Fernandes wants Chandhok to drive in India

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Tony Fernandes says he’d like Karun Chandhok to drive for Lotus in the Indian Grand Prix.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Fernandes hopes to see Chandhok race in India (Reuters)

“I’d like him to. It’s up to the team to see.”

Q&A with Red Bull’s Helmut Marko (F1)

“That is why [Vettel] was moving heaven and earth to pass [Alonso]. And wow, what an overtaking move that was! I think it was one of his best overtaking manoeuvres of his career – very slick and very bold. And Alonso didn’t move to the side, as in Spa with Mark [Webber].”

Martin Brundle column on the Italian Grand Prix (BBC)

“The regulations are very clear that you cannot force another driver off the track. It should have been at least investigated as to whether Alonso did this to Vettel, and Schumacher to Hamilton.”

Give Michael a break: Schumacher stuck to the rules in Hamilton battle (Daily Mail)

“I haven’t been altogether impressed with Schumacher since he made his much-heralded comeback at the beginning of last season. But this time, I think the criticism levelled at the seven-times champion has been a tad unfair.”

Schumacher’s driving ‘pretty harsh’ (Autosport)

Martin Whitmarsh: “I am not the least impartial but the fact is, I think he was warned twice by the stewards during the event so they presumably saw it was a bit tough. I think the one where he had Lewis on the grass was a scary as hell.”

Schumacher outmanoeuvres overtaking rule (Daily Telegraph)

“My view, based on the images we saw, was that his behaviour was right on the limit but arguably not over it.”

Jorg Zander tipped for Hispania job (Adam Cooper)

“Well travelled F1 designer Jorg Zander was spotted with the HRT team at Monza, and the German is believed to have agreed to join the Spanish-owned outfit.”

Jenson Button takes on locals at private Dutch ‘Grand Prix’ (McLaren)

“Fresh from his great second place finish at the Santander Italian GP at Monza, Jenson Button was in the Limburg village of Roggel driving in a private Grand Prix for residents.”

Bruno Senna post Italian GP video interview (YouTube)

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

Comment of the day

Panache (there’s a great username) sees the tide turning in Jenson Button’s favour at McLaren:

I’m delighted to see Button driving so well this year and finally getting the recognition he deserves. On balance his overall performance this year is second only to Vettel in my opinion, closely followed by Alonso.

As for Hamilton, it’s increasingly becoming clear that his immense talent and blinding pace can’t sufficiently compensate for several increasingly obvious deficiencies in his driving.

Whilst Vettel continues to improve on seemingly every facet of his driving, Hamilton if anything seems to be performing worse over time.

I also can’t help but think that as the more experienced and articulate driver, Button is garnering increasing support behind the scenes at McLaren to lead them down a development path which is geared towards his own feedback more than Hamilton’s as an “unofficial” team leader.

It’s crunch time for Hamilton and he needs to step up his game before he finds himself without a leg to stand on.
Panache

From the forum

Raymondu asks Are we seeing a Vettel era?

Happy birthday!

No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Alain Prost won the Italian Grand Prix 30 years ago today, leading every lap for Renault.

Carlos Reutemann had produced a superb lap to qualify second on the grid in his normally-aspirated Williams, facing the might of the turbos at a power circuit.

But he was beaten to second place by team mate Alan Jones, who was driving with a broken finger having been involved in a fight following a road accident on Chiswick High Road in London.

Reutemann’s championship rival Nelson Piquet finished sixth behind Elio de Angelis and Didier Pironi, after his engine failed on the penultimate lap.

Image © Team Lotus

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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102 comments on “Fernandes wants Chandhok to drive in India”

  1. Thought we’d seen the back Karun. sigh

    1. I’ll see your sigh and raise you an audible groan.

      Though not because Chandhok was a bit rubbish in Germany. No, I’m disappointed because I don’t like the practice of contracting drivers on the basis of their nationalities so that the team can get a little extra PR attention.

      1. I don’t mind it in this instance, since it is the first ever Indian GP, anything that can be done to increase demand in tickets for the event should be done, and since Karun is also a likeable person, it may do wonders for ticket interest at Budh.

        And remember the report of Karun having two races in his contract, then India is surely the perfect place to use him if they are legaly obliged to race him once more – his presence might get some extra sponsorship, fan demand in Team Lotus will go up, and he will be driving on a new track – the same as all the other drivers at India this year – so it closes the gap theoretically allowing him to have a good shot at matching his team mate and the HRT and Virgins respectively.

        1. I don’t mind it in this instance, since it is the first ever Indian GP, anything that can be done to increase demand in tickets for the event should be done, and since Karun is also a likeable person, it may do wonders for ticket interest at Budh.

          Yeah, but it sets a poor precedent. Right now, there’s a guy racing in Formula 2 named Sung-Hak Mun. He’s not very good – but he is, perhaps, the pre-eminent South Korean open-wheel racing driver. Should he get a drive at Yeongam because of his nationality?

      2. Well PM, but here Fernandes, as team owner, says he likes Karun (probalby mostly for his PR skills), its up to the team to decide about running him. A decision based at least in part on his skills in the car.

      3. Yes, because PR attention is a faux pas in F1…

      4. On this occasion, I’m all for it, I don’t think Jarno Trulli is up to much any more and I don’t think that Chandhok got a proper opportunity to show what he was capable of last season.

        In general thought I agree that contracting drivers based on their nationality isn’t good and often results in drivers like Kazuki Nakajima taking up a seat that should really go to someone more talented.

      5. But PR brings extra money, as if there is an Indian friver at his home race, Team lotus will be able to sell more aps and team shirts etc, and that might also see an increase in ticket purchases

    2. Sigh.
      Senna proved himself worth of a better drive. Karun did not.

  2. whilst i aree that Hamilton hasn’t driven well this season, I think many people are taking it too far in terms of criticism. In the COTD for example, you say that Lewis is getting worse over time. Let’s not forget, from 2008-2010 it could easily be argued that he was the best driver on the grid, getting better season after season.

    Yes, he has had a bad season, but he has still been very quick and shown many flashes of brilliance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him take at least 2 more victories this season, starting in singapore, a track that should suit the Mclaren.

    He’s had a poor season, but make no mistake, he is still one of, if not the best driver in F1 and will no doubt come back strong next season.

    1. remember that track that didn’t suit the Red Bull?

      It’s the fastest everywhere.

      1. Monaco? Hungary? I wouldn’t say they were definitely fastest there. Singapore is a similar track, and Mclaren should be quick. Obviously Red Bull will be up there with them, but it should be closer than the last 2 races.

    2. Indeed, Hamilton’s ‘bad’ season resulting from his obvious deficiencies currently equals a colossal deficit of nine (9) points to Button – who is apparently driving so well this year.

      1. The thing is, imagine the points difference if Jenson didn’t have his two retirements this year, which weren’t his fault. He could even have been sitting second in the championship.

        1. I laugh at the Button bashers who don’t face the facts. Hamilton’s retirements were his fault (unless someone can provide me with a car failure that I forgot) whereas Button’s retirements since at least Spa ’09 (or maybe earlier) were either someone taking him out or car failure. Factor that into your comment Bernard.

          1. (unless someone can provide me with a car failure that I forgot)

            Read: a car failure THIS YEAR.

          2. Silverstone 2008 is the last time he retired and it was his fault. I think.

      2. A bad season for Hamilton is 2 victories.

    3. how could it be argued lewis got better with each season in first few seasons? he clearly hasnt.

      2007 was his best season by far, consistent and fast. and its up and down and generally down ever since. ok 08 he won the title but his performances were not better than 07.

      and last year he was leading going into monza, about 50 points ahead of fernando and seb…it is forgotten how badly he let that one slip away.

  3. *back of Karun

  4. I’d like to see Karun back, in a better car and prove the critics wrong, which is exactly what Senna is doing right now.

    1. I may be totally wrong, but wasn’t Karun outperforming Senna when they were team-mates at HRT?

      1. Yes, you are totally wrong. He was as great as he was as Sennas teammate in GP2. At least thats my opinion.

      2. And can a HRT F110 really provide a decent, reliable comparison between two rookies?

        1. yes: if the machinary is the same, then it is a test of who is better

  5. i really don’t see the problem with any of those defensive moves. it seems this is just an opportunity for the cheerleaders to sound off.

    despite the wrong cause, i do find the resulting “punishment” very appealing in the big picture – swap places with the aggrieved gentleman, and get on with the race. what’s more is, this elegant solution is not in the rules and had to be improvised.

    1. Come on Brundle, who forced who off the track?! Driving on the racing line is what most drivers do and neither did Vettel complain nor did Hamilton really believe he could overtake ol’ Schuey like that. Tough times for the faint hearted I guess. (maybe this is why brundle is a commentator and alonso, vettel, schumacher and hamilton are twelve time champions combined .. even though i see his point that stewards are always looking at every tiny bit of racing so they should have investigated this aswell).

      1. Vettel made an official complaint to the stewards after the race!

  6. Whether what Schumacher done was right or not what I can’t stand is all these articles praising Hamilton for as Coulthard puts it “he bit his tongue admirably.” in the interview afterward.

    Don’t want to see corporate robots, if a driver is annoyed it’s good to hear it and it adds a bit of personality.

    1. But after all the criticism on HAM’s behaviour by most of the UK press, including from BBC until last Sunday, I can’t really blame him for being bland in an interview, the media have themselves to thank. A bit less hype, both positive and negative would be good.

  7. Good on ya Alan you bloody champion!

  8. Helmut Marko once again showing that Red Bull favour Vettel over Webber, I dont know why mark even bothers with them.

    Now you will say that Marko does not control Red Bull, But he does wisper into the ear of the guy with the money, and with Horner’s “we don’t want two world class drivers in the same team (about Red Bull hiring Hamilton)” Webber isnt going to win a title with them.

    1. Given that Vettel has had the measure of Mark Webber since FP1 in Melbourne, can you really fault Red Bull for favouring him? It might have been a little questionable when they did it in 2010, but this year, the difference between them is measured in light years.

      1. I agree. To be honest people got carried away with Webber’s championship lead in 2010 when Vettel lost far more points from high positions through no fault of his own.

        1. The thing to remember about Mark Webber is that he’s a master of the PR game. One of the reasons why people expressed so much outrage against Red Bull was because Webber successfully turned the public against them. Every time something went wrong, he was complaining in front of the cameras, painting himself as being the innocent victim of a tyrant who wanted the prodigal son to win. And maybe he was, but now everyone judges Red Bull in favour of Webber because Webber told them to. If you read some of the comments attached to this post, you’ll see people are criticising Marko for saying Vettel’s pass on Alonso in Italy was better than Webber’s pass on Alonso in Belgium because Alonso moved over to give Webber room. But if you actually watch the replays of the pass at Spa, Alonso is clearly off the racing line into Eau Rouge because he knows Webber is there and that he cannot defend against the Australian. But in Italy, Alonso didn’t move over because he knew he had better straight-line speed than Vettel and might stand a chance of undercutting him in the pits. Helmut Marko simply stated what had happened and yet people are criticising him for it. And all because Mark Webber successfully made him out to be a James Bond villain when he felt hard done-by last year.

          1. Ok then, did Marko jump to say how good or how brave Marks move was on Alonso after Spa? No. I stand on my previous comment.

          2. If you read some of the comments attached to this post, you’ll see people are criticising Marko for saying Vettel’s pass on Alonso in Italy was better than Webber’s pass on Alonso in Belgium because Alonso moved over to give Webber room.

            Actually im criticising how far Helmut Marko has managed to stick his head up Vettel’s posterior.

          3. Maro has never said one positive thing about Webber. If you noticed last year he was no where to be seen for each of Webber’s four wins.

          4. The thing to remember about Mark Webber is that he’s a master of the PR game.

            I totally agree. People talk about him like he’s this totally open straight shooter, but I think he’s able to play the press like almost no one else. I don’t mean that as a criticism, either. It’s a fantastic skill to have in F1!

      2. Absolutely. I don’t even think Webber could blame them.

      3. PM, I think Red Bull as a team do not favour Vettel, although he does get the better strategy etc. mostly because he is ahead on track.

        But Marko really doesn’t leave an opportunity out to put down Marks driving and highlight how great Vettel is. Last year he managed to get the rest of the team fall in line with him (Marko) at far to many occasions.
        For me this behaviour is (though not much fault of his own) a big reason to dislike Vettel.
        That is not so much about Webber being great at PR (although he is clever enough to use this sentiment to push himself), but about Red Bull, mostly Marko but Horner at times as well, annoyingly wanting to highlight Vettel, when Vettel does not need any of it as he is good enough by himself!

    2. And wow, what an overtaking move that was! I think it was one of his best overtaking manoeuvres of his career – very slick and very bold. And Alonso didn’t move to the side, as in Spa with Mark [Webber].”

      I dont know how to put this without breaching the comment policy but damn what a kiss a**

      And trying to play down Webber’s overtake to make Vettel’s look better is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever come across. You’d expect that from a lil 13 year old, not from someones who’s 68.

    3. Helmut Marko once again showing that Red Bull favour Vettel over Webber

      I would change that to “Helmut Marko once again showing that Helmut Marko favours Vettel over Webber”.

      It really is quite pathetic how he never misses an opportunity to denigrate Webber.

      In fact, you know what he is? He’s a troll. He trolls Mark Webber. I bet he lurks around somewhere on the Planet F1 forum.

      1. Keith, is it possible to give yourself COTD? ;)

        1. I don’t think Keith would ever give himself COTD, so let me take this into my own hands:

          By the powers bestowed upon me by myself, I hereby designate myself Interim Editor in Chief of F1 Fanatic for the next twenty-four (24) hours, and as such, I award Comment of the Day for the F1 Fanatic Round-Up for 14 September, 2011, to one Mr Keith Collantine.

          :D

      2. Thank you Keith, and PM Webbers complaints about his treatment were certainly valid after Turkey last year, a man has a right to defend himself when he is slandered.

      3. This just made my day!

  9. I much prefer Force India’s approach than Caterham and HRT. I’m sure Vijay Mallya has dreamed of an Indian driver in his car for their home race. But rather than put anyone in the car for the sake of publicity, he’s been trying to get the best drivers available to them, with the hope of an appropriate national driver down the line. I respect that more than teams that keep racing massive talents like Chandhok and Karthikeyan.

    1. With Martin Brundle and DAvid, it is either black or white as far as treating Michael is concerned.. there are no other rational. Completely unfair. Big oversight on Webers collision with Massa…..

    2. sorry.. wrong thread ;)

  10. Martin Brundle sounded like a fool during the race when he constantly complained about Schumacher and sounds like a bigger fool now that he included Alonso’s move as well.
    Alonso took to the grass when passing Hamilton at the start, should that have been investigated too? Schumacher had all four tires off the track when Jenson past him should that have been investigated? It wasn’t until this Schumacher / Hamilton fight that I realized just how sterile F1 has become and what we’ve been missing for so long.

    1. Schumacher had all four tires off the track when Jenson past him

      I don’t remember that at all. I do remember Schumacher having all four wheels off the racing line when Button passed him, but not off the entire track because the approach to Ascari is too narrow for that – Schumacher would have been in the barriers if he’d tried it.

      1. Take a look at this at 1:23
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eJGUQmsDhQ

        Theres a better angle out there that isn’t the onboard.

          1. Sorry, but I’m not seeing it. This is what you said:

            Schumacher had all four tires off the track when Jenson past him

            But Schumacher did not drive off the circuit. The only driver to put a wheel on the grass was Hamilton when Schumacher closed the door on him. In fact, Schumacher was nowhere near the grassy verge – if Hamilton had been close enough, he could have drive on Schumacher’s left and still be on the circuit. In fact, here’s proof – Schumacher is clearly in the middle of the road.

          2. Schumacher got “off the track” and on the kerbing right with 2 or 3 wheels after Button had passed him.

          3. Well, Cacarella’s post implies that Button was only able to get past Schumacher because Schumacher went off – and he didn’t actually go off at all; driving over that part of the chicane is as acceptable as running wide on the exit.

          4. Schumacher had all four tires off the track when Jenson past him should that have been investigated?

            How does this imply that the Button was able to get past only because Schumacher went off track.

            I was commenting on Brundles comment –

            The regulations are very clear that you cannot force another driver off the track. It should have been at least investigated as to whether Alonso did this to Vettel, and Schumacher to Hamilton.

            Correct me if I’m wrong but all four wheels on the opposite side of the curb is considered off the track.

            BTW, I’m not suggesting that Button pushed Schumacher off the track, but that Schumacher and Alonso didn’t push anyone off track either.

    2. This is also from Brundle’s article: “With the information I have would I have penalised Schumacher in the race? No, we need quality racing and it’s meant to be tough out there, but a reprimand may have been appropriate.”

      *May* have been appropriate, and if you read the article in full he says he wants to see more camera angles because several times this season he’s been fooled by the first one.

      1. I think that is the final point we should take from this: yes please, more camera angles, especially with incidents.

        Definitely when the stewards investigate, please at least give broadcaster access to some of the material, so we know what they saw, and can understand what they find consistent about their decisions.

        The reprimands are silly without explanation.

      2. If you watched the entire race on the BBC you would have heard Martin and David complaining about almost every move Micheal made for about half of the race.

        That’s a good quote you pulled out of the article. Too bad in the other 75% of the article he criticizes the decisions made, provides examples of how Hamilton has been penalized in the past for weaving (which has nothing to do with what Micheal was doing), and describes how the steward ‘should’ have handled it. Then at the end he mentions that a reprimand *May* have been appropriate and I’m supposed to be left with the feeling that he felt Schumacher raced fairly?

  11. with regards to the COTD,

    As for Hamilton, it’s increasingly becoming clear that his immense talent and blinding pace can’t sufficiently compensate for several increasingly obvious deficiencies in his driving.

    please list these deficiencies. I dont think he’s a god-send, but I’d love to hear these deficiencies

    1. 1) Over-driving the car; he out-braked himself when diving into the chicane to lap Buemi.

      2) He’s visibly frustrated behind the wheel; you could tell he was losing patience with Schumacher when things didn’t go his way.

      3) Pushing too hard; his attitude of trying to win everything might be admirable, but it potentially cost him victory in Hungary when he wasn’t driving to the conditions.

      4) Going for gaps that don’t exist; Hamilton gets called up to the stewards a lot because he gets involved in the most on-track incidents – and a lot of the time, like that abortive pass on Massa in Monaco or Button in Montreal, the gap he is aiming for simply doesn’t exist.

      5) Making the same mistakes twice; Hamilton shurgs off any and all criticism of his driving style, nd then goes out and does exactly what he says he does not do; he had a bad run from Monaco to Valencia, and while he took some time out to re-assess himself, it lasted for all of two races; he was back to his usual tricks in Hungary.

      6) He’s letting Button get to him; it took Hamilton 30 laps to pass Schumacher at Monza, while it took Jenson Button one passing attempt. Maybe that was because Schumacher’s rear tyres were fading, but if they were, Hamilton didn’t capitalise on it straight away. And when asked who was the team leader in McLaren, Button replied quite confidently “I am”. He’s currently in front of Hamilton in the points standings, a position Hamilton has not been in since the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix.

      1. 1) Name a driver who hasn’t done that.

        2) On the contrary, I think this was the one race where he didn’t lose his temper.

        3-4) Drivers make mistakes.

        5) He was noticeably calmer in Monza.

        6) I don’t see how that’s letting Button get to him. Button got passed. Did Hamilton react to that with a temper as you insinuate? no.

        If you are going to argue that he let Button get to him why not explain where we can see this?

        1. You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you? I never said Hamilton had a bad temper – I said he lost his pateince and became frustrated. There’s a difference.

          How else do you explain Hamilton’s generally-poor performances this season? Fifth overall and about to become the first driver out of the championship race is not exactly the kind of standard we have come to expect from him. If you insist that Hamilton is as driving as well as he ever has – if not better – then the only explanation is that everyone else has gotten faster.

          1. you’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you?

            you have as well

      2. 2) He’s visibly frustrated behind the wheel; you could tell he was losing patience with Schumacher when things didn’t go his way.

        actually he was not forcing it & he is studying different lines, early breaking & forcing Schumi to lock brakes. Button drove pass by easily because Hamilton went to the grass hence dirty tyres & he drew a tow from both cars.. Michael oddly also gave him room also he was struggling for grip. Hamilton just wanted to have a clean race. It seems to me Schumi was actually toying Hamilton & has no intention of holding Button.

        How come Vettel was able to pass by Alonso when he grazed the grass? He was on the inside line.

        1. actually he was not forcing it & he is studying different lines, early breaking & forcing Schumi to lock brake

          Don’t make me laugh. Hamilton needed to clear Schumacher as soon as possible to make his strategy work. He didn’t have time to “study different lines, brake early and for Schumacher to lock his brakes”.

          1. Huh? Sure he needed to clear Schumacher. But how often have we heard drivers (including HAM, for example after China) explain how they do that if it turns into a fight instead of a simple pass – they study their opponents lines on track, their breaking, acceleration out of corners, defensive moves etc. to see where they can find space and surprise them.

            It didn’t work this time, so HAM seemed unable to find a good enough way to beat MSC defenses, and seemed to keep trying variations of the same thing again and again, maybe bc. he hadn’t set his car up to fight this way, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t try that.

      3. 1) Some drivers like to be on the absolute limits of the car.

        2) Some drivers prefer to be AHEAD of their opponents.

        3) It was changeable conditions. Even the best drivers will make errors like that, Alonso, Vettel and Button all had their offs during the race.

        4) I’ll admit the attempted pass on Massa was poor, but drivers make mistakes, they can’t be perfect week in, week out. With the Button crash, you could argue that Jenson moved over to the left. In conditions like that, and you could very well see how bad the spray was, it was similar to DC and Schumacher at Spa in 1998, except it was at racing speed.

        5) “Usual tricks”? He spun and made a poor judgement with the pit stop.

        6) Button is a staggering 9 points ahead of Hamilton. Not exactly the same gap of 117 like you see with the Red Bull drivers or the 90 point gap with the Ferrari drivers.

        1. @PM i totally get all your points. but he showed that he’s working on 3, 4 and 5 in the last race, which in turn lead to your point 6 haha.
          and as for point 2 you made, theres absolutely nothing wrong with getting frustrated behind the wheel just as long as it doesnt lead to points 3,4 and 5. which again, he controlled this frustration this weekend.

          All in all though, I agree with your assessment of his deficiencies, however the COTD is kind of out of place, no? Because, heck, hardly any of those deficiencies were demonstrated this weekend!!

  12. I don’t like Lotus’ plan to swap their drivers in the Indian GP. Serious F1 teams do not sell “guest drives” and Chandhok is not a match for Trulli in terms of performance on the track.

    1. It’s pretty much a given that Lotus will get that coveted 10th position in the championship so they really needn’t worry about performance. I wouldn’t agree with doing it year in year out but from a fans point of view it’s great for India.

      1. It’s pretty much a given that Lotus will get that coveted 10th position in the championship so they really needn’t worry about performance.

        All it’s going to take is one 13th place by Virgin or HRT, and they’re in trouble. The team might have had three 13th places this year, but since the system works on a count-back, anyone who scores a 13th place between Singapore and Brazil will pass them. Timo Glock came incredibly close to picking up points in Korea last year; he was 10th on the road when Buemi collided with him – the torrential downpour proved to be a real equiliser.

        The reason why I’m saying this is because a race of attrition could cost them dearly. They’ve been plagued with reliability troubles; if both cars had been struck down at Monza, Glock would have been the 13th man home. I don’t think they can afford to rest on their laurels at all.

        1. I don’t think you understand how count-back works. The team/driver who scored the points first is the one ahead on count-back. I think you’ll also find that 3 13th places beats 1 13th place, in the same way that 2 wins beats 1 if points are tied.

          1. I hope PM meant that a single 12th would pass them, otherwise you are clearly right.

        2. Countback in terms of when a position was made only applies if every position down to 24th-place-finishes is equal for Lotus and the other team. Even then, it’s the first team to get the position that is favoured.

          An example is 2002 when Minardi beat Arrows beat Toyota. They all had 2 points, but Minardi got them in a 5th place and Arrows got its second 6th place before Toyota.

      2. I agree that it most probably won’t affect the team’s championship position. But I don’t know whether it’s good for the Indian F1 fans. Firstly, they will see their countrymen driving only in the very back of the field anyway. Secondly, Indians are probably not very educated in F1 and this could make a wrong impression of what F1 is like as it’s not usual practice to replace drivers for a single race just because it’s the home race for the stand-ins.

  13. This Schumacher and Hamilton thing is annoying me. I need to watch some of this footage ASAP.

  14. Here’s an interesting background piece from the Austin Stagesmen on Hellmund now advising other people who want to do a GP!

    1. How is that a bad thing (not that you ever said it was)? The man’s got the passion. He’s the one who convinced Bernie Ecclestone that Austin was the right place for Formula 1 when Bernie had his heart set on Manhattan, and he’s the one who gave Hermann Tilke a design brief of “make it as close to an old-school circuit as possible”. Hellmund could be the man who brings about an end to the Age of Tilkedromes by convincing the Mexicans, Argentinians and South Africans that if they want success in Formula 1, they need a classic circuit and that if they’re going to commit to the sport, they should do everything in their power to build a good circuit.

      1. I think this guy also had quite a large say in who got the US GP..

  15. Nice to see those differing views on Schumacher vs. Hamilton Keith. I think Schu was just fine as well.

    DC seems to have backed down a bit from what he was saying during the race, but he does have a good point with the Stewards having done something questionable in giving Hamilton the penalty earlier in the year as it calls for looking at each “moving while defending” case to see it there shouldn’t be a penalty as well.

    I still think that penalty for Hamilton was a mistake, be it he was warned for doing that last year, so therein lies motivation to punish when he did it again.

  16. I don’t think Schumacher was breaking any rules last Sunday, but I do believe the rules need some tweaking. Although Schumacher did only arguably make “one move”, he did block Hamilton twice in that “single” manoeuvre.

    I think that there should be a rule against blocking, in place of the one-move rule. In most cases, the blocking rule would be more general, because a second move is often a block.

    Also, I think the rules should be made more explicit about one driver ‘crowding’ (can’t think of a better word right now) another driver to the edge of the track, like Schumacher-Barrichello last year, but also Massa moving towards Hamilton at Spa recently. Apparently, it’s perfectly Ok to force another driver to within centimeters of wet grass at 170mph.

  17. On balance his overall performance this year is second only to Vettel in my opinion, closely followed by Alonso.

    I think this does a great, great disservice to Alonso. He’s second in the championship overall in the third-best car. You can say what about Button’s retirements but I say it every year, if it’s okay that your car is better than others’, there’s nothing wrong if it also breaks down. Let’s not also forget Alonso fell victim to a racing incident, so it’s not all one-sided woe. Alonso has impressed me this year the way he usually impresses me, which is by often just getting on with the job; few daredevil passes, little reliance on changeable conditions, just plain being fast; Hamilton rightly called him “his Prost”.

    Webber has largely been anonymous this season, Hamilton disappointing, Alonso having to deal with inferior equipment. If all this has to happen for Button to be impressive then I’m afraid that doesn’t say much good about Button at all. His wins and points are deserved but when it comes to comparing him to other drivers’ this season, there’s nothing conclusive to say just yet; we’re only just 2/3 of the way through the season! I don’t see this “Button has improved massively”. He hasn’t; he was always this good. But I’m afraid he’s being made to look even better than he is because for all that he’s beating his team-mate, he remains just as far away from Vettel as he always has and even if he did have that extra 24 or so points from his retirements Alonso would still be uncomfortably close.

    As for him and Hamilton, again, let’s wait and see. They’ve both had 3-race periods where they’ve beaten each other in the last 6 races, now with another 6 to go we’ll see.

    1. I do incidentally agree that Button is “in danger” of taking over the team if things continue this way, but I don’t see this as a bad thing at all for Hamilton. So long as he comes out on top in the results, it doesn’t matter. McLaren have before commented on their different set-ups not really relying on the car being one way or the other and Brundle has commented on Hamilton being much smoother at the wheel than he used to be.

      1. I think Button and Hamilton have both improved as a result of driving together in the same team. As drivers, they’re very different, and yet they both seem prepared to admit weaknesses. That’s a good thing from a learning perspective. You can definitely see Button’s confidence and passing has improved, and Hamilton’s learning how to see wider pictures and judge things in balance. Neither of them are brilliant at the other’s strengths, but who would expect them to be?

        Button’s still a little off in raw pace compared to Vettel or Hamilton, but I’d bet any team would listen to his feedback over the radio before the other two. Alonso is the only driver that really has an equal balance of pure raw speed and very high level tactical/technical analysis, which Schumacher was so famous for.

        And the pass of the year for me, by a country mile this year, has to go to Button on Webber at Canada. Part of the Drive of the year, no DRS involved, just superhuman levels of speed, reactions, judgement, intelligent, trust, and guts. Half the pass was due to Webber being slow around the corner – and half due to Button being so much faster around it. When he came around, and flicked the slick-tyred car onto the wet part of the track, keeping the grip as he accelerated out of the corner, balancing the thing like I don’t know what, and pelted off into the distance like a cheetah, I couldn’t believe it. I wouldn’t have thought it possible if I hadn’t seen it.

        So is he over-hyped this year? Maybe it’s just a balance for the under-hype of his championship year….

  18. In other news, the trial of JJ Lehto will begin on the 22nd of November. Link (in Finnish):

    1. Why’s he on trial?!

      1. He is accused of causing an accident where his friend died when they hit a low bridge with their boat going over a100 kmh where far less is allowed.

  19. Re: Schumacher’s defensive driving: in V8 supercars, they employ the concept of racing room, and it would have been nice to see that during Sunday’s race. A leading car gets first choice of line obviously, but I would call Schumacher’s driving impolite at best.Other drivers would be right if they said he drove like a ****, but I can’t see how you could penalise him for it. Same with the Massa/Webber collision, Massa knew Webber was trying a pass, he didn’t have to leave him room at the chicane so he didn’t, and a crash ensued.

    I agree whole-heartedly with the CoTD. At this point in Hamilton’s career, I see him more as a Juan Pablo Montoya than an Ayrton Senna.
    I’m a big Hamilton fan, but for some reason I get the feeling that he isn’t a unifying force within Mclaren, he’s not divisive either but I feel Button is far ‘healthier’ for the Mclaren team than Hamilton, for the moment at least. This is reflected in the major Button-love we’re seeing from Martin Whitmarsh, and I sense, the team as a whole. But that’s just my feeling, there’s no concrete facts involved.

    1. It might be reinforced by HAM being said to have asked for more time to focus on racing, while we have seen Button do two race-around-town events for the sponsors in the last month, the last one the day after his 2nd in Monza.

      Although I have read that in fact both drivers have said it is a bit much, and it might even be reason why Button’s contract isn’t finalised yet.

  20. Funny how so many are up in arms about Schumacher’s driving, when Hamilton has done so much worse himself and was branded ‘heroic’ for it each. Give me a ******* break! I listen to voices of reason like Martin Brundle who said he was the right side of the line (admittedly he hasn’t always been the right side of the line, but it’s not like Hamilton is in the right place to label another driver ‘dirty’, is it?).

    1. but it’s not like Hamilton is in the right place to label another driver ‘dirty’, is it

      I strongly disagree with your implication that Hamilton is a dirty driver. He’s attempted a few misjudged passes this year, and received penalties for the resulting collisions, but that does not constitute unfair or dirty driving. In fact, I feel that if anything, he could be a bit tougher in his defense.

      The last time that I can remember seeing him do something that I felt was unsportsmanlike was 3 years ago at Monza when he forced Webber and Glock (or was it Trulli?) off the road, although ironically those moves didn’t warrant a penalty.

  21. In other F1 news Tamara Ecclestone confirms that she is paying only one million pounds for a solid quartz crystal bath to be made for her new (second?) home. So let that be a lesson to all the people calling for F1 teams to waste money on silly things like testing and engine development.

    1. Yeah Tammi, thats showing the way! You can buy things not needed for far less then others if you want :-)

  22. Jenson Button does loads of these PR days doesnt he! Fair play! 2nd race in a row he has been in another country the next day working.

    I remember reading in damon’s book and he said that it was really hard to keep smiling and give the people what they want so soon after an event when you show really be on a wind down. So credit where credit is due.

  23. what a load of croc the COTD is

    ”As for Hamilton, it’s increasingly becoming clear that his immense talent and blinding pace can’t sufficiently compensate for several increasingly obvious deficiencies in his driving”

    and they are????????????????

    every time lewis n jenson have gone wheel 2 wheel lewis has come out on top (or been shunted in the wall)

    sure lewis has a lot to learn from jenson…about racec-craft but equally jenson has a lot to learn too

    lewis has been unlucky this and last sean but his first 3 he well out-performed his car, the only other driver who can do that is alonso and we saw what lewis did to him first year out

    anybody who tries to fall themselves that lewis is not the best driver or lewis has a problem is either delusional or jelous or both

    at the end of the day, like any of the top 3 drivers in the top 3 teams out there, lewis is nothing more than a passenger in proto-type car which is either good enough to win the championship or isn’t

    the problem with lewis is…like alonso…his isn’t

    all the top 5 drivers have made mistakes the last few years and will in every year to come, isn’t it about time we found something worth discussing rather than picking on the guy who’s having the worst luck at any given time

    the only obvious deficiancy I see is the basis of a balanced opion and thought through argument

  24. Crikey!

    Thanks for bestowing me with COTD although it does come as a surprise considering that it’s one of my first posts on this site. I imagine it was chosen because of its provocative nature as many others certainly contributed far more insightful comments on the same day.

    F1Fanatic almost immediately became my favorite F1 site upon discovering it through Keith’s appearances on The Flying Lap alongside Peter Windsor. Before the Monza race weekend I had been an active lurker for several months, but decided to bite the bullet and begin contributing and I have to say that so far I’m enjoying the discourse.

    I’ll try my best to find some time later today to respond to those who have challenged me to provide the reasoning behind my comments.

    I just wish I hadn’t used “increasingly” twice in the same sentence.

    1. I think your COTD nicely puts together many aspects of the discussion in readable lines.

      Good job, panache!

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