The Santander British Grand Prix - The Thread

[Danny]

Spoiler

Toro Rosso will always retire when they're running well. Fact.

 

[Avery GT]

Congratulations Kimi! Nice race too bad Massa fell to the tail of grid after he had problems i am sure he could end up at podium.

Go Ferrari!

 

[mipuumal]

Lap 45 (15 left):
but why did Kimi switch to hards??? This could get interesting now that Alonso switched to softs.

Because Kimi ran the first two stints on softs, also I believe Alonso's tyre choises were hard-soft-hard. Too bad Massa had a problem in the start, would've dropped Hamilton off the podium.

Championship ain't over yet...

 

[Bram Turismo]

A 1-2 for Ferrari would be possible, at least a 1-3. The Ferrari's owned the field once again qua laptimes, too bad Massa had that problem. Also, too bad to see the Toyota's going out, they were in a perfect position to score points. A solid performance for both BMW and Renault 👍

Championship ain't over yet...

IMO, it has just started from France...

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Well now that the winner was revealed no need for spoiler tags I guess.

Because Kimi ran the first two stints on softs, also I believe Alonso's tyre choises were hard-soft-hard.

That would explain it then, thanks.

Too bad Massa had a problem in the start, would've dropped Hamilton off the podium.

Yes, Masa drove brilliantly today, and I suspect had his engine not stalled on the line we would likely be looking at a 1-2 Ferrari finish. Kubica also had a great race today, and did a great job in keeping Masa, who was clearly faster, from passing him over the last ten laps of the race.

Normally I'd be raving about seeing a rookie finish on the podium, especially when it is his ninth straight podium finish, but with his excellent performance in qualifying, taking pole position, having a great start, and being that the host was his home country, I expected much more from Hamilton then ending the day about a half a lap back from both Kimi and Alonso. Yes, he had one slight problem in the pits, but for the most part he simply was slower. For quite a few laps, Kimi was posting lap times a full second faster than Hamilton.

OK, reality is setting back in, and I'm still very much impressed with Hamilton's performance. After all, if this is what we can expect from a not so good day from Hamilton, and seeing as there are four drivers who can easily win on any given day (thus dilluting championship points), I really believe this championship is Hamilton's to lose. I know there is still a lot of racing to go, and as we have seen from years past, especially last year, anything can happen to change a driver's fortune fairly quickly... but ignoring those unpredictable misfortunes, Hamilton really does appear to be in the driver's seat to win the championship.


As for Ralf… I think his days in F1 are numbered. I know he has offered to take a huge pay cut to stay with Toyota, but Toyota isn’t exactly hurting for cash. If Scott Speed decides to stay in F1 I can see the possibility and reasons why Toyota might want to bring Scott Speed on board as a #2 driver with a chance to be #1. I certainly would like to see just how well Speed would do in the seat of a reliable F1 car. With Toyota’s deep pockets and commitment to get their F1 program in tip top shape, they may be a real contender next year.

 

[MustangSVT]

I'm really happy about Raikkonen's win again (since I am a Kimi fan first and foremost). I was surprised how well Massa did through the field, that was the best show in my opinion. 👍

I think if Massa had started 4th, we'd be looking at a podium for him (3rd), maybe even second, though I can imagine that getting past Alonso would've been hard, I guess we'll never know.

Here's to hoping for another Ferrari win for next race and hopefully 1-3 or 1-2.

 

[Muzaffar]

Toro Rosso will always retire when they're running well. Fact.

Fiction:STR would finish worse than Spyker at the end of the season.

Anyways,i feel kinda sad that Hamilton didn't get to win his home race (because he 🤬 up at the 1st pit stop) and Kimi is on fire now with 2 victories in a row.Alonso state his claim as the lead driver in the team,beating Hamilton.Good drive from Kubica as he defend his 4th spot against Massa.As for Toro Rosso,they could at least try to finish the race....and to be fair,Honda are doing well now.Hope they get to keep up their performance.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Anyways,i feel kinda sad that Hamilton didn't get to win his home race (because he 🤬 up at the 1st pit stop).

Except that was a fairly minor incident that cost him at the most less than 5 seconds, and he finsihed 40 seconds behind the lead. Even with less fuel on board, Kimi was all over him until Hamilton made his early stop, so I seriously doubt that one minor pit stop error cost him the race, or even the 2nd place spot for that matter.

I suspect either the nerves got the better of him being in front of the home crowd, or else his engineers didn't quite get the car dialed in just right for the race.

 

[daan]

Well now that the winner was revealed no need for spoiler tags I guess.

No real need for them anyway. Anyone that doesn't want to know, shouldn't be in this thread. As long as the thread title doesn't give anything away, it's all good.

 

[livemusic]

Good recovery race from Massa, and a great performance by Ferrari overall. 👍

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

No real need for them anyway. Anyone that doesn't want to know, shouldn't be in this thread. As long as the thread title doesn't give anything away, it's all good.

Makes sense.

BTW: I like your new ID tag and Yellow paint job on your Avatar... but where is the official GTP TDF thread?!?!?!

 

[Bram Turismo]

Anyways,i feel kinda sad that Hamilton didn't get to win his home race (because he 🤬 up at the 1st pit stop)

Thinking about it, the chrono stopped at 5.4 seconds when Hamilton stopped, however, he waited just for a split second before going out so the pitstop couldn't have taken longer than 8 seconds, which is regardless, a fast pitstop. He was consistent, but his pace was way to slow to keep up with Fernando and Kimi. However, Lewis showed how fast Ferrari and Mclaren are going. Though Lewis wasn't able to keep up with Kimi, he had the BMW's off him at all points, just shows the distance Ferrari/Mclaren - BMW/Renault...Fascinating!

 

[Only_in_f1]

I can't understand Lewis's lack of pace mid race.
Bad set of bridgestones?

Ferrari got it spot on with Kimi's race and Massa should have been top 3 if he hadn't have mucked it up.

I hear that Heidfeld won't be at BMW next year.In my opinion he's better than Massa.

Good race.

 

[Sureboss]

Big Ron said something about turning down the revs to conserve the engines aswell. Engine rules affected that race judging on what Dennis said.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I can't exactly see a 40 second gap the cause of not having the engine revved up to 19,000 RPM...

 

[darkfinal]

In my honest opinion? Hamilton didn't get Alonso's setup this weekend. His car was way too shakey, while Fernando's was smooth like Kimi's.

And it's good to see Kimi going back to normal... It took him eight races to get used to Bridgestone (he was complaining about their behavior, he couldn't really feel the grip on them), but he finally did. If Alonso keeps holding his best times and setups for the saturdays, not giving Hamilton the chance to take a peek at them, the second half of the season is going to be much more interesting that the first one

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

If Alonso keeps holding his best times and setups for the saturdays, not giving Hamilton the chance to take a peek at them, the second half of the season is going to be much more interesting that the first one

That's assuming Alonso's claim was true... and besides, if Hamilton was beating Alonso using the same set-up... wouldn't that be even more proof that Hamilton is the better driver of the two?

I personally have a hard time believing most of what Alonso says when ever he loses a race and starts finger pointing. Maybe some of its true, but like the boy who cried wolf, after a while he loses credibility.

As for the first part of the season, has it not been interesting enough? Having four great drivers each with two wins (Kimi just made it 3) is frankly amazing! I can’t ever recall an F1 season where after eight races four different drivers each had two victories a piece… and the races themselves have been mostly quite interesting and competitive, especially considering there are no clear cut #1 drivers in the two leading teams. Seeing a rookie finish on the podium all nine of his races has also been very interesting!

Frankly, if the season were to have ended today, as a fan I would have felt I got my money’s worth. And if the rest of the season isn’t as exciting as it has been, I’ll be OK with that.

 

[MustangSVT]

I can't understand Lewis's lack of pace mid race.
Bad set of bridgestones?

I think it's just the pressure that has finally gotten to him. After all he is just human and won't be able to do 100% pace during every single part of every single race and I think that's what happened here. Raikkonen and Alonso pushed it up a notch (normal), and he probably just couldn't keep up (I'm talking of driver skill here). That's my opionion anyway, I might be wrong.

As for the first part of the season, has it not been interesting enough? Having four great drivers each with two wins (Kimi just made it 3) is frankly amazing! I can’t ever recall an F1 season where after eight races four different drivers each had two victories a piece… and the races themselves have been mostly quite interesting and competitive, especially considering there are no clear cut #1 drivers in the two leading teams. Seeing a rookie finish on the podium all nine of his races has also been very interesting!

2003 season . It had 7 different winners by British GP. Raikkonen, Montoya, Ralf, MS, Coulthard, Fisichella, Barichello. It's the best season I recall in recent years.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

What happened to that rain everybody predicted?

Well even without it, I think it was the best race of this season. It's nice to see the Kimi-Alonso battle back.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

2003 season . It had 7 different winners by British GP. Raikkonen, Montoya, Ralf, MS, Coulthard, Fisichella, Barichello. It's the best season I recall in recent years.

👍👍 Can't believe I forgot that... yes that was a thrilling start to the season!

While technically speaking that still isn't a start of a season with four drivers each with two victories ... but I agree 2003 was a very exciting season. We will have to wait till the end of this season to see how they compare, but at least so far, this has been one of the more exciting seasons in a very long time. 👍

 

[<_Spike_>]

Agree, been waiting for a more open season like this for a while. It's more than a two horse race in the drivers at least, which is great stuff. It'll probably narrow a bit more towards 2 drivers come the end of the season but it promises to be an exciting second half, McLaren need to pick it up again though if they're to get the championship for the team and one of their drivers. Will they end up having to support Lewis more than Alonso to win it?

 

[darkfinal]

That's assuming Alonso's claim was true... and besides, if Hamilton was beating Alonso using the same set-up... wouldn't that be even more proof that Hamilton is the better driver of the two?

Exactly, as in driving style... But don't forget Hamilton has all the motivation of the world, he's a rookie and the world is already worshipping him like Gilles Villeneuve's 2nd reincarnation (being Senna the first one), and he has the british media behind him... Much like Alonso back in 2005, and now he just needs to fight like he did in the last two years. And watching him push SO hard in this race (I doubt his McLaren could go any faster than that) has made me grin as I hadn't grinned in a looong time

 

[Blake]

That race was really awesome. Three different leaders, Massa coming through the field, and Kimi winning, can&#8217;t ask for much more than that.

Alonso had an interesting strategy, and for the first few laps of his second stint I was almost thinking it could work, but he couldn&#8217;t get the pace to the level he needed to, so Kimi had it in the bag.

Hamilton wasn&#8217;t very impressive today, but it does make his qualifying lap incredibly impressive as he really didn&#8217;t have the car under him (although he was as light as a feather).

McLaren doesn&#8217;t seem to have an answer at the moment, they are a good 3 to 4 tenths off Ferrari (that said, Alonso&#8217;s pace was much more impressive than Hamilton&#8217;s, but he still had no answer for Ferrari).

Championship is really starting to look alive now. Going to be an interesting end to the season.

And it's good to see Kimi going back to normal... It took him eight races to get used to Bridgestone (he was complaining about their behavior, he couldn't really feel the grip on them), but he finally did.

I&#8217;m so happy to see Kimi back on top at Ferrari, but I think the whole Bridgestone thing was compounded by the fact that the front of the F2007 seemed be to really lacking grip. It&#8217;s looking a lot sharper in Kimi&#8217;s hands now. I really think the car balance just wasn&#8217;t quite right for him, and now we&#8217;ll start to see him emerge as the clear number 1 at Ferrari.

Well even without it, I think it was the best race of this season. It's nice to see the Kimi-Alonso battle back.

Yes, and seeing them both trying to fight back against Hamilton will be extremely exciting. I can&#8217;t wait to see how this season develops, now. Ferrari are well and truly back in the fight.

 

[Redgodzila]

My....biased and stupidly early prediction:

1st. Kimi
2nd. Alonso
3rd. Hamilton

BINGO!

Great race. I love Silverstone. Such a great circuit with high speed corners everywhere. The surrounding are a little bland though. looks like it's located in a paddock....I'd even go as far as saying it's on an airfield

 

[mipuumal]

In my honest opinion? Hamilton didn't get Alonso's setup this weekend. His car was way too shakey, while Fernando's was smooth like Kimi's.

Hamilton said in a postrace interview that he didn't choose(get?) Fernando's rear setup for this race and that it was a mistake. So I guess that proves it.

 

[Flerbizky]

That was indeed, by far, the best race so far this season. Massa march through the field was an absolute joy to watch !.... And Ferrari taking the win - Awesome as always. (Though I'd rather seen the MM cars finishing further down )

Btw. To me, it looks like the MM cars are more bothered by a full tank than the Ferraris. Alonsos speed before his second Pitstop was pretty good, where he got beaten by Kimi with a 1 second pr. lap coming out.

 

[Pupik]

Finally! The editing crew showed the charge from a front-runner starting from the back of the grid; most broadcasting crews are always showing the (in)action from the front. Thumbs up to the host broadcasters. Watching Massa scythe through the field was great fun.

This was a classic race of pure pit strategy and Kimi, the fastest man of the day, won the race with skill, even more so than last week's race at Magny-Cours. It was a pity Hamilton couldn't keep up, although he's still out in front of the championship by quite a margin. Kimi kept making us wait and wait for his pit stop, although with all those fastest laps, he really made things exciting.

Scott Speed still can't catch a break; even when he's trying to be helpful, it hurts him.

 

[darkfinal]

I’m so happy to see Kimi back on top at Ferrari, but I think the whole Bridgestone thing was compounded by the fact that the front of the F2007 seemed be to really lacking grip. It’s looking a lot sharper in Kimi’s hands now. I really think the car balance just wasn’t quite right for him, and now we’ll start to see him emerge as the clear number 1 at Ferrari.

That explains why Ferrari ran on softs, while Alonso chose the hard compound for his long last stint. McLaren has to do something with the way they literally 'eat' their tyres in race.

 

[donbenni]

I was lucky enough to get tickets to go and enjoyed the weekend thoroughly

The race was a good 'un, i have to say that Massa probably stole the show with his surge through the field and ongoing battle with Coulthard. My brother and I were sat on Stowe corner and got to see several attempts at overtaking from Massa there 👍 The crowd went nuts every time Hamilton went past. Every Lap. For 60 laps. But nice to see some support