well-known that the hairpin is not an overtaking point. As the commentators rightfully pointed out, if the stewrds could penalise Paul di Resta for doing it, they had to penalise Hamilton, too.

        1. The hairpin is not an overtaking point according to who?
          What a silly thing to say. If you can overtake is an overtaking point. And people did overtake there. Hamilton would too if Massa knew how to drive.

          1. Also Hamilton and Rosberg had no “full lock” problem when Schumi was overtaking them there.
            Do the Mercedes powered cars have magic steering wheels or maybe drivers who know how drive?

        2. Yer I think PM is spot on, if a driver is aware and defending the position into Lowes any attempt to overtake is going to end in contact.

        3. it’s well-known that the hairpin is not an overtaking point.

          Schumacher made two passes there during the race. If the stewards didn’t want people overtaking there they’d keep it under yellow flags.

          1. To overtake you must be fully alongside before the corner, like Schumacher was on Hamilton. Hamilton never got past Massa’s front wheel.

    3. Maybe you should watch a replay, it’s just not true, except that might be why Hamilton couldn’t avoid hitting Massa’s frontwheel after the apex, after Massa already hit Webber.

      1. Massa only hit Webber because Hamilton pushed Massa wide and into the Red Bull.

    4. Brilliant point PM. Just re-inforces my view that Hamilton was totally at fault for that incident.

      1. Don’t you just love it when someone describes a racing accident as “totally” someones fault. If only we all had such powers of logically reasoning…

    5. From the day I first came across you on Wikipedia telling me to “never do anything like that ever again”, I never thought I’d agree with you.

      But I do. Massa was on full lock. To come out of full lock may have jeapordised his ability to actually make it round the corner.

      And don’t forget Webber was there as well – Massa really didn’t have too many other places to go.

    6. PM, Massa turned in early before the corner.

  16. I think both the current Renault drivers are doing well so I think they don’t need to change their line up with Kubica this season at least. What they can do is allow Kubica to test with one of the old car or test some Friday practice.

    1. That’s what I was thinking myself personally. Renault would do themselves no favours bringing Kubica back for the sake of it.

    2. Hmmm they do well? Ive read somewhere they have together less points than Kubica last year. In a car that is considered more competitive. Lets face it, Petrov and Heidfeld suck. Just and average driver + little less than average driver.

  17. Don’t agree with the COTD myself, mostly because, as Sean says, too much hindsight is not necessarily a good thing when judging split-second decisions under pressure. In both cases Hamilton was not nearly far enough alongside the car in front to attempt those overtakes. Hamilton is a fantastic racer and also a hothead (which is one of the things that makes him the racer he is). He was under pressure to make up as many places as he could, he was frustrated because his weekend started badly and turned to worse and he simply overplayed it. Of course we all want racing, but you can’t just go barging into people.

    (… and: it’s really unfortunate that controversial topics like this seem to bring out pointless, moronic, spiteful comments from people going by nicks you never see otherwise…)

    1. COTD raises a valid point outside of the Massa – Hamilton incident. Racing is dynamic. Even in football we have hand to ball and ball to hand. But it isn’t as clear cut in F1.
      Of course Hamilton was behind when he attempted to pass. Far and too far is subject to interpretation. The issue is did Hamiton’s attempt cause the accident or, did Massa’s stupidity enable a prevedntable situation.

      The overhead shot showed Massa drive into Hamilton’s path. No amount of lexical manipulation can change that.
      Massa didn’t have to yield the position. But he didn’t have to cause an accident.

      1. Hamilton already passed there back wheels and it was in each case at least half a car length by there side. That’s all it needs to get some respect that you exist there and can’t disappear.
        He doesn’t need for his car to be completely wing to wing with them. Besides they turn in faster than usual, if they turn normally Hamilton would have almost been by fully by their side.
        Seriously you guys just seem to have misguided judgment about car lengths and staff.

  18. So a driver puts his car on the inside and the other driver turns in as normal. Surely the defending driver is also causing an avoidable collision by not reacting to the situation !

    1. Indeed, if you don’t cover the inside and leave a gap there, then surely it’s your responsibility to make sure that noone snuck inside it?

  19. Pablopete you nailed it. Imagine if Kobayashi saw Webber ready at his rear wheel then turned in early? That was exactly what Massa did. kobayashi saw the pass was on and only just trid not to cut the chicane. matter of fact he gave Webber too much room.
    That is why Kobayashi is doing great stuff for Sauber.
    But when your career is in tatters, you begin to make desperate moves.

    1. The difference is Webber was able to take the corner.

    2. @Oliver
      agreed 100%

  20. While it is true that Hamilton sometimes is really aggressive at trying to overtake, I also feel that Massa has show in the last two seasons quite a tendency to really aggressive in defending.

    It has cost both race finishes. Hamilton, while yesterday not willing to take blame, did at least concede blame before, and definitely knows when to let someone past and fight later. Massa seems to have problems doing either, sadly. He really should reflect, watch the race, and, for example, compare those Schumacher on Hamilton/Rosberg, Hamilton on Schumacher overtakes with his own – he could learn from it that sometimes, conceding a position isn’t the worst result, if it means you can fight the rest of the race.

    But I can understand he is frustrated with his race result.

  21. Hmmm I don’t agree with the COTD. It’s not directly about over-taking on this occasion more about the attitude from Hamilton. I would always encourage drivers to over-take, even if it seems barely possible. But he ruined Massa’s race. Once he hit massa he did not relent, he didn’t lift enough to give Massa breathing space.

    He forced Massa out of the race and that is not acceptable. This isn’t NASCAR.

    1. Alonso once tried to go round the outside of Ralph Schumacher in the tunnel and we know how that ended. Massa’s accident in the tunnel is his own doing. He doesn’t know when to yield. Accept when you are in a disadvantaged position and let it go.

      1. So we are to commend Hamilton for an agressive, never give up approach to racing, and condemn Massa when he does the same?

    2. Did you watch the race? Massa crashed in the tunnel by his own accord. No doubt trying to dice it with Hamilton – and failing (again).
      Unfortunately Massa seems to suffer from a lack of self awareness i.e. he’s slow and not very good at racing. No wonder Alonso is delighted to have him as a team mate – perfect.

      1. Watch the onboard video, and read Massa’s comments, there was a problem with Massa’s car which put him off line.

        If there was no problem, there’s no way Hamilton would have got along side him.

    3. How? Massa hit the barrier because he drove on marbles. Then he has the nerve to blame Hamilton for everything after a silly racing incident at loews. Could the FIA please get rid of the stupid overtaking rules. It is ridiculous and against the spirit of racing.

    4. But he ruined Massa’s race. Once he hit massa he did not relent, he didn’t lift enough to give Massa breathing space.

      He forced Massa out of the race and that is not acceptable. This isn’t NASCAR.

      Amen preacher!

    5. But he ruined Massa’s race. Once he hit massa he did not relent, he didn’t lift enough to give Massa breathing space.

      Once cars interlock wheels in that kind of situation it’s very hard for them to disentangle. We’ve seen it happen many times before at Loews:

      I don’t agree that Hamilton went from wanting to pass Massa to wanting to take him out of the race.

  22. Lewis is agressive, because he is a racer and he is fair. Even when he isn’t in a competitive car he is around the front more times than most. Drivers like Massa use every trick in the book to try to compete but they can’t compete in the car.

    Too many times drivers play to the ambiguity of the rules that seem to be designed to create controversy. I am fed up with the inconsistency of the rule makers and the toothless enforcers (Stewards)

    Massa should just shut up and get on with it. he clearly turned into Lewis, if he had kept his wide line given a little room and actually raced – he would probably have had a chance at the following corner. But he didn’t panic, he decided to deliberately attempted to intimidate Lewis by turning in on him because he had nothing else to offer.

    Lewis was much faster and took and optimistic and achievable line – Massa should have yielded and could have avoided contact – he did not have an answer period.

    What ever happened to real racing and mutual respect amongst the drivers. I think some drivers are happy to try to intimidate to hold their line rather than racing to claim their position.

    Isn’t that what racing is all about instead of playing to the politics.

    We’ve all seen Massa turn in on other drivers many times and moan the toss afterwards. There’s too much gamesmanship going on in F1, it p—– me off and Massa is playing the politics game over and over again – including holding Lewis up in qualifying. Nothing was said or done about that yet he persists on requesting punishment on another driver, what a knob. I guess it’s his last year at Ferrari anyway . . . . Just go away little man

  23. Great comments by Massa. More drivers should say this.

    1. Massa is a hippocrite. Has the nerve to block Lewis in qualifying and then blame a racing incident on Lewis.

  24. At first glance, the penalty for the Hamilton – Massa incident appears consistent with the penalty for DiResta, for casing a collision at Loews. After the DiResta incident, it was at least tricky for the stewards to not punish Lewis.

    I don’t know whether Massa turned in on Hamilton. And I don’t know if Hamilton was or wasn’t in a blind spot from Massa’s point of view. And I don’t know if they just both thought: Let’s stick with it and we’ll see who gives in.

    What I do know, is that I like to watch exactlt those kind of moments. I like them a lot better than just pressing a button to fly past, like in Turkey.

    I hope that we’re not getting to a future where attempting to pass outside the DRS zone is considered to be dangerous and will be punished…

  25. Watch it again & you’ll see Massa drove into Webber of his own accord.

    No surprise that Massa wants more penalties. He got used to those handouts in 2008.

    1. Actually, I am wrong. Hamilton does give him a little nudge just before the Webber contact. My bad.

  26. You summed it up.
    Those with a motive will never be objective.
    But you can’t reason with a mob.
    Massa is a dangerous driver. He did something similar to Button in Australia, but Button’s unwillingness to give the position back, detracted from the dangerous approach Massa takes when defending.
    He may appear nice, but he is a vicious piranha on the track.
    Now he even tries to tie the accident with his crash, which happened after another 3 corners.

    1. @Bobby_B that is.

  27. COTB sums is up perfectly. If you can’t attempt an overtake at Monaco then we shouldn’t race there anymore. Both moves required co-operation from the defending drivers as with all overtakes around these streets.

    I’ve read quite of the comments and i’m amazed by the number of HYPOCRITS out there.

    One minute people are complaining that Hamilton is a PR machine, the next people are complaining when he shows a little emotion in an interview.

    One minute people are complaining about the lack of overtaking, the next people are calling for penalties againt drivers that attempt to overtake (and we’re not talking desperate lunges here, we’re talking aggressive overtakes that require the trust of the defending car).

    How many of you have shouted at the telly as your favourite driver gets held up, or crashed in to? Well now put yourself in the shoes of that driver, multiple it by 100 to factor in the adrenalin of driving an F1 car around Monaco and think about how you’d feel.

    A final plea – for those of you saying that Hamilton should have been penalised for these overtakes – PLEASE STOP WATCHING FORMULA 1 AND GO AND PLAY WITH YOUR SCALEXTRIC. You clearly aren’t racing fans or have ever raced a car. Why not try NASCAR – you’d love all of those cars following each other around.

    1. I can’t think of any racing series with more overtakes than Nascar… …

      Aggressive overtakes that require the trust of the defending car ARE desperate lunges. Especially in Monaco and even MORE so at Loews.

      If Hamilton can’t keep himself together without hitting people’s cars then maybe he shouldn’t be in F1 anymore.

      1. Dennis – then please stick to Nascar if that’s what floats your boat. Personally i’d rather watch paint dry – much more exciting than their “overtakes”. Yawn.

        The point you seem to fail understand is that Hamilton didnt actually crash into anyone – Massa and Maldonado crashed into him. Hamilton put his car in a position where they either gave the place or they would have a crash. Now you may not like this sort of racing, but around Monaco that’s the only way you get passed. It’s high risk as you run the risk of the other guy turning in, but it’s all part of the gamble of racing around Monaco.

        I’m sure you’re going to watch the Senna documentary and swoon at what an amazing driver he was. Well Senna was the master of this type of aggressive overtake. When he first came into F1 he laid down his marker – I will put my car on the inside of yours and it’s up to you if you want to crash.

        I refer you to my earlier comment – if you want to watch a bunch of cars going around in a procession then keep penalising overtakes like Hamilton’s or just get your scalextric out.

  28. Let us all just imagine it was Vettel who crashed into Massa and then into Maldonado… “He can’t overtake – He rid Maldonado of a proper points finish – You just don’t overtake in Loews” blah, blah, blah…

    The hypocracy at this place is beyond words. There have been some overtakes at Monaco, which is more than usual. Defending Hamilton for misjudged attacks (that by chance also basically killed the other driver’s race) is ridiculous. Some people must get real again. When Mansell was behind Senna in 1992 he didn’t turn Senna around after getting frustrated.

    Hamilton has been to the stewards for some strange reasons this year, but he also deserved a whole lot of the penalties. Especially this weekend. And apparently he should be at the stewards more often, because he does not seem to learn.

    1. Great comment Dennis! I just can’t condone a dangerous overtake like Hamilton’s on Massa this weekend. I think you may be onto something with this comparison. All too often drivers are lumped into categories such as those who can overtake and those who can’t. Because Hamilton leads the category of the drivers who can overtake I think many feel that all of his attempts to pass must be golden, but they aren’t. This one was rotten.

  29. kenneth Ntulume
    30th May 2011, 10:42

    With Massa’s reasoning, Ham shouldn’t have conceded to Schumacher, and like wise Schumacher should have defended Hams overtake by turning into him later, “to avoid hitting the barriers”,
    the above overtakes happened successfully because the drivers where fair enough or intelligent enough to concede.
    its unbelievable that stewards have failed to see that Massa is consistently a poor defender,and that in huge way, is dangerous, i now see Alonso point, when he radioed in to the team, to give Massa the now infamous”Alonso is faster than you order” against a determined overtaker…recall what he did to Burton in Australia this year, Burton had to take the run off area, lo and behold he too got a penalty…these chain of events show a very unfair Massa…
    if all f1 drivers drove like Massa, we would have 70% of overtakes being accidents.

    1. +1. Massa’s MO is exactly what he did to hamilton. Turn into the attacking driver. AKA: Shut the door. The problem is he always does it too late.

  30. The only Joke on display yesterday was Lewis Hamilton and his ridiculously amateurish driving

    1. And the only joke today is your comment.

    2. Here you go Lee – this is a much better joke. I think the word “owned” is quite apt here. Watch from 3:50.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHo4k7AsCMY

      And here is what i call a desperate lunge. Oh dear Massa our little Ferrari No.2 driver. Bless.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl5aMMRgTEk&feature=related

    3. The greatest joke is all Hamilton haters. All they don’t realise is talking negatively about him, makes him the aggressive driver he is, and because of that, he became such a popular driver within his short period in F1 above all a Champion. Because of the his racing style, he is the most talked about driver during the current F1 era and that makes him one of the top 3 best F1 drivers today. I can say about 70% of all posts on this site involve Hamilton, when we have 24 drivers on the grid. Hamilton doesnt have to be Senna, he just have to be himself and take every opportunity that makes him the best.

      Massa is just a frustrated driver who is just trying his best to keep his ferrari seat. Clearly Massa was crashed out because he drove himself to the wall, not because he made contact with Hamilton. Massa also hit Webber’s back, how was that possible, because he was also trying his best to pass Webber forgetting that there was Hamilton right behind and was too late when he realised that Hamilton was already there but kept trying to close the gap.

      Go Hamilton, we love those moves, yesterday was just one the bad racing days.

  31. In some respects I absolutely agree with Sean in others I don’t. There’s a very fine line between having a go and a move that’s never going to work. With the Massa one I think Massa’s steering meant Hamilton ran out of room and thus an accident happened. However, that gap was always going to disappear, I don’t know if that angle Massa could see Lewis (although I’ll assume he could), Massa was trying to avoid Mark in front and of course Massa turned in because it’s a corner and the tightest on the calendar. To me, Hamilton just went in too hot and heavy and Massa didn’t really do anything wrong. If Scribe’s about I’m really curious to know when you thought Massa had weaved as I’m struggling to recall a scenario but that’s a different debate.

    I do think the Maldonado incident was more clear cut and I feel deeply sorry for Williams and Pastor as he was having a great weekend.

    I can understand Massa’s comments because his strategy may have paid off for some good points -and let’s face it he needs them -but I would have expected them to come from Williams as they lost out the most and Hamilton’s post race penalty effectively meant zilch. I do wonder if a driver is caught up in more than one incident of a similar nature that results in a DNF, although this is always more likely at Monaco, perhaps a warning for dangerous driving should be issued or a grid penalty issued for the next GP and I’m not forgetting Paul here either. I don’t want to discourage overtaking I’m all for it and Hamilton is one of those drivers right on the edge where he can either be a hero like his move on Schumacher or causing other’s retirements and all credit to him but he did cause a bit of carnage this weekend all on his own and the rules don’t seem to punish it enough to my mind. Maybve I’m over reacting because I really don’t want to slap down attempts at overtaking and some gutsy moves result in great overtakes.

    1. Steph – check out the start of this. This is what Massa SHOULD have done and Hamilton DID. Fair racing, gave him room, didn’t cause an accident.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv_6xrkS77A&feature=related

      1. If he’d done that, and Lewis got past, people would be criticising him for not putting up a fight.

        Geez, this guy can’t win…

        1. It is truly amazing, that the guy who came within 1 point of beating Hamilton to the title in 08 is given so little respect in the fan community, whereas Hamilton is treated like a god.

          Vetel, Alonso and Hamilton are great, but jeeze to I feel sorry for Webber, Button and Massa. Give em’ some more respect guys!

      2. Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
        30th May 2011, 20:22

        No, Massa shouldn’t have done that. Petrov was side by side with Hamilton there, that’s why Hamilton didn’t close the door as much.

        Had Hamilton been side by side with Massa, then I agree that he should have done as shown on the video, but he never had as much as his front wing past Massa’s sidepod.

  32. looking back from LH onboard, I kind of see where he is coming from a little, massa did move over early but it seemed to me do be more to do with webber in front of him.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CVDLBqdpwg

    1. Massa closed the door too late because he couldn’t defend with Webber there (he’d left a big door open, and tried to cover the mistake too late). He ended up hitting Webber before Hamilton hit him. Racing incident. However surely if Hamilton deserved a penalty so did Massa for hitting Webber.
      However the Maldonado incident did deserve a penalty (form memory of watching it live anyway)

  33. I think this really all comes back to Keith’s early article about if DRS is not ok for Monaco is Monaco ok for F1. I love Monaco just like everyone else but with the changes in F1 this year is Monaco fit for F1 I say “NO”. Actually the real race at Monaco is on the Saturday and then Sunday off the line after that they should just post sighs around track “no passing permitted” Keep the event on the calendar but let’s not call it a race but a parade. See you all in Montreal for a “RACE”

  34. Massa just had no answers to the Hamilton’s bravery, skill and talent yesterday. He should stop crying and try to improve and also learn the limit of defense. He mostly keeps on defending foolishly when clearly the other have taken the place and end up badly. Same thing happen yesterday, Hamilton was side by side in the tunnel and had the line to the next corner but Massa kept on defending and ended up in the wall.

  35. I was thinking if the offending driver that causes another driver who is in the points and is punted out of the race due to poor judgement such as Hamiltons’ was able to claim the points from the offender it would make so called aggressive drivers think twice about ruining anothers’ race. Of course it is just a thought about fair play, what goes around comes around.

    1. So you would not have racing. just safe DRS assisted passing.

  36. whats amazing is that mclaren is pretty tough compared to last year..

  37. Karma for Massa wrecking Hamiltons Qualifying / weekend I would say.

    1. Well I just watched the race again and I saw many drivers pass others using controlled aggression. If you watch Paul di Resta’s attack on Jaime Alguersuari you will see he is still diving down the inside and behind Jaime as Jaime begins his turn in thus displaying poor judgment which caused what the stewards deem an avoidable accident. Dido Hamilton’s dive at Massa as Felipe is turning in while Hamilton is only at his rear wheel. Then there is the punt involving Maldonado out of 6 th place. Williams fans must be furious. There is a rule for those who do not race and which the stewards use to judge what will be ruled as an avoidable accident if broken. The driver ahead has the right to the driving line. Just because Hamilton wants to be world champion does not mean that all other drivers on the track must respect and fear him and allow him to threaten them out of his way. The only other pass I thought was questionable was Micheal’s on Nico at the hair pin. Then many seem to think at 42 he may have lost some of his race craft. Hamilton at 26 was involved in 2 punts which he was deemed responsible so what is his excuse. The only excuse he could come up with is that he is black? Sorry I didn’t notice that. I believe the stewards with the help of a very experienced driver Allan McNish saw it right. He ruined a few peoples race at Monaco as well as his own.
      I have no favourite team or driver. I watch F1 to see good controlled drives and to watch pilots that can wring the last bit of juice from a car on the edge. Ego is the largest part of a driver’s motivation. Those who let theirs continuously ruin others races are suspect in my opinion. I expect Louis must soon come to that conclusion himself. That is the stuff of champions.

  38. Jeffrey Powell
    30th May 2011, 16:13

    Do we think if drivers were given drive through penalties for cutting in and for ‘not being aware’ of faster cars putting their noses up their inside they might get out of the way more often. I know that we here constantly from M. Brundle that they are of course ‘racing for position’and we should expect them to hold up cars 3-4 seconds a lap faster its all very frustrating for the viewers and the ‘racers’. In the past(no violins please)some drivers were feared for their overtaking moves and these were mostly the quickest, most drven like Senna Mansell etc. when they closed on a slower car on a difficult circuit we all expected fireworks. Now all we expect is penalty or a pit stop.

    1. There is a particular channel on a American web site that replays F1 races as “F1 Legends and More”. I am an addict to it. They show F1 races from the 60’s to the present. I fear most comments made here are made by those under the illusion that in the past every other driver on the track just moved over when ever a favourite drive of the number one team came up from behind. Well I fear you underestimate the racer of gone by eras. Blue flags are used to move drivers over that are a lap down, all else is racing. It is your suggestions of making all other drivers push-overs that will ruin competitive racing. The idea is to pass all cars that are ahead of you that are on the same lap. This is the point of racing. If you can not do that, well to friggin bad.

  39. Just to make my point think of 2010, Adu Dhubi, Petrov and Alonso

  40. Hamilton is a fantastic driver and a pure racer, but this time he clearly wrecked Massa and Maldonado. 100% Lewis’ fault.

    That was poor driving ruining Maldonado’s day who drove brilliantly.

  41. Learn to drive Felipe, then we’ll speak again.

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