Vive Le France - 2007 Magny Cours Grand Prix

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Here's hoping for another Hamilton podium - third behind the Ferraris will be just fine; 15 point lead in the championship if he does. đź‘Ť

Looking forward to see how Alonso's going to get on too.
 
appie17
So if you change a gearbox then it will be 5 places dudes.
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There is no penalty for gearbox changes, supposedly there will be next year or whenever. If there was one this year, Red Bull would be starting from the backrow every race.
 
10th it is then if there's no penalty, though of course that'll be a lot further down if the engine gets changed, either way it really screws their strategy up and now Hamilton has to take on the Ferrari's single handedly when they've got some pace back. This will show how good McLaren and Hamilton really are.

Odds on for Massa to c*ck it up going too hot and out braking himself in the final couple of corners?


SkySports says...

Fernando Alonso paid the price of the first major mechanical problem for the McLaren Mercedes team this season, failing to set a time in the final part of qualifying.

Initial suspicions suggested engine failure, but the Spaniard appears to have got off relatively lightly with the team reporting gearbox problems that should allow him to start from 10th on the grid rather than from the back two rows, which would have been necessary if an engine change had been required.

"We have had the best possible level of reliability throughout the season so far but, today, Fernando had to stop with a gearbox problem," Mercedes' Norbert Haug confirmed.

"We are sorry for Fernando, but everybody in the team will give it everything to fix today's problem. With his speed, Fernando will still have a chance for a good result tomorrow."

The problem was not Alonso's first of the weekend - and followed one for team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Friday - as the Spaniard also lost a lot of track time in morning practice with sensor failure on his MP4-22.

"It has not been an easy day in terms of luck but, hopefully, we can turn things around tomorrow," the world champion said.

"I had a brake sensor issue in this morning's practice, which cost me some time, and then a gearbox problem in the final qualifying. It's a relatively new experience for me as I have had no problems for such a long time. We will look at the car when it comes back from parc ferme and take things from there."

Although being a part of the top 10 means that Alonso is limited in changes he can make with regard to his strategy for race day, the Spaniard is confident that he can still limit the damage that could be inflicted by team-mate Hamilton and the two Ferraris, which sandwich the Briton at the head of the grid.

"Anything can happen in the race, and we will work as hard as we can to score some important points," Alonso maintained.

"Also, some people say it may be raining, which will lead to some uncertainties which we might be able to benefit from."
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Danoff
Why would you want a beaver deflector?
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Ask Davidson... or his little hairy nemesis:

seeing_red_03_460x400.jpg
muderer.gif


;)
 
Weather Update:

It is currently raining in Magny-Cours. It is predicted to continue in to the race.

Edit: So much for predictions.
 
Davidson, Trulli and Liuzzi out after Lap 1.
 
What channel is the race on in the USA? I have fox on right now and it's a televised Baptist mass. It's a great mass, but I want my F1. :grumpy:
 
They have completed 1/3 of the race, and the Ferrari's look to be in total control of things.

Masa's still leading but by only a couple seconds in front of Kimi, who posted the fastest lap time of 1:16.207 while Masa was in the pits, so it looks like Masa is going to have his hands full in trying to keep the lead.

All the lead cars have pitted, except for Button who looks to be on a one stop strategy.

The running order of the top 10 after lap 23:
  1. Massa
  2. Raikkonen
    +10 sec:
  3. Hamilton
    +20 sec:
  4. Kubica
  5. Button (hasn't pitted yet)
    +30 sec:
  6. Heidfeld
  7. Alonso
    +40 sec:
  8. Fisichela
  9. Rosberb
  10. Barrichello (hasn't pitted yet)
 
Despite Massa posting the latest fastest lap of 1:16.099 Kimi was able to take the lead by posting some great laps while Masa was in for his 2nd and final stop, and was able to hold the lead from Masa with a very fast final pit stop.

The other great battle right now is between former teammates and protagonists, Alonso & Fisichela for 6th position....

So the running order with only 10 laps to go:
  1. 00.0 Raikkonen
  2. 01.7 Massa
  3. 29.1 Hamilton
  4. 41.3 Kubica
  5. 52.2 Heidfeld
  6. 55.7 Fisichela
  7. 57.1 Alonso
  8. 60.7 Button
  9. 66.9 Rosberb
  10. 01-L Schumacher
  11. 01-L Barrichello
  12. 01-L Webber
  13. 01-L Coulthard
  14. 01-L Wurz
  15. 01-L Kovalainen
  16. 01-L Sato
  17. 02-L Sutil
  18. *06L Speed (mechanical)
  19. *32L Albers (mechanical)
  20. *60L Davidson (crash)
  21. *60L Trulli (crash)
  22. *60L Liuzzi (crash)
 
Decent race, some good battles, and some nifty moves (if not always successful) by Alonso. Glad Kimi won it instead of Massa, minimises damage to Hamilton's lead and it's just good to see the Iceman back.

But...I genuinely shouted at the tv...FFS?! Would the man just bloody smile?!
 
No change in the final order or fastest lap.

Great race... and congrats to Ferrari for a solid 1-2 finish; Hamilton for his remarkable 8th straight podium finish (he is going to have more champagne than blood running through his veins if this keeps up) :D; and Honda for their first F1 point of the season. đź‘Ť (a much needed boost to a season that has been a big disappointment to them so far compared to last year)

Unfortunately though, now we must endure more painfully boring interviews with Kimi and another week of Alonso whining and blaming his team for his woes. đź‘Ž
 
<_Spike_>
But...I genuinely shouted at the tv...FFS?! Would the man just bloody smile?!
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He did smile, just not much. The only times I've seen him really overjoyed from a victory was Spa 2004 and Monaco 2005.

He is saving up for when he wins the championship...

Digital-Nitrate
Hamilton for his remarkable 8th straight podium finish (he is going to have more champagne than blood running through his veins if this keeps up) :D;
Unfortunately though, now we must endure another week of Alonso whining and blaming his team for his woes. đź‘Ž
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Am I the only one who is a little annoyed with Peter Windsor for reading out Lewis' resume at every pressconference? I hope not. ("Here's Lewis Hamilton with his 8th consecutive podium of the season, Oh and here's some Brazilian from Ferrari").

As for Alonso, I'm surprised that he couldn't get better than 7th, I thought he would make it to the podium. Let's see how the Spanish press spin this one.
 
Yeah, well I was shocked when he cracked a grin and half chuckle. Shame really because I hear he's a blast away from the race scene.
 
Well i think so too.....Alonso didn't perform as well as Hamilton (Alonso tried to overtake Heidfeld at the Adelaide hairpin many times but didn't succeed but Hamilton overtook Kubica at the hairpin in just one try after his pit stop on cold tires) Alonso need to outperformed Hamilton if he wants to keep his role as first driver next year.Even though i hate Ferrari,they did a good job recovering from a terrible race in north america and its good to see Kimi up on the top spot of the podium.

As for the retirement,well bad luck for Trulli and Davidson.Sure they could perform better in the race.But i got to say,once again both Toro Rosso didn't get to finish the race.I'm just wondering how are they going to improve like this.....

Sadly,this is the last French Grand Prix held at Magny Cours.I do hope they would make a return in a near future.But at least it was a memorable last race.No doubt this track has a history with both Ferrari and Schumacher.(McLaren only won here once back in 2000) Even if there was no Magny Cours next year,the replacement track should be just as exciting as it was today (if there is a French GP next year....)
 
Wooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhh! :D

We&#8217;re back! Woohoohoohoo!

Awesome race by Ferrari, completely dominant over McLaren.

Kimi drove a composed race after his first start in a while that didn&#8217;t see him swamped by the field. Just stuck to the back of Massa beautifully in the second stint and was able to push the car when he had the chance.

Massa did well too, but was compromised a little on strategy and struggled with traffic as usual. If Kimi didn&#8217;t get past Lewis at the start Massa surely would have taken this one.

Lewis drove well, but a poor strategy and general lack of pace saw him comprehensively beaten by the Scuderia today. Should be interesting to see what McLaren can do in Silverstone.

Alonso was ragged. He is really struggling with the whole situation at the moment, and this season is the first time his frustrations have really had a big affect on his driving. He was lucky to get away with his car in one piece with his battles with Nick, although it was very entertaining to watch.

BMW did great, although I don&#8217;t think we saw more than 20 seconds of Kubica during the coverage. :indiff:

Good stuff from the last Grand Prix at Magny Cours. Wooooooooo! :D
 
That'll do nicely. 25 point lead in the constructors for Mclaren, 14 for Hamilton (17 over the nearest Ferrari driver). Cracking race for Ferrari, Raikkonen putting the fast laps in when they're needed most - very Schumacher-esque. Unlucky for Massa, who was on the back foot strategy wise from turn 1 - looks like it wasn't just Hamilton with an intrest in the Mclaren keeping Raikkonen behind.

Good stuff from the BMWs; outscoring the Mclarens, and Kubica coming back strong.

Button gets a point - at last. Could prove crucial against the Spykers and Toro Rossos at the end of the season.

01 Lewis Hamilton 64
02 Fernando Alonso 50
03 Felipe Massa 47
04 Kimi R&#228;ikk&#246;nen 42
05 Nick Heidfeld 30

01 McLaren-Mercedes 114
02 Ferrari 89
03 BMW 48
04 Renault 28
05 Williams-Toyota 13
 
Once again, what was Albers doing?

Alonso didn't make his strategy work. He passed Fisichella and Heidfeld on the track, but he still finished behind them.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
Once again, what was Albers doing?
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Making sure he wont be a driver next season.

Great race, but not happy with the results. Fisi owned Alonso? I saw Alonso pass him, and I nodded off for a bit, and then Fisi took it back. Uh... OK...

It's just not Alonso's year.

For the last race, it was a good one.
 
So annoyed Massa didn't win that one, if theres anyone I don't want to win, it's Raikkonen.

Anyway, McLaren must have had one too many the night before when they sorted out the strategy, Alonso didn't help things with his driving although his overtaking was brilliant. BMW did a great job, Kubica on his return from Montreal seemed unfazed as he took 4th although he could have defended from Hamilton a wee bit better, Heidfeld was bloody entertaining as he fended off Alonso, completely fair, hard, defensive driving.

And a final note to Honda - About bloody time!

Now onto Silverstone, where I'll be sitting at Abbey corner for. ;)
 
<_Spike_>
McLaren's strat with McLaren baffled me, what made them think it would work exactly??
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Eh?

Incidently, 8 races in, and each Ferrari and Mclaren driver have 2 wins. I wonder when the last time was that we had 2 wins for 4 drivers in the first 8 races?
 
Bee

And a final note to Honda - About bloody time!
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But since you reside in Brackley, can't you just go over and tell them this?
 
So what's the state of play with the French GP? Will it exist next year at another track or will it be replaced with a Bernie Ecclestone Supreme Leader of Asian Money GP?
 
Danachronism
But since you reside in Brackley, can't you just go over and tell them this?
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Well they have a Charity Open Day at the factory on July 15th, 15 quid to get in for Adults, 6 for children, I'll tell them then.
 
Bee

Well they have a Charity Open Day at the factory on July 15th, 15 quid to get in for Adults, 6 for children, I'll tell them then.
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Charity event, you say? Will Jensen give away pins while Barichello passes out sandwiches?
 

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